Happy Mothers Day Cupcakes

I have a lot of time on my hands recently and I like to find ways to keep myself busy. Bryce and I had a BBQ on Mothers Day and I wanted to make a little something special for those Mom's who are so wonderful. So I made these lovely cupcakes. The decorations on top are a royal frosting that I piped out into letters and shapes onto wax paper. I let them dry overnight and then decorated the cupcakes with them. They turned out quite adorable.

I made 24 of these puppies. Each cupcake is a little different from the others.

Close up. It was a fun and rewarding project.

Graduation Celebration BBQ

Bryce doesn't really like to be the center of attention. Actually, he hates it. We wanted to have a celebration with some friends of his for his upcoming graduation from Med School. So, we picked a weekend and Bryce called all his buds together and we had a BBQ. Of course, no one knew it was a celebration of Bryce graduating so it really was just a fun night with food and friends. Good enough for me!

Kara, Ashlyn and Troy. Try is actually the person that introduced me to Bryce. I was hanging out with Troy the day that I met Bryce. I guess I owe him a lot for bringing us lovebirds together.

Mike and Bryce enjoying some hearty laughs over dinner.

Ashlyn, Troy, and Jared. I think they look like they had a good time.

I love this picture because Jared obviously is holding in a giant laugh or maybe it was my cupcake he is trying to hold in.

Happy Graduation Cupcakes! This was my first attempt at butter cream frosting and it was DELICIOUS if I don't say so myself. Thanks again allrecipes.com for the killer recipe. The idea for the graduation caps came form the internet so thank you internet for the cute idea.

Happy Clover Day

What did we eat on St. Patrick's Day?

Corned beef and cabbage. Apparently this is a very Irish meal to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. My mother informed me of this, and I do remember eating it growing up, but I had idea it was for St. Patty's Day. I just know that you have to wear green on St. Patrick's Day or you will get pinched. Now I have a new tradition. I have made this meal for the past few years for our dinner on the day of green. It always turns out yummy. I usually make it in the crock-pot, but this time I just made it in a pot on the cook top. It turned out just and yummy and both Bryce and I enjoyed it. I added a few carrots and potatoes along with the cabbage. I had all the intentions of making green cookies too, but I didn't have any eggs so that didn't happen. It was still a "sweet" green day nonetheless.

Fondant Baby Shower Cake Practice

I have never made or decorated with fondant. But, the girls on the TV make it look so easy and fun. Not the case. I wanted to make myself a really fun baby shower cake for next weekend so I figured that I'd better give it a go before the day of. So I made these little cakes and got a recipe for fondant off the Internet and gave it my best. It didn't work out at all how I wanted, but it was very much a learning experience.

I ended up adding too much powdered sugar to the fondant and it cracked terrible when I cut it and draped it over the cake. I learned that you add little bits at a time as needed and don't let it dry out. Double plastic wrap it and let it sit in the fridge overnight before you use it too. I also found some handy tutorials on YouTube and how to drape a cake with the fondant and how to make the fondant the right consistency. I will definitely try this again. I have to only get better at it the more I try right.

First attempt and decorating with the fondant. B for BABY! Very very rough! But, kind of cute I guess.

2nd attempt. J for JOLLEY! A little better but still a work in progress. A fun thing to do but very time consuming. I'm sure that as I do this more I will get better.

Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, It's Back To School I Go!

"Don't you love . . . the fall? It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address."
photo taken from: www.flickr.com/photos/merelymel/2824506032/

This time of year is exciting to me. I really love all the back to school stuff in the stores and the fall weather turning the vegetation into colorful works of art. I feel like Tom Hanks in You've Got Mail. "Don't you love . . . the fall? It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address." *(Of course, I would love to send anyone a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils. If you want one, just put your name and address as a comment and I promise to send you a pencil bouquet. I will, I really will. To be honest, I will only send you a pencil bouquet if I know you well and I know that you would appreciate the gesture. The deciding of those who will be the most appreciative is up to my discretion:)* I do want to buy school supplies and I think a lovely pencil bouquet would look quite nice on my kitchen table. But, this year is a little different for me. I AM ACTUALLY GOING BACK TO SCHOOL MYSELF!

I got married to the best man in the world in August of 2005. Right before we met, I had decided that I needed a break from my academia, and I was faithfully preparing to serve a LDS mission. I filled out all the papers, got my necessary interviews, checked in with my dentist, and I was even getting up very early in the morning everyday to study the scriptures. (I am not a morning person at all!) Everything was in order and I was about to send that packet of papers into SLC and await my calling. THEN, I met a handsome, chiseled, funny, and just generally awesome man named Bryce Jolley. We dated from May through June, got engaged July 3rd, and married August 19, 2005.

Bryce was finishing up his undergraduate education when we were newlyweds. He was also preparing to enter medical school in the Fall of 2006. Needless to say, he was a busy character at the time. Between school work, taking entrance exams, flying to interviews, and working as an electrician for his father, he had little time for much else. I, on the other hand, should have taken that time to go back to school myself. However, even though I had initially taken a break from my academics for the purpose of serving a mission, I wasn't ready to go back quite yet. School has never been super easy for me. I love learning, but I am easily emotional and I get stressed quite readily. College classes and me didn't jive too well my first couple years of school. I needed some time to re-think what I wanted to do with my education. So, while Bryce was actively pursuing his academic aspirations, I went back into the workforce. I worked for Deseret Book for a time.

In July of 2006, we moved to Des Moines Iowa for Bryce to attend Des Moines University. The next three years, he worked his little hiney off to get through school and we are now into his 4th year of med school and looking forward to the next years of his residency. Throughout all of this, I have often felt like I needed to go back to school. I've never felt right about leaving my academic progress just hanging in the breeze. I felt like not finishing school was just one more thing that I had failed at. No one likes to feel like a failure, and I felt like one sometimes. These feelings came only from my silly emotional self.

No one in my life has ever made me feel like I was less of a person because I hadn't finished college. In fact, there were times when I felt like there really was no use in finishing because I had a husband who was going to finish enough school for the both of us. It was my job to just make sure he got through his schooling in one piece. We were going to start a family someday soon, and when that happened I was determined to be a stay at home mom. I wouldn't be using my degree anyway. Who needs a little slip of paper that says I have a degree in something or the other? No one give a degree in child-rearing and family studies. I mean, RIGHT? I thought these thoughts, but never really believed them. I wanted, and felt like I needed, a college degree. How could I teach my children the importance of a college education if I, myself, didn't finish college? What if something were to happen to my husband, what would I do for work. I know I have many talents, but the workforce nearly demands a college education. Most of all, I REALLY wanted to feel like I had finished something I started. I want to be able to frame my diploma on the wall and feel good about myself for the hard work I put in to get it.


So, after YEARS of going back and forth with myself. I decided that it was time. Time to go back to school and finish what I started in 2002 at the ripe old age of 18. Heavenly Father doesn't seem to think that it is time for us to have children exactly when we planned them. This made my decision even easier. If I am not to be a mother right now, then I should finish what I started while I have the time and attention to give schooling my 100%. It took MANY prayers and MANY tears to come to the place I am right now. But, as I type, I am again enrolled as a full-time student at BYU-Idaho. I start in exactly a week, and I am very excited. I am very scared. I am very anxious. I am very grateful. I am very blessed.

I don't know exactly how to proceed. I anticipate feeling a little awkward and out of place at first. But, I fully intend to do my very best. I fully intent to get the best grades of my life and make myself and my family proud. It may be a long next few years, but I will have the framed diploma hanging on my wall someday soon. This is my time to show that I can do it, and I don't intend to feel like a failure this time. In fact, I haven't felt so good about something since the day I knew that Bryce was to be my eternal companion.

To all the rest of you starting school this fall, GOOD LUCK! From Kindergarteners to Graduate Students, this is your year. Make it the best year ever!

Happy 5th Birthday Taylee!

My niece Taylee wanted a Halloween party this year for her birthday. I think that her cousin had a Halloween party last year and she wanted one as well. I went up to Bellevue for a few days to help Emily with all the preparations. My favorite thing was decorating this bat cake. Sharon (Grandma Nanna - Jakes Mom) used to do decorate cakes for Albertsons and she is a pro. She has all the fun decorating stuff and she taught me how to do it all. It really was soooooooooooo much fun. I really want to be a cake decorator now. We thought it turned out great, but Sharon is such a professional she knew there were a lot of flaws. Taylee loved it and that is all that mattered anyway.

I wrote the words on the cake as well. I wasn't trying to write straight, if any of you were wondering why the letters are all over the place. I learned that when doing type on anything, if you try to write straight it usually goes crooked. But, you write crooked and it ends up looking prety symmetrical. I don't know.

This was my other contribution to the party. Taylee got a Barbie Musketeer for her birthday from Grandma Honey. She calls her Barbie Mouseketeer. The Barbie has a mask that turns into a tiara on her head. And Taylee go her own "Mouseketeer" mask as well. So, Emily and I decided to play pin the mask on the Barbie Musketeer. I drew this picture of the Barbie and made a bunch of masks to pin on her face. It was fun.

The next day, Bryce came up to pick me up. While Emily was putting Tristan down for a nap, we went out and picked blackberries. We came in and made blackberry ice-cream parfaits. YUMMM! Plus, they are so cute too.

On another note: All these recent pictures are from our NEW CAMERA! For our anniversary we usually go out and splurge on a really nice dinner. It ends up being a little pricey. So, this year we decided to use that money to buy a new camera. We really needed one. So, we had dinner at Burger King and bought a new camera with the rest of the dinner fund. It was a good decision. Here is Bryce trying out the new camera. Turns out, he looks super good in this pic. I never look good in self portraits like this.

Fail Proof Recipes for Scaredy Cooks Like Me!

So you all know how I have been hating cooking lately. I have been trying really hard to get over my fear and just go for it. I still cook something at least once a day, and I am getting a pretty good collection of recipes that I can actually make and not screw up. Thanks ALLRECIPES.COM. That web site is the best ever. If you haven't experienced it yet you MUST. You can sign up for free and you can ADD recipes to your own collection and refer to them whenever you want. I LOVE IT WITH ALL MY SOUL.
Anyway, I recently made few recipes of my own (well kinda my own. My own versions of someone else really good recipe) and they have been a big hit around my house. When I say "around my house" I mean Bryce. Because, I have no one else "around my house" so he pretty much sums it up!

Mexican Lasagna (Natali Style)

10 small CORN tortillas (flour tortillas will get too soggy)
2 lbs. ground beef or ground turkey (I use turkey)
3 cloves chopped garlic
1/2 small yellow onion chopped (you can use the whole onion, I dont like onion that much)
1 pckg. taco seasoning
1 can red enchilada sauce
1 small can chopped black olives
1 can FAT FREE refried beans
1 8 oz. tub sour cream
1 can sweet corn (or 2 cups frozen or fresh sweet corn)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (or any variety you like)

*Chop onion and garlic. Brown in large saucepan with a little olive oil. Add groud meat and cook til brown. Add taco seasoning.
*Grease bottom and sides of 9x13 baking pan. Cut corn tortillas in half. Cover the bottom of the pan with tortillas. You will want to over lap them a little so they cover the entire bottom of the pan.
*Evenly spread the browned meat mixture onto corn tortillas
*Layer refried beans (entire can) over top of browned meat. (I find that a rubber spatula works well for this)
*Drain corn and layer over beans.
*Spread entire tub of sour ceam over the top of the layers. Layer on black olives. Sprinkle half the cheese over sour cream.
*Add another layer of corn tortillas over sour cream. Cover with enchilada sauce (I don't use the whole can. I save about half to set on the table for those who want extra over their lasagna).
*Top with remaining cheese.
*Bake @ 350 for 35-40 minutes until lasagna is bubbly and cheese is a little melted and a little brown.
*serve with rice and a vegetable. YUMMY DINNER! Let me know what you think.

CopyCat Lion House Chicken Salad

4 chicken breasts
5 stalks celery finely chopped
1 yellow onion VERY finely chopped
2 tsp. WHITE pepper
2 tsp. KOSHER salt
1-2 cups MAYONAISE (enough to moisten the salad to your liking)

*Microwave chicken 8-10 minutes until no pink is left. (This is the best way to cook it for the salad. You can boil it if you would like, that works just as well but it takes longer)
*Chop chicken. Allow to cool for a few minutes. THEN THE FUN PART. GET YOUR HANDS DIRTY LADIES. Using your hands, work the chicken into a tuna like consistency. Just by "kneading" the chopped chicken it will break apart nicely.
*Add celery, onion, white pepper, and salt. Work with hands again until all ingredients are incorporated.
*Add Mayo (Miracle Whip is fine, but the Lion House uses Mayo and it is the yummiest) and mix until desired moistness is acheived. (I like mine pretty wet and full of mayo, some like it more dry. You choose)
*Serve with leaves of RED cabbage, homemade rolls, and a pickel spear. Just the way the Lion House does it.

*NOTE: I worked in a Lion House Pantry for a few years and made this salad EVERY DAY. They might murder me when they find out I am sharing it with you all. But it is to yummy to keep to myself. It seems like very few ingredients, but it is delicious. I have played with it and added nuts and grapes and other deliciousness. But, I always like the simple recipe the best. The white pepper and kosher salt are a must. They really make the salad what it is. TRY IT OUT!

Homemade Crispy Creamy Donuts

I've been craving donuts for so long. I have been wanting to try homemade donuts and Bryce always said it wasn't such a good idea. Who needs several dozen deep fried treats in their house? No one, except me I guess. I got a great recipe online and followed it to a T. The result was miraculous. They really did taste a lot like Krispy Kreme donuts. Especially when they were hot. I only made half a batch so we had less on hand. I also shared a bunch with our neighbors.

The browner ones aren't burned, they are covered in chocolate glaze. I like the regular glaze personally, but the chocolate was delicious too. Bryce likes the chocolate.

See I didn't make too many. And we shared more than half of these, so it was a fine treat to make! YUM!

Dinner Disaster

Do not let this cute picture fool you. This post is not nearly as contented and composed as this woman looks. Beware!

I know that I am not alone in my dislike to prepare dinner. Let me clarify a bit. I do enjoy to cook. I believe it to be a very good outlet of creativity. The part I HATE about preparing dinner is the deciding what to make. Anyone who knows me, knows that I am not the best decision maker in the world. I would much rather someone else just make my decisions for me or just help me along a little.

My least favorite thing to hear come out of my husbands mouth is . . . "what do you want for dinner?" I don't know! I just don't know. I think that if I had the chance of cooking the same thing everyday just so that I would never be asked that question, I would do it. Oh POOR, POOR BRYCE. I honestly feel so sorry for him. I mean what kind of a wife am I. And, to make matters worse, he has some good friends who's spouses are nearly gourmet cooks. I can't compete with that.

The other part of dinner preparation that I dislike is gathering the ingredients. I don't know a single recipe I have looked at in a cookbook that calls for something that I don't have. I OFTEN, try to substitute something for the missing ingredient and it OFTEN does not go well. My Mother is a master of substituting missing ingredients with things that she has in the house. I am not a good enough cook to do this, and when I try to emulate my Mother it goes sooooo poorly. I can remember meals that my Mom made out of everything that was leftover in the fridge/freezer and they were good! Yes, they were good. She can make a delectable treat out of what the rest of us would throw out. Where oh, where do I pick up that talent. I must have missed that sprinkle when talents were being tossed onto us from heaven.

I could go on forever with my dislike of preparing dinner, but I have an experience I must share that tells the story so perfectly.

One of my good friends, Michelle, is a VERY good cook. Bryce and I have been on the receiving end of her meals several times and they are always wonderful and perfect. I always feel that I should reciprocate the invitation to dine, but I am too embarassed about my poor cooking. I won't even have the missionaries over because I don't know what I would cook them. One recent occasion pushed my over the edge and then nudged me down into a hole. This experience convinced me that I am not supposed to cook . . . ever.

As I mentioned before, Michelle invited us over for a dinner of deliciousness. It was an all homemade version of one of Cafe Rio's famous salads. Neither Bryce, nor I, have ever been to Cafe Rio. We have only heard how wonderful it is. If Cafe Rio is anything like what Michelle prepared for us, I would be sold. It was unmeasurabley yummy. Oh my goodness. I can't even describe the goodness of it all.

I left over full and determined to be a better cook for my spouse. He deserves yummy meals like that, and I have never made something that yummy. The ironic thing about the whole situation is that I had planned to make a similar meal that same day before I we were invited to dinner. So, the next day I prepared to make my meal so that I could see how it measured up.

I was home most of the day and was able to focus a lot of my attention on this dinner. Bryce had specifically said that he wanted lime chicken tacos. Easy right! I even made my own fresh salsa with a little splash of lime. I placed my chicken in the slow cooker with spices, onions, and a lime. What a delicious smell emitted from the crock pot! I was sure that this meal was going to be one Bryce would talk about for many days to come. As I prepared the table for our dinner, I of course, tested a little of the chicken and rice that I had cooked earlier. My eyes pinched, my eyebrows furrowed, and my lips pursed. WOAH! BITTER . . . SOUR . . . LIMES! The chicken and the rice had such a taste of bitterness to them I could hardly keep it in my mouth. Even the salsa was so full of lime taste it was unbearable. I tried to remedy the sour taste of my ingredients, but to my dismay, the lime was the strong one of the bunch.

Bryce insisted that we try some and see how it tasted when it got into a tortilla with sourcream, cheese and lettuce. So we filled up our tortillas with lime chicken, rice, and salsa. I added extra sour cream and cheese to try and drown out the bitter taste. I could barely swallow it down. It was awful. The meal ended in lots of food in the garbage and me in tears. (Because we all remember than crying solves everything right)

I didn't know how potent limes got when the simmered for so long. I also left the lime in the peel, and the peel was the culprit of the bitterness. I felt so low. I felt silly, stupid, sad, and sorry for Bryce that I ruined the meal he requested. To make matters worse, this incident happened days after I had lost my job. I was in the process of trying to find new employment, and was having apsolutely no success. That same day I learned that one of the jobs I applied for online was a scammer trying to get information from me so. They got all my info then called me claiming that my credit card had been infultrated by someone. Then the tried to get all my credit card information from me with my S.S. # and Drivers Liscence #. The only postion that wanted me was a scam. Then I prepared a meal that was a disgrace. I was feeling unwanted, used, and really useless. In short, poor poor Natali.

So, I felt sorry for myself for several days and refused to cook anything than what I knew by heart. The next day we had baked Mac & Cheese. One of the easiest meals to prepare in the world. Then it was spaghetti. Also, one of the easiest meals to prepare. Then I adventured out with a dessert dish for Mutual. I tried the "Mom" method of making a recipe work with ingredients that you have around. It didn't work. About two bites got eaten before I threw that in the garbage as well. So, there I was, a garbage full of food and a heart full of pitty. And that pitty was only for myself.

I'd love to end this post by telling you all that I learned from my mistakes. That I stopped thinking about myself and focused my energies on something else. That I did something charitable for someone so I could forget my self indulgence of pitty. But, I can't. I have gotten over the initial sadness and I am cooking meals again. I am trying to feel less sorry for myself. I am feeling that I have use and validity in life. However . . . I still HATE to cook dinner. And I still believe that nothing can cure a bad day better than a good cry.

Why No Pictures

The huge, and beautiful tree at the Holiday Inn in Cheyenne Wyoming.

A little bit of Christmas confection. Chocolate covered pretzels and popcorn. Delicious and beautiful in Great-Grandmother's bowl.

My camera isn't really working well right now. I put a bottle of pop in my purse when the camera was in there. I was sure to screw the lid on tight so there would be no chance of a leak. But, apparently I am very weak and it leaked. So pop got all over the camera and into the battery and memory card cartridge. I tried to let it dry out and I was praying that it would work when it was dry. But, alas, it only partially recovered. It will turn on and take pictures, but it is VERY hard to use. All of the internal workings are messed up and it is a pain the bum. Anyway, the whole reason for this explanation is tell you why I haven't posted any new photos lately. Sorry about that, I know my blog is boring and just full of lengthy stories with lots of words and no pictures. Even I have a hard time reading books with no pictures in them, so I apologize that I put you all through that. So here I have posted an old picture that has never been posted but is worth a look I guess. They are both from Christmas. So, this is for all of you who are sad that the holidays are over.

What Do I Do With That Jack-o-Lantern?

I am always sad to see Halloween come and go. No more pumpkins dressing our doorsteps and no more spooky costumes. What am I going to do with that Jack-O-Lantern now that Halloween is over? It is a shame to throw it out and let it go to waste. So you eat it of course! I love all pumpkin things: Pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin pie, pumpkin bars, pumpkin soup, pumpkin pancakes. I could go on forever, it seems almost anything can be dressed up with a little pumpkin. So, every year I take my pumpkin and I cook it so I can use it in all these ways. A few of my friends have asked how I do it. So here is my step by step guide on how to cook your pumpkin.

Step #1: Cut the pumpkin into pieces and put into a large pot of boiling water.

Step #2: Let the pumpkin boil until tender. This big pot of pumpkin boiled for about 1 hr. Poke it with a fork to test for tenderness. You should be able to poke through the skin and into the soft meat.

Step #3: Drain the pieces of pumpkin. Press all the water out of the pumpkin with a spoon or a large bowl over top of the strainer. Then, cut the meat from the skin.

Step #4: Let the pumpkin set for a while and cool. Then, drain water from meat again.

Step #5: Store in freezer bag. You can stick this in your fridge if you plan to use it soon, but if not freeze it. Of course, you must drain as much air from the bag as possible. You may blend the pumpkin before, or after you freeze it. I choose to freeze it without blending it, just to save me a step.

THERE YOU HAVE IT! ENJOY!

Jambalaya Yumbalaya!

I made a yummy Jambalaya for dinner the other night. I have never made it before, but Bryce has had a weird craving lately for Jambalaya. So I consulted the experts, (my Mom! I tried to consult with my brother in law Shon because I know he makes a mean Jambalya, but I just kept playing phone tag with my sister and never got a hold of him), and I produced a delicious concoction. As Bryce described it: "It was so good it melted my face off."

I wanted to splurge and get Prawns to put in, but the little shrimp were still fantastic.

My Mother will be proud to know that the recipe called for onions and green peppers, neither of which I enjoy, and I put them in. All of what the recipe called for! It was not a mistake either, what a taste.

Recipe:

1 pound shrimp
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/3 c. chopped celery
1/4 c. chopped green sweet pepper
2 cloves garlic minced
2 T cooking oil
2 c. chicken broth
1 14 1/2 oz. can diced tomatoes (undrained)
8 oz. andouille or kielbasa sausage cut
3/4 c. uncooked rice
1 t. dried thyme
1/2 t. dried basil
1/2 t. ground red pepper
1 bay leaf

In skillet, cook onion, garlic, celery, and green pepper until tender. Stir in Chicken broth, tomatoes, sausage, rice, thyme, basil, red pepper, 1/4 t. black pepper, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 15 min.

Stir in shrimp. Return to boil. Simmer, covered, for another 5 minutes or until rice is tender. Discard bay leaf, and SERVE!