Ben's Cake Decorations

Usually I just make a chocolate mousse cake or something simple for Ben's birthday, but this year, I am going to decorate a cake for him.  I was going to make it a surprise, but Devin spilled the beans.  "We are going to make you a crown cake Dad!"  I made the decorations last week with color flow icing.  It is my first time using it, so I hope it works for me.  I will have to post some pictures of the finished cake.

Apology Accepted, Mr. Hanks

It takes courage and humility to admit a mistake, and that is what Tom Hanks did when he apologized for calling Mormons who supported Proposition 8 un-American.  To Mr. Hanks, I say, yes, you were wrong, and thank you for admitting it to the world.  Apology accepted.

Turquiose

This bracelet and its matching necklace needed to be remade.  They have been hanging around for a couple of years.  I loved them, but I didn't.  I liked the original design, but the necklace was too heavy.  It was also too short.  I needed a light unobtrusive bead that I could add to the design to make it work.  I guess it was a blessing that Devin accidentally broke it because it would have been hard for me to be brave enough to take it apart.

I settled on these small wood beads.  It is longer, lighter, and the additional brown tones down the turquiose a little.  

Necklace Remade

Sometimes I will make a necklace that has a lot of possibility, but just needs a few things changed.  This was the first necklace I made.  I just started stringing beads and found a cool pattern.  I kept going until I thought the length was right.  I decided I wanted it a little longer, so I added a chain at the end.  I didn't know how to finish with crimp beads, so I tied the wire.  I added a dinky little drop bead in the middle.  I would wear this, but it wasn't long before I started thinking it needed a few changes.  Incidentally, the earrings were horrid.  I took them apart and used them for parts.

I took this black bead from another necklace that was a disaster and wrapped it with sterling silver wire.  Then I attached some beads from the original design to tie it together.  I added some more beads to fix the length and finished it off with crimp beads.  It is like I have a new necklace!

Okay, so I have gone beading bonkers.  I stayed up late last night after the kids went to bed and made this amber, gold, and black number.  I know I won't wear this one as much as the turquoise and navy, but it is still fun.

Necklace

I haven't made a necklace for over a year.  I used to make them all the time, but beads and kids don't mix very well and funds have been short.  My mom and I were talking on the phone today and she wants to bead with me when she comes next month and she got me excited about it again.  I got my old beading supplies out and started stringing beads.  I came up with something I really like and I think I will actually wear.  I've never tried mixing navy, black, and turquoise before, but I think it is a winner.  It is also a very economical necklace.  It probably cost less than five dollars to make.

$14 Salsa

For our date night last week, we went to Rockfish.  If any of you have eaten at Rockfish and had their superb Shrimp Martini, you know why I was on the hunt for a super salsa/picante/pico de gallo recipe.  The Shrimp Martini, non-alcoholic of course, is the best appetizer I have ever had.  It has this great mildly spicy, slightly sweet pico de gallo sauce that is to die for.  From what Ben and I can figure out, it has lime, onion, garlic, avocado, tomato, and cilantro.  I went to Allrecipes.com and searched for salsa recipes and found this one.  It is rated five stars with 250 reviews, so you know it has to be good.  

Yesterday I bought all my ingredients.  Unfortunately, this time of year is not the best for buying avocados, mangoes, and tomatoes and my ingredients ended up costing me $14.  That is some pretty expensive salsa.  

Today I was making it in the kitchen and it smelled so wonderful.  The lime juice, garlic, fresh cut cilantro, and red onion smells all melded together into this aromatic symphony!  I had to take some pictures and post them to the blog.  I tweaked the recipe a bit, so here is what I used:

$14 Salsa

1 Mango peeled, pitted, and diced

1 Avocado peeled, pitted, and diced

1/2 cup red onion diced

4 vine ripe tomatoes diced

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

3 cloves minced garlic

1 tsp salt

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons hot sauce

Mix ingredients together in a large bowl and chill 30 minutes to blend flavors.

Here is a picture of the salsa all mixed up.  I had to put it in a larger bowl because I couldn't mix it in the one I had in the first picture.

A Response to Tom Hanks

Dear Mr. Hanks,

I read on the news that you are displeased with the "Mormon Church" and our involvement in the passing of Proposition 8 in California that banned gay marriage in California.  You accused members of my church of being un-American for discriminating against what you see as a minority group.

I respect your views and can see how you and others might misunderstand our position.  First, I want to address your accusation against supporters of proposition 8 of being un-American.  There is nothing more American than to disagree intelligently about issues.  It is an act of patriotism to sacrifice fiscally to promote those values that a citizen believes essential to the national well being.  You believe that people who refer to themselves as homosexuals are born to be such.  You believe that they deserve to be respected in their choice to live an alternative lifestyle.  You believe that passing laws to curtail that lifestyle is wrong.  You are entitled to your beliefs.  It is wrong, however, to demonize those who do not see things as you do and share your beliefs.  Members of my church are not, on the whole, hateful or prone to persecuting minorities.  We believe that it is in the best interest of our society to defend the traditional definition of marriage.

We believe that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God.  It is not a human institution to be redefined by men.  We believe that any sexual relationship between people who are not married is sin.  This includes fornication (IE. heterosexual cohabitation), adultery, bestiality, homosexuality, and even masturbation.  These sins have varying degrees of severity, but all are sin.  We believe that our well-being as a society and as a nation is dependent on our righteousness.  Our righteousness as a society is dependent upon our ability to correctly identify and avoid sins.  The re-definition of the God-ordained institution of marriage as an attempt to make sin socially acceptable is abominable in the sight of heaven and will bring down the judgements of God upon this nation.  

If this view of sexual sin seems overly harsh to you, that is understandable.  In our sex absorbed culture where many believe that sex is merely a tool for personal gratification, such a view is not uncommon.  I would suggest to you a better way.  Through discipline and self-restraint, sex can be a way that husbands and wives can grow closer together and bring children into a stable family.  For those who have no desire for a sexual relationship with anyone of the opposite sex, that is okay.  Happiness and fulfillment are still possible for those people within the laws the Lord has laid down.  Through discipline and self-control, a life of celibacy is not only possible, but preferable to a life of sin.  

People who refer to themselves as homosexual do themselves a disservice by labeling themselves as something that refers to one aspect of their personality.  I have met some of these people, and they have careers, friendships, and lives outside of their perceived differences.  We invite them to shed their label and rejoin the rest of the human race.  We do not hate them.  We recognize their value to our society and to God.  We do not seek to persecute them or exclude them, but to stand firm in our beliefs and invite them to embrace a better way.  We know that God loves all of his children and does not condone violence or hate against any group of people. We also know that he has set down laws of behavior that cannot be cast aside without dire consequences.  Those who would say otherwise do not know the God who gave them life.

I hope that those, like you, who disagree with our position will do so respectfully.  Just as it is wrong to engage in hate speech or crimes against those who refer to themselves as homosexuals, it is wrong to demonize or commit crimes against us.  We ask for the same respect and consideration you claim to have for other minority groups.

Sincerely, 

Bridgette Burbank

Ups and Downs

Motherhood is like an emotional roller-coaster with high ups and low downs.  There is nothing sweeter than having Layne climb into my bed in the morning and plaster me with kisses.  The sounds of his laughter and attempts at speaking provide me with the best entertainment.  We had Family Home Evening last night on the first vision and I showed Devin a picture of the Prophet Joseph Smith and asked him what he knew about him.  He said, "This is Joseph Smith.  I love him." It just doesn't get much better than that.

On the other hand, when I saw Layne in the computer room with the torn remnants of Ben's Portuguese mission scriptures with the hand-tooled leather cover in his lap is one of the worst feelings I have ever had.  Today when I found Devin drinking the Tylenol out of the medicine closet, was another low.  Finding Layne in the bathroom dipping his toothbrush in the toilet, was almost routine, but Saturday when we discovered a smouldering match stub burning in the carpet and a small hole burned in my brand new comforter, that was downright scary.  Matches go up one shelf higher.  My lovely red hibiscus plant will survive the boys pruning job last Sunday.  I'm glad I wasn't home to see that one.

At the end of the day, the house is still standing, the kids are alive and relatively healthy, and I still have my sanity-- for the most part.  The Lord has blessed us.  I debated on whether or not to write all this.  I figure, whoever reads this will either think I am a totally incompetent mother, or that my boys are devil children.  Neither is true.  The fact that my boys have more energy than most is a fact I have had to accept and deal with the best I can.  I only hope that someday that excess energy will be put to good use.  In the mean time I remind myself that toilet water has not proven fatal to them yet, and stuff is just stuff.