Thursday, August 28, 2008

Squash & Zucchini Recipes

Several of you have asked for recipes or ideas on how to use squash & zucchini, so here you go.

Zucchini Cakes
Farfalle with Zucchini
Pizzucchini with Redskins
Zucchini Cake
Squash Casserole
Zucchini Soup
A to Z Vegetable Soup

Here are a few other ways I make squash.
~Simmer it with onions and a bit of water until cooked. Drain water, then season & top with cheese.
~Saute squash & any other fresh veggies (green beans, slivered carrots, etc) in a bit of olive oil. When cooked, season & top with cheese.
~Slice & place on a cookie sheet. You can add cubed potatoes, sliced onions, smashed garlic--whatever you want. Drizzle with olive oil, season & bake in the oven at 425 until cooked (20 or so minutes).

I hope this helps!

Powder Room

Last weekend, while Randy was gone, I went to work painting and decorating our downstairs powder room. Here is the end result. I'm not too crazy about the picture I had printed (it was darker than I expected), but overall I'm pleased with the way it all turned out.

Things to do--DONE!!!

I've got a problem. My whole house needs to be cleaned. I've had certain things on my "to do" list for well over a week. And they haven't gotten done. So here's the deal. While Sydney is playing with Tori, and Jenna is asleep, I'm going to race myself and see how much I can get done. (Did your mom ever play the whole "race" trick on you when you were young? Mine sure did!) So, here's what I need to do:

Whew, just sitting down for a second while Sydney's on her way home. Here's what I've accomplished so far. It's 12:55pm. Still more to do, but I'm making headway.

1:45 pm...almost there!

4:10pm...done! Finally!!! Now I need to make my list for tomorrow, but I guarantee it won't be so long!

Clean my girls' bathroom Done
Clean my bathroom (minus the giant tub) Done
Dust everywhere (& scrape the gunk off the coffee table) Done
Clean the glass patio door Done
Sweep Done
Unload & reload the dishwasher Done
Water inside plants Done
Start water on the tree outside Done
Start water on my garden Done
Vacuum Done
Do 3 loads of laundry 2 done, all 3 done
Fold & put away 7 loads of laundry (!!!) 4 loads done, all 7 done
Pay bills Done
Gather recipes to post Done
Pick veggies in garden Done

I'm sure there's more, but I'm going to leave it at that right now. Okay, so it's 11:20am right now. I'll try to keep you updated without keeping me away from my chores for too long. Wish me luck!

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

The funny things kids say

This is a conversation Sydney and I had a few days ago.

Me: "When we get home, we're going to have tuna casserole and veggies."
Sydney: "Mmmm! I love that!"

Okay, what little kid would be excited for tuna casserole and veggies...really.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Hike to Kings Peak

Randy, Ray, Brad, Mike and Whit hiked the highest point in Utah this last weekend. It was a great trip and we have lots of pictures.

Enjoy!!

Dilemma

A while back, I said I was taking my blog private. I just spent quite a bit of time putting everyone's email addresses in and looking up those that I didn't have written down on my paper. (I had even gotten all but 4 of the email addresses I needed!) Only to find out that you can only invite 100 readers to view your blog...and I've got too many... I don't know what I'm going to do. I probably won't be going private, because I don't want to cut anyone off. I guess I need to discuss it with Randy & my parents. Stay tuned...

Monday, August 25, 2008

Jeans

When I was in St. George, Tiffany cleaned some clothes out of her closet & gave them to me. Among them, was a pile of jeans. Unfortunately, I've been blessed with short legs, so all of the jeans were too long. I was able to borrow my mom's new sewing machine, and this weekend I went to work doing the Euro hem on my jeans. (Thanks to Amber H. for originally sharing the info.) I must say, they turned out wonderfully. Yea!

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

"Shopping" with Tiff

While in St. George, my sister and I went to a store to look for items to decorate my house with. As we looked through everything, Tiffany kept saying, "We should go look through my storage." I didn't buy anything, and Sunday morning before we headed back home, Tiffany and I went to their storage unit so I could do some "shopping." I love shopping when it's free! Here's what I found.

Wall decoration for our master bedroom. Since getting a king-size bed, we don't have a headboard. I love this!


A frame that looks adorable with the colors in our master bedroom. Isn't it cute?


A beautiful picture for our living room. It goes so well with our furniture. Both Randy and I love it!

I must say, everyone needs a sister like Tiffany. Thanks, Tiff!

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Our Lake Powell Adventure

(This is long, but should be worth the read. At the end, I'll even reward you with pictures I pirated from Alan & Heather's blog.)

On Friday night, we headed down to St. George to spend the night at Chad & Tiffanys (my brother-in-law and next older sister). Saturday morning, we woke up early and headed off to Page, AZ, where we met up with Alan & Heather (my next younger brother & his wife). By noon, we had eaten lunch at the floating restaurant and were on the waters of Lake Powell. We had so much fun. All of the kids did great & our girls loved it.

First, we swam. Sydney enjoyed floating around in a water chair & her life jacket. Alan swam (w/ a life jacket) all the way from the boat to a cliff wall & back for a hefty monetary prize from Tiff. Jenna couldn't get enough of the water. She would kick her legs in the water while sitting on the swimming platform & then jump in, whether we were ready or not. Jenna then fell asleep and we let her nap in the restroom/playhouse of the boat.

After swimming, we knee-boarded. I had my first experience of doing it. It took me several attempts (and one long episode of being dragged through the water while unsuccessfully trying) before I was able to get up. It was fun, but I felt like the pull of the boat was going to rip my arms out of the sockets! I need to build some muscule up, I suppose. Tiff, Alan & Randy were all doing 360's...something I was way to chicken to even try. Chad & Randy then wakeboarded. Randy did really well. He had never been able to get up on a wakeboard before. During this time, Sydney fell asleep and Jenna woke up, so Sydney was placed in the restroom.

While they were wakeboarding, dark clouds were building up. Tiffany had requested that we head back, but the guys were having too much fun...and we were in sunshine at the time. In the meantime, another boat drove slowly by us and were closely watching us. We thought it was strange & continued on. A few minutes later, they returned & indicated they wanted to talk to us. The first thing they asked was if we spoke French. (We needed you, Cedric!!) Of course, none of us do, but we asked if they needed help. They indicated they were lost & were trying to get back to the marina. We decided to show them the way back, but first let Randy get in one more run of wakeboarding. We were about 4-5 miles from the marina. After a few minutes of heading back, it started to rain in torrents. We put Devin & Bri in the restroom with Sydney, who was still sleeping. Jenna freaked out being with the kids, so Randy & I held her. The rest of us took the best cover we could under towels. I soaked through 2 towels trying to protect myself and Jenna.

The progress was slow going. The rain & choppy water was slowing us down, as well as making sure the French family was keeping up. At one point, it seemed like their boat stopped, and they were quite a way behind us. We decided to turn back to make sure they were okay. When we turned around, it began hailing. The hail hurt...and I'm telling you, this was one crazy storm complete with lightening & everything! When we saw the French family, their boat didn't look right. The front of it was tipped way up in the air. Tiffany and Chad went to the back of the boat to help them. The family's boat had drifted a little ahead of ours, so Randy tapped the accelerator. As he did so, Chad and Tiffany were both pitched off the back of the boat into the water and our boat bumped the side of theirs. We circled around and picked up Chad, who didn't have a life jacket on. Tiffany swam to the French boat. When she got on, she turned on the bilge pump to let out the water they had taken on. She also fixed their rotor(?) because it wasn't down in the water like it should be. Tiffany then took over driving their boat. We all continued on our way back to the marina.

While on their boat, Tiffany learned that it was a family here in the US on vacation. It was their first--and last!--time on a boat. They had a 4-year old who was scared and crying, a 10-year old who was really afraid & two teenagers. They didn't even know if lightening was dangerous. Only the mom spoke limited English.

When we approached the marina, Chad tried calling the valet service to meet us at the dock. There was no answer, only voicemail. We stalled in the water while Tiffany went ahead with the family. After quite a bit of time waiting, we finally went to the marina to meet up with Tiff and see why the valet service wasn't answering. Chad was not very happy. While tying up the boat and disembarking, Chad's phone beeped with a voicemail. It was a State Fish & Game worker who said that Tiffany was up at the public marina parking area...a bit away from us. Chad commented that the state worker was "really weird". We went and checked with the store/floating restaurant workers to see if they could help us contact the valet service. Apparently the power was out and there was no way for us to contact them with our cell phone. The workers used their radio to contact the valet service, and we soon were headed out of the water.

After getting out of the water, we immediately went to the public parking area to find Tiffany. She wasn't there. We went over to the valet parking area and she was standing by our car. As soon as we pulled up, she started sobbing.

Apparently, the French family was supposed to go to the Wahweep Marina, and not Antelope Point Marina, where we were. When she realized this, they had already passed the valet area of the marina, so she had them drop her off at the public area. Without shoes, she walked up to the parking area to find someone who had a cell phone she could use. She passed up several men & saw the state Fish & Game worker. She figured since he worked for the state, he should be safe. As she started making the call, he asked if she would sit in his truck so she wouldn't get the phone wet. She complied, but felt very uneasy about it, all the while thinking she shouldn't be doing that. The phone didn't get reception where they were at, so the guy hopped in the truck and started driving. The guy at this point got really weird, saying things like, "I shouldn't be doing this." and "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you." Tiffany literally had her hand on the door, ready to jump. When the phone finally got reception, he grabbed the phone from her & let the message for Chad himself. When Chad called back is when we finally made contact. By this point, Tiffany had headed over to others in the parking lot, hoping to find help and safety. She found a group from Utah. They were a little bit helpful, but seemed very inconvenienced by her & weren't particularly friendly. She was able to get a ride from them over to the road that leads to the valet parking area. From there, she walked barefoot to our car to wait. While she was waiting, she saw the Game & Fish worker's truck driving around & crouched down so he wouldn't see her. Needless to say, she was extremely scared & relieved when we showed up. It was very traumatic for her.

We ended the day by parting ways with Alan & Heather, then heading back into Page to eat dinner. We drove back to St. George where we showered, relaxed & went to bed. Randy & my first day boating at Lake Powell is definitely one that won't soon be forgotten!!

Randy & Jenna

Jenna, Tiffany & Keri

Alan & Heather (baby squid in her belly, not pictured)

Chad & Jenna, speeding along & loving it

Alan, Sydney & Devin...no pictures of Brianna, Heather?

Thursday, August 14, 2008

From the wonderful, random mind of Keri:

I may just be hungry, but man, this Mexican Lasagna over on Pioneer Woman looks GOOD!!

In other news... Jenna simply cracks me up! Everytime we're in the front yard, she will pick strawberries while I have my back turned. A few days ago, she had her hands full with 4 not-fully-ripe berries that she had picked. This morning, we made it inside before I realized she had picked one & had it in her hands. And boy, did she get mad when I threw it away! But really, partially ripe strawberries can't taste great, can they? Strawberry update: Jenna has now picked 5, no, make that 6 strawberries today. If she keeps this up, we won't have any ripe ones to eat!

And last, but not least, I'm thinking that canning is starting to be easy! I think it's kinda like baking bread...the more you do it, the easier (and less daunting) it becomes. I just pulled 4 more pints of diced tomatoes out of the water bath. I'm sure I'll have many more to come, but I'm liking it!

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

My Girls

I just had to post these pictures. They are from Randy's phone, so the quality's not great, but you get the picture.

We made a quick trip to the store to get ice cream on Saturday night. Sydney obviously didn't make it there awake & must have been extremely tired, because she didn't wake up from this incident until morning!

Jenna enjoyed the cake we had for dessert a little too much. I literally gasped as I saw her run her frosting covered fingers through her hair. It's nothing surprising, just not what I want to see happen. Of course, wonderful Randy bathed her. :)

Speaking of squash...

I have 4 yellow squash & yellow pear tomatoes here at my house that I would love to share. Call me or come over if you want some.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Let canning season begin!

Yesterday marked the beginning of my canning for this summer/fall. I canned 5 pints of diced tomatoes from my garden. I had a 6th pint, but the bottle broke during the water bath. I have a feeling I will be doing a lot more of this. I do use a lot of diced tomatoes in my cooking, so it will be wonderful to have!
I also shredded and froze 12 crookneck squash. There is no way that we will eat all of it while it's fresh... I had been in the habit of giving away all that we couldn't eat while it was fresh, but I got smart & realized I should be preserving it. I'm sure I'll still be sharing, but I also look forward to stocking my pantry and freezer with all the good stuff we've grown.

By the way, if any of you that live around here want to learn how to can, I'd love to show you how. I'm a novice myself, but it's not difficult, and I've got the basic supplies to get the job done. Just let me know!

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Thanks, Heather!

Need I say it? I was tagged by my sister-in-law last week, but I'm just getting around to it. I really think I've done one very similar to this before, but I'm too lazy and tired to look.

5 things on my to do list today
1. Finish writing in my journal (I started Monday)
2. Vacuum
3. Go with Randy to do baptisms at the temple
4. Work on family history
5. Go buy magnets

5 snacks I enjoy
1. no-bakes w/ a glass of milk
2. fresh fruits & veggies from my garden
3. trail mix w/ nuts, m&m's and raisins...and I have to have some of each in each bite
4. Junior Mints or York Peppermint Patties, although it's been a really long time...
5. really, anything chocolate

5 things I would do if I were suddenly a billionaire
1. Breathe a sigh of relief
2. Wonder where it came from
3. Pay my tithing
4. Go on vacation
5. Pay off our personal & business debt

5 of my bad habits
1. Spending too much time on the computer/letting Sydney watch too much TV
2. Staying up too late
3. Failing to exercise
4. Eating too many sweets
5. Picking at things

5 places I've lived
1. Fruitland
2. Rexburg
3. Nauvoo
4. Orem
5. SF

5 jobs I've had
1. babysitter
2. accounts payable clerk
3. mortgage loan processor
4. office temp
5. tax preparer

5 things people don't know about me
1. I'm not a particularly private person. I don't really care who knows what about me. And as long as it's female family, I don't really care who sees what, either.
2. I only scrapbook about once a year for Mother's Day gifts.
3. I love to pay bills. There's just something wonderful about checking it off the list & knowing things are paid until the next month.
4. I love to be barefoot.
5. I have a map next to my computer & one near the TV. I probably look at a map at least once a day to see where somewhere is. I just like knowing. :)

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

A prayer

Just before 2am this morning, Sydney woke me up. She'd had a bad dream and couldn't sleep. I told her she could either sleep on my floor (an option she never likes) or she could go back to her bed & we would say a prayer. After a few moments of thought, she told me to come to her room. When we got there, she got down on her knees. I said a prayer for her, tucked her back in "snug as a bug in a rug", and was headed back to my bed. As I was leaving her room, she said, "It's working." ...What a sweet moment. I'm so grateful that the prayer was answered. It melted my heart.

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Going Private

I just got off the phone with my parents. They have requested that all of their children take their blogs private. Although it's not something I want to do, I love and respect them & understand why they are asking.

So...I need all of your email addresses so I can invite you! If you think I already have your email address, check with me and I'll let you know. Otherwise, comment with your email & I'll write it down & delete the comment. I need to do this ASAP. If I don't hear from you, I'll probably be commenting on your blog reminding you. :) I don't want to lose any of you!!

By the way, if you're a blog stalker, now's the perfect time to reveal yourself! Chances are, I won't turn you away...