I Gotta Feeling

Girl's Night Out

This months Girl's Night Out was a bit daring for us old Moms. We decided to go to the midnight showing of New Moon. What were we thinking? Well, we arrived in line around 930 and treated ourselves to some Starbucks hot chocolate and a Crumb's cupcake. After a couple of hours of waiting in line and socializing we went into the theatre and were trying to stay awake to view New Moon. I was a bit peeved when the clocked turned 12:07 and the movie workers decided to do a Twilight trivia game and hand out prizes. I would have been all for it BEFORE midnight! It would have been appropriate to start the trivia game at 11:30pm and start the movie at 12:01am when it was scheduled to start. To add more insult to injury, there was an annoying worker that kept yelling for everyone to stop talking and be quiet. Again, I think they would have had full participation of the audience if they started BEFORE the time the show was supposed to start. So one that was all over, the previews started at 12:26am. I soon forgot about how annoyed and tired I was soon after the movie started. It was SO much better than Twilight. I thought the effects were better and so was the acting, not to mention the the ending. I think the ending was genius!! I can't wait for Eclipse to come out in June. I wouldn't mind seeing New Moon again actually. Even though the movie started late and wee have to travel 20 minutes to a theatre, it was well worth it to get home in bed at 3:45am. I had a great night: fantastic movie with fabulous company.

Isaac's BIrthday Part 2

When we asked Isaac what he wanted to do for his birthday it was no surprise to us that he said he wanted to go to Disneyland. With that in mind, we booked a party in Disneyland and had a great time! We had 45 minutes of pure entertainment with singing and dancing plus we all received birthday hats, sipper cups, and our own birthday cake to decorate and eat. To top off, Mickey and Minnie were there and that made Isaac even more excited. My brother, Ryan, came down to celebrate with us along with his boyfriends and some of our mutual friends. Everyone had a great day playing in the park and celebrating Isaac's 3rd birthday.

Isaac's Birthday Part 1

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We celebrated Isaac's birthday in a couple of doses. Besides celebrating it when the Wuehler's were here in October, we had a combined party for him and his friend, Jacob since Jacob's birthday is 3 days after Isaac and they are just the best of buds. It was pretty low key. We invited the other kids from the complex to join us for some yummy cupcakes and to help paint brown paper bags that were going to be used for sack lunches for the homeless and needy. The kids LOVED playing in the paint and hanging their artwork up to dry. It was a hit!

Thanksgiving

May your stuffing be tasty

May your turkey be plump,

May your potatoes and gravy

Have never a lump.

May your yams be delicious

And your pies take the prize,

And may your Thanksgiving dinner

Stay off your thighs!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!!

Really?

Utah teen to challenge citation for McDonald's rap

By Elizabeth White

The Associated Press

The case of one of four teens who were cited after rapping their order at a McDonald's in Utah appears headed for trial.

Police in American Fork, about 30 miles south of Salt Lake City, cited the teens with disorderly conduct last month after the drive-through rap.

The teens have said they were imitating a rap from a popular YouTube video, which begins: "I need a double cheeseburger and hold the lettuce."

Spenser Dauwalder, 18, has said employees at the fast-food restaurant told him and his friends they were holding up the line and needed to order or leave.

But Dauwalder said no one else was in line. He and his three 17-year-old friends left without buying anything.

A manager wrote down the

car's license plate number and called authorities, police Sgt. Gregg Ludlow has said. Officers later cited the teens in a high school parking lot outside a volleyball match.

"We thought, you know, just teenagers out having fun," Dauwalder told KSL Newsradio last month. "We didn't think it would escalate to that."

Dauwalder is challenging the disorderly conduct infraction in state court in Utah County. He pleaded not guilty earlier this month, and at a hearing Wednesday, a bench trial was set for Jan. 29, said his mother, Sharon Dauwalder.

"It's just, it's wrong," Sharon Dauwalder said. "I think the whole thing is wrong."

Spenser Dauwalder's attorney, Ann Boyle, said the whole incident has been overblown.

"I just believe that the kids had a right to sing their order," Boyle said. "They asked them to leave, and they left."

But attorney Kasey Wright, who represented American Fork in court Wednesday, said the case isn't about free speech.

"This is not a First Amendment case," he said. "This is disturbing the peace. It's interrupting a business."

Wright said he's open to working out a deal in the case "if it can serve the demands of justice and the public interest." He said the trial likely wouldn't last more than an hour and is similar to what would happen if someone fought a speeding ticket in court.

Rick Schroder

Rick Schroder and his family is a member of my ward. He has been abroad lately with his kids but came back state side for a quick visit. You might recognize him as the kid from old tv show Silver Spoons. I used to watch that everyday at 5pm before dinner when I was a kid. Or you might recognize him from the movies Pool Hall Junkies, Journey to the Center of the Earth or the 2010 thriller, Locker 13. If none of that rings a bell, he has also been on NYPD Blue, Scrubs and is currently on 24. Anyways, that is about it to the few who are keeping track of my celebrity sightings.

Elizabeth Has a lot to Say

Elizabeth Laughing

Allie's Baby Shower

Serene, Allie, Me, Katharine
Serene, Me
Party Favors
The Red Carpet Hollywood Walk of Stars with celebrity kids names on them
The food



A couple of us girls in my ward threw Allie a baby shower for her. The theme was "A Star is Born" as in the Hollywood stars. It turned out really cute. We had a red carpet with stars in it when the guests walked in. It served as a decoration and a game since on the stars were star's baby's names and then the guests had to guess who their parents were. We also played a guessing game where you were given two different prices of a certain item and had to figure out which one was correct. The food was yummy with Sonoma Chicken Salad on croissants, a salad with feta, craisens and pears, fresh fruit with carmel and chocolate dipping sauces, pasta salad and Sprinkles cupcakes. I thought the party favors were cute too. They were carmel corn in movie boxes. All in all it was a great turn out and Allie received a ton of great gifts for her baby.

Here is the recipe that I used for the Sonoma Chicken Salad Sandwiches. The only substitution I used was instead of using chicken breasts, I used already cooked whole chicken that I took off the bone and chopped up.

Serves 6

This chicken salad is one of our classic Whole Foods Market dishes. The tender chicken breast, crunchy pecans and sweet grapes in each bite are hard to top. From The Whole Foods Market Cookbook

Ingredients

Dressing
1 cup mayonnaise
4 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
5 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons poppy seeds
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Salad
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3/4 cup pecan pieces, toasted
2 cups red seedless grapes
3 stalks celery, thinly sliced

Method

In a bowl, combine mayonnaise, vinegar, honey, poppy seeds, salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to dress the salad. This can be prepared up to 2 days ahead.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Place the chicken breasts in one layer in a baking dish with 1/2 cup water. Cover with foil and bake 25 minutes until completely cooked through. Remove cooked chicken breasts from pan, cool at room temperature for 10 minutes, then cover and refrigerate.

When the chicken is cold, dice into bite-size chunks and transfer to a large bowl. Stir in pecans, grapes, celery and dressing.

Nutrition

Per serving (about 8oz/231g-wt.): 610 calories (390 from fat), 43g total fat, 5g saturated fat, 100mg cholesterol, 500mg sodium, 17g total carbohydrate (2g dietary fiber, 13g sugar), 33g protein

Thankful

In October, Isaac and I decided to decorate our front door with a spooky tree and pumpkins from old brown paper grocery bags. I failed to take a picture of it. Well, for November we decided to make Tom the turkey and tell people what our family is thankful "4." So on every "4" there is something that we as a family are thankful for.


Isaac really thought it was funny to put his snow hat on Elizabeth and insisted that we take a couple of pictures. All the while he was sitting there laughing and talking to her. As you can tell, she was thrilled.

Halloween

On the morning of Halloween, all of the little kids in our complex had a little "Halloween Carnival" that was put on by the Mommies. The kids had a great time wearing their costumes and going around to the different booths. The most popular booths were the ball toss where you toss balls in different size holes, the craft table where they decorated different sea creatures with glittered glue, feathers, beads, etc and the last popular booth was donated tissues. The kids had to stick their arm/hand in a bucket full of pop tarts, applesauce, chocolate pudding and cool whip and try to find all kids of gummy body parts like fingers, brains and eyeballs. Isaac found a finger and had a fun time eating it.

Because it is Southern California and the weather is still so nice, we went to the beach in the afternoon. It was a beautiful, sunny day that was warm with a slight breeze. I could have sat in that beach for hours. We collected rocks and shells and had a fun time burying Jim and Isaac in the sand. The water was cool, but that didn't stop Jim and I from walking in it. Elizabeth even twinkled her toes in the pretty blue.

After dinner when the sun went down, Jim and I took Elizabeth and Isaac tick or treating when Craig and Suzanne's relaxed at home. After a couple of doors, Isaac thought it was the coolest thing that he had to knock on the door and then he got candy. He received plenty of "good" candy: Kit Kats, Snickers, Butterfingers etc. The houses were huge and a bit intimidating. After walking up the driveway and through the gate, I couldn't help but stare at the huge doors that stood firm and tall before my eyes. I wasn't sure the etiquette of trick or treating here. So I would stand there thinking, "Do I knock? Do I ring the doorbell? Or do I ring the call button?" We met so many nice people and of course the kids turned on their charm. I am a bit disappointed because apparently we went to the wrong neighborhood looking for candy because a couple of friends took their kids trick or treating and ran into Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. And no, it wasn't people dressed up as them either. It was the real deal. Nonetheless, Isaac lasted about and hour and a half and had a fantastic time.