Dear Lisa,

I'm sorry it has been so long since I last posted. I know you stalk my blog like I stalk your Facebook postings. I appreciate it and it motivates me to keep this up even when I've been away for a while.

I feel like I should give you the run down of what's been going on around here and I suppose that's why I haven't been writing. Getting myself "caught up" on everything I haven't posted would be quite an endeavor. Every time I am tempted to catch up I immediately begin to feel overwhelmed and then I don't want to write. There's just so much! I have to remind myself that, like journal writing, the most important thing is to just start writing. Start right now. Start by telling today's story. So here is today's story:

It was a normal morning. I awoke to a flock of birds singing their hearts out from the branches of the Mango tree outside my window. The already warm Hawaiian breeze across my unblanketed sleepy body tried to keep me in bed but I knew my alarm would be ringing in just 3, no 2 more minutes. Still half asleep I fumbled through my drawers, threw on my quickly fading workout gear and biked over to my friend Jenny's house for our early morning workout.

It is light outside now at about 5:45 in the morning. As I rode my bike home from my tough but uneventful workout I admired the sun shining  behind thick clouds in the Eastern Sky. Silver linings! There were silver linings around the clouds! It caught me off guard. I'd seen them in photos but I don't think I'd ever seen them in person. It was stunning.

Once the kids were off to school and I was showered and dressed for the day I continued my work on Girls Camp. Finalize attendees, schedule, shopping lists. Print instructions, song lyrics, skit ideas. Study for the devotionals. That's what I was supposed to be doing. I spent most my time composing emails confirming arrangements and tracking down supplies. I still have a lot to do but I am confident I can do it. I've been praying a lot.

At noon I realized I had 10 minutes until class started at BYUH. I checked my makeup and hair, found my slippers, purse and keys. I ran down the stairs and outside and realized my car wasn't there. I had forgotten that Dave took it that morning to get supplies for an office breakfast. I turned to grab my bike. It too was gone. Afton's bike is on the brink and she took mine for the 2 mile ride to school. I quickly turned and started walking, the only thing I could do. I was 10 minutes late for my own class.

My students were all busily working when I came in. I made a joke about the teacher being late. They sympathy laughed. We went through our usual beginning of class routine: "Show me what you worked on", "Did the hat get finished?", "How is the Duke's costume coming?", Did anyone find a white handkerchief?" Those were my questions. Then it was their turn. "Sister Dooley, Matilda's nightgown hangs too low should I take up the shoulders?" (yes). "Sis. Dooley, can I cut a hole in this hat so the flower pops out?" (yes). "Sister Dooley, is there a way for us to make this bonnet bigger? How do I keep this hat from falling off the actor? can you approve my final project?" (yes, use skin color elastic, yes).

Once the questions were done I divied up assignments and everyone started working away. By the end of three hours all our costumes were finished, put up into the dressing rooms and the girls had about 45 minutes to work on their final projects. Dr. Ferre (director of the play) came through to ask where a costume piece was and was pleasantly surprised to hear that everything was done. "Can the Actors practice with them tonight?" he asked. "Yes". One week early!

Walked home after class. Two kids home, two stayed after to help teachers clean out their rooms. Kirkham is still working on final projects and is glued to the computer. Tomorrow is the last day of school! Cora is going nuts without any homework. SO MUCH FREEDOM! She quickly finished her chores and took off with her friend Nate to go catch some geckos and steal Mangoes from Nate's well endowed tree.

As for me it's back to the computer. Back to the list of todo's. Back to Girls Camp planning. Until 7 when I'll head back to the University to double check a few costumes on my actors.Their dress rehearsals and opening night are the nights I will be at Girls Camp. I am so nervous that something will go wrong but at the same time I LOVE my student assistant and know she can handle anything. My students are also pretty awesome and they will be there to make sure it looks fabulous (I hope).

Dave serves at the temple tonight so he won't be home. While I am gone the kids will be baking cookies for their Last Day parties. Cora will be finishing a hand made lei for her teacher. Afton will begin making a Love Monster for her friend whose birthday party is Saturday morning.

I am really looking forward to the next few weeks. I will be happy when school is out for the kids, when Girls Camp is over, when the play is done. Next week sometime Dave will be moving into his new office. He just got a new job as an Admissions Officer. He is excited. It will be a good change for him. He likes to stay challenged. Then I will have 2 weeks to get the house ready for our vacation and the family that will be staying here while we are away.

There are so many other things that I'd like to tell you about but my tummy is telling me it is time to make dinner. I am looking forward to seeing you and getting caught up in person. I love seeing the pictures of the kids on Facebook and I love the kids quotes you post. You are always good for a laught. You are an awesome mom and a kind and patient friend. Thanks for reminding me to write. I miss you too!

Dani

Happy, Happy Mother's Day

I had a wonderful Mother's Day. My kids made me my favorite breakfast of yogurt, bananas and granola. We went to church where I was surprised with a beautiful lei from my visiting teacher and some delicious brownies from the bishopric. After church Kirkham made me a delicious lunch of grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup. I took a long nap, lounged around, talked to my parents and Dave's parents. I ate chocolates that my mom sent. I sniffed roses that Dave bought me. I snuggled up with a blanket and pillow that Afton and Cora made me. And then Heath made us a delicious dinner of Mountain Man Breakfast. A perfect day.

For my mother and mother-in-law I sent some funny little gifts. I thought of it last week as I was looking through some ideas for Girls Camp Crafts. I found a picture of a little felt monster with long, long arms. It didn't have eyes or a face just a round white circle at his forehead. He was cute enough but I thought he would be so cute if he had one big eye like Mike Wozowski in Monsters Inc. and then instead of a mouth a big "I love you this much" embroidered across his face. I thought both ladies would get a giggle out of the silly little guy.

This is what they ended up looking like. They are not very big, the body is about palm size. I like the little ears I put on them. Dave suggested I should have put "Eye love you this much" or "Eye love you, I love you" but oh well, I think it's cute like it is. What do you think about my new love monsters?

Daddy's Birthday Ties

My Dad is a tie guy. He wears a tie to work every day. He always wears a tie to meetings and events for church service. Sometimes he'll wear a couple ties in one day (not at the same time). And for as long as I can remember I get him a tie every year for his birthday and for Father's Day. He is always excited to them. He gets a lot of use out of his collection so I never feel bad about getting him another tie and I never feel like I am wasting my time or money. I know he will use it and love it.As you can imagine his collection of ties is very large. 

A couple months ago we received a large flat rate box in the mail. It was a box full of ties. Dad was going through his collection and thinning it out--undoubtedly making room for his new spring installment of gift ties--and sent some of his cast offs to us. Dave and the boys were thrilled! So was I.

The boys went through and picked out the ones that they loved--they are budding tie connoisseurs themselves--and I gathered up the rest and put them in my upcycle pile. I had birthday plans for those ties.

It is very difficult to find the right kind of interfacing to make a good tie. In fact, I have never seen it anywhere. Instead I have found that dismantling old ties and reusing the interfacing is the best way to go. (You may remember that last year we used the discarded tie silk to make tie-dyed eggs.) before discarding the silk I iron it out and use it as a pattern for the new material. It has worked quite well for the couple years I've been doing it and I must say I am starting to get pretty good at it too.

 These are the lovely ties I made for Dad's birthday this year. I purchased the fabric while I was in New York. This is the first time I have used real tie silk. It cost $25 per yard. If it cut it just right I can get two ties out of a yard of fabric. I noticed a huge difference using the tie silk as opposed to the usual satins or cottons or whatever that I have made ties with in the past. The silk just rolls right around the corners just right. It makes a nice smooth edge and it ties so nicely. I had a really hard time spending the money when I was in New York but I am so glad I did. I love working with silk.

 Most store bought ties have a tag on the back side that guys like to tuck their tie tail into. They are also usually lined with a lining at the tips of the ties. I don't have labels to put on my ties and I didn't have a lining that matched so I just used scraps of the material to make the "tag" and to line the tip. I really like the look of it anyways.

Look at that smooth knot! It's so smooth. I love it. And when it's tied in a real knot it's even better.

I talked to Dad last night and though he just got the package on Friday he has already had the opportunity to wear both ties over the weekend. He reports that they feel nice around the neck, tie smoothly and hold the shape perfectly. The true test will be if they are still tying as well next year.

Love you Daddy and Happy Birthday!

Un-banquet

At Kahuku High and Intermediate it is tradition to have a fun activity (AKA banquet) for each grade level at the end of the year. We are quickly nearing the end of the year, only two weeks of school left, and today was the 7th grade banquet.

Afton didn't go to the banquet for several reasons. 1-It was being held downtown at a hotel. 2-it was being held in the nightclub of the hotel. 3-Said hotel nightclub has a bar area (of course the bar wouldn't be open but still) and a dance floor with poles and cages. WHAT?! Yes, you read that right. 4-The banquet was a dance and we don't allow our kids to go to dances until they are 14. Not even church dances.

Fortunately I was not the only parent who felt that the planned 7th grade activity wasn't an appropriate one. We found a group of like minded families and put together a more age appropriate activity. Yep, we let our kids skip the banquet (did I mention that the dance party in the hotel club was during school hours--so weird) and we took them shopping.

We started the morning at our house for a hearty breakfast of pancakes and eggs and fruit and even splurged and bought them milk to drink with their breakfast. Afton was showing off how hungry she was in this silly picture of the kids.

After breakfast we loaded into our cars and drove the 45 minutes to the nearest mall in Kaneohe. We spent the time shopping and browsing. Some of the kids played putt putt golf. We admired the animals at the pet shop. Took pictures in the silly photo booth. Ate lunch at the food court and had ice cream at Ben & Jerry's. We even watched a movie in the car on the way there and back: "Princess Bride". I love that show and so did the girls.

They had so much fun and I was tired when I got home. Glad I could spend some time with my daughter and her friends.

Friendship

Oh the comfort-the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person,
Having neither to weigh thoughts,
Nor measure words--but pouring them
All right out--just as they are--
Chaff and grain together--
Certain that a faithful hand will
Take and sift them--
Keep what is worth keeping--
And with the breath of kindness
Blow the rest away.

--Dinah Maria Mulock Craik

Open Mouth Insert Foot

I don't know how I do it so often, especially considering I'm not much of a talker. Such embarrassingly stupid things come out of my mouth sometimes. I can hear what I am saying and I know what I mean but oh, please, stop, stop, stop. Nope. It came out all wrong. It seems I am on a roll this month.

A conversation gone wrong with a sister in my ward, an ill-worded email, and a very awkward telephone conversation. I don't know how to take it back or make sure what I said wasn't misunderstood without sounding even stupider.

So now I am stuck here with these conversations churning through my head, agonizingly taunting me along with the armfulls of other similar memories. That stupid thing I said to a boy in 5th grade and then ran. The question I misunderstood at the High School cafeteria table, answered and turned beet red when I realized what the real question had been. The really strange conversation about religion on a flight to California. Stupid gossip I accidentally and loosely let slip during a visiting teaching visit. The Relief Society lesson I taught  where I inadvertently quoted Homer Simpson. The list goes on and on but I'll try to stop beating myself up and pray that either 1-the other people weren't even listening anyways or 2-they are forgiving people who let it go.

Plans for the week

Monday- I've got a lot of stuff to catch up on today. I need to finish up my dad's birthday present and the mother's day gifts for my mom and Dave's mom. All these should have been in the mail on Saturday. Hopefully I can get them sent off today. When those are done I need to pay bills and do some planning for Young Women's camp. I have a pattern to make for a customer also. I am probably biting off too much today. Tonight is Family Home Evening and the weather isn't supposed to be good so we will most likely not be surfing. Maybe we'll have a game night. Dinner tonight will be fast and easy: Macaroni and Cheese, Kielbasa Sausage, Steamed Broccoli and a tossed salad

Tuesday- I'm teaching today at BYU. I need to remember to take a disk of past show pictures into my assistant so she can upload them on our newly created Costume Shop facebook page. I also need to finish building my online gradebook, grade the first two assignments that were turned in last week, and order 3 men's costumes from a tux shop in Arizona. Relief Society is tonight and it is a dinner. I will instruct the kids to make themselves so Quesadillas and to be sure to finish up the fresh guac and salsa from Sunday

Wednesday- Yeah! Not much going on today so this will be my catch up day. If I don't have anything else to do (ha) I will make a couple of Aloha Shirts for Dave. I have been hired to make 20 Aloha Shirts for the Shaka Steel Band at BYU Hawaii. They are waiting for the fabric to come in. In the mean time I want to practice making a couple and get a good procedure down that will make it quicker and easier to put them all together. Dave will get my two practice shirts. Dinner tonight will be something nice: Pork Loin, mashed potatoes, brussells sprouts and salad.

Thursday- I will be taking Afton and her friends into town for an Un-Banquet Celebration. We should be back by 3 and then Afton and I will be doing baking for her bake sale on Friday to raise money for Girl's Camp. Thursday is always Dave's Temple Night. Tonight's dinner will have to be simple and since Dave will be gone we can do something he hates: Meatless Spaghetti, green beans and salad.

Friday-I am substitute teaching today, Afton's bake sale is this afternoon and Heath and Kirkham are going on an Order of the Arrow campout tonight so they will be gone. And it is Grandpa Bob's birthday! We will have to make a cake or cupcakes, something that will still be good tomorrow when the boys get home. Only a few of us will be home so we will finish up the cheese ravioli that is in the freezer. Toss it with a little oil and pesto and served with sauteed peppers and zuccini.

Saturday- This Saturday morning Dave and Afton and I will be going on a hike with the Young Women from the ward, the 1st year certification hike.  Since the boys will be at their campout that means Cora will probably hike with us too. On the way home we'll grab slurpees at 7-11 and then the rest of the day we have no plans. The truck needs to be washed. We may do some yard work, housework or some surfing. Probably a little of each. Even when there's nothing officially planned Saturday's are always busy and by the end of the day I rarely feel like cooking. Tonight will be a choose-your-own-adventure night. Basically everyone fends for themselves by eating leftovers, making a sandwich, pouring a bowl of cereal or going hungry.

Sunday- Mother's Day! Dave will be in charge of dinner tonight and I will rest and enjoy my day off.

Churros

Tonight I made Chicken Enchiladas and served it on a bed of rice and cabbage with cilantro for garnish.  On the side was fresh made salsa and guacamole and our favorite lime and salt tortilla chips. We drank cold Horchata with a little extra cinnamon. Dave said, and the kids echoed, "This is like eating at a Mexican Restaurant."  Music to my ears. It probably helped that today was Fast Sunday and no one had eaten since dinner last night but nevertheless everyone walked away happy and full.

As if that wasn't good enough Cora and I surprised everyone with fresh fried Churros. This was an experiment for us since we'd never done it before and it was surprisingly easy and absolutely delicious. They disappeared pretty fast.

The chicken enchiladas were made using the recipe on the back of the Old El Paso Enchilada sauce can so nothing tricky or special about those but the churro recipe I got off a Mexican recipe blog that I like, Rockin Robin's Mexican Recipes. I've made a few of her recipes and they always turn out good.

This is her recipe for Churros. (Be sure to follow the link to her page to get details and tips that will make it easier on you):

Scrumptious Churro Recipe

 Ingredients: 1 cup water 2 Tbs brown sugar 1/2 tsp. salt 1/3 cup butter 1 cup white flour 2 eggs 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract 1/4 cup sugar 1/2 to 1 tsp. ground cinnamon, depending on taste

Directions: Preheat 1 1/2 to 2 inches of vegetable oil in a 10 to 12 inch frying pan to 375 degrees F. In a separate dish mix the 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon and set aside. In a 3 qt. sauce pan add the water, brown sugar, salt, and butter and heat to a good boil. Remove from the heat and add the flour. Stirring in the flour will take some muscle. Mix it in until well blended. In a separate bowl, mix the eggs and vanilla together and then add this mixture to the flour mixture. Stir until well blended and all the egg is completely mixed in.

 Fill your decorating tool with the churro recipe dough and attach the largest star tip you have. Test your oil by placing a small amount of dough in it. The dough should bubble up right away or that means the oil is not hot enough and a soggy churro is on the way. Once the oil is hot enough, squeeze some dough (with decorator) into the oil about 4 inches long. I used my finger to release the dough from the decorator. Careful not to burn yourself. You should be able to cook 4 or 5 churros at a time. Cook them about 1 minute and turn them over with a slotted spoon. Cook an additional minute or two. You're looking for that nice golden brown color. Remove the churros with the slotted spoon and place them on a paper towel-covered plate to absorb excess grease. While still warm, roll each churro into the dish with the sugar and cinnamon until coated.

Impossible is Nothing

“Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.”

 ―Muhammad Ali