Trick or Treat

Happy Halloween!
With the weather being so nice, it's hard to believe that it is already Oct. 31. Blade knew it was Halloween and all day he was asking if it was time to go trick or treating. I told him it would be time after we ate supper. Well, after we ate lunch he thought it was time...it was a long afternoon...

Here they are...my "Trick or Treaters"

Chay the "gangsta"

Blade the "astronaut"

Nicole the "jailbird"

Nicole stayed at home to pass out candy while I took Blade door to door to collect as much candy as possible. It took Blade a while to become comfortable saying "trick or treat" at doors and opening his bag for candy but, he finally got the hang of it and was only shy if someone spoke directly to him. We passed Chay and his friends along the way and Blade wanted to stay with them but Chay didn't like that idea as much as Blade.

During the latter half of the evening, Blade would sit down after each house and show me what candy he got at the house.

Our house
...the one time of the year that the color really works...

Blade ("I think I'm turning Japanese, yes I think so...) and his stash.

"The Man" and his stash

Blade trying on Chay's vampire teeth after doing the candy check...it's amazing how they changed his look completely (and the drop of drool really adds also). Now I'm a firm believer that teeth make the person.

The weird thing is that while I having been writing this post, Nicole has been sitting behind me going through some of my old journals and reading them to me. And I realize that it's difficult for me to write something and listen to something else. So this post has limited writing and insight. However, it did make me become tearful when Nicole was reading a segment that I had written to "my baby" (her) when I was pregnant with her and had heard her heart beat for the first time. Journal writing use to be a regular occurrence for me and then things changed and I stopped. I have missed out on a lot by failing to keep a journal for many years. The good news however, is that I have been keeping a journal since the summer and am documenting my life. The journal is a program I use on the computer and I can insert pictures and it's great. So between the journal and my blog, my family will know, "This is me".

How was Halloween in your area?

Halloween prep

This evening we finally carved two of our pumpkins. As you can tell from Chay's picture, that initial handful of pumpkin guts is "yucky".

Blade looked inside his pumpkin and was hesitant to put his hand in and clean it out but, once I started and he saw that it was okay, he loved it and took great pride in getting all the seeds out.

And it was just natural to try out the 'jack o lantern's' mouth....

Blade wanted a "scary" face and posed the way he wanted the face to look and this was how his pumpkin turned out.

Chay did a great job on his pumpkin, I like how the eyes even have pupils.

...My boys...

This evening I also had a meeting with the Bishop, which is never a welcoming thing, (sorry Doug) and accepted the calling to be the Valiant B teacher in Primary. It was such a relief to hear " teach the Valiant B class", since there are many callings that I am not capable of doing, that I instantly accepted the calling with a smile. I haven't had a calling in Primary for many years, and when I did, it was for a short period only, and so this will be quite the adventure. However, Chay wants me to tell the Bishop "no", because he is in the Valiant B class and he thinks it would be "weird" for me to be his teacher and maybe because I told him that it is unlikely that I will take them to go play "laser tag" like their previous teacher, whom he has had for two years.

Well, tomorrow is Halloween, and if the weather continues as it has been, it will be a very nice night to go trick or treating. I may wear a light jacket...maybe not. I need Brylie and Tyken out here so that they can go trick or treating with Blade!

Deja Vu

On Saturday evening, all the kids had parties to attend.

Nicole attended a masquerade themed birthday party and thanks to Alana, she had the BEST mask there! THANK YOU Alana.

Nicole and her friend Quinn. They sure have changed since Kindergarten.

Not only does Nicole wear hats well but look how well she pulls off that mask. I tried it on and trust me, I did not look very attractive. Some how the mask actually makes her eyes "Pop".

The faces behind the masks...
The black crow mask really does masquerade doesn't it, kind of like Superman and his glasses...when you remove the glasses you don't even recognize the person...

Chay and Blade had a Halloween party to attend next door at the Warren's for their annual party. Chay has looked forward to this party every Halloween since he was Blade's age and this year he was able to help out with the Spook alley.

Here's a preview of their costumes this year.
It's hard to tell in this picture but Chay is a gangster. Okay, originally he was going to be a gangster but he ended up being a gangsta. I think Chay had his grill in this picture, you'll have to zoom in to check.

Dave and I drove down to Provo to pick up Alana after her long day at work so that she could join us for part of the weekend. Chay used "my" monthly free rental at Blockbuster to rent a Wii game and he and Alana tried it out. By Sunday evening, Chay had completed the game...sad but true...

I finally started to glaze the wall upstairs this past week and so that is why all the furniture is crowded in the center of the room. What I'm not looking forward to is having to move all the furniture and "stuff" away from the walls in the other room upstairs...and only those who have been upstairs in my home feel my pain.

This next picture was funnier when I "started" to take the picture. It was so cute because Alana was by herself, sitting close to the TV with her full attention on SpongeBob. When I grabbed the camera to capture the moment, Blade ran over to sit in her lap and created another moment.

Alana is the sister Nicole has never had. With Alana having 5 sisters it was no big deal to see girls together at her home but at my home, it was so sweet to see Alana helping Nicole study for her math exam. Again, Thank you Alana!

Not only "thank you" Alana but "sorry" Alana. Alana asked me to help lengthen her curtains by sewing on some cute fabric she had bought and I was willing to do it because it was a simple project. Well, things went seriously wrong and the width I had written down (with the hem width added) escaped my mind and I cut the fabric without allowing for thehem. I tried to be creative and thought I could sew some ribbon on the edge and then the ribbon could be the hem but I managed to cut that a little short also AND the second roll of ribbon that I needed disappeared. I had only covered maybe a 6x6 ft area when I had it but, the ribbon was no where to be seen. Alana could verify that there were two rolls of ribbon so I knew I wasn't completely losing it. Well, Alana did not get her funky curtains. Instead we used some ivory curtains I had and added that for the length and she now has more classic looking curtains. (sorry, I didn't get a picture because I felt so bad about what I did) I hope they look okay in your room Alana.

While I tried to save the curtain project, Nicole and Alana made some sugar cookies and decorated them perfectly. They thought that I would be teaching them something but they had the perfect consistency for the icing and did a superb job. It was time consuming but Nicole mentioned that it was easier to do this time with the icing being abit thicker.

...my kids can watch others work forever...they get that from me...

The filled in Frankensteins are amazing and the curly hair on the witches added a more witchy feeling. The pictures don't do the cookies justice. Nicole and Alana were able to get depth to the icing and it just made a big difference.

And, I still haven't found the ribbon....

Doing it their way...

Chay and Blade both have the knack for doing things their way.

Chay went to his school's Halloween Carnival with friends this evening and came home very excited. He told me he had won a hula hoop contest and won a little monkey stuffed animal. THEN he told me that he had won the Grande prize hula hoop contest and showed me his prize, a battery operated chicken that when you squeeze it's wing, it dances to the chicken dance song! Who knew that Chay had a talent of hula hooping? I know that I didn't. Chay's friends were cheering him on and when the hula hoop started dropping to his hips they would be "ohhhing" but then when he would recover they would throw their arms in the air and yell "yeah"! He now feels we need to get a hula hoop and the BIG ones are better than the SMALLER ones...he knows.

The first time I ever heard of and had seen the Chicken Dance was at my cousin Janet's wedding reception, and now whenever I hear that song, I think of that time. Janet also had a great punch at her reception and our table had refills of it. One memorable moment was when I had finished my glass of punch and wanted more, so when Doug excused himself to go to the restroom, my immediate thought was, "hey, he going by the punch table", and as he stood to leave the table, I held my glass out to him and asked "Will you fill this please?" Okay, without all the "filler" words, if you were there it would have gone like this:
"I'm going to the bathroom."
"Will you fill this please?"

Trust me, it was hilarious at the time, and no, the punch was NOT spiked!

WARNING! KEEP NEXT IMAGE AT ORIGINAL SIZE!

After Blade was put to bed, he decided that he wanted something to eat (and he's at the age where he is very independent). I walked around the corner and was surprised to see that he had done his own problem solving and had moved the garbage can so that he could reach the Symphony chocolate bar that he could see in the drawer. (Now, if I had waited to answer the questions Angie tagged me with, I would have a different answer to 'when was the last time you laughed'.) I have seen him use the garbage can so that he can do the dishes but this was a first for the fridge. (I don't know exactly what is in my fridge so that's why the warning)

And if you have already read my previous post, you may be wondering why I haven't blog about our car "exchange". It's because it's a very recent thing and my internet was down AND I haven't had the opportunity to take a picture of it yet. And now it is in the shop again to get the fuel filter checked. It's a used Jag (of course) and the previous owner is older and has been unable to drive it for over a year and so his son was selling it. Since it had sat for so long it needed some tuning up. Dave drove it to work and it worked great on the freeway but when he got into the City, had to pick Chay up from soccer, and hit every red light, the car sputtered and died each time and took multiple attempts to start again. In the words of Chay "that was the most terrifying ride of my life..." (and if you know the steep hill on 13th S, that red light was not an answer to a prayer...)

And Erika, I don't know what story your Dad has been telling you but I can honestly say that I did not bend your Dad's toes back at any time in my life. Now, I'm wondering about the other stories he is and will be telling...
If truth be told, this is what really occurred. When we lived in the trailer, your dad and his friend would chase me down the hall and I would run into Grandma's and Grandpa's bedroom and jump on their bed as I ran and tried to get away from them. Of course there wasn't any where to go and so they would catch me, grab my toes and bend them back. I don't recall it causing pain but my reaction to having my toes bend back towards my face was laughter, but who would really know because your Dad's and Barton's laugher drowned me out. And so sporatically, they would want "entertainment" and this ritual would occur. To this day, your Dad's response is "you liked it..."
I know, some of you are bending your toes back right now aren't you? It doesn't really hurt does it? (I guess it depends on how aggressively you're do it though....).
That's MY story and I'm sticking to it...

Tag, I'm it

I'm flattered that Angie tagged me with an "I Love Your Blog" award! Here are my answers:

1. Where is your cell phone? In my purse in its' own designated pocket.
2. Where is your significant other? Across the room sitting on the floor with Blade going over huge alphabet flashcards (unfortunately they are Spanish ones and the letters are not coinciding with the word we would use to describe the picture... we may have screwed Blade up for good....)
3. Your hair color? Today it is #267 but in a couple of weeks I hope to have it black amber. It's black but I prefer to call it darkest brown because plain black is just too dark.
4. Your mother? She's an amazing woman who exhibits qualities that I strive for and she's the ONLY person I know who has NEVER raised her voice.
5. Your father? He is a quiet man but has a great sense of humor when you get him talking and although he's a retired Physician, he's a farmer at heart.
6. Your favorite thing? I don't have FAVORITES.
7. Your dream last night? I actually don't recall dreaming last night.
8. Your dream/goal? To be a better person physically, mentally, and spiritually.
9. The room you're in? The loft.
10.Your hobby? Creating things with sewing, knitting, baking, card making, and jewelery making; blogging, reading (but not doing too much of that).
11. Your fear? I'm afraid that I might fail my kids because I'm not the "perfect" mom.
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Financially secure and out of debt!
13. Where were you last night? Last NIGHT I was in bed sleeping but in the evening I joined two friends for supper at a nice restaurant (where you pay AFTER you eat) and enjoyed their company and conversation for 2.5 hours that just flew by.
14. What you're not ? In the best shape of my life.
15. One of your wish-list items? To have my home renovations completed...all 3 floors... (or would that be on my fantasy list?)
16. Where you grew up? good old PB, Picture Butte, Alberta Canada.
17. The last thing you ate? Organic chicken burrito
18. What are you wearing? Black and white clothing, sometimes I change it up and wear white and black.
19. Your TV? Old school that requires a surface at least 24 deep to sit on. But at least we have DVR so we're up to date on that.
20. Your pet? Koshi, our big loving akita, and dust bunnies that keep reproducing.
21. Your computer? Working at the moment.
22. Your mood? Content.
23. Missing someone? Always.
24. Your car? There is no "my" car. But our white Jaguar required more work than it's worth and so we now have a black Jaguar again in our driveway. Everything looks better in "black".
25. Something you're not wearing? I'm NOT wearing my shirt tucked in.
26. Favorite store? Remember I don't have favorites, but NPS and Costco are high on my list of places I shop however, NPS is not winning by as much as it was years ago...
27. Your summer? A great one with a 2 week vacation to Arizona, San Diego and Las Vegas with the family.
28. Love someone? Definitely!
29. Your favorite color? I can't go wrong with black, white and red.
30. When is the last time you laughed? This evening I was laughing "with" Dave but I can't remember what it was about.
31. Last time you cried? I was teary a couple of weeks ago when I read entries and comments on my blog and family members' blogs about angels and things happening for a reason.

I now tag Jacqui, Auntie Sheila and Erika.

Addendum: after answering my questions, I caught up on my blog reading and realized that alot happens in 24+ hours and everyone in "my" blogging world had been tagged. So I update my tagging to:
MOM and AK (the two of you will need to answer the questions in the comments OR start a blog!)

In the beginning....

This is the project that started me on the search for a sugar cookie recipe. I signed up for dessert for a baby shower at work and it was the perfect opportunity to try the cookie cutter that I received at a baby shower for our dear friends next door whose son and daughter-in-law are expecting twins. I haven't tried all the recipes I found online but I did throw a batch out... (if something just doesn't taste good to me, I prefer to toss it then to have others eat it and think that I meant for it to taste that way). I had the same issue with the icing that others have mentioned, this one was too thin and ran.

Here is the recipe that AK requested but, after the enchilada episode, I'm hesitant to put it out there... Mom, what is your recipe for sugar cookies?

Sugar Cookies

Cream:

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar

Add:

1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 T milk
1/4-1/2 tsp almond extract (optional but I add this, it really enhances the flavor)

Add:

2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Chill in fridge for an hour. Roll out and cut out. I like to roll them a bit thicker, about 1/4 inch. If I do cookie bouquets even up to 1/2 inch. Bake at 375 degrees F for 8-10 minutes. For a moist cookie, watch for the edges to just barely begin to turn brown.

Another Zak siting...

AK, I finally cropped the picture of Zak and I'll get a print to you. I took a picture of it so that I could share it with you instantly but it keeps coming out blurry when it uploads, and I couldn't get the scanned picture to upload.

"I put lotion on Mom" (...yes you did)

I heard Blade tell me this and when he came up the stairs, I was greeted with this precious face... In our family, it is very important to put lotion on because along with the blessing of having pigment to the skin, comes the torture (according to Chay) of having to put lotion on. I didn't even know the word "ashy" in reference to skin until I met Dave (for you out there that are ebonically challenged," ashy" skin is when the skin is dry and looks like it has a layer of white dust on it). Blade listens to everything that goes on around the house and apparently hears me ask Chay too frequently, "Did you put lotion on?"

AND DOUG, it's great to have you back in the blogging world. I've missed your humor. I'm glad that things have slowed down abit so that you have time to blog. AND I'll try to find other topics to blog about other than recipes (however, I do enjoy cooking and creating...) Stories from years passed (or is it past? I should have just written "past years") are a great topic because it gives such an insight. Do you have ordinary experiences and just have a great story telling ability and make them exciting, funny and thought provoking, or has you life just been filled with these actual events and you happen to remember it all?

Nicole likes to hear stories of when I was younger but I can't think of any stories that would be interesting. The ones she knows I think involve you...like the Doug and Barton story of chasing me and bending my toes back.

Donations and recipes...

Another Sunday with Church over at noon and the rest of the day ahead of us...

We decided to take advantage of another opportunity to do something as a family that did not require money and also helped the food bank. Snowbird ski resort was having an "appreciation" day and tram rides were free with a donation of one can of food per person. Nicole and Chay had been on the tram before but it was a first for me. The ride was almost like an amusement park ride at times when the tram's incline increased. The view was amazing and it brought back memories and actually made me miss skiing and had me thinking that I really need to take up skiing again (if it weren't for the fact that I'm afraid I would break something since the last time I skied was at least 18 yrs ago). The temperature today was in the 70s again, comfortable but not hot like it was when we went to Gardner Village, and at first it was chilly when we stepped out of the tram at the top of the mountain but, in a few minutes we acclimatized and it felt warm. The cool breeze in the tram on the way down was actually refreshing.

(If anyone knows how I can flip pictures straight from my card onto the blog, please let me know)

We were able to get spots right by the doors so we could enjoy an unobstructed view. Chay was looking for animal life but didn't see any. The previous time he rode the tram, he saw an elk wandering the mountain.

I don't know what this look meant...

At the top of the mountain.

Chay found an area with a large number of ladybugs and was enjoying picking them up and showing them to Blade. Nicole held on to Blade because he didn't want to hold the ladybugs and the last thing we wanted was for him to tumble down the mountain.

It was invigorating to walk on some of the paths at Snowbird and enjoy the Fall colors and just be out in nature.

Remember the Millers who made a donation to the survival of our backyard and received cookies as a Thank you? Well, they LOVED the cookies and today requested the recipe. So, I gave them a copy of the recipe I used and since it's ideal to always give the food item with the recipe, I made a small batch of sugar cookies. However, since they already knew what the cookies tasted like, I decided to make the "flaky" sugar cookies because they are quick to make and included that recipe also. Also, Sheila wanted the recipe and I needed to include a picture of the cookie along with the recipe, so I "killed two birds with one stone".

Nicole tried the cookies again and said they tasted good but still really likes the "regular" sugar cookies a lot more. She did however like the cream cheese icing I put on the cookies (nothing beats cream cheese icing...mmmm Mom's cream cheese icing on her carrot cake)

The recipe is a copycat recipe for sugar cookies at "Paradise Cafe and Bakery". I haven't been to this restaurant so I have nothing to compare it to.

Paradise Bakery Sugar Cookies

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup icing sugar
2 cups shortening
3/4 tsp vanilla extract (I also added 1/2 tsp almond extract because it gives it more flavor)
1 egg beaten
4 1/3 cups cake flour (this is what makes it so flaky)
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Mix together the sugars and shortening.

Mix on slow speed for 30 second.

Increase speed to medium and mix for 3 minutes. Slowly add vanilla extract and egg while mixing.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Gradually add the flour mixture to the mixing bowl, mixing on slow speed until just blended. do not overmix.

Dough may be rolled out on lightly floured board and cut with cookie cutters or scooped with an ice cream scoop and placed directly on cookie sheet. If scooped, flatten with palm of hand.

Bake at 375 degrees F for 9-10 minutes. Cookies are done when small cracks appear. Ideally, the edges do not brown.



And for Jacqui, here is the recipe for the chicken enchiladas. And I hope Alana's turned out great today. I don't have the recipe written down anywhere because it's so simple but, I'm glad it is written down now because in the future, when I can't remember how to make this, my family will have the recipe and will be able to carry on...

Chicken Enchiladas

*Flour tortillas
*5-6 chicken breasts (boiled and then pulled into shreds) (that sounds like you need to really attack it but I just mean pull it into strips...)
*1 small or large can diced green chilis
*1 can cream of chicken soup
*1 16 oz container sour cream
*cheddar cheese (shredded)

Mix the green chilis, chicken soup and sour cream together.

Add the chicken.

Spoon onto tortilla and wrap up "burrito" style. (Roll up one end, fold in the sides and then continue rolling up)

Place in pan/casserole dish with fold side down.

Cover with cheese (generously of course).

Cover with foil and cook at 350-375 degrees F for about 45 minutes or until hot throughout. The sauce usually bubbles out when I make it and then I know it's ready. Remove the foil the last 5 minutes so that it can melt nicely. If you don't cover it with foil, your cheese will get hard (not good).

just a normal day...

Another gorgeous day in SLC, and unlike last week when Chay played soccer in the snow, today he played in perfect weather. His team played well and won the game and Blade played well on the playground equipment down the hill so I only had the opportunity to watch half the game.

I was impressed with Blade's initiative to learn as he played with some plastic turtles and water and then turned it into a game of "what floats and what doesn't float", apparently Fred does float. He was taking anything he could find and placing it in his bowl of water, luckily Dave caught him in time with some objects that definitely do not float and should NOT be in water.

Alana called today for the recipe for the chicken enchiladas that I make and asked if I had tried to make the miniature caramel apples (that we had talked about when Judy was visiting). I hadn't but I decided that since Nicole wanted more caramel apples, I would try to figure out how to do the miniature apples. I think I figured out a way to do it. The miniature caramel apples start out as a regular sized apple that is attacked with a melon scooper. I then dipped the "apple ball", with peel still on the top, into melted chocolate and let it cool. Then I flattened out cooled caramel and cut out circles with a biscuit cutter and folded the caramel around the chocolate covered apple ball by hand. And then to make the caramel melt together slightly to visually look better on the top, I used my blow dryer to heat up the caramel a little.

I know, it sounds like a lot of work. It was compared to just dipping the regular apples but they were cute. Because of the juice from the apple, caramel will not stick to it. In the original version seen in a Family Fun magazine, the apple ball was dipped in butterscotch(I think) chips, but that didn't sound as appetizing as a caramel apple. I read online that rice flour might absorb the juice so the caramel could stick but I didn't have that. And warmed caramel cannot be used for dipping the chocolate covered apple because the heat will melt the chocolate and it will just run off the apple.

This may be too much information for most but I felt I had to get the entire process out there.

Alana, I'm impressed with you trying out new recipes and not just cooking for one. I hope the chicken enchiladas turned out the way you expected. I hope to see a blog about it...