Happy Anniversary to Us.

It is our tenth anniversary today.  Happy Day.  Okay, so we didn't go on a tour of Europe like my sweet friend did.  But, we were lucky enough to spend the weekend together, while Bj's parents watched our little ones.  We went to the temple, went out to dinner, got Cold Stone ice cream, and went to a movie.  My favorite part about the movie thing was...it was my idea, we never go to movies.  I thought it sounded so fun to get a big tub of popcorn, and a soda, and just pig out and have fun.  Well, after such a wonderful dinner at Spice Bistro, there was no way we could pig out.  Plus, we are OLD.  I never knew it, but we are old.  As we were deciding what movie to go to, the deciding factor was time.  We couldn't make it to any of the 7 o'clock movies, so the next one's were 9, 9:30, and 9:45.  We could barely stay awake so the 9 show it was....it was Nim's Island.  It was pretty cute, but it was definitely not what you might expect for an "anniversary movie."    So, the next morning we woke up....sans children.  That was nice, especially because our dear ones have been waking up at 6 every morning.  Okay....on with the fun.  We went to breakfast at Jerry Bob's, yes that is the real name.  Funny.    Then we went on this wonderful hike.  Bj printed out a bunch of geocaches...because he loves to go geocaching.  He mapped out the area and said this hike was about 8 miles roundtrip.  That sounded okay to me.  So, off we went.  We are pretty sure we might not be the brightest people in the world, we started at about 10:30....right as it is getting hot.  Silly us.  We hike, climb up a mountain, keep climbing up the ridge of the mountains, climb down a little, climb up another mountain, go down again, climb up another mountain, start coming down again.  At this point, the bugs are eating us up.  The only sound I could hear was buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.  There was a crossroads (no we didn't have a map), take an unknown trails, or keep going on the one we were on.  The trail we were on, looked like it was going up yet another mountain, and the other trail seemed to continue to go down and out.  Well, after deciding the hike was going a little crazy, we took the short cut.  After all was said and done, the short cut was 8.14 miles.  Hmmmmmm, I think our first estimates may have been off slightly.

So, Happy Anniversary to my one and only.  Bj truly is the best man I know.  There are some who may think this is not true (yes, you Denise...hee hee hee).  But the man I know is so kind, dear, and tender.  He is always looking for ways to take care of me.  At the end of the day when I finally sit down, he always brings me a nice drink.  I feel so blessed that we both have similar values.  I feel very blessed that he lets me win every fight.  Of course, I am always right.  For being such a "strong" man, he is so good at saying "sorry."  What a great quality, and one I could learn from.   The best part about Bj, he loves me.   He is my best friend.  I love laughing at/with him.  I love just talking to him at the end of our day, and I really love it when he talks back.  He is the best.  I love that he is always willing to pitch in.  He will clean whatever I tell him to!  And when we go camping, he cleans up the whole mess.  He is great.  I would never trade him in for another model.

Here are some pictures from our hike.  We certainly live in the desert.

I thought this was beautiful.    There was a geocache hidden nearby.

Bj reminded me we should have pictures.

Look at all those saguaro cacti.

Here is part of our hike. We are on the top of the mountain, yet it keeps going up.  How?

What are we going to have for dinner tonight? 

 Filet Mignon Roast, Wild Rice, Spinach Salad, and for dessert?  Sour Cream Banana Bread.

Beef Tenderloin

 In and electric fry pan brown the roast in 1 cube butter.  Turn the 

heat down until it is just simmering/sizzling (around 200-250 degrees).  cook

at the low temperature for 1 -1.5 hours.  Internal temperature should reach 120-160 degrees. Take roast out, let rest.  Get some mushrooms, and cook for 2-3 minutes in the juices.  Pour over sliced roast, and serve.  Yummy.

quilt giveaway

Hey go to this blog, and enter you might just get a quilt.  All you have to do, is click on the word blog, in my first sentence.  That will send you to Simplify web page by thimble blossoms.  Then, you have to leave  a comment on her blog, and she will enter you into her contest.  Good luck to us all.

brownies

I  have been thinking about how wonderful some other blogs are out there in "blogland."  What do I love about blogs?  I love finding new ideas, new patterns, new everything.  So, I thought I would share something we have tried lately.  It is brownies in a muffin tin.  Why do we love these little morsels?  Well, we love them because everyone gets an edge, and everyone gets an ooey gooey middle as well. Now, of course, if you only love the middle, you should go ahead and keep making brownies in the 9 x 13 casserole dish. What else is great about these brownies?  They bake in about 12-15 minutes.  That is awesome!  Also, they are great when you are having a little party, then you don't have to cut them.  I got this idea from my sister in law 

Denise, but she used the super little muffin tins (I don't have those in my possession).    So, the directions.  Simple, make brownies according to the box (if you have a homemade version you love, use that).  Spray your muffin tins with the flour baking spray, it makes a HUGE difference.    One box of brownies will fill 24 muffins.  Yes, it is true, 24.  The first time we tried it with just 12, it worked, but they slightly overflowed...and the cooking time was longer.   I use an ice cream scoop, and fill it about half full.

Now, bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes, test the middles for doneness.  Wait about 10 minutes for them to cool (or 5 minutes if you just can't wait).  Now, turn the muffin tins over onto wax paper, or a cooling rack.  Voila!  You are done, and so are those great brownies.  I love how easy these are!

Okay,  I thought I would put in a picture of my latest quilt I finished.  This quilt is for a cute friend in my ward.  She is having a little boy, probably at this minute.  I have about 3 other quilts that are in production phase right now, and about 15 on my mind.  This has been a fun process for me, but quilt designs have kept me up at night. How weird is that?

Here we go AGAIN.

So, I can't let it go.  And I can't find a name.    Here's a new list of names, ideas.  Tell me what you think.

Kicky Fresh Designs

Studio B designs (others have this name, but none in my industry)

Square One Designs  (again, I have found others with this name as well)

I know I am struggling.  Who knows.  But I have been working on a bunch of designs, and now all I have to do is not be sick for 3 days in a row so I can make some progress.

Okay, I have also been addicted to surfing blogs.  Bj thinks I am slightly silly for being amazed at the talent out there in the world.  I have been blown away by the creativity of so many people.   I have found beautiful photography, amazing quilts, fun stamps, great toys, etc......It is so fun to know that there are all these people out there in the world.  It is also pretty great that the internet is here, and can introduce all these things to me so easily.  So, what are some of my favorite sites. Some are blogs, and some are just websites....but oh well. Here you go:

Thimbleblossoms

Make and Takes

Design Mom

Pioneer Woman Cooks

Crazymom quilts

Becky Higgins

Chockylit

Seasons by Summer

Artichoke ink

Sweet Papery

Harry

Harry Potter.  Welcome to our home.  

After working very hard to finish reading the first Harry Potter book, Madeline and Mitchell were so excited.  It has been well known in our home that we have to finish reading the book before we can see the movie.   One year has gone by since we started reading the book.  Of course, in that time, we started, stopped, started again, stopped, etc..  This last time the kids were actually interested (probably because one of their friends can't stop reading the books....they'll trust her, not us).  So, Monday night for FHE, we watched 1 hr of the movie, and then they had to go off to bed.  No late nights on school nights...but we couldn't wait for the weekend.  So, last night we finished watching the movie.  Let's just say that maybe we won't be watching Harry Potter and the chamber of secrets.   Madeline was so scared, but she wouldn't say she was scared, just that "this is weird."  She was cracking me up.  She kept running out of the room when it was too intense, and I loved every minute of it.  I totally do the same thing. Ha ha ha.  

On the first night Mitchell was breaking my heart and making me laugh at the same time.  As we watched Harry, Ron, and Hermione going to school, I thought to myself...."How could anyone send their little ones away to school, they are too little, they need their moms?"  Just then Mitchell said  "that would be so cool to go to Hogwarts."    I said..." Wouldn't you miss me?"  He said...."No, I would have an owl, plus...I would come home in the summer."    

uhhhh????  What? My six year old already wants to move away from home.  Crazy.

Gratitude

I have been thinking about my gratitude for science a little more often than I would like to admit.  I am so grateful that I live in this day and age.  I am grateful that we have made leaps and bounds in our medical advancements.  I am grateful that there are crazy people out there to test, fail, test, fail, and every now and then find a solution to a problem.  I am so grateful for scientists who want to work with snakes to find a cure to a snake bite.  This is all to say, I am so grateful my baby is alive.  I may sound slightly dramatic, but it has come to my mind again and again, that if this were 80 years ago, the story wouldn't have ended as well.    I keep looking at her little finger that is still swollen, and realizing that she is here because of research and doctors.  There are other situations in life where we can imagine that childbirth "may have" killed us, or if we didn't have antibiotics, what would happen.  But, I know, that without that antivenin my baby would not be with us now.   That has been very humbling for me.  I truly feel so blessed to live in this day and age.  I have my Elizabeth.

Great Strides

This last summer we learned that my wonderful friend (Katie Curtis Stevens) from my "school" days has a child with cystic fibrosis.  Honestly, I had to do a little research to learn about cystic fibrosis and to see what it really meant.  After I read about it, I was horrified.  The life expectancy is so low, I think it is about 37 right now.  But, years ago, it was in the 20's...so science/doctors are finding solutions.  Our group of friends has a website to stay in touch, and after all of us felt so helpless, we decided to just DO something.  So, we found the Great Strides program.  We are going to participate in a walk that raises money for research to find cures/helps for CFF.  So, June 7th, at Seven Peaks in Provo, UT will be the day for us, and I am sure it will be a blast to meet all together.  I have a goal of raising $500, and if and when any of you want to help me reach my goal please go to www.cff.org/great_strides/SarahBisel.   If you want to learn more about Cystic Fibrosis go to www.cff.org:80/AboutCF/, and if you want to learn more about sweet Lauren, please go see our blog.

It has been very inspiring seeing all my friends work together for a greater cause.  I am amazed at the energy we can muster when there is something like this to get us into gear.  As we all get older, I am amazed at the trials that come our individual ways.  But, I am even more amazed at how well each of my friends have conquered their own trials, and how well the rest of us work to back each other up.  I have been very blessed to have such fantastic friends who love, share, work, and cry together.  go KJAM!

House of DOOM!

That is the new name for our home.  The House of DOOOOOM!  Yes, it is true, our family seems to be hit by the "unlucky" bug.  We had a little "drama/trauma" before the rattlesnake, then the rattlesnake bite (seriously this biggest deal), and now the flu. But not just any flu, the crazy flu.  Bj had a fever of 103.5 (he likes everyone to know, that temp was taken in his ear, so his temp was probably 1 degree higher) for about 3-4 days.  Seriously, nuts!  Now, we are all sick except our sweet Madeline, and she is constantly in our prayers so she may escape it. Bj was the first culprit, he came home sick on Wednesday, and he is still sick today (even though he is back at work because we can't use that many vacation days for sickness).  The rest of us became sick and we are all hoping to get better soon.  I am ready to get back to real life.  I think March '08 will go down as the March from @#$%!  Oh well, as I have been reading my scriptures lately I am reminded of what real trials look like, and even though I feel like I have been through some this month, big deal!  Others have it so much worse, and truthfully, we are very blessed.  We have food, shelter, the gospel, and each other.   We are blessed.

But for all of you who live close to us, stay away.  Save yourselves!