How the heck did she win?

I've watched my fair share of beauty pageants in my time (thanks to cousin Shauna). But I've never seen a winner quite like this one. My girls and I watched the Miss America Pageant on Saturday night. Natalie had mentioned she voted for Miss Indiana on line, so we kept an eye out for her. I liked her, too. Until she opened her mouth, that is. I couldn't believe how absolutely awful her talent was!! So, how did she win? Maybe they went by this old scoring system from the 1920s:

In the 1920s, pageant judges used a literal breakdown of female features in calculating who should be the next Miss America. The young woman who was closest in adding up to 100 points would win. From head to foot, these categories were:

Construction of Head: 15 points
Eyes: 10
Hair: 5
Nose: 5
Mouth: 5
Facial Expression: 10
Torso: 10
Legs: 10
Arms: 10
Hands: 10
Grace of Bearing: 10

Except, I take of points for the eyes- there were times in this song her eyes creeped me out. I also take off a couple of points for hands and arms for her very corny hand gestures. Lucky for her, there is no score for voice!

Draper Temple Open House

Yesterday was such a fun day. My mom and dad stayed Friday night and brought Brittley and Carson with them. We made sharpie tie dye shirts. Carson said, "That was kind of a fun sleepover, Aunt Cindi." I replied, "You'll have to come back during the summer and stay with me." "OK, just call me and let me know," he said- did I mention he's 4.

We met up with Kate, Diana, and Amanda and their families and friends at Goodwood Barbeque in Draper. Yummy, Yummy!! Everything was so delicious. Zach finished his whole plate of ribs and fries. Scott had a half of a chicken! I loved my pulled pork sandwich. I can't wait to go back.

We followed the map on our tickets to the church house where we were to watch a video and board a bus to the temple. Luckily we were early because we lost mom and dad and Kate! They went to the wrong church. I was on the phone trying to figure out where they were and it took a few minutes to realize we were in 2 different places. We did finally all make it there and watched our video. Halle and Carson were very excited to ride a bus. After that bus ride, I'm not so sure I could find my way back to the temple.

One of the ladies at the temple told us they are taking 1300 people through the temple every hour! They expect to take over a million people through. If you haven't got your tickets yet, you should. It was great. I loved taking my kids so they could see what the temple is like. Here are some of our favorites (the pictures came from KSL.com- you are not allowed to take pictures in the temple) :


The sealing rooms are beautiful. We found out that the carpets are brought in plain and they hire artists to 'carve' the sculpture into it.

The murals in the ordinance rooms are so amazing. I could have spent an hour in there just looking at the details.

My kids loved the baptismal font. They couldn't figure out how those oxen got in there.

The bride's room is so beatiful, as always. The chandeleir reminded me of a snowflake, it is so ornate. I also loved the painting on the ceiling.



The Celestial room was breath-taking. The ceiling is so high. WOW! The stained glass windows throughout the whole temple are just incredible.

I'm so grateful for the temples. I'm also grateful that the church gives this opportunity to the public to come and share in this experience. Oh, and before I forget- YOU GET COOKIES AT THE END!!! That was Whitney's favorite part.

Who's Your Hero?

I found these really awesome Book of Mormon Hero posters on the blog of my sister's friend's cousin-really. :) I thought they were so awesome that I wanted to share them. I would have already ordered, but I can't decide if I want to pick and choose or just get the whole set. The first poster is $10 and each one after is only $5.

http://www.realheroposters.com/

Zach really wants the Heleman poster for his room- what better hero? I love the Samuel poster. There are 12 all together. The Daughters in the Wilderness is also pretty amazing- I think I'm gonna have to get them all!!!

Improving My Health

For the last few years, I have not felt great. When I was pregnant with Halle, I was put on bedrest for 2 1/2 months for pre-term labor. On top of that, we discovered I had gestational diabetes--which increases my chances of getting type 2 diabetes :(

Two Christmases ago, I went to the hospital with diverticulitis- small pouches that form in the colon. One of the pouches had ruptured just a little, but luckily I didn't have to have surgery. The doctor put me on a high fiber diet (30 g. a day) and told me to drink lots of water.

Also over the last couple of years, I have been getting migraines almost monthly- hormones! I have also had other issues along those monthly regards that I will spare you of.

Needless to say, it's time to improve my health-all of it! Last year, I lost 25 lbs. on Weight Watchers. For the life of me, I don't know why I dwindled off of it, but gradually I did. I not only looked better, but I felt SO much better.

This Health Improvement Plan of mine is going to involve a couple of procedures with the doctor (I'll spare you those details, too), going back on Weight Watchers and tracking more carefully my fiber intake.

With Weight Watchers, they have 8 "Tools for Living." The first tool is to have winning outcomes. It's kind of like a goal or mission statement. I'm going to divide this goal into small achievable chunks that are in short periods of time.

MY WINNING OUTCOME:
I will achieve a wieghtloss goal of 20 lbs. by Mar. 14. I will do this by making healthy food choices (that include high fiber), keeping track of the food I eat, and I will include 2 hrs. of physical activity each week.

I will:
-Lose 2 lbs. each week
-I will weigh myself daily--not to make myself crazy--but to make myself aware of the fluctuations that occur during this process.
-Make healthy choices when purchasing groceries
-Do strength training for 1/2 hour, 2 times each week
-Do yoga for 1/2 hour, 2 times each week
-Keep healthy munchies at school
-Be cautious in my food choices if we eat out
-Keep myself focused and busy after school until dinner time. I will find something productive to do and will make healthy snack choices during those times.

I am doing this:
For myself. I deserve to feel good. I want to be up and going and doing instead of feeling tired and yucky.
For my children. They deserve a mom who is able to take care of them and keep up with them. They deserve a chance to learn how to make healthy food choices for themselves.

So, here's to Improving My Health!!! There are a couple more things I'm going to try to improve in 2009- stay tuned.

What are you trying to improve on in 2009?

Merry Christmas From Our Family

I love Christmas. I love the sights, the smells, the feelings, the songs. The only problem is that it is over way too fast. These are my favorite things from the holidays:

THE TREE

I love Christmas Trees. I love to sit in the quietness of their light and relax. My tree has been a project for many years. It used to be just gold, but a couple of years ago I added red. Red is my favorite color and I love this tree.


This year, I added something new to the tree. I bought these little berries on clearance last year and totally forgot about them until I pulled out the Christmas stuff. I was thinking about going and buying something like this and was so excited when they were already in the box!



But, my favorite thing on the tree has to be these ornaments. They used to be my grandmother's. About 10 years ago, she was going to give them to the DI and asked if I wanted them. I didn't use them until I put red on the tree, but they are awesome. They still have the original box. And only a couple of them are missing. They are very fragile and very beautiful.




THE PRESENTS

This is the best gift I gave this year. I was so excited for my nephew Hunter to open it. He loves to read books. He will listen to anyone who will read to him. I created this book at snapfish.com with the help of my sisters. It is Hunter's ABC book. It took some creativity, but there is a picture and entry for every letter of the alphabet. I love that it is just like a regular picture book. They come beautifully bound and printed. I also created one for Halle and one for Whitney. They love them very much as well, but I knew Hunter would really love it- and he did. He walked around the room asking aunts and uncles to read it to him. I think everyone at the party read it before they left. Happy reading, Hunter. I hope you read it a "Zillion" times!



FAVORITE GIFT RECEIVED

I know this may sound weird, and nothing against all of the gifts we were given this year. But, I love this gift. Halle got it from her Nursery Teacher and she plays with it ALL the time. She makes us put on the puppets and pretend to be the baby Jesus or Mary. She doesn't exactly have the story down yet, but she has had so much fun playing with these puppets. They are available from Oriental Trading and, they are on clearance-$2.49 for 4 sets of them!!





THE TREATS

I love treats at Christmas. My favorite is the candy that my Aunt Sarah used to make. She would make fudge, boston cream, and pinoche. It is so creamy and rich. I went to her house to learn how to make it. It is more than a recipe- it is a process. I've made it a couple of times since, it's just not the same as her's. Since she's not with us anymore, I'm glad that my sister accquired the ability to make this candy. However, I DID NOT GET ANY THIS YEAR!!!!! No, I'm not bitter, really--- ok, maybe a little. I would give you the recipe, but since it involves a lot more than a recipe, it would be useless. So, here are the recipes for 3 of my 'other' favorite treats.

I love this sugar cookie recipe. They are fun to make and very yummy. I also love to eat the dough!!! These are a favorite at Valentine's and Halloween, too. Heck, you should just make them year round. Who needs a reason?
Sugar Cookies


3 c. sugar
2 c. IMO (fat free sour cream)
3/4 c. shortening
4 eggs
2 tsp. baking powder
7-8 c. flour
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix and refrigerate till dough is cold (several hours or over night). Roll 1/3 inch thick and cut with cookie cutters.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes--DO NOT OVERBAKE!!!

Cool and frost with Buttercream Frosting

1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. shortening
powdered sugar
milk
vanilla

(I don't use a recipe for the frosting, I just add lots of powdered sugar and then thin it out with a little milk.)




The 2 things that we had every year at home when I was little was a basket of mixed nuts (I always picked out the almonds) and Chex Party Mix. My mom still has to make party mix every year.

Chex Mix (original)

In a large bowl, mix:
1 box corn chex
1 box rice chex
1 box wheat chex
pretzels
mixed nuts
cheese crackers

Melt together:
3/4 c butter
4 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
3 tsp seasoned salt
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder



Pour butter mixture over cereal and stir until evenly coated. Pour in large roasting pan and bake at 250 for 1 hour stirring every 15 minutes. (I usually don't bake it for a full hour)

I accidentally left the oven on the temp. for the cookies and now have BURNT chex mix. Luckily, the 2nd half turned out yummy!




My mom got this recipe last year and I've been addicted ever since. I made it to take to school as well as Scott's work party. I had to e-mail the recipe out because I had so many requests for it. I know it may sound weird at first, but once people try it, they sit and eat and eat and eat. It is soooo yummy!
Cranberry Salsa
1 package fresh cranberries
fresh cilantro (to taste- I just throw in a handful, stems and all)
3 green onions
1 jalepeno (you will have to judge how hot you want it. I usually add one jalepeno with the seeds removed)
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/2-3/4 c. sugar (to taste)

Put all ingredients in food processor and pulse until finely chopped but not mushy. Pour over 2 bricks of cream cheese and serve with crackers. I like Wheat Thins the best with this dip, but I usually serve a variety.


THE PEOPLE

Need I say more?

I hope your holiday was as wonderful as ours was and we wish you and your family the very best for 2009!