A Sundance Story

During Sundance I see Bart each day approximately 12-15 minutes as he's dressing, gathering his stuff and texting back and forth to his peeps.  Here's how our short conversations usually go

Me:  How's Sundance going?
Bart:  It's fine
Me:  Are you getting lots of autographs
Bart:  Yeah it's been ok  (he use to grumble about not getting as many as he'd like and all the slightest mishaps but he's learned that makes me mad.  I've got it in his head he had better be positive and act like he enjoys it because it's not a barrel of picnics being left a widow for 2 weeks straight and if he not enjoying it then it's not worth it.  So he's learned to keep it on the positive side or he gets my wrath)
Me:  Anybody special show up
Bart:  Nay just a bunch of scrubs


This year one morning he was especially chatty and seemed genuinely excited about this guy named Andres Muschietti who directed the new horror movie It.   He said that he wasn't expected to be there but appeared one night to the premier of the guy who played the clown on the movie It who was starring in another show.  Bart was able to catch up with him and he happily signed for him and did a simple sketch for him. 

Well the next day as Bart was out and about he noticed this guy Andy walking up main street.   Bart decided to follow him from a far to see where he was going.  He said he walked up the street where a ski lift was looked up down and around and then turned around and went down to the distillery where his mom grew up and again looked around the corner like he was lost or looking for something.  Bart then decided to approach the guy who Bart said remembered him and was over the top nice asking Bart if he had gotten many autographs that day and such.  Bart then asked him what he was looking for and he said "Is there a 7-eleven or something close by I really need some smokes."  Bart then says something like that is about 7 or 8 blocks away and Andy was like that far Oh man I've got to meet someone soon.  Bart being the quick thinker knowing his buddy Cameron was close by in his car says Hold on a second I think I can help you.  He then calls him friend who had another guy named Ben with him and told him to kick out his friend Ben and come get this guy and take him to the 7-eleven.  Cameron showed up and Bart and Andy jumped in the car and they gave him a ride to get his smokes.  Bart said he was the nicest guy.  So nice Bart didn't want to hit him up for more autographs (which if you've been with Bart really says something).    The guy goes in 7 eleven asks if they want something comes back with his cigarettes and then on the way back Bart gets up the guts to ask him to sketch the clown from It.  He said he was more than happy to do it and Bart was more than happy with the quality and detail of the sketch he produced for him.   They arrived back to Main street let Andy out and they parted ways.

Emily was so excited to eager to show her friend Ava who loves this movie the sketch and Bart continues to reign as the champion autographer in our house!!

40 favorite things

When Bart turned 40 he went on an Autograph adventure.  When I turned 40 Bart went on an autograph adventure.  See a trend.  Haha   Preparing for the big 40 and knowing Bart always leaves me a Sundance Widow I decided to avoid feeling lonely and depressed on my birthday I would throw a Favorite things party for myself!!


First came the invites!!  Ally feeling bad she lives a couple states away volunteered to write me a poem and make up the invites.

 After I sent the invitations I started feeling insecure about throwing myself a party wondering what people would think.  Then I decided that being 40  means I can put myself out there without worrying about what other think which helped cast away most of my insecurities.

 I decided to invite a few friends from a mixture of different times in my life including old roommates, college buddies, old mission companions, family members and current neighbors.  I was surprised at the response I got especially from some long lost friends who replied that they couldn't make it but were so happy to be invited.   It renewed my sense that although life goes on a kindred spirit is always a kindred spirit no matter how many years of separation.


I think the party turned out great.  The food everyone brought was fantastic, the company was great and I enjoyed the white elephant style game opening presents and seeing what everyone's favorite thing was.  My only regret was I took groups of pictures of most of the people that came minus the stragglers except my family and Bart's family.  It was in the back of my mind all night but the time got away from me.   Thank Heavens I got a picture of everyone all together at the end of the night.

My mom also had everyone fill out this sheet of their favorite things about me.  I hate attention but I've loved reading such kind things for so many of my "favorite people".
During and after the party I felt so loved and appreciative of the people in my life.  It was so much fun it made me think that in  another 40 years I'll do it again.

 Maybe it's the old soul in me but I'm excited for my 40's.    I feel healthier than I've felt in a long time and expect to feel this way knowing pregnancies and the aftermath with a newborn is far behind me.   I find that I'm enjoying the friendships I have with my kids as they get older and I'm enjoying the little bit of freedom that comes with them aging.   My marriage to Bart is comfortable, secure, strong and just keeps getting better.    I'm at the height of my career and feel competent with most any kid that comes my way and I  love the continued learning and social outlet work brings.

My goals for my 40's
I want to increase in kindness and love.
I want to master control over my temper.
I want to keep my relationship strong with my kids as they mature and bask in the wonderful people they have become
I want to sustain a strong testimony of the gospel and help others feel of it's truthfulness

I want to be more like my Grandma Morrell and always look for and compliment the good in others.
I want to be like my Grandma Pace and continually develop my talents and use my time constructively.
I want to be like my mom and always reach out in friendliness to everyone around me.
I want to be like my mother in law Pauline and not let a day go by without looking to serve someone in need.

Winter has arrived

We celebrated the first big snow storm by getting out bright and early to avoid the rush at our favorite sledding hill.  Bart was off to Sundance so the whole gang came along.    25 minutes to gather cold weather accessories and dress the crew and within 2 minutes Spencer was cold and absolutely done with anything snow related.  So we ended up hanging out in the car while the other 3 sled to their hearts content.  

I tried again with Spencer and sledding but he threw a biggest fit when I placed in him the sled with the others.  Lets just say he is not a cold weather  fan.   

Jane then started  complaining that she was soooo tired.  So the two of them went back to the car and the rest of us took a few more runs down the hill and headed home.   

Bring on the New Year

In the middle of December a friend on Facebook posted "I should have given birth to snakes or something else that doesn't require to be fed every day. "   I read this and said "I hear ya sister".     On days that I work I come home and immediately become Uber mom delivering my kids to activities.  Dinner is often a stress filled after thought that I hate!!!!    

My kids went back to their regularly scheduled programs this past week but being I work in another district I had the full week off.   Inspired from my sister Ally who when finding out she was pregnant and knowing it sucks for 10 months spent her last weekend feeling good making a freezer full of meals to last her family a few months.   I dived into the same endeavor and a couple days later and about 6 trips to Harmons (I underestimated how much cheese and sour cream I would need)  my freezer now looks like this.

I did about 4-6 dishes off the following recipes that are simple to put together and I know freeze well.   I bought a gigantic bag of fresh tortillas at Costco which I love but never buy because most of them will go to waste.  A couple of my sisters were asking me for the recipes so I'm putting them here in they want to reference them.     I highly recommend the Freezer Beef Burritos.  Ally gave me this recipe and they are Oh so yummy.   I bought I deep fryer on Black Friday for a few bucks and popped one in after I wrapped it and it made the best Chimichanga.  

Pauline's Chicken and Rice Casserole

1 Pound cooked and shredded Chicken
1 1/2 cups rice
3 cups water
1 can cream of chicken soup
8 oz sour cream
2 cups cheese
Broccoli

Directions
Cook rice in water and set aside
Steam Broccoli and set aside
Layer as follows.  Rice, Chicken, Cream of Chicken soup, Sour cream Broccoli and then cheese.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Freezer Beef and Bean Burritos

YIELD: MAKES ABOUT 15 BURRITOS

You could most definitely substitute brown rice for the white but you'll need to increase the liquid according to the package directions and cook for much longer (around 40-45 minutes).

INGREDIENTS

• Rice:
• 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups long grain white rice
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Filling:
• 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 (15-ounce) cans refried beans
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 medium finely chopped onion
• 1 6 oz can tomato paste
• 6 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
• lime juice (I love lime juice so I use about 2 whole limes)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• about 15 flour tortillas (we really like the Costco uncooked variety)
• lots of shredded cheese
• sour cream
• fresh chopped cilantro (we like a lot! I usually chop and use an entire medium sized bunch)

DIRECTIONS

1. For the rice, bring the broth, rice, garlic, and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook until the rice is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed, about 16-18 minutes. Remove the rice from the heat, keeping it covered, and let it sit while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
2. In a large, 12-inch casserole skillet, heat the vegetable oil until hot and rippling. Add the onion and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the tomato paste, garlic, cumin, oregano and chili powder and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the ground meat and cook until no longer pink, about 8-10 minutes, breaking the meat into small pieces while cooking. Drain any excess grease if needed. 
3. Stir in the cans of refried beans and chicken broth and cook for 3-4 minutes until the mixture is thick and most of the liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat. Add lime juice to taste and salt. If serving immediately, follow the instructions in the next paragraph. If freezing for later, let the beef and bean mixture and the rice cool to warm room temperature before proceeding. 
4. Wrap the tortillas in between damp paper towels and microwave until the tortillas are soft, about 1 minute (or cook tortillas if using the refrigerated uncooked tortillas). Arrange the tortillas on the counter and spread about a tablespoon of sour cream down the center of each tortilla. Divide the rice, beef and bean filling and cheese evenly among the tortillas. Add cilantro to your liking. Fold the sides of the tortilla toward each other over the filling while lifting the bottom edge over, rolling into a burrito shape. Serve immediately (if desired). 
5. For freezer burritos, wrap each burrito in plastic wrap. Place burritos in a gallon-sized freezer ziploc bag. To reheat, unwrap the burrito from the plastic wrap and place on a microwave-safe plate. Microwave for 1-2 minutes. Poke the burrito with the tines of a fork all over and continue microwaving in 30-second increments until heated through.

With the freezer full of meals and my house is clean I think I'm ready to start back to work.  Life is full but at least I won't be spending it in the kitchen for the next couple of months!  

A long Exhale

Thank Heavens for Christmas Break!!  After running non stop the home body in me throughly enjoyed staying home for most of it.     

I loved that most days my apple watched showed "no more events"

I caught up on some much needed cleaning and organizing and the kids enjoyed discovering their toys and taking lots of pictures with my phone.      

Aaron had a couple of lego sets to put together and was over the top kiddy when Bart sat down with him one day after work and helped him build them

The movie "Wonder" was on our list to see but Jane and I  hadn't read the book yet so we spent some of each day reading it together before we saw it on New Year's Day. 

Spencer loved having all his favorite people home and Jane loved playing the game "guppies"  with Spencer

The Weather has been unseasonably warm and the girls enjoyed lots of time outside on the electric scooter their dad bought them for Christmas.

We did manage to get out of the house a couple of times.   We met up with the Richards cousins at the zoo.  

We also went on the Grand America Hotel scavenger hunt which led us to this gigantic gingerbread house.  

At the end of the break I could tell my kids were getting really stir crazy being home.  Emily and Jane reported boredom a few times, Aaron was especially hyper and grabby with Spencer.  I was reminded that although I'm content to be house bound most days my kids are not.  So onto the New Year of school and scheduled activities!  Pray it doesn't kill me off!