I finally did it

I've been wanting to use http://www.blurb.com/ for a while to compile all my favorite recipes that I use all the time and I finally finished and ordered it.

If you haven't seen blurb, it's really user friendly and pretty affordable (shipping is overpriced) to publish your own stuff.

Lynette made a book of all the letters she and her husband exchanged through their courtship and that was neat.

Anyway, there's my plug for blurb.

The title: "All Good Things Come From the Kitchen" is a saying from a ballet instructor. I can't remember her name, she was guest teaching and she told us our abdomen was our kitchen and all good things come from the kitchen. At the time I thought it was a bogus analogy to ballet, but I totally agree with it now as it applies to the center of my home being the kitchen. I was pretty much raised in the kitchen, most of our family hanging out and talking was in the kitchen. When friends came over we'd pretty much sit at the huge counter and eat and talk. Fond memories in the kitchen I guess.

In the shack farmhouse we used to live in while in Missouri I made this shelf:

I sold the shelf for $12 at a yard sale because I didn't want to haul it across the country.

Latest Creation with the Kids

Tag from Natalie

Here are the Rules:
1)Post rules on your blog
2)Answer the six "8" items
3)Let each person you tag know by leaving them a comment

8 Favorite TV Shows:
1. The Office
2. King of Queens
3. Freaks & Geeks (just introduced to the one season it aired)
4. Seinfeld
5. Mystery Science Theatre 3000
6. I've been following Biggest Loser lately
7. as a kid I loved Full House
8. sometimes I turn to Friends re-runs while I get dinner ready

8 Things I did Yesterday
1. sewed a bedside organizer, idea copied from friend Katherine
2. splurged and bought donuts only to bite in to one and realize it was chocolate covered, when I'd been craving chocolate cake donuts with the chocolate glaze. Such a disappointment.
3. laundry
4. drank 1 qt of Grape Gatorade
5. visited my sister at her store
6. played with RJ under the ginormous quilt my mom has set up
7. rescued RJ from drowning when he somehow dove into the tub while I was showering, soaking all his clothes I'd just dressed him in and drenching the fresh diaper
8. gave RJ his first haircut

8 Things I'm Looking Forward To
1. Rhett graduating next May
2. Rhett deciding what he what he wants to specialize in
3. Quitting breastfeeding...maybe that should have been #1
4. Someday buying a house
5. summer, gardening and eventually...raspberries
6. Future trip to Rome in the next couple years
7. Temple Open House tomorrow
8. Dinner tonight...and dessert

8 Favorite Restaurants
1. Olive Garden
2. Cheesecake Factory
3. Famous Daves
4. Panda Express
5. Papa Johns
6. Applebees
7. PF Changs
8. Parkers Drive In -- American Fork, UT

8 Things on My Wish List
1. new house...or any house that was ours
2. new body...well really, I wish I'd keep the one I have in better shape. I wish I enjoyed exercise maybe
3. to go on a cruise...graduation???
4. health & safety for my husband and kids
5. better clothes
6. ability to play the violin without any effort
7. attend a Journey concert before they die
8. things might work out to go to Chicago

8 People to Tag: are there 8 people who look at this blog?
1. Mom
2. Heather
3. I honestly can't think of anyone else, so this tag may die with me

2 Hoorays, 1 big fat No-Way

Hooray for Delta!

Wrestling 3A State Champions!!!

Go Rabbits

sorry for the blurry photos... and yes, this was how we spent our Valentine's. Next year we'll go to a ballet.

Hooray for a finished project

that sat around for a year and was moved across the country...more info if you want details

No-Way for Rhett's latest pasta experiment

Last night Lynette and I were making home-made, fresh ravioli and Rhett was supervising as he studied. He got the idea of making BLACK BEAN PASTA, just to see if it would work. He made "black bean flour" by grinding dry beans in my mom's electrical wheat grinder. The pasta was disgusting. As you can see from the photo, anything resembling a granite counter top probably isn't the most tasty.

Our ravioli was delicious however.

Eco Friendly and Delicious!

Nutcracker, Dogs, Strap Chaos & more

The Nutcracker

Each December during the late 90s I spent a lot of time at BYU rehearsing and performing for the Nutcracker. We had carpools to help all the parents out. My mom was driving one occasion, and our friends, Tiani and Vanessa, came along. These two girls weren't usually in our car pool. We got in the car and my mom announced: "We are picking Herschel up on the way home so he'll have to sit on your lap."
Revolted, I exclaimed: "Mom! I'm not letting Herschel sit on me! He stinks! He is way too heavy. Why can't you drop us off and go back to get him?"
Mom: "He's been at Grandma's all day and it's on the way. You can handle it for a few minutes."
Me: "No way! He stinks and is dirty and probably has fleas!"
Mom: "You need to suck it up then because Herschel is going to sit on your lap."
Me: "Can't we put him in the trunk?"
Mom: "I hope you're kidding."

I continued for quite a while, probably far longer than a more mature girl my age would have complained. We finally pulled up at my Grandma's. My mom warned me: "I'm going to get Herschel. You better be nice."
The girls were in the car chatting, waiting, and the door opened and my Mom and Herschel walked out onto the porch.
"Oh...that makes more sense." Tiani said.
I asked what made more sense.
"By the way you were talking, I thought 'Herschel' was a dog, but it's your brother."
So obviously, I wasn't the best sister to Herschel. But here are a few photos of him at this stage of his life and maybe my less than sisterly actions will seem more justified. He is a pretty awesome kid despite growing up under my oppression.

Strap Chaos

More Nutcracker mayhem....

The green/yellow costume above is from the "Woodnymph" variation. Luckily this experience occurred at a dress rehearsal rather than a real performance.

As I was standing in the wings, waiting to go on stage I stretched my back and heard a pop in my costume. I didn't think much about it and went out. Early in the variation, one strap broke off. In a flash, my costume was only half secure. At the time, I thought I may have flashed my "almost A" sized chest, but now I think about it, probably not. Even though I didn't have much to show off, I still wasn't about too ignore the fact my costume was busting off. So I held onto the armpit area of the bodice with one arm and kept dancing. It was surprisingly difficult to dance without the use of an arm, not to mention the fact I looked ridiculous. But I didn't fall and by the end it seemed like everyone was laughing at me, so all in all a fun way to lighten up the rehearsal stress, and a reminder for the seamstresses that the elastic may be a little old.

One performance my friend and I were both only corps in a really lame role in the ballet Coppelia. We planned to chew gum in that particular performance and here is our proof. It probably doesn't seem that rebellious, but at the time I felt really defiant and it seemed intense when Erin got caught right before finale.

(I know...stage make-up is scary...especially mine.)

Pretending to eat the snow scenery

Mercy

My mom's blog demonstrating my excellent salesgirl skills:
MERCY!