YEA!!!!

Finally, my computer was fixed Friday. Well, it works anyway. It could definitely use a tune up... Anyway, I hope Thanksgiving was great for everyone. We had a great day. I am in a hurry, will post pics later, Thanksgiving and Sydney's birthday. Her party is tomorrow, so I will post after so they are all on the slide show. No worries for those who do not like music that starts up as soon as you go to a page, Syd does not have any favorite music yet (not even from me :))

Thanksgiving Favorites

I had so many recipes to post, but I forgot which ones! So here are the ones I can remember.

First off, Pie Crust. This recipe is from "Good Home Cooking: Highland 4th ward"
and the person who listed it (Dorte Anderson), said it was a Martha Stewart recipe for "Pate Brisee"

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp granulated sugar
1 cup Butter (2 sticks), cut into small pieces
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

Secrets to a good pie crust: Chilled ingredients and chilled dough. I have never done this, but I am sure it helps ;).
Put flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor. All ingredients should be cold. Add the butter pieces and process approximately 10 seconds or until it resembles coarse meal (I am old fashioned, I guess, and just use my pastry blender). Add ice water drop by drop while machine is running- just until dough holds together without being wet or sticky; do not process more than 30 seconds. Roll dough out on a piece of Saran Wrap; press down slightly. Chill for at least one hour. Makes two 8-10 inch tarts or single pie crusts.

My favorite pie is pumpkin and this is even better- Pumpkin Cheesecake.
My mom made this for many years. She told me she got it from the Deseret News a number of years ago, so being the lucky girl I am, I logged into Jody's system and searched until I found it. I do not know who the creator is.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

1 deep dish pie crust

A)1 8 oz pkg cream cheese
1/4 c sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg

B) 1 c plain pumpkin
1/3 c sugar
1/3 tsp ginger
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
dash of salt
2 eggs, slightly beaten
5 oz evaporated milk

Preheat oven and baking sheet to 350 degrees.
In a small bowl, combine ingredients 'A.' Beat until creamy, then spread in bottom of unbaked pie crust.
In a medium bowl (or if you are lazy, like me, rinse the other out), combine ingredients 'B.' Pour over (but slowly, so the layers stay separate) the cream cheese mixture.
Bake on the baking sheet for 50-55 minutes. Take out at 55 minutes, even if it does not seem done because it will set up after cooling down.


I don't really like apple pie, never have. But I love the Food Network, and I like Tyler Florence, and watched him make the Ultimate Caramel Apple Pie. So I tried it. My way. If you want to try his version, look up that recipe on www.foodnetwork.com.
I use his recipe as a basic outline and used my own caramel recipe, and added a secret ingredient. I could not tell exacts or anything, so if you want to try this, use his. I have to say that I ate half this pie myself. I also received many compliments the other times I have made it.

"Olive Garden" Spinach Artichoke Dip (who knows, I found it on the internet)

8 oz cream cheese
1 14 oz can artichoke hearts, chopped
1/2 c spinach, chopped and well drained
1/4 c mayonnaise
1/4 c Parmesan cheese
1/4 c Romano cheese
1 clove garlic
1/2 T dry basil (1 tsp fresh)
1/4 c mozzarella cheese
1/4 tsp garlic salt
salt and pepper

* I like the spinach and artichoke hearts to be almost pureed, no chunks.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (when ready to bake).
Cream together the mayo, cream cheese, Parmesan, Romano, garlic, basil, and garlic salt. Mix well. Add the artichoke hearts and spinach and mix until well blended.
Store in a container until ready to use.
Spray pan w/ cooking spray and pour dip in. Top with mozzarella cheese.
Bake for 25 minutes, or until top is lightly browned. Serve with toasted bread (or tortilla chips, crackers, whatever).

I get requests and usually end up making this year after year. I like to use my Pampered Chef food chopper to get the artichokes and spinach pretty fine, but still some texture. Otherwise, the food processor works fine. If you like it just chopped, then don't even worry about either of those!

Do I really talk like that?

Actually, I know the answer to that question. I guess it is more like "Am I willing to stop talking like that?" Well, not quite yet, but soon. Ethan is funny. We were at Target, getting into the car, and a car pulled into the stall next to us. They even puuled in slow. Ethan yelled "you scare me outta crap!" It actually took me a second to figure out what he said, and I about died laughing. The way heh said it was hilarious. Then I asked him if he meant, "You scared the crap out of me!" He said that the rest of the night. He even added a few "Oh my Gosh!"'s to the mix. Funny to hear from a three year old.

Wierd Sleeper

I have no idea why that slide show is being dumb, but you can click on the view all images button and it will show you the whole slide show.
I was also thinking-- yesterday, the 18th, when I finally posted Ethan's slide show.... well that was actually the day he was going to be born. Let me explain. Oh, at like 36 weeks (not really sure), the doctor informed us that he was breech ( I had actually thought his head was up by my ribs for a while, turned out I was right). So, the next visit, she confirmed and we made an appoinment to try to turn him. I would go in, get an epidural, she would try to move him and if that worked, she'd induce me. If not, I would have a c-section. Either way, I would have him on November 18th. Well, his birthday is the week before, so he chose to come earlier. Kind of interesting, all the dates you get used to while you are pregnant.
If I had my normal computer, I would be able to post a photo and you could see what I am talking about. Every night before I go to bed, one of my nightlt riuals is to check on my kids. I look in on Syd then Ethan. Well, E is a goofy sleeper. He sleeps with goggles on, buckets on his head, half on the bed (with the rail of teh bed being the part under him...). He just sleeps wierd. Well, a good porion of the times I go check on him, he is under his bed! You could say there is obviously no fear of monsters under there! I don't know how he does it because there is not much space. So, every night, I go in and check on him and make sure he is in his bed, head on the pillow, with his blankets on him and whatever the attachment of the moment is by his side.

Three Years of Ethan

FINALLY! Happy Birthday, Babes!

Ethan is such a great boy. He has a fun personality, loves to laugh and have a good time. He is really smart and has a great memory-- sometimes it gets me into trouble! We are so blessed to have him in our lives. Having him in my life has required me to stretch and grow and be a better person. While that is not my favorite thing to do (ha ha) I am grateful for it, too.

What do you feel guilty for today?

I am happy to be able to get online, since my abilities to these days seem rare! Hopefully the tech to fix our computer will call Monday, cause this really sucks. Try not having your normal computer over two birthdays and a major holiday! I even had to go to Smith's on a Sunday because my camera's memory card was full and it was Ethan's birthday celebration- I needed to upload the pics to a CD in the photo lab so I could take pics of the rest of the night! What else was I suppose to do? These things are important... Anyway, I just need my computer back and I am not a very patient individual. Oh yeah, turns out I had to buy a new memory card (good thing they had some for $5) because most of my card was filled with video files, which do not transfer at Smith's or Costco, or wherever. So then I had to borrow my sister's laptop and upload my two memory cards and then burn a CD. The things that we do to preserve memories!
So I am sure some of you can relate to this one-- Sydney has a terrible diaper rash. My kids have toxic poop and when that chooses to come out, nothing makes their butts feel better. In fact, if you were outside of my house when I was trying to change her diaper, you would think I was torturing her. She was screaming SO LOUD! I felt terrible! So that is my guilty moment for the day, making my baby girl scream so loud that I felt like she was being tortured.

Exciting...

Yeah, not so much. I am so tired, I can barely keep my eyes open. My creative energy is zapped.

I guess I could report that Tres Chic now has a booth at the Provo Quilted Bear. One of these days maybe we will have a booth at the one in Midvale. We are looking into Las Vegas too. I need an excuse to go there a few times a year!
I have been working on some more picture frames and I am excited to get them finished. On that note, I have been working on a couple mirrors also. The glass was not cut small enough (for frames too) and sanding takes FOREVER. It is a very tedious thing and that has been cause for me putting it off, but I am almost finished.
I must give a shout out to those who have come and supported our efforts. Thanks!

I am working on a blog for our stuff, so I will have that link soon too. The next show we are doing is in Spanish Fork and that same weekend in Ephraim. This boutique life that we have been living has been crazy, hectic, and fun. I am so glad we have participated and hope we have all the kinks (or at least a lot) worked out and we will be even better at this next year.