28 February 2013

. . . mass production . . .

. . . usually equals 
mass destruction . . .

. . . greasy pans . . .



. . . colorful trimmings . . .



. . . overflowing trash . . . 



. . . and the makings of dinner 
for three households . . .



. . . tonight's salads included 
romaine lettuce, fresh pineapple,
 oranges, strawberries, avocados,
 craisins, toasted pecans, blue cheese,
 bacon and grilled chicken 
dressed with a
balsamic poppy seed vinaigrette . . .


{p.s. the homemade rolls were doughy. 
i think something's wrong with my oven.}
{p.s.s. don't worry. the mess is all cleaned up.
#ifigotobedwithdirtydishesinthesinkiamcrankyinthemorning}


27 February 2013

. . . in the navy . . .

{village people, anyone?}

. . . one easter . . .
. . . 1989 to be exact . . .
. . . i dressed the entire family 
in navy and white . . .
{when they were all still young enough to wear whatever i told them to wear}
. . . quite a departure 
from the usual springy pastels . . .
. . . and i really can't wait for the day
 when drew and jessalyn 
have a little boy . . .
. . . why? . . .

{feel free to discuss/laugh at our perms/bangs to heaven. it's fine.}

. . . because i still have 
that sweet outfit . . .
. . . and i will see 
that it is worn again! . . .
{love you, drew and jess!}


. . . perhaps this nostalgia 
is what inspired 
today's batch of oops! . . .
. . . there's just something crisp 
and kind of nautical 
about this color combination . . .


. . . a couple of these 
paired with a navy bloops! 
would make a wonderful gift
for any new boy baby . . .


{navy blue always makes me think of "franck" from father of the bride 
talking about steve martin's "nauffy blue tuxahdo"}



. . . none of these crazy girls 
were wearing navy last night,
{smooth segue?} 
but hanging out 
with my funny daughters 
is always entertaining . . .

. . . and amanda's hashtags 
crack me up . . .


26 February 2013

. . . another shared birthday . . .

. . . at first, it was just me . . .
. . . and the darn wind . . .
. . . holding down the fort . . .


. . . but then 
the guests of honor 
arrived . . .
. . . nathel and amelia nathel . . .
. . . born exactly fifty years apart . . .


. . . i couldn't ask for a better mother . . .
. . . or a better daughter . . .
. . . happy birthday, girlies! . . .


25 February 2013

. . . short stuff . . .

. . . alterations . . .
. . . that seems to be 
the name of the game 
when you're five foot nothing . . .
. . . here's what i cut off of 
one pair of skinnies, 
a pair of sweats, 
some other black pants 
and three maxi dresses . . .


. . . it's the least i could do 
for the girl of the hour . . .
. . . happy number twenty-seven,
 amelia . . .


. . . go, shorty . . .
. . . it's your birthday! . . .


23 February 2013

. . . oratorical addi . . .

. . . addison competed today 
{for the third time ~ 
she already made it past her school and district competitions} 
in an oratorical contest . . .
. . . i never knew there was 
such a thing . . .
. . . all the contestants were dressed 
as their chosen character . . .
. . . addi chose helen keller . . .
. . . she was serious about it . . .

{how can it be that my grandchild is this old?} 

. . . she did an amazing job . . .
. . . her speech 
was completely memorized and 
~ AND
she signed the entire thing, too . . .
. . . she gave facts 
about the life of helen keller, 
her relationship with her teacher, 
annie sullivan, 
and she also included 
some of helen keller's 
own quotes . . .

. . . also represented were 
three georges and two abes . . .

{and molly pitcher, the printing press, baseball, walt disney, 
shirley temple, henry ford, and annie oakley ~ to name a few}

. . . after the speeches 
{and before the awards} 
the man on the left 
asked addi 
if she would visit 
his chapter of the lions club 
and give her speech 
at an upcoming meeting . . .


. . . addi was presented 
with the most coveted award 
of the competition . . . 
. . . an award named 
after a past grand master 
of the masonic lodge 
that sponsors the competition . . .

. . . addison could hardly wait 
to get home 
{it's a long drive from paradise valley to gilbert!} 
so she could pose for this photo 
and post it on instagram . . .


. . . as you might guess, 
i probably had a little tear in my eye 
as i watched her . . .

"walking with a friend 
in the dark 
is better than walking alone 
in the light."
~helen keller
{what a remarkable person}


21 February 2013

. . . team spirit . . .

. . . raider fans are hard core . . .
. . . even raider fans 
who are expecting 
their first baby . . .
. . . not sure yet if it will be 
a little raider or a raiderette . . .
. . . but the bases are covered . . .


. . . either way . . .
. . . no question about which team
 these parents are rooting for . . .


. . . coming or going . . .

{does your little one have a favorite team? i'm happy to oblige}


20 February 2013

. . . a rare sight . . .

. . . snow . . .
. . . in the flower beds . . .
. . . at the temple . . .


. . . in mesa, arizona . . .


. . . okay, utah people . . .
. . . don't laugh . . .
. . . we arizonans are easily amused . . .
. . . and a little chilly today . . .


19 February 2013

. . . hawaiian chinese haystack sundaes . . .

. . . are they hawaiian haystacks? . . .
. . . are they chinese sundaes? . . .

. . . whatever you call them ~ 
they're something i hadn't made 
since that gluten-free thing 
came into our lives 
because of the dreaded 
cream of chicken soup 
in the sauce . . .
{also chow mein noodles, but you can easily skip those}
{well . . . I didn't, but if you need to be gluten-free, you can . . .}

. . . but i've been noticing 
that lots of people 
are jumping on 
the anti-cream-of-whatever 
bandwagon . . .
. . . and when you think about it, 
it really is kind of gloppy 
and disgusting 
when it comes out of the can, 
isn't it? . . .
. . . so i decided to see 
what i could figure out . . .

. . . well . . . 
. . . here's my new version . . . 
. . . and it was yummy . . .



4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
kosher salt
fresh ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter


heat olive oil and butter in large skillet. season chicken with salt and pepper. brown on both sides. transfer chicken pieces to crock pot. deglaze pan with 1/2 cup water to loosen brown bits. add liquid to crock pot. finish cooking on low 4-6 hours.

1 quart chicken broth {kitchen basics brand is gluten-free. i get it at fry's.}
4 tablespoons corn starch
1/2 cup cold water
8 oz. cream cheese
8 oz. chive and onion soft cream cheese {this secret ingredient is thanks to a trick i learned from lori}


heat chicken broth in large saucepan. dissolve corn starch in cold water. stir until smooth. slowly whisk corn starch/water mixture into hot chicken broth. sauce will thicken as it comes to a boil. lower heat and  stir in cream cheeses until melted and sauce is smooth. remove from heat.

remove chicken pieces from crock pot. add sauce to remaining cooking liquid in crock pot. when chicken is cool enough to handle, shred into bite size pieces. add chicken to sauce. keep warm. 

to serve: let diners layer any {and or} all ingredients. that's the beauty of it. there's something for everyone.

steamed rice {i cook in chicken broth for extra flavor}
chicken sauce
grated sharp cheddar cheese
halved grape tomatoes
diced celery
minced green onions
diced red bell pepper
green peas
sliced olives
pineapple tidbits {they're just the right size}
mandarin orange segments
craisins
toasted coconut
toasted almond slices
bacon bits
chow mein noodles
kosher salt
fresh ground black pepper


top with a maraschino cherry and enjoy. 

it's an easy dinner to make for a crowd, especially if everyone is assigned to bring a topping or two.


14 February 2013

. . . this one's for you, dad . . .

. . . we're at that age . . .
. . . we're most likely 
to run into old friends 
at our parents' funerals . . .
. . . and every time, we say, 
"we really should get together" . . .
. . . well, apparently, the only way 
to make it finally happen 
is to have a "take charge" guy 
move back to arizona 
after 30-ish years away . . .  
. . . so ~ this past weekend, 
was the first ever 
mesa 19th ward 
non-funeral reunion . . .
. . . see? . . .

. . . i had a pretty much
 sheltered/charmed/awesome 
childhood and youth . . . 
. . . i didn't live 
in the fanciest neighborhood . . .
. . . but i grew up 
in the best ward ever . . . 
. . . i was always proud to say 
i was in 19th ward . . . 
. . . my dad was the bishop 
during most of my junior high 
and high school years . . . 
. . . all my closest friends 
were in my ward . . .

. . . i looked forward to this reunion
 almost as if it were christmas . . .
. . . and you know what? . . .
. . . people came . . .
. . . lots of people came . . .
. . . mostly the "kids" 
who were teenagers 
when my dad and royce beydler, 
who followed him, 
served as bishops . . .
. . . and our parents . . .


. . . koko {he was the boss} 
organized a brief program . . . 
. . . he introduced bishop beydler . . . 


. . . who then proceeded 
to take the mic 
and crack himself up . . .
. . . he's adorable . . .


. . . then my cute mom 
spoke on behalf of my dad . . .
. . . she used his own words, 
as written in his life story . . .


. . . confession: 
i got a little teary-eyed 
listening to her . . .

{two of the five julies ~ neuffer and dastrup. 
and yes, i will probably always refer to them by their maiden names}

. . . these two ladies are the wives 
of my dad's bishopric counselors . . .

 {edwina dastrup and patsy huber}

. . . and here is 
one of my dad's counselors . . .

{clark huber ~ he never ages}

. . . one thing we absolutely wanted 
to have happen at this reunion 
was a reenactment 
of a roadshow theme song . . .
. . . what you see pictured here 
are a lot of really good sports . . .
{we probably could've used a rehearsal or two}
. . . "the lights come on, 
the music plays at sundown, 
the people stir 
because it's not so hot" . . .

{marilyn berry, laurie lambson, kori richmond, janet berry, panda head, 
sally carpenter, deanna conrad, julie dastrup, lawanna burgess, 
lisa beydler, julie neuffer, kathy kocherhans}

. . . "come check the teeth 
and test the knees - 
not run down. 
on our camel lot" . . .
. . . and the girl to boy ratio 
at the reunion 
was about the same 
as it was for the actual roadshow 
thirty-nine years ago . . . 
. . . look how much fun 
the boys were having! . . .

{russell carroll, koko head, todd lorenzen, jeff davis, ted sherwood, 
and julie ellsworth who was turning pages for me at the piano}

. . . i bet there weren't 
five julies all the same age 
in your ward, were there? . . .
. . . four of them 
came to the reunion . . .
. . . one from prescott, 
one from spokane . . .
. . . then later that night, 
all five of them got together 
for their own after party . . .

{julies ellsworth, pomeroy, neuffer, and dastrup. not pictured - farnsworth}

. . . a great time was had by my family
 ~ brother jeff {with all his eyewear}
me and mom . . .


. . . i felt such a flood of emotion 
just walking into 
that old barkley building . . . 
. . . a lot ~ a LOT ~ of memories . . .
. . . and i was completely unprepared
 for how much 
it made me miss my dad . . .
. . . he would have loved this party . . .


. . . i bet he was there . . .


 . . . kind of cool that we partied 
on february 9th . . . 
. . . right before dad's 
valentines day birthday . . .
. . . that also would have 
made him happy . . . 
. . . we visited him 
at the cemetery 
this afternoon . . .
. . . where halleigh 
entertained the littles 
with storytime . . .


. . . and we were all surprised 
to look over 
and find tate in prayer . . .
. . . he was very serious . . .
. . . amber asked 
what he was saying . . .
. . . he said he prayed 
for grandpa great 
to please come back to earth . . .
. . . childlike faith . . .
. . . we had to have a little talk 
and explain a few things . . .

{notice the orange soda again?} 
{and my little brother's headstone.}

. . . oh, how i love 
this family of mine . . .
. . . the ones on earth . . .


. . . and the ones who've gone . . .

. . . i really looked forward to 
 the reunion last weekend . . .
. . . and i'm even more excited 
for the one someday 
in heaven! . . .

{reunion photo credits: julie ellsworth logan and deanna conrad scanlon}