A Tribute

I wish I was one of those super cool ultimate bloggers that had a 'Tribute to 2007'. I'm not... but I will tell you exactly what this year will remembered for... for me...

3 things:

1. Bryson (born 1/7/07)
2. F L O R I D A (PA School wifey)
   
3. Regi & Keri (and other 'rock solids' that I endear)

I get a happy/joy feeling when I reiterate '07'. Yes, and now I am starting to feel that mushy overwhelming feeling that I am secretly extremely blessed, life is utterly fantastic, and that I need to HOLD ON TO IT! But I will resist being over dramatic and just unreservedly enjoy it.

'08 is looking pretty good. Job... paycheck... ya, things are really getting exciting.

Happy New Year!

If I had the energy I'd post about:

• the infomercial I saw this morning at 5am on the Shark steamer mop. I'm SOLD!
• the Honker (big huge swan) that nipped me in the knee last week.
  
• the fact that it has not escaped my attention that not matter how warm it is inside the house the toilets seats will unassuredly be ice cold. (Unassuredly is not a real word, is it?)
  
• and other stuff that I don't have the energy to write.
  

( :

Just a few of my thoughts...

• Does "Auld Lang Syne" make anyone else cry besides me?
• Has anyone else showed up to the airport the day before their flight was supposed to leave?
• Why haven't I seen "National Treasure II" yet?
• Could I just know ahead of time exactly what day I'm going to get the flu?
• Why is this tiny little zit making my entire neck hurt? Who gets zits on their neck?
• My playlist has got to change.
• It's freezing here in Utah and my blogweather says it's 51 in FL tonight. Hm!
• I predict that Alana's Oreo chocolates are going to be fantastic.
• I can't wait to get doped up on NyQuil tonight? (Did I say that outloud?)
• Has anyone else tried Tylenol Serious Cold & Flu? That stuff is AWESOME.
• I consistently spell awesome wrong about 50 percent of the time. (awsome)

It is a totally insane hour for me and I have a serious head cold. These are not optimal blogging conditions.

Welcome to the land of bloggers, Lane.

Too Frequent Blogger

Because of all my cooking posts I've been googled a lot lately. So I figured I better post a link to Mormon.org in case anyone happens to 'pass through' and discover the truth. How fabulous would that be?

Oh, and yes, I do realize I have become one of those too frequent bloggers. Five posts in one day? Embarassing!

Paula Dean's 2-Layer Pineapple Upside Down Cake

I thought this cake looked really neat so I tried it. I'm a little upset about the fact that it's not entirely flat. It didn't taste good enough to post the recipe - Sorry. (The Missionaries did like it, though).

Next cake? Paula Dean's Chocolate Malt Cake. Yea! Can't wait.

Next coveted cooking tool: a huge oversized cake spatula.

Updates!

First of all, Alyssa referred me to an absolutely FABULOUS Christmas card design website... Custom Holiday Cards. It was exactly what I was looking for.

Also, I found Texas Roadhouse's Ranch Dressing Recipe online. They have one of the best Ranch Dressings I've ever tasted. (I have the feeling I may have just committed multiple grammatical errors.) Anyway, here's the recipe. I haven't tried it yet and honestly... it doesn't look like it would taste anything like Ranch but try it I will.

3/4 c mayonnaise
1/4 c buttermilk
1/2 t garlic powder
1/4 t cayenne pepper
1/4 t freshly cracked black pepper
1 dash dried minced garlic
Mix well and refrigerate

Exquisite Christmas Cards

I've received some fabulous Christmas cards in the mail... When I open them the design is so exquisite that angels brake forth in singing. When the song is over and the chorus is done, I look and study inquisitively for some sign of what company was used to portray such merryment in so exquisite a fashion. I never find such logo. I'm looking for an online Christmas Card company whose designs are unique, classy, trendy, modern. If you know of such company and have said knowledge, please divulge.

Confession!

They're playing Celine Dion's concert "A New Day" in surround sound at the Regal Theatre tomorrow. I want to be present for it.

Christmas Preferences

Wrapping Paper or Gift Bag? wrapped wrapped wrapped

Real or Artificial Tree? Artificial, prelit. (with some pine spray, of course)
When do you put up the tree? Thanksgiving weekend
When do you take the tree down? The day after New years while singing the song, "I cry the day I take the tree down".
Do you like eggnog? Love it, especially spiked (with Cherry 7up)
Favorite gift you received as a child? Pink radio.

Do you have a nativity scene? A stuffed animal one but I'm on the hunt for the perfect displayable one.
Hardest person to buy for? Dad
Easiest person to buy for? Bryson
Worst Christmas gift ever received? Coal! Just kidding, I was never a bad girl.
Christmas Cards - Snail mail or e-mail? Snail mail forever.
Favorite Christmas Movie: Home Alone II, Scrooge, It's A Wonderful Life
Favorite Christmas Show: Nothing comes to mind.
When do you Christmas shop? All year long.
Have you ever recycled a Christmas gift? NEVER... that I can remember.
Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Decadent Chocolates
Clear lights or colored on the tree? Clear
Favorite Christmas Song: Feliz Navidad
Travel at Christmas or stay home? There's no place like home.
Can you name Santa's reindeer? Never forget them.
Angel or Star to top the tree? A big beautiful star from Crate & Barrel. Or a homemade doily angel. ( ;
Open presents Christmas Eve or morning? One present Christmas Eve at 10pm, the rest Christmas morning.
Most annoying thing about this time of year? Impatient drivers
Shopping at the mall or online? Online forever. The mall is for window shopping, lallygagging, and not really getting anything done.
Decorate outside or inside? I wish Dan was here to make the tiny little palm tree right outside my apartment look like temple square. Then I would stand out there and hand out passalong cards to all the onlookers. ( :

Favorite Christmas Decoration: Oranament holder from Crate & Barrel that Bryan got me for my birthday last year.
Favorite Christmas cookie? Sugar Cookies forever. I have the best ever recipe courtesy of Heidi Russell.
Do you own Christmas-y clothing or jewelry? No but I would like to aspire to that.
Do you believe in Santa? Do you?
If you could have a single Christmas wish for you and you alone, what would it be? That it would never ever ever ever end. JK! That currently is too hard of a question.

Other things that I REALLY like at Christmastime...

Going to the movies, the Christmas Hymns ("Hark the Herald Angels Sing" always makes me really emotional), the bags of peanuts & candy at the Oak City Christmas program, caroling, a blazing fireplace, sledding, and hot hot chocolate.

And Don't Forget Dessert...

Penny gave me some Peanut Butter Balls the other day and I held her hostage until she gave me "The Recipe"...

Keri's Chicken Enchilada Soup

This was FABULOUS! I'm sure it has nothing to do with the pound of velveeta that's in it.
Click here for the recipe.

I Am Truly Blessed

I would really like to have a moment where I just sit down and think... "I have done everything I ever dreamed of accomplishing this very day... everything I needed to do, everything I wanted to do... and now I'm perfectly content to just sit here and see what comes my way." Has anyone ever had a moment like that IN THE HISTORY OF MANKIND?

There's always that nagging list at the back of my mind of not even things that I NEED to do but things that I WANT to do... digital scrapbooking, itunes, online photo album, the biography of George Washington, Paula Dean's Pineapple Upside Down Cake, .... 'The List' refuses to leave my mind. It just hangs out there waiting for that opportune moment when everything is done and it's time to relax to spring to the front of my mind and make me feel an urgency to get to work on all these things that I want to do. (That may have been the longest sentence in the history of mankind.) Can I not just be satisfied with a clean house and dinner on the table? No, I have to have a billion hobbies, a billion undread magazines, a billion websites to check out, a billion untried recipes, and a billion things to blog about.

I am truly blessed to have this concern.

Hankstown comes through...

A fabulous find by the folks at Hankstown (aka cousin Natalie & hubby Brian)...

www.whatshouldireadnext.com.

After finishing reading the Twilight Series my friends and I were perplexed, dumfounded, lost... in a sea of 'what in the world could we possibly read next'. Well I typed in the magic words on that website and here are the findings...

Vampire Kisses - Ellen Schreiber
The Alchemyst - Michael Scott
Blue Is for Nightmares - Laurie Faria Stolarz
Ironside: A Modern Faery's Tale - Holly Black
13 Little Blue Envelopes - Maureen Johnson
Jackaroo - Cynthia Voigt
The Darkest Hour - Erin Hunter
Darcy & Elizabeth: Nights and Days at Pemberley - Linda Berdoll
Shattered Mirror - Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
Wicked Lovely - Melissa Marr

Results look pretty good if you ask me! HeeHaaHaaHaaHaa (scary laugh)!

Yay for 73

My cousin, Anjanette, posted 100 random facts about herself for her 100th post and I was riveted through the entire thing. Somehow I find it extremely fascinating that she drinks pickle juice (or maybe it's the fact that she admitted it), irregardless (sorry, inside joke from 'Mean Girls'), it's fascinating. So I thought instead of waiting for my 100th post, I would celebrate my 73rd.

1. I secretly fear how long this might take me...
2. I secretly love my hideous green carpet because I can spot a cracker crumb a mile away and then can't rest until it is destroyed. Hence, always vacuumed carpet.


3. I wish I could play the piano like nobody's business. (I secretly think I can and want to own one to prove it to myself). ( :


4. I say 'secretly' a lot... and will continue to do so.


5. I'm an "Air Quoter" but I feel it helps me express myself.


6. I'm an 'all or nothing' kind of girl. It's never a marathon, always a sprint.


7. I hate running and I blame it on my body type.


8. I really would like to find a happy place where I can be satisfied with my hair color.


9. I secretly wish I could look great in a pixy cut.


10. I love having inside jokes and can't stop them from showing up in my blog posts.


11. I'm extremely fascinated with anything miniature.


12. I never want to learn to ride a unicycle.


13. I never want to start my own business.


14. I'm fascinated with sifting flour. A flour sifter has become my new, coveted cooking utinsel.


15. I'm intrigued by Ben Franklin and can't figure him out.


16. I like Engelbert Humperdink because my dad listened to him on our trips to Oak City.


17. I'm not a car person... I just want a really nice sound sytem in it.


18. I've never met a car place I could trust.


19. I secretly really REALLY love my new blog background.


20. I do not intend to deny that I spend too much time in bloggerland.
21. I do not intend to deny that I should be more frugal.
    
22. I do not intend to deny that Bowen watches too much TV.
23. I have had a movie star crush on River Pheonix, Keanu Reeves, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Mat Damon.
    
24. I think Nutcrackers are creepy.
25. I have seen the movie "It" by Steven King. A grave mistake.
26. I used to dream that I was a 'Little'.
    
27. I'm a scaredy cat.
28. Did anyone love Junior High?
29. How did Anjanette come up with 100 things to say?
30. I sacrifice environmentally savvy practices for conveniences.
31. I've been on the constant verge of buying 'green' bags to use at the grocery store instead of plastic bags.
    
32. I want the front of my fridge to look like cupboards.
33. I think it would be so cool to build little passage ways and secret 'play rooms' in our house.
34. Owning a pool scares me to death.
    
35. I, like Anjanette, never go to bed with dirty dishes in the sink.
    
36. Painkillers are my friend.
37. I feel like I've been born again when I get to go to the grocery store without my kids.
38. I don't understand how some people go without internet because they can't afford it. I would get rid of my TV before the internet.
39. I find I enjoy sitting a lot more as I get older and older.
40. I have no desire to ride in a horse and carriage. Somehow it's just not romantic to me with all the 21st century cars blowing exhaust in your face.
41. I want a copy of the declaration of independence on my wall.
42. I feel a constant urge to copy words of hymns down in beautiful script and frame them.
43. I'm afraid that Bowen might be really smart and that I'm supposed to be doing something about it.
44. I would be happy with a new purse every month
45. I would love to read my mom's journals.
46. This is the first year in 4 that I haven't had a Christmas relapse in July.
47. I'm going to buy the 'Bourne Ultimatum' tomorrow and pay too much money for it.
48. I have a special dislike for dogs that I give myself counseling for.
49. My favorite meal used to be Pizza, Nacho Cheese Doritos, and Pepsi Free.
50. If I could, I would eat all the crunchy edges of the lasagna everytime.
51. Why is it that the little Pizza restaurant in Savannah, GA had the best ranch I've ever tasted and why haven't I found a 'best ever' ranch recipe yet?
52. I think most wrapping paper is not cute.
53. You better bet I'd have a cleaning service if I could afford it.
54. I'm too lazy to think of 19 more things...

Ben Franklin

I'm about to make an extremely powerful and profound statement about my assessment of Ben Franklin... I just really don't get him! Of course he... founded the first circulating library, established the first hospital in North America, invented the glass armonica, the odomenter, bifocals, the franklin stove, refrigeration, overhauled the postal system, discovered electricity, was a french diplomat, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and a member of the FreeMasons. But what I really don't get is all his work on perfecting himself... striving to lead a 'good and honest' life when in reality he left his wife for years at a time (try 15) and stayed with a widow and her daughter in England (who I can only assume was his mistress). He didn't attend two of his daughters' weddings, wasn't there when his wife died, published 'half truths' about the Penn's because of his dislike for them, and appartently had quite a large ego. Perhaps I should read his Autobiography and maybe that will give me some insight.

I love how I think it's a great accomplishment to read these 130 page sterling biographies that are written for 8th graders. But I do learn a lot AND they're aesthetically pleasing (which is very important).

Chocolate Creme de Menthe Cake

Funny Story: I made this cake for the Ward Christmas Party tonight. I'm determined to make every recipe in Paula Dean's Holiday Baking Magazine (a checkout line impulse - worth every penny). I've never made a successful 3 tier cake before (many attempts) but somehow this one looked beautiful and made it to the party. About 1 minute after I put the cake down on the table a sweet little boy came and knocked it over. There it sat, face first in the pretty little Christmas tablecloth. Yes, it was sad... for about 2 seconds... and then it was instantly hilarious. We salvaged it and then devoured it. It tasted FANTASTIC! Here's the recipe for your baking pleasure.

He Walks!

I read the "It Couldn't Be Done" poem to Bryson (see below) and I think that's what finally gave him the courage...

Documented first steps: Nov.29th, Evening

A Poetic Crush

"It Couldn't Be Done" by Edgar A. Guest

Somebody said that it couldn't be done,
But he with a chuckle replied
That "maybe it couldn't," but he would be one
Who wouldn't say so till he'd tried.
So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn't be done, and he did it.

Somebody scoffed: "Oh, you'll never do that;
At least no one ever has done it";
But he took off his coat and he took off his hat,
And the first thing we knew he'd begun it.
With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
Without any doubting or quiddit,
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn't be done, and he did it.

There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure;
There are thousands to point out to you, one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you.
But just buckle in with a bit of a grin,
Just take off your coat and go to it;
Just start to sing as you tackle the thing
That "cannot be done," and you'll do it.”

Edgar A. Guest is a genius. I have a poetic crush on him (sorry, inside joke).
I'm dying to get a complete collection of all his poems.

You're only 27 once!

For my birthday I did something I NEVER do... I curled my hair. You're only 27 once, right? And since this is something that never happens I decided it had to be documented...
Here's the back.


And here's Regi and I documenting my actual birthday day.

That night (from the picture above) we ate Tator tots (my fav), spinach dip, Keri's Lil' Smokies, icecream, and watched Hairspray (after a couple hours of girl talk, of course).