Number One: The wedding was so emotional, even the cake was in tiers.
I love that one!
Number Two: You can’t buy happiness, but you can buy ice cream, and that is about the same thing!
Let me tell you, that is a true statement!
Hope you have an awesome week.
Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies
These cookies are my dad’s favorite. He usually eats about three or four at a time.
By: Ramona Payne
2 cups sugar
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups butter
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
5 cups flour
4 cups oatmeal
1 pkg. cinnamon chips or semi-sweet
Cream first 5 ingredients. Add dry ingredients. Mix in chips. Bake at 375° for 8 to 11 minutes. Let cool on pan for 3 minutes.
* We usually just half the recipe, because it still makes about 72 cookies.
On Thursday, Spencer came down with the flu. This is not a good thing, because when the flu hits one of us, it hits all of us. By Friday afternoon he was all better. On Saturday we all went outside and pulled out our cannas, tomatoes, and peppers from our gardens. Afterwards I was feeling very tired and nothing sounded good. I got sick about an hour later, and so did Abbie. Later that night I got a priesthood blessing from Daddy and one of our home teachers and didn't get sick all night! Daddy also helped me finish writing my mystery story for English. Thanks Daddy! So now I am feeling fine, Mark is not, and neither is Daddy. I really don’t like flu season!
This recipe is soooo good! It is spicy and cheesy and warm and delicious!
Cheesy Salsa Macaroni
1 lb. ground beef
12 oz. salsa
1 ¼ cups water
8 oz. macaroni
12 oz. Velveeta cheese, cubed
Brown and drain ground beef. Add salsa, water and noodles. Simmer about 12 minutes. Stir in cheese. Serve hot!
One thing I want to do today: Do a craft
One thing I have to do today: Finish a Christmas Present
Five people who make me smile: Mom, Dad, Tori, Roo Roo, and Megan
When I think of a strawberry I think of: Sweet stuff
When I think of a skyscraper I think of: A sky full of scratches
When I think of friendship I think of: Friendship bracelets
When I think of an octopus I think of: The color purple
When I think of a paintbrush I think of: Splatter Duck Tape
“Reality leaves a lot to the imagination!”
-John Lennon
This is my favorite soup! It is perfect for the cold weather we had last week.
Corn Potato Chowder
3 cups water
6 to 7 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
1/2 an onion, chopped
1/2 a green or red bell pepper, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. chicken bouillon
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
8 oz. frozen corn
1 1/2 cups milk
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
8 oz. cream cheese
Boil the potatoes, onion, peppers, and seasonings in the water about 10 minutes. Add frozen corn and return to a boil. Cook until the potatoes are tender. Whisk the corn starch into the milk and stir into the soup. Add the cream cheese in small chunks and stir until the cream cheese it melted and the soup has thickened.
*Sometimes I add more peppers or corn depending on what I've got in the freezer. The taste of the peppers with the cream cheese really give this soup its tasty flavor. (I use the Neufchatel cream cheese.) Sometimes I have to add a little more salt.
One night I was staying up a little extra to practice my flute. I was sitting on the couch assembling my flute, when a purple paper sitting next to me caught my eye. I glanced at it and saw the word “maternity”. I read the front and back, and by the time I was done, I was convinced that my mom was going to have another baby. The paper was about the ultrasound my mom was going to have in October. I was so excited! I bounced around the house, and decided to ask dad in the morning, so nobody else would hear.
The next morning when dad woke me up, I told him about the mysterious purple paper. He grinned, and said yes,mom is going to have another baby. I had to keep it a secret for six days so we could tell Grandma. My parents always think up clever ways to tell everyone. Two Christmases ago when my mom was pregnant with Neil, she made a card that said on the front, “Unto us a son is born, unto us a son is given….”, making it look like a Christmas card. When you flipped it open, it said “Or maybe a girl but you’ll have to wait till June to find out!” Dad told me that we would announce it when we went to Whiting Campground for the Brian Memorial Cookout. We had gone to the Payson Pond a few days earlier to get new birthday pictures. They would give Grandma the new pictures to put on her wall, but inside would be tucked a picture of the ultrasound. Grandma would look through them, see the ultrasound and know that a new grandbaby was on the way. But I couldn’t tell anyone until then.
It was so hard not to tell Tori, but I managed to keep it a secret. We went up to Whiting, and I finally got to hand grandma the pictures. Her face when she ran into the ultrasound was priceless. Now I finally get to tell everybody! That happened about two weeks ago, but then I still couldn’t tell a lot of people, because Mom still had to tell her mom. She sent her a picture of the ultrasound with a post-it note over it that said, “Oops, forgot one!”. Mom had sent her the birthday pictures a few days earlier. So now I finally get to post it on my blog!!!!
