(Sorry that it's sideways, not sure how to fix that.)
7/31/2009
7/30/2009
7-Layer Salad
- Bite-size pieces of lettuce
- 1 C. diced celery
- 1 C. chopped green onion
- 1 C. chopped pepper (any color)
- 1 C. shredded carrots
- 1 10 oz. pkg. of frozen peas (thaw, not cooked)
- 1 C. grated *cheese (maybe more if you love cheese)
- Bite size pieces of ham or bacon (Some use 1/4 C. hormel bacon bits on top)
- Cooked small macaroni or seashell pasta
- Chopped tomatoes
7/28/2009
The Plum Tree-Dedicated to my Mom
??Bakugans??
7/26/2009
7/25/2009
Watermelon and the Magical Dinner Fairy
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The other night when it was dinner time, Chris was due home any minute. I had not made dinner. I wanted too, but nothing looked good to make. Sadie had her usual fussy dinner hour, just wanted me to hold her. I was hot and tired, and just hoped the magical dinner fairy would arrive to make, cook, serve, and clean up dinner. She did in a way. I gave everyone a big piece of juicy watermelon. Dinner was served and it was delicious. P.S. I don't like the white seeds in watermelon. I still spit them out. Seedless grapes are seedless. But, seedless watermelon still has seeds. I know I'm the only one and I'm weird, but I miss the black seeds. They were big and easy to spit out. It was part of the fun of eating watermelon.
7/24/2009
Happy Pioneer Day!
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Lisa South, “The Journey,” Ensign, Jul 2008, 27
They began And rejoiced— Buried tiny bodies in shallow graves, Wept, and began again.
They entered the valley With joy— Beat crickets off their vanishing crops, Starved, wept, and began again.
They built their homes With gladness— Prepared them for burning against an approaching army, Wept, and began again.
They endured to the end. They set the example. Fighting our own crickets and armies, We weep, remember, begin again—
And rejoice.
7/20/2009
Take the Guilt Away
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Was I Living the Gospel Fully?
By Carolynn R. Spencer
Carolynn R. Spencer, “Was I Living the Gospel Fully?,” Ensign, July 2009, 71
My scripture study would have to wait. All three of our sons had awakened—and much earlier than usual. The youngest, Caden, then 18 months old, was screaming in his crib. I went into his room and saw instantly that he was sick.
Thus began a Monday of one challenge after another. At one point, shortly after I had changed Caden’s clothes and tried to feed him, he flung a large jar onto the floor, spilling applesauce everywhere and sending shattered glass across the kitchen. As I was cleaning up the mess, I thought about all the things I wasn’t getting done: family history, service, home storage, missionary work.
“How in the world can I do everything I know I should be doing when I am barely managing the basic tasks of my day?” I wondered. By early evening I was exhausted, but I set aside discouraging thoughts during dinner, family home evening, and the boys’ bath and bedtime routine.
Finally, with the children in bed, I sat down to do what I had not had time for earlier. I picked up the May 2006 Ensign, which was open to a talk by President Henry B. Eyring titled “As a Child.” My eyes fell on a passage I had previously marked: “To keep the blessing of [changed natures] in our hearts will require determination, effort, and faith. King Benjamin taught at least some of what that will require. He said that to retain a remission of our sins from day to day we must feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick, and help people spiritually and temporally” (Liahona and Ensign,May 2006, 17).
Immediately, I again felt that I wasn’t living the gospel fully. I wondered, “How can I feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick, and help people spiritually and temporally when I can scarcely take care of my own family?”
That’s when I experienced an overwhelming feeling of divine approval. It was so clear, precise, and tangible that I knew I had to write it down so I wouldn’t forget. I could see my day replay in my mind—full of feeding the hungry, doing laundry to clothe the naked (I changed Caden’s outfit multiple times), gently caring for our sick baby, helping our five-year-old prepare a family home evening lesson on missionary work, and then discussing the power of example with my family—in other words, helping people spiritually and temporally.
The impression flowed with such an overpowering feeling of peace that I knew the Lord was telling me He had accepted my offering. In caring for my family, I was fulfilling the admonitions of King Benjamin and President Eyring.
Love this Article, Love it.
This is my life right now.
Now, I can relax, I'm doing the best I can. If you read this post, take more guilt away, you read your scriptures for the day.
(Thanks to Sister Gagnon for sharing this article in my ward Relief Society on Sunday.)
7/19/2009
How-To Fake "Having it all Together"
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- This fake "Having it all Together" look works best in casual settings. When normally tired, run down mothers look and feel sloppy. Below I describe situations with young children, but I believe this philosophy works for all women no matter your season of life.
- The next time you're at the grocery store with 4 kids because it's summer. Wear a big, chunky necklace. When the kids are running up and down aisles, crying about candy, disrupting the other shoppers. The shoppers will quickly notice your necklace and know you have it all together.
- When you're at the neighborhood park, and your children are whining loudly because they are bored quickly, hot, hungry, forgot their shoes and the bark chips hurt their feet, or the baby is eating the bark chips. The other mothers at the park will see the necklace, and think to themselves,"Wow, there is a mother that has it all together."
- Of course, you can use this trick in more formal settings, like church. When your kids are irreverent all around you, or causing other disasters around the pew or in their primary class, or for you personally with your church calling. The jewelry will give you the appearance of "Having it all Together". It also serves as a great toy for boys and girls of all ages to keep them quiet. (Watch out they don't pull too hard on beads, keep a Ziploc bag in church bag just in case.)
- Other situations this works well for:
- Pregnancy
- Bad Hair Days
- Bad outfit Days
- Any public situation when children are with you, especially if you have to do any type of business transaction.
- Visiting your husband at work
- The library visit
- Girls Night Out
- Date Night
7/16/2009
I'd rather be Maria, after all.
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and it made me feel bad to hear it ALL the time.
Then, I discovered the character Maria. . .
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkHuc13NQt0HaJFq0TqS_-98R6NuTJQ-B8frE75BiBrKOGn2aq5QAxfdQ28KniliROk-TuoMt_E6PA0JhzAFFOh74N87zg75Qc6Dl8DgcnHWWvkoYfUYYFaH6jfrHO7_vq1UOISIIMDCI/s400/Julie_Andrews_sound_of_music_worried_about_children.jpg)
She won the guy, her kids loved being around her, she climbed trees, wore drapes, had a bad haircut, frolicked in lakes, sang songs, did puppet shows, had confidence, loved nature, respected her husband and a father's role but spoke up when necessary, protected her family, and climbed every mountain.
Everything that I would like to be.
Maybe being cute isn't so bad after all.
7/14/2009
Hair - One of Katie's Life Mysteries
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exceptYou have to use lots of hair "product"
My dilemma: I had a good hair lady, but she is expensive. When I had long hair I could go about every 4 months. She would give me such a good cut, wacking off all my thick hair that I could go longer than cheap haircuts. She gave me my short cut. Then to save money I went to the local beauty school. In the past, I have had great, trendy cuts for only $8. I went to the beauty school for a trim with my new short hair. . .BAD, BAD, one of my worst ever cuts. She didn't know how to start, was so SLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW. After an hour, my hair looked exactly the same, Still Shaggy, and Beehiveish. Finally, she called over the professor of the school, and the professor cut my hair in 10 min. Flat. Anyway, I don't know what to do. Go back to my expensive lady, whom I trust? Find someone cheaper who is good with short hair? Or try the beauty school again, because it was just one bad experience, and you always get a new person?Why do we have to worry about hair? That is a mystery to me. I think we look nice with hair, but why do we have to worry about it and take care of it all the time. My other mystery is why do we have to eat 3 times a day everyday. I love food, I think it is delicious and heavenly. But why everyday? It is so much work, thinking, planning, shopping, organizing, cleaning, dishes, etc. Maybe I will become shaggy and eat potato chips from now on.
7/13/2009
7/12/2009
An Amazing Sunset
7/08/2009
My Favorite Movies
- The Gods Must be Crazy
- A Room with a View (old and new)
- Pride and Prejudice (All of them)
- Rebecca
- Vertigo, Jimmy Stewart
- Rear Window, Jimmy Stewart
- To Catch a Thief, Cary Grant & Grace Kelly
- Houseboat, Cary Grant & Sophia Loren
- The Bourne Series, Matt Damon
- Dances with Wolves
- Out of Africa
- The Painted Veil
- Life is Beautiful
- Chocolate
- Ferris Bueler's Day Off
- Noises Off
- Notting Hill
- About a Boy
- Anne of Green Gables
- One Fine Day
- Ocean's Eleven (The first one)
- Jerry Maguire (Watched BYU version)
- Shawshank Redemption (Watched BYU version)
- Nacho Libre
- Emma ( All versions)
- The Sound of Music
- It Happened One Night, Clark Gable
- Harvey, Jimmy Stewart
- The Very Thought of You
- You Can't Take it With You, Jimmy Stewart
- Waking Ned Divine
- Finding Nemo
- North by Northwest, Cary Grant
- Cactus Flower, Goldie Hawn
- It's a Mad, Mad World
- Barefoot in the Park, Robert Redford
- Disney Sunday Night Movies from the late 80's-early 90's
- Parent Trap I
- Her Alibi, Tom Selleck
- Clue
- Swiss Family Robinson
- When Harry Met Sally (I watched a tv version)
- Dan in Real Life
- The Count of Monte Cristo
- Robin Hood (Disney Animated)
- Last of the Mohicans (Edited BYU version)
- The Scarlett Pimpernel, Jane Seymour
7/07/2009
Sadie. . . Walking? NO!
The good news is: She would rather be on two feet than down on all fours. Her favorite thing to do is let mom and dad walk her around, using both hands. It's hard on our backs, mom and dad tire easy, and if we put her down; she cries until we walk with her again. We also catch her standing up on her own all day throughout the house.If we try to walk with her with one hand or strongly encourage her to take a step, she cries and promptly sits down. It could be any day or it could be another couple months 'til she walks. We eagerly await the day she decides to walk, in the mean time we have sore backs.
7/06/2009
Summer Survival Tip #2
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