Life after Ike

Yay! We are up and running again. Actually we fared really well in comparison to most of Houston and even alot of our dearest friends and my parents. They just barely got their power back. Yesterday evening Mark and Scott (my heroes)set up our generator on the outside of the house. It worked out perfectly because The Shapers (our fun neighbors) weren't home. Generators are LOUD! By the way, thanks for the chicken Julie! I made chicken salad with it and the sandwiches were perfect with all the chips we bought at Sam's. Here we are all set up in the family room. It was pretty nice! We had fans, lamps and even TV! (and this is why Mark and Scott are my HEROES)

I was impressed! Later we brought our pillows, blankets and junk food in for our Ike Party/Camp Out. It really wasn't bad. We could hear the wind picking up and the cats were very much aware that something was weird ( besides the fact that all the humans were spread out around the family room and obviously not planning to leave.....ever). But after not very long our power suddenly came back on. I think Scott and Hope were a little disappointed. (I heard them grumble.... "oh, man")....Too funny.

This morning we let our Bishop borrow our generator because we were so fortunate to only be without electricity for a few hours. Mark and Scott went to check on some people from church as well as Marci and Mike's home and their rental property. I e-mailed Marci the pictures Scott took of their places so I'm sure she'll post them on her blog.

These are some of the pictures Scott took while they were out this morning.

My Wisteria Vine:

Our Neighbors right across the street:

Driving into Our Neighborhood:

Driving Down Our Street:

My Parent's House and Their Neighbor:

Our biggest issue was our cable was out; so we had no phone line, interenet or TV (oh no! Mark missed the BYU game but he heard they won.... BIG TIME, so he's very happy)

More tomorrow, I'm off too bed. It's been an eventful day!

Nite All....

Here Comes Ike

Tracking Ike

Who gets to name these storms anyway???

Today went by soooo fast. Mark and I headed for Sam's Club as soon as Hope went off to school this morning. We were there by 7:45 and by the number of shoppers, you'd of thought it was 1:00 in the afternoon! We got batteries for our flashlights, water and lots of junk food!

It's kind of a tradition now to have a little party while in the midst of a natural disaster. It started back in March of '93. We were living in Baldwinsville NewYork and I got to fly home to California (all by myself, such a treat) to surprise my mom for her birthday. Well while I was in sunny SanDiego, the blizzard of the century hit NewYork. It was "lake effect" snow to the upteen degree! My trip was prolonged because of the weather. When I called home to talk to the kids , I thought they'd be upset by the blizzard. Not at all! They were having the time of their lives with dad. They proceeded to tell me, while everyone else was stocking up on essentials he bought out the Oreos, Doritos and Twinkies! They watched movies and ate junk until I got home to gently bring them back to reality.

Mark spent most of the today bringing anything that could possibly fly away- into the garage or house. I didn't realize we had so many things out in the yard. There was the rod iron bench, several potted plants, chairs, garden flag, pool floaties, and garden statues. I promise our yard doesn't look like PeeWee Herman's! I spent most of the day on the phone checking in with the RS sisters to make sure everyone has everything they need before Ike comes to town. School is canceled for tomorrow as well as all extracurricular activities including Taylor HS Homecoming. which is kind of sad.

I'm just totally enjoying ELECTRICITY while we have it!

Getting it Together...Kinda

We're all getting used to our "early morning" schedule. I get up at 5:00 a.m. so I have a few minutes to fully awaken before I get Mr. Scotto up at 5:15. He has to be at the church at 6:00 for Seminary every morning before school. We're usually out the door with Hope by 6:45 - 6:55...so I'm home by 7:15. I must say, I sure do get a lot done in the morning and I'm lovin' it!

This morning I organized files and tidied up my Pineapple Hill office/craft room. No kidding the before pictures are not staged! Sometimes you have to make a mess to get organized. Mark never has understood this concept, but truly it's just the way it is for me.

BEFORE

AFTER

These are my favorite "Organizational Inspiration" Spots:

• http://www.jooners.com/


• http://organizetips.com/


• http://www.ineedmoretime.com/


• http://www.organizedhome.com/


• http://www.flylady.net/


• http://www.executivehomemaker.com/content.asp?pid=1


• http://www.lazyorganizer.com/blog/
  

The New York Times

Everyday when I sit down to check my e-mails, I always read my kid's blogs then immediately read CJane to learn if there is any news on Nie. Marci was so touched by this story, she shared it in her blog and I've been following it ever since. Today Jane posted that The Nielsons were featured in a story in the New York Times. I thought the article beautifully portrayed the life Stephanie chose to lead and the powerful influence for good she has been to so, so many young moms.

To read the article CLICK HERE:

Mark is So Popular

We have these two cats that we're just crazy about. They are brothers. Blanco was the first of the litter and Bill was the last. I'm really glad we adopted both of them because they truly are "Best Buds".

Senior Blanco

Silly Bill

(aren't his eyes cute!)

Here's the thing....they are so fun to play with and really affectionate to all of us, but they definitely have a "Favorite Person" in the family. It's Mark! I mean I don't blame them, he is my favorite person too. But really, when Mark's in town the cats are wherever he is. It's the cutest thing. This morning he is working out of the office and I went in to tell him something and it was so typical to see his little buddies right there with him. I think Mark kind of likes it too. He never complains about them sitting on his work, trying to catch the paper when it comes out of his printer and even typing verbiage when they walk across his keyboard!

We're ALL glad when Mark is in town

....... he's so popular !

Did You Hear ????

Marci found this fun site, The Lil Peanut Patch dedicated to moms and their little ones. It's a place for moms to find new products and services and to share ideas.

Cute kids and sweet moms are featured throughout the month.

.....and Guess What!

Our very own Adeline is the

Lil' Peanut of the Month!

Congratulations Miss Addie!

Easy Peach Cobbler

Peach Cobbler
~Southern Living~

So Good!

************

Ingredients:

2 (16-ounce) packages frozen peaches, thawed and drained

1/4 cup all-purpose flour, divided

5 white bread slices

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted

1 large egg

Preparation:

Stir together peaches and 2 tablespoons flour. Place in a lightly greased 8-inch-square baking dish.

Trim crusts from bread slices; cut each slice into 5 strips. Arrange bread strips over fruit mixture.

Stir together remaining flour, sugar, and next 3 ingredients; 

drizzle over bread strips.

Bake at 350 for 35 to 45 minutes or until golden bubbly.

Yield: Makes 4 to 6 servings
Note: (We doubled the recipe here and put it in a 9X13" pan.)

We serve it warm with vanilla ice-cream....Yum!

Princess on a Nap Mat

The Preppy Napper

Sweet Princess Ella started pre-school this week. Yesterday was her first day. I just can't believe how big she is getting. She has been so excited about going to "school".

One of the items listed in the parent packet was to bring a nap mat and little pillow for "rest time". Marci found a little mat and purchased it for her.

You've seen them. The red and blue reversible nap mats...

Hmmmm ... not too comfy, more importantly, not too cute!

What to do?

Marci asked me if I could make a fabric slip cover for her. After much searching, we we finally found the perfect quilted fabric on sale. One side is pink and green paisley and the other side is a paisley stripe.

I used the extra cotton fabric from their dresses to make a border at the top of the slip cover so a zipper could be added for washing convenience.

Paisley:

Stripe:

Scripture Study

Well, you'd be so proud of me. I'm making some

progress with my goals.

or as mom would say, "aren't you proud of yourself".

Next week (Monday morning)I start piano lessons. I can't wait. I bought my book and I'm ready to learn! And today I went to Scripture Study. It's every Tuesday at 9:15 at the Church. I love all the ladies and enjoyed the discussion. Now if I could just get up the gumption to tackle the PHOTOS.....

Cookie Anyone?

Today was a very HAPPY DAY at the Miner House.

I made The OlsenFamily .....

unforgettable, delectable, wonderful

..... "Bakery Cookies".

Would you believe, I still have the original recipe I jotted on the back of a piece of paper 20 years ago. I'm Not Kidding!




I almost forgot all about that recipe (Unimaginable) and I saw it on Anne Marie's Cooking Blog, Taste Buds ... which I love by the way! Check it out. I've become a huge fan of cooking blogs. My two favorites are Taste Buds and On My Menu by Marci.

Anyway, I had these Hershey Mini Kisses and decided this was the perfect recipe.
Get the recipe :

Click Here

These are AnneMarie's cookies. Aren't they beautiful! When she's not cooking, baking or being the perfect mom, she really should be a food/ photo stylist!