RAISIN FILLED COOKIES

I remember eating raisin filled cookies when we would visit Grandma Betty. I forgot that my mother had written grandma's recipe down for me and I came across it today. They taste just as good as I remember.

Filling:
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
juice of half a lemon
1 TBSP flour

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer until thick. Set aside to cool.

Dough:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter or shortening
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
3 1/4 cup flour

Cream butter, sugar and egg. Add milk and all other ingredients. Roll out dough on floured surface and cut into 3" circles. Place a heaping TBSP of raisin filling on each circle and top with another circle of dough. Crimp edges and pierce top with a fork.

Bake at 400 for 10-12 minutes.

WE FOUND

the Provo, Utah house my mother lived in when she was younger.Next time we are in Utah, we are going to find the home of my great grandmother. That will definitely put a little skip in my step.

OUR FAMILY HAS BEEN MOURNING

the loss of Jeff. A husband, father, son, uncle, cousin, grandson and nephew to a family who loved him dearly and misses him.
There have been many tears, hugs, sleepless nights and through reminiscing we have found glimpses of smiles and even laughter. There are never ending stories of this great man who loved his family, life, joking and teasing.
Over 1000 people came to pay their respects at his viewing Sunday evening and it was an amazing sight to see how many lives he had touched in only 44 years.
Monday there was a beautiful, touching memorial service and he was buried by the snowy mountains he loved.

Jeffrey Cole Young

1966-2011

We love and miss you Jeff.

Until we meet again.

IT'S A GREAT DAY TO

celebrate Derek's birthday. Derek is fun, thoughtful, caring, smart, interesting, loyal, protective, loving, an awesome brother, wonderful uncle and half of the best chocolate covered spamball making duo ever.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEREK!

WE LOVE YOU!!

I KNOW I'M GETTING OLDER BUT

in my mind, I'm still young and still invincible. Tragedies happen to others. Not our family. The deaths I have experienced have been with grandparents, and albeit sad, they were old and can be justified.
When I was 17 I lived with my aunt, uncle and cousins. They are my second family. They are not my aunt and uncle, they are my other mom and dad. My cousins are my brothers and sister.
Tuesday I got the worst phone call of my life. One I thought I wouldn't hear until we were "old". My cousin is only 44 and had a heart attack at work. He is leaving behind a gorgeous wife and four beautiful/handsome children. He loved his family so much, was a hard worker, loved to hunt, loved life, had the funniest goofy laugh that you just couldn't help yourself to laugh with him and was the king of teasers. 44 is too young to be called back home.
I know we believe families are forever and I know we will all see him again but the pain in my heart is so painful, I'm wondering 'why?' and my heart is breaking for his wife and children, his mother and father, brother and sister. They were all best friends.
I'll be with them soon, to hug them and cry with them. I wish I could take away the ache and pain of torn hearts.
Hug your family tight. Tell them you love them. We forget we are not invincible.

IT'S A GREAT DAY TO

celebrate Stephanie's birthday.

Stephanie is my adventure seeking sister who is:

fun

kind

thoughtful

loving

has the most contagious laugh

interesting

interested

smart

caring

talented

funny

awesome aunt

best sister ever

and will be marrying Batman.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEPH!

WE LOVE YOU!!

KILL ME NOW

Mustache March has begun.

THE SOUL SISTER GETAWAY

at the coast was a blast.
We stayed in a 4th floor 2 bedroom 2 bath condo that had a full kitchen, jacuzzi on the deck and a beautiful, peaceful view of the ocean.

We strolled amongst antique shops and found items that ranged from uber funny to interesting to creepy and everything in between.

We treated ourselves to a relaxing pedicure and ate at many yummy restaurants.

Can I just tell you that if you think you play Ms. Pac-Man well, Heidi and Heather would wipe the floor with you. They should be professional competitors.

This was such a fun long overdue weekend.

And yes, we might have had fun with the camera's self timer.

HEY SISTER, SOUL SISTER

The Soul Sisters are an amazing bunch of women. Luckily for us, our husbands adore one another just as we adore one another, maybe they should be Soul Brothers.
We've known one another for ages and we celebrate our birthdays with lunch dates, we go on dinner dates with our husbands, would give our shirts off our backs for one another but our last girls weekend getaway was 10 years ago!
This long overdue slumber party was this weekend at the coast where we experienced beautiful sun, stormy clouds, intense rain, tsunami winds, food, pampering, relaxation, chick flicks, sleep and belly roll laughing.

I heart these women.

PS - I'll post some photo highlights later.

IT'S A GREAT DAY TO

celebrate Ivon's birthday!

Ivon is uber talented, loving, thoughtful, a hard worker, interesting, a wonderful brother, an awesome cheesecake loving uncle, full of surprises, smart, kind and fun.

WE LOVE YOU IVY!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

EMAILS

I'm behind. Really behind.
Oh dear.

BATHROOM UPDATES ON A BUDGET

We used Textile Grey on the walls and Brilliant White on the ceiling and molding. We had white paint left over from the baseboard project, so paint was 24.95. It would have been less, but I wasn't thinking and got a gallon.

The tub we took out was 28" wide and was replaced with a 30" wide. We would have loved to go wider and WAY deeper, but the super deep ones start at 32" and the tub space we had to work with couldn't go wider than 30".

We saved and purchased our tub last summer at 40% off. It's one that feels like cast iron but it isn't. The great thing about this tub is that it is insulated and keeps the bath water super warm for a long time. It also has a slanted back for a relaxing soak.

The new shower curtain was 26.99 and we installed our curved shower rod that we already had.
Larry changed out the plumbing so we wouldn't get scalded when someone flushes the toilet while you're showering. We got the new faucet/shower (and all the inside necessities) at 40% off.

We were thrilled to find subway tile at Lowes for .23 a tile. We tiled the surround up to the ceiling for 113.46.

Our floor was on sale for 1.58 a tile and was completed for 56.88.

A big expense was the behind the scene items needed to complete the projects: hardie backer, cement board, thin set, grout, sealer, caulk, etc... The 'etc..' came to just over 300.

Left on the bathroom TO-DO list:

-repaint the existing vanity brilliant white - cost .00

-paint and install baseboards - cost .00

-purchase and install new hardware

-make a new counter top (if this turns out like I hope, it will be rad!)

-purchase and install new sink

-purchase and install new sink faucet

-purchase a new bathroom door

When all the projects are complete, we will have transformed the bathroom, sub-floor to ceiling, for well under 1500.00

HOMEMADE FLOUR TORTILLAS

I made these last night for our Taco Tuesday dinner. So easy and so mmm, mmm good.2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 TBSP oil
3/4 cup warm water

Mix dry ingredients together in a medium bowl. Combine wet ingredients. Add wet ingredients 1 TBSP at a time to flour mixture, mixing with a fork as you go. When finished the dough will be sticky.
Knead on floured surface until stickiness goes away. Let sit for 20 minutes, covered with a damp cloth.
Roll dough into balls, about the size of a golf ball and let sit for 10 minutes, covered with a damp cloth.
Flatten ball with your hand then roll out to approx 6-7 inches. Cook each tortilla for 30 seconds on each side on a preheated skillet.

LILY

had a little girly operation.She doesn't seem to understand that she needs to rest.

APPYHAY IRTHDAYBAY

We had a fun family dinner to celebrate Grandpa Joan's big day.

When we are all together, it's always a party.

WE LOVE YOU GRANDPA JOAN!

CELEBRATING TEN YEARS

of life is fun, especially when you have a giraffe cake.
We partied like it was her birthday...

IT'S A GREAT DAY TO

celebrate two family birthdays. Grandpa Joan is awesome. He is loving, spiritual, caring, interesting, funny, hard working, loyal and most importantly a wonderful husband, father and grandfather.

Maddie has one of the best laughs ever. She is full of energy, thoughtful, loving, smart, cute, funny and an awesome giraffe loving niece.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

WE LOVE YOU!

A SEWING MACHINE

that belonged to my Grandma Betty, is now with me.

One of my favorite things about the machine is that her thread is still in her bobbin.

I miss her.