My Thanksgiving ABC's

I am thankful for:

A: A/C at the push of button...I hate being hot!
B: To be able to sleep in a comfortable BED every night, and to BATHE in a hot shower everyday...even if it is at 2:00 pm.
C: The CHURCH. Really, where would I be without it?
D: Good DOCTORS who take care of us when we need it.
E: ELECTRICITY, EDUCATION
F: FAMILY, FRIENDS, FREEDOM
G: GROCERY STORES. We are so lucky that we can just hop in a car and pick up anything we need...at any time of the day! GIGGLY GIRLS.
H: HEALTH, HEAT at the push of a button...I hate being cold!
I: INTERNET...isn't it incredible!
J: Randy's JOB
K: My KIDS, Allyse and Keira who make me laugh.
L: LIBRARIES.
M: MUSIC, MEMORIES
N: Good NEIGHBORS, for whenever we need that one egg, or stick of butter.
O: OVERCAST DAYS. They don't happen enough here.
P: PARKS, which we frequent often.
Q: QUIET TIME. That blessed nap and bedtime when there is peace.
R: RANDY. He's the best.
S: The SHELTER of a home.
T: TRANSPORTATION...to get me to the store and the park.
U: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. How did I get to be so lucky to be born here?
V: VACATIONS...which we all need once and awhile.
W: Running WATER, WARD FAMILY
X: Good "X"amples.
Y: YOU. Because if you are reading this, it must mean you care about me.
Z: ZZZ's. To get a good night's sleep...and a nap if I want to.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

For Sale

As of October 30th, our condo has been on the market. We're testing the waters not quite sure what will happen because of the way the market and economy is right now, but figure if it's meant to happen it will. And I'm really hoping it will. I haven't had much time to get on the computer as I'm trying to keep my house as near to presentable as I can as we can get a call at any time. I've been pretty good...I've made my bed every day for the last 3 1/2 weeks, but then I've had to throw the dirty dishes in the oven, and dirty clothes in the bathtub too. Yesterday we finally got rid of a bunch of stuff that had been piling up in the garage. I kept holding on to it thinking that one day I'd have a garage sale, but who am I kidding. So far, we haven't had too many major disasters. I think I've got most of the pen markings off the wall . I've outlawed crayons after Allyse used the couch cushions as her canvas. And as long as I don't hear Keira say "oopsies" with a tube of lip gloss in her hands, we should be good.

Ring of Fire

A view of the fire from a park near my home.

It's that time of year again when the dry climate and Santa Ana winds make for a heated battle. The first year we were here, in 2003, the fires were so bad that ashes were falling like snow in our valley. Last year we had members of our ward evacuated from their homes. I think our valley has practically been encircled by fire throughout these last few years

Easy, Fast and Yummy Asian Stir Fry

Yummy Stir Fry

8 oz. angel hair pasta
2 cups small broccoli florets or snow peas
1 lb. Chicken, cut into thin strips
½ cup KRAFT Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing
2 Tbsp soy sauce
¼ tsp. Each: ground ginger, garlic powder, crushed red pepper
1/3 cup chopped dry roasted peanuts

Cook pasta adding broccoli to the boiling water for the last 3 minutes of the pasta cooking time. (I add the snow peas when adding the dressing and spices to the chicken.) As that cooks, spray large skillet with cooking spray and heat on medium high-high heat. Add the chicken and cook 6-8 minutes or until cooked through, stirring occasionally. Stir in dressing, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and red pepper. Cook for 1 minute more. Drain pasta mixture and place in a large bowl. Add chicken mixture and toss lightly. Sprinkle with peanuts.

Those in CC2, it's in the new cookbook

Trick-or-Treat

This is probably the last year I have any choice in what the girls are for Halloween, since they still really don't know what it's all about. I spotted the sparkly fabric when I was at JoAnn's one day and it inspired the whole costume. We had a ward Halloween party last week and then we took the girls on their first trick-or-treating adventure last night...just a couple of houses. They loved pointing out all the decorations which they call "pumpkin patch", and all candy was "candy corn". Most of the people are outside by their garages handing out the candy, but the girls really liked ringing the "ding dong" (doorbell) of a couple of our condo neighbors.
Our little "twitches". (Allyse in purple and Keira in orange).

Our pumpkin

The Difference a Couple of Days Make

Last Friday, the 24th, I had the opportunity to drive to Downtown Disney to visit one of my best friends from high school. We met at the Rain Forest Cafe at about 5:30 and to make a long story short, we waited and waited and waited. Poor, starving kids! Fast forward to Tuesday the 28th. My brother Jerry and his family (minus the nearly 18 month old) were in Disneyland. We planned to meet them for dinner, but thought meeting at the Red Robin down the street would be better. We got down to Disneyland with about an hour to spare so we were just going to bum around Downtown Disney for a bit. We had just stopped in front of the Rain Forest Cafe where they had a parrot that the girls were fascinated with when Jerry walks on by. (Luckily I was getting something from the diaper bad and not watching the parrot.) Since we were right by the Rain Forest Cafe we thought we'd just see what the wait was...10-15 minutes. I can handle 15 minutes. So, the Rain Forest Cafe IS doable...just avoid the weekends I guess.Everybody say "red eyed tree frog!"

Me and Brandi