Faux Bois, Cartoon Style

Before you are super impressed with my creativity, you have to understand that I have been thinking about doing this for weeks, admired artist Richard Woods for years.  His interior floors and columns and furniture make me smile.  Sort of poking fun at DIY culture.  This is fun, silly, cartoony, outrageous, and I love it!

Originally when we bought this home the woodwork was all yellowy stained panelling.  A couple of years here, and I painted it white (yeah to Christine by Desin's help that gave me confidence to do it).  No, we aren't worried about resell value being lowered, plan on living here for awhile.  AND IT IS PAINT!  Paint can be repainted.

Sam came home from school and said, "Wow!  Mom, hey, thanks for making our living room so beautiful to live in!"

Early to Rise, Early to Bed

Some mornings it seems that everyone wakes up with same wardrobe planning idea.  Sam is on the left, and one of my seminary students on right (who hates to have his picture taken).

Suzanna had a busy Thursday evening.  She is the French Honor Society president.   This is the induction of new student ceremony, complete with candles.  Suzu spoke French, and played the piano in the cafeteria aftwards while we ate German, Spanish, and French refreshments. 

She is wearing her senior red, blue, white honor French society cords that will go over her graduation gown in 31 more school days!

Jennilyn+John, at the end of the day.

Cooking My Way

Tonight I taught these lovely young women (do you see Suzanna in back row, blue tshirt?  This is her Laurel group at Church) how to measure a teaspoon of baking soda in the palm of their cupped hand to make **2 x 5 = 10 pudding pan cookies and...

...how to cook *Emma + Dean's Peanut Noodles.  Then I came home and shared the leftovers with...

..John, husband of nearly 24 years (celebrating in 9 more days)!

And I played with the colors in the phopto program, for fun.
*Peanut Chicken Noodles


(we experimented until it tasted like our favorite restaurant dish) Emmalyn+James

Cook whole box FETTUCINE according to box instructions.
During the 10 minutes noodles are boiling, mix sauce in bowl:

1/2 cup Peanut Butter
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
1/4 cup Honey
2 Tablespoons Garlic
1/2 Tablespoons Ginger
2 Tablespoons Rice Vinegar
1 Tablespoon Sesame Oil
2 Tablespoons Hoisin Sauce (can substitute duck sauce, or try jam)
Cayenne Pepper

We add 5 chicken thighs (cut up and cooked separately) and put green onions on top. Mix it all together & serve!  Landbecks have tried adding fresh washed & chopped spinach, bean sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, lime juice, carrots, yellow onions…whatever you love!

**Two Times Five Pudding Cookies (2 x 5 = 10)

2 sticks butter (1 cup)
2 cups brown sugar (1/2 bag)
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 pkg instant pudding (if NOT adding pudding, add 1/2 tsp salt, 1 TBSP vanilla)

OPTIONS: nuts, chocolate chips in whatever combination goes with pudding flavor
Try These SUGGESTIONS: chocolate pudding with white chocolate chips, pecans
pistachio pudding with white chocolate chips, almonds
cheesecake pudding with milk chocolate chips, cran-raisins
banana pudding with chopped up snicker bars instead of chocolate chips
butterscotch pudding, butterscotch chips, slivered almonds

FAT/SUGAR rule: butter + sugar mix first, then add eggs. This is important. Changes texture…

DRY stuff rule: mix flour, baking soda, pudding (or salt) together before adding to wet stuff above.

GREASE PAN

NOSE rule: don't leave vicinity. Smell to know when done! Stay close! Beware of burning.

Touch/Jiggle rule: shake it, or touch gently. Resistance/bounce back=done, or wiggly=cook little longer.

FOOD GRUNT

350' for 17 minutes in Jelly Roll Pan=perfect soft bar cookies.

For Grandpa Ken

Sam, Roxie, and Suzanna at Grandma Sandy's home, celebrating Easter a week late.

The Kit-Kat M & M Easter basket cake Suzanna made!

Valentine's cake Suzanna made with "I love you" in French.

I read what my mom wrote about our blogs helping Dad remember--and immediately went to put batteries in my camera so I could download these for him. 

General Conference Prep

This is what I copied from another seminary teacher to give out to my Bible study students.  They get make up work credit if they listen to all 4+ sessions of General Conference and take notes.  Twice a year we gather and listen to the words of the prophet, President Thomas S. Monson, and his counselors and the Twelve Apostles.  This is a big deal to us.  HUGE!  Noon to 2 pm, then short break to eat and another meeting from 4-6 pm on Saturday, then the men gather for pizza at 7 pm up at the Church building, and their meeting starts at 8 pm and they are home after 10.  Sunday morning we eat malt-o-meal or cream-of-wheat with vanilla ice cream (instead of sugar/butter, and yummier!) to celebrate my early memories of watching conference in our pjs eating breakfast with my youthful family.  Noon-2 and last session is 4-6 pm.

We are celebrating my dad's miraculous recovery.  A week ago we were grieving, crying and trying to be calm, dealing with losing him at 72 years, in a foreign country.  The day after Easter, after many priesthood blessings and missionaries and family fasting, he is out of the coma, talking, sitting up, recovering from meningitis.  My parents will finish the last year of their mission together!

As John and I were walking this morning I told him how wonderful it is to know where we are going in life, that I know exactly what I want to be doing in 20 some years:  not just retired, but serving and working as a missionary somewhere, wherever the Lord needs us.  I won't care what color my walls are.  I will have let go of so many of the things that tie us down now.   Serving gladly side-by-side with my companion is what I want.  I want what my mom has.  I want her courage and strength and faith and purpose.  (She has started a new blog, a link is on the right sidebar, ElderyHermanaBabcock.)

Living Room Today

Under piano new black polka dot rug, IKEA; mirror "wings" on Serve 1 Another sign; rocking chair in from the front porch; chifforobe moved back to our room; round table in corner.  Still the pink toile curtains (bought fabric at yard sale in Cranberry, PA for $5) and same pink/blue/olive Persian rug worn bare in spots.  The harp gets lots of "wows" when people walk in for the first time...

Hi Ho

It's off to work I go...  Wanted to show evidence of the Relief Society service auction we had last month.  My offering was the flowery necklaces, there is a red one, a dark gray, and a light blue one tied to the top of a black shoe box in the lower right corner.  Made from t-shirts.  Fun hand work.

But today is office work.  Tax-season busy.  That leaves the kids home alone on their spring break.  John enouraged them last night to think about making us dinner...

Love to my family, near and far.  Good luck to Luanna today, travelling to Chile to be with Mom & Dad.  Wish I could have come with you, but you are a good emmisary, bringing all our hugs and hand-holding and singing to Dad with you. 

xo