Dagnabbit and a show tune singing pilot.

Okay, I am sure you are sick of these tags, but I work on them when I can't sleep and I just think they are fun. And I admit it, Debbie, I stole some of your answers because they just hit the nail on the head for me.

What is your favorite word?
That's easy. It's "Dude". I also really like "barcalounger". Those are of coarse words you have heard me speak of before. I am trying to widen my vocabulary. Apparently I have made friends with a walking dictionary and I need some clue as to what my friend is talking about half the time. Her vocabulary is huge, thus the "Word of the Day" on my sidebar. I also like the word "loquacious" but my newest love is the word "recalcitrant".

What is your least favorite word?
I HATE the word "Potadda chip". Kennedy is obsessed with it right now and it's driving me crazy! Yes, I know how to spell it, but that is how she says it...anoyingly. There are days I hate the word "Mom" and I tell my kids it's a swear word so they won't say it over and over. "Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, MOM!!!" Oh! Okay, my LEAST favorite word is when people say "expecially" it should be "especially". Dude, I hate that. I also hate it when people say,"I could care less". No people! It's," I couldn't care less","COULDN'T"! If you could care less that means you still care somewhat. "I couldn't care less" means this is the least I could care.

What turns you on (creatively, spiritually or emotionally)?
Well first of all "turns me on?" you say. But then you ask, creatively, spiritually, or emotionally? Okay, Gary's butt in jeans turns me on. A really great song makes me feel creative. The book of Alma motivates me spiritually. Emotionally...? Ah! Girls night out!

What turns you off (creatively, spiritually or emotionally)?
Thinking about money. Or rather the lack there of.

What sound or noise do you love?
The sound of crunching leaves under my feet. The sound of walking in high heels (weird, I know). My babies cry. Oh oh, thunder...I love thunder!

"What sound or noise do you hate?

People screaming at their kids. Me screaming at my kids. Me screaming at your kids.

What’s your favorite curse word?
"Dagnabbit!" or "Dude!" That's as cursey as it gets around here. Okay, not entirely true. I use "Crap!" too much. I don't ever swear and I don't really like it when people swear but for some reason it is really funny when written in a book. Also there are some people who swear and it is soooo funny. I won't put their names here, but you know who you are.

"What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

I would like to be an airplane pilot and sing songs over the airplane intercom. Dude, that would be so fun! Can you imagine the reaction of the passengers? "Hello ladies and gentlemen. This is your captain speaking. On our way to the great state of New York, home of Broadway, I would like to sing you a show tune on our way. Ahem...Start spreading the news..." etc.

What profession would you not like to do?

Give pedicures. Blah! Feet are disgusting.

If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?

Honey, you're home.

Again, I am suppose to tag people. If you read this and you want to do it, consider yourself tagged! Let me know if you do because I'd love to read your answers.

Crazy Hair Day!

Today was crazy hair day at school. We are sort of a crazy bunch anyway so this the one day of the year my kids get to do with their hair what I will never let them on a regular day. Ah yes. Pink with a bunch of glitter. Just what you hope your 12 year old boy will choose to do with his hair.
The toilet paper roll is an added preparedness measure in case she happens to get stranded in the woods and needs something softer than a leaf.
Don't ask me what this mess is. We just kept making twisties, added a curly fountain out the top and of coarse glitter.
Boston had to join in too with his blue spikes. The sad thing is, his hair is like this a lot of the time anyway.

Clam Chowder

What do you know, another fall soup. We eat a lot of soup around here because first of all it is GOOOOOOD, and second, it is easy to make a ton, freeze half and dinner is made on a dance night. The only thing bad about this recipe is that if you like to order clam chowder at a restaurant you won't be able to anymore because you will realized NOTHING is as good as what you can make.

first you combine

1 cup chopped Celery (I never measure this and I know I just do more of

everything but for those whiners who want an exact measurement, this is what the recipe calls for...happy?)

1 cup chopped onion (I just use a whole onion. Are you really going to throw away the extra?)

2 cups diced potato

Boil this in the juice from the clams (not the clams themselves) and enough chicken broth to just cover the top, until tender crisp (or as tender as you want them but no one likes soggy veggies.) I also like to add a little salt here to season the veggies but realize you will not drain this water off so don't over salt it.

Oh ya, the clams. Okay, so the recipe calls for two cans of 6 1/2 ounce minced clams but my strange children have become clam LOVERS and fight over who gets the biggest clam so I have gone to three cans of chopped clams. They are a little bigger chunks. If you are not a clam fan, go with the minced. I use Snow brand (yellow can).

When that is ready in a separate pan melt 3/4 cup butter and add 3/4 cup flour to make a paste. Just cook it nice and bubbly for a few minutes. Here is a picture of this step. (This is for you Katie, even though you don't comment, I know you check in once in a while. I know how you love the cooking pictures.)

So now add 1 quart of half and half cream (a little at a time) till thick. Then add it with the veggies and put the clams in.

Here I add 1 teaspoon Dill, 1 teaspoon Basil, 1 teaspoon sugar, and Granulated Garlic to taste (maybe 1 tsp also). Oh dude! It is so good!

Add Salt and Pepper to taste.

Gratitude tag

No one tagged me, I was just having a "Woe is me day" and read this on someone's blog and thought it might cheer me up to do it.

1. If every job paid $50,000 a year, and you had no physical or mental limitations, what would you do?
I greatly enjoy being able to stay home to raise my four kids and even though it is a huge stress I think I would still teach dance. I actually think I would love it more not having to charge. I am always worried if people feel they are getting their money's worth. I would love the job I have with out so much pressure to be amazing all the time.

2. What is your current church calling? What do you like about it? What have some of your other callings been?
I have a really amazing church calling. I sit with the CTR 6 class during sharing time. Yup, that's it. Oh, and I am a visiting teacher. I keep thinking they are going to give me another calling but I think the Bishop thinks of me as a high stress person and doesn't want to contribute to the madness. Okay, that is mind reading and honestly I don't mind not having a bigger calling. I have been a young woman's teacher, relief society teacher, Sunday school teacher, nothing too big.

3. Name a person you regularly encounter (outside your family) who brightens your day.
Easy. Lisa. If you have read her blog you have at least seen a glimpse of her humor. She is just amazing and tells me I am amazing which is nice to hear once in a while. She has good days and bad days and gives me great insight and tells it to me straight. No sugar coating, that's for sure. She definitely brightens my day.

4. In twenty years, what do you think you will miss most about your life now?*
I know I will miss having kids all around but I will be in the grand kid stage of life and I am totally looking forward to that. You get to spoil them and send them home when they are rotten. I am guessing I will not still be teaching dance so I will miss that. Who knows, maybe my hips will hold out and I will be out-dancing the best of them. Go granny go!


5. What’s something you appreciate about your spouse?
He is just a big sweet teddy bear. I grew up collecting teddy bears so it is no wonder I married him. He is such a homebody. He just loves to cuddle and I love that too.

6. What is your favorite routine, household chore?
I like a clean kitchen, and I love to scrub the floors but lately my favorite household chores are folding laundry and ironing. I have learned to talk on the phone quite a bit and I love these chores because they don't make any noise and they don't make me breath hard so I can talk easier.

7. What’s a book you return to occasionally (besides the scriptures.)
Okay, I admit it. I love any of the Twilight books. I have read the first three twice. Lately I am on the phone too much to read but I wouldn't mind reading those again. I also loved Enchantment by Orson Scott Card. I plan to read that one again...someday.

8.Favorite Small Pleasure:
I love my MP3 player. Especially when no one is home and I can sing with it or dance to it all by myself. Oh dude, I am sounding odder all the time. Now you are all finding out what I really do with my day, talk on the phone and dance around like some 13 year old girl.


9. Favorite time of the day?
This is mean to say but it is as soon as the kids are off to school. I have the whole day to either get a project done or spend some time on myself. By 2 pm I am depressed again at all that I DIDN'T accomplish. But at 9 am I feel like I have all the time in the world and I can tackle anything.

10. Name a person who performed what they thought was a small act of service, but ended up being a big deal to you:
This is going to sound terribly pathetic but I am getting used to most of my life sounding that way. When Gary and I were first married we were dirt poor and there were times I didn't know what we were going to do for food and I would come home to sacks full of groceries on my doorstep. I know it was Kelly Jane, and I know to her it was probably a small amount but it made a world of difference to us. She saved our bacon many times. In fact I have learned not to let her know of our financial struggles because she would probably want to jump in and save the day once again. She has saved me in many ways and I am grateful for her friendship.

11. Name someone who somehow changed your life.
That would have to be my sweet hubby Gary. He saw me in a way no one ever had before. He made me feel like I was worth something and still makes me feel that way. He makes me want to work harder and be better.

12. Consider what you do each day. Think of one attribute or trait that you bring to your daily work that is a strength—what is something you do really well?
I like to laugh and I can laugh at myself. When you are living with me, that is a huge strength.

It is hard to say who I would tag. I know you all read this even though you rarely leave comments. I would hope everyone reading this would consider them self tagged. I learned a lot of good things about my life doing this, and yes, I have much to be grateful for.

Leek Soup

Okay folks! Fall is here and it's time for another good fall recipe. Now this soup has a really cool name, french I think, but I don't know what it is. The challenge will be to get Kelly Jane to make a comment on my blog and tell us the name since I actually got the recipe from her years ago. I have tweaked it a little, but not much.

First you have to clean the leeks. Leeks are those GIANT looking green onions. I should have taken a picture before I chopped it, but I forgot. Sorry. Anyway, you cut the root end off and cut it lengthwise almost in half (or you even could actually cut it in half) then rinse thoroughly between the layers to get all the dirt and sand out of them. No one wants to eat a grain of sand so clean them good.

Then you chop up one onion and two leeks (I have done as many as 4 leeks, it doesn't have to be exact). Throw them in a huge pot with a cube of butter and saute' them. Yum! Don't get them brown, just sort of translucent. Okay, I guess I can see a little brown, but not much.

Then chop up Carrots and Potatoes and throw them in the pot too. I think it calls for 1 cup of each but I know I do way more than that. Here is my carrots and potatoes.

Ohhh, don't those carrots look delicious? They are from my garden. My FIRST garden ever.

You now cover all the veggies with water. Just enough chicken broth to cover them. I think I actually had a little too much this time.

I add a couple huge scoops of chicken soup base to water to make broth. This is where I stray from Kelly Jane a bit. I also add a little granulated garlic and some salt. This just gives it a little stronger flavor.

Cook until the veggies are soft. Now in a normal soup you would want the veggies sort of tender crisp but you are going to blend it and you don't want chunks of undercooked veggies. Boston helped me check to see if the carrots were soft. Make sure to blow it off before you bite into that HOT carrot.

Now for the fun part. It all goes into the blender. Okay not all at once, just a blender full at a time, and make sure that there is equal amounts of water and veggies in each batch so one is not too thick and wont blend. After blending one batch, transfer it to a HUGE bowl. When all of it is blended, make sure there are no chunks in the pot and return the blended soup to the pot. (Hint, rinse out the big bowl now. For some reason this soup turns into cement once dry) (Take note of the clean background)
Now I had not made this recipe since I got my new psycho blender. And this is what happened to my kitchen. It also was scalding hot. Thank goodness Boston had backed away. So, maybe you should start with a smaller amount first until you know what your blender is going to do. My old one would have had no problem but this one is...well, psycho. And yes, I did use the lid, but it doesn't fit well and my blender just pushed it off.

Okay, now you add a cup of heavy cream. I never measure this, and I think I might add a little more than that. It doesn't have to be exact. Also, add salt and pepper as needed. I also like to add a spoon full of sugar.

This is a favorite Halloween recipe for our family. We have it every Halloween in bread bowls that look like pumpkins. It will look more orange in real life. It is also delicious served with this bread.

Go BYU Cougars!

Okay, Gary and I just went to the BYU game (Our first BYU game) and it was amazing! They played UCLA and kicked their fannies 59 to ZIP!!! Oh man, it was so much fun. My friend Lisa helped me score some tickets and I sat by her SILs Pat and Kris, as well as Tom's Parents. There were some other members of Lisa's family there but they were down too far to chat. Anyway, we had a giant snow cone and nachos and we cheered and it was just great. There was a poor lady in front of us who got a little over heated and passed out and the paramedics had to come help her out. Pat said I should have taken a picture to blog it but I didn't want to be THAT lady who takes pictures of others in distress just to make a funny post...although I still agree that it could have been a funny post. This was my first BYU game and now I want to go all the time. I didn't even care that we were on the top row. It made me feel no guilt for the nachos because I think I burned that many calories going up and down those billions of stairs. It might have been nice if the other team put up a little more fight but the slaughter was fun too.

Pumpkin Cobbler

Fall is upon us and it's time for all those good pumpkin recipes. This recipe is soooo much better than pumpkin pie and a lot easier too. Here are the ingredients and supplies you will need. I forgot to photograph the measuring spoons, butter and nut chopper...dude, get over it.

In a large mixing bowl mix:

1 can large pumpkin

1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

2 tsp. Cinnamon

1 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice

Pour that in a 9X13 pan. I used a stone one but it will work just as well in a glass or metal one.

Sprinkle a dry Yellow Cake Mix over top. That's right...dry.

Drizzle ONE ENTIRE CUBE of MELTED BUTTER atop. It doesn't matter if it is spread very good but under NO circumstances should you EVER substitute margarine or Crisco or oil. Doing so will render this delicious dessert UN-EDIBLE!!!

Then sprinkle the top with chopped pecans. YUMMY!!!

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

It will need to sit for at least a few minutes because this baby is HOT. It is yummy served hot with ice cream or even served cold the next day.

Oh dude! This is the BOMB!

Let's play pretend.

So my girls are right here by me and I am listening to their conversation and it is SOOOOOO FUNNY! They are playing dolls.

Kennedy: Let's pretend my girl had to have surgery cause she broke her...her...

Scottlynn: Coccyx!

Now both girls are just laughing and saying,"Coccyx! Coccyx!"

Sort of feeling like this today.

Sort of feeling like this today...you know, CRAZY! And not really "Crazy ha ha", more, "Crazy yikes!"

Still, it's funny right?

Can you hear that? Me neither!

Today was Boston's first day of pre-school and man, this place is quiet. No Playhouse Disney or PBS playing in the background. No house full of 4 year old friends. No,"Mommy! Can I have a snack?" or, "Will you play a game with me?" Just quiet. Maybe a few sounds like the key board for all the blogging I will get done or the dance music for dances I can now choreograph with out interruptions. Well at least for a couple of hours and then I get to dive back into my 4 year old world which, to be honest, is pretty much fun. Look at how handsome he is.


Here he is with his new teacher, Miss Amber.

Christian the sweaty and discusting Boy Scout

My son became an official Boy Scout this summer and he is loving it. He gets to go camping once a month and ends up coming home looking like this. Dude, He is sweating MUD! I can't believe how dirty they come back from hiking. I always think he is super tan but then he showers and nope, he's the same color. On his last camp out they hiked up Mt. Loafer. Only three boys and two leaders made it to the top. Can you guess who one of those boys was? CHRISTIAN!!! I am so proud of him for going the distance. He is a great Boy Scout

Backwards Boston

This summer my friend Lisa was tending Boston and they went swimming at the reservoir. (Yes, she is always taking him on these grand adventures which is why he loves her more than life itself...if that is even possible for him.) When they got home she asked him to go get dressed. For some reason he decided to put all his clothes on backwards. This was not some random mistake, he wanted them on backwards. Some times I want to get in that boys head for just a few seconds and try to figure out what the heck he is thinking.