A quick update on activities

We were able to do a few fun things during the first part of February.  Ralph got tickets to go see Branford Maralis for Christmas.  We went and had great seats.  The concert was over way to soon.  They basically performed their new album out called Four MF's Playin' Tunes.  I can't wait to add this to our library.  Afterwards, Ralph took me to my favorite frozen yogurt place called Luna Berry. 







 

Another really fun thing we go to do was go to a Jazz game.  The Trailblazers vs. Jazz.  Utah actually pulled the win out.  Now...I admit I am not a faithful follower of the Jazz, but do check in on how they are doing once in a while.  One of our corporate contacts that works for another company got us seats to their Suite for the evening.  We had Chips, guacamole, salad, fruit, barbecue meats, (chicken, ribs and brisket) steamed veggies and apple cobbler and ice cream for dessert.  We had unlimited beverages and great seats.  We were sitting next to the Huntsman Cancer Institute Suite and low and behold President Monson and his wife were sitting there enjoying the game.  I thought it might be a bit tacky to take his picture, so you will have to take my work for it.

The Curtis siblings got together for dinner.  We went to Cafe Trio (love their flat bread) and had a great time.  Someone took pics, but I can't remember who.  We had a great time just visiting and catching up with each other.  Ralph and I get to pick the spot for next time.

I had two birthday cards ready to deliver and I forgot to take them to the family get together.  Hope to get them in the mail quickly.  I am going to go ahead and post the card.  Masculine cards are so hard.  I love to add bows and bling.  Ralph reminds me on a regular basis that those things don't work on guy cards. 




Keeping Busy and loving it!
Ta Ta for now

Snowglobes and Soup

I feel like I have been living in a snow globe for the past two weeks.  Somone keeps shaking it up!  If only the scene I live in was as serene as the scenes you see in the snowglobes. 

No pine trees, warm fires and hot cocoa for me.  It is more like falling on my bum, pushing neighbors cars up the drive way, refilling the bucket of salt because you have just emtpied it for the 7th time, convincing Riley the faster he does his business the faster we can go back in the house, scraping car windows every morning, drivers that use their brakes too much, slick roads, 40 minute commute times...etc.  It just won't stop.  Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be making it into the mountains where we need the moisture stockpile.  I am enjoying the fresh air, but I don't get out in it much because it keeps snowing. 

One thing cold snowy weather does is increase my desire for comfort foods.  I somehow convinced Ralph that I needed some of his homeade tomato soup.  I promised to make a "bread" of some kind to go along with it.  It was so tasty.  I made Mel's Kitchen Cafe, Cheddar and Herb Biscuits to go along with it.

Tomato Soup
2 quarts canned tomatoes
2 cups diced carrots
2 cups diced celery
1 cup diced onion
1 cup cooking sherry (you can substitute water)
4 chicken bouillion cubes
2 Tbls olive oil
2 Tbls butter
4 ounces tomato paste
2 cups water
Seasonings: garlic powder, parsley, french or italian herbs, black pepper, salt if necessary

saute carrots, celery, onions, and dried herbs in the olive oil and butter
add sherry to deglaze
add tomatoes, paste, water and bouillion
simmer until vegetables are tender
puree and serve

***to cut down on sodium use low sodium canned chicken broth, and real sherry.

I hope you are all keeping warm and safe.
Ta Ta for now.

Ummmm....Wow

Not really a title to give to this post, but I wanted to share a little episode that occured over this last weekend.  Ralph and I were at costco around 4:30 and the parking lot was still jam-packed.  Crazy.  I just figured nobody had anything to do that day, so they went shopping.  Anyway, we finished the chore and had just unloaded the cart - all healthy.   I was on my phone talking to Mom.  I didn't see a cart dump off site close, so I pushed it up against the curb where we were parked and proceeded to turn around to get into the car when out of nowhere the car directly to the left of us honked his horn and opened the passenger window and proceeded to tell me that he had just taken two carts to the dump off spot and figured I should do the same.  I just kept talking to Mom and went on my merry way.  I finished talking to Mom and let what happened seep into my brain.

Who does this guy think he is that he can yell at me for not taking my cart back.  Aren't there more important things to worry about?  They hire people to do that very thing.  Maybe I was really tired from prepping for a stamping activity the night before and then had two 2-1/2 hour sessions of classes.  Maybe my foot hurt.  I turned to Ralph and spit out my frustration and said, I wish I would have told him that not everyone could be as perfect as he was.  Then Ralph turns to me and tells me to remember that when he doesn't meet my expectations. (that very rarely happens)  GULP

Why are we as a society so quick to make judgements and expect everyone to be a star model citizen everywhere we go and in everything we do?  What do ya think?

A Stay at Home Day

I looked forward to today as I knew that neither I nor Ralph had anything extra planned.  We had the church thing, no extra meetings, visitors, projects due etc. 

This morning was amazing.  I didn't taste the air when I left to take Riley for his morning business.  The sky was blue and the sun was shining.  Halfway through church, I looked out the window and what did I see.....(not popcorn)  Rain.  When I left church it had stopped raining, but I knew what was coming.   SNOW  When I got home from church I put on my Utah sweats and sweatshirt, a pair of socks and snuggled down under the blanket with Riley and a glass of diet coke and watched mens figure skating. 
(Ralph begged for control of the remote, but I didn't hand it over until a winner had been announced.  He wasn't even watching, he was reading a spy novel anyway, so why should he care?)

The snowstorm hit and I knew it was a good thing to stay home.  As of now we have about 4 to 5 inches of new snow.  That should make the commute to work in the morning loads of fun.


We had a total comfort food dinner of meatloaf, twice baked potatoes, cooked carrots and a big green salad.  The meatloaf recipe I use is from the Barefoot Contesssa, except I use a couple of large cloves of garlic as well.  It uses ground turkey (healthy)  I half the recipe and it gives us food for the week.  I love me a good meatloaf sandwich for lunch.



Can you really make meatloaf look appetizing?



Turkey Meatloaf

• 3 cups chopped yellow onions (2 large onions)
• 2 tablespoons good olive oil
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (1/2 teaspoon dried)
• 1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 3/4 cup chicken stock
• 1 1/2 teaspoons tomato paste
• 5 pounds ground turkey breast
• 1 1/2 cups plain dry bread crumbs
• 3 extra-large eggs, beaten
• 3/4 cup ketchup

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

In a medium saute pan, over medium-low heat, cook the onions, olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme until translucent, but not browned, approximately 15 minutes. Add the Worcestershire sauce, chicken stock, and tomato paste and mix well. Allow to cool to room temperature.

Combine the ground turkey, bread crumbs, eggs, and onion mixture in a large bowl. Mix well and shape into a rectangular loaf on an ungreased sheet pan. Spread the ketchup evenly on top. Bake for 1 1/2 hours until the internal temperature is 160 degrees F. and the meatloaf is cooked through. (A pan of hot water in the oven under the meatloaf will keep the top from cracking.) Serve hot, at room temperature, or cold in a sandwich.

Looking forward to a productive week.
Ta Ta for now.

BRRRRR

I just can't seem to keep warm.  Not only is it cold, but the air here is toxic.  Worst air quality in the US.  I know it makes you want to pack up and move to Utah right now.  If you can't find Riley these days...he has parked himself over a heating vent.  During the day, he chases the sun coming in the window.  He gets all out of sorts if it is cloudy.  Poor little guy doesn't know what to do with himself when the sun doesn't adhere to his schedule.  Oh, the life of Riley! 

We have a forcast for a storm big enough to blow the icky air away and snow/rain some more.  Lets hope that the clear air sticks around.

I have been going through card making/craft project withdrawal...  Here is a valentines card that has been swirling around in my head once I saw all the cool new accessories and stamps in our new spring catalog.

I used the new honeycomb embossing folder on two different papers and then cut them out and inserted the hexagon in the embossed sheet.   Lesson learned...if you use Stampin Up's white paper, then you have to open another tab on the platform in order for it to not tear the paper.   I didnt redo it, but noted for next time.  I used the flower from collage curios and the sentiment from my little valentine.  

I am teaching a class this weekend so I have 3 cards to design. I also have two family birthdays this month. It seems to all come at once. I like having an excuse to make a mess in my "crap" space. 

 

Work is crazy.  I got dumped with another mess to clean up.  I just hope I can keep up with it.  Right now I am operating in crisis mode.  Yikes!  It is amazing to me how somone can be assigned to a project and when things start to go south with it...why don't they ask for help.  It would have been much easier to address this when the problem started.

 

I have been able to sneek in a little bit of reading.  I just picked up The House at Riverton, by Kate Morton.  I have read her other two books, The Forgotten Garden, and the Distant Hours.  I love them both.  I read Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson.  I liked it so much I read it twice over my Christmas break.  I just finished I got this by Jennifer Hudson - Not what I expected.  Hopefully I will have a report soon.

 

I haven't really tried any new recipes lately, so nothing to report on that front.  Although, my brother shared another one of his bread recipes.  I am hoping to get better at it.  I love home made bread as it comes out of the oven.  The heel/crust in my favorite.  Slathered in butter and local honey.  MMMMM!  Maybe one day the loaves will be good enough to take a picture.

So...my one of my new goals is to get to my blog at least twice a week.  It is great therapy and it keeps my fan base informed.  HA HA HA HA.  Yes I am delusional.

Ta Ta for now 

The Glitter of the Season

 

The glitter of the season should never prevent us from truly seeing

 

 

The Prince of Peace - Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf

 

 

Time Suckers

Do you have that specific "thing" in your life that just seems to suck whatever free time you have away?  I just can't seem to keep up with this blogging thing, even though I love doing it.  Thanks to my faithful friends who stick with me.

Christmas season has hit and we have been sucked into that vortex.  The house is decorated, I have made a batch of stollen and am looking forward to making treats for delivery this weekend.  This year is fudge.  Aztec, rum raisin, fruited almond, orange nut.  I like the penuche as well, but don't know if we will get that far.  I love smelling the sugar and evaporated milk boiling on the stove. 

Here is a picture of my Christmas cactus..Full bloom and gorgeous.  I have a scarlet pink one next to it that is just starting to bud. 

The stake president assigned the stake RS to be in charge of an RS choir for stake conference.  I am thinking...really - considering that meeting are the first Sunday of January that leaves December.  Who has time?  Extra time or not I am headed to the stake center tonight for practice.  I am hoping to fit a little Christmas card making in before bed.

 

We were lucky enough to be able to attend the Tabernacle Choir concert this week. Alfie Boe is just amazing.  He sang Bring Him Home from Les Miserables.  Just incredible. Tom Brokaw narrated the story of the candy bomber. The next thing you know, the pilot was on stage and chocolate bars were falling from the ceiling. It was really neat. The lights on temple square were amazing as always.

 It happens to be one of the highlights of the Christmas season for me.

Here is a shot of Riley I took the other morning  He is soooo not a morning doggie.  Can you tell he is spoiled rotten?!

Dinner group was at our house Monday night.  We served a cold platter with vegetables and shrimp as well as fresh biscuits from the oven with butter and freezer jam.  Main course was cornmeal crusted catfish on a bed of herbed rice, pea puree and barbecue sauce.  Sounds wierd, but trust me, it is delicious.  We talked about Christmas Carols and Math. (that post is to come)  Dessert was a pecan pie with a dollop of whipped cream.  I think I have perfected the pecan pie.  Two of the ladies that asked for small portions came back for seconds.  I finished it the next morning for breakfast.  So tasty! No pictures - got eaten before I could think about it. 

We attended a cousins 60th birthday party this week.  She threw quite the bash for everyone.  The highlight for me was seeing all my favorite cousins. 

We raided the candy table together and caught up on all the goings on in our lives.  I am so glad we got to see each other.

 

Duff an Yune Ja - Yune Ja looked amazing in her full Korean dress.  So good to see them.

Tracy and Kristin  His mannerisms reminded me so much of my Dad and Grandpa Roscoe.  I know that he looks a lot like Uncle Thayne, as he should.  I wish there was more time to visit and see everyone.  Yvette and her family, Janae and her family, Bonnie and Shirl were there as well.   I did try to track down the star of the show.  I don't think she even sat down to eat. 

Maybe the next time Mom comes to visit, we can have a party at our house or a place that we can all get together.  I love my crazy outgoing family!