Mother's Day

I had a wonderful Mother's Day! Tal made my favorite breakfast of french toast and bacon. He even brought me homemade Orange Julius while I was still in bed that was delicious. I had some leftover Coconut Syrup that I made last week and that was absolutely perfect on the french toast.
Then we went to church, on-time, with all the kids. We even got to sit in the padded rows and not the folding chairs. It was great!
The kids all had something sweet for me - flower plants, hand-prints, candy, and cards. The ward gave the mom's a strawberry plant and Tal got me a great gift card and a digital frame that I have been wanting.

We had friends over to play games after dinner although we are still mourning the loss (move) of the Wood family.

We were able to visit with Taylor on Skype for a while. It was great to see him and hear his voice. He is doing very well and has a great companion. The families in his wards seem to take good care of the missionaries.
I am so proud of him and his service to the Lord. He is working hard and learning a lot. We have encouraged him to remember that the Lord didn't ask him to become a cookie-cutter replication of the image of a missionary but instead learn to serve Him and follow His way as who you are - or really a better version of yourself. Everyone has different talents and abilities, different personalities and senses of humor. It takes all kinds to reach the souls waiting to hear the gospel message and Taylor has some unique gifts that he is blessed with and through the Lord, he will be able to share the spirit and touch hearts.

I am so thankful to be the mother of these children. I am also grateful to have a supportive and encouraging husband to work through this parenting challenge with.

Mint Fudge

Dallin made some mint fudge this weekend. It was a huge hit - even Tal (who doesn't love mint) and Dallin (who doesn't love chocolate) really enjoyed this fudge. We used Christine's easy fudge recipe. It didn't set very firm but good enough to cut into pieces that held their shape.

Chocolate Mint Fudge
3 cups Andes Mint baking chips
1 cup sweetened condensed milk
Dash of salt
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Line 8x8 pan with wax paper. 
Melt chips in microwave. Chocolate burns easily. Be sure to stir every 30-45 seconds and cook just until melted. 
Stir in milk and microwave for 1 more minute. 
Stir well and add vanilla. 
Pour into pan. Let set at room temperature or put in the fridge for 15 minutes if you can't wait!
Once it's set, pull out by the wax paper and cut into squares. 

AAS in the Bag!

I thought I would never get through this last math class. All I can say is that whomever it was that told me Statistics was easier than Algebra needs their head examined! For certain, the two hardest classes for my Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree were the math classes. But they are over with now!
I ended up with a B- in Statistics by some miracle of chance. My professor must have really liked my extra credit to get me over the 79% on my final exam. Thank you!
I am graduating from Salt Lake Community College with high honors. I am not walking for this one but I will when I finish my Bachelor's at UVU.
I've done almost every class on-line. Some are much harder than others but it was the only realistic option for me. My advice to anyone considering it is this:
Do NOT take Algebra, Statistics, or Anatomy & Physiology on-line. Find a classroom with a living, breathing teacher and you will be much happier! (Unless you are my brother-in-law with a genius memory.)

I get to tick off another goal for this year and for my life goals. Whoo-hoo!

4 Less Teeth

My poor sweet Kadi had her wisdom teeth out on Friday. It didn't take long and the doc said everything went well. I have some really choice video of her anesthesia stupor (think blackmail material) and she did post one on her Facebook that is hilarious!
Our darling friend Kirsten brought her Jamba Juice frozen mixes that are yummy! You can get them at the store here - I had no idea! Kadi didn't know what we were talking about when we were so excited over Jamba since she has never had one. The frozen version did not disappoint. I added some vanilla ice cream to the Mango flavor I made her today and it was sweet deliciousness in a cup. Thank you, Kirsten!

Kadi says she looks like a chipmunk but I think she's cute as the dickens.

Kadi recovering from anesthesia funnies:

The dentist office smells like hell. You know, where Satan lives and where they make brownies.

Drugs are disgusting. I'm a good, white, Mormon, pioneer-like girl.

You talk to me like you know me. You don't know my life. I want an alligator.

Whales just run people over all the time. They're like, "Yo, human, get outta my way or I'll run you over."

Ghastly Ganache

Tonight I made this Chocolate Mousse Crunch Cake from my Our Best Bites Cookbook and it was delish! It's devil's food cake, chocolate mousse, Heath bits and topped with a dark chocolate ganache. MMMMM ..... I had trouble though with the Ganache. I have never made it before because it always looked hard and I don't usually cook with heavy cream (my irrational fear of too much fat in my fattening recipes).
I heated, stirred, and heated some more according to the recipe and this is what happened:

Can you believe how much butter fat came up out of the separated ganache? That looks neither appealing nor decadent. A ganache failure! But never fear, I am not one to end a potentially delicious dessert on a frosting flop. I melted another cup of 60% cocoa Ghiradelli chips and then whipped in a tablespoon of Greek yogurt and spread it on top. It didn't have the flair and beauty of the ganache but it gave the top a nice firm crust of dark chocolately goodness - a great compliment to the sweet, smooth mousse middle.

And because of such dessert decadences - my middle looks like a moose.

Ghastly Ganache

Blogging bust. I just finished a clever little post about this dessert experience, hit my backspace to delete a word and lost the whole post. This is what I have to say now:

Cake good.

Ganache bad.

The end.

Panini Perfection

Tal made these amazing sandwiches the other day. We even had to have friends over so they could try it out - they were THAT good.
Tal uses our George Foreman grill for several different dishes. I think it's his favorite kitchen tool. Since we don't have a panini press, he used the George for these mouth-watering, delectable sandwiches.

He starts french bread rolls, slices them carefully open then slathers some cream cheese mixed with just a little horseradish on each side. Then he gently layers meat and cheese, adds tomato, red onion and bacon. The meat and cheese combinations include pastrami and provolone, roast beef and cheddar or black forest ham and creamy havarti. He then butters the roll on the outside and then gingerly places them upon the George. Once they start to heat up, he then encrusts them with a slice of cheese on the outside of the roll. It's a tricky process that he has perfected. Each sandwich comes out with a delicate crust of cheese and rich cheesy-meaty goodness on the inside. Low in fat they ain't!

For our guests he devised a plan to mass produce. He took a loaf of french bread and sliced it in half so it would fit on the grill. Then he cut the top out in a V shape and scooped out some of the breading inside. He loaded the inside with all the goodies, buttered the outside and when the time was just right, crusted the outside with cheese. It was heaven in a french loaf!

I have decided that this is my new, best, favorite sandwich ever - even better than Baggins in Tucson!