A blessed day

I am blessed, so very Blessed!
In response to my Postings on face book and a sad call to my sister in law Terie I have had an outpouring of love from people when I truly need it. I received flowers from Becky, my mom-in-law. Then my sister-in-law called to tell me that my brother suggested she come out to visit me in May. I also received many uplifting comments on face book.I know that it was the Lord sending people my way to let me know that I was loved. Yesterday I was the "one" That the Lord made sure was found and cared for.I thank all the angels who followed the prompting of the spirit. I feel much better.

A balm for my sad heart

"When your heart was filled with anger, did you think to pray? Did you Plead for grace, my brother, that you might forgive another who had crossed your way? When sore trials came upon you, did you think to pray? When your soul was full of sorrow, balm of Gilead did you borrow at the gates of day? Oh how praying rest the weary! Prayer will change the night to day.So, when life gets dark and dreary, don't forget to pray." pg 140 hymnal of thechurch of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

I read this today after crying for more than 2 hours becasue I felt so lonely and neglected by my family. It brought me great comfort along aiththe reminder that if I go to the Lord in prayer I am a lot less likely to get boohoo headache afterward

green and purple polka dots

Those are the colors that i have painted on my nails in honor of Halloween. I painted all the girls in black, green, and purple. This is the only time I do black nail polish. I think it is such a depressing color and I see my nails too much to have them depressing. But when Halloween comes all of the sudden it is no longer a depressing color it is the medium for all the fun spooky designs you can think of. Becca has little spider webs in purple and green.I love painting nails I find it very therapeutic. It is the best when i am seriously annoyed with the girls to pull out the nail box and watch a movie or chat while I paint nails. No more frustration. Thank you Heavenly Father for finger nail polish.

A side note Congratulations Brandy and Branden I am sure maysee is beautiful.
Congrats also to Richard and Jenny, a Girl, Hooray. Richard I reserve rights to mercilessly tell you "I told you so" any time she is emotional or squeals for no good reason.

~Not a fun post to submit!~

I have been so very remiss in posting that a major event has passed without comment. Maybe it was me not wanting to face the issue. It is not a pleasant major event.
Nathan is deploying. He will be gone for 1 year. The most I will say about where is the desert. When? Some time in the next couple months.
On a more fun note I have recently learned how to digital scrapbook. I have now completed 2 pages. Here is one of them. Pics of our summer to follow.
Have a great day

NINA

a lawyer, a birthday, economics,and a national holiday

Happy 4th of July everyone. We ended up with a full yet incomplete day. I actually need to begin with last night when Nathan wen to work at 5:00. We shared birthday cake with a friend, red velvet with white and blue coconut, pecan, cream cheese frosting.It was fast Sunday and I am being a military single mom again. Church was great! We had some wonderful testimonies born and went 15 min. over. We also sang some of my favorite hymns today. The patriotic ones. Primary went well. My two rowdiest students were not there:) so the class flowed pretty well. We had a great sharing time lesson on the Nephi's vision of America being a free and blessed land.
Next we went to an open house for a lady in our ward who just finished her law degree and is already in a new practice.She amazes me. Between "His" and "Hers" they have 14
children. She home schools.And now she has passed the bar for law. Had a great time there getting to know some of the ward members that I really haven't gotten to know yet.
We got home about 6:00 and Nathan was just changing out of his uniform so we had very good timing. We ate dinner and then had family home evening.
Our months topic for FHE is finance. Last week we covered debt and interest. This week we covered wants vs. needs. The girls did very well until we came to taking family trips. Want?or Need? We explained that trips were a want but the girls argued that we nee to spend time with family and you have to go on a trip to see family. Nathan got the very unpleasant task of sharing that no going to see grandmas and grandpas wasn't a NEED. All three broke into tears. because when they grow up coming to visit mommy and daddy won't be a need it is a want. Too Sweet huh? The lesson went on for a record breaking 11/2 hours.
Today is July 4th. The day we celebrate our independence from religious and economic oppression. It is a day of tradition. None of which we kept this year. No steak on the grill and corn on the cob, no baked beans or apple pie. And worst of all no FIREWORKS. I love this Holiday and usually we go all out but it just didn't come together this year. WE are already planning next year so wish us luck.
And here we are now 12:30 wishing you all a very good night. Hooray for freedom.
Nina
P.S A friend of mine and I recently processed 150 lbs. of peaches that we paid about $5/30lb. box. After that I processed on my own 26lbs. of blackberries that my family went to a farm to pick ourselves.How crazy and wonderful is that?

Its been a while

Summer is here which means life is busy. We are all melting here. It was 99' when we left church at 1:00 today:::[ The home remodel has been put on the back burner, a bit, largely because I just couldn't handle the mess it creates any longer. The girls are doing well. Nathan's schedule is wonky, as usual. We adopted two little kitten that we named Pigeon and Shadow. A friend of mine told me about a utube video she had recently been told about and I thought I would send it on. It is worth watching and corny as ever:)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbk980jV7Ao

I hope you all have a great week and we'll see you soon. Mom, Dad, Gran, Branon, and Terie we are all so excited for your visits next month. Lots of fun things to do. NINA

The weeks of cakes

Last Saturday I made a double layered spice cake with an apple filling for Family Home Evening. On Sunday there was a sign up for food for a funeral. I signed up for dessert and a salad. So on Tuesday I made a double layer lemon cake with a blueberry filling. Today I made Nathan's birthday cake, a four layer german chocolate cake with coconut pecan frosting. And next Sunday I will be making a Tres Leches cake for a "Cafe Rios" night with friends. Thats a lot of cake! Surprisingly enough I have also lost three lbs. this last week (hopefully it will stay off). I thought I would put the recipe on for the german chocolate cake and tres leches. Enjoy!
NINA

I like a richer chocoloate cake than is traditionally in german chocolate so I went with Hershey's "perfectly chocolate" chocolate cake

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 30 min
Skill Level: Beginner
Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
"PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING(recipe follows)

Directions:1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost with "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING. 10 to 12 servings.


I got this recipe from www.allrecipe.com
Here is the frosting. It says to cook until thickened this means until its about the consistency of sweetened condensed milk.
Cooking Level: Intermediate
German Chocolate Cake Frosting By: Denise
"Coconut Pecan Frosting for German Chocolate Cake."
Customize Recipe Kitchen-friendly View Prep Time:
20 MinCook Time:
10 MinReady In:
30 Min
Servings (Help)
Original Recipe Yield 1 frosting for 2 layer cake
Ingredients
1 cup evaporated milk
1 cup brown sugar
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans
1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
Directions
1.In a large saucepan combine evaporated milk, brown sugar, egg yolks, butter and vanilla. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thick. Remove from heat and stir in pecans and coconut. Let cool to room temperature before spreading on cake.


The Tres Leches or three milk cake is a trditional mexican dessert. It is vary simple and extremely moist. It can also be made completely from food storage. This recipe is from http://mexicanfood.about.com/od/sweetsanddesserts/r/treslechescake.htm

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 65 minutesIngredients:
•1 1/2 cups cake flour (I use all-purpose and it wourks just fine)
•1 pinch salt
•1 teaspoon baking powder
•1/3 cup oil
•1 cup sugar
•1 teaspoon vanilla extract
•5 large eggs
•1/2 cup whole milk
optional add 1/2 tsp nutmeg (I think it adds al little more and the first recipe I used called for it)
•Cream Syrup for Soaking (see recipe below)
•Whipped Topping (see recipe below)
Preparation:
Combine flour and baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, combine the oil, sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Add the eggs to the sugar mixture one at a time until well combined. Stir in the 1/2 cup of milk, then gently fold in the flour mixture a little at a time.
Pour batter into a lightly greased cake pan or baking dish and bake at 325 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until it feels firm and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Let the cake cool until it feels room temperature. Turn it over onto a platter with raised edges. Pierce cake with a fork 20-30 times. Let it cool in the refrigerator for an additional 30 minutes.

Cream Syrup

•12 oz. evaporated milk
•14 oz. sweetened condensed milk
•1/2 cup heavy cream
Whisk together the three milks. Slowly pour the liquid over the cooled cake. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Occasionally, spoon the milk runoff back onto the cake.

Whipped Topping

•3/4 cup heavy cream
•1 teaspoon vanilla
•1 tablespoon sugar
In a chilled mixing bowl add heavy cream, vanilla and sugar. Beat on high speed until peaks form. Spread a thin layer over the cake.

Top with a sprinkle of cinnamon or garnish with fresh berries.