Monday, May 25, 2009

Menu Monday

I am starting a new tradition on my blog by posting a recipe every Monday.
Hopefully I will not run out of recipes before too long.

Thai Chicken Curry
1 lb chicken (I usually use skinless boneless breasts)
3 tbsp massaman curry paste
1 can coconut milk
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp fish sauce
1 can bamboo
3 carrots (peeled and cut up into bite size chunks)
Jasmine rice

Flatten chicken to about 1/2 inch thick and cut into strips. Heat skillet and cook chicken in vegetable oil until browned. Remove chicken and add curry, coconut milk, salt, sugar, and fish sauce. Heat mixture until bubbly and add chicken back in. Steam carrots until not quite tender. Add carrots, and bamboo to pan and cook until carrots are done. Serve over cooked rice.

I usually find most of the more unusual ingredients for this at the Asian cooking store, however some like the coconut milk and bamboo can be found at your regular grocery store.
Traditionally this kind of curry is made with potatoes and onions instead of bamboo, so if you want to, try it that way. I would cook the potatoes before adding to the curry though, and cook the onions with the chicken. You can also add some roasted peanuts to this as well.

Give away oh give away!

Hey check out the give away here!

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Who do you love?

I have been thinking for a few days about how to put something into words. I have been putting my foot down about the things that my kids watch lately.
One show in particular has just gotten under my skin.
Not the show so much as the person in it!
We live in a world that tells us who we should look up to. We are force fed images of people that value money and beauty above all else. If you were to ask a teenage girl who her roll models are,
what do you think her answer would be?
Why is it when we are surrounded by beautiful strong women every day, we feel the need to put the fake and meaningless above them? My girls are surrounded by some of the most wonderful women in the world.
Strong
Balanced
Intelligent
Beautiful
Gifted
and yet the ones that the world tells them they should look up to are the ones that get all the attention from them. I do not understand why anyone would encourage their children to look up to someone who so obviously does not share their ideals.

If they dress immodestly, we look past it and say...
"Well they don't believe the same way we do."

If they make bad choices, like drugs, drinking, smoking, we say...
"Well what do you expect in that culture."

If they sleep around we say...
"Well that is their choice."

If they take their clothes off for cameras we say...
"Well they were influenced by the other people around them."

What is wrong with saying...
"I am not going to let this into my life anymore!"

You cant expect young women to share your ideals if you constantly let those who do not share them have influence into their lives. I will leave you with this quote that I have used before but, I think is applicable.

"WOMEN OF GOD CAN NEVER BE LIKE WOMEN OF THE WORLD. THE WORLD HAS ENOUGH WOMEN WHO ARE TOUGH; WE NEED WOMEN WHO ARE TENDER. THERE ARE ENOUGH WOMEN WHO ARE COARSE; WE NEED WOMEN WHO ARE KIND. THERE ARE ENOUGH WOMEN WHO ARE RUDE; WE NEED WOMEN WHO ARE REFINED. WE HAVE ENOUGH WOMEN OF FAME AND FORTUNE; WE NEED MORE WOMEN OF FAITH. WE HAVE ENOUGH GREED; WE NEED MORE GOODNESS. WE HAVE ENOUGH VANITY; WE NEED MORE VIRTUE. WE HAVE ENOUGH POPULARITY; WE NEED MORE PURITY."

~MARGARET NADAULD

(Sorry if this offends anyone, but it is something I believe)

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Wordless Wednesday



All pictures taken by an 11 year old.

Friday, May 15, 2009

Randomness and tunes

Well....
so.....
randomness huh....
yep here it is the randomness....

Oh alright, I got nothin!

Why is it that when I am walking through Target I can think of a whole list of random crap to write about but, the minute I sit down here in the dark cave that is our office I can't think of a single thing.

Oh well here are the tunes...

1. Figure It Out- Maroon 5
2. Te Deum Guarani- The Mission Soundtrack
3. We Will Rock You- Queen
4. Hungry Like A Wolf- Duran Duran
5. Dust in the Wind- Kansas
6. How Can You Mend a Broken Heart- Bee Gees
7. Forever Live and Die- OMD
8. Black- Pearl Jam
9. Lies- Thompson Twins
10. How Soon is Now?- The Smiths
Bonus: Schism- Tool


Thursday, May 14, 2009

Just Call Me Ultraviolet Girl



I am pale. This is a statement of fact. I have what is referred to as a red-head complexion. Without the red hair, which I wish I had because at least then people would get that the paleness is expected. I have to paint on almost every bit of color I have in my face plus, I do not tan... ever! I burn terribly whenever I am in the sun for more than a half hour. You would think that the burn would turn into a tan, but no, I peel and then just go back to white again. This is truly something that bothers me. People have always told me that if I try hard enough and go out for 30 minutes every day I can get some color. In high school I did indeed put this theory to the test. During my summer break I was out every day laying on my lawn chair trying to enjoy the sun.
Did it work you ask?
NO!
It did not.
All this seemed to accomplish was creating so many freckles on my arms and face that I looked like I was splashed with mud, the result of which was my mother constantly telling me to go wash my face. I do believe that this is why I rarely had acne problems as a teenager. I had the cleanest face of anyone on the planet. Did I mention that I do have freckles? The problem is that I only have them in two places. My face and my arms. I don't think I would mind if I had them other places because at least that would be some color on my too white legs. I have tried various solutions to this problem. Tanning creams are a bust, either they turn me a lovely shade of orange, or I develop an allergic reaction to them. I have been using one recently that seemed to be working, well yesterday I started itching...
AGAIN!!!!
I decided to try spray tanning a couple of years ago....
NOPE!
Once again there was the itchiness.
How about tanning beds, you ask?
My mother has had several skin cancer spots burned off of her body in various places... it just doesn't seem worth it to me. The problem is that I am the butt of every ones jokes when I do come out in the summer. To answer the most often asked question...
YES I DO GLOW IN THE DARK!
I have started telling the jokes before anyone else can.
"Yes, yes I know you need sunglasses to look at me! HAHAHAHAHA!"
I listen to a radio program that is always making fun of Mormon moms walking around with their long shorts and their pasty legs. Well some of us don't have much choice about whether we are pale or not. So people if you see me coming just put on your shades and don't point out the increase in freckles.
Thanks!

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Red Fridays (true or not it is still inspirational)

You may have seen this email going around the internet, it reads

Last week I was in Atlanta , Georgia attending a conference. While I was in the airport, returning home, I heard several people behind me beginning to clap and cheer. I immediately turned around and witnessed One of the greatest acts of patriotism I have ever seen. Moving thru the terminal was a group of soldiers in their camos. As they began heading to their gate, everyone (well almost everyone) was abruptly to their feet with their hands waving and cheering.
When I saw the soldiers, probably 30-40 of them, being applauded and Cheered for, it hit me. I'm not alone. I'm not the only red-blooded American who still loves this country and supports our troops and their families.
Of course I immediately stopped and began clapping for these young unsung heroes who are putting their lives on the line everyday for us so we can go to school, work and home without fear or reprisal.
Just when I thought I could not be more proud of my country or of our Service men and women, a young girl, not more than 6 or 7 years old ran up to one of the male soldiers. He kneeled down and said 'hi.'
The little girl then asked him if he would give something to her daddy for her. The young soldier, who didn't look any older than maybe 22 himself, said he would try and what did she want to give to her daddy. Then suddenly the little girl grabbed the neck of this soldier, gave him the biggest hug she could muster and then kissed him on the cheek.
The mother of the little girl, who said her daughter's name was Courtney, told the young soldier that her husband was a Marine and had been in Iraq for 11 months now. As the mom was explaining how much her daughter Courtney missed her father, the young soldier began to tear up.
When this temporarily single mom was done explaining her situation, all of the soldiers huddled together for a brief second. Then one of the other servicemen pulled out a military-looking walkie-talkie. They started playing with the device and talking back and forth on it. After about 10-15 seconds of this, the young soldier walked back over to Courtney, bent down and said this to her, 'I spoke to your daddy and he told me to give this to you.' He then hugged this little girl that he had just met and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He finished by saying 'your daddy told me to tell you that he loves you more than anything and he is coming home very soon.'
The mom at this point was crying almost uncontrollably and as the young soldier stood to his feet, he saluted Courtney and her mom. I was standing no more than 6 feet away from this entire event.
As the soldiers began to leave, heading towards their gate, people resumed their applause. As I stood there applauding and looked around, there were very few dry eyes, including my own. That young soldier in one last act of selflessness turned around and blew a kiss to Courtney with a tear rolling down his cheek.
We need to remember everyday all of our soldiers and their families and thank God for them and their sacrifices. At the end of the day, it's good to be an American.
RED FRIDAYS ----- Very soon, you will see a great many people wearing red every Friday. The reason? Americans who support our troops used to be called the 'silent majority'. We are no longer silent, and are voicing our love for God, country and home in record breaking numbers.
Our idea of showing solidarity and support for our troops with dignity and respect starts this Friday - and continues each and every Friday until the troops all come home, sending a deafening message that.. Every red-blooded American who supports our men and women afar will wear Something red. The first thing a soldier says when asked 'What can we do to make things better for you?' is.....We need your support and your prayers.

Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

To All the Mom's I've Loved Before

I feel that it is time to pay tribute to all the Moms in my life. I have had some amazing women influence my life...
My own Mother,

My mom is a very interesting person.
She has no inner monologue.
She says exactly what she thinks.
Sometimes this gets her in trouble,
mostly with my siblings.
She was raised with a father that was not very loving so that fact that she is one of the most loving people I know is really amazing. She is a very affectionate person, which is sometimes very hard for me because I am not. My mother shows her love in a variety of ways. She sews, cooks, crochets, and quilts, and the majority of the things she makes are given away. I have literally never seen her charge a single penny for anything she has made for someone. My mother has busy hands. I have never seen her sit still. If she is watching TV she always has something in her hands to work on. She has even been known to bring her crafts to church to work on during Sacrament meeting. She is the kind of cook that I wish I could be. She can throw anything into a pot and have it come out perfect. I hardly ever see her use a recipe. Her father was a baker and she inherited that skill and has tried very hard to pass that on to her children. She can make anything grow, inside or outside it doesn't matter.
She is the one that taught me how to cook, garden, crochet, clean, and love.

My Mother-in- law

What can you say about a person who has to ability to love you like you were their own?
I tell people all the time that my Mother-in-law is one of my best friends,
and I mean it.
She is one of the kindest and most loving people I know. She worries so much about her family. I have never seen a mother or grandmother that puts the kind of time and effort into her family that Carol does. She has show me kindness and affection that most people only receive from their own mothers. I am truly blessed to have married her son.
I am truly blessed to have her in mine and my children's lives.

My Neighbors
Lora is on the left sitting next to me and Cassie is on the right with the hat

I have two neighbors that I have been very heavily influenced by. One is my age and one is almost old enough to be my own mother.

(I said almost Lora, you aren't quite that old... yet.)

Lora is my mentor. She and I talk about the struggles we have and make each other feel better. She is watching her husband die, slowly. There is degenerative disorder that runs on her husbands side of the family that has affected three of the four people she is closest to, including two of her three children. She works full time at a job she hates, she comes home to a sick family and works full time there to keep up. She is the strongest person I know. I have never seen so much strength come out of a human being, and when I say strength I mean mental strength. She has an incredible capacity to touch the lives of others,
because she has an incredible capacity to genuinly care for others.
I really do think that she was lead to move here to be my guide and my mentor.

The other one is Cassie, easily my best friend in my ward. I do believe that our names have become synonymous with each other. I really do think that people assume that you cant have her without me or visa-verse.
Which is totally not true!
She is the first person I call when don't want to go to Relief Society alone. She is the first person I call when I want to go do something with the girls. She is my cohort when I want to do something nice for someone else but don't want to do it myself. She is the one I call when there is an emergency. For example, she is the first person I called when I put a knife through my finger. She came over and actually fed my kids the dinner I had been making while her husband drove me to the instacare. I am the one she called to take over her Sunday school class when she took her daughter to the emergency room to get stitches in her head. Our first children were due on the same day, I hardly knew her when I had my girls but within three months of the first time I remember talking to her we were spending all our time together. She takes my bossiness so well, and just dishes it back out to me. What is really funny is that we have very little in common, but that has almost made our friendship stronger. She is my strongest supporter, she understands when I am down and will sit and listen. She doesn't understand everything I go through but, she gets that sympathy isn't what I want but that I just need someone to listen.

These are the four women who have given me the most support over the years.
And this is why I love them!

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Remembering

The Bug


Lou Lou

The Bug and Lou 11 years old this week!

This same week 11 years ago, my husband was out of town. I was 6 months pregnant with twins and very uncomfortable. I had about three times the amount of amniotic fluid that I should have had and was borderline for my test to see if I had gestational diabetes. (I never did find out if I had it because I had them before the final test was scheduled.) For these reasons I had been put on what we were referring to as "house arrest". I wasn't allowed to drive anymore, I couldn't walk around too much or vacuum or do much of anything but sit around. Because S was out of town I was staying with my parents as a just in case measure. I remember this week very well. It was the week of my Dad's 50th birthday. We had a big party for him on the same night as the last Seinfeld episode. All of my siblings and the grand kids, and my parents were gathered at the Fudruckers watching TV, and eating cake and having a good time, not having a clue as to what was coming. That week my mom was spending her time chauffeuring me around town doing all kinds of getting ready for baby stuff. I remember laying in bed one night and feeling Lou (who was stuffed up under my ribs) actually flexing her little hand right up against the inside of my belly. It was one of the weirdest sensations I have ever felt. She was sideways and Bug was upside down and both of their feet were in the same space. They kicked the same spot so often and so vigorously that I was actually bruised inside my ribs for quite a long time after they were born. It made sleeping virtually impossible. For some reason this week has always stuck out in my mind. Maybe it is because it was the last week of my life before all hell broke loose. I know that sounds bad but my life with children has never been easy. Most people have kids and things get a little easier after a while. The aren't always a challenge, they aren't always babies. I have had 11 years of infancy. That does ware on you after a while. I love my kids with all my heart, the are the best thing that S and I have ever done. The have also been the biggest challenge I have ever had to face. They have made me feel lower than anything else in my life. I have had more problems with depression since having children than ever before. They also make me feel higher than anything else ever could. When they do something that they have never done before or they accomplish something that we have been working on forever it makes me feel like I could fly.
I am so proud of all that they have accomplished.
They have had to struggle with everything they have ever done.

NOTHING HAS EVER COME EASY TO THEM!

As a result nothing has ever come easy to their parents either. I guess what I am trying to say is that even with all the challenges that we have had to face...

I am glad to be a mom today.

Friday, May 8, 2009

Friday Randomness

My wordless Wednesday for this week is the actual foot prints of my children on the day they were born. Yes they are actual sized too. I can hardly remember a time when they were so small. Every one talks about how fast time goes when you have kids, but you don't truly have any concept about that until do have them. It feels like I blinked and they are turning 11. This is the anniversary of the week that my entire life changed, mostly for the better. It will always be a hectic week for me because this week we have
Mothers day
My Dads birthday
and the girls birthday
All of these things happen within about 5 days of each other.
Add to that the normal every day stuff like work, visiting teaching, and making time to check facebook about a thousand times and trying to blog as often as possible.
Should be a fun week.
(sarcasm)
I will be posting a lot about my kids this week so just be expecting it.
--------
I went to Relief Society this week and had conversations with a couple of women that I really admire. Both are very strong women. Both are real roll models for how to be a good mother. Both are struggling with family issues. I look at both of them and am grateful that my problems are not the same as theirs. The future scares me when I look at these two amazing women, I could be in the same position as them in about 7 or 8 years. I am doing all I can to prepare for that now.
I just hope and pray it is enough.
I have a confession to make though...




I am very scared for the future.




--------
I am grumpy. Irrationally grumpy. Stupidly grumpy. I am on a new medication that supposedly mimics the signs of menopause. I can't tell if I am grumpy because of that or if I am grumpy because I am not sleeping well. I can't tell if I am not sleeping well because of the medication or because of something else. I just finished the meds that I have been on for the itchy problem mentioned before. A side effect of that one is not sleeping so I am hoping that now that I am off of that one I can get back to a normal sleeping pattern. Maybe the grumpiness will go away too. Yesterday I yelled at my husband because I thought he was going to yell at me. It was a pre-emptive argument that I had created in my mind. So by the time I talked to him I was irritated with how I assumed he was going to react.
Does anyone else do this?

I felt pretty stupid afterward... Sorry S!
---------
I gave notice at my job this week. I gave them until the end of the month. I think the thing I am going to miss the most is the amazing women that I work with. I don't make friends easily and I don't keep them long either. I really would like to keep in contact with these women and I truly hope that happens. I am going to start looking for work soon. I hate looking for jobs.
I suck at it!
---------
Does anyone else out there hate Mothers Day? Or is it just me? I find this day absolutely useless. I do the same things I do every other Sunday morning. Get up, get the kids ready for church, force some food into them. Then I get home and I still have to make a meal. I just don't see the point.
If you truly appreciate you mother or wife don't just tell her once a year.
Show her every day!
--------
Here are the tunes.
1. My Moon My Man- Feist
2. Tangled- Maroon 5
3. Stiff Kittens- Blaqk Audio
4. Under the Bridge- Red Hot Chili Peppers
5. Two AM Lovesick- Blue October
6. Underneath- Alanis Morissette
7. Title and Registration- Death Cab for Cutie
8. Grey Cell Green- Neds Atomic Dustbin
9. Here Comes Your Man- Pixies
10. The Whole of the Moon- The Waterboys

Bonus: Dream On- Aerosmith
No Surprise- Daughtry (Don't actually have this one yet but I will be downloading it VERY soon, so stoked about a new album!!!!)

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Monday, May 4, 2009

I fall to pieces


I don't know what the deal is with me and accidents, or even near accidents. I was driving to the gas station this morning and going through a VERY green light when a cement truck decided that he needed to turn, at a VERY red light, right into me. He was going pretty slowly which is why swerving out of the way actually worked. If he had just been going a little more quickly I would not be typing this right now.

I would be in the hospital.

I know this sounds a little paranoid. The problem is that when something like this happens I fall apart. Falling apart is not the best condition in which to be operating a vehicle either. I still had to get through the intersection, into the gas station and to the pump.
At that point I turned my car off and burst into tears.

I do this all the time!

I fall apart in the stupidest situations.
Oh sure I am in labor with twins at 26 weeks gestation and I am a rock, but you give me a little near miss with a car and I am a puddle. It gets even worse when I hear my husbands voice on the phone, I always call him to calm me down, but it just makes me worse. Most of the time this is the point when I really loose it and break down into uncontrollable sobs. It is particularly embarrassing when I am not alone. Thank goodness this morning I was. There is something about hearing him that just makes me fall apart. He did reassure me that I was panicking with reason when he stated...
"That is not the kind of vehicle you want crashing into you!"

I think I will stay home for the rest of the day!!!!

(maybe I can get it together by the time I have to pick the kids up from school)


Friday, May 1, 2009

Why I am a "Holland Mom"

I have started getting questions about the Holland mom thing.
So for my post of randomness this week I am posting the answer.
I call myself a Holland mom because of this.

"I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."

"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.

But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland."


This was written by Emily Pearl Kingsley and it perfectly describes my life.

I know I started my blog with the same post but I have a lot of new followers so I thought I would explain.
This is to all of the other "Holland Mom's" out there. Whether you are just stepping off of the "plane" or you have been in Holland for a while.

"Welcome to Holland"
Here you have friends!




 
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