That's my girl(s)!

I told the girls that we needed to go out shopping today and:

•Acadia immediately got started making a shopping list for items to make smoothies, while
•Rori started jumping up and down shouting, "Shopping! Shopping! Shopping!"

I'm so glad that I've managed to teach my girls how to really appreciate a good shopping trip. (Just wait til they find out our secret mission on this trip is to find Girl Scouts selling cookies! lol)

Good news, bad news, good news, and it-doesn't-matter-today-anyway news.

Good news! After searching and searching, I finally found my lost gym bag! :)

Bad news. My iShuffle was not in it.

Good news! After searching some more, I found my iShuffle in a different bag! :)

It-doesn't-matter-today-anyway news. I'm not going to the gym today! lol I'm going to Millie's* ward's aerobics/dance class instead. Not that she or my other workout friend will be there... something about attending their kids' school for some Cat in the Hat breakfast or something. Geez, where are their priorities? Spend time with their kid or get nasty and sweaty with me? ;)

But next week, NEXT WEEK, I will use my gym bag and iShuffle for their intended purposes. I promise!

*Disclaimer, it's not my fault that I keep getting confused on whether or not she's Millie or whether or not she's private/public... the girl can't make up her own mind! But that's just one of the reasons why we love her. lol

Beef Taco Lasagna

Another winner tonight with this new recipe! It makes A LOT! You could easily halve the recipe. Otherwise, do like I did and freeze the rest to have another time. The recipe makes two 9x13 pans, but our family is usually plenty fine with an 8x8 pan, so I made one 9x13 pan (for when we have company) and two 8x8 pans. We baked one 8x8 pan tonight and the other two are freezing for another time.

Beef Taco Lasagna

(Makes 2 9x13 or 1 9x13 and 2 8x8 pans)

21 lasagna noodles (recipe called for 24 but I ended up with 3 left over)
2 pounds ground beef
2 envelopes taco seasoning
4 egg whites
2 cartons (15 ounces each) ricotta cheese
8 cups (2 pounds) shredded cheddar cheese
2 jars (24 ounces each) chunky salsa*

Cook noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in taco seasoning. In a small bowl, combine egg whites and ricotta cheese. Drain noodles.

In each of two 9x13 pans, layer 3 noodles, ¾ cup ricotta mixture, half of the beef and 1 1/3 cups cheddar cheese. Top each with 3 more noodles, ¾ cup ricotta cheese, 1 ½ cups salsa, and 1 1/3 cups cheese. Repeat.

Bake one pan at 350 for 35-40 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting. Cover remaining pan with foil and freeze up to 3 months.

To use frozen casserole: Thaw in fridge for 8 hours. Bake as directed.

*We use Tostito's medium heat chunky salsa.

Silver Linings

On Sunday, our RS lesson was on the talk given by Elder Quentin Cook called, "Hope you know, we had a hard time." I'm sure we can all relate to that; I don't know anyone who can't. Sometimes life is just hard. Whether it's because of choices we make or choices others have made or just because... life is hard. In Elder Cook's talk, one of the things he talks about is gratitude; recognizing the good that is in our lives and being open to learn what it is we need to learn.

What I think is awesome, is that no matter why we're in the hard time we're in, the Lord is always there in some way to help us through it. I love that He knows us and our needs - so much better than we do, ourselves! How many times have I struggled with a trial or challenge and then realized that I was being blessed with something else far greater than the trial I was experiencing? Or how many times have I realized that I needed a particular trial in order to get to where I was - which was better than where I thought I should be? Does any of this make sense? (Am I totally babbling here?) Or maybe sound familiar? (Have you experienced this, too?)

I am grateful for the silver linings. I'm grateful that the Lord knows what I need. And I'm grateful that whether I make mistakes or am just having to go through some of "life's not fair" hard times, He blesses me with things to help me through. And I think it's pretty cool that sometimes, the silver linings end up far brighter and bigger than the rain cloud it was attached to. :)

Quick Catch-Up

All things Twilight:

•Saturday, as part of our GNO, Natalie (formally known as Millie) and I hit the $3.00 movies to see Twilight. Later we met up with our other GNO pals and as we played wii and talked and laughed, we all decided to go again because everyone else was bummed they weren't able to make the earlier showing. So we did! lol I was worried that I might find parts of it boring just for the simple fact that I had JUST watched it hours before, but NOPE! I think I like the movie more and more each time I see it. (Saturday was viewing 3 and 4)

•Today I stopped by Beacock Music to pick up the piano music for Twilight. Woohoo! Now I can play Bella's Lullaby like Edward does! ;) I still like my choice for Bella's Lullaby better, but hey, what can you do? I like the real Bella's Lullaby as a song a lot, just not for Bella's lullaby. :S

•Today I also pre-ordered my copy of the special 2-disc edition of the Twilight DVD! Can't wait for this time next month! :) If I've not gotten tired of seeing it in the theaters, then I'm pretty sure I need to own this movie. :)

Now, all things exercise-related:

•I cannot find my gym bag. Not for the life of me! Frustrating! Especially because I strongly suspect my gym bag contains my Ishuffle. :( I can use a different gym bag, but I have such a hard time working out without my shuffle. :S

•Today I stepped WAY out of my comfort zone in order to be a good/fun friend. I attended Natalie's (formally known as Millie) ward's new dance/aerobics class. Now, it would be helpful for you to know... I can't dance. So, this was truly a sincere act of friendship. But it turns out it was really fun! Kicked my butt, but lots of fun! And now, my calves are KILLING ME!!! Thankfully, this is a Monday/Friday class, so my calves have a few days to heal before being tortured again. ;)

And now, you're all caught up. :)

Breakfast Courtesy of Cadi

Acadia has been such a good helper, especially since we've had Rori. She's a terrific big sister and is usually very patient with her. She also likes helping Ryan in the kitchen baking treats or making pancakes. She's not so keen on helping me make dinner yet... but that will come eventually. So this morning, she asked if she could make pancakes for breakfast. All by herself. I knew she had helped Ryan enough that she should be able to do it so I told her to go for it. She did a great job!

I can't believe how fast she's growing up. She's going to be TEN this year! TEN!!! I keep wondering, how soon will it be before we let her babysit? Pretty soon I'm going to have her do her own laundry. And pretty soon I won't be asking her to help me with dinner, it will be a requirement.

It's exciting to see her growing into such a sweet, beautiful, responsible young woman. But scary, too. Time flies so fast; how long will it seem before I'm realizing dating is around the corner? Or college? At least right now, she's still our little girl. :)

Weird Dream

This is not going to make much sense and it's really not that entertaining, so I won't be offended if you don't read. ;)

I have weird dreams. Often. And they aren't always so weird, they just don't make sense. Like the time I was pregnant with Rori and dreamt I could look into my stomach to see my baby, kind of like I had x-ray vision. What did I see? Twins, but one was a tiny little fetus and the other was almost full term. Oh yeah, and the bigger one was dressed in overalls. It was a boy... remarkably like my sister's little boy, wearing the same outfit I gave her for her baby shower. lol Okay... that one was more than just "not making sense", it was weird. lol

So, last night I had another weird, dream.

I was going to go to the temple so I had my bag all ready. Except instead of my normal temple bag, I had a suitcase on wheels, a small one, like a carry-on. And Ryan was going to work at the same time, so the girls were coming with me. ??? We were all going to go down and catch the bus together. Again... ??? So, we're walking along, me with my suitcase rolling behind me, and we're on the freeway. Walking in the fast lane. We see up ahead there is a suitcase laying on the ground. Uh oh, there's been an accident. So, we carefully change lanes to walk around it and watching so not to be hit by cars, and we see various items scattered all over the lane. (Things that came out of the suitcase that was laying on the ground.) And people were picking up the items. We would have helped, but we were going to miss our bus. And sure enough, here it was! So, we crossed back across the fast lane and across the traffic coming in the other direction, to wait at the side of the freeway for the bus to stop. It was a school bus.

So, we're getting on the bus. Ryan just uses his bus pass. (Which is funny because he doesn't have one, he has never ridden the bus here. lol) And I'm digging in my wallet to pay for me and the girls. The girls get on and sit down as I'm asking how much to pay. The driver asks where we're going. I start to say, "The temple," but realize that doesn't mean anything to her, so I say, "Oh, just down I-5... to exit 292". She looks at me like I'm a complete idiot. Apparently, this bus doesn't go there. So I have to call my girls off the bus and then I woke up.

Weird. Pointless. But just an illustration of what kind of dreams I have.

Rori Cuteness

Rori's at that really cute stage, which is good for her because she's also at that really "terrible" stage and the cuteness is what helps keep her alive. ;)

Some Rori cuteness:

•When Cadi and I are reading, we often just put on Rori's shows for her so she isn't bored. She will almost always climb into Cadi's lap and sit with her while she watches her show and Cadi listens to me read.

•This morning while Cadi was taking a shower, Rori just parked herself at the bathroom door with her blanket wrapped over her, head against the door, waiting... just waiting for Sister to come out.

•She has these little cards with pictures of Jesus and pictures of Temples that she takes to church to look at during Sacrament Meeting. The other day, she was looking at them at home, then would pick up a handful, hold them out to me and say, "Pick a card, any card."

•She is super sensitive about leaving someone behind. For instance, when we're at church and Ryan takes the girls to the car to wait for me, she cries and cries for me because she thinks they're leaving me. Or like yesterday when she and I had to run to Cadi's school to pay for their class photo (I had totally forgotten to send Cadi with the money), she kept crying, "Cadia! Cadia!" as we left because she knew Cadi was somewhere in that school and we were leaving her there.

See, she really can be sweet. Sometimes. ;)

Happy President's Day; it's not raining, let's go on a hike!

We love living here, have I mentioned that before? lol So this morning when it looked like a nice day, Blue and I decided we should take advantage of the holiday and good weather to take the kiddos out for a hike. To make it even more fun, we called a friend to invite her family along. Turns out she had been abandoned by her family as they were playing on Mt. Hood, so it worked out really nice. With her youngest in tow, we all headed into the gorge for a chilly but very enjoyable hike.

We went to my favorite hiking place: Horse Tail Falls. The first little bit is all uphill and makes you wonder why you ever thought this was a good idea to begin with, but eventually it evens out a bit and the rest is quite enjoyable. I love all the moss. Here, in the dead of winter, we were surrounded by green. It was really pretty. I love how alive the Northwest is, year round. :)

We hiked past PonyTail Falls and Oneida Falls before deciding it was time to turn around and head back. We ended up hiking for about 2.5 miles. Rori did really well and hiked almost the entire first half by herself. In fact, she actually hiked most of it, only allowing Daddy to carry her a couple of times. Big girl! :)

Here are some pics, scroll over the image for an option to pause the slideshow...
 

I love this quote!

In Sunday School yesterday, our instructor shared this quote with us and I just LOVE it!

“Please remember this one thing. If our lives and our faith are centered upon Jesus Christ and his restored gospel, nothing can ever go permanently wrong. On the other hand, if our lives are not centered on the Savior and his teachings, no other success can ever be permanently right.” President Howard W. Hunter

I think this might be my favorite quote. I love how it doesn't say that nothing will ever go wrong, just that nothing can ever go permanently wrong, as long as our faith is centered on the Savior.

I absolutely believe that this is true! I know that challenges happen, trials come, and bad times fall at our feet sometimes, but I also know that faith is the answer to all of it. Faith in a loving Heavenly Father and in the Plan of Salvation, faith in the Atonement and repentence, faith in the Holy Ghost and it's direction and comfort. If you hold onto that faith, then nothing can ever go permanently wrong.

Everything will work out. I believe that when we're trying to do what's right, when hard or bad things happen, if we remain faithful, they will work out for our good. They can become blessings for us. It doesn't make sense on paper maybe, but it works. It just does.

I think a lot of people give up. It's hard work to be faithful. It's hard to "endure" hardships. But taking the easy road isn't the answer. And no matter how much better/easier life may seem, "if our lives are not centered on the Savior and his teachings, no other success can ever be permanently right."

I've always been the type to wait to eat my dessert until after I finish my meal. If I have the choice, I'd like to hear the bad news before the good news. When I was little, I'd do my chores first thing in the morning so I could play the rest of the day. To me, it makes sense to endure the less pleasant stuff first, to get it out of the way, in order to benefit from the great blessings that will last for much longer. When I face hard times, I remind myself that this life is so short and eternity is so long. I'd rather go through challenges and struggle a little now, than to take the easy road during this short time period and have to endure the consequences for eternity.
Basically, it's better to do the tough stuff for a short time and have the good stuff for the rest of forever, than the other way around. Call me crazy, but that just makes sense to me.

Called to serve!

Tonight we got an exciting phone call from my family. My little brother, Andrew had submitted his papers to serve a two year mission for our church and was anxiously watching the mail all week to receive his call. It finally came and tonight our family gathered for him to open it. They called those of us who live out of town so we were all on speaker and "together" for the big reveal.
*Drum roll, please*

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Elder Andrew James Robarts has been called to serve a two year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the

CANADA WINNIPEG MISSION!!!

The Canada Winnipeg mission covers the Saskatchewan and Manitoba provinces. He is to report to the MTC on Wednesday, April 22. So it looks like we'll be making a trip down to Cali for a farewell sometime mid-April. :)

Yay!!! We are so excited for Andrew! It's going to be nice and COLD, but it will be a fantastic experience!

Fun with Letters

Rori has been recognizing letters for awhile now. She can point out "O", "H", "E", and "B" consistently. Ryan bought her some flash cards yesterday and she's been having fun playing with them, looking at the pics and saying the letters. We've had fun playing with them with her. Cadi's been using the cards to spell words or names.
Today we had some bread with our dinner and Cadi ate hers in a way that made it into a shape. First a "P", then a "D", then an "O"... you get the idea.

Lots o' learnin' goin' on. lol

Nothing says "Happy Valentine's Day" like IHOP and a touch of the flu.

The flu is an exaggeration, but still.

Since Ryan and I went out Friday night, we chose to spend last night with the girls. We let Cadi choose where we should go for dinner and she chose IHOP. It was great because that was one place not packed on Valentine's Day; there was no wait, we got right in. lol Even though it was dinnertime, we all ordered breakfasts. (I love their nut and grain pancakes!) And they were all really good. :)

I had been feeling really tired all day and at dinner it totally caught up to me. I didn't feel totally sick, but I didn't feel well. :S When we got home, we played games until it was bedtime. I was still not feeling well, so Ryan ran to the store to get me GingerAle. Sweet boy. :)

Thankfully, we HAD gone out Friday night because if I had been sick on our Valentine's date, that would have really put a damper on the night! lol I still feel bad that I wasn't enjoying last night as much as I would have liked to, but my family's awesome and they took care of me. And today I'm feeling much better. :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Last night, Ryan and I dressed up and went out for Valentine's Day.  Our stake has a Sweetheart's Ball every year and it's just fabulous every time!  I took my camera and didn't take a single picture.  I know, really smart. ;) 

We started the night going to dinner with our friends (unfortunately, her blog is private so that link isn't really going to do you any good unless you already know her) friends (Millie made a liar of me by going public again on her regular blog, so now you can see her even if you don't know her.  I tell you, it's hard to keep up with this girl! ... Love ya, Millie!) and had a ton of fun!  And then we all headed over to the dance. 

I remember when I was a teenager, dances would start at 8pm but no one showed up until at least 9pm.  Not so here.  If you don't show up right at 8pm, there are no tables left (this dance also always serves a delicious spread of appetizers and desserts).  But that's okay, we're at a dance, right?...  Except, I SO can't dance. lol  We had fun though.  We saw several friends and enjoyed the slow dances, at least.  One of these years I'll actually learn how to dance and then it'll be even more fun.  (Natalie tried to teach me how to booty dance but that just wasn't happening. lol) 

Ryan and I really had a nice night and decided that since we went out last night, today we'll spend Valentine's Day with the girls.  (Except, he needs to go in to work for a little bit during the day.)  :S  But that's okay, we know he's our Valentine... we told him so:




I hope that however you spend the day and whoever you spend it with, you have a good one! 

P.S.


She said so herself. ;)

Smart Aleck

Me: Rori it's time for your nap.
Rori: No, no nap!
Me: Well, it's already past your naptime and you really need to take it one of these days.
Cadi: Then maybe that means, not this day.

Stinker. Maybe it's time for TWO girls to take a nap! :P

The day "fraught with peril."

I'm not so superstitious. I think Friday the 13th is fun because it's a chance to pretend to be superstitious. Not that I really do anything to even pretend to be superstitious, either. lol

I remember one time my mom was in charge of planning a Friday the 13th party at church. Or rather, the night of the party fell on Friday the 13th, so they ran with it and made it their theme. Somehow related to that was a conversation about whether Halloween could ever fall on Friday the 13th. A couple of people, including my brilliant husband, argued that yes, it could! He was confused why I thought that was hilarious for him to think that.

Until I pointed out that Halloween (October 31st) could NEVER fall on Friday the 13th! lol Dork.

Well, this year appears to be unlucky for him, but lucky for me. He's taking a sick day (just a cold, nothing serious) so we get to have him home today and that means I can go out and do some errands without getting a sitter for the girls! :) (It's a school holiday - no, not for Friday the 13th. ;) It's a four day weekend for Presidents Day.)

Ryan's cold won't keep us from our early Valentine's Day plans tonight though. We've got a sitter all lined up and will be attending the annual Sweethearts Ball. :)

However you spend today, I hope you have a Happy Friday the 13th!

Life is like a box of chocolates...

TV Commercial: Do you dream in chocolate?

Spoken at the same time:

Cadi: Yes!
Ryan: Sometimes!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ryan commented on Iron Chef America's secret ingredient being Chocolate tonight and another food show being about boxed chocolates tonight. My response...

"Yes dear, that would probably be because Valentine's Day is this week. You know, some people like to give gifts to their loved one on Valentine's Day. Such as chocolates, flowers, ... jewelry."

We rarely exchange gifts on Valentine's Day, usually just go out on a nice, romantic date, but it doesn't hurt to try, does it? ;)

***Disclaimer, Ryan does usually send me flowers, but our favorite florist closed her doors last month; I'm not really expecting any this year.

Art from the Heart

Every year, Cadi's school has an event during the week of Valentine's Day called "Art from the Heart". The kids display art projects they've been working on. Last night we went to this year's event.

I forgot to take my camera. Oops.

Most of Cadi's classroom's projects were relating to the Coastal Indians. They made animals out of clay and painted them, painted and decorated boxes to look like totem poles, etc.

Next to the display, there was a map showing the Coast from Oregon up into Canada and indicating where different tribes are. I commented that I liked one of the kid's art pieces of a killerwhale pressed into tin and Acadia told me, "That's not a killer whale." I said, "It looks just like one..." She said, "It can't be, killer whales don't live there." ...

"Uh Cadi, WE went whale watching and saw killer whales in those very waters just a few years ago."

"...Oh yeah!"

lol

Anyhow, she did really well on her projects. One of they things they had worked on was writing a legend. When we get her's home, I'll have to post it; I thought it was really good. It explained why wolves howl at the moon. And I know you're all dying to find out the real reason! ;)

Marinated Pork Tenderloin

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons basalmic vinegar

1 small onion, chopped finely

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced 

2 (3/4 pound) pork tenderloins

Mix first 7 ingredients.  Place pork in sealable bag and add marinade.  Refrigerate for 6-12 hours.

Remove pork from bag, reserving marinade.  Bake pork at 350 degrees until meat thermometer reads 160 degrees (about 50 minutes).

The pork, as is, was so juicy, tender, and delicious, but if desired, make gravy by heating remaining marinade to a boil.  Meanwhile, blend 1 cup chicken broth and 1 tbsp flour, add to boiling marinade.  Reheat to a boil while stirring frequently.  Continue cooking for a couple of minutes, reduce heat to a simmer until thickened.
This was SO GOOD!   It's definitely a keeper! :) 

As you can see, we had it with a corn and rice dish, which was also a new recipe.  We liked it, too.  It wasn't super special though; just corn, green onions, and some seasonings cooked in a sauce pan and mixed with hot, cooked rice.

Look for the Diamonds

Today I saw diamonds. Lots and lots of diamonds. I had just finished up with a meeting and we looked out the window to watch buckets and buckets of small hail dropping from the sky. After awhile, it turned to snow, then to rain, and then all of a sudden, it stopped. The clouds cleared and the sun came out brilliantly! Everything sparkled and shined! It was beautiful!

(And I really wish I took a picture, but I was still visiting with my friends, so I didn't.)

Yesterday, our Stake Relief Society President spoke to us in RS. She talked about diamonds. She told us of a day that she spent at the beach; it was kind of an overcast day and she fell asleep while reading a book. When she woke up, the first thing she noticed was the warmth of the sun on her face. As she slowly opened her eyes, she peeked under her eyelids and saw "diamonds" covering the beach. The sun was shining on the beach and making everything sparkle and shine.

Diamonds are precious and rare, they last forever, and they are made under pressure. Before becoming diamonds, they are just carbon. She compared our testimonies to diamonds. One thing she pointed out was that you could have all the pressure in the world but if there isn't carbon there, you're not going to get a diamond. So, if you want your testimony to grow and become something beautiful, rare, and lasting, you have to have the seed there before the pressure comes.

She told us to "look for diamonds". Look for the things that The Son makes sparkle and shine. She talked about being grateful for what we have, too. "Who is rich? He who rejoices in what he has." Look for the diamonds, the little things, that remind us of what we have and what is important. :)

Children are a joy and a blessing. (Repeat it until you believe it.)

Yes, it's been one of those days. Thank goodness for naptime!

Confused, frustrated... sad.

At what point do you say "enough is enough"? When someone continues to make choices that hurt you and the people you love, how long before you do something? And what do you do? And when it's someone that you care about, what then? Do you turn your back on someone just because they turn their back on you and your family?

A good friend observed that I was pretty "unemotional" as I told her about an experience I had gone through. Is this why? Am I unemotional about it so it won't hurt as much?

I don't want to cut ties with anyone I care about, even though they do continue to make mistakes that are hurtful. I believe in giving people the benefit of the doubt and allowing them the opportunity to change. But when it happens over and over, how long do you allow it to continue? It's not okay to be so selfish! You can make that choice, but it comes with consequences.

Still, I try to find a reason why their actions could be justified; why, even if just to them, it isn't what it seems. If there was a way to explain it, maybe it won't seem as bad. But at some point you're just left with confusion and hurt. And I wonder, was this time the last straw? How many straws are there, anyway?

There are some things a person should never have to consider. This is one of them. :(

Would you like some ice cream with those toppings?

Yesterday the Primary had an activity which included an ice cream social. The kids all got ice cream and then were able to choose one topping for every Article of Faith that they have memorized. Because Cadi has memorized all of them, she was able to choose 13 toppings. THIRTEEN toppings!

She tells me that she didn't actually have that many because there were some toppings she just didn't want. Still... I can just picture this little bowl of ice cream buried under mounds of sprinkles, cookie crumbs, whipped cream, etc. lol

Quick Randomness

Some things that made me smile today:

•Rori counting up to 9 while pointing to pictures in a book.

•Rori finally ate a carrot! lol (She has REFUSED to eat carrots for awhile now... so, Yay!)

•Watching Rori dance while eating her dinner. She was eating at the ottoman in the family room (we had all finished dinner, she was taking forever, and finally we let her bring her dish to the family so she would keep eating) and she would take a bite, then twirl around and dance in a half-circle until she got to the other side of the ottoman and took a "bite" from her pretend dishes from her kitchen center, then twirl back around the way she came to take a bite of her real food again. lol

•Having another movie night with Cadi and the neighbor girls. This time... LOTR BABY! :D

•Ryan fixing our internet connection. (He messed it up last night so I was without internet all day long. *Gasp* I know, how did I ever survive? lol But he fixed it after work today so all is right in the world again.)

Italian Skillet Surprise!

I didn't have a lot of time but still wanted to try a new recipe for dinner tonight, so I chose one that looked really easy to make.  I really didn't have high expectations; it seemed too easy, too simple.  And I don't like chunks of tomato. :S  But, I really was in a hurry, and we have lots of leftovers in the fridge, so if it went really bad, we could just heat up something else instead. lol

Well, guess what?  It is super easy and it is super simple... yet it is delicious!!!  This is going to become one of my "go to" meals!  Try it!

Italian Skillet Supper

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups uncooked spiral pasta
• 1 pound bulk Italian sausage
• 2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) Italian diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese 

DIRECTIONS

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in the tomatoes and tomato paste. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5 minutes.  

    Drain the pasta; mix with meat mixture.  Top with cheese.  Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes or until heated through. 

Yield: 6-8 servings.

The only thing I'll change next time, is to mix in half of the cheese and only top with the remaining 1 cup.  Still... it was soooooo yummy!

Forever

Today Rori and I had a couple of errands to run and as we were running them, we had the My Turn on Earth CD on. Yeah, I know... so 70's. lol At one point, the song "Forever" came on.


Some dreams must wait, life isn't long enough.
Some dreams must wait to come true.
Sometimes it seems life just begins and then,
All of a sudden it's through.
There's songs you won't sing.
There's stories that you won't ever hear.
Pages you'll never turn,
Words that you'll never know,
Things that you never will learn.

Some dreams must wait, life isn't long enough.
Some dreams must wait to come true.
It's nice to know there's all eternity
For ev'rything you'd like to do.
There aren't any clocks.
There aren't anythings like calendars.
No such thing as too late,
Just always and ever more.
That's why I think it's so great.

That Heavenly Father and Mother
Figured it all out so clever.
There's never enough time,
And that is why I'm glad we go on forever.

(Repeat 1st verse)

And so I was listening to that song and those words and I started to think about life and death and forever... and I had a thought...

We've moved a lot since getting married. Big moves, like across the country moves. And it's hard; it's sad. It's hard to leave family and friends and go to a new place. But it's also exciting! It's fun to think of new starts, new friends, new experiences.

I believe in eternal life. That everyone - all of us - will continue to live even after we die. I also believe that it will be a full and wonderful and meaningful existence. I don't think we'll miss our earth life at all! We'll even get to spend that eternity with our loved ones. Yet, we (myself included) still feel nervous and apprehensive about dying.

So I started to think, what if I approached and considered dying kind of like the way I approach and think about a big move?

When I know we're moving somewhere, I do lots of research on the new place. I check out the housing market, the cost of living, the weather, the surrounding areas, etc. I learn about and make lists of places we should visit and things we should do in our new area. It helps me to feel even more excited and comfortable with the big change. So I thought about how I could do that here, while living this earthly life. How can I learn more about the new place I'll be going whenever it's time for me to move on? I think there are lots of ways, including scripture study, prayer, reading and listening to counsel and teachings from apostles and prophets, and even just participating in good discussions in Sunday School lessons that help me learn and understand gospel doctrine better.

The truth is, there isn't enough time for us here. There never will be. We won't get to do and experience everything we would like to - not in this life. But we don't only have this life - we can look forward to the rest of eternity, having forever to do everything we want and learn everything there is to learn. And that is so cool! It really IS exciting!

Sometimes I look at my family and think about how much I love them; so much more than this life will allow me to spend with them, so much more than this life will allow me to show them. So how cool is it that we will ALWAYS be a family, we will always be together. We have all of eternity to continue loving each other and just being together. I really cannot think of anything better than that!

That's why I think it's so great
That Heavenly Father and Mother
Figured it all out so clever.
There's never enough time,
And that is why I'm glad we go on forever.

How do you tell your family you love them?

In a Chicken Potpie, of course!



Last night we had this super yummy Chicken Potpie for dinner.  When it came to the part where you slit the top of the pie crust, I figured, why not write a message to my family?  They loved it! :)

We thought this was a fantastic recipe, so I thought I'd share it with you.  The only change I'm going to make the next time we make it will be to decrease the flour.  I will include the original amount here, and it tasted fine, but the filling was really thick, kind of pasty, and I'd like it to be less pasty and more creamy.  So I think I'll go down to 3/4 cups of flour next time.  Like I said though, flavor wise it was still really, really good!  And I thought it was pretty easy to make, too. :)

The recipe is for two potpies - one for now and one to freeze for later.

Chicken Potpie
2 cups diced peeled potatoes
1 3/4 cups sliced carrots
2/3 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup butter
1 cup flour
1 3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp dried thyme
3/4 tsp pepper
3 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups milk
4 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen corn
 Pastry for two double-crust pies (9 inches)

Place potatoes and carrots in a large saucepan; cover with water.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 8-10 minutes or until crips-tender.  Drain and set aside.

In a large skillet, saute onion in butter until tender.  Stir in the flour, salt, thyme, and pepper until blended.  Gradually stir in broth and milk.  Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.  Add the chicken, peas, corn, potatoes, and carots; remove from heat.

Line two 9 inch pie plates with bottom pastry; trim pastry even with edge.  Fill with chicken mixture.  Roll out remaining pastry to fit top of pies.  Cut slits or decorative cutouts in pastry.  Place over filling; trim, seal, and flute edges.

Bake one potpie at 425 degrees for 35 minutes or until crust is lightly browned.  Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting.  Cover and freeze remaning potpie for up to 3 months.

To use frozen potpie: Shield frozen pie crust edges with foil; place on a baking sheet.  Bake at 425 degrees for 30 minutes.  Reduce heat to 350, bake 70-80 minutes longer or until crust is golden brown.