Mmmm.....Breakfast

What is the worst thing you've had for breakfast?  I'll get the ball rolling....

Skittles!  I ate a half a bag of Skittles.  True, we didn't have any breakfast food, but I live right across the street from "Selecto Supermarket"! I  could've ran over to pick up something slightly more healthy.

 Oye vey!  I am going to pay for this later.  

It amazes me sometimes how much I abuse my body, but it is so forgiving. It still let's me breath, walk, dance with ease (although today it might be a brisker "sugar-high" walk!).

This cycle reminds me of forgiveness.  

We have agency to choose. 

We then sometimes choose poorly, which then makes us or those around us miserable.  

We feel remorse.

We ask for forgiveness 

It is freely given.

And even after all that, we STILL have our agency.  I don't know, if I gave somebody a gift and then they misused and came running to me for help to fix it, I'd be pretty upset and apt to never give them that same gift ever again, because they'd screw it up!

Thank goodness I'm not in charge of the universe.  Obviously Heavenly Father wants me to learn something.  I suppose he knows something I do not.   Glad it's in his hands.

So......

Skittles = 1          Anna=0

I've learned my lesson.  Skittles are not "Part of a complete breakfast"!

Tis the season to ignore your blogging

Sorry for my lack of blogging. I will return, honest! Stay tuned...

Just Thinking...

of all the memories from Christmases (sp? is that word?) past and my thoughts are turned to my wonderful family (naturally).  So just as a warning I'm going to trail off about things we baked for Christmas, presents we gave/received, service we rendered, etc.

I remember...

All the family dressing up in purple clothing.  Joel and Dad "picked up" a purple frosted Christmas tree from that empty lot by our house and then talking about purple things at dinner time.  I remember doing this whole charade for my oldest brother, Christian.

I remember...

Walks around the Arizona Temple to see the Christmas lights.  And then watching Luke II in the visitors center.

I remember...

My brother Joel, working very long and hard to make me my very first Barbie Doll house. It was blue with a brown roof and brown carpet samples on the floor of the house.

 I remember loving it!

I remember...

My mom letting me "buy" (she paid for it, but my name was on the label) a pink-flowered afghan for my sister as a Christmas present.  

I remember...

The Christmas that Joel wore his baby blue long underwear on Christmas morning.  Sprockets!

"Touch my monkey!"

I remember...

Eating pancakes with peanut butter and syrup and french toast with powdered sugar for Christmas breakfast.

I remember...

My dad dressing up as Santa Clause for the Episcopal church and going with him to their little church party.  I also remember feeling jealous that all those kids were sitting on MY dad's lap.

I remember...

The night that Joel, Cecily and I all got up at the same time to go to the bathroom the eve of Christmas.  I remember us giggling with excitement as we passed each other in the hallway.

I remember...

My mom scolding me for whining about presents and reminding me why we celebrate Christmas.

I remember...

When we were making Divinity for our neighbors, mom accidently pulled the hand-mixer out of the bowl while it was still spinning.  I remember her having white specks on her hair and and glasses.  Her first response--laughing her head off!

I remember...

Doing service projects to people outside our family, but I can't remember what we did in particular as a family...sad, I know.

I remember...

Warmth, thoughtfulness, kindness, gratitude, love, tenderness and the spirit of the season!

Botching, yet another, Christmas Song

My hubby's brother found this hilarious rendition of "The First Noel" by the beloved Animaniacs!
So I will give you the lyrics and you just place it with the melody and you get a very delightfully clever song.

To spell Santa's name is easy to do
You write S A N T and another A, too
But no L, no L, Santa's name has no L
And he won't be too pleased if you don't learn to spell

Jack and Jill went up a hill to fetch water from a well
But when neither one could find it, Jill started to yell
No well, no well, can't believe there's no well
We walked all the way here and I'm mad, can't you tell?

Captain Ahab took his crew, his harpoon and set sail
And he called out to ships, 'Have you seen the white whale?'
No whale, no whale, we ain't seen no whale
Saw a couple of dolphins, and a big yellow tail

If you've listened to this tune, then you probably can tell
That you've heard it before, it's a song you know well
Know well, know well, it's a song you know well
And we've ruined it completely, so we all say 'Oh well'

Oh well, oh well, We'll just say 'Fare thee well'
And Merry Christmas to you, and a Joyous Noel


Since I'm being irreverent, I thought this was kind of funny...poor santa

Getting to know my Christmas Style

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I love wrapping presents! I feel so cheated when I can't rummage through an old pile of torn boxes, only to find that the top of the box is missing. And then find out that I didn't cut the right size of wrapping paper so then I have to cut strips to go into the exposed areas where the larger wrapping piece didn't cover, and to try to perfectly fold the sides of the paper to make it look clean and discover that I left the tape in the other room...I just don't like the simplicity of gift bags.

2. Real tree or artificial? Well if I could afford a real tree that would be my first pick, but our adorable 2 foot artificial tree is doing a great job holding up our ornaments and lights. And the Christmas tree scented candle I bought does the job.

3. When do you put up the tree? This year is was 2 days after Thanksgiving

4. When do you take the tree down? Usually around New Year's

5. Do you like eggnog? I'll taste a little each Christmas, but I'm a big Hot Chocolate drinker

6. Favorite gift received as a child? I have two: The Barbie Doll house that my brother built and the homemade dress ups my sister made

7. Do you have a nativity scene? Yup: 1 mini size, one orb-looking one, and one Veggietales nativity

8. Hardest person to buy for? My brothers

9. Easiest person to buy for? My nieces

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Luckily, I missed out on any bad gifts.

11. Mail or email Christmas cards? This year I'm trying to make all my Christmas cards and then send them in the mail.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? I love ELF! And a Christmas story is a classic! But Charlie Brown Christmas is good too. Hmm....

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? December

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? I'm sure I have

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Holy Smokes! What don't I eat. Popcorn, candy canes, peppermint bark, divinity, cookies...I have no shame.

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? colored

17. Favorite Christmas song? I Heard the Bells on Chrismtas Day

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Now that I'm married an both our families live on the other side other of the US, we travel.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Of course I can! Who doesn't! There's Sleepy, Sleazy, Cupid, DonJaun, Dopey, Blitzen, Flashy, Snazzy, and John Wayne.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? I grew up with a beautiful ceramic angel on our tree. Now I have a giant red star on our tiny tree. I like both.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? On Christmas Morning!

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? In NYC, it's the congestion on the Subway that is a bummer. Not only are there MORE people crammed into a subway car, they all have huge bags of Christmas presents.

23. What I love most about Christmas? Christmas songs, Service projects, traditions, decorations, Christmas lights at the temple, the birth of my Savior.

Pain in the Butt! (or tooth, head, foot, back, etc)

Ok. I'm just curious and want to take a poll of what kind of pain is the worse pain.
As of late, I've been dealing with chronic back, hip and shoulder pain and now my teeth are starting to give me hard time, due to a wisdom tooth growing in wonky (it's a real word!) and a possible cavity. Then I found a zit on my forehead that is big and swollen. Ga!

Woe is Me! I do want you to know that I AM grateful for my generally well-functioning body, and am also grateful that I can move, think, and speak with ease. It's just that now that I've been hurting for about week and half, I'm getting a little grouchy. And besides, it's MY blog, I'll cry it I want to!

Anyway, I'm still curious as to what people think is the worst kind of pain. (And maybe some really interesting stories will come out of this too)

1. Toothache (ranging from a cavity to an absess)

2. Migraine Headache

3. A Blind Pimple

4. A Boil on your posterior

5. Menstral Cramps

6. A blister on your foot or hand

7. Pink eye

8. A sliver in your pinky

9. Gas pain/stomach ache

10. Lower back and hip pain

Let me know if I forgot something...
(I intentionally left out "Giving Birth", because I would imagine that that is going to be unanimous among the mothers who read this blog. Although I've heard that giving birth is quite a bit like pulling your bottom lip up and over your head.)

Christmas Time is here!

We did it! We put up our Christmas decorations! I was so excited that I started taking pictures of the decor. And then, I was delighted to see that Leslie had posted pictures of her Christmas decorating, so...Here we are, ENJOY:

L-R: Got the Snowman at a $1 store. Notice our cute 2 ft
tree and stockings.

A little nostalgic photo of the tree.
And a close up of one of our ornaments.

Close up of our 2 inch tall Nativity and our Orb Nativity.
Oh and pine cones!

A perspective picture of the Decor and then some close ups.

"Happiness and Cheer!"

Todays Top 20

This list isn't in any particular order. I just wanted to express my gratitude for only a few things . Because I know I have much more to be thankful for...

Things I am grateful for:

1-Memories of past Thankgivings
2-Grandma Evan's delicious pumpkin pie recipe
3-Food that is both delicious and healthy
4-My body
5-Knowledge
6-Random and friendly conversations with strangers
7-Cool Fall days
8-Walks through the park
9-Cell phones/email
10-The convenience of hot running water and indoor toilets
11-The comfort of knowing that I am loved
12-The "Botts Family Gratitude" jar my sister-in-law shared with me, which
also prompted me to write this list
13-The knowledge that I have a support group that knows me so well that I
hardly have to finish sentences and that they are as weird as me!
(AKA : MY FAMILY!)
14-The wisdom and honesty of little nieces and nephews
15-Underwear
16-My husband
17-Foot Rubs
18-The reading and writing of Blogs
19-The Gospel
20-Laughing until it hurts or loss of bladder control

De-Lish Dish!

I found this soup on epicurious.com. It's a delightful fall-appropriate soup. Be sure to get the Parmisian cheese. It's the perfect topper (I didn't stir it into the soup, as the recipe suggests)! And instead of Sage I used Thyme (dried).

Butternut Squash and White Bean Soup

1 large garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 small butternut squash (1 lb), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (2 cups)
13/4 cups chicken broth (14 fl oz)
2 cups water
1 (16- to 19-oz) can white beans (preferably cannellini), rinsed and drained
2 canned whole tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh sage
1 oz finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1/2 cup) plus additional for serving
1/4 cup hulled green pumpkin seeds (not roasted; optional)


Cook garlic in 1 tablespoon oil in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until golden, about 1 minute. Add squash, broth, water, beans, tomatoes, and sage and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until squash is tender, about 20 minutes. Mash some of squash against side of saucepan to thicken soup. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup cheese and salt to taste.

While soup is simmering, cook pumpkin seeds in remaining tablespoon oil in a small skillet over moderately low heat, stirring, until seeds are plump and lightly toasted, 2 to 4 minutes. Season with salt.

Serve soup sprinkled with pumpkin seeds and additional cheese.

Hope you like it!

KEY-UTE!

Tressa Jane duPont

I can't help it. I'm a proud aunt. Not that I don't have other cute nieces and nephews, but I have yet to see this one in person. And come on, these pictures are CUTE!

I Heart Costco

Today, mom and I ventured out to Costco to fill up my 1 square foot X 2 feet deep "old lady cart" (that link connects you to a pic I found when I typed "old lady cart" in google. I guess that's really the official name).

It's moments like these that I wish I lived in Suburbia and had a car that I could load and unload stuff.

Taking a trip out to Costco, goes something like this:

Start:
Take the A train downtown from Dyckman-200th St to 57th St. (a total of 143 Streets)
Walk up the stairs out of the subway station and begin walking East on 57th, to 7th Ave
At 7th Ave, walk downstairs into the NQRW station and catch the N or W train
Get out of N/W train at Broadway (now in Queens) and walk down a long stairwell (about 3 flights) to street
Begin walking West on Broadway (or take the Q104 bus) to Vernon Boulevard, 5 blocks away

After 150+ streets and 8 avenues, and a 50 minute train ride, you have arrived at Costco. Hooray! You may now begin your Costco experience. Go eat a hot dog. Or maybe a frozen yogurt, because you'll need the extra energy for the trip back, when you're carrying 60lbs worth of groceries up and down stairs, in and out of crowed subways and on and off buses.

But, alas. I love Costco and it's large quantities.

Just for Fun!

Ya know, it's amazing what you'll come up with when you are bored and have a camera in your hand. Well the first 3 pictures I took my self, but then mom came in and snapped the rest! My neck was sore and I had a small headache, but I think it was worth it.

It's fun when mom comes for a visit!

Ah poo

I did it again! Grrrr....I wrote a super long post and pushed Save as Draft, thinking it meant Save now. So does anyone now how I retrieve those drafts? Or is it a lost cause? Sheesh!!

What is it about this day?

Sorry this blog is delayed. But, thanks to my clever sister, Leslie, it is here.
*****************************************************************
November 4th 2007

Today turned out to be an eventful day. Well, eventful in that there are quite a few events to be celebrated on this day, November 4th.

For instance, today is the NYC Marathon, a big event in which people from all over the world, who have trained for months and months, come to NYC and run in a 26.2mile race around all 5 boroughs. You should check out the history of Marathon racing. My best friend, Shelley participated in this year's marathon. She also fundraised $2,000 towards a cancer research foundation and ran for the team. I am so proud of her!

Today is my dear friend's, Julia, birthday! Julia married another friend of mine, Daniel, then moved to Atlanta for a job. I really miss them. They used to be so close to where we live. Just 5 blocks from our apartment! Julia is now 24 years old.

Another wonderful person in my life is also celebrating on this day. Andra Michelle Mahoney married Robert (insert middle name---I know he has one!) Mahoney, on November 4th 2005.

They are celebrating their second year together. They are living, working, and going to school in Virginia. They want to get pregnant this coming January. Andra and Robert can't wait to be parents! They'll be the best!!


Today I was called to be a Primary teacher to the 8 year olds.
Which should be something I can actually do, because the kids speak both english AND spanish.
Let's hope they'll humor me as I try to practice my spanish!

November 4th: A good day!

Saturday at the Market

Despite living in the city, New Yorkers are big advocates of going green. So, they've set up markets where local farmers can sell produce, fresh meat, and organic products to the desperate city folk! There are farmer's markets all over the 5 boroughs, but the largest one in Manhattan is in Union Square. My task was to find butternut squash and apples. I found everything I needed, including some delicious zuchinni bread.
(I can't resist baked goodies)

You can also participate by bringing your compost heap to the market. I guess you can make compost in NYC! Maybe people with small yards or rooftop gardens.

This is me trying to take some pretty pictures.
It was a perfect cloudy day!

Pink Lady, McInstosh, Macoun, Matsu, Golden Delicious, Cortland.....

A Fall Sunset

This looked like the perfect sunset for the beginning of fall. The sky was beautiful yellow/orange color. Like fall leaf.
This is the view from our living room window if you were to stick your head out and look left.

Your looking out on to Dyckman Street (or 200th-we live way up at the top of Manhattan).

Now imagine, reggaeton playing in the background, cars honking, and people from the street, laughing/talking loudly. And there's home!

You can see Fabco Shoes and Always hair salon supply store in the background.

Despite the noise I just described, it's actually really quiet in our apartment. Although, if I wake up in the middle of the night I can here my neighbor above us snoring! Kind of funny.

A beautiful orange horizon
And a lovely crooked picture
(rememeber I had to open a window to take a quick picture. It was cold!)

My Mother-in-Law

A California Native and Hippie

Mother of 3 boys and 1 girl

Sings and Dances in risque shows, such as "Follies Brassiere" a show about women going through The Change

And now it's come to this...

---THE BIKER CHICK!

Happy Halloween!

'Ward' off the Trick or Treaters!

Yesterday was our Ward Halloween Party. It was a fun, loud, cute, sugary good time!
Since, we don't live in the 'Burbs, trick or treating is a little more difficult. Kid's can't really go from apartment to apartment in their building and beg for candy. That's just dangerous.

Instead, families either have parties or get together with their friends with children and trick or treat at each other's home. I've heard, in some neighborhoods (probably the really nice one's), kid's will go to the nearby department stores/grocery stores to trick-o-treat. Although, that sounds kind of lame to me.

But the Mormon kids have a rockin good time, trick or treating at the church. Families volunteer to take a class room, dress it up with Halloween decor, and pass out candy to all the adorable, greedy trick or treaters. We also had a dinner of goblin fingers (carrots), blood and guts (spaghetti and red sauce), and witches eyeballs (purple grapes). There were also games to play and movies to watch! So much to do!

Now, onto the pictures!

I must tell you, I'm a terrible picture taker. TERRIBLE! So my pictures are poorly lit, blurry and awkwardly posed. I'm telling you so you won't get frustrated and that you know how hard I work to make a terrible picture!

As you already know, I dressed up as silent film star, Mildred Davis. So I studied, the art of Finger Waving, and this is what I came up with...

Here is a picture of the weak fingerwaves I came up with. It's not easy!

Below is a pic of the lace I used for the collar on my dress. This pic is mostly for my mom.

And of course a picture of the couple:

When I grow up...(pbbbbft...yeah right!)

I've decided what I'm going to be for Halloween! My costume is homage to the wonderful world of silent film stars! I'm going as Mildred Davis. She was Harold Lloyd's leading lady in all of his comedic silent films. And then, Nathan is going as Harold Lloyd! The two silent films stars later married and had 2 children. So we thought it cute to go as a pair!

Although, Davis and Lloyd's marriage and lives ended with workaholism, infidelity, alcoholism, depression and a coronary, we in no way uphold and esteem their actions by our dressing up as them.


But Hey! It should be fun! Here are some pictures from their Happy Times...

Oh my!

I wish THIS was as healthy as.....













THIS!!!!!!










I'm never buying candy corn, again (or at least until next year).