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September 4, 2009
I remember my Aunt Brenda had a wall in her dining room dedicated to my cousins' various art projects. I always thought it was so cool that she would display pictures of scribbles, deformed chickens, stick figure families, and other stuff only a kid could interpret for all to see. So when Pearl brought home her first art project from school I knew I had to find a spot somewhere to hang it. Thus, began the start of Pearl's art wall in our sun room. I love looking at it from the kitchen and as we bustle in and out of the house. We have a spider from Halloween with googly eyes, a cute St. Patrick's Day clover, Valentine's Day heart, Easter eggs, Mother's Day card with Pearl's hand print on it, shapes turned into Pearl and Daddy, a life-size cutout of Pearl when she was 18 months old, and other things. As of this afternoon, we added a new piece of artwork to the wall... a picture of our house and tree (lower left hand corner).
September 3, 2009
"Games = Dates = Fun" was the email message I got from Jeff with the 2009-2010 Aggie sports season schedules attached. The flag is up in the front window and yes, we are now season ticket holders for both the football and basketball seasons. Jeff has been eagerly awaiting the start of six months of Aggie sports season or as he calls it, six months of weekly, sometimes double weekly dating with his wife. I will admit that despite a new coach and more promising future (perhaps a win this year?), I didn't share in Jeff's enthusiasm for tonight's' "battle of the brothers" game with the UofU. Thank heavens for the Internet so Jeff could watch the game... and for a little girl was just as excited as her dad. Pearl knows our "game day shirts" and understands that we go to Logan to #1 attend USU basketball games and #2 visit family. Pearl kept saying "go Aggies, go Aggies" all evening and plopped right down on Jeff's lap to watch the game with him. When the fate was sealed, the doorbell rang and our excited UofU fan neighbors had the traditional tray of victory cupcakes. For five years now, they've brought over cupcakes to rub it in our faces that our beloved Aggies lost. For a few brief moments during the game, we thought we might have to make a run to the grocery store for cupcake supplies. Sadly, we get to eat these delicious treats (which calls for breaking the 365 rules and posting the picture of the victor's, well loser's, spoils).
September 2, 2009
I confess, that while Pearl and I were playing at the park with friends, Jeff was home slaving away over seven quarts of tomatoes. The man is FRIGGIN amazing ladies! He bottles all our produce, including homemade grape juice. Left to me, that sink of tomatoes would have gone bad before I got around to doing anything with them. Jeff, however, turns them into bottles of beautiful stewed tomatoes, with spices, green peppers, and who knows what other heavenly ingredients he throws in there. Seriously, this picture doesn't do them justice or the wonderful smell in the house. Jeff's only flaw? Forgetting the lemon juice and having to start over again with only 5 minutes of steaming left. I wasn't sure if he was angry or grateful when I walked in the door and asked if we had had enough lemon juice to put in them - no one wants to get botulism after all. Needless to say, one hour later we had seven quarts of yummy tomatoes!
September 1, 2009
I know my sister is going to kill me for posting this picture, but I thought it was so cute! Kimmy and Nick (and Juno too) came over tonight to make chocolate chip cookies. I think we all wanted an excuse to not do our homework - oh wait, just Kimmy and Nick wanted an excuse for that - and to eat the most delicious chocolate chip cookies ever. We had a pizza picnic on the front lawn then the baking began. Poor Nick was trying to do some homework but between the blender, gabbing sisters, my impromptu health care reform discussion with him, and Pearl playing in the front room, I'm afraid he didn't get much done. But we did accomplish a successful batch (or 5) of cookies that I am now regret making because I didn't send enough home with Kimmy and Nick and keep catching myself snacking on them!
Here's the recipe if anyone wants it (thanks to Becky for this one, way back in high school):
Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 cups margarine (cold)
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 cups brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla (I always sneak in some extra though)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
6 cups flour
1 bag of chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cream margarine, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla in LARGE mixing bowl. Mix well. Add salt, baking soda, and flour to mixture (add flour 2 cups at a time then mix) and mix until dough forms. Dough shouldn't be sticky or smooth, but more of a dough consistency. Drop in heaping tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes, just until the bottoms are slightly golden brown. I like soft cookies, so I will bake them until the tops just barely, and I mean barely turn a golden brown. Let cool and enjoy!
Makes 5 dozen cookies, approximately.
August 31, 2009
Everyone has their own unique way of eating corn-on-the-cob. Me? I like the typewriter approach, eating corn in a left to right fashion then spinning it and starting again. Jeff likes the circle approach where he eats in one spot all the way around the ear, then moves right and proceeds again (at least I think that's how he eats it... last time I paid attention to him eating corn-on-the-cob that's what I thought he was doing). And my grandpa can serious suck every single speck of corn off the cob - his ears are the cleanest I've ever seen. But Pearl, well she approaches corn-on-the-cob with more of a random gnawing approach. She'll pick it up, bite one end, spin it around and take a monster bite from the middle, then flip it and nibble a few rows until we are left wondering if she actually ate enough to get full. It's really quite funny to examine up close at the aftermath of this summer treat.
So how do you eat your corn-on-the-cob?
August 30, 2009
Horrified. Totally horrified. That's the way I felt when I saw another girl walk into church wearing the EXACT same dress I was! And it's not like it was a new dress... Jeff gave it to me as a birthday present like five years ago! Urghhh...yes even us old, frumpy women fear the embarrassment of wearing the same outfit as someone else. I kept hoping no one had noticed by when she sat three rows in front of us, it was pretty obvious to those sitting around us that I was avoiding all eye contact with anyone. Jeff kept turning his head from me to her and laughing! Luckily he saved me some serious embarrassment by warning me to not go in the nursery room to get Pearl because this other lady (pathetic that I didn't even know who she was) was in there too. I kept wishing Jeff would whisper in my ear that I looked better in the dress but it didn't happen and still, a day later I'm getting teased about it. Guess it was the last time I'll wear that dress again.
