Just a thought . . .

I've been reflecting on life lately, and I just wanted to share a few thoughts. I mentioned it a bit in my lesson the other day, so it may sound redundant if you were there. There are times in life where we all experience great disappointment, or where things just don't go how we want them to go. But if we've prayed and asked that the Lord's will be done, then there is nothing more to worry about. Those few words, in my mind, are the biggest safety net we could have. I really can't count the number of times in my life that things haven't gone the way I planned, but because we turn the outcome over to the Lord, it has always turned out much better for us.

A fun evening with the family

For weeks now I've been trying to pin down a night when we could watch "The Princess and The Frog" as a family and have a fun New Orleans dinner to go with it. We finally got to do that last night. We had jambalaya (thanks to Zatarains)and beignets (thanks to Mom T. and Paula Deen) for dessert. The beignets are tasty little pillows of fried dough, sprinkled in powdered sugar that you dip in chocolate sauce or raspberry jam. They were really good! And the recipe makes a ton.

I don't think I'll ever go to New Orleans, but I've always been interested in the place. Maybe it's the look of the buildings with the wrought-iron balconies, or the look of the trees draped with moss, or it could be simply the descriptions of the food. Then again, it could be that when I think of New Orleans, I also think of Disneyland? Let's just say that I like other people's idea of New Orleans.
Here's the recipe that I stole from my mother-in-law and I think Paula Deen:
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 envelope active dry yeast
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 cup evaporated milk
7 cups bread flour
1/4 cup shortening
Nonstick spray
Oil, for deep-frying
3 cups confectioners' sugar
Directions
Mix water, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl and let sit for 10 minutes.

In another bowl, beat the eggs, salt and evaporated milk together. Mix egg mixture to the yeast mixture. In a separate bowl, measure out the bread flour. Add 3 cups of the flour to the yeast mixture and stir to combine. Add the shortening and continue to stir while adding the remaining flour. Remove dough from the bowl, place onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Spray a large bowl with nonstick spray. Put dough into the bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a towel. Let rise in a warm place for at least 2 hours.

Preheat oil in a deep-fryer (I used a pan since my deep-fryer is on the fritz) to 350 degrees F. They cook really quickly, so keep an eye on them.

Roll the dough out to about 1/4-inch thickness and cut into 1-inch squares. Deep-fry, flipping constantly, until they become a golden color. Drain on a paper towel, then sift powdered sugar on them and warm up your jam and chocolate sauce.

An embarrassing moment

This morning started out as I had hoped . . . I got to sleep in! Complete bliss, but that didn't last long. I had a plan for this morning. I was going to start some laundry, then shower. I would then clean floors and sit down to watch General Conference. I had time . . . 45 minutes to be exact. Well, I was in the laundry room when I heard some odd knocking sound. I went out to the living room to investigate. 3 of the 4 boys were on the couch, with Nathan missing. What was he doing? Now, as a very relevant side note, I was not dressed at this point. Let's just say I had my underclothes on. What can I say, I had planned on making my trip to the laundry room a quick one. As another side note, in order to get from the side of the house that has the laundry room to the boys room, I have to pass by the front door and the small window by the front door. Just as I start to cross that line of view from the small window, that has no covering, I see the Elders through that window. "Oh, crap did they see me?" I ran straight to the laundry room, while saying a few choice words (none that would make a PG movie a PG-13, but let's just say they would have made a G-rated movie PG). As I booked it to the laundry room, I yelled to Dylan,"The Elders are here!" (Insert a few more choice words). Well, to make a long story short, I was stuck sitting on my dryer while Dylan finished his shower, entertained the Missionaries and then forgot about me. Yes, he forgot about me. I couldn't hear what was going on because the dryer was on, so 45 minutes later Dylan comes in and says,"What are you doing? The Elders left 10 minutes ago." He said that he told the boys to come and get me as he walked the missionaries out. Suffice it to say that I was a little upset. Then as I was getting ready to hop into a quick shower, Dylan Jr. calls into my room and says, "Oh, mom, the Elders left." No kidding, really? Let's just say my morning didn't go as planned.