The best pumpkin muffins ever!

I wanted to bring a treat to Patty's to thank her for hosting me this weekend. Since it's practically September and the weather is turning fall-like here anyway (blech), I thought I'd make pumpkin muffins.

Besides being completely awesome, your house will smell heavenly when you bake these. Little kids love them and they also freeze really well.


4 1/2 cups sugar
1 large can of pumpkin puree (or 3 cups)
6 eggs
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup water
5 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 tab cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp baking soda
2 + cups chocolate chips (as much or as little as you like)
1 cup chopped nuts (opt)

Whisk together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt & baking soda, set aside. Mix sugar, pumpkin, eggs, oil and water. Add flour mixture. Stir in chips and nuts. Spoon into lined muffin trays. Bake 15-20 minutes in 350 degree oven or until a tester comes out clean.

Notes:

• This recipe makes a whole lot of muffins so I usually half it. I halved the recipe this time and it made two dozen regular sized muffins and four dozen mini muffins.
• You could also put some of the batter into a greased/floured loaf pan. If so, bake for about an hour or until the tester comes out clean.
• I used too many chocolate chips this time, which was one whole package of mini chocolate chips but they still totally rock.
• If you half the recipe, you just use a small can of pumpkin puree instead of the big one. I saved you from dirtying a measuring cup! You are SO welcome! :)

What makes a good road trip?

I'm going on a little road trip to visit this fabulous friend and her family:

What makes a road trip by yourself bearable and maybe even a little fun?

You must have one of these:


Which in turn is loaded up with a playlist including these three, sing-it-loud-and-proud CDs:




And you have to have some snacks right? In my family, we always went with this:

and some of these:

What do YOU need for a successful road trip????

It's Monday so that means I must be thinking!

I'm making cookies for some friends (nobody who reads this blog so don't get excited) and of course, I have all sorts of random thoughts running through my brain as I bake. So here ya go:

• August 25, 2008 -- the date I started wearing my Ugg slippers again. Oh summer, where art thou???
• Here is the easiest chocolate cake recipe: 1 chocolate cake mix, 1 large box chocolate instant pudding, 1 3/4 cups milk, 2 eggs and one bag of mini chocolate chips. Mix it all together and spoon (it's kind of thick) into a greased & floured bundt pan. Bake at 350 for 50-55 minutes or until the tester tells you it's done. Let it cool, remove from pan & sprinkle with sifted powdered sugar. Teenaged boys love this. I brought this to an open house last night and got requests from no less than three of them to make this cake for their birthdays.
• Why is it so hard for me to trust my own promptings from the Spirit? I nearly always second guess myself. On this latest one, I thought I was just feeling bad because I was being lazy and wasn't up to a challenge that I was possibly going to face. But no, it wasn't that at all -- it was just that yucky feeling that "this is wrong, Jeanelle." I'm grateful for situations that remind me I need to trust myself more.
• I am seriously obsessed with the Aida (Broadway version) soundtrack. I have listened to it every day at work, all day, for the last week (since I saw the opera version.) I cannot get enough. It's playing right now, in fact. I think if I saw the Broadway musical now, I would probably cry. I do that when I see things I love on stage -- mostly at the beginning. Like I cried when I saw Les Miserables, Lion King, Wicked and Ragtime. I also cried during the Dancing Queen portion of Mamma Mia -- when all of the women are going together to dance down on the dock. There is something about the beauty of people singing and dancing, doing what they love. Does that make any sense at all???
• Back to baking - if you don't bake your cookies on parchment paper, you totally should. I also love my pampered chef digital timer. It soothes my anal retentive heart. Plus you can hear it when it goes off. Exactly what you want in a timer, right?
• So I know I've talked about this alot lately but please go read this post by C Jane today. She's a fairly new mom to a baby boy and is now taking care of three of her sister's four kids while her sister and brother-in-law are in the hospital being treated for serious burns. Her day one experience with her nieces and nephew in her home really made me think about how I would handle this if I were in her situation. I can't imagine how it would be for my life to go from the way it is now to one with three more children.
• Jason (single dad from Seattle area) is the new Bachelor. Hmm. You know what this means, don't you? I'm going to end up not liking him now.
• I booked a trip to Hawaii for later this fall. I hope to recreate this picture but with me in it too (note the totally awesome turtles behind the way cute kids.) And maybe without Matthew making a weird face and also without Natalie trying some America's Next Top Model pose. I'm just sayin'... ;)

Sixteen Candles

I spent most of this afternoon watching movies and making note card sets for some friends. It was such a fun and relaxing afternoon! I flipped channels and found the movie "16 Candles" to have on in the background while I worked. I was so happy (or to quote the Dong'er, I've never been so happy in my whole life!)

This movie is chock full of memories for me. My sisters and I quote memorable lines from it all the time. My friend Marielle and I even made up a trivia quiz for this cute boy in our stake. I really wish I still had a copy of it. When I was a senior in high school, this was our favorite movie to watch during our Laurel slumber parties.

Now I know what you're thinking. How could our YW leaders let us watch that movie? I KNOW! That's exactly what I'm thinking and have thought every time I watch it. I don't know how in 1984/1985 that watching this kind of movie was acceptable for a youth activity. Do you think we just didn't notice the bad language back then?

I love that our youth today have much higher standards than I ever did when I was their age. I love that they are careful and particular about the movies they see. I also love that I can watch the edited version of this movie often, thanks to the wonderful world of cable television.

Almost as much as I love Jake Ryan.

Almost.

What I can't stop thinking about this week...

If anyone reading this feels so inclined and has the means to give to the fund supporting the Stephanie & Christian Nielson family, please click the donate button on the right (read why here.)

Read a little (or a lot) of the NieNie dialogues and I promise you will fall in love with this amazing family. And even if you don't have the means to give, just read and be inspired. I love how Stephanie lives her life to the fullest, is proud to be an LDS wife & mother and does it all with impeccable grace and style.

Crush

There's a crush-worthy boy at work and he's called a couple of times this week. So fun!

Sigh.

No, there is no hope and no I'm not going into detail but a crush is kinda nice once in awhile.

And I'll say it again: sigh.

Some Monday Night Why's...

• Why is it so hard to make stupid little decisions sometimes?
• Why did the temperature drop like 25 degrees in the last two days?
• Why do the track and field people seem much more cocky than the swimmers?
• And speaking of track and field, why does that guy from Jamaica start slowing down BEFORE his race is even over? I can see trying to save yourself for the actual race but seriously? You are THAT amazing that you just have to slow down a little, look around at the losers you're beating and bask in your own greatness? I don't like him.
• I know I've asked this before but why do bad things keep happening to good people?? I finally was able to do something for Michelle & Rick (my friends who are dealing with lung cancer.) She isn't able to talk to people without crying so I called her housekeeper to let her know they wouldn't be needing her for awhile. I was THRILLED to be able to do SOMETHING and told Michelle I would happily be her personal secretary. The other bad thing I'm thinking about is C Jane's sister Stephanie, who was in a plane crash with her husband and his flight instructor (who did not survive.) They have four children at home. I can't even imagine this kind of pain and I don't even know these people except through their blogs. :( Lots of prayers are needed...we could seriously pray for days to include everyone who needs prayers, couldn't we??
• To lighten things up a little, why oh WHY does my upstairs neighbor have to slam her toilet lid down EVERY time she goes to the bathroom? Ah, the joys of condo living... I'm about ready to buy her one of those non-slamable toilet seat thingys my friend has at her house (they are way cool if you haven't seen them before.)
• Why did I worry even a minute about the judgemental guy from last week? His sister-in-law (who was also on the addressee list) shared the email with her other sisters-in-law, his brothers and mother-in-law and let's just say that he got a lot of helpful feedback from his family this weekend.
• Why does it seem impossible at times to get people to serve in Primary? It's like people do not understand that the children are our future, treat them well and let them lead the way (and if you're not singing like Whitney Houston right now, then you've got somethin' wrong with you!) But seriously, we cannot run the Primary with like 1/2 of the needed staff. I've got to find 1-2 subs this Sunday and then starting next Sunday I'll need to find 2 more on top of that. That's just for Junior Primary and Music!
• Why does Google Reader sometimes take FOREVER to post new items (like 12 or more hours?) What is up with that anyway?
• Why can't I finish "Breaking Dawn?" I seriously have no interest in what happens.
• And finally, why have I still not made a dentist appt? I am beyond lame.

Judge Not...plus a couple of ramblings

Before I get into the topic that I've been obsessing about this week, here are a couple of random thoughts:

• I loved that "Flipping Out" show on Bravo this year. Jeff Lewis is the most hilarious (and bizarre) human being. I so love his assistant Jenni and his maid Zoila. If you've never watched it and you like reality TV, see if you can find a repeat on sometime as the season is over.
• I bought some of those Tyson pre-cooked chicken breast strips and they are smelling up my entire fridge with their fake smoky smell. What is up with that?? They're in their package with foil wrapped around and a ziploc bag and THEN inside of a sealed plastic container and that is still the only smell I smell when I open the fridge. As a girl who hates food smells, I am not happy and ready to toss them out.
• My milk from Sam's Club seems to last longer than the milk from other grocery stores. Why? Fresher or more preservatives?
• It was 90 yesterday and it's supposed to be 93 today. I have all of the windows and my door open this morning because it's a balmy 66 outside right now. Feels great in here!

Okay, so I'm going to blog about something personal that could end up coming back to bite me but I will leave all names and other identifying details out. I've been bugged about this for the last two days. Are you ready? Good.

While we were at camp, a bunch of us discussed going to see "Mamma Mia." I've already seen it but would love to see it again. A couple of us agreed on a day/time and I said I'd send the email invite out. I invited all of the female adults who helped at camp and just said "if you want to join us, please come." In hindsight, I should have only invited the people who talked about wanting to see the movie but I was trying to be a good hostess & include everyone in the fun.

All week I got no's from everyone which wasn't a big deal. On Wednesday, I got an email from the address belonging to a woman I had already heard no from. Here is what the email said:

Jeanelle;
I read the review of Mama Mia on Screenit!, and it looks pretty raunchy. I'd be disappointed if one of my daughters wanted to see it. After spending a week at camp trying to instill high values in the young women, attending that movie, especially with other camp leaders, isn't the kind of example you may want to set for the girls. Think about it.

This was signed the woman's husband's name. (Knowing the wife, she did not send this email.) And get this...the email wasn't just sent to me. It was sent to the roughly 45 other women I had originally invited to the movie with me.

I have never met this man and would likely not recognize him if I saw him on the street. I was completely shocked and more than a little offended. I immediately got supportive emails from several of the women on the distribution list, which was nice. I turned off my computer and stewed all night...writing emails in my head of what I could say to this guy. Like:

Dear Brother So and So: you are not my husband, my father, my bishop, my Father in Heaven nor my Savior. You have no stewardship over my choices or decisions and certainly should not be trying to make me feel guilty about a movie I, as an adult, choose to see.

OR

Dear Big Jerkface: Was it really necessary that you attempt to chastise me by emailing your holier than thou opinions to me AND 45 other women? If you were that worried about my eternal salvation, maybe you could have taken the time to pick up the phone to call rather than just send a chicken email to a total stranger AND 45 other women? You don't know me. You don't know the kind of person I am nor do you know the kind of YW leader I am. Emails like yours are what cause people to leave the church and never come back. Think about it... Sign me: SOOOOOOOOOOOO happy you're not MY husband.

Okay, now that I have THAT out of my system! ;)

I chose not to respond at all. I could end up serving with this guy someday and I prefer to stay on the high road (well, except here on my safe and comfy blog where I can be totally on the low road!) It's better just to bite my tongue and let it go.

It also should be said that "Mamma Mia" does have a couple of questionable scenes but I would not be embarrassed to be seen by anyone coming out of that movie. I am not perfect and I am actually quite choosy about the movies I see. But I found this movie to be fun, sweet and such a lovely tribute to women/mothers/daughters/friends. I can't wait to see it again tomorrow. And you're all invited to join me -- email me and I'll tell you where and when. Who knows? There may be picketers! ;)

Oh and one more thing -- do YOUR husbands send emails from your account? I think the only time this is acceptable is if he needs a list of your friends for a big surprise party. But that's just the opinion of this independent singleton...different strokes, I guess.

Checking in

• This morning did not start well. I was pulling out of my driveway into a lot of traffic and quickly see the cause: 4 police cars, a fire engine and a major investigation vehicle. Next I see a motorcycle on its side and next to that, a body covered by a yellow tarp. I read later he was 20 years old. I felt bad all day for his mom and family.
• I'm loving Michael Phelps but perhaps even more, I love that AT&T commercial with the Phelps Phan girl. Hilarious. By the way, I'm not one bit sick of seeing him swim, seeing him win, seeing him set another world record. I love watching people who are so good at what they do.
• It's going to be in the 90s here this weekend. I only dislike how hot my house gets but really, I love summer so I say, bring it on.
• I went to dinner at Olive Garden last night. I really need to remember I don't like their food, with the exception of the salad and breadsticks. After that, I saw "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2." The first one was better.
• I'm going to an opera on Friday night. I haven't been to one since college. This one is Aida. I'm excited!
• I've been on an ice cream cone kick lately -- either Udderly Chocolate or Mint Chocolate Chip...always Tillamook, always in a sugar cone. There really is no better ice cream in the world. Trust me. Even you Utah/Creamery lovers. Come visit me and I'll make you a cone and you'll see what I mean.
• My friend Kim is a new grandma! Kara had her baby last night. His name is Jonathan and he is super cute! Can't wait to meet him!
• Okay, and finally? This Office promo is making me laugh SO hard right now.

Sunday Night Quickies

• I'm on page 525 of "the book." I'm still annoyed.
• I bought "Penelope" on DVD but haven't opened it because I haven't ever seen it. Should I take a chance and keep it? I'm guessing I'll like it but will I like it enough to own it?
• I had the best Saturday in a long time. I didn't shower, didn't leave my house, did 6 loads of laundry, took a nap, baked brownies for thank yous & an open house, read & watched the Olympics all day.
• I liked "Sydney White" the first time I saw it. The second time? Not so much.
• Pres Bush is being interviewed by Bob Costas right now and he made an interesting comment. Thanks to TiVo, I've transcribed it here for you: Costas: If these Olympics are as successful as they're shaping up to be, most people believe this only further legitimizes the ruling (???) party in the minds of most Chinese citizens, and even absent true liberty as we understand it, the lives of hundreds of millions of Chinese people are much better than they once were. Therefore, what's the party's incentive to reform? Bush: Well, first of all, if you're a religious person (he touched his chest to indicate he is a religious person), you understand that once religion takes over in a society, it can't be stopped..." Even though I'm not necessarily a big Bush fan, I'm grateful our president is openly and proudly religious.
• Bob Costas' hair is unnaturally dark. You know he's coloring it. Bob, embrace the silver. You're a guy. You can get away with it. Or at least go with a lighter brown next time.

Thoughts on a rainy Saturday

While I was at camp, I got a voicemail from one of my closest friends. She was sobbing and asking for prayers. Her husband was sick in the hospital and they weren't sure what was wrong. This week we got the official diagnosis: lung cancer, stage 4. He starts chemo next week. I'm just heartsick. He's 50, otherwise healthy and was never a smoker. Why does this happen?

I've been struggling with how to help. Right now, they are just processing, planning and dealing with the news. She doesn't want food, doesn't want company. She just wants prayers, wants her husband to have his pain relieved and wants life to feel normal again. She is sure they can beat it. I'm praying hard they will.

And my other thoughts?

My Stampin Up catalog came yesterday. Yay! So many fun ideas and things to spend my money on.

I'm still freaked out by Breaking Dawn. Hope to finish it this weekend so we can discuss.

I came home from work, exhausted from my long week, from crying all day on Friday and made the best dinner. Caesar salad with bow tie pasta. Yum! I proceeded to fall asleep at 6:30 PM and woke up at 10:30 PM, unsure where I was and what day it was, when my mom called from the airport, ready to be picked up after spending a few days in Utah. I totally missed the Olympics opening ceremonies. Ding dong... I was asleep again by midnight and slept until 8 AM. I do love it when I get good sleep!

Time to read and do laundry. Hope you all have a great weekend. And if you feel so inclined, please pray for Rick, Michelle and their darling 14 year old daughter, Dani. Thank you!! xoxo

Tonight's feelings/emotions

• Tired -- I spent the last two days in all-day long meetings at work. People came in from all around the world for these meetings. I love the people in my group. They are just good people and super fun to be around. But sitting and listening for two solid days gets a little old. I texted a lot during the meetings, which is always fun.
• Full -- Because of the meetings I just mentioned, I had dinners out the last two nights. The first night I just had to go and be my boss's "work wife" and help host. The second night was our whole group - tons of people. My boss's wife came, which was fun. We have the best time together. My boss said nice things about both of us and how we put up with so much from him. It was sweet (and so true!) But I'm a little tired of restaurant food. Well, maybe not THAT tired. If I could eat last night's salmon, fresh pineapple and the yummy cheesecake with chocolate topping every night, I'd be thrilled.
• Annoyed -- I used the can of air on my keyboard, put in new batteries (it's wireless) and I'm still having to go back and add missing letters and spaces as I type -- and I know I'm typing them so it's not operator error. Is it just time to get a new keyboard or something?
• Satisfied -- We had our camp evaluation tonight and it was such a good meeting. Lots of great feedback (almost all of it positive.) I loved the women (and men) who helped run camp this year. It was such a wonderful year, despite the few not-so-wonderful things I mentioned in my last post. We're having a meeting on Sunday to start assembling names for positions for next year. Sick, I know!
• Unsure -- I'm just beginning Book 2/Jacob's Story in "Breaking Dawn" and I honestly don't know what to think. I also think this book should not be read by young girls, without first a discussion with their moms. I'll leave it at that so as not to spoil but I'm just not sure what to think yet. Don't give anything away if you've already read it!!
• Impatient -- The new Stampin Up catalog year starts on Monday and I still haven't received my own copy of the catalog. I'm hoping it'll be here tomorrow but truly, getting that catalog makes me so happy and I hate that I don't have it yet.
• Itchy -- My mosquito bites on my legs & ankles from camp are still itching!!!

Yawn...goodnight!

My week at camp, 2008

I never take enough pictures. I think the problem is I'm too busy doing other things to remember to take pictures. I did take some video though. And this is basically my excuse for a journal -- it got a little long. Sorry!

Nine of the most incredible 2nd YCLs ever! Top: Chrissy, Gianna, Jana, Katrina, Madalyn; Bottom: Lisa, Jennica, Kim & Megan. They're standing outside our longhouse, in front of silhouettes of themselves (they have clues on them and the other girls at camp are supposed to try and guess who's who. Check out the cool poster Chrissy made in the top right. Totally worth the ink, Kim!!)

As I said before, camp was great. We faced a lot of opposition though. One of our level assistants left on day one because she hurt her back. The assistant nurse left on day two because she had a family member become gravely ill. One of my YCLs left on day three because she became ill. Our camp director had to leave on Thursday because her grandpa died & she had to travel to the funeral and our stake cooks (along with their daughter who was the camp MC all week & one of my YCLs) had to leave Thursday because of a death in their family. All of that in the space of like three days!

We were incredibly short-handed but the great thing is, the 2nd YCLS were so totally with it. They made it easy for me to pick up the slack where it was needed because they had everything completely under control. They were doing things before I even had to ask and they were always where they were supposed to be. It was such a huge improvement on last year. HUGE! I feel so very blessed to have worked with them, to see them serving & loving it, to see them work together and get along.

From the top: Rebecca, Arielle, Lisa, Katrina, Kim, Megan, Jana, Ali, Michelle, Soana, Chrissy, Gianna & Jess (everyone except Jennica!)

As I said before, our weather was kind of crummy. It rained Wednesday. It was a drizzly, light rain but enough to be an annoyance and to have us grab our ponchos and trash bags to sit on. It also got really cold Wednesday and into Thursday. We woke up Thursday morning and it was around 40 degrees outside so we canceled that day's Polar Bear Dip. I've never been so cold at camp before. We had sweatshirts and jeans on most of the week.

My assistant this year, Tammy, really was fabulous to work with. She took care of so many things for me up at camp and I think if we get to work together next year, it'll be even better because she'll have a good idea of what leading the 2nd YCLs entails.

The chipmunks were everywhere at Ensign Ranch and so totally brazen. They'd run up the ladder to the lofts of our longhouse and then down and across our beds to get out. ICK! We contemplated making suicide traps but were reminded that wasn't part of God's plan. (Whatever! ha) I made the mistake of leaving one of my containers open and came back to find one eating the peanut M&Ms I had stashed in there. Tammy grabbed a broom and got it out. The M&Ms went into the garbage. Tragic, I know! One of the levels saw a skunk in their camp area so I consider us lucky to have only had the obnoxious chipmunks to deal with.

Re: the plethora of chipmunks, the second level girls made up a roll call (a little chant/song they do every morning & night, always different) to that song "Low" and part of it said "Chipmunks with the fur, with the fur." Ha! I need to get more of the words down because it was pretty funny. That group also had a roll call to the tune of "Bleeding Love." There are so many creative girls out there! Here's a roll call my girls did one day to "Good Morning Baltimore." (I played that song to wake them up in the morning.)


The 2nd YCLs do a skit about one of the YW values during each flag ceremony. I video'd some of them because they were so stinkin clever. In this one on Choice & Accountability, Soana is taking flamenco dance lessons but they're on Sundays and her parents are concerned. I really love the Saturday's Warrior type song near the end! (A couple of others are on facebook, if you are my facebook friend and want to check them out.)



The girls also write a new camp song every year that goes with our theme. This year's song was to the tune of "I just can't wait to be king" from The Lion King. The first couple of days, hardly anybody was singing. That comes from two things: the girls being shy and their not knowing the song at all. So the YCLs decided they needed to incorporate dance moves into the song and guess what? Everybody loved it and all started singing. More video for your enjoyment:

Because the camp director left, I was asked to give the camp stewardship report to the stake presidency & bishop's on our final night of camp. It helps that the stake presidency is made up of my home teacher, my former bishop and a guy I used to work with. I also do okay speaking in front of people, pretty much, but the challenge was figuring out what to say AND writing it out longhand. (sure made me miss my computer!) I was nervous but I think it came out okay.

So I have contemplated all year about whether or not I want to go back next year. Next year's YCL group is going to be a huge challenge. They are night and day from this year's group. I've decided that as long as I don't get released, I'm going to continue on but I will be firm & clear in stating our expectations of them. I will also invite them to really think and pray about whether or not they want to be 2nd YCLs and if they don't want to be, they will be asked to say so up front. I don't want to have to deal with the issues their leaders this year dealt with. I know they are good girls who love camp but I don't want to have to hunt them down when they aren't where they're supposed to be, I don't want to have to demand they give me their cell phones because they are texting in the longhouse and I don't want to have to pull them out of bed each morning or afternoon when they should be up and doing other things. I want them to have a great experience and to learn how to be leaders and to be there because they want to make the camp experience great for the younger girls, NOT because they are at camp out of duty or habit.

So there you have it. Camp is over, finis, done. At least it's done until October or so when we start meeting again to discuss staffing.

I'm home!

Camp was amazingly great/wildly successful but also cold, wet and at times, almost overwhelming. I came home and slept 14 hours and I'm still tired. I have yet to unpack or do laundry and my living room looks just like it looked before I started packing (and I promise I left it clean when I departed on Monday.) I'll download pictures and video later but it was a wonderful week and the 2nd YCLs I worked with were truly incredible. I doubt I will ever work with a more "perfect" group of girls at camp ever again. I am almost overwhelmed by them and their willingness to serve. One of them also bore the most powerful and beautiful testimony I have ever heard before (let alone from an almost 17 year old.) The youth of the church just continue to impress and amaze me. Here's a pic of my YCLs that I stole from our photographer, the uber-talented Alison Jensen:

Gotta go because it's time for bed!!!