Crafts, Late Nights, & Plumbers

Saturday night was the ultimate witching hour for finishing up the Fabulous Friday crafts for display on Sunday.

It started out that we were only going to do four crafts (I'd be in charge of two and our fab enrichment leader in charge of two). Then, I felt guilty because we didn't have any inexpensive crafts--so I threw in a couple more. Then, I got this fabulous idea to make a family monogram picture.

One thing led to another and just before midnight on Saturday I was madly trying to finish up 5 not so fabulous crafts.

Of course, at that moment, I hit a crafting roadblock. I needed supplies--and I needed them right then. I did what any girl desperate for crafting supplies at midnight would do--I texted my RS President "CALL ME ASAP IF YOU ARE AWAKE!!"





Luckily, Mary, is as big a night owl as I am. So she called. I gave her my short list of things I needed to finish up my crafties:

A can of colonial red spray paint (which she amazingly enough had the exact same color & brand).

A caulking gun & paintable caulk (which she found without having to wake up her husband--who would've been about as impressed as my husband was with me and my crazy shenanigans).

And water based stain (which she didn't have--but then found on Sunday morning--not that I was still crafting Sunday morning, in the kitchen at the church, during another wards sacrament meeting).





Mary delivered the goods and ended up helping me finish the crafts until about 2 am {I am a wiley one}. At one point we were out on my deck spray painting the family monogram sign--and I said, "That would be awkward if my neighbors were looking out their windows right now." {I was bending over in my low-riding old navy pj's---which, if I 'm not wearing a long shirt, provides quite a show for casual onlookers. Think plumber. Think crack. Think me. Or don't.}



At church, Sunday afternoon, as we were putting on the final touches of our cutie-pie display--my next door neighbor, Petal's husband asked me {with a big grin on his face} what my stance on Sabbath Day observance was. Did I believe it was midnight Saturday to midnight Sunday? Or did it just start when I woke up? Or what?



The jig was up.



Brother Petal had been shutting his boys blinds and noticed my back patio light on. And me. And Mary. {Thankfully, he didn't mention my friend, Mr. Plumber.}






{Ironically, I found out that Brother Petal had actually been up watching movies & playing Xbox till 130 am. It appeared we were both in the same Sabbath Day boat--mine just happened to have red paint sprayed all over it--and the deck--which is another story for another day--and please don't mention it to El Jefe or I will be El Dead-ay}.


PS Dontcha just love a story with pictures? I'll be posting details on how to make the above crafts sometime this week--and by sometime this week--I really mean--sometime before Halloween.

Random Blogging Excuses

Okay. So, I realize that my blogging has been few and far between for the past month. This new job is killing me with the whole new time management saga. I'll be honest, I had poor time management issues before the job. So, you can imagine with my shortened day--the struggles I'm having in just even keeping my kitchen clean.

Then, you throw in my RS calling--and I feel like I've been getting my fanny kicked for the past 2 weeks. I even told my Bishop that I wanted to be called into the nursery--and he informed me that if anyone was getting called to the nursery it was him. So, it's a no-go there.

A couple of weeks ago we had a really fun recipe sharing enrichment which somehow ended up involving me organizing a 150 page cookbook. It was only expected to be around 50 pages--but at the ultimate witching hour (2 days before the event) there was a great outpouring of love {via emailed recipes} for the cook book.

{Of course, I wasn't feeling the love after the 20+ hours I spent formatting the dang thing. But, it did turn out nice--and we do have some FABULOUS cooks in our ward. }

Then, I spent most of last week (okay and most of Saturday night/Sunday morning) getting some cute crafties ready to display for our Fabulous Friday enrichment craft night. I have literally been crafting my little heart out for the past week.

We also had our Visiting Teaching conference on Sunday which required of me to make handouts, visiting teaching cards--oh & singing a song.

Yesterday, I finally had time to blog--and halfway through this post--my mouse stopped working. Who knew that little thing was so necessary to a computer's livelihood?

So, what things have prevented you from
blogging lately?

The Sunday Funnies: Uncensored

Last week, when I picked the kids up from swim team, Aussie said, "I saw two disturbing things in the locker room today."

"Uh-oh," I said. "Did it involve nudity?"

"Yes," he answered. "First I saw a 2 year old running around naked in the locker room. Then I saw an old Japanese guy coming out of the shower. He was all old and wrinkly and he had hair all over his privates."

"Aussie, when you see someone naked you aren't supposed to stare," I said (speaking from experience).

"Okay," he said.

"Hey! There he is!" Aussie shouted, pointing in the direction of the doors.

{Yup. We all stared.}

But, at least he was fully clothed.

*******************************************************************

Tonight after scripture reading, we were having a discussion about the resurrection.

Savvy summed it up best when she said, "So when we get resurrected--we will be in a perfect stage of life, we will see Jesus, and we will be able to pet sharks and not get hurt?"

The Sunday Funnies

Before Sacrament meeting today, one of my friends came up to me and said, "Thurl Bailey loves you!"

"What?" I asked, wondering how he even knew who I was.

"Thurl Bailey. He loves you. He thinks you are so awesome."

"Thurl Bailey?" I questioned, trying to play it cool, in case he was around the corner.

"Not Thurl Bailey, you goof," she said. "You know, **Carol Bailey, in our ward?" (at this point she was laughing hysterically, along with everyone else within hearing distance).

Sigh.

Guess that's as close as I am going to get to

my 15 minutes of fame.

**Name has been changed to protect the innocent

Going Postal

We receive our next door neighbor, Petal's, mail on a regular basis. We don't have the same last name--but our husbands' have the same first name (El Jefe).

You would think the "El Jefe" mail would be the only mistaken mail we get. Nope. It doesn't seem to matter the name...we get the old mail switcharoo

on a regular basis.

It's really not that bad of a gig--I've looked through some pretty great magazines, catalogs--and I always appreciate her Christmas cards...they are friends with some cool people (just kidding, mostly).

Now, don't you fret. It's a two-way street around here. Petal has benefited countless times in receiving my mail--Victoria's Secrets coupons, the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition, Emergency Preparedness ads--

we are definitely givers.

Usually, I notice the wrong mail and make the transfer before I've even left my mailbox (our mailboxes are side by side). But, occasionally the kids bring in the mail--and it's game over at that point.

{For some reason, my kids and the mail end up like

my socks in the dryer--lost.}

Last Friday, I decided to make a quick trip over to Joann's to check out some crafty things. I brought my coupon that I had received in the mail a week or so ago. As the girl rang up my items, I began to

get my coupon ready.

At that moment, I really and truly promise!

I tell no lie! I noticed that it wasn't my name on the coupon--but Petal's name. I did what any good neighbor would do...I partook of her 40% off savings. I know it was naughty of me--but it was going to expire the next day {besides, I saved 4 whole dollars!}

{And then can I tell you what a good Samaritan Petal's coupon turned out to be? The lady behind me bought over $200 worth of scrapbooking supplies {I've never seen so many scrappy paper pads bought in my life--it was quite amazing} and she forgot her coupon! So, I offered up Petal's coupon--

and she saved $8! }

So, what's the worst thing you've ever stolen

from your neighbor?

Crockpot Apple Dumplings

I brought a crockpot dessert to enrichment tonight and found a fabulous recipe on A Year of Crockpotting blog. I made Apple Dumplings--and it is so easy! Plus-it made my house smell fab (too bad for my family...after smelling the goodness all afternoon they ended up dining on

Kraft Mac n Cheese).

Crockpot Apple Dumplings

2 cans of refrigerated crescent rolls
3 granny smith apples
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup sugar
1 cube butter
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup mtn dew (I did use mtn dew--but I think sprite/7up would work fine also)

Directions:

Spray your crock insert with cooking spray.

Peel and core apples.

Roll out the little triangles of crescent rolls. Fill each one with two apple slices & roll it up.

Pile the crockpot high with all of your little dumpling guys.
Melt the stick of butter in the microwave. Whisk in the cup of sugar, and the cinnamon and vanilla. Pour over the dumplings, making sure to get down in the nooks and crannies.

Then add 1 cup of Mountain Dew, the same way---pour it over the top. Prop lid open with a wooden spoon or chopstick and cook on high for 4-5 hours, or until the dough is brown and cooked through. (It only took 4 hours on high for mine to be done).

The Sunday Not-So Funnies

I like to cook. I'm not a fancy chef--but give me a recipe and I can hold my own. I know my limits. I do not make homemade spaghetti sauce, but I do sass my jarred sauce up a bit with seasonings and such {and the family thinks I'm a chef extraordinaire--I manage to throw away the jars before they see where my secret sauce truly comes from}.

I have some tried and true recipes that I love to make--and know they will always turn out. One of those recipes is a French Toast Souffle {it's really a casserole-but I fancied the name up for the kids}. I got this recipe out of my famous Santa Rita ward cookbook in Arizona--it really has some great recipes in it. The French Toast Souffle is delish! My family loves it!

So, when my sis asked what she should have for her baby blessing brunch today--I suggested French Toast Souffle. There was to be a large crowd--so I was to make 2 pans, Jilly was making 2 pans and her sis-in-law was making one pan.

This recipe, required a little bit of preparation the night before--check.

This recipe, required an early riser in the chef--check.

This recipe, required being out of the fridge 1/2 hour before cooking--check.

This recipe required cinnamon, sugar, and butter to be added on top just BEFORE cooking--ERRR NOT CHECK.

I put the souffle into bake at 715 am. When I retrieved it at 810 am--I lovingly took off the tinfoil to look at how nice and puffy it was. At that point, I realized my mistake! Without the cin/sug/butter combo--I had made a very fluffy--but bready-egg-casserole.

I felt like such a loser.

How could I have forgotten this crucial step? Well, I have the recipe memorized -- except for that one part where you sprinkle the yummies on top and bake.
{Curse you, lousy memory!}

With no other options, I grabbed the casseroles, the cinnamon, sugar and stick of butter--and headed to the blessing. The blessing was wonderful--Coach (my bro gave him the nickname), is such a doll.

I ducked out of sacrament meeting early to head to my sissies and fix my dire mistake. I added the necessary ingredients and proceeded to re-bake it. It came out kinda crusty--but luckily it still tasted good.

Moral of the story: Always Consult the Recipe or offer to bring the muffins and juice next time

French Toast Souffle

1 (10oz.) loaf French bread, cut into 1 inch cubes

4 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
8 eggs

3/4 tsp. salt
3 c. milk

Topping:

2 Tbsp. butter or margarine, cubed

3 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
Place bread cubes in a greased 9x13 inch baking dish. In a bowl, mix beaten eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla and salt. Pour over bread. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Dot with butter. Combine the sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle over the top. Cover and bake at 350 for 45 to 50 minutes or until a knife comes out clean after a center insert. Let stand for about 5 minutes before cutting. Serve with warm syrup and fruit.