Bittersweet

Today is a happy-but-sad kind of a day for me -- I just said good-bye to Rocky.



Rocky was my car. My parents bought him brand-new when I was a junior in high school, and my then-five-year-old sister chose his name. I have no idea where the name Rocky came from. About four years ago, I bought him from my parents. Since he's been in the family for so long I feel like I'm losing an old friend. It'll be a good thing, though; I've been anxious for an upgrade for a while now -- something with fewer miles that needs a little less TLC. Still, I feel like my security blanket is gone. I'm venturing out into the frightening realm of used car shopping, with nothing to fall back on.

I'm also walking to work today.

Hungry Mungry

If you're familiar with Shel Silverstein's kid-friendly poems (I qualify that because some of his poems are...umm...), you'll know what a "Hungry Mungry" is. Or just picture Scott's kids, and you'll probably still get the idea.

I'm not kidding. For three little kids, they can sure chow down! And lately they've been spending a lot of time at my house during their every-other-weekend visits, which means I'm fighting to keep my fridge full. We easily go through an entire gallon of milk and a dozen eggs in two days when they're here, and between the five of us (Scott, me, and the kiddos) we can put away an entire large pizza in just minutes. They eat as much as I do -- sometimes more!

But the best part is when I let them do the cooking -- like a few weeks ago, when Aimree wanted to surprise her dad with a "secret recipe" for dessert.

This is the secret recipe:



Giant marshmallows, dipped in melted chocolate, then rolled in sprinkles until they become an explosive, sugary-crunchy conglomeration of tooth-rotting wonder.

Silly kids.

One kitchen tradition I've really come to enjoy with them is our Sunday morning muffin-making. Because Scott has Elders Quorum meetings on Sunday mornings, the kids usually sleep at my house on Saturday nights. I like to do something fun for Sunday breakfast when they're here. Muffins are easy, and the flavor possibilities are endless, so I really can't go wrong there. The kids love to help, too, so it's fun for all of us!

This week, we made two pans of banana-chocolate chip muffins....and proceeded to eat all but 3 of them by the time dinner rolled around. Madness. Good recipe, though:

Banana-Chocolate Chip Muffins

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups (3 large) mashed ripe bananas
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup miniature chocolate chips (I think I used half a bag of regular-sized ones)

Heat oven to 375. Line 12 muffin cups with paper baking cups. In large bowl, combine margarine and brown sugar; beat until fluffy. Add bananas, milk, vanilla and eggs; blend well.

Add flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in chocolate chips. Fill prepared muffin cups 2/3 to 3/4 full.

Bake at 375 for 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 3 minutes; remove from pan. Serve warm.



Hmm. Same plate, same spot on the counter, same angle...I need to work on my photography skills.

The kids all said these were their favorite muffins so far...as if I couldn't have guessed!

Do you have a favorite?

Utah Valley Half Marathon

It happened over a week ago, but I still want everyone to know that I ran the UVHM! This was my second half marathon, and will hopefully be the first of at least three this year...assuming I can figure out what's wrong with my foot! During my final long run before the race, I did something to my right foot. After that, it hurt every time I ran -- but not badly enough to stop me!

On race day, I felt fine -- sleepy, but fine. I got up at 2:30 that morning so that Scott and I could be on one of the first ten buses up the canyon. One lucky winner on each of those ten buses would win a new pair of running shoes from 26.2. We didn't win, but it was still fun to get to the starting point early and watch the thousands of people arrive. It was seriously so packed -- what an adrenaline rush! Scott was using this race as a training run for his upcoming half Ironman, so he ran with a different (much faster) pacer than I did. The weather was perfect, and the scenery was beautiful...but the course was SO HARD (seriously, Becky, I am so amazed at your time for the full marathon -- I'd have died)! Maybe because I was running on the road, or because I need a new pair of running shoes, or maybe because at about mile six my foot started to feel like it was crumbling, but I'm not kidding -- this was WAY harder than the first half marathon I ran!

By the time I crossed the finish line, I was completely hammered. Scott had come in almost 40 minutes ahead of me and found me in the crowd. When he asked me how I felt, I almost started sobbing. I was that exhausted and in a ton of pain. It was several days before I could walk normally, and I slept for at least two with an ice pack on my foot. I had some x-rays taken, but the doctor said he didn't see any fractures -- just some swelling. It sure didn't feel like it was "just swollen"! We'll see what the coming weeks of training bring.

All in all, I guess I shouldn't be too disappointed with my finishing time of 2:27:32....but initially I was. This was about 20 minutes slower than I'd aimed for, and about 10 minutes longer than my first half marathon. There will be others, though. By the end of the year, I hope to do one in less than two hours!

Oh, and I only have one picture from the race. Scott took this one of me at the finished. I look super-angry, don't I? I think it was mostly just the pain and exhaustion, but I was pretty annoyed at the couple in front of me. They stopped running and started WALKING before we even crossed the finish line! Should have passed them when I had the chance...

Andi's Wedding Dress

So, my little sis, Andrea, got married two weeks ago. Ah, what a beautiful day...and what a beautiful dress she wore, if I may say so myself. I hope it's okay for me to be so pleased with (okay, proud of) my work. Though I've sewn pretty much everything under the sun, wedding dressery was uncharted territory for me up until then. Andi didn't want just any dress, either -- she actually wanted a two-in-one of sorts: a long, elegant, 1940s-inspired gown that could convert into a shorter dress suitable for swing dancing. And she knew how she wanted every last detail. It's super-tough to sew for someone who has such a specific vision but little experience with sewing/designing, but I think I pulled it off nicely.

I just wish I had good pictures to show you.

Good pictures -- that's what I've been holding out for. Steven's sister took a ton of pictures (like, official ones) at the temple and the reception, but is taking a while to get them to me. I'm kind of getting super-impatient -- one of my more prominent character flaws -- so, for now I'll just show you some random snapshots I took myself. I was just tagging along behind the photographer, so these are sorta lame pictures, but hopefully they'll give you an idea of what the dress looks like. I'll post some real ones later.







These just show the "long version" of the dress -- it's actually a knee-length dress with a long skirt over the top. I probably won't make another wedding dress for a while (I hope), but I am so happy with how Andrea's turned out!

Table Cover

I just finished a super-cute, fitted cover for my kitchen table. I got the idea from Ilona a couple of years ago and have been dying for one of my own. About a month ago I was at Quilting Cottage in American Fork, and spotted the perfect fabric -- vintage green, polka-dotted, vinyl-coated cotton. It was about $15/yard...kind of expensive, but totally worth it. Not only is it adorable, but spills wipe off easily, which is especially nice when Scott's kids are visiting.

My table is small -- a 36x48" oval -- so I didn't need a lot of fabric. I think I bought about a yard and a half. I started by draping the fabric, wrong-side-down, over the table. I used a pencil to trace around the table's edge then cut, leaving 1/2" for a seam allowance.



To make the cover fitted, I cut a long strip 6" wide and sewed it around the edge of the table-top piece. I graded and notched the seam allowance (to reduce bulk) then edge-stitched around the top so it'd lie flat.





Finally, I sewed a 1/2" hem around the bottom.



Ta-dah!



I love it, and it was so easy to make!

A New Smile

I've always been self-conscious about my teeth. Even after three years of braces, I never loved the way they looked -- until now. I had Dr. Larsen put veneers on my front six teeth and am thrilled with the results! Everyone says I smile bigger and all the time; who could blame me, though? I probably sound like an infomercial for cosmetic dentistry, but having a beautiful smile makes me feel beautiful all over -- haha!

Here's my smile before...


...and now!




Happy. :)

Happy Spring!

Today was so great -- a whole day off with fantastic weather. I worked hard and accomplished a ton! I finished a mock-up of Andi's wedding dress. I ran 6.5 miles. I finished a new spring wreath for my front door. Maybe this will encourage Mother Nature to play nice -- I'm tired of pulling my freshly-potted flowers inside every night!