Ramblings of Liz

Words of Wisdom

2010-03-25T16:43:00.000-07:00

My mom shared this advice with me a little while ago. It was hard to hear her, as my kids were speaking incredibly loudly to each other at the time. But I think what she said was,

Silence is golden,
but duct tape is silver.

Truer words have never been spoken.

My Other Blog

2009-09-03T18:01:00.000-07:00

I have another blog! It has pictures of some of my favorite plants that grow well in our area. The address is www.niftyplants.blogspot.com. I know I have a lot of gardening friends that will like this!

It was late

2009-09-03T17:58:00.000-07:00

My last post was written late at night. Sorry, it's kind of silly. I guess I carry a lot of anger toward those darn Liberals.

Bean Towers part II

2009-09-01T20:21:00.000-07:00

Even George Washington had bean towers.

Josh and I toured Mt. Vernon this summer and spent time wandering through the beautiful gardens there. The bean towers in the vegetable garden reminded me of my bean tower at home. And that made me wonder, isn't life like a bean tower?

But you know, George wasn't living a very "green" life. Look at his towers! They are made out of tree trunks. Those trees are probably some hardwood species and are not a sustainable material like bamboo. I mean, really, is that being responsible? As much as I admire George Washington, I can't help but wonder why he didn't send away for bamboo. Which choice would leave the larger global footprint? I'll leave that for you to decide.

In reality, I think that global warming is just the latest religion of the Hollywoodites. It's a farce. We don't have enough data to know if this warming trend is just a typical phase of the earth's atmospheric cycles or not. People need to get real and stop relying on sketchy scientific interpretation of data. Just the fact that Al Gore believes in global warming makes it all the more stupid. If people believe everything "scientists" say, they should believe me. Technically, I'm a scientist. My data leads me to conclude that it was unseasonably cold this August. I was shivering at my family reunion in Sandy on August 8th. Ha. There. I've had my say.

Bean Towers

2009-09-01T20:16:00.000-07:00

This spring I became enchanted with the idea of pole bean towers. I made one out of bamboo poles and twine. (I even used a power drill to make holes.) I then buried the ends in the garden soil and planted 6-7 Kentucky pole bean seeds at the base of each post.

Honestly, isn't that quaint? I love it. I think that everyone should have one.

El Dia de los Grasshoppers Muertos

2009-08-06T14:00:00.000-07:00

The other day I was walking by one of my Japanese maples, and noticed that the upper leaves had been STRIPPED from the branches almost overnight.

Looking closely, I saw huge, eeeevil grasshoppers, over 12 of them, straddling the branches. Now, I'm not a big proponent of broadly spraying my yard for insects. I like to give everybody a fair chance and let Mother Nature balance things out. But, in my ANGER, I knew something HAD TO BE DONE.

I quickly hooked my hose up to a bottle of Triazicide and let her rip. I not only sprayed my Japanese maple, but all bushes and flowers in my front yard. You should have seen the number of hoppers that leapt out of those plants.

It was a freakin' circus.

They started dropping and writhing. Look at their mangled, dijointed bodies.

Deanna said we should get a bowl of ice cream and sit down on the porch to watch the show.

Some took several minutes to die.

And then...silence of the grasshoppers.

My Grandparents

2009-06-05T14:34:00.000-07:00

I have a sweet little story to share.

I was visiting with my grandma, and she told me something that I find endearing. When my grandpa picked her up for their first date, he had a cast on his arm. I guess he had recently broken his arm and she hadn't known about it. Anyway, he said to her,

"Just because my arm is broken,
I don't want you taking advantage of me."

And she thought to herself, "Who is this character?"

She shared with me that she just kept "going" with my grandpa after that because he was always joking around. He was fun, not serious like those other boys. To this day, he still teases her and jokes around all the time.

Right now she is in a rehab center, healing her broken pelvis. He comes to sit with her for hours everyday. She is 82 and he is 88 years old. He doesn't want her to be alone, so after he leaves, someone in the family comes to sit with her during the evening. I've been so lucky as to get to sit with her for a few evenings. She is truly a "lady" in all senses of the word. She must hate being there, but she never complains.

Sometimes I Surprise Myself

2009-04-29T14:51:00.000-07:00

Once in a while I do something that is so not "me" that it makes me laugh out loud...

-Last night I went to spinning class. Ha ha, I never exercise! I laughed to myself all the way there. If Lacie hadn't said, "you're going" I probably wouldn't have done it. To sum up my experience, my bum hurts. It hurts in a different way than it has ever hurt before. But I'm totally going again next Tuesday.

-In March, I was a hostess for a contestant in the Miss Springville Pageant. I laughed so hard when I told my friend, yes, I would be a hostess. I was getting ready to say no in a nice way when a "yes" popped out.

Now, pageantry has always been something I scoffed at because deep inside I think it is scary. "I would never!!!" - I've said this more than once regarding pageants.

Well, as you can see, my girl Cathy totally won. She rocks on the piano. She is lovely and graceful and a freakin' genius. She didn't need help with her hair, makeup, wardrobe, etc. which is a good, good thing. (If you didn't know, I suffer in those areas.) So despite my lack of helpfulness, she was crowned Miss Springville/Mapleton for 2009-2010. I felt very proud.
You see that necklace she is wearing? I did clasp that for her. Even lovely freakin' geniuses need help clasping their necklaces when they are in a hurry.

-I'm really trying to think of another example of how I surprise myself. I got nothin'. That is really sad.

Chicken Cream Cheese Soup

2009-03-27T15:04:00.000-07:00

My sister Natalie has a great recipe I'd like to share. I tried it at her house last week when I took my mom and my kids up to visit her. Nat fed us this soup and a great salad for lunch. Here is the soup recipe:

Chicken Cream Cheese Soup

1 lb. chicken
1 onion, diced
1-2 T. butter
2 cups sliced carrots
4-5 potatoes, diced small
1 c. milk
1/4 c. flour
8 oz. package cream cheese

1. Put chicken in pot and cover with water; boil until cooked. Take chicken out of water but keep the broth. When the chicken is cool, shred.
2. Saute onion in butter. Put onion in pot and add carrots and potatoes. Add 3-4 cups of broth or enough to cover vegetables. Add bouillon cubes or soup base for flavor. (I add 4 bouillon cubes.) Bring to a boil and simmer until veggies are tender.
3. Mix flour with milk and add to soup. Soften cream cheese in microwave then add to soup in little pieces and stir until melted. Season with salt and pepper.

Note to Lacie B.: Make sure you change this recipe 10% so that it can be considered your own.

Food for Thought

2009-03-02T21:05:00.000-08:00

I had a stellar garden last year. I took this gardening class and did about everything the fellow said to do. (That fertilizer stuff is awesome.) I was leaving bags of homegrown produce on neighbor's doorsteps in the middle of the night. I hope I wasn't a nuisance. But, really, it was out of control. I had so much fun growing my own food, that I am stepping up my efforts this year. I am now the proud owner of an orchard. (I have 2 apple and 2 peach trees. I plan to soon own a hardy almond tree.) I'm pruning and spraying and having a great time with it.

This leads me to ramble on food. I've been reading this book called "In Defense of Food" by Michael Pollan. It is a very interesting book that has made me think differently about the food I tend to eat everyday.

These are my thoughts:

I need to eat more plants, especially the ones I grow myself.

I need to eat less processed food.

The typical Western diet is a relatively new thing, and our bodies are not adapted to all that sugar and white flour. No wonder just the thought of eating a glazed donut gives me a headache.

So if I can leave anything with you today it would be this- plant a row of peas. It is fun to do with your kids, and makes you feel healthy.

All of this healthy talking didn't keep me from asking Josh to bring me home a treat from the gas station convenience store. He left two minutes ago. I hope he either brings a Chic-o-stick or some Doritos. Have you ever eaten a Chic-o-stick? Dang.

Thanks to Jen

2009-02-24T12:53:00.000-08:00

I'm sending out a big thank you to Jen Parcell who fixed my blog! What a terrific gal. I couldn't even get her to accept reward cookies for her good deed. Thank you for your time and expertise!

Thank you also to Tandy who offered to fix my blog, and to Cora who tried to fix it. I appreciate the support from you gals.

So I can't change my freakin' background

2009-02-19T16:40:00.000-08:00

I'm having trouble with this blog. I follow the instructions and they don't seem to work. I hit SAVE and everything. Nobody wants to see an AUTUMN background when spring is just about ready to appear and bring us all joy unsurpassable.

This is why I haven't had the desire to post anything in months. I'm disheartened. If anyone would like to come over and personally change my background, I'll make that person cookies. Thank you.

And it's not even noon yet...

2008-12-13T08:21:00.000-08:00

What a day I've had...

There are 16 days till Christmas, and fate has handed me

12 frustrated hours

11 freak outs

10 hundred toys to clean up

9 requests for food

8 outfit changes by Meg

7 trips to the bathroom for E-train

6 nasty diapers

5 minutes to write this post

4 more freak outs

3 chauffeur trips

2 tubby times

1 boy who stayed home from school

Ally's Letter

2008-12-02T12:16:00.000-08:00

Ally recently wrote a letter in school to send to a serviceman for Christmas.

Dear Soldier,

I hope you like my note, the stocking I colored, the bookmark and everything else! How is it going down there? Thank you for all you do. You probably don't know me, but that's all right.

I am so grateful that you are fighting for our country!

Be careful and watch your back!

Do you like being in the war? You made a great choice to serve our country!
Merry Christmas and good luck.

Sincerely,
Allison

Waxing Political

2008-11-14T10:58:00.000-08:00

Politically, I lean to the right.

Physically, I also lean to the right.
My left shoulder is higher than my right shoulder, which causes this leaning.

So I Read This Great Book...

2008-11-14T09:31:00.000-08:00

My mom recommended a great book which I'm reading. It's called "Leap of Faith... A Memoir of an Unexpected Life." It is an autobiography of Queen Noor, the American-born queen of Jordan. It was very thought-provoking. Some of the thoughts it provoked were:

1. There is a queen and king of Jordan? Huh...didn't know that before.

2. The U.S. sticks its nose into a lot of other countries' affairs, even when they don't ask it to.

3. Israel is our ally, but that doesn't mean we should automatically think every move they make is perfectly perfect in every way.

4. The Palestinians often get a bad rap in America.

5. It would be nifty to be a queen.

I also learned a lot more about Middle Eastern geography. For example, when speaking with Josh's grandma about a country near Saudi Arabia in which a cousin may be working this year, I suggested that the country she couldn't remember may be United Arab Emirates. Yeah, I just pulled that out of my hat. It was the country she meant. When she couldn't remember the name of the city he would be in, I quickly suggested Dubai, it's most populated city. I was right again. Reading "Leap of Faith" has silently filled my brain, without my consent or knowledge, with geographical information that hitherto I dismissed as nonessential. Well, now I appear as a certifiable genius to Josh's venerable grandparents. I think the benefits of reading this book are clear.

Fab Face Painting

2008-09-29T14:47:00.001-07:00

At Josh's summer work party, there were some fabulous face painters. Meg, Ethan and Ally took full advantage of the situation.

W.

2008-09-25T12:14:00.000-07:00

I wish George W. was my uncle. I like him. He's cocky, self-assured, and acts with no apology. His laugh brings me joy.

Obama doesn't have a charming yet goofy laugh.
Neither does McCain.

What is this country coming to?

Ode to Chalan

2008-09-25T12:03:00.000-07:00

I have now entered the blogging world with the help of my friend Chalan. She set me up and I am eternally grateful for her assistance. The world would be a cold place without her.

As I spoke with her today, I thought back on all the good times we had. Do you know we memorized entire scenes from the movie Somewhere in Time?

"I am an actress, Mr. Robinson, not a doormat. Do not attempt to wipe your boots on me."

Junior High would have been a nightmare without my good friend Chalan. So here's to you girl.