Sunday, April 10, 2011

w-HOA!

To those of you who complain about HOA's (including us sometimes!) Without the protection of an HOA, this could be your neighbor!
 
This fellow happens to live across the street from my brother-in-law. This is his front yard! Apparently, it was a LOT WORSE until he tidied it up a bit.

Friday, April 8, 2011

Alexis Merrill is going to PARIS!

(Note to reader:  This post is purposely told in the third person)


Alexis Merrill opened up her email today to find the following:


Okay, it is hard to read so Alexis will just tell you!

Alexis is going to Paris, France on May 16th!  

This was a total surprise!  Can you believe how romantic and spontaneous Alexis' husband is?  This was not even on her radar.  She was a little thrown off because there is no companion listed on the reservation, and what about her son, Milo, who will only be 6 months at the time of departure.  Nonetheless, PARIS BABY!

Alexis burst into the living room, where her husband was on his computer and politely inquired what he had up his sleeve.  He played coy for a while, then 'fessed that he did not know what Alexis was yammering on about.  Alexis led him back to her computer and showed him the email.  He swore up and down that he did not do it.  Alexis reread the email a bunch of times and saw that it was certainly not spam.  She even logged into the Airfrance reservation portal and saw that it was a real ticket.  In the interim, Mark got on the phone with AMEX, the credit card that the ticket was booked with and there was no transaction with AirFrance.

While gazing at the reservation, Alexis noticed a phone number and realized that maybe, there was another Alexis Merrill who is the one going to Paris.  Maybe the two Alexis-es have similar email addresses and this is a mistake.

(Back to first person, since it is obvious that I, Alexis Merrill, author of this blog, am NOT going to Paris.)


So I rang up the OTHER Alexis Merrill and she was so not excited to talk to her name-twin.  She explained that her boyfriend made the reservation and forgot her middle initial in the email address.  That teeny-tiny letter separates our cyber-lives and for one day, we were connected.  Blah.

Okay, so there is another person floating around with my name.  BUT, my former moniker, Alexis Tappen, has to be totally unique, right?

Of course, I had to do a quick Google to find out.

AHHHHHHH!
This is what I found!
This is a photography studio's preview of portraits taken at a dance recital.  I am pretty sure this is a girl with her hair pulled back but the outfit, make-up and pose are soiling my good name!

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Welcome to the Promised Land!



About a year ago, Mark informed me that I was not a "true Mormon mom."  Whaaaaat????  Okay, I don't have vinyl lettering in my house, nor do I tote those file folder quiet book things around, but I make my kids take piano, have the Mormon minimum of 3 kids (actually I surpassed that minimum!), and I recently acquired my first piece of stamped jewelry with my family members' names on them, so how was I lacking?


Two words...


Homemade bread.


I couldn't bake a proper loaf of homemade bread.  If it turned out, it was by freak accident.  I made very flat loaves, or wrinkly topped loaves, but not the kind that your visiting teacher brings on your birthday!


My mom tried to intervene and bought me a bread machine.  Even following those directions perfectly didn't give me good bread.


Finally, I came across this recipe:


Wheat Bread
Ingredients:
1 cup warm water (110-115 degrees F)
1 tablespoon milk
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons instant active dry yeast (active dry yeast will work also) 



Instructions:
1. *Combine first 6 ingredients in a large mixing bowl; stir.
2. Add flours and yeast, and knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 10-15 minutes. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover with a clean towel and let rise until doubled, about 40 minutes.
3. Punch dough down; knead for a few minutes until smooth and then form into a loaf. Place in greased loaf pan and cover. [more info on loaf pan sizes] Let rise in a warm place until almost doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. If loaf starts browning too soon, lightly lay a piece of foil on top of the loaf to prevent too much darkening.
5. Remove bread from oven and allow to rest in pan for a few minutes. Remove to a wire rack and cover with a cloth. Slice and enjoy while still warm!

(Courtesy of TheIdeaRoom.net)

I worked on it by hand and found that it was almost failproof.  Then i adjusted for my Zojirushi breadmaker and now I put the ingredients in at night, and we enjoy hot bread in the morning!