25 Random Things

I just did this list on Facebook and wanted to save it so I post it here. Feel free to do the list too, if you want.

1. I spend too much time on the computer (obviously).
2. I love any kind of mint chocolate - ice cream, brownies, kisses, etc.
3. I love to fly on airplanes.
4. I am in a major reading slump right now.
5. I HATE to be cold.
6. I love the red rocks in St George.
7. I love saguaro cacti.
8. I love the Bourne triology.
9. I love music but don't listen to it enough.
10. I love to listen to Jared and Kamryn talk and play.
11. I ran a marathon last fall and can't believe I did it.
12. I miss living in Phoenix
13. I strongly dislike doing the laundry
14. I like to watch the PBS show "Arthur"
15. I like to watch "The Brady Bunch"
16. I used to hate the colors brown and orange and now they are some of my favorites.
17. My husband is the first guy I dated that was taller than me.
18. I've seen Rush and Heart in concert.
19. I would love to do sky diving someday.
20. I find ways to get out of going to Sunday School.
21. I love having teenagers in my family.
22. I get up very early on weekdays to go exercise and it's one of the hardest things I do each day.
23. I've been friends with the same girls since I was 12. I'm so grateful they "let me in."
24. I love working with the Young Women at church - mostly because that is about the age I act.
25. I'm not good at cleaning my house.

Recipe Requests

I've been on a baking binge of sorts. I felt like making cookies on Monday and ended up making two kinds, Gingersnaps and Snickerdoodles. They were yummy and soft, finally I had some cookies turn out good.
Yesterday I made the Lemon Bundt cake for YW and it was a big hit.
So I've had requests for these recipes and they are each listed in separate posts so they are easy to find. Enjoy.
I also have to share that I've created a record for making dinner at our house - something made for dinner 6 nights in a row!! Tonight will definitely be a leftover night.

Lemon Bundt Cake

This recipe comes from my aunt Sandy. She gives this recipe, the ingred. and a bundt cake pan to new brides as a gift.

1 pkg yellow cake mix (Betty Crocker is best)
1 sm pkg instant lemon pudding
4 eggs
2/3 cup oil
3/4 cup water

Glaze - runny, thin consistency
2 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice

Mix all ingred for 5 min. Grease and flour bundt pan (Bakers Joy spray works best). Bake at 375 for 35 - 40 min. Cake top springs back to touch when done. Turn onto plate to cool for 10 -15 min. Drizzle glase completely over cake.

(I baked this cake yesterday and it was done at 35 min. I only did 1/2 the glaze amount and it was plenty for one cake). I served this at our YW Standards Night and it was a big hit. I have to make another one today so my family can have some.

Soft Gingerbread Snaps

This recipe comes from my friend's brother's ward cookbook. The recipe is credited to Marilyn Colton.

4 cups flour
4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 TBSP ginger
2 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 c oil
2 c sugar
2 eggs
1/2 c molasses (mild)

Mix together dry ingredients and beat separately the rest of the ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the the wet ingred. Chill mixture for 1 hour. Roll into balls and roll in sugar. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes. Do not overbake.

(this dough was really different consistency due to using oil - but the cookies were so soft and chewy).

Snickerdoodles

This recipe come's from my sister-in-law.

Mix thoroughly:
1 cup margarine (I used butter flavored crisco last time and the cookies were really soft and moist)
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs

Mix together dry ingred:
2 3/4 cups flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp soda
1/2 tsp salt

Blend together all ingred. Chill dough 1 hour. Roll into small balls and dip into cinnamon/sugar mixture covering all sides. Bake at 350 for 8-9 minutes. (Definitely do not overbake).
Makes 5 doz 2" cookies.

How Sweet

Paul and I came home from our date tonight (fun game night with friends) to the sweetest thing. Jared and Kamryn were in bed but still awake so they called out for us. When I went in to check on them they told me that they made my bed for me. I went in my room to check it out and sure enough, they did. I had everything off the bed because I was changing the sheets and didn't finish before we left. So those two (3 1/2 years old) made our bed all by themselves. They did an amazing job. They got both blankets up on the bed and did a very nice job too. And then got the pillows up the bed all nice and two for each of us. I couldn't believe it but they really did it on their own. It was so cute. I loved it.

One Word

USING ONLY ONE WORD Not as easy as you might think! It's really hard to only use one word answers.

Where is your cell phone?
pocket

Your significant other?
paul

Your hair?
brown

Your mother?
wonderful

Your father?
eccentric

Your favorite thing?
family

Your dream last night?
unrecalled

Your favorite drink?
oj

Your dream/goal?
success

What room are you in?
tv

Your hobby?
blog

Your greatest fear?
mice

Where do you want to be in 6 years?
happy

Where were you last night?
idol

Something that you aren't?
organized

Muffins?
love

Wish list item?
furniture

Last thing you did?
laundry

What are you wearing?
jeans

TV?
rarely


Your pets?
died

Friends?
lifeline

Your life?
good

Your mood?
middle

Missing someone?
hubby

Drinking?
never

Smoking?
never

Your car?
van

Something you're not wearing?
perfume

Your favorite store?
kohls

Your favorite color?
green

When is the last time you cried?
Sunday

Who will resend this?
Susan

Where do you go to over and over?
walmart


Person who emails me regularly?
Julianne

My favorite place to eat?
rumbi's

Favorite place I'd like to be at right now?
Bed




Here's what you are supposed to do...and please don't spoil the fun...Copy and paste, type in your answers and share it with a bunch of people, including me.

PS This is an email I received and answered Wed morning. I decided I wanted to save it so I posted it here. Join in the fun if you want.

St George Trip

We were very lucky to spend the weekend in St George with the Roberts family. They are very generous to open up their home and we're grateful for the invitation to spend the weekend with them.
The kids all had a great time playing together. We went swimming at the Washington County Rec Center and had a little birthday party for Phoebe. We ate lunch at Red Robin and did some shopping. We visited Brigham Young's home and went on a tour and then went over to the temple and saw the movie at the visitor's center about the stonecutter, John Moyle.
It was so great to get out of the inversion and enjoy the sunshine and warmer weather.

5K in St George

Brooke and I entered the "Painter's 5K" in St George this last Saturday. I needed to do it for the St George runner's series and Brooke thought it would be fun to try a race. I was glad she came with me. It was much colder than we expected. The above picture was taken before the race.



This picture is after we both finished. I actually beat Brooke by about 45 seconds but she didn't really train for the race. I was happy with my finish - I beat my last 5K time by about a minute and I ran the whole thing except for one little walk of about 50 yards. It was fun to do this race with my daughter. Hopefully she'll want to do another one.

John Adams

Taylor is in 5th grade and they have been studying the presidents of the United States. One assignment he did was to make this box about the president he chose to study - John Adams.


Part of the project was to dress up like his president and then participate in the Presidential Wax Museum. He had a short 2-minute speech prepared to share with parents and students about John Adams.

Here's Taylor at home dressed up at John Adams, the 2nd president of the United States.

My Real Life in Photos

1. The Fridge - typical view. To be honest, just this morning before reading about this idea I rearranged some of the door shelves to put like items together.


2. My closet - this is how it almost always looks. The one thing I'm a little OCD about it is arranging my clothes in a color order. Notice that one door is missing and has been for over 4 years. Some day Paul is going to fix it and put it back on.


3. The kitchen sink - dirty dishes waiting to go in the dishwasher that is full of clean dishes. It is Taylor's week to unload and he slept in and didn't have time to unload the dishwasher. One thing I will not do is unload so the dirty dishes pile up and wait to get done.


5. My toilet - fairly clean at the moment. Exercise clothes on the back - since they get used almost every day I don't put them away, it's easier just to leave them out. I've been wanting to repaint in the little toilet/shower room. Paul likes the color but I don't.


6. Favorite shoes - These are my very favorite and have been for a long time. I bought them on a whim at Kohl's a couple of years ago and wear them almost every day when the weather is good. They are so comfortable and go with almost everything.


7. Favorite room - it's a tie for this one. The above picture is Brooke's room but someday will be my office. I love this room because of all the natural light it has with the two windows. It's a good sized room and I love the painted paneling on the bottom half of the walls.
The picture below is Jared and Kamryn's room. I love this room for what it represents -my babies, all 5 of them. This is the only nursery I ever had with 5 kids. I love the wallpaper and their cute little beds. I will be so sad when it comes time to take down that wallpaper.



8. What the kids are doing right now - right when I started this project this is exactly what Jared and Kamryn were doing. Jared didn't want his picture taken (above) and Kamryn (below) had just finished eating some cereal (for lunch). Notice Jared is still in pjs and Kamryn is wearing her princess dress up for the 4th day in a row.
Since the older 3 are at school right now, I don't have pictures of what they are doing.


Just had to throw this one in there.
Taylor took this picture the other night when he had been playing with Jared and Kamryn.





8. Laundry - A view (above) of my "laundry room" which is really just a closet off the kitchen. Below is my laundry hamper in our room. Laundry day is Monday so it's about 1/2 full. Everyone has their own hamper in their room but didn't feel like taking pictures of each one.


I'll share something - I hate doing laundry. One of my least liked tasks (although I would probably rather do laundry than cook) mostly because of where i have to do the laundry. I end up in the worst mood by the end of the day with clothes all over the kitchen tabel and then trying to get it out of there in time to put on dinner.


9. Self portrait - I took several trying to get a good one and this is the best I could get. I do love the necklace and earrings Paul gave me for Christmas. He gives me jewelry every Christmas and I love that tradition.

10. Dream vacation - I couldn't figure out how to get a picture posted but go to this website and check it out.

I've seen the idea for this post in several places. See here and here.
And anyone reading this can consider themselves tagged.

GO UTAH!

That Utah game was the most awesome game we have ever watched!!! It was fantastic!!!
Paul told me the day before the game that he had this fantasy that the Utes would come out and dominate Alabama and blow them out. After the game I told him he should tell me of his fantasies more often. We just loved watching that game and the next morning I had to wonder if it was a dream.
GO UTES!!!

Sunbeams

Jared with his new sunbeam teacher, Sister Marian Anderson

Kamryn with her new sunbeam teacher, Sister Michelle Young.

I cannot believe my babies are going to start Primary tomorrow. They went to their first Primary activity this morning - breakfast with their new teachers. Jared and Kamryn will be in the same class with 3 others in their class. And they have 2 teachers. I sure hope they are good little sunbeams.

New Years

Kamryn on New Year's Eve

Some of the Shingleton cousin clan at our cabin.

Jared on New Year's Eve

We spent New Year's Eve up at our cabin this year. We were up there with my parents, my sister and her family and my brother and his family. We enjoyed a great time up there for 3 days. We played several games, watched a couple of movies and ate a LOT of food.