The One About the Friends

This has been one of those days where I don’t know quite what to think, or quite what to do. What do you do the day before your son comes home from a two-year mission? Clean and go crazy? Well… first I worked to mail out a bunch more CDs. Then I tried to organize some new guest blog posts and managed to have a misunderstanding with a friend. Good times. Then I went to a Christmas dinner and instead of sitting with the ladies, I sat with the young people who were the entertainment. And they were very entertaining. They counted how many times people came up to me and asked when Casey is coming home (Wednesday at noon, in case you wanted to ask) and how many then followed up with the million dollar question: Are you excited? Haha! I think they stopped counting after about 30. Then my daughter-in-law showed up with Jif, which is always the best. We went home, with Jessi riding in the back seat next to Jif atop a layer of wheat (no, seriously… don’t even ask…) and made pizzookies. More friends came over and we ate the pizzookies and played a humiliating couple rounds of a dice game called Chicken until after midnight. All in all, the day was about friends. A little sour, a little sweet. Maybe every day is really about friends.

Over the past while, friends have done a lot of things for me. One friend brought flowers and planted my front yard so that it would be beautiful when Casey comes home. One brings Skippy home from school for me several days a week. A couple of my friends bring me frozen yogurt on their way home from work, and sit to talk for awhile. One friend encouraged me all year long on my CD project, even when I told her to shut up because I wasn’t doing it anymore (several times). One listened to the master CD about five times straight the last week of the project (when friends seemed in short supply and no one else seemed to have time for me!) to try to help me find things to fix. One friend talks me down when I get too stressed, and reminds me not to listen to people when they are making me crazy (which happens more often than I care to admit). My sons and daughter-in-law, who are the best friends anyone could ask for, all pitched in to get me ready for my CD party, and it was like having a housekeeper, a decorator and a chef all show up at my door just at the right time. One amazing friend even catered that party for me!

I am definitely not worth so much trouble. What are the best things that friends do for you?

The One With Lindsay and the Cowboy

So I met this cute girl named Lindsay. Friend of a friend. Being the immature person that I am, I find that many of my friends are younger, and in the dating years. Lindsay told me about her conversation with a boy today. He is 20, and will be leaving on a two-year church mission in a few months, and they had the following conversation (to the best of my recollection):

Lindsay: I am happy to go out on dates with you, but I have a feeling you are more into it than I am. (translation: I think of you as a friend)

Cowboy: Well, Lindsay, this is how it is for me: I am leaving on a mission soon (where there will be no more dating of girls), and basically I am just out to get what I can. I am trying to “fill up my canteen,” so to speak.

Wait a sec...did you really just say fill up your canteen???
I am still trying to wrap my brain around his choice of analogy... not to mention the intention behind it. There are a lot of canteens in the world, Lindsay. Fortunately you are smart and good enough to know that you don’t need to provide a watering hole for every random ridiculous cowboy out there.

This is one of my favorite quotes: “Girls are like apples...the best ones are at the top of the trees. The boys don’t want to reach for the good ones because they are afraid of falling and getting hurt. Instead, they just get the rotten apples that are on the ground that aren’t as good, but easy. So the apples at the top think there is something wrong with them, when, in reality, they are amazing. They just have to wait for the right boy to come along, the one who’s brave enough to climb all the way to the top of the tree...”

Lindsay is definitely at the top of the tree. When one of those boys cares enough to climb up, then he is worth looking at. All the better if he leaves his canteen on the ground so that he can climb better.

The One Where She Was a Monster

Yesterday I found myself giving unsolicited advice to a friend. For like… forty-five minutes! I’ve never liked that quality in others, and have always admired my parents for being so good at refraining from doing so. It’s pretty bad when you can’t just have a friendly conversation, right? A listening ear? I don’t always have to have my say.

I need to watch my monster mouth, and ask myself, before I speak:

Is it timely?
Is it true?
Is it kind?
Is it necessary?

Maybe I should carry around a stack of post-it notes with those questions printed on them, with check boxes alongside. Maybe with a little reminder at the bottom that says, You. Are. Not. Everyone’s. Mom. Or maybe just some duct tape. For my mouth. Am I really the advice monster?

The One With the Comfort Food

What has happened to my life? Where did the lazy days go? I have been so busy my head is spinning. Could have something to do with that project I haven’t gotten around to telling you about yet… maybe. Oh, and I am making good progress on my recipe book. I have a list of about thirty more of my favorite recipes that I still have to make, so that I can include a photo or two with each recipe. It is going to be very, very cool. This was a great weekend. My amazing family... best friends… true church… and I just realized there is no school tomorrow, so I don’t have to get up at 5:00 a.m. Awesome. Too tired right now to make a lot of sense, so I will just leave you with a taste of my Sunday dinner.

This…

and did I mention...this?

Stuffed Pork Chops with Homemade Applesauce

Company Carrots

The One Where She Screamed and Held On For Dear Life

Even Ethan asked me last night, “Mom, where have you been for the last month?” The answer: I’ve been on a rollercoaster. The same one y’all are on. I know you are… you don’t even have to tell me. How are you enjoying the ride? I’m usually really good on rollercoasters; I’ve never had a weak stomach. But this time I found myself on the low end a few times, and a little disoriented. But it’s all part of the ride. Here are some scenes from my rollercoaster summer:

Spending way too much time staring at the computer:





Taking some fun photographs of fun people... love these guys. Check out their band at Sad But True.


Hanging out in my sister’s backyard in Salem, Utah. Hers is the backyard that all backyards wish they could be. This was taken right before the mother of all barbecues, which was followed by a weird cross between frisbee, football and skeet shooting (don’t ask me how to explain that better), and then that night over the pond... the best, closest, and scariest fireworks EVER.


Did I mention, camping at one of the most beautiful places I’ve been: Glacier National Park in Montana.



Blowing in the wind:


Hanging out with some favorite people:


Throwing rocks at stuff:


Catching a few winks (best line from Twilight: “I like to watch you sleep.”)


Starting a bug collection (thank you, Montana). Seriously... you know you can click on any of my photos to see them full-size... click on this one if you want to be really grossed out:)


Hanging out with my adorable grandson, Jif... and his very cute mom and dad.



Watching DK be a grandpa:


And finding a little time in between to play games with my peeps.


All in all, not a bad way to spend a summer. How is yours going?

The One With the Good, the Bad and Ugly

Today we went to the beach with two of our favorite (ex) missionaries and Elder H’s family. It was beautiful, dirty, perfect… and shocking. Opposition.

I got to take some engagement photos for these two. The big one is Elder H’s brother Clint. The cute one is Natasha. I’ll post all their photos on the photo blog in a couple of days.


We roasted our corn as usual:



The friends were fun, the food yummy.







The water, still pretty cold, even in July.

Oh, and in case I forgot to mention, the sunset: Amazing.

The One With the Secret Ingredient

I have bangs today. Random, right? I just thought I would share.

So on to the real subject of the post. I have read on Carolyn’s blog that duck eggs make practically anything you cook with them magic. But yesterday I found out firsthand, when a package arrived from Virginia. Did I mention how much I adore receiving letters or packages addressed to me? Inside were a couple dozen chocolate chip cookies. I bit into the first one, expecting that, having traversed the continental U.S., it might be a little crumbly or crisp. No. Perfectly soft, melt-in-my-mouth, and tasting as though it was still slightly warm from the oven, as the box had been sitting on my front porch for a few minutes.

Carolyn is one of my close friends. No, I have never met her. In fact, lately I have noticed that many of my friends are people I have never met in person. I could give you a list. (Sounds pathetic, doesn’t it? Like, “No... really, I swear I have friends...”) But maybe my list of friends I have never met begs the question… is it easier to like me if we haven’t met? I hope that is not true. I am working on the skill of sugar-coating things a little better. But really, isn’t it fascinating how one can reach out across thousands of miles and find a kindred spirit?

As for the duck eggs, I have never tasted one before now. Carolyn rescues them from menacing ravens, and then bakes them into cookies, with love as her secret, magical ingredient. I know, because I read the post where she made them. Love as a secret ingredient is a powerful thing. Carolyn clearly has it down. I throw a little love into my food as well, but it is not my secret ingredient in everything I make. Have I ever told you what is? You have to guess. If you guess correctly, then you can come over to my house, have a seat in my kitchen, and I will make you something. If you live too far away, then you will have to use your imagination. Or maybe you will ask some other favor… the answer to some obscure question… a handwritten letter… whatever. So, secret ingredient. Hmm... what could it be?