Is it already that time again?

 

On July 12th, we once again celebrated by taking many more pictures than twelve. The day was exceptionally busy & tiring. I feel like I take the same pictures every month, but then when I review them it doesn’t seem so.

• The kids had cold cereal for breakfast. I was too stressed out to do anything fancy.
• Scott spoke in church at the Anderson ward for his high council assignment.
• I spoke in our ward. I can’t remember speaking for a long time so it was my turn. Topic? Virtue.
• I taught Sunday school. I had my camera with me in class & I was just too chicken to have someone take my picture. I should have done it before everyone got there or after most of the class left. I was certifiably boring & hope to never be that bad again.
• Scott & I got home about the same time. He had had even less sleep than I had so he crashed for a few hours.
• The kids were restless so I didn’t feel like I could nap at the same time. So, I worked on sorting the food in the food storage room. It was definitely not a Sunday activity but it got rid of nervous energy & kept me awake.
• Dinner was French toast, food storage ham & eggs, & orange juice. The French toast was wonderful.
• FHE with the YSAs was nice. Kenny taught the lesson & we sat around & talked about what he said. He was really a great teacher. We played Catch Phrase & then ate ice cream. Chris & Emily then serenaded us with Disney songs.
• Scott & the boys watched Harry Potter before falling asleep.

Customer Service

Sometimes when Scott walks in the door, he finds me with wads of hair in my hands, pacing, eyes bulging with one hand holding a phone to my ear & the other bag elbow deep in a bag of chips or cookies. What is the problem? I am talking to customer service.

Tonight I had to make several (as in SEVEN) phone calls to get my problem fully resolved. The funniest part – a confirmation of the spelling of my name

J… as in Juliet E… as in Elephant N… as in Never N… as in Never A… as in Antelope

and then the confirmation of bellsouth D… as in Dell… um NO!

… need I say more? I couldn’t think fast enough to double-check the confirmation letters. I was really, really frustrated!!!!!!! Scott was here to hear & was laughing out loud in the other room.

The best part (can you hear the sarcasm dripping from my tongue)? I never got the email.

From the folks at “You don’t see that every day!”

I was waiting for Jared’s friend to come play when I noticed a very large bird perched on the neighbor’s roof. I wasn’t sure if it was an egret or a heron. Now I know that it is both. An egret is a type of heron. We frequently see egrets near the beach or in rivers. What a fun treat to see one here at the neighbor’s house. I don't know if you can see in the pictures, but this is a BIG bird (at least 3 feet tall)!

Five (or Six...) Things I Hate to Do.

Over at ScrapHappy, Lain posted a list of five things she hates to do. I will copy her great idea with a list of my own. Scott will probably read this & disagree but these are the 5 off the top of my head.

1. I hate turning left across busy roads. I shop at Publix because I can turn right out of the parking lot to go home.

2. I hate cleaning food scraps out of the kitchen sink.

3. I hate shopping at Wal*Mart. I walk around & think, “Wow! There is some really great stuff here… and the prices are good… I should shop here more often.!” and then Wham! I am confronted with a huge line that snakes through the store. One cashier is on duty for 50 million people & the others are standing around gabbing like there’s not a problem. If you ever hear a deranged woman screaming, “I Hate Wal*Mart!” just turn the other way, it’s going to be me.

4. I hate putting laundry away. I am not the best at washing or drying or folding, but I really hate Hate HATE putting stuff away. It seems like once I open a drawer, I have to refold what the elves unfolded overnight. Or I go to hang up clothes, & I’ve run out of hangers.

5. I hate being too warm. I run my air conditioner in the car in December. I am the designated “fan girl” at the gym & always position myself in a direct line with the fan. We keep the house at a balmy 70 degrees until we get the first electric bill of the year.

OK, that’s the short list. What about yours? What do you hate?

(6) Emergency amendment – I HATE talking to insurance companies, especially when I do not understand their English. I hate the buck being passed & making 7, 8, or 9 phone calls to get my simple-to-me questions answered!!!!!!!!!

this moment

Right now, Jared is upstairs sleeping off a three-day whirlwind beach trip. We ended up driving home late last night because we had had enough sand & sun & were just going to go to church somewhere there & then drive home. We think he has pink-eye mixed with too much sand & sunscreen in his eyes. His right eye looks bad – it looks like a black eye.

Dad & the boys are at church in primary & priesthood meetings, planning scout camp adventures & practicing for the primary program.

And I am catching up at Google Reader. I have 326 posts to read; I’ll most likely blow most of them away.

I have plans to tag & print all of my pictures of the day for this year. I think that I may have missed a day or two here & there, but in general I have taken a picture every day for the whole year. And snapfish has a 1 cent print sale going on for the first 50 prints.

What’s on your mind right now?

Seattle & Six Flags trips

Scott was in Seattle last week on business & had the opportunity & adventure of mountain biking & hiking. He hiked Mt. Si with two of his Greenville co-workers, Vince & Michelle. On Saturday, he went & visited his all-time best friend Curt & went mountain biking.

 

 

Yesterday, I took Chris & Ryan & the YSA to Six Flags over Georgia. It was a grand adventure – a little rough getting started but hopefully fun for all. I went on two great rides & then was done for the day. Bummer, huh? I don’t LOVE the rides but I definitely like going on them at least once. Luckily we bought season’s passes last year on our last visit for $20 per person  (?! great deal!)

 

How do you fit 12 people in a van? Very carefully!!! We didn’t drive down this way – just crowded around the air-conditioner at lunch time. Four girls fit neatly in the second row & then two of us got front & center.

  

Baseball is over. Happy? Sad? Lost? Not quite sure.

Ryan’s team lost both of their tournament games. It is really weird to be back to our regular summer – not exactly sure what to do every night about 5:30 p.m. but we’ll be able to fill the void, I’m sure. This picture is the team after they lost 23-13 in searing temperatures. It was a closer game than the score indicates. The last inning just got away from them. Great kids, fun parents, good coaches.

Oh, what do you do in the summertime?

 

 

I am so grateful for digital cameras – to easily capture images & to remember good times. At Gretchen Rubin’s Happiness Project blog she states that the years are short but the days are long. I must whole-heartedly agree. Where on earth has the first one third of our summer gone???

Lisa’s Shower Cake Recipes

 

LEMONADE CAKE

in the background of the above photograph with the raspberries

Ingredients

Cake:

1 1/3  cups  granulated sugar

6  tablespoons  butter, softened

1  tablespoon  grated lemon rind

3  tablespoons  thawed lemonade concentrate

2  teaspoons  vanilla extract

2  large eggs

2  large egg whites

2  cups  all-purpose flour (*I used bread flour & it was fine.)

1  teaspoon  baking powder

1/2  teaspoon  salt

1/2  teaspoon  baking soda

1 1/4  cups  fat-free buttermilk

Cooking spray

Frosting:

2  tablespoons  butter, softened

2  teaspoons  grated lemon rind

2  teaspoons  thawed lemonade concentrate (*I use regular lemonade; pink is too sweet & takes away from the flavor of the cake & the frosting.)

1/2  teaspoon  vanilla extract

8  ounces  1/3-less-fat cream cheese

3 1/2  cups  powdered sugar

Raspberries for garnish

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare cake, place first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 5 minutes). Add eggs and egg whites, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda; stir well with a whisk. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; beat well after each addition.

Pour batter into 2 (9-inch) round cake pans coated with cooking spray; sharply tap pans once on counter to remove air bubbles. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pans. Cool completely on wire rack.

To prepare frosting, place 2 tablespoons butter and the next 4 ingredients (2 tablespoons butter through cream cheese) in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until fluffy. Add powdered sugar, and beat at low speed just until blended (do not overbeat). Chill 1 hour.

Place 1 cake layer on a plate; spread with 1/2 cup frosting. Top with remaining cake layer. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Store cake loosely covered in the refrigerator.

 

The Perfect Chocolate Cake

CAKE:
Solid vegetable shortening for greasing the pans

Flour for dusting the pans

1 package (18.25 ounces) devil's food cake mix with pudding

1 cup sour cream

3⁄4 cup water

1⁄2 cup vegetable oil

4 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

room-temperature semisweet chocolate to grate on top

DIRECTIONS

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease three 9-inch round cake pans with solid vegetable shortening, then dust with flour. Shake out the excess flour. Set the pans aside.

2. Place the cake mix, sour cream, water, oil, eggs, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides again if needed. The batter should look well combined. Divide the batter among the prepared pans, smoothing it out with the rubber spatula, and place them in the oven. If your oven is not large enough to hold them on one rack, place two pans on the center rack and the third in the center of the highest rack.

3. Bake the cakes until they spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 20 to 25 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the layer on the highest oven rack. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 10 minutes. Run a sharp knife around the edge of each layer and invert each onto a rack, then invert again onto another rack so that the cakes are right side up. Allow to cool completely, 30 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, prepare the Sweetened Cream by whipping heavy whipping cream with 2 T sugar.

5. To assemble, place one cake layer, right side up, on a serving platter. Spread the top with half of the whipped cream, spreading it to within 1⁄2 inch of the sides. Place the second layer, right side up, on top of the first layer and spread with the remaining whipped cream, spreading it to within 1⁄2 inch of the sides. Place the third layer on top, and cover the cake lightly with waxed paper. Place it in the refrigerator to chill.

6. Prepare the Chocolate Ganache.

7. To finish the assembly, spread the top and the sides of the cake with the frosting, using clean, smooth strokes. Slice and serve. Store this cake, in a cake saver or under a glass dome, in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Chocolate Ganache

From the kitchen of The Cake Mix Doctor

Difficulty: Easy

This frosting can be used on the cake of your choice. This recipe makes two cups, enough to thinly frost a two- or three-layer cake.

Ingredients

3/4 cup heavy (whipping) cream

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

Cooking Directions

Place the cream in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring. Meanwhile, place the chopped chocolate in a large mixing bowl. Remove the pan from the heat and pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate. Stir until the chocolate is melted. I just put the cream in the microwave in my glass measuring cup (Lisa, do you have any?) & do it for 30 seconds at a time.

To use this ganache as a glaze, let it stand at room temperature for 10 minutes before spooning over a cooled cake. To use the ganache as a frosting or filling, let it stand at room temperature for four hours, or chill it until it thickens and is spreadable.

Now suppose your day is crazy & you make the ganache but then step away to help Christopher’s friend mow the lawn, run to the pool to share a key & chat, & run to Zaxby’s for a snack. The ganache will set up hard; just add a smidgen of heated heavy cream to the ganache & mix again. The color will be a bit darker but it will spreadable.

The Cake Mix Doctor, c. 2000

Lion House's Strawberry Filled Cake

4 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

¾ cup flour

¼ cup cornstarch

1 ½ tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. salt

1 quart strawberries, mashed
1 cup sugar
1 pint whipping cream, whipped and sweetened with about 3 T. sugar per pint

Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Grease and flour an 8-inch round springform pan. Beat eggs until light and fluffy. Add sugar gradually, beating until thick. Add vanilla. Sift flour with cornstarch, baking powder, and salt and fold carefully into egg mixture. Pour into prepared pan and back for 30 minutes. Cool and remove from pan. Split into three layers. *This is an angel-food cake.
Mix mashed strawberries with sugar. Whip the cream and sweeten to taste. Place the first layer of cake on a serving plate. Spread 1/3 of strawberries on layer. Spread about ¼ of the whipped cream on top of the berries. Repeat with the second layer. Spread the rest of the strawberries on the third layer, then frost the whole cake with the rest of the whipped cream. Chill until serving. Refrigerate any leftovers. Serves 12.

Bridal shower guests – so much fun to hang out with great women & celebrate the wedding of this beautiful young lady! This picture came out better than I hoped!!!

These young women said, “What you really need is a picture of someone shoving cake in their mouth!” And then Jacqueline was willing to pose.

Today

June 23rd, 2009

Outside my window... it is dark.

I am thinking... about how I wish the kids would put themselves to bed, about how I am done with baseball, and about how I want to go watch Texas v. LSU (crazy, huh?).  I am hoping that Chris is continuing to have fun at EFY.

I am thankful for... air conditioning in the South.

From the kitchen... nothing except baked potatoes & quesadillas today.

I am wearing... sweaty red T-shirt & capris.

I am creating... I am not really creating these days, just stirring piles. I want to work on my 365-scrapbook.

I am going... to try to get dizzy at the gym tomorrow.

I am reading... the Rules of Normal Eating and Oxygen magazine.

I am hoping... that the baseball commissioner will be kind but not holding my breath based on another team member’s past experiences.

I am hearing... the Texas v. LSU game.

Around the house... there are small messes everywhere.

One of my favorite things... Sonic ice.

A few plans for the rest of the week... watch baseball practice, make cakes for the bridal shower, clean up all the small piles, vacuum & scrub, and maybe swim. Also, continue slowly & methodically cleaning through my office. (It’s been 2.5 years so it’s pretty messy.)

Bad News for Baseball

Today at practice, one of the assistant coaches came & asked me again if Ryan would play in the tournament on Sunday. I explained (again) that we believe that Sunday is the Sabbath & that Ryan would not play ball on Sunday. I guess that there is a rule in the books that states that every player has to be at every game after the first one or the head coach doesn’t get to be at that same game. In other words, if Ryan doesn’t play in the game, Rick can’t be there to coach the kids on to victory. (When we signed up for the all-star tournament, we let them know that he wouldn't be playing the Sunday games.)

There are a few alternatives: the league commissioner can make an exception for Ryan, the coach can decide to not let Ryan play at all, and finally, the coach may not be there for the game(s). On a happier note, the coaches call Ryan “Willie Mays” because of his ability to cover the entire outfield & backup the infield as well.

We are praying that the league commissioner will decide to let Ryan play. Depending on his experience with other LDS kids & their willingness to play (or not play) on Sunday maybe we’ll be in the tournament next weekend.

FoOoD sToRaGe!

Jared & his friend Palmer got into a funny exchange for a few months when we would go to piano lessons. They would say “food storage~!” over & over & over again. It was funny (but only the first ten thousand times).

 

Last Saturday night at the ward party there was an emphasis on food storage. Now, everyone was supposed to bring food made with their food storage. We were kinda late & let’s just say that in the event we have to live off our cupboards, we will all be very skinny. I was a bit discouraged so I got online & found some great sites & resources. My favorite is everydayfoodstorage.net – she has videos, recipes, how-tos, good tips, and practical advice on how to use & store the stuff. Today we made “Blender Cheesecake”. Now, a certain northwestern friend of mine will definitely not think of this as true cheesecake – it resembled the Jell-O kind but it was pretty quick & very tasty – even with dated milk. (I snitched a little taste of the cheesecake & it tasted kinda iffy before it chilled but great once done.)

 

Blender Cheesecake

(multi-step process but easy-breezy-mac-n-cheesy)

Crust:

1-1/2 cups (one package) graham crackers, crushed finely (rolling pin in a big ziploc bag)

6 tablespoons butter, melted

3 tablespoons sugar

Mix crust together & press into bottom & up sides of 9” cake pan.

Sweetened condensed milk:

1 cup powdered milk

1/2 cup hot water

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon butter

Mix together in a blender until very well blended.

Cheesecake:

To ingredients in blender, add

1/3 cup lemon juice

1 package cream cheese (1/3 less fat okay)

1 teaspoon vanilla.

Pour into prepared crust, top with a can of cherry pie filling & chill for two hours. I will try to add a picture tomorrow!

There! We get credit for rotating our food storage & yummies for our tummies to boot. And how often have I not made a recipe because I needed sweetened condensed milk or cream of chicken soup. Easy & economical.

How do you incorporate food storage into your daily diet?

Windows Live Writer & 12-on-the-12th

Okay, so maybe I’ve been a little photo happy the last few days & I don’t really see any end in sight since I’m not scrapbooking much lately. Hopefully blogging will help me remember what I’m not remembering. Anyways, I am totally in love with Windows Live Writer. I haven’t fully investigated the functionality but it definitely makes it possible to add & rearrange pictures easily and to write in an environment like MS Word.

Yesterday was the 12th so I took A LOT of pictures all day long. Here are twelve that sum up the day. Picasa will not let me arrange the pictures into a specific order & I’m too lazy to play around with Photoshop today but you get the idea of a lot that went on.

• I woke up at 5:50 & 9:15 with a nap in between. I realized that Scott had been running for 3:15 & decided it was time to go rescue him out on the course. He ran 18 miles but it was super humid & it wasn’t pretty.
• I took Jared to the pediatrician.
• The kids hung around the house & played Stratego, Geo-Traxx, computer games, & GameCube while Scott & I snuck out to Costco for gasoline ($2.29/gallon), new tires & the Mid-Town Deli for a delicious lunch date. I then continued to hang around Costco as I waited for a call (that never came) telling me that the tires were done.
• Chris & Ryan worked on getting their backpacks packed & ready to go for separate scout outings.
• The boys & I ran to Wal-Mart to pick up extra gear & to fill in Scott’s supply list. (I hate W-M!)
• We took Christopher down to the ward building to meet up with his fellow troop members. I expect a hungry boy because they were planning on eating their fish that they caught. Hanging out with friends in the parking lot was fun (& hot) for me but not so great for Ryan; he wanted to leave with his troop but had to still go to all-star practice before going with Dad later.
• Jared & I hung out at baseball practice at City Park with a short visit to the playground. Ryan’s coach pronounced his pitching “genius” last night & proclaimed that he is back from his injury. We will see how things go on Monday night when we play a 12-year-old all-star team. During practice, Scott played around in the outfield with the kids catching fly balls.
• After the practice Scott & Ryan drove to Greenwood for the first 11-year-old campout. Ryan was SO excited to hang out with his friends & his dad. Jared & I went & picked up a tasty dinner at Bloom – freezer meals.
• Jared went to bed about 10 & I stayed up many, many hours later trying to sort through a backlog of paperwork. I am making progress!!!

I realized that I have been taking 12-on-the-12th pictures for about fourteen months now. I wish that I would have taken ten minutes every time to take notes rather than just pictures; I can see what a difference the journaling makes to the story. Someday I will make a book with years of pictures of the 12th of each month. Don’t hold your breath though!

Clouds & storms

One of the things that we’ve liked here in Greenville – and I hope I am not jinxing us by saying it – is the lack of major natural disasters. Yesterday, I took the boys to the batting cages & on the way home, the sky started falling! The trees & the leaves were swirling, huge thunder & lightning claps, torrential downpour of rain, & just scary all around. The grey picture below is the storm from yesterday. The clouds were eerie. It was probably as close to tornado weather as I have ever come.

Because of that storm, I have been waiting for the other shoe to drop today. They’ve predicted more storms but so far the sky is too nice and blue. I have been fascinated by the big storm clouds the last few days. My kids are SO sick of me taking pictures but it’s really pretty cool. The grey & blue pictures were taken at the same time of day one day apart.

Of course, after yesterday’s storm there’s a contractor on my roof fixing the roof cap/vent thing & the neighbor’s tree cracked in half, but other than that, it’s a pretty great place to live.

Young Single Adults

 

   

For the last two years we have been privileged to work with the Young Single Adults (YSA’s) for church. It is a great program that gives activity & fellowship to young people aged 19 to 30.99. Almost every Sunday night we have home evening with a short lesson, a treat, &  a game. Monthly, there’s a dance and a fireside; there’s also a bimonthly temple trip. The dances are fun & we actually really enjoy the music & hanging out. I do have to take a nap on that Friday because I definitely can’t stay awake that late & keep smiling without one. :)

Very few callings involve serving together so this has been extra fun! Scott has high council responsibilities which include the YSA & institute; I am the YSA advisor for the ward & teach a gospel doctrine class on Sunday & host home evening. It has been fun to watch young men prepare to go on missions – the same young men whom Scott taught & led in the Young Men’s organization. A few weeks ago we had a record-breaking number of YSA’s for home evening. We had all the great regulars & then extras from Simpsonville 1st, Greenville 2nd, & a the USC YSA ward. Soon we will be losing several to missions & marriage but these are happy graduations. We have had three new convert baptisms & Brad & Conner are due to come home in the next six months. It has definitely been the FUNNEST calling I’ve ever served in.

There are approximately 70 YSA’s on our rolls & sadly I do not know many of them (probably 30-40). I am always delighted when I can accidentally run into someone when I’m out in the community. It is EXHAUSTING & rewarding all wrapped up into one big overwhelming package. I hope we get to stay for a long time!

Fifth grade day, baseball, baseball, and more baseball!

So anyone who’s been anywhere near me for the past few weeks knows that I have been a little absorbed by the fifth grade slide show. It played yesterday without any major glitches. I was able to sit in the middle of the kids while they watched it & it was WONDERFUL to hear their reactions. I absolutely cannot believe that Ryan is old enough to be moving on to middle school. Fifth grade is such an interesting place – still kids but growing up really, really fast. Ryan is the kid on the back row with scruffy hair. We haven’t had time for a haircut because of over-much baseball.

Ryan’s team is still in the tournament. His hand is still a little sore sometimes but it is holding up well. They have played A LOT of baseball this week – Monday practice, Tuesday game, Thursday game, Friday game, & Saturday game. It has definitely been an interesting tournament – our coach is the one that everybody hates. When the kids were ahead 12-2 today, he was still having kids steal bases almost every time. Just as one season is ending, the All-Star season is beginning. We don’t fully understand what this means but soon.

Last night Scott’s company went to a Greenville Drive game. Ryan & I missed the first few minutes but we all had a great time. During the eighth inning the park always sings “Sweet Caroline”. This picture includes some of the Barlows – Mimi, Ken, Tommy, Will, (Ryan), & Spencer. Chris is on the row behind in the striped shirt.

Freedom Weekend Aloft

This is the first year since moving to South Carolina that we have not been in Florida for Memorial Day weekend. Subsequently, we were able to go to Simpsonville last night & see that hot air balloons. The oven was preheated (450) & the fish was ready to bake, but the excitement was not to be deterred. We hopped in the van & drove towards the balloons. We were able to follow them to a neighborhood about 20" from our house & see them land! It was very exciting for the kids (& mom). When we got back home a while later, the oven re-preheated & the lightly breaded tilapia fillets baked for 10" on the first side & 3" on the second side. Utter perfection.

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