Guacamole and Salsa

We had a fun Family Home Evening (FHE) this past Monday. We don't have much time after dinner that day, and Evan reminded us that we have not had a "fun" FHE for awhile (not that our FHE is boring, it's just that the kids get to pick whatever they want to do on a 5th Monday), so he decided that we should have games that night. The kids picked the "Mahjong" game (forgot to take a picture), and the whole family worked together for some homemade guacamole and salsa before we played.

I was determined on making salsa rather than buying it from the store because Jeannie finished a big jar of salsa dip all by herself in less than a week. I am happy to see her eating tomatoes for snack but I am also concerned about her sodium intake, and the preservatives comes with the bottle. It just makes me worry.

Johnny wanted to try out the guacamole recipe he learned from a restaurant when he went on a business trip in Texas. He was joking and bragging about it, "Let me show you how it's done, it's real easy!" Unfortunately, it did not turn out right because the guacamole wasn't ripe enough. Darn it, will have to wait for his show off next time! :)

A picture of my sprouting alfalfa and red clover. For some reason, they are not sprouting as good as in the winter. I wonder why?

Daddy's Trick!

Don't remember exactly when I took these pictures... but daddy was being a bad boy playing tricks on Jady while feeding her with noodles. Little Jady learned quickly that she could keep it under control after being bullied! :)

Mother's Day (May 10)

I had a great time celebrating Mother's Day with the family.

Jeannie came home from school on Friday and said,
Jeannie: Mama, can I give you my gift for Mother's Day now?
Me: Why? Can't you wait until Mother's Day?
Jeannie: Well, I don't know what to do with it.
Me: What do you mean? I smiled.
Jeannie: I just don't know what to do with it. (I know something must be bothering her because she said it twice!)
Me: Okay, if you feel like it. :)
Then she went upstairs, came to the kitchen and gave me this oregano plant.
Me: Hahaha... no wonder!!! (I love herbs and was just thinking of growing some basil and parsley.)

Other than the plant, Jeannie also made me a silver ring from her metal class. I love the design, and the fact that it was made from my daughter!!! I love it so much that I wear it on my wedding finger. She knew exactly what I want... something simple and priceless!

Then, my good helper, Evan insisted on cleaning the dishes after lunch. When he was done, he went outside and picked this beautiful flower for me from our garden.

Evan: Mama, see what I got you?

Me: Wow... That's beautiful, Evan! Thank you!

Evan: This is the first one to bloom on the tree... do you want another one?

Me: Ah nope... just leave them there. I want to see flowers on that tree.

Evan: Oh, mama! Don't worry, there are plenty of them!

Me: I laughed... he is just that sweet and cute! "No, Evan... just leave them alone!!!"

This kid helped me so much everyday that he doesn't even need to please me with flowers on special occasion!

And Johnny got me this lovely mug. He said, "I purposely ordered this huge mug for you so that you can have a big cup of hot chocolate in the winter!" His comment just melted my heart.

I often wonder what I have done to deserve a loving family? No doubt in my mind that I had been blessed by Heavenly Father with these sweet spirits in my life. I am thankful for the blessings of temple marriage, and the sealing power of my children and husband for all eternity. I love them so much that I want to live with them not only in this life, but for life eternal. Thank you guys for allowing me to be who I am, and for loving me even when I am mad, impatient and unforgiving. You all are my everything!!!

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That evening, I made my family their favorite ginger/green onion chicken wings, shrimp and celery, plus the sparkling apple cider (store bought) for dinner!

Can't believe I forgot to take a picture of the dinner. :(

Finally!

I've been trying to organize the pictures and frames ever since we got back from HK, and I am glad to announce of the completion of this project after a whole long year!!! Can't believe it takes me so long to finish it. :)

This is my favorite corner of the house with the picture of Jesus and my childhood piano. I've got this picture and frame done for $45 instead of $250. What a bargain!!

May Cleaning!

It's spring time and we had done alot of cleaning lately. That includes the clean up of our closets. I found this home jacket that I made years ago. I have to give it up since Johnny got me new one and he tried to make sure the new one is not sitting in the closet.

We also cleaned up the "jungle" under our tree bed. There used to be a 3 ft. high of leaves piled up under our trees, and some guy quote us of $400 just to clean it up. I think that's just insane. So, we did it ourselves. On 5/9 (Sat), the day before Mother's Day, we went out and spent a good couple of hours cleaning up the leaves. I also planted some flowers in the flower bed and 70 gladiolus bulbs under the tree bed. Can't wait to see some flowers growing in our lawn this summer!

Ok... this is a little silly. Johnny and I went to Lowes and picked up a few deadly looking blackberry and grapes shrubs for $1 each. We are determined to revive them... probably in time for harvest NEXT summer. :) See the deadly, bare branches under the mulch?

We were out to dinner at my favorite Chinese restaurant because we don't eat out on Sunday and the fact that it's Mother's Day the next day!

My Latest Obession!

Johnny went on a bussiness trip to Texas from 5/4-5/6, and I, of course went crazy with my countless project. I had been scanning some 200+ pictures of my parents and tried to work on a digital album for them in celebration of their 40th anniversary. Other than scanning, putting the pictures in sequential order, I still need to come up with my own template. It turns out Ok since it's my first time, but quite a lengthy project I have to say. I was thrilled when I finally pushed the "order" button after two months of work. The book costed me $27+. Not a bad price for a 30pages 8x8 hardcovered book.

Guess what I saw in my email the next day after I placed my order? They sent me a book coupon of $13.99. It's the same size and quality of book plus free shipping, BUT this coupon expired in two weeks. Obviously, the company would love to see it expired on it's own. Guess they didn't know who they were dealing with. Being the crazy, and lazy me.... I am no longer with the idea of processing pictures (for goodness sake, I still have pictures in boxes waiting for me to put them in the albums) unless I absolutely need to. I want our family pictures in a book. So, my lightbulb went on, and I spent another two nights or so updating our family traveling book when we visited HK last summer. This is a much improved version.

Think I have sometime to recover from those sleepless night??? I just got another coupon today of 7 free book ($7.99 shipping) expired by the end of May.

I will do whatever I can to get the deal even if it means eating bamboo and making friends with pandas! :D

Trip to HK: http://www.artscow.com/share/2ldkhky1z9r1
Parents: http://www.artscow.com/share/t7tx9pzoo0y6"

Jady's First Cooking Lesson

Jady and I spent sometime making banana bread for my visiting teaching group the last week of April. I was a little worry at first since my 2-yr-old had never done it before, but looks like she thoroughly enjoyed it!

Busy Jady posing a "Cheese" for mommy while mixing the ingredients.

Having fun mashing the bananas!!!