Why am I obsessed with food?

Don't get me wrong, I love being a Mormon. It's who I am and my whole life revolves around my beliefs. But because of our lifestyle - no drinking alcohol, coffee, caffeinated tea, etc. many of us, (read ME) get very excited about food. Because it fills a need, of sorts, I suppose. When Dave and I reminisce about vacations we've gone on, we spend quite a bit of time fondly remembering the great meals we've had on them
After our delicious breakfast the other day at the Straw Market I got inspired to try making my own cinnamon rolls. I had tried once or twice earlier in our marriage but was never very impressed with how they turned out. My friend, Kim, made them awhile back for a mission farewell. So I texted her, got her recipe, and tried them out. Ashley helped me make them. Ahhh they were sooo good. If you want to try her recipe, go to our food blog: www.grosefood.blogspot.com

Jack didn't think they were too shabby, either:

I tried to be all fancy schmancy and put them in my cake server so they would look like they do in a cafe.

So, call me OCD, but I heart good food. :)

Breakfast at the Straw Market

This past Monday was Martin Luther King holiday. Dave, Alex and I all had work off. Dave and I went on an 8 1/2 mile run with our friends. Then we went back home, got Al boy and headed over to the only place to eat in our small town - the Straw Market. We all ordered the same thing: ham and cheese crepes and hashbrowns. We shared a couple of ginormous cinnamon rolls for dessert. Wait . . . dessert for breakfast?! ( So much for burning off 850 calories on my run. ) Later in the day we went to the movies and saw "Unstoppable". It was a very suspenseful movie. I feel stressed even now just thinking about it. haha

Sister Cities

Ogden, Utah and Hof, Germany are sister cities. For the last 25 years the two cities have celebrated a Winterfest here. Dave and I went to it today.
We had authentic German food.

Wienerschnitzel, bratwurst, potatoes, spaetzle with gravy and red cabbage.

Dessert was this amazing strudel with rum sauce and vanilla sauce.

I loved the entertainment. This group called Salzburger Echo was my favorite. They yodeled, played several different instruments like this Alpenhorn, above, the accordian, and many other instruments. It was a nice cultural experience today. Ja.

Adios 2010

We had a fun New Years Eve. Basically it was like the many others we have had: eating and playing games. Holly and Cody brought a new game called "Argue", which is pretty much what you do: argue, or debate, two sides of a subject. We all enjoyed it. The kids watched a movie.

Another favorite of the evening was playing Around the World Ping Pong. It got kinda wild. :)

James was the only child to make it to midnight. He was still going strong, going out on the porch at the stroke of twelve to bang a pot with a spoon.

So, good bye 2010. You were a very good year, filled with amazing memories. And now I can get my blog book for the year organized and printed.

Embracing the Season

As anyone who knows me is aware, I am not a huge fan of cold weather. But this year I am going to embrace all that is good about winter.

We had a major snowstorm hit last week. We woke up to almost a foot of snow. Dave cleared it once before he headed out to work. But it just kept coming down. Later in the morning I went out with the snowblower, along with most of the men in the neighborhood who didn't have to work that day, and cleared the driveway again since Dave and Alex were both at work.

I thought maybe it would slow down as the day went on. But Dave had to clear it again when he got home that evening.

Ben Lomond was stunning.

By the time it ended there was over a foot and a half here.

It really is lovely to see. To drive in, not so much. But if you don't have to manuever the roads, yes it is beautiful.

So three cheers for Winter. Okay, maybe only two cheers.