L is for Lovely.

On a Sunday afternoon, a lovely cool sunny Sunday afternoon, this is what I'm going to make to take to a party. Even though I've revolutionized my comestibles, I'll try it to make sure that I didn't leave out the salt, and that it is as great as I remember it!

INCREDIBLE CREAM CHEESE CHOCOLATE CHIP POUND CAKE

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter and flour a tube pan.

1 cup sweet butter

8 oz. cream cheese

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 eggs

3 cups all purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup whole milk

12 oz. mini chocolate chips

Cream together the butter and the cream cheese. Gradually add the sugar, eggs and the remaining ingredients in order. Pour the mixture into the pan and bake for 60 to 65 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes or on a cake rack

From Parenting Magazine October 1994, recipe contest winner. Revised by HML 8/1998

Q is for Quote, for S's iPod.

NEW iPod Quipps: [28 May 2009]
I am that I am
See Stop.
Let it be. Let it go. <-- Nah, that sounds like she holds a grudge.

Happy Birthday S! xxooxx

Be grateful

Be smart

Be involved

Be clean

Be true

Be positive

Be humble

Be still

Be prayerful

President Hinkley

Eat more escargot?

Sing more!

Eat cake! Especially Stephanie's!

Be grateful.

Keep being smart and fun and a hard worker!

Wednesday was S's 17th birthday! Wow oh Wow. She is so marvelous! Too marvelous for words, so glamorous, so amorous! -- I should write a song about her! :)

On Monday J and I went though all sorts of machinations to get to SLC to buy an iPod for her. (If you turn in an old iPod, at the Apple Store, even a yellow one that "suffered water damage" (Hmmm, was it the washer/dryer treatment by an 11 year old?), they give you a 10% discount on a new one.) Here is what we found:

Bummer. Closed for REMODELING?! It will reopen May 29th.

Now we are going to order one online, where we can have it engraved for free! Free! (Ha.)

Trying to find the right short quote...

Let go. Go on.

Make Peace.

Increase peace.

Dwell in possibilities. Emily Dickinson. [?]

Dream with your eyes open.

It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are. ~~ e.e. cummings

Small Talk & K Cake

Hey K!~ It's a spoon, not a shovel!!!

Tomorrow is K's 14th birthday! We are celebrating tonight with a triple layer lemon cake (Ashley's recipe). (Giving Stephanie H the day off.)

While mixing and heating and stirring and removing, N asked, "Mom, what does 'remove' mean?"

This is happening a lot lately. As N reads more and more, he is coming across words that don't add up to either his experiences or maturity. It is clear that his language/vocabulary is missing some critical and basic words. I need to keep a list. Review them with him.

The kitchen conversation continued:

H: M, what do you want to be when you grow up?

M: I want to be the same like S [sister S], cause she sings on the radio. And I want to drive too. And I'll drive safe.

And tres chic, like Mlle. S, to boot!

I've been making a lot of these flower pompoms lately for our entryway. They are from a great $10.00/5 Martha Stewart kit at ?! Wal-mart.

Y is for Yum!

My pal Stephanie Higginbotham made this amazing cake! My very chic, smart and fun cousins Jody & Mel, and thier 3 fantastic, smart, sweet and funny sons were coming to Utah to visit us (and ski) just past Christmas ... I knew I needed one of Steph's cakes. As long as she is making her wonderful confections, I'll never make another cake. If you have read this blog for a while you probably know any holiday or celebration, is an excuse to order one, or two, of her cakes. Isn't it lovely? Her cakes taste as good as they look! Above is the Before picture and below is the After:

Y is for Yuck.

La de da. This post is for Misha! :P
A short while back C and I went shopping together. Well, I probably dragged him along for "one or two things"... Allen's (a locally/Utah owned grocery store) is a "one or two" store. You can easily leave that store with the one or two things that you need -- unlike Costco, the $100 Store. That is, unless you just happen to need mesh canvas in assorted colors. Who needs colored mesh canvas?! Guess you can't have too much of that hanging about. They sell all sorts of unrelated things, especially for a grocery store.

So, we are strolling down the isles and the vertical cheese cake caught my eye... I commented that perhaps this (see below) isn't the best way to sell cheese cake. Needed to take a picture of it for K since he HATES cheese cake and always has. When I showed him the picture he noticed that it is right next to the (unrefrigerated) vitamin drinks. Good point. Mmm.

As I got closer to take the picture, C noticed something different... Yuck. Caramel Apple Cheese Cake, now not only vitamin packed, but botulism packed too! Care for some spores with your dessert?

Scary.

N's baptism day = H's gasp + SH's CAKE! + N(cousins)

The beautiful boy and his cake.

I gasped when it looked like he was going under with his implant on! He didn't.

Aren't those great colors?!

The party was a lot of fun. Many people from C's family came -- Thanks! It was a special day for N and for all of us. Almost makes me think of having a gingerbread party... almost. The cleaning-up of the house was pretty much a miracle. N's concept of the Gospel was as well.
It was a sweet day with S saying the opening prayer, I stumbled through a talk and K played the cello. The spirit was strong and it meant a lot to have so much/many [?] family and friends there.


Nice composition of tie dye and icing. Makes a very groovy 8.

C is for Calamity Cake and NO COOKIES.

Dr. Daniel visited last week along with my cousin Vivian (!!!). It was great to see and sorta ski with both of them. Thanks DG for tuckering out your mother. :\

Told Dr. Dan about the exploding squash and then he commented on my wrap that self-imploded. The kids brought up the volcano chocolate cake several years ago (the picture haunts me from the pages of the cook book). Now I found this gem. I made the cake last August for J's 10th. It might have been a mess but everyone loved it. Except for Steph's cakes and cupcakes, the rule is: the uglier the better.

2008 has been declared the NO COOKIE year. A dr. pointed out to me that even one extra cookie (100 cal ea.) eaten everyday, would wind up adding 5 lbs over the course of a year. And, he added, few people eat only one cookie at a time. This is not a dieting blog. I will not go on about this. Just to say... I took down the +5 cookie recipes hanging in the pantry; I caught his drift. Everyone does appreciate homemade cookies on ski days and they are major barter in school lunches. I made the healthiest (wholewheat, oatmeal, applesauce, chocolate chip) I could for Dr. D & V, J & DFM's ski day. Also I packed several extra in S, K, & N's lunches. Perhaps 1 batch a month is do-able. K has Valentine cookies in mind.

TRUE TALE: K was at lunch. His school gives out vegetables, free, to all the students. He and a friend of his like to trade vegetables. K asked, "Have you had one of my mom's cookies?"
"No."
"Here."
Munch. Munch. "I'll trade you my broccoli for another one."