Our Garden Produce

It was fun to be able to plant a garden this year. Last year, we benefited from the garden that was already there and growing when we moved in. We have gotten produce from everything we planted so far. First was our green beans that we had to pick every two days, and they are still coming. My mom taught me how to can the green beans. So, we have a lot of green beans in storage.

Next was our yellow zucchini, the first one we picked I gave to my parents because we were going out of town and were not for sure when we were going to be back. Then the next one we picked was right before we went out of town again for a few days and would not be able to eat them before they went bad. But, we have gotten many since then and I have enjoyed them, Rob does not like them so much.

Next was our corn, the first time I checked them to see if they were done, they were so I picked them all off and we got two plastic sacks full. Yum. I absolutely love corn on the cob. I cooked two cobs and they were delicious. The rest of them I took over to my parents house and they helped me shuck them and then we cooked them all and cut the corn off of the cob and put into freezer bags for later use. There is nothing better than fresh corn right off the cob. Yummmmm! I got 20 bags of corn with about a cup of corn in each bag, since there is only the two of us.
This was two ears of corn cut off the cob and I ate it all, so good!

Next was our tomatoes and lemon cucumbers. I really have not eaten any lemon cucumbers, I just give those away to my brothers and sisters and parents. And our tomatoes have been green for quite a while and just started turning red all at once.

I am new at this, but it is so much fun to watch a little seed grow into something that you can eat. I am so excited for next year and the whole process again.

I ate Halibut and LIKED it!

My visiting teachers brought dinner over for us tonight. It was all wrapped in tin foil, and when she brought it to the door she explained what temperature and how long to cook it and said that it was Halibut. I just smiled and thanked her. I am not a fish fan at all. But, I heard Halibut does not have that fishy flavor.

It was dinner, and I am always up for trying new things. I popped it in the oven at 450 degrees and let it cook for about 25 minutes. There was also some stuffed potatoes and salad. When it was done cooking, I unwrapped it and it looked pretty good and smelled good. It was really flaky and it was really good, so now I am a fan of Halibut. Who knew? Thank you for the great dinner.

24th festivites (kind of late)

We had a pretty good 24th, just wish Rob could have enjoyed it a lot more. We started the day off with breakfast at my parents house at 8:00 and then when that was cleaned up, we moved out front for the parade that goes down our street. Lots of candy.

My sister and brother in law and there son came to the parade also. It was fun to have them up.

My sister decided to start a tradition of doing a carnival for all the kids since the one down at the park has kind of gotten small. And we loved all the games we would play at our family reunions. So after the parade we decorated my parents backyard with balloons and crepe paper. It was funny watching my sister blow up the long balloons, afraid they would pop on her. Look at her face. Hillarious. Good times.


After the backyard was all decked out, we let the fun begin. There was a fish pond in the unfinished shed in the back, worked great. Then we had a bean bag toss and a dart game. There was also face painting done by my very talented brother and cousin.


I took Rob to work and then went to a Mary Kay makeover during this time with my mother in law and two sister in laws, so I just saw these pictures of how it went, everyone had a good time.
I grabbed our grill box on my way back to my parents for the barbeque. We got all set up and started grilling at around 3:00. My dad grilled the chicken I brought for Rob and I, since I don't grill(that is the mans job), turned out just right, thanks Dad.
When the meat was about done we set out all the salads and dessert and started eating. Everything was really good.
I went and picked up Rob from work when I was finished eating and drove back to my parents. We borrowed a cotton candy machine from my mother and father in law and my brother and I made cotton candy. What a sticky mess. Our arms were covered in cotton candy, along with our hair and clothes. And when you pulled it off of your arms, it was stuck so good it would pull your hairs. Ouch! The kids loved it though.


We got the cotton candy machine all cleaned off and then just watched everyone play games and just kind of relaxed.

Stir Crazy Popcorn

One family tradition my family has is that every Sunday night we get together and visit and eat popcorn. Ever since I can remember we have done this. It was always at my grandma and grandpas house, my grandpa passed away and my grandma got remarried and now lives in 3 different places. So, now we rotate between my parents house and my Uncle and Aunts. It is so much fun to get together and chat about what happened that week or just whatever. And there is nothing like yummy popcorn to go with it. The best popcorn is Stir Crazy popcorn. If you have not tried it, you have got to.
All you do is put some oil and popcorn in and then plug it in, it stirs it around until it is all popped and then you unplug it, turn it upside down and pour into a bowl. Then sprinkle some salt on and toss and enjoy. Yum.

Where are the Scooters Cheerios?

One of my favorite breakfasts is cereal! And I love having cheerios with sliced bananas. One big scoop of cheerios with a slice of banana. Soooo good!
My dilemma is I cannot find Malt O Meal Scooters (cheerios) anywhere, what is up. I have been looking every time I go to the store and they are no where to be seen. I could use the box cheerios, but they taste weird to me.
Help!! I miss my cheerios with bananas.

Canning Green Beans

Our garden is producing all kinds of veggies. We have tomatoes that are almost getting ripe, yellow cucumbers, yellow zucchini(bright yellow, green beans, and corn. We got one big yellow zucchini already and we were heading to salt lake and so we gave that to my parents to eat and try out. They enjoyed it. I have been picking green beans for a little while now. The first couple of batches I blanched and froze (Rob likes frozen beans). The next batch my parents helped me pick while we were unable to and then this morning I picked them. We got a good size amount of green beans. So I called my mom to see if she could help me can them (I like canned beans), I have watched my mom do the canning when I was a kit, but have never done it myself. So, I washed, cut, and got the beans all ready. In the process of putting the jars in the dishwasher to get rinsed and warmed, two of my jars fell on the floor and broke into all kinds of pieces. Bummer! So I swept it up and took the lids off of them and was brushing the small fragments off of the lid when I cut my finger, just poked it. But it hurt.

My mom came over with the canner and we got started. It wasn't that difficult to do and now I have 10 pint size jars of green beans. I love canned beans. Thanks mom for helping me out.


Then when I took them out of the canner, it was just like I remembered, the canned green bean smell.

Virtual Makeover

I wear Mary Kay makeup and love it and I went on the website this past week and noticed they have this new Virtual Makeover that you can upload a picture of yourself and try on makeup and different hairstyles. It is pretty fun. Here are some of my creations. Don't laugh! This first one is just with a little eye makeup and I think lip gloss.

On this one I added eye makeup, mascara and eyeliner, and lip gloss, and as you can see LONG hair with highlights, oh and blush. Kind of different. I don't know if I could ever grow my hair long again.

This picture is just a fun one that my brother and sister told me to do. My brother thinks I should grow my hair out.

Anyways, go on the website (www.marykay.com), and try it out. It is kind of fun. Some of the hair is pretty crazy and wild. It was fun to play around with it.

PB and J on Oatmeal Bread

Sometimes there is nothing better than Peanut Butter and Jam(or Honey) on Oatmeal bread(freshly baked), yum. This oatmeal bread is so soft and delicious. It is a recipe from my mom and you can make it a few different ways. You can make it with dry milk powder, milk, or I have been using Soy Milk(for Rob, but he didn't eat the bread anyways and now he is drinking milk again). Any one of them will be delicious.

Oatmeal Bread (using powdered milk):

2 3/4 cup hot water
2 C. quick oats
3 Tbsp. oil
1/3 C. honey
1/2-2/3 C. sour cream
2 Tbsp. yeast
2 1/2 tsp. salt
2/3 C. powdered milk (dry)

Mix and let rise 1 hour. Put in 3 loaf pans and let rise until double. Put in a cold oven and set temp. to 350. Bake 20-25 min. (you want the top a nice brown color, my oven I cook for 30-35 min so it is not doughy in the inside)

Oatmeal Bread (soy milk or milk):

1/2 C. hot water
2 C. Quick oats
3 Tbsp. oil
1/3 C. honey
1/2-2/3 C. sour cream(I did not use sour cream, just makes it more moist)
2 Tbsp. yeast
2 1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/4 C. soy milk or milk(heated up, you don't want it cold or it will not rise)

Mix and let rise 1 hour. Put in 3 loaf pans and let rise until double. Put in a cold oven and set temp. to 350. Bake 20-25 min. (a nice medium brown)

Here is another trick, take them out of pans and set sideways on cooling racks for 15 minutes and then place a plastic bread bag over top of them and wait another 15 minutes. Then place bread in bags and seal up.

One other way I like to eat this bread is toasted with butter. So good!

Birthday flowers

One of my primary kids left these flowers on my doorstep for my birthday. They have been trying to get them to me since my birthday and I have always been gone and so they left them last Sunday. They are beautiful and we enjoyed them for quite a few days. Thanks

Parade of Homes

I have been going with my mom to the Parade of Homes for the past couple years. She gets some VIP passes that we can go before the parade begins and see all the homes in one day. This time my brother also went with us. I think he had a good time with us. The homes were beautiful. I get lots of decorating ideas from looking through the homes. Here are some pictures of my favorite things from the homes.

This house was so cute on the outside and by far my favorite on the inside.

This next two pictures are of a cute townhouse, the floor plan was very well laid out.

This house was ginormous and really cute inside. I love how they did this room with the beadboard up higher. I have never seen beadboard painted yellow, but I absolutely love it.

I took a lot of pictures, these were just a few of my favorite.