Child's View of Christmas

This is photo of our nativity scene, as arranged by Jensen. As soon as I set it up, he rearranges it, and it's always the same: The Christ child in the center and all other figures surrounding Him. He even brought other statues to join in the circle. I'll set it up visually pleasing again, and he will come and "fix" it for me. Each of my children have arranged the scene in a similar manner. I've decided to leave it, for it shows the true meaning of Christmas: We should all be focused on Christ and He should be at the center. "And a little child shall lead them...." Merry Christmas everyone!

A Chuckle for You

If you ever have a time when you pull an "idiot", here's something to make you feel better. A friend of mine called tonight. Paul answered the phone and then handed it to me. I took it how he handed it and started talking. I could hardly hear her! I kept saying, "You need to speak a little louder, I can't hear you." I could tell she was now yelling and I still could barely hear her. She must have a bad phone or we must have a bad connection, I thought. When the conversation was over, I realized I had the phone upside down the entire time. I'm such an idiot! I had a good laugh at that, and thought I'd share.

Ladder of Gratitude

This week I have really been aware of how much I have. This is truly the land of plenty, and my life is beyond blessed. I thought I would write a Gratitude Ladder - you know, when you think of one thing and it leads to another, and so on and so on. So here goes:
I am thankful for a healthy body, which makes me think of:
I am thankful for arms and legs that can move:
and the ability to process information and learn new skills:
the chance to teach myself new cooking skills:
food:
all kinds of food:
the smell of baking bread and how a smoothie feels going down your throat:
how salt can inhance the flavor of food:
that I don't have to hunt for or scavenge for food:
I have shelter from the cold:
Paul has a job to pay the heating bill:
my husband is alive and is my dearest friend:
unexpected letters from old friends:
technology that allows us to communicate in a blink of an eye:
technology that allows a little boy to live with only half a heart:
generosity of others:
late night conversations with loved ones:
a quiet moment to myself:
good books:
deep sleep:
and on and on.......
You might want to write a ladder of your own. Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!

Heaven Scent

Last Friday Nadine and I went to Dillards' Fragrance Extravaganza. It was frills and thrills. We truly had a fun time sampling many exotic scents and eating all the treats. We each came home with a new perfume and a bag of goodies. (If you ever need perfume, definitely buy it when the store is having their gift set sales.) My choice was Rose The One, by Dolce and Gabbana. I LOVE IT!! I recommend it to all you la-de-dah ladies. Give it a wiff and I'm sure you'll be swept away as well.

LOVE

I've been going through an interesting learning experience the last few months with someone close to me that has made me think about loving others. I decided to share my thoughts.
*Love is rarely easy, but always worth it, not because of how the other person might respond or reward our feelings, but because of how we grow within ourselves. Most times, the more dificult a person is to love, the more our souls and abilities expand and enlarge.
*Love is not an obligation, but is often a responsibility. It is always the responsibility of a parent to love a child. If a parent doesn't love their children, he/she better get busy and find that love. Love between a parent and child must first come from the parent, though it doesn't always work that way, it should. The best place for a child to learn how to love and about love is from the parents.
*You don't "fall" in love, you "fall" in infatuation or adoration. Love is a choice...always. If we don't love someone, then it is our choice. No matter what another person does to us, we can always choose to love. And that is what makes love so much work, and at times, hard to do. There are times when I don't want to love someone and I chose not to. So often we put so much responsibility of what goes on in a relationship on the other person, when nothing we do can change another or their minds...that's their choice...but loving them is our choice plain and simple.
*Every time I choose to love, I'm uplifted. Loving someone isn't always fun, or happy. Love can mean saddness, frustration and disappointment. But when I let love guide me, I always feel peace.
No matter the length of time or curves in the road it takes for us to find success in our loving of others, we can reach our ultimate goal. Here's to getting there.

Pumpkin Patch

Last week for family night we went to the pumpkin field on 9oth. I love the look of all those pumpkins spread out, row after row. Everything about it has the feel of fall. We walked the entire length of the field, enjoying the colors, odd shapes, and each other's company. When we got to the end, we finally had our choices. Last night we carved them. Only Matt chose a "typical" pumpkin face. Jensen wanted a transformer, Joseph had to have KITT from "Knight Rider" (the 1980's version, no less) and Nadine delicately drew her little Piglet on her tiny pumpkin. All in all, a fun and fabulous Halloween tradition!

Witches' Tea

My friend Emily has a
Witches' Tea Party every October. She makes LOTS of food, we all bring food as well, and we eat and chat and have a fabulous time. She decorates to the hilt and the house looks amazing. Afterward, we go to Gardner Village for the Witches' Night Out. Tonight it was perfect weather and we all enjoyed ourselves. Thanks Emily!! You're the best!

Jump for Joy!

I do preschool with 4 other ladies. We rotate weeks, which is great. My week is this week. Paul purchased a mini-trampoline last week and the children LOVED it. I thought I'd share some photos. The looks of pure joy on their faces really lifts the spirit. We should all find something like this to make us as happy for even a few moments. Finding a little joy each day is what makes life so wonderful.

A Little Too Inviting?

As I've said before, I feel that I have created a peaceful yard. I love that birds, animals and, of course friends and family enjoy coming to visit. My eagle-eye, wasp nest expert son, Joseph, found this "little" house in our tree a few months ago. As the leaves have begun to fall, Paul was able to get a good photo of this wasp nest. It is over a foot tall and about 10 inches across. I don't even want to think about how many visitors are housed in it. I do have an open door policy for my yard, but I must admit, this nest does make me consider perhaps installing a few "rules". =)

Piano Man

Joseph has been taking piano lessons now for almost a year. He had his first piano recital last Monday. He had memorized his songs and did very well. He was a bit embarrassed, but loved the attention and felt very proud of himself, rightly so. Good job son! I'm proud of you too!

Hurray, Hurray, it's your lucky day!

Thanks for all of the entries. I must say that I agree with those of you that enjoy and indulge in Utah's Own Truffles. I am partial to the almond truffle and buy it quite frequently. It does make a long day of shopping bearable, to say the least.
The winner, chosen by random.org, is Patricia, in the number 8 spot. I'll put the certificate in the mail, and just remember to think fondly of me as you are feasting upon those delicate morsels of deliciousness. ;-)

Pure Ambrosia

I promised a yummy giveaway this month, and here it is: In celebration of my birthday, I am giving away a pound gift certificate to See's Candies. One of the most delectable things in this world is well made chocolate. Although some of my favorite kinds are in Europe, See's puts out some tasty morsels. My favorite selections from See's are Milk Cocoanut, Strawberry cream, and Scotchmallow. Umm, umm. The best chocolate I ever had was an elephant made of white chocolate, with chocolate ganache in the middle. My in-laws brought it back from Belgium years ago and I still think fondly of it. Tell me your favorite See's chocolate and/or favorite chocolate truffle from somewhere else and you will be in the drawing. I will announce the winner on my Birthday this Friday. It will be a day of true celebration.

My Little Sunshine

I finally got around to getting Jensen's 4 year old photos. He's such a cutie. He starts preschool this week. Time goes by so fast. We have to cuddle them while we have a chance.

She wins Again!

I PROMISE! Random.org chose the winning number...3. It just happens to be my daughter. Stephanie, I'll treat you to a Jamba Juice if you come by my house while you are here in Utah. Please keep trying everyone. Next month's will be yummy, and I'll tell my immediate family "Too bad, too sad, you can't enter." =-)
Here's Nadine and her friends doing a short (okay, very short) happy dance to celebrate her win.

I Love You Franck

Well, at least I love his food. It's delectable.

Our love affair started back in February when Paul and I went to the french restaurant, Franck's. It was a heavenly culinary experience! The next month Fox 13 had $50 certificates to Franck's for $25...we bought two. Last night we used our last one. I'm going to go through withdrawals.

You'll pay more than an average restaurant, but what you get is so divine and sooo worth it! Last night we started with mussels for an appetizer. They came with pommes frites (french fries). I've never had mussels, and Franck's were delicious! On our first visit Paul persuaded me to have escargot. They came in a basil sauce with puff pastry and as long as I didn't think about what I was eating, they were very tasty.

We always choose the soup over the salad. Franck's soups are phenomenal! Last night's soup was a berry horseradish soup. How does he come up with these combinations? That's one thing I need to learn - to know what flavors would compliment each other. These two did in a most amazing way. You'd taste the berry first and then get a warm touch at the end from the horseradish. I've tried to recreate his soups but they elude me. Urggh!

For my entre'e I had strawberry glazed chicken and lobster with tender baby carrots and marinaded peaches. Delicious! (My good friend Paul Budd would say, "Oh, you mean chicken and vegetables." lol) We were quite full, but decided to finish the meal with Franck's handmade butterscotch hazelnut ice cream. Superb.

Ahh, a night dreams are made of. How will I survive until we go again?

Check out his website: http://francksfood.com/indexSWF.html

A Toast to Summer

I can't believe that summer is almost over! The children go back to school on Monday. I will actually miss them. A great way to toast a wonderful season is to sip a cool drink. So here are tips for yummy drinks: freeze fruit, throw it in a blender with a small container of berry yogurt, 8-10 ice cubes (more or less) and 2 cups of apple juice and wah-la, yumminess in a glass.

Or make hot chocolate before bed, freeze half in an ice cube try and put the other the refrigerator. The next day put them both in the blender with 8-10 ice cubes and a little milk if needed, and frozen "hot" chocolate!

I LOVE frozen drinks! Sooooo.....

For an end of summer give-away, tell me your favorite summer drink and you'll be entered to win a $10 Jamba Juice gift card!! What a great way to end the season!

(drawing held Aug. 27th @ 1pm)

Soooo Slimey

I was cleaning out the flower beds last week and I came across what looked like insect eggs at first glance. I wasn't quite sure what type they were. Spider? Hmmm. I scooped them up and got out the camera. In the process of trying to get a shot, I lost some. Hmmm, they must have been bumped and fell. Upon closer inspection, no, they weren't bumped, they crawled! I suppose you could say they slimed away, because they were baby snails! No way! No wonder my plants are getting chomped to pieces! (They are the white egglike circles in the photo. Blech! and yet, so amazing.)

Winning Recipe

Since I can't make my fabulous pie for everyone (though I like Angie's idea of a "pie and tea" party), I decided to post the recipe. If you want a superb crust recipe, let me know. I'll send you one. I know how busy everyone is, so you can just use a Marie Callender's frozen pie crust; it's tasty too. Now, keep in mind that this is the "start" recipe. If you want to make it just like the winning pie, don't add the lemon juice (though I would add at least 1/2 a Tbsp., and for the filling use 3 white peaches, 2 nectarines, and a can of peach pie filling. Yes, it's one of my crazy recipes. Why can't I just follow directions, eh? With local peaches coming on, this is the perfect time for peach pie. Enjoy!!

Cobbled Peach Pie
For Filling:
6 lg. peaches, peeled and cut into small
pieces, can be frozen (thaw if frozen)
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. cornstarch
For cobbler topping:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 stick of cold butter, cut into pieces
1/4 cup boiling water
1 pie crust
Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place pie crust in pie pan.
For filling: Toss peaches with sugar, lemon juice and cornstarch in microwaveable bowl. Heat in microwave for 1 minute. Remove and stir. Heat for 1 more minute. Remove and stir. Pour peaches over pie crust. (For a thicker filling when using frozen peaches, prepare using 1 bag of frozen peaches and add a can of peach pie filling to the mixture.)
For Topping: Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In food processor, mix dry ingredients and butter on pulse setting. Or mix butter in with your fingers. Stir in water until just combined. Drop by spoonfuls over peaches until covering them. I usually have some left over, because I don't like a heavy top. Cover edge of pie crust with foil to prevent over browning. Bake pie in oven for 35-45 minutes, or until topping is done. Let sit for 1 hour before serving.
Number Of Servings:8 to 10
Preparation Time:15 minutes if crust is already made, plus cooking time

"Will you take me to the Faire"

All growing up, the county fair was part of our summer. My mom was wonderful to help us finish our projects (that were usually started a day or two before they were due). For a few years Nadine had entries in the fair through her 4-H club. Then last year we skipped the fair completely. I missed it. So this year I decided to enter something. I haven't done that since a teenager. I was excited!

I decided to enter some cookies and flowers. And it was my younger years all over again, as I am making the cookies the night before - gotta have them fresh, right? I made my friend Rachel's Lemon Oatmeal Cookies, with a few changes. I always make changes, even to my own recipes. I had to pass on the flowers, because after the severe wind storm we had, all my flowers were, well, pathetic.

On Thursday I took all the family to the Fair to see how I did. And Whoo-hoo!! I got a blue and a high blue ribbon! (High blue means you are considered for a Sweepstakes ribbon in your category.) I gave a cheer and did my own happy dance when I saw my ribbons.

Since the flowers were a no-go, I decided to enter the Mayor's Pie Contest on Friday. Thursday night at 9pm I got home from the store with the ingredients to make a spectacular pie. I of course had to create my own recipe. You see, Paul and I had just been to the Cheesecake factory a few days before, and it gave me ideas. I made a Grasshopper Cheesecake Pie. It actually is tasty. I finished the mint cheesecake layer at 11:30pm and decided it would be a wise idea to look up the rules for the contest to make certain I wasn't supposed to pre-register. I didn't have to pre-register, but...only PEACH PIE entries would be accepted! What!!! Urgh. I've never been good at getting the instructions first.

Soooo.....The next morning I get home from the store at 10 am to start making my peach pie. Luckily I already had a recipe typed up for a pie class I taught last year. I made Cobbled Peach Pie. It's a yummy one if I do say so myself. My fab friend Maghann came over to give Paul some treats for watching her dog. We chatted while I was making the pie. An hour later, I'm racing to the fair with my slightly sad looking pie (my crusts always taste great, they don't always look so good). I look down to make sure I brought the recipe, and I realize I forgot an ingredient! I should never try to do two things at once! Oh well, too late now. I didn't put in the lemon juice, so the pie would be a little bland. I just laughed at myself. This was turning out so typical "Teresa".

There were 10 adult entries. I was nervous and excited as we waited for the Mayor and Fair Royalty to decide. My pie was numbered "1". As they met to discuss the winner, I saw the mayor say "definitely number 1" and the others shook their heads yes!! Now I was ready to hyper-ventilate! After all the disasters, was my pie going to actually win? Yes! I won! I was happy and laughing at myself at the same time. I got a large, gorgeous ribbon and some kitchen towels that say "Harvest Peach". I couldn't believe it, but then again, like I said earlier, it's a really tasty pie.

Beautiful, Bewitching, Bryce

On July 20th, two vans full of 9 enthusiastic kids, and 2 frazzled looking- but excited adults, headed out of the Salt Lake valley for southern skies. We were lucky to have 3 nephews from Idaho and 3 nieces from Florida along with us. I have been to many canyons, but none has mesmerized me like Bryce Canyon. It is an alien land on earth. The course of nature develops formations and colors that are truly stunning! I LOVE this place.
Our trip started out with a BANG when Nadine ran down the hill when we first arrived, tripped, and tore up her knees and scraped up various other body parts. The Park Rangers were called because of the amount of blood. They cleaned her up nicely (unfortunately she didn't get the cutie-batootie young men, but the girl ranger and married fellow did just fine). We had lunch and then started off for the second time. Due to Nadine's injuries we didn't do any long hikes, but because she's a good sport, we did part of a few amazing trails, and even hiked to the bottom. This is the third time I've been to Bryce, and I was just as awestruck as the first time. I advise you all to go. It's well worth the trip.

My, It IS Grand

Our second stop of our trip was at the Grand Canyon. It is truly an amazing site to behold! Nadine continued to be a trooper and hobble around with us, but here, the trails weren't as steep as Bryce - there's NO way I'm letting 5 boys try a trail down the Grand Canyon! We camped for two nights at a National Campground across the street from Jacob Lake Inn, where I worked after my freshman year in college. The kids reluctantly, but sportingly adjusted to no-plumbing-toilets (Jensen: "It stinks in here!") and were really helpful setting up camp and watching out for each other. It POURED the first night, but we survived.

We spent the day admiring God's creation and then most of us returned at night to see a bit of the sunset across the canyon. It was a beautiful day.

Lake Powell

I have been in a BAD mood all day. Not only do I have an acid tongue, but acid seems to be oozing from every pore. Don't visit me today. But because I detest living in such a state, I decided to do something fun and cheery, so you will get another post. I guess there really is opposition in all things.
Anyhoo, I am going to post on our recent trip down south. I'm starting at the end of the trip so that those who don't check my blog for awhile will be able to read about the trip start to finish.
Lake Powell has been my favorite lake for years. I learned to water-ski here while I worked at the Grand Canyon. I love the unusual beauty and the warm water. It's so different from most lakes. You miss the shade at times, but hey, you can always bring your own if you plan ahead (which leaves me out - being a busy mom preparing to leave a few hours after a week trip to Park City, and looking after two vans and 9 kids - How did my parents do it?!!!) We started on a semi-private location on the lake. There wasn't much of a beach, but the kids got to "cliff" jump, which was fun for them to do and fun for me to watch. We had a little blow up boat we took turns paddling around; add to that a plethora of floaties and you have the makings of success.
We went to a pavilion for a bathroom break and lunch. Then we went to a beachy part for shallow water and the "beach" experience. Then the fun began. We were only going to stay 1/2 hour. That became 1 1/2 hours when both of our vans got stuck in the sand!!

Here's the story: We foolishly drive down a sand road, stop at the side of the road to unload, decide to move the vans because it's not a great place to park (duh!) and in that 10 minutes the vans have sunk a foot down into the sand. Paul and I borrow a shovel, start digging, nice couple in large truck stop to pull us out, man in big truck pulling boat gets impatient and tries to drive around us, gets stuck. We get out the van out, Paul drives it to safe place, comes back to help truck and boat out; they succeed. The truck/boat man leaves his trailer partially on the road to come and help us get our second van out (which I've been trying to dig enough sand away to help for the inevitable pull). While pulling our van out, another big truck and boat come, get impatient (can you guess the result?...) and you guess it - get stuck in the sand. (As I see them start to go around I'm vainly wishing them to stop, but oh well.) We get the second van out, Paul moves it to safe location. The man in the truck who helped us goes to turn around so he can get his trailer. Meanwhile another truck comes and gets the 2nd truck and boat out. Meanwhile still, a small sedan comes, gets impatient for the trailer to be moved, goes around and...NO WAY!...gets stuck! The car is on a severe tilt and the drivers side is buried half way in the sand!!! Please! This is getting ridiculous! Paul gets back, helps the others dig out the car. (Those poor people who were just there for a relaxing day at the beach. They parked smart and spend over an hour digging us all out. God bless the kind.) We all walk to the vans, get loaded up, drive to the bathrooms to change, and get home after 12:30 in the morning. What an adventure.

West Jordan's Got Talent

I haven't done many posts this month because of family trips and vacations. I'll post on those adventures later. Before I do that, I had to showcase my son's talent for creative running, jumping, crashing, and rolling. Enjoy!

You Scream, I Scream....

Today the weather got nice and toasty. After weeks of rain and complaining, you'd think we'd all celebrate, but instead we're moaning about the heat...sitting under the cooler, dreaming of cold drinks, ice cream and dips in the pool. I guess there's something to enjoy in each type of weather. Today I salute cool rainy days...while enjoying my ice cream cone.

Here's a recipe for a great summer drink:
Mango Limeade
2 frozen mangos (previously cut and frozen)
1/3 cup lime juice
1/2 cup sugar (more or less)
Made up frozen pink lemonade concentrate
Or limeade, or normal lemonade
6-8 ice cubes

Fill blender half way up with pink lemonade. Add frozen mangos, lime juice, and sugar. Blend until smooth. Add ice cubes and blend until finely chopped. Enjoy. (You can add sprite to each glass when serving if desired.)

"What a Wonderful World"

We had the Kubalek Family reunion a few weeks ago, and the first night was spent near Bridal Veil Falls in Provo Canyon. The day was the first sunny one after a week of rain and the blue sky was heavenly. I think all of us appreciated the scenery a bit more because of the change in weather and the deep colors that come after a good soak. I wish our eyes could be our cameras - they capture the real beauty so much better than a man made do-hicky, at least with my camera skills (maybe I should read a manual). Anyhoo, here are a few photos to wet your appetite for a drive or hike up a canyon. And may I recommend Provo's to you. The paths are well groomed and they go for miles...Fabulous! Our family is planning another visit already.

Migaloo is One Lucky Boy

Okay, so today was the end of the iTunes gift card giveaway. I threw the 7 entries into the random number generator and....Migaloo won! As you can see by the photo, Migaloo is my sweetie. I thought, "Hmm, maybe the winner should be someone other than my best friend, being my favorite and all." So I did the generator again....and he won a second time! I did the generator again...and he won a third time! This guy is one lucky guy! (I tell him his luck started when he married such a fabulous, gorgeous woman, and because he's smart as well as lucky, he agrees with me.)
I told him he won, he was happy, but said I could give it to someone else. I decided to put the time entries in a list generator and....June 17, 2009 5:30 PM is the winner. So Nadine, I'll hand the card to you next time I see you. Thanks to all who entered. Please keep trying...I LOVE all the comments and learning about all of you, and I hope you have fun with it as well.