Friday, February 27, 2009

Babies, Fathers and 9-1-1

Ruth: Take a minute and laugh! Jason is so good, he's never reacted like this, that I know of, but maybe you know someone who has!? I laughed so hard all three times that I watched this!



These are hilarious too! I found them on a friends blog.

9-1-1 What is your emergency?

These were sent to me from my daddy! I've just about died from laughing so hard! These are what they call "An idiot is born every minute!"

Dispatcher : 9-1-1 What is your emergency? Caller: I heard what sounded like gunshots coming from the brown house on the corner. Dispatcher: Do you have an address? Caller: No, I have on a blouse and slacks, why?

Dispatcher: 9-1-1 What is your emergency?
Caller : Someone broke into my house and took a bite out of my ham and cheese sandwich . Dispatcher : Excuse me? Caller : I made a ham and cheese sandwich and left it on the kitchen table and when I came back from the bathroom, someone had taken a bite out of it. Dispatcher : Was anything else taken? Caller : No, but this has happened to me before and I'm sick and tired of it!

Dispatcher: 9-1-1 What is the nature of your emergency? Caller: I' m trying to reach nine eleven but my phone doesn't have an eleven on it. Dispatcher: This is nine eleven. Caller: I thought you just said it was nine-one-one Dispatcher: Yes, ma'am nine-one-one and nine-eleven are the same thing. Caller: Honey, I may be old, but I'm not stupid.

Dispatcher: 9-1-1 What's the nature of your emergency? Caller: My wife is pregnant and her contractions are only two minutes apart Dispatcher: Is this her first child? Caller: No, you idiot! This is her husband!

Dispatcher: 9-1-1 Caller: Yeah, I'm having trouble breathing. I'm all out of breath. Darn....I think I'm going to pass out. Dispatcher: Sir, where are you calling from? Caller: I'm at a pay phone. North and Foster. Dispatcher: Sir, an ambulance is on the way. Are you an asthmatic? Caller: No Dispatcher: What were you doing before you started having trouble breathing?Caller: Running from the Police.

I hope you've had a good laugh today! I know I have!

Monday, February 23, 2009

Snapshot

Jase: This was in an email my dad sent. I remade it and thought I would share it with you all. This is me to a "T".

Freecycle: CD Storage

holds 100 compact discs. Tells only part of the news in order to cast itself in a good light (spins). Maple-looking.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Freecycle: Bed Frame and TV Antenna!

Jase: For all you collectors of fine antiques we have a Radio Shack ATV1000 TV antenna (bunny ears). It is in very good condition, lightly used. Our only broadcasting station in our area has gone digital. So, the antenna is no longer useful to us. Maybe it can help you for the next four months.

We also have a queen bed frame. It isn't broke. I don't know what else to say about it. It's hard to think of something funny to say about a bed frame.

This is our second blog today. Please read the one below also.

Yummy treats: Kettle Corn

Jase: When we lived in Auburn we attended a ward dinner where one of the members provided kettle corn. It was the first time I had ever tried it and I was immediately hooked. But I never got to have the real thing again until recently. I have had the microwave version and it is a far cry from the real thing.

Growing up we often ate air-popped popcorn with butter and salt. We had pan-popped popcorn once (if I remember correctly) when the power went out for a couple days in winter. But, now that I’m older, I really don’t like air-popped popcorn. To me its like eating sponge, not that I’ve ever eaten sponge. Pan-popped popcorn is crunchy. But pan popped is usually pretty greasy after you add the butter.

We have continued the tradition of after-church-popcorn in my family. But very recently, I got the idea to try kettle corn. I found a couple recipes on line, and one very unhelpful video. My kettle corn debut opened at a Family Home Evening and was an instant hit with almost everyone. Ruth is now a staunch convert, previously being against the delectable snack food, with her only memories being of the microwave variety.

Kettle corn is salty and sweet. And those two flavors work together better than chocolate and peanut butter! It is easy to prepare yourself. It has half the fat of buttered, pan-popped popcorn.

To make kettle corn heat 1/4 cup oil in a 3-quart saucepan or a frying pan, making sure to use the lid. Use a little more oil if you are using a frying pan, between 1/4 and 1/3 cup. Heating the oil takes 2-3 minutes. Then pour in 1/2 cup of popcorn seeds. Shake the seeds around until they are level in the bottom of the pan, then immediately add 1/4 cup of sugar. With a Pampered Chef bamboo spatula (this part is extremely important) push all the seeds and sugar to one side of the pan, then to the opposite side, then back again. Then shake the seeds out so they are level on the bottom of the pan again. This mixes the seed and sugar quickly and well. Replace the lid. As the seeds pop, shake the pan so the unpopped kernels stay at the bottom of the pan. They like to fly around with the popping and ride on the popped kernels.

When the popping slows to 2-3 seconds between pops, take the pan off the heat and dump the popcorn into a large bowl. I like to shake 5/8 teaspoon of salt over the mixture, adding half, stirring the popcorn, adding the rest. The salt is really to your taste. If you have a Pampered Chef adjustable teaspoon measure its easy to measure 5/8 or tweak the amount salt you use.

The popcorn will be sticky at first, while it is still warm. When it cools it will appear to have a clear coating on it. This is the candied sugar. Six cups of popcorn is a serving. So, enjoy!

Here is a helpful video on making kettle corn. Fair-sized machines are awesome. We should build one for family reunions. http://www.kettlecornmachine.com/Portals/0/uploads/PerfectBatch.html

And here’s what Wikipedia says:

Kettle corn is a sweet-and-salty variety of popcorn that adds granulated sugar, salt, and oil. The flavor of kettle corn is less sweet than caramel corn. It is a lighter sweetness that contrasts subtly with its saltiness. Additionally, nutritionists point out that it has less fat and sodium than most flavored popcorns, a desirable feature for people on low-calorie or low-sodium diets.

Kettle corn history in the United States
In the 1700s, kettle corn was introduced to colonial palates in the United States. It is referenced in the diaries of Dutch Settlers in Pennsylvania circa 1776. It was a special treat often consumed at fairs or other festive occasions. The corn is cooked for maximum taste in iron kettles and then sweetened with sugar or honey before adding salt. The combination was widely popular in the early 1800s but fell from wide usage during the 1900s. In the early 2000s, it has made something of a comeback in America, especially at 19th century living history events. As of 2006, it is cooked and sold at fairs and flea markets throughout the United States, especially art and craft shows.

The microwave version is sold at grocery stores by Orville Redenbacher's, Act II, and other brands. Most microwave varieties of kettle corn do not contain sugar, since sugar tends to scorch in the microwave. This problem has been solved by replacing sugar with artificial sweeteners such as sucralose. This is a health concern to some consumers, but it is not widely publicized.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Family Valentines

Hope you all had a happy Valentine's Day!

This morning Ruth made Valentine cards for our kids and put them on their bedroom door while they were cleaning their room before breakfast (Swedish pancakes are the best!). Kaitlin had lost her card by picture-taking time.


After our late breakfast we got our snow clothes out and bundled everybody up and drove up to Boggs State Demonstration Forest. This forest is in the Mayacama Mountains just to the west of Clear Lake off highway 175. The elevation at the forest entrance is right at 3000'. We weren't sure if we would find snow up there but we had high hopes. At around 2500' we started to see snow on the ground and the kids started to get excited. I said I didn't see any snow so we would have to turn around. Of course the kids all hollered "NOOO!"

We had fun for about and hour. There was four to six inches of snow everywhere. The forest is so thick there was always snow falling from the trees somewhere close. We made a big snowperson and threw lots of snowballs.

It started to snow and Aaron's outer layers were getting wet so we headed home. Everyone loved the snow! Hopefully we can go again soon.

Edit: In the evening Ruth and I enjoyed some broiled rib-eye steaks, thanks to Sarah and Joe. A sitter came over and played with the kids while we went to the ward Dance and Dessert event. We tried learning the "Two-Step" without any success. We did learn how to say "One-Two-Quick-Quick". I think it was my most enjoyable Valentine's day ever.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

The Man is Old!


The Sun was out, warming up the day. We were in the van driving home. I had Kaitlin Christopher and Aaron in the car with me and all of a sudden I hear Christopher start belting out: "It's raining, it's pouring the man is old and snoring!" WHAT? Where did that come from?! Cute, and totally out of the blue! Aren't kids great!? They make my life a fun musical! I LOVE that my kids enjoy singing. You never know who is going to be singing a random song. It sure helps make my days a little brighter! Especially when they sing slightly different words that still work and are ten times cuter than the real words!

Just a cute picture I got of Aaron.

Kaitlin singing "I Am A Child of God."

Do your kids sing to you throughout your day?

Friday, February 06, 2009

Spalted Sycamore bowl

Thanks to those who commented on the last post on the bowl. Here is an update. The bowl is in its final shape. I need to put a finish on it still. The center portion of the bowl that is spalted is very fragile as it has already begun to decay. It would make a very nice decoration.

New family member blog

Welcome, Kip, to the blogosphere. I've added my brother Kip's blog to our link list here. You can navigate to his page by finding the link in our list below or click here. Now if we can just get Lyman to blog, we will all be on here.

Dad says I am an artist. I disagree, although I enjoy beautiful things and try to make nice stuff out of wood, I never feel like I've created anything original, just taken another person's idea and showed it to someone who hasn't seen it.

Dad is shortening his sycamore trees. I grabbed a piece of the wood hoping to find something exciting inside. Here is a picture of a half finished bowl from a cut-off from one of the trees. The brown squiggly marks (called spalting) running through the wood are most likely caused by a fungus but they add a lot of interest to an otherwise plain wood (no pun intended, the tree is also known as a plain tree).

Thursday, February 05, 2009

Princess for a day...

O.k., maybe just a couple of hours. Yesterday was my 29th birthday and I decided to celebrate with a princess party! A couple of weeks ago Emily brought home an invitation to a princess party put on by the Girl Scouts where they would be able to dress up, have their faces painted play in a castle, etc... but the cost was $15 per child and I'm sure I couldn't send Emily without sending Rachel as well. So, first of all I probably wouldn't have let them go even if it were free, and I certainly couldn't justify paying $30 for a couple hours of fun that would probably bring the girls home cranky and wanting more. Also, with things the way they are for us right now, I barely have $30 to spend on groceries (Let's hear the sobs and see the tears now people!).

Anyways, I was very quickly able to talk the girls into having our own Princess Party for my birthday instead. They were thrilled and we spent the next few days thinking of things we could do and we made the calls for the invites.

Yesterday was the big day and almost everyone we invited was able to come. It was mostly my friends and their daughters. For dinner we enjoyed some "Princess food," Caesar chicken salad, Fruit salad, Ham and Turkey sandwiches on homemade french bread, Salsa, chips, and pretzels. For dessert we each gobbled down a vanilla cupcake with pink frosting. After we had stuffed ourselves silly, the young princesses decorated their own princess hats. They then put on lipstick and took turns kissing our Frog Prince (Blindfolded of course) that I drew and the girls helped me color. Alaina was the one that smacked him right on the lips (She may have been peeking though, still not 100% clear on that one yet, Oh well). When each was done swapping spit with the handsome frog we finished the rest of their make-up and painted fingernails. We all had a blast! The girls were such a big help and they had such a good time! We only got them in bed 45 min. late. I hope they have a good day at school today! Anyways, the moral of this story is: You can never be too old to throw yourself a princess party! So I hope to be invited to yours someday!

Thanks to all my friends and family who called to wish me a great day! I wish you all could've come to the party!

Finally! Christmas!

So, I've put this off long enough! Sorry it took me so long to get this on here! We had a great Christmas thanks to our family and friends this year! A couple of out friends from the ward (Their identities remain partially secret) acted as Santa for our family, since Jason has had very little work. We came home from caroling one night to a bag FULL of gifts for the kids and us! We spent time with our families and were spoiled with a new DVD/TV from G&G Mavy plus much much more. Thank-you to all who helped make this last Christmas a great one! We were definitely blessed and the kids will hopefully remember this Christmas for the rest of their lives! I know that I will never forget the love we have felt from our family and friends. We love you guys!

Wednesday, February 04, 2009

Tuesday, February 03, 2009

The Church contribution to Prop 8

copied from http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/church-clarifies-proposition-8-filing-corrects-erroneous-news-reports

Church Clarifies Proposition 8 Filing, Corrects Erroneous News Reports

SALT LAKE CITY 2 February 2009
Today The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints clarified erroneous news reports following the filing of its final report on donations to the ProtectMarriage.com coalition.
On Friday, 30 January, the Church filed the final report of its contributions (all of which were non-monetary) to the ProtectMarriage.com coalition. The report, submitted in advance of the 31 January deadline, details in-kind donations totaling $189,903.58.
The value of the Church’s in-kind (non-monetary) contribution is less than one half of one percent of the total funds (approximately $40 million) raised for the “Yes on 8” campaign. The Church did not make any cash contribution.
Because media coverage about this filing ran without a comment from the Church, the following statements of fact from the Church add context to this story and should help correct the record:

Fox13 (Utah): “The documents show the amount spent by the Mormon Church is greater than what was initially stated.”

Fact: The Church, like other organizations on both sides of the ballot issue, was required to publicly file these donations by the 31 January deadline. The Church has been filing required contribution reports throughout the campaign. Those earlier donations “initially stated” were filed for specific time periods prior to this last reporting period, as required by law. Other groups are also filing their final contribution reports to meet the same deadline.

San Francisco Chronicle : “Mormon church officials, facing an ongoing investigation by the state Fair Political Practices Commission, Friday reported nearly $190,000 in previously unlisted assistance to the successful campaign for Prop. 8, which banned same-sex marriage in California.”
Sacramento Bee : “The disclosure comes amid an investigation by the state's campaign watchdog agency into whether the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints violated state laws by not fully disclosing its involvement during the campaign.”

Fact: This filing is in no way prompted by an investigation by the California Fair Political Practices Commission. Many organizations are filing this week to meet the deadline required by law. We believe we have complied with California law.

KFMB 760 AM (San Diego) :
Mormon Church Misstated How Much It Spent in Prop 8 Fight.” “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints previously claimed only about $2,000 was spent in support of the measure.”
365Ga y : “Mormon Church admits it spent 100 times more for Prop 8 than reported”

Fact: Again, the previous disclosure of an in-kind donation was to meet an earlier deadline. In fact, previous filings detailed over $50,000 out of the total non-monetary contribution of $189,903.58.This week’s filing reported donations that fell within a different time period and required reporting by the 31 January deadline. Other groups also made their final contributions reports this week.