Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for excessive spring rains... even though it's killing my roses! My peonies, on the other hand, are doing quite well, along with the lavender and lilies. I onlylost a couple of plants over the winter, so I'm grateful for that as well!

I am thankful for the Olive Garden's new awesome dessert!!!! You have to go try it. It's called "Zeppoli" and is a plate full of chewy sweet fried dough covered in emulsified vanilla sugar, served with warm chocolate on the side for dipping. I know this sounds like a powdered doughnut, but it's not at all! I'm telling you, if I'm ever on death row, this is what I will request for my last dessert..... hmm do you even get a dessert option, or is it just a last "meal"? Technically dessert is part of a meal, right? Hopefully this will never be an issue.

I am thankful for sewing and new sewing machines. Here's a little purse I made for one of our YW who is going to the LDS prom. It was a lot of fun to make, especially the flower detail on the side!

I am thankful for creative friends who graciously share their ideas and time with others. I made this fun cake in Chicago over Easter break and it was a hit thanks to my BFF Emily S. You know, between her, Jackie L., Chelsea H., Stacey H. etc, etc., not to mention my excellent blogging friends, I am sure to become the Korean Martha!!!

Kids' Stuff

Things have gotten out-of-control busy here in the last few weeks of school and I'm feeling uncharacteristically calm. Maybe I'm getting sick or something.

Spencer turned 11 and was awarded his Webelos badge along with his Arrow of Light. It was a very exciting night and we are extremely proud of him. We celebrated with a cake at my parent's house because for some reason he opted out of a party this year. Why ask why, right?

I was delighted to be able to attend "Mother's tea" with Grace at her school and "Muffins with Mom" with Sophie at her school. Here's an excerpt from Grace's sweet letter she presented to me. Ahem, "Dear Mom, I just wanted you to know how much I care about you. I love it when you cuddle with me.... You are so special.... When you comfort me when I am sad I feel special... You're great.... Love, Grace."

At Sophie's school, they made adorable cards with facts about each mother they learned from the various preschoolers. For example, she told them I am 14 years old, with black hair and stand 45 feet tall. I get mad when my children do naughty things (true) and hate to clean up the messes they make (also true). Sophia loves it when I make "tempchi and rice" for her. Hilarious!!!

Oliver has been busy with his drumming. He made the drum line at the high school and is just unbelievable! Someday when we get a digital video camera, I'll post one of him actually playing.

...I didn't mean for this to turn into a bragger list, but there's just so much to brag about!!! I know, gag, Renee. he he

Why?

Why do the hair product companies make the shampoo and conditioner bottles look almost exactly the same? Actually, they do look exactly the same when you're in the shower and have steam and water in your eyes... and WHY, when there is a 50/50 chance of picking up the correct bottle, do you ALWAYS pick up the other? Why?

I need a nap.

Full Props to my Funny Friend

OK, so I'm sitting in Relief Society on Sunday, bumming throat lozenges and suddenly my BFF Stacey H. walks up to my seat. She says, "I have a present for you", and puts something in my hand. I look down and what do you know.... two brand new packs of CERTS with Retsyn! I gasp like a geek, and ask where she found them. Apparently, the Dollar Store still has them in stock, so I will be heading that way this morning! Eureka, people!!!

Celebrate Good Times, C'mon!

Did you know???April 20th is National Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Day?

Here is a most delicious recipe for a very old fashioned, simple cake your family is sure to love! It's from one of my favorite cookbooks, Better Homes and Gardens, and turns out pretty and perfect every time....

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

cake:

11/3 C flour (I use half all purpose, half wheat)

2/3 C sugar

2 tsp baking powder

2/3 C milk

1/4 C soft butter

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

topping:

2 TBSP melted butter

1 TBSP water

1/3 C packed brown sugar

1 can of pineapple slices

some maraschino cherries

-Preheat oven to 350. Combine flour, sugar, and baking powder. Add milk, butter, egg and vanilla. Beat on low speed til combined, and then on medium speed for 1 minute. Cut out a piece of wax paper to fit the bottom of a 91/2 inch baking pan. Spray the bottom of the pan and put the wax paper in. Then mix your butter, water and brown sugar. Pour into the pan over the wax paper. Arrange your pineapple slices and cherries to make a pretty pattern in the pan and spoon your batter over top. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until your toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes and invert onto a plate.

Sooooooo dang good, especially served warm with some vanilla bean ice cream. Perfect for a lunch with the girls or a summer party, or hey, even a Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Day celebration!!! What do you say, let's all make one on Mon, April 20th and the world will smell a little sweeter for it. Woo hoo, we can party like it's 1929!

Thankful Thursday

-I am thankful for spring break and the means to take a vacation.


-I am thankful for Pepto.


-I am thankful self reliant, independent children.


-I am thankful for my dad, who has helped us get to step 7 out of 34, building our ridiculously complicated play gym.


-I am thankful for our last General Conference and in particular, Elder Holland's amazing Easter message from the Sunday morning session. It is the best talk I have ever heard. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpFhS0dAduc AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING

Spring Break in a Not so small, Self Indulgent Nutshell

Off to Chicago we went for Spring Break! First on our agenda, seeing the staircase Scott fell off of in the 5th grade. Miraculously, he did not seriously injure himself, falling from three flights up. What was he doing?........ being a typical 11 year old boy of course!

We then toured Cantigny park and museum in Wheaton. It's a lovely memorial to the "Big Red One" aka the 1st Infantry Division. The kids LOVED it and we all recommend it to anyone interested in American history.

Later in the week, we visited the Museum of Science and Industry in the Hyde Park section of Chicago.

They have an actual German WWII submarine on display! It was huge.

A little R&R.

Little Chicago and the petroleum exhibit.

Thermal imaging.

The Coal mine where I stalked the Korean tourists. I know, creepy.

The baby chicks were the girls' favorite exhibit.

This is the actual car from the Harry Potter movies.

We drove around downtown and got this great photo of the Sears tower. Pretty cool! Oh yeah, I feel a song coming on...







"When you're alone and life is making you lonely, you can always go..... DOWNTOWN...."

"If you've got worries, all the noise and the hurry seems to help, I know..... DOWNTOWN...."






Scott's family put together a wonderful Easter egg hunt at his sister's house, and the kids had a great time with their cousins.

Some eggs were easier to find than others!

There was even some time for traditional Easter war games.

Happy Easter and happy Easter baskets!

Spencer was a little disappointed in his loot, but soon lightened up.

-But sadly, all good things come to an end. Pack em' up, move em' out!

Back to our beautiful Tennessee! Ahhhh, 70 degrees and spring.

We had a great time and miss our Chicago family already!!! We love you guys and thank you for a fabulous week.

WwMd?... this.

Isn't this a beautiful cake? I don't think I'll attempt it this year, or ever, but it still makes me smile. Everything is edible, even the fence and rocks. I've always had a thing for miniatures, and the fact that you can eat them makes it even more appealing.

I have, however, made these fun Easter trees out of willow and wooden eggs I found at Dehner Garten Center, a German garden/pet store in Hanau. I'm sure these simple supplies could be found at any American garden store, or craft store like Joanne's or Hobby Lobby.

Doesn't Martha Kostyra Stewart do the darnedest things?!

Happy April Fool's Day, Suckers!

April Fool's Day was one of my favorite "holidays" growing up because I never knew what my crazy mom would do. Many years ago, she called several of the RS ladies in our housing area and told each of them that the other was seriously ill and needed help immediately. She then laughed and laughed as she watched each one run to each others' houses, ending up all sweaty and confused. They eventually figured it out and ended up at our house. I was very stressed watching this go down, but my mom thought it was hilarious. It ended well, thank goodness. Some of her other pranks, not so much.

As I was sewing yesterday, I fell into a period of quiet reflection and thought to myself, "Whatever happened to Certs?"

Do you all remember this candy/mint that seemed to be all over the checkout aisle of the grocery and now, it seems to me, have suddenly disappeared. Maybe because we were in Europe for a while I missed the big announcement, but what the heck?! They were little lifesaver sized candy/mints that had no hole in the middle until you sucked on them for a while. Then you had to be careful because the newly created hole would get a little sharp. Do you remember the winter fresh flavor, that when you crunched into it, made those dynamic sparks in your mouth or the delicious orange flavor, my personal favorite?

Seriously, do you guys know?

I've got the Fever

I am SO looking forward to the few outdoor projects we have planned! Hopefully we'll get to at least one this spring, but even if we don't, it's been so fun getting ideas from my BFF Martha.

One of the things I want to do, is put on a pergola. Our backyard is bit of a wind tunnel, so umbrellas or awnings are a bad idea. Plus, I think pergolas with some kind of flowering vine growing up it for shade is not only practical, but pretty.

Now let's take it a step further! I thought about stringing some pretty icicle light underneath, but I like these ideas better. You can get really nice decorative outdoor lighting at Target for your umbrella or deck cover-(above), (below)-Martha actually used jelly jars as hanging votives. So cozy and beautiful!!! Also, you could use the bug repellent candles to keep from getting bit or crawled on. This really is a craft ANYONE could do.

Here's the link to learn how: http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.3a0656639de62ad593598e10d373a0a0/?vgnextoid=4301608f8532f010VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default&backto=true

Another idea from my Martha archives is using fake flowers and Christmas lights. Take a standard string of green Christmas lights and string them under your umbrella, pergola, porch cover, or whatever you have... you could also use this as a table decoration. Then brake off one of the fake flowers you picked up at the Dollar store (so cheap) and pull out the plastic stamen. Push the center of the flower through the small bulb and repeat until they're all done. It's really pretty, like a vine from heaven. -OR a luau.

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!