The Suns

Did I tell you how much fun I had at the Suns game on Valentines?  We sat right by Mark Cuban (I think that's his name).  You know, the guy from dancing with the stars and owner of the Mavericks.  I felt pretty special.

Oh how I wish the Suns would have played as well against LA.  Darn that Kobe Bryant!!!!

It wasn't my fault!

I know this looks bad, and it is, but it really wasn't Rusty's fault.  Okay, it was, but let me explain.  
Rusty will only lay on his dog bed.  He is lost without it.  He's really picky when it comes to dog beds.  It has to be a soft material or he won't lay on it, and it has to be fluffed up just right or he won't settle down and go to sleep. Before he lays down he always fluffs his bedding.  He scratches at all the sides of the bed until all the fluff is in the middle, and then, and only then, will he lay down upon it.

The other day it was time to clean the cover because it was starting to stink, so off it went into the wash.  That night, Jeff and I were to lazy to get up and take it out of the dryer and put it back on.  Well, Rusty went to his bed and fluffed. But because the cover wasn't on it ripped open and went everywhere.   
To be honest, I think he was really annoyed and just wanted his old bed back.  Stupid dog and his soft bedding!

Hillbilly Hootinany

Well, I can finally relax this week.  With Valentine bouquets and ward parties last week, I am feeling wiped out.  Here are some pictures of our ward party.  It actually turned out great, so I am passing on all my ideas for anyone else stuck with this calling.

My mother in law did this fabulous art work for me at the "hitchin post" where couples could have their pictures taken and sign a marriage certificate.  Here's Monique and I trying it out.
Hillbilly hoops was a hit.  Thanks to Bern for the use of his very CLEAN toilets.
We decorated the tables with newspaper and duct tape, ate out of pie tins, and used mason jars for the drinks.  We served "mormon moonshine" and water.
This picture doesn't do it justice, but the clothesline was a nice touch.  We served dutch oven stew ("varmint" stew) with biscuits, and dutch oven cobbler with ice cream.  Delish!
I don't have a picture, but I made garlands out of pop cans and trash and hung them over each doorway.  We added accents of raffia, garbage, old shoes, and old hats all over.  I made a playlist of hillbilly music on my new ipod and it plugged right in to the system.  How cool is that!

We had pie eating contest, pig calling, barber shop quartets and lot's of joke telling.  I was pleased that it all worked out, and now I am excited to have a week to clean up my house and catch up on laundry.  Yeah!

The Best Clam Chowder

Hands down, this is the best Clam Chowder I have ever had.  Seriously delish!  You need to try this before the weather turns warm.

The Best Clam Chowder

• 3 (6.5 oz) cans minced clams
  
• 1 cup minced onion
  
• 1 cup diced celery
  
• 2 cups cubed potatoes
  
• 1 cup diced carrots
  
• 3/4 cup butter
  
• 3/4 cup flour
  
• 1 quart half and half cream
  
• 2 Tbl red wine vinegar
  
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
  
• ground black pepper to taste
  

Directions:

1. Drain juice from clams into a large skillet over the onions, celery, potatoes, and carrots.  Add water to cover, and cook over medium heat until tender.
2. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.  Whisk in flour until smooth.  Whisk in cream and stir constantly until thick and smooth (this takes a little while, but be patient).  Stir in vegetables.  Heat through, but do not boil.
3. Stir in clams just before serving.  If they cook too much they get tough.  When clams are heated through, stir in vinegar, and season with salt and pepper.

As far as clams go, I bought the big 51 oz chopped sea clams at Costco.  I added half of 1 can to my soup.  Then you can freeze the rest until you make it again.  This way you get the best bang for your buck.

I use an electric chopper to chop up all the vegetables because I don't like them big and chunky in my soup.  It's best to have all ingredients prepped and ready before you begin.  

Into The Belly of The Beast!

So on Wednesday I had my cake class and we were working with fondant.  I put together my first fondant cake.  It turned out pretty cute right?
I was so proud of it, so I left it on my kitchen counter for all to see.  BIG MISTAKE!
This is what Rusty was doing when I ran out the door for just a second.   He's a sly devil, and knew that eventually I would be out of sight and he could make his move.  Well he did.
He ate 99% of that pretty cake in a matter of 5 seconds flat.  Apparently he doesn't like fondant and left that alone.  That night he had the worst belly ache and he moaned and moaned.  I refused to feel sorry for him and even made him skip his dinner.  Bad doggy!!!!!  Very very BAD DOGGY!!!!!!

Happy Valentines Day!

Here's how the cookie bouquets turned out.   Thanks to everyone who bought one from me!  Hope you have a great Valentines Day.  My hubby is taking me to the Suns game 4th row back!!!!  I am so excited and I might even get to see Shaq play as a Sun for the first time!  Ya Hoo!  (PS. I have another dog story for you tomorrow).

New Soul

This is a great sing-along-song. It's so catchy!