Kelly Times Two

(A pre-Thanksgiving gratuitous photo insert) This festive little turkey cupcake was from the local Sunshine Bakery and I dedicate this photo to my friend, Megan, in Michigan, who actually created her OWN sweets in the same fashion for Thanksgiving. Martha, as her Thanksgiving guests affectionately referred to her, is Paige's sister, by the way. Our niece came to visit for the weekend and we enjoyed having her come to Texas from Oklahoma. Here is Aubrey with Christopher at Rudy's dining on some sliced beef sandwiches. We went to Mount Bonnell for a night time view of the 360 bridge. Here's Aubrey with Lindsey and Christopher on a chilly autumn night. We went to the Texas History Museum where everything is done to the extreme with a Texas theme, even the tables in the on-site cafe where we had an ice cream treat. We took Aubrey to see Enchanted earlier in the day, then had lunch at La Madeleine, prior to spending the rest of the afternoon here, closing the place down. Reme...

What a handsome fourth grader. This ought to help him seeing the overheads and while reading, etc. We have the school nurse and the standard vision screening to thank, as I've never taken my kids to an eye doctor.

We saw Enchanted today at a matinée with our niece, Aubrey, who came to visit us for the weekend from Oklahoma. We loved this movie and recommend it for a light and entertaining film this holiday season. It was wonderful! I give this movie a 5 out of 5!!!!

Good-bye, Passport Number Two. I'll miss you. No offense, but I'm turning you in for a new one. We've shared fond memories together. Not all of our international encounters were recorded, sadly. Those which are imprinted in your pages forever include stops at Schiphol (Amsterdam) on February 23, 1999, March 2, 1999, and August 27, 2002. There was also Munchen (Munich) on August 6, 2000, Heathrow (London) on February 23, 1995, and Rome on March 15, 2002, and Vancouver, B.C. on August 26, 1996. I'm sorry I have to give you up. But you expired some time ago, and frankly, you're not very useful. I wish I could keep you around, but the only way I can ever get out of this place I'm in, is to move on, and wait for your replacement. You're going to be a tough act to follow, but as they say, "the third time's a charm." I hope your replacement will be as amazing as you've been, P2. Sincerely, your loving Kelly

It's Friday night, the most popular night for my cooking shows. However, when I'm not working I reserve this favorite day of the week for some sort of a date night with my darling husband. My brain just automatically tells me, "It's date night." Unfortunately, nine times out of ten, I end up with the Friday night blues because he's working too late (for my preference) and I'm at home getting antsy, eagerly awaiting his arrival. (Like tonight.) Sometimes when I really want to waller in self pity (that's Okie for wallow), I start listening to Earl Thomas Conley (Once in a Blue Moon), John Conlee (Friday Night Blues), or Merle Haggard (Going Where the Lonely Go), or some other extreme country artist from the 1980s, for a good pick-me-up. If anything, it takes me back to my two-steppin' days when I used to kick up my heels on the dance floor at the Diamond Ballroom in Oklahoma City. (Man, I love to country dance.) I know there are a lot of people who d...

Tonight before our Saturday evening session of stake conference, we joined RuthAnn and Gustavo, and Wanda and Dave for dinner at Z-Tejas, even though I had just gone there on Tuesday for my birthday with Adele. Conference was really good and I took a lot of notes so I can try to refer back to it in the future, since I can scarcely remember what the talks were about a week later, without writing it down. To those who missed it, I jotted down a few, quick notes from President Stewart Dickson's talk. He really is a superb speaker, and seems like a General Authority. I wish I could just play his message back from a recorder, but here's a fraction of it. He went on a mission to the Baton Rouge, Louisiana mission, back in 1979. The Church's first filmstrip, "Man's Search for Happiness," was a tool they relied on in their work. Its outdated message (made in the 1960's) was still true, and they'd inform their audiences whom they'd be showing it to, remind...

Last month when I went to Utah for a few days, I organized a little pot luck get together at my mom's house with my sister, Julie, and her family, my brother, Marc, and his family, my good friend Aimee, and her family, and my mom and stepdad. Here's Julie's daughter, 19-year-old Madison, and Marc's only child, 20-year-old Taylor. I cooked some Mexican pork to serve on crispy corn tortillas, with all the toppings (lettuce, tomato, red onion, cheese, etc.). Here's Austin, Aimee's oldest son, and Julie's girls, Madison and Morgan. Here's Nathaniel, Taylor, Brinley, and Thomas enjoying their feast at one of the three card tables we set up. Here's my stepdad, Joe, and my brother, Marc. They were going crazy over Aimee's enchilada casserole and her homemade salsa. Or maybe they were lovin' Julie's awesome salad. Everything was incredibly delicious. Here's Marc's wife, Penni, who is an amazing cook. She brought an exceptionally yumm...