Unsolicited Breathing Endorsement

I like being able to breathe very much.

The first year I was married, I discovered that when I lay on my side, particularly my left side, I can't breathe through my nose.  Something shuts off the flow inside there.  I know...yuck.

I started paying attention to commercials recently about the Breathe Right product.  These strips are supposed to open your nasal passages and help you breathe better...even with a deviated septum, which must be something I have.

I had a really rough night of not being able to breathe at all from either side and I finally decided to go search out this product and give it a try.

Tested it out last night.

Within seconds of putting on a strip I couldn't believe the difference.  UNBELIEVABLE!  I was breathing clear.  I laid down to give it the real test.

And it worked like a charm.  I only noticed the slightest obstruction on the left side.

The only bummer was when I woke up about 3 hours later not being able to breath...because it fell off.

So, tonight I"m going to do it again...and if I have to use super glue to keep it on there, I will.
Okay, so not super glue...

If you are having any difficulty with breathing through your nose at night at all...I would definitely give these a try.  They have no drugs in them...super safe, although that may bum some people out!  They are a bit pricey.  But if I can sleep through an entire night...I'd say ¢50 or so a day is worth it!

The Princess and Peanut Butter Chocolates

While all eyes (including mine) were on wedding and tornado footage today, I also kept my eye on these lovelies....

Peanut Butter Chocolates

I took a peanut butter ball recipe and made them into these...

And destroyed my chocolate moulds.  They look like shrinky dinks...fresh from the oven.
Who knew you could put scalding hot chocolate in them, but not wash them in a dishwasher?

Probably everyone knew that.

If you use good quality chocolate, you will find these taste better than a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.  No lie.  I know...sacrilege.  And at least I can list all the ingredients and know what they are!

Filling:
2 cups creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pure vanilla
2 - 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Place the peanut butter, butter and salt in a large glass bowl.  Heat in the microwave until just soft (check and stir every 20 seconds).  Stir in the vanilla and sugar and mix until like a dough.

Roll into 1 inch balls.  I use a 1 inch scoop.  Place balls on parchment paper covered cookie sheet and chill in the fridge for about one hour.

Then you melt your favorite chocolate...pour some into the moulds...add a peanut butter ball...cover with more chocolate and set in the fridge or freezer for about 15 minutes.

This made A LOT of balls.  In fact I still have about 25 of them left in the fridge.  They are pretty yummy by themselves too!

Speaking of yummy...wasn't the Royal wedding a great diversion from the sadness that is all around us? I'm sure everyone has an opinion of these lavish festivities.  I have to say, it was tasteful even in it's British glory.

My only wish is that every girl in the world would recognize that she is indeed a Princess herself.  A child of Royal Birth.  And that she can have her prince for all eternity, in her Father's kingdom, in a mansion that is being prepared for her.

True story.

And with winter raging in the north, destruction in the south, economic turmoil at every turn...find yourself a diversion and have a peanut butter chocolate...and call yourself "Princess".

That's Real

• The complete mind-blowing and unbelievable devastation from the Tornadoes.

• Some people look better with a little "meat" on their bones.

• A lie by omission is still a lie.

• KC children dealing with the murder of their Mother.  Murder.

• Facebook and blogspot friends are____________________(fill in the blank).

• I'm unhappy unless I'm out in the sun.

• And I can't seem to keep my mind off of anything but chocolate these days.

That's real.

Wednesday without Words

Wednesday brought to you via iphone from 3rd Ravine.

Random as a desert rose

Random is as random does today.

I'm thinking out loud.  Hang with me here a bit...

We got a new bbq place in town.  As bbq consoeurs we must partake. It's a chain...Dickey's Barbecue Pit, so they don't actually smoke their meat there, which is a disappointment.  It's no KC, Jack Stack, but we've decided it will do in a pinch. Hey...anything that's been around since 1941 must be good, right? We really like the "big yellow cup", the gigantic jar of pickles and the free soft-serve-self-serve ice cream cones.  That'll win over any hungry heart.

The only way I'm going to be able to get my tile floor completely clean is on my hands and knees.  I have about 2,000 square feet of tile.  Can you say, "knee pads", anyone?  That will make a lovely Mother's Day gift I should think.

These particular fashionable ditties will run you $119.  No thank you.  I do appreciate my knees but for that price they better be bedazzled in Swarovski crystals.

The Washington County DMV better be nice to me today.  I feel a banshee melt down coming on.

I'm starting to feel a knot in my stomach for the weeks of May 22-June 20.  It is not humanly possible to do all the things that are scheduled for those weeks.  I may have to look into cloning.

"The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose." Isaiah 35:1

I wish everyone could see the marvel that is a cactus blooming in the desert.  The desert is happy right now...resurrecting after its hibernation called "winter".  

Thank goodness for fast food bbq, and desert rose blooms...

And hopefully I'll be done with the DMV by noon...

Random this.

While the Chicks were in the Nest

The 3 Chicks were all home for the weekend...in one nest.  First time we've been together for Easter in two years!

But the oldest chick has left and flown the coop this morning.  I sometimes wish we'd done the "come home for the summer" thing with her.  When I see how much she's grown and how she takes care of herself though, I remind myself, it's been for the best.  My soon-to-be-20-year-old is fairly independent.  We couldn't even claim her on our taxes this year.  She made more money then Boyd and I did the first 3 years of our marriage....combined.  I don't know how I feel about that.

I dragged the girls to an Air Supply concert on Friday night.  They just watched and laughed at their old Mom singing, "Even the Nights are Better!"  I felt like I was 11 years old again.  First cassette tape I ever got...Air Supply, and I wore that thing out over the next 4 years of playing it.

I think the highlight of the night was when singer, Russell Hitchcock touched my hand....be still my 11 year old heart.

It was a lovely night of reminiscing....even if the girls thought it was cheesy.  I'm sure the ultimate humiliation for them was when I 'rushed' the stage.  Hey, I got a guitar pic out of it...so I'm cool.

I also spent some time in the red rocks with Hunter, trying to get some pictures for her senior announcements.  Stay tuned for the "real" edits from her Aunt.

I think the low point of the weekend was when I lost "Flat Ammon"....who came with Chloe to explore Utah.  But then we had salmon and asparagus and coconut cake and that made us all feel better.

And now I'm going through withdrawals...sugar and chick withdrawals.  Big chick is on her way up north and baby chicks are back in school for the last month hurrah. It has been an emotional roller-coaster these last 8 months.

Happy Chick weekend to everyone!

"Why Weepest Thou?"

He Lives!

Can I forget?

I stand all amazed 

at the love Jesus offers me.

Confused at the grace

that so fully, He proffers me.

I tremble to know 

that for me, He was crucified...

That for ME a sinner,

He suffered, He bled and died.

I marvel that He would

descend from His throne divine.

To rescue a soul

so rebellious and proud as MINE.

That He should extend

His great love unto such as I...

Sufficient to own, 

to redeem and to justify.

I think of His hands

pierced and bleeding to pay the debt.

Such mercy, such love,

and devotion, can I forget?

No, no I will praise

and adore at the mercy seat...

Until at the glorified throne

I kneel at His feet.

Oh, it is wonderful...

That HE should care for me,

enough to die for me.

Oh, it is wonderful...

Wonderful to me.

~I Stand All Amazed, Text and Music by Charles H. Gabriel 1856-1932

From the LDS Hymnal, pg 193

Today is the day to begin my thankfulness....can I forget?

Happy Easter Weekend.

This is what happens...

....when you play with cacti.

Savage Chickens are my favorite kind of chicken.  I almost trust no other any more.

And no worries...my leg is almost better.  I learned to break out the bottle of Frankincense essential oil and dab some on my war wounds.  Works like a charm. You'd never know that two days ago, my leg looked like this....only swollen and puffy and a little bit black and blue 5 hours after this photo was taken.

I know gross...but the point is....it doesn't look like that anymore!!  And the good news...no barbs or spurs inside.  Which would have drastically altered the end of this story.

And I've learned a lesson. Yucca, Agave, and Joshua and all other relatives of the cacti family, are not true friends.  They want to be kept at a distance.  I'm cool with that.

Here's to a safe distance between me and thee...cacti.

Bird doo...done dirt cheeeeeep

I've never claimed to be a good baker.

I follow recipes and instructions and 9 times out of 10, I fail.

Epic.

It was no small task to make these cake ball pops.  And when I finally get a couple of batches done and thinking..."These are totally gonna sale at the YW's fundraiser", then I get a brilliant idea of drizzling white chocolate over them.

That was my first mistake.

I got bird doo globs.

That's what I get for being cocky.

And then I decided to stick them in a styrofoam brick and cover it with Easter grass and eggs.

Mistake #2.

Because then my pops looked like a forest of trees, covered in bird doo.

And then I made chocolate covered peanut butter balls.  Which turned out FAB...which is a bad thing...because I ate some...okay, let's be honest. I ate a lot.

I'm pretty sure my bird doo pops, ended up fetching a tidy sum of $14...for both batches.  Whoopdee doo.

Bird doo.  The going rate is $14.

Does this yard art make me look old?

I had a conversation with my adult daughter this afternoon on the phone.

I told her I had just made a project for outside, that I really loved.  I asked her if she thought it made me look old to be hanging stuff all over the yard.  I even told her that I'm considering buying pink flamingos.

She let me know that if I put in pink flamingos, I'll for sure look old.

She asked my why I would ever do that.  Do I even like pink flamingos?

I told her, the older you get the more you like things you never thought you'd like before.

I'm beginning to see why little old ladies love their yards and their yard art.

Here's my addition today:

A hanging pile of drift wood.

This is why I gathered arm-fulls of wood while we were at the beach last month. I'd seen one of these mobiles that went from the roof to the ground.  I coveted it.  I knew I could make one myself though.  But when you're traveling in a Honda Accord with 3 other people including luggage, you can't bring home enough drift wood to make a 6 foot mobile.  So, a 3ft mobile will do.

I love it.  It has modern lines, like my house.  It's earthy, like my house.  It's made from pieces of memories I've collected.  It looks cozy in my tiny, green oasis. Lawn art doesn't get much better than that...even if it does make me look old.

I think I need to find a lawn gnome...

Perma grin

Perma grin:  the smile that can't be wiped off your face.

Sand Hollow Dunes puts that perma-grin on your face.  Flying mach 1 thru sand bowls, down hills and over slick rock in a 4 wheeler will do that to you.  Exploring hood-do's and caves, sunshine and warmth, a cooler of water and Snickers Peanut butter bars...what else could be better? You come home with your cheeks hurting, from smiling so much.

Plus it doesn't hurt that the scenery around you is stunning.

Nothing is gonna bring you or your smile down out there.

I needed a perma-grin day.  What things bring a perma-grin to your face?

Pretty Please, with Sprinkles on Top

Happy National Cupcake...er...Volunteer Week everyone!

We have the best volunteer coordinator in Dixie....in St. George!

And I'm not partial just because she's from my hometown of Bend, OR....she really is the bees knees.

Her name is Carol.

She is always giving service or setting up some kind of service or coordinating service.  She is a natural born do-gooder.  Do you know she even donated a kidney, to someone she didn't even know?

Service may just be her middle name.

I am not always available to give service when she needs it and so when the opportunity came to serve her, I took it.

Today, the city of St. George is having a party for the 1,000 + volunteers who constantly and selflessly give of their time and services in helping others.  We have a great town, have I mentioned that?

Carol is the coordinator of the volunteer services here and she wanted to serve mini-cupcakes at her party to honor those who serve.

She only wanted 250 cupcakes.

I can do that!

And you know what...it pleases me to serve her because she is such a great example.

So...I volunteer to make the cupcakes, with sprinkles on top.  Thank you Carol, for all that you do.  We could never Fill Your Shoes!
And I've learned to REALLY appreciate my local bakers...baking in large quantities is hard to do!

Wordless Wednesday

No words to say...

No words to convey...

This feeling inside...

I have for you.

Deep in my heart.

Deep in my heart.

Safe from the guards...

of intellect and reason.

Leaving me at loss,

for words to express my feelings.

Deep in my heart.

Deep in my heart.

~Tracy Chapman

Project-ing

One of the projects Kiera and I made while I was in KC, were these cute aprons...

We saw something like these on a creative blog and then rather than follow directions step by step, rebelled and came up with our own.  They are crocheted granny squares, stitched together, with some single crocheting around the edge. Because my ribbon is still packed away in a storage unit, when I came home I crocheted an apron string and flower.  I stuck the flower on with an antique brooch that I bought at a garage sale shortly before I moved to Dixie.

And the 14-soon-to-be-15 year old has confiscated it.  Hey, if it gets her cooking, I'll make her 10 more!

It feels good to be project-ing once in awhile.  Kiera...get yours up on FB today, so we can see the vintage color scheme you chose!