Holy Toaster Strudel!

My children fought for almost 12 hours straight yesterday about who stole the "Toaster Strudel" breakfast pastry. There were accusations and alliances made... crying and gnashing of teeth, resulting in an early bedtime and possibly a broken toe (mine). Unbelievable!

I should have recorded it and sent the highlights to Pillsbury. They would have been very impressed and maybe even hooked me up with some coupons or a commercial contract. Yeah, that would have made it worth it. Not.

Sunday, March 22, 09

I taught Relief Society today, (The ladies meeting at church) and my lesson was based on President Monson's talk, "Finding Joy in the Journey". One of my favorites! Here are a couple of quotes I wanted to share and record for my own benefit!

"Our realization of what is most important in life goes hand in hand with gratitude for our blessings. 'Both abundance and lack of abundance exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend... when we choose not to focus on what is missing, but are grateful for the abundance that's present- love, health, family, friends, work, nature, and personal pursuits that bring us [happiness]- the wasteland of illusion falls away and we experience heaven on earth.'"

"We will never regret the kind words spoken or the affection shown. Rather, our regrets will come if such things are omitted from our relationships with those who mean the most to us. Send a note to the friend you've been neglecting; give your child a hug; give your parents a hug; say 'I love you' more; always express your thanks."

"Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved!"

That last one really got me!!! I am so grateful for this talk and for the opportunity I have to teach. This was a gentle reminder to keep a proper perspective by having gratitude for all that I have. Tonight, as I look at my children sleeping, I fall in love again for the 10000000th time, and am amazed that I would be blessed to be their mother! It's also a reminder that my Heavenly Father loves me and knows my needs/wants. Finding joy in the journey, I believe, has everything to do with gratitude to our Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ. I don't know what I would do or where I would be without faith in the Gospel plan.

Eating Light...er

I love salads and am so excited that spring is here and the weather is right for eating light! One of my favorite things to do is test recipes and either keep them, dump them, or more often than not, tweak them. Here is a really good one that I found in a cookbook Julie P gave me. I changed a few things, and included a delicious honey mustard dressing.

Renee's Salad is a Meal:

1 bag mixed salad greens

crumbled blue cheese or feta

2 handfuls of craisins (Ocean Spray is the best)

3-4 chopped green onions

sweet and spicy walnuts

honey mustard dressing

-Layer and enjoy.

Sugared walnuts:

-Make a simple syrup (water and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat) and add a pinch of dried red pepper. Stir in walnuts and stir until the liquid is gone and the walnuts are coated with white sugar. Then put them on a cookie sheet and bake for just a few minutes at 350. Cool.

Honey Mustard Dressing:

1/2 C apple cider vinegar

2 TBSP of coarse ground Dijon mustard

5 TBSP of honey

2 cloves of garlic, crushed and minced

1 green onion minced

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 C extra virgin olive oil

-Shake it up really well or put it in a food processor. Chill and pour over your salad. This is really good served with crispy chicken strips too! I hope you all try it and like it.

Happy Spring Everyone!

An Irish Shout Out

What's your favorite St Patty's Day memory?

I only have one. It's my favorite because it's funny, but it's also my favorite because I don't think I have any other memories of this holiday. I take that back, I do have vague memories of being pinched hard all over and coming home really peeved at my Korean mom for not remembering the green! But- I hear they have banned the pinching ritual in school along with "Red Rover" and "Jarts" and most of those metal slides that would burn the thighs so badly when it got over 75 degrees. I actually think it's a shame because we are a much tougher generation for it. We were not about "safety".

Anyway, many St Patrick's Days ago, when my Oliver was in Kindergarten, they celebrated everything Irish with an all out green party. They all wore green (even the Korean kids, Mom) and had cookies and made fun little crafts. All the kids got to make these cute little leprechaun hats and the teacher wrote their new Irish names on the front. You know, like Smith=McSmith, or Davis=McDavis. Very cute.

Well, when Oliver came out, I busted out laughing, because written on his hat was "McFitzgerald". What? Isn't Fitzgerald the quintessential Irish name? I guess they didn't want him to feel left out or something. Goofy.

You know, this isn't really much of a story now that I've written it down. It was much funnier in my head.

Happy St Patrick's Day anyway guys!

Mormon Messages: Why Mormons Build Temples

Here's a beautiful and brief explanation to the question "Why do Mormons build Temples". I saw this on Alice's blog this morning and on the www.lds.org site. -AND, If you want to know more, there's a link on the first page, "About the Church" that offers more information.

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for a girls' night out and chocolate cake.

I am thankful for healthy children that allow for a girls' night out and chocolate cake.

I am thankful for great friends who aren't embarrassed when I say/do weird things... at least they pretend they aren't.

I am thankful for a fat tax return.

I am thankful for the dry Swiffer. The Swiffer and I took a long break, but are happily back together and my floors never looked better. -And FYI, you can take out the middle section of the Swiffer handle and it's the perfect size for small children to "play clean" with.

Top of the Mornin' to ya

I got this idea off Lori's http://bedifferentactnormal.blogspot.com/ blog and think it's perfect for a VT gift or St Patty's Day party or kid craft. All you need is a small terra cotta pot, black acrylic paint, candy wrapped in gold foil (Werthers Original hard candies are my favorites), shredded paper and pipe cleaners.

Paint your pot black and let dry. Then attach the pipe cleaners with hot glue to form a pretty rainbow. Fill with shredded paper and candy. Super cute, right?!

There is Sunshine in My Soul Today...

I was reading the news this morning and came across this article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090311/ap_on_re_us/states_of_happiness

Want to know the happiest state in the country? It's Puketah, ..er, I mean Utah;)

I'm just kidding, geez! I'm not from Utah, but having been a few times, I think it's a beautiful state with lots of fun stuff to do and it seems, a much healthier lifestyle than a lot of other places in US. -It's clean, the landscape is lovely and the people are too. Very nice! But, we should give credit where it's due and thank the good Lord for Gospel standards and the Word of Wisdom, right? It's hard to be happy when your body feels bad! This of course is not to say the W.O.W. guarantees perfect health, or that we Mormons actually live it perfectly (hello meat sparingly), but overall I believe it is a healthier lifestyle and I am grateful for it.

I'm also grateful for Ocean Spray craisins. I love those things!

5 Senses

Mia tagged me on her 5 Senses TagList this morning. I typically shy away from tags because, in my case, they're redundant. I'm notorious for giving everyone TOO much information from the start, so there are never any surprises. I'm working on my filter.

BUT, I've never done a 5 senses tag! You list 4 things you love, and one thing you hate, for each category. Then tag 5 people; leave them a note on their blog so they know. Also, let the person who tagged you know when you post yours.

Smell: 1. Baby Magic lotion 2. Korean food 3. Old Spice deodorant 4. Roses 5. Hate: As stated on my sidebar, morning diaper... it has to be worse than anything in the universe.

Touch: 1. A good quality fabric 2. Warm water 3. Baby hair 4. My kid's cheeks 5. Hate: Dirty floors on bare feet.

Sound: 1. My kids' singing and Oliver's drumming 2. Great music 3. Martha's voice, it's calms me 4. The garage door opening, woo hoo, Scott's home!!! 5. Hate: Backtalk, and not just from my kids. I hate hearing other kids do it too and I hate hearing their parents take it.

Taste: 1. Cupcakes 2. Korean food 3. Water 4. Pancakes 5. Hate: Food that was clearly prepared, frozen and reheated in the microwave... then passed off as restaurant food. Hello, Applebees, Shoneys, Oh Charley's, etc...

Sight: 1. OK, the obvious, I love to look at my children! 2. Well kept farms or gardens... cutting, ornamental, fruit, etc... 3. Old pictures. 4. The temple. No matter where I'm at, when I see an LDS temple, it feels good. 5. Hate: The Racheal Ray show(s). I know it's so mean, but there's something about that girl that makes me cringe and change the channel faster than you can see my hand move.

OK, so here's my list of 5 lucky tags: Janine's Crazy World, The Magonigal Family, A Wynn Wynn Situation, The Dangerous 5, Martha and really anyone else who wants to. If you choose to participate, please leave a comment here. Thanks!

Eureka

The movie rental store is about as depressing as it gets for semi-young Mormon couples, trying in vain, to find some non rated-R entertainment. Scott and I are almost always too tired to go anywhere on Friday nights, so inevitably at around 9:00 or so, we look at each other and say, "Wanna get a movie?" " Then one of us (always Scott) runs to the movie rental place. This is a hang your head in defeat type of activity that ends up with a phone call from him, rattling off three or less appropriate new releases and me being painfully indecisive.

BUT, every once in a while we land a good one.

Here's a movie for all you non rated-R watchers... or all you rated-R watchers... or even porn freaks to enjoy. It's the new Ricky Gervais film, "Ghost Town", also starring the fabulous Tea Leoni and Greg Kinnear. Here's a quick synopsis...

Bertram Pincus (Ricky Gervais) is a man whose people skills leave much to be desired. When Pincus dies unexpectedly, but is miraculously revived after seven minutes, he wakes up to discover that he now has the annoying ability to see ghosts. Even worse, they all want something from him, particularly Frank Herlihy (Greg Kinnear) who pesters him into breaking up the impending marriage of his widow Gwen (Tea Leoni). That puts Pincus squarely in the middle of a triangle with spirited result. Written by Studio Approved Synopsis


OK, so this synopsis isn't so great, but the movie itself is super funny. Funny with a little cussing. I guess this doubles as my Thankful Thursday list too. I am thankful for Ricky Gervais.

Hey Spencer!

Tonight was our Cub Scout's Blue and Gold banquet and I have to say, we have the best scouting leaders EVER!!! Really.

We started off with a pot luck and then the scouts sang the songs they made up with the "A,B,C's of America" as the theme. The boys were so cute and my Spencer earned quite a few pins and a belt loop. He's such a great kid!

Our fearless leader, Trish Bell, always does a beautiful job and is full of enthusiasm and love for the boys. I think every cub scout (and there had to be more than like 25) earned something tonight and were so confident and happy. I don't know how she keeps it all organized plus fun.

So, why am I using a one year old picture of Spencer? Because, once again, my camera was at home, on my desk, out of batteries, useless. Why don't I ever plan ahead?????! Ugh.

That's Amore!

This is another new pasta recipe I tried last night and I love it. I hope you do too!

Ingredients:

1 bag Orecchiette pasta

1/2 lbs Italian sausage

2 green onions cut in long diagonal slices

1/2 white onion diced

1/2 red bell pepper diced

2 tbsp butter

fresh minced garlic

salt for the water

frozen peas

a pinch of dry red pepper flakes

fresh Reggiano

-Boil salted water in a large pot and add pasta. In a large pan, brown crumbled sausage and then add minced onion, bell pepper and garlic. Cook til translucent. Add the pasta to the pan, cooked til al dente, butter, a ladle of the starchy pasta water and a splash of white cooking wine(this is of course optional). Cook on high heat til it's creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the green onion and a 3/4 cup of frozen peas, red pepper flakes and stir. When it's bubbling again, add some freshly grated hard cheese and cook til it's creamy and well incorporated, for a minute. When your peas are warm and bright green, you're done. I didn't have to add any salt or pepper because the sausage was so flavorful, but taste it and see. This was particularly yummy served with some natural apple sauce, soft Italian bread and a little more fresh cheese on top. The spicy/saltiness of the pasta was so delicious with the sweet, tangy, cold apple sauce. Very comforting and very easy. Mmmmm

Mystery Poo

We used to own an old house and were constantly working to upgrade this and remodel that. It was a lot of work, but I happen to enjoy learning how to do handy things. We were also incredibly naive and that helps as well.

On the south side of the house, there was an old side porch, pillars and all. It had a porch swing, ceiling fan and wicker furniture with toile cushions... very southern! I always felt so Martha out there, especially in the summer when the giant ferns were green, the impatiens were spreading and my hydrangeas were getting ready to bloom. You get the picture. -WELL, soon enough we discovered the first of many problems to come. Under one of those pillars was a growing mound of poo pebbles. I didn't know what kind of poo it was, but it was definitely poo.

I assumed for a while it was squirrel poo or poo from a strange sort of bird. So, I cleaned it up, but kept a vigilant eye on the situation. Well, day after day, you guessed it, there was a another mound of poo pebbles and no sign of squirrels or mutant birds. Hmmmm, what could it be?

After consulting my wise old neighbor Paul, I found out our perfect little side porch doubled as a bat house. YEAH!!! So I called the local pest control companies and not only did they not know what to do, they said something along these lines, "You don't WANT to git rid of them bats! They help you by eat'n lots of mosquitoes. Thousands really, every day." What mosquitoes?! Do we have a terrible mosquito problem too??? What the crap? Well, I tried, I really did. For a while we lived in relative peace, but then this started happening.

"Squeak, squeak", scratch, "squeak", thump, scratch, "squeak", etc.

What the? Oh Mary, Mother of...., they're in my walls now!!! I immediately took my plight to the Internet and discovered a humane (not that I cared) way to get rid of my new pets. After you see the bats fly out in the early evening, find their point of entry and stuff steel wool into the hole. Apparently it irritates their skin and they'll find another bat house.

We did it, and it worked. Oh, and by the way, I didn't notice an increase of mosquitoes or any other pest for that matter. What we never managed to get rid of, however, were the giant albino crickets that lived in our cellar. Seriously, they used to stalk Scott which was hilarious... but that's another long story for a slow blogging day.

Now I'm off to torture some birds on my new front porch. Wish me luck!

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for warmer weather and look forward to getting outside and gardening!!!

I am thankful for good teachers who will give a kid a second chance.

I am thankful for a hair straightener that actually works.

I am thankful for nice friends who have fun pets for my kids to play with so I don't have to have one.... a pet that is.

I am thankful for a sweet/superhot pregnant girl who sent me an Olive Garden gift card.

I am thankful for the Olive Garden.

I am thankful for this "design your own fabric" website c/o Lorie http://www.spoonflower.com/welcome and this "giveaway blog" website c/o Janine http://giveawaytoday.blogspot.com/ and this "cupcake purse tutorial" website c/o Chelsea http://bridgetbaxter.blogspot.com/2007/11/cupcake-purse-tutorial.html

I am thankful for good times.

I Love Free

I found these two great links on Yahoo the other day for free clip art downloads via Martha.

The first is a freezer label that can help you identify and date the mystery foods that inevitably get lost in the back or bottom of the freezer. If you're like me, sometimes food get lost in the fridge as well.... I also get really skeeved out at sandwich meat when I can't remember the exact date it was opened. Doesn't it always smell weird?
http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.3a0656639de62ad593598e10d373a0a0/?vgnextoid=9ed9809dc732f010VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default&backto=trueM1000003d370a0aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default&backto=true


The other is for all you photographers. This is a free download that turns your pictures into postcards. I thought it was a cute idea and might do this instead of Christmas cards next year. A lot less wasted paper when you don't have to use envelopes! Plus Grandma or MeMaw, or whatever you call her, will have a labeled picture, and you know they all love that!

http://www.marthastewart.com/photogallery/clip-art-and-templates?lnc=bf89cf380e1dd010VgnVCM1000005b09a00aRCRD&rsc=lpg_crafts&lpgStart=1&currentslide=26&currentChapter=3

John, Meet Ron

We all have a twin, even if we weren't born with one. Case and point: John and Ron. My dad's twin is John Locke from the hit tv show LOST. Since day one, we were all amused and somewhat disturbed by the eerie resemblence, not only in looks, but personality as well.

It's freaky.

John has mad skills that enable him to survive on a tropical island and slaughter wild boar, hunt polar bears and catch fish with no equipment.

Ron does too, plus he can catch flies with HIS BARE HANDS.

John jumped into an abandoned well because "what fun would it be to be lowered carefully?"

I've heard Ron utter very similar words many a time.

John pushed a man into an invisible electro-magnetic fence to "see what would happen".

Ron's been tempted.

John seems to have a deeper understanding of life on the island and life in general.

Uh huh... absolutely.

John is in incredibly fit shape for a man his age.

Ron is in incredibly fit shape for a man his age.

... and so on.

Strangely enough, the two of them aren't alone. Our plumber, Mr. Hisle, is also their "brother from another mother", and possibly Elder Dallin H. Oaks. It's not for sure though.

Do you have a long lost twin?

You all know mine already. Korean Valerie Bertinelli.

What's worth a splurge????!!!

Losing weight was actually one of my more realistic goals for 2009 and so far, I've not done horribly. BUT...

I've heard people say, including my husband, that diets don't work, but I disagree. OK, crash diets don't work, but cutting back a little on calories normally makes a person lose a few pounds, right? The problem I have is the exercising. I don't want to.... and I didn't have to exercise to stay thin until about six months ago. Remember when I posted a bragger list including a "don't have to exercise to stay skinny" boast? Well, since then, I've developed a muffin top and a double chin....so, Touche'.

For about two weeks I was actually working out on a regular basis. Probably because my kids were sick and I was running out of things to do... and the prospect of doing another craft nearly made me throw up in my own mouth. So, I dusted off my tread mill and popped in my old 90's "Firm" videos. Unfortunately, I then fell ill, took a hiatus, and am back to square one.

So rather than dwelling on my lack of gumption, I thought I'd post a whole bunch of pictures of cupcakes. Mmmmm, yummy, yummy motivation.

http://www.marthastewart.com/photogallery/our-best-cupcakes?lnc=&rsc=lpg&lpgview=thumb&showComments=true

This link has the above pictured cupcakes and a bunch of others with the recipes.

My Funny Valentine

It's almost Valentine's Day and I'm so not feeling it! Now that my kids are well, fate has seen fit to hit me not only with what I think is the flu bug, but the UGLY stick as well... just in time for the romantic holiday that is Valentine's Day. I'm a lethargic, fevered, coughing, wheezing, sore, grumpy nightmare and I feel bad for my husband.

So, here's my attempt to compensate. Mindi resurrected this hilarious video on her blog and I hope you like it, Scott!

Feb Visiting Teaching

Last week our Visiting Teaching list changed. I'm so excited to have the opportunity to get to know a couple of new ladies and hopefully be of some service. I really love this program, and also enjoy coming up with fun little goodies to take when it's my turn.

Now, I know you all are probably so sick of seeing my crafts, but for the sake of my own record keeping, I'm posting yet another project. You don't have to comment, unless, you know... you like it and want me to feel good about myself. I'm sick too, did I mention that?

I found this idea on Martha, who I love by the way. Just download the template off her website http://www.marthastewart.com/article/valentine-treat-box?lnc=4ef2dc5bfca40110VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&rsc=showarchive_tv_show-archive and print it onto cardstock. The graphic was a free background I found online and printed. Then you cut it out, glue, fill it with candy,tie a ribbon and tuck the VT message in. I thought it would be a cute way to introduce myself to the new ladies and also say "goodbye" to the gals that were reassigned.

I swear I'm not a crafty person normally, but this one was really easy and fun.

Here's a recipe for the super easy and semi healthy pasta I made for Mia's shower. You can call it, "Renee is awesome for shizzle pasta".

You need:

1 box of angel hair pasta

1 stick of butter

olive oil

5-6 zucchini

5-6 tomatoes

chopped onion

3 minced cloves of garlic

fresh basil

sugar

salt and pepper

freshly grated Parmesan cheese or any other hard cheese your like

In a large pan, heat 4 TBSP olive oil and saute garlic until it's soft. Add your onion and chopped fresh basil and cook a few minutes. Add zucchini and salt and pepper to taste. When the zucchini starts to sweat and soften, add your tomatoes and salt and pepper again. Cook until it's all incorporated and bubbly. Add a few TBSP of butter to make it creamy and then add a little sugar. Yes, sugar and taste it. Is it good? OK, then turn off your stove and grate as much cheese as you like on top.

In the meantime, drop your pasta into boiling salted water and cook. When it's al dente, drain, but save the pasta water! Then add a couple TBSP of butter and add it to the hot pasta and toss. When it's all incorporated place the pasta on a platter. Add some of the pasta water to your sauce until it's the consistency you like. Salt and pepper, taste, and pour on top of your pasta. Grate a little more cheese on top and garnish with a couple of fresh pieces of basil. You're done.

ps. This is really good with grilled shrimp or chicken breast.