I'm Fantastic!

Well, this is what you get when you decide to 'work on the side' as a stay-at-home mom. There is an old couple in our ward and they were talking about needing help with their camcorder tapes. Someone that saw my Young Women slideshow recommended me. Well I got their number and gave them a call. It was a really old guy and he was a little hard of hearing. Knowing me and how I mumble on the phone, I don't think he really understood me. I researched online about 2 hours to figure out the best way to help him. I figured it would be easier if we had a DVD recorder. I offered to buy it from Walmart and have them pay me back. But, he was again flustered on the phone and wanted me to see the TV and all of his equipment. At this point he said, "I thought most TV people were guys, I never heard of a girl that knew about TV's." If he only knew...

Anywho, so I drive 8 miles to their house and come to the same conclusion that they need a DVD recorder. They follow me back to Walmart where I help them pick it out. We were waiting for the old guy to pull up the car so I decided I'd pick up some counter cleaner because we were out. As we check out the old lady says, "Let me get this for you ... for all your hard work."

At this point my mind starts racing. What!! I spend 5 hours on this already, and will probably spend another 4 more hours for a bottle of cleaner that cost $1.79. I probably also spent more than $7.00 in gas money! I thought all along that they were going to pay me. I'm pretty sure I talked to the old guy about my hourly rate, but he doesn't seem to be totally with it. Oh well! Live and learn! Be careful who you work for because you may get paid in cleaner ... or meatballs (Wedding Singer reference).

Becca said that I should have gotten a high-end cleaner like Oxy-clean. Pete keeps saying that I'm "Fantastic."

Delicious Dish!

Pete made me this Molten Chocolate Cake.

This is an official "Blagger" post.


(Bragger+Blogger)

Here's the recipe!

4 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup margarine (cut in pieces)
2 large eggs
1/4 cup heavy or whipping cream
2 large eggs yolks
1/2 teasponn vanilla extract
confectioners sugar
1/4 cup flour
whipped cream or ice cream (optional)


1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease eight 6 oz custard cups. Dust with sugar.

2. In heavy 3-qt saucepan, combine chocolate, butter, and cream; heat over low heat, stirring occasionally, until butter and chocolate have melted and mixture is smooth. Remove pan from heat. Add vanilla. With wire whisk, stir in flour just until mixture is smooth.

3. In medium bowl, with mixer at high speed, beat granulated sugar, eggs, and yolks until thick and lemon-colored, about 10 minutes. fold egg mixture, one-third at a time, into chocolate mixture until blended.

4. Divide batter evenly among prepared custard cups. Place cups in jelly-roll pan for easier handling. Bake until edges of cakes are set but centers still jiggle, 8 to 9 minutes. Cool in pan on wire rack 3 minutes. Run thin knife around edges to loosen cakes from sides of cups; invert onto dessert plates. Dust with confectioners' sugar. Serve immediately with shipped cream or icecream, if desired.

Arrrrrrrgh! Ye Ole' Pirate Ships

We went to Morro Bay to see the ships. The one ship is the fancy english ship the 'Intercepter' from the first Pirates movie. (The Black Pearl was never an actual ship, but a set that was a barge at sea). Don't be fooled by the sunny pictures. It was FREEZING. We had to wait in line to walk on board and Phillip got really sick of us holding him and wanted to walk around the deck. This of course ended in a few tantrums. Once we were on board, Phillip liked it a little better. It was neat to walk around and take some cool pictures.

Yo ho, Yo ho a Pirates life for me!!

Grover Beach

We had friends in town and since they drove a big Suburban we drove on the beach for the first time. It was really cold out but still a pretty sunset. Phillip Loves to chase the birds!

Nature Boy!

Phillip got wet in the cold water with his clothes on him. We stripped him down so that he could dry off. He decided to chase birds bare-naked!

Phillip Gettting into Everything!

Phillip loves to discover new drawers and cupboards lately. If I can I put a hair elastic to keep him out. We did by all of that Child-Proofing gear, but seems like too much of a pain to drill holes into all of our drawers. He got into my big tub of bread flour. He also likes to play with the cocoa powder and corn meal, but as you can see he figured out how to open the corn meal container. Phillip likes to play in my shower as well. I would let him until now. A few days ago he poored bath soap all over the floor. It was a little too big of a mess to stop and take a picture.

He really likes the broom and the vacuum. He starts crying when you stop sweeping. He also likes it when I talk on the phone. He'll find my cell phone and say hi into it. He'll then realize that there is no one there. He'll keep giving me my cell phone until I call someone and he hears me talking on the phone again.

Christmas 2006

Phillip is turning into a little ham. He was a wise man for Christmas and looked great in the Alladin hat He loved seeing cousins and family. I think he would get a little too overwhelmed with some of the crazy family functions. In all, we had good times and noodle salad!

Monarch Butterfly Grove

We got to see the Monarch Butterflies today! There are thousands of them. They look like leaves on the tree. It was a fun nature outing with the family :-)

My new crafty Craft!

Cheryl got me a fancy wreath to hang above our fireplace. I decided to try and copy the look. Pete and I picked Eucalyptus leaves from a nearby field. We visited a friend who had artichokes in their garden and picked up the dried ones. (They were $7 a piece in the store..!). I Dried some lavender from our front yard and added the eucalyptus berries. It was a fun project, but the smell was a little strong for phillip. He was sneezing a lot!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a happy HAPPY :-) It was a successful turkey day. We have a fridge and cooler full of leftovers. My 2nd turkey came out without a hitch. (I made a practice turkey last week). Now all we need to do is eat the leftovers :-)

Morro Bay

We went to a fun shell shop and found our special ornament for the year. A sand dollar :-)

Trip to Solvang

This is a fun little Danish community about an hour away from us. We loved the dollar restaurant (Custard's last stand). The Danish bakeries were fun. :-)

Halloween!!

Here's the cute little monkey!

Trip to Utah


Phillip and his boy cousing friend! :-)

Pumpkins at the Avila Barn






We went to pick out some pumpkins, but I ended up getting some ornamental gords instead. Phillip didn't really like wearing his cowboy hat again, or standing on top of the pumpkins. But it made for a cute picture! :-)

Farmer Phillip!

I know this is about a month late, but here is the Birthday Boy picture. He loved the frosting, but was pretty bored with the cake.
Of course he is wearing his newest T-shirt featuring a Bull Dog saying, "Are you talking to me?"

Sunset at Carpenteria

We went to the Avocado festival in Carpenteria California. (20th annual avocado festival!).

We walked to the beach and saw an amazing sunset. We of course got our fill of guacamole and other fried food. mmmmmmmh guacamole tri-tip sandwich!

Welcome to my BLOG!! Great to have some pictures and such!

The future is NOW!

Here is the latest picture of the little guy. He really wanted to try and eat some limes.