. . . seasons . . .

. . . the calendar tells me

today is

the first day of spring . . .

. . . the weather forecast tells me

that here in mesa,

we'll be experiencing

all the seasons

within the space of one week . . .

. . . all the seasons

except that one

that lasts for about six months

where it feels like you're

on the surface of the sun . . .

. . . two thumbs up . . .

. . . recipe successes

from over the weekend . . .

. . . first up ~

salted caramel butter bars . . .

. . . they're salty . . .

. . . they're caramel-y . . .

. . . they're buttery . . .

{and, yes, they're bars, too}

. . . a couple of mental notes

for next time . . .

. . . and there will be a next time . . .

. . . the recipe says

to coat a 9x13 pan

with non-stick cooking spray . . .

{why don't they just say pam?}

. . . but you might say to yourself:

"self: there is

one pound of butter

in this here dough ~

there's no way it's going to stick" . . .

. . . and then ~

you will not spray the pan . . .

. . . and you will be right . . .

. . . the dough just slides right out . . .

. . . the caramel filling,

on the other hand . . .

. . . will be stuck

to the sides of the pan like

super glue,

e6000,

gorilla glue,

epoxy,

liquid nails . . .

. . . take your pick . . .

. . . spray the pan . . .

. . . i'm just saying . . .

. . . also ~ next time i will salt

a little more . . .

. . . there's tons of sweet going on . . .

. . . next up ~ spring-ish potpourri

simmering concoction . . .

. . . you should make this . . .

. . . it smells a lot better

than the three packages of bacon

chris and i cooked last night . . .

. . . it's simple: slice a lemon {or 4} . . .

. . . snip a few sprigs of rosemary . . .

{i have tons. i'll share}

. . . pour in a little vanilla . . .

{go easy. the vanilla was a slightly overpowering on my first try}

. . . simmer on low . . .

. . . i would recommend

not leaving home

while the stove is on . . .

{public service announcement}

{it looks really fresh and pretty until you start to simmer it.

then it looks kinda like a brown slimy mess.

but it smells delish.}

. . . gotta run . . .

. . . wish me luck . . .

. . . i'm making these today . . .

. . . gracias frani . . .

. . . everyone should be so lucky

{at least once in their life}

as to have a next~door neighbor

like frani . . .

. . . we were partners in crime

through more crafting shenanigans

than you can shake a stick at . . .

. . . she was always the glue gun whiz . . .

. . . i was in charge of sewing . . .

. . . remind me sometime to tell you about:

•the time a bunch of us

stayed up pretty much all night

making framed pictures

of victorian houses

out of fabric and trims

•the time we stayed up

pretty much all night

making gingerbread man wreaths

•the time we

bought a special machine

that applies metal picks

to silk flowers

•the time we made

who knows how many

flower arrangements

to sell at a boutique

•the time she introduced me

to the orange county swap meet

•the time{s}

she caught drew and brad

tinkling outside

•the time she played matchmaker

for amelia and tyler

•etc

•etc

•etc

•and then the time

she showed up at my house yesterday

with this darling jellybean topiary

she whipped up for easter

. . . it's getting a little crowded here . . .

. . . since now we have

a february

mary engelbreit calendar page . . .

. . . a jellybean easter topiary . . .

. . . then to make things

a little more confusing . . .

. . . i thought i'd throw in

our st. patrick's day

double rainbow fruit plate . . .

. . . seriously ~ i miss

having frani right next door . . .

. . . those were the good ol' days . . .

. . . wearin' o' the green . . .

. . . remember that one time

when everyone but amber

got the memo? . . .

{she was waaaaay too old/cool for matching by then}

. . . happy st. patrick's day

from the romney kids . . .

{ca. 1992-ish}

. . . and happy birthday

to son-in-law, tyler

and former visiting teacher, jamie . . .

. . . gifted . . .

. . . friday night's

television lineup

includes

a gifted man . . .

{but not during march madness}

. . . a series about a neurosurgeon

who is visited frequently

by the spirit

of his deceased ex-wife . . .

. . . i know, i know . . .

. . . but i like it . . .

. . . and my favorite part

is that during each episode

i get to see

what my hair is going to look like

in the next life!!!! . . .

. . . meet dr. kate sykora . . .

{aka actress rachelle lefevre

~ she's gorgeous ~

and apparently she was in twilight, which i never saw}

. . . she's not the dead ex-wife . . .

. . . she just plays the doctor

who took over the ex-wife's position

at a free clinic . . .

. . . oh ~~~ it's complicated . . .

. . . but i love her hair . . .

. . . it's coming along . . .

. . . i like to be able

to see the big picture . . .

. . . even though

it's a little early . . .

. . . i've still got

a few more blocks

to put together . . .

. . . and a lot of rearranging to do . . .

. . . but i'm pretty sure

i'm going to love this one . . .

. . . 3.14159265 . . .

. . . happy pi day . . .

{march 14th ~ 3.14}

. . . i wouldn't consider myself

a math whiz

{by any stretch of the imagination}

but i've always remembered

that if you need to know

the circumference of a circle

you multiply the diameter

by pi ~ aka 3.14 . . .

. . . special thanks

to my sophomore geometry teacher,

mr. steiner . . .

. . . mmm pi . . .

. . . my favorite is lemon supreme . . .

. . . or fresh peach . . .

. . . or french silk . . .

. . . how about you? . . .

. . . encroachment . . .

. . . it's like arizona's version

of kudzu . . .

. . . geraniums

are taking over . . .

. . . creeping over walkways . . .

. . . inching closer and closer to doors . . .

. . . between overflowing flower beds,

the scent of citrus blossoms

wafting through the air,

and perfect 80 degree weather ~

this is a lovely time of year . . .

. . . and i can hardly bring myself

to get out the pruning shears . . .

. . . three amigos . . .

. . . happy birthday

to my favorite politician . . .

willard mitt romney

born 12 march 1947

{65 years old}

. . . happy birthday

to my favorite singer/songwriter . . .

james vernon taylor

born 12 march 1948

{64 years old}

. . . and happy, happy birthday

to my favorite son . . .

andrew davis romney

born 12 march 1989

{23 years old}

. . . in conclusion:

some pretty awesome guys

were born on the twelfth of march . . .

. . . a great way to start my sunday . . .

. . . early this morning,

i listened to the end

of the book of mormon . . .

. . . the very last book . . .

. . . ten chapters

of moroni . . .

. . . a few last words

from that great prophet . . .

. . . chapters he didn't think

he'd still be alive to write . . .

. . . he had witnessed wars,

atrocities, wickedness,

and the utter destruction

of the nephite and

lamanite nations . . .

. . . words written just before

he hid up the records . . .

. . . records which were translated

by the power of god

in these latter days

by the prophet joseph smith . . .

. . . in that very last chapter,

moroni issues a challenge

to all who read

the book of mormon . . .

. . . a challenge

of how to know

if it is true . . .

{chapter 10 verses 3-5}

. . . he also admonishes us

to "come unto christ,

and be perfected in him" . . .

. . . because as mortals,

imperfect as we are,

that's the only way

we can become perfect . . .

. . . i've taken moroni's challenge . . .

. . . i know

the book of mormon

is another testament

of jesus christ . . .

. . . it is true . . .

. . . of that,

i have a strong,

unshakeable testimony . . .

{more of my testimony here}