Very Long and Boring Random Ramblings

*Have you noticed the price of beef has really gone up?

*I really need to clean my oven. {Really bad} But I'm kinda nervous about doing it because the last time I turned on the self clean all of the smoke detectors went off. And since I did it at night when everyone was asleep (so I don't have to endure the stink) I can tell you, that wasn't super welcome.

* How can it be September 21st already???

*Is it wrong to buy Tess 6-9 month clothes if they fit? It just seems indecent to do when she is 22 months. But she hasn't needed new clothes for over a year and I'm sick of her wardrobe. But what if she grows soon and the money is wasted?

*Had a pest-control dude come the other day to get rid of the yellow jackets under our bay window. He said that if you get stung, tape a penny tightly over the sting and it reduces the pain greatly.

*Friday night we went to the Conference Center for a concert. It was absolutely AMAZING. But what was even more cool was our seats. We were just 6 rows behind President Monson, his wife and daughter. I could write an entire blog entry about this concert and all we saw and all that happened, but since this is just random ramblings I'll tell only one thing. President Eyring came out to give the prayer, he was on the big screen, the spotlight was on him, he was about to speak, then maestro picked up his own microphone to talk. It didn't work-- because it wasn't his turn. He got it turned on and President Eyring patiently waited for him to finish his little speech. His little speech became longer and longer and then he announced the next number and went right into it --apparently not realizing what he'd done! President Eyring didn't quite know what to do!! He quietly walked off stage and I'm guessing said a lovely little prayer in his heart.

*Cache has been a homework machine. Honestly, it seems like that is all he does. But I guess with classes like Honors Pre-Calculus, Honors English, Honors History, Chemistry, Physics, and German 3 I shouldn't be surprised. (this is 10th grade!) But it would be nice to have my son back every now and again.

*We planted 3 kinds of tomatoes in our garden this year: Early Girl, Better Boy and Celebrity. The Celebrity is best by far.

*Chandler loves family histories. So instead of reading a chapter book at night, we've gone to reading histories. I can't believe how much he loves it!

*I'm thinking about doing another recipe share on my blog. Anyone interested? Some recipes I thought might be good to share: Hawaiian Meatballs, Pumpkin Cranberry Bread, Almond Joy Bars (a brownie type of goodness, not a candy), Aussie Chicken (a yummy honey mustard chicken with bacon and cheese), Spinach Salad, a yummy dinner roll for the bread machine. Any of those striking your fancy?

*September 26th is National Love Note Day.

*Caleb and Chandler are signed up for flag football this year. They each have 2 games a week so our life will have a little football in it for the next little while. (It's only for 1 month though, so I can handle it!)

*Tom is trenching in the front yard to get hooked up for Pressurized Irrigation.

*Gas where we live is $3.64/gallon.

*Today was the Primary Program. It went well, as they usually do, but I'm also very, very glad to have it over.

*Do you love to make caramel apples in the fall? I love, love, love them!

*My photo printer is dying :(. It has been an awesome printer. Anyone have recommendations for a good photo printer? (I'm spoiled that I can print 12x12 and bigger if I use the roll paper, so I'm thinking I want at least that again.)

*Caleb gets up every morning and does 15-20 minutes of indexing.

*Since Tom has married me, the amount he spends at the Post Office has increased about 98% (although he argues it is more like a 99.9% increase).

*There are some horses that pasture about a half a block from our house. Tess asks *everyday* to go see and feed them.

*Since its launch on September 10, Cache has been super interested in the Large Hadron Collider.

*At the football game yesterday (go Cougars!) there was a girl sitting in front of us that had a real mascara job. It reminded me of a girl from high school. When I mentioned it to Tom, he immediately remembered this girl's mascara job. How funny is it that we both remember this girl's eyelashes?

*I went to the grocery store the other day and came home with a package of string cheese. I didn't even go by the string cheese, so I'm not sure how I ended up with it. But at least it showed up on my receipt so I don't need to return it or go back to pay for it . . . and I'm also glad it wasn't something useless like coffee or anchovies!

*Any good ideas as to how to get kids to stop picking scabs? Frustrates me!

*In Utah to pass your driving test you have to stop at each railroad train track and say out loud "No Train". If you miss once, it is an automatic 21 point deduction. The most you can miss to pass the driving test is 20 points. Crazy huh?

*Got a few ginormous zucchinis in the garden and I'm thinking of doing this (scroll down a bit) with them as a FHE game this week. Sounds fun.

*After the football game on Saturday, Caleb and Tom turned around and went to a REAL Salt Lake soccer game.

*At cub scouts the other day, a fellow scout announced that his mom was going to have a baby. Chandler announced his mom was too. He was in trouble for that.

*Tom and I disagree about how to fold a t-shirt. The rule is that I have to fold his 'his' way and he has to fold mine 'my' way. But we both usually forget. Somehow we manage to still live blissfully along :).

*Tessa was a sly little thief at nursery today. As we were walking out the door with her, she said, "Shoes". Tom looked at her shoes and they weren't hers! (she hadn't worn any because she wouldn't wear her Sunday shoes) I hurried back into the nursery to find out who's they were. I had to make an apology phone call and a delivery right after church. Then tonight as Tom was getting her ready for bed, he found what looked to be a plastic Pringle down her onesie. (What she calls her 'pocket'.) The only place she could have gotten that was nursery. Gotta watch her a little more closely!

*"I am." and "I do." are the shortest complete sentences in the English language.

Kindness Begins with Me!

I've been trying to get this posted since yesterday but things have kept needing my attention more than this blog. Thank you all for being patient with me!

I have give much thought and pondering to my post last week. A lot of it was because I wanted to make sure I practiced what I preached! But, truly, I am striving to be a kinder person. I have been on the look out all week for simple kindnesses that I can implement in my life---so I have appreciated your comments and you sharing your acts of kindness with me. I loved the jam idea. I'm definitely doing that! I've got some yummy fresh jam in my freezer that will make a great gift. I also loved the simple idea of giving a hug and a kiss as needed to a husband (did that!) but also to children. I loved the idea of doing an act of simple service that you will never know the outcome of such as leaving a close parking space for someone else. I'm guessing that if you made a habit of that over a life time you would definitely be a lifesaver for many! Loved the ideas also of noticing then helping to lighten another's load and of stopping to help someone along the road (although, being female, I don't feel like that is something I can do). I also loved the idea of being more gracious. In my mind, that is a mark of true kindness. All of these are areas I can work on, so thank you again for your comments (see prize details below:).
In the flow of my pondering this week, I have decided that much of kindness must start at home. Kindness is easier to give outside of the home (at least for me) because we want to give good impressions and we want to be friendly etc. But at home it is so easy to slip into a non-caring or grumpy attitude. But it is at home that we learn how to be kind and we get lots of opportunities to practice!! The mom at this house has committed to do better! So I have also been praying for kindness and kind thoughts. I've been pleased with the results. A few examples of what has happened: Yesterday morning as two children were arguing over who got to use the butter first the words that came out of my mouth surprised me. They were much kinder than I would have said on my own: "I have faith that you both have enough spiritual strength to solve this in a kind way." Another simple thing I've done is smiled. I can't believe what a difference that has made during my toddler's crying moments. They haven't gone away, but they've shortened. I also have been trying to look at my children each time they talk to me. These small things have added up to make a big difference in our home in the short time of a week. I'm going to keep trying. If you have any simple ideas that help with kindness at home I'd love to hear!

Now for the prize. I put in everyone's name who shared an act of kindness. (even Mr. or Ms. Anonymous :). And Brooke, you are my winner! You can leave a comment or send an email to chart@utwire.net to let me know what prize you want!

Something Special For My 100th Post!

This will be quite long, so I hope you'll read to the very end and then want to join the challenge.

In the June Ensign, I read and reread President Eyring's message. It was on Saftey in Counsel and how when we follow the prophet, we are kept out of harm's way. I loved it. It made so much sense. The examples he used struck a loud chord with me. It made me have greater desires to live right. It made me want to work harder to keep my family safe. It bouyed me up because it set a *clear* and a sure way for us to stay safe from the evils in the world.

To say it caught my interest when the July Ensign came and I saw that President Uchtdorf's message was on following the prophet is an understatement. WOW. Two in a row, How vitally important this must be for us at this time. So I sat up and paid attention and was ready when August's Ensign came with President Monson's counsel. I was set to follow. His message was about making the best with TODAY. He talked about how fragile life is and how we need to be about doing good. As our cute 16 year old home teacher read to us from this article on Sunday I felt a stronger urging to follow this counsel.
To quote President Monson:

"How fragile life, how certain death. We do not know when we will be required to leave this mortal existence. And so I ask, “What are we doing with today?”

There are chances for work all around just now,
Opportunities right in our way.
Do not let them pass by, saying, “Sometime I’ll try,”
But go and do something today.

Let us ask ourselves the questions: “Have I done any good in the world today? Have I helped anyone in need?” What a formula for happiness! What a prescription for contentment, for inner peace—to have inspired gratitude in another human being. Our opportunities to give of ourselves are indeed limitless, but they are also perishable."

As these quotes were being read to us on Sunday, I felt prompted that I need to do even better. I need to give of myself more. So I'm going to be looking for more ways to bless others life with kindness. And then an idea came to me that involves you, my readers. I would like to challenge you to do at least one random act of kindness during the next week. It can be at school, at work, at home, at the grocery store, in a parking lot, at church, on the freeway. . . It can be anything from going out of your way to help someone pick up something dropped, to paying for someone's meal behind you, to pulling weeds, to baking cookies, to making a phone call to someone you need to reconnect with. . . it can be anything that shows kindness and 'inspires gratitude in another human being'. It can cost you no time or money, or it can. It is up to you. Listen and pray for inspiration and you'll know who to help and how.

Then I want to hear about it. Leave me a comment sometime (or multiple times) before September 15 telling me what you did. One reason I want to do this is it will give me new ideas and inspire me to reach out in new ways. I will choose a few acts I want to repeat in my own life. If I choose your act of kindness to repeat, I will put you in a drawing for a prize. If you win, you will receive a prize of your own choosing. It will be something I can make and send to you. It can be anything from a mini album, a scrapbook page, a dozen thank you notes, a 'white' board etc. (keep it within reason, however! If you need ideas of things I can make, look through my blog archives to find something.) Christmas is coming so keep in mind that if you don't want anything for yourself, you might need a small gift for a friend or a sister or teacher. Or maybe you just want a batch of my yummy rolls or some cookies. I'm even willing to send overseas (well, except the baked goods :) as I know I've got 5 or so regular overseas readers).And, definitely, of course, keep in mind that while you are completing random acts of kindness, you are not only blessing others lives, you are saving your own--because it is counsel from the prophet and there is safety in counsel! Happy kindness spreading!!

(Final disclaimer: part of this idea came from another blogger a year or so ago so I can't claim the idea in its entirety.)

Zucchini!!

Do you like it? I know a few of my siblings don't, but we love it around here. In the garden-planting season, we can't wait for our plant to produce--so many yummy ways to eat it! Besides Beef Benihana here are two other recipes everyone in my family enjoys.
Fried Zucchini: I know that isn't the healthiest way, but if I only make it 2-4 times a year, I figure it is okay. To make it, crush up a cup or so of cracker crumbs (Ritz or something of the like) add about a half a cup of flour then throw in a bunch of spices to taste. We love season salt, garlic salt, pepper and a dash of cayenne. For me, the key to success is to test the breading on my finger to make sure it has enough kick. We like it quite spicy because zucchini needs a bit of a kick. I peel the zucchini, slice it fairly thick (about 1/4"), dip it in egg, then the breading and fry in oil. Yum! (and in finding a picture for this, I found a lot of people put Parmesan cheese in the breading mixture. YUM! Gonna have to try that!)The other way to eat it that everyone in my family loves it is in zucchini bread. This is such a great recipe and I can't make it fast enough. (and surprise, this is actually my own picture!)

3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
3 tsp cinnamon

Stir together in bowl and set aside. In another bowl, mix:
3 eggs
1 cup oil
2 1/4 cup sugar
3 tsp vanilla

Add sifted ingredients and beat well. Stir in 2 cups of grated zucchini (and 1 cup of nuts if desired) and pour into pans. Mix topping and sprinkle on top. Bake @ 325 for 40-60 minutes.

Topping:
3 TBSP flour
1/2 cup quick oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 TBSP butter
Stir together until crumbly.

Do you have a favorite way to eat zucchini?