My Favorite Things - Mail

OK, I know this is wierd, but I love to get mail. I love the bills, I love the junk, I love the occasional letter, I love it all!

I love letting mail sit on my counter top for a few days before I open it. I love piles of unopened mail. I love the sound of ripping open an envelope. I love reading junk mail and all the inserts. I love a FULL mailbox.

Maybe that I why I love to blog and follow fellow bloggers... it's like getting mail everyday!

My Favorite Things - BIG Fluffy Snowflakes

My family went night skiing tonight with the Olsen clan. It was fun but according to Jill, not nearly long enough. Jill was able to snowboard and Dax and Jace played a bit with their sleds on a small hill.

Jill ready to head out

Dax is his bibs

Jace and his Grandpa Olsen

On our way up to Beaver Mountain we encountered a bit of a snow storm. I love it when it looks like you are traveling in space in what the movies depict as "light speed". I drifted (excuse the pun) off in my own fantasy land of flying next to Han Solo in the Millennium Falcon and it made me giggle out loud.

Well would you look at that?

Anyway, we got up to Beaver and it was coming down pretty good. It was just beautiful! Tomorrow night will be the full moon so you can imagine how bright it was outside. Made me wish I kept up with skiing since my days in the Great White North...

My Favorite Things - Bath & Body Sensuality Aromatherapy

Oh my, this stuff smells so good...

Black Currant & Vanilla.

If I could post a scratch and sniff, I would. Treat yourself the next time you are near a Bath & Body shop and stop in and try it.

I bought Justin a bottle just because I love the scent. It makes me crazy!

My Favorite Things - Beans & Wieners

OK, my 6 year old says the funniest things. Today it makes my favorite things list...




OVER BEANS & WIENERS




Dax: Mom, before we clean up, can we do just one more thing together?

Mom: Sure, what's that?

Dax: Can we play Bakugan?

Mom: Uh, I don't know...

Dax: Please? I know I usually kick your butt, but I will go easy on you today.

Before...

After...

My Favorite Things - Diet Cherry Pepsi

To all my followers I must first apologize for the short and unfunny, dull posts this week. We have been very busy during the holidays and I have not had much time to blog. This being said, here is another "dud" of a blog.

I LOVE DIET CHERRY PEPSI! (did the caps and exclamation mark help with your boredom?)

When I am sad, a diet cherry pepsi makes me happy. When I am mad, a diet cherry pepsi make me less angry. When I am feeling fat, a diet cherry pepsi makes me feel like I am at least trying to stay slim. If I am lonely, a diet cherry pepsi keeps me company. When I am embarrassed, I can always hide behind a diet cherry pepsi can. When I am agitated, a diet cherry pepsi calms me down. You get the picture...

Need a favor? Want to bribe me? Just bring me a diet cherry pepsi.

My Favorite Things - Games

I love getting together with family and playing all sorts of games. Card games and board games. I have a pretty competitive nature though so look out!

My favorite card game is pinochle. Hours and hours were spent at my grandparents house playing this game. I have mentioned before that my grandma was my best pinochle partner. I have yet to find another couple willing to take me on.

My favorite board game as a kid was Clue. I always played as Mrs. White and I loved to be the first one to figure out who murdered whom in which room with what weapon!

Card games have always been a favorite at my dad's house. We play Greek rummy, butthole, and lots and lots of poker. I have been trying to learn Texas Hold-em so that I can play with the big kids in Wendover.

My favorite with my kids is Attack Uno. I love getting a new deck and having the machine spit out 10-20 cards at a time. My son gets so frustrated but usually wins. He was so proud one night, he was soooo tired and yet kicked my butt 3 times in a row.

I would love to have a game night once a month and have friends and family over for some fun!

Of course, there are a couple of games that I refuse to play and my family refuses to play with me. I loathe RISK, just ask my brother and I loathe Phase 10, just ask my husband...

My Favorite Things - Christmas Day

I love Christmas Day. I love getting up early and putting the turkey in the oven. I love watching my kids open their gifts. I love relaxing all day and not having to get ready. I love having my family and my in-laws drop by and visit. I love eating leftovers before they have even cooled off...

Merry Christmas everyone!

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My Favorite Things - Christmas Eve (as a kid)

I loved Christmas Eve as a kid. My parents would bake, and bake, and bake. Baklava, snowball cookies, fruit cake (not the yucky kind), spanakopita, oatmeal spanakopita, oh yum!

We would divvy up all the goods and deliver platefuls to friends and neighbors. It was so awesome, I don't think in all the years I lived at home we didn't go out Christmas Eve to deliver treats.

I also remember one in particular. My dad went out and got a tree and my mom dug up all our old Christmas ornaments and decorations. We picked a poor family in our ward and did the knock, drop and run... It was a great memory, my parents did a lot of service, known and unknown, for the people in our ward.

After we had made all our deliveries, Matt and I were allowed to open one present. We always got pj's, we would get changed and then the family would play games. My favorite board game was Clue.

My Favorite Things - Jingle Bells by Barbara Streisand

OK, here is another chance for all you wiseguys out there to make fun of my taste in music...
This would be my favorite Christmas song as a kid. Yes, Barbara Streisand's Jingle Bells. You can ask me to sing it for you or you can just listen to it here and pretend I am singing it (I suggest the latter). It is upbeat and catchy, just ask my family!

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Happy Birthday Logan!

Again, how the time flies... It is hard to believe that 7 years ago today, I became an aunt for the first time!

I remember exactly where I was... I was at Justin's grandma and grandpa Olsen's house enjoying some of grandma's homemade chocolates. My mom called to let me know that Matt and Kristy were at the hospital and then called like an hour later to tell me that Logan, my nephew, had been born. I was so excited. It had been 10 years since we had had a baby in the family and I was so wanting to hold and kiss and love on him!

Matt and Kristy were living in West Jordan and I had to wait until the following day to drive down to see him. My mom and I left as early in the morning as we thought we could get away with. I remember seeing Kristy, she was still groggy and recovering and I had these flashbacks of having Jill. Like there was NO WAY I would ever have any more kids after THE MIRACLE OF BIRTH, it made me chuckle because you get over the whole ordeal within weeks.
Anyway, there he was so tiny and pink. He had blonde hair and I could tell right away he was his mother's boy. The sweetest little face...

2002 - Birth


4 months

2003 - 1 year


2004 - 2 years


2005 - 3 years


2006 - 4 years


2007 - 5 years


2008 - 6 years


2009 - 7 years

Logan has turned into an extraordinary boy. He is wicked smart. He is wicked tall. He has the most beautiful Hershey chocolate colored eyes and the sweetest smile. He likes to give hugs, well even if he doesn't, he gives them anyway.

I love this little boy and I love spending time with him...

My Favorite Things - Ketchup

I love ketchup. I love ketchup so much that I would have a smaller list of things that I wouldn't put ketchup on than I would of what I like to put ketchup on...
If I don't have ketchup, I panic and get very cranky (just ask the folks at work). I scared one student so badly that I had a brand new bottle in our faculty refrigerator the day after he had witnessed one of my "episodes". Thanks Logan!
It can't just be any ketchup either, it's gotta be Heinz... OK, that is a lie, in a bind I will use any kind of ketchup.

Ketchup PEEVE #1. restaurants that leave their bottles 3/4 empty before filling
#2. restaurants that fill their "Heinz" bottles with no-name brands (I can tell)
#3. ketchup packets that have been sitting around too long and the ketchup has too dark red of a color
#4. ketchup packets that ooze out clear drainage first and then the ketchup has too light of a red color
#5. fast food chains that don't give you ketchup unless you ask for it, come on
#6. fast food chains that only give you 2 packets after you asked for it, seriously, that's barely enough for the burger you so generously smothered in ketchup... NOT!
#7. people that let their ketchup bottle rim get too crusty (you aren't using it enough people)

Ketchup is red,
Without it, I'm blue...
Ketchup is sweet,
Without it, I'm not.

My Favorite Things - The Crock Pot

As a working mom, nothing can replace the ease of home cooked dinners than the crock-pot. I love coming home and smelling dinner already waiting for me. Easy to put together, easy to clean up afterward.

This afternoon we went to my sister-in-law's house and let our kids make gingerbread houses. This has been a long standing tradition. It is fun to see how creative the kids can get in decorating their houses. Jace even had a great time chewing his candies and then sticking the remains to his house with icing.

I was responsible for bringing the main course so I thought slow cookin' chili would be good. It was... and will continue to be until the wee hours of the morning, if you get my drift! My mother-in-law wanted the recipe, so here it is...




Just add this, some water and a can of tomato paste! Serve in bread bowls with a sprinkle of cheese. You will have people thinking you sweated all day...




Some of my other favorite CP dinners are: pot roast, sweet & sour chicken, sloppy joes, sweet potatoes, peas and ham, and the list goes on. I have 3 or 4 different cookbook dedicated to crock pot dinners...

By the way, today is blogging DAY 50!! Only 300 more to go...

My Favorite Things - Time Off

Well it took me nearly 25 years to find myself the perfect job. I love working at South Campus. I love the kids (mostly) and the staff (mostly) and I love the amount of time I have off during the year. I only work 1600 hours compared to the 2080 that most full time employees do. So here is to the next 16 days off for the holidays... Yah!

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Happy Birthday Zoe!

Happy 4th Birthday to my sweet niece, Zoe.

Zoe is an adorable little girl. I don't get to spend a lot of time with her but the time that I do spend with her is precious. She takes her time to warm up to me but when she does, she is all hugs... She likes to sit on my lap and read books. Zoe has always had a special fondness for her Uncle Justin.

Zoe loves the water, this is her at Lake Powell (one of my favorite pictures)...

Zoe has got some moves, this is her dancing to "Boom Boom Pow" by the Black Eyed Peas...

The one person in our family that she loves to death is Dax. She is always following him around and wants him to pay attention to her. He loves her too, but he doesn't want anyone to know it! At Dax's birthday party this year, I asked the kids who their favorite super hero was, without any hesitation Zoe piped up and said, "Dax".

.

My Favorite Things - 853

853 is my favorite number and has been since I was 9. In grade 4, my best friend and I used to pretend that we were secret agents. During summer break we would pick a person in our neighborhood and then for 1 week we would spy on this person. We would track their every movement. When and where this person would go when they left their house, what they ate, what they had in their garbage can,who their family members were. I think we even broke the law by occasionally opening their mail. We would document and file everything we could about them. Then we would create stories about them and cases against them. We had quite the imagination...
Murder, theft, abduction... all our neighbors were criminals!
Anyway, my favorite number was 5 and hers was 3. Our agency name was the combination - 853.

A different friend in Jr. High had the same favorite number but for a different reason. She had lost her purse on bus number 853...

For whatever reason this number stuck with me and to this day I still use it. It is part of my email address, my lottery numbers and I use it in some form on all of my login ID's.

Crazy huh?

My Favorite Things - Clean Babies

A former student of South Campus came in today to show off her new baby... Oh he was so cute and smelled so good. I love the smell of a freshly bathed baby. What more can you say about that? Does it make me want another one? Well of course, but only for a moment...

My Favorite Things - Feta Cheese

Yum! My favorite ways to enjoy feta cheese:

1. Eating it plain
2. With tuna sandwiches and kalamata olives
   
3. On my spaghetti
4. On my pizza
5. On my salad
   
6. In my scrambled eggs
   
7. Make spanakopita (Greek Spinach Pie)

SPANAKOPITA

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 pounds spinach, washed and drained
• 1 bunch scallions, white and green parts, chopped
• 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 pound feta cheese, crumbled
• 1 to 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 pound filo pastry sheets

Directions

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large saute pan, add half of the spinach and saute until spinach wilts, tossing with tongs, about 2 minutes. Remove spinach and squeeze out excess liquid, then chop roughly. Repeat with remaining spinach, using 1 more tablespoon of olive oil. Pour off any liquid from the pan, and add remaining olive oil. Add scallions and saute until soft, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the spinach to the scallions, along with the parsley, salt and pepper. Cook over low heat for 1 to 2 minutes, then remove from heat to cool. (This part can be done ahead and kept refrigerated).

Stir the feta and as much beaten egg to moisten the cooled spinach mixture.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Brush a baking sheet with some of the melted butter.

Unroll the filo dough on a flat surface and keep it covered with waxed paper and a damp towel so it doesn't dry out and become brittle. Using a sharp knife, cut the filo into 3 by 11 inch strips, and recover with the towel. Use a pastry brush to brush a strip of filo with melted butter. Place a small spoonful of spinach filling 1 inch from the end of the pastry. Fold the end over the filling to form a triangle, then continue to fold up the strip in triangles, like folding up a flag. Continue with remaining strips of dough, placing filled triangles on the baking sheet and keeping them covered with a towel until all are ready to bake.

Brush the triangles lightly with butter, then bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden and crisp. Serve hot. (These may be frozen before baking, layering waxed paper between layers of triangles to keep them from sticking. Bake frozen triangles an extra 10 minutes.)

Variation: Butter a 9 by 13 inch baking pan, and spread 6 sheets of filo, brushing each with butter, on the bottom. Spoon the spinach filling over the filo, then cover with 6 more sheets of filo, buttering each sheet. Score the top 3 sheets with a sharp knife. Bake 40 to 45 minutes, or until top is golden, let stand 15 minutes, then cut into squares and serve warm.

My Favorite Things - Han Solo & Ride

When I was a little girl (ok, maybe not that little), I so wanted to be Princess Leia and not because I wanted to be a princess... I just wanted to be Han Solo's main squeeze.

Not only did I want to be Han's main squeeze, but I wanted to ride in his ship. I was really infatuated with this guy and the Millennium Falcon.

BEST SCENE

The best scene with Han Solo? When Han and Princess Leia arrive on Cloud City and Lando has invited them to join him for dinner. The door opens and there is Darth Vader. Ah... Han pulls out his gun and puts his hand in front of Leia and without missing a beat he fires a few shots at Vader. Oh what a stud!

STORIES

My brother Matt had all the action figures and we used to make the Death Star out of my mom and dad's 8-track tapes and vinyls. We would play with his characters and have a great old time until I wanted to marry off Han Solo and Princess Leia and have them dance and smooch. This is usually when Matt would decide that we were finished playing Star Wars.

On the long trips from Edmonton to Logan, Matt and I would usually entertain ourselves in the back seat by pretending we were in battles in space. We would use my mom and dads seat belts (there were no laws back then) and pretend we were shooting down tie fighters. Of course, I was always in the Falcon.

MY COLLECTION

One year for my birthday, Matt gave me a Han Solo plate. WOW! It ranks as one of my favorite possessions. It sits on top of my kitchen cupboards where I can see it every day while I am eating my cereal.

I also have a life size cardboard cutout that sits in my mom's storage. Mmmm, I ought to get that out and let Dax keep it in his room... Lucky for me, my kids enjoys Star Wars as much as I do. Maybe Han is not their favorite, but at least they are fans of the movies.

My daughter gave me a Han Solo Bobble Head which I proudly display on my desk at work. He ALWAYS gives me the right answer to my yes or no questions...

MY WISH LIST...

Mouse Pad

MILLENNIUM FALCON LEGO

CUTE T-SHIRT

COFFEE MUG

My Favorite Things - Naps

This is also something that I have loved since I was a little girl and still enjoy to this day. There are many different varieties: the mid-afternoon power nap, the Sunday all day long nap, the before dinner nap, the after dinner nap, the snooze button nap, the outdoor summer nap, the passenger nap, the before bed nap...

If I could take one during my 8 hour day, I would. If I could pull over in my car after work, I would. If I could have one after every meal, I would. If I could nap after a nap, I would.

The peace, the warmth, the quick dream. Ah, zzzzzzzzzzz...

OK, I feel much better now. My second most favorite thing besides getting in a good nap myself is watching my kids nap...

(This is where I would post some cute pictures of my kids if my computer wasn't being a beast, instead you get a kitty cat)

My Favorite Things - Hot, Hot Showers

I have loved the HOT shower since I was a little girl. Maybe it is because I grew up in the North Pole and that was one way to stay warm. My boys love the hot water too. My favorite is the hot morning shower when it's 8 below outside and then to get out and open the window. It is so refreshing!

No pics today folks!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Without a doubt, mom knows this post is coming. She is one of my daily readers and has probably figured out that I do a birthday tribute to my family members on their birthday. That is probably why she told me a couple of nights ago that my family picture storing privileges would be revoked if I posted any embarrassing or inappropriate pictures of her on my blog. Actually, she was using my brother Matt as the reference but I got the picture loud and clear. I will post a few pictures that I think she would be OK with, but she didn't lay out any conditions regarding stories, did she?

I remember when I was in the church Mia-Maid program, our class (there were about 6 of us), learned the song, "You Needed Me" by Anne Murray. We sang this song to our mothers for Mother's Day and totally butchered it. Like a good mom, she never said anything negative about my singing but I can guarantee if that song was one of her favorites, it wasn't when we got done with it.

Birthdays - Mom always made my birthdays special. Like I have said before there weren't any relatives close by so it was always just the 4 of us celebrating special days. Mom was the best cake maker. I would go to school and come home to find the kitchen table decorated with balloons and streamers. There would sit my presents and a wonderful cake. I don't have the pictures in my possession to post, so I will leave that for another time but I remember a bunny, a cake that looked just like me, a doll with a dress, and a lady-bug. She was so talented and took extra care to make sure I alway got the perfect gift.

Since the tables reverse as you age and you start doing things for your parents that they did for you when you were young, I decided last year to start making my mom special cupcakes for her birthday every year. This is what I did for her last year (she loves sheep) and also what I did for her this year (she loves pansies).

The Stink Eye - no one has a better "you are in BIG trouble" look than my mom. I have tried and failed to duplicate it. It is scary. Her eyebrows stick straight up and she bites her tongue. While I don't have a picture to do it justice, I do have a photo of her grandkids that I doctored that illustrates how scared little kids are when they get the stink eye. Of course, she would never use this on them, they are perfect. Mom didn't see the humor in the picture like Matt and I did... go figure.

My kids adore their grandma. She visits at least once a week and they are all eager to get some time with her. She always has a special treat in her purse and it is no surprise that gum is their favorite! She doesn't have to spoil them with toys; they just enjoy her time, pure and simple. Dax calls her the "grandma with the Shadow" because her bird is named Shadow and that is how we know which grandma he is talking about.

WHAT I HAVE LEARNED FROM MY MOM

• Don’t sweat the small stuff
• How to cook
• Men are a pain in the ass ALL the time, you just don't cope with them as well during your period
• Keep your independence
• How to serve and care for others
• It’s OK to balance a career and a family
• How to tactfully say what is on your mind
  
• Work ethic
• Do not drive anywhere unfamiliar unless you have someone else with you to keep you company when you get lost
• If your kids are out of control, they are probably just getting sick
• Miracle Whip has an expiration date
• So does flour
• Blend your foundation around your chin and neck
• Always listen to the voice in your head that tells you to do something
• Keep all your receipts
• Oil of Olay is doctor recommended and the best
  

THINGS MY MOM AND I LOVE TO DO TOGETHER

• Talk
• Eat
• Vent
• Indulge
• Chat
• Pig Out
• Confide
• Taste test
  
• Confess
• Dine
  

You get my drift? Since we have excellent multi-tasking skills, we are able to do these “main” things while shopping, watching kids or TV, driving, etc.

This mother-daughter journey hasn’t always been smooth and there were many "Wonder Years", like I WONDER how we ever got through it. Had we always been close, maybe we would take each other for granted now. As it is, we love and cherish our time together and we don't take each other for granted...

Thanks mom for everything you have done for me and especially thanks for being patient with me until I finally grew up. I love you and I am so blessed to have a mom like you.

BFF,
Jeeju