*Monday Memos*

*MONDAY MEMOS*

   

 (If pictures are too small, just click to enlarge) 
Weekly recap of my rather crazy, insane, but fun and rewarding life!

dear monday, I got out on a run.  It was HOTTER than Hades. It rained on my way back. Felt so good. 

I then had to rush to my hair appt.  My stylist's cats were so cute, but she big time favors the new one. I told her that was mean to Sweetie- the old one.  I have such a tender heart for animals and sometimes it makes me wish I didn't because I feel so bad for them. I came home and got packed and headed to Bear Lake.  I took munchies, cookie ingredients for the Levain copycat cookies, and stuff to paint rocks with the kids as well as some Ivory soap for some science fun!  Felt a bit out of place being only one from my fam.   I tried, but couldn't convince McKay to go with me because he was coming up with his buds tonight.  The condo was right by my friend Kathy's on Ideal Beach.  It was also the same place as my senior trip.  Those who were there when I arrived were:  Mike and Dixie.  Britt and Mike and kids.  Mom and Dad.  Jerry, Allie and Davis.   Cyndi and kids.  Tiff and kids.  We had dinner outside. Cyndi made taco salads.  Then I played Slam Jam with the kids.  It was a really nice place and area.  Kailani is so stinkin' cute.  And Winston worships Jerry.  It was hilarious. Chatted with everyone.  The kids went and played Bingo and I played a round with them.  Then I rode a Tandem bike with Stone and then Zoe and then Harrison.  After we came in, several of us played Telestrations.  It was fun. The kids loved it.  I slept in the same room as Ma and Pa.  If you can call it sleep.  I didn't sleep too well.  I think I am glad I came. I think.  Hah  Lots of changes in my family.

dear tuesday, I went for a run and got in 7.5 miles.  I surprised myself!

Britt swam in the lake. I missed a pancake breakfast because I was running.  Darn! And I hadn't brought anything other than treats to share because I didn't get the email informing me breakfast and lunch was on your own, or any other info until they forwarded it to me for directions. Hmm.  My Mom has me a bit worried because she forgets so much.  I was starving and so I talked some of them into going to the Chevron for lunch and raspberry shakes. Mike is so funny.  He likes to talk about the Bear Lake Monster and the fact that I told him his name is Leon. That's because me and my high school friends named him Leon when we were on our senior trip. "Right On Leon!"  I found the picture of us posing in our matching Leon Monster shirts.  He loved that. He also wants to figure out where the best raspberry shakes are.  We agreed it's Chevron hands down!  He is a blast to be around. I wish he lived here.  

At the Chevron.  They seriously have the best raspberry shakes in town and no line! We get ours with a bit of hot fudge on the side to mix in as we eat it.  

1979 Senior Trip.  Doing our "Right On Leon!" pose in our Bear Lake Monster shirts!  Same place only then it was called Sweet Water Resort.  Now, it's Ideal Beach.  But, everything else is pretty much the same (other than the sailboats).  And our age!  Hah  

When we got back, I got on my suit and went on the wave runners.  Man, I love those things!  I am pretty sure I have a need for speed because I can't get going fast enough on them!  I love to do donuts and figure 8's. SO FUN!  I took several of the kids.  Stone and Zoe were very paranoid, but Winston and Mya are speed demons like me and so I got to go fast with them.  When I was alone, I got up to 61 mph!  Everyone said I was a maniac.  Sorry, I was born that way!  I love speed!  I also took the Kayaks out. Those are also so fun.  I took Winston and Zoe.  

We got a family pix before Tiff left.  Only of those who were there at the time.

After that, I got Mom to go on a wave runner.  It took some convincing, but she plopped her donut cushion on the seat and off we went.  She was freaking out with any speed increase and grabbed a hold of me hard.  It was hilarious. I got up to 11 mph and she acted like she was going to die. When I gunned it to 25 mph, I am not sure I have ever laughed so hard in my life!  I had tears coming down, I was laughing so hard!  Had to stop to wipe tears. Oh man, so funny.  Good memories!  I'll never forget it.  

My brave Mommy. I had to really hold back to not just gun it and give her the ride of her life.  Hah

Then my Pa rode on one with Britt.  Neither of my parents have ever been on one. So. Fun. 

I talked to Britt and Jerry while we were sitting on the beach about mom. She's struggling with Britt moving big time.   It will be hard to see them move because she does so much for her.  She told me she is trying to pay her back for all the time she spent taking care of them and Shelley.  She seriously was up there every day of her life while Shelley was alive.  I can honestly say my Mom is THEE most unselfish person I have ever met in my entire life.  She gave all her free time to helping Shelley and those kids.  She would get up at 4 am and go to work full time, come home, eat dinner, and then head over to help.  Every. Single. Day. Then when she retired she spent all her time up there.  She has a special place in heaven that the rest of us will wish we could even peek into.  We had a really good Greek chicken dinner.  Me and my Dad was teasing Jerry about getting salmonella from using the same utensil for the raw and cooked.  But no one died.  It was so good.  I had fun chatting with Cyndi. She is genuinely nice as is Mike Z.  We stayed up and talked for a while before bed. 

dear wednesday, I got up and ran 5 miles.  I did not sleep at all last night and so my run was rough...but great views!  I do better on sleep!  So tired.  

I got back in time for some pancakes today.   Mmm.....  After breakfast I did the Ivory soap with the littles.  It was fun. It did make a huge mess, but it was still fun. 

Then I grabbed the littles and made cookies. Winston and Harrison loved it.  I tried out the copycat LeVain cookie recipe. They were HUGE. The recipe worked perfectly! I had fun with the kiddies.  Recipe below.

I chatted with Dixie for a bit. Cyndi left but her kids stayed. We all tended cute Kailaini.  It was fun getting to know everyone better.  You kind of have to spend a lot of time with people to get to know them. Dave says if you want to get to know someone, take them camping.  So true. Hunter is such a nice kid. 

  

McKay and his buds stopped by for a quick visit.  I kind of made him.  haha  Well, I suggested it would be nice and that kid is so obedient, he showed up.  He is a great kid!  Wish they could have stayed longer.  All his friends are so nice. He has always had a great group of friends.  Everyone loves McKay.  It's hard not to.  
We then went and got rocks in my car with Mom and Hunter.  When we got back, I had the littles paint them.  They made some great creations!  Harrison put my name on his painting bib backwards so it would be the right way in the camera.  It actually said, Jodi Rocks! But you could only see the Jodi.  hah I was flattered.  My Dad helped hide them with the kids later that night.  We had the Brigham Rocks logo on them.

 Family Shenanigans 

No shortage of those in this fam!

 Love this!

I then had to go because I had a lot to do to get ready for Alaska and I also had an ortho appt at 4:00.  I really should have stayed and bagged the ortho even though I would have to wait until after Alaska to get in. But it would have been worth spending time with the fam.  I was so sleep deprived that I actually fell asleep twice driving home.  It was only for about 2 seconds each time, but that's enough time to crash. Not good. I was just so tired. 

I went to my Ortho and he was super busy.  I just kept thinking that I should have stayed at Bear Lake.  :(  I was only there for about 5 minutes.  I really should have stayed.  I didn't have anything pressing I had to be home for (other than sleep!) and my Woman's Forum mtg, and of course, Alaska prep.  But, I was actually grateful that I would be home and be able to sleep! Dave had meetings all night.  I was so tired. I think Mr. Cat missed me because he came in my room and laid by me.

Copycat Levain Cookies

Ingredients:

·         1 cup butter cut into tablespoons

·         ¾ cup light brown sugar

·         ½ cup sugar

·         2 eggs

·         1 cup cake flour

·         1½-1¾ cup all purpose flour* see notes

·         1 teaspoon baking powder

·         1 teaspoon baking soda

·         ½ teaspoon coarse sea salt

·         2 cups walnut halves

·         2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips* see notes

Method:

Pre heat oven to 400 degrees and set rack in middle of oven. Place butter into bowl and turn mixer on low. If using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment.

Add sugars and beat butter until smooth on medium speed. This should take about 1 minute. Mix until the butter pieces are completely blended with the sugar and is no longer visible in pieces.

Add the eggs and beat on medium just until incorporated with butter and sugars, about 30 seconds.

Turn the mixer off. Add the cake flour, all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Pulse the dry ingredients on low until the wet and dry ingredients are mixed together. Pour the walnuts into the batter all at once. Pulse the batter 5-6 times.

Pour the chocolate chips into the batter and pulse again 5-6 times.

Pour the batter out onto a clean surface. Fold the dough together a few times until all of the chocolate chips and walnuts are mixed into the batter.

Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces about 6 oz each. Use your hands to shape cookies. Do not use a cookie or ice cream scoop. The cookies are meant to be roughly shaped. Do not flatten the dough.

Bake 4 cookies per pan, for 11 minutes on regular bake or 400 convection bake for 8-9 minutes. The cookies are done when the top is a bit golden and the bottom is also golden.

Do not over bake. Let cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Notes
-It is important to let the oven fully heat up. Turn it on for at least 15-20 minutes before baking.

-I use 1 cup Cake Flour and 1¾ cup AP flour. You may try using 1½ cups AP flour. I found the dough to be too sticky. If you have issues with the cookies flattening out, use 1¾ cups flour.

-If you do not have cake flour, try using All Purpose flour. 2½ cups should work. When purchasing Cake Flour, look for it on the upper shelves of the grocery aisles. Cake Flour is usually found near the regular (All Purpose) flour, cake mixes or with other baking items.

-I buy chocolate chips in bulk and scoop my semi sweet chips out of a jar. This recipe calls for 2 cups of chocolate chips. Most bags of chocolate chips are 11-12 oz or closer to 1½ cups of chips, which will work for one recipe, no need to open another bag of chocolate chips.

-I use food handlers gloves to shape the dough, and also weigh the dough balls on a scale. Each dough ball is approx 6 oz.

-These cookies freeze extremely well. After cooling completely, place cookies in a large ziplock bag or small sandwich size bags. Place in freezer. When ready to eat, either let thaw, or wrap in paper towel and microwave for about 15-18 seconds. The cookie will not have a crisp exterior after being frozen, but will still be moist and taste fresh.

-In the recipe it says to turn the batter out onto a clean surface and mix the chocolate chips and the walnuts together by hand. I do not do this step. I add this to the recipe because it is shown in the video. I simply fold the dough a couple of times with a spatula in the bowl to make sure all of the walnuts and chocolate chips are distributed.

-Dislike walnuts? You may add additional chocolate chips or try increasing the All Purpose flour by ¼ cup.

Find more of Si's recipes at www.abountifulkitchen.com.  Read more at http://studio5.ksl.com/index.php?nid=126&sid=44113741#pqzbJywh6ULR0Qye.99

dear thursday, I did hill repeats today.  It was hot!  I then went to my Woman's Forum meeting.  Most of it was already planned at the last meeting and so I'm not sure how much help I was.  Kind of feel like that in a lot of things lately. I ran some errands including a car-wash and got stuck in it.  They guy had to repair while I waited. Fun. :( 

Car Washes are so fun and pretty!

I came home and rested a bit.  I was still exhausted from Bear Lake. I chatted with Sky for a bit. Poor Bryce got bit by dog today. That poor kid. He is seriously always doing good and then gets bit. He was mowing the lawn for the Presbyterian Church I think. Just. Doing. Good.  Went to seamstress then to Maurices for their killer clearance 75% off sale.  I got me a pair of levi Capris and a hoodie for $9! SCORE!  Dave made best Sweet and Sour Chicken for dinner and am amazing salad. So good.

The boys went to town on the garage organizational wall.  Sky is a doer and always has such great ideas.  He will get us whipped into shape yet! 


dear friday, I got up at 5:20 a.m. and ran with Robin.  We got in our 16 miler. We got rained on a bit. Felt so good.  Sherrie ran with us for a bit as well.  It was tough, but Robin is getting stronger.   I got sick around mile 12.  The last four were tough.  But we finished strong going up 9th north without stopping or slowing down too much. I need to figure out my fueling so I don't keep getting sick.  I think it's the heat, but it happens every long run lately.  

Came home showered and then headed to Logan to get presents for Taylor. My Mom called while shopping. I told her how I felt about what she said to Britt when she said, "Who will take care of me now?"  Probably shouldn't have.  Live and learn. :/  I was in Sam's and when I came out, I couldn't find my car...anywhere!  I was on the phone when I parked and so I didn't make a mental note.  UGH!  It was SO hot and I swear I looked for a good 10 min. pushing my cart around in the heat while STILL on the phone with my Mom!   I kept beeping my keys and nothing!  I was convinced my car had been stolen! Then a lady in a white van pulled over and her son jumped out and asked if I needed help.  Um....yep I did!  I needed help and was grateful for it. I was ready to go back inside and report a stolen car!   He was so kind and pushed my cart for me.  I finally found it way up by Deseret Book.  At least I hadn't passed it 100 times without knowing it!  OMGOSH!  So embarrassing.  More worrisome than anything.  I can NOT believe I did that!  I have never done that!  Not to that extent. That's what happens when you are on the phone when you park and the entire time while in the store and when you come out.   Even then, I can ALWAYS find my car.  This was a unique parking situation though because I could not find a place to park in Sam's and so I went in the upper level parking lot by the strip mall.  I just didn't make a mental note of that because I was in an intense conversation with my mom.  Oh well, it makes a good story right!  Hmm.... Rough day!  :(  Big time. 

It got better when I got home and Skyped with Carson. He is just so cute! I went on a short date with Dave.  We splurged and went to Old Grist. Hah But it was good.  

dear saturday, I got up and did a Happy Birthday Facebook post for Taylor.  I feel bad he isn't home for his 24th birthday!  But I don't think he is.  Why would he wish he were here when he is in paradise?  :)  Lucky kid!

•★ * ░H░A░P░P░Y░ ░B░I░R░T░H░D░A░Y░*★ or "Hauʻoli lā Hānau" to my work hard, play hard son Taylor Wilding today who is celebrating it in Hawaii this year where he is working this summer! This kid finds adventure wherever he goes and if he doesn't, he makes it. He can sleep anywhere as long as he has a hammock! Our family wouldn't be the same without his teasing, funny, laid back personality! We love and miss you Taylor! Thanks for being such an outstanding son! We couldn't be more proud of you! •★ * Feliz Aniversário!!! •★ *

I ran five miles.  Another scorcher!  I did my VT and ran to the seamstress for my temple dress and McKay's pants.  Then facetimed Taylor.  He was at work but still was able to chat for a bit because he was driving the four wheeler today instead of doing the Zipline tours.  He looked good and happy.  I sure do miss that boy!  I came home and sewed (altered some things). I'm not even close to being ready for AK at all. I'm so behind on the blog too.  If I didn't take so many dang pictures, it would be a piece of cake, but the photos take a lot of time!   But a blog without pix would be very boring!  Had to run with Dave and McKay to Smith and Edwards to get the right wader boots. Dave had already been there three times!  I really don't even want any. Sky made beef and green beans for dinner.  It was yummy! I stayed up and working on the blog until midnight. Still not even packed. Not good. I practiced piano for tomorrow.  Luckily the songs are too bad!

dear sunday, I got up and packed, practiced the piano, went to church, packed some more, played piano in RS, packed some more, ate, cleaned and then we were off!!! Alaska here we come!   

This is not Alaska but I fell in love with this photo I saw on Instagram.  Not sure who to credit.  LOVE!