4 Ingredient Nutella Cookies

I think that this is a great follow up post to my LunchWars book review. Jennifer is a health-nut and even she makes yummy cookies from time to time.

You have to try these cookies.
I didn't even like nutella until I tried these cookies.

Four ingredients.
C'mon, even your kids can make them.
These cookies will be the perfect addition
to your lovely crisp Fall weekend.

Book Review - Lunch Wars

This was a paid review for BlogHer BookClub but the opinions expressed are my own.


Read to the bottom for a chance to win this book.


Lunch Wars: How to Start a School Food Revolution and Win the Battle for Our Children’s Health by Amy Kalafa

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I went into the book LunchWars with a bad attitude. I was flogging myself for my stupidity in willingly volunteering to review a book on nutrition. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that nutrition is not at the high end of my priority list. I grudgingly slogged through the first two thirds of the book and then something inside me changed. It's not that I am on the same page as the self-proclaimed granola-head author Amy Kafala, but somewhere in the pages of the book I realized that I had been taught some important morsels of nutrition principles that I should be using with my own family. I don't want to go on all day and I also don't want to worry my hubby with the idea of going all-organic (would never do that to my grocery budget) but let's just say there are three things that I am going to try and do better: avoid corn syrup and lessen sugar intake, introduce even more whole grains, and try to incorporate more locally grown fruit and veggies.

I don't know about you Honda.

First you trap my little 4-year-old in the steel.

Then, you trap my 12-year-old in nylon.
Super resistant nylon.

It's a good thing we always carry a Leatherman in the car.
I wish that could have worked for Sophia.
She's our special child.
The only one to ever go under the diamond blade saw.

The craziest thing of all.
This same scenario has played out
with a niece and a nephew.

We need emergency exits!
Or less wiggly kids.

Guest Post - Jarrett Ferguson Gold - Are Blondes Really Dumb?

It is against my better judgement to publish Jarrett's jibberish, but when a family member actually takes time to write something, you can't very easily turn it down, can you?

For the stories sake, you need to know.
I am Alice.(just in case you are blonde and have no idea who this blog belongs to)
LG is my husband.
Jarrett is LG's cousin.

Book Review - Bloodborne

Purchase it here
And trust me when I say you can't purchase it fast enough.

Bloodborne by Gregg Luke

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Gregg Luke, you are my new favorite author.
And I am not saying that lightly.
I am choosy when it comes to authors.

Bloodborne was masterful.
I couldn't put it down.

I have reviewed many books,
but this book left me in awe
that I got to be part of the book tour.
It was too good to be free.
Too good.

Utah skies

For your Sunday viewing pleasure,
I present God's country.
Oh so breathtaking.
Thank you God for your glorious earth.

Genesis 9:11-16

And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, 

that I may remember the everlasting covenant 

between God and every living creature 

of all flesh that is upon the earth.

Acts9:3

And as he journeyed, 

he came near Damascus: 

and suddenly there shined round 

about him a light from heaven.

Job 31:26

 If I beheld the sun when it shined, 
or the moon walking in brightness

Isaiah 14:14

I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;

I will be like the most High.

Psalms 78:14
In the daytime also he led them with a cloud,
and all the night with a light of fire.

Saturday Sniff

Here is a simple post
for a Saturday when I don't feel like writing.

Check out this huge marker.

It smells just like I remember.

I'm not sure when I gave up on

Marks-a-lot

for Sharpies,

but it was a long time ago.

So when I found this at my brother's house,

I had to sniff it.

I'm weird. I know.
I do think I have a mature taste in smells.
One of my favorite smells in the world
is
skunk.
It's true.

What about you?
Do you like smelling something weird?

Don't you wish you could scratch and sniff?

Other nostalgic smells I love:
rubber cement, school paste, and gasoline.

Giveaway = MyMemories

No, I'm not giving away my memories.
Or I guess I kind of am.

Read on down and you'll get to take a look into my heavenly getaway with LG.
In My Memories style. You must keep reading for the giveaway. It's my best one yet.

Sunny California

I know I've been really self-focused this week.

I've probably lost 10 of my 20 readers.

Aw, who am I kidding?

I know you are all still reading.

The only people who read this here blog

in the first place

are the people who love reading about me and my family.

Well, don't say that I haven't given you your fill this week.

And please say a prayer for me that something funny

will happen very soon

so I can quit posting so many family photos.

I'm having a great giveaway tomorrow so stay tuned.

Sorry though, for now, all I've got are more photos from our trip in July to Cali.

LunchWars

Remember how I just blogged about 

what we do around here for school lunches?

School lunches are an important part of growing up.

I talked about what I ate in Middle school here

I sometimes spent my lunch money in high school frivolously.

Then as an adult,

we have once been so poor, 

I let my kids have free school lunch.

School lunches even proved to be a powerful teaching tool with our shy Sophia.

So, pretty much I'm an expert in the field.

I can't wait to do my first blogher book review,

it's coming sometime next week.

Until then,

you can join the discussion here.

I'll be lady telling all you crazy health fanatics to chill out a bit.

20 years later

Remember last week's post about High School.
Well, I just wanted to fill you in on the after high school.
I know you just can't wait.

This is Adam.
Remember he was my first date.
Yeah, I am pretty much the luckiest girl alive.
Adam is still one of the coolest guys.
And his wife and kids are gorgeous.
He's aged well,
and still seems to have great taste.

Wolverine through and through

For you readers who aren't familiar
with Utah,
last week was The Holy War.
That means that the holier than thou team BYU
got spanked by the rebellious Utah Utes.

I have a few suggestions for the team's improvement,
inspired by photos of my kids and their cousins.

Dam Post

Here are the photos
straight from my camera
in July.
They present our trip in July
back from California.

For some dam funny stuff,
read more.

Thank you Leilani

I couldn't say it better myself.
Even the most faithful to God have challenges.

And he does strengthen each of us on our individual journey.
Doing the hard thing is the greatest for our growth
because he strengthens us.

Your love is better than ice-cream

I am so excited to present my original idea.

It's gonna put me in a higher realm

with my oh so crafty friends.

Trust me when I say you don't want

to miss out on hitting the read more button.

Bystanders save a man from a burning car

This news story touched my heart yesterday.
An eternal principle with power:
there is strength in numbers.

When enough people join a cause that is right and good,
they cannot be thwarted.

Now if we could all just agree on what is right and good.

High School

I loved high school.
I really did.

Attending my 20 year reunion
was so much fun.

Almost as fun as digging out the old photos.

Feel free to ignore this post.
There are lots of pictures from the 80's.
It's for the family history
after I'm dead and gone.

Don't Smell the Roses

Yesterday, while at Abigail's soccer practice
something occurred that I know you are all dying to hear about.

If you gag easily, you may not want to read on.
The story's main characters are Caroline and I.
The main subject matter is dog poop.

Quite possibly the funniest photo of all time.

Go here for a real good laugh.

If you liked this, please come back
and become my 139 or 140th facebook liker.
You can even do it with one click on the sidebar.

Pretty please with sugar on top.

There may or may not be a prize involved.

And never make the mistake of leaving your cup on when the photographer shows up.
Or if you do, please share the result with the rest of us so we can laugh at you like you're an idiot.

Scenes from the Utah trail

We were going to go on another
family bike ride for
Family Home Evening
last night
until we realized
it was a bad idea
because of Sophia's broken arm.

So, we had Abigail give a lesson instead
from True to the Faith.
She had to do it for Personal Progress.
Might as kill two birds with one stone.

She taught us all about
modesty and profanity.

Abigail was sure to look in my direction
on that second one.
Damn semantics.
I can't do it all.
And my pet sin is
an occasional swear word.
Didn't it work for
J. Golden Kimball?

And really
what is the difference between
saying DANG or DAMN?
Go ahead,
feel free to enlighten me
and judge me
and tell me how evil I am.
I am such a horrible mother.
As evidenced by dinner
being served at almost
8 p.m. last night.

Whatever you do,
make sure and tell your kids not to read
my blog.
I would hate to be a role model.
The thought of it makes me cringe.

Sorry for the tangent.
Back to the bike ride.
We love riding in Utah.
It's our family hobby.
And oh so much fun.

Check out the view
and tell me you don't want to join us.

Yep, those are two deer,

right up the road.

Abigail said

"Mom, look,

it's the kind of tree

that every kid draws."

Only  seen in Utah

and children's doodle books

in your part of the world.

P.S. Biking is a great cheap source of entertainment.
And, did I mention great exercise?

Whoopie Pies

That's what they call them
in the South anyway.

Whoopie pies.
What a fun name.

What do whoopie pies, whoopie cushions, and Whoopie Goldberg have in common? They may all be responsible for this.

(he he. My good friend Christine said I am a walking advertisement for Pampered Chef with this photo. If you want to buy anything, go over and give her a holler. She is amazing and so is that mini spatula and the cookie scoops...couldn't make the cookies without them.)

I love you Father.

I forget a lot.

I also remember a lot.

September 11, 2001 is a date nobody in America forgets. I was up all night with a sick baby. I turned on the T.V. only to find news coverage of a burning building. I quickly turned it off not wanting to focus on anything of importance. I went back to bed. When I woke up a little more rested and with a clear mind it then registered. My world had changed.

However I had not. I got down on my knees and prayed, but the intensity with which I prayed was no different than the day before. The subject matter was just a lot different. I didn't need a tragedy to remember my God. I remember him every day.

I am grateful every day for all those who sacrifice for my freedom of worship.



Take some time.
Tell your Father that you love him.
Try to remember his love for you.

Here is a great message for today and always.

Happy Mail

You've heard of snail mail,

E-mail,

junk mail,

and even birthday mail.

I want you to know about my new discovery.

Happy Mail.

Thriftstore Fashion

I totally don't get it.
There are women out there
who have dedicated whole blogs
to their clothes.
It's so very strange to me.

I thought I should try it,
to see if I could catch the bug.

I first give you
two views.
You always have to pose
in every possible position
you know.

Read more for the backside view.

Potter Gold

Have I ever told you about the time
that I told LG that I thought Potter
would be a really cool first name for a boy?
I like surnames for boys.

LG looked at me
and said,
"Seriously?"

"Yeah, seriously."

"Alice. Think harder."

Me: "What?"

"Potter?"

"Yeah Potter.
Isn't it cute?"

LG:
"Hmm. Potter."
(giving me more time to think)
"Potter Gold."
(said with his best British accent)

Laugh Out Loud

Thanks to Jennifer

for facebooking  this one

from Crossville, TN.

Living vicariously

here in Utah,

is the only way

I can get my 

church sign fix.

There are so many things I miss about the South.
My in-laws.
My sister.
My friends.
The kids' schools
and the familiar faces there.

Today I am really missing

Sister Schubert's rolls.

Yesterday the girls were
making a fuss over a bug that
got into the kitchen.

LG reasoned with them.
"C'mon guys,
you grew up in the South,
this little bug is nothin'."

I made a mental note
to enjoy Utah's
buglessness
a little more.

Waiting

I am waiting on a phone call

that will change my life.

I don't know what it will be like to be a working mom

and I am nervous about it,

but I am also assured from mighty prayer

that God is watching over me

and will strengthen me.

I was just thinking about how much I hate waiting.

I've never been too good at waiting.

Give me my future NOW dangit.

Don't make me wait.

September's Give Away

A while back I won.

Here are the girls sporting the spoils.

Funny that you can barely see the brown headband

when it blends in with the hair on Bella's head.

I was so happy to get some

of Heather's signature pieces.

So very cute.

{keep reading for the give-away}

Visiting Teaching - September 2011

The message of the month is here.

I agree that the world needs women of greater spiritual capacity.

Book Review - The Key of Kilenya (on Kindle)

The Key of Kilenya 

by Andrea Pearson

3 out 5 stars.

My husband got a kindle for his birthday which allowed me to do my first e-book read. Even though I didn't think I would, I really love the Kindle. The other day, I heard a man say that he likes the feel of a book in his hands, and I used to say the same thing. But I changed my mind. Don't knock it 'til you try it. A book is about the words on the page and the Kindle is awesome.You never lose your page. You can look definitions of words up with a tap. Convenient and enlightening.

But on with the real point of the post. Here is what I thought about The Key of Kilenya.

For the Tough Guys

The really tough guys are the ones not afraid to love.
I love you LG.

I believe you are one of those guys
and I am so proud of you.

August's Boggle Champions

Thank you to everyone who played along in August.

We really did have a great online version of Boggle.
My readers are so smart and talented.
I am one lucky gal.


I am declaring the winner.

Sheila.

She had the first official 7 letter word:
slabbed.

Although I must say that Cousin Linda,
Brother-in-law Logan,
and TN friend Teresa
were each pretty impressive
with the eight letter words:

Outhouse, openside, and albedoes.

Unfortunately each of their entries
were disqualified by the official rules.

However,
I am declaring you all winners.

E-mail me your addresses and your favorite candy
and wait for a fun surprise package in the mail.

Yeah I am cool like that.
And really there can never
be enough
games or sugar in the world.

alice.w.gold at gmail

September's game will be up as soon as I think of something.
Any suggestions?