Monday, December 22, 2008

Chocolate Mug Cake

Jim keeps bringing home goodies from work. I really like it, but the thought of reciprocation totally zipped past my head. Jim finally said, "I feel kind of bad that I didn't get anything for anybody". I interpreted that to mean, "Kathy, how come you didn't make anything for me to give people at work?'. So I made Chocolate Mug Cakes, something I saw at my Mom's house. I got cute Christmas mugs at Kohls, they are 75 percent off and I had a 20 percent off coupon, so they were a couple of dollars each. I put the dry ingredients and recipe in each cup, and put two in a gift bag to give away. I think they are cute.



Here's the recipe. The top recipe goes in each mug. The bottom recipe is the whole thing. I actually put both in the mug, in case they want to make it again.
Chocolate Mug Cake

Pour dry ingredients into a large mug
Mix well and add
1 egg
3 Tablespoons Milk
3 tablespoons liquid oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
Stir well
Add chocolate chips
Stir well and microwave on
high for 2 ½ minutes
Do not overbake.
Microwaves vary in power so you may
have to adjust the time.
Do not be alarmed if the
cake rises over the mug
This cake is very rich.

Chocolate Mug Cake
“The Most Dangerous Cake Recipe in the world”
1 Large Mug
4 Tablespoons Flour
4 Tablespoons Sugar
2 Tablespoons Baking Cocoa
Mix well and add
1 egg
3 Tablespoons Milk
3 tablespoons liquid oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
Stir well
Add chocolate chips
Stir well and microwave on
high for 2 ½ minutes
Do not overbake.
Microwaves vary in power so you may
have to adjust the time.
Do not be alarmed if the
cake rises over the mug
This cake is very rich.

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Shoes

The other day I was having a conversation with my daughter Abby about a new boy she had met. In the course of the conversation she paused, sighed, and said disconcertedly, "I'm trying so hard to judge people by their personalities and not by their shoes".........Well...........I burst out laughing, it was the funniest thing I had heard for ages. Then I realized she was totally serious. You can read her blog for her explanation. She thinks you can tell a lot about a person by the shoes they choose to wear everyday. Anything to do with shoes is totally foreign to me, I am not a shoe person, but Abby's comment stuck in my head as I looked over my own shoe collection.

These are the shoes I wear everyday, summer and winter, to work and play. Notice I have a dressier pair with jewels and a warmer fur-lined pair. What does this say about me?

I don't wear crocs to church though. These are my 10 year old black church shoes. They are a little too small and the heel is off one of them but I consider them still servicable.
Abby made me worried about the impression I was giving people because of my shoes so I bought a new pair of church shoes when I ran into a clearance sale last week. I admit they are pretty cute, I like to look at them, and they look cute on my feet. But I guess I am an inexperienced shoe buyer because when I wore them to church last week, I couldn't keep them on. I had to kind of drag my feet a little to keep them on. It was a lot of work! I had tried them on with bare feet and was wearing nylons to church. I could not walk normally. I finally took off my nylons and was able to finish the day, but even then I was walking a little funny trying to keep them on. I don't think I can wear them again and I can't return them. Maybe Hannah will be able to wear them. Nice try though. Do I get points for trying?



I also bought these little brown shoes. I don't know yet if they will stay on. Basically I'm glad I still have my old black ones. I also tried wearing different shoes for everyday, not crocs. My feet hurt. I think that is why I am not a shoe person. I cannot find cute shoes that fit and are comfortable. I don't mind sacrificing comfort for style once in a while, but not everyday, and not if I have to walk like a dork. I don't know what it says about me, but I am back to my ugly old crocs. Why can't they just make crocs cuter?

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Welcome to the 21st Century

I am in Idaho visiting my mother, introducing her to the 21st Century. She got a computer for Christmas. I bought it and played with it for a couple of weeks and finally worked up the courage to take it to her. I have spent a couple of days teaching her how to use it. Bear in mind, she had never even used a mouse, has no knowledge of computer language or anything.

Doesn't she look like she's really getting it!

I think we have mastered "point and click". She has a hard time finding the big red "X" to get out of a window.






I wrote detailed instructions on accessing the internet, checking email, and writing email. Abby promised to help her more when we go to the cabin. She can get to everybody's blogs so she is caught up on the family. It is nice to have her at my fingertips finally.
Whew......



Friday, December 5, 2008

Truth's #2 and #3

I woke up this morning compelled to write this. I haven't even put my make-up on yet (horrors!) and here I am.
I grew up, as my sweet friend kindly puts it, in the poster family for disfunction. They of course believe they put the "fun" in disfunction. As a small child I always felt there was something better. My Mom was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a Mormon, but was inactive. She took us to primary a couple of times when we were young and I remember every visit, because it felt good to be there. By the time I was 10 I was going to primary regularly, it was on a weekday after school at that time. My parents were divorced and I had a lot of responsibility at home and generally felt fragmented but always felt at peace in church. I began finding rides for myself to get to church on Sunday as well. I would like to say I was welcomed with open arms but the people there didn't know what to do with me. I knew nothing about the Gospel except that I knew it was good and I wanted to be a part of it. I was from a crazy family and church members were pretty nervous about them. I was never invited to girls camp or other things, I think they were worried that I wouldn't feel comfortable there, or that I couldn't afford it, which was true. Not growing up in the church I didn't know I really didn't need to be invited. Even though I felt like an outsider, I knew it was the right place to be and kept going. (Whew, I need to condense this story a little).
I went to BYU because it was the cheapest way to leave home and go to school. I was always very self concious about asking my stepdad for money or anything. He had a way of keeping you in his debt that was very "not good". I loved it there and at the same time felt like a fish out of water. I was so naive about the gospel and the culture of active mormons. I was called as a family home evening leader, having never experienced Family Home Evening. Basically, I blundered through my early years learning how to speak and act, the hard way. I decided somewhere on this journey that the way to be happy and have a great family, was to marry a man who was truly committed to the Gospel, not just a follower, not someone who was wishy-washy about the church, someone who really truly believed it. It is a credit to my strong youthful innocent faith that I believed someone like that would look twice at me. Heavenly Father loved me and helped me find Jim.
We were married in the Oakland Temple less than 6 weeks after he returned from his mission. I waited for him of course, I was still guided by that feeling of knowing what was right and in what direction happiness lies. None of my family was with me in the temple which made the experience bittersweet, but extremely right nonetheless. We had 7 children and I taught them the Gospel while I learned about it myself. Jim was the Priesthood leader I wanted him to be, always leading us in righteousness. I know I have been an anchor in his life, slowing him down, keeping him from reaching his highest potential. I don't do it on purpose. I am still that little girl from the misfit family who knows where she should be, but doesn't know what to do when she is there. I find myself in uncomfortable situations all the time. How do I know how to be a Bishops wife? I am very uncomfortable accompanying Jim to work dinners or activities related to his callings. I never regret going, because I get that sweet feeling that I am in the right place every time. I sometime feel like I don't want to go to church, or read my scriptures etc. But, knowing life from both sides, I cannot deny that Heavenly Father sent the Spirit to me when I was a little child to lead me on this path of righteousness. I cannot deny the truthfullness of the Gospel and its goodness. I can never, ever do anything that would lead my children to think that I am not completely sure that this is the right place to be.
There are a lot of truth's in this very condensed story. Here are just a couple.

#2 Heavenly Father loves even obscure little girls from mixed up families.
#3 The Spirit will always let you know when you are in the right place, even if you are sure you will not be comfortable there.