Digital Scrapbooking

I have been scrapbooking for the last 10 years and still love it. I love pictures and putting them all together in a book that my family can enjoy together forever. My mom gave me a fun new program called Memory Mixer to start a new way of scrapbooking - digitally. I was a little hesitant to start, but it's so easy. Micah gave me a laptop for Christmas and it's been fun to put my pages together on the computer, especially since my other supplies are all still packed. Here's a few of my pages:

Thanks Mom and Micah for my fun new toys!

Plant Update

This plant is uber-determined to live! Just 6 short weeks ago it was just a stick in the dirt and now it's shooting out new leaves like crazy.

My great-grandmother, Mabel Andrasen, received this plant as a wedding present from her new mother-in-law on her wedding day on May 31, 1922. I've moved this plant a couple times now. It's climate and surroundings have changed and more than once it's been on the brink of dying. But it keeps surviving. It continually tries to grow and adapt to its new life. Many of us are going through changes and have to learn to adapt to new life situations. I hope we, too, can find the strength and desire to thrive.

Mmm... Cookies!

I love cookies. Girl Scout cookie time doesn't come around often enough. I love eating Papa Murphy's cookie dough straight from the container with a spoon; that dough never gets baked into actual cookies! Because I know my cooking weaknesses (making gravy, for one) I can honestly say that I make really yummy cookies. One of my favorite recipes is for the chocolate chip cookies pictured below. Enjoy!

Mrs. Field's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:
1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. vanilla
8 oz. chocolate chips

Directions:
Cream butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Sift together dry ingredients. Add to creamed mixture; mix well. Place golf-ball sized portions 2" apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 9 minutes. *I usually add walnuts before baking. Delicious!

Our House

This is the house we're renting in Grangeville. We've been looking at houses here, but so far haven't found the right one to buy. And that's ok for now because our house in Missouri is still for sale. So in the mean time we're here and I've made a Top/Bottom 10 list about this place.

Top 10 Things About This House on South Idaho Ave.

1. It's big enough for all our stuff. We went from a nice sized, 4 bedroom home to a little 2 bedroom house but there's a basement and a 2 car garage to store all our stuff. We're glad we didn't have to find a storage unit for our things that are still packed.

2. The kids like it. They've been really great about adapting to their new environment.

3. A cozy wood burning stove heats the house pretty well.

4. 2 bathrooms. Even though one bathroom is in the basement it's nice to have it when the one upstairs is occupied.

5. It's close to the kids' school. Harrison and Rio love walking home from school (by themselves!) every day.

6. The neighborhood is quiet. I haven't heard any screeching tires, loud music, or dogs barking yet.

7. There's an alley off the driveway the kids can ride their bikes on.

8. It's close to Micah's work too. Actually it's close to pretty much everything because the town is so small, but it's been nice to have Micah come home for lunch or whenever I need him. Last week Jack fell down and cut his head. I called Micah and he was here in 3 minutes. I love that.

9. There are 2 good sized family rooms in this place so we converted one of them into the master bedroom. I really like having a big bedroom.

10. There's lots of cupboard space in the kitchen. That's unique for such a small place.

Bottom 10 Things About This House on South Idaho Ave.

1. There's no yard. Not a patch of grass in sight- only bushes and river rock. Makes it impossible to tell the kids to go outside and play.

2. Hard wood floors throughout the entire house. I've never been a big fan of hard wood floors. I'd rather vacuum than sweep all the time.

3. The cold, unfinished basement. Makes you want to run up the stairs without looking back to see what kind of creature is after you.

4. Lots of our stuff is still packed. Because it's a smaller place, there just isn't room for some of our things.

5. No disposal in the kitchen sink.

6. Lack of closet space.

7. I can't find anything! I'm sure it has more to do with moving than it does with this house, but I can't find anything when I want it. I'm pretty good at knowing where things are, but it gets tiresome to have people ask, "Do you know where _______ is?" fifty times a day.

8. The kitchen is small. Thankfully it's got some counter and cupboard space, but 2 adults can barely squeeze by each other in there. And when the dishwasher is open, forget it.

9. The TV antennae doesn't get the signal for the local channels. It's probably because of the town and not the house, but we miss PBS.

10. It's hard to heat the back bedrooms. Because we only use the wood burning stove to heat the house it's hard to get that heat in the back bedrooms.

So there's some good things and there's some bad things. But it's home for now.

Toothless Wonder

Beautiful Rio
January 9, 2010

This Spunky Little Plant

Over 100 years ago my great-grandmother was given a house plant as a wedding present. When she died, her daughter (my great aunt) took the plant into her home and cared for it for many years. When my great aunt was preparing to serve a mission she told me the story of the plant and asked if I'd be it's new owner.

I've never had a green thumb, but this plant has been around for over a century so how could I possibly kill it?

I did almost kill it when we moved it from Idaho to St. Louis 3 years ago. It had to travel with small children and a cat in the hot summer car for 3 days. It didn't fare well, but it had enough life to snap out of it.

If I thought it was bad on the way to St. Louis, the trip back to Idaho was worse. All it's leaves got broken off and it was too cold in the back of the car for it. I have to admire this spunky little plant for not keeling over after that trip. It now has one green stalk and is trying so hard to grow a new leaf. I'm determined to nurse it back to health and will post occasionally with plant improvement updates.

City Mouse, Country Mouse

On Dec. 21, 2009 our family drove from St. Louis, MO to Shelley, ID to spend the holidays with our family. We had a wonderful time visiting with grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. On Jan. 4, 2010 Micah started his new job working as an Occupational Therapist in Grangeville, ID and our family moved there the following week.

Grangeville is located along U.S. Highway 95 where the edge of the Camas Prairie and Nez Perce National Forest converge before rising 2800 vertical feet from the floor of the prairie to provide an unequaled backdrop for the City of Grangeville.

I've had to battle some homesickness for the city of St. Louis and our friends there, but I grew up in a small town just like this one and know the good that can come of it. We're looking forward to getting to know this place and the people in it.

Main Street in Grangeville.

Best of luck to you all in 2010!