Pink Panther Classic Cartoons...

C rented this for c and she can't get enough of it. They just don't make 'em like they used to.

Camelot...

I love this production of Camelot. Richard Harris plays a near perfect Arthur I think. Anyway, I rented this so that little c could see it the other day. It's been a long time since I'd seen it and although I remembered the story well, I had forgotten how sad this is too see. Anyway, it is the perfect morality play and illustrates well how the breakdown of the family equals the destruction of society. It made for an interesting discussion with c... she's a smarty.

Bath Salts...

This is a calorie free treat and a great gift for Valentines day, but a recipe that I don't want to forget anyway.. so I'm posting it here and you can enjoy it as well if you like. You can use a beautiful bottle that used to hold fancy dressing or another food item or you can purchase something new. There are lots of cute plastic bottles available at craft stores, but I like the idea of recycling something lovely that would otherwise get tossed.

3/4 cup Epsom salt
1/2 cup baking soda
1 1/2 cups coarse sea salt
10 drops of essential oils
2-3 drops of vegetable food coloring

Mix it all up. You'll need a large funnel to transfer the salts from a bowl (I suggest lining the bowl w/ a large plastic bag, or using a 1 gallon zip lock to make these in just so your next choc. cake doesn't taste like flowers...)

Becky's Sugar Cookies...

These are my favorites.. the Valentine cookies my mom made for us growing up.. they are the best!

1 cup butter
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt
4 tsp. baking powder
5 1/2 cups flour

Directions...
Chill thoroughly before rolling out. Bake @ 375 degrees for 8 min.

Caramel Cob...

This photo doesn't really show how cute these are... a marketing misstep... but, they are darling and would be perfect for a summer kids party or part of a fun invite.. See them here.

Made in UTAH! Delish by the way...

Valentines...

Lots of Valentines... in the SHoP...

The Kingfisher...

I thought that I was in for a tender love story... love the second time around type thing when I rented this film. No! This is not a tender story at all. It's dry English sarcasm. Rex Harrison plays the part of a rake who has spent the past 50 years "recovering from his broken heart" by having affair after scandalous affair throughout Europe only to find himself a lonely old bachelor (whose butler is in love with him... yep) and whose old love has recently been widowed... she stops by the house after the funeral to stay the weekend and maybe forever.

I thought most of this was hilarious.. but you have to enjoy your humor on the very dry side to enjoy this... it's not for everyone. And while the subject matter is scandalous.. the rating is really quite tame .. a few bad words and the rest is left to your imagination.

Crocodile by Emily McPhie...

I love this painting by Emily McPhie and the idea behind it.

Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed...

I love this silly book!

The Moth...

This is not Jane Austen or one of the Bronte sisters, but I liked it. Another one for your Netflix list... Michelle.. this one is for you. :)

Station Jim...

I mostly loved this movie... The ending was a bit off I thought, but it did make sense as it goes along with the old idea that if you place a gun on the mantle in the first act.. it has to go off in the second. Anyway, I liked the characters immensely and thought the production was very well done... except for maybe the makeup on Queen Victoria... yuckers.

Your Gonna Miss This...

You're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days
hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this I used to be a huge fan of country tunes. Yep! But, I guess I just grew up and started listening to news and information instead of music really and then of course lots of books on tape. In high school, I had this pair of pale blue cowgirl boots with fringe on them... Oh they were cute! Then, the other day, I heard this song and started bawling like a baby. I know I'm hormonal, but this is ridiculous. I started thinking about all the really good days.. and there have been many and thought I might wear those boots again if I still had them.

When I was little, my parents were tight, but they did special things for us often and made so many days so fun... a celebration. My mom used to take me shopping in the city, just us sometimes and we would go to the fabric store and buy a piece of ribbon and maybe a little treat somewhere and then we would always pass by the temple and watch the brides come out and talk about how pretty they looked. My dad took all of the children to the park on Saturdays and pushed us in the swings really high.. almost every Saturday after the chores were finished and made us think it was his favorite part of the week.

I once picked raspberries with my Grandpa in his garden. I was really little and he tied a baby food jar around my waist with a leather cord. I was supposed to put the berries I picked into the jar, but almost none of the raspberries made it into my jar.. I ate them... all the raspberries I picked as we went down the row. My grandpa has always been a lot of fun. He ate lots of his too and we just laughed. I would love to have that afternoon again. Don't worry... I won't give you the whole history of my life here.

As I look at my two beautiful girls, there is almost no day that I wouldn't love to have back... maybe I could skip the night we took c to the Insta Care with double pneumonia... too scary. It's not that life has been perfect... there have been hard times and bad days, but there have been so many beautiful days too and I wish that I had recorded every one in a journal, or the perfect scrapbook. I didn't. But, the memories are there, not perfect, but there.

The other night C and I were looking at some photos of little c when she was a baby. C made the comment that I would have to excuse him if he started sobbing. I was just planning to join him. It's not that there are regrets... just a deep sense of gratitude for these little ones that we love so dearly and for all glorious days that are heaven's best gifts... for family and friends and for joy.

I've been so tired of all the bad news lately... It turns out that even in troubled times, there is much to be grateful for. Shine up yer boots.

Baby Nay Frida...

I love the color in this beautiful little outfit inspired by Frida Kahlo...

Yellow Roses...

These yellow rose boxes sold out of the shop a few weeks ago... but they are now back. I finished 4 this morning... one of which is now listed in The SHOP

Inside they read... "Give your hands to serve & your hearts to love... ~Mother Teresa"

Tea Kettle...

The first Christmas we were married, C gave me a larger size of this whistling tea kettle which sounds like a train. It still looks new and it's still one of my favorite Christmas gifts. Now Chantal has come out with some new fun designs like this 3 cup personal tea kettle. I think it's darling!

Baby Bonkie...

This is the most marvelous invention. Every new mom should have one. It keeps little babes from startling awake. Thanks Brynn!

Omega 3 New Years...

Last year my New Year's resolution was to eat 5 fruits and veggies per day. I am doing OK on that still. I often only get to 4, (and I admit that 3 servings are often fresh oranges... but hey! I'm trying...) so I'm not going to beat myself up. This year my goal is to add Omega 3 foods to that mix. Web MD has a great article here about the benefits of Omega 3's... If you have children you might think about trying to incorporate a few Omega 3's into their diet as well after reading this article.

Anyway, I've been eating this cereal in the mornings.. Check out these great numbers...

500mg Omega-3
9g protein
8g fiber
15g of whole grains

This little elephant is so cute in person. She also has books and a website where you can print off a cute coloring page here.

Primer...

If you are or live with a techy... this is a good film to share. You might have to watch it twice!

Holiday Inn...

This film is tons of fun. I felt a little sorry after seeing this film that we didn't see the leading lady Marjorie Reynolds in more films. She is just lovely. Her voice was dubbed in the film by the very talented Martha Mears who sings in a beautiful clear style that I really enjoy. I can't believe this is the first Christmas I've seen this one. It's fabulous.

I don't know about the rest of you... but there are 11 more days of Christmas for me.. I hope you are enjoying your holiday!

Merry Christmas...

Dear Friends,

I hope that each of you will have the merriest of Christmases...

and may God bless and keep you and your families throughout the coming year.

Love, Tiffany

In Search of the Christmas Spirit...
"Born in a stable, cradled in a manger, He came forth from heaven to live on earth as mortal man and to establish the kingdom of God. During His earthly ministry, He taught men the higher law. His glorious gospel reshaped the thinking of the world. He blessed the sick. He caused the lame to walk, the blind to see, the deaf to hear. He even raised the dead to life. To us He has said, 'Come, follow me.'"As we seek Christ, as we find Him, as we follow Him, we shall have the Christmas spirit, not for one fleeting day each year, but as a companion always. We shall learn to forget ourselves. We shall turn our thoughts to the greater benefit of others" (Thomas S. Monson, "In Search of the Christmas Spirit," Ensign, Dec 1987, 3)

Christmas Spin Tops...

I have one or two gifts left to wrap (oh please hurry Mr. UPS guy), but we basically have Christmas wrapped up over here and just want to either go to the movies or order up some Netflix. I should clean my house more, but I just want to play board games, artroom (artroom is the game where we make stuff) and baking with c. I need to get some popcorn for all the movies. I wanted to paint some this week. I made a few spin tops over the weekend and they will be in the shop today.

The Prince of Peace...

... and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace... Isaiah 9:6

(text, spelling and punctuation taken from the King James version)

Marionberry Jam...

No corn syrup added. This Walls Berry Farm Marionberry Jam from Oregon has almost knocked chocolate down on the treat scale. Made with berries, pectin and sugar (that's the ingred. list).. this stuff is the best and it's available right now at Costco... delish!

Lunch at Corbin's...

Today was a special treat. C had the day off and so we went on a date in the middle of the day for lunch at Corbin's. I love a lunch date. There are no crowds and little noise and the meals almost half price... what a deal that is here especially. Everything was delicious! Get a salad with the citrus vinaigrette... yum!

Shepherds Abiding...

I love Jan Karon's books so much that I wish Father Tim and Cynthia lived in our neighborhood. This is the story of how Father Tim who has found love and married at 60 makes a present of a beautiful nativity scene for his new wife by restoring an antique. I read this last year as well.. if you have moment to read it.. or even better listen while you wrap your gifts up (because the reader is fabulous!) I know you'll really enjoy it.

San Francisco Ballet's Production of The Nutcracker...

This aired on PBS tonight and it was amazing. The prince was one of the best dancers I've ever seen perform and the staging was thrilling. When the snowflakes came out to dance.. they came in a blizzard. And, the Sugar Plum Fairy was dressed in pink... all is right with the world.

Yellow Rose...

Give your hands to serve and your hearts to love.... Mother Theresa

Wrapping Up... My Favorite Part!

In my mind, the key to good wrapping is goop. More is more to a Christmas freak and so the more goopy goop you can slop on there the better. The only thing is I get a little boring because I purchase bulk paper from Xpedx and bulk ribbon from Costco so those items last through several Christmases. It does save quite a bit of money to do it this way, but I get paper envy walking through every craft store. I love pretty papers.

Christmas Freaks...

We admit to being Christmas Freaks at our house. We love Christmas and almost everything about it. Last night we went to hear our neighbors play at a Christmas concert (they were amazing) and then drove around a few different neighborhoods to see all the twinkle lights. We'd had about a foot of snow during the day and so it was truly lovely.
You can pick out the other Christmas Freaks fairly easily looking at twinkle lights.
It's not always obvious on the outside though. Sometimes a person is a Christmas Freak on the inside and that's good too.

Little c sometimes gets an aversion to Halloween. She only likes the fun part, but grosses out on some of the more ghoulish aspects of that holiday. This year was one of those years and so the Christmas music started on Halloween Night. Yep. c was ready to put the tree up the next day. Sadly, we didn't get it finished until last Friday, but she did most of the decorating this year and I thought she did a great job!

To Simplify... is not something I believe in. It's more to go full speed at all the traditions and plans that make the season fun and skip what has become a burden. I used to always make homemade candy... then, that wasn't as fun anymore so I stopped, however it's starting to sound fun again so I might make a batch.

I love to fill the house with Christmas flowers, which isn't expensive if you go to the right place. We paid less than $50 for the 7 poinsettias I purchased this year. That is much less than a nice flower arrangement goes for these days. Grocery stores over-charge for Christmas flowers and the quality is usually not very good so go to a greenhouse to get them. Mine usually last until Valentine's Day.

I love to paint Christmas boxes and listen to Christmas books on tape. Right now I am listening to Shepherd's abiding by Jan Karon. Father Tim is restoring a Christmas angel with a broken wing. Lovely.

I didn't paint any snow guys this year. Next year maybe. I did have to slow down a bit this year, but come January. I will start making big plans for next year. Christmas freaks celebrate all year long.

I hope you are merrier and merrier everyday.

The Bill of Rights...

Today, as it is every year, is an important anniversary in American History. It is the anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights, which happened December 15, 1791 and which guarantees to all citizens of the United States of America the following:

"The Bill of Rights protects freedom of speech, freedom of religion, the right to keep and bear arms, the freedom of assembly, the freedom to petition, and freedom of the press. It also prohibits unreasonable search and seizure, cruel and unusual punishment, and compelled self-incrimination. The Bill of Rights also prohibits Congress from making any law respecting establishment of religion and prohibits the federal government from depriving any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law. In federal criminal cases, it requires indictment by grand jury for any capital or "infamous crime", guarantees a speedy public trial with an impartial jury composed of members of the state or judicial district in which the crime occurred, and prohibits double jeopardy. In addition, the Bill of Rights states that "the enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people," and reserves all powers not granted to the federal government to the citizenry or States. "

(Paragraph quoted from Wikipedia see the rest of the article here.)

I am so grateful for this document and for the gifts of liberty it guarantees. I am grateful for the men and women throughout the history of this country who have fought to preserve it and to make it's principles apply to every citizen. It is more important than ever that we know these sacred rights and are watchful that our government does not impose upon them or limit them.

Happy 217th Birthday to the Bill of Rights... May you live forever.

Barenaked for the Holidays...

I always get a few holiday recordings to add to our collection of Christmas stuff. I haven't heard this entire CD, but I love the song God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen that is performed with Sarah McLachlan. In fact, figuring out who was singing this song on the radio has been bugging me for days. I should have asked some of you music aficionados. Anyway, I hope the rest of the titles will be as much fun.

Lion House Rolls for Dinner...

We ate well last night. If you live in Utah, you can pick up this cookbook at any store that sells local Mormon stuff and make the famous Lion House rolls inside... (That's Sting of the Bee cake right there by the way... and if you haven't tasted it... you haven't lived.) ... Or you can just drop by a local Deseret Book looking for Christmas gifts and think... O lovely Lion House Rolls for dinner! Hooray! Please pass the jam!

Things Good Mothers Know...

Alexandra has just announced that her new book will be available February 15th. I am so thrilled! If you haven't been reading her books... don't miss Happiness For Two. Every couple should read it I think.