There's something about January that just makes me want to COOK! I don't know what it is, maybe the desperation of realizing the holidays are over and the "well, I'll eat what I want in December and try to do better in January" attitude is not as fun or easy to main
tain as I think it will be in between
mouthfuls of turtles and fudge on Christmas Eve. So anyway, clicking on the
Confessions of a Pioneer Woman link from my friend
Christie's blog did NOT help the situation. Oh my good heavens, not only is this this Pioneer person hilarious and she posts all the time, she also has tons of amazing recipes, all with step-by-step instructions and pictures, my friends, pictures!!! How could I
not make "The BEST Lasagna" yesterday after reading
this post, and seeing this picture?
Yes, it was wonderful and I could barely stand up to do the dishes afterward. Now I am afraid I am going to have to make every single thing on the site. I will probably double in size by my birthday. This is not good! So here is what I would like to propose: A Pioneer Woman Potluck! For all my friends and family and maybe even friends I don't know I have out there, just go to the
web site and pick a dish, any dish, and claim it as your own. Then we will all cook our food on an appointed day and get together and we can taste it all! There is no pressure because they are her recipes, not ours, and if they don't turn out, well, it's her fault! How is that? Pretty sneaky? I thought so. Everyone is invited! Well, I guess I ought to draw the line somewhere, since I don't know who reads this: If you have been in prison or are unsure of your gender, well, probably not... (Gender Bender Party TBA). Everyone else, just tell me if you are interested and we will set it up!
My little brother Steven came home from his mission today!!! He was serving in the Louisville Kentucky mission. My whole family was at the airport to meet him, except for my sister Kristen and her husband, Steve, because they are in Kansas (sniff sniff), and it just wasn't the same without them, but we understand. It was so cool because there were several other missionaries coming home and their families were waiting for them at the bottom of the escalator by us, but you wouldn't have even known the families were there because they just stood there until their missionary got down to the bottom, and then there were a few embraces and maybe a few tears. Bor-ing. BUT, when Steven appeared at the top of the escalator, our whole family just gave this big spontaneous cheer and it was like this gigantic welcome and everyone was laughing and crying and hugging and it was so fun. Steven got to meet his two new neices and a new brother-in-law, and he seriously didn't even recognize Aaron. When he left Aaron was just a little kid, and now they are almost the same size. He kept saying, "This isn't really Aaron, is it? It can't be." Aaron was like, "I swear, it's me... " That is what is going on in this picture, and that is my beautiful sister Shayna in the background. Which brings me to my next topic.
We all went out to eat at the Chuck-a-Rama in Bountiful. We had a huge table in the back and kind of had the place to ourselves, just being kind of rowdy like we always are when we get together. Well, then this guy comes in and sits down at a booth nearby. All by himself. And he just sat there and watched us the whole time, more specifically, he watched Shayna Bayna, and I could tell he was trying to figure out what the whole deal was because she was sitting by Steven and were they brother and sister, or was she the girlfriend... it was pretty funny. He must have got 10 plates of food, and every time he got up his eyeballs were just ON HER. So we all noticed it and started teasing her, and Jason told her he would give her $20 if she left him her phone number. Well, he must have been pretty cute, or she was pretty hard up for cash, because she did it! It was great. She wrote her name and number on a napkin and left it on his table as we were leaving and he was up for his third or fourth round of dessert. Then we were all out in the parking lot laughing about it and all of a sudden we look up and there he is! He charged right up to the group and looked at her, and said, "Are you Shayna?" So I think it was love. I ducked into the car so I wouldn't have to be a part of it, but I think they may be destined for each other. I mean, how many people can claim they found love at Chuck-a-Rama? Hopefully his girlfriend that works there that he was visiting doesn't feel too bad about it... Anyway, you are probably wondering why the long story, and honestly it is because my kids fell asleep on the way home from Bountiful and they are still asleep and I must be smoking peyote because I am just sitting here blogging and I should be waking them up because hello it is 7:15 and they are NEVER going to go to sleep tonight. The peace and quiet is just so inviting, though.... okay, Seacrest, OUT!
