Happy 18th Birthday Christine!

18 years ago today, a little Angel came into the world!

I still remember the moment I first laid eyes on her. She was the closest thing to Heaven I had ever seen. She was brilliant, and sparkly and more beautiful than any other baby in the world. And then she opened her mouth... (j/k wee head) She had pipes to rival the ones in the tabarnacle. I can recall one time in particular where we had to pull over on the side of the road because nobody could ignore that sound. She was a pill, but she was my best friend and she changed my life. Before this angel came to earth I didn't understand what it meant to love another person with every facet of your existence. She has been an example to me for 18 years, she has always called me out when I needed it (even at age 1) and loved me unconditionally.
So today I celebrate the past 18 years and all the love, laughter and tears of sisterhood and I look forward to another 50 on this earth together and an eternity after. Happy Brithday my beautiful, strong, courageous, free-spirited, talented, exceptional, loving, supporting, laugh-out-loud funny angel sister!

Christine's 1st Birthday

Christmas 2008

Homecoming 2008

I created...then I destroyed

I started this painting with very high hopes of creating something incredible. That should have been my first clue that things weren't going to go as planned.

You might be able to tell on the right side of the painting is a can of indoor semi-gloss. I loved the consistency of the pain as it pooled onto the painting and it looked amazing...

...until it started to dry.



But i kept going hoping it would trun out okay. This was the final and it was still a little wet. So after it dried and I had crater-sized cracks in my flowers, and the black paint had run I decided to remove the black pain and see if I couldn't re-touch the white with acrylic instead.

Once I took the black off it left a very cool design. I was excited again for just a moment as I pondered ways to fix the cracks. I tried the acrylic but it just couldn't cover the damage. In one last ditch attempt I took the power sander to the painting in hopes of sanding off the excess paint and thereby eliminating my crack problem (I had a crack problem. =0)).

Sadly I have to report that the painting is now displayed at the local land-fill because no matter the effort I couldn't save my masterpiece.

Such is life... on to the next one I guess.

Finished a painting

I started this painting about a month ago and I think it's finally finished. I have very mixed feelings about it. Some days I love it, other times not so much.
Christine thinks it's great so I might just have a graduation present for her after all.
For now the painting resides over the fireplace although it is really out of place there.

This is the new painting I started. =0) Hopefully it will turn into something amazing. But even if not, I get such stress relief and pleasure from painting that the rewards to me are so worth it.

Why can't I get my head around this...

So Kasie showed me this video the other night and I found myself in tears by the end. I know that most of you reading this have a completely different opinion than I do about this subject but I urge you to watch this and keep an open heart. I can not, for the life of me, get my head around the hate that people have for the decision of others to simply love each other.

When I think of the mired of couples I have met in my life and the % of those couples that have endured infidelity, betrayal and even divorce, I question why it is that we as a society want to tear apart a couple that simply wants the right to be faithful, loving and committed.

I wonder if some of my friends that have cheated would take their vows so lightly if they had to fight for the right to say them in the first place.

I know that opposition to this issue is deeply rooted in the gospel. And I pray that someday Heavenly Father will help me come to terms with the church's stance on gay marriage because as my "interim" bishop pointed out the other day, there is no grey - Only black and white.
To which I explained that this was very white and black to me.

I will say that I hope and pray to the same Father that these sweet families and loving couples can have the same rights that the rest of us enjoy. May their children be protected by the same laws that protect ours and may they be entitled to the same benefits as you and I enjoy.

Anyhow...I warned you that we probably don't see eye to eye on this issue. But hopefully you will take a moment to watch anyway. And feel free to share your thoughts. I believe in the freedom of expression, even when I disagree.


"Fidelity": Don't Divorce... from Courage Campaign on Vimeo.

Nothing but love, love, love...

On Friday some of the girls from work got together to make some yummy little Candy Heart Cakes. I was inspired once again by Martha Stewart and spent all morning baking red velvet cake. It was more work than I had anticipated and next year I am buying a box cake mix. =0)

We had a great time putting the cakes together and decorating them for our special someone.

Valentine's Day is my favorite holiday and I can never get enough of all that pink and red. I had an incredible day including dinner at an unbelievable Indian Restaurant with my special love.

Stacy's niece...I think her name is Ella. She is so adorable. I wanted to play with her the whole time but was busy making frosting and directing cake decorations. Hope to play with her again soon.

Kaylen and her daughter Ali
Ashley and I and Stacy's niece

...

Ashely showing her domestic skills
Kristen and Michelle working on the frosting

Vegetarian Spaetzle or Spaetzli as I call them

Last night I cooked dinner for some friends and I wanted to make them something authentic Swiss and delicious. Since they were not vegetarians I made them spaetzli and cream sauce with chicken. They loved it and it was a real hit.
But I also made a vegetarian spaetzli bake for Kasie and I and it was so great I thought I would share.

I started by making spaetzli (see below if you want to see how).
I layered the spaetzli in a casserole dish and topped with steamed broccoli, sliced tomatoes, caramelized onions and topped with Gruyere cheese.

Then I baked it at 400 for 20 minutes and voila...delicious!