Let me sum up

Blogging time has been replaced by Pintresting. (Is that a word? I think not.) It's awesome, you should check it out. My dog likes to hunt flies and it is hilarious. Brooke has decided it is time to potty train, so now, I use the carpet cleaner a lot and my laundry load has doubled. Decorating the house comes in monsoons and droughts. Target is stealing all of my money. I took Jocelyn back to school shopping. It's so stinking cute. I cleaned out my office space. Now I need to get some amazing china cabinet to house my cake plates and fabric pieces in. The craigslist app is sucking all of my phones power. I think Anthroplogie linens should all go on sale for at least 75% off. My windows and bathrooms would be so happy. I have finished Jane Eyre, Re-read all the good parts multiple times and watched four different versions of it on Netflix and Youtube. It is tied between the 2006 BBC one, and the new one staring Alice in Wonderland and Magneto. Seriously tied. Well done you. The one with William Hurt sucks. I was too impatient to read Wuthering Heights so I watched the movie. I don't know if I will read it or not. Heathcliff hurts my head. Jeri and I have started a Cross-Continental Book Club! I am so stoked. Right now we are catching up on books we had each read individually to discuss. She is reading, Matched and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I am reading the Hunger Games. Which I have yet to start. When we are done I think we should read Little Women. I really like my house. I am very seriously thinking of going back to school in a month. Starting with math. I am nervous and excited. is there a word for both? Finally I have been sitting here to long avoiding the mountain of laundry I need to do before Princess Ladybug and Mr. Diet Coke come over for dinner. No I did not make them up. Happy Thursday!

Bed Time Stories

*Jocelyn pretending to be stepped on by a big fake elephant at the San Diego Zoo.

While putting Jocelyn to bed tonight, she shared with me her version of a bed time story. "Once upon a time there was a girl named Rileigh. And she went to go pick some strawberries, but everyone had already ate them all gone. But then Rileigh found one strawberry left." "Did she eat the strawberry?", I asked. "No, no no. A dinosaur came out and ate her all up. But she made the dinosaur sick, so he spit her out." "The End." I wonder if I should be concerned about this?

This kid

Sometimes she drives me bonkers.

Like when she pours a cup of yogurt on the floor for no reason.

Terrifies the dog by chasing him around the living room on her bike.

And every bug she sees is grounds for hysteria, meltdowns and tears.

But then she will tell you things in a very serious yet quizzical tone,

"I don't like that Jesus made bugs."

Snuggle up with the dog while he is sleeping and find Waldo.

Make beds for all the dolls out of wash rags and tissues.

Put all of the flatware neatly away in the drawer.

and maybe just maybe,

She will hold your face with two hands.

Look into your soul with her sea green eyes,

and sing you this song.

"I love you forever,

I'll like you for always

As long as I am living

my mommy you'll be"

Yup.

Worth it.

POW 13 Easter Joy

Girl was pretty jazzed about hunting eggs.

I can't say that I blame her.

POW 4

Because she wanted a towel like me.

POW 3

A Hansen family tradition.

~Thankful~ Day 4

Today I am grateful for bubble wrap.

It really never gets old.

worlds colliding in the very best way

I love You Tube, and I love Amanda for bringing this to my attention (well Tanya's attention)

coming in from the groceries

she stopped to take a little nap

who you gonna call?

Color Me Katie is a daily inspiration of mine and this is only one of the millions of reasons why

tea tease

I lied.

Thursday I promised more pictures from my Relief Society Tea Party on Friday

but instead I went on a date with my husband

any easy choice if you ask me

but now it is Saturday night and I still have not picked my favorites

a lot has happened, some good, some bad, all growing experiences

tomorrow is Mother's Day

I am excited

I love my Mother

I love my Mother-In-Law

I love my Grandmothers

They are AMAZING ladies that have all taught me wonderful, wonderful things

but most of all

I LOVE being a mother to my sweet delicious angel babies

.

.

but back to the tea party

more on the wonderful ladies of my life tomorrow

...maybe

suddenly seymour

In honor of Earth Day the Professor and I are going to see a play where plants take over the world in DC.

I am really excited.

it's at the Ford Theater

Where Lincoln was Shot

This Lincoln

Not this one

check back tomorrow for the details

admiring brilliance

The Met

we loved it

I think I stared at the detail in this armor for twenty minutes, unbelievably beautiful

such love and passion carved from stone is truly divine

notice that the professor is nearly as tall as the armor and he is standing on the ground. Knights were little men

I fell in love with this painting but only saw it for a moment, does anyone know what it is?

for Jason this is what chairman Mao looks like, ya loon :) see his version here.

the end.

if only this was their room

I would be the happiest lady in the world

I found out about it here. But the lovely details are here.

Can we talk about my love of the lamps? Do you think I could make them?

central park

...was one of our very favorite spots

...we napped in the early afternoon

...under the yellow flowered trees

in the warm sun

no babies crawling all over our faces

we talked about our wedding day

what we were doing at that same time 5 years ago

about what we wanted to be doing 5 years from now

it makes my heart warm thinking about it now

I think we will do it again soon

but with babies crawling all over our faces

photo of the week 21

ser·en·dip·i·ty (srn-dp-t)

n. pl. ser·en·dip·i·ties

1. The faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident.

2. The fact or occurrence of such discoveries.

3. An instance of making such a discovery.

Visiting DC and discovering that it is National Kite Flying Day, a serendipitous occasion indeed

i'll talk, just don't hurt the monkey

Have you met my sister-in-law Tracy?

She is awesome.

(FYI my other sister-in-law Heather is awesome too but that's anther post)

I was sent this email this morning.

If you ever want to see your bear again, alive,

send 1 million cookies (or the recipe for the kahula crunch ice cream pie) by midnight tonight, OR ELSE.

We don't have time to make 1,000,000 cookies this afternoon so The recipe for Cayucos Crunch it is. And while I am saving lives and sharing it with her I thought I would let you in on it as well.

Growing up it was our favorite desert from this restaurant where it is described as "surprise crust with the works." I made this for them and Christmas at I guess they liked it.

Cayucos Crunch

(makes 2 8 in pies or one big spring form pan)

1 box of oreos

1 10piece package of butterfingers

1 gallon of Ice cream softened slightly (i.e. vanilla bean, butter pecan, toasted almond)

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips (milk if your Lincoln :)

A healthy dose of chocolate syrup

1 cube butter

1 cup peanut butter

1 bag white chocolate chips

1 tbs Vanilla or Coconut extract

whipped cream

maraschino cherries

sprinkled nuts (toasted almonds opt)

(intense right. your taste buds will thank me later but your thighs might not)

If you are making two smaller pies simple divide everything in two and distribute evenly.

Crust

crush oreos in food processor. Line a spring form pan with two pieces of plastic wrap so that it comes up over the sides (no plastic for regular pie pans) and press oreos into bottom of pan about 1/2 an inch thick. Smash half of the mini butterfingers and sprinkle on top of oreos. Squirt some chocolate syrup onto to butterfingers to help hold everything together, spread smooth with spoon. Save some crushed oreos for later.

Ice Cream Layer

Ice cream should be soft but not to melted (maybe 30 minutes left out on the counter depending on how cold your house is) you want to be able to smooth it out and get out any air pockets. Emptie entire container or untill your dish is full. (the pies can be like mini mountains) Wrap the whole thing in plastic wrap and let freeze preferably over night but I would say at least 2-4 hours depending how melted the ice cream is.

The works

Chocolate Sauce of Insanity

Pour 1 bag of chocolate chips and 1 cube butter in microwave for 1 minute stirring every 30 seconds until completely melted and blended. Add can of sweetened condensed milk and vanilla or coconut and mix until blended. (FYI this stuff is good on anything from fondue to crackers or just eating it on a spoon like I did at Jeri's house yesterday.)

White Chocolate Peanut Butter Explosion

Melt half the bag of white chocolate chips however you choose. White chocolate is much more temperamental so a double boiler is my way of choice. Once chocolate is melted add peanut butter to your hearts content making sure the sauce stays smooth. Coconut would also be amazing in here but I put coconut oil in everything.

The Assembly

Take your ice cream pie out of the freezer and unwrap the plastic. It it is in the springform pan go ahead and take it out of the pan and place on the serving dish. (Note that things are about to get crazy so be prepared for major spillage and make sure the plate underneath is much larger then the pie dish.) Now go to town. Drizzle both Chocolate sauces over the ice cream mound followed by more of the crushed oreos and butterfingers. Top with whip cream nuts and enough cherries for everyone to have two.

Bon Appetit!

the Sea Shanty March 2009. note major spillage

Tracy I hope it's not too late!

i love...

I love Ben

I love that when Jocelyn fell out of the bed last night she smiled and said, "whoopsies"

I love fresh no bake cookies with coconut

I love the way my house smells with my new candle

I love that Brooke thinks I am the funniest person on earth

I love my new Holga

I love that Jocelyn tells random strangers that she is a princess

I love Jeri

I love that Ben is going to get to live his dream

I love my grandparents

I love roses in every color

I love that every Sunday I feel like the lesson was written for me

I love that I can stretch farther and farther every time I go to the gym

I love Jason, Kiki, Skylar, Tristan and Maranda

I love this wedding

I love seeing snowflakes on my window

I love seeing the sun melt the snow away

I love Buffy and Angel

I love reading everyones blogs, so inspiring

I love that when Ben gets spooked he sounds like a girl

I love being an eternal family

I love child's pose

I love that in 24 days it will be 5 years

little letters

*Ben jumping down a giant mountain of snow on Saturday- he's fine.

Dear Blog,

I am sorry I forgot your Birthday earlier this month. You turned two, congratulations! Next year I will make you cupcakes.

Yours Truly,

Rileigh

Dear Brooke,

Stop growing so fast. I can barely keep up with you, but it is so much fun to watch.

Love,

Mmmmm

Dear Sun,

It is nice to see you today, are you planning on staying long? Would you care to bring some of your friends? I would love it.

your friend,

missing the beach

Dear Mom,

It is all going to be OK.

I Love you,

Heed

Dear U of O,

Hello.

sincerely,

Professor Hansen and family

Dear G & G Tidwell,

I am honored to be your granddaughter.

Love,

me

Dear Husband,

Where is that cheesecake we were talking about?

love you,

wife

Dear Gym,

Pay no attention to the comment above.

-sore everywhere

Dear Jocelyn,

I LOVE your red toes.

kisses,

Mom

museum of modern tweets

while I am sharing the brilliance of others I thought I would enlighten you all with this little ditty. Some of you know I tweeted for about a month before I realized that I don't care that much about what people eat for breakfast (isn't that what Facebook is for?) Artist Odessa Begay brilliant tumbler interpretations of the hilarious things celebrities tweet about is very entertaining. Check her out at the museum of modern tweets.

*this website is slightly irreverent at times, grandma look away.