Friends in San Antonio?

Does anyone know anyone living in San Antonio? I have some really good friends who are moving to San Antonio right before Christmas--literally--and I don't want them to be all alone. They're moving there December 17th. ZOIKS! Anyone?

Top 5 Movies

A couple weeks ago, my friend, Andrea, and I were emailing back and forth about our top five movie picks. We created a list of lists. I didn't have time originally to finish it and I promised her that I would. I told her I'd post it here as well.

Please be aware that within any one category, the list is not in the order of my most favorite to my fifth favorite. Sometimes it's hard to choose between one, two, or five. So, theses are my top FIVE of each. Also, be aware that I could have missed some of my "favorites" because I just couldn't think of them.

Top 5 Action Flicks
Gladiator
Young Guns
Transformers
The Dark Knight
House of Flying Daggers

Top 5 Comedy Flicks
Wild Hogs
Three Amigos!
Barber Shop
Galaxy Quest
My Big Fat Greek Wedding

Top 5 Disney Flicks
Mulan
Finding Nemo
Bedknobs and Broomsticks
Toy Story
Monsters, Inc.

Top 5 Drama Flicks
Million Dollar Baby
Whale Rider
In America
Rabbit Proof Fence
The Color Purple

Top 5 Musical Flicks
Fiddler on the Roof
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
Wizard of Oz
Beauty and the Beast
Mary Poppins

Top 5 Romantic Flicks
While You Were Sleeping
P.S. I Love You
The Village
Hope Floats
Sabrina

Top 5 Soundtracks
Glory
Medicine Man
Back to the Future
Last of the Mohicans
Fly Away Home

Top 5 Sports Flicks
Rudy
The Greatest Game Ever Played
Remember the Titans
8 Seconds
Invincible

Top 5 Worst Flicks
Killer Clowns from Outer Space
Napoleon Dynamite
See Spot Run
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Hellboy 2

Top 5 Flicks of All Time
Three Amigos!
Ladyhawke
The Dark Crystal
Mulan
Wild Hogs

Six Months

The Meltdown

This was an "activity" we had this morning in our office. The best part was when Marisa and I were sitting on the floor, pulling on the dang thing, when Gary walked by. Instead of asking what we were doing, Gary just sat on the floor with us. Silly Gary!

Sacrament Meeting Skits

Last night, at Young Women, I behaved badly. It's true. I behaved very badly. But, then I got my act straight and behaved much better. We--the YW presidency--did two skits for our girls to teach them about sacrament meeting behavior. The first skit we displayed numerous inappropriate behaviors. The second skit we displayed appropriate behavior. The girls laughed pretty hard, but, I think they got the message. In fact, we even had the Spirit in the room when we talked about the actual sacrament. We first read some passages from the most recent talk in general conference about reverence. Then we read some quotes from John Bytheway about the sacrament. Satomi was the one who outlined the skits for us. And, she prepared the handouts and thoughts. Anyway, see if you can count the number of inappropriate things we did in the first skit. And then look at our angelic faces during the second.

Hamburger Wantons?

Yes, hamburger wantons.

Last night, Mark and I made a new recipe that we feel quite pleased about. Mark thinks we should call it "All American Wantons." Ok, we'll go with that.

About a week and a half ago I bought a package of wanton wrappers. We used half of them one Sunday afternoon. I've been mentioning that we need to use them before they dry out (that's what the package said). We finally got around to doing it last night.

At first we didn't know what to put in them. But, we improvised. And it was delicious. We ate them with ketchup and steak sauce. We will make them again, we enjoyed them that much. Since we only had a half a package of wanton wrappers, we only "wrapped" half of our meat mixture.

----------
All American Wantons, by Mark and Andrea
1 pound hamburger
1/2 onion, chopped
1 pound (1 large) potato, chopped
Your favorite seasonings
1 package wanton wrappers

Heat deep fryer to 360 degrees. Chop your onion and potato into very small pieces--very small. Use a food processor if necessary. Hand mix onion and potato with raw hamburger. Mix in seasonings (such as Italian dressing, salt, pepper, tobasco sauce, etc.).

Put one tablespoon worth of meat mixture on wanton wrapper. Wet edges of wanton wrapper. Fold over and seal by pressing together. Deep fry for 3 1/2 minutes. Turn over. Deep fry for 3 1/2 minutes more. (7 minutes total.)

Serve with ketchup, steak sauce, soy sauce, or any other meat sauce.

The Logan Temple

So, Mark and I have a goal to visit all the temples in Utah within our first year of marriage, if possible. So far, we have visited the following as a couple:

Temples Mark & Andrea Have Attended

First Time Together

#	Temple	State	Endowment	Sealings	Open House
1	Rexburg	Idaho	.	.	Jan. ‘08
2	Jordan River	Utah	Feb. ‘08	July ‘09	.
3	Salt Lake City	Utah	Mar. ‘08	.	.
4	Bountiful	Utah	April ‘08	.	.
5	Timpanogos	Utah	May ‘08	.	.
6	Manti	Utah	.	May ‘08*	.
7	Boise	Idaho	June ‘08	.	.
8	Columbia River	Washington	June ‘08	.	.
9	Ogden	Utah	July ‘08	.	.
10	Monticello	Utah	Sept. ‘08	.	.
11	Logan	Utah	Nov. ‘08	.	.

It’s been really rewarding for us. We’ve felt more love for each other, and we feel like we’ve been strengthened spiritually.

This past Friday night, we went to Logan and stayed with Mark’s friends from his youth: Parker and Debbie. The husband/dad was one of Mark’s young men leaders. They were absolutely wonderful. Mark and I want to be like them when we’re their age. And, we want to be like them when we’re old too. They are still in love and they still are young.

They fed us burgers for dinner. First thing Saturday, we went to the temple. Then we just talked with them until almost 2:30 when we decided we better leave them. They were wonderful. And, it just made Mark and me even more happy that we have each other.

The Food Bank

So, last night, for our YM/YW activity, we went to the Food Bank. I loved it! And, so did the kids. In fact, the first thing that impressed me was the fact there were so many of our kids coming. We had nine YW and we had eight YM. That's the most I've ever seen at any activity.

About half of the leaders/kids went to the Food Bank last year. They had us do the same thing. It was really nice that they just set us to work. I didn't know how it all worked, but it wasn't hard to figure out.

We sorted food/supplies into boxes. The food/supplies were in GIANT boxes and we put them in boxes about 1-foot-cubed. The categories were baby supplies, canned beans, canned veggies, canned fruits, canned soups, boxed meals, canned meats, personal supplies, toilet paper, household items, snacks/sweets, holiday, ethnic foods, condiments and sauces, dried soups and plain pasta, beverages, coffee, dried milk, canned milk, etc. I can't remember all the boxes.

The most wonderful thing happened: the kids loved it and they worked hard. In fact, the supervisor guy didn't think we'd get as much done, so he gave us another huge box to sort. I didn't hear one person complain. I didn't see one person sitting out. I didn't witness any revolts of any manner. It was beautiful.

Yah, that was a good activity. I wonder if they even knew they were doing service? Hahahah!

*****

Truly, I am so blessed. I can afford to buy all those things whenever I want/need to. I have a good job. I have a wonderful husband. And, Heavenly Father is watching out for me.

How's Your Multiplication?

I got this video from my mother-in-law. I just about died laughing. It is sooooooo funny.

7:00 am Shopping

This morning--Saturday--I went grocery shopping. Ok, so it wasn't quite 7:00 am, but it was 7:30. We woke up and went shopping. It was really quiet, just like I hoped it would be. And, all the shelves were stocked because they hadn't been cleared yet.

Generally, we sleep in on Saturday. But, I knew we needed to go heavy-duty shopping today, and there is no way I wanted to fight crowds. So, I figured first thing would be the best idea.

Mark wasn't very happy. But, it had to be done. And, now it is!

Christmas Gifts: Slippers

My Dear Family & Friends,

Somewhat embarrassing to admit, I'm not getting an annual bonus and Christmas is tight this year. I will be making bedroom slippers for you all as gifts. Please let me know your sizes. You'll most likely agree that it's a splendid idea, and should you wish to do the same, I've included the instructions below.

How to make bedroom slippers out of maxi pads:

* You need four maxi pads to make a pair.
* Two of them get laid out flat, for the foot part.
* The other two wrap around the toe area to form the top.
* Tape or glue each side of the top pieces to the bottom of the foot part.

Decorate the tops with whatever you desire, silk flowers (this is most aesthetically appealing), etc.

These slippers are:

* Soft and Hygienic
* Non-slip grip strips on the soles
* Built in deodorant feature keeps feet smelling fresh
* No more bending over to mop up spills
* Disposable and biodegradable
* Environmentally safe
* Three convenient sizes: (1) Regular, (2) Light and (3) Get Out the Sand Bags.

I've attached a photo of the first pair I made so that you can see the nifty slippers for yourself....

Awaiting your response. It's crucial that I get the right size for each one of you.



Hehehehe........ I only wish I was creative enough to write that.

Government Health Warning

I just needed something new and funny on the blog.

Spread the Wealth

Cletus and Clareese

I had a dream about Cletus and Clareese last night. No kidding. And then--I used that as a thought in my Young Women meeting.

In my dream, there were some law professors talking about some issue on TV--I don't remember what the issue was. Then one of them said that they needed to talk to some experts or witnesses or something. The screen flashed to a library-looking room, where a "Cletus" and "Clareese" were. Except, they were NOT Cletus and Clareese (as seen above). They were two other people trying to be Mark and me.

I remember being quite upset about it in my dream. "That's not us! That's not Cletus and Clareese! They suck. They are totally not as funny as us. Who are those people?"

In our YW class, we talked about self esteem and about individual worth. It came to me towards the end of the lesson how my dream actually does relate to that very topic.

No one can be as good at being "me" as I can--which also means being Clareese. No one can be as good at being Mark as he can--including being Cletus. There is a reason we are sent to this earth and we have the opportunities that we have--because no one else can be as good at being us. We ARE individuals. We ARE unique. We ARE special. And, we ARE here to do something important.

Any way...funny dream, funny analogy, but true. :-D