So much has been going on and I feel so lazy that I haven't written about any of it.


A horrible tragedy happened to a dear friend's family and it has made me realize so much more how precious my children are to me.
If not for her blogging and her pictures I would have never of gotten to know her sweet little girl that was gone too soon from this life.  It has made me change a few things and I hope that I will love and appreciate my children more. Give them more hugs, more attention and just more of myself every day.

Christmas was so wonderful this year. Santa brought Sierra some really fun toys while being a little more reserved for the older kids. We took them to Disneyland the day after Christmas.

Disneyland wasn't a surprise for Ash or Jax  since they had to get work off but Sierra was sure surprised! Noelle got enough hints from other people and she did a pretty good acting job Christmas morning so she wouldn't ruin our surprise. Such a sweetie. When they were all little it seemed like it would be forever until they grew up but now it seems like time is speeding up and it's becoming a blur. This will be the year I start to document as much as possible so when I lose my memory I'll be able to look back and remember all the wonderful adventures we had.

Derby death? I don't think so!

Summer is almost over. I'm usually very sad about this but this year I am counting the days until Christmas.

On June 18th at my very first away derby bout I tore my acl right before the half. It didn't hurt fortunately. I was just skating around the bend and heard/felt a pop on the outside of my knee. I went down feeling like something was really wrong. I got up and was able to skate to the sides but I knew it was not good. I went to see the doc and he ordered an MRI even though he thought it was only a torn meniscus. He gave me the bad news that I severed my acl completely and if I wanted to do anything sports like again (read irish dance and roller derby) then I needed to have it repaired.

I had surgery on July 14, 2011. I had to use crutches for three weeks then I could walk. I haven't been in too much physical pain. The emotional pain from being sidelined from life has been much harder to deal with.

I'm dong well at physical therapy, they say I'm way ahead of schedule pain and range of motion wise but I still have to give my graft st least 12 weeks to mend. I might be able to start exercise in a couple of weeks and maybe be able to start to skate at the four month mark. So maybe in November I can get my sanity back.

It's amazing how much exercise helps you to control your aggression. Or maybe it's slamming into another girl with all my strength that does that.

I miss derby.

Oh I forgot to tell ya that I had to change my derby name. I wanted Keltic Storm but as soon as I had decided on it a month later another Derby girl in New York had it registered. It takes about six months to get your name registered so she had it before me. It was disappointing anyway. Everyone had already started calling me Storm and I really liked it so I decided to go with "Storm Warning" My derby number is -40 degrees since that is a way cool number relating to the weather. -40 is the only number that is the same in Fahrenheit and Celsius. It's also the temperature that skin freezes instantly. Cool huh???

The St. Patrick's Day parade was really fun this year. We had a few performances that night as well.

Scrimmage! We play a game every week, I kinda suck now but I think I'm starting to get the hang of it. We had a fantastic party to announce that we are going to a banked track this year. It scares me a little, the speed and the new track. Maybe just the unknown.

Thanksgiving was wonderful. Both sets of Grandparents were there and brought delicious food. The turkey was the best ever. Salt brining the night before is absolutely the way to go.

















Sierra went to a friends birthday where they did the most amazing face painting. How cool is this?












New coat! Sierra's teacher is the best1 She loves her and takes the best pics and sends them to me. She loves her school and is learning SO fast! She is already reading sight words and sounding out everything. She is a genius.














Ward Christmas party. Best. Santa. Ever!

Roller Derby!

Oh ya baby. I tried out... I made it. I am now officially a Salt City Derby Girl.

My Derby Name is Keltic Storm and my number is #32˚.
Tell me I'm crazy, don't care. I'm doing this and I'm going to love it! Yes I will be wearing fish nets in public. Yes I'm totally fine with that.

Graduating!!

My little girl is graduating! I'm so proud and sad at the same time.

Cupcake contest

And the winner is....ME!! Woo! I mentioned that there was a cupcake contest between all the Kneaders pastry chefs. There are three of us at our store so we were able to enter three cupcakes. So last month the other pastry chef and I worked on them and came up with many designs and flavor combos. We picked two that we like and decided to enter them. Last week they came to pick up our entries. The first one we decided to do was a white cake with a little lemon flavor baked into it. After it was baked we dipped the bottom in white chocolate ganache, then filled it with raspberry filling. On top of the cupcake we layered white chocolate lemon truffle filling and put a swirl of raspberry whipped cream. I then put a curl of sugared lemon and some sugared lemon zest for a little flavor pop.
I think it turned out so pretty.












This cupcake won first place.
Click on it for screen size goodness.
The next one was a white cupcake with a chocolate dipped bottom, it was filled with vanilla mousse, then topped with raspberry filling then a swirl of whipped cream on top and a chocolate covered cherry on top. I don't have of pic of this one yet, I could kick myself for not taking pics when we made them.

I'm not sure if this one won second or third place.

The last cupcake was a complete after thought. We hadn't decided on a third design and Joy said whatever you want to do is fine, so instead of taking one of the designs we had done before I had an idea in my head I wanted to try.

We made a white cupcake, and dipped the bottom in chocolate, then I made some chocolate buttercream frosting. I piled it high in the center and smoothed the sides. I then made what I call chocolate "shards". I put a layer of chocolate on a baking sheet, let it cool and then broke it into long pieces. I didn't get a pic of the the ones I entered but here is some I did later that day for Jax's scout banquet. They don't look quite as good as the ones I made for Kneaders but you can kinda get the idea. I was so excited and happy we won 1st, 2nd and 3rd place out of 27 entries. I really didn't think we had a shot since the people that started Kneaders own a store in Provo and their daughter owns the one in Orem. I thought there is no way we have a chance. Woo! It totally made my day!

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig

Happy St. Pat's day!!

I made some yummy treats to celebrate one of my favorite holidays.
These are super easy and sooo delicious.

Green velvet cake balls. Click on the pic...go ahead..I dare ya.























I took a white cake mix, added a lg pkg of vanilla pudding mix, and 1/4 C. chocolate powder and made the rest according to the package.
When it was cool I crumbled the cake in a bowl and added one container of cream cheese frosting and mixed it very well.
Then I formed balls and froze them
When they were cold enough I dipped them in chocolate and drizzled more chocolate on top.

So addicting.

You can do this any kind of cake/frosting mix or even oreo or nutter butter cookies. You don't have to add the pudding mix or the chocolate powder but I wanted to try it.

Cupcakes!

Mmmm, who doesn't love a good cupcake? Yesterday I spent two hours creating these for a contest. They all have various fillings and toppings.
I think I'm leaning toward the white cupcake with raspberry mousse filling and raspberry whipped cream frosting.
The kids all like the two with the cherries on top.

















Sorry for the horrible pic, I only had my phone. You can click on the pic to get a close up view.

We get to enter three since there are three Pastry Chefs at our location. Even if we don't win it was so fun creating such yummy cupcakes.

Sugar cookies

This is the best sugar cookie recipe I have ever tasted. I know because I make them every day. (wink, wink) these were published on G00d Thin@s Utah. They did a feature and there is a video showing how to make them.

The very best and biggest tip ever is...wait for it....roll out the dough between two cedar grilling planks. (One plank on each side of the dough). You never have to guess the thickness. They all roll out to be the perfect size no guessing and so fast. You might think they are too thick but trust me they are perfect.

For the recipe and video just click on the link. Oh, and I also put in almond instead of lemon flavoring in the frosting, but that is totally your call.

http://www.abc4.com/mostpopular/story/Kneaders-Sugar-Cookies/tE2aCurRMU6kN_GXt_f8Qw.cspx

Nutmeg is the secret ingredient in the dough. Just beware if you make them, I won't be responsible for how many you eat. They are amazing.

Banana cookies

This is the absolute BEST way to use old bananas. It's way easy and so much better than banana bread.


Banana drop cookies

1/2 C. softened butter
1 C. sugar
2 lg. Eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 C. mashed bananas (2 med size)
2 C. flour
1 1/2 tsp. Baking powder
1/2 tsp. Baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 C. chopped nuts (optional)

Mix butter and sugar together and beat until fluffy, add eggs one at a time, add vanilla and beat well.

Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and cloves.
Add to mixture alternately with the bananas.
Stir in nuts if you want them in.
Mixture will be slightly runny. Drop by teaspoons about 2 inches apart (they spread quite a bit) on a greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 375 for about 10 min. Just until bottoms start to brown. They will look underdone on top. Remove immediately and frost when cool.
Banana frosting ( This is what makes them so good)

Stir together 2 C. powdered sugar, 1/4 C. mashed banana (1 small), 1 tsp. Vanilla, 2 T. softened butter. You can add more sugar to make the frost as firm as you like it. I like mine to be thin so it’s like a thick glaze.

I made mine a little big so I got about 2 1/2 dozen.

Sunday was the best day ever. Scott was able to get some tickets to the spoken word and the Christmas Program. He could only get four so Jackson was a sweetie and let the girls go with us while he stayed home with Sierra.

The program was amazing and I think I'm now a big fan of Natalie Cole. Her voice was beautiful.
I especially loved her voice when she sang "The Holly and the Ivy". the absolute best part was at the end when Pres. Monson thanked her for coming and told her "We are so proud of you" then gave her a hug and kiss on the cheek. It brought tears to her eyes as well as ours. THEN they had her and the other guest turn to the choir and they sang "God be with you til we meet again". She broke into tears. It was just so moving. She thanked the church and said how wonderful everyone had been to her and her staff and it was one of the best experiences of her life. wow. She is the coolest.

After we went to brunch at Little America. Soooo good. The girls loved it.














A visit from Santa while we ate. He loved Noelle's red and green bands around her braces.
































I love this gingerbread house at the Hotel.

Thanksgiving!

We were supposed to go to Ken and Shan's house for Thanksgiving but Jackson came down with strep. We were worried he would give it to everyone even though he had started antibiotics, we debated going or staying. We thought Scott's parents were not going because they were getting over colds, and then we thought Ken and Shan were going to her parents instead. Long story short we ended up getting everything we needed the day before and as I was deep into preparing dinner Darlene called (Scott's mom) saying no, everything is still on and to come up. *sigh* Too late. Oh well. It would have been nice to be with everyone for dinner but this was ok too.












Ash helping with the stuffing.












Goofing off with Halloween costumes while bringing up the Christmas decorations.












Mmmm, potatoes.












Sweet potatoes with lots of butter, brown sugar and
marshmallows. YUM!!












Turkey!













So strange to just have the six of us for Thanksgiving. It was quiet but still wonderful. It would have been nice to have our parents there.












Sierra the silly.

Bingham Ball 09

I don't have any pics of Ash at Bingham Ball yet, I didn't get any but Ashley assures me she will get me some. I did get a pic of the fruit tart I made for the dessert.

Halloween 09!! So much fun, the weather was so nice.
Sierra got a little cold so we got the car and did a few more houses. Click on pics for up close and personal..:)












She loved dressing up as Snow White, she even had
the cutest shoes that lit up as she walked












Ash found her own Ninja costume and played the part perfect.


















Noelle was out trick or treating , Ash said she would photo shop her in later.













Joey's party was so much fun! I made bread bowls,broccoli cheese soup and licorice caramels. Joey made the most delicious soup, it was weight watchers so that's what I had. There was cake, cookies, bruschetta, cheese, fruit, meatballs, artichoke dip and a cheese ball! I could have gone crazy but I was so good. I had a bite of Chloe's birthday cake..it was a bundt! I had to. I had so many comments on my feather eyelashes, I'm glad I decided to wear them.

I just found all my old neighborhood buddies! Thank you Tamera!! I see many of them on facebook but this is even better.

It has made me realize how much I miss them all. I had hoped to keep in touch and let myself believe that nothing would change because I wasn't moving very far. It seems though that it changed everything. I felt like a part of me had been amputated. To see all the family pictures and what everyone is doing. It's like the phantom pain of that part that is gone. It makes me so sad, and happy at the same time. I have made some incredibly wonderful friends where I am now but they can never replace the friendships I had. Sometimes it's good to open up wounds, clean them out, let them heal. It hurts but you know it will get better.

Guess what?? I got a job! I actually got a job I had been wanting for about a year. I am the assistant pastry chef at Kneaders. It's part time and perfect. I am so excited. I start tomorrow.

Change can be good.

Cornbelly's at thanksgiving point Sierra and Noelle LOVED the corn pit. I could hardly breathe in there because of the corn dust. They were covered in it.
In the corn maze. We got so tired that we ended up quitting halfway through. Sierra was dragging and so was I. Noelle of course had tons of energy.












Sierra wasn't so sure she liked the maze. She was worried we were lost.






























































Ashley went to Homecoming Saturday night, she looked gorgeous!