Two Step Chicken Recipe. YUMMY!

Last night we tried this recipe for the first time and it was very good. I found it on the back of a Pace Pincante sauce jar. It was as easy to throw together as a crockpot dinner but took only 20 minutes to cook. My family and I really liked it. The chicken was tasty and tender, and there was yummy sauce to pour over the rice. We put it in our family cookbook already because we don't want to forget it.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups Pace® Picante Sauce (Medium)
3 Tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1 Tablespoon dijon-style mustard
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 cups hot cooked rice


Directions
Mix picante sauce, sugar, and mustard. Place chicken in a 2-quart shallow baking dish. Pour picante sauce mixture over chicken.
Bake at 400°F. for 20 minutes or until chicken is done. Serve with rice. Serves 4.

Wedding and Wiesbaden Reunion

Yesterday we went to the wedding of two of my highschool classmates and fellow ward members. You know, the ones I mentioned in an earlier Blog entry (Blast from the Past)? They were highschool sweethearts but then they went their seperate ways. Years later they are finally getting married. It was so fun to see them together after all these years remembering them when they were just teenagers. It was also fun to see their families and other friends we went to school and church with. Both of my brothers were able to be there too so if felt like the old days. Now, instead of tallking about our parents and homework, we talked about our kids and their adventures.

Considering we all lived together in Wiesbaden Germany , it seems especially unique to be all together again in one place. Even better a place that I could easily get to in an hour. What a blessing it was to be able to go and see all these great people again. I included fuzzy pictures we took with my phone's camera but I hope to get a better copy soon from my brother and replace them.

Lessons from my Mom

Today is the anniversary of my mothers passing. She died a year ago today from cancer. Interesting that she died so close to the same day as my father. My mom taught me a lot of important things, and blessed my life in so many ways.

1. Service- My mom magnified her callings. She made lots of meals for a lot of people (much to my chagrin as a kid). She was a great seminary teacher, Relief Socieity and Primary president. She served as nursery leader, Temple worker and Geneology librarian as well as other things before I was born. Whatever she did she put her all into it.

She was also just a great support to those around her. I will never forget the time she took me along with her to the children's hospital when a couple in our ward was dealing with their daughter's cancer. I thought we might just be in the way and she taught me that people need support in times like these. I don't even think she was their visiting teacher and wasn't a close friend. I believe she was the Primary President at the time. The father attended her funeral last year and he reminded me of my mom's service to them. He was still noticably touched by her thoughtfulness.

2. Love of Nature- As a family we did a lot of camping, hiking and just going on walks out in nature. My mom and I did a lot of this together when I was older too. Rose gardens are a special memory I share with her. When I was going to BYU she would often come all that way from Califonria to Utah just to go on weekend trips with me to Zions and Arches National Parks. She taught me to appreciate the therapeutic qualities of nature.

3. Passion for scriptures and gospel knowledge-I saw my Mom studying the scriptures A LOT my whole life. She learned a lot from them and seemed to know so much about the gospel. She taught us the gospel in a way we learned to love it ourselves.

4. The Joys of Motherhood-My Mom was a great mother, despite all the hard times I gave her. She taught us with love and patience. She wasn't one of those mom's who yelled at her kids all the time and I strive to be the same way as a mother. She used reasoning and love and was always there to listen and give good advice. She was also a lot of fun. She was often doing fun activities with us. She taught me what a good mother is. She was a great grandmother too.

5. How to be tough-My mom was no wimp. She always stuck up for herself. This bugged me a lot as a kid but now I appreciate it deeply. She was a mentally, phycially and emotionally strong person. She suffered through a lot in her life but kept on pushing until she was done, right up until the day she died. She makes me proud to be a woman and be her daughter.

One of my favorite stories my mom told was about a hike she went on as a scout leader. She was the only woman with a bunch of male scout leaders on some kind of training outing. They kept mockingly asking her if she was doing ok and encouraging her. By the time they reached their destination the guys were all worn out but she was fine. She was also the only one who thought to bring along food and drink, and enough to share with all the guys. Right on Mom!

6. A house of order and a life of simplicity- I would be lying to say if I said our house was always clean growing up. She did however believe in getting everything spruced up whenever we had company. The order she taught me was how to organize my life. She taught me also to chose my priorities and cut myself some slack in areas that aren't all that important. Cleanliness and order were important but not as important as other things, like having fun with your family. When she organized she did it with great skill. One of her last visits with me in my home was spent teaching me how to do some serious deep cleaning. You know, the kind young mothers have no time to do much less learn. These things were very handy to know when we sold our house last year.

7. Music- Any musical talent I have I inherited from my mom. She could play the piano and clarinet and taught us to enjoy good music. We loved appreciating nature while listening to beautiful music, whether driving through mountains or lying on the beach.


8. Passion for life and learning- My mom seemed to go through phases of diferent things she liked to do. I think one of my favorites was her baking phase. She also loved to ski, travel, bicycle, hike, camp, and do jigsaw puzzles. There were many other activities she enjoyed and she loved to laugh and have fun. Like her callings, when she had things she enjoyed, she put her all into them. She was always learning new things and went to college while we were going to junior college. It was fun taking classes with her. I was too shy at the time and that drove her nuts. I think I would make her proud today now that I speak out more in my classes.



I miss my mom most when I have a fun experience I know she would love to hear about or when I want advice on how to raise my kids. I often get ideas in my head that I don't think I could have come up with on my own. My Mom's visiting teacher shared with me something interesting. My mom had told her one of her favorite talks at a conference was about how a parent has as much if not even more influence on their loved ones after they pass on. My Mom was always involved in our lives when she was alive and I believe she still exerts her influence in our lives today from the other side. Her example alone still influences me on a daily basis.

Lessons from my Dad

This is kind of a sad week for me. In the last 7 years both of my parents have passed away and it just so happned that they died within two days (and 6 years) of each other. My father passed away 7 years ago today and I celebrate his life and his contribution to mine. My Dad taught me a lot of important things. Here are some of the most important. Needless to say you will be hearing about my Mom in a few days.

1. To love books and knowledge. My dad treasured books and seemed to have loads of them. If I wanted to buy a book, I would ask my Dad because he would never say no. My dad encouraged us to learn and do well in school.

2. To laugh- My Dad had a great sense of humor. We had a lot of good times as a family and laughing was a priority. For example, it was a family tradition to copy Saturday Night Live on Saturday night and watch it after church on Sunday. This was especially true of the good seasons with Martin Short, Billy Crystal and Christopher Guest. He didn't appreciate the crass stuff. He also played great pranks. He would move the wall to his cubicle over just a little bit every day making his cubicle a litte bigger and his neighbors smaller until his coworker noticed.

3. Men can be good. The example of a Dad can't be overestimated when it comes to a girl's attitude towards men in general. He was a gentle, mild mannered father who never raised his hand and rarely raised his voice. He was faithful in his callings and was a reliable and dependable provider. A loyal husband as well. My parents had a lot of fun together. I credit him for helping me to chose a husband who is so much like him, in all the important ways.

4. How to deal with Weaknesses- My Dad was painfully shy as a kid but he worked hard at changing that as a grown up. He joined Toast Masters and became a great public speaker and as long as I knew him he seemed to easily converse with strangers and friends. He is quite the example to me of making strengths out of weaknesses

5. Love of History- Of all the people in my family, other than myself, my Dad was the most sentimental. He loved history, both of the world in general and family. I grew up with my Dad being the recorder of our family memories . This explains why Scrapbooking with all its girliness seems so silly to me. It's a guy thing! Because of his love of history we grew up knowing a lot about the world. He made sure we knew. With all the traveling we did plus his knowledge I learned a lot about the world as a kid and I appreciate that. I still love anything history.

6. Seeing the good in others. My Dad was a worrier, but he always seemed to have a positive attitude about others. He always tried to see the good in others and tended to give them the benefit of the doubt.

7. Art talent- What little art talent I have I owe to my Dad's side of the family. He and my Grandpa where great artists. My dad drew endless cartoonitures of people and events in our lives. He also won the contest for designing the Mascot for his division when he worked as a government worker. It does me proud to see my kids wearing their t-shirts with "Otto" on them.

8. Staying Healthy- My dad was always exercising. He wasn't the type to hit the gym but would often walk and do sit ups in our living room. He also gave me a healthy amount of guilt when we would eat junk food. His voice is still in my head, especially whenever I buy my kids (and me) sugar cereal. That is why I don't buy it more often I think. Not that desserts were banned in our house, he was usually the one making us chocolate shakes or popcorn.

A good example of something my Dad would do is the following story. When Tim and I were visiting with my parents in California we stopped at In and Out burger. My Dad was getting a shake and asked Tim if he wanted one, Tim said

"No thanks" but then my Dad asked again a few times. "Are you SURE you don't want one?" Finally Tim gave in. As my Dad passed him his shake he warned,
'These things will kill you ya know"

I often miss my Dad, especially when I see how much Joseph is turning out like him and think of how much fun they (and all my kids) would have had together. But I am grateful for the opportunity to have had him as my Dad and know that my kids are who they are in part because of how my Dad raised me. I am grateful for the Gospel in my life, another thing he taught me. That is probably the most important thing he passed on to me. With my knowledge of it, I know how to be happy in this life even when my parents have passed on. I also know I can see him again some day and he will always be my Dad.

I need a break

I seem to have a low tolerance for stress these days. Today I went to a meeting for planning our ward cookbook. I was the only one who brought kids. My kids were actually ok. I was impressed until the end when they went bolting down the hall of this sister's house and into the master bedroom. AAAGH. That, plus muffin crumbs on the floor, smeary finger prints on her windows and taking a self guided tour of the basement was enough to make me say. OK. I deserve a break. . . .for the rest of the day. I know, I have no idea what stress is.

Psychology Today

This is just too funny not to share. Perhaps a bit disrespectful to those who are dealing with mental illness however. If I offend anyone I apologize ahead of time.

When " A Glass of Milk" is So Much More

As a mother, I guess I should say a lazy mother, I often find myself saying no to appearently small requests from my children. This is because I know that what seems like a small thing can amount to much more than they even know they are asking.

Let me give you an example from this morning. I was reading this morning as my 5 and 2 year old were finishing up their breakfast. My 5 year old asks if he can have some milk. My first thought is "Noooo, I just got up and sat down again...". But I think about it and realize "Why not? He can even get his own cup and pour it, I don't even have to get off my lazy butt and put down my book" , so I say yes. . He gets out the milk, and the cup. I am pleased to see the milk jug is almost empty so there is very little chance of him spilling. He pours the milk with no incident and even throws away the jug.

Sam of course sees the whole thing and guess what, he wants milk too. Unfortunatly, the milk that was in the house is now empty. I have to not only get up now, but must now go out to the garage and get a new jug from the other fridge, get him a cup and pour it 'cause there is no way I am letting my 2 year old or even my 5 year old pour himself a cup of milk from a brand new, full to the brim milk jug. I then sit down to continue my book. Two minutes later Lincoln says "Uh oh, Sammy made a mess with his milk" He had spilled it all over the table.

So next time my 5 year old asks for milk, I need to think twice. "Can I have milk?" does not mean, "Can I get my self some milk and you can continue on with what your doing", it means
1. CanI get some milk, I wont spill it and will even throw away the empty container?
2. Can Sam have some milk too?
3. Can you go out to the garage refrigerator to get it?
4. Can you clean it all up when he spills it?

Granted, my kids need milk and I will get it for them anyway as I did, that is my job as a Mom and I love my kids and want to take care of them, most of the time anyway. I am not always this lazy and selfish I promise, but I have my moments like today. This is just an example of this sort of phenomenon. So when you see a mom refuse their sweet child what seems a simple and easy enough request. Don't judge her too harshly. They may be saying no to so much more. Some people see a glass as half empty, some as half full, I see it as aboout to be spilled.

License to Kill and Authority to Call You as Nursery Leader (updated)

I love our ward. Everyone is very friendly, outgoing and the leadership is really on the ball. Our bishop is great and an inspired leader and it doesn't hurt that he looks like Daniel Craig (James Bond) either. I say that people look like other people quite frequently but even Tim agrees. He says he looks like a less worldly version of him. He sits up front with the brooding bishop look that looks an awful lot like Daniel Craig's famous pucker. Having a bishop that looks like James Bond makes for a lot of fun. We joke about being in the 007th ward and that the Relief Society president is "Sister Moneypenny".

Tim loves to humor me and teases me incessently about it. A few weeks ago the Bishop spoke in Primary when we were substitute teaching. First Tim points out that the Bishop has a scratch under his eye.

"Look Kristin, he's been in a fight!" Then the bishop proceeds to tell a story about when he was recently in Korea (he was in Sweden last week) . He was driving along the freeway and noticed a mother duck and her ducklings following her, walking along the highway. He spoke of how important it is to stay away from danger and not cross any lines. Tim exclaimed,

"Impresive that he could notice something like that while he was fighting the driver for control of the wheel."

Today bishop, tomorrow who knows what. We may someday have a general authority who can kick your butt or take it to church.

(The general authority picture is obviously photo shop with a picture of Daniel Craig, but so is the other one in case you were wondering. I would love to get a real picture but it would be kind of awkward to ask for one. I should volunteer to make a ward photo directory, start with the bishopric and then just give up. )

Blast from the Past

In the last two weeks I have been contacted by 4 friends from my past (10 years or more since I have seen them.) Crazy No? It has been awesome and it feels like I am stuck in an episode of "This is Your Life"

First an old friend from BYU commented on a blog out of the blue last week. We got in touch and she passed our e-mail on to two more friends that we all spent time with. We exchanged e-mails and now we keep in touch with two of them with our blogs. Blogs are awesome! I dont' think we would stay in touch as well if we didn't have them. They are part of my social circle even though they are miles away. Happy to have you back in our lives girls! Sarah, GET A BLOG!

Then yesterday I get a call from an old friend of my brother and I. Actually he was more my big brothers friend, and being my brother's friend, I chased the poor boy incessently in much of highschool. He was a good sport through it all though and was always a friend so I have forgiven him for not returning my hormone ridden affections long ago.

Anyway, I found him through Classmates.com about a year and a half ago. We got caught up and then kind of went on with our lives. He called yesterday to tell me he is marrying the girl he was dating in highschool. They had both gone their seperate ways long ago but have managed to get together again after all these years. They are having the wedding in Salt Lake City and wanted to know if we could come. How awesome is that?

To add to that, my family knew both his family(my mom met his parents on a trip to Israel and were good friends before they moved into our ward), and the brides family and they will all be there too of course. They are also inviting some other people we knew. We were all in the same ward in Germany. This will be a great reunion. I am so excited to see all of them again.

There is something grand and deeply meaninguful to me about seeing old friends again after many years. I think it has something to do with the "Circle of Life" (Disney, Lion King. . . I don't want to be sued for copyright infringement) It is a reminder of how small this world is and how short our lives really are. I am still the same person I was 10, 20 years ago and I am able to be grateful for everything that has happened in my life, then, now and everything in between.

I am feeling very blessed to have all these old friends to add to the great new ones I have made in the last few years. How does the song go "Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold" I don't think any of you are silver however.

Signs of Spring

I know spring is here when it is warm, when blossoms peak out and so do my toes. Time to take off the cozy socks and boots and throw on the sandals. This seldom comes without a realization that my feet have been sadly neglected. As much as I want to throw on my sandals, there is no way I am going to until I give my feet a little TLC first. Mostly I am referring to my toe nails needing a fresh coat of paint or too. It is frustrating though when you want to wear your sandals today but your toddler is already halfway out the door and you don't have time to paint your nails so you just put on your sneakers again and promise yourself PEDICURE TONIGHT!