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College Friends

July 30th, 2008 · college life, random, the funniest people we know, tina

Last Wednesday, a couple of good friends from college came over for lunch.

Kari was one of my roommates from 2002 to 2004. And Michelle was a good friend of ours – though she really should have been our roommate too, she really is one of the funniest people we know! Now we are all married and either have kids or kids on the way. It was SO FUN to get together with them and catch up on life and reminisce about our crazy college days.

Kari & Michelle.

Our awesome lunch. Chicken salad on rolls and a delicious salad Kari made.

Michelle and her brand new baby, Cooper. I think he was about 2 weeks old. Isn’t he darling!

This is what happens when we ask a 2 year-old (Bridget) to take a picture of us. Lol!

This is what happens when we take the picture ourselves. Up close and personal, but at least you can see our faces.

Bridget and Cadence. Cadence is Michelle’s daughter. She’s 6 months younger than Bridget – and the two of them love playing together.

Thanks girls for the visit. It was great to see you guys – I can’t wait to do it again!
Oh, and you’ve inspired me to document more of the crazy stories from college. So watch out for more college life posts in the near future!

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24th of July

July 29th, 2008 · bridget, dave, family, random, tina

The 24th of July ended up being a crazy, busy day… but it was tons of fun!

After breakfast Bridget and I headed out with Lee Ann to try and gather a few more photos for our ward directory.

At 10:30 we went to story time.

At 11:00 we headed up to the Logan City parade (started at noon) with Emily and Mandee and their kids. It was pretty hot out there, but the kids all had a great time playing in the gutter and catching candy. My favorite were the floats that threw popsicles – what a great way to beat the heat!






After the parade, around 1:00, we came home for lunch.

At 2:00 a friend of mine brought her little girl over for her 6 month old pictures. In spirit of the holiday, we decided to do some with the American Flag. Look how cute! Bridget had fun making faces for her, trying to get her to smile.



Around 3:30 Bridget went down for her nap.

When she woke up we headed to the grocery store to grab a few items and picked up a “hot ‘n ready” pizza on the way home.

At 6:30 we had ate our pizza dinner then headed to DuPont to pick up Dave.

The 3 of us went to the 7:20 showing of Wall-E. Which we LOVED! Bridget had a bit of a rough time sitting still through the whole thing (and a hard time yelling things like “Look its Wall-E” or “That man fell down” whenever a scene in the show caught her attention) though. I don’t think she is quite old enough for regular movie theater attendance.

After the show we dropped Dave back off and work and Bridget and I headed to the Logan City fireworks. Bridget was a little disappointed that I didn’t bring snacks (since Grandma Ernstrom had all kinds of snacks for fireworks on the 4th) but she mostly got over it when the show started. I let her open the shutter on my camera with the remote a few times – I think she had fun with that too! Here are a couple of pictures of the fireworks we took – not the best seat in the house. I was hoping to get Bridget’s silhouette watching the fireworks, but the dang kid wouldn’t participate – she just wanted to sit on my lap. I’ll get it one of these years. lol.





By the time we got home Bridget was already asleep. It was a long day! But oh so fun!

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Bedtime Story

July 28th, 2008 · a day in the life, bridget, dave, random

With Dave being in school this summer, sometimes he ends up going to bed before (or around the same time as) Bridget. One particular night… it was about 8:45 p.m. … Dave asked Bridget if she’d like to tuck him in. “Sure dad,” she replied. She pulled back his blankets and covered him up when he got in. She had to climb over him a couple of times so she could tuck him in. Then she gave him a kiss and asked if he wanted a bedtime story.

We figured she’d do her best to retell a story from one of the books she likes. But instead she just started rambling on and on about EVERYTHING. Some of it made no sense at all, other parts were perfectly clear. She went on like this for more than 15 minutes.

I managed to videotape about 8 minutes of it. It was dark, so the video quality isn’t the best, but at least you can hear the story.
The inflection in her voice when she talks for the characters in her story is priceless. I love it!

I did the best I could to (quickly) transcribe the parts of her story I could comprehend. The text is a bit scattered, and there are some gaps – but here it is.

And then, they sweep up the floor with dog poo.
And then they put it in the garbage.
Then they play outside.
And then the ___ says put me in the sink right now Joseph
Then ___ Joseph turn off the light
And then he goes right up to the sky
And they he says _______
And then he goes ____ And then he goes _____
___ he underwear broked
His underwear broked in tiny tiny pieces.
Just a tiny
Pick up ’em
Then in the kitchen, Marissa broked and I broked, and daddy broked. and mommy broked. And Jared broked on the kitchen. He got dead.
And people guys zip him up at the bag. And it was not be ___ woody.
And then woody said, “I’m a cowboy, I have a snake in my shoe”
And then – A snake in my boot.
And then Joseph has green shoe on his toe.
This little piggy went to market. This little piggy market, and this little went to market. And this one go all the way home. And this one go way home, and this one go way home.
And this one goes waddling back to ____ and kiss and make it better. (kissing sounds) Good night Joseph.
Says, Joseph can you tuck me in bed. And then he says “turn off the light” and he says “I’m a cowboy” And he says ____ and he says _____ and he says, “Joseph can you tuck me in bed some more”
Says cried. Now cry boy says “No have some water in my cup. ___ my cup ___ drank it all ___ ” says cry kid. Says ___, says _________
*pause*
And says “I don’t know”
Smile.
I love you mom.

I love you too, are you done with your story?

No, not yet.
And joseph said ____ says up. I’m so excited. Joseph says I’m so excited to get wet cried Joseph.
And ____ and ___ and then you _____
And he said, and then he braked
And ___ said ____
Two L’s – two L’s and diamond says ____
And he fell ___ down here and he said ____ and he said ____
And he said ___
And then he picked off his owie.
And then he pick off my owie.

Don’t do it, it will bleed. Finish your story.

And then we suffer the children ____ We ___ soft ____ squish the blankets, and they broked. So the daddy can’t get in. And he walks, walks in Bridget’s room and he says “Good night Bridget”
And he said goodnight. And he gives me a kiss. And I say “yuck.”
And he said ___ and he said ____ and he said, and he said. Said…
This so I can see ___

Ok, finish your story.

And he said, “Good night Bridget”
And I felled asleep. And I fell and fell and when my toy brakes and my bed brakes.
And Marissa won’t be able to get on. On the bed.
And he said ____ sing a song, sing a song…
Said, “Right now Joseph” he says sing a song Halle.
He says sing a song mom.
And he won’t have the M&M’s story ____
And he says good bye M&M. And the M&M turn off the light for her.
The baby M&M. The mom tucks the baby in. ___
The little little tiny tiny baby. Tiny little baby says “Goodnight mom”
He walks to mom and says “good night mom” really fast. Again says…
I have some pretty in my hair. I’ll finish the story when I get back from my pretties, because they are in.

We have a crazy, crazy child. But boy does she have an imagination!

On another note, Dave starts the last week of his summer school today. It is also the busiest/most hectic week of school he’s had. Wish him luck! He has a monster of a week ahead of him and could use the luck! I can’t believe that the craziness of the summer is beginning to draw to a close. We’ve nearly made it (or maybe “survived it” would be a better expression).

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Jackpot, toddler style

July 27th, 2008 · a day in the life, bridget, random

Last Wednesday I went to Smithfield Implement to pick up a Camp Chef for my dad – they were having a sale.

The store opened at 9:00 a.m. Not knowing how many they would still have available, and recognizing that I had other commitments that would tie me up most of the rest of the day, I decided to get there right when they opened.

Bridget and I pulled into the parking lot at 2 minutes to 9:00. The doors were just being unlocked as we approached them.

An elderly man, presumably the store manager, greeted us. As Bridget took the first steps into the store that morning he announced, “You’re the first customer – that means you get a prize.”

She just grinned. I didn’t think much more of it, and we went about our shopping.

On the way out of the store the same elderly man approached us. The conversation went something like this:

Man: Did you get your prize?
Bridget: No, I didn’t.
Tina: Seriously? I didn’t know you did that.
Man: We don’t. But today we do.
Tina: (polite smile)
Man: Do you think she’d want a bag?
Tina: A bag?
Man: Like this one. (holding up a canvas polka dotted bag)
Tina: Maybe, she loves purses.
Man: Or would she rather just have some gum.
Tina: You’d have to ask her.
Man: (to Bridget) Would like this bag?
Bridget: Yes, I would.
Tina: What do you say to the man?
Bridget: Thank you very much.
Man: You’re sure welcome.

As Bridget stood admiring her new “purse” in the checkout line the man returned and dropped a package of gum into the bag.

Man: You’ll need something to carry in that purse.
Bridget: That man gave me gum.
Tina: Say thank you.
Bridget: Thanks! (waving)

She spent the next 5 minutes in line asking me over and over if she could have some of her gum. Once we got in the car I helped her open the package and she and I shared a piece. She held onto the package all the way home. In the car we had the following conversation.

Bridget: That was so nice. That man gave me gum.
Tina: Yes, that was nice.
Bridget: I’m going to keep it in my room.
Tina: No. You’re going to keep it in the cupboard in the kitchen.
Bridget: I’ll keep it in my kitchen. I’ll put it in the fridge.
Tina: No, in the real kitchen.
Bridget: My kitchen is a real kitchen.
Tina: Ok, let’s try this again. Does mommy keep gum in her room?
Bridget: No.
Tina: That’s right. Gum doesn’t belong in our rooms – we need to keep it in the cupboard in the kitchen with the other gum.
Bridget: Oh. ok.

I was both surprised and impressed that that logic worked. But glad that it did. I’m also glad that she didn’t point out the fact that I sometimes carry gum in my purse – or she probably would have been trying to do the same with hers.

Anyway, here are a couple of pictures of Bridget with her loot from the morning.
The sucker is from the bank. We went there on the way home that morning.

It wasn’t until we were home and I started to take these pictures that I noticed the price tag on the bag. $10.95… Wow. More of a prize than I would have guessed. Funny, because Bridget would have been just as impressed with a sticker or a tootsie roll as a prize.

The bag is cute, and pretty well made. I think we’ll use it as her church bag from now on. Thanks Smithfield Implement guy! You were very kind.

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PW’s Chicken Salad & Sandra’s Rolls!

July 26th, 2008 · food

Chicken Salad Sandwiches on yummy Sandra rolls. Yum, yum!

Sandra recently posted a recipe for some yummy rolls on her blog. Some old friends were coming over for lunch, so I thought I’d make some up. We made Chicken Salad Sandwiches out of them, using the chicken salad recipe from Pioneer Woman. The result was awesomely delicious!

I highly recommend that everyone make both of these items! They are both relatively easy too.

I am going to repost both recipes here for ease in finding them, but I also linked to both above, if you want to check out their websites – and the pictures of their food items.

Sandra’s Rolls

1 c. hot water
1/2 c. melted margarine
3/8 c. sugar

Combine well the above ingredients.
Add…

1 T. yeast

Let sit for 5 minutes.
Add…

1 egg
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. baking powder

Stir well, removing any lumps. Batter will be runny.
Add…

2 c. flour

Mix well. Cover, and let rise for 1 hour.
Roll out onto floured surface, about 1/4″ thick. Use pizza cutter to cut unto triangles (like you would cut a pizza).
Roll into crescent shapes.
Place on lightly greased cookie sheet. Cover and let rise an additional 60-90 minutes.
Cook at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Please note, Sandra’s recipe doesn’t mention needing to let the rolls raise a second time. I just tried that hoping the insides would be thinner/fluffier for stuffing with Chicken Salad. It worked, I liked the results. So, when making them – let them raise a second time, or not.

PW’s Chicken Salad

1 whole chicken fryer
3-4 stalks of celery
Bunch of red grapes (green works too)
3-4 green onions

1/2 c. mayonnaise (not miracle whip)
1/2 c. sour cream
1 T. lemon juice
1 T. brown sugar
Salt and Pepper to taste
Dill Weed to taste

Cook Chicken. Remove from the bones, and cube or shred into bite-sized pieces.
Cut celery into small pieces
Chop green onions (both white and green parts)
Cut red grapes in half lengthwise

Combine prepared chicken, celery, onions, and grapes in a bowl.

Combine mayo, sour cream, lemon juice, and brown sugar in a seperate bowl. Mix well.
Generously sprinkle with Salt, Pepper, and Dill Weed – as desired.
Stir again.

Add sauce to the bowl with chicken ingredients. Stir to coat.

Serve immediately, or refrigerate.

Note: Pioneer Woman likes to eat hers on toasted wheat bread with mustard and spinach leaves. Look at her site for details. She also suggests substituting sour cream for plain yogurt – I have not tried that.

Get cooking everyone!
And thanks Sandra and PW for the great recipes.

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Spiderman Loves Me

July 25th, 2008 · bridget, random

Just a little background here…

For those of you that don’t know, the “I love you” sign in American Sign language is the same hand-shape Spiderman uses to shoot spider string (or web) from his wrists. The orientation of the hand is just a little different. Here are some images to illustrate my point.

American Sign Language: “I love you”

Spiderman shooting webbing from his wrist. Notice his hand shape.

Spiderman’s “I love you sign” – In this image his hand is even oriented closer to the correct position for an “I love you” sign.

Ok, now that we are all well educated… I have a story. 🙂

Last week Bridget and I were at Sam’s Club getting a few items. There was a young boy at the register next to us with his mom. I’d guess he was about 4 years old. The boys kept shooting spidey string from his wrists at Bridget (obviously just pretending) and making shooting noises with his mouth.

Bridget watched him intently for a couple of minutes. I wondered what she would do, or if she even understood what he was doing. She just studied his face and hand motions for a minute, then she raised her hand and gave him an “I love you” sign.

The boy looked a little confused. (Perhaps thinking she’d done the spider string wrong??)

On the way out of the store Bridget looked up at me and said, “That boy over there said he loves me.” I about died laughing. But for a 2-year old girl with very little exposure to Spiderman, how else was she supposed to interpret it.

Classic!

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Happy Pioneer Day!

July 24th, 2008 · random

I know its only a holiday for us Utahns – but why not celebrate?!?

Here’s a little video to brighten your day.
It has nothing to do with the pioneers for which this holiday was established, but I guess the presidential candidates are pioneers in their own way.

Please enjoy!

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Blossom-end Rot

July 23rd, 2008 · domestic attempts, random, tina

You may remember that I don’t garden… It generally just doesn’t agree with me.

Despite this fact, I decided awhile back to plant tomatoes. Its been pretty dry lately, so I’ve been watering them twice a day. But apparently not enough , because the leaves still managed to look wilted during the hottest parts of the day, and my tomatoes started to get dark and hard on the bottom.

I called my garden-loving parents for advice.

Turns out my tomatoes had something called blossom-end rot. Lovely sounding, isn’t it.



I guess tomatoes need a lot more water than I was offering them. An inch or more a day, I guess. And a consistent water supply too.

So, I picked off the affected tomatoes… 7 altogether. And drowned the poor plants in water. And added some grass clippings over the soil in attempt to get the moisture to stay in better. And now I’m hoping that it hasn’t spread to the other fruit. I may also go pick up some calcium chloride to spray the plants.

And I guess I need to water even more. Dave suggested “irrigating” or drowning the plants every few days to make sure the soil has plenty of water. And I was talking to a friend that said she had heard that if the soil at the edges of the pot (yes, I planted my tomatoes in pots) isn’t wet to the touch then they don’t have enough water. I wonder if I can get some sort of water IV for the plants. Heh!

This is entirely too much work for someone that hates gardening. lol!

If you want to know more about blossom-end rot, here are a few handy links:
http://msucares.com/newsletters/pests/infobytes/19990707.htm
http://en.mimi.hu/gardening/blossom_end_rot.html
http://vegetablemdonline.ppath.cornell.edu/factsheets/Tomato_BlossRt.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcium_deficiency_(plant_disorder)

P.S. The flowers from my last gardening post are still mostly alive – and few have died though. I think they would have blossom-end rot too, if they knew how. Sigh! I guess its good that it rained.

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Draw, II

July 22nd, 2008 · bridget

You may remember my first post about Bridget and her “draw” – if not, click here.

At the time she was just starting to make her first real looking faces. They had eyes, a nose, and a mouth…. and sometimes legs.
Well, the other day (when she should have been napping) I went into Bridget’s room to find her with even more creative and sophisticated drawings. I LOVE that she is learning and that her drawing are advancing. These new faces have more defined characteristics, bigger noses and curvier smiles. And they have hair.

Take a look.


She also drew a darling picture of our family on a piece of pink paper. One of these days I’ll get that scanned in and posted here too. Right now its hung on the fridge.

She really does love her “draw” – and she really does love to draw.

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Gourmet (Stuffed) French Toast

July 21st, 2008 · food

Gourmet French Toast, or “Glorified” French Toast as my mom called it, is fabulously delicious – and entirely bad for you! And really, really easy!

Gourmet French Toast

10 slices of bread, cut in half
4 oz. (half package) of cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. Apricot-pineapple Jam (marmalade or thick flavored syrup will also work)
5 eggs
Splash of milk
Powdered sugar

Beat eggs and milk in a bowl, set aside

Combine cream cheese and jam until few lumps remain.

Spread the cream cheese mixture on one half-slice of bread and top with another half-slice (like a sandwich). Dip the completed sandwich in the egg mixture, coating both sides. Place on greased pan or griddle. Flip over, cooking both sides until the egg is cooked and slightly brown.

Serve warm with sprinkled powdered sugar.

Yield: 10 half-sandwich portions.

My mom used to make this growing up. Its pretty sweet, but not overly rich. When I think about the “bad for you” aspect, I can’t help but wondering if its not better than the classic butter and syrup alternative.

I served mine with blackberries last time (for effect)… too bad I didn’t have any mint leaves lying around. (Oh well, you’ll have to imagine it).

Let me know if you try these and what you think!


On a side note, I just found this link through Hilarie’s blog for a train dress giveaway. Click here to read all about it. Even if you don’t want to enter the giveaway you should go look at how darling the little girl modeling it is.That is all.

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