Ringing in the "New Year"

We are not night owls at our house. I am in bed by 9pm every night. So instead of ringing in the actual New Year, or even New York's New Year, I queued up London's recorded celebration. Lame? Maybe. Functional? Of course.

Silly String. Donuts. Sparkling grape juice. Music and fireworks on the TV. That's how we do New Year's.

20 of My 32 Things: Not Bad

I didn't give up on the idea of accomplishing my 32 Things list in 2014, but I didn't let it depress me when it became obvious that I wasn't going to make it. And 2015 is a new year.
 
Completed:

• Go hiking with the family (San Tan Mountain Regional Park) 
• Go camping with the family (in Payson; Lincoln got a wicked burn on his hand) 
• Family vacation to Washington state  
• Go on a date with Chad to somewhere new (Olive Mill for wood-fired pizza al fresco)  
• Volunteer in Mason's kindergarten class 
• Organize a play-date just for Lincoln (Owen came over for "swimming" in the blow-up pool) 
• Donate blood  (I actually attempted 3 times, but was rejected twice: once for a high pulse, and once because I was on antibiotics)
• Read the Book of Mormon  
• Update the RS email directory (back when I was still the ward RS secretary)
• Know all the sisters in my ward by name (I came pretty darn close, though there are still some I've never seen) 
• Display family photos in the house (the beloved collage-frame has since been broken by a toy thrown off the balcony)
• Plant something (herbs in pots on the kitchen window sill totally count) 
• Make a chalkboard message wall in the kitchen (done, though I still need to patch the nail holes)
• Decorate with a thrift store find (I found a cute fake herb-looking plant at a yard sale. I painted the pot yellow, and it looks cute on my kitchen island)
• Furnish the loft with more light (Chad and his dad installed a ceiling fan and light, both of which were sorely needed)
• Make bread pudding like the kind served at Famous Dave's
• Make a tablecloth for the kitchen table (I totally made one, but have never used it, because I used a thick, cheap vinyl that I can't get the wrinkles out of)
• Sew or refashion an article of clothing (I have altered several cheap men's t-shirts from Walmart to have a more feminine fit and neckline)
• Read a biography (Mary Poppins, She Wrote: The Life of P.L. Travers. It was terrible.)
• Take pictures every day for one week (easily accomplished during our vacation to Washington)

Not Completed:

• Redecorate Bree's Barbie house with her (the plain white one she got from Santa two years ago)
• Make a Family Home Evening assignment board (so I'm not the only one giving the lessons) 
• Go to the temple at least 8 times (I've been twice so far...and almost made it two more times.)
• Repair my living room curtains
• Reupholster the couch in the loft (one of its arms used to be just threadbare...now there are chunks of foam missing)
• Can butter    
• Do 20 real pushups with good form 
• Stay at or under my goal weight for a month
• Read 52 books
• Read War and Peace (I only got about a fifth of the way through...I think I might give up on this one) 
• Publish my 2012 blog book (barely started) 
• Scan and digitize my bin of old photos

Goal Categories: (at least I didn't completely neglect any categories)
Wife/Mother
Spirituality/Service
Homemaker
Individual
Blogger/Historian

More December Highlights

1: Bree got hit square in the face during her soccer game on the 6th, but kept right on playing. When I complimented her on it, she said, "A few tears were shed, but eh, I'm fine."
2: Candy making day! Caramel nut clusters, toffee, brittle, truffles, oh my.
3: The first casualty of the season. I was feeling so proud of myself for getting some early wrapping done. The next morning, Chad's gifts were open and strewn across the floor. Lincoln!
4: I started a Mary Kay page on Facebook. I've been trying to widen my client base, and it's been fun to post about makeup and skin care tips! This post was about applying sparkle eye shadow.
5: The latest version of the kids' chore list is up on the chalkboard. Because they can't seem to remember the basics, and I'm tired of sounding like a broken record. Their allowance depends on how many check marks they have, so hopefully they'll stay motivated.
6: Phineas and Ferb Christmas episode. Dark house and twinkle lights. Love it.
7: Pinterest success! Buckeye Brownie Cookies. Uh-MAZING.
8: At the ward Christmas party with my friend Reyna. I made her put on some of my red lipstick, cuz that's the kind of friend I am.
9 and 10: Chad and I celebrated our 13-year anniversary with a night at a resort. We ate out, saw a movie, and generally enjoyed quiet one-on-one time. I finally got to experience the magic that is a movie theater recliner seat. Yes, it is as awesome as I imagined it would be. We watched Interstellar...movie was weird, but I had a great time anyway.
11: How does she do it all? The baking, Christmas wrapping, running kids around, all the while looking fabulous? This is how. Plenty of crap gets left undone. Thank goodness for Chad, otherwise we'd have no clean laundry either.
12: We went to walk around the Loop of Lights this year. A nearby neighborhood goes all out with Christmas lights. This was the Cinderella house. One insane house has millions of lights, all programmed with music. It was awesome.

1: I helped out in Bree's classroom for their Christmas party! I taught the kids how to make 3D snowflakes. She loves having me there.
2 and 3: Bree and Mason both played their final games of soccer, and received their medals! They stuck it out, played hard and with good attitudes, and we're so proud of them.
4: My mom took Bree and I for some much-needed pre-Christmas pedicures. Toes need to be ready for Christmas too.
5: As Emmit from the Lego Movie would say, "Follow the instructions." So we are sorting all of Mason's legos. Building anything is impossible unless we do.
6: Bree loves helping out in the kitchen. Grandma let her pierce the apple-blueberry pie before it went in the oven.
7: I THINK Santa brought us enough DVDs...maybe...
8: Mason and Bree went shopping with their Christmas money from Grandma and Grandpa Wallace. Bree chose a CD and Ever After High dolls, and Mason chose Legos, of course.
9: Lincoln saw Grandma wearing her glasses to work a puzzle, so he went over to the end table where extra glasses are kept, and put these on. I am dying from the cuteness.
10: Copycat Famous Dave's Bread Pudding. Enough said.
11: We got a record-breaking number of Christmas cards this year. Seeing them fill up the chalkboard made me happy. Does this mean we're getting more popular?
12: This might have been Bree's last visit to Smaland at IKEA. Sad.

#21: Famous Dave's Bread Pudding

With the year almost gone, I set out to accomplish one last VERY important goal. I needed to attempt to make Famous Dave's bread pudding. On our first visit to Famous Dave's (delicious BBQ) we were treated to a complimentary dessert: bread pudding. I haven't been exposed to a lot of bread pudding in my life, so I wasn't sure what to expect. Well, this dessert blew me away. The only trouble is, by the time you finish your delicious dinner, you don't have any room left for dessert. So I decided to try to recreate this dish at home. I found a copycat recipe online, complete with Plantation praline sauce. I was pretty sure our kids would not be interested in eating it, so I saved the recipe for a time when we'd be together with other adults who would appreciate the dessert. Today, hanging out at my parents house, I finally put the recipe to the test. And we all agree that it is a huge success.

BREAD PUDDING:

1 loaf cinnamon swirl bread (I used Cinnabon brand, since that's all I could find)

2/3 cup golden raisins (I omitted these)

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 cups milk

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup vanilla extract

8 eggs (beaten)

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

1. Coat bottom and sides of 13-by-9-inch baking pan heavily with butter.
2. Tear bread into 1-inch pieces. Mix with raisins in bowl. Lay bread mixture evenly in prepared dish, turning crust side down, as this tends to burn easily.
3. In bowl, whisk sugar, milk, whipping cream, vanilla, eggs and cinnamon until blended. Pour over bread mixture.
4. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
5. Place baking dish in larger 4-inch deep baking pan. Add water to reach halfway up side of dish. Bake in preheated oven 1 hour, or until all liquid is absorbed and custard-like.
6. Remove from water bath. Let stand 20 minutes.

PRALINE SAUCE (I cut this in half and it was plenty, but you may want extra on hand for ice cream, etc., because it is freakin' delicious)

3 lbs. light brown sugar (about 3 1/4 cups packed)

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 1/2 cups sour cream

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. In small saucepan, heat 1/2 cup of the butter until melted.
2. Add pecans and mix well. Bring to a boil.
3. Cook until pecans begin to change color. Mixture will foam up.
4. Add remaining 1/2 cup cubed butter and mix well. (This will cool pecan mixture and stop the cooking process.) Remove from heat.
5. In a separate, large saucepan, combine brown sugar, whipping cream and cinnamon and mix well.
6. Cook over low heat until blended, stirring constantly. Increase heat and cook until mixture comes to 230 degrees on a candy thermometer (temperature is crucial to final consistency of sauce).
7. Stir in pecan mixture. Remove from heat.
8. Add sour cream and vanilla and mix well.

Christmas Morning

It was our first Christmas morning in this house, and it was perfect. It was stress-free, work-free, and we were all healthy. That's all I ever want, really... Except for maybe a Bissell Symphony. I really did want that. It has changed my life.

There were tons of Legos for Mason, tons of Ever After High dolls for Bree, and Lincoln LOVES his "smart phone" toy.

Then there was the winding down of Christmas morning. A magical time. Cocoa, homemade orange rolls, and Lego building, of course.

Temple Lights

The Christmas Lights at the Mesa Temple are, without a doubt, the most amazing free Christmas display in the state. They get more breathtaking every year.

The Trump Card

Me, "Get off the table Lincoln."
Lincoln, "Why?"
"Because that's the rule."
"Why? "
"Because rules are to keep us happy and safe."
"Why?"
"Because that's what God wants."
*grunt*
I think he figured I had him there.

Amateur Chef: Moroccan Style

Today's "Amateur Chef" recipe was a masterpiece! Bastilla is a Moroccan dish with chicken, eggs, almonds, and cinnamon in a phyllo crust. So fun, and I felt like I was eating dessert! Thank you to Heavenly's hubbie for the tutorial!

1: Layer phyllo dough in pie crust, sprinkle with cinnamon almond mixture.

2: Alternately layer chicken/egg mixture and cinnamon/almond mixture.

3: Fold phyllo over top, trimming as necessary. Brush with melted butter.

4: Bake until golden, flipping half-way to brown both side.

5: Sprinkle with powdered sugar, and use a stencil to sprinkle cinnamon in a design.

6: Slice and serve!

Bass Pro Christmas...Again

I swore we'd never come back. Bass Pro Shops are getting too busy now that everyone has caught on to the beauty of free Santa photos inside a winter wonderland of free fun. But, here we are again. Call us cheap. Call it a tradition. Whatever. At any rate, I stood in an atrocious line while the kids roamed the store with Chad. Bree took the time to write a letter to Santa, while Mason reminded me that he had already mailed four letters, so he was good. Lincoln rode the carousel for the first time. I think he had fun, though it was difficult to tell by his expression. And the atmosphere is pretty cool. And if I'm completely honest, we'll probably be back next year.

Mason's Latest

On our way home from school yesterday:
Mason: "Mom, I met a girl today who I want to be my girlfriend someday."
Me: "Oh yeah? What's she like?"
Mason: "She's, like, in 6th grade. She's SO beautiful. She has blond hair."
Me: "Is blond hair your favorite?"
Mason: "Yeah! She's the most beautifulest girl in the whole world....well, except for you Mom."

Also, on a completely unrelated note, I have grossly underestimated the rate at which my children would lose their sweaters and hoodies. We're not even officially into winter yet. Heaven forbid it dips below 50 degrees here...THEN they'll be sorry.

Christmas At Our House

I gave the kids free reign on decorating the tree this year, and only intervened when the tree started to sag in places from too many ornaments in one place. The placement drives Chad crazy (my wonderful OCD husband), but I am surprisingly okay with it. And I finally agreed that we should add some blue ornaments this year, and I don't know why I resisted so long. It's gorgeous. AndI love how the entry way looks, all welcoming and Christmasy. And the Christmas Village fits perfectly on the "mantle" Chad built for me.

Photos taken November 24th and 25th.

 And our elves impressed us this year. They are so helpful!