Can

Since we are snowed in this weekend. Really, we are. They even canceled church and it was ward conference today. Sometimes it is funny to live in east Tennessee after growing up in Wyoming. But, since I have time today I will get back on to my goals.

I do have some updates at how I am doing, but most of them aren't for ones I've even posted about. But here they are:

I have learned a new recipe. I actually learned it at Seth and Julies. It's Cowboy Potatoes. It's just mashed potatoes and then you mash in with them steamed carrots and corn, It's really yummy and is a great alternative when there is no gravy to be had.

I'm doing pretty good at the project life. Thank goodness my phone has a pretty decent camera on it or it would be a lot harder.

So on to the next one...

I want to learn how to can. You know, preserve things in jars. I know how to make jam (yummy!) and I've even made green stuff with Grandma Loveridge, but that's it. I've seen my mom do it when I was a kid, but I've never had much of a desire to learn it for myself. Now though, I WANT to learn. There is so much wonderfully fresh produce around here that I would love, love, love to take my kids, pick a bunch and preserve it.

There is a lady in our ward who does it every year and she said I could come and help. So I'm hoping that in the next two season's I can get it figured out.

Wish me luck.

Texas Sheet Cake

This one's for my Dad.

Every time I visit him, or he visits me this is what he wants. We had this a lot growing up, I think it's a Mormon classic. I can see why he likes it so much. It is really good, and it reminds me of home. There isn't anything fancy here, just home made yumminess.

So Dad, this one's for you. Just the way I like it, step by step, with pictures. (And now I will have the recipe I like when I am out there and you want me to make it!)

Texas Sheet Cake

Preheat the oven to 400*

Spray a jelly roll (cookie) sheet with cooking spray.

Mix together in a bowl
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
Set aside.


In a saucepan boil
2 cubes (1 cup) butter or margarine
1 cup water
1/4 cup cocoa



Add flour & sugar mixture and wisk it.



Turn off heat. (To the stove, not the oven!)

Add to the saucepan
1/2 cup buttermilk (If you don't have buttermilk, add 1T lemon juice or vinegar to a liquid measuring cup then milk to make 1/2 cup. Do this when you preheat the oven. It needs a few min. to set.)
1 t soda
2 beaten eggs
1 t vanilla
1 t salt


Mix together.

Pour onto greased cookie sheet.


Bake at 400* for 15-20 min. (It's done when a toothpick or knife poked in the middle comes out clean.)



Frosting

When I went to Emily's house when her daughter was born, we taste tested the 2 frostings that I have for this yummy treat. We decided that we (amazingly enough) preferred the one with cocoa and powdered sugar over the one made with chocolate chips. (Even I was surprised at that one!)

Clean out the pan that you used to mix the cake ingredients.

In the saucepan boil (stirring often.)
1 cube (1/2 cup) butter or margarine
4 T cocoa
6-8 T milk


Remove from heat.


Add
1 t vanilla

Beat in powdered sugar. (I used about 2/3 of a bag.)

The finished frosting will be really runny. Taste it to make sure you have enough powdered sugar.

Pour it onto warm cake and spread evenly.

Wait for the cake to cool and try to hold yourself back so you don't finish the entire cake in one day!

Enjoy Dad!

Clean and organize my basement

If you've ever seen my basement you'll get this one and you will heartily agree that it needs to be done.

I often joke that I would like to do a control burn in my basement. Just get it gone!

The problem here is that when I start looking at the junk (and really, 90% of it is junk) I get all sentimental and can't bear to throw out even scraps of paper. It is ridiculous. I could toss out all of Jonathon's old stuff and only save a few things without a problem. I am not emotionally attached to most of his pre-me stuff. He is though, and so in the spirit of marital harmony I try not to toss without permission. The rest of the stuff though. The kids old stuff, my old stuff. It all has little strings that pull at me when I see them. Awww, ohhh. How could I ever even think of getting rid of that? What if I might need it some day?

I want to take the next two years, and it will probably take the entire two years to get it done.

Wish me luck. I'll need it.

How about you? Are you n the it's easy throw out the junk team or the keep the junk for 100 years team? And any of you tossers, any secrets that you want to share?

Share the Gospel

That last post I waxed a bit spiritual. I don't do that a lot here. I don't know why. The gospel is as much a part of me as the blood that runs through my veins. It really is who I am.

I think that the gospel is beautiful. I think it is intelligent. I think that the gospel covers everything and everyone. To me, it just makes sense.

I treasure the knowledge that I have of the plan of salvation. I know where I came from. I lived in heaven before I was born. I am a spiritual daughter of my Heavenly Father. He created me in his image. He loves me. He loves me so much that he wants me to be like him. He created the earth so that I could come to earth to gain a body (like he has) and be tested. And He loved me soooo much that he know I wouldn't pass all of the tests. I would sin and that sin would keep me from becoming like him. So he sent Jesus to atone for my sins. He knew I wouldn't make it with out Jesus. And Jesus, being my older brother loved me too. He came down to earth and suffered and died so that I could repent.

Heavenly Father knew that because I am mortal, I would die. And he had Jesus take care of that for me too. Jesus suffered and died on the cross and then he overcame death. He was resurrected. Now, because of him, I will be resurrected too.

Heavenly Father knows how much I love my family. Jonathon and my kids and everyone. He made it possible that we could be together forever. Not just until we die, but for the eternities. There is no price I wouldn't pay for this little part of the plan. None. But, it isn't a buy and sell deal. It is a gift. I just try to keep holding on to it each day.

I want to share this gospel with everyone I know. The problem is a few things. First off, Mormons aren't always looked on with kindness around here. A lot of people have been given incorrect information and when people say bad things about my beliefs it's sometimes hard not to take it personally. I'm trying to get over that part of the south. It never bothered me before. Mostly though, I don't want anyone to think that I think that they are not good enough the way that they are. That I want to "fix them." I don't. My goal is not to baptize someone. That is not my decision. I just want to share. To not feel so self conscious when the topic turns to religion that I keep quieter than I want to. To show more respect to others and their beliefs and still show the conviction that I feel for my beliefs.

Over the next two years I want to work on that. Sharing the gospel. Letting the love that I have and the testimony I have been given flow freely from my lips. Just letting it out. Not being bothered if it is mocked and rejected and doubly making sure that I don't mock or reject anyone else because of their beliefs.

How about you? How do you show what you believe in your day to day life? Have you ever been offended or offended anyone when the topic of religion came up?

Habits of righteous living

Everyone's heard of the "7 Habits" book. I read this a long time ago. I don't remember too much about it except putting your "to do" list into boxes. My life right now isn't too complicated. I don't worry too much about which box laundry goes in and which box grocery shopping goes in. Though, maybe if I did it would get them done more efficiently. But I digress. The "7 Habits" book was the first time that it stuck to me that the things you want to be doing but aren't are just habits that you haven't cultivated yet.

I used to be really good at the spiritual habits that I want and need in my life. I was one of "those" girls when I was younger. The straight and narrow just seemed to fit me. Sure I stepped a toe or two off, and I wasn't totally convinced that finishing "programs" and earning awards at church made me much better, but think I was pretty much a good girl. Maybe you would call it a "goody two shoes." I've been called that before. Julie blogged about her testimony and I loved hearing it. I love to hear how others gain their testimony. I think I was just born with mine. There is a scripture in the Doctrine and Covenants section 46. It talks about gifts of the spirit. How not everyone has all of the same gifts but everyone has some gift(s). I think that verses 13 and 14 are my verses. "To some it is given by the Holy Ghost to know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that he was crucified for the sins of the world. To others it is given to believe on their words," I remember talking to one of Jonathon's cousins and she asked if I ever questioned things. It was the first time that I has ever vocalized it and realized that, nope, no questions. Never.

It's my gift.

And let me tell you, thank goodness for that! Really. What if I had had to find out for myself? What if, what if, what if? Let's just say I know God loves and knows me because he keeps saving me from myself time and time again.

But I digress...

We all caught on to the fact that I am a believer in God. I love my Savior and I know he died for me. So the problem is that all of those habits that "good" believers practice daily in their lives have gotten a little rusty in mine. I have 1001 excuses. And a lot of them are good ones. The thing is, I am ready to put away my excuses and start the hard work of cultivating a habit.

And what habits would I like to cultivate?

I'm sure you already know. The basics. Just the basics.

Meaningful prayer.
consistent scripture study.
Acknowledging God in my life.

Not too hard right?

WRONG!

Remember those 1001 excuses? Those aren't too hard. Tossing them out and doing it. And doing it, and doing it until it sticks. That is the hard part. Once it sticks it won't be too bad, but getting to that part is hard work.

So that is my goal. I want to take the next 2 years and work really hard and getting those righteous habits to stick in my life. I don't want to forget, or rationalize or complain because they will just be a part of who I am.

So, what about you? Do you have spiritual habits that stick in your life that nourish your soul? Are you still working on it? What works for you?

Project life

For my birthday, Marie got me project life. The idea of the whole thing is that you take a picture every day for a year and write a little something about it. It’s pretty simple, the hard work of matching and cutting is already done. I want to do it for a few reasons. First, it’s my journal this year. Or more like my family’s journal. It will help me to get some of my pictures developed, and recording even just a sentence a day is a lot better in the keeping a personal / family history than I have been doing in a long time.

Have any of you done this? Or done something similar? Did you make it the whole year?

New recipee

Do you ever get totally bored with the 15 or so recipes that keep popping up on your dinner table? I do. I have the staples, things like stir fry, bbq chicken, spaghetti, ham loaf and pot roast. Then there are the “fancy” things, like curry and shishkabobs and turkey. And then there is my favorite, soup.

Every week, day after day, week after week, we recycle these recipes.

And what about breakfast? How many waffles, pancakes, French toast or eggs can a person have before breakfast gets really boring?

And lunch? Mac and cheese? Chicken nuggets? Grilled Cheese? PB&J? Are you totally bored yet?

I am!

This boredom has turned to the inspiration for this next goal. I want to learn a new recipe for every meal, snack and desert in one day. That doesn’t mean that one day I will slave in the kitchen over recipe after recipe, just that I will expand my new recipe search from desserts only to include every meal of the day. When was the last time I tries a recipe for snack? I want something new, but not too complicated or fancy. I want to find a new recipe that my family will love that I can add to our family favorites, rotating them in with the waffles and stir fry and chicken nuggets.

What are your favorites? What are your go to’s? Do you want to send me a recipe and a picture of something you think we will love?