Make A (Food Storage) Meal

I got this can freeze dried Diced Roast Beef Steak from our Stake's food storage order a few months ago.  Here's a recipe to use it.

You'll need the following from your food storage:

Dried Roast Beef Steak 

Tomato Sauce

Green Beans

Garlic Powder

Potato Pearls

Prepare the Beef Steak as directed.  I used 1 cup of chunks.  When chunks (yes, I'm going to refer to the meat as chunks.  Get some, you'll understand.  Although the chunks do smell like meat.  Hey!  It is meat!  Anyway...) are fully hydrated, put them in a small baking dish with a can of green beans and 2 small cans of tomato sauce. Sprinkle with garlic powder. Maybe some salt. Mix it all up. Make the potato pearls as directed. Top the casserole with potatoes. Sprinkle a little Parmesan cheese on top.  Bake at 350 for about 20-30 minutes.

Yum-a-licious!

Isaac and Sam wouldn't touch the stuff. 
Ruthie refused to eat the green beans. 
Daniel thought the chunks tasted pretty good.  (like meat!)
I warned everyone in the house that when they are starving and all of the Ramen is gone, they
WILL EAT THIS!!

Epic Fail

I saw this beautiful dessert that my friend put on Facebook.  I thought I'd try it.

So Sunday afternoon Ruthie and I got the brownie mix, the pretzels and the caramel.

You put 1/3 of the brownie mix in the baking dish, then stack 2 layers of pretzels, then put the rest of the brownie mix, then bake.  Then the recipe says to put the caramel on when it comes out of the oven.  Then you sprinkle some sea salt on top.  Then you cut it and enjoy it. You get salty, chocolatey and sweet all together in one pan. 

 

The problem...

Don't put the caramel on right after it comes out of the oven. 

Wait til it cools. 

And use smaller pretzels. 

And cook the brownies for a long time.

Or just make regular brownies.

Or go buy brownies.

 

Epic Fail!

The Basement Updated

Let's head to the basement. 

Daniel painted the floor so that we can put the freezer on it and eventually add shelves.  The carpet will go up to that paint.

It's a yellow bathroom!  Oh My!  I was painting the furniture for the basement and was finished and had extra paint in the pan.  So I painted the bathroom.  It's a really nice shade of yellow.

And now onto the finishing work.  See that near the floor??  Baseboards.  Oh my life never felt so complete.  But wait...

Do you see that around yonder door?  Oh my.  It's.. it's.. it's.., door framing!  All the doors are on and the boards are up around them.  We still need to take the doors down to paint.  But that's easy!

And now let's go back upstairs.  Yes, the living room walls are the same color as the walls in the basement family room.  But I've got something else to show ya.  See those chairs??  Those are my first official furniture pieces for the living room.  I am in love with them.  And what are those things on those chairs, you ask?  CARPET SAMPLES!!! 

Oh, yes, my darling ones.  We are getting carpet.  The carpet measuring guy is coming today and will measure the basement and all the carpeted rooms upstairs. 

 

My life is just about complete.

Wait.  I need chocolate...

Tea Party.

Saturday was our annual Abbie's Tea Party for Ruthie and me and all the ladies in the family.

We had a very nice lunch and then read a fun book called Extra Yarn.  It was such a fun book about giving.  After reading we made cute little hair accessories. 

 

Then we went home.

 

Thanks Abbie for a fun Tea Party!

Some Faves.

Have you ever gotten home from church at 4:15 pm, like midnight, and realize you didn't get anything out to thaw and everyone's hungry and you have a roast in the freezer and decide to have that for dinner.  In an hour?

Well, you put that frozen roast in this handy dandy slow cooker/pressure cooker, add a few potatoes and carrots and salt and pepper and water, and hit pressure cook on high and then in 75 minutes, well, you have dinner.  I love my pressure cooker.  Rice in 6 minutes.  Frozen roast in less than 90 minutes.  Get one.  You'll love it!

I got some pretzel rolls and then heated one up in the microwave and then dipped it in mustard and then died and went to heaven and then came back and got another one.  Try it.  You'll love it.

Daniel got me a Sodastream for Christmas.  I really wanted a tablet, or a new spice rack, or knives, or a certain book.  But I got a soda maker.  And it has been so much fun!!  So I bought myself the book, (Women and the Priesthood by Sheri Dew Love Love) bought my own spice refills, sharpened my knives and reminded Daniel that my birthday is just a couple weeks away.  Because I want to move up in the world and have a tablet.  And I'll look at Facebook on it while I drink my homemade soda!  So there!

I had earned myself $20 in Kohls cash and went to that store to spend just that.  I got there and looked around and then looked at purses.  Death!  Then I realized everything was on sale. Wahoo! So I stole a peak at the Simply Vera purses.  You know, Vera Wang, the designer.  Those one hundred dollar purses were on sale.  Big sale.  And I had $20 in Kohls cash.  And I had a bit of cash in my purse.  So I bought myself a Vera Wang purse.  And I love to touch it.  It's real and it's soft.  It's small.  So I leave stuff at home while I'm out.  I don't need much.  Just Vera and me. 

New Things.

Ruthie went in for her 2 year eye exam.  She's wanted new frames for a while, so we got some.

She chose the "dork" look.  They are black on the outside and blue on the inside.  She is a doll!  And certainly NOT a dork!

Sam has this deal where he has to be constantly moving.  And if his energy isn't specifically geared in one direction, it gets splattered all over.  And we don't like that.  So I did what any mom would do.  I got him a mini trampoline.  Best Mom Decision EVER!  He just gets on it and jumps.  And jumps.  And jumps.  And jumps. And jumps.  And jumps.  And jumps.

And jumps.

It's awesome!

Got Goat Coats?

Isaac sent this email to Abbie with pictures and details for goat coats.  So my mom, being wonderful and all, emails Isaac back asking for more specific measurements.  So Isaac did.  Then, last week, Isaac got a package in the mail.  This is what was inside...

Each of my kids went and put a goat coat on each of their goat kids.

They velcroed underneath and I don't think the goats were quite sure of what to do.  Waffles was unable to walk after the coat went on, so Ruthie carried him.

Abbie also sent a dog sweater that didn't fit her dog.  Why not try it on the goats?! 

It fit.

So there you have it.  Isaac also emailed Abbie with ideas on how to make the family Christmas Eve party cooler next year.  Such a hoot.

Love Is In The Air.

Our neighbor Randy got a billy.  That's a male goat who can breed, in case you wondered.  And we have been looking for a billy to breed with for a while and have been unlucky in love.  So to speak.  But Randy got a billy at an auction.  So Randy and Daniel struck up a deal.  Daniel tossed the 4 does over the fence. More fun for the billy.

That's Biscuit.  She has no idea what's coming. Iris had to be sent back home, though.  She wasn't very nice.

So for the next month 3 of our does are going to partake in the goat love fest at Randy's.

There's the billy there on the left with the hefty build and beard.  All the ladies stand a bit away from him.  It's like a junior high school dance. 

If all goes well, we'll have goat kids in June.

Some Favorites.

Here are a few of my favorite things...

 

Ruthie did this in Sacrament meeting.  My plan to be married in the temple

I will- go to church, get married in the temple.  Will not- drink, punch my brothers when I'm mad.

I think it just speaks for itself. 

Daniel got this night light at a work Christmas gift exchange.

It's a lamp.  Electric s*x gleaming in the window.

I have another trigger finger working.  It's my pinkie on my left hand.  Watch me with it.  I can't move it and it just stays up.  I am dry as a desert, too.  Do you understand how much you need a left handed pinkie when putting lotion on dry skin?!  It's almost impossible to do without that pinkie.  So I invested in this lotion.  It's that spray on stuff.  It's really easy to rub in.  It's really bad at moisturizing.  But I'll take what I can get.  I will get my pinkie taken care of when it's sticking more, by the way.

Have you ever washed your clothes with vinegar?  No? Well you totally should.  I wash my bath towels with it.  No detergent.  Then I began using it with regular loads.  Like, clothes, don'chaknow. No detergent.  No fabric softener.  And clothes come out clean and no static cling.  Try it.  You'll like it.

And see that large snicker bar in the gallon sized zip bag there?  That was a gift from a neighbor.  It's huge.  But it didn't take us long to annihilate it. 

Christmas Morning.

And so Christmas came.  Everyone is bright eyed and bushy tailed.

The kiddos got lots of fun stuff, incliding these cute hats with beards that a good friend of mine made.  Aren't they cute?! 

What? No more pictures of Christmas?  No.  We played and watched movies and ate and stayed in our jammies all day long.  It was a good day and we enjoyed every moment of it. 

Merry Christmas!!



Sledding Sunset

Out sledding for FHE

One Snowy Day...

Remember that really snowy day in December when they said on the news to not go out and drive in it because of all the snow on the roads and people were sliding off the roads and some districts closed school but not ours so I still had to drive my kiddos to school then came home and watched the snow fall and collect on the road and drive way and I really needed a diet pepper?

I went to get me a diet pepper. 

And it was worth every slip on the road!

Preparing For Christmas

Christmas is coming.  Can you feel it?

Ok, seriously, it happened almost a month ago. 

But I have to catch up remember?

And can you believe I'm actually blogging?!?!

We went to Abbie and Poppy's for our annual Abbie's Christmas Cookie Party. 

Isaac had fun.  He even wore an apron!

I really don't know what's going on here with Sam.  I assume he's crying about the horrors of cookie mutilation in the world. 

And Ruthie Made 8 beautiful cookies.  Then, as we were leaving, she couldn't find her plate of beautiful cookies.  We threw some icing on a few and threw 'em on a plate and tried to call it good.  Then, as we arrived home, Aunt Emilie texted to say she had Ruthie's cookies. Grrr.  Ruthie was nice and said she hoped Emilie enjoyed them!

Sam is in his school choir this year.  Hurray!  The choir gave a Christmas concert.  Sam sang his heart out.  He later informed me that he doesn't really sing.  He just moves his mouth.  But I think the shape of his mouth as it matched all the other mouths in his area proves he was singing.  He's refuses to take choir in junior high.  I did try!

And Christmas Eve was spent with Abbie and Poppy.  Ruthie was an angel with some cousins in the annual Nativity story.

We also had a ward Christmas party.  We did a pie contest and had so many pies, people were talking about still being full of pie at church the next day.  Daniel and I were able to attend the sealing of a very dear couple in our ward.  Sheryl asked me to be her escort and I was happy to do it.  What a beautiful day it was, too.  Ice and snow on all the trees and everything just blanketed.  It was beautiful.  We had our family Christmas party with Daniel's family on the same day and I have no recollection of it.  Except that we got there late and left early. Darn it.

Christmas is next!!

Can't wait.

If I would just wait...

Just 2 more weeks and I'd have not blogged a blogging thing in TWO WHOLE MONTHS.  It's so dumb, really.  See, I got this calling.  It's a busy one.  Even thought I've taken pictures to blog about, I haven't done it.  I haven't had a chance.  And then to think of loading all the pictures, and then putting them on the blog and then writing something....   AAAAAGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH. 

Ok.  I feel better now.  But it has been so long since I've done anything here that I had to sign in.  With security features.  Duh.  It's my blog.  Remember?!

Alright.  I put on my big wall calendar "BLOG" on tomorrow's square.  That's tomorrow as in Tuesday, January 14, 2014.  It's kinda ominous.  1 1/2 months since blogging last.  And I have to put it on the calendar.  And I will have to think of something to blog about.  And all the pictures are from a month ago.  And it's the 14th in 2014.  What the hack.  Yes, Hack.  It's 2014. 

So I'll be back tomorrow. 

I'll be spry.

I'll share something exciting.

I'll be pithy.

I'll have old pictures.

I'll take new pictures tonight.

See ya!