Trying new things

If you ever want to be ambitious and try new things, new foods, new experiences, you should totally go live with another family. It's quite amazing how different each family can be. That's what I've noticed this summer.

I spent a week in Utah and there was a whole mesh of families, granted that wasn't all too weird because I lived with Andrew and Amy last September for a month, and I've stayed with Paula and Ben for a Christmas in 2002. Each family I've lived with had their own unique way of getting things done, disciplining their children, rewarding their children, teaching them, cleaning, and even cooking food for their families. There are a LOT of similar things too though, like Church. You can feel each of their spirits and love of the Savior. It's really cool. It's almost like being a fly on their wall. I think that's why I'm such a huge fan of blogstalking. I get to see into each persons' life and it is really quite eye-opening.

I've tried some really good new, yummy things lately. Here's my little list:

Chex Turtles mix is awesome. Caramel Popcorn, Caramel & Chocolate covered chex, peanuts, faux M&M's, and pretzels! YUM! I highly recommend them.


I am a HUGE HUGE fan of Chocolate Twizzlers. HUGE. In Utah, I was so sad when I couldn't find them. So I opted for the Rainbow twizzlers instead, I wasn't as satisfied with them as I am with the chocolate twizzlers, but they weren't that bad, and my nieces and nephews sure didn't complain when I had them as prizes for the treasure hunt games we played when Dave & Logan were getting married.

Thankfully I saw my good ol' chocolate twizzlers at Wal-Mart here in Buffalo, so they DO still make them (a worry I had while in Utah).


I also tried the Oreo Cakesters everyone was raving about. I honestly wasn't that impressed. Maybe it was because they were chocolate? Are the normal creme ones any better? I guess after having Hayley's version of homemade oreos, nothing is quite the same. I wasn't all that impressed. Sorry.

One of Shara's favorite quick and easy dinners is "Lamboy Tacos" (Lamboy is her mom's last name... apparently she served a mission in Richmond, VA 2 years ago... I've gotta ask my brother if he remembers her. ;) Small world). You mix ground with baked beans (pork & beans or bush's type), and then you get a skillet with oil, and put those small corn tortillas on it, put some of the beef mixture in it, and fold it in half like a taco, brown it on both sides. Then you add cheese, and she shreds lettuce, adds tomatoes, and puts a spoonful of mayo in it, and they're really good tasting tacos. If you wanted them to be more taco-y you could probably add taco seasoning. But they're really tasty!

It's very interesting eating at other peoples' houses. My husband and I have a "normal" set of foods that we eat, and we normally don't deviate from it. Other people have their own "comfort foods" or easy meals they cook, because really, food is a BIG part of life. It's really quite interesting to see. I'm just glad they've welcomed me into their house & their lives so freely. I really feel so lucky, in spite of all the bad luck at the border I've had. Change isn't always bad. We don't have to like it (I really miss my husband and my house, that I do not like one bit), but its not all that bad.