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.