She asked for the recipe 19 years later.



My niece Natalie texted me last week asking for my recipe of 
Taco Salad...
"the one you used to bring to family potlucks" 

I DO remember throwing that salad together years ago,
 and bringing it to the family potluck. 

I guess I made it a time or two, maybe three, 
but that was about it.

So I went to the Salad recipe book that I started in 1999...
and there it was on the 4th page.

Oh my, NINETEEN years ago.

Natalie and I both remember it also had ground beef in it!

Made my day she still remembered it!

15 things I learned at church last week

Here's what I learned, or re-learned, at church last week. 
Most of these aren't exact quotes because I can’t write that 
fast, but they should be pretty close:
  1. From the opening song, Improve the Shining Moments:
    “…Promptings bringeth softly blessings rich and pure.” 
  2. “We cannot be grateful and envious at the same time.”
  3. “Instead of scrolling, look around and notice who needs a hug or to be noticed or needs
    help.
  4. “We are all given only so much time in this life. We need to cut down on distractions so
    we can better serve the Lord by better serving the people around us.” 
  5. A suggestion was made during the first talk in Sacrament meeting…."if you are say,
    searching for a recipe on the internet, set the timer for 5 minutes. If you have not found
    it when it goes off, set it for another 5 minutes. I guess this keeps one focused on the
    task and will keep us from becoming distracted elsewhere on the net with no real
    purpose."
  6. "We need to remember that 'We’re all just walking each other home.”
  7. “Potential is God’s gift to us. What we do with it, is our gift to Him.” 
  8. “I think we will be surprised when we get to heaven at how familiar our Heavenly
    Father’s face is to us. It won’t be the first time we have seen Him, because of course
    we knew Him well before we came to earth.”
  9. “When we pray to Heavenly Father try to envision Him and look into His face as if we are
    having a conversation with Him, because we are.”
  10. “Heavenly Father knows each of us so well that He knows how to speak to us.” (This one
    in particular I've thought of lots since I heard it. He knows how to get our attention.)
  11. A comment during one of our lessons: “I really believe Satan holds councils and says
    things like “Donna is going to church again today, is there anything we can do about
    that?”
  12. “Heavenly Father knows our limitations, but he helps us always to accomplish our
    purposes.”
  13. “We want our bishop and our stake president to be perfect. We want all our church
    leaders to be perfect. We want Joseph Smith to be perfect. But they aren’t. Heavenly
    Father has always had imperfect people to work with.”
  14. “Following the Savior removes barriers from you, and the help Heavenly Father wants to
    give to you. 
  15. And this last one is a direct quote from President Dieter F. Utchdorf from our last
    General Conference, as it was read in our last meeting of the day:

    “On your journey back to Heavenly Father you will soon realize that this journey 
    isn’t just about focusing on your own life. No, this path inevitably leads you to 
    become a blessing in the lives of God’s other children—your brothers and sisters. 
    And the interesting thing about the journey is that as you serve God, and as you 
    care for and help your fellowmen, you will see great progress in your own life, in 
    ways you could never imagine.”

The 8 year old saved the 7 year old

My Dad called to tell us about an 8 year old 
saving his classmate from choking on a gummy bear.

It happened on Valentine's Day in Fresno, 
a town 5 minutes from us.

I especially thought it was sweet that my 
Dad wanted to share this with us:

/http://abc30.com/community-events/8-year-old-boy-saves-classmate-after-she-started-to-choke-during-valentines-day-party-/3086067/


I was too affected by this not to share.

The niece of a very close friend of mine knows two of the girls who 
were hurt during the shooting in Parkland, Florida last week. 

She is the Young Women's President of their ward in Parkland. 

I got permission to share what my friend's niece wrote on Facebook 
a few days ago about the girls. 

"I’m not sure what I have to say will be coherent, but I’ll try. These last 2 1/2 days have been beyond surreal. There have been a lot of tears and a lot of prayers, and a lot of grief. I can’t believe it happened in our small, quiet town. Two of our girls were victims of the shooting this week. Maddy is currently in the ICU recovering after three surgeries fixing her injuries from multiple gunshot wounds, and our sweet Alaina did not make it. As the Young Women president at our church, these are my girls. They are my responsibility to help, along with their parents, strengthen their faith in Jesus Christ, help them prepare to make important covenants in the temple, guide and love them through their experiences, and prepare them for their future roles in this life. Our hearts are sure aching for Maddy, and they are absolutely breaking losing Alaina. We will miss her every day. Something that WILL help us through this trial is our belief in a loving Savior, Jesus Christ. I know He died for us; He has paid the price for our sins, and He has given us a chance to live with our Heavenly Father again. I also know we have a Heavenly Father who loves us, knows us each by name, and has a plan for each and every one of us. I know He has a plan for Maddy, and I know He has a plan for Alaina. Although I don’t know why Alaina was taken so young from this mortal life, I have belief in eternal life. I know that life does not end here. I know we will see her again. There is indescribable peace that comes from this knowledge. I know that the power of prayer is real, and that when we pray, we are speaking to a Heavenly Father who hears and answers our prayers. He is REAL and He is there. Please pray for our girls, please pray for Alaina’s family that they may feel peace during this difficult time, and please pray for Maddy that she can make a full recovery. ❤️ @ Parkland, Florida

Then tonight, after Alaina's funeral today, she wrote this:

"This song has been playing over and over in my head ever since Wednesday. It’s a song our Young Women have been practicing for the last month in preparation for a musical number at church yesterday. Because of the events of the week, it wasn’t sung yesterday, but it was requested that it be sung today at Alaina’s funeral. I feel deep in my heart that maybe they have been practicing all this time in preparation for today.
“Peace in Christ” is the theme for this year for all the youth groups in our church all around the world. We had a special lesson about the theme the first Sunday of the year and we discussed different ways we feel “Peace in Christ.” We also talked about different things we can do to receive temporary peace, and things we can do to receive lasting peace. 
At the beginning of this month, we had a special night called New Beginnings, where again, our theme was “Peace in Christ.” 
Our goal for this year is to truly help our youth find “Peace in Christ.” What we didn’t realize was how pertinent this theme would truly be for our youth so soon. The events of last week will cause them to dig deep and rely on their testimonies of all the things their parents and church leaders have taught them about the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ, who is also known as “The Prince of Peace.” I know as we all turn to Him and listen to His words, we will find peace."

“Learn of me, and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my Spirit, and you shall have peace in me.” —D&C 19:23

While on the subject of Valentines....

I remember as a little girl going through my Mom's scrapbooks and 
always finding this Valentine card from 1944...






It would intrigued me because I would open it up 
and there was no signature. 

But she assured me she knew who it was from. 
His name was Bert. They were both 14.

Finally I found this paper she had apparently written 
for her bookclub in 1991.

(Not quite sure what she meant in her last paragraph.)

But the part I loved the most was finding out that it was her 14 year old boyfriend Bert who taught her to make 
Johnny's Casserole! 

We grew up with that casserole! 
And I use to make it for my boys. 


We should have been calling it Bert's Casserole.

Mom on the right with her best friend Betty.
1947

I sort of now wonder if Mom may have been thinking 
about her 14 year old self 
whenever she would make Johnny's Casserole. 

Well maybe for a few seconds. 
She had 10 people to feed every night.

Wow, now that I think about it, what an accomplishment!

I think having dinner together as a family every evening 
is highly under rated. 




I think she struck again....

Last Valentine's Day we found this on our driveway...
Even though the homemade gift was sitting right next to our paper, 
we had our doubts that it came from our delivery lady. 

Realistically how could she make all these gifts for 
each person on her paper route?

I should have pursued it, but I never contacted her.

Then look what we found this week INSIDE our paper.

I have some serious thanking to do. 
I need to find out TODAY how to contact her.

My mom would have known what to do.
She would have found a way to give her a Valentine back!


Valentine's Day 1935


My Mom is the cute little blonde front row left.
Her brother Ted is to the left of her, and brother Don top row 3rd from left.
Along with cousin Helen

I think they all went to school together. 




Happy Valentine's Day!

Update: I called the Fresno Bee and asked for our carrier's phone number. They were not able to give 
it to us but said they would send my message to her, and she would include her phone number (if she 
chooses) along with our Sunday morning paper. Then I will go from there :)

A special new weekly vlog

While I was not fond of her book,


There was nothing wrong with it, 
but it was a bit wordy, and just didn't draw me in.


However, her vlogs, which she just started 3 weeks ago 
are whole different story!

She puts a new one out every Monday morning.


Just check them out.
And yes, I know they're nuts, but just go with it, it'll get better.

(The montage at the end of each, is my favorite!)


Week 1 Getting Braces and Going to the Temple
Week 2 My trip to the ER and Cali
Week 3 I had Surgery

Favorites from January

Gretchen Rubin, from The Happiness Project, suggests we 
"Keep a running list of your favorites." 

So I thought I'd try this for January.

(I do wonder how many times I've forgotten something good that I've discovered. 

This year, hopefully, will be different.)


RX Bars Maple Sea Salt….


Don't worry, Den says the no BS stands for "no brown sugar." It's like having a mini meal in my
purse. RX Bars have other flavors, but this is the only one we've tried so far. Den says they make
nice church snacks. Beats Tic Tacs. 
Nutritional Yeast


I've heard about this for years but it just didn't sound very appealing to me. Finally I brought
some home. This makes just about everything taste better! I’ve had to be dairy free for over 20
years but I finally found something that tastes like cheese, plus who doesn’t need the extra
vitamins. I put it on salad and vegetables, so far.
Homemade lentil soup 
My friend taught me the best lentil soup is made with just water as the base…adding carrots, 
celery, potato, onion, garlic, salt and pepper. and whatever else you want to season it up with. 
Lentils are one of the most nutritious foods you can eat. They are cheap, and filling, too. This 
soup freezes well so I put the extras in little containers and we can have it for lunch whenever we 
want. 
Trader Joe’s Season Salt


Makes meats, vegetables and potatoes taste better. I'm not a fan of nutmeg, but for some reason 
I don't notice it in this. I love the added flavor it gives.
Bragg’s Organic Sprinkle

A good blend of spices and herbs. I think I like it better put in things before cooking so it breaks
down the slivers of Rosemary. But I still sprinkle it on fresh things. 
Extra Virgin Olive Oil by Braggs



I got re-comitted to this oil when I was googling about how much it helps with digestion. My
stomach has been feeling better since using it. I try to get 2 T of it on food throughout the day…
1 t in my smoothie. The rest on vegetables. 
Trader Joes Grilled Cauliflower



I think this is my favorite find for the whole month.I have passed this up in the freezer section in
Trader Joes for years. Finally a friend convinced me to give it a try. It's already grilled before
frozen which gives it a natural sweetness. They add nothing to it but a little salt. Just bake on a
cookie sheet…says 12-15 min but I think I left mine in near 30 min….maybe not that long. Tastes
SO good. Didn’t even need anything on it. 

Trader Joes Onion Salt

This boring looking little jar is full of flavor! It's a great blend of onion, garlic, salt, green 
onion and chives. This has probably been at TJs for years too, but just tried it last month. 
It's a nice switch from Lemon Pepper that I usually put on most everything. Salt is 4th on 
the list of ingredients so it mainly gets seasoned by the other things

As you can tell, I got a little adventurous 
at Trader Joes in January.

So that's it for now!

Some pictures I'm thinking about lately

Gotta show this one first.....

Our granddaughter Emily, with her Dad....last Wednesday she entered the MTC for her 18 month mission to Cape Verde.


Even though Emily was just with us, we still see her like this.....





McKay's roommate Chris from his BYU days came to visit them in Massuchusetts.
And this time brought his wife, and children. Interestingly, he married a girl from Clovis. Same town McKay grew up in. 

Den and I drove by my old childhood home on Fairmont 
not too long ago.
It looks so sad and forlorn 
(a word my mom often used for sad people or things. This house qualifies.)




And....
I never thought Elora looked like her sister Cami, until this picture!


Den's daughter Kris, sent us this side by side.

Den, and Elder Dallin H Oaks 

And next is one of the sweetest texts ever.
The people who bought our home on Filbert sent it to Dennis.

(For some reason photos would not allow me to crop this...so just pay attention to the message Jerrod texted in the middle of this:)

Could we have found nicer people 
to have bought our previous home?
NO!

And this....

just because I like it. :)

Hope you are having a great Monday!

Our Dinners for January

Have you ever thought of keeping track 
of what you eat for dinner every night?

Maybe there are dinners you discovered and love, 
but then forget all about them?

I decided to see if I could do this for the entire month of January. 

Not sure I can keep this up all year, 
but I'm going to try.

So here it goes: (or there it went)

Mon, Jan 1: Celebrated the New Year @ Sequoia Sandwich Shop. I had the greek salad and Den had
the Cobb Potato

Tues, Jan 2:  Trader Joes GF chicken nuggets, broccoli, black eyed peas, grapefruit

Wed, Jan 3: My turkey/vegetable soup (spinach, potato, carrots, celery, 1/2 lb ground turkey, 32 oz
chicken broth, 1 T parsley, 1 t oregano, 1 t salt and other seasonings...I make it different every time
depending on what I have) tortillas with cheese-less cheese, grapefruit

Thurs, Jan 4: Baked Cod with Lemon Butter, steamed broccoli/carrots, baked white sweet potato,
grapefruit

Fri, Jan 5: Leftover turkey/vegetable soup, tortilla with cheese-less cheese, grapefruit

Sat, Jan 6: Dennis had some of the lasagna, salad and french bread I made for another family. I just
had a big salad with 2 different kinds of beans.

Sun, Jan 7: Crockpot Apricot Chicken, brown rice, broccoli, grapefruit

Mon, Jan 8: turkey patties (ground turkey, egg, oatmeal, onion, seasoning, a little milk...I make them
different every time), peas, baked yukons, grapefruit

Tues, Jan 9: Out to Sequoia Sandwich greek salad and also eggplant and peppers, Den had the Cobb
potato

Wed, Jan 10: chicken stew with carrots, potatoes, mushrooms, etc but it wasn't very good, steamed
arugula, grapefruit

Thurs, Jan 11: Mahi Mahi fish patties from Traders, white sweet potatoes, medley of carrots, red
onions and chinese cabbage with salt and nutritional yeast, grapefruit

Fri, Jan 12: Anna's baked chicken, broccoli carrots, pilaf. Had a salad and some corn but forgot to
serve them! Our guests must have starved. Choc chip cookies for dessert.

Sat, Jan 13: Red Robin with Kim and Emily who were visiting

Sun, Jan 14: Turkey patties, brown rice, peas, salad, grapefruit

Mon, Jan 15: Baked white sweet potatoes that we filled with: black beans, leftover peas, sautéed red
onions, avocado, leftover chicken pieces. LOVED this made up dinner. Green salad and grapefruit

Tues, Jan 16: GF Cod fillets, asparagus/carrot stir fry, grapefruit

Wed, Jan 17: complicated to explain. Den had some of the ham, mac and cheese, corn, and
Mediterranean tossed salad, and choc chip cookies I made for another family. I had a salmon patty,
brown rice, and lots of asparagus and carrots from yesterday.

Thurs, Jan 18: I made the same dinner as last night for a family with a new baby, and Den again, had
some of that plus some lentil soup I made. I just felt like having some yogurt, raisins, brown rice, and
raspberries. Then at 11pm I was hungry again so I had an apple and some leftover chicken with a
little mayo.

Fri, Jan 19: Cafe Rio with friends

Sat, Jan 20: ??? (I forgot to write it down! I know I was home all day so it was probably something
very simple.)

Sun, Jan 21: Crockpot Apricot Chicken, brown rice, butternut squash, broccoli, grapefruit

Mon, Jan 22: Out to Sequoia Sandwich for Greek Salad and Den had a Cobb Potato
I was still hungry when we got home so I made up this recipe: 4-5 crimini mushrooms, 1 shallot cut
up, stalk celery, sautéed in olive oil and Braggs seasoning and salt mixed with 3 oz pkg of Wild
Salmon I got at Walmart for 99cents.

Tues, Jan 23: Turkey/Vegetable soup this time made with chicken broth, ground turkey, broccoli, 2
cut up leaves of bok choy, corn, shallots, carrots, celery, parsley, salt and oregano. GF bread and
grapefruit

Wed, Jan 24: left overs from last night...the soup and more grapefruit. Den had GF toast with his and
I had yogurt

Thurs, Jan 25: Baked Cod with Lemon Butter, baked white sweet potatoes, asparagus with shallots
and mushrooms, grapefruit

Fri, Jan 26: Celebrated Den's 69th birthday at Yosemite Falls, his favorite restaurant. I guess I can
handle it once a year. I had fish tacos with extra cabbage, refried beans, and green beans.
He had his usual breakfast: country potatoes, 2 eggs, 3 sausage patties.

Sat, Jan 27:  Out to Togo's Mediterranean Restaurant. We both had chicken kabobs and salad. I was
not a fan of the chicken so I took it home and gave it to Den for lunch the next day in his sandwich.

Sun, Jan 28: Crockpot Layered Hamburger Casserole, broccoli, green salad, grapefruit

Mon, Jan 29: Taco salad with lettuce, refried beans, avocado, cheese, olives, cabbage red onions, and
tortilla chips. Grilled cauliflower from Trader Joes, grapefruit

Tues, Jan 30: Lentil Soup (made with water, carrots, celery, onions, garlic and red potatoes and
seasoning) GF pizza I made from Trader Joes Cauliflower Pizza dough (topped with Ragu pizza
sauce, onions, chicken, turkey, green pepper, cheese), carrot sticks, grapefruit

Wed, Jan 31: Turkey/Vegetable soup (this time I made it with chicken broth, ground turkey, red
potato, kale, spinach, carrots, spring onions garlic, parsley, corn) grapefruit


I was surprised we ate out 7 times in January. 
I would have guessed about 3-4. 

Onward and upward to February next 
(after we eat all the food of course) 
and then I will report back.




No disrespect meant to the Queen

No offense to the Queen of England, 
but she's never been anyone I've wanted to read about. 

But nevertheless, tonight, I will begin this.



I have not read one word yet of her story, 
but I LOVE it.


It's all because of the little sweetheart 
who gave it to me for Christmas. 


And it's all because of what was written on the inside cover: 




And if the Queen's life gets boring, I will just go back to the inside 
cover, and read that over and over again. 



This book is a keeper. Forever. 

Thank you Violet!


Look what happened last night

  Just a little pre-graduating gathering for our DIL Amy.... Not everyday a Mom of 7 and a Grandma of 7, graduates from college. It was not ...