Sunset at the beach.

Our favorite part about living here. Sam gets home at about 5:50. At 6:00, we were taking this picture. It was still chilly, after all it's winter, sort of. But sitting on the beach watching the waves is a favorite de-stresser (is that a word??), regardless of the time of year.

Just off this beach is Phil's Fish Market, where we get onion rings and bluegrass. This is a pic of our second favorite fiddle player (after Elvira, of course). She's just a kid...probably 18 or so, but she's incredible. When you come visit, be sure to be here on a Tuesday, the only night these guys play.

Stake Conference and a change....

We had a great broadcast Stake Conference (for all of Northern California, 65 stakes). We got to hear from Elder M Russell Ballard, Elder Floyd Wickham and Elder Uchtdorf. Elder Wickham gave a wonderful talk about how Zion is not a geographical place...at least not presently. Great talk for all the Californians who think they have to move to Utah to find Zion. (Those of us in know, know that Zion is actually in Arizona, anyway). He encouraged us to stay here and build up Zion here. I'm all for it. As long as we can stay employed, we'll be here. The Stake RS Presidency had a meeting with the Stake President the other night, and he was telling us how this economic downturn has helped several young families in his ward. They were employed, but never thought they'd be able to afford to buy homes here. Consequently, they were planning to move to another state. With property values going down and interest rates low, they were able to buy here and stay here. The young families are so important to keeping our stake going, and it's been so hard to keep them here. So, at least in our Stake, we are already reaping blessings from adversity.

The change came today, as they released us from our Stake callings. Our RS President had served in the Stake RS Presidency for eight years, it was time for her to be released. Dissolving any presidency is kind of bittersweet. On one hand, you feel a bit of relief when the responsibility is lifted. Not that you won't get another one shortly, but change is good sometimes. However, we have become so close that this is tough. We all live in different wards, and kind of far apart (our Stake covers a big geographic area). We say we'll still hang out and "play" together, but it's not going to be the same. I have learned so much from these wonderful ladies and I love them dearly. And, we had such great plans for this year! I told Sam that I wasn't ready to be released, but apparently, the Lord has other ideas. We all sat together today and cried. So on to the next thing, as President Jacobs would say. I'm still the Ward Organist, probably will be until I die, so I'm not totally without a calling.

Ok, we have friends coming over to eat food that we can't freeze any longer...the new fridge/freezer doesn't come until Thursday and I'm tired of buying dry ice. So, we're making a strange assortment of dishes and desserts with the last few things that I couldn't stuff downstairs or over at my moms. Off to baby-proof a bit for the masses...

From over the rainbow...

Title is a reference to Lysa's last comment on my rainbow pic. I have to say, the wind we had last weekend had me a little worried that I'd wake up in Kansas, or even worse, Barstow. That would be the WRONG side of the rainbow, that's for sure.

It's been a tough couple of weeks. Last week, a friend called and needed me to babysit for the day. Both of her kids, a toddler and a newborn, had had the 24 hour flu, and were now fine, but now she had it. Her hubby had to go to class and work. So, I went over and watched her kids for the day. They're easy, cute kids and that was fun. The next night I had a Stake Leadership meeting that I couldn't ditch (I'm the Stake Enrichment Counselor), even though I was feeling pretty marginal. I chalked it up to having spent the day with Meg's class on a field trip, and went to my meeting. I got home and within minutes it was apparent I'd caught the stomach bug. Yuck. I tried to avoid Sam and Meg, but by Monday morning, they both had it. So that's how we spent President's Day. Actually, I left them home throwing up while I went to the movies with Lysa. I asked Sam if that made me a bad mom, he said "no" at the same time that Meg said "yes". Oh well. Lysa doesn't get time without kids very often, so we celebrated by going to lunch, too. And, Sam and Meg were both still alive when I got home and feeling a bit better. I bought ginger ale for them on the way home, so I didn't feel so guilty. :0)

A couple of nights later, Sam and I were sitting in the front room when we heard a "ssssssss....pop...pop" from the kitchen. We went in there and could smell smoke, like from an electrical fire. As we were standing there wondering which appliance was freaking out, we heard it again. Of course, it couldn't be the toaster, it had to be the expensive appliance...the fridge...so, we unplugged it. I called an appliance service place the next morning and then spent the next few hours trying to figure out how to save all my frozen food and my just-purchased groceries. I ran up and down the stairs about a hundred times, moving stuff to the downstairs fridge (which is full of food supply stuff that doesn't necessarily have to be refrigerated, it just lasts longer that way). I moved some frozen stuff to the downstairs freezer and then went and bought about 20 lbs of dry ice to keep what was left in the freezer cold. It was a long day. When the appliance guy finally came today, he said that the compressor burned out and it would be a mere $750 to fix it. I think we're just going to go buy the fridge I really want anyway, it's only another $500. Doing our part to stimulate the economy. Sam says he'd rather stimulate the camera economy. But, I like having a refrigerator. And, he wasn't the one making all those trips downstairs.

I got Sam the coolest b-day present. I can tell you cuz he doesn't ever look at the blog. We were at Phil's Fish Market the other night. Yes, Phil's of Bobby Flay Cioppino ThrowDown fame. He's practically like our neighbor. Anyway, we can't afford to actually eat anything there except chowder, but we like to go there because they have live bluegrass music several nights during the week. We can run to the beach, watch the sun go down, go in and get chowder, onion rings and bluegrass for under $20. The Tuesday band is the best, and as we were listening to their incredible banjo player, Sam told me that he wished he'd never sold his banjo. I guess when they were dirt poor, living in Tucson, he had to sell his banjo. I've known Sam since college, and frankly, I don't remember him ever playing the banjo. Whatever. I looked on eBay, anything very nice was $300-$600. But, I scored on Craig's List. I got a practically-never-been-played banjo, with a really nice case for just $145!!! It's beau-ti-mous! He better play it, because we got a LOT of musical instruments in this house already that no one plays. In fact, he'll be shocked because every time he mentions buying a musical instrument of any type, I give him all kinds of grief. So, anyone taking any bets as to whether he actually remembers how to play it??? I'll take pics and post them later.

Easy Yummy Recipe...and a Rainbow

(Had to add this morning's view out my front windows...LOVE Sams wide angle lens)

Just thought I'd pass on this easy recipe that my friend gave me. We had it for dinner tonight and it was yummy. Takes about 10 minutes to get it all in the crockpot.

Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Stew

1 onion, chopped (I used a handful of dehydrated onions)
1 15 oz can black beans, undrained
1 15 oz can kidney beans, undrained (I used pintos, as I have kidney haters)
1 16 oz can corn, drained
1 8oz can tomato sauce
2 14.5 oz cans Rotel tomatoes (see note)
1 packet taco seasoning mix
1-2 boneless chicken breasts (or a can of cooked chicken)

Mix everything together in the crockpot except the chicken. Lay it on top and cover. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. 30 minutes before serving, remove chicken and shred. Return chicken to the slow cooker and cook another 30 mins.

I served it with shredded cheese and toasted corn tortilla strips. It makes about 6 servings if no one's a big eater, or 4 if you have hungry boys/teenagers.
I don't buy Rotel because they're usually more expensive than plain diced tomatoes. I used two cans of tomatoes and a can of chopped green chilis.

Jenny, I know you don't do chicken, but you could brown some hamburger and put it in, or a can of shredded roast beef, or any leftover meat. I don't recommend tuna, though. Yuck!

Slacker

Yep, when it comes to blogging lately, I'm a slacker. Mostly for lack of anything interesting to blog about. I'm sick AGAIN, although I think after three weeks, I'm finally on the upswing. Now Meg's sick. Hopefully I won't catch that, too. My doctor told me that stress is undermining my immune system. Tell me how you don't stress with the economy the way it is and primary breadwinner that hates his job??? Anyway, I've been waiting for GOOD news to blog about, but nothing really exciting so far.

Last weekend we photographed a blow-out party for the son of my Fijian friend, Selai. His name is Saimoni and he married a beautiful girl from Hawaii named Anu in the Oakland Temple. They had TWENTY bridesmaids and TWENTY groomsmen and about a dozen little flower girls and ring bearers (usher?). We were the official photographers, but I think every single one of the approx 500 polynesians had a camera, which made it very challenging. But, once again, Selai and her cousins, aunties, etc etc, threw an amazing wedding party the next day. She and her sister are former dancers at the Polynesian Cultural Center and they've passed on a love of polynesian culture to their family. They had Tahitian dances, Tongan dances, Hawaiian dances, Fijian dances. It was great. And once a dancer started, anyone was allowed to join in. Not too many people on the Tahitian dance, though, hardly anyone can do the Tahitian hip thing the way these little girls could. Very impressive!



This is the couple in their traditional Fijian costumes. This was a great party, and sitting there watching it all unfold, it was hard to believe it was fueled by nothing stronger than bottled water and imu pig. Saimoni is a wonderful guy, Anu is very sweet and I'm happy for them.



There are more pics on my facebook page...Fiji warriors, etc.

Someone should come visit and give us something to blog about. :0)