Thankful

Most of you know that I love to cook, and more than that I love sharing my creations with others. Over the years there have been some particularly recipes that I've grown especially attached to, as have many of my friends and roommates. So today I am sharing what is probably my most popular food - Jewish Sweet Bread (or as called by some of my friends, sweet Jew bread).

I love this recipe. I love the taste of it and I love the reaction of people who eat it. First though let me give you some background on this recipe. I've now been making it for well over 10 years and I first learned it at my very first enrichment meeting. I was still in Young Woman's, but they invited all of us to a Super Saturday of sorts. I remember standing in the kitchen at the church while the Mairs' demonstrated how to make the bread (I can still remember Nicole discussing with her Mom whether the salt was really important or not). I think I walked away with a loaf of it to go home and bake and it was delicious! I started making it more often once I got to college and I've never stopped since! Out of all the things I make, I think this is Adam's favorite (or at least it was when we were dating, he may have changed now). So here's a recent picture of the glorious creation and the recipe. I hope you and your families enjoy it as much as we do!

1 pkg Yeast

1 1/4 C Warm Water

Mix together and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes till yeast is mixed through the water.

In the mean time mix together:

1 tsp Salt

1/4 C Sugar

1/4 C Oil

2 eggs

Once this is mixed, start adding flour (total of approximately 4 1/2 Cups) alternating with water/yeast mixture. Kneed the dough on a flour surface (or in a Kitchenaid), adding extra flour as needed until the dough is not too sticky. Put in a greased bowl, cover and let rise double (usually about 1 1/2 to 2 hours depending on how warm or humid it is - I don't recommend leaving the dough anywhere near a running dishwasher or wash machine)

Punch down and divide dough in half. Divide each half into three parts and braid. Place on a cookie sheet and let rise again. Melt 1 cube of butter and brush half of it on before baking. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes. Spread remaining butter on after baking. If you manage to have leftovers wrap in foil or store in an air tight container. ENJOY!

My new running buddy.....

I can still remember the first time I tried a gel supplement.. I was getting set to run a 10k with my old roommate and good friend Ruth. She had convinced me to come down to Salt Lake to run her first 10k with her (it didn't take too much convincing, it was a great excuse for a weekend getaway!). One of her friends had made her a good luck poster complete with pre and post race treats, and while the snickers bars looked pretty tasty, we decided to try the gel before the race. Ruth tried it first and almost instantly looked as though she wanted to throw up, so why I tried it too, I don't know. It was awful. It was thick and sticky and nearly impossible to get down. I'm sure it didn't help our running ability at all as we each managed to get down just a little of it - but we did finish the race. I'm not sure if it was the gel or the idea of a couple of mommies running with strollers beating us that pushed us on to the finish (I forget know Ruth did we beat them? Sad to think that that is even a possibility). I also remember telling myself over and over again during that race that I never wanted to run farther than a 10k.... EVER. So why just a few weeks after I returned home I committed myself to running a half marathon I do not know. So what does all this rambling have to do with anything? Well, as I started to train for the half marathon, the grueling 13.1 miles, I was routinely running well over an hour at a time and decided I needed to have something to refuel my while I was running. So I turned to gels. What I found was most of them were absolutely disgusting. They were thick and it took at least half my water bottle to get them down without gagging. I tried Cliff shots (since I like Luna bars) AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL, possibly the thickest worst one; I tried Gu - yeah, it tastes like Gu, who wants to eat Gu? Then I tried Power bar gels. Which were by far my favorites (try Tangerine and Raspberry) but still not great. Then this summer, while visiting a running shop, they had this box of gels that were free samples. So I grabbed one as did Adam (for me of course) but never tried them.... until now.

Here is my delicious new running friend!

This hummer is so good! I've tried chocolate in other brands and they were nasty, but this one really taste like chocolate... almost like chocolate syrup. And its not thick at all. It goes down so easy. I just finished a 7 miler and it was so yummy. I'm definitely going to have to go stock up!

Childhood literacy?

So I was asked to teach a class on childhood literacy at our next enrichment. Why they asked me I have no idea. I mean I have no kids, I don't teach school and I have no background in the subject. So I'm asking for any ones ideas! So far I've come up with, ummm maybe you should read to your kids. Yeah, that's a good idea. And take them to the library. And read the scriptures as a family. And that's all I've got. Anyone got anything else? It all seems pretty obvious to me but apparently the school district has a "literacy problem" (last time I checked most schools did and are all failing their standardized tests). Help me!

We're HOME!!!

This is it, our new home! Its so exciting to have bought a home together- yes the one in Boise was "ours" but since Adam had been living there for a few years before I ever came along, and I knew we wouldn't be there for too long, I never really connected to it. The picture above is taken from across the street and shows our nice big corner lot, complete with RV parking (we're awaiting your visit Grandma & Grandpa!) . Yes there are no cars out front because we've cleared out the garage and both cars fit! YEA!


Another front view, but important because you can see we actually have grass! I was so excited for this. So many homes down here just have desert landscape, and grass just feels homier!





As for this thing, well its ridiculous. I'm not sure why they planted it here or what purpose it serves... we'll be getting rid of it soon. Hopefully we can manage to transport it to the backyard.




And now my favorite room in the house:

Yes, I know its not 'in' the house but I love it! I love that we have a pool. I love that we have some landscaping to do. I love that we have a potential guest house (thats the building you see on the left) and I love this guy:

is our ginormous Saguaro cactus. Those of you who haven't lived in AZ might not know that its illegal to get rid of these guys, so we'll have him around for a long time. I'm thinking maybe we should name him - any suggestions?

Oh and I can't wait to eat this later this winter.... mmmmmmmmmmmmm (for those of you who don't know, this is an Orange). I can almost taste it!

That's about all for now. I don't have pictures of the inside yet - I'm still trying to get decorations and things settled in. So more to come!

A haircut costs HOW MUCH?

Yes, I admit I've been living a sheltered life. For the past five years I have paid little or nothing for haircuts, highlights, facials, manicures and pedicures. Yes I was spoiled -Thanks Aunt Kathy! While I was living in Boise, I went to the Headmasters School for all my beauty needs, and since my Aunt was a teacher, and now director I didn't pay for anything (I had to pay for the die for my hair and tips, but that was it). For example, for my wedding, I got a haircut, die and highlights, a pedicure (with french tips) and manicure with acrylic french tip nails for a total of $10. Sick huh? I am sure I tipped some too. But still. So it pains me that not only am I in a new place and I have to find someone to do my hair, but I also have to pay. Is anyone else totally traumatized by trying to pick a beautician? Never knowing what you might look like when they are done. Argh. So with slight trepidation I found a salon on line last night that wasn't out of control spendy and made a call.... my luck they could get me in right then. I was a bit nervous though as the lady sounded, well older, I was afraid of getting a grandma cut. Luckily this was a spunky grandma though and I've officially changed my position of grandma beauticians. I don't know why I had an issue to begin with, I mean my absolute FAVORITE person to do my eyebrows is a grandma. I still remember the time Annie took me there to get my eyebrows done and I was thinking? Really, this lady is going to do my eyebrows? Well she rocked and for years I drove over an hour from Boise to the outskirts of Nyssa, OR to get them done by her. I've tried day spas in Boise and none compared to my beloved Doris. Anyway I digress, $30 later my hair turned out great and I'm hooked on grandma stylists.


ps... yes we are in the new house. I've been looking for the camera charger ever since we moved in and just now found it. YEA! So I promise to have pictures up this weekend....