Campbell Soup

Mountain Stroll

2011-10-12T09:00:00.001-06:00

We went on a nice, family friendly hike at Snowbird on the last day before mountain snow was expected. We enjoyed the view and were wondering why we didn't come up earlier in the season.

Blue eyes

2011-10-08T10:39:00.000-06:00

About to dig into a cheese pizza at a pizza parlor in Manti.

It took 45 minutes to order this online

2011-10-04T21:30:00.003-06:00

They were on the Today Show's Steals and Deals and they were 70% off. I went online right away, but their site must have been bombarded. Three times when I added them to my cart (after a ten minute wait for the page to load) I found it had added a different color or size than I had chosen. On my last try it worked, though it still took about ten minutes for each new page to load. I was excited because I was eyeing another pair for $170, but these were a great deal.

Fun at the Fair

2011-09-23T23:14:00.000-06:00

Maisie got to pet and have her picture taken with a tiny baby goat at the fair. She was thrilled and lit up as soon as she was in contact with the little guy. She recently "discovered" animals and is very interested in hearing about all the sounds they make. She can bark like a dog and sometimes meow like a cat. She also got to pet a small cow and sheep, had fun looking at all the animals, and riding down the big, yellow slide with dad.

Decorating Master Bedroom

2011-09-22T23:03:00.004-06:00

I am thinking of redecorating, well actually just decorating for the first time, our bedroom. Here's my ideas. The dressers and tables are close approximations of furniture I already have. The headboard I plan to make from two doors I got at the thrift store for $8 that are dark wood color. The Van Gogh picture I already have. The curtains are already there too. I have pictures to put in the frames (need to get frames), and want to make the sunburst mirror. I also have a similar light fixture from a thrift store, $5. I can recover some small pillows I already have. So maybe I can pull this together for less than $100, not counting the rug. Or new bedding which we really need. If anyone has any suggestions, please share. Especially on color. I tend to gravitate to blues, though I would like to try something else or a new accent color or something.

More garden thievery and Maisie's first haircut

2011-09-16T22:17:00.008-06:00

This time they ripped off my water timer and cut my soaker hose. So I don't think I will be participating in community gardens anymore. The next time I plant a full garden will be on my own land, when I get some. Between this and other shenanigans, I have also had quite a few plants die. Anyway, until I have my own garden, I might participate in some farm sharing. It would probably cost about the same that I spent already, and I would get headache free produce. It also helps local farms.

Look at this sweetie getting her first haircut, and enjoying her first lollipop too. She kept the lollipop in her mouth until the stick disintegrated.

Here is the before. Most of the time this naughty girl would pull off the bows that mommy so carefully put in her hair, resulting in this:

Wow, Maisie, you can see!

She wants her lollipop back.

St. George

2011-09-05T01:43:00.010-06:00

We went on quite a few trips this summer, including St. George, Utah. Southern Utah has the best scenery and I even like the heat. It is an oasis in a very beautiful desert. Here are a few pictures from our trip.

This is us at the St. George Temple. Some kind person offered to take a picture of us so all three of us could be in the same picture for once.

We spent some time on the grounds and let Maisie crawl around because it is beautiful there and they have a great lawn. There are precious few pictures of me, being the photographer and all. Here is one with me and Maisie on my shoulders.

Maisie loves to see the temple.

Not the most flattering picture of me but I like the moment it captures.

We went to Pioneer Park which is a really fun place to climb the Red Rock right above the town. A bride was getting her photos taken. I'm sure the pictures were gorgeous. I had to go to full zoom to take this one. She was really high up there. I have no idea how they kept her dress white during the hike.

Here is Dave wearing Maisie in a hiking backpack. What a cute pair.

We spent some time at the city parks, which are really nice. In the evening the temperature drops down to the perfect level. It was nice to be outside so much.

This was a really laid back trip and was lots of fun. I'll get around to posting about some of our other trips eventually.

Have you heard of Sashiko?

2011-08-13T15:00:00.001-06:00

It is Japanese embroidery. It tends to be geometric and symmetrical. I have become interested in this and really want to do some kind of project incorporating it.

Here's an example.

There is a website that helps you make a pattern, called Japonizer. You choose a pattern, a color, and a size and it creates the pattern for you. I could see making a stencil for a wall, or just an embroidery project of some kind. If anyone has any ideas, let me know.

Homemade ricotta and bread

2011-08-11T06:00:00.000-06:00

I learned that you can easily make ricotta cheese at home. I found the recipe on this blog that I like to read once in a while. I made it for a lasagna. While I liked it in the lasagna, I loved it by itself. After you make it, you will be left with a lot of whey, the liquid. I saved the whey. I really want to try making gjetost one day, but that is a five hour process. Instead, I used the why in bread, in place of water. It was good and it adds nutrition.

Here is the easiest yeast bread ever. Really no kneading or even dedicated rising. Very simple. I have made it about ten times. Each time I change it. I have made wheat and honey, regular white, different oil instead of olive, etc. This time I mixed in pesto, and of coursed used whey instead of water.

I made a "loaf" into foccacia type bread this time with cherry tomatoes on top. It was pretty good. It's fun to experiment. Excuse the lack of fancy presentation in the picture. I think it's just nice to keep it real sometimes and show the grungy pan and all.

Chef Ramsey wouldn't like this presentation. I watched Master Chef tonight. I thought he was relatively nice to the contestants on that show, but they were doing kitchen service and he was swearing and yelling as usual. At least the contestants are more civilized on that show than on Hell's Kitchen. I don't know where they get those Hell's Kitchen people, but they have a vocabulary of pure swear words and they are all very mean to each other. It would be nice to see more uplifting shows on television once in a while.

In preparation for my trip abroad...

2011-08-09T00:35:00.007-06:00

I have seen passport cover tutorials online and I wanted to make one to hold mine and Maisie's passports for our trip to Canada, coming up. I followed the tutorial found here. This one will hold two passports and has extra pockets.

Taken step by step, this was simple to do. I think I used interfacing that was too thick, because once folded it was pretty padded. It didn't help that my sewing machine kept jamming up. That was not the tutorial's fault of course. My machine just needs service. I made a second one with a few tweaks, but had to quit before finishing it because the sewing machine wouldn't sew more than an inch without breaking the thread. Frustrating!

Here it is closed up. I used a piece of rick rack for the button closure.

This is the inside. There are two pockets for passports and two pockets for other things like a driver's license. The patch is a piece of fabric with the selvage still attached.

The passports go almost all the way inside. I just pulled them out to show what they were.

I am excited to use it. I wonder what the border agents will think. We have learned to never make jokes at the border crossing from my mom one time when we drove into Canada about twelve years ago, so I probably won't ask.

Roll up the rim! (Ask my mom.)

Collard Greens

2011-07-28T15:51:00.016-06:00

We grew collard greens in our garden, and today it was time to harvest them. They grew pretty well, except for a few holes in the leaves from some hungry aphids.

First, put on a little music. I found this at a Goodwill store in California during our family reunion at my parent's house. I have wanted a record player for a long time so I was very excited. I also found two matching speakers.

How about "Carmen". Did you know the thrift stores sell records for about $1 each?

Very important step in this recipe... Keep your assistant busy.

Remove the woody part of the stems. Roll the leaves together and cut into 1 inch or so strips.

Add to a pot of water with garlic, seasoned salt, pepper, tabasco, and meat. I usually use ham hock but I couldn't find any and used salt pork instead. Uncovered on medium for 1 or 2 hours until greens are tender but not mushy.

I was going to slice the first ripe tomato from our garden to serve on the side. I went to pick it today and it was gone. Yep, someone took it. Tomato thief! It was upsetting. I picked a few ripe cherry tomatoes instead to garnish.

Maisie likes it.

haiku

2011-05-22T13:15:00.006-06:00

Mr. and Mrs. Smith is a disturbing movie. I saw it first in the theater and I had that feeling then. It came on television today, and I watched part of it. The whole premise is sick. First of all, they are assassins, as in murderers. Secondly, there is a huge scene showing them violently trying to kill each other in their home set against ridiculous upbeat music in an effort to make a comedy of it. They go on to confess all the lies and betrayal in their marriage (basically the whole marriage is lies and betrayal) and unite to kill more people. Awesome. Besides the fact that we are supposed to be rooting for these murderers, the worst thing about this movie is that it teaches that pain is good and normal in a relationship. And all the while the two real life actors were having affairs with each other. This has got to be one of the worst movies out there masquerading as a romantic comedy!

Here's my haiku:

Husband and wife try

to kill each other and more

Do not waste your time

Today I'm going to shock you

2011-05-08T11:58:00.011-06:00

How? By posting.

Look at what I got at a garage sale yesterday.

Vintage suitcases. They threw the baby in for free.

Fish Mush

2009-02-12T18:51:00.006-07:00

This afternoon I went to the grocery store to pick up a few things. They had flounder on sale, so I bought some. Then I googled a recipe for baked fish. It was supposed to look like this...

I followed all the instructions and popped it in the oven for 20 minutes. It smelled good, I was very hungry. The timer on the oven went off, and I eagerly opened the oven, to find this...

At first it was still in fish shape, but when I put my fork in there to test "doneness", it disintegrated. I tested another place only to find it disintegrated also. I don't know what went wrong, everyone rated the recipe as 5 out of 5 on the website.

Anyway, I decided to make toast for dinner instead, which I promptly burned.

Asian Chicken Soup

2009-01-31T19:14:00.002-07:00

This is a recipe I created. Feel free to try it out when you get tired of traditional chicken soup (and when you really want to use your wok for something).

1/2 bunch cilantro
2 green onions
1 T fresh ginger
2 or 3 cloves garlic
2 jalapenos
1 or 2 limes
2 cans chicken or vegetable broth
1 -2 T garlic chili paste
2 or 3 chicken breasts
2 T cooking oil
mung bean noodles, 2 bunches

Coarsely chop cilantro. slice green onions cross or lengthwise. Cut ginger into small matchsticks. Mince garlic cloves or put through press. Mince jalapeno.

Chop chicken into bite sized pieces. Add to wok with hot oil, and cook. Remove from wok and set aside.

Toss ginger, garlic, jalapeno, and a tablespoon or so of the chili paste into hot wok with some oil. Saute for a few minutes. Don't let the garlic get too dark.

Meanwhile soak mung bean noodles in water as directed for about 15 minutes. After they've become softer, add to wok. Pour in a can of broth. Add chicken back to wok. Squeeze lime juice into broth.

Let everything simmer for about 10 - 15 minutes or so. Portion into bowls. Add cilantro and onions to each bowl.

City Quilt

2009-01-22T19:03:00.000-07:00

This is the quilt my mom was asked to design for the South Jordan Sesquicentennial celebration this year. She moved before this ceremony, but we all went as you can see. I made the red and blue sawtooth stars.

Read about it here: South Valley Journal

Mystery solved

2008-12-30T19:42:00.000-07:00

My mystery present was a ukelele! Will post picture later when I get it.

Presents

2008-12-14T11:46:00.006-07:00

Do you see this present? This is the mystery present. This is the present for which I had to hide in the bathroom while Dave brought it in the house. Then I had to stay in the living room while he wrapped it in another room for half an hour. Then he brought it out very carefully and told me not to touch it as it is very fragile. Do you know the very top of the wrapping is slightly open? I could probably peek and get a clue of what it is, but I have resisted. I am excited to open it though.

These are all the presents we (pretty much I) have wrapped so far for our families and ourselves. We still have about 1/3 of the presents out en route to us, as I did most of my shopping on the internet. So far we have used 150 feet of wrapping paper, plus three gift bags and multiple spools of ribbon. I can't wait to give some of these out!

First Christmas Tree

2008-12-06T22:44:00.000-07:00

I think I told Dave as early as August or September that we should have a real tree this year. Because of the size of our apartment and the fact that the ceilings are not quite 8 or even 7 feet in some places, we were planning on getting a tree about 4 or 5 feet tall. We saw some tree lots open up and one of them seemed to have a particularly good selection. We went there and looked around. This tree's needles were too hard, this one has a missing branch, etc.

We finally found a tree that was a bargain, but it was a little over 6 feet tall. I was worried that it wouldn't fit on our car (Dodge Neon) but the guy working the tree lot assured us it would. He threw the tree on top of the roof tied it there in about 5 seconds flat. We drove home carefully.

Once home, we had to pull it up the steep and winding stairs to our front door. We were able to get it in the tree stand, a miracle in itself. It was a little crooked for a while. (Now it's leaning the other way.)

I decorated it mostly myself because Dave was too "tired". But he did take this picture of me.

Ta-dah!!! It may be hard to see, but the tree just barely fits against the ceiling.

We went to Tai-Pan for some of the decorations. Others were from the decorations we used growing up that my mom no longer wanted, and some were antique that my grandmother gave to me. The tree skirt is fabric from Wal-Mart, cut in half to fit.

Super extreme closeup...

Jazz Game

2008-12-05T23:30:00.001-07:00

Tonight we went to the Jazz game. We got three tickets in a box seats from Dave's dad, and invited my mom to come. What amazing seats! I've never been to a Jazz game when they have lost, they always win when I am there. Someone should tell them what a good luck charm I am for them and maybe we'll get free season tickets. This night was no different, they won again. The pictures speak for themselves...

Coldplay

2008-11-22T23:35:00.001-07:00

We went to Coldplay. It was great fortune that Vanessa won tickets to see them by blowing the biggest bubble at the State Fair. However, she was in Florida during the concert, so the tickets went to Dave and I. It was awesome. Of course none of my pictures turned out, and I can't even find them at the moment. So I ripped these ones off a website, they are actually of the exact concert we went to. You can read other people's reviews there. Lindsay and Jeremy went too, and we carpooled together. I will have to find those pictures... I'll post them when I do.

Above: They sang a few songs from the middle of the audience.

Halloween

2008-11-01T09:22:00.001-06:00

This year we were invited to a Halloween party at my brother and sister-in-law's house, Jordan and Kim. At the last minute, I decided to be Hannah Montana. Dave decided to keep in the tradition of Halloween costumes from years past, and dress as a mercenary.

Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake

2008-09-21T10:31:00.002-06:00

Above: As pictured on the Martha Stewart website.

Below: As pictured in my kitchen.
I made this from a Martha Stewart recipe and they turned out really well. Don't forget to line the pan with parchment paper, leave enough at the sides to be able to pull the cheesecake from the pan once smooth. Spray the pan and parchment paper with cooking spray. Blend the filling in a food processor or similar. I used my Blendtec blender. The recipe is here.

Once you lift the cheesecake out of the pan, use a hot knife to cut through it cleanly. Run a large knife under hot water, wipe dry, make one cut. Repeat until all is cut. It looks more professional when you have clean cuts. Place on a tray and serve.

Fireworks

2008-07-05T10:06:00.000-06:00

4th of July at Sugarhouse Park

Drivers in Utah

2008-06-12T10:13:00.002-06:00

Utah drivers are known for their distinctive driving style, making Utah a unique place to travel. We here in Utah abide by different rules than the rest of the country. I have excerpted the Utah Driver's Code of Conduct below...

BASIC RULES FOR DRIVING IN UTAH

1. Turn signals will give away your next move. A real Utah driver never uses them.

2. Under no circumstance should you leave a safe distance between you and the car in front of you, or the space will be filled in by somebody else, putting you in an even more dangerous situation.

3. The faster you drive through a red light, the smaller the chance you have of being hit.

4. Never, ever come to a complete stop at a stop sign. No one expects it and it will result in you being rear-ended.

5. Braking is to be done as hard and late as possible to ensure that our ABS kicks in, giving you a nice, relaxing foot massage as the brake pedal pulsates. For those of you without ABS, it's a chance to stretch your legs.

6. Never pass on the left when you can pass on the right. It's a good way to scare people entering the highway.

7. Speed limits are arbitrary figures, given only as a suggestion and are apparently not enforceable in Utah during rush hour.

8. Just because you're in the left lane and have no room to speed up or move over doesn't mean that a Utah driver flashing his high beams behind you doesn't think he can go faster in your spot.

9. Always slow down and rubberneck when you see an accident or even someone changing a tire.

10. Learn to swerve abruptly. Utah is the home of high-speed slalom driving thanks to the State Highway Department, which puts potholes in key locations to test drivers' reflexes and keep them on their toes.

11. It is traditional in Utah to honk your horn at cars that don't move the instant the light turns green.

12. Remember that the goal of every Utah driver is to get there first by whatever means necessary.

13. If a driver stupidly signals to get into your lane, accelerate as fast as possible so that they can move in behind you. They either don't know what they're doing or are from out of state. Remember, using your blinkers confuses Utah drivers.

14. If you haven't maneuvered into the correct lane to exit, because you are on an important cell phone call, feel free to swerve across 3 lanes without signaling. You wouldn't want to waste the extra fuel by waiting for the next one. Besides, that's why they widened the highway.

15. Whenever in the left lane, drive a few miles per hour under the speed limit and don't move over to let other drivers through. It's your duty to make sure people aren't speeding.

16. Slam on your brakes whenever you see a police officer. It's a good way to warn other drivers that they should all fall in line behind the officer to form a traffic bottleneck. Once he has safely exited, resume speeding.

With this being said, I think this is just too much...

At the range

2008-06-07T12:19:00.001-06:00

One fine Saturday Dave and I decided to go to the range, and we invited Jordan and Kim. Not only did we improve our skills this day, but a passion for firearms was ignited in Jordan that thrives to this day. (hee hee) Of course, Dave has a tendency to share his passion for guns. I was in a gun store with him once and witnessed him sell a customer on a particular gun in about 3 minutes. He doesn't work for the gun store, but they should really hire him.

I asked Dave to caption these photos:

Here we are shooting some great guns, not those pansy hunting guns but good effective defensive guns.
Here's Dave shooting the G3.

Rebecca shooting the AR15, it's her favorite.

Dave shooting the AR15, that target will die.

Kim shooting the AR15.

Top of Jordan's head, with Rebecca shooting the Smith and Wesson 642. Man those are some ugly glasses.