Yummiest Yogurt

Do you like plain yogurt? A year ago I would have said no. I didn't like it because it was so sharp and tart and not sweet. I only liked yogurt that was sweetened and had fruit. But then I noticed how much sugars some of the yogurts had, so I decided to try making my own to see if I liked the homemade kind any better. I think I now have the perfect recipe. It turns out so thick, creamy and smooth, with just a touch of tartness. It's so good I can eat it plain without sweetening. I enjoy every bite. Here is the recipe that I like the best.

4 3/4 cups milk
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbs. powdered milk
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbs. Plain Yogurt

Heat the milk to 185 degrees (just about to boil). Then let the milk cool to 110 degrees. Stir in the powdered milk, and the yogurt. Then put into containers and warm in the yogurt maker for 8 hours. That's it! It's super easy.

I'm sure there are ways to do it without the yogurt makers, but I didn't trust a hot pad or a warm oven to get the temperature right. So I just use a yogurt maker. My friend gave me it for Christmas. And I love it! I make yogurt on my weekend, and have enough to last me all week long.

Here a few things I learned by trial and error:

I use 2% milk, because I don't think I should have as much fat as the whole milk has. But I'm sure whole milk would be even more delicious. I don't like to use the fat free or 1% for yogurt.

The first few times I made yogurt I didn't heat the milk to 185 degrees, because I figured the milk I used was the store bought kind that was already homogenized and pasteurized. So I didn't think I needed to do this step. I just heated the milk to 110, and then added the rest of the stuff. But my yogurts kept coming out kind of runny. So I tried it with heating the milk. For some reason, the yogurt comes out really thick when I heat the milk like the recipe says to.

All yogurts use different bacterias for the cultures. I tried a few different kinds. I tried Dannon, and it was pretty good, but a little too tart for my tastes. I also tried Stoneyfield Farms, and it was my second favorite kind. But my most favorite kind to use is the Oikos Plain yogurt. (In fact, I like this kind just to eat too,)

If you have a yogurt maker that is gathering dust, I recommend you give my recipe a try. It's so good, store bought yogurt will never be good enough again.

Any Soldier

I thought I'd post a little about a really cool website. AnySoldier.com It was started by a soldier that had people he knew send care packages to him addressed to "Any Soldier". Then he would distribute them to soldiers that he knew didn't get mail. Such a cool thing. It was so popular that it has been expanded to include any soldier in harm's way. You, your family, or your church group can put together a care package and send it to a soldier who is serving. Dustin got one not too long ago from a family that didn't even know him. He was quite touched that a family would send him goodies, a letter, and pictures drawn by their children. It is such a cool way to show you care and say thanks for the sacrifice and service to our country!

Book Review

Can you believe it? I think I am a science fiction fan. A friend at work recommended the book "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card. I got the audio book version from the library and Travis started to listen to it. When he was done he said he really wanted me to read it asap, so that we could talk about it. I wasn't all that excited to read it, because it was science fiction, and I'm not too into science fiction. But I had read a few of Card's other books and I thoroughly enjoyed them. I read the first few from his Seventh Son series and one from his Women of Genesis series. So on Travis' recommendation I listened to "Ender's Game". Now I plan on reading at least the next few books in the series. It was a great book. And a great book for teens too.

More Scripture Study for me

I have a goal to try to study the scriptures more often then I do. As I study then I thought I'd post a "Scripture of the Week" on the sidebar of my blog. Now, knowing me, I might not change the scripture on my blog exactly weekly, although I will try.

There is only one way to happiness and fulfillment and that, of course is through Jesus Christ. I'm so thankful for his mercy and redeeming grace so that forgiveness for my sins is made possible. I'm thankful that he has overcame death and has given me the gift of the resurrection. He descended below all things, so that he could comprehend all things. He took upon him our infirmities and our sorrows, so that he would know how to succor and heal us. He is the only way to eternal life and salvation. I will praise him forever and ever for enduring what he endured for me.

Happy Easter everyone.

MS Walk 2009

Tomorrow morning me and a few friends from work will be participating in the MS Walk in Salt Lake City. We do this every year. It's a lot of fun, and I know it is for a good cause. MS is a pretty rotten disease that usually hits people in the prime of their lives while they are still trying to raise families and hold down careers. It can be very devastating.

I was a bit worried that I wouldn't be able to collect very much in donations this year, since the economy is a bit scary and everyone is trying to tighten their belts. But I was able to get together just over $800! Can you believe that? That is nothing to sneeze at! And that was just me. There are others in my team that did similarly. Of course a bunch of that was company match from my employer. Bonneville International (KSL TV) will match our donations for anything over $25.

I asked fellow employees to sponsor me in this walk. I felt a bit funny asking for money, like I always do. But I figure they can say no if they want. And you'd be surprised at how many people thank me for the opportunity to donate. And they thank me for doing the walk too. There are a lot of people passionate about this cause. Most I asked wanted to help. Even the ones that didn't have much to donate would give me their lunch money, or whatever they had in their pockets. That added up pretty quickly too. I work with awesome, generous people in a pretty cool company.

If any of you are feeling like donating, here is a link to where you can donate online. MS Society

Not if But When...

It's not if there is an earthquake, but when we have an earthquake. Are you as prepared as you think you are? I know I'm not. If you live in earthquake country then here is a book that you should have in your home. It's free. You can download it online with this link here.

Putting Down Roots in Earthquake Country

Or if you are like me, and prefer a paper copy, you can pick one up from the Utah Division of Natural resources.

Natural Resources Map & Bookstore
1594 W. North Temple
Salt Lake City, UT 84116
Phone (801)537-3320

If you live in Utah, this book might be extra interesting. It shows our area in quite a lot of detail. It shows why we should prepare and how to prepare. You might not be as prepared as you think. So look into it and be sure. You know there will be an earthquake one day. When it happens, what is likely to happen in our area? This book can give you a pretty good idea. It shows a map of how bad liquefaction will be in what areas. (liquefaction = Scary!) There are lots of good pictures too.

This book is made for Utah, but any of you in the neighboring states should read it too. If you live in the west, you are in earthquake country.


One thing I've learned that I never thought of before. When we have a big earthquake, there will be lots of broken glass. And chances are the power will be gone too. What if we need to try to pick our way through our home at night, or worse yet, at night in winter. With the glass all over the floor, a good pair of slippers (or shoes) by your bed, with a flashlight would be very beneficial. But I can't always find mine, especially if it is dark, and the glass from the windows is all by my bed. So put your slippers and flashlight in a plastic bag and tie it to your bed frame by the head of your bed. That way, if the bed is jumping all around during the quake, you can still find your slippers and light.

Another thing, What is hanging above your bed? Is it heavy, or is it glass? I used to have some nice pictures of some flowers. They were framed and had glass over it. Can you say guillotine? Now my wall is bare above my bed. I'll find something less dangerous to put there.

Here is a list of the top 10 earthquake states. It's a bit suprising that Utah or California is not #1!

1. Alaska 1
2. California
3. Hawaii 2
4. Nevada
5. Washington
6. Idaho
7. Wyoming
8. Montana
9. Utah
10. Oregon

Now just because Utah is #9,, don't let your guard down. A big quake here could be quite devastating. So let's do what we can to prepare now while we can.

One last thing. It could be about 3 days before emergancy help gets to us in a very bad earthquake. So get that 72 hour kit put together as part of your preparation.

72 hour kits made easy

I found this online while I was trying to find info for our Relief Society newsletter. This makes it look easy! I'm totally going to do this, this month!

72 Hour Kit in 10 Steps

Step 1: Find a container
Step 2: Add clothing
Step 3: Add water
Step 4: Plan Meals & buy Food
Step 5: Add Tools & Lighting
Step 6: Add First Aid Supplies
Step 7: Add Shelter & Warmth
Step 8: Add medicine & Vitamins
Step 9: Add Radio & Cash
Step 10: Add other supplies


I have tons of unused backpacks and duffle bags. They will be perfect for this.

I was also thinking of other places that an emergency kit would be good. In your car trunk, at work, and what about your kids school locker. I also want to make sure my kids that have moved out have something like this.


Here are a couple of links to sites on preparedness that looked pretty good.

Food Storage Made Easy
Emergency Preparedness for the PG1st Ward
Other simplified lists from the preceding website(click on the picture to make it big enough to read.)