My Favorite Monday

If Tib ever had a My Favorite Monday that was made for me, today's was it. My favorite ice cream flavor is Dreyer's Samoas Girl Scout Cookie Ice Cream. Because it's only seasonal, when it's not in season I can be seen scarfing chocolate marshmallow (hard to find in Utah, I must say), or Ben and Jerry's Phish Food, or any sort of chocolate, or if I just have to have some ice cream I'll take vanilla with lots o' toppings. I actually haven't had ice cream for a few weeks- strange for me because I usually have a bowl every night. Maybe I'll actually lose some weig... nah, I'll probably just fill my ice cream void with other things equally bad for me (cookies, anyone?).

Shower re-Cap

Addie was convinced we were going to make/take a shower for the shower this weekend, but I'm happy to report that wasn't on our to-do list. It was so fun to see old friends and chat and eat. I figured I'd share what was on the menu since I had such a dilemma figuring out what to serve.

Cheesy Potato Soup
1 1/2 cups boiling water
3 c diced potatoes
1/2 c. celery, diced
1/4 c. chopped onion
2 T. flour
2 c. milk
1/2 lb velveeta
1 tsp. parsley flakes
1/2 tsp. salt
1 dash pepper
1 chicken bullion cube

Add potatoes, celery, onion, parsley, seasonings, and bullion to boiling water. Cover and cook until potatoes are tender (may have to add water during this time). Mix flour with milk, pour through strainer into soup. Add rest of milk, cube velveeta and add. Heat until cheese melts. Serve (really good in bread bowls).

Spinach Salad with Apples, Avocado, and Bacon

Homemade Rolls
-Put 1 cup milk and one stick butter in saucepan and scald milk over medium heat (as soon as butter melts, it's done- just make sure milk doesn't boil!). Cool milk/butter mixture (I stick it in the fridge or freezer).
-Put 1/3 cup lukewarm water with 1 T. yeast and 1 tsp sugar in shallow dish to activate yeast.
-Put 1 tsp. salt, 1/2 c. sugar, 3 eggs, and 2 cups flour in mixer and combine. Add cooled milk and stir. Add yeast mix and stir until smooth. Mix will be wet. Add dough hook (I'm assuming you're using a mixer- a Bosch or Kitchenaid) and mix in 3 c. flour with the last cup heaping (so more like 3 1/2 cups flour). Knead 10 minutes. (I set my Bosch on low and just let it go for 10 minutes).
-Cut dough in half. Roll half into circle 18" in diameter, 1/4" thick, and brush circle with melted butter. Make 8 cuts so you have 16 triangles. Roll from large end to small end, tucking the point under. Repeat with the other half of the dough. Place on slightly greased pan and let rise. (If refrigerate dough before rising, divide dough in half and put into 2 greased bowls, put in fridge, and punch down when you remove it from the fridge before you roll it out and form rolls).
-Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Brush again with melted butter upon removal from oven.

Hannah's recommendation of Caramel Apple Pie Cheesecake

Yummy night for sure!

Ready

Conference this weekend was great. I'm sure many of the highlights for me were also highlights for you. I started crying in the first session during the opening hymn and then the prayer when the seventy who was praying asked a blessing on the mothers. I think I set a new personal best for how fast the tears flowed. For me right now, better than loving and appreciating the new prophet, better than all the inspiring words, better than the beautiful music, is the feeling I'm walking away with. It dawned on me this morning while listening that my innermost desires are to progress spiritually. This is really what is most important. No holding back, no making excuses, it's time for me to devote a much greater amount of energy to things that really matter. I know that I have a Heavenly Father who desires to come to me, but He can only as much as I come to Him. I'm the one holding back in that equation. I can't wait for the talks to post so I can read them online until I get the hard copy in the mail. I'm sad to see one of the best two weekends of the year already coming to an end. I hope it was a great one for you, too!

Good Days

This Saturday has had a good start, and it bound to be a great day.
-Loving my babies this morning.
-Pat took Addie to get donuts- not what I need to eat, but they are sure hitting the spot.
-I've already run a load of dishes and I'm in full swing of preparation for tonight.
-We met with our friend and fence guy, signed all the papers, and we're getting this party started. Within the next 3 weeks, we should have a fence-hooray!
-T-Minus 15 minutes until the start of General Conference
-Watching Sam take 5 or 6 steps at a time- he's taking off, folks!

Still to enjoy today.
-Two sessions of conference
-Cooking and baking up a storm for tonight
-Enjoying time with some of my old friends
-Fresh flowers in my house to pretty things up a bit.

Hope your weekend is off to a great start with much left to enjoy!

Thursday Again!

Thanks again, Tib, for letting me play along! And keep in mind, these are NOT in order of importance. :)

-Today I'm thankful for tubes. Sam's tubes were successfully placed, and one ear is still infected, but hopefully he'll feel some relief soon with his new tubes. I'm glad it's such an easy process. He's already back to pretty normal, which is great!
-I'm thankful for family support. Pat's parents came and sat with Addie this morning while I was at the hospital. My mom came with me because Pat had to work. It was nice to have all the help I needed readily available!
-I'm thankful for General Conference this weekend. I really need it. There are just times when you need the boost, and I am so excited to hear our new prophet. I need to prepare so I can get the most out of it (which is sometimes hard when trying to keep kids occupied the whole time).
-I'm thankful for old friends and any excuse for a party! This Saturday during Priesthood Session I'm throwing a shower for my old roommate Alison who is getting married next month. I'm so happy for her, and so excited to have a fun party. Now I just need to finalize the menu-aack! Let me know if you have any suggestions for good spring fare. :)
-I'm thankful for Heavenly Father's plan for each of us. When Pat lost his job although it was devastating at the time, we really have come out of it better off financially than we were going into it- a huge shock to us! Our budget is a little tighter now with his new job, but we've gained new perspective about spending and saving which is a good thing. And we can afford to put in a fence and do some landscaping which is extra exciting.
-I'm thankful for two beautiful kids. Really thankful. I can't imagine life without them.
-I'm thankful that the writer's strike is over and in one week from today I get to watch a brand new episode of The Office. Oooh, I can't even express my excitement levels about this one.

How do you spell relief?

T-U-B-E-S. Ear tubes, folks. Instantly, Addie was a different kid. Tomorrow, we'll see if they help Sam. Not that he's an unpleasant kid. Quite the contrary. He's the happiest baby on the block. So much so that when he's not happy, it's easy to tell that something is wrong. And over the last several months, that something has proven to be ear infections. So, off to the hospital in the morning. Hopefully, we'll be back with a great report!

An Ode...

To online shopping. Oh how I love thee, online shopping. I can almost always find a good discount code. I don't have to drag my kids in and out of store after store in search of what I need. Shipping is free more often than not. I can usually make returns in the store so I don't have to pay to ship it back, or occasionally I can ship my returns for free!

Today I did some online shoe shopping. Piperlime sent me a 20% off code that I was itching to use. Then I got a $10 off reward card from using my Gap card. So it was time to stock up on some good casual spring/summer shoes. The loot? Take a look...The last one is for Sam. Nothing too fancy, just needed to restock some basics, although I wish I was buying more fun, flirty shoes, but sometimes you just have to be practical. The two major highlights of this online shopping trip? Saving over $40 on shoes, and shipping them back for free if they don't work. Oh yeah, and Piperlime's packaging is pretty dang cute, too. Little touches like packaging just make me so happy!