Trust

and two year olds. 

I've been thinking about that a lot this week.

I remember a Sunday school teacher once calling and asking me to share my thoughts on what it means to be "childlike."  She meant it in the context of what we read in the scriptures about the need to be like a little child in order to enter the the Kingdom of Heaven.

I've sometimes been puzzled by that, actually.  As you observe small children, they are often grabbing what they want, hitting, and pushing, etc.  (Unfortunately, we can also observe that in adults who haven't learned to control their behavior).

But the meaning of it has become more clear to me this last week with Lucienne, who is two.  She got an earache right before I came out and Tiffany took her to the doctor.  So every morning and night I have had to give her medicine with a syringe.   The first few days she would just say, "Don't need medicine."  But gradually she has gotten to the point where, when she sees me filling the syringe, she stands there and watches and waits as I do it.  Then I set her on the counter, cradle her in my arms, and hold her down.  She always starts fighting and tries to spit it out, but once it's done she sits up and is happy again.

A couple of times she has also come to me with hang nails.  Obviously Tiffany clips them with a nail clipper, as she brings one to me.  I don't want to clip them, because I'm afraid I'll hurt her.  But she totally trusts me to do it.  She's obviously learned that trust.

So, when I think of these experiences with Luci, it reminds me of what it means to be childlike in our relationship with our Father in Heaven.  We may try to put up a fight, or cry, or become angry with the way things seem to be in our lives or the lives of others.   But through it all, we can know that we are in good hands and can trust that everything will be ok. 

Can there be anything sweeter than a two year old?  I wish I could bottle up her sweetness, trust, and  joyful attitude, and take it (or her) home with me. 

I'm losing

my confidence with making cupcakes.  We've made some vanilla and some chocolate, and both have different problems.  I had to bake both of them 10 minutes longer than I do at home, and the vanilla were too dry and the chocolate were not done.  (I'm afraid my cupcake pride has been severely damaged.)

he kids don't seem to mind, though.   They are not real frosting lovers, so I made a cool whip, cocoa, and powdered sugar mixture that tastes good and holds it's shape well.  

Annie and cousin, Mary

Lucienee going for the good stuff.

PS:  The kids are being great, and I'm having lots of fun. 

I do, however, miss my convection oven

and my husband (of course) 

While the parents

are away, we have

Cinnamon rolls for breakfast,



go to the family fun center after breakfast, 

and go to McDonalds for lunch.

 Then we play with cousins into the night.



What a life.



I've been a little

busy traveling and getting ready for this:

We're going to have a much better time for 9 days than

their Mom and Dad are going to have in Hawaii.

Conversations in my

head at 9:30 am yesterday:

Should I go to Zumba?

I should, but I don't want to.

Once I get there, I enjoy it.

If I stay home and don't go, will I really clean like I say I'm going to?

I don't feel like moving.

If I go I won't be ready for the day until noon.

I get so sweaty and have to wash my hair.

There's a part of me that wants to go.

It feels good to move.

I just need to make exercising every day a habit.

But it takes so much time.

Ok, if I get ready and go, I can go to the fabric store before.

OK, I'll go.

12 noon:  I'm glad I went.

A few of the cakes from our

 Relief Society Activity last night.

Unfortunately, I got busy and didn't get pictures of the 6 others. 

 But they were beautiful and delicious. 

One of our committee members, Helen, has a brother who is an architect and restorer. When they were restoring The Salt Lake LDS Temple, some pieces of Granite were removed.   The church did not want them for any reason, so they kept some and documented where they were from.  Helen hammered some bigger stones into small pieces, and that is what we gave as favors for the evening.

We attached the stones to a small card

and put the documentation inside of the card.

And put them in a sack with rock candy

and a poem written by Sarah, another committee member.

It's kind of special to have a piece of granite stone from a historic temple that has played a big part in the foundation of our lives.  I was sealed to my parents and family in the Salt Lake Temple on May 31, 1955, when I was 18 months old (I don't remember that).  Gary's Mom and Dad were also sealed sealed in the Salt Lake Temple May 8, 1939.  Gary and I were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple on August 8, 1974 (I do remember that).

Shown here with the spires in the background, with my sister, Charlene.

(Don't worry, as comfortable as Gary looks with his arms around both

of us, polygamy has not been sanctioned for more than a century) 

Shown here on the steps of the temple.

Don't be too alarmed by Gary's red checked polyester pants.

It was the seventies, you know.



I'm tired right now,

so I'll show pictures from our Relief Society activity tomorrow.  The meal was delicious, and there were some amazing cakes there.  Hopefully I'll get the recipes.  That's about as exciting as it is going to get tonight.

Orange Chicken Sauce

Yesterday I wanted to make some Orange Chicken sauce to go with some chicken and stir fry vegetables.  Last time I used a pre-made sauce, it had sunflower oil in it, and Nalalie is allregic to that.  So I tried this sauce, and it was really good.  I didn't have any green onions, so used onion flakes.  I also didn't have water chestnuts, but it worked just fine.  I will be making this one again.

Orange Chicken Sauce

1 1/2 cups water
2 Tablespoons orange juice
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 1/2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup plus 1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp minced water chestnuts
1/2 tsp minced fresh ginger
1/4 tsp minced garlic
1 rounded tsp chopped green onion
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
10 tsp cornstarch
4 1/2 Tablespoons water
In a saucepan over medium-high heat, combine all of the sauce ingredients, except the cornstarch, arrowroot and 4 1/2 Tbsp water. Stir often while bringing mixture to a boil. When sauce reaches a boil, remove it from heat.  In a small bowl combine cornstarch and 4 1/2 Tablespoons of cool water. Stir until cornstarch has dissolved. Pour this mixture into the sauce and set the pan over high heat. When sauce begins to bubble and thicken, cover and remove it from heat.

Pour sauce over chicken or rice. This makes a lot of sauce.

Two signs that

spring is (thankfully) almost here.

#1:  The hold-out snow is almost gone.

#2: And best of all,

liberated toes!

Ahh, that feels so good.

BYU Basketball

highs and lows.  It's been so fun to watch the BYU basketball games this year.  I wonder how many little boys born this year are going to be named "JIMMER," after Jimmer Fredette?  He has really earned a near rock star status this year with his amazing playing.   I hope he can go on and do well in the pros.

We watched the game tonight up at Charlene and Greg's along with Richard and Laraine and Gary and Lynn.  We had such a nice time.  BYU got creamed, which was sad.  But, it's pretty hard for a team to maintain the intensity they had last night when Jimmer scored 52 points.   I'm proud of the BYU players and coaches and how they have handled the honor code suspension of one of their best players.  They've done it with love and, well, honor.   The whole thing has, I think, brought the best out in people all over the country as they've analyzed, questioned, and supported the right to honor the honor code.   And, I feel a great love for the young man who has faced up to his mistake and is moving forward.  

Comments by

Gary after there was still a mixture of
ketchup and mustard (ketch-ard) left on his plate.

"These veggie sticks are kind of like french fries
when I dip them in this ketch-ard"

"There's still more dip left. 

Do you have something else I can dip in it? 

Oh, hand me an orange, that will work."

True life conversations around our house.

 

I was watching

the show, "Hoarders" as I was doing doc management work tonight.  It is unbelievable and scary when you see how they live.  It makes you wonder how someone gets into such a situation.  Yet, at the same time, I can kind of understand how they do.  Once it gets out of control, they feel overwhelmed.  And, as contrary as it may sound, many times the hoarder is a perfectionist.  I can't even begin to get into the psychological aspects of why, but it's apparent that it's not about the stuff.   It's about control,  filling a void, and a host of other emotions. 

I guess it fascinates (and stresses) me when I see the difficulty they are having because I can relate a little too much.   Watching the show actually affects me physically.  My chest tightens and I feel anxiety for them.  I am far from being a hoarder, but I can certainly understand their emotions.   Anyone who reads this blog knows of my "deep" decluttering issues.  And that is more than a play on words.

So, watching "Hoarders" is very thought provoking for me.  And motivating.  And stressful.  For that reason I don't think I'll watch it too often.  It just might give me nightmares.

A little late, but goodbye chocolate and

Valentines.

One of the decorations I have is this framed card.

Just in case anyone has any doubt, I really love chocolate.

Interesting

combination.

In honor of St. Patrick's day, I tried these cupcakes.

St. Patrick's Day Cupcakes (Pistachio)

1 3/4 cups Flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 3.4 oz package Instant Pistachio Pudding mix
2 1/2 teaspoons Baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup Milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
Green ; sprinkles and/or chocolate jimmies

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
8 ounces Cream cheese
1/2 cup Butter
1 teaspoon Vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar

Instructions:  In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, pudding mix, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, combine the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients until combined. Fold in chocolate chips.
Fill 18 foil or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 375° for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. Prepare frosting by mixing together. Frost and decorate as desired.

I'm not sure if I would make them again.   They are a pretty green color, which is hard to tell from my pictures.  Gary really likes them.  But then Gary also chews the cupcake liners until there is nothing left of them, so I'm not sure if he is a discriminating judge.  They called for cream cheese frosting, but when I tried them with it, it didn't seem to go.  So I pulled some chocolate frosting out of the freezer and made some chocolate cupcakes to use the cream cheese frosting on. 

Never let it be said

that I don't follow-through with goals.

I was determined to declutter today. 

I know, I've said it before. 

I've done it before.   

I've avoided it before. 

Well, today I did it in a creative way. 

I went to yoga (a good thing).  

Came home and got ready (another good thing).   

But then I got sidetracked on the way to the "deep" to declutter.

I stopped to look at my computer and googled "decluttering" so I could get inspired.  As I was doing that, I turned on "Studio 5," the lifestyle show I record every day.  That's when I got inspired.  Because I catch a lot of flack (from certain people) for filling the DVR recording space with "Studio 5's," I decided to declutter my DVR.

So I've been sitting here for 2 (ok maybe 3) hours catching up with a month's worth of the show.  I've learned new craft ideas, collected some new recipes, and even watched a segment on decluttering.   And, I was doing all that as I was decluttering the DVR.   In all modesty, I have to say that sometimes I have brilliant ideas :)

Now maybe, as I watch the last 6 recordings, there will be a psychological counseling segment dealing with avoidance and procrastination.

Next time I

go on a walk, I'm taking the camera. 

After much prodding this evening, I agreed to go on a walk with Gary.  I didn't want to.  I was feeling tired and sluggish, but for that very reason I decided I should go.   Gary actually runs ahead, turns around at the top of the hill, and meets up with me on his way down.

As I walked on Timpview Drive, I saw 10 deer right on the front lawn of a home.  They blend so well into the brown grass that I almost missed them.  As I walked by, they didn't move but just watched me   It wasn't until they heard a car coming that they took off up the hillside.   It was beautiful to see, and makes me feel wonder at the beauty of nature.

  Next time I'm taking my camera.