heaven on earth

i was checking out the ben and jerrys and haagen-dazs in the frozen food aisle today and was just about to keep walking without picking anything(rare for me.i LOVE ice cream) when my eyes fell upon the haagen dazs limited edition bananas foster ice cream. i didnt care that it cost 4 bucks for that tiny pint of goodness. i almost bought two, but i didnt let the natural (wo)man in me win out with gluttony.
i love bananas foster. red lobster(fine dining at its best)had a bananas foster cheesecake that i would kill for. it is sooooooooooo delicious. i wanted to get a plastic spoon and eat in the car on the way home, but i maintained some composure. i got home, ate a healthy salad and then when straight for the freezer, grabbed a spoon and dug in. the label tells you that the flavor top notes are "fragrant roasted banana spiked with warm hints of cinnamon and nutmeg." while the flavor finish notes are "lingering notes of caramel and brown sugar."
HEAVEN ON EARTH, i tell you. my celestial kingdom WILL have haagen dazs bananas foster ice cream.

smc beauty

“Beauty is the result of realizing what is special about you and not focusing on the things you don't like.”
— Bobbi Brown

no matter who you are or how plain you consider yourself, there IS something special about you. if you cant figure it out on your own, ask someone you trust. they will tell you. heck, send me a picture and i will tell you.
one of my favorite examples to demonstrate this is a woman i photographed years ago who was very plain. almost unfortunate looking, but not quite. she was well groomed and dressed nicely, but there was nothing remarkable about her looks. she was comfortable in front of the camera and the sitting went well, but when the proofs came back...OH MY GOSH! she was stunning. i never saw such an extreme example of the camera loving someone so much. we all have something-for her, she was incredibly photogenic.
the list of what i dont like about my looks is a mile long and no matter how much i am told how beautiful i am, the list is never edited. i think its a curse specific to women, regardless of their confidence level.
i was blessed with pretty blue eyes and good skin. whenever i want to feel really good about how i look, i really play up my eyes when i am doing my make up. for others, it might be beautiful, sexy lips or a graceful neck(i lack both of these).
i have always taken good care of my skin and it has served me well, but the years keep coming and they tend to walk all over our faces, so i have to step things up a notch so that i dont end up look like the crypt keeper.
i found this GREAT moisturizer that i never would have tried if a dear friend had not gotten me a kohls gift card for Christmas. i hate kohls and never shop there, but when i found out they had a "beauty" section i knew exactly how i could use that gift card!
i purchased the good skin all bright moisture cream and it is fantastic. as we age,our skins cell turnover process slows and it takes longer for the new fresh cells to surface and replace the dead, dry cells. exfoliation counteracts this slowdown and the good skin all bright moisturizer delivers on this. i had an immediate improvement of tone and texture. the normal price is 22.00, but kohls regularly puts 10.00 coupons in the sunday ads, so i got almost half off! makes the whole discovery even more beautiful.

yummy, yummy, and YUMMY!

i dont love making frosting,but i HATE the fake, gross and canned grocery store stuff, so i make it even though i think its a pain. its not that its difficult, but just....annoying. i know. weird, but thats my story and i am sticking to it. this recipe TOTALLY took the annoying aspect out of making yummy frosting. this is so easy, but the pay off is big.

THATS THE BEST FROSTING I HAVE EVER HAD
adapted from Tasty Kitchen by missydew

1 cup Milk
5 Tablespoons Flour
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 cup Butter
1 cup Granulated Sugar (not Powdered Sugar!)


Bake your favorite chocolate cake and let it cool. cupcakes LOVE this frosting. i know because i have made 3 batches!

In a small saucepan, whisk flour into milk and heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens. Remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature. (If I’m in a hurry, I place the saucepan over ice in the sink for about 10 minutes or so until the mixture cools.) Stir in vanilla.

While the mixture is cooling, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Then add the cooled milk/flour/vanilla mixture and beat until it all combines and resembles whipped cream.
note: i have found its better to start with softened butter. you can make it work with cold butter, but its more difficult.

Grab a spoon and taste this wonderful goodness. If there is any left after your taste test, spread it on a cooled chocolate cake. Cut yourself a piece and put it on a pretty plate. Grab a fork and prepare to experience the most divine pairing you can imagine. This frosting on chocolate cake is to die for. Sure, the recipe sounds strange — it has flour in it — but it’s sublime. Try it, you’ll see. You’ll love it so much you won’t go back.

faux pas-almost

a few hours before church started, i needed to run some paperwork down the the rs president and on my way there i saw the high priest group leader walking down the road towards the building.
my first reaction was to offer him a ride,but when i rolled the window down i just teased him that he was going to be late. why didnt i offer the ride? for one, he is an old school guy and walks to church every sunday. he would never take it because he likes the walk. secondly he couldnt take it because its just not done.
it has been advised from the pulpit that married men and women should not be alone with anyone of the opposite sex. ever. personally i think this is wise counsel and i am not here to contradict it in any way. we have all heard the stories about bishops and relief society presidents who "fall" into a sinful and life destroying choice. this seemingly hyper-strict direction takes all grey area out of the matter.
the modern girl in me struggles with this a little. when i met gbf, we were working together and started having lunch. msof was not a member, but horribly jealous. the only loop hole was that gbf was gay. no risk of sexual involvement. msof still didnt like it, but that was homophobia, not jealousy. a couple of men i have dated took issue with me hanging out alone with gbf- one was particularly adamant, but i figure gbf gets male family member status.
now that i am single, i have to be careful. stuff like touching a mans arm as you talk to him(that would be ok in almost any social situation)is completely off limits. there is no way i would ever put myself in any situation where i could be accused of flirting or being too friendly with any man in my ward.
i know. seems so very puritanical, but better safe than sorry. avoid the appearance of evil and all that good stuff.
what do you guys think? is the church just too uptight or dead on with this counsel?

good apples

“Women are like apples on trees, the best ones are on the top of the tree. The men don't want to reach for the good ones because they are afraid of falling and don't want to get hurt. Instead, they just get the rotten apples from the ground that aren't so good but easy. So, the apples at the top think something is wrong with them, when in reality they are amazing. They just have to wait for the right man to come along, the one who's brave enough to climb all the way to the top becuase they value quality.”

this bit of prose has made the email rounds several times in the last few years. i like the sentiment of it mainly because implies that cool single chicks(like myself)are the great pieces of fruit at the top of the tree.
i cant speak for anyone else, but i can certainly say that for myself, knowing that you are great can be of little comfort when no one else seems to realize it. specifically single men with manageable dysfunction who are willing to make the climb. i manage mine and am willing to be an equal partner shouldnt i expect the same from a man?
gbf(gay best friend)tells me that it is no reflection on me that the majority of men have serious issues. bff says i give the men i date too many chances. i think on a certain level, they are both right, but i cant completely dismiss my part in all of it.
maybe its not my fault, but i am going to keep trying to be the right person for the kind of man i am looking for. the one who will climb to the top of the tree for some good fruit.

i would like to say in advance that i realize the following clip is barely related(a weak case could be made)to what i have talked about here, but i love it and it mentions apples, so what the heck. warning: there are a few f-bombs.

frustration

i want to write and tell you all about mr jack mormon texting me. i am so aggravated that i cant find the words to adequately describe it. mainly its WHAT THE HELL WAS I THINKING?!

perfection

“In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they’re still beautiful.”
― Alice Walker

arent we all "bent in weird ways"?, but still beautiful, right?
what about those who seem perfect on the outside, but the more important inner workings are twisted and ugly-seemingly beyond repair?

smc cooks comfort food

“Food is the most primitive form of comfort.”
― Sheilah Graham

its a long standing tradition amongst us peculiar people(mormons) to take meals into families that just had a baby or are ill. some stakes are doing away with this tradition. not sure why, but i think its a disgrace. sure, its not like we are living on homesteads or in a time where mcdonalds isnt on every corner and a hot pizza is 30 minutes away from your front door. still. i think the tradition is a good one and should stick around.

i spent yesterday cooking for 3 different families. me and my taste testers, a dear friend who has been sick for several weeks, and a sister in my ward who had her first baby after many years of trying.
i am pretty famous in these parts for my adaptation of a very old recipe that i got at my wedding shower from an older woman in my ward. who was worshiped every time she made it and was famous for the delicious elixir. the story goes that she got it from her husbands grandmother(was going to say grandmother in law, but didnt sound right)who was raised in the colonies in mexico. she used to make huge vats of it to send with the young women when they went to girls camp every summer. there were never any leftovers-its that good and i have yet to meet someone who doesnt like it. i never heard her say that the recipe was a secret, but it wasnt passed around or printed in the ward cookbook, so i am thinking she kept it quiet on purpose.
the recipe she gave me was basically directions, with no real measurements, written in long hand. i have modified here and there to suit my taste,so feel free to punch it up with more spice or whatever might make your little taste buds sing.

My Old Ward's Famous Green Chili Burro Mix
1 small to medium pork or beef roast(3-5 pounds) OR
1 whole chicken or cut up fryer
1 onion, diced
2-3 tomatoes, diced
2-3 bouillon cubes(i always use chicken)
2-3 garlic cloves
2-3 tbs oil(i have used both canola and olive oil)
2(at least, i usually use 3)small cans of green chilies
corn starch
salt and pepper
salt and pepper the meat, put in a large sauce pan or stock pot. cover with water(by about 2 inches or so)cook on low for several hours until done.
note: i used to bring to a boil and then turn the heat down and simmer until done. this last time i followed the old recipe and started it off on low and just let it cook all night. the meat literally fell off the bone and was more flavorful.
remove the meat and set aside to cool. continue to let the remaining broth to simmer while you saute the onions, green chilies(drain, but reserve the juice), and tomatoes in oil.
once the meat has cooled, shred using two forks or very clean hands. place into a large saucepan and add the sauteed chili mixture. cover with broth(you will probably have broth left over. i strain it and use it for other recipes)and add the bouillon and garlic. i use fresh garlic, but garlic salt is fine. just make sure you add it before any additional salt and pepper. add about 2 tbs of cornstarch to the reserved green chili juice and pour into the mix-stir until slightly thickened. i go for a stew like consistency, but you could make it thicker if you wanted.
taste this ambrosia and add more seasonings to taste. i almost always add an extra bouillon cube and a little salt and pepper. sometimes another clove of garlic. if you wanted more green chili you could always throw in another can. lots of room for alterations in this recipe.
i made spanish rice to go with and sent tortilla chips and flour tortillas. one of my taste testers loves it over chips with a little cheese-nacho style. i like it with the rice, rolled up in a burrito. some of us have been known to eat it like a stew. its just good-no matter how you choose to do it.

“It seems to me that our three basic needs, for food and security and love, are so entwined that we cannot think of one without the other.”
— M.F.K. Fisher

people who want love

not sure why this song spontaneously came into my mind, but it did and it was kind of weird how i still remembered all the lyrics and could sing them somewhat on key. i love the phrasing of this song. stuff like:

"i'll be looking for someone till i find the right one"
and
"one right can still make two wrongs"

clint black is one of my favorite country artists. love his voice and his writing style. he was writing most of his own music when country artists NEVER wrote their own stuff.
love this song. hope you enjoy it too.

smc cooks- LEMONS!

my sister from az brought me a ton of lemons the other day. i zested and juiced them all and so far i have made 2 delicious lemon recipes. the first is from the tasty kitchen .


fresh lemonade.

adapted from tasty kitchen
by thatssoyummy


6 whole Lemons
1 cup Granulated Sugar
6 cups Cold Water

Juice the lemons. This should give you 1 cup of lemon juice. Remember you can get the most juice by firmly rolling the lemons between your hand and the counter.

In a gallon pitcher, combine 1 cup lemon juice, 1 cup sugar, and 6 cups cold water. Stir, and adjust water to taste-i added a little more sugar, i am sweet like that.

Chill and serve over ice.
i love this stuff-very easy. so easy i have made it three times this weekend.

next....lemon bars. possibly my favorite lemon treat.
lemon bars
adapted from the better homes and gardens new cook book.

1/3 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tbs flour
2tsp lemon zest
3 tbs lemon juice
1/4 tsp baking powder
powdered sugar(optional)
beat butter on med-high for 30 seconds
add 1/4 c sugar, then 1 c flour(will be crumbly)
press into ungreased 8x8 pan. bake at 350 for 15 minutes.
for the filling, combine eggs, 3/4 c sugar, 2 tbs flour, lemon zest, lemon juice, and baking powder. beat 2 minutes.
pour filling over baked layer. bake 20 min. once cool, sift powdered sugar over top if desired.
delicious and so very easy. you can whip these up really fast and they seem to really impress people. thats what i call working smart, not hard.

the mr great white north story

i know i tend to ramble, but i will attempt to make this as concise as possible. some of it i may have covered before, but since i have yet to properly tag and categorize my posts, i dont feel like digging through a years worth of content to find out. lazy. i ramble and i am lazy. no wonder i am not married off!
anyway-i met mr great white north on ldsmingle a few weeks before i met mr ex man(a detail that is significant a little later on). we im'd for a week or two before he asked for my phone number. he was nice and i had a lot of fun im'ing, so i gave it to him right away. the chemistry translated to actual conversation and we started talking about him coming to visit me.
about this time i had decided to delete my profile from mingle. not because i thought mr great white north was THE ONE, but i was just done with that scene. its exhausting, really. the day i logged in to cancel my subscription, mr ex man sent me a "flirt". we flirted back and forth, but he wasnt sending me an email or initiating an im conversation, so i just blew it off. like i said, i was fed up and even the possibility of a cute guy who was 6'4 with broad shoulders was not much of an enticement.
i am already beyond rambling and my attempt at being concise is wasted, so i will spare you all the details that got me to fall in love with mr ex man. maybe another post.
i see i am falling in love with mr ex man and i decide to tell mr great white north that i want to focus on that relationship. he was super cool and asked if we could be friends. i am normally against that, but thought it would be a good thing with him. we had little or no contact after that and i went on with the mr ex man saga.
i think guys must have some sort of radar that alerts them when you break up and are vulnerable because mr great white north called me within a few weeks of my break up.
we talked, we laughed, he asked if he could come see me. we started making plans and then he disappeared. that routine repeated itself two more times over 2 years.
why did i tolerate that, you might ask. it just wasnt that big of a deal. it was annoying, but i really wasnt invested.
HOWEVER- when he called this this time i made it clear that his previous shenanigans would no longer be tolerated. he was understanding and explained a little about why it had happened previously. reasons, but no real excuses. we were talking almost every day. the plans for him to come visit were really gelling, but then he started bailing on me. three times in less than 24 hours he dropped out of conversations asking if he could call me back, but never did.
there is more, nothing earth shattering, but indicative to the fact that he was either unprepared or unwilling to enter into the kind of relationship i am looking for. when i very diplomatically(really, i was)told him how i felt about what he was doing he replied "i think for now we should just be friends". WHATEVER! so what? basic expectations send you crying like a little baby?
there are many things about his life right now that i know would make any relationship difficult, but my thing is this: you are an adult, you know what is going on-dont make promises you cant keep! big or small, it doesnt matter. dont expect a woman you claim to be interested in to put up with your crap. accept you arent ready and dont entertain relationships until you are.

just because it made me laugh

and no other reason. i have pretty much discarded "how to marry the man of your choice" for the sheer ridiculousness of it. i mean, i know there are some legitimate points, but COME ON! consider the following:

after me, make it coffee or tea.

a man behaves quite differently when he's satisfied than when he's sexually hungry. after sex, he may not be as considerate. if you're eager to ask a favor from him, or want to press an issue that will require his giving in, ask him before he's sexually exhausted.
after intercourse, the man will have little energy left. let him sleep if he wishes. then be prepared to revive him with coffee, sweets, and appetizing snacks. when your man achieves sexual satisfaction early in the day, he may be exhausted for hours. if you dont revive him, you may find yourself spending the day with a grouch. i f you have sex at night,his body naturally recovers energy in sleep. by morning, his need for you is returning and he will be up to par.
consider yourselves enriched and edified.

self serving, immature antics from smc

take off hoser

mr great white north is history. what a mess. i just dont know why things have to be so difficult. why the games? why the childish behavior? all so unnecessary. i am playing with the details in my mind and havent decided if i want to post about it. for the most part, i think i acted fairly well in the whole saga, but all of it is just so petty. i guess i am somewhat embarrassed about letting it go despite the red flags. i have been told i give too many chances. i think mr great white north is a classic example that could prove that theory.

love

“Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination, full of hope.”
― Maya Angelo

take off to the great white north

mr great white north is coming south. maybe. this is the furthest that any plans to meet in person have ever gotten, so its a possibility. kind of. who knows? if he gets here, ok. lets see what happens, but i know first hand of his ability to disappear so i am not placing any bets. if he bails this time, i am D-O-N-E. seriously.

memories

“It’s surprising how much of memory is built around things unnoticed at the time.”
― Barbara Kingsolver

best compliment ever

you may remember shy guy, a high school crush who friended me on facebook a few months ago. we hadnt im'd since that time, but had commented on each others walls here and there. during a brief im conversation yesterday shy guy managed to give me the best compliment i have ever received. i didnt think to copy the actual conversation so i will do my best to recreate it here:

smc: how are you?
shy guy: good, how are you?
blah, blah, blah boring small talk

i dont know what brought the conversation around to the fact that he used to dj church dances, but...

smc: you dj'd dances?
shy guy: yeah, i used to see how many times i could play relax by frankie goes to hollywood before the chaperones would catch on and get mad at me and tell me i couldnt play it anymore.
smc: thats hilarious. the dances really werent my scene, but if i knew you were the dj, i would have showed up with a lighter and swayed in front of the turntable. i bet i would have gotten kicked out really fast.
shy guy: lol. yeah proabably.
smc: can you just imagine what they would say to me as they walked me out of the cultural hall? "smc, we thought you were such a nice girl. what happened?"
shy guy: i always thought you were nice.
smc: thanks. i was. kind of. but it was annoying. mainly to boyfriends.
shy guy: you just didnt have the right boyfriends.
smc: maybe. i found out later that there were a couple of nice guys who were too shy or too intimidated to ask.
(this is true and shy guy was one of the 3 or 4 i was talking about, but i wasnt referring to him alone. after i hit 'enter' i thought it was a mistake. maybe a bit inappropriate to be saying to a married man)
shy guy: we all make mistakes and wish we could do things over. regrets.
smc: yep
shy guy: well i gotta go. nice talking to you
(at this point i am really thinking that i made a huge mistake making the nice guy comment. like i was trying to take him down our very short memory lane. i wasnt, but it sure looked like it.)
i felt a little sick to my stomach. i would never want to offend him or make him feel uncomfortable. i couldnt just leave it. i had to explain. apologize. i agonized for about 3 minutes.
smc: are you still there?
shy guy: i am still here
smc: did i make you at all uncomfortable?
shy guy: not at all. why would you say that?
smc: i know we had high school crushes on each other, but i wasnt specifically referring to that. i apologize.
wait for it, here it comes
shy guy: smc, there is nothing you could do or say that would ever lower my opinion of you.
wasnt that great? it made me so happy to hear him say that. we have had 0 contact in 22 years, yet the good things still stand. they still matter. i thought it a huge compliment.
smc: thanks. i think that is one of the best compliments i have ever received.
shy guy: you are the best girlfriend i never had.
smc: :)
i dont know why this exchange touched me so much, but it made my day. i think it has something to do with someone still recognizing the real me. the original me, untouched by the troubled times we all face in adulthood. it felt really good. thanks shy guy!

single mormon chick crafts-yeah right

i do. or i did. i used to be quite the scrapbooker and paper crafter, but i have gotten away from it. life is different now and it doesnt fit in like it used to, but when i see a cute(and easy)project like an adorable little hand bag made from an old book, i start to feel that itch to create. i found remodelaholic's tutorial while posting over at 11th heavens homemaking haven for homemaking monday. two really cool blogs to check out. i am definitely going to make one of those purses!

dont know what made me think of this

someone commented on one of my posts a while back about how she went to her bishop for guidance regarding being single and he quoted this scripture: isaiah 4:1- And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.

even the foot notes for this verse refers to the stigma of being unmarried. the bitter divorcee in me screams: "stigma? what the hell do you mean? am i LESS because i am not married?!" , but the tiny, molly mormon in me whispers "they are talking about a specific time in the old testament when there were a bunch of wars going on. doesnt mean today. it doesnt mean US. we are good. dont worry."
do the men in the church get a little freaked out by this scripture? do they worry that they are going to have to deal with seven women because of the scarcity of righteous(i use that term loosely)brethren? it might account for the deer in the headlights look on just about every single guy at any given sa activity. just thinking out loud here.
i continued on the scripture chase, reading the footnotes for the scriptures that were footnoted for isaiah 4:1. it talks about the scarcity of men due to war and the filth(isa 4:4) of the women that needs to be cleansed. there is no footnote for the word filth . i am no scripture scholar(zen, blain, help me out here?), but i am pretty sure they are not talking about a literal lack of hygiene. even back then there were harlots and such, but FILTH is a pretty strong word which implies serious sin. we are told to liken the scriptures unto ourselves and that they never are outdated. they can be applied to our current day and situation. filthy women in todays world? check. i dont claim perfection, nor do i stand in judgment, but COME ON. exotic dancing and prostitution as jobs to pay for college? sure! dressing our young daughters in revealing clothes and painting their faces as if they were grown women? yep, got that. teenage girls publicly acting as a lesbians to gain attention and turn boys on? got that too. do these things count as filth?
if we can take isaiah literally, do i want to deal with six other women clutching to my man? probably not. this could lead to a whole big discussion on the higher law of polygamy and i dont want to go there. i just want a nice guy to myself. maybe this is heavenly permission to give up on that ridiculous notion.

does this apply to dating?

“If you have made mistakes, even serious ones, there is always another chance for you. What we call failure is not the falling down but the staying down.”
― Mary Pickford

smc loves make up! cover girl review

one of my best friends in the whole world gave me two new cover girl items. we have been best friends forever and even if she didnt give me make up, i would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE her. she is the best. the make up is just icing on the cake.
bff works with buzz agent and gets all kinds of free products. sometimes they send her multiples and ask her to share to get additional opinions.
the first product i tried was the smoky shadow blast in bronze fire. it is two creamy eyeshadow sticks in one that glide on beautifully. the colors go on more subtle than you would think, but look very pretty. the creamy texture is not very long lasting, but performs better than other creamy shadows i have used.if you go to the cover girl website they have a video on how to apply for a smoky eye look.the bronze fire colors are extremely versatile i have used them a couple of different ways. on their own, wearing each color solo or layering one over the other, but i have also combined them with eyeshadow i already had in my make up bag with wonderful results.
next, was the shine blast, color 805-radiate. i love this stuff! the color is just the perfect pink i have been looking for. great shine and just enough shimmer to be pretty, not ridiculous. the only thing i would want to change is that i would like it to be a little longer lasting. it does better than many lip glosses i have tried. such is the nature of lip gloss, and reapplication is necessary.
cover girl was the first make up i started buying with my babysitting money in junior high and i still find it to be one of the best drug store brands you can buy. a girl can never have too many lip glosses!

united

What unites us as human beings is an urge for happiness which at heart is a yearning for union.”
— Sharon Salzburg

how to marry the man of your choice

i have been trying to read this book, but for me, it reeks of manipulation. i have been skimming and flipping back and forth between the pages and so far it seems to be a book of tricks. i could be missing something-i am totally willing to admit to the fact that i might not be open to these particular techniques.
an exerpt from chapter 8: "praising and criticizing the one you love", subsection labeled "your behavior can win his love(where they categorize different types of women such as the nag or the fan)". in this section we learn about "the bitch".
"think of the women you know who are most successful with men. these are the women who are demanding and complain to their men, but accept them nonetheless. you may think of these women as bitchy, but they have men flocking arond them, men you lost by being nice. sometimes you need to act bitchy to succeed with men. you may be too nice!"
it goes on to explain the difference between a nag and a bitch and how men rejecting "nice" women is akin to women going for the bad boys.
i hate this. i hate it even more because it is true.
i am not, by any stretch of the imagination, too "nice", but i hate the thought of purposely being a "bitch" in order to attract a man.
any thoughts? is this what i need to do? be a bitch? i want to hear what everyone has to say, but guys, please weigh in. wait. i need to be a bitch to get what i want out of a man. RESPOND NOW! ;-)

so......

i didnt go to the dance. there are a couple of pretty good reasons why, like it was at a church that would take me an hour to get there and the fact that i hated the band that was playing the gig. all things i could have overcome, but decided to bail. still procrastinating posting a profile on ldsmingle or planet. sigh. sometimes i wonder if the issue is mine and the situation would change with an attitude adjustment OR i sometimes consider that i am ABSOLUTELY, 100% RIGHT to stay away from all that stuff. i am racking my brain for any real success story showing that a relationship between two "faithful" lds was forged at a dance or on the internet. i need some examples to build my faith(not really faith, then is it?). anyone KNOW of any couple who is happily married that met at a dance or on the internet? lets hear it!

smc has a bun in the oven

no, i am not announcing my hypocrisy and almost certain ex communication. there is literally a bun(actually 2 loaves) in the oven. so glad my mom doesnt read(or even know i write)this blog. they would be calling the emts, and probably her bishop for spiritual guidance and support. my name would be on the prayer roll of every temple in the world before sundown.
back to the bread.
i love to make bread. the whole process just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy and pioneer like. i have lots experience baking all different kinds of bread, but right now i have a surplus of whole wheat flour, so i have been focusing on the more rustic and hearty breads. there is nothing like a good loaf of wheat bread, but some dont care for the heft of the whole wheat. i love it, but for those who dont, there is a little something called vital wheat gluten.
i had never heard of it before until i saw it in a recipe over at 11th heavens homemaking haven(love the alliteration of that title). she explains in her recipe how the vital wheat gluten will improve the texture of wheat breads, making it a little lighter. it was a little hard to find in my grocery store. i assumed that it would be in the baking aisle, but i had to hunt for it in the health food section. its a little pricey(i think it was $5 for a 1lb 6oz), but you only have to use a few tablespoons for each recipe, so it will last for quite a few loaves. i was going to start off with one of 11th heavens recipes, but the bobs red mill vital wheat gluten flour bag had a recipe right on it:
honey oatmeal bread.

4 1/2 - 4 3/4 cups whle wheat flour
2 tbs vital wheat gluen
3 pkgs active dry yeast
2 cups mild
1/3 cup honey(i used a little extra)
1/4 cup oil(i used canola)
1 tbs salt
1/2 cup scottish oats(i used the bobs red mill steel cut oats)
In a large mixing bowl combine 2 cups of the flour and the yeast. In a sauce pan heat milk, honey, oil and salt just till warm (115 degrees). Add to dry mixture in mixing bowl. Beat at low speed with electric mixer for 1/2 minute, scraping sides of bowl constantly. Beat 3 minutes at high speed.

By hand, stir in oats, gluten and enough of the remaining flour to make a stiff dough. Turn out onto lightly floured surface and knead till smooth and elastic (8-10 minutes). Shape in a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl, turning once to grease surface. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double in size (about 45 minutes).

Punch dough down; turn out onto lightly floured surface. Divide in half. Cover and let rest 10 minutes. Shape into two loaves; place in two greased 8-1/2" x 4-1/2" x 2-1/2" bread pans. Cover and let rise in warm place till double (about 30 minutes).

Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Remove from pans; cool on wire racks.

Makes 2 loaves (13 slices each).
this bread is AMAZING. it smells wonderful and my taste testers devoured an entire loaf almost immediately. i planned on giving the other loaf to my home teachers, so i had to hide it to save it from the ravenous beasts. try it with butter and honey. TO DIE FOR.