yum-o chocolate layer cake

so the good find for february's recipe was a last minute one ... rich chocolate layer cake. check out the recipe here. we made it for rob's birthday celebration last night. and it. was. good. delish, even.

we didn't have our round cake pans available so we just made it in a 9x13 pan, then cut in in half, and then cut each half in half to make 4 layers. and, we substituted mini chocolate chips for the coconut & almonds that it called for. because what's better than chocolate cake with chocolate frosting? chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and mini chocolate chips. doesn't get better than that, folks!

the frosting was fantastic, really. i think i might doctor up my canned frosting every time from now on. who would have thought that a little sour cream and vanilla would transform it?!?

so you should try it. yum-o.

goals amendment #1

one of my goals this year was to try a new recipe once a month. however, after a so-so recipe last month, and a couple of near disasters this month, i'm making an amendment.

first though, the story of the no-good-horrible-very-bad thin mint. i saw the picture and recipe here. and i had two thoughts. one, i love thin mint girl scout cookies. and two, i need to take a treat to go with my relief society lesson on sunday. so on saturday i tried it out. problems ensue. first, the recipe as written did not turn into a dough, but rather into a flour-y mess. after trying to "fix" the recipe with a little extra butter and vanilla, it was roll-out-able, so that's what i did. however, after baking them up, they were super crumbly. and, after tasting them, they were super bad. seriously, what kind of recipe calls for a whole cup of cocoa? so into the sink they went. and my lesson went on without a treat.

without further ado, the amendment. try new recipes each month until i find a good recipe, worthy of serving to friends and family and/or worthy of making again. good luck to me.

well that was a lot of snow ...

the drive to work this morning was bright and white. really pretty, with the clear blue sky and all. it was a drastic change from the first night of the blizzard. usually the weather predictions disappoint me, because they always say we're going to get a bunch of snow and then the storm misses us. but they were right on with this one. we probably got about 2 feet of snow, and some crazy wind to blow it all around.

{the view out the back window around 11:30pm}

work closed early on tuesday, wasn't going to open again until at least noon on wednesday. at 6:15am they (who's "they" anyway?) closed all the roads in lake county because of hazardous road conditions. and the office closed for the entire day. snow day!

{the same view, the next morning. the snow drifts were up to the pool top, plus some!}

{the view from the front door. you can barely see my car over the drift!}

it took us about 3 hours to clear out the driveway. we haven't started on the walkway. i did get a lot done yesterday. worked a little, scrapbooked a lot (i finished 1/3 of the baby book i'm working on!), made a few recipes i've been wanting to try ... turkey-pepperoni pizza on a flat out for lunch (yum!), barbeque chicken salad with BBQ ranch dressing for dinner (yum!), and a "healthy" chocolate cake (rubbery and gross, dont' do it!). i also planned a relief society lesson and visited with the fam. it was a good day!

the plow finally came this morning to clear out the cul-de-sac. driving to work was strange, with narrower-than-normal driving lanes, turn lanes filled with 2 feet of snow, and large white mountains in every parking lot and on ever corner. i wonder how long it will take for the roads to feel like they're back to normal.

{the driveway is now about 10 feet longer ... there was nowhere else to put all the snow!}

{crazy piles of snow everywhere. it's a winter wonderland!}

so there it is. blizzard of 2011, snowpocalypse, snowmaggedon, and my favorite snOwMG! who wants to go sledding?

start that year off right!

new years day. bulls beat the cavs (100-91). and we watched it from the suite. loved it!

{avery holding molly}

{julez holding molly ... he loves babies!}

{i think harper was annoyed that i was interrupting her pretzel eating with a picture}

{me & zoe}

{rob & mom packing up the food to go ... should have brought a ziploc!}

{mcmillan family}

{middleton family + one}

{verrette family}

warm spinach garlic spread

january's recipe of the month ... completed. on new year's eve we had some crackers and cheese at our little celebration. the box of club crackers had a recipe on it, so i decided to try it. here's my review.

it tasted good. i'm not entirely sure what the milk, oil, salt, and hot pepper sauce added to the recipe, but it obviously didn't hurt anything. however, i only put in 2 teaspoons of garlic, and it could definitely use more. in the end, especially when it started to cool off, it returned to a cream cheese consistency. so, while i thought it was okay as a dip/cracker spread last night, this morning it was seriously delicious on my bagel and turkey breakfast sandwich.

*side note, i used fat free cream cheese and would probably eliminate the oil next time, just to have a low calorie, high-ish protein, zero fat spread. yum.

here's the recipe:

warm spinach garlic spread

1 package chopped frozen spinach (10 oz)
1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon olive oil
2-3 teaspoons bottled roasted garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
12 oz cream cheese cut up
club crackers (original flavor)

1. cook spinach according to package directions. drain in colander, pressing spinach with back of spoon to remove excess moisture.

2. in medium saucepan stir together milk, oil, garlic, salt and hot pepper sauce. cook and stir over low heat until warm. gradually add cream cheese, stirring until melted. stir in spinach. heat through.

3. serve warm or chilled with crackers.

am i behind?

i feel like i'm behind. i know we're only a week into the new year, so how can i be behind? i have to keep reminding myself that i haven't even received a paycheck in 2011, so i can't be behind on my savings goal. and i did actually include an extra sum in the car payment i mailed this week.

other than that, i looked up a knife skills class and found one closer to home. i haven't signed up for it yet though. i did choose a spinach & garlic spread for my new recipe this month. i might get ambitious and try multiple new recipes each month ... an appetizer, a main dish, and a dessert. we'll see how it goes when i'm travelling 4 weeks per month and have to cram a month's worth of personal errands and social life into 4 saturdays.

and what am i going to do with the rest of my month? get a foid card, start some running (realistically it'll be walking this month, i'm sure), and find a reputable company for lasik surgery .... i'm almost out of contacts and don't want to wear glasses around for any longer than necessary!

new year, new goals

last year i had one goal ... pay off my credit cards. and two weeks ago, i did it. as it turns out, it feels pretty good to set a goal and a deadline and then report back when it is actually accomplished. normally i'm not a "new years resolution" person. i feel like if i want to make a change in life i should do it when i decide to make the change, rather than waiting until january 1st. however, i think goals are different than resolutions. and i feel like december 31, 2011 is a nice deadline. so, here they are. 11 goals for 2011. in no specific order ...

1. lose weight (i know, it's on everyone's list. i have a number of pounds to lose in mind, you don't care what it is)

2. save money for a down payment on a house (again, i have a number in mind, you don't care what it is)

3. run a 5k (i know i can walk it ... i want to run it)

4. go through the temple to receive my endowments (and all the daily "goals" that go along with that)

5. take a knife skills class (if anyone has any thoughts on where to do this, let me know! i found a class downtown chicago, but i thought at some point i saw something in libertyville maybe?)

6. take course 1 of the wilton cake decorating classes (just because it seems like something i'd like to do)

7. write a business plan (i have 2 or 3 ideas for businesses that i want to start, i want to write a thorough business plan for one of them)

8. get a foid card, go to a gun club or shooting range (and possibly join one), and look into buying a gun of my own

9. try cooking/baking a new recipe once a month (i'm open for ideas, if anyone wants to send them my way)

10. pay off car (if i pay the normal amount monthly, i'll pay it off about halfway through 2012, so the goal is to pay extra every month and get rid of that debt by the end of december 2011)

11. look into lasik surgery (i've been wanting to do this for a while, and i would say the goal is to "have lasik surgery", but in case it's not something my eyes qualify for, it has to be attainable)

so there it is. these are not the only things i want to accomplish this year, but i feel like these are things i have control over and can complete. keep me honest ... and check up on me!

free at last!

a quick note. i was going to facebook the world and tell them to check out my blog for my awesome news, but then i realized everyone would probably get all excited about some dating/engagement/marriage announcement, and i'm far from that. but, my real news is still super exciting ... to me at least.

today, i made my last payment on my last credit card. and it's been a long time coming. in january i said i was going to finish paying all the credit cards off this year, even though i doubted i could do it. and then i procrastinated the payments, because that's what i do. and then, when i thought it was too late to actually do it, i made a new plan. cut excess spending. cancel gym membership. live frugally (i figured if it was quasi-temporary i could do it). and pay off the credit cards.

c'est fini. like an enormous ball and chain removed from my leg. it feels good to be (more) free. check back in the next couple weeks for new year goals (2011 edition). i'll see if i can make more than one this time.

natalie does nashville

about a month ago i found a really good airfare to nashville. we decided to go. and then the tickets weren't available anymore. and then i found a really great deal on a rental car, so we decided to drive. here's the trip in a nutshell:

{looking a little shiny after the 8-hour drive to country music USA}

leave at 4am friday to drive to nashville. chick-fil-a for lunch. yum. check into hotel (and it was free, i used marriott points). take a quick nap. try to go to jack's bbq downtown. get stuck in the christmas parade downtown traffic. go to other jack's bbq location. enjoy bbq beef. walk to opryland hotel. check out christmas lights and life-size nativity on opryland grounds. love opryland hotel.

{check out those lights at the opryland hotel!}

drive around downtown. visit the state capitol. knock on the door (they didn't answer). see country music hall of fame. lunch and linedancing at wildhorse saloon. walk around downtown. go back to opryland hotel. check out a craft fair there. watch rockabilly concert. see fountains dancing. dinner at santa fe cattle company.

{this capitol is set up on the hill ... it looks so grand sitting up there!}

go to church. go to lunch at bob evans. see rockettes at the opry house (home of the grand ol' opry). dinner at el chico.

{mia & me at the opry house ... that's one giant guitar!}

drive home. it was good times. i highly recommend nashville at christmas time. for real.

(i took lots of pictures ... check out facebook for more)

in a thanksgiving weekend

this week i've been thinking about what i'm thankful for ... i think my list goes on forever. here are a few from the top ...

i'm thankful for a supportive & loving family. they're the best i could ask for.

i'm thankful for friends who are there for me in good times and bad ... even when i "drop" them.

i'm thankful for happiness ... and reluctantly thankful for sadness, which helps me recognize the happiness.

i'm thankful for the gospel of jesus christ. for the branch that i attend. for the leaders who guide me.

i'm thankful for goals. and thankful that i chose mostly attainable goals this year. this year i think i'll share my goals, so you can all keep me honest.

i'm thankful for water (last year i think it was diet coke, but i gave that up, so it's a good thing there's water around!)

i'm thankful for these kids (and the two who weren't here last night) ... and for their unconditional love.

do you wonder what i do?

these last 2 weeks i've been in macon, georgia for work. last wednesday when i arrived, the place looked like it was still weeks and weeks away from being complete. (no before picture, sorry!) but, today when i left the center, it looked like this:

and it may not look like much to you ... but it looks like a center that's up & running to me. goal accomplished.

for two days last week i sat in the car outside the center to "babysit" our contractors. apparently some people think they don't have to work unless they're being watched? so i watched them cut a hole in the wall for a door, install the ceiling grid, paint, carpet, install fixtures in the bathroom, and take a lot of smoke breaks. but it obviously worked, because today, when i left, all of the construction was completed and we now have a certificate of occupancy and business license (10 stops later ... and one of them was at the jail, whoops!), and we're ready for the kids to start on friday. yahoo.

oh, idaho

part deux. we went to the "haunted harvest" ... which was not haunted at all. it was actually called linder farms. it was a cute place. loved the hayride, which was through the pumpkin patch (even if we didn't get off to find pumpkins!)

{michelle & kids (trey, kinzee, skylie) on the hayride}

{me & ash}

{ashleigh tried to steal this little girl away from me, but i think we all know who her favorite was}

{the crew}

{hanging out on the pumpkin farm}

{love this picture ...}

{me & michelle}

{what a group}

{we dressed that little kinzee up like fancy nancy ... super fun}

boise is not a state

i think that was the theme from the weekend. our question was "why is it called boise state, if boise isn't a state?". but, regardless, we had great fun!

ashleigh and i flew up to idaho this weekend to visit michelle and her growing family. i didn't want to leave. or, if i had to leave, can i at least bring my friends home with me?

we arrived on thursday afternoon and spent the evening catching up. michelle made some delish beef/broccoli, rice, and egg rolls. it was so good!

on friday we had planned a girls getaway for the afternoon but the babysitter bailed on us. luckily, michelle was able to secure another babysitter for the evening, so we had girls night out. we went to nampa, which has a little downtown area (and i do mean little). but, there was a local college having their twerp dance. it was a costume dance, and the theme was "opposites attract". it was hilarious sitting downtown watching the couples walk by. and trying to figure out who they were. we saw michael jackson/lady gaga ... lady gaga/catherine hepburn ... black/white ... nerds/beauty queens ... jocks/nerds ... old men/baby girls (a lot of them) ... but the best part of the night was naming the couples who really weren't dressed up, who were just downtown. ha. we saw nerd/amish girl ... walker/non-walker ... it was hilarious!

after our halloween preview, we went for dinner at olive garden, which was delish. and then went to the movies. it was such a good night!

{ashleigh wondered why these boxes said "dog" on them. i think she just had dog on the brain}

we went to the store a few times ... we had to get stuff for all the food we were cooking. i swear, we spent all day on sunday in the kitchen. we'd finish making one thing and move on to the next. after church we reheated leftovers for lunch. when we were finished with that we made some guacamole to snack on. we ate that while we were making rolls (ashleigh's request). and then while those were cooking we made chocolate chip cookies (the dough was better than the cookies). and while those were cooking we made pizza. which was delicious. wow ... it was a lot of food.

{this camel actually had softer fur than you'd think. i don't think i've ever been that close to one before}

saturday it was raining, but in the afternoon we headed out to linder farms for a little fall action ... hay ride, petting zoo, mini donuts ... and fun! more pictures of that to come.

{me & braxton ... he's such a good baby!}

braxton is 3 months old ... that's why we needed to go visit ... to see this new addition. he's such a cutie!

all the kids were great though, and happy to have us there. i loved it. thanks for having us phil & michelle. let's do it again. soon.

{me & kinzee ... i could have brought this little girl home with me!}

shades of autumn

last saturday was perfect! the fam went to stade farm for some fall fun! they have a corn box (like a sand box, but with corn) ... a petting zoo ... miniature ponies to ride ... slides to fly down ... hay ride to the pumpkin patch ... yummy apple donuts ... and a whole lot more!

{me & harper hanging out while the other kids tried out the petting zoo}

{lovely ladies}

{thomas & julez}

{rob & avery}

{me & zoe}

{"cowboy jack" ... julez & thomas}

{it's rough getting a picture of all the kids smiling at the same time ... i might have to work some photoshop magic for the perfect picture!}

{julez playing in the corn box}

{the apple donuts really are that good!}

{zoe didn't choose this pumpkin ... the one she wanted was tiny and rotting!}

{the fam}

{and one with me}

{steph & zoe on the pony ride ... zoe wouldn't let anyone else take her!}

{i love this picture ... not even sure what they're doing!}