treat of the day

Here is what I am making. They are delicious. I love anything shortbready-butter and suger, what is not to love. Try these out and you will fall in love too.

Chewy Toffee Almond Bars

1 cup butter
½ cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 ¾ cup (10 oz. Pkg.) toffee bits
¾ cup light corn syrup
1 cup sliced almonds
¾ cup coconut flakes

Heat oven to 350*. Grease sides of 9*13 pan. Beat butter and sugar until creamy. Gradually add flour, beating well. Press dough down into pan. Bake 15-20 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.

In a medium saucepan stir together toffee bits and corn syrup. Cook, over medium heat, stirring constantly until toffee is melted, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat; add ½ cup almonds and ½ cup coconut. Spread mixture within ¼ inch of edges of crust. Sprinkle remaining ½ cup almonds and ¼ cup coconut over top. Continue baking 15 minutes or until bubbly. Cool completely in pan on wire rack.

It's finally done...

Okay, so I know this will sound stupid to most of you, but I wish I had a smaller house. We kind of fell into this one-in a way- and I am very grateful for it, but with no older kids to help me keep up on it, I sometimes get way overwhelmed with the cleaning and organizing that are necessary to keep it looking somewhat orderly. And, most of you know that organization is not my strong point, although I have been working hard with fly lady to get better in that department.

So, my family is all in town, all except for Greg who is on a mission in Spain. That means, 3 brothers, two wives, a niece and my parents. Fun, but crazy. I spent all week trying to get this place presentable. I finally organized Douglas' office (mostly my stuff) and cleaned out Jackson's old room, vacuumed, changed sheets, cleaned bathrooms, etc. etc. Now I am off to make a yummy treat and curl up with my book.

So, I really want to develop my photography more, but sometimes I don't know where to start. It is so hot outside (110*-yuck) and I don't want to go out there. I did some family pictures for a big family (extended and all) last weekend and it went okay, but it is definitely not my favorite thing to do. Sometimes I consider having another baby just so I have someone to photograph---and then I snap back to reality. We will see where I am able to take things. I have thought about doing this creative mentoring program. We'll see.

Off to make my treat. Toodles.

Talking Jacksons

So, I am a little biased, but I think I have a dang cute kid. And what is even cuter is that he is starting to talk. I know understand how mom's can understand their children's unarticulated, semi word like noises and derive meaning from them. I know that "at ut" is bathtub. He has a few down pretty well now-baby, grandpa, Andrew, momma, dadda, doggie, cookie. You know, the essentials. Now, if he can just say ice cream, he will have it covered.

He also loves to give loves and cuddle. He wasn't like this as a baby, but I eat it up. Today I snapped at him for something and he just layed his head on my shoulder and loved me. I felt like a heel and it was oh, so sweet.

In my opinion, this is a the most rewarding age yet.

An Early Morn

I am up early this morn--too early. As much as I try to be an early bird, whenever I get up early I feel crabby and tirrrred. I hate that I can't just pop out of bed like my hubby and be ready to tackle the world. I can stay up late with the best of them though, although since I have been married I have sort of wuit doing this. Actually we go to bed relatively early on most nights (10pm). That sound like plenty of sleep for the average soul, but i have determined that I need 9 hours of sleep to feel completely rested.

I am lucky to have a baby that sleeps too. He goes down at 7pm and wakes up around 8am (= or -) depending on the day. That is one thing I love about getting up early--silence and alone time. I can eat breakfast in peace or surf the web. I read my scriptures if I really feel righteous :) (or disciplined). It is heaven.

And so the dilemma continues--get up early to enjoy my peace, or delight in a few extra hours of Zzzzzzzzz.

Food Storage

I am still working to get a food storage put together. For me this requires a lot of organization which is not necessarily my strong point. I just ordered a bunch of stuff from Prepared Pantry. They have really great mixes that are great for food storage and using when you are in a time crunch and they are delicious. Check it out.

Jackson in CA

 
  

Happy Father's Day

Today was Douglas' second father's day and what a great dad he is. I feel very blessed to have him as my hubby and the father of Jackson. I found these greatcuff links and got them monagramed for him. I love to get nice things for my man!

California

So here I sit in CA, tired from nights of going to bed too late and getting up too early and being sick. I finally went to the Dr. I had a sinus infection (again--2 in a month) and J had that and bronchitis. I bought J the good antibiotic, but was to cheap to buy myself the good one. Last time I got the "fast working" antibiotic it set me back $50. Ouch. So, in my cheapness I thought i would rather try out the $10 variety first. I am feeling pretty much better and Jackson is back to himself, thank heavens. He even ate a good dinner last night.

We were busy today getting ready for Christian and Holly's reception tonight. I did all the flowers (with my mom and SIL) and we made some cakes and I did Holly's hair. It was a busy day. I didn't even take pictures of the flowers, but they were really cute. My mom and I talk about doing a wedding consult business when and if they move to St. George. Haha. I have always wanted to do that, but with what time. I would have to cut out some of my other little businesses like bracelets, or hair bows. Photography will stay and hair, of course will stay. Ah, I guess I just want to do too many things. If only I had more time in the day and a nanny. Oh, and a housecleaner and errand runner. Then, I would get a lot done on a day to day basis. Oh, and a personal organizer and bookkeeper. How much would all of those things set me back? Hmmmm.

The reception was delightful. I forgot a few times that I had a child until someone would point out that he was making a b-line for the parking lot or street. Kills me that the kid will run and run and never look back. He just ate off of my grandma's plate for dinner. I do usually feed him dinner, but hey, i am on vacation. He can be such a stinker when I feed him, so it is nice to have someone else step in and help out. I saw a lot of family at the reception which was really nice. And of course when I am with my siblings we can laugh and laugh.

D came last night and will leave tomorrow and so we stayed in the room with a double bed. Dang, we are spoiled with always having a king. And, lets be honest, Douglas isn't a small guy, nor am I a petite girl (although I sometimes wish I was). So, my 5'9 frame hangs off the bed and of course his did too and trying to be so thoughtful to the other person, we both ended up practically hanging off the bed to give the other one room. I bet there was a good two feet of no one in the middle. We were both so tired though that we slept the night away anyway. Me, without nitequil too. I have been sick so long that it has been the only way to get through the night.

Well, off to bed. Actually, I would write more, but the bano is calling. I haven't wasted half as much time on the computer since I don;t have my favorites list to surf through.

Bird Flu

so have you heard that the bird flu has mutated into a human strain and that 6 of 8 members of a family died of it in Indonesia? How prepared are you?? All I know is that if I have to be quarentined I definitely want to have enough diapers on hand. priorities.

What are you having for dinner??

I will include my meatball recipe later, but I am out of time. THis is a delicious unique sauce recipe. Let me know what you think.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

2 T. Olive oil
½ t. Crushed red pepper flakes
4 Cloves garlic, crushed or chopped
1 Small onion, finely chopped
1 cup Beef stock
1 (28 oz.) can Crushed tomatoes
A handful chopped parsley
10 Leaves fresh basil, torn or thinly sliced

Heat a deep skillet or pot over moderate heat. Add oil, crushed pepper, garlic and onion. Saute 5 to 7 minutes, until onion is soft. Add beef stock, crushed tomatoes, and herbs. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Mix with pasta of your choosing.

C and H wedding

Just a few pictures I snapped. Aren't they a nice couple...


 
 
 
  

 
 
 
  

Chitter Chatter

So what is the deal?? I am getting sick again! Wahh for me. I am going to the dr. tomorrow to figure out what the heck is going on with my body. I never got sick before Jackson.

So we went and saw XMen 3 yesterday. D and I are huge Xmen fans, but I have to say, we were really disappointed with it. First of all, it was so sad. I actually cried during Xmen :). Second, they threw so much at you it was almost hard to keep track of everyone (d and I always watch movies with subtitles, weird, I know, but we get so much more out of them-just a plug for the subtitles). Third, I just kept waiting for Jean to be good again, but alas, it wasn't to be. It was sad I tell ya.

I am on this decluttering spree--fly lady style. Here is my thing though. Why is it so easy for some people to stay on top of their houses. Why do some people not get sucked into other projects (or the computer) and stay on task. Why do some people care so much more than me? I think all these things yet I am still not able to let it go or stop comparing myself to others.It really gets me down when I realize how much clutter I can walk over for days, weeks, and years until finally I have had it and totally break down feeling like a total loser because I can't manage to keep it clean. So, we have been in this house for 2.5 years now and I am finally cleaning all my parent's junk (we bought the house from them) out of the closets, I bought a labeler, and I am designating homes for all my stuff. Let me tell you, I have only done the hall upstairs, but it required a lot of self discipline every time I walked by my computer to not sit down and surf a little. Heck, my Favorites list only has about 50 things on it. How long could that really take. (okay, like 35 minutes x 12 times a day--you get the picture). It's all about discipline.

Oh, and why do I insist on long run on sentences and lack of capitalization on my blog? Hmmm. I am sure that has something to do with my weird AP English teacher in 12th grade.

Speaking of which...I just got the announcement for my 10 year class reunion this fall. So, I think I will be making the trip to AZ to attend that. Weird that it has already been 10 years.

I am back into scrapbooking and loving it. I forgot how theraputic it is for me to sit down and create things. My best friend here in town just started scrapping too and loves it. That will be bad news for us, but a lot of fun.

Florida and Christian's wedding were great. I will post a picture. I was a little dissappointed that Disneyworld is an exact replica of disneyland. We all had fun none the less, but I always imagined it being so different. And, the epcot golf ball thing was way smaller than I had always imagined. I went with Drew to Universal Island Adventure and that was a blast. My MIL flew down from Georgia to watch Jackson all weekend and that was the true vacation though. I will post a picture of the wedding soon.

#2

  

In your opinion...

Which do you like better? The one with writing or without? These are mother's day gifts (late, not really early :)) for my mom and MIL. They will be 20x16 inches (big) and want to make sure the writing isn't too cheesy. Or, if you have a better quote, let me know. Thanks.