Mexico's Version of Disney on Ice (Yeah, We Went)

Where we live, there isn't a lot going on in the form of entertainment, so when something like this comes along, we jump at it.

The fun began early on in the day, when John made a trip to the big town to purchase the tickets before they were sold out. Because there are ten of us, we couldn't afford the floor seats, but had to purchase seats on the next tier, saving ourselves about $50.

When evening came, we loaded into the van and arrived 45 minutes early, to ensure good parking and good seats in the tier we could afford. It was chilly, quite chilly, in fact, and the show was to be performed in a large tent. A large tent filled with ice. This was going to be fun.

Because I wasn't feeling well, I sat in the car while John and the kids waited in line to gain entry. After the 45 minute wait, the gates finally opened and the crowd began filing in.

After a few minutes, I went to meet up with them, only to find that they were not in the tier section we could afford, but seated in the chairs on the floor, first row. I asked John how that had happened. He told me that as he and the kids had approached our seats, a man had approached him and said, "If you give me a $10 bribe, I will give you front row seats." John happily agreed.



This is how close we were...



(Note how the 17-year-old boy can hardly contain his excitement.)

The program opened with a bang! In a loud, deep, rolling voice, the hidden announcer welcomed us and enthusiastically pointed out all of the tent's exits, saying, "SALIDAAAAAAA NUMBEROOOOOO UNOOOOOOOooooooo.o.o.o.o....o...o!" A drum roll, then spot lights would show us where to exit in case of emergency. Then, SALIDAAAAAAAA NUMEROOOOOOO DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.oooooo.o.o.o....o..os!" repeated again and again until all five exits were highlighted with drum rolls and spot lights.

Then the music began, loud, peppy, exciting music. I assumed this music was to introduce the evening's skaters, but it went on for many minutes. John said, "Any time now," and I said, "I think they are trying to build anticipation," and he said, "No, they're not."

Finally.....the show began!

There was Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs, who were ginormous.



You can't see it in the photo, but these masks were cracked and filthy and looked like they had seen better days. This is what the twins thought of The Seven Dwarfs...



There was Cinderella and Prince Charming and her horse-drawn carriage....



...and at special times, the lights on the carriage lit up!



There was a man with clown makeup and a nice suit playing a set of drums on the ice...



There was his sidekick, another clown, who sometimes wore a tutu and bloomers, but not skates...



And of course, there was a fire thrower...



As if this wasn't enough fun, there were the vendors, to make our stay a little more pleasant.

The cheap glow-toy man (the toys are cheap, not the man, I'm sure)...



The candied apple lady...



....who delighted the 9-year-old boy...



And the cotton candy man...




Even with all this consumption of refined sugar, as the evening wore went on, the oldest among us and the youngest among us began to feel like this...



The night finally ended and as we traveled the half hour to our home, John asked if I thought the kids would even remember this. I said of course they would. Who could forget a thrilling time such as this? Twin A's expression says it all ...



Thanks for listening.

Apron Contest Winner and Inspiration For the Season

I have to tell you, this contest was so fun! It was awesome to see how many people knew me intimately, and for those who didn't, they soon did once they took the how-well-do-you-know-me quiz. Here were the questions, along with where you can find the answers if you didn't take the quiz...

1. What is my favorite brand of peanut butter? Answer HERE.

2. What would I have named the baby I am currently gestating had he been a girl? Answer HERE.

3. Who did my spooky internet stalker turn out to be? Answer HERE.

4. How do I keep a single fly from bothering my sleeping babies? Answer HERE.

5. At what recent event did I feel like a total failure? Answer HERE.

6. I can die happy after I finish what particular task each day? Answer HERE.

7. What feature about my husband does my grandmother particularly like? Answer HERE.

8. What did the 14-year-old girl do during the black-out at her slumber party? Answer HERE.

9. Which twin was lying on the floor recently while the other ran circles around him? Answer HERE.

10. Recount one cool person we saw at McDonald's. Answer HERE.

There were many of you who received a perfect score on the quiz, so from your group, I drew a random name, and here is the winner......

...LAYNE B.!

Congratulations, Layne! If you could just email me your mailing address (mom2my9 [at] gmail [dot] com), I will get THIS apron off to you....



Thanks to everyone who played, and if you didn't win, don't worry, I will be giving away more aprons in the future!

And now, for some holiday cheer. To give credit where credit is due, I first saw this on Trench Mommy's blog and I was, how do I say it....inspired? Hope you are, too! Have a great day!

Please join us RIGHT NOW for the "Questions About Mormonism" Live Chat!

Good morning and welcome to the weekly "Questions About Mormonism Live Chat".

If you've ever had questions about the Mormon religion, but didn't know who to ask, I'll be sitting here by my computer today from 10:00 AM to 11:45 AM MST to chat.

Want to know more about the boys who ride around on bikes wearing white shirts and ties?

....why we store a year's supply of food?

...why we place such an importance on families?

...why we are called "Mormons"?

Feel free to ask any of these or any other question you might have. The following is a short inspirational video about finding happiness in today's world. I hope you enjoy it...



I hope you have a great day, now let's chat!

Homemaker Monday: Whole Wheat Mexican Milanesa Steaks

Welcome to the 65th weekly edition of...


Thank you for joining us! If you're new to this carnival and would like to enter your post, please check HERE for the rules and regs.

YOURS: This week's "YOURS" goes to Quirky Momma over at Quirky Momma dot com! Her post is about how just focusing on a task for 15 minutes has drastically improved the cleanliness and comfort of her home. For her entire post, click HERE. Thank you so much, Quirky Momma, for linking up with us and it has been fun getting to know you! Please feel free to take the "I Was Featured" button from my left sidebar if you'd like. Have a great one!

MINE: The following is a recipe I learned about in a homemaking meeting at church recently. As Mormons, we are counseled to have a year's supply of food on hand to prepare for emergencies such as unexpected death or disability, natural disaster, economic calamities, etc. One of the best things to store is wheat, as it has almost an eternal shelf life, is healthy and versatile. Many Mormons have pounds and pounds of this one hand. For our family of 11, for a year, we have half a ton, literally.

Because we store wheat, we must also know how to use it. What good would half a ton of wheat do my family in the case of any of the above mentioned scenarios if all I knew how to do was boil it and serve it with butter and sugar? That would get old real fast! Thus, I have made it one of my life ambitions to use and rotate my wheat regularly in a variety of recipes, and I wanted to share the latest I've discovered with you today.

Mexican Milanesa is a thin, breaded steak, much like chicken fried steak in The United States, but to me, much better! This version uses a small amount of meat, but is mostly comprised of cooked wheat. Even if you don't store wheat, this is something you might want to try, as it's healthy and much cheaper than "real" steaks! Plus, my family loved it and I know yours will, too!

Mexican Whole Wheat Milanesa Steaks

Ingredients:

1 lb ground turkey or beef
6 cups cooked whole wheat
4 eggs
1 onion, chopped
2 cups milk
2 tsp ground black pepper
4 cups dry bread crumbs or crumbled crackers
2 garlic clove
Salt to taste (I used about 2 teaspoons)
mustard and ketchup

Directions:

Step 1: Boil whole wheat for at least two hours, until tender, then drain water off. If you've never seen wheat sold in stores, this is what it looks like...



...and this is what it will look like once it's cooked and poured into a strainer...



Step 2: Combine cooked wheat, salt, pepper, onion, garlic, and milk in a blender until just blended. It should still be chunky. (Note: You may have to divide this in half and blend in two sessions, as some blenders won't hold this much.)

Step 3: In a large bowl, combine all remaining ingredients. (Another note: If you'd like a really easy way to crumble crackers, just put them in a ziploc bag, like so...



...roll over them with a rolling pin, and THIS will be your end result in about ten seconds...



Step 4: Form the mixture into patties, about the size of hamburger patties.

Step 5: On an oiled grilling or frying surface, on low to medium heat, cook the patties until they are brown on each side, like so...



And you're done! To serve Mexican style, add a side dish of salsa and limes. We also made homemade fries to go with it!



Hope you enjoy!

P.S. Lest you wonder why I, a proclaimed vegan, would prepare such a meal as this, I need you to know that I've fallen off the wagon a bit (and temporarily) since becoming pregnant. However, I did not go out and buy this hamburger meat at a grocery store, thus supporting the factory farm industry, but it was meat we still had in the chest freezer from almost a year ago, before I made the change. Just thought some of you might want to know!

OURS: I can't wait to see what you've got for us today. If you've never linked up before, feel free to dig through your archives and link anything homemaking! Thank you so much for joining us today and I hope you have a GREAT Homemaker Monday!