Thursday, December 31, 2009
Not So Green Thumb
I've successfully got my orchid plant to re-bloom. I have two orchid flowers and a few leaves growing from the stem. I should feel proud, but my orchids are upside down. I have no idea what happened. I watered it properly, fertilized it, gave it the right amount of sunlight, and even regulated its night and daytime temperatures to help it to bloom. I gave so much time to caring for it. But the flowers grew in upside down. I thought flowers knew how to grow right side up all by themselves. Any thoughts on how to make my flowers grow the way they are supposed to?
Christmas Baking
I have been wanting a cast iron dutch oven. I keep reading recipes that you need a dutch oven to make, but alas no dutch oven. However, Christmas is a great time for wishes to be fulfilled and I am now the proud owner of a red, enamel covered, cast iron dutch oven.
When I got my dutch oven, I knew the first thing I wanted to try making was this. My sister-in-law Alissa is an amazing cook and she made this delicious bread for her daughter Ella's birthday. I've been dreaming of making this bread since we had it. Hard crusty crust, but soft and airy inside. I've never been able to pull off bread like that. So, I gave Alissa's recipe a try. It turned out better than I thought it would for a first try, but it wasn't anything compared to Alissa's. Now that I've tried it once I think it will turn out better next time. Thanks for the delicious recipe Alissa!
Christmas Spritz Cookies
Brad got a cookie gun for Christmas so we decided to make some Spritz. We called Grandma Packer for her recipe. Turns out that it is her mother's, Great-Grandma Scofield's Spritz Cookie recipe. Yummy.
1 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp almond flavoring
2 1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
food coloring
colored sugar crystals
Mix butter and sugar well. Add egg & flavoring. Mix in dry ingredients. Dough will be kind of stiff. Can add food coloring. Put in gun and pump out shapes. Can sprinkle colored sugar. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes. Take out before brown as they will continue to bake on the pan.
(As a side note, we did not have almond extract. We substituted vanilla, but it would have been better with almond.)
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Merry Christmas - Part 2
We've had the most wonderful Christmas in Minnesota. It was just us and Brad's parents, but we had a lot of fun.
We made a lot of carmel popcorn with nuts for the neighbors and some just for us.
We also went to Fleet Farm (Doug's favorite store). It's kind of like Home Depot, Cabela's, Cal-Ranch, and a military supply store all in one. While in Fleet Farm we found this giant fish pillow and an inflatable snowman dressed for hunting season. Brad also got a blow gun for his stocking there. We even spotted some birds flying around inside. I guess you never know what you'll find in Fleet Farm.
Christmas Day was awesome. We had to sit at the top of the stairs and wait for "Joy to the World" to be played so we could come down.
We got a lot of wonderful gifts. I got a lot of new clothes. Brad particularly liked this one. He calls it the Barney shirt, but I like it.
Brad got me giraffe and zebra shower caps. Hilarious.
Brad did redeem himself with his other gifts. He got me a white and black diamond infinity pendant necklace which is gorgeous.
I surprised Brad with another gift! Brad wanted some gloves that he could use with his camera when it's cold so his fingers don't freeze. He wanted thin gloves so he still has dexterity and is grippy so he can keep a hold of his camera. He didn't think they existed, but I found them.
Brad also got a few other things for his camera. He got a new 16 GB memory card. He also got a book to teach him how to use his camera.
Janet got a new toaster. But it already had toast in it with a picture on it. It was a picture of a closet, because Janet is getting a new closet as part of Christmas.
Any Christmas with the Packer's isn't complete without French Pancakes. Yummy! Love the apron Doug.
It is also Packer tradition to put together a puzzle for Christmas. This was the one from this year.
We also got to play a lot with Chance.
It was a great Christmas with Brad's family. For as short as we were out there for, we were busy. Lots of cooking, shopping, checking out gifts, playing games, eating out, and so, so much more. We even went to a reception for friends from our old single's ward. It was a great Christmas.
We made a lot of carmel popcorn with nuts for the neighbors and some just for us.
We also went to Fleet Farm (Doug's favorite store). It's kind of like Home Depot, Cabela's, Cal-Ranch, and a military supply store all in one. While in Fleet Farm we found this giant fish pillow and an inflatable snowman dressed for hunting season. Brad also got a blow gun for his stocking there. We even spotted some birds flying around inside. I guess you never know what you'll find in Fleet Farm.
Christmas Day was awesome. We had to sit at the top of the stairs and wait for "Joy to the World" to be played so we could come down.
We got a lot of wonderful gifts. I got a lot of new clothes. Brad particularly liked this one. He calls it the Barney shirt, but I like it.
Brad got me giraffe and zebra shower caps. Hilarious.
Brad did redeem himself with his other gifts. He got me a white and black diamond infinity pendant necklace which is gorgeous.
I surprised Brad with another gift! Brad wanted some gloves that he could use with his camera when it's cold so his fingers don't freeze. He wanted thin gloves so he still has dexterity and is grippy so he can keep a hold of his camera. He didn't think they existed, but I found them.
Brad also got a few other things for his camera. He got a new 16 GB memory card. He also got a book to teach him how to use his camera.
Janet got a new toaster. But it already had toast in it with a picture on it. It was a picture of a closet, because Janet is getting a new closet as part of Christmas.
Any Christmas with the Packer's isn't complete without French Pancakes. Yummy! Love the apron Doug.
It is also Packer tradition to put together a puzzle for Christmas. This was the one from this year.
We also got to play a lot with Chance.
It was a great Christmas with Brad's family. For as short as we were out there for, we were busy. Lots of cooking, shopping, checking out gifts, playing games, eating out, and so, so much more. We even went to a reception for friends from our old single's ward. It was a great Christmas.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Merry Christmas - Part I
Since we were headed out to Minnesota for Christmas, we got together with my family on Monday to share family gifts. Here are the highlights of the night.
- Celebrating my mom's birthday by going to Macaroni Grill.
- Byron getting a nerf gun and the fight that ensued.
- Wilton Cake Decorating set, complete with tips, gel colors, piping bags, and icing spatula. Oh yeah I'm excited!
- Adrianne getting pearl bracelets to match her pearl necklaces.
- Malinda getting new cookbooks for when she needs ideas as a starving student.
- We got a double sleeping bag which is huge. Huge. The stuff sack alone is about 3 feet tall and 1 1/2 feet wide. We won't freeze while camping any more.
- FINALLY surprising Brad with a gift! I've never, ever surprised him with a gift. Not at Christmas, not even on his birthday. He ALWAYS knows! Well not this Christmas. He got a back massager which he loves.
- Celebrating my mom's birthday by going to Macaroni Grill.
- Byron getting a nerf gun and the fight that ensued.
- Wilton Cake Decorating set, complete with tips, gel colors, piping bags, and icing spatula. Oh yeah I'm excited!
- Adrianne getting pearl bracelets to match her pearl necklaces.
- Malinda getting new cookbooks for when she needs ideas as a starving student.
- We got a double sleeping bag which is huge. Huge. The stuff sack alone is about 3 feet tall and 1 1/2 feet wide. We won't freeze while camping any more.
- FINALLY surprising Brad with a gift! I've never, ever surprised him with a gift. Not at Christmas, not even on his birthday. He ALWAYS knows! Well not this Christmas. He got a back massager which he loves.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Thanksgiving Break
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We're had a great Thanksgiving break. On Wednesday, I did some more on-call hours with the 9-year old kid, but brought Byron along. We went to the Hutchings Museum and to the Legacy Center Swimming Pool. It was a lot of fun and as always, Byron was a crack up.
Wednesday was also, Gia's (Adrianne's) birthday so we all went out for Olive Garden to celebrate. I can't believe my littlest sister is getting so old. Happy Birthday Gia!
For Thanksgiving we spent the day with my family in Alpine. Aaron and Kendra came up as well and there was one girl, Svetlana, from my dad's ward that came. Svetlana made an extra special contribution to Thanksgiving dinner. Svetlana is from Russia and made us a traditional Russian dish called pelmani (sounds like peel-many) to go along with the feast. Delicious! The rest of the day was spent playing games, eating way too much pie, and trying out the Wii Fit.
Saturday, I went up to my family's house and watched the Holy War (aka. BYU vs. UofU football game) while Brad was studying. Yay Cougars! Byron actually went to the game. He stormed the field when BYU won and got signatures from a lot of the team including Dennis Pitta and Harvey Unga. He even got a high-five from Max Hall. My brother is so cool.
Wednesday was also, Gia's (Adrianne's) birthday so we all went out for Olive Garden to celebrate. I can't believe my littlest sister is getting so old. Happy Birthday Gia!
For Thanksgiving we spent the day with my family in Alpine. Aaron and Kendra came up as well and there was one girl, Svetlana, from my dad's ward that came. Svetlana made an extra special contribution to Thanksgiving dinner. Svetlana is from Russia and made us a traditional Russian dish called pelmani (sounds like peel-many) to go along with the feast. Delicious! The rest of the day was spent playing games, eating way too much pie, and trying out the Wii Fit.
Saturday, I went up to my family's house and watched the Holy War (aka. BYU vs. UofU football game) while Brad was studying. Yay Cougars! Byron actually went to the game. He stormed the field when BYU won and got signatures from a lot of the team including Dennis Pitta and Harvey Unga. He even got a high-five from Max Hall. My brother is so cool.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Irony
Today started so good and ended somewhat badly. I had a great morning. I was up at 7:30, out the door at 9. I did a little early Christmas shopping and even found a screaming deal, 93% off! The house was even cleaned up.
I headed out this afternoon for work. Right now I'm just doing on-call hours for the place I did my internship over the summer. Today I picked up a 9 year old boy that I've been working with quite a bit. So, we did our normal schedule of schoolwork at the library, then dinner, and then play time. He did great a his school work (not even one complaint, which is saying something for this kid) and wasn't fussy when we got him dinner. The problem was finding things to do after dinner. We found a few things to keep us going and had a good night together.
The problems all started when I brought him home. No one was there. And my phone was completely dead. I couldn't even turn it on long enough to get my coordinators number. We drove to a pay phone and I had a few numbers written down, but no one was picking up. We drove back to his house a couple times in between calls to see if anyone had arrived home. Finally, 30 minutes after he was supposed to be home, his foster dad finally showed up. An emergency had come up so his foster mom was in the ER and his foster dad was delayed at work. Now, I just had to get home to charge my phone and let my coordinator know everything was alright.
So, I'm hurrying home on the freeway, when I see a cop come on the freeway. I slowed down a bit and kept driving. The cop slowed down and as I was going the speed limit I passed him. He then got behind me and started up his lights so I pulled over. I didn't know why he was pulling me over when I wasn't speeding and there were people going much faster than I was.
"Miss, did you know your headlight was out?" I told him I didn't and that my dad had an auto body business so I'd bring it in to get fixed right away. He checked my license and insurance and let me go. As I finished my drive home I just started laughing at the irony of the one day my phone dies is the one day I need it most. And that the one day I need to hurry home after work (since my phone is dead) is the one day I get pulled over. I finally got home, finally called my coordinator, and finally got dinner at 9:30 pm. I'll never let my phone battery get that low again.
I headed out this afternoon for work. Right now I'm just doing on-call hours for the place I did my internship over the summer. Today I picked up a 9 year old boy that I've been working with quite a bit. So, we did our normal schedule of schoolwork at the library, then dinner, and then play time. He did great a his school work (not even one complaint, which is saying something for this kid) and wasn't fussy when we got him dinner. The problem was finding things to do after dinner. We found a few things to keep us going and had a good night together.
The problems all started when I brought him home. No one was there. And my phone was completely dead. I couldn't even turn it on long enough to get my coordinators number. We drove to a pay phone and I had a few numbers written down, but no one was picking up. We drove back to his house a couple times in between calls to see if anyone had arrived home. Finally, 30 minutes after he was supposed to be home, his foster dad finally showed up. An emergency had come up so his foster mom was in the ER and his foster dad was delayed at work. Now, I just had to get home to charge my phone and let my coordinator know everything was alright.
So, I'm hurrying home on the freeway, when I see a cop come on the freeway. I slowed down a bit and kept driving. The cop slowed down and as I was going the speed limit I passed him. He then got behind me and started up his lights so I pulled over. I didn't know why he was pulling me over when I wasn't speeding and there were people going much faster than I was.
"Miss, did you know your headlight was out?" I told him I didn't and that my dad had an auto body business so I'd bring it in to get fixed right away. He checked my license and insurance and let me go. As I finished my drive home I just started laughing at the irony of the one day my phone dies is the one day I need it most. And that the one day I need to hurry home after work (since my phone is dead) is the one day I get pulled over. I finally got home, finally called my coordinator, and finally got dinner at 9:30 pm. I'll never let my phone battery get that low again.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Happy Halloween!
We didn't really do anything for Halloween. Brad had to study and we didn't even get that many trick-or-treaters (only three knocks). We did carve a pumpkin and listened to Harry Potter while doing it. Brad did a great job with carving it. And we had worms and dirt as our spooky Halloween treat.
Marshmallow Play Dough
I made these cute ghosties and pumpkin from a recipe I got from an enrichment on candy making. Microwave marshmallows with a little bit of water and then mix into a mound of powdered sugar until it's a stiff dough. Then you play with it and form whatever you want. The ghosts are actually standing up on pretzel rod with some of the dough on each end. For the pumpkin I kneaded some food coloring into the dough. Super easy.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Spookie Cookies
Sorry we have dropped out of the blogging world for a while. Brad and I had the swine flu and haven't been up to much. I'm better now, but Brad is still getting over the last of it. In the Halloween spirit we made some cookies.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Conference Weekend
There isn't a much better way to spend conference weekend than with your family. When Brad and Aaron went to Priesthood session together, I got to spend some time with my mom and Adrianne. Coldstone ice cream and a chick flick. Perfect.
On Sunday, we got to see Brad's mom and Baby Ella. It's nice when Janet is in town and we get to see her. We also loved playing with Ella. She's just adorable.
Grandma Packer also has the tradition of having the family over for dinner on Conference weekend. So, after conference finished we went to Grandma's. It was really good to see everyone again. We also got to play Yatzee with Grandma. This however wasn't your typical game of Yatzee. It was Yatzee Free 4 All which was a little different, but really fun. It was a nice way to end our weekend.
On Sunday, we got to see Brad's mom and Baby Ella. It's nice when Janet is in town and we get to see her. We also loved playing with Ella. She's just adorable.
Grandma Packer also has the tradition of having the family over for dinner on Conference weekend. So, after conference finished we went to Grandma's. It was really good to see everyone again. We also got to play Yatzee with Grandma. This however wasn't your typical game of Yatzee. It was Yatzee Free 4 All which was a little different, but really fun. It was a nice way to end our weekend.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Fall Colors
Brad and I took a little drive up the canyon to see the fall colors. We went up to see Bridal View Falls and Vivian Park.
Brad also got a cool picture of the moon.
I love this time of the year. I love the vibrant colors of fall leaves. I love the cool weather. I can't wait till more of the leaves change around our home so we can see them more often.
Brad also got a cool picture of the moon.
I love this time of the year. I love the vibrant colors of fall leaves. I love the cool weather. I can't wait till more of the leaves change around our home so we can see them more often.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Wicked
In my family, we do things at the last minute. So, when I got a call on Thursday asking if I wanted to leave on Saturday for San Francisco to see Wicked with the girls in the family, I shouldn't have been so surprised. I was so excited though to see Wicked. I've listened to the music for years, but had never seen it.
We headed out bright and early on Saturday morning for San Francisco. When we got there we had issues with the car rental place that left us an hour behind. After finally making it to the hotel, we headed out again to catch a trolley to Downtown San Fran.
Not really knowing where we are going, we went all the way down to Pier 39 only to find out we had to back track 10 blocks and head another 12 blocks west (thank goodness for a nice lady with an iPhone). We caught a bus thinking it would take us all the way to our destination, but then we had to frantically change to a trolley. We made it to the theater a half an hour later than we were supposed to (you're supposed to be there an hour early for Will Call tickets), but we were still able to get our seats. Wicked was AMAZING!!! I didn't think I would be completely overwhelmed with how awesome it is because I have listened to the CD so many times, but I got goosebumps from how incredible it was in person. Loved it!
After getting back to the hotel, we finally got some food into our systems after not really having anything since breakfast at 6:00 AM. We went to this little Italian place that made homemade pasta. So good! Our waiter was so funny. He looked liked his name should have been Vini, with his shirt slightly unbuttoned and his gold chains. We had a lot of fun just trying what everyone else had got and went away full to the brim.
The next day we went to church at Fairfield. My mom lived here for two years in high school so we went to see her old ward. There were actually a few people who remembered her there. After church we headed to Bodega Bay.
We had a great dinner of clam chowder and french bread right on the bay. We just sat enjoying our dinner and watching the sun go down.
On our last day we went to the Oakland Temple. You could walk up on the second level of the temple and see all way into San Francisco.
Even though it was a short vacation, we had a lot of fun. I'm glad my lovely aunt Shanda could come along. We'll have to go on another girl's weekend again.
We headed out bright and early on Saturday morning for San Francisco. When we got there we had issues with the car rental place that left us an hour behind. After finally making it to the hotel, we headed out again to catch a trolley to Downtown San Fran.
Not really knowing where we are going, we went all the way down to Pier 39 only to find out we had to back track 10 blocks and head another 12 blocks west (thank goodness for a nice lady with an iPhone). We caught a bus thinking it would take us all the way to our destination, but then we had to frantically change to a trolley. We made it to the theater a half an hour later than we were supposed to (you're supposed to be there an hour early for Will Call tickets), but we were still able to get our seats. Wicked was AMAZING!!! I didn't think I would be completely overwhelmed with how awesome it is because I have listened to the CD so many times, but I got goosebumps from how incredible it was in person. Loved it!
After getting back to the hotel, we finally got some food into our systems after not really having anything since breakfast at 6:00 AM. We went to this little Italian place that made homemade pasta. So good! Our waiter was so funny. He looked liked his name should have been Vini, with his shirt slightly unbuttoned and his gold chains. We had a lot of fun just trying what everyone else had got and went away full to the brim.
The next day we went to church at Fairfield. My mom lived here for two years in high school so we went to see her old ward. There were actually a few people who remembered her there. After church we headed to Bodega Bay.
We had a great dinner of clam chowder and french bread right on the bay. We just sat enjoying our dinner and watching the sun go down.
On our last day we went to the Oakland Temple. You could walk up on the second level of the temple and see all way into San Francisco.
Even though it was a short vacation, we had a lot of fun. I'm glad my lovely aunt Shanda could come along. We'll have to go on another girl's weekend again.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)