Olympic Greats

There have been a lot of terrific news stories during these Winter Olympics. Terrific doesn't necessarily mean good news, but they have been amazing stories. Today I found one worth sharing and you probably didn't see in on Yahoo's front page. Enjoy.

Be Prepared

I love preparedness. Yesterday I went to the Cannery with all my Food Storage buddies and had the time of my life. I get absolutely high doing those things that will keep our family sane during times of crisis. I have so much to learn and lots more to do, but yesterday got that much closer to a full year's supply. We are blessed to have the Cannery nearby - only a 90 minute drive - so I go two or three times a year to stock up. My next project is home canning pinto and black beans. It has been awesome to have the pintos canned and ready to warm for Mexican nights (which happen so often around here). I'm excited to do the black beans! We may addicted to Mexican food, but variety is the spice of life.

Our ward is having our annual Preparedness Fair in May and the Preparedness Leader asked if I'd help. 72-Kits is my job and a friend is helping me with our "booth." Later, she asked about building a website. I created a blog. General preparedness information and resources - both physical and spiritual preparation - and news about the Fair. You're invited to the Fair! So many incredible topics that will really help us all to weather the storms. And storms, they are a comin'.

Lot's of people (really, LOTS) like to speculate on the last days, the end of times, the political upheaval, the destruction. I just figure if we are prepared then it will not matter what the details are. I don't even want to spend energy guessing who will do what or why. I know that life will continue to be beautiful if I am focused on the gospel and Heavenly Father's Plan. When my mind gets cluttered with the superfluous minutia of how it's all going to go down, Satan has won. Someone said to me recently that, "Satan uses what he's got." That phrase has played itself in my head over and over again. I've decided that I'd like to give Satan as little ammunition as possible in my life. I'm really not concerned with so many things in the world and I don't want them to be part of our home. Not planning a hermitage here and I'll still watch FOXNews, but it isn't going to be a religious experience. And I want there to be more religious experiences in our home. There is the good stuff.

Last week Alex was to give a talk in Primary on "Jesus Christ is my Savior and Redeemer." She found an article in the Friend magazine on the topic and that's how she started her talk. Then she wrote that "Adam and Eve committed to the first transgression against Heavenly Father when they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but they needed to do that so they could have a family and so that we could come to earth and have a family." I asked her why she wrote that. She said, "Because I know it." That stopped me in my tracks. "Because I know it." Why does she know it? Because four days earlier we began practicing the 2nd Article of Faith. About 3 days a week we begin with a "morning meeting." We say the date, our scripture, Article of Faith and the Pledge of Allegiance. We also say our family scripture. When we first read the 2nd AofF, Katie said, "What does transgression mean." We had an entire, impromptu lesson about the Fall of Adam. It was beautiful. They asked specific questions and were very thoughtful about the whole thing. We have some stand-up foam people that Aunt Nicki sent us so we used them for Adam and Eve and Heavenly Father and Jesus. It was really great. Greater though was that Alex knew it. She went on to write her talk, relating the fall to a need for a Savior. This is where I want to focus. Let the administration rot, let the pundits spew, let Satan do what he will. I want to be with my family, teaching our children, creating a haven until there is heaven.
Alexandra Elizabeth and her Grandma a few weeks ago - both a bit of heaven to me.

Andrew

He's home from Church today due to the goop. He's been coughing with horrible throat pain for a couple of days and I thought we might be in the clear last night. This morning Scott said we could expect a revolt if we showed up at Church with him. (And since I'm the mom who gets really cranky when people bring their sick kids to Church...) Jac and I stayed home with him. He won't sleep, or even rest. Best I could do was give him the bag of "Circles" (aka, Cheerios) he would have munched on during Sacrament Mtg and let him do his own thing. He ended up fully engrossed in them and, for five whole minutes, rested. We're going to need to end this 2010 Germ Fest soon. I've been to Church once in the last month. People say that your first winter here is the worst - lots of folks warned us we'd be sick this winter and then we'd be fine. What kind of a place has that kind of record? Do they say that when you move to Hawaii? I'd like to find out.

On a happy note, that is sunshine coming through those Michigan windows. Yeah!

I'm not crafty.

Right. That's a nice way of saying, "Crafts make me neurotic." That being said, I like to do beautiful things in my home. My mom once said, "I like the way you decorate your home with things that are you, what you've done, what you believe, where you've been." Never a nicer compliment. I'm careful about what I attempt because my talents are not what I'd call visual. (What are my talents? Taking food storage inventory...loading the dishwasher...that about covers it. And that comes to mind only because I should be doing it.)
I finally finished a crafty-type project that has been on my list for one year. It took me until December to decide what to do and until today to get it done. (Good grief, how long does it take you to plan dinner???) It's not complicated, but I am. Here it is.



Below is completed project #2. (It's been a big day for me.) I've been planning and purchasing this project since Scott went to Mexico in January. Lucky for me he's going again next week...who knows what I'll get done! I am so excited about this project because I love to read. I don't get to do it much for myself, but that's OK because I love to read to and for my children. We have learned to love so many great characters because of words. This (bath)room is dedicated to the man of words himself, Dr. Seuss. If Laura Ingalls Wilder were any more colorful she would have had the honor. "One Fish, Two Fish" won the prize and I am so happy with the finished project.Can I just give a huge nod to Kristi Wagner of Muskegon, MI who made the wall decals? She's got a shop on ebay and is the greatest of all online sellers. Love her stuff.
Another huge thank you to Pottery Barn for their fabulous shower curtain. If I had more money than brains I'd have bought their towels too. Not wanting to lose the house, but merely decorate it, I just bought the shower curtain. I've never had a cotton shower curtain before - so nice. So very nice. I'm mucho happy. Oh, one more person to thank! Tammy of Starrscreations on Etsy.com did the very cute light switch cover for me. Awesome. I really love words and I really love this room. I may be using the kids bathroom more often than my own.

A Meal They Will Eat

Bacon & Tomato Pasta from eatathomecooks.com

I think Sharina is to credit for linking me to this website. Tiffany is the gal that writes the blog http://www.eatathomecooks.com/. She creates a meal and shopping list each week and posts all the recipes with pictures. She's a pretty good cook and I have enjoyed the inspiration. Lately, we seem to do more crying at the table than eating. Well, Katie cries. Caroline just sits there and Andrew walks away. It's fun, dinner at our house. If we are not eating Mexican, then it's a disaster night after night. I'm getting a little sick of the drama so I determined to revamp the meal list to only things my children will eat. There went the Shrimp Tikka Masala... I'm saving the good stuff for Scott and I on the nights I have energy (or stupidity) enough to make 2 meals.
Tiffany has quite a few very simple meals with very few ingredients. I'd rather destroy the kitchen with an Emeril-inspired masterpiece, but my kids like hot dogs. Every time I serve food Andrew asks if it is hot dogs. We tell him yes. And that stuff next to it is refried beans. Suddenly, he's happy.
When I saw this recipe I figured I'd better try it out. Scott's gone tonight so I made it for the real critics. I told Andrew the bacon was hot dogs (explaining that they both come from the pig, so he bought it) and just put it in front of them hoping for the best. Andrew at 4 bowls. CareBear asked for seconds and even Katie, onced convinced it was bacon, ate her dinner. Jac destroyed 2 bowls of it herself. (Not to leave her out, but Alex is a god-send and asks for things like Shrimp Tikka Masala. 100% my child.)
The only change I made was using a can of evaporated milk instead of half and half...I forget that stuff has an expiration date on the bottom of the can. I've got a lot of it stored that needs to be used NOW. And I substituted dried basil for fresh. Oh, how I long for summer and fresh basil.
So, let me recommend to all who love to eat, this recipe from Tiffany. Good whether you have kids to feed or not.
Tiffany's photo...

I'm so incredibly angry - not a lucid post

Scott came home last night and said, "So Mark McGwire used steroids..."

If you know me, you know I am an avid St. Louis Cardinals fan and lived in the beloved city during the Mark McGwire era. I own the Wheaties box, I have the yellow hard hat from the McDonald's-sponsored section in the upper level of the original Busch Stadium, I have a framed charcoal sketch of MM pounding the ball. I love that time of my life. I love Cardinal baseball. Scott gave me an authentic Cardinal jersey with MY name on the back. I stayed all night in the frigid cold during the '96 season opener until Willie McGee finally hit that winning home run. I am a Cardinal.

And I knew, we all knew, that when the steroid use was revealed in professional sports, that Mark McGwire was a partaker. But he said he didn't and I wanted to believe him. I didn't, but I wanted to. I put all my memorabilia in a closet and I was sad.

So he comes out of retirement to coaching hitting. Nice job. Who was the piece of trash that thought spilling his guts yesterday would matter? It just makes me mad. I think it makes us all mad.

This writer in particular did a really nice job of expressing the anger.
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ti-mcgwirenew011110&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Kudos to Tim Brown. When Scott made his (hurtful) comment, it wasn't news to me. I get ESPN updates on my phone the second they happen. I got 2 about MM. I told Scott, "I'm so mad! I don't even know why, but I am so mad." Tim Brown put sanity to my anger. The apology doesn't matter. It might have mattered years ago before younger, idiotic sports players followed his stupid example.

I don't think it would have ever mattered to me. It's not like the only thing I did for four years was follow Mark McGwire. I had a life. I served in the St. Louis Temple, I taught RS, I had an incredible job that allowed me to travel the world. BUT the great times I had in Busch Stadium (the first time was almost a religious experience) are a huge part of my memory, my life. That any of that time was spent following the accomplishments of a fraud makes me feel regret. I haven't watched much baseball since then and don't give credibility to anyone physically doing phenomenal things. (I hate Lance Armstrong.)

I look back on that day I was having lunch in the diner in Clayton, MO when Mark McGwire came in and I just want to throw up. I'm mad. I'm so very mad.

Nuclear Power

This is a bowl. It's the "everyday china" we chose/received when we got married. We've now been married almost 9 years. (wow!) This china is rimmed and trimmed with a silver band and shortly after moving into our first house, one of us (me???) put it in the microwave.

Scott did it again 2 nights ago.

I laughed (inside, of course) so hard.

There's all this crackling and popping and he says, "Oh no!"

The microwave still works and the trim has that used look, but I'm wondering, what would happen - and how long does it take - if you just leave it in there? Would there be a fire? What would explode - the microwave or the bowl? Has anyone ever died doing this? What's that show on the Discovery Channel with the bald guy with the beret that explodes everything - and fires that rifle into the block of silicone? He would know.

We have 3 sets of china and every last piece is rimmed in metal. We keep the old stoneware because it's the only microwave-proof dishes we have - and it has no bowls! We had to buy plastic stuff when the kids came (normal) and that's the real nuke-worthy stuff, isn't it? I loved it when Aunt Nicki sent the kids a full set of IKEA plastic ware. We should all invest in more Swedish designed/Malaysian made table settings.