Wednesday, April 30, 2008

my three day Mustang


my car is coming home tomorrow- and i'm happy to get it- but i must say, this car was SO FUN to drive!

i'm just giving you a little peek at my cottage... after the spring maple seeds fall, followed by the rains...not two or three weeks later my rain gutters begin to grow 100's of trees.
after they reach 6-8 inches i get up there and pull them out.
funny enough, i feel awful about it. i hate killing this beautiful life.
but honestly, i don't my little gutters could support it!
i did take a gallon sized bag of these plants to my 4-5 year old class and then taught them about seeds. we also planted some seeds into planters: garden beans and radishes.
we'll keep a journal of the growth.
and at the end of the day, 25 maple trees headed out my door- potentially ending up with their roots in the ground.
i hope so!

Friday, April 25, 2008

passover, matzah balls, and rugelach

there is an obvious commonality here- but also- if you know about each of these- you know that one does not belong:

all of these are related to the Jewish culture.

Passover (this year Pesach, the Hebrew word, was April 19th) and Passover Seder- 'Seder' is a Hebrew word for order, organization. This festive meal is organized so that all of God's commandments (mitzvot) are observed.

Passover is reminding the believers of the Exodus from Egypt, as told in Exodus 12:13-14.

Matzah (there are a variety of spellings of this) balls are then a part of Passover because they are a flour-less type of bread- if bread can be called that without the flour! often matzah balls are served in a soup, can be the size of an orange or, more common, the size of a golf ball. they are considered to be a 'comfort' food.

Matzah is known as both the bread of affliction (for the bread that kept them alive as they served as slaves) and as the bread of freedom (the slaves fled so quickly toward their freedom that they did not have time to wait for the bread to rise.)

Unleavened bread that is eaten during Passover is rich in symbolism.

rugelach is a scrumptious pastry- that may be filled with a chocolate or fruit filling. what sets rugelach apart from the others, is that it is made from flour, and thus not a part of the Passover celebration.

my girlfriend brought some chicken noodle soup with a matzah ball to me for lunch this week, along with a few rugelachs.

she is christian, her husband jewish. they observe both cultures as much as possible- so when passover arrived, she asked her husband about making rugelach, forgetting about the flour. he made them for her anyway. they are such a cute family!

i enjoyed both the food she shared~ and that they led me to look a bit further into this celebration!

Chocolate Rugelach Recipe

DOUGH:
7 ounces (200 grams) butter
8 ounces (250 grams) cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour

CHOCOLATE FILLING:
1 tablespoon cocoa
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup grated bitter-sweet chocolate
butter, melted

TOPPING:
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar

PREPARATION:
1. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and cream cheese together. Add sugar and vanilla, and mix until smooth. Add flour and mix lightly. Refrigerate dough for an hour or more.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
3.Divide the dough into four balls. On a floured surface, using a floured rolling pin, roll one ball out into a circle until about 1/8 inch thick.
4. In a small bowl, mix the first four filling ingredients together (cocoa, cinnamon, sugar, grated chocolate). Spread some melted butter on the center of the circle. Sprinkle the chocolate mixture on top.
5. Cut the pastry into pie-shaped wedges. For bite-size and nice looking rugelach, the thick end of the wedge should about an 1 to 1 1/2 inch wide.
6. Start at the wide edge of the wedge and roll the dough up toward the point.
7. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Place each pastry, seam side down, on the paper.
8. Brush each pastry with the egg and sugar.
9. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden.

TIPS:
1. Using too much filling leads to messy looking rugelach.
2. A pizza cutter makes it easier to cut the dough into pie-shaped wedges.
3. If you don't want to use parchment paper, you can spray the cookie sheets with non-stick spray.
4. After rolling the dough up and placing on the parchment paper, you can stick them in your freezer. When you need fresh rugelach, take them right from the freezer into the oven and add a few minutes to the baking time.

ah, hail

i'm in the throws of hail damage... to my car, my home's roof and some siding, too.

the car has been checked off the list~

state farm has drive in productions to estimate damage; they concluded that i needed 3k worth of repairs.

i then found a place that estimated lower and i took it. (of course i dropped that i work with the city... and that i'm a single mom...) i hoped that all of this would work for me, and i believe it did.

my car looks great- they are detailing it next weekend, too, annnnnd i was asked out for an italian dinner. (they took out all the little dings, too)

all this to turn around and turn my car in to pro care collision to replace my back bumper. i backed out of sonic with my .32 ice water and rear ended another gal who was parked.

two rear bumpers cost $1200.

my deductible is $100.

and then there's my roof- and the siding- to the tune of about$5200. after my deductible.

my insurance company in one week has paid out around $9400.

no one there has asked me out to dinner. lol

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

bluebonnets!


i found a field of bluebonnets and made plans to take pics- although the sun and wind weren't friendly, i thought that a few turned out great!

tay and em have theirs in the sidebar slideshows.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

happenstance


***The following exchanges below are included to explain my picture***
Dear Bro. Truman M***,

I thought you might like a copy of these photos- i know our family will treasure them!

It was a day to remember, being at Carthage once again. Years ago my grandparents were assigned as missionaries to Carthage, and served faithfully and with all their hearts because they love our Savior and they love Brother Joseph.

Having my son with me this time made this occasion even more tender to our family. And then your group walked up and asked to join in.

My father, Ron T***, loves church history. He'll read a book on Joseph over anything but the scriptures. Last year we even read 'Rough Stone Rolling'. But you should know that my dad knew you from across the courtyard because he is such a fan of your work on the Prophet Joseph. You can't imagine the treat it is for him to share that he had the pleasure of meeting you and spending time at Carthage with you and your friends.

Speaking of your friends, you travel with some mighty fine men, don't you?!? how fun it was to get to know them a bit! (and for dad to meet up with Les again)

It was a blessing to our family to hear your thoughts and testimonies- and i wanted to express gratitude for sharing and being so affable with us.

Please forward these photos, if you will, to Bro. G*** and Bro. M***.

Warmest Regards,

Rhonda B***
**********

Dear Rhonda:


A delight to hear from you. And the brethren will cherish the photos. We had no camera along. In two hours we leave for the holy land. We are making a series of DVD's on the life of the Savior.

We are grateful for your encouraging words, your dedicated spirit, and the high privilege of being with you on sacred ground.

Blessings, TGM
*****When we met these men it was a wonderful surprise to our day. Bro Bob G*** happened to mention that his new business partner, Steve Y***, was supposed to have been traveling with the group- but stayed home to attend to his wife's broken wrist.
i snapped my fingers and showed my genuine dismay for the missed opportunity. :(
Bob then asked if i was a fan... to which i replied, with my ever enthusiastic "since high school!"
He then told me he'd get me an autographed football or photo from Steve. He took every contact info i could think of- lol
and then weeks passed by...
the above emails took place when i sent Bro. TGM a copy of the pics we took at Carthage of our group.
and then yesterday- i came home to a package from the Forever Young Foundation. Inside was the above football.
i was alone. Happy Dance!!!! Happy Dance!!!! who do i call????
so i called mom and dad and they made me promise to post this.
oh- inside the box a card was included:
"Ms. B***,
On behalf of Bob G** and Truman M***, we would like to give you this autographed Steve Y*** Football.
Best Wishes,
Stephanie (who is his event person for the foundation)
She included her card with her cell number hand written upon it.
so today... happy dance!!!! :)

Monday, April 14, 2008

Happy Happy 8th Birthday Kimmy!!!

you are such a beautiful, sweet girl and we're so excited that you are getting baptized!
we love you!



Paul and Dana C** are thrilled to announce
the birth of their new baby boy:
Daniel West C**
Born April 10th, 2008
Weight 7 lbs. 8 oz. 19 1/2 inches


Daniel decided to make his appearance five weeks early, yes just two days after we returned from Utah for Aubrey's wedding. He is obviously a very thoughtful boy, because he patiently waited until after all of the festivities were over to make his appearance. Dana has returned home after an easy delivery. She is thrilled not to be pregnant. Daniel is still in the NICU at *** hospital. He is doing very well. As most of you know, he has Down Syndrome, and a heart problem as well. One of the concerns with the heart problem was his ability to get enough oxygen. They have a monitor on him specifically for measuring his oxygen saturation. He is consistently at the place he needs to be for that, so seems to be managing that very well. He is also regulating his own temperature pretty consistently, another great blessing. In order for us to bring him home, he needs to be eating on his own. This one is not going quite so well. He is a very sleepy boy, and just not that interested in food. Also, the first essential skills: Suck, swallow, breathe, are not very coordinated at this point. But we all try every day.
We would appreciate your prayers for Daniel to be able to eat and come home to us soon, we are eager to have him home.
It is heavenly to hold this sweet baby. We are so grateful to have him.

Love,
Dana and Paul

Sunday, April 13, 2008

BIG Pancakes

while mom and dad were visiting i made the following breakfast: BIG Pancakes served with your choice of cut up strawberries, powdered sugar, butter and real maple syrup. fresh, cut up bananas or peaches or ANY fruit (or combo of) is delish. :)

they are always a hit with my crew- but mom and dad loved them too and asked that i post this recipe here on my blog...

so, y'all... here it goes:

1 cup flour
2 eggs
1/2 c milk
1/2 c water
1/4 tsp salt
2 TBSP melted butter

this mixture doesn't make alot- so sometimes i double (for my crew) or triple it (as when mom and dad were here). if there are leftovers they reheat in the microwave nicely for up to 2 or 3 days.

mix thoroughly.

my stove heats up by numbers- i heat mine on a '7'. that's just above a medium heat.

  • find a BIG frying pan, spray w/pam
  • spread a layer of mixture over entire pan surface
  • be ready to flip when you see the top drying out
  • warm up the other side and SERVE!

my personal fave is- i butter it up and then roll it up- this pancake is like a crepe- then top it with a little (i skip the real maple and use 'light') syrup, sprinkle a little powdered sugar and then top lots of strawberries then add a little banana. it's just yummy. so yummy, in fact, that em makes hers just like mine now.

how's that for a happy sunday post?

Friday, April 11, 2008

i'm here!!!

if you give a girl a minute or two...she'll be sure to write!

right now- i'm all obsessed with how i just cut down two spider sacs that looked to spring open a combined total of 8ooo spiderlings.

this was a youtube moment, missed.

i couldn't reach over the bushes to the sacs that the garden spider placed just outside my bedroom window- so, i grabbed a chair, shoved it in, and found that i could barely reach my scissors to cut the little atttachment that held the sacks for all these months.

but much to my terror- mother spider had also surrounded the egg sac with lots of barely visible web- almost pillow like.

as my scissors cut through that webbing, each egg sac jumped around as if it were alive- and i swear i was about to lose my nerve with each cut.

making matters worse, the bag i brought with me to capture the egg sac was of flimsy walmart variety. there was no way this was going to be a cut and drop procedure!

imagine me cutting, screaming and jumping... over and over.

this is where youtube would have loved me!

anyway- this is my welcome to blogspot post. and now i can't wait to catch up with you all!