Cookie Monster

I just figured out how to change the template (well, I kinda knew but never played with it before) and I picked the cookie monster one. For some reason when I use Greg's computer the blue monster shows up, but when I use my computer it doesn't...so I don't know why, and I'm sorry if you can't see it either because just blue and white makes for a pretty boring blog template. Maybe somebody knows what to do?

Pretty Snowflake Ornaments!

I found this online and thought it looked like fun. I think I got everything at Michael's or Joann's, except for the corsage pins. You should be able to get them at a flower shop. They sold them to me for 10 cents a piece, so each ornament works out to be about $1.50 once you get all the supplies. It was fun to pick out the beads--I spent a very long time in the store comparing and matching beads together to see what would look nice with the pearl ends. It's a good decoration on the tree or anywhere else in the house!

Here's the link so you can get the supplies and directions:
http://www.bhg.com/bhg/story.jsp?storyid=/templatedata/bhg/story/data/13979.xml

Dinner Idea--Navy Bean Soup!

I found this in my "Fix it and Forget it" cookbook and wanted to try it because it looked so easy and good....and it is!

Ingredients:

1 pound dry navy beans
6 cups of water
1 onion finely chopped
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground thyme
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp lemon pepper
2 garlic cloves minced
1 pound ham chunks

To Do:

1. Soak beans in water overnight. (I actually put in them in boiling water for about 3-5 minutes and that works just as well.) Strain and rinse.

2. Combine all ingredients in slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 7-8 hours.

I added chopped carrots and that was pretty good. The recipe says you could also try adding celery or 3-4 cups of canned tomatoes. I think tomatoes would be kind of weird though.

It's been cooking all day in the crock pot and made the house smell so good. I just tried a little sample and am very excited for dinner tonight. Yum!



Greg suggested I make cornbread to go with the soup next time. It's perfect for a Sunday evening dinner. Enjoy!

(P.S. I found that the soup is best fresh...after a couple days it's not quite as good. You could probably freeze it though--if you made too much to finish in time)

Another Tag--20 things I'm Thankful for

1. Brita water filters
2. Changes in season and weather
3. Missionary Work! And the Sister Missionaries who taught my husband the gospel, so he could take me to the temple 10 years later.
4. Cozy blankets
5. Toilets and all other indoor plumbing
6. Little House on the Prairie
7. Books
8. Music
9. My family who are also good friends
10. My friends who feel like family
11. Temples close enough to visit often
12. The blessing of always having enough food to eat and some to spare
13. A warm home to live in
14. My car
15. E-mail and other quick communication devices
16. My piano
17. Shampoo, Lotion, and Bubble Baths!
18. Socks
19. My wedding ring--and the covenants and promises it symbolizes
20. Joy...I am a very happy person!

Thanks Ali!

Annaliese Tagged Me

So, I'm supposed to tell you 6 habits or facts about me....

1. I'm currently obsessed with Harry Potter.



I listen to the books on CD read by Jim Dale, and they are very entertaining. I have actually listened to it once or twice from the moment I got up in the morning to when I went to bed at night. (Of course, that's when Greg is out on a boy-scouts camping trip.) I just push play and then do whatever chores I have made for myself, and our apartment is so small I can hear it where ever I am. In fact, I'm listening to it now. And when I'm not listening to it, I hear Jim Dale in my head narrating my life as if I were in a Harry Potter book.

2. I'm very excited about food storage and provident living.


(Yes, this is just one of the creative spaces I found to store food...next to the bed)
I can't wait for next year when I can start growing a real garden (I've just been growing tomatoes and things in pots) and use the fresh veggies as I pick them.

3. I also love to cook and bake.


If I don't have anything to do, I will plan out meals and try to come up with something new to make. A couple days ago I sat down with my cookbooks and found recipes for dinners I thought would be good, then planned out our dinners for the month. From that I made a grocery list and went shopping. I also like this because it's easier to stay in control of your grocery spending and keep shopping trips to a minimum (to reduce impulse buying).

4. I love to make lists, and I'm fairly self-motivated. If I don't already have a plan for the day, I sit down and think of all the chores around the house that need to be done and other things like registering for classes or practicing the piano. I feel kind of unfulfilled or like I don't have a purpose if I don't organize and decide what I should be doing for each part of my day. I also put play time with friends on the list because that's important too. If I don't write it on the list, I feel like I'm taking a break when I shouldn't be.

5. Going along with #4, I just decided that it's kind of fun being sick. Not throwing up sick, but just sick enough. I've been sick the last couple days with an annoying runny nose cold that makes me feel extra tired and worn out easily. So I don't feel guilty staying home, taking a nap and drinking lots of juice. Greg is also very good at taking care of me, so that's fun too. I'll be glad to get back to normal life again though--I can only enjoy laying around for so long, and then that sense of "need to get things done" starts to kick in again.

6. Um, I'm running out of things....I don't like bugs in my house.


In fact, I don't like any living thing in my house that's not people. We cannot figure out how or why, but crickets have been getting in our house. Not every day, but maybe once in a week or two I will find a little black spider-looking cricket that crawls by slowly. They seem to be half dead when I find them, and I thought they might be coming in because it's getting really cold out. Also, even though I keep a clean house (and kitchen especially), almost all our neighbors are boys and most likely don't stay clean. One of the boys was talking to me and said that he's afraid of bugs. When he sees a cricket or spider in his house, he puts a cup upside-down covering it and waits for about a week until he thinks it's dead. Then he picks up the cup and kicks the corps under the fridge or couch. He's got upside-down cups all over the place in his apartment! Yuck!

7. I like to be active outside. I used to love running, which I've replaced with walking after some knee-injuries in my teen years. I also love to ride my bike.


Greg got me a nice road bike for my birthday and I have enjoyed riding around here in the Great Palouse. There's a nice paved car-wide trail that goes from Pullman-to Moscow, and we also discovered an endless paved car-wide trail that's good for biking a couple hours north. It used to be train tracks, but the trains stopped using that area, so they paved it all and it's just miles and miles of trail that goes through beautiful countryside with forest, fields, swamps, the lake and river, and mountains to look at while you're chugging along. (That's where we went for the camping trip I talked about awhile ago and have a slide show going on the side bar) I love the Great Outdoors!

8. I love music. I like to listen to almost any music that is uplifting. I love to sing and play the piano. I sing in the Idaho Washington Concert Chorale (http://www.iwchorale.org/default.htm), as well as our ward choir. I also like to make music by recording myself sing all the parts of a song and putting it together with the mixer and computer to make a whole choir of Holly. (Greg is the real expert though and helps with the production part a lot.)


I kind of have this distant dream of writing songs and just making music from home that I'd sell at the church bookstores....however, any time I've ever tried to come up with something original, I always find myself humming the tune to a hymn I sang in church the last Sunday...

9. I just realized I lost track of how many things I was supposed to come up with. I was thinking 10 but it's actually 6....So this can the last one... I like anything artsy. (I painted the picture, snake and frog who are posing so nicely.)


Not that I'm super talented at anything in particular...I just like making or creating things. I love to scrapbook, sew (which I'm just learning how), draw, paint, and do other hands-on craft things.


I would also classify making music and making food stuffs in the same category, as they are all things that I work to make. I also really enjoyed a construction job I had during the summer--helping build a friend's house. I always prefer the "up and going/doing" kind of job over the "sitting-at-a desk-kind" of job.

I guess I'm supposed to tag somebody now, however, I've decided not to tag anybody because everybody's blog that I've read in the last two days has already been tagged in a similar fashion. If you would like to list facts about yourself on your blog, you have my permission and may consider yourself tagged. =)

Fresh Apple Cream Cheese Crumb Cake!

I found this somewhere online and tried it this morning, and it is super good! A glass of apple juice and maybe some eggs would make it the perfect breakfast! It's not hard to make--it just takes a little bit of time to prepare the apples and put it all together. I had company over for breakfast, so I got everything ready last night and just had to mix the wet and dry ingredients, and then throw it all in the pan this morning. Hope you like it!

By the way, I think this is about the goofiest picture I've ever seen of myself, so I just had to put it up!

(I did some copy/pasting, and somehow the formatting got weird and I don't know how to fix it, so hopefully you can just be patient with the weirdness.)

1.5 hours 30 min prep Preheat oven 350 degrees

1 (8	ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 1/2	cups sugar, divided
1/2	cup butter (no subs!)
2	large eggs
1	teaspoon almond extract
1 3/4	cups all-purpose flour
1	teaspoon baking powder
1/2	teaspoon baking soda
1/4	teaspoon salt
1/4	cup half-and-half cream or milk
4	cups apples, peeled and sliced
2	tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2	tablespoons flour
1	teaspoon cinnamon

1. Set oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease a 13 x 9-inch baking pan.
3. In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese, 1 cup sugar (can use more sugar for a sweeter cake if desired), butter, eggs and almond extract; beat until well combined and smooth.
4. In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
5. Blend into the cream cheese mixture alternately with the half and half or milk (if using); mix well until combined.
6. Pour the batter into prepared baking pan.
7. Dip apples into the 2 Tbsp lemon juice.
8. Toss with 2 Tbsp flour, 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon. (I used about 1.5 Tbsp of cinnamon, and added a few sprinkles of ground cloves and 1/8 tsp of nutmeg. That makes it taste like Christmas!)
9. Arrange the apple slices evenly over the cake batter (pushing the slices into the cake batter slightly).
10. Bake 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean -- DELICIOUS!