The Final Countdown

The last day of school for me is June 24th. Who would you guess is more excited, me or my students?
If you guessed me. You guessed right :)

Summer is such a magical time of year. The slow mornings and road trips fill my soul with gladness. But seriously, we can't live for the summer. Right?

Sometimes on sunday night I forget that I have to go to sleep at some point so I can get to school in the morning. Last night I forgot that. I realized when I went to bed at 3 a.m. that I wasn't going to bed so much as going down for a nap.
Then this morning, I woke up to what felt like a the longest commute EVER. Which is silly because it's always a long commute; 49.7 miles.

Way.

Too.

Long.

But I brought it upon myself and I'm not sorry.

About a year ago, an old and favorite friend and I hatched a plan for me to move 40 miles north and spend a lazy summer in the magnificent metropolis of Seattle. The plan, which has changed since then, would make me only a temporary resident.

But Seattle got into my blood again and I couldn't seem to get out of there, so I moved back permanantly. I have a library card now, which makes it official.


Something to make the commute better:
The new Black Keys album, cranked ALL THE WAY UP.

Something to keep my soul light until summer:
Hiking at night in the pouring rain and getting lost.

Something to check out from the Seattle Public Library:
How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization by Franklin Foer

Super Sonic Chocolate Covered AWESOME!

This post's title is a quote borrowed from one of my 7th graders today. It made us all laugh and I have determined that I must begin circulating it in my daily conversation. So, if you're pretty cool and I notice I just might declare you to be super sonic chocolate covered awesome!



Also good news kids, it's friday. And we all know what that means . . .



It's time for another installment of a low calorie friday treat:

Astronaut

Do you ever feel like you totally sold yourself short? Like when you wonder "Why didn't I become an astronaut?" I think it's time to start living out my dreams of space flight.

Also, I want Harrison Ford to be my boyfriend.

Mother's Day Recipe Book (Recycled Post)

I used to dream of opening my own restaurant, I started making plans when I was about 8. I invented several tasty treats, arranged them on the kitchen table and stood behind it to sell them to Emily, Roger and my Mom. Our mom ooooed and ahhed and wrote checks to me at my "restaurant." Real checks!

Recipe for Little Karen's Tasty Treats
Ingredients: Marshmallows, Jam, Toothpicks
Directions: Coat marshmallows with a sticky layer of Jam. Stick a toothpick in marshmallow. Eat happily.

When I was 10 I wanted an apron for my birthday. Yes an apron. For my restaurant, duh. I still had big plans. Big tasty plans. Thankfully I have a wonderful family who loved me, cared for me and gave me an apron. Luckily they knew this was kind of a lame request and gave me other cool stuff. Jill and Suzy got me a swatch watch, and jeans from the GAP; way too cool for the likes of me. I dearly loved it though. And I loved them. My 10th birthday was shadowed with the death of my mother, but they were there for me and loved me through that hard time. They were like little moms to me. Cool college students. Suzy even took the semester in correspondent courses so she could stay with us longer. Gratitude fills me when I think of all the women who have blessed my life after my lovely mother's death. Kathy Pettit had Emily and me come to her house several Fridays after school for cooking lessons (getting closer to the dream of restaurant ownership all the time). She would always send us home with dinner and dessert, therefore blessing not only our lives with her tender care but that of our grieving father as well.

Recipe for Medium Karen's Chocolate Cake (From the kitchen of Kathy Pettit)
Ingredients: Chocolate cake, chocolate frosting, toothpicks.
Directions: Mix and bake cake. Pull out of the oven and test center with a toothpick, spread with chocolate frosting. Eat gratefully.

This blog is my Mother's Day tribute to all of the wonderful women, truly kindred spirits, who have loved me and taught me so much, not just about cooking but caring and living the gospel too.

The Lord, in his wisdom and infinite goodness, has blessed my life through the kindness of others in many ways. None more obvious than in that of my wonderful mother, Judie, who lovingly joined our family and also our hearts. How lucky we were!
I'm sure that every one thinks their own family is great but secretly I know that mine is the best. Ok, ok! The best for me. We love each other, we love to be near each other and spent much of our teenage years crowded together with our mom on her bed talking and gossiping; our poor dad never had a spot to sit. He would come home, walk in, look around and then go make dinner. I love you Mom, you were the heart of our home. In honor of my parents, I offer this recipe to liven your next party.

Big Karen's Parent's Favorite Appetizers
Ingredients: 1 can whole water chestnuts, Bacon cut in thirds, brown sugar or BBQ sauce, toothpicks to hold it all together.
Directions: Wrap bacon around water chestnuts. Secure with toothpick. Place on cookie sheet, brush with BBQ Sauce or sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake at 350 degrees until bacon is done, about 1 hour. Eat carefully. (there are sharp toothpicks inside that could poke your lip)

The dark side of restaurant ownership of course is washing the dishes when you are done making the mess. Although, my mom tried very hard to teach me to love cleaning (thanks Mom!) it's still a struggle. Here's a poem, posted in our kitchen by our mom, to help you love to wash dishes. Although, I still dislike washing dishes, I love this poem.

Thank God for dirty dishes,
They have a tale to tell,
While others may go hungry,
We're eating very well.
With health and strength and happiness,
I should not want to fuss,
For by the stacks of evidence,
The Lord's been good to us.

Doesn't this poem make you want to wash some dishes? Me neither. Many, many roommates will tell you the truth about me. That I am a nice person, with a good heart but that mumble, mumble, ...mmmbbb. What? What's that's noise I heard just then. Did you hear it too? I think it was my oven beeping. I have to go pull out my chocolate cake.

This post is dedicated to Judie, my Super-Mom, and to all of my other adoptive moms. Suzy, Jill, Grandma Marie, the Sumner/Puyallup/Surprise Lake Ward Relief Society. And to my sisters Amber, Emily, Siri, Honor, Veronique, Cori and Angie who are my heroes and friends. I love you each and all.

Chemical Cupcakes

Look at this!! Seriously? I know, right? My roommate Aimee made this incredible birthday surprise for me. I love it. Love, love, love it.

She told me about 3 weeks ago that I was not allowed in the kitchen the night before my birthday. And then last night she barricaded it off with kitchen chairs and yelled reminders at me every time I even poked my nose out of my room.

So I went to a movie with friends while she worked away in the kitchen, still having no idea about the amazing masterpeice she was sneakily creating at home.

But, Aims, you out did yourself. Even in my wildest dreams I never could have expected this. You're awesome! Thanks for your friendship.

P.S. I wonder if I should be embarassed that my friends know I would love this. Maybe not. But I should be embarassed about the video Jennifer recorded as the masterpiece was unveiled. I actually jumped into the air. Yep.