new year's eggnog bread

Here's one more recipe (just so the last thing I write about in 2009 isn't bags of poop hanging from my back door). I made it for a New Year's treat for friends, neighbors and Dan's home teaching families. I love eggnog. I love nutmeg. I love rum. Just kidding. I just love the smell of rum. Actually, I've never smelled real rum. I just love the smell of rum extract. And gasoline.

Eggnog Quick Bread

Ingredients

• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup eggnog
• 2 teaspoons rum flavored extract
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom only of a 9x5 inch loaf pan, or three 3x5 inch loaf pans. {I used 4 of those smaller disposable loaf pans. The batter fit perfectly.}
2. Blend together the eggs, eggnog, rum extract, sugar, vanilla and butter.
3. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Add to eggnog mixture and stir just enough to moisten; pour into prepared pan.
4. Bake bread in large pan for 40 to 60 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Breads baked in the smaller pans require 35 to 40 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes, and remove from pan. Cool completely, wrap tightly and store in refrigerator.

I figured this recipe would be a great way to use up the almost expired eggnog in the fridge. Stir it in some bread batter and nobody will notice, right? I hate to let semi-good eggnog go to waste. Just kidding again. I never have eggnog in the fridge long enough to expire.

I thought the bread turned out quite tasty. And my little helper boy did too.

dear dan, the doorknob's full

See those bags?
There's poop in them.
Poopy diapers and poop that you scoop.
By morning there's going to be another bag needing to hang there.
I'm afraid if that happens,
all that poop will be all over the stoop.

So would you kindly put on your boots
and make the trek out to the garbage
and properly dispose of all that poop
before I fly the coop?

Many thanks,

Your loving wife


p.s. (for anyone else reading this): If you had to walk that far to the garbage can through 3 feet of snow uphill (both ways) with nary a walkway in sight, you'd hang poop in bags on your back doorknob too. Don't judge. It's cold out there.

getting to know you, part four

This is me.

I'm 36.
So here's 36 things about me.

1. I've had gray hair since my very early twenties.

2. I was a girl scout for 10 years.

3. I always pick red polish for my pedicures. I can make a pedi last for months by simply touching up the chipped parts with the little bottle of red polish in my bathroom drawer.

4. I have freckles.

5. I don't like dogs.

6. When I was 19, I went to the mall to have my ear pierced. Not my ears...just my ear. I already had my ears pierced once in each ear. I just wanted a second hole in my left ear. Why? I was young and stupid. That's all I can figure. I haven't worn an earring in that second hole for probably 15 years, maybe more. You can still see the hole though. I can still put an earring in it too. What a waste.

7. I hate wearing my glasses. I prefer my contacts.

8. I do not eat mushrooms, olives or onions. Ordering the supreme pizza is a waste. I just end up having to pick all that yucky stuff off. Then my fingers stink like onions, I've lost my appetite and the pizza is cold.

9. I hate cold pizza.

10. When I was a little kid, I stole some polished rocks from a neighbor's flower bed. I thought they were beautiful. I decided that I wanted to try to sell them on the side of the road (kind of like a lemonade stand). My mom found out and made me take them back and apologize.

11. I cried the first time I saw the movie E.T. It was at the movie theater. I was 8 or 9 (I know it was 1982 but I'm not sure which month). That long finger with the glowing tip touching Elliott's heart, E.T. saying "I'll be right here"...it gets me every time.

12. I like reading blogs. Friends, family, strangers. It doesn't matter. When Cate was a tiny baby I gravitated towards blogs of preemie or sick babies. I'm glad that phase has passed. It was kind of depressing. I'm done with the crafty blogs. They just make me feel inadequate.

13. I love cinnamon gummy bears.

14. I love chocolate.

15. I don't love chocolate covered cinnamon gummy bears.

16. It bothers me when people say "I could care less" about something they don't care about. If you could care less, then that means you care. If you really don't care, then you should say "I couldn't care less."

17. I don't like frosting.

18. I've never had any of my body hair waxed. I'd like to. I'd start with my eyebrows. They're uneven, thanks to my amateur tweezing skills (not plucking...eyebrows are tweezed, chickens are plucked).

19. I like Sharpies.

20. I hate summer. It's the pits. I hated summer even when I was a kid. I loved school and couldn't wait for it to start again every September. I hate being outside in the summer. Hot sun. Yuck. Sweaty forehead. Yuck.

21. I don't like going to dances. I went to the eighth grade dance with some friends. The boy who my best friend liked (and who later became her boyfriend throughout most of high school) came over to where we were standing and asked me to dance. I told him no because I knew she liked him. He asked her next. I felt horrible and stayed in the restroom for the duration of the dance. I never went to another dance after that (except for the one I was forced to go to during the only Youth Conference I ever attended).

22. I went country dancing once in college. I don't count that as a dance though. I was nervous and not excited to be there. I didn't even have on Wrangler's or boots. I was asked to dance once. It was a slow song and the guy was about 3 inches shorter than me.

23. I enjoy shoveling snow. I hate driving in it.

24. I don't like to be late. I don't like it when other people are late. I don't like it when other people make me late.

25. I don't know how to use a sewing machine (although I have one).

26. I don't like candy corn.

27. I had my stomach pumped when I was a little kid because I ate a bottle of vitamins (or part of it, I can't remember...it was way too much though). The neighbor kid made me do it.

28. I love bacon.

29. I didn't skip a class in college until half way through my junior year (so I could wait for my mission call in the mail).

30. I love Costco.

31. I like the smell of gasoline.

32. I like the smell of coffee.

33. I do not like gravy.

34. I do not like downhill skiing. I've only been once. I hated it. I struggled to get a grip on the stupid rope that pulled us up the kiddie hill. Once I got up there, I had no idea what to do so I just sat down in the snow. I finally got enough courage to stand up and get down that hill. And I got down it in lightning speed since I kept my skis pointed straight down the hill. I stopped at the bottom of the hill by making myself fall. I'll never ever go skiing again. Unless it's cross country skiing. I did that once too and I actually enjoyed it.

35. I had a job mowing lawns during college. I quit after 3 weeks. I haven't mowed a lawn since then.

36. I misspelled the word banjo in a 6th grade spelling bee. I spelled it bango.



(In case you missed them, here's part one, part two and part three. Parts one and two are in need of a little updating.)

from sunday to sunday

Here's our week in review:

Sunday, December 20th

welcomed Grama Bama and Grandpa after their long and tiring journey
made Christina's chicken pot pie for dinner (so yummy)
took a trip to Temple Square to listen to Judy play her flute
tried to entertain a few bored kids with the food display
wondered what exactly TURKEY CHUNKS and BEEF CHUNKS are


managed to not lose any kids in the swarms of people at Temple Square
saw the dead guy downstairs

Monday, December 21st

slept in until 8:40 (my children really do love me!)
played at McDonald's to celebrate Kristopher's 5th birthday
took pictures of my daughter because she's 18 months old
laughed when she cried because I wouldn't let her hold the camera

ate chicken pot pie leftovers for dinner (still yummy)


Tuesday, December 22nd

slept in until 8:40 (amazing, I know!)
dropped kids off at Judy's house so they could spend some quality time with the grandparents
ran a few errands alone (amazing, I know!)
cursed the snow for making me drive in it
wrapped presents while the kids napped
visited with Santa

ate taquitos for dinner at Cocolito's
went shopping with Candis at Target at 10:30 in the p.m.


Wednesday, December 23rd

woke up before 8:40
took the kids to their doctor's appointment
discovered that Danny has hearing loss in his right ear and now needs to see an audiologist
cursed Canyons School District for making Dan work today
spent time with the cousins and grandparents
assembled a gingerbread house
watched Kris attempt to eat a piece of the roof that was as big as his head

laughed when Grama Bama told me I missed a spot with the frosting...like it was going to make a difference in the outcome
cursed that stupid green frosting for being way too thick and way too difficult to pipe
gave up on perfection once again

watched Danny become a master at paper cutting
watched Cate pick up Danny's scraps one at a time and throw them in the garbage

ate crock pot chicken for dinner
wrapped more presents
went to bed way too late


Thursday, December 24th

slept in until 8:40 (again!)
played with the grandparents and cousins while Dan did his Christmas shopping

went grocery shopping with Danny after naps (theirs, not mine)
ate ham for dinner
wrapped more presents


Friday, December 25th

slept in until 8:00
woke up the kids around 8:30 so we could get the unwrapping started
watched Cate rock out on Danny's new guitar

listened to Danny proclaim that the new keyboard is for a guh-wuhl {girl} because it's pink
tricked him into smiling again by telling him to not smile

watched Dan rock out on the new guitar

gave Cate lots and lots of help with the unwrapping of her presents
(maybe she'll understand what's going on next year)

showered
shaved
drove to Judy's house for more presents

played with new presents
watched other people play with their new presents
ate too much chocolate
drove to Grandma's house for more presents
ate pepper jelly with cream cheese on crackers and became addicted
ate turkey, sweet potatoes (or were they yams?), and cranberry sauce (shaped like the can...just the way I like it) for dinner
watched Cate play with her cousins

learned that this baby will have a baby brother in a few months

drove home to the sound of Danny snoring in the back seat
(or maybe that was Grama Bama snoring in the front seat)


Saturday, December 26th

woke up in the middle of the night to the cries of a little girl in the next room
attempted to put her back to sleep
cleaned up her puke when she decided she'd rather scream, cry and gag herself
slept until 8:40 (those kids have amazingly synchronized internal clocks)
welcomed Grama Bama and Grandpa for a visit
watched Danny open one more present from Grama Bama




watched Cate open one more too

tried to focus on Grama Bama and Cate having some quality bonding time
and not on the garbage piling up from all those presents

gave up on trying to organize all the new toys
said goodbye to perfection once again
went to Judy's house for more family time
felt good that Cate was starting to warm up to Grandpa...finally

ate dinner (can't remember what it was)


Sunday, December 27th

dressed Cate in her cutest new dress

went to church
watched Danny totally dislike nursery for the last time ever
left Cate alone in the nursery for the first time ever
enjoyed some peace and quiet while Cate napped
ate leftover ham for dinner at Judy's house
kicked everyone's butts at Scrabble Slam


the end

a very brief fashion show

thanks, Grandma

enough is enough

9:27 p.m.
(last night)

Danny: Uh, Mama. You gink dis uh-muff desints?
{you think this is enough presents?}

me: Yes, it's enough.

Danny: No it not.

8:42 a.m.
(this morning)

Danny: Uh, Mama. I gink we need muh desints.
{I think we need more presents.}

And my response to that:

a big eye roll and a big sigh as I contemplate a long day
of finding a place for everything and putting everything in its place.

It ain't gonna be easy.


p.s. See how Grama Bama felt pity on my poor naked bendy tree and bought it a teeny tiny skirt?

eighteen months

height
31.25 inches
40th percentile

weight
23 pounds 14.6 ounces
45th percentile

head circumference
46.5 centimeters
50th percentile

cuteness
off the charts
100th percentile

old saint nick

I prepped Danny for our visit with Santa a few days ahead of time.
I know my boy and I knew it was necessary.

you can sit on his lap
I want to dand {stand}

you can tell him what presents you want
I want heh-ree-ging {everything}

he might give you a candy cane
I don't wike dandy danes

he's a very nice man
no he not

After waiting a few minutes in line, here's what happened.

Danny stood.
he didn't get much closer than he was in the picture

He didn't say a word unless prompted by me or Santa.
eventually they talked about tools, of course

He turned down the candy cane.
the chocolate kisses were much more to his liking

Santa was very nice.
and very patient too


Then it was Cate's turn.
I think the picture says it all.
Poor kid.

Not quite as happy to sit on the big guy's lap as she was last year.

I can't wait to see what the great Santa picture of 2010 will bring.

the dead guy downstairs

Kris insisted that we go see the dead guy downstairs.

I've been to the visitors' center at Temple Square many times.
I couldn't remember ever seeing a dead guy or anything resembling a dead guy.

Down the escalator, around the corner, past the D.I. display
and there he was.

me: Oh, it's the Good Samaritan.

Kris: Yeah, and the dead guy!

Jarrett: Looks like he got punched in the face.

Kris: Yeah, by the Bad Samaritan.


ummmmm...yeah.

Looks like the topic for the next Family Home Evening lesson just presented itself.

they're heeeeeere!

and they couldn't possibly be more thrilled.

See?

Welcome, Grama Bama and Grandpa!

we saw the lights

Our little family outing began with a dose of public transportation.
It was probably Danny's favorite part of the evening.
It was probably not my favorite part of the evening.

Here he is staring at the TRAX tracks and so very obediently
keeping his toes behind the yellow line.

and then not so very obediently smiling for a picture

Danny became our personal photographer for the evening.
I'm doing that silly pose for a reason.

The picture right before this one...

was this one.

So I learned my lesson.
Danny doesn't aim high so you have to get down low
or else you might have your head chopped off.

A kind stranger offered to take this next picture for us.
Danny's closing his eyes on purpose.
What a stinker.

I got him to smile for me by telling him that I did not want him to smile for me.
It works every time.

Our little family outing ended with another dose of public transportation.

A few minutes after this picture was taken,
Cate suffered a mega meltdown.
She squirmed.
She screamed.
People stared.
I held her up so they could see who was doing all the screaming.
She didn't like that so she screamed some more.

It was ugly.

But the lights were pretty.

fashionably Cate

leg warmers that don't seem to be keeping her legs warm

(thanks anyway, Aunt Cindy)

and a little pirate booty

(thanks for the shirt, Aunt Suzy)

and the hostess of the year award goes to...

Good Food

delicious fajitas
and
this chocolate cake

Good Fun

kids running around making messes
grown-ups playing a game

Good Friends

Dan
Dave
Jake
Candis
Judy
me

plus

7 kids
(ages 4 months-6 years)

Good Fa-la-la-ing

(by the man of the house)

(ok. so it's not technically fa-la-la-ing. More like humming. I couldn't think of a word for humming that starts with f to fit into my theme. Fa-la-la-ing it is!)

Thanks for a fun night, neighbors!


And the award for Doctoring a Photo to Make Yourself Look Younger and Thinner totally goes to me!
(My pride made me do it. I'm almost an entire decade older than Candis. Sheesh.)

With just a few clickety-clicks, I airbrushed the crap out of my wrinkles and freckles, added mascara and lip gloss, whitened my teeth AND made myself appear 30% thinner! (I would have added highlights to cover up my little sprouts of gray hair if the picture had been zoomed in.)

the Christmas tree has scoliosis

It's bendy.
I've tried to remedy the problem to no avail.
I don't even care though.
I'm just going to let it have spinal problems and move on.
(Thanks for the tree, Kathy!)

It's all part of my
Give Up the Control and Perfectionism Plan.
Sounds like a good New Year's resolution but I'm starting now.
And I'm starting with the tree.

The lights are on.
I prefer all white.
Danny wanted colors.
(just like Judy's tree)
Colors it is.
Who cares?
Danny does. Not me.
(See how I'm already giving up control?)

The topper is not on.
I have an angel for that.
Danny wants a star.
(just like Judy's)
I can't find a star I like.
So for now, no topper.
Who cares?
Not me.

The pluggy thing at the end of the string of lights
is just dangling up there on top of the tree.
It was supposed to be hidden under the angel topper.
It's not.
(See how I'm giving up on the perfectionism?)
Someone please pat me on the back.
Hurry. I deserve it.

There is no tree skirt.
I have one.
I don't know where it is. I can't find it.
I'm not buying another one because I know I had one last year.
I'm not making one because I don't know how.
Good bye, perfection.
The tree will remain skirtless this year.

The ornaments are on.
I was stalling on that one.
I knew that as soon as I put them on,
they would be pulled right back off.
Danny kept reminding me that we needed to put them on.
(just like Judy's tree)
I am amazed at the lack of interest Cate has shown in touching the tree.
The most attention she shows is to wave good night to it.

The thing I like most about our imperfect tree is the skull.
Danny chose it in when we were in Mexico recently.
Blue, because it's his favorite color.
I think it really completes the tree and just blends right in with the other ornaments.

snowmen
angels
Santas
skull

Perfect.