note to self:

When you run out of Baker's Joy do not think you can get away with using only Pam to grease a bundt pan.

money well spent

The circa 1980 stove in my kitchen was probably a low-to-mid-grade model in its day. Thirty years later it's still functional, but leaves a bit to be desired. Today I spent possibly the best $30 ever on new drip pans, greatly improving not only the look but also my morale.

Behold, the old drip pans:

In my defense, the drip pans weren't always this dirty. They have been on a slow but steady decline over the past year or so as I became busier and the stains more difficult to remove--even with heavy-duty cleaning products and lots of elbow grease. Once I got the brilliant idea to simply replace them I quit cleaning them altogether. Smart, eh?

One less scary thing around the house.

happy birthday Mom!

What better way to honor the woman who instilled within me a deep appreciation for and love of real butter than to make a cake that contains almost two pounds of it?

I opted to not put the jam between the layers, in deference to family members who wouldn't like it.

I've been wanting to try making real buttercream, and that's where over a pound of the butter went.

The recipe made a LARGE batch of frosting-all the better for tasting. Please overlook the smears of frosting on the cakeplate.

The cake was just this side of overbaked, which was irritating, but was still tasty. I mean really, with all that butter it couldn't be horrible.

Happy birthday, Mom!

just when you thought I'd forgotten about Blogger

Never mind that it has been three months since my last post. Never mind that I don't even know where to start to "catch up" so I don't think I'll even try. Never mind that this summer passed in a blur more quickly than any other in recent memory. Never mind that I should be folding laundry right now. Just never mind a lot of things.

Here are a few random highlights from the past three months, in no particular order.

For those of you who follow me on Pinterest, I finally chose a dress pattern to make for my 30th high school reunion in June:

And speaking of my reunion, I had a great time spending time with my best high school buds (and our beautiful daughters) shown here at InTea, a way-cool tea shop owned and operated by my friend Carole:

We spent a number of summer evenings watching Sarah's team, the Mustangs, play softball.

We loved having Josh and Charlotte come over the Fourth of July weekend!

We love hiding stupid things around the house for each other to find, the latest of which is a creepy plastic lobster that John managed to sneak home from youth conference. You never know where that thing will turn up next!

Mark gave us a scare when re-lighting the pilot light on our dinosaur-aged furnace. A mild explosion left him with bad burns on his hand, a hairline 1/2" shorter, and little-to-no eyebrows. (This photo was taken after his hand had healed considerably.) Hooray for hot showers, though!

Participated in my first-ever graffiti mission (or perhaps I should say anti-graffiti), spraying over an obscene gesture that Emily and I found distasteful on a dumpster in our neighborhood. It just goes to show you that matte black spray paint isn't just for old lamps and picture frames.

I finally got around to defrosting my dinosaur-aged 2nd (garage) refrigerator freezer.

We ate numerous times at Senor Burrito, our favorite local Mexican spot, for dinner--courtesy of my Dad.

I loved having Emily home for the summer and was sad when it was time for her return to Provo. We had a fun trip together, though, in her new car (I flew home after a brief day-and-a-half stay).

Loved seeing Michelle!

I completed my mormon.org profile.

I cut my hair, working toward some sort of bob 'do (see another one of my Pinterest boards). A work in progress.

I took John to have his senior pictures taken (sorry--no link available; I'll post them after I purchase the copyright to the ones I like best). I'm still wondering how John can possibly be a senior in high school already.

And how is it that Sarah skipped the gawky seventh grade phase altogether? This is her first-day-of-school picture, as an official seventh grader:

And there you have it:  my (mostly) complete, and (somewhat) comprehensive review of Summer 2011. Here's to better blogging in the Fall. . . .

family milestone

Today was not just the last day of school for the year, but the end of an era for our family at Prospect Valley Elementary--the end of 17 continuous years as parents of children attending the school. I snagged this photo from the school's website, hence the grainy quality.

I wanted to make something for the teachers before the year ended to show my appreciation for the years they have spent teaching my children. And really, what says love more than a basketful of homemade cookies (Ranger and Quadruple Chocolate)?

Sarah's 6th Grade Continuation was held in the morning and lasted nearly two hours (about 45 minutes too long in my estimation). We were sitting too far back to get very good pictures, but I managed to hold my camera up high enough above the heads in the crowd to snap this one of her getting her certificate. I will not miss the ambiance of the cafeteria/gym that doubles as an auditorium.

Afterwards there was a reception on the front lawn, where I snapped a few photos. Sadly, Sarah was one of the few girls in the sixth grade who was not dressed like a sleazy cocktail waitress.

I cajoled John into coming along despite the fact that he was suffering from extreme fatigue, having been "kidnapped" at 3:30 a.m. by graduating seniors from his show choir as a deranged sort of "welcome" into the group (never mind that next year will be his third year in the group).

We made one last trip into Sarah's classroom to pick up her report card and to say goodbye to her teacher Miss Rutledge.

It cracked me up that Sarah had to rip open the envelope containing her report card the minute we walked outside of the classroom. I think she wanted to check to make sure that her assigned grade for next year really is the seventh.

Thankfully, any concerns were quickly assuaged.

While I can honestly say that I have had my fill of carnivals, field days, sock hops, homeroom parties--and I certainly will not miss the snarled morning and afternoon traffic--I nevertheless must confess to having a slight catch in my throat as we walked away from the school grounds for the last time, knowing that next Fall we won't be coming back.

Thanks, Prospect Valley, for being a constant in our family's life for the past 17 years. You've been good to us.

steppin' out

Just when I'm coming to terms with having a daughter who's married and another almost through college, my son--my little blonde-haired boy--goes to Prom. And his date has cleavage.

Don't get me wrong--she's a very nice girl--I really like her, and I'm all for going to Prom, it's just that how did John get old enough to go?

I decided to make a fancy vest for him to wear with his black (choir) tux. I was able to buy fabric for the vest and bow tie, a nice tuxedo shirt from Jos. A Banks, and a beautiful set of gold cuff links/shirt studs for less than it would have cost to rent an outfit. And let me tell you, my little boy looked pretty studly. His date was happy, too, because I managed to custom-match her gold dress.

I made sure he had a pretty corsage to give his date (though I did have to remove a considerable amount of gobby ribbon. Yes, those are gold rhinestones and a pearl bracelet. Apparently corsages have come a long way since the early '80's.

Look at her beautiful 'do!

And I guess John will always be my little boy, even though he now towers over me at 6'5". *sigh*

really? . . .

This came in last week's mail: