A Good Day

Coming Soon:  Our sweet Tori had her birthday last week and I've got some great pictures to share.  Just haven't had time to load them to the computer.  I'll share soon!

Until then, I want to share with you the good day I had with Todd.  We took the day off to go skiing, just the two of us.  It was a good day.

It was a gorgeous, sunny day (as you can see by the sun glaring on my goggles).

A good day with my honey.  That's all. 

A Valentine's to Remember

To celebrate Valentine's Day we decided to do something a little non-traditional by avoiding all the hype about flowers, balloons, and candy and focus on some family bonding.  To do that, we all took the day off from work and school and headed up to Sundance Resort for a beautiful day skiing and snowboarding.

It was a gorgeous, sunny day.  The snow wasn't really the best snow but it was all good 'cause we were having fun being together with our two youngest kids. 

Evan and Tori decided to be adventurous and try out the new rainbow rail with their snowboards.  Sundance has a terrain park for snowboarders to ride the rails, hop benches, and jump the jumps.  They included a new rail this year that was so much fun.... not for me... I just watched.

Such adventurous children.

It was so much fun to watch my athletic, well-coordinated children.  But, well, have you heard the saying "it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt"?  Well..........

... for us it was all fun and games until someone broke an arm.  And that someone was our little Tori.  The photo above was taken just before she fell backward and broke her arm.

Our sweet little girl is doing just fine after spending many hours in the emergency room and then another day with a Orthopedic Specialist to get her arm set just right.  Her arm is now set and casted and will stay that way for five more weeks.  So, I guess that's what we get for being non-traditional with our Valentine's celebration... and... maybe we should have had the kids in school instead of on the slopes.  hmmmmmm

Valentine Cookies

Want a good sugar cookie recipe for your Valentine's Day cookies?  Give this recipe a try, and don't be afraid to frost with chocolate frosting.  Why stick with boring red or pink colored vanilla frosting?  Chocolate frosting makes everything better.

Mixies Sugar Cookies
1 cup softened butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 lg. egg
2 tsp. vanilla
2 2/3 cup flour
1/4 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Makes approx. 24 cookies.

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy.  Beat in egg and vanilla.  Gradually beat in flour and salt.  Roll out dough on a floured flat surface, may need to add extra flour if dough is too sticky.  Cut out shapes and place on ungreased cookie sheet.  Or you can roll into 1 inch balls and place on cookie sheet.  Bake about 9 minutes.

Super easy and super yummy.

Happy Valentines from the Glassford Family.

Home Sweet Home

I just returned from a four day trip to Atlanta, GA for a work conference... I'm so happy to be home.  All I could think about while I was gone was my beautiful family.

I love my family and appreciate them all the more after being gone.  We are blessed and I'm so very thankful.

What Is It Like? Wife of a Firefighter

Throughout our marriage I've been asked many times what it's like for me to be married to a career firefighter.  Generally my response is "no big deal" or "I'm so glad Todd loves his job" or some quick, easy response.  Most people don't want to hear an hour long response explaining what life is really like.  And I don't say that because it's bad or negative in any way, I say that because, well, it's complicated.  That's what it's like.... it's complicated.

How do I explain that for the birth of our children I had a nagging fear that he may not be there because he might be on shift and busy with a fire or emergency call?  How do I explain that constant nagging fear for his safety throughout the time he's on shift?  How do I explain what it's like to have him at work for 48 hours or 72 hours at a time?  In the reverse, how do I explain what it's like to have him home for two to three straight weeks at a time because he has vacation time off?  How do I explain that having him home for an extended period of time makes him a little stir-crazy and me a little nutty (more nutty)?

Todd loves what he does and has always loved his job, his career, his lifestyle... because it really is a lifestyle.  I love that he loves his career and finds satisfaction in what he does.  For me, I've always been independent enough that I can function well with him gone for two to three days at a time.  With that said, it's certainly not always easy.

Like the time that our young Evan, at two years of age, swallowed his older brother's medication for ADD and was extremely sick from the medication.  Having to rush him to the doctor and monitor him for 24 hours while being Mom to a nine year old, Spencer, and 14 month old, Tori, was not easy.  I really needed Todd home to help but he was in his Recruit training after being newly hired and couldn't leave the training.

Or like the time our oldest son, Spencer, got terribly bit by a German Shepherd dog, mangling his hand at age twelve and having to get him to the emergency room on my own because Todd was in Paramedic school.  Luckily, my parents and sisters were in town for a family gathering and they were able to watch my little Evan and Tori.

How about the time that I was sick with the flu, I mean really sick, and after four days of being sick Todd had to head in to work.  I was not functioning at all and had to beg a sister to come help.  Now Todd could have called in sick to work, of course he has that option, but I really hated to have him take his valuable vacation time for me so I turned to my sister instead.  (He would have taken time off for me but my independent streak is an entire new issue you don't what to hear about.)

As I'm typing all of this, I can't help but think about military families who deal with these issues on a whole other level.  So, please know, I don't share all of this to complain... why am I sharing this?  I'm sharing to give some insight into the life of being a wife to a career firefighter who lives and breathes the life and has a wife who loves him dearly for his dedication.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow

Our family loves the snow.  We really do.  So I guess it's a good thing that we're living in Utah.  One of the pleasures of living in Utah is the wonderful snow and one of the pleasures of living in our small city is the proximity to Sundance Resort, one of our favorite ski resorts.

We spent the day at Sundance recently and, let me tell you, it was a gorgeous day.

It was a beautiful, clear sunny day with temperatures ranging between 8 degrees F and 20 degrees F depending on if you were in the shade or the sun.  And, Yes, that is a beautiful day for all those people who are living in warmer climates.

We all bundle up in layers to stay warm and comfortable and invest in the lovely invention called hand warmers.  Little packets of special stuff, don't know what it is, that you slip in your gloves and it keeps your hands toasty and warm all day.

We then spend the day riding the lifts, enjoying the views, skiing or snowboarding down the mountainside, and repeating it all again until we take a break for lunch.  Enjoy a lunch of steamy chili or a fresh-made sandwich then start the fun all over again at the cozy little resort call Sundance.

Don't you wish you were here?

Easy Scone Recipe

Do you want an easy recipe to make some yummy scones?  I've got just the recipe.  I must include the disclaimer that these are yummy and not necessarily healthy but... they ARE yummy.   We love these scones with peanut butter and jelly or honey or love them with chili covering the scone and adding lettuce, tomato, cheese, olives, sour cream, and salsa all on top to make a great meal.

The great thing about this recipe is you can make a large batch and then save the extra, unused dough in the fridge to use throughout the month.  Give it a try.

Scones for 30 Days

1pint buttermilk, heated to lukewarm
1 Tbsp. dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
3/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
approx. 5 1/2 cups flour

Make this recipe just like you would make a batch of bread.  Put all ingredients, except the flour, in order that they are listed in a large bowl or KitchenAid mixer.  Start mixing and gradually add flour a cup at a time.  If needed, add more than 5 1/2 cups flour until the dough is not sticky.  Knead or mix the dough until it forms a ball.  No need to wait for the bread to rise before using.

Roll out and cut into squares.  Fry in hot oil.  Keep unused dough in covered bowl in the refrigerator.  Keeps up to six weeks.  This recipe makes an estimated 20 to 24 scones depending on how big you make the squares. To reduce the amount of dough, simply halve this recipe.  Enjoy!