All Hail the Bread Ladies!

One hour ago all of this was just flour, sugar, yeast, salt etc. I kid you not. Sixty minutes. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't done it myself.

Last week our Stake had a food storage class presented by "The Bread Ladies" They have developed the most remarkable, simple, fast, easy and lovely bread recipe that can be used to make literally dozens of things.

Check it out at pantrysecrets.net

My life as a domestic goddess with never be the same.

Blogging for Jennifer Day!

This is my friend Jennifer. She is a very beloved member of my extended family. I guess if you wanted to get super technical, we're not even related but we do share some nephews.

I first got to know Jennifer when I was a teenager. She and her husband came to Utah to go to school and didn't have any family here so we adopted them. They came to Sunday dinner at our house every week for years. They were there at numerous "just immediate family is included" type of events, like wedding lunches and Christmas morning, because that's what they were to us. I remember that Jennifer's was the first familiar face I saw waiting in the temple chapel the day I received my endowments.

Family circumstances, job changes, various moves and the passage of time have caused us to drift apart a bit but Jennifer will always be one of my favorite people. There is so much to admire about her.

Especially now.

Jennifer has been in the fight of her life since last fall. She received a bone marrow transplant in September and although the transplant was a success she has experienced multiple set backs such as viruses that her body struggles to fight and a lovely thing called graft-versus-host disease, as well as numerous lengthy hospital stays.

But she is somehow able to persevere.

So this is a shout out to Jen--To say we love you, we believe in you and you are always in our prayers.

Go, Fight, Win!


This wonderful picture was taken by Jennifer's daughter. It is titled "One Day At A Time - Bone Marrow Transplant, Day 153" I love this photo!

Classic Dad

My mother is in the process of clearing out her utility room in preparation for a remodel. The other day as my brother was sorting out a cupboard of old tools and other random odds and ends that had belonged to my dad, he came across these:



If you can't tell from the picture, those are reading classes repaired with wire--the right side having been "upgraded" with additional wire to aid in keeping them on while looking down.

This from the man who would repair his own pants with duct tape.

Random Rules

The other day I rounded a corner at church just in time to hear a friend of mine tell her son, "Don't pop your toes at church!" Apparently this eight-year-old had just been complaining that he didn't like his church shoes because he had to keep taking them off every time he wanted to pop his toes.

I found great amusement in this because I too have had to implement strange rules for my kids, rules that I never thought I would need. For example, "No playing with your feet during dinner." I suppose it is a rather sad commentary that we need such a rule at our house, but indeed we need it nonetheless.

So I mentioned our feet touching rule to my friend after hearing her toe popping story and she wondered what other weird rules she had that were specific to her family. A few minutes later as I was walking out of the building she caught up to me to tell me she thought of one. Evidently at their house they have had a problem with children reaching over the dinner plates of others to grab things during the meal. Therefore they have enacted the policy that if someone reaches their arm in front of someone else while eating that person is authorized to gently bite the offending arm!

I think we all have those kinds of rules. Rules that are very specific to our own families. Rules that may seem strange to others.

Any random rules at your house?

This outfit brought to you courtesy of 1999

Yesterday as I got dressed for work I realized that my office worthy maternity wardrobe is seriously limited, especially in light of the fact that I haven't done laundry for days. I opted for my super comfy denim overall dress that was a hand-me-down from my sister and my favorite outfit the last time I was pregnant. I paired it with a nifty black shirt that has the tummy cut out of it, designed specifically to be worn with overalls and not be too bulky.

I took one look in my full length mirror and totally laughed at myself. Not only was the ensemble terribly out of style it made me look like I was about two months further along than I am. Of course, that didn't stop me from wearing it because I didn't have many other options and I was already late.

The outfit didn't really bug me until lunchtime when I sat in a fast food restaurant looking at the other cute little mommies in their fashionable get ups, many of whom were also expecting, and realized that not only am I at least ten years older than most of them, I totally look like I am!


(I realize that I should really have posted a photo of myself but there are just some pictures I'd rather not have floating around cyberspace!)

I wish my brain had an "off" switch

I could be my own circus act. I'd be "THE AMAZING AWAKE LADY!" It's a simple sideshow attraction, really. Spectators would file past my bed at three o'clock in the morning to watch the frustrated pregnant lady staring at the ceiling.

I generally don't have much of a problem falling asleep but a few hours later I wake up. If I can stir slightly and keep my mind clear, I'm sometimes able to go right back to sleep. But if I start to think about anything real, my brain goes into "on" mode and for the life of me I can't turn it off. Sometimes it's the simplest things that get me riled up too. Like, "Do I have enough bread to make lunches in the morning? Should I get up now and pull another loaf out of the freezer?" You know, earth shattering stuff.

But sadly, more often than not, I spend the wee hours of the night rehashing concerns about problems I can do nothing to solve at that time of the day. Like, "What are we going to do about our severe cash flow problem?" Or "How can I make Enrichment truly enriching in our ward?" Or the ever popular "Epidural or natural?" Or the classic "I was such an idiot today! Why did I say that to 'so and so'?"

I once read a sleep book that said if you don't fall back to sleep within the first twenty minutes of waking up during the night that it is better to get up, do something relaxing and try again later, rather than stay in bed and toss and turn. I try to do that but unfortunately, it sometimes takes two or three hours until I'm drowsy enough to want to hit the pillow again, and even then it's no guarantee that I'll fall asleep quickly. It's that horrible combination of exhausted yet alert.

Last night I got up and tried to watch the most boring television I could find in an effort to make myself sleepy, which is not hard to do since I don't have cable. It didn't really work but now I know that I really need to buy a Steam Wizard machine to clean all of that baked-on egg off my stovetop(?!)and all for just two easy payments of $39.95. I also learned that the 70's were the most romantic decade for love songs, just ask the folks over at Time Life.

And the problem is only compounded by the little guy I've got in utero whose favorite game is "Mommy's Bladder is a Trampoline."

I seriously need a nap!

Emotional Timebombs

I developed the term "emotional timebomb" soon after my dad died eleven years ago. At the time I was generally at peace with things and did not struggle with perpetual sorrow, but every so often I'd see something that reminded me of him or experience something that made me miss him and I was suddenly hit with an unexpected, unplanned emotional melt down. Like a ticking bomb that without warning had come to the end of its fuse.

I still have a few dad related timebombs every year. And I've noticed I'm sometimes susceptible to emotional timebombs brought on by other things.

I had one this morning.

As I was driving my children to school I saw the minivan of a family I know that lives in a neighboring ward. The windows of the car were plastered with signs declaring "Welcome Home Daddy!" The father of this family had just returned this past week from a deployment in Afghanistan. I happened to notice that this man was now in the car driving his children to school.

Bomb went off.

My mind was immediately transported back to that day, not too long ago, when my own garage door had a "Welcome Home" sign on it. The fifteen months that had preceded that day were some of the most difficult of my life. And the incredible feeling of relief I felt as my husband walked off that plane after his own deployment in Afghanistan, is an emotion I will never forget.

The funny thing is, I hardly cried at all that day. I think that the intensity and anticipation of that day somehow blocked my ability to really connect to what was going on. It was too surreal. But seeing the reunions of others always elicits a very strong response from me because I understand all of the emotions and hardships that reunion represents.

So by the time I got home from dropping the kids off this morning I was in tears--so much so I could barely explain to my husband why I was being emotional. And even when I got a few words out I realized that those emotions are difficult for me to explain--even to him. It's a mixture of painful memories and stress, inexpressible relief, and intense pride.

I think today's timebomb may have been a tender mercy. When life gets stressful and overwhelming, it's helpful for me to reflect upon times in my own past that have stretched me and tried me but left me stronger.

It helps me remember that this too shall come to pass.