Easy gift ideas

I meant to have this up a lot earlier but tis the season. 

I love making homemade gifts, my problem is I don't usually have time to make them. That is why I try to find some fun simple, easy ideas that can fit into anyone's schedules...and in my case...abilities. 

The first was what I call the Grandpa Book. We made this for my dad for father's day and for Christian's dad for his birthday.  We just got pictures of each individual grandchild and printed them off on the computer. The kids then each drew a picture or wrote a note explaining why they loved their grandpa. After I just went and bound the books with a cover sheet of all the cousins on it. 

These were a lot of fun to make and so super easy.

The second thing was friend gifts for the girls. I thought of just going to buy candy for them to give but when you have three kids with friends that can start making them very pricey. So I ran across a fun easy craft that cost as much as three Christmas candies but we made 14 gifts for the same price. 

This is simple to make and do. Just get those metal washers and paint them with nail polish. We painted them with white nail polish first then the girls went to town designing and painting (still with nail polish) whatever they wanted. After they dried we put on a a coat of clear polish and then tied it with a ribbon to make a necklace. They were simple and quick, and the girls loved it.

Bye Grandma!

When I was sixteen I was playing a grandmother in a school play. The director of our show was getting very frustrated with  the exuberant energetic grandmother I was portraying. He pulled me aside and asked me what my grandma was doing right then, I honestly replied, "she's hiking in the Amazon." He looked at me and told me to act like someone else's grandma not like mine.

My Grandma passed away last Tuesday night after her final bout with cancer.  I was lucky enough to get to spend her final hours with her, holding her hand and saying goodbye. She was visited all day by family, friends, and neighbors. Everyone sat with her and shared special memories as we all said goodbye.  When the time came she was surrounded by her children and a few of her grandchildren.

Now most people would call their grandmothers sweet. Um that is not an adjective I would ever use to describe my grandma. She was a feisty red head, a true diva that still visited the salon once a week to get her hair done.  Her glasses were legendary among her grandchildren and we loved to look through the pictures on her wall to see how far back we could date the glasses.

I had a very special relationship with my grandma. She is also the reason I still can't eat my fries until my burger is gone. I remember swimming at her condo during summers and then going to the park for a picnic of tuna sandwiches-with cheese, pringles, and teddy grahams. There were sleep overs where the couch magically transformed into a bed and the next morning we would go out and get our work out in walking the mall. As I got older outings turned to the mall, minus the morning work outs, and trips to Gardner's Village.  I spent many Thanksgiving Eves and Thanksgving mornings at Grandma's, helping getting ready for Thanksgiving. It was still a blow when I found out that her pies came from Marie Calendars and her carrot cake came from a local bakery. Oh and when I found out that she didn't make the Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies I was crushed for weeks.

As I entered my twenties our relationship morphed again. We started travelling a bit together. Our first trip was with my brother and Poppa to the Shakespeare Festival where we extended it and went to Bryce Canyon for a day. Then there was our trip to Boise where she showed me and my coworkers how to make a proper mimosa.  We went to Santa Barbara for my cousin's wedding and boy what an adventure that was! We toured a few of the missions, went to Slovang, and spent time on the beach. We started going to the Shakespeare festival every year with her sister Mary and my friend Katie. It was there I started to refer to her as a member of the Ya-Yas. And though she drove me crazy on those trips to Cedar she always said what a wonderful time she had, and after we got two different hotel rooms I usually had a pretty good time too.  She paid for my plane ticket to Atlanta where I did my first 3-day cancer walk in her honor. And she took me to DC with my parents where she whacked everyone with her cane while Dad pushed her in her wheelchair.

When I got married she accepted my new children without any thought. They were now hers and sure enough the cards on birthdays, valentines day, and Halloween came without fail.

I would often get little articles or comics from her in the mail. I will miss that. We spent many evenings together watching BBC movies and eating pork chops after my grandpa died. And  I was so grateful when I went out to lunch with her just a few weeks ago. She loved to show my children off and she made me feel like the best mother and granddaughter around with all the undeserved praise she heaped on me.

So Grandma, thank you for the adventure and for what you have taught me the last 33 years. Thank you for supporting me, for inviting yourself on my vacations, for teaching me to love Shakespeare, for driving me crazy, for loving me, and for letting me be part of the last years of your life. I will miss you and our lunches.

One short day

It is not often a mom gets a day off. Even on vacations there are still fighting children, poopy diapers, and nighttime wake ups.  So when Christian suggested that I take a day and go down to the fall Shakespeare Festival with the "Coco Ladies" I was all in.  After emails we were set and the four of us headed down to see one of my favorite plays- "Stones in His Pocket."

The Coco Ladies, so named by my husband, are a group of four friends who at one time all taught at Riverton High. We got together at least once a quarter at the local Starbucks to unwind for a few hours. Later those meetings became monthly and as most of us left Riverton for various other jobs the time to see each other became more dear.   

This was our first trip though and I have to admit I was nervous the night before. It had been ages since I had talked to another adult for such a long period of time, if I broke out into Blue's Clues songs would they still be my friends? What if I had nothing to say that didn't revolve around Matty's latest words or James' latest defiance at the dinner table? i don't know why I worried, though I think if I had broken out into a rousing chorus of "Mail Time" they might have looked at me funny. 

The trip was fabulous. The 3.5 hour drive seemed quick and conversation abounded. Then there was the trip to The Pastry Pub, a local favorite, where we had to sample the chocolate cake. Then we took a walk down Main Street before the play. Of course the play itself was incredible. It was preformed down at the Festival 7 years ago by my two favorite actors. These two actors returned for this performance.  The Festival several years ago surveyed the audience on what shows they should bring back (they usually only repeat the Shakespeares) and I filled out 10-20 ballots requesting this show. I had to laugh when they announced before that this was the most requested show on that ballot, I feel somewhat responsible for that and all of you who go and see it can thank me later.  Oh and I introduced everyone to the Festival favorite...tarts!

It was just a wonderful day.  A day free from cares and a day spent with dear friends.  

On the way home we stopped in Scipio and found the petting zoo in the gas station parking lot. 

Darlene introduced us to a great restaurant in Provo called Sparks. They had the BEST french fries I have ever tasted and some fun non-alcoholic drinks.Oh and for dessert a brownie float with ice cream and chocolate milk...yum.

While out we planned next year's trip...we might even be adventurous and try going both summer and fall.

It was such a wonderful day I was sad to see it end, but when Amy dropped me off at home I was reminded of a line from one of my favorite series-

 "Gilbert dear, it's been lovely to be Anne of Green Gables again, but it's a hundred times lovelier to come back and be Anne of Ingleside."

Thanks for the wonderful day ladies!

Disney Princess Half Marathon or bust

Elisha and I at my wedding

Six years ago a friend mentioned that she had a friend that I should met. I have thanked Angela many times for that introduction, she introduced me to Elisha, and Elisha and I very soon became close friends and would travel the country to see one another. 

Elisha and set a goal many years ago that we were going to one day run the Disney Princess Half Marathon, see we are both huge Disney fans and there would be nothing better than running together in at Disney World then enjoying a day or two in the Magic Kingdom. 

This remained a pipe dream for many years. There were changes in relationships, we both had children, we both changed jobs, and even though we haven't seen each other in two and a half years we still remain close. Yesterday during a text exchange E brought up the half marathon and after careful deliberation...all of thirty seconds...we decided we are going to shot for the  February 2015 half marathon. I know that is a while away but we have to schedule around family and budgets and readiness. 

So to kick off today I started the couch potato to 5K. It actually went well. Though I have never been a runner I am actually in the best shape of my life (I know, nothing to brag about there). The six days of cardio I have been pulling for the last six months are paying off and I was able to do the run for sixty seconds walk for ninety seconds for 25 minutes with no problem. I know that it will get harder as I progress but right now I feel good. I feel ready to take on this challenge and ready to go down this road with my friend. So her it starts. Weekly updates, stories, failures, and triumphs are around the corner. 

Until then it is scheduling in my runs and looking forward to the day when I will cross the finish line and be crowned a Disney princess with my friend. 

Crafts- U of U quilt

About a year ago I made a quilt for my cousin's son, it was a U of U quilt and I wanted to keep it. Not only did I want to keep it but Christian wanted one for himself. Thus started my quest to make sure by his next birthday he had a U quilt.  

I found the fabric on sale!!! a bonus if there ever was one and then found a black and red skein of yarn. 

The hard part about this quilt was keeping it a secret from my husband. I love having my husband home all day, it is a lot of fun and very helpful when the baby is napping and I have to run errands, or if I have to take James to school.  The only time it is a problem is when I want to try and do a project for him.  

With the help of a good friend I was able to tie the quilt in an afternoon then spend the rest of the week finishing it in the basement while Christian worked upstairs, there was only one time when I had to tell him not to come in the room when he finished worked early. 

It ended up working out though and he was surprised. 

I was quite pleased on how it turned out myself! And for the first time ever in sewing a quilt I actually got the binding down the first time!

Go Utes!

Craft- Celebration board

I am starting to find my weekly craft time to be an escape. I like doing simple easy projects and it gives me a few minutes to just escape. So far I had avoided painting, I have never been great at details. I have stuck with knitting, or things I can work with on photoshop, or print out. But I launched out this time and did a very simple and easy painting project.

This celebration board is a simple concept I found on pintrest. It is a chalk board that sits somewhere in your home and you change daily what your family can celebrate. We have celebrated homemade jam, first days of school, lost teeth, and family baptisms. It is to celebrate big and small. 

First thing I did was went to Home Depot and got some project board. Cooper, the very nice Home Depot employee, cut the board for me till I had six 12x15 pieces. 

Then my husband showed me how to use his drill and drilled two holes in the very top.

Then I started painting. It took three coats of paint but I was surprised how quick it was. It took me twenty minutes to paint the front and sides, then I waited an hour or so for it to dry and painted the back. Not too long at all.

I had someone cut the vinyl for me and I ended up using a vinyl chalk board as well.

Then it was time to add the ribbon, not sure if I like this one but it is what we have for now.

The kids love this and every morning they wait to see what will be written on our celebrate board.

Cookies!

It has been baking central here the past few days and cookies have been on the plate. This time I wanted to try something different and stumbled across a cookie site that I am excited about- Sally's Baking Addiction. I feel that Sally and I could be kindred spirits, she has so many great ideas and her cookies sound delicious. 

The first thing I tried was the Golden Oreo Truffles. 

This was a very simple recipe:
1 8 oz package of cream cheese, softened
1 package of Golden Oreos, crushed
White chocolate for dipping (I just used white chocolate buttons)
Sprinkles

After crushing the Oreos ( I did mine with our mini food processor) combine them with the cream cheese and mix until you have a batter.  Then roll into one inch balls, you should get about 48. Then put them in the freezer for at least a half an hour. This was one of the moments I wish I had a bigger freezer than I do...and I have two freezers. However I made it work and the got nice a frozen.

While they are freezing follow the directions to melt the chocolate. Usually it is melt it in the microwave for a minute. Stir, microwave for 30 seconds, stir, repeat until the chocolate is melted.

Then take the balls out of the freezer and dip, I struggled with dipping it and couldn't find the right way to actually do it, but hey it worked. When you are finished put them back in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.

These things were so rich and so good. The recipe is also rather versatile and has me thinking of other ideas. Like oreos with mint chocolate or mint oreos with just chocolate or strawberry oreos with chocolate...oh the possibilities are endless.

Now growing up my favorite ice cream was Rocky Road, the problem was my dad is allergic to tree nuts and my mom is allergic to chocolate. With those two allergies it wasn't that often that I got rocky road ice cream and I changed my preference to strawberry instead.  When I stumbled across the recipe for rocky road cookies, I had to try them.

Again a very simple recipe-

3 cup powdered sugar
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 extra large egg whites
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups chocolate chips
2.5 ounces of slivered almonds (you can toast them if you want but I didn't)
1 cup mini marshmallows

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Combine powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. Add egg whites and vanilla and mix until batter is smooth.  Stir in chocolate chips and almonds. Using a medium cookie scoop place 12 cookies on the sheet and place 4-5 marshmallows on each cookie. Then place the cookie tray in the fridge for 10-15 minutes.   After bake them 12-13 minutes .

They are super chocolaty and oh so good.

Craft- Conference Board

With LDS General Conference coming up I am always looking for ways to keep the kids entertained.  While looking for other things on Pintrest I ran across this idea from a site that seems to have been hijacked for a moment. I will get back to you with the site. But this woman was awesome! She had so many different ideas and one of them was creating a Conference Center. The idea behind it is the kids can find out who is speaking and place their picture at the podium. Then they can pick the topics they hear about and put it in the speech bubble.  I am seeing 

The idea behind it is the kids can find out who is speaking and place their picture at the podium. Then they can pick the topics they hear about and put it in the speech bubble.  When the speaker is finished you can put them in their seat for the remaining time period. 

 There are also places to put who is conducting the music and who is playing the organ.

This lady baby caused me a lot of grief and a ton of time but I got it finished in time for October conference. Now I just can't wait to use it.

Craft- Picture Quiet Books

Recently I joined Pintrest. I really didn't want to, in fact I had avoided it. But then I got called to the Relief Society Additional Activities Committee, formally known as the Enrichment Committee, formally known as the Personal, Home, and Family Enrichment Committee, formally known as the Homemaking Committee.  All of a sudden I was in charge of coming up with craft ideas for our ever popular Super Saturday craft day.  

I browsed Pintrest with no intention of joining but pretty soon I realized that I needed to take the plunge, if only to keep straight the craft ideas I was coming up with for our Relief Society event.  I had also been thinking of creating a quiet book for Matty so this helped too. While I was looking around I realized two things: 1-Matty is still six months away from using quiet books 2- I was at least a year away of having the talent to make a quiet book. 

Then I stumbled across the picture quiet book. Perfect not for Matty but to keep James entertained. The premise was simple. Simply Fresh Designs had already created the templates I just had to add pictures. Perfect. They had books on beliefs, Old Testament stories, Teaching of Jesus, Life of Jesus, Book of Mormon stories, Articles of Faith, Gospel ABCs, and Life of Prophets and Apostles. 

I used the LDS Gospel Art book to put in the pictures with my paintshop pro. Then I sent the pictures to Walgreens and picked them up a few days later. I found some 24 photo photo books at Target and Walmart and then put them together. 

Simple and easy, my kind of project.   Now I will have to launch into the other quiet book...maybe next week.

Craft- Back to school and welcome home banners

Back to school, the time of year most kids dread and most moms look forward to with gleeful anticipation. As I child I loved going back to school, I loved pouring over back to school ads and deciding what school supplies I wanted buy, what Trapper Keeper was going to go best with my new folders and pencils.  I would drag my parents to five or six different stores to make sure I got the best deals my babysitting money could buy.   Yeah, I was unlike most kids. 

My kids however cringe whenever I mention how many days are left till the school bell rings. They are even now holing up in the rooms hoping beyond hope that August 27th will never come. 

Recently I was reading the Disney Family Fun magazine and I ran across a craft that was so simple and easy that even I could do, and would solve the kids back to school blues. 

The idea was simple enough. Celebrate summer's end by picking a few activities that we hadn't done yet and pack them into the last few weeks. I just had to make a banner.

Now I like to be crafty, but I am not very good at it. So this was a low key craft for me. 

I made a template first off to have something for my banner.

 And then I got my letters and paper ready

 Look how nice all this looks, really I should be barred from Hobby Lobby, I am just grateful the closest one is about a half hour away.

After the letters were put on I went and got them laminated.  

I had to think about this one for a minute. How do I keep the fun activities on...turns out all those envelopes that I had lying around finally came into good use.

Then I strung and hung the banner. It looked pretty good if I do say so myself.

It worked so well I made a Welcome Home banner too to celebrate the kids arrival from their super long trip.  

This turned out to be one the best crafts  I had ever done and one that I am thinking of repeating for several other holidays.

Recipes: Presidential cookies

Because I am one of those old boring moms I read old boring magazines while I work out. My new favorite is Family Circle. Remember old and boring. So anyway I ran across the presidential cookie recipes and decided we would have a family taste test and help determine the election (the magazine claims that the bake-off has determined every election since it's start in 1992 except one).

So I put on my apron and decided that we would dive into the the world of cookie politics.

The first recipe I made was the Michelle Obama cookie called- Mama Kaye's White and Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies, named after the Obama girl's godmother. 

*full disclosure, we did not put the walnuts in the recipe as I do not believe in nuts in cookies unless they are macadamia nuts.

Now here are things that I liked about this recipe:

1- It made 8 dozen cookies. When I mentioned to a friend that one of recipes made 8 dozen cookies they were sure that was the Ann Romney "Mormon" recipe. 

2- It has mint chips which gives the cookies a nice mint after taste. 

3- They are the most buttery and melty "ist" cookie I have ever eaten. 

4- My brother did not believe that these were the Obama cookies because they were not healthy. 

That same day I made Ann Romney's cookie called simply-M&M's cookies. 

Things I liked about this recipe:

1- This is a good hearty cookie. In fact Christian broke it up and ate it in a bowl with milk the next morning for breakfast. 

2- Double dose of chocolate and then added peanut butter

3-There is no flour, not that I am anti-flour I just thought it was cool. 

So yeah they were super awesome. Now to read how the "election turned out head on over to our family blog to read the results. 

Oh and here are the recipes:

The Obama Cookie

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 stick Crisco butter-flavored solid vegetable shortening
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup each white chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips and mint chocolate chips (or Andes mint pieces)
• 2 cups chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream butter, vegetable shortening, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract.

2. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. On low speed, beat in flour mixture. By hand, stir in white and milk chocolate chips, mint chips and walnuts.

3. Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375 degrees F for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

The Romney Cookie

Ingredients

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups crunchy peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup (such as Karo)
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 6 ounces chocolate chips
• 2/3 cup M&M's candies

Directions

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees F. In a large bowl, cream sugars, butter, peanut butter and corn syrup on high speed until well combined. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Beat in vanilla extract.

2. In a separate bowl, mix together oats and baking soda. Stir into peanut butter mixture until combined. Mix in chocolate chips and M&M's.

3. Using a standard-size ice cream scoop, drop dough onto baking sheets (about 9 per sheet). Bake at 325 degrees F for 18 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool 2 minutes, then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Apricot Jam part 1- Epic Failure

My friend Mandy once told me that she didn't read so called Mommy blogs because they just turned into a "look how great I am" and "my house and family look like they climbed out of a Pottery Barn catalog."  Well I will be the  first to say that I am great and my house and kids are no where near a Pottery Barn catalog, in fact I took my kids to the doctor today and discovered everyone of them had mud on their legs. So here it is Mandy, a post you would never see on a mommy blog. A blog of epic failure.

I love canning. I find it fun and in an odd way rather relaxing. There is one thing that has always eluded me though- jam. I tried to make peach jam a couple of years ago, and it didn't go so well. I didn't  attempt again. This year though I was going to try. So when we were at the farmer's market on Saturday and we got a great deal on apricots I decided that it was time.  So I came home with 29 pounds of fruit and started my research. Here is the problem, no one tells you how to can in bulk. 

So we started with the delicious fresh apricots...

And then we mashed the fruit.  And yes that is a a box of jell-o, my cute neighbor swears by it in her jam.

Since we were using the pectin recipe we started cooking down the fruit. 

And when that reached a boil we added 20 cups, yes 20 cups of sugar!

And let it cook some more.

We followed the recipe and took it off the stove once again it boiled and so we pulled it off and put it in the jars.

Yeah, there is no jam. We have eight quarts of syrup.

There are a few things I can still try and I will attempt them in the next few days, but until then who wants pancakes?

Recipe- Snikerdoodle Cupcakes

So I am one that has to watch tv or read a magazine while I am working out, I just don't enjoy working out enough to just do simply work out. So last week I was thumbing through the June addition of Family Circle and I came across a recipe for snikerdoodle cupcakes. Now I like snikerdoodles and I like cupcakes so this seemed like a good idea. And as luck would have it we were having my parents over for Sunday dinner so I had a good excuse to make these babies. First I have to say it was a simple recipe-

1 box of white cake mix
1 cup of milk
1 stick melted butter
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsps cinnamon

Heat the oven to 350 and line 2 cupcake pans.   In a large mixing bowl combine all ingredients and mix on low for a minute. Scrap sides then mix again for two minutes on a higher speed.

Then here is my newly discovered tip- scoop the batter out of the bowl with an ICE CREAM SCOOP. Now I am probably late to the party on that tip but wow! It made the most perfect sized cupcakes and very little mess.

Bake the cupcakes for 15-20 our until they spring back when pressed.

Remove and then cool.

Matty and I sampled one at this stage and I have to admit though the batter did not taste like snikerdoodles the baked cupcakes did.

Then came the time to make frosting.

I made a simple butter cream frosting-

3 3/4 cup of powdered sugar
1 stick of softened butter
3 TBSP milk
1 tsp vanilla

then I added 3 tsps of ground cinnamon.  

When Matty sampled that cupcake there was a "mmmm" sound that left his mouth and the kids each ate three.

These cupcakes were super moist and just perfect. I know we will be making them again soon.

Recipe- Waffle Tacos

Yesterday I was going through my latest issue of Family Circle when I came across the idea to use savory waffles as dinner. I was intrigued by the idea for Waffle Tacos. The picture made them look delicious and I was all set to try them. I went to the link to get the recipe only to find that  all the other waffle dinners had recipes but the waffle taco was missing. I still had the desire for the waffle tacos so I came up with my own recipe.

Now I am sure that you are thinking the same thing James was when I mentioned it, "um, no." But he was final products biggest fan.  The girls also snarfed them down. It ended up being a hit.

So here is the recipe for our new family favorite- Waffle tacos.

Recipe-


Waffle mix
2 teaspoons of chicken bullion
1 can of green chilies


Prepare waffle mix as directed on bag. Then add the 2 teaspoons of crushed chicken bullion and the can of green chilies. Cook as directed.

Top with your favorite taco toppings. We used refried beans, chicken, tomatoes, cheese, olives, salsa, and sour cream.  But you can use onions, peppers, beef, black beans, lettuce, what ever you want.

The waffles were fabulous and even better with the fun toppings.

Book review- 11/22/63

So I remember as a young girl watching the start of a ABC Sunday Night movie. I thought it was a kid movie because there was a little boy playing with a boat in the gutter(?) and a clown. Yeah then it turned all freaky and scary and my parents realized I was in the room and turned it off. I later learned it was a movie called "It" and to calm my fears my mom later told me the ending was silly because the bad guy was just a "giant spider". Thanks for that one mom. 

That was my first encounter with Stephen King and I never wanted to meet him again. I will admit to having watched a Shining mini-series about 15 years ago but that was it.

Funny thing is I consider Mr. King to be a very talented writer. I have read excerpts of many of his novels for various classes throughout high school and college. Yet the idea of the evil clown and giant spider still kept me away. I know his stories, who doesn't? They have become cultural staples but I still wouldn't read him. I knew my imagination and I knew his writing the two never should meet. 

Then I found his latest book at Cost-co and it sounded intriguing. A book about time travel and going back to save JFK. I have to admit I have a weakness for time travel books and an even bigger weakness for change history time travel books. I downloaded the first few chapters onto my kindle and I was hooked. I checked it out from the library, only to have to return it a few weeks later still unread. Finally I was able to get it again and after two renewals finally had time to pick the book up and read it. I read the book in three days. 

The premise of the book is simple. There is a wormhole that leads back to 1958. At first this wormhole is used to buy cheap meat but then the finder (Al) realizes that he could change history. The interesting thing about this wormhole is every time you enter it is the same day, you "reset" history. Despite his best efforts to stop the Kennedy assassination, he develops cancer and doesn't make it to 1963. Instead he recruits a friend to do the job for him. 

Jake wants to make sure it works and tries changing an event where a family was killed. He goes back. Stops the killings and then returns to the present to see how it effected his time line. When he sees all is good he decides to give it a go and save the president. 

Now there are points where this book drags. Heads up the Kennedy Assassination doesn't even take place until around page 820 of a 900 page book. I wanted the story to move a long and hurry the pace at times but it did make this journey more believable. I was drawn into the life and found myself, like Jake, wishing to stay forever. The problems of the late 50s early 60s are not glossed over but life is presented in a very real manor. I loved this story. I was loathed to see it end. I felt the resolution was perfect and I was grateful that it had a bittersweet ending. 

Despite my love for this book I don't think I will be picking up anything else by Mr. King. He made sure of that when he slipped in the part about a killer clown...thanks, I appreciate the nightmare stalker the last few nights. I wonder if it too will be followed by a giant spider.




Note- The language in this book is well, there is a lot of it. If you don't like that stuff stay away, you will not find this book pleasant. 

Mommy brain karma

Before I got married I was always very shocked by the absent minded mothers I met. I was surprised that they couldn't remember very simple things. I mean how could you forget your child's name or the glasses sitting on top of your head?  I could (and still can) rattle off high school friends birth dates and phone numbers. My memory was nearly flawless and I was proud of that and knew that when I became a mother that I would never have problems like this.

Yeah, ever heard of something called karma?

It all started during my pregnancy. I started forgetting my student's names. Names that I had memorized and not forgotten the first week of school. I chalked it up to the fact that I was tired all the time. Little did I know that was just the start.

I have lost bottles, only to find them in the sink where they belong ten minutes later. I have misplaced credit cards, to find them sitting my wallet. Yeah mommy brain has sunk in. It has only seemed to grow worse in the past few weeks. Let me give you a few examples all from this month.

I attended my neighborhood cooking group the other night. I had an enjoyable time and when it was time to go I picked up my few dishes and said goodnight. I walked across the street to my car and loaded the dishes in the back. As I sat in the drivers seat I put the key in the ignition and turned. The car didn't start and the wheel seemed to lock. I adjusted the wheel and tried again, still no purring engine. I went on with this game for five minutes. It was then I started to notice little things. Like the fact that my breast cancer pink ribbon didn't hand from the mirror.  James' name card had disappeared from the dash board and the car seemed much cleaner than I remembered it being.  I turned around and there was clincher the back seat was empty, missing two carseats. Yes, I had gotten into the wrong car. In my defense the car was also s silver CR-V parked near feet from mine.

Later that same week I was calling a new babysitter and leaving our phone number to call back and I forgot the number. Me. I can remember every phone number I have ever had. I remember every work number I have had. I remember friends from elementary school numbers. But there my mind went blank. My message sounded something like this: "Hi, this is Natalie Bradley from the ward. We need a babysitter on Thursday. You can reach me at 801....um. um. I think I just forgot my number. Um call me on my cell at" you get the picture. I had to ask my nine year old four times that day what our home number was because I plain old didn't know.

One last moment of mommy brain karma happened two weeks ago, about a week after the first two incidents. We had been at a birthday celebration at my parents and had finally rounded up the kids and were on our way home, this was of course after twenty minutes of trying to cajole the kids out the door. We were strapped in and had left. Half way down the street I hear from the back seat, "Hey where is Eve?" Sure enough our six year old was no where to be found. She was still playing with her cousin, blissfully unaware that she was the latest victim of mommy brain.

Thanks karma. Thanks.

Recipe- Fresh strawberry cake

For his birthday James asked for a strawberry cake. So I whipped up this little baby-

I know that it looks like a five year old's birthday cake but you can make it look nice by using rounds and filling it with the puree.


It was pretty simple for a "from scratch" cake and it was delicious.

Ingredients

• 24 oz  frozen  or fresh strawberries, hulled (if frozen, thawed)
• 2 tsp sugar 
• 1/4 cup milk, at room temperature
• 6 large egg whites, room temperature 
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cup flour, sifted
• 1 3/4 cup sugar
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 12 Tbsp unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened 

Instructions

1. Slice the strawberries and toss with 2 tsps of sugar. Let them sit for a couple hours. 
2. Puree strawberries in a food processor or blender and puree.
3. Reserve cup puree for the cake. 
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare pan.
5. In small bowl, combine puree, milk, egg, vanilla and mix with fork until well blended.
6.  In bowl of stand mixer, add sifted flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and mix to combine. Continue beating at slow speed and add butter. Mix until combined and resembling moist crumbs.
7. Add liquids and beat at medium speed for about 1 minute or until full and evenly combined. 
8. Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (time will vary).

I used the left over puree in the whip cream frosting and it was fabulous.