Who has a bright red cherry nose...

These pictures have got to crack you up, and can I remind you that these are the GOOD ones. Like the ones that were chosen above the rest.

There is not one without a crying child in it. The poor photographer was snapping as fast as she could hoping to catch something she could use.

Maybe instead of telling our kids they better be nice or Santa won't bring them anything, we should tell then they better be nice

or they are gonna have to sit on his lap.

Love it!!

Life is Precious!

It is very humbly this morning that I welcome a beautiful new granddaughter into this world. She is perfect and gorgeous and most important, PRECIOUS!! (pictures on Cara's blog)

PRECIOUS is a life rescued by a team of medical professionals who know first hand how quickly one can be lost.

PRECIOUS is a husband, though completely drained emotionally and physically, won't leave his wife's side after nearly losing her from this world.

PRECIOUS is a darling baby who lies so content and sweet until circumstances allow her to rest in the arms of her sweet little momma and know that those arms will never leave her.

PRECIOUS is a doctor who himself knows that its a miracle we're all happy and celebrating the birth of this angel.

PRECIOUS is a daughter who rocks my world!

As I held that little baby for hours while her mom was unable to be with her, I stared at the identification bracelet that allowed me that privilege in the NICU:
1.'TOYN, CARAMIE' it says in bold capital lettering representing the union between my baby daughter and her eternal companion who saved her life with a priesthood blessing, running down the hall to the operating room. How grateful I am for THEM. For their struggle every day to be righteous, loving, productive people, companions and parents. PRECIOUS
2. The next line has the date of admittance and the name of her heroic doctor. Those professionals present thru that trauma remind us of our need for a great surgeon that night and tell us that Dr. Housel IS their best. PRECIOUS
3. The next line says '09/01/83', the day this beautiful Caramie came into this world, was put in MY arms, where I promised her all of my heart. I had no idea that she would become the reason I breathe, the joy of my life, and the reason I thank my Dear Lord for her life in this world this very day! LIFE IS PRECIOUS!

In your dreams...

Ok, honestly! I need to fire myself from this blogging world. I really do suck at it, but what can I say, my life is so ho-hum ordinary. I really do log on and check it about a thousand times a day to see if my friends have lost their seats in the movie theatre, or other such obscundancies. But as for me and my house, just living the dream - right through snooze-ville. With all that said, here's a chuckle for ya...

Yesterday Bridge, Cara and I had a little girls time. We tried to get Alyssa to share in the festivities with us, but she would rather hang with her little ones. Can you imagine that? So here we are, celebrating the pre-birth pedicure ritual, which in all actuality is a story in itself, but not the one I have chosen to blog about today. This story happens at our favorite hang-out, which we probably share with the rest of the world, the nearest Target store. Caramie had a purchase she needed to return, which led us to our positions of waiting in line at the front of the store. We were standing in a circle having quite the conversation about some earth-shattering happenings for sure, when Caramie's eyes got big and she said so very slowly as if she was in shock: I... can't... believe... I... am... seeing... what... I... am... seeing....!!!!

Bridge and I were in shock that she was so in shock and finally figured to turn around and see what might be so shocking. It was just your average american couple, walking hand in hand up the aisle and out the door. Ok, maybe not so average, maybe a little large. Like... I am large and do some shocking things, but even larger and more shocking than me... Like Biggest Loser large and NO PANTS shocking. That's right, you've got it. This gal has on a sweatshirt, but no pants. At first you think, she must be wearing shorts and they've wedged up. But upon windshield wiping your eyes you adjust and recognize that really there is nothing there but some blue undies with red trim. I'm not sure you have this picture in your mind. I'm not talking about skinny-minny with no pants. This lady has legs the size of tree trunks. The kind that is not normal legs. Certainly not the kind you want to wear no pants and show off legs.

Have you ever had one of those dreams that you went to school and about half way thru the day you figure out you forgot to put your pants on? Is that what happened? What could be happening in your life to predispose you to go to the store without your pants? How could you be smart enough to wear a sweatshirt to protect against the cold Utah June weather (another story) but not smart enough to put on pants? How is it that everyone else in the store went on with their normal happenings and acted as if nothing seemed out of place? How is it that the only one of us brave enough to pull out a camera for the priceless picture had a full memory card? How is it that you can't remember what you did 10 minutes ago, but you can't forget the picture in your head that you'd rather not see again?

Well, that's probably enough said about a not so pleasant story. But from one pants-less gal to another, I have one thing to say: Oh... my... hell!!!

Chicken Green Chile Salad

Isn't Bajio's Chicken Green Chile Salad just one of your favorites? We finally dared attempt it and think this recipe is a keeper. It makes a bunch, so if you're just serving your family for dinner, you might want to half it. On second thought, I wouldn't, you will want the leftovers. It's sooooooooooooo good!!!

CHICKEN GREEN CHILE SALAD

4-6 Grilled Chicken Breasts
1 large white onion
Green Chile Chutney (see recipe below)
Fresh Lettuce mix (we use a combination of romaine and green leaf)
Shredded Cheese (cheddar and jack)
Fresh Pico De Gallo (from Bajio - haven't figured this one out yet)
Mango Salsa (also from Bajio - if you have a recipe like theirs, let us know)
Cilantro Lime Dressing (our favorite recipe is below)
Tortilla Strips

Marinate chicken breasts in 1 cup fresh lime juice and 1 cup oil. Let stand for at least two hours in the refrigerator. On a hot grill, grill the chicken until done and set aside to rest. Once the chicken has had time to rest and cool shred into small pieces.

Slice onion and cut into smaller pieces. In a medium saute pan, add 2 TBL oil and saute the onions until they are translucent. Once the onions are done, add the shredded chicken and green chile Chutney and saute all together until well heated.

On individual plates, pile with mixed greens, add cheese, and the warm chicken mixture. Top with Pico De Gallo, Mango Dressing, Dressing, and tortilla chips. Can add Sour cream and guacamole if desired.

ANAHEIM CHILE CHUTNEY (make ahead)

6-7 Anaheim Chiles, diced
2 C Sugar
1 Tbl Oregano, chopped
1/2 C Cider Vinegar
1 tsp Salt

Roast, peel and chop chiles. (See tips on roasting chiles, below) Mix the ingredients together and cook for 10-15 minutes, over medium heat. Cool.

How to Roast Green Chilis (its not as bad as it sounds. Try it!)

1. Wash the Anaheim peppers and pat dry. Leave peppers whole and place on a baking sheet leaving at least 1/2 inch of space between peppers.
2. Turn your oven to broil and move the oven rack to the highest setting (closest to the broiler).
3. Place peppers in the oven and broil until the pepper skins have blistered and turned black in places (about 3 minutes)
4. Turn peppers over and broil until the skin is spotted with black (about 2 minutes).
5. Remove baking sheet from oven and immediately place peppers in a paper bag. Fold top of bag over to seal. Let sit for 10 minutes.
6. Remove peppers from bag. The skin will be easy to remove from the peppers. Skin and seed peppers.
7. Coarsely chop green chiles. Use right away, or store in small plastic bags and freeze.

CILANTRO LIME DRESSING

2 pkgs dry Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix
1 lime juiced (about 3 Tbl)
3 Tbl green salsa verde
1/2 bunch cilantro
2 cloves garlic
3/4 C Mayo
3/4 C Sour Cream
3 Tomatillos, peeled and cut into quarters
1 Jalapeno, slice thin (optional)

Mix all ingredients together in blender. If thick, add milk.

Dear Blog,

Dear Blog,
I miss you so. I hope to find time to take care of you soon.
Love,
Linda

This could be a full time job...

I got to tend the girlies for a couple of days this weekend. Wow!, ya forget how consuming little ones are. I can't believe I used to do it everyday with 3 little ones by the time my oldest was Hadlee's age. I musta been supermom then, but I can tell you I aint no more!! :) We've made Valentines (with Tee and Trey) for the parents, got to 9:00 church fully dressed and hair done and lunch in the oven only 5 minutes late, watched a few movies, played horsie, and endless other things. And nothing beats those loves you get when the mom isn't around.

Here are the girls showing their pink heart-shaped blueberry pancakes. Ok, so Cora is eating hers instead of showing it. The wet hair is from the swim marathon in the tub. Pretty much had to drain the whole bathroom by the time they were done. :)
It's coming on bed time again and I've promised them that when they wake up Mom and Dad will be home. It's good to know I can fill in for supermom, even tho I'm out of practice. Not only that but I did it well enough to impress Hadlee. When I was cutting her pickie (pancake) she exclaimed, "Grandma! You're just like a mom!" Imagine that!!

D'ya know what I mean?

Why do people use that phrase about a hundred times in a conversation. D'ya know what I mean? Well, ya! I'm not stupid. I can follow along with your simple conversation. D'ya know what I mean? Does that make sense? Bugs me. Obviously.

i ♥ you

Odd, I know but my nails are so flippin cute I just had to share. (not a lot of excitement in my life this week - tooooooo much work!) Can you see the cute valentines hearts and i ♥ you. Dang! Sometimes that Caramie amazes me - you just have to wonder where she came from. Haha!!

Ain't it CUTE!!!

Of all the projects I've done, this skirt has to be one of my favorites. And of course, the pictures just don't do it justice. Here's the story: I came home from work last week and the girls had a big old mess of fabric sprawled all over. Grandma B had sent her collection home for them to go through and pick out what they want. Riley said "Look Mom, at this cute fabric I chose!" I told her it was way cute but asked her what it looked like on the right side. She opened it up and to her surprise, this was it. It's a way cute tweed, flocked with this amazing damask! What a treasure - thanks Gma B!! Riley picked out a way cute pattern and this is what we made together. Ain't it cute!

Melting Pot...

Have you ever noticed how snow melts? When it first comes down from the sky its all fluffy and white and almost magical. But before you know it, it becomes piles of hard, crusty and DIRTY snow that you wish would hurry up and melt away. And here in Utah it usually does. But not from the top, like we wish it would melt and get rid of that ugly old brown stuff. It melts instead from underneath, getting smaller each day, but leaving the ugly crusty stuff still visible on top, until finally one day, it too disappears.
I've decided that's how FAT melts too. You have this obnoxious bad spot on your body that you think if you could just lose a few pounds, away it would go. But no! It's just like that melting of the snow in that it disappears from the inside out. As you lose the weight, it truly comes off, but not in the places you want. Instead it melts from underneath, getting smaller each day, but leaving those ugly thunder thighs, saddle bags, swelly belly, bongo boobs or disasterous front butt just as odd-sized as it was before. You seem to have the same shape, just a different size.
What the giraffe?

A Day Off...

Usually my days off get eaten up by errands and cleaning and stuff. This time, however, we stayed in our jammies so none of the above could happen, because we were in the mood to CREATE! Aren't these the cutest girls ever! I made them all by myself. Oh, wait...

It's the cute HeAdbaNds we concocted on this day that are the subject of this post! I think they are pretty amazing. Especially when you consider the idea of Cara and Riley behind a sewing machine!! They just kept right on making one after the other, I just had to wait for my chance to give it a try. I must proclaim my title as the master sewer is still in tact, but I have to pass the title of designer on to the girls.

Here's a little notion of the bIb nEcKlacE I crafted. I think we need to work on our picture taking capabilities. But then again, look what we had to work with. And imagine that - I actually posted a picture of myself. Wrinkles and all. After hearing the ridiculous comments from Cara and Riley about looking fat and ugly in their picture, I decided to brave the event.

To most of you, reading a book would not be an accomplishment. But to the few of us who only do it on a rare, but traditional basis, it falls into that category. Just a fun little read for the holidays. And I finally stayed awake long enough to make it to the end.

And now just over 9 hours to the 5:00 am start of a new day. A new year. A new tax season. A new (or re-newed) diet. Looking forward just 117 days to the option of another day off. Oh, the possibilities!

Fruity Pebbles

Remember a few years ago when Fruity Pebbles were the best cereal ever? Why do you think they changed them? They changed the flavor. They changed the texture. They even changed the colors. Now they're like eating paper. One of life's greatest disappointments. Haha! What the GIRAFFE??

It's obvious...

I suck at this blogging thing. Honestly - 5 months since the last post? But hear me out... I hate pictures. I couldn't even find one of myself to include in my header. Nope, not one. Not on my camera and not on my computer. That's how it is when you're like me. That is what keeps me from blogging. You all have cute little families to blog about and such cute cute pictures I love to see. But I just have me. Me, who hates pictures. Well, not really. I have a cute family too, but they are all big enough to blog about themselves. I don't have pictures. Therefore I don't have new posts.

I have an idea to help me meet my new years' goal of journaling this life. Surprising as it may seem, I do have a few things that run through this head of mine. Most of you have a significant other to share those thoughts with. I just find that mine bounce around and around in there, with no hope of escape. So I'm just planning on sharing some of those ramblings with you. Not that I have anything mind boggling to say, but the way I look at it if I write them down, they are finished and I can move on to the next random thought. I don't expect any of you to care a bit about what I might say. But it's easy enough for you to push the big red X in the upper corner if you don't want to read. So that is it. Here's to a new year of blogging!!!