I am starting another blog because of an ensign article that I read. It was about missionary work on the internet. It talked about people having blogs about the gospel. I wanted to share what I have been learning from reading the Ensign. I have had so many thoughts on the different articles I have read that now I can jot them down and share them with anyone wanting to listen. My new blog, in addition to this one, is
lds-simpletruths.blogspot.com
Go to Finding and Sharing the Gospel Online to read the whole article. It is going to take a while to get things really up and going, and I am by NO means blog savvy or extremely knowledgeable about the gospel, but I am learning and I am inspired.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
My Adorable Landuck!
Too Cute!
He has a Cars toy in his hand and he is every excited about it. He threw it after this was taken. He loves throwing things!
He was so excited to be able to run around! His tail went back and forth like a real duck! It was SO adorable!
Mr. Sly Face!
He organized those skittles and glow sticks!
Mint Dots!
This is what my Mint Dots look like!
Don't they look so scrumptious!! I think I might need to make some more this afternoon! This batch is already gone! click HERE for the recipe
Thursday, October 22, 2009
He Drums!
This is my wonderful Drummer!
His uncle Greg has drums and he has loved them ever since he first saw them. Landon has been getting better at them, but his time he was doing so well! Jeff took the video of this. It's from his phone, so it's not great quality, but it is amazing!
His uncle Greg has drums and he has loved them ever since he first saw them. Landon has been getting better at them, but his time he was doing so well! Jeff took the video of this. It's from his phone, so it's not great quality, but it is amazing!
Friday, October 9, 2009
Chocolates Recipes!
All of these recipes are from an online cookbook, but I have altered them to what I like more. If you want the original recipe you can email me and I will send you the cookbook, but otherwise enjoy my recipes!
First one I tried was
"Butterfingers"
1 Cup Peanut Butter
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
bag Light Chocolate Melting Chocolate (milk chocolate)
Cook syrup, sugar, and water to 310 F. (at least. sometimes the thermometer isn't quite right and you need to wait a little longer. If you make this more than once, you'll want to experiment with the times.) Remove from heat.
Stir in warmed peanut butter (warm 30 sec. at least in microwave) until well blended. Pour into a greased (buttered) 9 X 9 pan. Score mixture into desired size bars immediately. (or they will harden and you won't get bars, you'll get chunks that you have to break with a hammer.)
When COMPLETELY cool, dip in melted milk chocolate in microwave or double boiler, (I prefer microwave because you are less likely to burn the chocolate) and set on wax paper until chocolate has hardened. They are best if kept in fridge until 10 minutes prior to serving because the chocolate tends to get soft quite fast. You can add paraffin wax to help the chocolate not to melt, but I haven't experimented with that yet. Once completely hardened you can put store them in airtight container.
*******************************************************
Mint Drops! (or mint patties)
1 (14−ounce) can Sweetened Condensed Milk (I have used off brands and it turns out just as good as name brands)
1 tablespoon peppermint extract*
6 cups powdered sugar
Additional confectioners' sugar
1 to 2 bags Dark Chocolate Melting Chocolate
In large mixer bowl, combine milk, extract and. Add 6 cups sugar; beat on low speed until smooth and well blended. Turn mixture onto surface sprinkled with Powdered sugar. Knead lightly to form smooth ball. Shape into 1/2−inch balls. Place 1 inch apart on wax
paper−lined baking sheets. I keep time in ball shape, although they will flatten on the bottom so they will be more like dots (hence the name!). Let dry 1 hour, turn the over, and let them dry another hour. Melt the chocolate chips in a microwave. Stir halfway through the
heating time. (I heat half a bag at a time, which takes 1 min. to melt mixing after 30 sec.) Melt thoroughly, but do not overheat. Melting the chocolate chips can also be done using a double−boiler over low heat. With a toothpick or fork, dip each patty into warm chocolate
(remove excess coating). Invert onto wax paper−lined baking sheets; put in fridge Store covered in refrigerator. Once completely hardened you can put store them in airtight container.
*you can use 2 teaspoons of peppermint extract if you only want it slightly minty. (3 teaspoons = 1 Tablespoon)
Mint Drops are my most favorite ever!
******************************************
Chocolate Carmel Shortbread Cookies (or Twix I haven't come up with any names yet.)
1 bag Kraft caramels (dots or individually wrapped squares)
2 Tablespoons water
1 box Nabisco Lorna Doone 100 calorie packs (these make bite sized cookies, which are much more fun and better for you)**
1 to 2 bags Light Chocolate Melting Chocolate (milk chocolate)
Place the shortbread cookies side by side on an wax paper-lined
pan (whatever pan will fit most cookies side by side) . Combine the caramels with the water in a small pan and melt over low heat. Spread over cookies. Refrigerate cookies until the caramel is firm. Once caramel is firm (refrigerate for at least 30 min.), use the microwave for melting the chocolate. Heat half a bar at a time. Remove the cookies from the refrigerator. Remove wax paper from pan. Cut caramel-covered cookies into squares. Rest each one on a fork and
dip it into the chocolate. (I actually use the sticks that come with the caramel to help me dip) Tap the fork or stick on the side of the pan or bowl to knock off any excess chocolate. Then place each one on a sheet of waxed paper and let them cool in the fridge. The bars will set best this way. Once completely hardened you can put store them in airtight container.
**I have also used store brand short bread cookies. They work fine too, but you do need to cut the cookies to a smaller size. This is best done with a serrated knife, slowly and softly. This works pretty well, it's just time consuming, but also cheaper.
********************************************
Square Turtles with Nougat (Snickers. Any other name ideas??)
1/4 cup light corn syrup
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/8 cup peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups powdered sugar
1 bag Kraft caramels + 2 Tablespoons of water
1 cup dry−roasted unsalted peanuts
1 to 2 bags Light Chocolate Melting Chocolate (milk chocolate)
Combine the corn syrup, butter, vanilla, peanut butter, and salt until creamy. Slowly add the powdered sugar. When the mixture has the consistency of dough, remove it from the bowl
with your hands and press it into a lightly greased 11 x 13−inch pan. Put in the refrigerator.
Melt the caramels and water in a small pan over low heat. When the caramel is soft, mix in the peanuts. Pour the mixture over the refrigerated nougat in the pan. Let this cool in the refrigerator.
When the refrigerated mixture is firm, melt the chocolate in a microwave. Stir halfway through cooking time. When the mixture in the pan has hardened, cut it into desired size. Set each chunk onto a fork and dip into the melted chocolate. Tap the fork against the side of the bowl or pan to knock off any excess chocolate. Then place the chunks on waxed paper. Refrigerate. Once completely hardened you can put store them in airtight container.
*****************************************
Peanut Butter Cups are to follow. I'm still perfecting the recipe.
Enjoy! The hardest part of all of these recipes is dipping! It's a great stress reliever, with a nice reward at the end. Not great for diets, then again, if you make bite sized candies, you can eat a smaller amount and not have to buy a candy bar at the store and spend money! Each of these recipes make 70 to 100 + small pieces of candy depending on the size you wish. They last a least a month too!
First one I tried was
"Butterfingers"
1 Cup Peanut Butter
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
bag Light Chocolate Melting Chocolate (milk chocolate)
Cook syrup, sugar, and water to 310 F. (at least. sometimes the thermometer isn't quite right and you need to wait a little longer. If you make this more than once, you'll want to experiment with the times.) Remove from heat.
Stir in warmed peanut butter (warm 30 sec. at least in microwave) until well blended. Pour into a greased (buttered) 9 X 9 pan. Score mixture into desired size bars immediately. (or they will harden and you won't get bars, you'll get chunks that you have to break with a hammer.)
When COMPLETELY cool, dip in melted milk chocolate in microwave or double boiler, (I prefer microwave because you are less likely to burn the chocolate) and set on wax paper until chocolate has hardened. They are best if kept in fridge until 10 minutes prior to serving because the chocolate tends to get soft quite fast. You can add paraffin wax to help the chocolate not to melt, but I haven't experimented with that yet. Once completely hardened you can put store them in airtight container.
*******************************************************
Mint Drops! (or mint patties)
1 (14−ounce) can Sweetened Condensed Milk (I have used off brands and it turns out just as good as name brands)
1 tablespoon peppermint extract*
6 cups powdered sugar
Additional confectioners' sugar
1 to 2 bags Dark Chocolate Melting Chocolate
In large mixer bowl, combine milk, extract and. Add 6 cups sugar; beat on low speed until smooth and well blended. Turn mixture onto surface sprinkled with Powdered sugar. Knead lightly to form smooth ball. Shape into 1/2−inch balls. Place 1 inch apart on wax
paper−lined baking sheets. I keep time in ball shape, although they will flatten on the bottom so they will be more like dots (hence the name!). Let dry 1 hour, turn the over, and let them dry another hour. Melt the chocolate chips in a microwave. Stir halfway through the
heating time. (I heat half a bag at a time, which takes 1 min. to melt mixing after 30 sec.) Melt thoroughly, but do not overheat. Melting the chocolate chips can also be done using a double−boiler over low heat. With a toothpick or fork, dip each patty into warm chocolate
(remove excess coating). Invert onto wax paper−lined baking sheets; put in fridge Store covered in refrigerator. Once completely hardened you can put store them in airtight container.
*you can use 2 teaspoons of peppermint extract if you only want it slightly minty. (3 teaspoons = 1 Tablespoon)
Mint Drops are my most favorite ever!
******************************************
Chocolate Carmel Shortbread Cookies (or Twix I haven't come up with any names yet.)
1 bag Kraft caramels (dots or individually wrapped squares)
2 Tablespoons water
1 box Nabisco Lorna Doone 100 calorie packs (these make bite sized cookies, which are much more fun and better for you)**
1 to 2 bags Light Chocolate Melting Chocolate (milk chocolate)
Place the shortbread cookies side by side on an wax paper-lined
pan (whatever pan will fit most cookies side by side) . Combine the caramels with the water in a small pan and melt over low heat. Spread over cookies. Refrigerate cookies until the caramel is firm. Once caramel is firm (refrigerate for at least 30 min.), use the microwave for melting the chocolate. Heat half a bar at a time. Remove the cookies from the refrigerator. Remove wax paper from pan. Cut caramel-covered cookies into squares. Rest each one on a fork and
dip it into the chocolate. (I actually use the sticks that come with the caramel to help me dip) Tap the fork or stick on the side of the pan or bowl to knock off any excess chocolate. Then place each one on a sheet of waxed paper and let them cool in the fridge. The bars will set best this way. Once completely hardened you can put store them in airtight container.
**I have also used store brand short bread cookies. They work fine too, but you do need to cut the cookies to a smaller size. This is best done with a serrated knife, slowly and softly. This works pretty well, it's just time consuming, but also cheaper.
********************************************
Square Turtles with Nougat (Snickers. Any other name ideas??)
1/4 cup light corn syrup
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/8 cup peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups powdered sugar
1 bag Kraft caramels + 2 Tablespoons of water
1 cup dry−roasted unsalted peanuts
1 to 2 bags Light Chocolate Melting Chocolate (milk chocolate)
Combine the corn syrup, butter, vanilla, peanut butter, and salt until creamy. Slowly add the powdered sugar. When the mixture has the consistency of dough, remove it from the bowl
with your hands and press it into a lightly greased 11 x 13−inch pan. Put in the refrigerator.
Melt the caramels and water in a small pan over low heat. When the caramel is soft, mix in the peanuts. Pour the mixture over the refrigerated nougat in the pan. Let this cool in the refrigerator.
When the refrigerated mixture is firm, melt the chocolate in a microwave. Stir halfway through cooking time. When the mixture in the pan has hardened, cut it into desired size. Set each chunk onto a fork and dip into the melted chocolate. Tap the fork against the side of the bowl or pan to knock off any excess chocolate. Then place the chunks on waxed paper. Refrigerate. Once completely hardened you can put store them in airtight container.
*****************************************
Peanut Butter Cups are to follow. I'm still perfecting the recipe.
Enjoy! The hardest part of all of these recipes is dipping! It's a great stress reliever, with a nice reward at the end. Not great for diets, then again, if you make bite sized candies, you can eat a smaller amount and not have to buy a candy bar at the store and spend money! Each of these recipes make 70 to 100 + small pieces of candy depending on the size you wish. They last a least a month too!
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Teaching My Baby To Read
So My parents have this book from the mid '70s that is about teaching your baby to read. It is an awesome book! Mom actually ordered a revised edition for me so it's a little more up to date. Glenn Doman is a Director of the Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential. (or was when the book was written. He is still alive and has written many books since then on teaching your baby math and other awesome things.) My mom and dad used it with my oldest brother. It's called How To Teach Your Baby To Read. This book is so intriguing. He talks about how a group of scientists and doctors were working with brain injured children. They found that they were able to teach them to read before the age of three! Then they posed the question, if brain injured children can learn to read this early, what about normal children? Thus bringing about more research, and discovering that the earlier a child learns to read the better and happier they are! He emphasizes that from birth to age four children learn more than they do the rest of their life combined! Think about it, they learn to crawl, walk, talk, play with toys, differentiate colors and shapes, and tons more! So why not read! I am so excited!!
On TV they have this whole system that you can buy that costs at least a hundred dollars. I'm sure it's pretty much the same method, but who wants to spend hundreds of dollars right now, when you don't need to! This is just a book! And then I printed off words that it says to use in the book, and I got poster board to put the printed words on, and what, we've spent less than 20 bucks, including the book!
The first words are mommy and daddy. They are printed in big red letters. He gets excited when I get the words out! I'll let you know the progress. I'm using a twist on the method that he says to use, because I hadn't read his instructions before I started showing Landon the first words, but generations of moms and dads have been teaching their kids to read in different, but basically the same ways, with the same results! Happier children! It's fantastic!
On TV they have this whole system that you can buy that costs at least a hundred dollars. I'm sure it's pretty much the same method, but who wants to spend hundreds of dollars right now, when you don't need to! This is just a book! And then I printed off words that it says to use in the book, and I got poster board to put the printed words on, and what, we've spent less than 20 bucks, including the book!
The first words are mommy and daddy. They are printed in big red letters. He gets excited when I get the words out! I'll let you know the progress. I'm using a twist on the method that he says to use, because I hadn't read his instructions before I started showing Landon the first words, but generations of moms and dads have been teaching their kids to read in different, but basically the same ways, with the same results! Happier children! It's fantastic!
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Completely Crafts #1
My Origami Paper Wall Hangings!!
So I am in charge of 'Completely Crafts' in my ward, which is a monthly craft night for Enrichment. The first craft was an "Origami Paper Wall Hanging". It isn't really what you first think it is. It's just a wall hanging that uses Styrofoam, mod podge, and origami paper. I took pictures of the steps so if you would like to try it, you can!
1. This is green Styrofoam board I got at Roberts. It's really expensive at JoAnn's. Green is also cheaper than white anywhere you go. The sheet I used is 12 X 36 X 1.
Materials: tissue paper (any color you want)
a cutting board/or scissors
origami paper (I would choose the color scheme before you start.
It will make things easier)
Mod Podge
a sponge brush
a paper template of the size of your cut styrofoam
2. Just as examples I cut 2 6 x 6 inch squares. I used a kitchen knife to cut it.
3. Mod Podge the Styrofoam using enough to wet the whole front side.
4. Apply the tissue and coat the top of the tissue with another layer of mod podge. This picture shows the entire block mod podged. You do not have to do the back, but the front and sides is important to do.
5. While the mod podge is setting up, get your template and origami paper out. Start cutting and arranging the BASE ONLY of your design. Trust me, it will save you a lot of time. General rule of thumb is to use 1 to 4 inch strips. Don't use bigger than that (unless you are using a very large board). Once you have the base figured out, you can mod podge it to the block. It is okay if the mod podge is still wet because you have to apply another layer if it's not. Apply another layer of mod podge on top of the paper. NOTE: It is okay if there are spaces between the colors; you will be filling them with smaller pieces.
6. Once the base is on, let the creativity flow! Fill in the spaces where the tissue is showing and add accent to the rest. The secret to having it look really nice is to mentally divide your block in 4 sections and see if there is equal color in all 4 sections. You can't really tell in this picture, but i have two colors of pink. And all four of my colors are in all four sections.
7. Cut 1 inch strips to do the sides. I also cut 1 X 2 inch strips to cover the corners.
8. Let it dry! This is the other one I was working on at the same time. If you are doing a large one, you could be doing a small one at the same time too. It helps the drying time go by faster.
**** You can use these as bulletin boards, wall hangings, picture mats, or whatever you want! That's the wonderful thing about them. They are REALLY light and can go up anywhere! You can make them any size and you can even use scrapbook paper! It's a great, simple craft the can be inexpensive if you do it with several people (the origami packs range from 5 to 10 dollars but come in 100 to 300 count packages).****
1. This is green Styrofoam board I got at Roberts. It's really expensive at JoAnn's. Green is also cheaper than white anywhere you go. The sheet I used is 12 X 36 X 1.
Materials: tissue paper (any color you want)
a cutting board/or scissors
origami paper (I would choose the color scheme before you start.
It will make things easier)
Mod Podge
a sponge brush
a paper template of the size of your cut styrofoam
2. Just as examples I cut 2 6 x 6 inch squares. I used a kitchen knife to cut it.
3. Mod Podge the Styrofoam using enough to wet the whole front side.
4. Apply the tissue and coat the top of the tissue with another layer of mod podge. This picture shows the entire block mod podged. You do not have to do the back, but the front and sides is important to do.
5. While the mod podge is setting up, get your template and origami paper out. Start cutting and arranging the BASE ONLY of your design. Trust me, it will save you a lot of time. General rule of thumb is to use 1 to 4 inch strips. Don't use bigger than that (unless you are using a very large board). Once you have the base figured out, you can mod podge it to the block. It is okay if the mod podge is still wet because you have to apply another layer if it's not. Apply another layer of mod podge on top of the paper. NOTE: It is okay if there are spaces between the colors; you will be filling them with smaller pieces.
6. Once the base is on, let the creativity flow! Fill in the spaces where the tissue is showing and add accent to the rest. The secret to having it look really nice is to mentally divide your block in 4 sections and see if there is equal color in all 4 sections. You can't really tell in this picture, but i have two colors of pink. And all four of my colors are in all four sections.
7. Cut 1 inch strips to do the sides. I also cut 1 X 2 inch strips to cover the corners.
8. Let it dry! This is the other one I was working on at the same time. If you are doing a large one, you could be doing a small one at the same time too. It helps the drying time go by faster.
**** You can use these as bulletin boards, wall hangings, picture mats, or whatever you want! That's the wonderful thing about them. They are REALLY light and can go up anywhere! You can make them any size and you can even use scrapbook paper! It's a great, simple craft the can be inexpensive if you do it with several people (the origami packs range from 5 to 10 dollars but come in 100 to 300 count packages).****
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