Happy Thanksgiving

I must say I had a great Thanksgiving even though Jaren was not here. All of my siblings, brother-in-law, niece and nephew drove up from Idaho to spend Thanksgiving here at my parents house. We definitely had a noisy, sometimes chaotic, full house. It was great! I took some family pictures of Melisa, Eric, Logan, and Lily. You can view the album here .
I made my yummy Mousse Mountain Cupcakes for everyone. They were watching me prepare them most of the day (since they take so much time to make) and couldn't wait for the chocolate coating to setup completely before breaking into them.

Lily loved her chocolate cupcake and of course we had to take a picture of her messy face.

Lily seemed to be in the spotlight most of the time with as cute as she is. She is talking so much now. She says "Hi" to everyone and is so friendly. She loved "puppy" or Abby (my parents miniature schnauzer) and would follow her around hand feeding her dog food to her. She also had some funny temper-tantrums. They were funny to me because I got to sit back and watch Eric and Melisa deal with it :) I know...one day it will be my turn. Logan was mostly interested in playing Sonic the hedgehog and was getting quite addicted so we had to distract him with other things. We got to enjoy our time together relaxing, playing games, watching movies, and just talking. It was great to see everyone because it has been so long since we have all been together at mom and dad's house.

(Uncle Scott and Lily)

(Grandma Denece and Lily playing the piano)

Jaren didn't have as great of a Thanksgiving unfortunately. From what he said his Thanksgiving feast consisted of some good ham and gross sweet potato pie. I got to talk to him but I felt bad that there was little I could do to help him enjoy the holiday. Just so all of you know, he will be moving out of the area he is currently in and doesn't know when or where they will be moving his unit. Hopefully, it will be in enough time that I can get a new address to send him a Christmas package. In the meantime, I can't send him packages because he could be leaving anytime and may not get them. When Jaren gets a new address, I will let everyone know. Thanks for all of your support! We love you all!

Lots of curls

Ever since I moved back to Washington in this more humid climate, the natural yet slight wave in my hair turned into a slight curl. I have been able to scrunch my hair to make it somewhat curly. I liked this better than blow-drying my hair because my hair can be quite difficult and I am such a perfectionist that most days it took me 45 minutes to round-brush every hair into it's proper place. I can't help it...the perfectionist in me won't allow me to do less. What a pain!!! I absolutely hated doing my hair! Unfortunately, scrunching my hair with a diffuser took quite a bit of hair product to hold it in place. I hate crunchy hair and most especially hairspray. Also, as my hair has gotten longer it has become harder to do anything with. It is now too long to round-brush or scrunch, and too short to do anything else with. I am trying to grow my hair out because Jaren likes it long so I didn't want to cut it. Jaren also likes big spirally curls so I decided to get a body perm where they use the biggest perming rods to give your hair some "wave". This wave gives your hair more body...hence the title body perm. I discussed this idea with my hair stylist and she said it should work well to add to the natural curl I already have. This would make scrunching my hair easier and require less hair product. Upon perming my hair I discovered that my hair takes VERY well to curl. I always knew it took to curl well but didn't know what using the biggest perming rods would do. My hair is definitely more curly now (more than I anticipated). At least it only takes me 15 minutes to dry using a diffuser and a lot less gel and hairspray. Several people say they like it but I'm still not quite sure how I feel about it since I'm used to my straight hair. The perm also shortened my hair a good 2-3 inches. Guess I'm going to have to like it now because this perm won't be going away anytime soon. Jaren just says I look cute. But because I got his reaction over a webcam I can't tell if it means, "I really like it and think it's cute" or "I always tell you your cute and am telling you that now even though I don't like it so much." At least if he doesn't like it he doesn't have to see it (except over a webcam) for the next 6-7 months. That should give me time to do something else with my hair before he comes home. So, dum da da dum! Here I am, Emily (Curly Sue) Glover:

This is a picture of my hair after 45 minutes of pain staking round-brushing. Doesn't look like it would or should

take that long, right?

Sorry this was such a long post about my hair :)

Have a great Thanksgiving!

Mousse Mountain Cupcakes!

Sorry, this is another post on my latest food creation. I just couldn't resist this one! I got the idea for the cupcakes when researching cupcake recipes for our monthly cupcake Sunday in Young Women. I brought cupcakes last month and found cupcakes like these on Martha Stewart's website. Hers are called Hi-Hat cupcakes with a seven-minute type frosting for the filling. I changed mine to chocolate mousse and named them Mousse Mountain Cupcakes! They are wonderful and messy and you need a huge glass of milk when eating them. Three wonderful types of chocolate all combined make this divine, rich dessert. ENJOY!

(Mr. Cupcake got a little smashed when I tried cutting him in half)

Cupcake: I use my favorite kind of cake for the cupcakes, Duncan Hines devil's food cake mix. I love cake mixes so haven't often bothered with making cake from scratch. I have learned that if you beat the cake batter too long it turns out more fluffy and goes dry easier. I like mine a tiny bit more moist and dense so I only beat the cake batter for about a 1min 30 sec - 1 min 40 sec instead of the two minutes it says. Might not make a huge difference but in my mind it does.

Chocolate Mousse:

4 egg yolks

1/4 c sugar

1 cup whipping cream (heavy)

1 c good quality chocolate, chopped (I use 1/2 - 2/3 c milk chocolate and the rest dark)

1 1/2 c whipping cream (heavy)

1. Beat egg yolks in small bowl with electric mixer on high speed about 3 minutes or until thick and lemon colored. Gradually beat in sugar.

2. Heat 1 c whipping cream in 2-quart saucepan over medium heat until hot. Gradually stir at least half of the hot whipping cream into egg yolk mixture; stir back into hot cream in saucepan. Cook over low hear about 5 minutes, stirring constatnly, until mixture thickens (do not boil). I use wire whisk for this. Stir in chocolate until melted. Cover and refrigerate about 2 hours, stirring occasionally, just until chilled.

3. Beat 1 1/2 cups whipping cream in chilled medium bowl with electric mixer on high speed until stiff. Fold chocolate mixture into whipped cream. Sometimes I need to use the electric mixer for 10 seconds to mix everything thoroughly. In piping bag or large plastic bag with corner tip cut off (1/2 inch opening), pipe 2 inch swirl on top of cooled cupcakes leaving an 1/8 inch border. It will look like the top of a swirled ice cream cone. If you don't use too much or too little then you should have enough chocolate mousse for about 20-22 cupcakesRefrigerate cupcakes until mousse is set (about 2 hours). I have refrigerated them overnight and they are just fine. However, make sure they are covered somehow in a container or make sure there are NO strong odors in your fridge. The chocolate mousse (and chocolate coating) can take on the flavor of the smell.

Chocolate coating:

2 cups good quality chocolate, chopped

3 Tbsp vegetable or canola oil

In double boiler on low heat (water barely simmering), melt the chocolate and oil until smooth. Remove from simmering water to cool for about 15 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl or I use a glass one cup measuring cup. It is easier with a glass one cup measuring cup to dip because it is deep and more narrow. Hold each of the cupcakes by the bottom and gently dip into the chocolate thoroughly covering the chocolate mousse. Let as much excess chocolate drip off then set on a aluminum foil lined cookie sheet with cooling rack on it so the extra chocolate will drip through the cooling racks and onto the cookie sheet. Refrigerate these yummy cucakes until the chocolate is set or until ready to serve. Store extra cupcakes in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days.

Good quality chocolate: I use Cadbury's milk chocolate and royal dark when making both the mousse and chocolate coating. It is less expensive than other high quality brands and still works great in the recipes. I have found the milk chocolate at Walmart but you will probably have to go to another grocery store to find the royal dark.

Happy chocolate eating!!!

Pumpkin Pancakes!

So, I have been wanting to try and make pumpkin pancakes ever since fall came around and I finally did it today for Sunday dinner...yes, dinner. I looked at some different recipes, then tried my own version of several of them. They were really yummy! I also made a caramel apple butter sauce and real whipped cream to go on top. This would be a great Thanksgiving morning breakfast! In my opinion, it's not even too much pumpkin to make you not want pumpkin pie later. Of course, I had to take some pictures to display my creation and make you all drool and want to try them too. I included the recipes at the bottom if you want to try them. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Pancakes

2 c Pancake Mix

2 Tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp allspice

1/2 c solid Libby pumpkin

1 1/2 c milk

2 eggs (whites separated in a different bowl)

2 Tbsp melted butter

Beat egg whites until stiff peaks (but not overdone) and set aside. Mix dry ingredients in large bowl. Add pumpkin, milk, egg yolks, and melted butter and whisk together. You may need more milk (up to 2 cups) depending on the pancake mix you use. Pancake batter will be slightly thick. Fold in egg whites. Cook on hot griddle and serve with caramel apple butter, syrup, or whipped cream.

Caramel Apple Butter

3/4 c apple butter

2-4 Tbsp good caramel ice cream topping (Mrs Richard's butterscotch is my favorite)

1/4 c half & half

2-4 Tbsp water

1 tsp vanilla

Mix all ingredients in small saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir until blended. Serve warm over pancakes.

*The caramel topping makes the sauce sweet so you might want to add it a tablespoon at a time and taste a bit to see how sweet you like it. It is apple butter so it will be a thick sauce but I didn't want to spread a paste on my pancakes so I added the full 4 tablespoons (1/4 c) of water. If you like it a little thicker you can do less by only adding 2 or 3 tablespoons.

Whipped cream: I'm sure you all know how to make whipped cream on your own so I'm not going to list a recipe. Since the caramel apple butter is so sweet you probably will not want to add much sugar to the whipped cream when making it. A touch of vanilla will give it a good flavor too!

Beautiful Bouquet!

My wonderful husband did the sweetest thing! He had a beautiful bouquet of flowers delivered to my door this morning. It definitely made my day! I've had a hard time this last week because I didn't get to talk to Jaren at all and I've been trying not to think about how much time apart we still have left. This has lifted my spirit and given me a boost to keep going. We can make it, even if he doesn't get to come home for his two weeks R&R (Rest and Recovery). I absolutely LOVE the flowers and they are being displayed very proudly in the livingroom for all to see and enjoy. However, I think I might just take them up to my room with me at night so I can look over in the morning and see them. What a great husband I have! I love you Jaren!

Stress relief/Happy Holloween

I drove down to Ogden, UT this last week to take the majority of my belongings to the storage unit that Jaren and I have there. I would never have been able to get everything packed and cleaned at my apartment on time had my mom not come over and help me. She cleaned while I packed! Then on Monday morning (Oct 27th), we packed everything up into the back of my truck and a 5'x9' ramp trailer from Uhaul. The trailer was piled so high it was nearly another trailer size on top of the trailer itself. Thanks to the help of my mom, my home teacher, and his wife we were able to get things loaded up within a couple of hours. I checked out of my apartment and my mom and I left to Boise a little after noon that same day. My truck didn't really like pulling that much weight. It took us a little over 8 hours to get to Melisa and Eric's house (my sister and brother-in-law) in Boise where it would only take about 7 without a trailer. It also took a lot of gas. I was averaging 13 miles to the gallon. NOT GOOD! We stayed the night then left the next morning to head the rest of the way to Ogden. It took us about 6 hours where on the way back it only took us 4 1/2. We arrived just in enough time to rearrange the stuff already in the storage unit to make room for the stuff I had brought down. We unloaded everything and got it packed in with just enough room for it all. It took us about 2-3 hours and just in time for it to get dark while driving to Jaren's parents house in Brigham City where we stayed two nights. Wednesday was a day of running around doing some errands in Logan, visiting some stores we like to visit every time we're up there, and visiting friends and family. Thursday was back up to Boise for another two nights with Melisa, Eric, Logan, and Lily. We got to take Lily and Logan (my adorable niece and nephew) trick-or-treating Holloween night. Lily was "Boo" from Monster's Inc. and Logan was the Nascar Cheerio race car driver. Melisa even made him a paper mache race car box with sponsers and everything. Lily was great at saying "trick-or-treat" while walking everywhere but would get too distracted to say it when the people came to the door because she knew she was about to get candy. She was always very polite at saying "thank you", though. This morning mom and I were back on the road again to come home. At least without the trailer the gas mileage was back up to 20 miles to the gallon. What a whirl-wind trip it was! It was such a stress relief to get it all taken care of so I don't have to worry about it anymore. It was also nice to see our friends the Shelley's in Logan along with Tyson, Whitney, Teresa, and Blake (Jaren's younger brother, sister, mom, and dad). Thanks again Melisa & Eric and Glover's for letting us stay with you! Happy November 1st everyone!

Logan & Lily trick-or-treating