My Favorite Christmas Carols

Back in the 1960's the Firestone Tire Company released a new album of Christmas Carols every year. My mom bought one almost every year. I loved to listen to those albums played on my parents' Magnavox stereo. If I had a turn table I would still listen to them. So of course, I grew up listening to Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, etc. Frankly, I don't have much use for many of the "new" Christmas songs (except for a very few). Because they don't make 'em like they used to. So in no particular order here are my favorites:

1. The Christmas Song by Nat King Cole. One of the best!
2. White Christmas by Bing Crosby. I'd love to visit Holiday Inn!
3. Away in a Manager by Julie Andrews. One of those Firestone Favorites, but her whole album is available for purchase.
4. Star Carol by Anna Maria Alberghetti. Another one of the Firestone gems.
5. It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas by Perry Como.
6. Jingle Bells by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters. One of the fun songs from "A Christmas Story."
7. I'll Be Home for Christmas by Bing Crosby. The most popular Christmas carol during WWII and the Korean War.
8. Candlelight Carol by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Beautiful.
9. Let It Be Christmas by Alan Jackson. One of the new ones.
10. The Chipmunk Song by The Chipmunks. Another one from my childhood.
11. A Holly Jolly Christmas by Burl Ives. We watch "Rudolph" every year.
12. Christmas Time is Here by Jeffrey Osborne. Always reminds me of Charlie Brown.
13. Irish Carol by Julie Andrews. Same Julie Andrews album.
14. I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas by the Three Stooges. We had an old 45 record with some Three Stooges Christmas Songs. I found them on I Tunes. I was so happy!
15. Merry Christmas Darling by The Carpenters. One semester at BYU we played it continually in the Business Office Lab.
16. O Come Emmanuel by Voice Male. Emmanuel shall ransom captive Israel.
17. Oh Holy Night by Nat King Cole, Josh Groban, Martina McBride and Jeffrey Osborne.
18. Penguin, James Penguin by Brad Paisley. Brad Paisley is pretty funny!
19. Silent Night by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. The one from A Christmas Story.
20. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer by Dean Martin. A Dean Martin Twist on a old song.


My despised list (If I don't hear these during the Christmas season, I'm happy.)

1. Santa Baby by Madonna. Gag.
2. The Twelve Days of Christmas (Except the one by Straight No Chaser. It's pretty amusing.)
3. The Little Boy that Santa Claus Forgot by Nat King Cole. Makes me SAD every time I hear it.
4. The Christmas Shoes. Argggg.
5. My Favorite Things. This is NOT a Christmas song.
6. Anything by Mariah Carey.
7. I Saw Three Ships. What do ships have to do with Christmas?
8. Last Christmas I Gave you my Heart. Yuck.

Merry Christmas everyone!

P.S. Don't you just love the new cool title to my blog. My son Stephen made it. He rocks!

Musical Talent (and who in our family has it)

I have always loved music! I had a great time retreating to my bedroom when I was a kid, turning on the record player and pretending I was a famous singer. Well that never happened, but tonight was a real treat because Sam's school choir sang at the Mesa Temple Gardens amongst all the sparkling Christmas lights. They did a wonderful job.

I like to sing, but my voice leaves a lot to be desired. I can only hear the soprano part so that's what I have to sing even though I can't reach the high notes. My singing is limited to singing along with my I pod and singing in the ward choir.

On the other hand, two of my children, April and Sam, have beautiful voices. So I pretty much live my dream through them. When April sang "I Know that My Redeemer Lives" at Stephen's missionary farewell, I was so extremely happy that she had been blessed with such a beautiful voice. When I hear Sam sing at his voice lessons, I am blown away by his awesome manly voice. These two have been blessed with what I always wanted--a beautiful singing voice. So I listen to April and Sam, and am very grateful that Heavenly Father gave them musical talent. They give me chills every time they sing and I also usually cry. I'm grateful that I can enjoy their wonderful voices, especially at Christmas time when the music is so delightful!

Christmas concert at Mountain View next week and I can't wait!

I'm Grateful

We’re looking forward to a wonderful Thanksgiving week. The weather will be in the 60’s and the food and the company will be grand.

“Gratitude not expressed is no good to anyone.” Bishop Burton quoted this in our stake conference last week. So here goes. . .

I’m grateful for my family. . .both the family I grew up in and my family now. We’re all healthy and happy (well, most of the time). We all have our challenges, but the Lord has blessed us so very much. What we did without Lily is a mystery to me. The world is a much more fun place since she came along. She is smart, funny and gives great kisses.

I’m grateful for music (and ipods). Music cheers and calms my soul. I’m grateful for my musical children. I absolutely can’t wait for Sam’s concert at the temple and his school concerts (both choir and orchestra).

I’m grateful for the holiday season where we have a chance to give thanks to Heavenly Father and celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who took upon himself, in a way we cannot understand, all of our sins, pains, and inadequacies. That because of this, if we will repent, we will be able to return to our Heavenly Father.

I’m grateful for the blessings of the temple that we can be with our families forever with no fighting. How could we stand to be separated from family members without this assurance.

I’m grateful for books! All kinds of books! Books can take us anywhere and oh, all the things we can learn from them--both temporal and spiritual.

Oh yes, of course, I’m grateful that it is now cool here. The best time of the year. In September, I was sure I would survive until now.

When we first moved down here, there were just the five of us for Thanksgiving most of the time. I spent a lot of time feeling sorry for myself. I’m grateful that we will have 20 family members gathered at our house on Thanksgiving day.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Yet Another Famous Recipe From My Mom

I didn't really make this cookie, but it looks just like the ones Mom used to make.

This recipe came from the REALLY old red and white Betty Crocker Cookbook. And yes, it it YUMMY!

Ginger Creams

1/3 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup water
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Mix thoroughly shortening, sugar, egg, molasses and water. Blend in remaining ingredients. Cover, CHILL 1 HOUR.

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls 2 inches a part unto ungreased baking sheet. Bake 8 minutes or until almost no imprint remains when touched with finger.

Immediately remove from baking sheet; cool. Frost with vanilla icing.

Here's a recipe I found in a cooking magazine in 1994 (doesn't seems that long ago). I finally tried it for a Relief Society Party two weeks ago. Another winner.

Cranberry Conserve

4 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
2 oranges, peeled, sliced and quartered
1 cup raisins
1 1/4 cups water
1 cup chopped pecans
2 1/2 cups sugar

In a large saucepan, combine cranberries, orange peel, oranges, raisins and water. Cover and simmer over medium heat until cranberries are soft. Add pecans and sugar; stir well. Simmer, uncovered 10-15 minutes, stirring ofter. Cool. Spoon into covered containers. Refrigerate. Serve as a relish with poultry or pork, or spread on biscuits or rolls. Yield: 3 pints.

Happy Thanksgiving, gobble, gobble!

Too Many Pumpkins?

TOO MANY PUMPKINS is one of my favorite fall books to read and reread. Part of the fun of reading this book is Megan Lloyd's beautiful and clever illustrations. Rebecca Estelle has a horrible predicament. She has too many pumpkins and she HATES them. How does Rebecca Estelle solve her problem? Read the book! You'll love it too.

But meanwhile here are a couple of my favorite pumpkin recipes:

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup quick-cooking oats
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine flour, oats, baking soda and cinnamon; stir into creamed mixture alternately with pumpkin. Fold in chocolate chips. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto greased baking sheets sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-13 minutes or until lightly browned.

Pumpkin Bars

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
2 cups white sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 tablespoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
4 1/2 ounces cream cheese, softened
9 tablespoons butter, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons milk

1. In a medium bowl combine the pumpkin ,cinnamon pumpkin pie spice and sugar.

2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

3. Using an electric mixer, slowly add the oil, eggs and pumpkin mixture to the flour mixture.

4. Mix and pour into greased 17 x 11 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.

5. To make Frosting: Cream the cream cheese, 9 tablespoons butter, vanilla together. Slowly add the confectioners sugar and milk.

Happy fall! The high today was 70.

Getting in Touch with my Inner Crafter

April and I found these cute "Gobble" letters when we were in Utah. I haven't done crafts for a long time and this looked quick and easy. It wasn't too quick, but it was pretty easy and I am pretty happy how they turned out.

The Famous Sour Cream Cookies

This is picture of my mom, Vera Rasband, dressed as a witch for Halloween. She liked Halloween a lot. One of my favorite Halloween memories occurred when I was in the first grade. Mom dressed up as a ghost and Margie dressed up as Frankenstein and they visited each of their children's classes on Halloween. They didn't have to check in at the office and they brought homemade popcorn balls. I didn't know who they were and wondered why this ghost kept hovering around my desk. There were five children between the two of them in elementary school so they made a whole lot of popcorn balls.

One of her most famous Halloween treats was Sour Cream Cookies. She passed them out to trick or treaters and people came from all over to get a cookie. In honor of Halloween here is the recipe. Enjoy!

Sour Cream Cookies

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
About 3 1/2 cups of flour (enough to make a soft dough)

Mix sugar and shortening together. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix together flour, salt and baking powder. Add dry ingredients alternately with the sour cream.

Chill dough well.

Roll out dough and cut into shapes. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.

Frost with your favorite frosting.

Enjoy!

Fall Fun

The weather is now perfect here. I was wondering if it would ever happen. I feel so much better now that it has cooled off. Heat makes me feel hot and grouchy.

I liked general conference a lot. Especially the talks given by Elder Holland and President Uchdorf. We all met at Rakay and Claye’s after the last session of conference for dinner.

Sam, Stephen, April, Lily and I went to Utah for Fall Break. Stephen, Sam and I drove and April and Lily flew (on an airplane). The S’s and I arrived in Price so we could attend Whitney’s and Dexter’s wedding reception. Caryl Tatton did a beautiful job of feeding everyone and decorating. Whitney looked beautiful. I especially liked her shoes.

We enjoyed seeing everyone there--especially the part where we all stayed up until 1:00 a.m. talking. Fun times.

We drove to SLC on Monday to pick up Lily and April at the airport. Lily was really good for the whole trip and we drug here around a lot. April and I had a great time boutique shopping. Stephen avoided this activity by having dates and Sam sat in the car mainly because Lily had fallen asleep.

We went to all our favorite places to eat: Magleby’s Fresh, The Brick Oven, Dairy Keen and the Lion House. Stephen introduced us to a new place called Zupas. It serves soup, salads and sandwiches. Yummy.

While in SLC visiting Kirk we went to temple square to see the model of the Salt Lake temple. Very cool. We also showed Lily and Christus statue and went to the new Deseret Book Store.

People were just moving out of my family’s old house. The door wasn’t locked so we went in to take a look. The remodeled kitchen was wonderful. My mom would have loved it. They uncovered the wood floor and refinished them. Some of the paint colors I didn’t really like, but it looked really good. I wish that a nice family would move in.

The weather was pretty wonderful there which was good because one day we walked all over the BYU campus. Can I just say how different it all is from when I went there. Who would have thought? New buildings, new technology, and really young looking kids. Sam’s goal is to attend there someday.

A missionary from our ward died of an aneurysm last week. He had only been out for three months. His funeral was yesterday. Our ward had a rather sad week.

Sam had his first orchestra and choir concerts. They were excellent. His choir is going to be singing at the temple on December 8. I’m sure Sam doesn’t remember how rotten he was when we went to go hear April sing there during the Christmas season. I told him he was never coming to the temple again and he told everyone in Primary that I told him that. He was probably about 3 or 4. The adults in Primary got a good laugh.

The first quarter of school if over already. A big shout out to Sam for getting straight A’s. I’ve been working hard at school also. Lots of kids to see.

I taught Primary today. It was pretty fun. It’s amazing what 7 year olds will do for stickers--things like being quiet and sitting in their seats--magical things like that. We talked about service.

Our back yard is all dug up because Salt River Project is putting in some new electrical lines. Our neighbor is very upset because he just finished landscaping his back yard. They have made a big mess.

Happy fall everyone!

Let Me Hear a Melody. . .

The music conductor Mitch Miller died yesterday. He was 99 years old. Most of you probably don't know who Mitch Miller is. I do. He was one of my mom's favorites. We had quite a few Mitch Miller albums at our house and we watched Sing Along With Mitch on T.V. Mitch Miller conducted a male chorus and they sang The Yellow Rose of Texas, The Children's Marching Song, and at Christmas--Must be Santa. I loved marching around the living room to his music--because that's what it made you want to do. When I discovered that I could actually buy Mitch Miller CD's, I bought two. Now I can march all around my house to the sound of March From the River Kwai (which is from the movie Bridge on the River Kwai which if you haven't seen you really should. Alec Guiness is fantastic in his performance as the ranking officer in a Japanese prison camp during WWII. Anyway, I digress.

I actually didn't know that Mitch Miller was still alive (until yesterday that is). When I read that he had died, I had one of those "ahh" moments. The kind that I have when a recall a wonderful childhood memory. I think I will go listen to the Yellow Rose of Texas for old time's sake.

Hand-me-down Technology

My son Chris just became the owner of a new IPhone 4. As a result I am now the proud owner of an IPhone 3GS. And Sam, well he has an IPhone 3G that used to be mine that used to be Chris's. We are all very happy that Chris always has to have the hottest and newest technology around.

Another "Bernie" Story

Mrs. J. just reminded me of another Bernie story. . .Bernie goes to the trash can and pulls out a piece of paper. Written on the paper were these words. . ."Walter (one of Bernie's friends) has no friends." "Oh no!" he exclaims "Who could have written such a thing?" Being the excellent detectives that we are, Mrs. J and I started our investigation. Upon further examination of the paper, we find "Bernie's" name written on the other side with some school work he had done. Upon confronting the suspect, he said, "How did you know it was me?" "Silly boy, your name is on the paper." Needless to say, we all had a good laugh. There's never a dull moment in 1st grade.

The Rest of the Story

To see the beginning of this story, you need to read my brother Rich's blog. He is the Hairy Curmudgeon listed on my blog.

So. . .my mom arrived in Arizona to help with the newest member of the family, Stephen Gary. Boy, was I glad she was there. Stephen had to go back to the hospital because he was jaundiced. I was pretty much an emotional wreck. This experience did come in handy in September when Lily was born. April and Sam had to leave her overnight for the same malady Stephen had. I was able to assure her that it wasn't the end of the world and Lily wouldn't remember a thing or be scarred for life. At the same time I was reassuring her though, I could remember exactly how I felt when it happened to me (3 times). Anyway, I digress, Mom was there to help me through all that. In addition, we had to move while I was in the hospital and she unpacked most of my apartment.

I also have a "dad waiting in the car" story. When I was in high school, a big seminary bash was held at the University of Utah. Dad drove my friends and I there. I always wondered how he got the same parking place when he returned because I thought he would leave and come back after it was over. No, he just stayed in the car the whole time waiting for us. I didn't know he stayed in the car the whole time until much later. What a dad!

Sometimes, I wish more than anything that I could see my parents. I would love to go to Heber and run up the stairs and see them there. However, I know that because of temple ordinances I will see them again and we will be all together.

I'm grateful that I am my parents' child and I'm grateful for my own children who are all fine people. I'm grateful to Heavenly Father for families!!

School Musings

Confidence Man Strikes 1st grade--Holy Bernie Madoff

Conversation that took place a couple of Fridays ago. . .

E.--Mrs. J can I go to the bathroom?

Mrs. J. We just went, you'll have to pay me a grabber (the money of 1st grade).

E.--I don't have any.

Mrs. J. What happened to the five you get on Monday?

E.--I gave them all to "Bernie". He said he would buy me something from the 50 grabber box.

About 4 other kids exclaimed (none of them girls, I'm not sure what that means)--I gave my grabbers to "Bernie" also. He said he would get me something from the 50 grabber box.

Mrs. J.-- "Bernie" what's going on?

"Bernie"--I really was going to get them something.

Skeptical look from Mrs. J--No you weren't.

She questions the other kids as to how many grabbers they gave "Bernie." Turns out he made off with about 80 grabbers.

Mrs. J.--"Bernie" give them all back.

I'm sitting in the back of the room and mention, "Wow, you would go to jail if you were an adult."

"Bernie"--(in dismay) Why??

Mrs. J.--Well when you take people's money and tell them you are going to get them something for it and then don't do it, you go to jail.

WOW!

Too Cool to say Hello

When kids are in 1st, 2nd and even 3rd grade, they love you. You get hello's on campus and some hugs as well. Sometime after that things change. In 4th grade, they may grudgingly say hello to you as you pass them on campus. In 6th grade--well let me explain what happened the other day. I was walking through the library. Some 6th graders were there for their media center time. I said hello to a few of them. What did I get? Blank stares that's what! Apparently when you get to the 6th grade, saying hello isn't cool anymore.

Our Field Trip to the Science Center

A couple of weeks ago the first grade went to the Science center in Phoenix. First of all, it was under construction so some things had been taken off exhibit. Secondly, there were about a million other kids there. Thirdly, some parents should not be chaperons.

Some things were missing, however, the most favorite exhibit of all, the weather platform, was still there. What is a weather platform you ask? By standing on it with a bunch of other people, one gets to experience all kinds of weather--from hurricanes to earth quakes. This is all done by the magic of hot lights, blowing air, water, and a rumbling floor. As you can imagine, the kids love it and want to do it over and over and over again.

We saw buses from Show Low, Deer Valley, the Creighton School district and other Mesa School district buses. By the time our buses finally had their turn to pull up at the end of the day, we were about 20 minutes late. I'm also glad we didn't lose anyone (well, expect for one child, but his teacher found him) It was wall to wall kids.

You know, when a parent is sitting there and her child and one other child are at the top of a tree; I really have to wonder. . .

The Dreaded Dibbles Testing

Next week, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd graders will be tested. One of the most important parts of this test is how fast a child can read. Now I know that part of being a fluent reader is to be a fast reader along with accuracy and expression. I'm rather tired of listening to kids read the same thing over and over. Besides, some kids just talk slowly so they read slowly and getting them to read faster would require (I'm not exactly sure what that would be.) Anyway, I'll be glad when next week is over.

My K-Mart Shoes

All this rain and something a third grader said today brought back the memory of my K-mart shoes. The third grader said her mom wouldn't let her wear her new shoes because it was raining.

Flash back to 5th grade. We always used to stop at the K-mart on Parley's way in Salt Lake City on the way home from Salt Lake. Mom used to do her grocery shopping there and the rest of us would hang out next door at the regular K-mart. I found some beautiful shoes that I just couldn't do without. I begged my mom and she finally relented. They were a great deal--only about $5.

The first day I wore them to school it rained. Those K-mart shoes totally fell apart. I don't mean things came loose. They fell apart. I think they must have been made out of cardboard or something. We never bought shoes at K-mart again.