The “Daddy Girl”

I came out of the laundry room one day long ago, to find my, then, 2-1/2 year old dressed in her dad’s shirt. She pretended for a good hour that she was the “daddy girl.” She got a bowl and acted like she was eating cereal at the table. Then she sat on the floor and read the paper. The best part was when she climbed up to the desk to “do daddy work.” That consisted of writing dozens of numbers on a tiny pieces of paper and putting them in envelopes. She said she was “writing money.”  What a great profession.

At last, she informed me that she had to drive to McDonald’s, so, she got up in the big chair and rocked back and forth and back and forth until she came pretty close to warp speed.  So many hysterical parallels–to our real life and she picked up on them so young. No secrets from this kid.

Personally, I was impressed that she got the shirt buttons right!

Bella’s Birthday

Our cute friend JorDan is quite the party girl, so she decided to throw a lovely little bash before our Eclipse movie premier.  The theme was “Bella’s Birthday” of course.

All the right people came out of the shadows…

and Bella’s gifts were perfect. Here’s her new car stereo from Emmett…

the photo album from her mom…

and camera from Charlie.

My daughter even made the cake.

We ate Face Punch popcorn…

and bitten cookies, and watched the Twilight New Moon movie on the side of Jordan’s house. Good friends, good food and tons of fun.

Simply perfect!

Happy Birthday Bella!!

Summer Garden Salad

Ok, ok…I admit it. None of this actually came from my real live garden…yet.

Oh, but it will. Soon…very soon.

And when it does–

oh…my-my.

Summer Garden Salad

Ingredients:

Roma tomatoes–cut in chunks

Cucumbers–seeded and cut in chunks

Snap Peas

Ranch Dressing

Italian Dressing

Shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:

There are no amounts listed because it’s all relative. Normally, if I’m making this just for me–I’ll cut up one cucumber, 2 tomatoes, add a handful of Snap pea pods and toss. Mix equal amounts of Ranch and Italian dressing together and drizzle lightly over vegetables. Sprinkle with shredded Parmesan cheese.

This is one salad that stores and travels much better than wilty old lettuce. In fact, it will just make you glad to be alive.

Oh, and Michele M. and Patty Ann–this recipe was for your suggestion to use veggies and snap peas. Hope you like it.
Summer Garden Salad
 
:
Ingredients
  • Roma tomatoes--cut in chunks
  • Cucumbers--seeded and cut in chunks
  • Snap Peas
  • Ranch Dressing
  • Italian Dressing
  • Shredded Parmesan cheese
Instructions
  1. There are no amounts listed because it's all relative.
  2. Normally, if I'm making this just for me--I'll cut up one cucumber, 2 tomatoes, add a handful of cut up snap pea pods and toss.
  3. Mix equal amounts of Ranch and Italian dressing together and drizzle lightly over vegetables. Sprinkle with shredded Parmesan cheese.

Five Things Bringing Me Joy

Here are a few things bringing me joy right this very minute. It never ceases to amaze me how our gratitude blossoms when we focus on the good things right in front of us.

Lovely, orderly grow boxes.

Cheesy Egg Bake…it’s not just for breakfast anymore.

Sweet friends who throw incredible birthday parties for beloved characters–more on this later!

Chamomile growing outside my window.

A very hard working son and his return home.

So…what brings you joy?

 

Timetable

“Patience is tied very closely to faith in our Heavenly Father. Actually, when we are unduly impatient, we are suggesting that we know what is best—better than does God. Or, at least, we are asserting that our timetable is better than His. We can grow in faith only if we are willing to wait patiently for God’s purposes and patterns to unfold in our lives, on His timetable.”

–Elder Neal A. Maxwell