Merry Christmas!

One day we're going to actually finish our kitchen and I'll get to post real pictures of it.  Unfortunately we're in that stage where it's livable enough that we can take a break (we spent every spare moment of October and November working on it and I am SICK of it!).  Until then, I suppose I'll have to settle for posting pictures taken in the kitchen.  It's kind of like showing off all the work we put in, right?!

So here is our update- I finally got to make some good quality Croquembouche (a cream puff tower- it's been on my 'I really want to try making this' list for years now, but there are only so many places you can bring a 2' high tower of cream puffs encrusted with spun sugar...)  AND, you might just notice that the croquembouche is NOT sitting on a pink counter top.  

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas over here :)

Christmas Update

It's Christmas card time again-  If you don't think we have your current address- let me know! Thanks!

Trivia Question:

Q: What color are our kitchen counter tops?

A: NOT PINK!!!

(We've been waiting a long time to be able to give that answer!)

George Reunion!

We had such a great time at our George reunion this year!  The week was full of fun- games, a Halloween Party, a trip up the mountain in a Rzr (could that possibly be spelled right?  Words without vowels seem tricky to me, but whatever the case- that is definitely my favorite way to hike up a mountain!), fishing, and lots and lots of Lego Mindstorm building.  

We're sad to be back to real life!

Pumpkin bowling in the dark

View from the top

Farewell to Summer

Can you find Doug fishing?!

Well, we've watched as the leaves in the canyon have changed colors and slowly fallen from the trees; I suppose it's time to admit that Summer is officially gone.  It's just so sad to me this year!  

Our life hasn't changed much in the past 5 years, despite thousands, possibly millions, of prayers that it would. This summer was the first time in a long time that God let us see something change for the better.  It wasn't big, and in the opposite direction than I'd hoped for (I never expected to start college all over again in my late 20s...while still battling the illness that came in my early 20s) but it was a change!  And after so many years of feeling stuck in a place I didn't want to be, any change at all feels pretty magical.  

It was a good summer.  Maybe even my favorite one yet.

My little painting nook next to Doug's fishing spot

Doug's 'Farm' (ok, it was a small plot in the community garden by his office... but to us it was big enough to call The Farm)

Our garden at home

Blue Ribbon Winner

And the First Prize winner of the Digi International Annual Salsa Competition is.....

Asian Style Salsa created by our very own Douglas George!

And do you know what the coolest part is?  To Doug, a cooking competition isn't even real if you don't make up your own recipe.  And not just a variation of a recipe, a completely new one.  (because, after all, if you used Martha Stewart's recipe it's not even like you had to do anything- or so Doug would say)

I love Salsa Contest Season because we get to eat variations of fresh salsa for weeks while Doug perfects his recipe.  And if I ever had a favorite past time, it might just be biting into amazing food and trying to figure out what might make it even more delicious.  

Lately Doug's been enjoying taking a dish and giving it a different cultural swing.  Last year's Italian Salsa was divine.  But this year's dish is one I keep asking him to make even after trying batch after batch.  And let's be honest, you know it's got to be good to convince a panel of judges to give it first prize in a Salsa Competition when it's not anything like any salsa they've ever tried before.

For those of you who have requested the recipe, here it is (though I do make the disclaimer that we have been trying out the health benefits of random diets for years... as a result the staples of our cupboards are not always things other people would have on hand... sorry!)

Doug's Asian Style Salsa

2 T Sauté Oil (Vegetable Oil would work too)

4 T Sesame Oil

2 T Soy Sauce

1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Rice Vinegar

1 T Sriracha Chili Sauce

¼ t Ground Mustard

5 T Sugar

¼ t Ginger

About 14 oz Shelled Edamame

2 Red Peppers

1 Small Bunch Green Onion

2 T Black Sesame Seeds

2 T Toasted Sesame Seeds

Combine Vegetable oil, sesame oil, rice vinegar, Sriracha, ground mustard, sugar and ginger in a sauce pan.  Bring to a boil for about 4 minutes, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

While sauce cools, dice edamame and peppers into small pieces and add to your salsa bowl.  Dice only the whites of the green onions and add to bowl.  Stir in sesame seeds, reserving 1 T of black seeds for garnish.  Mix in cooled sauce and top with remaining sesame seeds.

Enjoy with tortilla chips.  

(It's also fantastic on a grilled chicken salad!  Or make up just the sauce and mix with cabbage for a coleslaw) 

Doug's New Calling

When we were first married Doug got called into our ward's Elder's Quorum Presidency where he happily served for the year we lived in our apartment.  When we moved into our house we where excited for change.  New people, new ward, new callings-  Right?!

Well,  I got a new calling.  Doug was called into the Elder's Quorum again.  At that point I laughed- it was apparently where he needed to be!  But it wasn't just then- in the 5 years since we moved to our first ward, our Elder's Quorums have had 4 different presidencies, and Doug has been in them all.

So I'm sure you can understand our excitement when, a couple weeks ago, Doug was told the presidency was going to be released!  His 'Forever Calling' would actually come to an end! We were excited and a little nervous to find out where he'd go as we made a mental list of all the open callings in the ward.  When the stake presidency called and asked him to come in we, of course, got even more nervous.  Forget the ward, now we were thinking all of the vacancies in the stake.  I  just hate waiting for those interviews to finally come!

But come it did and I still break out in giggles when I think of the councilor in our Stake Presidency leaning forward and saying, "Doug, we'd like to release from your calling as First Councilor in the Elder's Quorum Presidency and call you... as the First Councilor in the new Elder's Quorum Presidency."

Ha! Well, I guess you can change the official number to 5; five presidencies in a row that Doug as served in. I'm seriously beginning to think his calling will never change.

I Think I'm in Heaven

Doug got a plot at the community garden down by his office, and let me tell you- we have learned a lot this year!  It's really nice having a garden next to 50 other people who can give you pointers.  And by really nice, I really mean that if they hadn't been there we might have actually gone all summer without a single vegetable.    (Turns out those numbers on fertilizer bags really mean something...)

On Monday we enjoyed our harvest in what might have become my favorite summer dish.  That bowl of veggies turned into the most amazing marinara sauce I have ever tasted- I've made it from scratch with stuff from the grocery store and it's good.  But when it's made entirely out of fresh picked veggies... (And of course served over homemade noodles, because how could you not?) SO good!  I am seriously hoping for a second round of this.

Thanks all you community farmers!

Day With Nieces!

We were so lucky to get to spend the day with our nieces this week while they were in town- it was such a fun day!  It all started out with a Puppet Tea Party for lunch (can I just say I love that I've become the Puppet Aunt?!) followed by a trip up to the Utah History and Art Museum in Salt Lake to see my quilt (that was at their request- they're so sweet).  Doug even got the afternoon off so he got to come with us for that.

Some of you who are related to me might be surprised to know that the original handcart on display at the museum is the actual handcart used by the family of my Grandpa Stacey's maternal grandfather.  (he was a baby when he crossed the plains, it was pulled by his parents and grandparents I believe)  Did you know that?!  I didn't find out until a year or so ago and I can't believe this isn't a bigger, more readily shared bit of family information.   

The evening ended with a puppet making marathon.  The girls cut everything out while I sewed.  It was so fun to see their creations.

As ever, we're so sad to see them go! 

#5

We had such a fun time celebrating our anniversary this year.  We spent the weekend up in Salt Lake, we got to check out the farmer's market at Thanksgiving Point where we bought some hand carved wooden spoons from some cute old men.  We got to go to President Monson's Birthday Celebration at the conference center and spent an afternoon at Les Madeleines eating kouing amans- my new all time favorite food.  (they're a pastry that is so popular that each household is only allowed to buy 6 a day)

The most photogenic part of the weekend was our trip to the Thanksgiving Point Art Institute where we got to make glass flowers.  So cool!  I've watched glass making before, but never thought I could get in and do a little myself. You go in there and one of the resident glass blowers (ps- I'm officially jealous of that job) helps you pick out colors and does all the scary super hot furnace work, leaving the fun, flower shaping part to you.  It was so fun and made for a pretty awesome bouquet of flowers!

 

Aida

I am always so amazed at how much talent there is here when it comes to singing, dancing and acting.  Even the elementary school plays are actually pretty good (when you consider the age of the actors).  We are surrounded by amazing high school, college and community theaters and going to a play has always been on our 'we should really do that' list.  I don't know why we hardly ever get to them!

When I found out that one of my best friends from college was in a community theater's (? whatever the Sandy Amphitheater is considered- semi professional? Community?  I obviously need to learn more about this whole theater thing!) play- Aida- I was so excited to have a reason to go!  It's an outdoor theater with lawn seating, so I got us tickets, packed a picnic dinner and we headed up for the show.  It was really great... when the rain finally stopped about half way through....  :(  It's rained so little this year that I had only planned for sitting through record breaking heat- I didn't even think of rain.  Oh well!  We finally had a reason to break out those emergency blankets and jackets we keep in the car.

It was so fun to actually know someone on stage and get to hear about everything going on back stage.  And luckily the show was good enough to keep us watching even through the rain.  We're definitely going to have to check out a few more shows around here- maybe next time I'll try an indoor theater.

Cardboard Duct Tape Boat Regatta

Every year we go down to my grandma's house for Salem Days.  We're usually there for the fireworks- because you'll seriously never get as good a seat for fireworks as you get in my Grandma's front yard.  (I admit, there's just a part of me that loves watching everyone staking out seating hours in advance while I laze around in the living room knowing that I can walk outside a  minute before the fireworks start and still have the best seat in the house!)

This year, in addition to the fireworks, we checked the Cardboard Duct Tape Boat Regatta.  Because, I mean, how could we have lived in Utah for so long without experiencing this?  The whole experience makes me smile- I seriously want to compete one year.  You get 2 hours to make your boat, you only get cardboard and duct tape for construction and you can't test it to see if it floats until race time.  The kid entries were cute, but when they got to the adult entries I was seriously amazed.  I'm so mad I didn't take a picture, but I found this video online that shows the adult entries- they're just up for a second at the end.  When you see a human sized hamster wheel floating on the water you'll know you got to the right place. :)

I think I might have found the next random competition for our Stacey reunions.

Art Class

Hmmm... so I wrote this post and it turned out really long.... so I added a shorter version too.  You get to pick which you want to read :)

Long Story Short

Check out http://sweetbriarsisters.com/blog/ to see all of my creative projects- it's where I'm going to post them from now on.

Short Story Long

Blogs are a funny thing.  I feel like most of the people I know have such a love/hate relationship with them.  We love to keep in contact with friends and family, so we read them.  But every time we read them, we walk away feeling like crap.

Ok, so maybe not every time we read them.  And to be honest it's not all the people I talk to who feel this way.  Mostly just all the women I talk to.  :)  One of the things I hear all the time from women is that they look at a friend's blog, see all the projects she's gotten done, and immediately feel like a failure.  It's been making me very self conscious about our blog, which is like 50% about the projects I do.   

Now, let's be realistic for a minute.  The reason I get a lot of projects done is because I'm chronically ill and in bed all but a few hours a day.  There's not much I can do in life but projects.  It is nothing to be jealous of, trust me!  However, it seems the whole 'blog envy' problem has very little to do with actual reality, and everything to do with how our lives are presented on screen.  And so I continue to worry

The point is, I never want anyone to have to put our blog on their 'I can only read this blog every so often because it makes me feel like crap' list. (and yes, just for reference, I have one of those lists too, so don't feel bad if you do) So just in case, I'm moving all my creative endeavors to their own blog, http://sweetbriarsisters.com/blog/.  That way if you don't want to look at them, you never have to again!  And if you do, they're readily available, just not here.

And, if you're wondering why in the world this post is entitled Art Class, it's because all of this was leading up to the fact that I finished my first art class and LOVE, LOVE, LOVED it!  I'm seriously so anxious for Fall Semester to start so I can learn more.  All of the paintings I did are up on my creative blog for those of you who'd like to check them out!

Family Reunion

I am experiencing severe Family Withdrawal this week.  Don't you just hate the week after family reunions?  (I suppose this only counts for people who only get to see family during family reunions.  It wouldn't be nearly this sad if we could just drive for a few hours and see them again)  I swear our house wasn't this empty before our trip!

It was worth it though- I got to spend 2 full weeks out East, first in Michigan where the whole fam got together at Bill and Kali's house (and we got to see Andrew and Lauren's new house!) and then out to my parents' house in Ohio with my sister's family.  What a fun trip!  

Kali's awesome idea to avoid hundreds of plastic cups all over the house (they have magnets glued to them so we could stick them all on the fridge)

Pottery in white lab coats.  Could there possibly be a more 'Stacey' activity than this?

My dad's new toy.

This was the first jump before we knew how far it could go- the car could actually jump over the entire second chair)

Cherry pit spitting contest- I got second place!  But it was only because none of my brothers were there...

 

I like this picture because Alexis is giving bunny ears to someone who is, in fact, wearing bunny ears. :)

Alexis in the 4th of July dress I made her while we were out there!

Doug and the Big 3-0

Are you noticing a trend in Doug's bday cakes?  I'm pretty sure we found his pick for every birthday for the rest of time!

Happy Birthday to Doug!  

Wow- Doug's birthday was so long ago that I don't even really remember what we did.  I guess it doesn't help that it fell in the middle of my class which meant that I was a walking zombie for the occasion. 

For one of his gifts Doug got a fishing licence and we have since enjoyed many beautiful evenings up in the canyon- Doug fishing and me painting. It's been such a fun gift- I think it is quickly becoming our favorite hobby and we're having a lot of fun finding the perfect location.  It's harder than you might think- it can't just be a great fishing spot, it has to have a place for me to set up to paint that's close enough that I can talk to Doug, but far enough that I don't get hooked in the face. See?  Tricky.

 We haven't quite found it yet, but when we do, we might just let you know.  Maybe.  Unless it's really good, in which case we'll never tell a soul because I want it all to ourselves.  Sorry!  :)

Chronic Fatigue Awareness Day

May 12 was Chronic Fatigue Awareness Day.  Do you know what's funny?  Last year I heard about CFS awareness day for the first time was so excited to do something for it.  I did all this research and started making this youtube video.  But then I got SO tired.... and I couldn't finish in time... so I did nothing

So this year I started early.  I made this logo and I was going to make it into these cool buttons (and/or refrigerator magnets- I couldn't decide) and send them to everyone I know.  Then I was going to make a t-shirt with some snarky quote about CFS and wear it all month long.  And I created this entire awareness campaign around the phrase 'Let's Start Believing' where people with CFS could write funny stories about the horrible things people have said to them about their illness (doesn't sound like a funny idea until you get two or more sick people in a room at a time and then trust me, hilarious).

But you guys, I'm so tired.

The campaign was created only in my mind, the t-shirt design will have to wait until next year and my school bag has no button on it.

Sigh.

I'm afraid I'm starting to understand why no one knows that May 12 is Chronic Fatigue Awareness Day...

Back to School

Here's what we did all week

And by we, I really do mean we.  Not because Doug is going back to school, but because for me to go back to school it means that Doug has to do pretty much everything else.  He's pretty cool, huh?

Monday was the first day of my very first painting class on my way to a fine art degree at UVU.  I already LOVE it.  For the first time in a long time I feel like I'm doing something productive with the life I've been given and it's a pretty good feeling.  Even if it means I'll inevitably fall off the face of the planet until... oh... the year 2016ish.  

Worth it!

Happy Easter

Happy Easter!  Every year at this time I am overwhelmed with gratitude for what Christ did for me.  I am so grateful to have a day to celebrate Him.

  

(If you like this video and have a device that can do apps, you should check out the Bible Videos app.  It's got all the clips from this video, but makes them interactive so you can explore where they took place, read the scriptures behind them etc.  It might just be cool enough to get your spiritual thought to compete with the excitement of Easter candy.)

Happy Easter Week

I love Easter week!  I can't believe it's already here- I feel like I'm still waiting around for winter to hit.  Not that I'm complaining!  

Every year I try to add one meaningful thing to our Easter tradition, mostly trying to make it easier to include Christ in the season.  It's pretty hard!  I feel like there is nothing out there when it comes to religious Easter- so I end up making my own thing. Last year that ended up with me making that crazy Easter Quilt! This year was much simpler (thank goodness!). I designed a little, printable Easter Advent Calendar.  Each day for one week you get to flip over a card and see what Christ did that day on His last week- there's even a scripture reference you can look up if you're feeling particularly productive.  I designed it with my Activity Days girls in mind so it's pretty simple, but I was actually really excited to turn the first tag on mine today!

This file is going into my digital pile of 'Things I Might Make Available for Download on an Official Site Someday' and before it officially makes the cut, I'd love some pattern testers!  It's super easy to make (my 8 year old AD girls each made one with no problem) and the file includes a color version you can just print on white paper, or a B&W version you can print on scrapbook paper.  (the one in my pic is the B&W one on colored paper)  To make your own, just click here for instructions and printable files.  All I ask is that you have any problems please let me know so I can fix them!  

Hope you all have a wonderful week and find some time to keep in mind all of the miracles that happened in the week preceding Christ's resurrection.

LDS Art Competition

Well, Friday was the big day!  We went up to Salt Lake for the awards ceremony and gallery opening of the LDS International Art Competition....  That I had a piece in!  (ok, I'm done shamelessly bragging now)

It was such a fun night- my parents came into town and a bunch of family came up for the opening.  It was amazing to see the people who won awards- their art was seriously incredible.

The opening was so packed we could hardly walk around, but I personally think that made it more fun.  The atmosphere was perfect-  all the artists who could attend-many coming from different countries- were standing by their pieces so you could go and discuss their work with them.  The museum tour guides were going around interviewing artists to find special stories and insight to add to the tours they'll give all summer.  A pianist played a grand piano in the middle of everything and there was a beautiful table of the most amazing hors devours.  It felt so official!  I'm definitely hoping this won't be a once in a lifetime experience- I'm already dreaming about the next competition.  And trying to convince everyone I know to enter in the next show- definitely worth the effort!

To see all the artwork check out https://history.lds.org/viewer/voting/event/9th-art-comp?lang=eng. (I can't figure out how to get a link directly to my quilt... can you?  If so, could you leave a comment with that link?  I'd appreciate it!) Voting for the visitor's choice award is open online and at the museum, so be sure to vote for your favorite one!

Remember how I put so much effort into my wording?  Well, they totally butchered it.  Sad.  :(  But it was still cool to see my name on my own plaque!