Something Better

"In each of us there is at Christmastime something of our childhood. We all revel in the fun of Christmas—of giving and receiving tinseled presents, of singing favorite carols, of feasting on goodies we never miss at other seasons, of gathering together as family and friends, all having a wonderful time.


"But there is something else, something better, and that is to sit together as families and read again the fascinating story of the birth of Jesus, who was born in Bethlehem of Judea." 

-Gordon B. Hinckley, 1994

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thankful for:

"There is no habit, no addiction, no rebellion, no transgression, no apostasy, no crime exempted from the promise of complete forgiveness. That is the promise of the atonement of Christ." Boyd K. Packer - Ensign, Nov. 1995, 20

Happy Friday!

photo courtesy TrombaMarina

How Do You Feel About Twilight?

I'm bringing it up because, as you probably know, tonight's the movie premiere. I pretty much forgot, but legions of bloggers reminded me today. So I'm curious--are you one of the legions? Will you guys be lining up at midnight? Will you see the movie at all? Did you read the book? Did you like it? Do you have no idea what I'm talking about? (As for me, I'm not going at midnight. But I did read the books. And I am going to the movie this weekend. I'm prepared to be unimpressed.)

Personal Responsibility

"There’s one responsibility which no man can evade, that’s the responsibility of personal influence. It’s what you are, not what you pretend to be, that [matters]."

-David O. McKay

Mysteries and Chips

I'm always wanting to blog about the books I'm reading, but I'm too intimidated by the thought of writing a BOOK REVIEW (oooh, scary!). But then I thought, why should it have to be long? So let me introduce to you...the 30-Second Book Review.

Peppermints in the Parlor by Barbara Brooks Wallace

This one is so good. It's juvenile fiction, so it's a really quick read. And it's a mystery--sort of a mild version of Lemony Snicket (I only read the first Lemony Snicket, though. Too depressing.). Anyway, it's funny, and mysterious, and scary in an elementary-school way. Loved it.

---

And now, on a totally unrelated subject: I had the best chips ever last night. A little spicy, but besides that, they're delicious--they kinda taste like ginger, soy sauce, chili, and lime maybe?

Kettle Chips Spicy Thai

Six Quirky Things

Melissa tagged me. But I don't know if I can think of six quirky things...I'm just so normal! Not.

1. I stole this one from Melissa--we've been best friends for a long time, but we're so different. We don't like any of the same things. But our husbands are like twins--they're exactly the same. It's so weird.
2. I read a lot. A LOT. I don't know why. It just happens. I've actually slowed down a bit lately...I'm down to about one book per week. I don't know why that is, either. Hmm.
3. I used to be a total slob. I'm not totally organized now, but I've gotten a lot better. I think it happened after I had Little Boy--I just realized that it was my responsibility to "make" our home, and it became really important to me.
4. I don't like to wear socks or shoes. Unfortunately, I live in a very rainy place, so I can't go barefoot as much as I want to. Wet feet would be even worse than shoes.
5. I'm Mormon. Is that a quirk? You decide.
6. I love dishes. Doesn't that make me sound so domestic? Maybe I should say this: I love weird-looking dishes. Anyway, I'm not allowed to buy them--no room in my kitchen or my budget. But I do spend a lot of time gawking at them.

So...those six things don't sound as quirky as I thought they would. Or maybe I'm just so quirky that I can't even tell anymore. Hmm.

What's For Dinner?

This is my favorite bean soup recipe. And lemme tell ya, I've tried a lot of bean soup recipes. I think it originally came from iVillage.

Three-Bean Chili

Ingredients:

• 3 T olive oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 c boiling water
• 1 (14 1/2 oz) can crushed tomatoes
• 4 T tomato paste
• 2 (19 oz) cans black beans, drained
• 1 (16 oz) can pinto beans, drained
• 1 (16 oz) can navy beans, drained
• 1/2 t oregano
• 1 t salt
• 1/2 t cumin
• 1/2 t chili powder

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a pot, add the onion and saute for several minutes, until soft. Add the garlic and saute for a few minutes. Be careful not to let the garlic burn.
2. Add the water, crushed tomatoes, and tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes.
3. Mash 1 can of the black beans by hand or in a blender. Leave the rest of the beans whole and add them to the pot.
4. Add all the spices and cook on a low flame for 30 minutes, stirring every so often. Serve.

I don't really "do" onions, so I used onion powder. Also, you can use whatever beans you want with this recipe--just make sure you use the same amount and mash one can's worth.

Video Monday: Monster Clown Edition

I know, this video is all dark and orange-y. Our camera is old. That's my excuse, anyway.

So this was on Halloween. Isaac and Little Boy are pretending to be monsters--which is actually something that happens a lot around here. Silly guys.

Happy Weekend!

more animals

Fall Project

I'd like to say that this is my latest project and I just finished it, but that's not true. I finished it probably a month ago, and I've been meaning to post about it ever since then.

Sorry about the photo---our living room is really dark.

When I got this, it was covered with fabric I didn't like. So I had to rip off the old fabric, which was hot-glued to the back of the board. Then I got some fall-ish fabric from the bargain rack at Walmart, pinned it on so I could take it off easily when the season changes, and pinned on some cardstock for pockets. Then I hung it above my desk and voila! 

Decorative and useful.

Photo Tuesday Extravaganza: Apples, Pumpkins, Pirates, and Clowns

Last week was a busy week. Here we go....

My mom took us apple picking at a local farm. I had never picked an apple before. Lame, I know. But in my defense, I have picked other fruits. Just not apples. Anyway, it was fun.
Little Boy was a little uncertain at first. It was his idea to get in the cart, though.


See? Farm. I don't know how big the farm is, but it looked...big.


All done. We only picked the one bucket-ful. Little Boy was so cute---my mom, my sister, and I would pick the apples; then we would hand them to Little Boy and he would run down and drop them in the bucket. He loved it.

On the day before Halloween, we went to my mom's house to carve pumpkins. Actually, my sister carved a pumpkin and Little Boy colored a pumpkin.
 
Here he is, Sharpie in hand. I was smart enough to put an apron on him, but not smart enough to notice his exposed sleeves. D'oh! Anyway, he colored all over that thing. It was awesome.


Isaac helped get the other pumpkin started.


These are the finished products. Nice, huh?

And then...there was Halloween. I posted earlier about not trick-or-treating, but we did dress up. For fun, I guess. Little Boy dressed up as a clown this year, just like last year, but in a different clown costume. Look:


This is last year. He wore Isaac's (and Isaac's brothers') old clown costume from when they were little tykes.


Arrrrrrrrrrrr. This year, Little Boy wore the clown costume that my siblings and I wore when we were little. How's that for family traditions? And from both sides of the family! But Little Boy did not just dress up as any old clown....


...he dressed up as a clown...that golfs. A golfing clown.

That wasn't really part of the costume, but he carries that putter around with him all the time. He wants to be just like his daddy, who is also a clown that golfs.

Happy Sunday!

photo by Travis S.


"It is something to supply clothing to the scantily clad, to furnish ample food to those whose table is thinly spread, to give activity to those who are fighting desperately the despair that comes from enforced idleness, but after all is said and done, the greatest blessings that will accrue . . . are spiritual. There is more spirituality expressed in giving than in receiving. The greatest spiritual blessing comes from helping another."
-David O. McKay
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Church Quote of the Day


 Three-year-old girl: "There's Sister Cook*!"
Girl's mom: "Mmhmm."
Girl (pointing to Sister Cook's husband): "And there's her grandfather!"