Internet saves me

Yesterday we had a ward activity, a Musical Review. The committee planned ice cream sundaes with lots of toppings. I helped figure out the amounts, and helped buy the straawberries and bananas. I got Krispy Kreme hats and covered the wording with strips that said "Ice Cream Shoppe".
I was bringing some serving bowls and some spoons but others were getting the toppings, cutting the fruit, etc.
We were to be at the church by 5 to get ready for the 6 pm event.
at 4:00 I got a call from the chair who told me our hot fudge sauce person had forgotten her assignment. We already had some Hersheys, but we really wanted the hot fudge sauce.
So, I told her I'd find a recipe and call her back.
I had just made some hot fudge for Clyde the week before, but it used chocolate chips and I didn't have a ton of chips and I didn't want to spend a lot of money on chocolate chips. We were expecting 120 people.

So I googled 'hot fudge with cocoa' and Voila there were numerous recipes to choose from. I found one that was similar to the recipe that used chocolate chips. I had all the ingredients at hand. By 4:20 I had quadrupled the recipe and we had hot fudge! The committee chair made some also. I knew I had a recipe somewhere using cocoa for hot fudge, but it would have taken me 30 minutes to look through all my cookbooks for it. The Internet gave us the answer so quickly. What did we ever do with out internet helps in our lives before??

The musical review was so fun and the youth loved their parts, some adults participated too. Everyone was so excited that they invited all grandparents, adult children and families, and friends. There were chairs for 160, then they opened up the overflow with 30 more chairs and at least 10 - 15 people were standing. I think we fed 200!! The committee chair and I made a quick decision to use smaller bowls and only give one scoop instead of the two we had planned. It worked!! The strawberries and gummy bears ran out near the end, but everything else lasted till the end. I think the cans of whipped cream were the most popular.
We even have 1 qt of hot fudge left!!
Note to self: 12 gallons of ice cream will feed 200. (small scoops)

Burgers and Fries

Last weekend we stopped by the new In 'N' Out burger place in Orem. We needed to see what all the fuss was about and why the long lines of cars at the drive thru.
Our assessment:
burgers - were just ok, loved the big slice of tomato and leaf of lettuce. Like toasted buns.
fries - kind of dry and very short!

Then we decided to leave the rest of the fries and stop in at the third!! new burger place within a 1/2 mile of In 'N' Out and Five guys -- it's called Smash Burger.

Our assessment:
Nicer booths, decos, more upscale. Pricier burgers.
burgers - very juicy and VERY salty. tomato and lettuce ok - not as thick as In 'N' Out
fries - longer, and not quite as dry as In 'N' Out. option of rosemary and olive oil fries!

I think the Five guys fries win. Have you seen the grease on their bag of fries?

But I will go back and try a few different items at Smash Burger - maybe the smash chicken burger!

I do remember my favorite burger this summer was had at the little tiny burger place in downtown Provo -Sammy's. Delicious - only the bun needed to be toasted!

And there is one more joint in downtown Provo to try - Stumpy's!

This great work

Great video / photo essay on mothering found here.

After being with Emily for two weeks I could not contain my tears every time I thought about the great journey of mothering, love, and parenting happening in the Maryland Robinson household. Heavenly.
What a privilege to witness and memorize.

Happiness is a warm baby

This Christmas season and January has been so wonderful because some very special people came to Utah! Alex, Bennett, Ruby and of course Emily and KC. The triplets are my very first grandchildren and I'm in love with them. Could squeeze them all day. They make me happy to think about as I go to sleep and full of gratitude to have witnessed many miracles in their journey and healthy bodies I get to hug and hold.

And in two days I will travel with them on the plane (one on my lap) and spend two weeks with them at their home. Can't wait. Will not mind missing sleep. Will love smiles and coos and every little milestone.
Here's some recent photos of the darlings:Ruby smiles a big one!
Alex and Bennett were really into smiles and cooing.2nd cousin baby Cameron Schick came to visit for a photo op - he was due the same time as the triplets. He's about their same size!KC's cousin Alicia with her boy Cameron and Emily with her three-Alex, Bennett, and Ruby.
(Alex is sleeping)

And we must not forget to mention the wonderful support, commitment, and constant nurturing of Emily's parents, Janice and Steve Graham. They deserve a medal for hosting Emily and the babies for 6 weeks! And I hope they'll soon get some nights of 8 hour sleep! Thank YOU both.

Button Button

I've recently cleaned out some drawers and shelves in our closets. Found a ton of change in Clyde's "toss it" shelf from his pockets - 20 years worth is my guess!
In my drawer I cleaned out many many little envelopes titled, "extra buttons". Do you ever get those on new clothing? There were so many and for years I've been annoyed at the build up of those envelopes and once I even made a button book with a description of the item it belonged to. Ha! That didn't last long - maybe two clothing seasons. I don't think I have ever used one of those extra buttons in the whole time we have lived here.
So, I just emptied each envelope or little bag into this cute little jar and maybe I'll use them for a crafty frame or sewn on a cute little pillow. No more envelope stashes for me. As soon as I get new envelopes I'll put them into a jar. Now I'll need a bigger jar. And my drawer is so much more useful without that envelope/ button collection!
Each of those buttons represents a new item of clothing over the last 30+ years.
One funny thing I did find were two sets of button covers. I don't remember what decade we used those but they were just so cool I kept them. Any chance they will return to fashion? Hope so.

Growing again!

The amaryllis were wonderful, but they eventually faded. I cut the stalks and now it seems there are some new leaves growing again!

Before Our Eyes

I love Amaryllis flowers. This year I asked for a set of bulbs for my birthday, and Costco had a very nice set on sale at the right time. It is amazing to watch it change overnight and grow so much in 24 hours. It seems to change before our eyes!
Here's a photo record:

taken Dec 5taken Dec 7

Dec 19

December 25th!!

Before our eyes!