Christmas in Utah

Tom and I spent Christmas up in Utah.  Poor Tom was sick the whole time.  But I forced him to take me to the SLC Temple Light Fiesta of Fun. 

 This picture looks like my mom when she was young.

 This was all the snow I got up in Utah.  No "White Christmas" for me!

Christmas celebration at the Cummard Residence when we got back from Utah.

New Favorite Quote/Thought

I really like this quote from the September 2011 Ensign magazine ... I feel like it was written especially for me.  The context of the article is talking about marriage relation-ships, but I think it's applicable to friend-ships, family-ships, work-ships, etc.

"All of us carry excess baggage around from time to time, but the wisest ones among us don't carry it for very long.  They get rid of it.  Often, the things we carry are petty, even stupid.  If you resent someone for something s/he has done - or failed to do - forget it.  We call that forgiveness.  It is a powerful, spiritual medicine. ... The best response to being hurt is to get over it.  Marriage (or any relationship I care about) is too important for us to clutter our minds and hearts with resentment that is created by dwelling on the faults and weaknesses of our spouse (or friends/family/coworkers/etc).  We need to forgive and move on."

- Boyd K. Packer & Richard Miller

Husbands... Can't live with 'em ... Can't live without 'em!

We are going to be moving in a few months.  To try to get ahead of the game, Tom and I decided that we should do a little "spring cleaning" and get rid of junk we don't need.  Then we don't have to move that junk to the new place!

Let me set the scene:  Tom is downstairs in the "under-the-stairs" closet.  He is cleaning out his tubs of old electronics to donate. I am upstairs in my bedroom closet.  I am cleaning out clothing to donate.

For about 45 minutes, we are cleaning away.  I, very begrudgingly, decided to donate clothes, shoes, purses, belts, etc. that I have had all the way back to high school!  (I had to admit to myself that I'm not size 7 anymore... My days of 130 pounds are LONG gone....)  It was hard for me to say goodbye to many old favorites.  I do clean out my closet fairly regularly, but this was a SERIOUS clean out.  Two giant garbage bags of stuff.

Enter Tom upstairs.

Tom is carrying a small, hand-held device.  "I want to get rid of my bulky scripture case and take my scriptures to church on THIS."  He shows me his Palm Pilot, circa 1995, is my guess.  "Tom... the point of tonight's cleaning is to get RID of these things... not resurrect them!  Put that old Palm Pilot in the "donate" pile."  "No Way!" he cries.  "This thing is awesome.  And now I can be cool like you and have my scriptures on an electronic device."  "Tom, there is nothing cool about a Palm Pilot anymore!"  "It's just like your fancy phone, Morgan, except with my device, I have to use a stilus."

I already know that in about 2 weeks time, that Palm Pilot is going to be back on his shelf, never to be used at church.  I will just wait out these next 2 weeks, and then sneak the Palm Pilot into the donation bag.

Oh, by the way... Here is a picture of Tom "downloading" the scriptures onto his Palm Pilot:

"I just have to plug it in to the back of my computer .... It doesn't have internet download like your phone does."

No kidding, Tom .... It's a Palm Pilot at least 10 years old!!

Silly Kitty!!

We have two cats.

Harvey is black and white, about a year old, and nicknamed "The Linebacker".  He gets into trouble constantly.  He loves attention, especially between the hours of midnight and 6am.  For that reason, he sleeps in his own bedroom with the door closed.   He also barks at birds.

Rita is a dilute-tortie.  She is sweet and kind and likes to be left alone.  We rescued her from Friends For Life, a no kill shelter in Gilbert, AZ.  She is the perfect kitty, except that she meows bloody-murder at 4am for no apparent reason.  We're working on that ....

Surprisingly, Rita loves company, whereas Harvey freaks and hides.  The other night, Collin and Nikki came over to play.  They watched our cats for a week while we were in Utah, so the kitties are very familiar with them.  But Harvey, as always, runs upstairs and hides the minute they come over.  A few hours later, with C&N still here, I go upstairs to use the potty.  While sittin' on the toilet (a bit graphic, I know!), I try to peek under the bed to see if Harvey is there.  That's his usual hiding spot.  SUDDENLY, i see out of the corner of my eye, the cabinet under the sink slowly begins to open.  I see 4 white whiskers peek out of the cabinet.  No nose, no head, no ears.  The whiskers slowly retreat back into the cabinet and the cabinet door closes without a sound.  That little rascal hid under the sink!!!  He gets himself into so much trouble.

Here is a picture, taken just the day before the bathroom cabinet incident, where Harvey decided to take a rest in the kitchen cabinet.  What a stink pot!

We certainly love our kitties!

My Favorite Scriptures Right Now

I downloaded a "Scripture-a-Day" app on my phone and it has been giving me great scriptures that really apply to my life!  Here are a few favorites...

The first one is from James 4:11.  But I am going to take the liberty of exchanging "the law" with "Christ".  


"Speak not evil one of another, brethren.  He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of {Christ}, and judgeth {Christ}:  but if thouh judge {Christ}, thou art not a doer of {Christ}, but a judge."

I like this scripture a lot because often I get caught up being gossipy and talk about people behind their backs.  I need to be better at being more positive and Christlike.

Next scripture is from Proverbs 3:5-6.  This is one of my all time favorites.

"Trust in the Lord with all thing heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."

There are a few reasons I like this one.  With Tom and I really praying about jobs and housing right now, I try to remember that God has a time frame for us.  It's hard when we don't know the plan for us, but we have to trust and believe that God is taking care of us, and is mindful of our needs and desires.  I also really like that it says, "he shall direct thy pathS", as in more than one path.  On this journey we call life, there are a LOT of paths we take, not just one.  There's not just one right path to take, there are several. 

Last favorite scripture for the time being is a favorite for the same reasons stated for the Proverbs scripture.  It is Jacob 4:10.

"Wherefore, brethren, seek not to counsel the Lord, but to take counsel from his hands.  For behold, ye yourselves know that he couseleth in wisdom, and in justice, and in great mercy, over all his works."

Lesson?  Quit telling the Lord what to do and know that He knows what to do!

Love Sprinkles Cupcakes?

Do you love the outrageously over-priced Sprinkles cupcakes???  Well, I sure do!!  But I hate making the drive up to Scottsdale AND spending a fortune ... just for cupcakes!!  Thanks to a friend of mine, I've found a solution... make 'em at home!  All you need is some fresh strawberries, a little bit of time, and a BIG appetite!

These strawberry cupcakes and their frosting can be found at the following websites:

For the cupcake: http://www.oprah.com/food/Sprinkles-Cupcakes-Strawberry-Cupcakes-Recipe
For the frosting: http://www.oprah.com/food/Sprinkles-Cupcakes-Strawberry-Frosting

Note: The frosting recipe makes enough for 24 cupcakes, while the cupcake recipe only makes 12 cupcakes.  Some people might half the frosting recipe, but those people are suckers!!  I doubled the cupcake recipe for double the deliciousness!

I rate these cupcakes 5 out of 5 stars!

"Tamale" Peppers

A delicious and nutritious meal that we made.... however, when we make it again, we are going to make a few tweaks... such as adding meat and maybe some different cheeses.  This recipe comes to us courtesy of what I like to call "Fry's Free Recipe Cards in the Produce Section".

I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.  (P.S. 5 stars is extremely difficult to achieve in my book!)

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 50 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 4 medium green or red bell peppers,
• 1 cup diced fresh tomatos
• 1 cup black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
•  3/4 cup salsa
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
• 1/4 cup cornmeal
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 2 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350*F.  Cut tops off bell peppers and remove seeds.  Set aside.
2. In a large bowl combine tomatoes, beans, corn, salsa, 3/4 cup of cheese, cornmeal, green onions, cilantro and 1/4 cup water.  Spoon mixture evenly into bell peppers; sprinkle each with 1 tablespoon of cheese.
3. Place stuffed peppers in an 8x8-inch baking pan.  Add 1/2-inch water to pan.  Bake, uncovered, 50 minutes or until peppers are tender and filling is heated through.  Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes. Serve warm.

Per serving: 240 calories, 3g fat, 1g saturated fat, 5mg cholesterol, 475mg sodium, 40g carbohydrate, 9g fiber, 14g protein