Two Things

I'm on a blogging roll lately.  It won't last long, I promise.

So, two unrelated things.

First, I went into Dillard's today looking for a red cardigan (why I didn't put cardigans in my favorite things post, I just don't know because, seriously, I wear them pretty much every day).  Anyway, I went to Dillard's looking for a red cardigan and came home with these instead:

 Will I regret those in 15 years?  Probably, but I'm planning to enjoy them right now.

Second.  I like Pinterest, but it hasn't been a life changer for me.  It's great, though.  And today I found a quote that pretty much sums up my entire existence.

Another thing I didn't put on my favorite things list.  Ice cream pretty much rocks my universe and I would eat it for every meal.  My favorite kind lately is Farr's German Chocolate Crunch Cake.  I can't find a picture of it on the internets...sorry.  But do yourself a favor and look for it.  It's in a brown box and it's delicious.  I could maybe even write a poem about it.  But I won't.  You're welcome. 

Wellness Wednesday

Remember when I used to do these semi-frequently?  Well, here's a new one a few years later...

Lily requested waffles for breakfast on a school morning last week.  I wanted them to be healthier than waffles normally are so they wouldn't cause a crash mid-morning during their school lessons. 

Here's my healthified version, adapted from the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook (the cooking Bible in my world).  My changes and additions are in italics.

Waffles
1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour Whole Wheat Flour
2 Tbsp. sugar Splenda
1 Tbsp. baking powder 
2 eggs
1 3/4 c. milk Skim Milk
1 /2 c. cooking oil 1/4 c. Canola Oil
1 tsp. vanilla
3 very ripe bananas

Mix dry ingredients and make a well in center.  Mix wet ingredients (you have to really mix well to puree the bananas) and add all at once to the dry ingredients.  Mix just until blended (will be slightly lumpy).  Cook on waffle maker.
We topped ours with fat free cool whip, sugar free syrup, and fresh strawberries. 

The kids LOVED them and the banana gave them a really nice fall taste.  A great healthy breakfast for a school morning!
Next we need to work on manners...  :)

Perfect Weekend Away

After Mary Poppins, I headed up to Midway to spend Friday night and Saturday with some dear friends.  Stanton took the girls back to Cache Valley and had the kids for the weekend.  They had a great time with him and I had a wonderful time with Amanda, Julie, Shauntae, and Cheryl.

Here's what we did:  talked and hiked.  Yep.  Well, okay, we also ate guacamole, salsa, and chips, mint chocolate chip ice cream, pizza, and cinnamon rolls.  And we played Bananagrams and Quiddler.  But mostly we talked and hiked.  It was a little slice of heaven.

I really only took pictures of our hike at Sundance and Stewart Falls.  Well, and one more picture of Amanda eating guacamole for the first time EVER. 

 Sundance had a fun little Farmer's Market going on with a cool bluegrass band playing.  I loved these cuffs and this vase.  Such cool handmade work.

 Julie's a little nervous for the ski lift.  But she made it!  It was so fun to ride the lift up to the top of Sundance.  What gorgeous views.

 We saw so many beautiful wild flowers, rocks, and critters.  Isn't that wooly caterpillar cute?  Shauntae found the heart shaped rock.  Love that.  And I am not a fan of hornets...at all, but don't you think that's a pretty shot?

 We hit the color change at the BEST time.  The leaves were absolutely gorgeous and the waterfall was beautiful.  So worth the hike.

 Aren't these darling ladies?!  Julie had some really funny falls that were especially funny because she was such a great sport about them.  The top right picture shows these great girls: Amanda, Cheryl, Shauntae, and Julie.  They are delightful, inspiring, and wonderful.  I love them.

What a wonderful hike.  I think it ended up being about 5 miles or so and we definitely took it slow and steady.  It was awesome.

I am really blessed to know women such as these.  I am really grateful for them.  And I'm so thankful I got to spend the time with them.  Thank you for making it happen, Amanda!

Mary Poppins!

We took the girls down to Salt Lake to watch Mary Poppins on Friday night.  It was dang fun.  We met Kyle, Gabe, & Sammie for dinner at Olive Garden and then went to the show.  We missed Angie like crazy, but she has been ill recently - dealing with a temporary but scary and painful health situation.  We missed her so much and, as you can see in the pictures, Kyle was missing her even more than us.  He was so lonely without her.
Well, the show was spectacular.  The music was great.  They changed the story some, but I mostly enjoyed the changes.  They made the story a bit more compact.  I did miss my personal favorite MP song, "I Love to Laugh." 
The actors were great, the singing was terrific, and the second act was honestly spectacular.  Burt.  Well, he was great and the "Step in Time" number was just breathtaking.  Oh my.  I think I'm getting emotional talking about it again.  It was so great. 

We had a little photo shoot while waiting for Kyle and kids before dinner.  Not an entirely cooperative one, but still.....look at that shot of Lily.  Lovin' it!

They had this cool art thing.  The poles were all flexible and the girls had a great time playing in them....until Chloe got whacked in the face by one.  Oops.  It did hurt and I felt so sad for her.  Cool art, though.  :)

Kyle and kiddos.  I love these guys!

This was right after Chloe's incident with the pole, as you can see on her face. 

Once the show got underway, we were all a twitter.  So exciting!  The kids were enthralled through the whole performance.  It was a delight.

The night was wonderful.  I'm so grateful for opportunities like these to spend time with our children.  It was a great memory.

Yellowstone from the Kids' View

The kids had our point and shoot at Yellowstone and took some fun pictures.  I whittled them down from about 300 to these few.

Not bad, right?!

Time Well Spent

We've been spending a lot of time with the grandmas the last month or so.

Grandma Allen has started eating again and we are so glad that she is rallying.  It doesn't look like she is going to die any time soon - what a relief.  It has been bittersweet, though, because she really isn't herself anymore.  Her mind has really gone downhill and she is experiencing a lot of paranoia. 
BUT, we are so glad she is here.  We love her dearly and have loved having her and Grandma Barbara so close by and available to visit. 

Some pictures from recent visits.

This was from when she was refusing food and we thought she would be dying soon.

She perks right up when the kids come to see her.  They are pretty darn good to show love and affection toward her, although they occasionally tell us they "don't really like kissing her."  Haha!  Well kids, we've all been there.  Deal with it.  :)  Hehe.

 Look how much happier she is.  It's unreal how quickly she goes from down to up with those kids around.

We've so loved having Grandma Barb close by, too.  We try to visit her as often, but she is always bouncing around going to the different activities they have at the center.  Her mind is as crackers as Grandma Allen's (maybe more), but she's a bit more mobile.  The kids love to play with her toys and eat her candy.  She's a delight.  How lucky we are.


These are pictures from our point and shoot that the kids sort of commandeered during this particular visit.  It kept Chloe and Brigham both occupied for a long time -- they're my little shutter bugs.

I love seeing what they catch from their point of view.  That music box was Grandma Barb's mothers (Grandma Vedie).  They love that freaky clown.  Me?  Creepy!  I love Brig's picture of Grandma Allen's hand.  He took a LOT of pictures of them.  I think he was really intrigued by it.  The picture at the top is of Stanton swabbing out Grandma's mouth to keep in moist.

My folks just called to tell me that my Grandma Rose is really declining, too.  They were afraid she was going to die this week, but it seems now that she is not there yet.  We are so glad, but, again, her mind is really pretty much gone.  It's so hard to see these things happening to our grandparents.  Old age is cruel.  Dementia is cruel.  But we are so thankful that it looks like we have more time with these wonderful women who have taught us so much. 

Favorite Things

Just like Oprah, except you don't get anything!

1.  Every Toy Story movie.








If I had to choose a favorite, it would be number 2, but honestly, I don't think there's ever been a better set of children's movies made.  In my Top 10 movies of all time, easily.  And yep, I cry.  Every time.

2.  L'Oreal Infallible Lipstick

This is the best lipstick ever.  It stays on for 8 hours (sometimes more) and has a really nice neutral shade.  The white side is just basically a shiny chapstick that you put on whenever you want the lipstick to look new again.  It is just a really great, hard-working lipstick.  Try it.  You'll love it.


3. Blistex brand chapstick (the green tube)

I probably have 15 tubes of this in various places throughout the house, car, purse, etc, including several backups in the medicine storage.  I love this stuff.  It has no flavor, which is super important to me, it doesn't get addictive, it goes on smoothly, and it's just plain fantastic.  There isn't another chapstick that even comes close.

4. Martha Stewart Everyday Food Magazine

No articles, no perfume inserts, and really great recipes.  I end up using even 10 or more recipes from each issue, which is more than I use out of a lot of cookbooks.  Love the pictures, love the recipes.  Most everything takes about 30 minutes or less prep time and while the ingredients aren't always the first things on your normal shopping list, they're readily available at your grocery store.  My culinary skills have improved so much by reading and using this magazine.  Awesome.

5. Weight Watchers Online
We've been tracking since January.  Stanton has lost 30 lbs. and I've lost around 8-10.  We've been SO happy with the results.  I love having a place to "budget" my calories and be aware of what I'm putting in my body every day.

6. E-Mealz.  This has been my go-to menu planner for the last 4 months.  It's easy to follow and has a "Portion Control Plan" that includes Weight Watchers points for each menu item.  For $5 a month, it's a bargain.  Love it.

7. E.L.F. Bronzer in Luminance

8. Maybelline Define-A-Lash Mascara in Very Black

I have long eyelashes.  I have tried pretty much every drugstore mascara on the planet (honestly, I have tried A LOT) and about that many department store brands.  I have two favorites -- Lancome Definicils and Maybelline Define-A-Lash.  They are almost identical in my book.  Well, except that one cost $45 and one costs $7.  Take your pick.  Define-A-Lash is seriously so great.  It doesn't clump, it gives beautiful definition, isn't heavy, and stays on without flaking for the whole day.  I'm in love.  *sigh

9. 21 Days Closer to Christ by Emily Freeman

This is a wonderful book to get back in the habit of scripture study.  I love the scripture prompts (most of which are in the New Testament) and find that often I don't even need to read the commentary she gives -- I've found my own with the few verses she suggests.  And the daily challenges are great, too.  Terrific book. 

10. Kraft Fat Free Thousand Island Dressing

One WW point for 2 Tbsp.  And it's delicious.

11. Freebies2Deals





This is my gold standard deal finding blog on the internet.  I've found some really great stuff following her blog.  She does do the weekly ad/coupon match-ups with the grocery stores, but I'm not couponing anymore, so I don't use the site for that.  I love the deals on the internet.  Some of my favorites are the Chili's free kids' meals, boots from Famous Footwear for 70% off, a really high quality Santuko knife for $7, etc, and the entire Star Wars collection on Blu-Ray for $79.  I don't buy every single one, but when they're up my alley, I'm sure glad I have someone looking for me!

12.  Speaking of Star Wars, that's definitely one of my favorite things lately.  The whole series, but wow is that episode 5 awesome.  Love it.

13.  Old Navy's Fall Collection.  I've mourned the end of the summer, but looking at these clothes has me just ever so slightly looking forward to the changing of the seasons....

And guess what?  You do get something.  I'll pick a winner from the comments to get a little package in the mail with a few of my favorites.  Who knows which ones?  Not me, but you might just get lucky.

Mr. Independent

Cannon decided to make himself lunch a few weeks ago.  Bread and butter sandwich.  Period.  Or maybe I should say butter and bread sandwich.  ha!  (this actually reminds me of the potato chip sandwiches Stanton lived on when he was single and in dental school)

The Beginning of "The Nap"

Remember the nap that I wrote about last week?  The one that started at 4:30 pm and ended at 3:48 am?  Here's where it all started....

Chloe's Book - You Should Always Read A Book

Chloe worked on this story for a good chunk of the summer.