Fuzzy Wuzzy was a Caterpillar.

Meet Fuzzy Wuzzy.  Wuzzy is the caterpillar that the kids fought over found together on Sunday morning while playing in the backyard. This morning, Wuzzy was already attached to this stick and ready to build a cocoon. I'm looking forward to daily photos of Wuzzy (or wuzzn'ty?).  Sorry.  I know that's shameless pun-ism, but I can't be expected to help myself!  Hopefully we will get a few more good captures, and will ultimately introduce you to a beautiful butterfly!

Freestone Fun

While it is this month, and before it is next month, I would like to post about something we did last month.

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We love Freestone Park.  It's got it all: basketball courts, volleyball courts, batting cages, skate park, rec center with climbing wall, raquetball courts, playgrounds, lakes with ducks, carnival rides, mini-ride-on-train, and the best iceblocking hills in the Valley of the Sun.

So, when my wonderful sisters-in-law called to say that they driving down to my neck of the woods to go there, we couldn't help but join them!

The fun began with a friendly game of basketball, that quickly turned into a Fight of Posession.

It clearly pays to be the tallest...

In the shadow of the game, one could find

After the heated basketball game ended, it was time for 

We played by our own set of rules until our shadows grew long.

It wasn't long before I left the game to be with my

Allow me introduce the Arizona Cousins to you:

Get used to these faces, friends, because you'll be seeing a lot of them over the next few days as the Spring Break posts come up. Oh, yes. Good times to come!

Minty Fresh Cakalicious!

When my Mom mentioned a few weeks ago that she needed to make a dessert for her ward's HFPE night, I just acted like I didn't hear her.

For a minute.

And then, of course, I offered to make a cake if she'd like.

She'd like.

And so I started thinking of ideas.  I came up with some doozies, but in the end, I decided on this simple Mint Chocolate Cake that I had seen on this Singapore blog.  Apparently Mom was assigned to do a table, and dessert in the theme of December.  And nothing spoke December to me like the smell of peppermint and chocolate.  Mmmmm.

As it turned out, this wasn't a simple thing for me.  It began with the fact that I had to convert the metric weights and measures into American ounces and pounds.  It took me a little while, but I eventually got it.  Then I had to do some substituting because I didn't have fresh cream (another blogger who made this cake *here* went in to mentioning pasteurized cream vs. not, and so forth) and in making my own self-rising flour by adding some baking powder and salt to all-purpose.  Okay, so it wasn't as simple as I planned... and I started it at 8:00 last night, so I didn't have a lot of energy to work with.  But I got them done, and still managed to watch Chuck with Shane.  All in all, a productive night, I'd say. ;)

So this morning, all I should have had to do was create the ganache, garnish, and be done.  But I didn't like how the cakes turned out.  At all.  They were dry and heavy like a shortbread.  In fact, I would really not call them cake at all, but shortbread instead.  Chocolate Mint Shortbread.  Nope.  Didn't find myself thrilled by the idea.  I'm not saying that's how this recipe should have turned out, I'm just saying that after I substituted and attempted to convert the metric measurings, it didn't work out.  Very disappointing.  

I finished them anyway and saved one for our family.

And I posted the other one on Facebook for a the first person who wanted it to come and grab it. At least it was pretty.

So, I did what I should have done in the first place and used my trusty ol' cake recipe that I use whenever I need a versatile and reliable standard:  My wedding cake recipe.  

I halved my recipe and it made exactly the right amount of batter for my spring-form pan.  Ah, tender mercies!  All I did differently was to divide my batter into two bowls and to the first I added green coloring and some mint extract and to the second I added cocoa and milk.  Simple dimple.  I didn't really measure, I just taste-tested it.  And I wanted to make sure the cocoa mixture wasn't any thicker than the green mint, so I thinned it with half and half (milk would work) until they were equally thin.  

I greased and floured my springform pan well and attached my bake even strips.  And this is what it looked like as it went into the oven

It took about an hour and ten minutes to bake through at 350 degrees (toothpick test, if you choose to make this).  

I was so very pleased with the turnout.  It was

While it cooled, I made the ganache and used a vegetable peeler to shave Andes Mints into sweet little curls.

Wouldn't this also make an awesome 

I added the ganache,

and garnished with Andes Mint shavings and Junior Mints,

and voila!

Whatdya think?

Pretty, isn't it?

So, simply put, use my Wedding Cake Recipe (here), and divide evenly into two bowls.

To bowl #1 add 1 teaspoon peppermint extract and food coloring, if desired.

To bowl #2 add 1/2-3/4 cup cocoa to taste and mix in enough milk or 1/2 & 1/2  to make it the same consistency as the mint batter.

Spoon batters alternately into greased and floured spring form pan or two 8" round baking pans.

Bake at 350 until toothpick comes out clean and cake bounces back when lightly pressed.  Remove from pans 10 minutes after removing from the oven and allow to cool completely on wire rack before adding ganache.

Chocolate Ganache

1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup half and half

1/4 cup butter

2 T. honey

3/4 cup powdered sugar

Mix first 4 ingredients in a double boiler.

Melt together until it's

Then add the powdered sugar to taste.

I hope the Mesa Sisters like it! It was sure fun to make!

3 Columns. Whoopee!

I have been meaning to change my blog to a 3 column layout for a while, but just kept putting it off. So, today while baking 68 cupcakes, I decided it would be a good project to do while waiting between batches for the buzzer. A little html here, and a little there; a mishap here, and a success there... and voila!

What do you think? Is it too busy? Leave me your thoughts.

Also, Thursday is my first BLOGIVERSARY!!! Still don't know what I will do for it, but expect a party! Leave me your suggestions if you have any ideas!

Thanks, all! I love ya!

When I was 15, in order to reduce my insurance rates as a young driver, I took Driver’s Ed in my high school.  Part of the course included time in a simulator machine, driving a stationary chair with a faux steering wheel, brake and gas pedals, turn signals, and the glorious little screen that showed the VHS recording of a driver’s view upon real highways, in real neighborhoods, with real dogs and children dashing into the street, through real road construction, in real snow storms, and around real blind curves. 

The simulator was to driving, what the big wheel had been to my first bike: a trainer, teaching my muscles and mind what to do, how it should feel, and giving me confidence to move on to the bigger and better experience.

Moses 3:5 states,

  “For I, the Lord God, ^acreated all things, of which I have spoken, ^bspiritually, before they were ^cnaturally upon the face of the earth.”

For a long time I have associated myself with good ideas.  I often think I could be an inventor, book writer, artist, or architect, but lack the time, resources, or educational background to physically build the creations of my thought’s design.  I have often discounted my creativity with the robbing thought, I never follow through.  I would truly love to create physically my imagination’s musings, but there is always too little money or too little time.

I remember sitting in the chapel last year, watching the General Relief Society broadcast, and listening to Elder Uchtdorf’s admonition to create. 

 

It opened windows in my mind. 

 

At the time, I had recently pained the loss of another baby and knew that my body wouldn’t be blessed to womb any more of God’s children, but I felt that his message was for me.  I had one of those moments where a General Authority spoke to the World but spoke so truly to my heart that I felt it was for me alone.  It has since that time been my personal goal to create, and I have found that I am best at creating the non-physical, and that it isn’t that I never follow through, it’s more like my ideas are often without much physical evidence. 

I’m good at creating peace where there was turmoil, creating joy where there was despair, creating smiles where there were tears, creating comfort where there was pain, none of which require any money, college degree, or special training.  All I need is a listening ear, eyes open to the needs of others, heart brimming with love, and arms outstretched for embracing. 

My ideas are still grand.  I still see the organized designs of English Gardens when I view an open field, I still hear the whistle of a new tune in my ear, I still write stories and poetry in my mind’s journals, and perhaps a time will come when I draw up plans for the ponds and footbridges, sing lyric and tune from the whispers of my dreaming, and sign the inside covers of tomes writ by my nimble pen, but if not, then I will know that my ideas were the training wheels; helping me teach my mind what to do, how it should feel, and giving me confidence to move on to bigger and better experiences.  For someday, should I endure life well, I hope to create much, much more.

Green Living

Today, while out pretending to be a Mail Lady (not to be confused with male lady), I stumbled upon this amazing example of architectural ingenuity. 

And naturally, I am sharing it with you.

With 5 stories, it doesn't leave much to be desired.

It's airy and open,

has detailed wood work,

and even sports modern indoor plumbing.

Upon closer inspection, we find that subtle modernizations have been put in place to meet current safety benchmarks, such as this parapet added to the highest balcony.

Meanwhile, other issues seem to have been 

grossly ignored.

You can really see the designer's fingerprints; their hallmark.  With their clever recycling of materials, Flea Market Decorating, if you will, their thrift has paid off;  

They have achieved completion of their bonny blueprints of bounteous bliss, and they aren't even leaving a carbon footprint.  

If only we could all be so 

subtle in our sojourn, 

so humble in our hearth.

I had only two questions as I passed by... perhaps, YOU, my brilliant readers, can answer them for me.

1. Did these architects have any idea how hard it is to clean tilted floors? (*See this link*)

2. Do you think their mother (in order to allow them to play on such a structure) had a crush on an E.R. doctor?!

Leave your two cents.  

Heaven knows I'm poor enough to need them!

Reminding myself...

So, it is Spring Break, and every Mom knows what that means... more time together for good or for bad.    

Monday, the kids fought like cats and dogs.  

Tuesday, I made a deal with Nevan that he couldn't resist, if  he would keep peace with his sisters.  Tuesday was a beautiful, happy day.  It's amazing what just one peace-determined soul can do, really.  

So, in anticipation of today's possible blunders, I am reminding myself early of what they are capable.  

Last weekend at bedtime, I found myself in the company of

and they were left there by none other than 

Ah, sometimes my young little sweethearts are so good to me.

I do, so very much, 

L*O*V*E them.