Busy

I like being busy!

Having my mind and body both engaged in good work is a good thing.

Some of my best thinking is done while my body is working (like cutting the grass...or in Saturday's case, fertilizing). The future looks bright when I'm thining about ways to make life better.

I like being busy!

A VERY quiet Saturday

The clouds hang low in the sky.
Rain drizzles down in fits and starts.
It's in the 50's.
Danny is in Nashville for Nash Bash.
Todd's on his way to Florida.
Mom's not feeling well.
Ally's learning about her new phone.
It's VERY quiet!

So I'm using the time to get caught up on important things that don't always get down in the rush to deal with the urgent.

Last night, Mom and I were watching a DVR of our favorite show - NCIS. during a commercial, we were talking and she reached down, gently pulled my head up to hers (I was on the floor, she on the couch) and gave me the most wonderful, soft, loving kiss. It melted my heart and reminded me yet again how blessed I am to be able to be her husband. It was heavenly!

Thanks to Troy & Kristin for letting Todd & his buds spend the night last night. You guys ROCK!!

2 in a row!!

Sunday evening...looking @ being on the road all week.

I'm particularly quiet today...really tired, for no apparent reason! I'm definitely worn down a little after a VERY busy work week w/another coming up...BUT...knowing the God lives and that his Son, Jesus Christ is my Savior SHOULD help bouy me up. Perhaps I'm feeling "quiet" because I haven't given the Lord a chance today. Hmmm...

Mom & I participated in a neighborhood "Progressive Dinner" last night. We visited 5 homes w/about 15 people and had a VERY nice time. We ended @ our house for dessert...Carrot cake, chocolate Creme pie & Lemon Cheescake!!! We enjoyed chatting w/our neighbors! They asked me to bless the food...nice to be known as someone williing to do so in ANY situation!

I had a physical last week...my cholesterol is "High" so I'm to begin taking some medication and visit the Dr. again in 3 months...no more Carrot Cake, 1/2 stick of butter on my toast and BLT's w/6 pieces of bacon!!!

I love my fam. I love my wife. I'm working on felling happy at this moment. I'm trying to understand "what I REALLY want" (I know the Lord wants it to be "Eternal Life" for me...I want to develop a burning desire for the same thing) so I can let it guide me around all the "what I want today" that comes up.

If it is to be, it's up to me!!!

Hey!

2:40 p.m., 28 February 2010:

The last day of February. The last day of Oracle's 3rd Quarter. The first day of the rest of my life and my best day so far.

Tomorrow is the anniversay of the day that Laurel & I were sealed for time AND eternity. March 1st, 1980...30 years ago. We had been married for more than 1 1/2 years before I was prepared to take her to the Temple. I'm grateful to Heavenly Father that I'm even more prepared now...so we have been attending monthly doing @ least 2 sessions. I cherish the moments in the Temple when I can gaze @ her for a few un-interrupted moments.

After we were sealed that first time (by Grant Bowler...Laurel's former HS Principal and then member of the St. George, Utah Temple Presidency), "they" (I don't remember who it was) brought Nate into the sealing room and laid him on the alter between us. He was 3 1/2 months old. I had no appreciation @ that moment how blessed and challenged we would be honoring our covenant to "multiply & replenish the earth". Nathan, Anna, Shelley, Kristin, Todd, Jordan, Danny & Ally have loving and oft times unintentionally shown me my limitations while also showing me that something called a limitation today, is only a limitation tomorrow if I let it be so. I'm grateful to the Lord for this knowledge & his example.

Perhaps I can become a more regular blogger...if it is to be, it's up to me!

ILU4E

I Love U 4 Ever

Dad

Kristin gave me this idea and I have wanted to try it for the longest time, OH, oh, oh for the longest time- oops got off track, anyways, I am going to post recipes that I have found and tried and liked. I will probably tweak them, as I normally do and as I did with this first one. Hope you enjoy. Love you all.
One of the many things that Ally and I like to do together is to go to the Noblesville Farmer's Market. Sometimes we even get Dad to go. It starts in May and ends the end of October.

All the wonderful fresh produce- the best corn on the cob, state produced honey(where you can even see the bees working and the queen bee just lazin' around)- plants, crafts and our favorite----- KETTLE CORN- fresh and hot. The booth is near the end of the line (though there is still a whole other side to go by) and we make sure each week that we are able to go to the Market we buy our bag of KETTLE CORN- now those of you who have never tasted fresh, hot, right off the whatever it is they make it in- oh right out of the kettle, you don't know what Kettle Corn is suppose to taste like. So one day as I was looking at a food blog that Anna introduced me to I found a recipe for: you guessed it, KETTLE CORN- I found it several weeks ago, but last week decided to give it a try- can we say Ummmmmm, Ummmmmm, Ummmmmm. So far, Ally has made it at least once a day except on Monday, when I made monkey bread. So I just knew that this had to be my first recipe entry. So give it a try, I promise you it is good and is easy to make.

STOVE TOP KETTLE CORN

3 TBLS. canola or vegetable oil

1/3 cup popcorn kernels

3 TBLS. granulated sugar

salt

The recipe for kettle corn isn't complicated-- it's the little tricks that matter. So I'm going to teach you all the little tricks!

1. Place a large stock pot on the stove top. Set heat to medium-high. Add oil. While your oil is heating (it won't take long) measure out your popcorn into a small bowl. Add sugar to the kernels. When it's time to cook, everything moves very quickly, so it's important to have it all ready to go.

2. Wait until you see your oil smoke. This is one little trick that a lot of people overlook, but it's important. The smoke is very faint, but if you just stare at the pot (it helps to get down parallel to it), you'll see little billows of smoke coming up. That's your cue!

3. Pour popcorn kernels and sugar into the pot. Immediately stir using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, scraping sugar from bottom of pan. This step should only take about 10 seconds because I don't want a lawsuit from someone who got pooped in the eye with a popping kernel. That is your first disclaimer. ONLY 10 SECONDS!

4. Cover the pot with the lid. You will need to shake the pot with your hands and you'll want to make sure the lid stays on, so get a dish towel and drape it over the top of the pot and the two handles.

5. Hold the pot by the handles in a way that you're securing the lid on as well and shake the pan side to side in all directions and up and down a few times. (Ally takes the pot away from the stove as not to break the stove top) Then place the pot back on the burner. Do this every 20 seconds or so. It will keep the sugar from burning on the bottom and help the kernels to be evenly coated.

6. After a few minutes you should start hearing the pops. (if it doesn't start popping after a few minutes, crack the lid to let some of the pressure out. Chances are when you put the lid back on, it will pop away). Continue the shaking every 20 seconds or so until you can tell almost everything is popped. Remove from the heat, remove the lid and stir immediately.

7. Sprinkle salt to taste and then keep stirring. You can eat it warm right out of the pan (Disclaimer #2 caramelized sugar is HOT so don't eat it right away.) or let it cool completely. It's great either way!

We use our largest pot, the first two times we made the recipe as is- but found that if we halved the recipe and added it to the first amount that it made more and was a good amount for that size of pot, I haven't tried doubling it yet, but since so far it's just Ally and me eating it, we really don't need any more- so here is the amount so you don't have to think:

1/4 cup plus 1 1/2 tsp. canola or vegetable oil

1/3 cup plus 3 TBLS. popcorn kernels

1/4 cup plus 1 1/2 tsp. granulated sugar

salt to taste

ENJOY!!!!!!

It's fall, though these pictures were taken a couple of weeks ago before peak and now that they say it's peak, we have no leaves. But I had to show this picture it is one of my favorites. I woke up one saturday morning (one of two days I can sleep in and wake up to daylight. As the sun was coming up, it shined through the trees and created this. A thing a beauty. Now that the trees are bare it's another kind of beauty, I will try one day to capture that.

This is one of two trees in our yard that we have with leaves, it is one of my favorite trees because of the color. Two bad it can't be that way all season long.

Before the leaves were blown out of the gardens and the hammocks were taken down.

That touch of red in this picture is a Japanese Maple. A friend of mine is remodeling her house and she had two of these trees that needed to go. I took the smaller of the two. (The other one bit the dust as the workmen didn't know how to transplant a tree, let alone even dig one up.)Never did I realize that it would turn red in the fall. Sure hope it grows a lot next year and fills up that space. (I can dream can't I?)

Chestnuts roasting on a open fire- It's time of the year. The time to finally start playing Christmas Music- well at least for one day while the kids carve their pumkins. Yes we did it late this year, and only picked out the pumpkins yesterday. We have found as the kids get older, harder to get them all together at the same time.

Jordan ever so thoughtful- if you can't tell he carved Obama with the words HOPELESS underneath- I told him "if we get egged- it will be your fault"- Danny believes there is no teenager around this area that would do it as they really don't care for the man. (not in his words)

Danny has guts coming out of his month and will have more out the top or in this case the side tomorrow night on Halloween when the Pumpkin is lying down in it's postion.

Todd did carve his, two lines, only able to see them when it is one its side

Ally more traditional with the face- though I told her my faces would be the triangle eyes, nose and a smiley face with a couple of teeth. So scary.