Trying New Recipes

Because of these ongoing health issues of mine (3 ulcers and chronic esophagitis), I have been trying some new recipes with no red meat, more chicken, etc. This one is a definite keeper! I love Rachael Ray, and this was featured on the January 25, 2010, episode of her TV show. It actually has artichokes, spinach, and chicken as well as the penne, but I eliminated the artichokes because nobody in the family is much of a fan (well, I like them but I wanted the rest to eat too LOL). The recipe is found here http://www.rachaelray.com/recipe.php?recipe_id=3180 ... not sure about the rules of reposting on my blog, so I'll refrain. The only change I made was eliminating the artichokes, and I did use 2% milk rather than whole milk or cream because I didn't have those.

Here's a picture ... sorry, it's just of leftovers that I rewarmed, but I'm sure you can see the deliciousness!

 

I give this 4 stars!

Digital Scrapbooking

I really do like digital scrapbooking. I'm woefully behind on ALL my scrapbooking, and one of my goals this year is to try to get a page a week done. Ha ha. Don't fall off your chairs laughing, now! I must admit, only one page done in January, but it's beautiful (I think anyway). I'm trying to learn the ins and outs of PSE 7.0, which I'm fairly new to. I have all the photo organization and editing down (or most of it anyway), it's the bells and whistles that I'm not 100% clear on! So without further ado, here is the layout I finished in January.

As explanation, each fall our church has a Young Women in Excellence Program. This past fall, a member of our ward (Charlene Hardy, website http://chardyphotography.squarespace.com/) took glamour shots of the young women which were then displayed on tables along with their interests and hobbies. She then gave the parents a CD with the pictures on it, so that we could get prints for ourselves. These are some of my favorites of Sarah, age 15 (then, 16 now).

Memory Lane

This is my little trip down memory lane. Thirteen years ago this month, Alan was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Twelve years ago this month, we were sealed as a family in the Seattle Temple. Here are some pictures from that night.

Here is a family shot at home before the baptism. Yes, I was pregnant with Spencer at the time ...
Here's a picture of Alan and I at the post-baptism dinner. We went to Cedars Pier One, I believe. Alan would remember but I will check that detail later.


Here is Sarah with my mom and dad at the dinner. My dad died not quite four years later, so this picture is special to me.


I will post more later ... after I get them scanned into the computer. These are all from "back in the day" when we used film in cameras!

I solemnly swear

That on Saturday (or maybe Sunday) I will get pictures posted of Sarah's birthday (last Saturday), and of the kids' piano recital tomorrow. Sigh. I've been a bit under the weather so that's my excuse and I'm sticking with it.

100 Things I Have or Have Not Done

Copy and paste the words. Bold the things you have done... [comment if you wish...]

1. Started your own blog
   
2. Slept under the stars
   
3. Played in a band
   
4. Visited Hawaii (for our honeymoon; only visited Kauai though and I really want to go back and see more islands)
5. Watched a meteor shower
   
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
   
7. Been to Disneyland
   
8. Climbed a mountain (does the little mountain outside of West Richland count?)
   
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
    
11. Bungee jumped
    
12. Visited Paris
    
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
    
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
    
15. Adopted a child
    
16. Had food poisoning
    
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
    
18. Grown your own vegetables (when I was little; maybe I'll start again next spring)
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
    
20. Slept on an overnight train
    
21. Had a pillow fight
    
22. Hitch hiked
    
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
    
25. Held a lamb
    
26. Gone skinny dipping
    
27. Run a Marathon
    
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
    
29. Seen a total eclipse
    
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
    
31. Hit a home run
    
32. Been on a cruise
    
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
    
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
    
35. Seen an Amish community
    
36. Taught yourself a new language (it was Esperanto and I was pretty good at it for a while)
    
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
    
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
    
39. Gone rock climbing
    
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
    
41. Sung karaoke
    
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
    
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
    
44. Visited Africa
    
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
    
46. Been transported in an ambulance
    
47. Had your portrait painted (in chalk at Disneyland)
    
48. Gone deep sea fishing
    
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
    
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
    
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling (on honeymoon and at St. Thomas/St. John/St. Maarten on a Sea Trek cruise)
    
52. Kissed in the rain
    
53. Played in the mud
    
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
    
55. Been in a movie
    
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
    
57. Started a business
    
58. Taken a martial arts class
    
59. Visited Russia
    
60. Served at a soup kitchen
    
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
    
62. Gone whale watching
    
63. Got flowers for no reason
    
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
    
65. Gone sky diving
    
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
    
67. Bounced a check
    
68. Flown in a helicopter (on the honeymoon; scared SPITLESS too!)
    
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
    
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
    
71. Eaten Caviar (it was gross)
    
72. Pieced a quilt
    
73. Stood in Times Square
    
74. Toured the Everglades
    
75. Been fired from a job (does laid off count?)
    
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
    
77. Broken a bone
    
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
    
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
    
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
    
82. Bought a brand new car
    
83. Walked in Jerusalem
    
84. Had your picture in the newspaper (first time was when I won the "What Christmas Means to Me" essay contest. I think I was 7; then when we got married, the requisite wedding picture)
85. Read the entire Bible
    
86. Visited the White House
    
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (I'm counting fish)
88. Had chickenpox
    
89. Saved someone's life
    
90. Sat on a jury
    
91. Met someone famous
    
92. Joined a book club
    
93. Lost a loved one
    
94. Had a baby
    
95. Seen the Alamo in person
    
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
    
97. Been involved in a law suit
    
98. Owned a cell phone
    
99. Been stung by a bee
    
100. Totally copied a post from someone else's blog to your own (only the items, not the comments!)
     

Star Trek Movie!

In about a week, I will have my very own copy of Star Trek! Yes, I am a Trekkie. Those who've known me a long time already know this. DH and I went to see the new Star Trek movie twice over the summer, the only movie we've seen more than once in who knows how long?! The first time was opening night; we were lucky enough to have a member of Elders' Quorum at church working at a theater locally, so he arranged a late night showing for those who wanted to come. Fun fun FUN! First time I'd been to an "opening night" of a movie in a LLOOONNNGGG time! (I can't even remember the last time. It was probably either a Star Trek or a Star Wars [original trilogy] though.) I loved the new movie. Great action, great way to reinvent the franchise without losing anything of the original series or any of its sequels. *Squee!* We might have to have movie night in the bedroom (we record shows on the DVD recorder/player in the family room on Friday night) next weekend!

More cute Halloween Pics

Here are some more cute Halloween pics of the kids. The first batch is from 2001.


Here's Sarah by herself; she's almost 8 in these pictures.


And Spencer by himself. He's 4-1/2.


And here is a picture from 2002. Sarah is almost 9 and Spencer is 5-1/2. This was obviously the Toy Story year, LOL.

Halloween Past - 1997 to be exact

I have to thank Lisa S. for this one. She posted pics of her girls on Halloween past, and one of the costumes was a pumpkin. So it reminded me of the pumpkin outfit I made for Sarah when she was not quite 4. Spencer was almost 6 months old in this picture, wearing the same baby pumpkin outfit that Sarah wore when she was a baby.

Alan and the kids. Alan has much more and darker hair in this picture than he does now! What 12 years will do to you!! (Including me in that statement!)

This is what Sarah calls her "aren't I so cute?" pose. She did this pose a LOT for several years. Age: 3 years almost 11 months.


And the baby pumpkin, Spencer. Age: 6 months. Cute little turkey ... er pumpkin ... isn't he?!

(If anybody's interested, Lisa's blog is here http://donaldandlisasorensonfamily.blogspot.com/ . Check out her post from November 2 with her darling girls!)

Spencer's Halloween Costume

I think this is Shadow Link? From The Legend of Zelda video games. We don't have any, so I don't know. LOL. But he wanted to do this for Halloween so here we are. Cute kid, eh?!

Luney Lovegood

Sarah wanted to be Luna Lovegood for Halloween this year. She went to a Seminary party/dance on Friday night, and here she is all dressed up. Turned out pretty cute, I think!

The whole look (including Ravenclaw badge) ...



The craziest earrings and non-matching headband we could come up with on very short notice ...


And the shoes ... not red, but hey they ARE Converse! (And notice the purple tights ...)

Happy Fall!!

I know, it's not Halloween yet ... we're NOWHERE near ready at our house either! But I loved this background so I decided to get in the mood anyhow! I love the crispness in the air at this time of year. I love the breezy days. I love the way the trees on our street start to turn and are so beautiful. I am resolving to take MORE PICTURES of this beautiful time of year.

Spencer's first Boy Scout awards

Wednesday night was a court of honor at church, and Spencer got his first Boy Scout awards. He earned four merit badges, his Tenderfoot, Second Class, and First Class patches. We're very proud of our little guy! Plus he looks so darn cute in that scout uniform! Here are some pictures. The first one is Brother Shannon giving Spencer his merit badges. The second one is Brother Shannon, Spencer, me, and DH (who came in from his Webelos group for a few minutes) (pardon DH's filthy jeans. He worked hard and didn't have a clean pair to change into -- bad wife moment LOL.). Of course Spencer didn't want to pin the pins on me, but he did anyway. He also didn't want to kiss me (LOL), but I did snag a hug!

In Honor of 9/11/2001

I changed the blog background. Just for a week or so, so people who might visit won't forget. And so I don't forget, in the hecticness that is my life right now.

I love this country. What's happening to it scares me. A lot. That irritates some people, I know. Sorry. But this is my blog and my feelings and it's important to me to document them. If you're my friend, you'll understand this about me. If you don't understand, then ... the answer is pretty clear to me, anyway.

Always remember how we got complacent and what happened as a result. Always remember that people got complacent again, and we made some choices as a country that are frankly very very scary now. In time we'll be able to fix them. Pray that it's not too late. I do, every day.

Wow ...

Long time no post. Sorry about that! Been a little busy here what with vacation prep and the actual vacation. Back home now and SO glad to be! Apollo missed us terribly even though he was fed and loved by Emily (thanks Emily!). We went to Lincoln City, Oregon, for a week (8 days, actually) with the Noakes clan. Love 'em but sometimes 13 people in one house for that long is a bit much for me. Sigh.

We picked up Sarah's class schedule today. She has a full plate (see her Facebook announcement), but she'll do great. We are very proud of her!

In other news, I see the surgeon on Wednesday regarding my pesky gall bladder. I will update with the news once I get some.

And just because I want to post a pretty picture, here's one of the sunsets from the beach below the house.

My Babies are Back!

Both my babies are home now. Sarah got back Friday about 1:30 pm. She had a blast. The 4th years went on their own hike and campout and she really had fun. She was ticked off when they got back to camp because the younger girls had basically tossed everybody's stuff in the tent and then walked over it to get to their own things. Sigh. Her glasses case got broken; luckily no glasses were in it, and her gray flip flops went missing. She's cranky about those, they were her favorite. But she lived and had fun, so that's great.

Spencer got back Saturday, around 2. They said 5 pm originally, so we had canceled dinner with Gma Noakes thinking he might not be up to it. He was actually pretty bouncy and lively. Talked about the merit badges he worked on and seemed to really have a good time, eating issues aside. Said he had a couple of days where he didn't feel very good. I'm actually thinking from what he said that he might have had some heat issues like his mom. He said he had a headache and queasy stomach and just felt bad. That's what heat does to me. Plus Sarah had a bad cold the week before camp so he might have had a touch of that too. Spencer does colds like Alan does. Two days and then he's done. I hate that. Sarah and I have colds and they last eons. Anyway, he got over it and had a great time, it sounded like. He had money left over and actually did eat better than the scout leader initially thought. There was a camp store and it had snacks so Spencer spent some money on those. Not the best diet but he didn't starve. And he got three merit badges done and a couple more worked on. Pretty good I'd say!

We went to Applebee's for dinner to celebrate them being home, and they both plowed through their dinners. Then we went to McDonald's for shakes, ice cream, and a McFlurry, then came home and after showers we all watched Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. And Spencer had popcorn and a baked potato. LOL.

And today we went to church and Spencer actually passed the sacrament again. The counselor conducting made a point of saying the deacons had been to camp and it was great to see them all there at church to pass the sacrament. Spencer did ask to go home before priesthood, though, so Alan took him home. When we got home he hadn't been to bed yet, so we made him go lie down, and he conked out. We had to wake him up at 5:45 to go to Gma Noakes's house for dinner! So the little guy must have been tired, after all.

And Just Because

And just because it just doesn't seem like a great week unless there's a new Apollo picture, here's one of him in his favorite window spot. Notice the, "I am so tired of you BUGGING me" look on his face. LOL. He has had a reprieve this week with the kids being gone. He is in for it starting Friday though! Sarah gets back first, then Spencer on Saturday.

Explanation of Wordless Wednesday

Yes, that is Alan, wearing a really trashed shirt after working on the Taurus and getting the starter changed out. Yay! I really really appreciate that he knew how to do it and we didn't have to fork over the money right now for a mechanic! He did change his shirt before eating dinner on his birthday.

The second picture is of one of my set of Rachael Ray pans. I LOVE THESE PANS! They are SO easy to use, they heat SO evenly and well, and best of all -- NOTHING STICKS to them! I made sesame chicken with a teriyaki and honey sauce, and you can see nothing stuck to the pan. Love these, love 'em, love 'em! And love that Alan told me they were at Costco and to buy them for myself for Mother's Day!

Wordless Wednesday (late!)

And they're OFF!

I now have NO children at home. For the next FOUR DAYS, then Sarah gets back from girls camp. Spencer doesn't get back until Saturday, though. Wah! I am having a hard time letting him go. I guess because he's the baby? He's never been away from home for this long and I got home from taking him to the scout leader's house and BAWLED! It didn't help that the car wouldn't start and I had to hitch a ride home from one of the other parents. Luckily she'd stayed to say goodbye to her son also. (Thanks Deena!) Alan thinks it's the starter (again), and says it's an easy fix. I hope so. I can't handle hard (or expensive) this week!

I am headed to bed as soon as I publish this post. I'm exhausted (basically NO sleep last night), and my head is threatening a full-fledged migraine. Bleck. Night all ... earplugs are going in and the nightgown is going on!

Blah Blah

I'm not having a great couple of days. I'm tired, stressed out (who knew preparing a 12 yo for his first Scout camp was such HARD WORK!?!), tired ... did I mention tired? I haven't slept very well for the past what, three nights now. I'm headed for a serious nap in a couple of minutes. Alan's home and I'm gonna crash for a bit. He and the kids can handle Papa Murphy's for dinner and then they can wake me up for Jeopardy! (maybe ... maybe I'll tell 'em to DVR it and wake me up for Eureka ... sounds good!). One thing I've accomplished is making the invites for Mom's 80th birthday celebration. I'll put one below so you can see what I've done. I have to get the envelopes addressed and mail them this weekend. One more thing!