Earthquake Cake

This cake is really good! And if you don't like coconut or pecans you can easily leave one or both of them off.

Earthquake Cake

1 C chopped pecans

1 C coconut

1 pkg German Chocolate cake mix or I used Super Moist Chocolate Fudge

plus ingredients from back of cake box (probably eggs, oil, water)

2 C powdered sugar

1 stick butter, softened

1 8oz pkg cream cheese, softened

Spray 9x13 pan. Spread pecans and coconut on bottom. Mix cake according to box directions. Pour over nuts and coconut. Mix together powdered sugar, cream cheese and butter. Pour evenly over cake. Bake at 350 for 45 min. DO NOT OVERBAKE. Cake will be cracked on top, hence the name

Heathere's Banana Bread

I found this recipe online and am claiming it as my own because I loved it so much. This is very banana-y and very rich – you may not be able to have more than a piece at a time.

Heathere's Banana Bread

Ingredients:
4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup melted butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla (I ran out and used imitation maple)
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 8x8 inch pan (I used this instead of a loaf pan because I can never get it to cook through in a loaf pan). Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

Find the lie about Heathere

Let's see who thinks they know me!

1. I have shot a school teacher point-blank in the face with a rubber band.
2. I once peed my pants as an adult while grocery shopping.
3. I inherited a love of puzzle magazines from my mother.
4. I once had a man with a foot fetish stalk me.
5. I have a sweet little boy named Clark swimming in my belly.

Money Saving Tips

Sorry this is a little late, we've been out of town. I thought a good question this week would be a saving money question. Right now most of us are in the "starving student" phase and if you're not then we're all in the "young children" phase and if your husband isn't in school then I'm guessing he is probably just starting out in his job. So we are all trying to save money for the future. A nice house, the kids' missions and college, gas... haha!
So whether it's clipping coupons, shopping sales, having a budget laid out, buying in bulk, or whatever, what do you do to save money?

Little White Lie

1. I didn't attend my High School gradutation.

2. I've trecked through the Tetons with a llama.

3. I've never dyed my hair.

4. I was kissed multiple times on my mission.

5. I was supposed to be a twin.

You can't handle the truth!

1. Valentine's Day 1996 in a Russian elevator: TRUE! My friend Nancy and I went to Moscow for 6 months in college to teach English as a Second Language. We lived in a really tall building, and on Valentine's Day, we decided to get some exercise by running the stairs. (all 20 stories!!) We did this for a while and after we were done, we thought we'd give ourselves a break by taking the elevator back up to the 15th floor, where we lived. The elevator got stuck between the 2nd and 3rd floors, and if you know anything about old Soviet buildings, we could still be there if we hadn't banged and yelled loud enough for the security guards to hear us. (They thought we were nuts anyway, wearing shorts and running up and down the stairs in the middle of February). I guess I wasn't stuck in the elevator the whole day, but 45 minutes in a Russian elevator feels like a lifetime...let's just say the standards of elevator cleanliness aren't exactly high over there!

2. Trespassing on NASA property during my honeymoon: TRUE! Geoff and I went to Florida on our honeymoon, and a woman on the plane ride recommended a particular beach as being very natural and unspoiled by hotdog stands, etc...We found the beach and were walking hand in hand, googling at each other and probably looking like some kind of ad for an arthritis medication or something, and suddenly we heard this person SCREAMING at us. We turned around and there was a woman about 400 yards back, waving and yelling at us. We couldn't understand what she was saying, but she seemed very insistent, so we walked back and she was saying, "STOP!! You are trespassing on NASA Property!"She was saying all this stuff about protected lands and how we were endangering the ability of the astronauts, etc..Geoff said, "Oh, I'm sorry, we didn't realize." She looked back at us like were nuts and said really sarcastically, "Right. I'm sure you didn't notice the sign." SIGN? We turned around and there in ENORMOUS red letters was a huge sign saying NO TRESPASSING-DO NOT PASS THIS POINT. THIS IS NASA PROPERTY." We had completely missed it...We tried to explain that we were on our honeymoon and not really paying attention to anything but she just looked disgusted that we would lie about something like that. Hee hee...

3: I've been up to my ankles in french-fry grease: TRUE! In college, my friend and I got a job working as short order cooks in the student union. One of the closing duties was to drain the big fryer of its grease and fill it up with new stuff for the next day. It was somewhat complicated, involving turning the whole thing off to cool, then turning a valve to drain the fryer, removing the big tube, putting in a different tube, turning the valve back on to fill the fryer back up. My friend was in charge of it that night and I was around the corner. Suddenly I heard a big scream and my friend yelled "Molly!!! HURRY!!!". I ran around the corner and almost did the splits because the floor was so slippery-somehow the tube hadn't gotten connected up and grease was gushing everywhere and my friend was just standing there laughing because she was so freaked out. It really only took a few seconds for us to get the right valve turned but by that time we were both ankle deep in grease and I was laughing so hard I almost wet my pants. Fortunately the grease was cool, or it could have been really bad, but I still get the giggles when I think of how funny we must have looked.

4. I have personally helped put a man in jail: TRUE!
I'm realizing all these things happened in college! I managed to leave my wallet/planner under my seat after a class, and then it was gone when I went back for it. I called my credit card to cancel it and you guessed it, it had already been used! This was Logan Utah in 1995, so identity theft wasn't really common knowledge--stupid me had thought some handsome RM was going to show up at my dorm with the wallet and that would be the beginning of our love story...:)

The card had been used to buy some fancy hiking boots, and the woman at the store gave me a description of the guy who'd bought them. I showed up early to class and guess who strolls in wearing the boots! I called the cops and they questioned him but let him go, saying it was my word against his. The guy was waiting for me after class and we walked around for a while (I cannot believe I wasn't scared, but I guess he was kind of short!). He was dancing around the subject until finally I came out and asked him if he had taken my credit card and he said "Yes!" He said he'd never done anything like this before and please could he just pay me back, his parents would be so angry with him, blah blah blah. He played just about every sympathy card there was and I ALMOST felt sorry for him, until he tried to appeal to my sense of religion--he said something about God's forgiveness, and at that point I just got mad, because I realized he was being manipulative. I told him I needed to let the police handle it. At this point we had walked to my dorm (again, stupid I know!) and he turned away, saying he had to go to class. I couldnt' believe he thought he was just going to walk away, so I said, "Um, you're not going to class, you're going to jail!!"

The guy took off running! My friend was working at the front desk and I yelled, "That's the guy who stole my credit card!" And then I ran after him! He didn't have much of a head start and like I said before, he was short and wearing hiking boots, so I caught up to him. We had this completely surreal conversation about facing the music and then a cop car showed up. They took my statement and I wrote how bad I felt for him because he'd never done anything like this before, etc. The cop read it and said, "He told you he's never done anything like this before??" It turns out this guy had a record a mile long...my little Nancy Drew experiment was the last straw and he ended up in jail for a year. I still cannot believe I was dumb enough to confront the guy....

#5: My parents never planned to call me Liahona. There's no real story, and my kid is freaking out, so I'll spare you all another story. :)

I tag Heathere!

Tag

I am going to tag the other Rachael.

Here comes the truth

1. Truth, I was really good as kid at getting my point across to people, so I just thought debating in a court of law would be cool. I have since changed my mind.

2. False, as much as I wish I had stuck with it I never played basketball in high school.

3. Truth, in high school I volunteered at St Joe's hospital in St Paul. I used to get really light headed the first 24 hours of my period and happened to pass out once. The hospital paid for the ER visit and the stitches in my chin.

4. Truth, I never really competed with my car stereo but the guy I was dating and that installed it. Made sure that it was in case I wanted a company to sponsor me.

5. Truth, it all started when I brought a friend from high school to a church dance. It was August and very hot, so we went outside to cool off. While outside we were really excited and hyper, we saw dandelions and it just became a silly joke that we still have.

There you go, know you all know hings about me that you would not have otherwise!!!

Parenting Magazine

This was too fun, I had to share! And what better place to share a Parenting article than the Mommy Blog??



Does anyone read Parenting Magazine? Well if you do, or you happen to pass one at the store or dr. office flip to page 70!!! My daughter, Mayli got to be in the June issue of Parenting. It's a piece on development and they put her picture and a few quotes from me in the magazine. It's so fun to see our names in a national magazine!!
The article is also online if you click here: PARENTING

Buttermilk Syrup

Our easy meals (besides going out or ordering pizza) usually end being grilled sandwiches or spaghetti. Chicken Bundles and Tortilla Casserole are also pretty fast. But since I've already posted recipes for those then our other fall back dinner is pancakes! My kids LOVE pancakes so this is always a hit even if it's for dinner instead of breakfast. And I usually cook some bacon to go with it.
But here's the BEST part of our pancakes! Buttermilk Syrup! And I've always been a box pancake mix with store bought syrup mom before but then my mom gave me this recipe and it is SO SO SO SO good! And it's good for more than just pancakes! I think it would be good as a fruit dip or on ice cream! Yum... and it's easy to make! So here it is:

Buttermilk Syrup
1 stick butter
1/2 C buttermilk (or make your own by adding 1/2 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar to 1/2 C milk)
1 C sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
Melt butter in saucepan. Add milk and sugar and stir to a boil. Remove from heat and add baking soda and vanilla. It will be runny at first but let it cool for a little bit and it will thicken. Make sure to lick the spoon!!!

Lisey's Alfredo

This may not seem like something that I would make when there is nothing else, but for some strange reason I always have parmesan cheese in my freezer and cream in my fridge.
Lisey's Alfredo
Serves 4 (I usually triple the sauce recipe and double the noodles because we like it creamy. We also use bowtie pasta or even elbow macaroni because it is easier for the kids)
Cook 4 oz fettuccini noodles until tender in boiling water. Add 1 tsp oil to the water so the noodles don't stick together. Drain noodles and set aside.
In a saucepan combine:
1/4 C. Butter
1/2 C. cream
1 tsp. Parsley flakes
1/8 tsp Salt.
1/8 tsp. Nutmeg (I don't use this because I don't like it)
1/4 c. Parmesan Cheese
Bring to low boil, simmer for 4-5 min. Toss noodles with sauce vigorously, serve warm :)
I like to also add a grilled chicken breast or 2 and some cooked broccoli for a well rounded meal

Oh the tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive...

Ok--here goes! Which one do you think is false?

1. I spent Valentine's Day 1996 stuck in a Russian elevator.
2. My husband and I trespassed on NASA property on our honeymoon.
3. I have been up to my ankles in french fry grease.
4. I have personally helped to put a man in jail.
5. My name was supposed to be Liahona, but my parents changed their minds at the last minute.

My easy dinner

After traveling or being gone all day or having to make a really fast meal usually means that I make 1 of 2 meals. Spaghetti, or tacos. I always have frozen, cooked hamburger in my freezer, so it is always easy for tacos. When I do tacos, I always add a can of diced tomatoes, plus taco seasoning and then we eat it with whatever toppings we have, tortillas, or tortilla chips, lettuce, cheese, and whatever else we may have sitting around. It's pretty low key, but it tastes good, and Will eats it too! Spaghetti is always a family favorite. And, I can add hamburger to that too, plus I always add a little brown sugar to my jarred sauce, it makes it taste yummy, and if I have green peppers I add those too. Garlic bread is a cinch and add a side of frozen or canned corn, and it is on the table in 30 minutes or less. Boring, yes, easy, yes, tasty, yes!

Family Vacations

Summer is coming and so are the fun family vacations! This year we were invited to spend a week with my parents in a timeshare in Orlando, Florida in July. I know it is not the best time to go, super hot and humid, but free accommodations with a nice pool will make it easier to bear. So in July Ian will be 2 1/2 and I will be almost 5 months pregnant, making Orlando a little tricky. I first crossed off Magic Kingdom from our itinerary thinking that Ian would be too young and that I wouldn't be able to go on anything. I thought Sea World would be more enjoyable. But then I talked to a friend who said, "No, that is a perfect time for Disney, at 2 1/2 yrs they are free and are starting to enjoy stuff like that."

So I thought I would ask you girls. Have you been on a theme park vacation, Disney or others, with a toddler or pregnant? How did it go? Do you have any advise for me? Or have you gone to Orlando and have pros/ cons on going to Disney or the other parks?

What other fun vacations have you gone on with your toddlers or do you have any fun vacations planned for this summer? I'd love ideas for the future.

Guess which one!! I bet no one will!

Sorry mine are not very exciting. I guess I have not had as many adventures as the rest of you!

1. When I was a little girl I wanted to be a Lawyer, because I thought it would be cool to get dresses up and get paid to fight/argue with people.

2. In high school I set the record from most rebounds made in one season at my school.

3. While volunteering at a hospital I passed out in the bathroom and had to be rushed upstairs to the ER.

4. I used to have a competition level stereo system in my car.

5. When I was in YWs I used to smoke dandelions at church dances.

Here you go. I'm not sure if anyone is going to get it!! Good luck!

The Lie Revealed

So girls not one of you guessed my lie! I guess the chocolate one threw you off, that surprised me for some reason. Now before you get upset that there is a girl out there who doesn't like chocolate, let me explain...

1. True, I really don't like chocolate. Yes, I am one of those strange girls. My mom noticed it when I was young when every year after Easter, my chocolate easter bunny was left untouched for months. I thought the bunnies were way too cute to eat! Sometimes I would nibble on an ear but it wasn't tempting enough to eat. The jelly beans never lasted more then a day in my basket though. Even today I look for the chocolate chip cookie with the least amount of chips. I have a Sam's Club bag of those mini peanut butter cups left over from Halloween that I forget we even have! Kent has started taking them to the YM to get rid of them. I have a candy jar full of Lindt chocolate that I never touch, so if anyone wants to come visit me, they are all yours! I do eat chocolate if it is a minor ingredient, but nothing too rich. I DO love pies, baked goods, fruity things, and the occasional brownie. Yes, I am weird.

2. True, Kent and I were harassed on a train going from Austria to Germany by German border patrol. We had bought tickets for the local train and got on the express, a ticket price difference of over 22 Euros (a lot more money with the exchange rate!). We kinda knew what we did and played dumb American tourists (even though Kent is fluent in German!) as they eyed us and our bags. They were really cold, terrifying guys but in the end they let us pay them the difference in the price and they left us alone. I guess you can't get away with things like that, nice lesson in honesty! That was such a great trip, if you have a chance to go to Munich and southern Germany ever in your life, GO!

3. False. I wasn't asked out by any band member of Ocean Blue. They did play at BYU my freshman year and I went with some friends. We all had huge crushes on the lead singer (who was married). After the show we decided to stalk them down at their hotel, real cool I know. Since there was only one good hotel in Provo it was easy to figure out where they would be. We bought a few frosties as gifts from Wendy's and sat in the lobby until they got there. They were really nice and talked to us for awhile and one of the guys exchanged email addresses with one of my friends. But no dates for me.

4. True, I was a finalist in the Miss Northern California Teenager pageant when I was 16. I didn't make it past the 10 finalists though. It was a fun experience, but I am not a pageant kind of girl!

5. True! This one fooled some of you. I have met someone from every spanish speaking country there is! When you look it up there really aren't as many countries as you might think. Serving a mission in New York City (the melting pot of the world) Spanish speaking was a great and cultural experience. I taught people from all over the world. They really loved talking about their countries, sharing their food, and telling us what was different about their people then other hispanics. It was a little hard to keep up with the lingo for each country so I stuck with the basics. We got really good at figuring out what country people were from by what they looked like and/or their accents. We even had one Elder from Bolivia and two Elder's (brothers actually) from Uruguay. The mission had missionaries speaking English, Spanish, Portuguese, Korean, Chinese (both Mandarin and Cantonese speaking Elders), ASL, and Russian (some of them were from Russia directly). So I met people from all over and can honestly say that I have met someone from every Spanish speaking country.


There you go! Hopefully you learned something interesting about me. I am really enjoying reading all of your posts! I feel like I haven't been too involved in the blog lately. It is mostly because I have come down with a terrible case of Morning Sickness! It is going around I hear. Luckily I am starting to feel a little better. So expect some exciting news from the Archibald's around Dec 2nd!

So I tag...Molly!

The Truth Comes Out

Alright, the moment you've been waiting for...

1. Ok, I just like to brag about this. It happened while Rob was on his mission and I was determined to have lots of fun. So, at one point I did go on 9 dates in 8 days with 9 different guys. How cool! I still get some grief about this from Rob, but the way I see it, it was better to have fun with lots, instead of get serious with one.

2. For those of you who chose this as my lie, you are correct. I did not accidentally light my friend's cabin on fire. It was my brother. There were about 50 people at my friend's cabin and my smartie pants of a brother was trying to keep the fire going by filling the little cap on a can of gasoline, with gasoline, and putting it on the fire. Well, it eventually "fired back" at him (I'm so funny). Anyway, the rug next to the fireplace caught on fire, and people started yelling. I was outside when the yelling started, so I ran inside, only to be thrown a towel and told to help get the fire out. While we were all frantically trying not to let the cabin burn down, no one noticed that my brother wasn't there. After it was out, someone asked where he was so we started searching. Someone found him outside on the ground, passed out. He had burned his hand pretty bad trying to get the can of gasoline out and away from the fire. So another kid rushed him to the hospital. Moral of the story...eagle scouts don't always know what they're doing.

3. Ok, so I thought more of you would guess this one. I tried to throw you off a little. I will just tell the story. My dad didn't want me to go to BYU because he thought I would just be whisked off immediately into marriage. So Freshman year of college, there was a girl in my ward who met a guy in September, was engaged the next month, and married by December. (if this happened to you, that's not a bad thing!) Anyway, my roommate thought it would be funny to pull a prank on our parents. So in October we started telling our parents that we met someone. And throughout the next month and a half, every date we went on, we would tell our parents that it was with this guy (who we made up). It was getting pretty serious, so we decided we had to take "him" home to meet the parents. My friend asked one of her friends to be her boyfriend, and funny enough, the friend I asked was Rob. (we weren't dating, we were just friends!!)
We took them home. My friend's (Amy) family were so nice, and my family was, well, so rude. Quite the contrast. My parents hardly talked to them, and my mom asked when we had to go. Anyway, it didn't go well. Well, Amy and I took it one step further and a couple days later went back home with fake engagement rings from Wal-mart. We got it on video. Her familiy was again so nice, and happy for her. My family...oh dear. Well, my dad was furious. My mom started crying, my youngest sisters were thrilled because they really liked "Jason." After a while of my mom crying, and some awkward silence, I went to give my mom a hug. I said, "but mom, don't you want to know the best part of all of this?" And she said, "What? ........ Are you lying to me?" When I said yes, she threw me on the ground and started hitting me! My dad just stood there, trying to take in what had just happened. My youngest sisters were very sad, indeed. And my sister that was recording was just laughing. My mom tried to say she knew the whole time... ha, ok mom.
The next time Rob came up to my house was a few weeks later. As soon as my mom saw him she ran up and gave him a hug and said, "I'm so glad you're not going to be part of this family!" Nice one mom. We sure showed you!

4. I cannot whistle for the life of me. When my youngest sister was 5, she learned how to whistle, and since she was just so cool, she put it upon herself to make fun of me whenever other people were around. So rather than whistling while I work, I prefer to hum.

5. And finally, the chefs. I must tell you right now that I have had a pretty boring life, so I dolled this one up a bit. Coming out of a haunted house, my friend and I were on dates and we were walking to our car. Across the street was a restaurant and there were 4-5 cooks standing outside with their aprons on. They were just staring at us, which we were suspicious of, especially after just being in a haunted house. Anyway, almost to our car, we notice that the chefs were following us, so we speed up a little. Julie tried to get her keys in the lock, but dropped them (classic movie scene). We finally got inside, but our dates would not come, they thought something was funny... So we just left them. We waited on another street for about 5 minutes, and thinking they'd be gone, we went back to get our dates. We stopped the car, they got in, and these crazy (or in this case we'll say angry) guys jump on her car! They were hitting the windows, and we saw that they were not cooks from the restaurant, unless it's normal to have blood stains and crazy makeup on in a restaurant. they were butchers from the haunted house! After screaming for a good couple minutes, Julie just decided to drive. One guy would not get off our car, so she swerved a little, and he jumped off. Great, now I have crazy cooks to add to my list of things I'm most afraid of.

Hope you enjoyed that! I tag...Rachel

Easy Mashed Potatoes

My cousin (in-law), Stephanie would make these mashed potatoes when we would all get together in Utah. They were SO good that I decided to make my own version and now my family all makes them too. So thanks Stephanie if you ever read this! :)

Easy Mashed Potatoes

4-5 potatoes (Red potatoes are the best but I've used Russet potatoes too)
about 1 stick cream cheese (8 oz)
about 1 can cream of chicken soup

Boil potatoes until done. Mash them up (I don't even remove the skin!) while adding the cream cheese and soup until it's at the consistency you want. If it's still a little dry when both are all in then add some milk or butter. And serve!
That's all I put in but you can also add cheese, salt, minced onions, garlic salt, etc. Yum!!

Strawberries in Snow

This is a yummy desert recipe given to me by a friend who was in the New Brighton Ward way back when. Anyone remember Lisa Ricks? It uses a Trifle bowl but since I don't own one, I improvise with a large glass bowl. Perfect for a summer evening get together.

8 oz cream cheese
1 1/2 C. confectioners sugar
12 oz. Cool Whip
1 tsp vanilla
1 Angel food cake
1 quart sliced strawberries
2 pkg strawberry glaze (usually in produce section)

Mix cream cheese and sugar until creamy. Add Cool Whip and vanilla. Set aside.
Tear cake into pieces and set aside.
Mix strawberries and glaze together. Set aside.

Put a layer of cake pieces in the bottom of the bowl. Follow with a layer of the Cool whip mixture. Then add a layer of the strawberries. Make sure each layer is completely covered. Continue layering. Make cool whip mixture be the top layer. Garnish with some of the strawberry slices.

Keep in the refrigerator. Kids love this!

Find my Lie

After much anticipation here is my list. I didn't see that I was tagged until yesterday, sorry.

1. I don't like chocolate, never have.
2. Kent and I were harassed by German border patrol on a train from Austria to Germany.
3. I was asked out by a member of a rock band (Ocean Blue, one of my fav at the time) after they played at BYU.
4. I was a finalist in the Miss Northern California Teenager Pageant.
5. I have met someone from every Spanish speaking country there is.

There you go. Good luck.

Mini Cheesecakes

These are great little desserts and so easy to make. The crust is a cookie! I like to make them for parties.


24 vanilla wafer cookies
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup white sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
1 (12 ounce) can cherry pie filling

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line 24 regular size muffin cups with paper or foil baking liners. Place one cookie each cup.
2. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the nutmeg and vanilla. Pour mixture evenly into prepared muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full.
3. Bake for 20 minutes or till just set. Cool completely, then top with cherry pie filling. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Makes 24 mini cheesecakes

Quiet Time

Sorry if someone else had a question for this week too, but I've been wondering about this one for a long time. My 3-year-old stopped taking naps about 6 months ago and it was a sad transition (mostly for me!). She was always more happy with a rest in the day and it was nice to have some time where I could be by myself or play with our baby one-on-one. But, someone gave me the wise advice of transitioning no nap time into "quiet time". Some activities have worked better than others for us, but our recent favorite is having her listen to books-on-tape (or CD) from the library. She loves doing it and after working on it for a while she will now be entertained for almost an hour. I think it's really important for kids to learn how to entertain themselves, but I've found few toys/activities that keep her occupied. What do your kids like to do by themselves for little breaks? Have you found ways to make quiet time work at your house?

Who knows me best?

Here you go!

1. I have been on 9 dates in 8 days with 9 different guys
2. I accidentally lit my friend's cabin on fire
3. I have been engaged twice
4. I can't whistle
5. I was chased by a group of angry chefs

Good Luck

Summer Slushy

Happy Mother's Day!!!
I was hoping to do something fun on the blog for Mother's Day but I've been out of town all weekend and just couldn't think of anything to do. So instead here's my recipe for the week! :) I hope you all have a great day!

Summer Slushy

1 can frozen orange juice
1 can frozen lemonade
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla
4 cups sugar
16 cups water

Mix together and pour into 2 1-gallon freezer bags. Freeze overnight. Dump bags out into a large picture or punch bowl and pour 2 liters of sprite over to serve. This obviously makes a lot so it's nice for parties. Or you can half it and just do one bag/1 liter worth just have as a family treat!

The truth is out!

So here are some of the weird stories from my past. Okay, they're really not that exciting when they're explained...

1. Willie Nelson sweat on me. All true. I grew up in Southern Utah and so during high school my friends and I would go to Mesquite, NV (outside of Vegas) to eat at buffets and swim when it was still freezing in Utah. On one trip we saw a man sitting by himself in front of one of the casinos. Being the popular culture magnet that I am, I recognized him instantly as Willie Nelson. His stylish belt confirmed the fact by having his name along the back of his waist. This encounter was during his money issues with the IRS and he was thrilled to have young girls (probably the fact that we were in our swimming gear didn't hurt) recognize him and want a picture with him). The tank-top clad country singer gave us very sweaty hugs to round off the experience. Ahh, my brush with fame!

2. I attended an anti-nuclear protest surrounded by hippies. True again! My sweet parents are hippies at heart and when my brother and I were kids they jumped at the chance to take our family to this protest in Nevada. The protest was actually against underground nuclear testing - which looking back I totally agree with being banned (we have many family members who have suffered from radiation effects from the nuclear testing prior to WWII). I remember thinking it was weird and singing some rocking versions of Blowing in the Wind. I'm not quite sure, but I think I was also wearing a poncho - doesn't that make it cooler?

3. I spent a summer wearing knickerbockers. True again. Back in the day when I played the cello way-to-much, I spent a summer at the Interlochen music camp in Michigan. They have the unusual dress code of navy knickers or shorts with a light blue top. After trying the corduroy knickerbockers, I immediately loved the serious comfort this piece of clothing provides. I gladly wore them all summer with classy light-blue knee socks to top off the ensemble.

4. I've had my life threatened by a federal felon. This is my lie! In my pre-motherhood life I worked at the U.S. Attorney's office for 5 years as a federal financial agent. This job meant that I had to do some serious research (snooping) into convicts financial affairs and make them repay money they owed to their victims. We also had to force many to come back to court. So, even though I was sworn at a lot and many hated my guts, I never got an actual death threat (even though co-workers did!).

5. A member of my family has injured themselves participating in terrorist activities. True again! My dad's side of the family is all from Ireland (he moved here for graduate studies and then he met my mom) and my great-uncle on this side became briefly involved with the IRA (fanatical Irish group). In his craziness, he blew off his thumb building a bomb. Even though he has an exciting past, he is one of the nicest people ever!

Thanks for the fun idea, Cassi. Now I tag Christine!

Liar Liar Pants on Fire

1. "I have an upside down tooth"--TRUE--In fact its an extra, upside down tooth, under my gums. I have all my teeth plus this one. My oral surgeon never wanted to take it out until it made a cyst around itself out of fear of paralyzing half my face. Its under my bottom, front teeth. Weird huh.

2. "I have had 2 kidney stones."--TRUE-- When Mikelle (2) was 6 months old I had the worst pain in my kidney after my brother Rob (my husband was out of town) took me to the ER they found 2 kidney stones, 1 of them was trying to work its way out. After a week in and out of the ER they finally admitted me and surgically removed one of them. So I still have one left, I curse the day it decides to come out.

3. "I flew on a plane with Jerry Springer."--TRUE-- I had just graduated high school and on my way to the East Coast to visit my sister and lo and behold Jerry Springer was on my flight, of course he flew first class. We were all joking that he was probably dieing for a cat fight to break out in coach. I wanted to start screaming at my sister for sleeping with my boyfriend, haha.

4." I was hit on the head by a traffic arm."--TRUE-- I was a freshmen in college and my roommate and I were walking into campus returning books for cash, and all of the sudden she yells "watch out" at the same time I was being hit on the head/shoulder with the traffic arm. There was a nice line of cars lined up waiting there turn to exit the parking lot, it was really embarrassing.

5. "I have never gambled."--LIE-- I have gambled, though I don't do it often, I find it kind of fun. However, my husband and I just spent a few days in Vegas together and I begged and begged him to gamble just a few dollars with me, we lost $23 in less that 3 minutes. Never even making $1. We quit after that, and it didn't seem as fun anymore.

I tag Chalece!!!!! :)

Melt Aways...with almond extract

Okay so I know we did cookies last week, but I had a hard time coming up with anything else. And these are the best and seriously melt in your mouth. I make these every christmas.

1 c corn starch
1c powder sugar
2 c room temperature butter (must be butter)
1 Tbs Almond extract
2 c flour
candied cherries

Cream butter, sugar, almond, and corn starch. Add flour and beat together. Shape into small balls, Place 1/4 candied cherry on top of each cookie. Bake at 300 degrees for 20 mintues.

In need of some Mother's Day Inspriation

I need some ideas of what to get my Mom for mother's day. She will be spending 4-6 months at one of the best hospitals in the nation taking care of my Dad. They leave in June and so I'm wanting to get her something to help with the endless hours of either sitting in a hospital room or in a hotel room. Does anyone have any good ideas?

Liar Liar

Which one is my lie?

1. Willie Nelson sweat on me.
2. I attended an anti-nuclear protest surrounded by hippies.
3. I spent a summer wearing knickerbockers.
4. I've had my life threatened by a federal felon.
5. A member of my family has injured themselves participating in terrorist activities.

Surprise!

No! This is not my attempt to announce that I am pregnant either. But Shalee's false announcement gave me an idea for this week's tricks of the trade question!

What are some fun or creative ways you've used to announce that you were pregnant to you husband, family, or friends? Or some fun ones that you've heard of!

My Lie...good luck

This is hard!!!

1. I have an upside down tooth.

2. I have had 2 kidney stones.

3. I flew on a plane with Jerry Springer.

4. I was hit on the head by a traffic arm.

5. I have never gambled.

Let's put the truth on the table

Ok, to start I should jump to #5. I am NOT pregnant. In fact every day that I spend chasing my 14 month old around and trying to catch him when he's teetering on top of things (like the staircase or our coffee table) I add another year until I will increase our family.

1. I had a tumor connected to my femur on my right hip when I was 17...or at least that's when they finally "found" it. I was at the doctor for a routine lacrosse (we'll get to that later) physical when I added "By the way, I have this bump on the side of my leg." No cancer, thankfully, and I affectionately called it my fetus. It really was that big.

2. David Letterman made fun of me. I went to see him and got ushered up to the front row. During his stand up routine the camera shot to me and I was excited (and 18) so I started cheering and flung my arms into the air. He said "WOW...look at you you're on tv" and then the camera shot back to me and he said "chew that gum, make mom proud." Some of it was edited out for the showing but that is the truth.

3. I am not crazy enough to make my own wedding cake. In fact, my sis-in-law Annie who commented went cake tasting with my parents for me since I was at BYU. I cannot bake. I am almost breaking into hives because I am making a cake for my husband's birthday on Monday...I'm not sure hives would be the appropriate reaction but you get the point. Whoever chose this one, WON!

4. In college I got a coaching certificate and I co-started the Orem High School Lacrosse team...I have to say this was one of my biggest thrills in life. I have this great dream of coaching high school lacrosse again when my kids are in high school...that way I can keep tabs on them. We had a day long workshop with all of the Utah girl lacrosse players and they brought in the National team to help coach. At the end of the day we scrimmaged and it was a huge highlight to play with them.

6. A guy asked me out right around the time I met Jeremy and he took me flying in this little tiny 4 seater plane. He handed over the controls for awhile while we were up there. I had a blast until he started doing drops and twists. I was a little worried when I saw the stress on his face when we were beginning our descent too. It was a very unique and fun first date...but nothing compared to Jeremy.

Anna's turn!

Sour Cream Drop Cookies

These are so yummy!

Cream:
2 c. sugar
1 c. shortening, butter, or margarine (you can do 1/2 shortening, 1/2 margarine)
until fluffy

Add:
1 tsp vanilla
1 c sour cream
stir

Add:
4 c flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp soda
1 tsp baking powder

Spoon onto cookie sheet. Bake 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Fessing up

1. I lived in a 500 year old converted shepherd's cottage for a summer. It didn't have any real plumbing. But it DID have this great Swedish toilet. Sparing you all the details you don't really want, it was like a latrine but in your house. Tony did all of the "dirty" work.

2. Though we were close to the Mediterranean and saw our share of nude bathers, I never participated. This was my lie.

3. My sister moved into the same ward as the Madsens (as in the parents of Mark Madsen of the Minnesota Timberwolves). While he was in Sacramento for the playoffs we went on a date. It was this very posh restaurant that I am sure is very difficult to get into (TGI Fridays). All I can say is that he can eat A LOT.

4. I did audition for American Idol. Obviously, I wasn't chosen. In fact, I didn't even make it to the fearsome three. They have a whole round before the ones that sing to Simon, Randy and Paula. There were about 5,000 others when I tried out. I think they sent 20 or so in to sing for the judges. They pick the best...and the worst. I guess I should be happy I wasn't one of the worst!

5. When I was a toddler my parents always knew where to find me when I went missing. I don't know why they weren't disturbed enough about the fact that I was eating cat food to put it in a more secure place. The up side is that now I always land on my feet.

I had fun seeing what you all thought of these. Now it is Bridget's turn!