I heart Carrie Underwood

Well, this post isn't really about Carrie Underwood, but it is about our trip to Checotah, Muskogee, and Okmulgee Oklahoma. First of all, did you know that Carrie Underwood grew up in Checotah? Yea, we have tons of famous people who came from Oklahoma, I'll list them for you one day. It's something that Oklahoma is very proud of. I'm mostly just proud of Carrie. Just listen to her sing! She sings how I LOVE to sing, and if I was a singer, how I would want to sing. She sings with her whole body, it's from deep down inside, and it is beautiful! I think i'm going to put one of my music players on here to only play her music. When I have more time. So, I made Randy take me to Checotah. I was pretty disapointed with the town. THe only thing Carrie Underwood it has is a sign on the free-way saying it's her home town. No signs pointing to her house or anything. I did see where she went to school and I drove on her roads, so I guess that has to be enough. Okay, on to our trip.

It was a day trip. We saw all we could of this area in a day. We went to Fort Gibson, which was so neat! It is an old fort where they used to be in charge of keeping the peace between the indian tribes that were moved to the area. The fort was one of those cool wooden ones... and there is a national cemetary there, which was beautiful! I think I found an ancestor burried there. I need to look it up and find out, though.

We went to a beautiful park in Muskogee. We had a picnic and hiked around. We also got pins that say "I'm an Okie from Muskogee". I wore mine all day.
This is Randy looking excited to go on our trip. Or maybe he's excited to pay for our gas.
One last picture... of the girls of course! Emma loves swinging, and so we tried it on Kenadi's lap. I just can't get enough pictures of them, if you haven't noticed.

Granola Bars

This is a very versatile recipe that I got from the Make and takes website, and I just make it my own by adding whatever I'm in the mood for. I like this recipe because it is one of the "better-for-you" granola bar recipes that I found I like. I love the butter/honey flavor in these. You can also make them peanut butter flavor by using 1/2 C peanut butter instead of butter. Play around with the recipe a little, it's pretty fool-proof! Also, they are a bit crumbly so I put plastic wrap on my hands and press them down again after they come out of the oven. Then, after they are completely cooled, I take them out of the pan and cut them, and individually wrap them so they are already to go for Randy's lunches.

2 1/2 C quick oats
1/2 C rice crispies
1/2 C m&ms minis, or chocolate chips, or nuts, etc.
1/2 C brown sugar
1/2 t salt
1/2 C soft butter
1/4 c honey
1/2 t vanilla
1/4C anything else you want, like, coconut, nuts, dried cranberries, raisins, dried apple, etc.

Mix all ingredients together and press into a greased foil-lined pan. (13X9 if you want more, thinner ones, or 8X8 if you want thicker ones) Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

The bike build

I'm finally building my new bike.  I'm so excited to have it done.  I've had the frame for almost a year but been too poor to buy anything else.  Being poor has some benefits, we got back a nice tax return, hence the purchase of bike parts.  I bought the frame off ebay and its a 2004 Giant TCR frame and fork (aluminum frame and carbon fiber fork).  Here is the bike as it is being built.  It is still not complete, still waiting on a few more parts and tools.  But this is what i've got done so far.  (Don't pay attention to the seat, it's from a parts bike i got from a friend, the new one is in the mail).  This is just the bare bones of the bike (except the front derailler is on it)This is the current stage.  I've got the rear rim (no tire) with the rear cassette, front and rear derailler, and front and rear brakes all mounted.  

Ok, that's not much, it's no where near rideable.  I still have a lot of parts in boxes, but can't put them on because of a lack of other parts or tools.  But, as soon as my other parts come in and my tools, it will be done in no time.


Really, it has to get done soon.  My current ride is on its last leg.  The tires are worn out, the brakes are barely there (the front one is actually the only one that really stops me, the rear is gone), the bottom bracket makes funny noise, the seat is worn out.  It needs a major overhaul to say the least.  Just a few weeks ago i had two flat tires, a broken spoke and a snapped cable all within a week of each other.  I think she's trying to tell me something (ya, it's a she, her name is dolores, if you know spanish you'll know why that's her name (it's a heavy mountain bike i use as a commuter, about twice the weight my new bike will be, painful)).

Sour Cream Blueberry Pancakes and Vanilla Syrup

Well, this is a Food for Thought Friday, but on Monday instead. I did think about food a lot on Friday, though. We decided to go out of town on Friday and look around a different part of Oklahoma we haven't seen before. So, we went to Muskogee, Checotah, (Carey Underwood's home town), Okmulgee, and Fort Gibson. All of them are in the same general area. Well, we did come home late Friday night, but too late for me to blog. I have pictures galore, and will share a little about that trip later. Anyways, some food for thought: I have noticed our cereal collection lately. It reminds me of some friends of ours who collected cereal. Well, they had about 12 boxes at a time, and we are a 3-box type. Just look at that picture, and see what we have become. I don't know, there must have been some good deals or something. I don't know why we have so many, but it sure reminds me of someone else's cereal cupboard. We have more in the back too, so you can't even see them all. In spite of all that cereal, I do make breakfast once in a while. I try to make it at least once a week since Emma was born. I used to do it more often, and plan on getting back into doing it at least 3 times a week when I get more sleep again.

The picture above is also something I've been thinking about. A bunch of ladies in my ward started a co-op. I LOVE it. We get produce every-other week and it is a surprise each time. We get the produce at a restaurant supply store, so it is high-quality, most of it's local, and it is much cheaper than the store prices. I do a half share, so I pay $10 and get all that produce up there. Here is what we got this week; green onions, broccoli, oranges, apples, pears, bananas, strawberries (they were consumed withing 5 minutes of getting inside the door), avocadoes, kiwi, tomatoes, lettuce, and cilantro. Isn't that great? Yum, good for you too.

Here is my recipe for the week. Well, maybe I'll give you 2. On the breakfast theme, this is one of my favorite pancake recipes. Perfect texture for me. A soft, melt-in-your-mouth center, and packed with flavor.

Sour Cream Blueberry Pancakes

2 C flour

1/4 C sugar

4 t baking powder

1/2 t salt 

2 eggs

1 1/2 C mild

1 C sour cream  (I have substituted all nonfat plain yogurt, and it tastes the same)

1/3 C butter, melted

1 C fresh or frozen blueberries

 Combine dry ingredients.  Mix wet ingredients together, then pour into dry. Mix until moistened.  Batter will be lumpy.  Fold in  berries.  Cook on hot griddle until done.

Vanilla Syrup

1 1/2 C sugar

3/4 C buttermilk

1/2 C butter

  Boil ingredients for 5 minutes,  and remove from heat.  

Add:

1 t baking soda

2 t vanilla

Do all of this in a deep pan, it gets really foamy and tall.  It is so good on the blueberry pancakes.

Grandpa Simonson

We got a visit from Grandpa Simonson 2 weeks ago. He came to see all of us, but especially Emma since he hadn't seen her yet. I loved having my dad in town. He is such a good grandpa, and we love him!

Don't they look alike? After going to church on Sunday, I had about 3 people come up to me and tell me how much Emma looks like my dad.

We did all the regular things, like the memorial,

the Cowboy Museum (one of my favorite places), and the zoo, pops, drive around, etc. We just visited and had fun.

While we did all this, Emma took full advantage of her toys and sucked on them.

More of us at the cowboy museum. Every time I said, "say cheese!" Kenadi would jump up in her saddle. I don't know why, but it was cute. I also caught my dad trying to get on one of the life size horse models there. He denies it, but it's true. His leg was up in the air and everything.

In the cowboy museum there is a cowboy town, and it includes a bunch of stuff, but a church, a jail, and a train station are just a few attractions. I took advantage and preached to my family.

Kenadi likes to sit in the jail, and then she asks, "Am I in time out?"

We enjoyed a room in 3D. I mostly enjoyed taking pictures of everyone.

They are so much alike.

The zoo. It was 86 that day. So nice! We went to the zoo today too, and it was 83. I'm burnt even though I used sunscreen. I LOVE our springs here.

Grandpa brought Kenadi a butterfly dress-up outfit. She put it on and promptly posed. She is into role play now. I love that she's into dressing up.

Honey Wheat Bread

I know that I skipped last week... I had a good reason, too.  My dad got to visit us for 5 days and we were enjoying every minute of it!  I'll do a post about that too.  So, here's the next one.  This is my mom's recipe for bread, and I didn't think about taking pictures until I was done.  However, I know that making bread can be daunting for some, so if you want, I will post pictures of each step to help you out a bit more when you make it.  I am making bread this weekend again, so let me know if you need more pictures/info.  I started making bread because I don't buy bread made with corn syrup, and the ones without it don't taste that great.  YUM!  It has taken me a few times to perfect it, but it has always been great!  The recipe makes 2 loaves but I always double it and make 4 and put 3 loaves in the freezer until I need them.  (I also do this in my kitchen-aid, but will include the hand-mixing instructions)

1 1/2 T yeast

2 C warm water

1 crushed vitamin C tablet (this is a dough conditioner, other recipes may call for lecithin)

1/4 C oil

1/4 C honey ( I do a heaping 1/4 C , since I like the honey taste)

3 C whole wheat flour

3 C white flour

2 t salt (I do a tiny bit less than 2t)

Dissolve yeast in water.  Add vitamin C, oil, honey, salt, and 2 C wheat flour.  Mix this with a wire whisk by hand or with mixer.  Add 2 C white flour and stir with a wooden spoon (or, if using mixer, add all the rest of white and wheat flour and mix with dough hook for 2 minutes or until combined and dough pulls away from bowl).  If mixing by hand, knead in the rest of the flour until dough is soft and elastic.  (If using mixer, I take it out of the bowl to knead it a few times to make sure it is soft and elastic.)  Shape dough into a ball, making the top smooth and any creases in the dough tucked under the bottom of the ball.  Put it into a greased bowl, and turn it once so the top of the dough is greased and the bottom of dough ball is facing down in the bowl.  Cover (with clean kitchen towel) and let it rise about 1 hour, until it is doubled and then punch the dough down.  Grease 2 loaf pans and divide dough in half, shaping it so it is smooth on top and any folds are in the bottom of the pan.  Cover and let them rise for 30-60 minutes, until doubled and looks like the right size.  Bake it at 350 for 30 minutes.  Take out of the oven and let sit 5 minutes before removing from loaf pans to wire racks. I like to spread butter on the top when it is still warm.