stayin' alive

I’m not sure how or when it got to be September, or what exactly happened to June, July, and August, but here I am—still alive, despite rumors to the contrary. Here is a brief (and mostly pictorial) recap of my summer:

Exhibit A: Family Road Trip

June took us to southern Alberta to celebrate my darling father-in-law's 80th birthday. (He's in the back row--the one in the hat.)

Really, what can be better than hanging out with cousins?

I was fascinated by the beautiful colors and textures of the rocks in Waterton Lake.
They are the same colors as many of the walls in my house!

(I took this picture for you, Susan.)
The water was freezing, but oh-so clear and refreshing!

Exhibit B: Back to the Mundane

These table cloths are waiting patiently on my project table to be ironed. My mother used to iron all my table cloths for me, so this ever-growing pile stands as an ever-present reminder of how much I miss her.

Exhibit C: Wedding Planner

Nearly every square inch of my basement is covered in wedding-related items--that is, the part of the basement that's not covered in laundry and ironing.

There are the boxes full of decorations and custom-made aprons,

the boxes full of wedding-guest gift basket goodies waiting to be assembled in a cute and alluring presentation, and . . .

. . . then there's Exhibit C1: Sewing, Sewing, and MORE SEWING!

The summer began with a very large drapery project (pictured, in part, above). Five dresses, one skirt, one jacket, and two table cloths later I still haven't made a MOB (mother-of-the-bride) dress that's fit to be seen in public. I've decided to play it safe and go with my favorite dress pattern, made this time in an iridescent silk taffeta (vermilion and pink tones).

Sewing yet-to-be-completed: three skirts, one MOB dress, one temple dress (possibly to be remade in better, more comfortable fabric), and seven decorator pillows (the latter of which are for clients--not for me).

Exhibit D: New (actually quite old) furniture found on Craig's List!

It's amazing what the thought of having company will do to open your eyes to the atrocities around your house. My sun room furniture, some 21 years old, had been recovered once and was looking a little worse for the wear. I found these two pieces on Craig's List. I won't be able to have them recovered before the wedding, but believe me--they're much cuter and in better shape than what I had. You'll just have to trust me on this one.

Exhibit E: Canadian Family Vacation Reversal

In August the O'Brien's (Linda is one of Mark's lovely sisters) came to our house for a visit, bringing Mark's dad Kay along. We had four days of shopping, game-playing, shopping, and--did I say shopping? We also enjoyed a cookout in the mountains, FHE around the Sunday dinner table, and we threw in a Donut Night for good measure.

Exhibit F: Families Really are Forever
While going through some of my mother's belongings, I came across her current temple recommend. It doesn't expire until the end of September. I love knowing that--at the age of 83--my mother died the worthy bearer of a temple recommend.

Exhibit G: Sarah Turns 12!

I can't believe my baby turned twelve on September 4th. We had a fun-filled day on Saturday and she was so excited to attend Young Women for the first time on Sunday.

I think that Mom is really helping me out on the cake-making front. Sarah's chocolate cake with yellow-tinted White Mountain frosting was one of my better efforts.

Exhibit H: Back to School
Emily is back in Provo and Charlotte moved to Portland to start job-hunting. *sigh* Thank goodness I still have Sarah and John at home to keep things interesting!

spoiled, but not a brat

As the baby of my family I long ago came to the realization that it's okay to be spoiled as long as you're not a brat. This position in my family has worked well for me over the years, especially as the past 21 have found us living close to my parents.

Case in point: My Sundays of late find me busy and often exhausted by the end of the day. While we have always enjoyed eating Sunday dinner with my parents, over the past year our pattern has evolved into my mother planning and making dinner at her house with very little--if any--help from me. To fully appreciate this gift, you must understand that a "normal" Sunday dinner at my mom's house consists of a beautifully-set table (nicely-pressed cloth napkins, always), nothing from a box or a mix (everything is made from scratch, be it gravy, salad dressing, or rolls), and an ever-changing array of our favorite homemade desserts to top things off.

This afternoon I arrived at my Mother's house to find this inviting set-up:

We found this tablecloth at HomeGoods a month or so ago and knew it would be darling with Mom's lime green dishes.

Corned beef brisket with horseradish sauce was on today's menu, accompanied by boiled potatoes, cooked carrots, artisan "rustic" bread, and Winter salad. Ah--a pleasing menu, indeed! But wait--that's not all. Mother surprised me with my all-time most favorite incredible dessert--my manna, as it were: Homemade Chocolate Pie. A moment of silence, please, while you gaze at this enticing photo.

Fights have been known to break out over who gets the last piece for breakfast. Usually I win.

So, while I feel somewhat undeserving, as well as moderately guilty for not contributing more to these fine repasts, I can't deny that I look forward to our Sunday dinners. I feel pampered, cared for, and loved. In my parents' home, surrounding the dinner table, I feel safe. I come away with a feeling of peace and reassurance that, though the coming week may be hectic and sometimes feel out of control, I always have this safe place to which I can return. And sometimes there's a chocolate pie waiting for me in the refrigerator.

Thanks, Mom.

this and that

Since blogging seems to be the thing that most often gets pushed to the bottom of my to-do list these days, I need to mention a few random things that happened this month so I at least have some record of it.

• Sarah had a solo in our ward's Primary program this month. She sang the first verse of I Feel My Savior's Love and--in my completely unbiased opinion--it was the most beautiful thing I have ever heard! I have never heard her sing alone and I was really impressed by the clear, sweet, and sincere quality of her voice.

• Speaking of singing, John had his first choral concert this month. He made it into the top mixed choir this year (coincidentally the same one I was in when I attended his high school). I wish this photo showed the great pinstripes in the guys' pants and the rows of dots in their ties. John has really found his niche in high school and I love how much he loves singing in choir (much of which I attribute to his fabulous and darling teacher, Mrs. Burns).

• Speaking of high school, my long-time friend Ann came for a two-day visit with her beautiful daughters earlier this month. It was a fun surprise and a treat to have them stay with us; the actual reason for their visit was to see the show Wicked, but we enjoyed watching movies, eating carmel corn, shopping with our girls, and playing Bananagrams. Moosey made friends with them all.

• Speaking of Wicked, my mom and I were invited by a friend in our ward to go to the show, complete with a back-stage tour prior to the show! Yes--I said BACK-STAGE TOUR. It was fascinating to see the costumes, props, and sets first-hand. To top it off, we had box seats. I felt like royalty and only wish I had been allowed to take photos of the experience.
• Speaking of photos, I just had to take this one of a flyer I found lying around the house. At first I thought it was something from Sarah's school. When I asked her about it, she confessed she had made up a stack while playing School the other day. It made me smile.

• Speaking of things that make me smile, Sarah convinced us to carve our Halloween pumpkins tonight for FHE. Though I confess I had sort of been dreading the time-honored and messy tradition, I had fun hacking away at the pumpkins with the rest of the family.

• And speaking of hacking away, Mark got a little carried away with the hair trimmer last Saturday and ended up giving himself a new 'do. He has been more than a good sport about the whole thing and we have been laughing about the reactions of his friends and coworkers. People at church yesterday were asking if he had lost some sort of bet relating to the oh-so-sad outcome of the BYU football game of the previous day. Someone at work today asked him if he had joined a Mexican gang. I suggested that we could send for the Cougar Spirit wig we found at the BYU Bookstore last August when we took the girls to school. He was not amused.

• And speaking of not being amused, I have taken on a sewing project I'm afraid I'm going to live to regret: 22 (yes count them, twenty-two) dance costume tops for Sarah's clogging team--that's eleven each of two different styles. Yes, it's a paying gig, but I'm afraid by the time I finish I'll be lucky to make about $1.25/hour.
  

girl with a twirl

When I was a little girl I loved the dresses my mom sewed for me--especially the ones with exceptional Twirl Factor. I could always count on a beautifully made dress for occasions such as Christmas and Easter, and later in high school for Homecoming and Prom. I have never outgrown this love for a twirly dress. When I'm costuming, for instance, nothing brings me quite the satisfaction as seeing a voluminous skirt sweep its way across the stage.

This year for Easter Sunday I made myself a dress with ultimate Twirl Factor. I haven't sewn for myself in quite a while, but when I found this beautiful piece of cotton sateen (with just a bit of lycra for stretch) for only $3.69/yard it spoke to my heart and I decided I would costume myself.

Here's the finished dress. . .

. . . and here is its ultimate twirling power:

It was fun to make something for myself that I actually liked. Sometimes sewing for yourself can be a disheartening affair. Sarah's dress, on the other hand, was cute but lacked adequate TF. I should have realized it when I was cutting out the pattern and added more fullness. Still, she looked cute, especially with her grown-up pink patent leather wedge sandals.

And no, I did not make these ties for my guys, but I did shop for them. They're quite handsome, don't you think?

John and Sarah dyed eggs on Saturday afternoon. I'm not sure what made some of them get this crackled and speckled effect, but I think it's kind of cool.

The best part of hard-boiled eggs, however, is having my mom make deviled eggs!

John's favorite part of Easter dinner was the twice-baked potatoes I made ahead on Saturday night. When he saw that there was a little left in the mixing bowl for him to lick with a spatula he cried in delight, "It's an Easter miracle!" He makes me laugh!

My favorite part, aside from the deviled eggs, would have to be my mom's homemade strawberry pie--no store-bought icky glaze here. (Note to Miranda and April: put this one on your list for Wednesdays With Charlotte.)

Happy (better late than never) Easter, and yes--that is in fact Jessie's head popping up behind Mark.

What happened to the first half of October?

So what's up with it already being October 18th?

Here are a few October highlights I don't want to miss documenting:

• My mother's 82nd birthday on October 5th. For a beautiful tribute to her, see this post on Michelle's blog. Her birthday fell on Conference weekend so we got to spend a good deal of it together doing one of our favorite things! We also went shopping together on Friday and Mom bought a darling pair of black boots and a cute outfit at Ann Taylor Loft. What 82-year-old do you know who has a cuter wardrobe than you do? For Sunday's birthday dinner I made a good Rachel Ray pasta recipe with talapia (a good substitute for halibut, which I can't afford), and mom made this delicious caramel bundt cake. It has a burnt sugar syrup (made with cream) in the cake itself, which is also drizzled as a glaze onto the warm cake, and also folded into the whipped cream you serve in a dollop on top of each slice. I ask, what 82-year-old wears cute black boots and makes her own homemade birthday cake!

We honestly didn't plan on matching that day, it just happened.

• John had his first high school choir concert on October 9th and wore a tuxedo for the first time. He's a handsome one, that John--all 6' 2" of him! We love his choir and piano teachers, pictured with us. John sings Bass II and seems to really enjoy choir. I think he's finding that boys in choir make a lot of friends who are girls, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

• On the evening of the 10th, while I painted in her room, Sarah went with her friend Hailey to the school Sock Hop. It was sort of a last-minute decision to go and luckily I just happened to have a cute poodle skirt hanging in John's closet. She loves this one because the poodle on it looks like my dad's dog, Tyrone.

• That same weekend, my mom made two chocolate pies for Mark to take to work for his co-workers. Thankfully he brought some home, as this is my most favorite food in the entire world, for real. Can you blame me?

• On the 15th Sarah had track and field day at school. John happened to have early release that day, so he came with me to meet Sarah for lunch. It's a good thing he came, since I had to park far away and haul not only lunch but chairs. Sarah is the closest thing to an athlete we have in our family!

• And finally, Mark pulled up Sarah's carpet last night, only to find that the floor looks like leopard print. Yes, leopard print. The carpet pad was one of those composite foam-o'-many colors kind, and it had black, yes BLACK specs in it that stuck in tar-like spots all over the hardwood. As I write this, Mark is on his hands and knees scraping and washing the floor. Thankfully, it's coming up, but has put a bit of a crimp in our project.

Whew! Here's hoping the last half of October lasts a little longer than the first half did.

Donut Night!

Like many, we look forward to semi-annual Conference weekends at our house. It almost seems like a holiday--a holiday in our family room. I love the spiritual boost, but mostly I love the feeling of complete security and safety. It's as if, for an entire weekend, I am in a little safe cocoon protected and sheltered from the world. I feel such love and respect for our Church leaders and feel especially grateful to know that President Monson is the Lord's prophet on the earth--right here, right now--for me and my family, as well as the Church as a whole. I love this feeling of unity, knowing that worldwide my friends and loved ones are watching and worshipping together.

About six or seven years ago we began a new tradition that is now a much-anticipated part of our Conference weekend: Donut Night (now a proper noun in our home). During the Saturday night Priesthood session of Conference the girls (meaning my mom, me, my daughters, friends--whoever happens not to be attending the Priesthood session) gather together in this fun ritual of rolling, rising, frying, glazing, and eating.

Part of me felt a little wistful and sad this year, knowing that both Charlotte and Emily would be absent. I decided that rather than be sad, however, I would surround myself with lots of friends and commission my mom to mix a double batch of dough.

If I do say so myself, it was one of our better batches! (The following blurry photo doesn't quite do them justice).

The best part was enjoying time spent with good people.

Rachelle and her parents and brother Devin came, as did Neighbor Nick, Jacquelyn, Melissa, and the missionaries.

Elders Hixon and Sax risked breaking curfew to stop by on their way home.

Don't I have the prettiest mother in the world? She turned 82 on Sunday, and I feel so blessed that she is a part of my everyday life.

I am blessed in so many ways, and Conference weekend is always a grounding reminder for me of all those things for which I am most grateful--fresh donuts being only one them.