Sometimes the Spirit Shouts

I have a story to tell you.  This is a true story that happened to me (and my sister) when I was 12 years old. I am the eldest of 10 kids.  My sister Stacy was a baby then.  One day my family and I were at church.  After, my parents were staying for choir practice.  As the big sister, it was always my job to babysit.  I was told to take care of my baby sister Stacy while my parents were in choir practice.  Stacy was really little, and barely crawling.  It was a pretty spring day, so I spread a blanket out under a tree and Stacy and I hung out there while my other brothers and sisters ran around and played outside.  After a while I was bored, and I was feeling a little conspicuous with cute boys walking by.  So I went to get in our van and listen to music.  I was only going to stay there for a little while, and Stacy was "fine" under the tree on a blanket.  She didn't really crawl much then and I figured she would be fine and just stay on the blanket, especially since she didn't like to crawl on the grass.  I know, not the best plan.  But I was 12.

After a little while, I forgot about my sister.  (Sorry Stacy.)  I was just relaxing listening to music.  All of a sudden, I was told, in a loud urgent voice to GO GET STACY!  So I quickly jumped out of the van.  As soon as I stepped out of the van, I saw a car had just backed up out of a parking stall, and was just barely starting to go forward.   I could see under the car, on the other side, and there was Stacy in between the front tire and the back tire!  She was crying, and sitting on the asphalt, and trying to get away from the car.  I have that image burned in my head to this day.  The way she was sitting facing me, in her little dress, and how she was holding her tiny little hands and shaking them, trying to get away from the car.  I screamed for the lady driving to STOP, and I ran as fast as I could to the car.    The lady did stop, but with reaction time she still went forward about a foot more.  By the time she had completely stopped, I had run around the other side of the car to where Stacy was.  She was laying down on the asphalt crying.  Her head was less than an inch away from the base of the back tire.  If the lady had continued to go forward, Stacy’s head would have gone under the tire, and the car would have gone over her entire body. 

Stacy was hurt.  But she was fine.  She had broken ribs, and scraps and deep abrasions on her head, cheek, and on her side.  She also had gravel embedded in her skin.  We all jumped into the van, and took her to the hospital.  Of course I felt terrible that I had let my sister get hurt when I should have been watching her.

I knew a miracle had happened with that voice that shouted into my soul.  We hear that the Holy Ghost is a still small voice.  But sometimes the Holy Ghost is a loud urgent voice that moves you to action immediately!  I have a testimony of God, and the gospel, and so much more.  But this one story is positive proof for me that there is more than just what we can see here on Earth.  Someone spoke to me, very strongly and forcefully.  And they instilled an extreme sense of urgency into me to make me jump up and respond so quickly! 

Sometime soon I will tell you the story of when the spirit spoke to me in a whisper.  And it was a whisper that I figured could wait for later.  Sadly, later was too late.  

Mmmmm. Soapy Spoiling.

I am a very pampered and spoiled woman.  Look at these beautiful products that my far away friend Tina sent me.  Tina and I had our own little private swap.  These are the luxurious goodies she sent to me.

The Cuban Coffee Soap is the soap in the back.  It smells very yummy.  I just love coffee fragrance.  I am pretty sure Tina saved this bar just for me.  It's a very pretty bar in person, with piped soap on the top.  It looks good enough to eat.  The lather is very fluffy and silky.  The soap is made with a wonderful blend of vegetable and animal oils, and cow and goat's milk.  It left my skin feeling great.  I have used Tina's soap's years ago.  I loved them then, and I love them even more now.  Tina is an exceptional soapamaker.  Her's are some of my favorite soaps ever.  In my opinion, better than most other people's handmade soaps.

The whitish bar is a Mineral Salt Spa soap.  I can't wait to try it!  It smells yummy with a gentle fragrance.  And is full of Pink Himilayan Sea salt.  What a fun salt to try in a salt bar.  She was kind enough to give me the recipe she used for this bar, so I can test it out.  I made a salt bar a little while back.  I liked it, but don't love it yet.  So it will be fun to compare and see how the differences in our recipes affect the final bar.  One day I hope to come up with a salt bar that I really like a lot.

This was my first time trying Tina's Lip Bomb.  It is fantastic!  And is full of really pampering ingredients, such as Avocado oil, cocoa butter, mango butter, and shea butter (three butters!!) and more.  I  really like the texture of this balm.  I think it is the perfect balance between hard  and soft, and so smooth.  The Vanilla flavor and fragrance complement this balm well too.  It soothes as you put it on, and protects the lips nicely.  I am very impressed with this lip balm.

The sugar scrub smells delicious.  I have only tried it on my hands so far.  I am waiting for this weekend to do an all over pampering session with it.  On my hands it was great.  Nice scrubbing action, without just enough oil to be moisturizing.  It is made with saponified oils of Jojoba Oil and Cocoa Butter.   That must be why the oils and sugar are not all separating and messy.  I think it is a great scrub and I can't wait to try it out.

The Cocoa Butter Cream is probably my favorite thing that Tina sent.  Oh my goodness!  It is so nice.  Tina makes wonderful lotion.  It is creamy and rich and feels really good on the skin.  It has a great slip and is not too oily.  It sinks in quickly enough, with just the right amount of moisturizing feel after you rub it in.  It is very indulgent with Cocoa Butter, Jojoba, Coconut oil, and Aloe.  I love how it feels, but most of all, I just LOVE the fragrance.  The blend of essential oils is heavenly.  They are all luxury essential oils such as sandalwood, and neroli.  I can't remember the rest of them, because I am not at home now and I can't look right now.
But there are about 5 really nice fancy essential oils in this cream.  Tina has a talent for blending them.  I smelled so delicious last night!

Tina is the owner of Essentially Made Soap Company in Lake Orion Michigan.  She can hook you up with some really wonderful pampering products.

Thank you Tina!

My Favorite Cookies

I'm putting my favorite cookie recipe here for safe keeping.  I actually got this recipe from a friend many years ago.  I always use it when I make Chocolate Chip cookies.  It is not the goody kind of cookie.  It's more of a firm, but not hard cookie that has a very good taste.  I think it is the best!  And so good with milk.

I actually think this recipe calls for too many chocoate chips.  So you can probably cut back on them a bit.  I usually do.

Ingredients:
1 cup shortening (I use butter flavor)
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar 
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
1 TBS. water, warm
3 cups flour, sifted
1/4 tsp. salt
14 oz chocolate chips
1 cup walnuts

Directions:
Dissolve baking soda in warm water. Cream shortening and sugars together.   Add eggs and mix until well blended.   Combine flour and salt, add to batter a little at a time.   Stir soda water and vanilla in for moisture.   Add chips and nuts.   Drop by rounded teaspoon on a greased cookie sheet and and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.   

In my oven 10 minutes is usually long enough, so check them.   They are good when they are just barely golden on the edges.

Also I like to keep the cookie size fairly small that is why I use a teaspoon instead of a table spoon to drop them onto the cookie sheet.   The smaller cookies have a nice texture when they are cooked.

All The Way From Austria

Look what I got in the mail!! All the way from Austria!

These last few months I have tried to participate in a weekly soap making challenge hosted by Amy at Great Cakes Soapworks.  I was not able to do every weekly challenge, but I did a few.  And the ones I haven't been able to do yet, I will try on my own over time.  At the end of the challenges Amy hosted a swap and paired us up with soapmakers from around the world.   


My swap partner is a lady named Marina who lives in Austria.  And this is the lovely package of beautiful goodies that she sent me!  We were only supposed to send one or two bars.  But Marina sent me a whole box full of things.  There are 5 lovely soaps, a bunch of handmade gift tags, some cute stickers and a reindeer post card.  It was almost like Christmas opening this package and finding all these treasures inside.  

Each bar was labeled with a cigar band label and on the back of each label was written the ingredients.  I am excited because Marina has used some ingredients that I have never used yet, like Rice Bran oil, Palm Kernal oil and Babassu oil.  Each bar looks like it has different ingredients.  The one I decided to use first is the one labeded Sea.  It is the blue bar.  The smell is fantastic and has a smooth creamy texture.  It has a fresh fragrance with what smells to me like a touch of clove.  There is also a decorative imprint stamped into the side. 

Click on the picture above to see how beautiful the soaps are!  I took the wrappers off long enough to take a picture and then replaced the wrappers.  The swirls are so pretty.  The yellow Lemon Parfait bar is colored in a soft gradient from darker yellow to almost white.  It also has some very pretty gold sparkles on top,  The Tropica bar (red and yellow) has a touch of red sparkle on top also.  All the bars have very pretty swirls. 

Thank you Marina!  I love these soaps.  And I had such a fun time with this swap.  Your package that I sent you should be to you any day now.  I hope you enjoy what I sent.  I of course love the soaps you sent me.  And the tags are so beautiful and I know they must have taken a lot of time to make.  Thanks for the stickers.  I will share them with my grandchildren.  Thank you for all your hard work.   

My Tutorial For the Best Lip Balms Ever

Here is my secret recipe for my super wonderful and famous (to my friends and family) lip balms.  They are the best ever.  I am not just being conceded.  They really are the best. They are a treat for your lips.  I am going to tell you how I make them.  I don't have pictures now.  I may add some to this post later.

I totally cheat on making my lip balms.  I use Majestic Mountain Sage's  Lip Solutions and doctor them up with just a few ingredients.  There are a few formulas to choose from.  My favorite is the Shea Butter formula.  But I also like the Mango Butter formula.  These bases are $8 a jar, (plus shipping) and each jar fills about 55 lip balm tubes.  You could use the bases just as they come, but I like my lip balms a tad firmer than the base alone.  So I add beeswax to firm it up a bit.  You could also use Candelilla wax if you'd like. It has a higher melting temperature than bees wax.  Some people like it for hot areas so it won't melt in hot weather as easily.  I also like to add a tiny bit of Allantion.  Allantion is a powder that helps skin heal quickly.  It is pretty amazing stuff.  The final thing I add is a little bit of Peppermint Essential oil.  I love the cool feel it adds to lip balms.

Here is my recipe.  Feel free to adjust the measurements as you please.  I never really did follow a recipe until my husband wrote down what we used as we made lip balms one time.  He likes exact recipes, and I like to just wing it.

• 1 cup Lip Solutions base (or pretty much the whole 8oz. jar)
• 1/2 tsp.  Allantion
• 3 Tbs. grated Beeswax
• 1 1/4 tsp. Peppermint Essential oil

Melt the base in a pan of water on the stove, or in the microwave.  You want to melt it, but not over heat it.  Overheating could kill the properties of all the beneficial oils in the lip balm.  So stir often.  If you use the microwave, stop it every 30 seconds or so and give it a stir.  

Add the Allantion to the base and stir the best you can.  It doesn't mix in very well, but I don't worry about it.  It usually mixes in well enough and I never notice pockets of it in my lip balms.

Melt the beeswax in the microwave.  Stop the microwave every 30 seconds or so and stir it so it does not overheat.  Again because you don't want to kill the beneficial properties of the beeswax with too much heat. Beeswax needs to be quite hot before it will melt.  So be careful.  You will need a hot pad.  I use a small glass dish to melt mine in.  I have also used a glass or ceramic mug.  This is hard to clean out when you are done.  But with enough hot water and scraping, it will eventually clean out of your dish.

Add the peppermint.  Make sure your lip balm base is not too hot, because Peppermint Essential oil has a flash point of 160 degrees F.  That means it will evaporate if it reaches that temperature.  Then you won't have the benefits of the peppermint in your lip balm.  Sometimes I like to use Double Mint Essential Oil from Pine Meadows in Provo, Utah.  The Double Mint is a blend of Peppermint and Spearmint that is softer than just peppermint alone.  It seems sweeter to me too.  In fact, Pine Meadows also has some nice lip balm bases too.  I use them about the same as I do the Lip Solutions.

I like to test what the lip balm will be like when it is cool before I put it into tubes.  The way I do this is I drip a drop onto a plate and then let it cool.  It cools very quickly.  Then I rub my finger in it to see how hard it is.  If I want it harder, I add more wax.  Then I rub it onto my lips to feel if it has enough peppermint.  If it is not pepperminty enough, I add more.  A little peppermint goes a long way so be careful you don't overdo it.

Use a disposable Transfer Pipette to squeeze the hot melted lip balm into Lip Balm containers.  My kids like tubes because it keeps dirty fingers out of the lip balm.  But I think the little jars are cute and fun to use too.  (Be sure to order lids if they don't come with the tubes.)

The best way to fill a lip balm container is to not fill it completely all at once.  If you do that, as it cools, it will make an ugly little sink hole at the top and not look pretty.  I love the look and feel of a fresh new lip balm that is slightly domed over the top of the container and smooth, with the slightest little dimple in the center.  The way to get this finish is to fill your tubes almost to the top of the screw stick on the inside of the container.  Let the balm cool till it is opaque.  Then top it off again with more hot melted lip balm, filling it till the tube is so full that it domes over the top of the tube slightly.  As the balm cools it will turn smooth and shiny with the pretty little indent in the center.

Be sure your second layer of lip balm is hot as you add it to the top.  If you add it when it is just warm and still melted,. then it will not bond with the first layer of balm and break off later as you are using it.   As you fill your containers, you will most likely need to reheat the jar of balm in the microwave for a few seconds every now and then.  Or if you used the stove to melt it, just keep the jar in the hot pan of water.  It will stay hot longer.  If it gets too hot when you microwave it, you may even want to add a little more peppermint.  You can always test it again by dripping it onto a plate and letting the drip cool.

After your balms are cooled in the containers.  Wipe the outside clean with a damp paper towel, being careful not to mess up the pretty finish of the top, and put the lids on.  I like to shrink wrap my tubes and store them in the refrigerator in a ziplock baggie until they are needed.  It will keep them fresh for a very long time.  I am not sure the shelf life of a handmade lip balm, but I think if it was clean and unopened and stored in the fridge, you could probably store it for a year or so.  Since they are made with food grade oils, most of the oils probably have a shelf life of 6 months if not refrigerated.  So storing them in the fridge greatly improves the shelf life.  Sometimes I like to decorate my lipbalm tubes with cute little stickers.  It makes them fun and cute and people love them that way as a gift.

That is it!  If you give these to your friends and family, they will never again be satisfied with regular store bought lip balms again.

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

If you ever want to try making a lip balm from scratch, and not use a pre-made base, here is a rough formula for designing your own recipe.

40% Liquid Oil -such as Sweet Almond, Apricot, Avocado, Grape Seed, Hemp, Macadamia Nut, Sunflower or Soy.

25% Solid Oil - such as Shea Butter, Mango Butter, Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Almond Butter or Lanolin.

20% Wax - such as Beeswax or Candelilla wax

15% of Brittle Oil - such as Cocoa butter, Kokum Butter or Palm Kernel Oil.

These percentages are by weight.  Try any combination of oils to equal the percentages.  The oils listed are just a suggestion.  You can use any combination of any food grade vegetable or animal oil.  It is pretty fun to experiment with this as a guide

Strawberry Freezer Jam

In this week's Bountiful Basket, we were able to buy 2 flats of strawberries.  So Brent and I made Strawberry Freezer Jam.  

 Brent wouldn't pose for me, so I wasn't able to get a good picture of him making jam.  He is a good jam maker.

Freezer jam is very easy to make.  And the taste is so good!  Since the jam is not cooked, it has a flavor that is more like fresh strawberries.  

We made 23 freezer bags of Strawberry jam, enough to share with our kids.  Maybe I will need to make some homemade bread to go with.  Oh how yummy they would be together!  

Better Late than Never-- Beer and Myrtle Soaps

I recently joined (or tried to join) a fun soapmaking challenge put on by Amy Warden at Great Cakes Soapworks. Every week she posts a new soapmaking challenge.  There are over 93 soapmakers from around the world participating in her challenges.  It was pretty hard for me to keep up with the weekly challenges.  I have been trying to adjust and keep up with my changing life.  I recently moved and have been trying to set up my home.  And I now have 2 hours a day in commute time since I moved further away from work.  I have a new calling in church as a Primary Teacher.  (Surprising to me, I love being a Primary Teacher.)  I really enjoy making handmade soaps.  It's been a passion of mine for quite a few years now.  The last couple of years though, I have had a hard time finding the time to make it.  I hoped that these weekly challenges would give me some extra inspiration, and help me to rekindle my soapmaking hobby.  

This first picture is of some soap my kids really like.  They are made with a handcrafted beer that a co-worker friend of mine made.  I don't drink beer, but beer makes a lovely soap.  And making it with a special handcrafted beer was extra fun.  The darker one is scented with Almond fragrance, and the slightly lighter one is scented with Lavender Apples and Oak.  They both smell very nice, especially the Almond one.  I think it is one of my favorite fragrances.  Beer may sound like a strange thing to make soap with.  But it actually adds a few nice qualities to the soap.  I love how creamy the lather is.  And since beer is made with hops and other grains, it makes the soap soothing to the skin.   

 This second soap is one I made with half and half and aloe juice instead of the goat's milk I normally use.  I had meant to scent these with Vanilla Hazelnut, but I grabbed the wrong fragrance on accident.  So these are scented with Myrtle fragrance oil.  I actually like the fresh clean unisex fragrance of Myrtle, although the name has something to be desired,  It smells like a fresh herbal soap.  Normally I would not color a Myrtle soap brown.  But now that I made them this way, it seems to work.  The swirls turned out very nice this time.  My molds are vertical molds made from rain gutter downspouts.  These soaps were swirled in the pot using cocoa powder for the colorant.  The Myrtle soaps are made with deer tallow.  I like the texture a good tallow adds to soaps and deer tallow is one of my favorites.  So I am excited for these to cure so I can use them.

Although I have not been able to keep up with the challenges on a weekly basis, I do plan on trying a few of the challenges in my own time.  One I am especially excited to try is piping the soap out of a pastry bag.  Some of the other soapmakers that did that challenge made some extraordinarily beautiful soaps.  I also would love to try the funnel pouring method or the faux funnel pour.  I use will need to get some regular log molds so I can try these.

Pretty Spanish Fork Trail

This is the pretty trail I ran this morning.  There is a river that runs alongside it.  I am liking Spanish Fork so far.

Bears to Cuddle

Okay, Don't look at how awful I look in this picture.  I was on the early morning shift and had not done my hair or makeup yet.  Just notice that wonderful little creature in my arms.  How cool is this.  I got to hold a baby bear!  I really have always wanted to do that.  At work today they had two little bear cubs on the morning news show.  The bears were two months old and so cute!  They liked to roll around, and be cuddled and suck on people's neck and hands.  They were so cute to watch.  After news I went over to the studio to try to pet one.  But I didn't just get to pet one, I also got to hold it!  I got to cuddle it up to my face and sniff it.  It didn't quite smell like puppies.  And I also found out that I am not allergic to baby bears like I am to some dogs.  Their fur is soft, but not as soft as I thought it would be.  It was a bit more wiry than I thought it would be, and very thick.  The bear made a very cute growl/purr noise as it was sleeping in my arms.  It was louder and rougher and more vibratey than a cat's purr.  The handler told me that bears make that sound when they are happy.  And sometimes even the adults will do this purr.  One bear that a co-worker got to hold was  sucking on her neck.  It was so cute!  I love bears!  

Raised Donuts, From Scratch!

It's been close to two years since I have blogged.  I've actually missed it quite a bit.  I like having a place to put thoughts and share things about my life.  I did enjoy my old blog.  But I think it is a good time in my life to start a new one.  So here I go! 

Look at what Christy and I made.  And they are homemade, from scratch!  I didn't even know it was possible to make RAISED Donuts from scratch.  My dad had always made cake donuts when I was a kid.   (Fun times.)  And they were very yummy.  But a plain old raised donut is my all time favorite!  My sister-in-law Dione showed me that you can make these by yourself, using your favorite bread dough recipe.  


Since we are moving this weekend, most of my kitchen supplies were packed.  I didn't have any measuring spoons.  So I had to cook like my mother taught me.  She cooks with out measuring and she is a very good cook.    So I had to just guess on a few measurements.  But the dough turned out very good.  

Christy rolled and cut the donuts. 

Notice we did not have a donut cutter.  

So Christy used a cup for the outer circles, and a clean pill bottle for the donut holes.

We rolled some in cinnamon sugar, and made a simple glaze, and some we dipped in chocolate.  The bread recipe is this one: Rich Egg Bread It was in my cookbook that of course was packed.  So I was glad to find my recipe right online!   Although I think the donuts look great, they did not look anything as good as Dione's donuts.  Her's were a beautiful work of art.  But these donuts were so tasty!  

Perhaps the Perfect Weekend, Except for the Near Death Experiance

I had a fantastic weekend, and a terrifying weekend at the same time.  I’ll tell you about the fantastic part first.  This post is long, so maybe you will want to read only the happy part at the beginning, and skip the scary stressful part.

This weekend we went to Goblin Valley to run the Goblin Valley Ultra Marathon.  Brent and I were both running the 10K.  We took his kids Drew and Christy, and my son Travis down with us for a camping trip too.  It was such a fun family vacation!  (Except for the terrifying part that I will tell you about later.)  We went with Sondra and Wally and their family.  Our kids had such a fun time, they said we should make this a yearly family tradition. 

A few weeks ago I told Sondra I was not even ready for this race.  I was signed up for the 10K.  There was no 5K.  I felt like I was ready for a 5K, but I have not been running enough lately to be prepared for a 10K.   Sondra told me not to worry too much about it.  She said to just do the best I can.  And to not worry because there is no way I would be the last one to finish.  Well she was wrong.  I was the last runner in the 10K to cross the finish line!  You’d think I’d feel real bad about that.  But I really don’t.  I had a blast running this race!  And I won an award!  I won the DLF plaque.  DLF is Dead Last Finisher.  The plaque reads:  “Dead Last Finish is greater than Did Not Finish which greatly trumps Did Not Start.”  I’m quite proud of my plaque.  

Brent and I were late getting to the finish line by about 4 or 5 minutes.  The other racers had already left.  So I did have that going against me, but that is not the reason I was dead last.  I simply was not ready for this race.  It was hard.  I was only ready for half of it.  I’m not sure the altitude difference from my home, and at Goblin Valley, but it felt higher.  Plus this was mostly a trail run, and the trails were sandy, a bit hilly, and in some areas, muddy sand.  But the scenery was beautiful!  I took a few pictures with my cell phone on the run.  I don’t think that helped my time either.  And it was fun to run through the goblin formations.  I also found one benefit I really liked about being the last runner...  Nobody was running next to me.  I could sing with my MP3 player out loud as I ran.  And nobody cared if I sounded funny singing Lady Gaga as I ran.  I had so much fun; it was a good reminder of why I love to run so much.

By the way, Brent did wonderfully!  Like I said, we started late.  I am not sure of the results yet.  But he passed many people and didn’t do too badly at all!  He is strong and fast, and looks good running too.

Sondra ran the 25K!  She is so tough!  She also finished something like 9^th overall!  Wow.  She is my running hero.  Next year Brent and I want to run this race again.  And our kids may run it with us.  My goal is to be ready to do the 25K by then.  And next year I plan on NOT winning the DLF plaque.  

___________________________

Now to tell you about the scary part.

After the race, we wanted to take our family on a hike.  We decided to do the Bell Canyon-Little Wild Horse Canyon loop.  They are slot canyons.  I had checked the weather to see about rain, because rain can be so dangerous in that area.  The report I had read the day before said there would be a 30% chance of rain in the morning.  And clear in the afternoon.  We hadn’t seen any rain all day long.  By about 2:00 when we were going on the hike, the sky was blue with some fluffy white clouds.  It was beautiful  hiking weather!  Or so I thought.    

The first half of the hike through Bell Canyon was so fun!  Probably one of the most fun times I have ever had.  We climbed on rocks and just had a blast.  I have pictures that show blue sky, with the white fluffy clouds.  You’ll have to check out the pictures we took of the first half of the trip as soon as I post them on Facebook.  

Obviously we didn’t take pictures during the last half.  We were trying to outrun a possible flash flood.  When we started the last half of the hike through Little Wild Horse, it was starting to get gray behind us.  There were some dark clouds behind us, going the other way.  After a prayer, we decided to go on through.  When we were in the canyon, we started to feel a few rain drops, and I heard thunder every now and then.  After a while, it started to shower.  Thankfully it was not a downpour, or we might not be here today.  But a shower in a slot canyon can be deadly too. 


We were already a good ways into the canyon.  I could no longer enjoy our hike.  We had to encourage our kids to go faster.  Some laughed at us, and thought we were being silly.  Then I started to see little drizzles of water streaming down the sides of the cliffs, making little foamy puddles on the canyon floor.  I was getting very afraid by then.  So I had the kids start to run.  We needed to get out of the canyon as fast as we could.  As we went on, water started coming down the sides of the cliffs in little water falls.  By now we were all terrified.  The water at the bottom of the canyon was getting deeper.  That was not the scariest part.  I was so terrified a big wall of water was just behind us. I was listening for a rumbling sound of a flash, and wondering with every step, how I could save the kids with us in a moment’s notice.  We were looking for high ground, and there was none we could reach.  The cliff walls were so high.  We just had to try to hurry through as fast as we could.  We had children who could not run that well in the water.  I was so scared I was going to see my son die.  And my sweet step children too, and my sweet husband, and Sondra and her whole family, who I love so much.  So many people that I love were in terrible danger.  There was another young man with us.  Shane, who is friends with Sondra and Wally.  He stayed towards the back of everyone, although I know he could have outrun any of us out.  He watched for the flash for us.  I was afraid of seeing a good young man die, trying to help out me and my family.    

Part of the reason I was so afraid was because of a dream I had had about a year ago.  It was one of those vivid scary dreams that you remember forever.  In my dream I was hiking with Sondra and her family, and my son Travis, and some children I didn’t know.  The dream had a flash flood, and many of the people I loved were washed away.  I couldn’t find them.  It was heartbreaking.  I had that dream, or variations of it all that night.  So hiking this watery slot canyon, this dream felt to me like a premonition.  I was so sick and terrified that I was going to see all these people that I love being washed away in a violent 30 foot wall of water.  I can tell you, I have never pleaded so hard with my Father in Heaven before.  I do know He helped us, and got us through that long narrow canyon safely. 

Thinking back, this was so beautiful.  It is a breathtaking canyon.  And the water should add to the beauty, if seen from a safe place.  But I couldn’t enjoy the beauty at all.  It was too terrifying thinking of the very real possibility of a huge wall of water coming after us!  A few people have mentioned to me that it was cool to see some of the sights we saw in that canyon.  I agree it was beautiful, and something most people don’t get to see firsthand.  But when I picture them, I get sick to my stomach.  This was the most scared I have ever been in my life.  The last few nights I have not been able to get these pictures of the red cliffs on both sides of us, with the water running down the sides.  And my family and loved ones there, running as best as they could in puddles up to their knees, and sometimes higher, Running to get out of the long- long- never ending canyon.  It was a nightmare.    

Obviously we all made it out.  I know it was very hard on everyone, especially some of the kids.  They were cold and terrified of drowning, and not used to running for so long, especially through water and climbing over rocks.  After a big long section of the slot canyon, finally came to an opening.  I don’t really know how long it took.  But I think it an hour is a pretty good guess, maybe even longer.  We were finally able to climb to higher ground.  We prayed and thanked our Father in Heaven for keeping us safe.  I broke down, and cried harder than I ever cry.  And we waited.  We were cold.  The rain was actually stopped by then.  But we waited for the running water coming down the canyon walls to slow down.  We had a ways to go still through more slot canyon to get to camp.  It was shorter.  But we still did not feel safe.  Finally we made it to the trail head and got out of the riverbed as soon as we could.  There was a girl hiker that was going to go up that canyon as we were coming out.  We told her about our experience.  Thankfully she decided not to go much further into the slot canyon.  We must have been a site.  We were completely soaked.

This link tells about the area.  Little Wild Horse and Bell Canyon Be sure to click the spot at the bottom of the page that tells about a firsthand experience of a flash flood in that canyon.  It is terrifying.  And shows just how dangerous and powerful a flash flood in that very canyon can be.  The next morning, as we were leaving, the sky was overcast and very grey.  And the parking lot was full of hiker’s cars.  The canyon must have been full of hikers.  I was afraid for them.  The sky looked even worse than it had for us the day before.

This is not one of my proudest moments.  I am almost embarrassed to have people read this.  But maybe it is a good lesson to share.  I have learned a hard lesson a very hard way.  And I feel so bad I jeopardized some very important people in my life.  I do want to hike this canyon again.  But I will make sure there is NO chance of rain at all for the whole week.  It is well after midnight now as I type this.  I am hoping that by writing some of this down, I can get some of it out of my head.  So I can finally sleep without being so scared and upset, and seeing my family in danger every time I close my eyes. 

I'm Back! (almost)

Hi Everyone, I've been completely neglecting my blog for a very long time now.  I have been going through so many changes in my life, I just had to take a break for a while, while I worked on putting my life back together.  I didn't feel like writing or sharing feelings for a while.  In fact, I was tempted to delete this whole blog a couple of times.  So many things have changed in my life.  I also considered just starting over on a new blog.  But in the end I decided to just keep this one just as it is, and start where I am now. 

I keep track of most of you on Facebook, which I think is nice.  But it really isn't set up for writing any more than a few sentences or so.  It's hard to write with any depth that way, not that my writing is really all that deep anyway.  But I did enjoy blogging before, so I think I am ready to come back.

Venison Chili

This recipe has some strange ingredients, but it makes very good Venison Chili.

2 pounds of venison
1/4 pound of thick cut bacon diced
2 medium yellow onions diced
1 medium red onion diced
2 jalapeno peppers seeded and diced
1 red bell pepper seeded and diced
1 yellow bell pepper seeded and diced
1 green bell pepper seeded and diced
1/2 of an 8oz can of chipotle chilies chopped fine
3 cloves of garlic minced (I used 6)
1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar
4 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon black pepper
1/4 cup honey
1 tablespoon molasses
1 bottle Guinness or other stout
1/2 cup good red wine
1 can whole plum tomatoes
1 can crushed tomatoes
2 cans of black beans

1. Saute venison until just cooked. Drain and set aside.

2. In a large pot, saute bacon until it's brown and given up it's fat. Remove and set aside.

3. Saute onions and all the peppers in bacon fat, stirring frequently, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and vinegar and cook for two minutes. Add chili powder, paprika, cumin, salt, pepper and cinnamon, and cook stiring often, for about 3 minutes. Add venison and bacon. Stir well and cook for one minute.

4. Add honey, molasses, beer, wine, and tomatoes. Mix well, bring to a boil, and lower heat to low.

5. Cook at a slow simmer, uncovered for an hour and stir frequently. Taste and adjust seasonings

Trying Something New

In my opinion, there is nothing tastier than Mexican food. And I really love the authentic kind. A while back Kayla's boyfriend's mom sent us over a few homemade tamales. They were so delicious I decided I would learn how to make them. So I bought this cookbook, Tamales 101. I have not actually made the tamales yet, but one day I will! (When I can buy a steamer, and I get a tad more brave.)There are the most wonderful recipes for sauces in this book. I tried one called Red Pork Chili Sauce.I think it turned out fabulous! And my family really liked it. My granddaughter Kayleeann said it was good, she ate quite a bit of it on chips. And my grandson Gabriel said "I like this kind of food". Here is a picture of a small amount of the finished sauce:


Here is the recipe, in case you want to try it. It makes a whole bunch. When I made it, I only made half of a batch. It was enough to feed about 15 people for dinner, with some left over to freeze for another big dinner! Next time I will make the whole batch and I will freeze a lot of it and have enough for 6 months or more!

Red Pork Chili Sauce
10 ancho (dried poblano) chilies
4 dried California chiles
4 onions, quartered
8 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
3 teaspoons ground cumin
2 to 4 cups pork, chicken, or vegetable stock
1 (28-ounce) can tomato puree or crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons sugar, plus more to taste
1 tablespoon salt, plus more to taste

Seed the chilies, rinse, and set aside. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Remove the water from the heat and add the chilies, pushing them down with a spoon so they are fully submerged. Cover and let stand for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, in a saucepan over medium heat, boil the onions for 25 minutes, until soft.

Remove the soaked chilies from the water, reserving 2 cups of the liquid. In a food processor, blend the chilies, onions, and garlic. In a saucepan over medium heat, heat the oil. Stir in the cumin into the hot oil, being careful not to burn the cumin. Add the chile mixture and simmer for 3 minutes. Add 1 cup of stock, 1 cup of the reserved liquid, and the tomatoes. Add just enough additional stock and reserved liquid to make saucy. Add the sugar and salt and cook for 10 miutes longer, stiring occasionally, until the sauce is the consistency of a thin gravy. Taste and add additional salt and sugar if needed. Set aside to cool. Store I an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 days or in the freezer for 2 to 3 months.
Makes 10 cups.
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Don't let the unfamiliar chili's in the recipe scare you off. They are available at grocery stores. I bought them at Harmons. Here is a picture of the chilis.They are on a dinner plate, so you can tell the size of them. The red dried ones are the California chilies. I bought them in the Mexican isle of the grocery store. There was a fairly large bag of them for about 4 bucks. I have enough of them to last a very long time now. The green ones are the Pablano chilies. If they were dried they would be called Ancho chilies. I had a heck of a time finding them in the store at first. Then I asked the produce guy where they were. He told me that they are called Pasilla chilies. Since then, I have learned that here in the western US, the chies are incorrectly called Pasilla chilies.

Sorry I didn't take a picture of the food we ate the sauce on. We were too busy eating to think of that. But it is great on homemade tacos. And it would be good on enchiladas or on any kind of meat. It's good on chips too.

I roasted the Pablano chilies before I used them. Roasting is really easy. If you have never roasted a pepper, you should try it. It makes them taste so much better,and you wouldn''t believe how easy it is! Just stick them on a cooking sheet and stick them in the oven. Roast them under the broiler. Turn every few minutes till the pepper is blackened over much of it. Take the pepper out and put it in a bowl with plastic wrap over it. Let it steam and sweat. After a few minutes, the skin peels off pretty easily.

When I made this sauce, I didn't use most the seeds from the peppers. I was afraid it would be too hot and I wanted my grandkids to enjoy it too. So the sauce was not very hot. I'd say it was only a little hotter than mild. Next time I will use more seeds and make it hotter.

When you cut up chilies, you should use plastic gloves, or just keep plastic wrap between the pepper and your skin. The oils of the pepper do burn skin. You may not know it is being burned till the next day. And for sure, don't rub your eyes!

Oquirrh Mountain Temple Dedication

What a special day this last Friday was. I had the opportunity to go to a dedication session of the new Oquirrh Mountian Temple with my son Travis. We were able attend one of the sessions in the temple! It was so beautiful. And so happy and peaceful. We listened to some speakers who talked on the on the special blessings we have of having temples. And how we should recommit ourselves to go to the temples often. Make it a regular habit to go as often as we can, even if it requires sacrifices of some of our free time. We are so blessed to have so many beautiful temples so close to us. There was of course more talked about, but that is what stuck in my head. When we were singing "The Spirit of God" was a very special moment for me. I couldn't help but to feel the Spirit very strongly.

Here is a Nice Article on the temple dedication that I really enjoyed.

Farmer's Market Dinner

The Farmer's Market is now open on Tuesday evening. So this last Tuesday we stopped by the farmers market on the way home from work. The veggies and fruit there were all just beautiful! So much better than what is available at the grocery store. And it was all cheaper than the grocery store too. So we will probably be stopping by the farmers market after work on Tuesdays more often.

We bought some beautiful eggplants, various squashes, green peppers and Anaheim peppers, two different kinds of cucumbers; one Japanese and one lemon cucumber and some big garden fresh tomatoes. When we got home we made a wonderful vegetarian dinner. We made some really good eggplant parmesan, and I made a big pan of sauteed squashed with onions and roasted peppers. We had sides of sliced tomatoes with cottage cheeses. It was all so good, nobody missed the meat.

A Quick Max Update

Max is doing so much better lately! He no longer shakes very much. And he doesn't seem like he feels anymore pain, he doesn't whine. In fact, last week I was carrying in a large armload of laundry to the couch. I couldn't see the floor in front of me and I tripped right over Max. I landed right on top of his back. I expected him to yelp, and be hurt again. But he just looked at me like he was wondering why I was on top of him.

He is getting pretty good at stairs again. And sometimes he runs up them. But other times, as he is running up them, he trips on his own legs and falls sideways a bit. So I do think there is some damage done somehow. But Max doesn't seem to notice at all. Another difference I notice since his injury is he will get on the furniture much less often. He used to bound up onto the couch or recliner very easily. But now if he gets up at all, it is with help from one of us, or he carefully climbs rather than bounding up in a single jump.

Since Max is pretty close to normal now, he is as annoying as ever. He loves to vocalize his opinions to us and to Chloe both inside and outside the house. He likes to say "Hi! I'm here!" to our neighbors over and over. And he likes to stand at the sliding glass door and let us know he wants it opened. I'm pretty sure he thinks he is in charge.

He has discovered a new favorite toy recently. He loves to play with empty water bottles. I think he thinks they are an interactive toy. Since as he plays with them they crackle and make all kinds of noise. Don't even try to drink a water bottle around him. He will jump up and down in front of you expecting you to throw it to him. He is not patient enough to wait for us to finish our drink first. Max and Chloe had a special treat courtsey of my grandson Gabriel a few days ago. Gabriel took them in the back yard and for some reason squirted chocolate syrup all over both of them. He used quite a bit of the bottle before he got caught and stopped. But Max and Chloe didn't seem to mind.

My New Way of Thinking About the Word of Wisdom

I know I have been slacking on keeping up with my blog. To tell the truth, I have been going through some stuff, and just haven't felt like sharing my feelings. But I am over that now. So, time permitting, I will be doing better at sharing what I think and feel.

In my reading this week I came across some scriptures in 1 Corinthians that helped me to think in a new way with more understanding. I have been doing my best to follow the Word of Wisdom now for the last couple of years. I have given up alcohol. Although I sometimes would like a drink or two, especially in social situations. But all in all, it hasn't been that hard.

Giving up coffee has been a different story. I love coffee. I used to drank it every day. My family still drinks it. We have a fancy coffee maker that grinds the beans automatically every morning, then brews really fresh delicious coffee. Let me tell you, it smells wonderful! I've been doing pretty good about not drinking coffee for the last couple of years. But it has been hard. I crave coffee every day.

Now we all know the health benefits of following the Word of Wisdom, but truthfully, it's not been my biggest reason for following it. I can't see how the little bit of coffee I drank could be all that bad for me. So the reason I have been following the Word of Wisdom, is because I am choosing to be obedient to what the Lord has commanded me. And that is a good enough reason to make it so that most the time I am pretty good about it.

The scriptures for this week are in the sidebar to the right. 1 Corinthians 3: 16-17 and 1 Corinthians 6: 19-20

To me these scriptures give me another very good reason for me to follow the Word of Wisdom, even when I don't really want to. My body is God's sacred creation. It is a temple for my spirit to dwell in. I should respect it as a gift from God and not defile it in any way. It is a precious gift given to me, and there was a price paid for it. That right there is a great reason to take care of it, but it is not only for me. It is also a temple so that the Spirit of God can dwell in me too. I need to keep it clean so the Spirit of God can be with me. Is there anything better than having the Spirit of God dwell with you? I should do whatever I can to take care of it. I should keep it clean, and treat it with the respect it deserves.

So anyway, that is why I am going to renew my resolve to follow the Word of Wisdom to the best of my ability.

Now I can also see how this can apply to keeping your body morally clean. And keeping it well groomed and neat too. And if I think too long on this line, then I also have to start thinking about keeping my body healthy by exercising too. (Ugh..) I suppose I'll keep working on that.

My Adorable Grandkids.

No words necessary....

Before and After

Before
See this nice picture I took of my family when we were out camping this last week. Sharaya and Gavin were sleeping in the cars so they were not in the picture. And I was the one taking the picture, so I was not in the picture either. Travis fixed that for me.

Scroll down to see the After picture...








After
It just cracks me up every time I look at this picture! I should kick Travis' but, but I laugh too much every time I see my face.