Arrrgh! Kiss Me Booty!

Tell me these don't make you crack up!

I found these transfers at Joanne's Fabric one day and just had to get them for a friend that just had a baby. Every time I think about it I laugh. I've been feeling kind of cranky lately and was actually getting another one to put on a shirt for myself when I don't want to be tested.

I think the Kiss me Booty one would give the general idea.

"Here we see the 10 adolescent in his natural habitat....it seems he is displaying some type of wild things call."

So Noah's birthday was on the 22nd of March. Sadly by the time Noah's birthday rolls around I'm just about birthdayed out but we did muster a sleepover and movie with some of his friends. Kirstin made his birthday cake.

I took 3 of his friends to see Diary of a Whimpy kid. I just have to state at this time, I'm eternally grateful for Emil's Mom that faithfully takes my children to see all the kids movies that they want. I'm not a fan of the children's movie genre. There are rare exceptions.

The Fantastic Mr. Fox was so funny. It came out this past fall so it should be for rent by now. Any adult would enjoy it. That's about all that I can think of right now.

Another recommendation. Creme Brulee. Have you ever had it? No? This is my new favorite dessert. I had it at an Italian restaurant once and it sent me scouring the internet for a recipe as soon as I got home. The fatal flaw? The top is suppose to be caramelized with a little blowtorch used for just such a purpose. The torches start at $35. I really tried to rationalize purchasing one but haven't been able to yet. Then to my utter delight and surprise I discovered frozen Creme Brulee at Traders Joes. It's $5 for a pack of 4 and totally worth it.

They are the bomb!

I'd even say it's Creme Bruhaha Delicious!

Temple, Ikea, & My niece Amber

This past weekend I went to D.C. with my niece, Amber. The weather was horrendous! (Rain, wind gust and cold!) On the up side we had time to drop by Ikea and I was able to spurge and get some long loved kitchen organization pieces.

Have I mentioned before that I think I may have a possible tupperware/rubbermaid obsession. I love to have containers for my kitchen stuff.

All the cereals are in plastic containers. Chips, oatmeal, flour, pretty much everything I have as a staple in my pantry has a plastic container. I don't know why I like it so much but I do. I think it may be a bit abnormal.

Anyway, sadly Amber wasn't quite as in love with Ikea as I am. When I asked her why she said "well I don't have a house" I guess that's a OK answer. Still, I am suspicious. Have aliens abducted my sweet niece?

We arrived at the hotel at about 9pm on Friday. They had booked a block of rooms for the girls and their leaders and we were in a suite with girls from Nags Head and Ahoskie. They had activities planned for us until 1am!

I am way too old to be staying up that late. I could not stop yawning! It was fun though. The next morning we were up at 8 and to the temple by 9:30. They had reserved a room for us and we got to hear from our Stake Young Women's Presidency as well as the Sister Tingey, the Temple President's wife and The Turleys, a young couple that live in DC.

They all talked about the importance of the Temple both in being worthy to attend by being morally and spiritually clean and pure and how it can help us in our lives after we have gone through for the first time. It was a very spiritual weekend and I'm glad I got to do that with Amber.

Did I mention that I saw Geraldine Weeks there? She was one of the speakers on Chastity on Friday night. She was so cute. We did all of our activities that night in our PJ's since it was a slumber party and when I got there she came up to me and said Hi. She had a cute pair of green PJ's, pearls and gold earrings on and proceeded to tell me that her PJ's and robe were wet since they had been on a carrier on top of their car and it had leaked. She just laughed. She is such a good sport and the consummate Southern gal.

Mom I told her I'd send this picture of us to you. She always asks how you're doing.

Well that's it for now. I'd better run I'm meeting with a friend today to do some lettering for her walls. Have a great day!

Squash Soup and the Picture

Here's the drawing I talked about in my last blog. I guess I must have accidentally deleted it before I posted the blog! Anyway thought you might like to see it.

Yet another recipe.... It's really good.

Winter Squash Soup Serves 6-8

2 Tbsp. butter

1 Tbsp. Olive Oil

1 C. chopped onions

1 lb. winter squash (butternut, acorn...) aprox. 2 cups

1 small clove garlic, minced

2 1/2 C. water or light chicken stock

salt & white pepper to taste

dash of grated nutmeg

pinches of light brown sugar, if needed

1 C. milk or half & half

1/4 C. grated Parmesan cheese

1. Melt butter with the oil in a heavy sauce pan, adding the onions. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until onion is very tender & slightly golden, about 15 minutes.

2. Cut squash in half, and remove the seeds and fibers, lay on a plate with a bit of water and microwave until tender, about 6 minutes or so.

3. Scoop out 2 cups & stir into onions.

4. Stir in garlic, stock or water, salt & pepper, and 1/4 tsp. nutmeg.

5. Cover and simmer until all is very tender.

6. Puree mixture in blender or food processor.

7. Wipe out pan and return puree to it.

At serving time, add milk and return to simmer. Thin with a little more milk if the soup is thicker than you want it. Sweeten if needed with a little of the brown sugar. (I've never found this necessary) Serve hot with a dusting of the cheese.