This One's for You Ging !

This is my sister Ginger... We talk everyday literally. Sometimes it's 3 times a day. We laugh, cry and laugh some more. She's been waiting for me to change my blog. Of course she wouldn't know what it en tales because she doesn't blog. I made her a google account so she could comment on my posts, but she can't seem to do even that. She's a hoot. If she comes to town I'm having a party so everyone can meet her. I love her. She's my best friend.
We had lots of fun on Thanksgiving weekend. Despite the bitter cold and I mean cold and snow we had a quiet dinner with wonderful food and great company. Brooke and Colton came and Kenzi and Cam from Logan. Us girls did a craft. Painted blocks then put vinyl lettering on the blocks and then embellished them.


that was fun... then we ate about 4pm.
On Saturday everyone left doing their own thing so Paul and I decided to be adventurous. We went and bought a tree tag, $5 bucks and went up to Pomerelle and cut down our Christmas tree. What a hoot. It was so cold! Take a look at those boots, They're Ezzy's.
I don't have any adventurous boots so being about 2 sizes too big they worked for the time. I trudged up those hills like a champ. The only thing that killed me was no air. My legs didn't burn, thanks to Zumba... but the air was thin. We finally found a tree, a very tall tree and then cut the top out of it. It's cute and decorated and next year I think I want to do it again. I'll be alittle more prepared though. I'm gettin' my own boots! See that black spot on the right? That's Paul crashing in the snow. He was tired from traipsing thru the snow he's resting while the big boys cut the tree down. Ha!

My cute little "Charlie Brown" tree. I love it.

These little ones are Pauls great nieces and nephew. They were bundled up playing in the snow and having a great time. They're dad's were up cutting down their trees and haulin' them back on the snow machine. It was about a three hour ordeal. Good times in Idaho!

My "Marlboro Man"

OK... He may not be the typical "Marlboro Man" good looking cowboy riding a horse with the big brimmed cowboy hat...

But my "Man" is a whole lot better. He's cute, rugged and who can't resist that adventurous hat he has on? He's just as exciting as the day I met him. And I get a thrill every time I get a chance to be with him.
It's snowed about 5 inches starting last night. There's something I love about waking up to everything being winter white. I love it.
I have had a day today like I love to spend it. Fire in the fireplace, made potato soup which I have to say is truly the most delicious tasting soup I've ever made, Maybe made it a time or two before but today especially good. And I made my totally favorite cookies, "Ginger Snaps".

Notice how a couple have already disappeared...
I don't know why I love those little bites so much but they bring me joy to my mouth as I bite into that little cookie. And to top it off, I made alittle "hard sauce" leave that to your imagination. :D

It's been a good day. I'm gearing up on Monday to start my decorating for Christmas.
Can't wait. Last year at this time I was extremely sick and I missed the whole month of December. I had to go to Cali. to take care of my mom so I missed Christmas day with my family and even New Years. A big thanks to Kenzi again for running the show here. Way to go Kenz! This year will be great!

Surrogate Grandma

Today I spent most of the day with these two little girls. Jaylee and Sherae.

They came at 9 and were supposed to leave at 11 but we were having so much fun I asked their mom if they could stay... Our first place to go of course was the dollar store. Who can't resist that when you have little girls! (wink wink) We bought gloves and scarves because it was really cold outside...coloring books and a Mickey Mouse book. Then we headed over to a craft fair and walked around. We finally came home about noon and ate sandwiches. The Bishop showed up and Jaylee remembered him from the trunk or treat and was alittle scared of him but soon realized he didn't have his makeup on and she was ok with him being in the house. He was really scary and scared all those little kids at the ward activity. (He secretly loved it.) So after eating lunch we made these cute little turkey cookies! Arn't they cute?
They were being such good little listeners. Putting their pieces of candy exactly where I told them to place them.

Jaylee and Sharae. My little grandgirlies for the day.

The Month of November

Last November I seemed to have had alittle more time on my hands than I do this year. I posted alot more and wrote about some fun things.
This year I'm alittle bit more busy and things are really clinkin' along. Or it seemes to be doing that... clickin' along... I love this month. Your menu changes to those warm, hearty, comfort meals, you bake bread, cinnamon rolls and yummy fall desserts. I really love thinking about all my kids coming home for the holidays. And now they really are cause they're all gone in different directions. Yay! It's fun thinking that I have a new daughter-in-law and having her in our family for Christmas morning. I love life. I'm thankful everyday to my HF that I live at this time and I'm thankful for the things that are behind me. I've learned alot. I don't really like being in the middle of the crisis or those character building moments but after they're gone it's alot under the belt.
I'm thankful that I'm healthy and I have the opportunity to exercise. My sweet husband does everything he can to make it so I can go and exercise. I appreciate and love him!

It's Really Here

FALL! It's here and it's chilly.! I really do love this time of year. I love the colors, changing of trees and of course the geese are back and I love watching them on the water. Sometimes at night they're so noisy honking back and forth with each other they wake you up. It's kinda funny. Not sure what they're saying but it's loud.
I've started baking bread, small loaves or course since we eat the whole thing in one night... so yummy. And all these fun baking ideas are showing up on everyone's blogs. I found this new site to the right ~ today and they have some delcious receipes. Check them out. They will get you in the mood to do some baking!
Paul and I are busy, busy, busy... Sometimes it's endless hours at the church and he comes home exhausted but well rewarded. Our life is great, happy kids good health and we still like each other :D

Albies Savings Today

All this stuff would have cost me $195.39. I paid OOP $60.99. If you can't tell, there's 4 pkgs. of paper towels and 5 pkgs. of TP. Pretty good score :D

Haunted Mansion

We went to the haunted mansion in Albion Friday night. We took Brooke & Colt and Kenzi came home and brought her friend Cam. He's cute and very nice. We've been waiting for a while to meet him!
We had a spooky, fun time. This has been our 3rd year going so I guess it's a tradition for our family. Love the haunted mansion.

My Friend Loranna

During this time of year when harvesting is going on I think back to when I lived in SLO and I had a wonderful friend named Lorrana. She was always on her game, way ahead of us other young moms and wives. She was always the first one to make a quilt or have a garden or even do canning. At this time of year she was baking bread and doing fun crafty things. As Cali. girls, most of us just didn't think of those things. It's what Utah girls did... I remember going to her backyard and looking at her garden thinking it was truly an art. Her perfect little rows of everything! I just couldn't imagine why you would want a garden when we had a wonderful farmers market that we could go to every Thursday night. Gardens were too much work...
Lorrana was diagnosed with cancer when we were in high school. That was along time ago when cancer was a pretty new sickness for people. I graduated in 1979 she in
1980. She was never supposed to have children or even live beyond her twenties. She did marry, have 3 beautiful children and lived into her early thirties. I remember when she was extremely ill going thru chemo and going to her house to clean, make dinners and help feed her and take care of her children. Her house was warm and inviting with quilts laying around with canned food on the shelves that she canned from her garden. During her process of literally her last days she journaled like crazy. She wrote to each one of her kids and told all about them from birth to the present. She told them how wonderful and sweet they were and how heavenly father had special plans for them in this life. She quietly passed from this life and still to this day I think of her at this time and the impact she made in my life. She was a strong and faithful woman in the gospel. She loved the Lord and never questioned her journey in this life. She taught alot of us lessons of faith and the love of the savior. I miss her, I love her and hope as she continues her journey on the other side that she knows I think of her often. My friend Lorrana. The quilter, the canner, the gardner.

3 Weddings and a Funeral !

We have been busy here at the Douglass house. Ez moved to St. George on Sunday and he's off with his new adventure. He's in the process of looking for a place to stay. Kenzi was home for a couple of days and of course we shopped caught her up with groceries and supplies. That was fun having her home. She is so fun to be around. I miss her and really enjoy hanging out with her. Of course Colt and Brookie are doing great with school and work.
We had a friend come to visit us on Sunday and he brought his fiance, Bonnie. Paul had the pleasure of marrying them on Tuesday afternoon. It was a beautiful day and they are happy little lovebirds.
The Bish, Bonnie and Rick

So to date since July 18th, we've had 3 weddings, 1 funeral and 2 baptisms.
Life is Good ! :D

Yummy Food

Found this and made it. So yummy. Getting you ready for those fall dishes. Made Lion House rolls and freezer corn I did last week. Whew! you can't eat like that all the time but it sure was good. :D


Cheesy Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely diced
3 stalks celery, finely diced
3 carrots, peeled and diced
2 Tablespoons fresh minced garlic
2 Cups shredded, cooked chicken breast
2 Cups steamed white rice
16 oz prepared wild rice (I get mine at Trader Joes, LOVE it)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

Cheese Sauce

4 Tablespoons butter
1/4 Cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 Cups chicken broth
2 Cups shredded cheddar cheese
Top with 1 1/2 Cups shredded cheddar cheese
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat oil into a medium dutch oven or pot over medium heat. Saute onion, celery and carrots until softened, about 10 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in chicken, both rices, salt, pepper and garlic salt. Reduce heat to low.

2. To prepare cheese sauce melt butter into a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Whisk in flour, salt and pepper then slowly pour in chicken broth whisking continuously. Whisk until thick and nearly boiling then stir in cheese until melted. Pour cheese sauce into rice mixture then transfer to a 9×13 inch baking dish. Top with additional cheddar cheese and bake for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is melted through. Serve.
8-10 servings

Viking Man and a Funeral

At dawn last Saturday they started they're approach. Swimmers of all ages, sizes, male and female. It was the 2nd Viking man swim from our dock. It was alot better weather this year than last year, as it was so cold, raining and almost snowing. Early June. They changed the date this year hoping it would be alittle warmer. It was. What a fun site to see all these dedicated people do what they love. Congrads to them all!



Today we had the funeral for Andrea. It was a very sweet and spiritual service. The music was amazing and the talks extremly well put. My sweet husband conducted and helped the family this past week. It's amazing what happens inside families and how some get confused and let little things fester and cause conflict. Paul counseled them to not let disagreements come between each other. We must love and do good and be kind to each other. Life is fragile and death is certain. Really, how lucky we are to know about death and the joyous occasion it is when we cross over the vail. Pretty simple words but inspiration for us to live by. By the end of the day I felt that the two sides had made some kind of amends. They spoke to each other, hugged and had a simple quiet moment together. For Andrea's sake, I'm happy that took place.
I keep telling Paul that by his time is over being bishop, him and I will have learned so many things and gained so much knowledge. It's a very rewarding time in our lives.

Last Days of Summer

I'm kicking and screaming changing my background to fall. It's killing me! But what do you do? I live in Idaho.
We've had a great summer with so many things to be thankful for. I got to see my family alot this summer which has been great. Spending time with my sister has been a blast. Hopefully this winter she can come so we can quilt for a week... And my parents are doing rather well and still able to travel. My husband is somewhat settling into his new calling. Everyday a new question arises. We seem to find the answer and we move on. We both are learning ALOT. My kids are doing well. So life is good.

Yes,that's me. Our final days skiing


Paul tearin' up the river.

Attention Shoppers!

Today I bought 15 bags of Kraft cheese and 1 container of Tide. Total Cost?
$2.45. If your not cashing in on the Kraft promo your missing out. Call me if you don't know how to do it. It's going on thru Tuesday of next week. In Cali. too.

Wedding

The wedding was so much fun. Emily did a great job taking the pictures and we love them. Thank you Em! Thanks to the girls that helped during the reception they were a blast to work with and Kim loved them!

Lonely Days

You have to watch this. Made me laugh and I thought of my Paul. He would totally do this for me. Love him. (Sunday's are long days without him. I miss him.)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLjWDKu0jfM&feature=player_embedded

Recipe Surfing

I found a couple of new sites thanks to Brooke and Elise... This one "Three Many Cooks" has wonderful ideas and the "Pioneer Woman" is awesome. Check it out and enjoy. Let me know if you get inspired...(you'll have to copy and paste the url)

http://vimeo.com/11696182
http://thepioneerwoman.com/

Also while your at it... check out Brooke's bridal pictures. So beautiful.
http://momentpix.blogspot.com/

Wedding Bells

What a whirlwind of activites. It's very sureel to have one of your children get married. What a bitter sweet time in someones life. Brooke and Colton were married August 14th. Paul was able to marry them and what a sweet tender moment for him. We laughed, cried, and were nervous all at the same time. We had a few moments together... The whole event went off with no problems and we were pleasantly surprised by the turnout. About 350 people came to the reception to greet the two families and the two "lovebirds". Who are at the present time in Cancun enjoying themselves relaxing and enjoying this sweet moment in their lives.

The whole party was everything we expected it to be. The food was wonderful, the decor beautiful and of course all the people invovled were so gracious to do anything we asked of them. Thank you to you all.

Cali Trip

Went to Cali. for my dad's 80th birthday party. We saw lots of family and friends. It was busy but some of us managed to go to the beach, shop and hang out. The weather was great and we really enjoyed each other. When you only have a short time to visit you really try to savor the moments. That's what's important. Life is good.

Paul and Colt Surfing. They were in the water all day. Came home like little lobsters. Kenzi was out there too but I don't have a pic of her. She was so good at it, some people asked her on the beach if she knew where a good place was to eat. "I'm not from here, I'm from Idaho..." They thought she was a local. She looked so good with the board and wet suit!

The "Motley Crew"

My dad and mom

Brooke and Kenzi at farmers market sharing a carmel apple w/ m&m's...

Paul, Kenzi, JR,(nephew)Colt and Brooke Framers Market is the best place to be in SLO on Thursday nights. Tons of people come from the valley and the food is great and the fresh produce is awesome. We ate so much fresh fruit. It was a lot of fun.

Jaimie (neice) Brooke, Colt, Ging, my sis, Paul and Kenzi Koo

It's Been Too Long...

Heellloo fellow bloggers! I'm still alive and kickin' and doing ok thru the month of July. Lots of stuff happening at our house. Where do I begin? We had a great party of the 4th of July. Lots of family and friends here. Kenzi got to come home for a few days and we enjoy her of course. Colton and Brooke are still doing plans for the wedding which are in full swing. It's going to be wonderful. And for those who don't know our news, Paul will be able to marry them because he is now Heyburn 2nd ward's Bishop! Yes that's right, we're all still in shock and probably will be for quite sometime. It hit me out of the blue, Paul had some idea. We were doing alot of praying and I was thinking "whats going on here?" not that praying is not the norm in our household but it was how often and what was being prayed for. We're in full swing and it should be interesting to say the least.
We will be going to SLO in two weeks for my dad's 80th b-day party. We have alot of fun stuff planned for that and can't wait to take a little vaca...


We had a great family dinner here on Sunday after church. Great food of course and 4 of the sisters were here. It was a very nice day and we really enjoyed each other's company.

Terrill, Denise and Carlene, They're a hoot...
Ez, Colt, Brooke and Kenzi

Tiffany, Joslyn, Elise and Kenzi at the family dinner on Sunday

Alison gave Brooke a very nice shower on Saturday and it was alot of fun. The food was delicious and the decor was fab. Thank you to my great friend!

Brooke received alot of nice things for their home and cute aprons to help her out in the kitchen!

Kenzi and Brook at the bridal shower

A BIG Week In Review

On June 12th we went to Logan to watch Kenzi in her final dance recital for the year. It was wonderful and of course she danced beautifully. We enjoyed each other's company and we're so glad we got to see her.

This was a cute little Father's Day gift I made for Paul before I left for my little vaca. So Cute. He loved it. Had all his favorite candy in it.

After being in Logan that day, Paul and I traveled to SL and spent the night and the next morning I flew to Reno to meet my mom and sister for a wonderful week in Tahoe. Our annual trip with each other. We joined our cousins, aunt and uncle. It was a great time. We laughed, we ate, shopped, some gambled, we read, walked around the great little community of Tahoe Meadows, we ate, shopped, laid around and thats about it. It's nice to get away and always wonderful to come home. The weather has been better and we hope for sunny days here in Idaho!

These are some of the girl's that were apart of our family trip. Me, Debra, Angelina, Julie (in the back) Tierza, just graduated from Arroyo Grande Police Academy, Yeh!, Ginger, Mom and Aunt Patty.
This is what happens to you when you have alittle too much to drink... and your cousin plays tricks on her favorite boy cousin. :)

Me and the girls at the Lakeside Casino watching the Laker's Game on the jumbo screen. Lakers all the Way!

Oh and by the way... saved $42 at Walmart today. LOL :)

Brooke and Colton

You have to click here to see what gorgeous children I have! Brooke and Colton's engagement pictures. I don't know how they will choose. http://momentpix.blogspot.com/

Kenzi's Birthday

Not only did I coupon shop on Monday, May 31st. It was also Kenzi's birthday. She was home for 4 days and it was alot of fun. Her and I of course cooked, watched Golden Girls, for the 100th time. I think I've seen every episode at least 10 times... shopped, did laundry and watched Blindside. Love that movie. She is hilarious and keeps us in stitches all the time. We listen to music (very loud) and she loves old rock n roll and glamour rock. It's so funny when she says she's in love with Tom Petty. What? I was in love with Tom Petty. The surfer dude when I was in high school. Too funny. She's a whopping 19. Aaaggh! Her cake was so cool. It tasted really great too. (I did not make the cake) Happy Birthday to our little Kenzi Roo!

Memorial Day Savings

I hurried down to Albies this morning to get my good deals. It's such a blast getting all this stuff. I know it seems alot but when it comes to some items, I know the items we go through regularly and I really like to stock up. The Sweet Baby Ray's shelf life Aug. 2011. That's our favorite, the sour cream, thru June 30th. We go thru at least, 2 containers a week. So I know those won't go bad.
I'm proud to say that OOP was... $32.78. Whoot Whoot! Saved $ 66.19. That is awesome savings!
Now I wouldn't normally buy those quantities if I was just regular grocery shopping, but thats how you stock up and now I won't be buying sauce for quite a while. It's pretty funny when the cashier rings up 2 bottles of barbie sauce and 1 sour cream and the total is .78 cents. HA!
OR you get 4 pkgs. of jumbo hot dogs and 2 sour creams and the total is .70 cents. HA! Love the coupon shopping. :)