Gems and Minerals

Yesterday, my Mom and I took the girls with us to the Gem and Mineral Show at the Union Station in Ogden. I know what your thinking, ooohh, sounds like a "rockin" good time. Really this is kind of turned into a tradition. My mom used to take my brother and I when we were younger and since then my mom and I still manage to make this yearly jaunt. I'll be honest, I don't go for the minerals. I always usually find at least one piece of jewelry for myself, and my mom always finds a birthday present for me too, but I don't know that ;). Last year we hit the jackpot in the jewelry department, this year wasn't as successful. Of course last year we didn't have the kids with us so browsing was much easier. Although, we visited areas that we don't usually get near and it was great for Punkin. She got to paint a rock. I know, exciting right? Well, when your three, anytime you get to goop globs of paint onto anything it's a thrill.

I'm getting there.....

Christmas that is. I'm all decorated, most of the presents are bought, or ordered. Some of you may or may not know that Christmas is my most favorite Holiday of the year.

I love decorating my whole house for the holiday, and buying presents for friends and family. This is the only time of year that I don't totally get annoyed with other shoppers. I guess you could say I get filled with the Christmas spirit. I will have my shopping done probably by next week, but I will still be out doing extra odds and ends up till the eve of Christmas Eve. I love sending out Christmas cards, this year I'll send about 50. I love making neighbor gifts, even if they don't. Last year was Punkin's first real visit with Santa. We went to a place called Reindeer Crossing near Tremonton. It was a drive to get there but totally worth it. Unfortunately we won't be able to go this year. Last year was the last year for Reindeer Crossing. During the summer of 2007, the owner who had the home that housed several reindeer, rare birds and small animals was killed in a car accident. A few volunteers got together to help his wife do it last year, but she understandably couldn't carry it on. We are truly bummed, because it was a new tradition for us. So this year we are on the hunt for a new Christmas outing tradition. We have been considering Zoo Lights at Hogle Zoo. Some of the exotic birds.
The little Pony, I wish I could remember it's name, it was so cute. It grabbed that candy cane right out of Punkins hand.
She rode it all by herself, with Grandpa close by of course.
One of the many reindeer. They were gorgeous.
She did so good sitting on Santa's lap, hopefully she'll do it again this year. I think she will because her big item on her Christmas list is, get this, two American Flags. I'm not even kidding. I'm not counting on Peanut giving him much of a chance.

Anyway, I hope you all have a nice pre Christmas. I know it's harder for most of us this year with the economic situation. And of course lets not forget the real reason for celebrating Christmas while your out running those Holiday errands.

The Yummiest Treat!

Every Halloween I get the coveted job of cleaning the pumpkins. It all started about eight years ago when we carved our first pumpkins. Dallas looked at me like I was crazy when I stuck my hands into that glorious mess. I guess that I should share that he was raised JW (Jehovah's Witness) so a lot of these holiday traditions were beyond him in the beginning of our relationship. I on the other hand am all about the traditions, family time, and fun that comes along with the Holidays. So therefore, he hates the whole nastiness that is cleaning out a pumpkin. Don't get me wrong, he takes great pride in carving them though. Anyway, when I was growing up I didn't know that you could actually do something with the seeds within the guts. I found a recipe for roasted pumpkin seeds in a cookbook we received as a wedding present and thought, yummm. So began another tradition. So today was the day that I laboriously scraped, scooped, and plopped. This year we had four pumpkins with the addition of Peanut to the family so we had more seeds to work with. So for those of you who may not know how to make them I'll share the recipe. First you clean out the pumpkin, that may go without saying, but you know, there are those people.
Try to keep as much of the guts out of the seeds as much as possible.

Boil the seeds in salt water for ten minutes. The yellow you see is foam from a little bit of season all and some of the guts.Drain well.
I lay them out on a paper towel for about 20 minutes, they will be a bit sticky.

Mix for every two cups of seeds, 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce, 2 tsp. salt, 3 TB. of melted butter. I had just over 6 cups of seeds. I like a lot more flavor on my pumpkin seeds so I add a dash of cayenne pepper, more salt and a little bit of season all. It's really more to do with what you like. It's all very forgiving.

Spread as evenly and as thinly as possibly on a cookie sheet and put in the oven at 250 degrees for 3-4 hours. Yes it does take a long time, but it's so worth it.