Cake Stand

 

I found an article a few weeks ago about celebrating birthdays by doing something new and exciting. It included an alphabetical list of suggestions. Here are some of my favorites:

Attempt an escape room.

Brunch with friends.

Buy yourself a special gift.

Donate to a charity or volunteer your time.

Eat breakfast in bed. (This one’s problematic.)

Escape to a beach.

Get a psychic reading.

Go horseback riding, or on a hot-air balloon ride.

Have a bonfire – or a pajama party.

Hike a new trail.

Play mini golf.

Redecorate your bedroom. (Maybe just clean it.)

Ride ALL the rides at an amusement park.

Send flowers to yourself.

Take a road trip.

Tour a museum.

Treat yourself to a spa day.

Try a cooking class.

When you’re a small child, other people plan birthdays for you. The older you get, the more these celebrations fall to you. You don’t just HAVE a happy birthday. You get to MAKE one.

Four Polka Dot Pines

 

“Healing blessings come in many ways, each suited to our individual needs, as known to Him who loves us best. Sometimes a ‘healing’ cures our illness or lifts our burden. Sometimes we’re healed by being given strength or understanding or patience to bear the burdens placed upon us. The people who followed Alma were in bondage to wicked oppressors. When they prayed for relief, the Lord told them He would deliver them eventually, but in the meantime, He would ease their burdens that ‘you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions.’ In that case the people did not have their burdens removed, but the Lord strengthened them so ‘they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord.’’ - Elder Dallin H. Oaks

Hope of Hartford

 

Slow Cooker Apricot Chicken

 

12 chicken thighs

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

1/2 onion, coarsely chopped

2 cups apricot preserves (any brand will do, but we love Bonne Maman)

4 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons Dijon

2 teaspoons ground ginger

 

Place chicken in slow cooker; add onions. Whisk together remaining ingredients and pour over chicken and onions. Cook on low 6 to 8 hours. When finished, remove chicken and place on a cookie sheet lined with foil. Spoon sauce over the chicken. Broil for 5 to 10 minutes or until the chicken begins to brown. Watch it carefully! The sugary sauce will burn before you know it, and no one wants charcoal for dinner! 

Polka Dot Pine

 

Bob dropped out of school at fourteen to work as a carpenter with his father. At eighteen, he enlisted in the Air Force. Beginning as medical records technician, he quickly rose to the rank of master sergeant. Bob ruled the clinic at Eielson Air Force Base with an iron fist. But he disliked who he'd become. "I was the guy who made you scrub the latrine, the guy who screamed at you for being late to work. The job requires you to be a mean, tough person. I was fed up with it. I promised myself if I ever got away from it, I wasn't going to be that way anymore." Bob took an oil painting class at the U.S.O. When sales of his art outpaced his salary, he retired from the Air Force. Today, Bob Ross is best remembered for his gentle voice, and for the “happy little trees” he painted on his PBS show, “The Joy of Painting.”

A Single Blossom

 

October 14, 1987, eighteen-month-old Jessica was playing in the yard of her aunt’s home/daycare center. Her mother was watching, but turned away to answer the phone. Jessica fell into a well that was 22’ deep and 8” wide. Rescuers worked nearly 60 hours to free her, while CNN provided round-the-clock coverage. As President Reagan said, we all felt like “Baby Jessica’s” godparents. Jessica survived the ordeal, but the limelight exacted a toll. Her parents, who were eighteen when it happened, divorced a few years after. And their divorce only gave the media more fuel. The paramedic who crawled down a cross-tunnel to pull Jessica out was celebrated as a hero. But he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and took his own life nine years later. If this story has a moral, it’s that we need to take better care of each other – of toddlers playing in back yards, of young couples starting out, and of heroes who themselves need rescuing.

Four Rolling Stones

 

Slow Cooker Cola Pork

 

3 1/2 pounds boneless pork shoulder

12 ounces cola, plus 3/4 cup extra for the sauce

2 tablespoons vinegar (white vinegar’s fine, but we used cider vinegar)

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

10 ounces red enchilada sauce

1 tablespoon dried minced onion flakes

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

 

Place pork in slow cooker. Pour cola over the pork. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours. While pork is cooking, make barbecue sauce by combining 3/4 cup reserved cola and remaining ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil; cover pan; reduce heat and simmer about 20 to 30 minutes until sauce reaches desired thickness. Remove pork from crockpot and shred. Serve with barbecue sauce on toasted buns, or over hot rice. Leftovers (if you have any) are great cold on a tossed salad.

Three Masted Schooner

 

Words of wisdom from kids:

Never trust your dog to watch your food. – Patrick, 10.

When you want something expensive, ask your grandparents. – Matthew, 12.

Wear a hat when feeding seagulls. – Rocky, 9.

Sleep in your clothes so you'll be dressed in the morning. – Stephanie, 8.

Never try to hide broccoli in a glass of milk. – Rosemary, 7.

Don't flush the toilet when Dad is in the shower. – Lamar, 10.

Don't ever be too full for dessert. – Kelly, 10.

If your dad’s mad and asks, "Do I look stupid?" don't answer. – Heather, 16.

Never tell your mom her diet's not working. – Michael, 14.

Don't pick on your sister when she's holding a baseball bat. – Joel, 12.

When you get a bad grade, show it to your mom while she's on the phone. – Alyesha, 13.

Never try to baptize a cat. – Laura, 13.

Never spit on a roller coaster. – Scott, 11.

Beware of cafeteria food that looks like it's moving. – Rob, 10.