Romeo the cat playing fetch.

Christmas Cookies

I have always wanted to take pictures of the cookies I bake every Christmas to deliver to the neighbors. This year, I remembered! I tried a new candycane shortbread cookie recipe this year, and they are delicious.

Mystery Cat

Ron and Kelsey found Romeo like this early one morning. Apparently he found a box of packing chips in the garage. We thought this "mustache" was hysterical! Who is this disguised cat? We don't recognize him.

Vegas Birthday Trip

Let me apologize for not posting very often-I discovered Facebook. Now I am trying to catch up on blogging. My mom and 2 of my sisters (Sue and Michelle) planned a Vegas/St. George trip for my birthday this year. It was very fun! I loved it! We shopped/ate/played. AND Michelle announced that she was pregnant, due on my anniversary, May 20th.

They don't call me Crazy Cat Lady for nothing!

I saw this cat costume/hat and HAD to get it! Of course the cats hate it, but we did corner Dory and get it on her for LITTLE while. She also hates the Santa hat.....

Just Fifteen More Minutes....

We recently returned from a vacation to Orlando, Florida. We had a wonderful time, but our vacation had a rocky start. We arrived in Orlando on a Saturday night just before midnight. My sisters Sue and Michelle met us there, having flown in from Salt Lake. Sue had reserved a rental car, and when we went up to the counter we were told it would be ready in 15 minutes. After being assured the van would be ready in 15 minutes for AN HOUR AND A HALF we were ready to go nuts. Finally, we got our car. Next step: FOOD! We were all starving, and how busy can a restaurant be at 1:30am? We go to a restaurant/take out spot called Steak & Shake that my sister Michelle remembered from her mission. It is NOT busy. About 40 minutes later we leave with our food. THEN we head to the resort. I had called the resort 3 times to make sure a late check in was okay. SURE, no problem, you can check in 24 hours a day!! Well, we arrive, and because it is after midnight, our reservation is in a "different category" and the only manager that can check us in has left the property to find food. YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!
We finally get to our unit at 3:30 am.

We had several opportunities to "wait 15 minutes" on this trip-while rides broke down, waiting for food, etc. When we left Orlando, we waited on the airplane for a part repair (just 15 minutes folks) that turned into an hour wait. Then weather delayed our arrival in Houston. We left Houston about an hour late and by the time we returned home it was 2am.

In spite of the craziness we had a great time.

Pictures!

This baby sea lion is 1 month old.

Us in front of our new favorite SeaWorld ride-Manta!!

Vacation Pictures

Sue and I posing as Hiro from Heroes (above).

This dolphin played Peek-a-boo with us-it was so cute!

Michelle's near death experience at Islands of Adventure.

Can you say "wet"?

These are the latest cards from this month's card swap. I really enjoy participating in this group. June's theme was "thank you cards" and it came in very handy with Ryan's graduation and his 18th birthday this month.

Foster Kittens

These are our newest foster kittens. We are having a LOT of fun now that they aren't so labor intensive. They were one week old when we got them, and had to be bottle-fed.

Ryan's Graduation

It's hard to believe Ryan has graduated from High School and will be 18 soon. His graduation was very memorable. Ron, Gloria and Carole Snyder came, as well as Debbie Dean and Sue Orchard. Ryan wanted taco salad and oriental chicken salad, and a chocolate Costco cake for dessert. The afternoon was lovely, we ate outside and had a nice time visiting. Later we walked over to the school for the OUTDOOR commencement exercises. Dark, ominous clouds rolled in. Flashes of lightening filled the sky. The wind started blowing, and rain started falling as the seniors walked in. It rained and the wind gusted during the ENTIRE program. Did the adults shorten their talks? NO! Where were we sitting during the lightening? METAL BLEACHERS! The speeches the graduates gave were outstanding, and it was a very happy/sad moment for me when Ryan received his diploma. He plans on attending BYU-Idaho starting in January on a full tuition scholarship for his freshman year. We are very excited for him!

Newest Foster Kittens!

These are out latest foster kittens-we've had them for a few weeks, and they are now 6 weeks old. When we first got them at 1 week we had to bottle-feed them. Now they are much easier to take care of (eating crunchies, using litter box_ and they are VERY playful and cute!

YUM

I recently spent time with my sister Michelle, and she made my lime chicken tacos. YUMMY! I LOVE them, so in honor of my visit with Michelle, I am posting the recipe. Just in time for Cinco de Mayo.

Lime Chicken Tacos
1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts (I use frozen)
3 TBS lime juice
1 TBS chili powder
1 cup frozen corn (gross, I don't use it)
1 cup chunky salsa
(1 can rinsed black or pinto beans if you want-stretches the meal)
flour tortillas
sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, and shredded lettuce, optional

Place the chicken in slow-cooker. Combine lime juice and chili powder; pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or until chicken is tender. Remove chicken; cool slightly. Shred and return to the slow cooker. Stir in corn (once again, GROSS-corn must be eaten separately) and salsa. Cover and cook on low for 30 minutes or until heated through. Serve in tortillas with sour cream, cheese and lettuce if desired. (If there are lots of juices in the crockpot when you take chicken out to shred it, drain most of the juices out, otherwise the meat ends up too juicy).

So OVER my dad

SO, I just found out that my dad left me 1$ in his will. The drug addict and alcoholic apparently rate higher than I do. Whatever problem my dad had with me, he didn't share, nor did he want to deal with. He always told me how proud he was of me and my family. This is the biggest slap in the face I have EVER received. Knowing how against the LDS church my dad is, I am going to donate that dollar to the Book of Mormon fund. HA HA HA! Laughs on you Dad!

I want to vomit after going to 2 funerals and a burial where everyone spoke of what a wonderful man my dad was. How wonderful is someone who would be so spiteful to his child-one who is actually a fairly productive member of society? How wonderful is someone who would lie to his child and do something so hurtful after he is gone and doesn't have to deal with the aftermath?

I have never experienced ANYTHING like this before.

Brothers and Sisters!

Me and my brothers and sisters:
Paula, Eric, Sheri, Sue, Andy, Michelle and Michael

Paper Addict!

Purse album open

Inside view of pocket page.

Front view of unopened purse album.

Pencil notebook, Valentines treat (filled with hershey kisses) and recipe swap album.

Strawberry box-isn't it cute???

I must confess that I am a paper addict. I love scrapbooking and cardmaking, and probably more than that I love COLLECTING all the stuff necessary for the above activities. I have amassed quite a stash. I may not have a years supply of food, but I probably have a 20 year supply of paper-crafting stuff. I think I inherited this problem from my Mom, who inherited it from HER mom, who started all of this by ordering wrapping paper in GIANT ROLLS. These giant rolls fascinated me as a child. I thought it was SO COOL to have a giant roll of wrapping paper on the counter. I was an odd child, but the paper fascination has persisted!

Birthday Girls!!!

Michelle and Sue

Back: Mom and Randy
Front: Neal and Michelle

At the movies! Ryan, Sue, Michelle and Neal.

Sue had her birthday December 30th, and Michelle's was February 29th (yes, 29th). Michelle is in Provo, so we didn't get to party with her, but we were in Seattle for Sue's birthday. This year's theme was fast food and a movie. Sue LOVES movies/tv/fast food, so we started with dinner at Arby's. Mom, Randy, Michelle, Neal, Leigh and Cait Huntsman, and of course, Snydergang were there. We didn't have enough time for cupcakes after dinner (we would have been late to the movie) so we ate them after the movie in the movie theatre parking lot, out of cars, in the rain. It was a crazy birthday, but we loved it!! It was fun to see Michelle and Neal again before they left for BYU.

Killer Chocolate Recipe

I meant to post this recipe before Valentine's Day, but it didn't happen. You'll have to make up your own excuse to make it. This recipe is REALLY good, REALLy easy, and everyone likes it.
Enjoy!

Double Chocolate Torte
1 package brownie mix (9x13 size)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 cups whipped topping
1 tsp chocolate sprinkles

Prepare brownie mix according to package directions. Spread batter in a greased and floured 9" round pan. Bake at 350 for 38-40 minutes or until center springs back when lightly touched. Cool for 10 minutes. Invert onto a serving plate; cool completely. In a bowl stir the chocolate and butter until smooth. Spread over brownie layer; refrigerate for 30 minutes. Just before serving top with whipped topping and decorate with sprinkles.

Projects

These are a few of the projects I worked on for gifts this past winter. I couldn't post them when I wanted to because the recipients hadn't opened them yet. I am enjoying cutting vinyl with my cricut, and have a million projects I want to do.