Today I am hanging out in my grubs all day long.  It's time to organize!!

That's right - every drawer, cupboard, and pile is getting an overhaul.

At the top of my list for 2008 is get my office organized, painted, and usable.  This is the year folks.  After 3 years of having to shut the door to the office because I would die of embarrassment, I am fixing it up.  I want it to be a room I can stand to work in and be proud of.
 I can't bear to put my new IMac in there.  It's gotta go!

Happy Cleaning!

Sledding for Dummies

Here's a little video clip of Sammi, Brent, Nathan, and Jeff sledding.  Now keep in mind this snow is 2 weeks old and feels like cement.

Here's a picture of me (Jeff didn't get it on film) crashing on my side and bruising or possibly breaking my ribs.  Ouch!

We are off to the mountains for the weekend!  

I will be back blogging on Tuesday.  

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

Apple-Crisp Baked Apples

I made this Christmas Eve for dessert. It was really easy, tasted great, and looks pretty. So next time you want to impress your guests, here you go...

Apple-Crisp Baked Apples

1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup rolled oats
8 tablespoons cold butter (1 stick)
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
6 Pink Lady apples (or any other firm apple)
1 1/2 cups apple cider

Preheat oven to 350*. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix butter in with hands until crumbly. Peel the top third of each apple and, using a melon baller, scoop out the stem and enough of the core so that the walls of the apple are about 1/2 in. thick. Take care, however, not to break through the bottom of the apple, or the filling will leak out when baking. Make the hole wider at the top.

Using a small spoon or your fingers, generously stuff each apple; mound extra filling on top. Put the filled apples in a 2-qt. baking dish. Pour cider into the pan around the apples, cover the dish with foil, and bake 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake, basting every 15 minutes, for an additional 30 to 45 minutes, until apples are easily pierced with a sharp knife (they may split open a bit at the bottom). Serve apples drizzled with the sauce from the pan and with a scoop of vanilla ice cream alongside or on top.

Serves 6

Don't be afraid to leave the foil on a little longer when baking. I tripled the recipe and my apples could have been a little softer - but they were still delish!

Christmas Highlights!

My Santa!

For those who follow my blog, there was no obscene Santa this year.

It wouldn't be a Christmas party without a wrestle with Uncle Jeff. Sometimes he's worse than the kids.

Christmas Eve always involves cousins and new Jammie's.
Christmas morning with our kids is always magic. Allison tried sneeking down before everyone to get a peek.
And I wouldn't post this picture of me in all my morning glory, except you have to see the look on my face to really appreciate how awesome it was when my hubby gave me my new IMAC computer. Click on it and you can see me saying "SHUT UP!".
He also gave me one-on-one classes every week at the apple store for a year.
There really is a Santa!

My Own Christmas Miracle

I had a miracle happen today, my own Christmas miracle. I was called as choir director for our ward. For those of you who are not of the LDS faith, I was asked to direct the Choir for my church, purely voluntary. My Bishop said he was inspired to ask me -HA! I didn't believe him, and I even went as far as telling him he missed the mark.

I grumbled for weeks and finally started having choir practice to get ready for the Christmas program in 8 weeks. Despite what my friends think, this was such a difficult thing for me. I will admit that in my youth, things came easy to me. I could sing in front of a crowd and felt little fear in front of people. But I have changed over the years. As I have struggled with health problems and different things in my life, I seemed to have lost my confidence. I am incredibly forgetful and I cringe at the thought of people looking to me and relying on me to lead them.

Practices moved along and I did my homework and tried my hardest. But I have to tell you that this white girl has NOOOOOO rhythm. I wrestled with my hands, trying to make them do what my mind was thinking. The choir was patient with me and I continually fumbled the cut offs and cues.

The day of the performance arrived and I wanted to throw up as I sat there waiting for the program to begin. And then it came to me. If the Bishop was really inspired to call me as choir director, then I am doing exactly what the Lord wants me to do. I realized at that moment that this did not have to be my burden. I have done everything in my power to make this a success and now it was His turn to come through for me. I prayed harder than ever and told God that I was done. Now it was His turn to make my hands do what they needed to do. I wasn't going to be nervous because if this is what He wants, then He had better be there helping me. (Are you allowed to get a little bossy in your prayers? - cause I was). I wasn't asking for His help, I was DEMANDING it.

The program began, and I was nervous at first. But something happened - magic! The choir sounded like angels. Things that weren't working before, now came together like chocolate and peanut butter. I couldn't believe my ears. I felt the excitement swell within me as we went along and I was able to hit every cue and cut off. I didn't want it to end. I prayed that the people in the choir and in the congregation would feel the true spirit of Christmas. And you know what? I think they did. I realized through this whole thing, that it's not about me. God has a bigger purpose and I was just glad to be apart of it.

This was my miracle and I am sharing it with you.
Merry Christmas!

Christmas Humor