Happy Thanksgiving!

Is it just me - or does it seem that Thanksgiving isn't nearly as good as when we were young? I long for my Grandmother's thanksgiving dinner! The moist yummy turkey, pies, homemade rolls, mashed potatoes and awesome gravy - not to mention the apple butter and homemade jelly that she always had! She had a home that was conducive to entertaining and visiting too. Thanksgivings were just better in those days - elusive nowadays. I'm not saying that I didn't have a good holiday because I did. I just miss the Thanksgivings when I was young. I also miss the family that I knew as a child - the family before divorces and deaths and everyone scattering to the four winds. Does it just seem like things were better then - or were they really better?

Any Bitter Thing by Monica Wood

I read about this book on one of my book blogs and the title just seemed strange (negative) to me. But I trust this blog and they did not disappoint! The title doesn't really have anything to do with the book (they should have worked harder on the title) and I kept looking for correlations. I guess I finally arrived at the idea that a lot of bad (bitter) things happen to Lizzie - but she perseveres. Is it just me? I think a title should contain something obvious about the book. I mean let's face it any book could have this title - it just isn't specific enough for me. Okay - I have said my peace - the only questionable thing about this book is it's title - the rest is fabulous!

Lizzie was raised by her priest uncle because her parents die when she is an infant (and by the way I love learning about other religions in this context, not in a book about Catholicism but a book about people who happen to be catholic!). She has an idyllic childhood because he is warm and caring and fun. There are misunderstandings which for various reasons can not be cleared up and he is accused of molesting her. She is taken away from him and has to go and live with a yucky aunt, who lies and tells her that her uncle died. When she is thirty she is hit by a car while jogging. While in the hospital she sees her uncle in what she perceives to be a vision at first but then questions whether it might have been real. That is all I want to say because I want it to unfold as beautifully for you as it did for me. It was very clean, thought provoking and emotional, with moral questions and dilemmas. I absolutely loved it!

New Recipes for Halloween

A couple of weeks ago I had a little get together here at the house. Of course it was Halloween themed, so I wanted all the food to match. I was going for an all orange and black food list which required some research on my part. I found some interesting new recipes that I thought I would share. Also, Cory showed me how to add a link so I needed to test my new skills.

Pumpkin Cheese Ball - there is no pumpkin in this, that is the name because of the shape. It was really good and quite simple.

Golden Wedding Punch - absolutely delicious! I was bloated by the end of the evening because I couldn't leave it alone.

Pumpkin Bars - at the top, Tex Mex Black Bean Dip - which didn't turn out as black as I had hoped. I have made this again just for Cory and I and I doubled the recipe and used one can of regular black beans and one of re-fried black beans and it made it darker. I liked the texture better too because those little black beans are kind of hard to mash like the recipe tells you too. And I left out the corn - I didn't want the yellow. And then Savory Party Bread - which was to die for but doesn't keep well after a few hours. I realize that this did not fit in with the pronounced color scheme - but I wanted something else. I thought about making it with cheddar cheese (for the orange) but didn't think I should veer from the recipe when I hadn't even tried it before.

I served the black bean dip with those dark (blue corn, I think) chips, which were great. I also made just a regular chocolate cookie recipe but added some chopped up orange colored melting chocolate which really looked nice for my color scheme.

The night was a success - the food was a success and I was thrilled with these new recipes!

Donut Day

Donut Day fell on Saturday October 16th this year. This is an annual Birt tradition that has been going on since before my time even (22 yrs). It is always a Saturday in October where we spend the entire day making donuts, eating donuts, delivering donuts to friends and family and pretty much exhausting everything "donut". We began very early that day with just Nolan, Diane, Cory and myself preparing the dough. At this stage of the game, Diane is preparing 4 batches of donuts and needs help with the kneading and rolling out of more than 500 donuts and holes too!


Here we are working our respective batches while everyone else in the family is probably sleeping (I know for a fact that Cam was - because he picked up Cory flying in from D.C., and me from Houston from the airport at midnight the night before.)

Of course - this had to turn into some sort of competition to see who's dough would rise the fastest - it ended up being between Nolan's and mine (Diane would say she had a bigger bowl and Cory would say something about the shape of his bowl).



Diane chatting while she works. This is roughly half of one batch. I'm telling you there are LOTS of donuts here!

Some of Larry's kids finally showed up to help. These two lucky devils ate the very first of the donuts this year. Cory working the first shift on the fryer. (All these donuts and we had to wait forever for Angela to arrive with the second fryer.) Production was slow at first.

Cam finally got up to help - well I think I went down to get him up around noon. I wanted to actually spend some time with him while he was "visiting". He ate a few and then took a turn on the fryer. Shaury is trying to pose with her donut and her dipping stick (to glaze the donuts). She was quite the specialist over in that corner.

Isn't he handsome?

Jonah doing his part cutting out.


And Larry finally arrives with the other fryer.

Abby smiling while she works!

Cam still getting it done (actually I don't think he worked longer than anyone else on the fryer I just took more pics of him while he was there) - and another pose from goofball Shaury.

Me, I guess bossing a little. Finally got a shower too. (my chin looks strange in that picture). Pheobe and Will arrive from a soccer game.

Hudson arrives and takes his turn even though he didn't feel all that well. (again Shaury poses)

Cam on his computer getting some input on his winter semester schedule that he will be registering for very soon. So nice to be right next to him!

A wonderful day - warm outside (which isn't always the case) and all the family together working, eating, visiting and being together. One of my very favorite traditions!

A Visit from Becky

I am behind in blogging - I'm having a party tonight and have been busy with preparations and probably shouldn't even be doing this now - but I was thinking I could make it quick before I head out to do the yard. A week or two ago Diane and Becky came down for a visit. I had noticed a while ago that Hairspray was going to be in town, so I immediately thought of Becky (it being her favorite movie and all). So I invited her and Diane to come for a few days to go and see it with me. (It seemed a little too musical for Cory.)

They got here on Thursday night and we went to Sweet Tomatos for dinner (because I love it there and Cory isn't crazy about it). On Friday we went to the temple for a visit.




Then we went to get our nails done. In fact, Becky was the one to get those cute spiders put on her big toes that I copied a week later. Diane always wants to get her nails done when she comes - it is hilarious listening to her conversations with the vietnamese ladies that she can not understand at all! She is a good sport and anything they offer to do to her she usually lets them (nails, toenails, eyebrows, bikini wax (jk on the last one).

After that we went over to Old Town Spring - which is a little section of town (the old part) where it's all renovated little homes which are now quaint little shops. We ate fried twinkies and fried oreos and had quiche on a patio cause the weather was wonderful. I paid $4 for an unmarked white chocolate haystack and then we came home to get ready for the play.

Becky and I waiting for the play to start - we barely made it in time because Cory wasn't there to navigate around downtown and I don't know where I am going. (This is when Diane got in trouble from the usher for using her camera.) The play was good - I had never seen the movie, so I didn't know what it was about or what to expect but I really enjoyed it. Becky could have sung all the songs like the girls behind us tried to but she was much too polite to do that, too bad those girls didn't take a lesson.

After the show waiting for the valet to bring the car around.

On Saturday we went out to some outlet stores that I had heard about but never been to - they turned out to be fabulous and I will definitely return! Becky got something for each of her kids and I got some stuff for Cam. We met up with Cory later in the afternoon for dinner at El Rincon. We ate so much over the course of the weekend that I didn't eat anything till 5pm on Sunday! (I truly wasn't hungry till then.) Becky and Diane left on the morning flight back to Utah. It was a wonderful visit - I don't think Becky has been down here since Cam got baptized in 2000.

A Cheesy Halloween

I like Halloween - not the actual scary Halloween night evil kind of stuff. But I like the beautiful weather, the colors, the candy and the decorations for Halloween. In fact I like cheesy stuff like shirts and ear rings. So. . .looky looky what I found!

My feet are kinda cute - except for that dang bunion!!

Old Friends

Cory met Alex at BYU when he was working on his Master's. They hit it off pretty quickly and began studying together. One of the reasons we went to LA after grad school was because Alex had already accepted a job and kind of talked Cory into interviewing there. We never would have considered going to LA without his influence - but Alex being there made it more appealing. Cory loved his work experience in LA, especially seeing Alex every single day - and we have many fond memories of that time in our lives. In fact, when they were having thier first child Alex called Cory in the middle of the night saying that he forgot his movie camera, but couldn't leave the hospital - so Cory ran up there with ours so that Alex wouldn't miss recording his daughter's birth. We have missed being able to see he and Lori regularly. This picture was taken at an Arthur Andersen Christmas party.

10 years ago we took a trip to Paris together and had a blast. It was a little chilly - but we saw beautiful things and ate beautiful food with people that we really enjoy being around - so again we made some awesome memories together. We have said since that time that we need to take another trip together. In fact we had a trip to Spain planned but then 9/11 happened and there was a travel advisory and we didn't get to go. We have tentatively scheduled a planning session when we see them next month while we are visiting my brother for Thanksgiving in LA (where Alex and Lori still live).

This was taken in LA when Cory was in town for something or other - they got together (without me) for dinner. Cory will always go out of his way to spend any time with Alex that he can.

Earlier this month Cory ran the St. George marathon for the 4th consecutive year. But while we were there we got to visit with Alex (who also ran) and Lori for awhile. This was taken just a few hours after the marathon. Cory pointed out that it was Alex who talked him into running 5 or so years ago.

Alex took this picture being funny - so of course Cory is trying to be serious. What would our lives be like without the joy, influence and comfort of good friends?