Bauer the Beautiful

Our 16th grandchild was born today! He makes our group perfectly even - 8 boys and 8 girls, although we've been heavily weighted on the boys the past few years (6 born in 2008-2010).

Here's why I call him Bauer the Beautiful
(click to view video)

YouTube lift

Here's a few inspirational and fun videos on YouTube

The fun theory:







I also like  Values.com Pass it On TV Spots

These are great - and you can download them ("Download Now" in the left column)!

My favorite one is "Concert"

No Twins Allowed!

Funny picture

I even like canning

We have an off and on apricot tree.

This year it was on, big time.

The fruit was so beautiful and organic and colorful that I just had to keep it.

So Reid and I bottled apricots, apricot jam, apricot butter, and apricot nectar. The jam is the best I've ever tasted. I made it the old fashioned way with no pectin and low sugar.

Here's the recipe from the new Williams Sonoma book, The Art of Preserving (bought at Costco for 17.99):

3 lb apricots
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

Halve and pit apricots. In a large nonreactive bowl combine apricots and sugar. Let stand at room temperature for at least 4 hours or overnight in refrigerator.

Prepare hot sterilized jars and lids.

Transfer apricot mixture to a large nonreactive saucepan and add lemon juice. Bring to simmer and cook uncovered, stirring frequently until most of the liquid has evaporated and the jam is thick (15-20 minutes).

Ladle hot jam into prepared jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace/ wipe rims and seal tightly with lids. Process in boiling water bath 15 minutes for pints (10 for half pints).

To know if the jam is ready, I put a little on a plate that's been cooled in the freezer. If it kind of wrinkles rather than runs when I drag a finger through it, it's ready

I’m enjoying sewing lately

I'm not sure why

My projects this summer (so far):

• king sized bed skirt


• throw pillows


• completely recovered my outdoor sectional


• two pillow case dresses for 5 year old Taylor (and one for Tessa and one for Emily waiting to be sewn)


• two sets of window toppers plus throw pillows for Jenny


• sort of sewed, sort of wrapped window seat pillows for Julia's new more grown up room (age 13)

I used to sew quite a bit when the family was young.

And up until my mission (or maybe my dissertation) I made special quilts for each new baby.

I always enjoyed sewing and I've kind of missed it.

There seems to be a return to crafting lately among young mothers and I love it. Why? maybe the economy?

I think it's a good thing. We all need creative outlets.

Here's a fabulous video on the need for creating.



One reason for my return to sewing are the great new fabrics that are available and the ease of finding them by shopping online. I love fabric.com! It's the easiest and cheapest way to find fun fabrics.

Here's what I just ordered - maybe to sew a tablecloth for outside and some tiered ruffle skirts for the little girls.



And the price???

Only $3.95 per yard with a 20% off coupon on top of that plus free shipping!

I just found a few pictures of my sewing projects.

Jenny's living room decor


Taylor's pillowcase dress - oh and that's my recovered outdoor sectional in the background

5 minute ice cream

Yes really!

And it is the best ice cream ever!

You can get the recipe and see a video here.

You need a good strong blender like a vitamix. Just add a package of frozen fruit (12-14 oz), 1/2 cup or less of sugar, and 2/3 cup cream, yogurt, coconut milk or soy milk (I'm going to try out skim milk soon). Then just blend until relatively smooth. It will be soft serve but you can freeze it for a few hours if you like firmer ice cream.

Here's the flavors we've tried:

Mango - fabulous (reminds me of the 4 mango trees we had in our yard during our mission)

Cherry with a drop of almond extract - my husbands absolute favorite. It's unbelievable with hot fudge sauce - tastes like a chocolate covered cherry.

Apricot - cream is great and I tried using plain yogurt and less sugar to make it tart. Loved it!

Chocolate banana - delicious. I just added 3 TBS of good quality cocoa powder.

That's all for now but I have fresh pineapple chunks in the freezer to try that flavor next.

Beezus and Ramona

Reid and I just saw the movie Beezus and Ramona with our cute little granddaughter Sylie (and Karenin, her Mom). I used to read Ramona stories to the 5 Js when they were little. Such fun!

The movie was darling. I loved every minute of it - mostly because Ramona's features and mannerisms reminded me so much of  our little Emily - another granddaughter. I don't know if these pictures show the resemblance. But they are very very alike.

Actress Joey King


Emily