I would rather...

I would rather...clean the house than.... make dinner.
I would rather wash 5 loads of laundy than  fold and put away one load.
I would rather spend ten hours in the car over a weekend to do something fun than sit at home, inside, bored.
I would rather buy something used at a bargain price than pay full-price for it new. 
I would rather shop for running shoes than for high heels. 
I would rather sleep in an extra hour and a half, than wash my hair every day and have to dry and style it. 
I would rather eat at home, than eat at fast-food-burger restaurants.  (usually)
I would rather pay money to take a class, or work somewhere for free, than sit at home most days.
I would rather eat waffles with strawberries and whipped cream for breakfast than bacon and eggs.
I would rather play a fun game after dinner, or go for a walk, than clean up the dishes.
I would rather run 3 miles than do yoga.
I would rather clean for 3 hours, once a week, than clean for 15 minutes every day.
I would rather have laser hair treatments, than get a boob job.
I would rather have a huge jetted bathtub, than have a 3,000 sq foot house.
I would rather babysit someone's kids, than volunteer to take them a meal.
I would rather have to water grass seed every hour, than look at just plain old dirt any longer.
I would rather got to a drive in movie than go to a fancy restaurant on a date.
I would rather spend money on trips to see friends, than buy the latest technology (aka-an ipod, or a phone that works. :-)

Here are some of mine...I would love to hear some of yours.  If you post some on your page, leave a comment so I can come read them. 

Quotes from Rachel

"I just finished this whole book! (Arthur--10 chapters long) This is the happiest day of my life!"

"My first dream is to be a singer, on stage.  My second dream is to be a cheerleader. "

Rachel flips the tv on every time I turn around.  When she walks in from school, when we get home from church.  When she wakes up in the morning...you get the idea.  So most days I spend a lot of time saying "Rach, turn off the tv." but on the days when I am sick of sounding like a broken record sometimes I give up (even though I know I should stick to it, usually it is on a day when it is miserable outside so I can't really blame her, even know I know she could  come up with other things to do inside.)    But today when we got home from church and she flipped it on, I stuck to my guns.  It was a great day outside and I told her to turn it off, and it will stay off all afternoon.  She made a picnic for us (juice boxes, pepperoni, cheese, and grapes) and we ate in the back yard while basking in the sunshine. 

Then we spent a couple more hours in the front yard.  I sat in a lawnchair flipping through magazines and cutting out the pages of stuff I liked (something that I have been meaning to do, but never get around to it) and she sat in my hammock chair and read books, and I watered my grass every hour (cmon grass--grow!). 

While she can read chapter books, she usually isn't a fan because she doesn't like that they don't have big colorful pictures.--but this last time at the library I made her get all chapter books.  She grabbed a book on her own, and thought sitting in the hammock was so fun she was happy to sit and read chapter after chapter.  It was great!   It is nice for her to learn that you can find ways to enjoy new things --kind of like when  she went jogging with me last week.   I went outside to go jogging and she asked if she could come (I thought she would ride her bike along side me) but when I went outside she was in her sneakers and had my MP3 player (that has some of her music on it) clipped to her shorts. She said she wanted to run with me.  I think having a little running buddy is going to be fun.  I stuck close to home in case she got tired and wanted to stop, but she did pretty well.  She would walk then run a bit, she'd walk a little longer than I wanted to, but when she would run she would run a lot faster than I normally would--so she wasn't always the hold up :-)

My life doesn't always turn out the way I thought it would be, but days like this are a pleasant suprise!

Girls Weekend

Sam is in Phoenix this weekend and Rachel and I stayed behind in Chinle.  First thing on the agenda was to try and make a batch of Penuche.  Penuche is a brown sugar fudge/candy that my Grandma Ellen used to make every time we visited her.  I say try because no one in my family has ever been able to make it ourselves.  Candy making is a science, and apparently, none of us are scientists.  It is supposed to be creamy and smooth and it always turns out grainy, and usually hardens in the pot before we can even pour it out.  But it doesn't stop us from trying to figure it out.  My Grandma didn't intend to keep the recipe a secret--she willingly handed it out, but even with the recipe we didn't know her tips and tricks.  After she passed away it made it even harder.  Maybe about once a year I make an attempt at the recipe, and like I said, I usually end up scraping it with a spoon out of the pot, which is still good, but not the same. 

Until....last night! I googled reciepes online--and while I already had a recipe--some of the comments were extremely helpful.  After reading through many of them that said they had success I tried these tips:

(since I tried all of them, I can't say which one was the crucial miraculous step--so for any of my family reading this--my suggestion is that just try all of them.)

1. Stirred to initially mix sugars and cream  (and added a little pour of extra cream)--but did NOT stir at all once it started boiling.  (comments said stirring too soon will start the crystalization process  too soon and it will go hard and grainy--exactly what mine had been like in the past).
2. Heated to 234 degrees (just before soft ball stage on a candy thermometer)
3. Then, removed from heat and still did not stir until it cooled down to 115 degrees  (as it cooled it seemed very sticky, and grainy--and I had my doubts whether any of my new tips would make a difference--but it worked so at this stage there is still hope :-)   
4. Added vanilla (per original recipe) and also added 1.5 Tablespoons more cream (comments said it would help it to be creamy, and slice easier)
5. Mixed for over 5 minutes with a hand mixer on high.  (My Grandma used to ask my Dad to beat it with a wooden spoon, but it makes your arm sooo tired, and so when someone had success using a hand mixer I definitely wanted to try it.   I bet Rachel that it would go  hard and the beaters would get stuck...but IT WORKED! :-) YIPEE!!   (My grandma's recipe said to beat until the candy loses it's shine, and that didn't happen (a comment said it might not though if you add extra cream.  So I stopped after it had been at least 5 minutes and hoped it would be enough.  It was creamy enough to pour into a pan to cool. 

So I hate to rub it in--but to all of my family--this is a big NEENER NEENER from me and Rachel as we gobble up this entire batch :-)  

Maybe next time I will make a bigger batch so I can mail some to everyone....maybe :-)

 Today was also Opening Day for Rez T-Ball. 

(rachel is in the back on the right).

This year Rachel is playing on the Red Sox--which is pretty awesome. 

I am helping coach, and these little guys needed A LOT of coaching today so I didn't get any any action shots from the game--But Rachel did hit 3 HOME RUNS! WOOOO!

April...so far

We decided to go to Phoenix last minute this past weekend.  My sister and I took our girls to a junior golf clinic.  (This is where I was laying in the grass and feeling like I was in heaven :-)  The exectutive  course near my parents' house has a special program for kids where they attend one ettiquite clinic for $20 and then are given a card which gives them ( + one adult) free golf for the entire summer.  I may come just to roll around in the grass.  It was just so soft...and so green! 

I didn't get out the camera again until it was time for us to head back home, and Rachel's little cousin was so sad.  She gave the biggest, most sincerely sad, pouty lip--but I wasn't able to catch it on camera.  When I tried both girls started being silly, which is cute--just not what I was going for.  Then as we were driving away I looking back and saw her sad little pout again.  I am sorry that both girls are so sad but I am happy that they are so close--as all of Rachel's cousins are the closest thing she's got to siblings. 

March

First day of Spring easter egg hunt

Fun-but not very springy weather (about 40 degrees) hense all of the winter clothing.  So much for sticking around for a picnic :-(

Susan's Run

Sam's parents have started a foundation in Susan's name to benefit other young adults with cancer.  Since Susan was a runner, they started a race as a fundraiser.  Here is Rachel in the Kid's run--she was in the group of kids 6 and under and WON! (as you can't see--the three year olds weren't much competition :-) 

 

Driving to school on March 31st--for documentation purposes.  Snow... really?! The roads were so bad I was still slipping even with the 4WD. 

Quick, Easy, and Yummy Alfredo Sauce

Add Alfredo sauce to the list of items that cannot be purchased in Chinle.  Last night I really wanted to make pasta with alfredo sauce, so I was forced to make it from Scratch.  Here is a recipe that I found and liked:

Ingredients


1/2 cup butter

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 cups milk

6 ounces grated Parmesan cheese

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

1.Melt butter in a medium, non-stick saucepan over medium heat. Add cream cheese and garlic powder, stirring with wire whisk until smooth. Add milk, a little at a time, whisking to smooth out lumps. Stir in Parmesan and pepper. Remove from heat when sauce reaches desired consistency. Sauce will thicken rapidly, thin with milk if cooked too long. Toss with hot pasta to serve.