The Big 3-7 Looks Good On You!!

Happy, Happy Birthday To Kim!!

We LOVE you, we APPRECIATE you, and we think you don't look (or act) a day over 16. Your gray hair looks distinguishing, and your wrinkles show your years of hard work for our family. As long as you keep those nose hairs under control and don't have any hair growing out of your ears (yet), you're still a YOUNG man in our book!!

(The cake was from 2 b-day's ago, but since we're still mourning the loss of our camera, and it is still appropriate for today's BYU/UTAH showdown, it'll have to do!)

$5 Richer

A few days ago, I had a houseful of neighborhood kids. Unusual, I know. At any rate, I was still stressed about losing my camera. I don't usually lose things....I can misplace them for a day or two, but they usually end up being somewhere totally out of the ordinary and usually within a day or two I find it again. Not the case with my stupid camera. 3 1/2 weeks, it's been missing and not a day has gone by that I don't look 15 new places for it. So, a few days ago, with all the neighborhood kids in the house, I announce that I'm paying a $5 reward to anyone that finds my camera. Big mistake. These kids were pretty hard up for $5 and started tearing apart my house looking for the camera. I even had one kid looking through my dresser drawers for it...I had to draw the line right there. I'd all but given up on finding the camera - even started looking for deals on Black Friday to ease my pain.

Today, Kim's sister April, her husband Mike and their two boys arrive at our house to celebrate the holiday. My sister (Brenna) and I were in the middle of making pies - a total disaster, but I'll save it for another blog post - and the whole time I was thinking: "This would make a great picture...us in our cute aprons, trying to be all Martha-ish, and really, really stinking at it." We gave up on the pies (Thank goodness for Marie Callendar's frozen pie crusts) and April and I head to the store for some last minute items. As we're driving there, we're talking about the lost camera and Mike pipes up in the back seat " You know you're gonna find that camera in some totally absurd place "

We get home and the first thing someone yells is "Isaiah found your camera!! You owe him $5!" Sure enough, the little stinker's been at my house for less than an hour and he's $5 richer. And, Mike was absolutely right - it was in a totally absurd place - outside in the backyard laying in the grass. Don't ask me how it got there. My guess would be that it had something to do with someone who's name begins with an "N" and ends in an "atalie"....sounds like something she may or may not do.

So, the search is over. We've recovered the body of Mr. Nikon Coolpix. And, yes, it was a recovery. He is dead. After a few rainstorms, a couple of sleet storms and too many rays of sunshine, he is no longer with us. Looks like Santa may have to be nice to me anyway....

Detective Isaiah Nielsen

**Give him a call! He only charges $5!!**

g

Say A Little Prayer For Me....

My camera is lost. I've been hunting for Mr. Nikon Coolpix for 3 weeks. I last saw him on Halloween night and he has been missing ever since. I have no money to pay a ransom or a reward, so all I have left is to pray for him to return to me, or that Santa will be extra nice and replace him for me. (** May I remind Santa that will need a replacement BEFORE Christmas morning....I've been extra good this year and have only threatened my husband and children's lives a handful of times. This is considerably less than last year.**)

Santa may think that I have intentionally "lost" Mr. Nikon Coolpix....why would he think this?? Maybe because everytime I've had to use this camera in the last few months he has to listen to this: "I hate this &*@^(#* camera..." Again, Santa, I've tried to cut back on the cussing. I've been trying to save it only for all the moronic Utah drivers out there....

So, until I miraculously find Mr. Nikon Coolpix, or Santa is kind enough to replace him, I will be posting no new pictures. You will have to settle for what is saved on the computer or just read about all my mis-adventures in motherhood and wifehood. Like I said, say a little prayer for me....

Did You Hear That??

Did you hear that?? Me, neither. Silence. Seriously, silence. For the first time in 12 years, in the middle of a school day, I am alone in the house. (Okay, Buddy the Wonder Dog was still here, and Kim was here for awhile, but you get the picture...) I had pictured myself soaking in the big jetted tub, bubbles everywhere. Maybe reading the paper, painting my toenails. It's what I should have been doing yesterday.

It was a big day for 2 of us, here in the Brooksby house. Nat went to her first day of pre-school and I had an entire 2 1/2 hours to myself!! But, instead of the bubble bath, I took a 5 minute shower and spent the rest of the time picking up after my slovenly children. Not at all what I pictured myself doing to celebrate, but it had to be done. I thought the day would never come - all the kids in school for a few hours in the day. What will I ever do with myself to pass the time?? Kim asked me if I wanted to get a job...I hope he was kidding....

How I Spent My Saturday Night....

Yep. Old Lady. After a busy, busy, Saturday my hubby and son were off to a very dissapointing BYU game. Me? Stayed home and bottled grape juice. No date night, dinner out, movie or even a rental. Bottled juice. And when I was done, I stood back to admire it. Isn't it beautiful? Yep. Old Lady.

Life is Rough

It's been a blustery week....cold and rainy for two days. Just enough to make us want to stay inside and keep busy at home. Today, Nat decided to break out the foam stickers and make Kim's b-day present (it's still a month and a half away). I left her here with Abby to run and get the kids from school and this is what I came home to. Those darn foamy stickers just plum wore her out. I love photos like this....

Comfort Food

It is officially fall. It didn't get above 60 degrees here today. Brrrrrr! We have not yet turned on the furnace, but it won't be long. There is officially snow in the mountains - beautiful to look at, but kind of ruining that reddish-orange tint that I've been enjoying. With the rain and the cold comes one of my favorite things: soup! And, you can't have soup without homemade bread. We had broccoli cheese soup on Monday with homemade honey-wheat bread. Tonight it was chicken and dumplings...simply delicious! It's been requested to share the recipe, so here goes:

Chicken and Dumplings
6 cups chicken broth (3 cans) OR 6 c. water + 6 chicken bouillon cubes
1 whole chicken, boiled and shredded ** (see below)
1 c. sliced carrots (2-3 carrots)
3 ribs celery, chopped
1 onion, minced
2-3 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf
1 handful of chopped fresh parsley (or 1 Tbsp. dried parsley)
1/2 tsp. basil
1 14-oz. can evaporated milk
1 recipe of Bisquick dumplings **The horror, I know! Dumplings from a box! (2 c. Bisquick + 2/3 cup of milk)

In a large pot, heat some olive oil over medium heat and add onions and garlic. Saute for a few minutes and then add chicken broth, chicken, bay leaf, and basil. Bring to a boil. Add carrots and celery and reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook until carrots and celery are tender. When carrots and celery are almost done, add chopped parsley. *I never have fresh herbs, so I used dried and it was fine. Add evaporated milk. Increase heat to boiling and add prepared Bisquick by large spoonfuls (they'll really puff up while they're cooking). Cook uncovered for about 10 minutes and then cover and cook for an additional 10 minutes. I also used a little flour to thicken before I added the dumplings.

**For the chicken I used 1 whole cut-up chicken. Added enough water to cover it and threw in some carrots, onion, celery and salt/pepper. Brought to a boil and then turned down to a simmer for about 45 min. I then strained the stock (Save it and use as the chicken stock in recipe!) and shredded the chicken. Do not re-use the vegetables. Just toss out. When I added the stock to the recipe above, I added a few chicken bouillon cubes to increase the chicken flavor.

It was truly a yummy dinner (or as they say in NoDak, "supper") and everyone gobbled it up. I was hoping for some leftovers for tomorrow, but sadly we ate almost the entire pot! Sometime in the near future, I will post my other favorite soup: Grandma Lueck's Knoefla Soup (pronounced neff-la)....my mouth is watering just thinking about it. And, if you're not from NoDak, or Norwegian, you will just have to wait and see exactly what a knoefla is!!