Del taco

One tray is mine, the other is for the 16 yr old. Ummmmm , mine is on the left if you could not guess.

A tradition with Joseph

My sister in California and her family has a thing with del taco, and so does our family. Every other week when I would take Joseph to drum lessons about 40 min away, we would end the night filling that boys tummy. The event usually happened at del taco in springville. Trust me the boy can eat. Today we went to fix a tire, which was damaged coming home from a ski trip. Since the tire store is across the street from del taco joseph and I hung out there.

Ray and the camera

One more for the post

What a fun idea- come on, join in.

TGIPIFF!
Thank Goodness it's Pay It Forward Friday!!!


A good friend (yes, you know who you are!) had a "Pay it Forward" challenge on her blog. I gladly raised my hand to receive a lovely gift from her and in return agreed to do the same right here! So...the first three folks to leave comments will get something handmade from me. I can't promise what it will be - maybe something sewn, scrapbooked, papered, baked, typed, printed, etc but it will definitely be from the heart!
The rules:
1. leave your comment with a link to your email or blog
2. you must agree to pay it forward by doing the same on your blog, or if you don't have a blog on Facebook or email
3. wait patiently for your handmade item
4. pay your own item forward!
Isn't the domino effect grand!? Happy paying!

A great discovery

Today we celebrated Aubreys birthday since she was SO busy yesterday. We met at Kneaders for lunch. Kim was actually working while we were there. We had a great time. I snapped a few pictures, but then little Rachel came over and hijacked my camera. She started snapping pictures. Guess what? Her pictures turned out really great. People are happy to smile for a cute 4 year old with a camera, where they might duck away from an adult with a camera. I think you can guess which pictures Ray took.
It was a fun day and we got fun pictures to boot!

19 years ago today

I walked, crying, into Orem community hospital. I was 4 days over my
due date. I was so worried they were going to send me home saying I
was not really in labor. Happily, I got to stay and had my third baby,
my third daughter. I remember thinking -now for sure I had to be a
great mom- cause I had THREE little girls that needed a great example.
Aubrey has been such fun and is always full of surprises. She is
making great decisions in her life.
Happy birthday baby girl! More of wonderful life is right before you.
Much love and laughter to be found. I'm sure you won't miss a minute
of it. I love you so much.

My three girls

Ballerina baby

A favorite shot. Sorry it's so fuzzy

All grown up

The Valentines Day Date

Tonight ds #1 goes on his first date. It's to the high school girl
ask guy dance. He is going with a very fun young lady. I hope she
wears a modest dress. He looks so handsome and is bound to have a
great time. I do have pizzza and rootbeer for later. Then maybe he'll
tell me all about it when he gets home.

Valentines Day eve

Tonight I am alone and sad about it. David is at the blasted clondike
campout. My valentines day plans for one of my sons backfired, so
that's a downer too. Not long after they left this afternoon I got a
delivery. I got some beautiful roses and some chocolate, and a very
awesome love note. (I have a pretty cool V day gift for him, but I'll
write about that in a few days.)

I am thankful not to be sleeping outside tonight. Poor David

Cafe rio sweet pork

Cafe rio

Cafe rio sweet pork
3 lb boneless ribs, cook on high in crock pot for five hours
drain any liquid after 5 hours

Add 1 jar salsa
1 can coke- I figure 12 oz.

I have tried caffeine free diet and I think the artificial sweetener made it not so good. Today I am trying cf pepsi cause I couldn't find cf coke.

2. C brown sugar today I just used 1 1/3c cause I think its too sweet.

cook in crock pot three more hours

Wrap this in costco tortillas - the ones you cook yourself. I think we just add cheese and don't mess with the rice or "black or pinto beans". IMO fresh lime could only help make things better :)

I got this from my married daughter. Let me know how you like it.

The power of good ice

Anyone that knows me well, knows I am a lover of good ice. When I get a drink, it's a bonus to get good ice. I always fill good ice all the way to the top. Once I down the 12 oz of soda I could fit in my cup, I refill with water all afternoon and the ice lasts.

Sadly, fantastic ice is hard to find in Utah county.

Never to be tight lipped in important info like this, I will share. Here are my top good ice places. Please tell me if you know of others.

Sonic and Holiday gas stations are easy to find and have pretty good ice. Also common cents gas station off 800 north, near I-15 is good.

Cafe Rio on center street in Orem has pellet ice, and its a little smaller then sonic or holiday.

The best ice place is in American fork. It's at a tiny little gas station near the old Deseret book, by albertsons. It's a tosoro station I think, just north over the train tracks from Deseret book that is no longer there. Get your cup and you have to ask the lone employee there for the crushed ice. It's kept behind the counter. Ya got to say how full you want it. It costs .10 more, but that's a steal.

My best workout so far

Saturday we had some littles at our house. Today when I started up the treadmill, I found a few snacks they left me. Pretzels and gold fish. I have to admit, it was my best workout ever. I stayed on extra long ;)

The naughty-ist soup I ever made

I was asked to make some soup for a wedding this weekend. I made half a batch for the family tonight to make sure I was doing it right. It is very delicious, but has very naughty ingredients in it. The original calls for fresh tomatoes, not a good idea in February in Utah. So I used canned and adjusted the recipe from there.

4- 28 oz canned tomatoes I used half Italian style and half stewed tomatoes
4 c tomato juice
28 leaves fresh basil
2 c heavy cream- I used half and half for the family batch
1 c butter, melted but not hot
salt and pepper to taste

blend tomatoes and basil leaves in a blender to chop them up. Pour into a large soup pot and add juice. stir in cream and butter and heat through while stirring. My family loved it. We didn't even need the salt and pepper. I sent a quart over to Laura and Steve, 5 of us had some for dinner here in Lehi, and I have about a quart left in the fridge. Too bad they liked it, I don't think I can feel good about making this soup very often.

a needle in haystack

Today has been so busy! I was up at 7 getting ready to go to a cleaning assignment at the Mt Timp Temple. I didn't feel right wearing pants, and ended up cleaning in my church clothes. It was harder work then I thought. It was like finding the needle in the haystack, or hide and seek. How do you clean a very clean place? I did a lot of glass and marble 'cleaning'. It was very peaceful really.

Then I met Dave in Payson to choose cabinets for our basement bathroom and laundry room. Seeing how detached I am from the project, I didn't really have any strong opinions on the selections. We are both like the same basic style, so making a final decision is tough. But I really don't care too much. Surprisingly, I did get a charge out of some of the hardware so those will go in the laundry room :) Is that a confusing paragraph?

On the way home, I remembered a new store that has just opened in Provo. I have been looking at the website

http://www.thesweettoothfairy.com/

and realized I would be going right by the new store, so I stopped by. So so cute!! The lady I spoke with was the owner I think. I should have asked.. but she was so cute and kind. All her goods looked good. I bought a few cookies for home evening. She has some really cute cupcake themed gifts there too. Check it out if your going through Provo after a busy day!