Cereal from a mug

"Keep the doors locked, they blow open."- Hubby


I just ate my breakfast cereal out of a mug. Hey! At least I had a spoon! I think we are bringing a new level of laziness to our family out here on the farm. It could also be that I only have six bowls and one dishwasher that NO ONE will empty.

When I went down to the kitchen to get said breakfast I had to step over a mattress. A MATTRESS on the stairs! I also noticed the kitchens doors were wide open and flies had come into the house. I guess it could have been worse... like frogs, rabbits, or deer in the house. I love the country but there are certain rules, like, shut the doors to keep out the critters. And this rule, keep the mattresses off the stairs.

The other day I slept 'til 1:00...P.M! 'nuf sed.

Catch up

*WARNING* The post you are about to read is all over the place! Discombobulation ahead!

Okay, I know, it has been a loooong time since I last posted. But, hey, I've been really busy. End of the school year activities, softball games, concerts, you know... all the fun you have when you have a barrel o' monkeys. I also found Facebook and Twitter so I have been spending my free (FREE? hahahah) time on those sites. But I'm here right now. Yeah!

March-nothing interesting. Just sports and stuff. No painting.

April- More sports and stuff, was going to do another contest but I got lazy and ...nothing. No painting.

May- Fun galore! School concerts. Student council elections. Both of my girls that were running lost :( I am so sad for them. Mini Me was in a school play and it was delicious. Did you know two years ago she asked Santa for an agent? She really is talented. She had one of the leads and was adorable. Maybe if you ask very nicely I will post a picture of said production.

Then we had class parties, dance recitals, trips, and all that.


May 21-My oldest turned 22! I know what you are saying, "But he's just a baby!" He is so adorable. I am so glad he is home. If anyone knows a super pretty, adorable, tall, blond, sweet girl my son can go out with please let me know. He is so handsome that he puts himself into a bracket with models, homecoming queens, Miss America's, and so forth. He was dating a girl just like that but it fizzled out. But now he knows what he likes.


May 30- I met JANE SEYMOUR!!! Yes I did. It was at Champagne's in Snottsdale. She was there for a book signing and print signing. Apparently, if you are famous you can sell art. Maybe I should get famous first and then become a painter!






Anyways, we talked about painting, and raising children. I think she liked me. Oh! and she doesn't have any brunette kids just like I don't have any blonds. That wicked gene pool afflicts others and not just me- woo hoo! She is really tiny. Like 5'3" and about 90 pounds. And she is very pretty in real life. I couldn't believe it when I read she was 58 years old. She seriously looks 40. She was very nice and she has twin boys the same age as my Mini Me. And she has the sweetest English accent. I wish I were British so I could talk like that. Maybe I will just wake up one day and start talking with an English accent. I could probably only do it until noon. That would be great!




Later that evening my hubby and I went to the temple for our 23rd anniversary. Seriously! Where does the time go? We had a great time. My present to him was that I would stay married to him another year. (I know- I am generous.) He gave me tickets to see Glenn Beck!

June 2-Saw Glenn Beck. It was awesome. He was really funny. Especially when he dresses up like Paul Revere. Glenn is my secret boyfriend. Did I just say that? Keep it a secret okay? Maybe I should get a Paul Revere outfit for Hubby...hmmm.

Tomorrow we leave for Iowa to spend the summer. We were supposed to leave May 25th, then June 1st, then June 3rd, now we leave June 4th. Yay! I am sooo excited to squeeze my 6 monkeys and Hubby into a car and drive and drive and drive and drive and drive across 5 states to our farm. I love it. Are we there yet?

There -now you are caught up. I promise to post more in the future. Or maybe just a pinkie swear to post more in the future.

We have a winner!

I love having Valentine's Day traditions. My monkeys got together and made a bunch of cookies for me to give away to you. They also got to eat a ton of them.

Actually, only about three of these girls belong to me. The rest were on loan from the Scottsdale Culinary Institute. Only the best chefs for my friends.

After we made 200 of these beauties we went t.p.ing. I wanted to doorbell ditch but the little chefs wanted to start a new tradition.

Anyway, the winner of the diaper size guessing contest is April! I will be over in the morning. My littlest monkey is so tiny, she has been wearing a size 3 for over a year now. She is so cute and little. And like I promised, here is the recipe:

Morgen's Sugar Cookies

In a large bowl, mix the first 5 ingredients one at a time in the order listed until fluffy and yummy.

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla (please use a good one)

1 cup sour cream

Sift dry ingredients together:

5 1/4 cups flour

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

Add the dry ingredients all at once to the large bowl of buttery and sugary goodness. Mix it up until it is all blended. Now here's the cool part, scoop a third of the dough and spread it on a piece of waxed paper or sandwich paper or parchment. Cover with another paper and roll out to about 1/4 inch thick. Repeat with rest of the dough. You should have three flat dough thingys. Refrigerate for a couple of hours or freeze for 1 hour. Cut out into shapes and bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.

Frosting:

4 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup red hots + 1/4 cup water

Mix the butter and sugar til stiff. Add the red hot juice until you get a smooth consistency. Spread over cooled cookies or hot ones if you can't wait until they cool. Try not to burn your mouth.

Have fun and Happy Valentines Day!

Giving a little Love

Hello my blog reading friends. In honor of Valentines Day, I am giving away one dozen cookies. These aren't just any cookies. They are the most delicious sour cream sugar cookies with red hot frosting you've ever had. They come with this cute little box and you can give them away or hide in your closet and eat them all at once like I do... did I just say that?

Anyway, trust me, they are worth the calories.

I made up this recipe when I was about 14 years old and I have been perfecting it ever since. When I was a kid, my mom would bake about 200 of these bad boys and place them on people's doorsteps, ring the doorbell, and run. Yes, my mom doorbell ditched. Where do you think I get it from?


Here's the catch. You have to guess what size diaper my littlest monkey wears. Hahaha hohoho I am diabolically laughing right now. Here's a hint... she wears the same size she wore when she first got these:

Bwah hahaha I love to diabolically laugh. Good luck guessing. Just shoot me an email or leave a comment on my blog by Friday night at 6:00 and I will bring your prize over on Valentine's day. (Sorry, locals only.)

These will be waiting for you, your closet and your thighs will thank you.

Happy New Year- Late

Remember when I told you we went Iowa for thanksgiving? Well, on New Years Day the boys and some friends and I flew back out there to see this!

And this!

And this...

and this!

I was so sad. There was a flood and a lot of damage. We went out there to clean it up and remove drywall so that mold wouldn't grow. We ripped off wallpaper and cut out walls. We actually had a great time. Even though it was a lot of work.

I'm actually speaking for the others, I didn't work. I just went into town and bought respirators and food and stuff.

THIS is why I never get accepted

So, I got this letter from the Church Art Competition people saying "thank you for entering...blah blah ... lots of entrants....we regret to inform you..." I don't remember what else because my sister in law was reading it to me over the phone. I actually didn't receive the letter as all my mail that has my maiden name on it goes to my brother in Cali. It's just as well, I was so busy with my son coming home and Christmas I just couldn't be bothered with packing up a painting and shipping it anywhere, anyways.

AND I never can get a good photo as you can see here. I wouldn't accept this painting if I were on the committee, either.

I swore last time I would get Sarah, the best art teacher ever, to do a scan for me but as usual I painted at the last minute and had wet paint and excuses, excuses. But in reality it wasn't a very good painting. It was painted well but it doesn't mean anything to anyone. I even showed this to some relatives of Louisa Sheen and they were unimpressed. There are two things to great art.

1. How to paint
2. What to paint

I got the first part, I just can't seem to get the last part. Maybe if I took a college illustration class I might learn something. I am open to ideas. If any of you have an idea of something meaningful to paint then I would love to hear it - I might even paint it.

Here is a link to Emily Mc Phie who knows "what to paint" even though some of her stuff creeps me out just a teeny bit, (like tree branches growing out of heads) you cannot deny her work definately has meaning. The link will take you to her Church art competition painting and I'm the one who told her she should enter! The painting is really good and has loads of meaning. It could be that she is a professional artist and knows what she is doing , or something. She really is good. I love her work. Enjoy her site.

Perfect landscape

It isn't hard to take a good photograph when you have a great place to shoot. I don't want to make you all jealous, but the midwest is full of inspiring locations and beautiful light. Okay, I'm jealous too, because I don't live in the midwest. But I went there. And I took these.

This is a hill in Iowa. Is that the cutest thing ever? Art Girl thought she couldn't be photographed in a field without a piece of grass in her mouth.

Married kids found a cute little barn and some golden sunset light. Aren't they sweet?

This is a little creek on the farm. It doesn't look like it but it is about 7 feet deep. All this cool atmosphere makes monkeys pose all artsy. I think they should be Ralph Lauren models or something, don't you think? I actually took some pictures even better than these but I deleted them on accident. Of course, they were the best ones I took the whole trip. Isn't that the rule?

Even fallen leaves make a great backdrop. My kids went crazy in the leaves after this shot. We don't have deciduous trees where we live. The heartland is where it's at, baby.