Corny Carroll's

Favorite Pens

2010-01-25T18:24:00.000-08:00

Like many of you, I have a favorite pen or two. I really enjoy doing crosswords and this is my lucky crossword pen, but something is just not right with it.

Whenever such a dilemma pops up in our home, my first thought is, "Ask Morgan." Why, you ask? Well, ever since he was a cute, little toddler, I'd notice interesting things just - happen - around the house. Two that pop into my mind are: 1. The time I went to put on some chapstick from a brand, new one. When I opened the cap and went to put it on, I saw the end of a nail sticking out. The chapstick itself was NOT all mushed up or anything either. 2. The time my beautifully painted egg on the little gold egg stand, that a friend had made for me, with a beautiful note that explained what each color and design meant, just POOF, disappeared! I never smelled a funny smell, didn't ever notice that one of my children might have actually eaten the egg and gotten violently sick, never found even an itty-bitty piece of egg shell anywhere in my entire house. So I told myself, "Ask Morgan".

Of course, at the time, he was too little (3, if I remember right), so no way was he going to be able to fess-up in a way that would make any sort of sense to me.

To this day, I have not a clue what happened to that beautiful egg, but the note is still there on the gold egg stand. Too bad I didn't take a picture of it, but who would think it would disappear.

So, this favorite pen doesn't close right anymore, and the boy is going to talk this time and fess-up to whatever the heck he put inside it! Can't wait to hear his explanation...

high school freshman

2010-01-20T18:52:00.000-08:00

This is morgan by the way. So as some people may know that i started high school this year, i have somewhat enjoyed it. This year i plan on doing my very best in school and hope that i get the best out of it. My friends and teachers is what make school fun for me. Even though at times its hard and frustrating i like to learn. At my school we have the main rule as respect for yourself and others. It can be kind of hard to pay attention in class because of how small the rooms are. But when i come up to usu and sometimes when i went to logan high for something school related there i would notice that the classes rooms there are alittle bit bigger than the ones at fast forward. One good things i find easier is that we only have three classes a day and they are two hours each. Even though it may be a long class time, its enough time to have a chance to do alittle bit more work in class. We also sometimes mostly all the time never have to do homework, its all in classwork which is better than having to lug a big backpack around to six or seven other classes. Sometimes that may seem easier to some people but that just means that you are hurting your back when you do. I like it just because when you don't understand something to much your teachers help unlike some other schools teacher. High school gets easier when you get more into the year. And we go by terms which they seem to go by way quick. Its more fun that way. As you may know in the last post my mom said that we had a puppy named jack(with one eye),we still do and he is just crazy most of the time. He practically never just calms down when there are friends or neighbors over. Its pretty funny to see his reaction when we get home from school and work because he runs around like a maniac and than just calms down and than goes back to running around. I just felt like posting something random on my families blog because i was bored and i asked my mom so thats why i did.

Jack

2009-11-02T12:24:00.000-08:00

Jack Carroll was born on August 1, 2009. Today he is 12 weeks old. Ok, so he's 3 months old. 12 weeks just sounds cuter, and Jack is cute. We love him! His mom had to have a c-section to deliver him, even though he was the last one. Somehow, he got an infection in his right eye and so he's blind in that eye. He doesn't have a full name yet, just Jack Carroll. I told the kids I think his name needs to be Jumpin Jack Stockton Digger Carroll, because he jumps a lot and loves to dig! So, here are some pictures of the newest member of our family...

My Julie Graduated!

2009-06-09T14:01:00.000-07:00

We are so proud to have the first high-school graduate in our family. The ceremony was of course, pomp and circumstance, but much more than that! It was entertainment and special and Julie looked so pretty in her graduation dress from Auntie Julie. I can't say who shed tears, but they were tears of happiness and gratitude. We are blessed.

Updating...

2009-04-27T14:00:00.000-07:00

OK! I'm trying to update, but...

Julie had a dance competition in St. George last weekend & did a GREAT job! Here's some pictures, and more to come!

Weirdness

2009-04-09T09:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday when I was leaving work, out of the blue I started wondering when underwear were "invented".

Last night I had 2 dreams
Dream #1: I painted my toenails a bright neon red, 'cause I felt guilty about not painting them much, when the other beautiful ladies at work always have theirs looking so nice.

Dream #2: Two very important people at work wanted to talk to me, a woman and a man. They were dressed really nice, but were only about 30 inches tall, but their voices were regular volume, so it was kinda scary. Anyway, my neck started to hurt from talking to them from so high up, so I decided to sit down on the floor, so then I was looking up at them. I guess we had a good meeting, 'cause I remember laughing and them telling me not to laugh so loud 'cause it was hurting their ears.

It would be great to be able to draw, 'cause this would be funny as a cartoon!

Record?

2009-04-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

Wake up 6:01 a.m.
hit snooze
Wake up 7:57 a.m.
work starts 8:00 a.m.
Put makeup on over yesterday’s makeup too tired to take off last night
Say hello to birdies singing outside window
Get dressed
button favorite shirt
Get in car
Barrett in hair (un-touched, un-brushed hair)
kids say hair very cute (kids taking me to work)
Realize missed 1 shirt button
find last button - never knew was there
Say, “Yeah, free bagel Friday @ Einstein’s!”
kids say, “Mom, it’s Thursday."

7 Days 'Till St. Patrick's Day...

2009-03-10T13:57:00.000-07:00

When I was 9 years old, I found out that my father's family were from Ireland. When he was almost 3, his father died in a car accident on his way to meet my grandmother at the funeral of a friend of theirs. So, when Nana married again, her new husband adopted my dad, and changed his name. For some reason, I was thrilled to find out we were part Irish.

Ever since then, St. Patrick's Day has become one of my favorite holidays. Maybe that has something to do with the fact that I love: the color green, glitter, pretty clothes, corned beef & cabbage, soda bread, stories about leprechauns, and more.

So, this coming weekend we'll be making leprechaun traps, and plan our menu for Tuesday the 17th. Hope you do something fun that day too!

New BLOG Year!

2009-01-14T14:59:00.000-08:00

My last entry was Halloween. So, no promises, but my intention is to update this thing more often! Updates on the family:

Julie has 4 impacted wisdom teeth that need to come out. The anesthesiologist got sick the day she was to get them out in December, so we rescheduled for January 9th, but then Julie was running a fever a couple days before, so the dentist said - reschedule. Now he's out of the office until the 19th, so we're trying to get her in to an oral surgeon. Then the end of last week & throughout the weekend she was just in pain and said it felt like there was a cut in her cheek and the right side of her mouth hurts. It looks like one, maybe both of the teeth on the right side are starting to cut through. Funny, but I was hoping that would happen, thinking it would make it easier to pull them out and make the surgery less "invasive."

Morgan, well all I can say about him is - Golden Corral. He LOVES that place, and Jul and I don't. Jacki at work says it's a "Man's Restaurant." So go for it men! Get together and go for 5, 6, 8 plates and enjoy the wonderful corral atmosphere. Us girls are goin somewhere else (anywhere else) where they have real napkins on the tables!

Well, that's a brief update, and even a couple of pictures of Julie at one of her dance competitions!

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T17:02:00.000-07:00

I was going to be a nose or a gypsy fortune teller, but decided on being The Greek Ghost of Gina, which came to me when I was in the shower!

Good and Busy Week

2008-08-22T16:35:00.000-07:00

It's been a good week. I've taken lots of pictures for work, of a construction site where two new buildings are going up. That's one of the fun parts of my work, and practice definitely makes one a better photographer. Julie had a fever today, so she had to miss the 3rd day of school. I went in to give her a hug this morning, and she was burning up. She's doing much better tonight, but has a headache & a sore tummy.
It's pizza night, just like every Friday night. It's one tradition we seem to be able to stick to, except Julie is going to have some of my homemade chicken soup. Here's the one I'm making - it's the fast version:
Get a big pot, fill about 2/3 full of water, put on medium-high burner
Dice up some fresh chicken breast, like 1 or 2
Throw them in the pot of water or gently slide them off the cutting board into the water
Chop an onion in 1/2 & put that in the pot
Get 4-5 cloves of garlic & press or smash them & chop & throw in the pot
Cut a good 1/2" piece of fresh gingerroot and smash on the cutting board & chop up
Throw the ginger in the pot
Peel & chop a good sized carrot & yes - throw it in the pot
Add 2 TBSP of "Better Than Bouillion" (chicken flavor)
It should all be boiling now, so let it boil until the chicken is cooked
You can add any other veggies you like, but this is usually how I make it when somebody in the family is sick. Sometimes I'll press another clove or 2 of garlic right before serving and stir it in the pot, because the oils in the garlic are supposed to have some healing properties. The ginger helps with inflammation and nausea. Anyway, I have another version that is really our favorite, because we cook a whole chicken and make our own chicken broth, but we usually make that a day ahead so we can skim the fat off the broth before finishing up the soup.

Well, I'm tired of being on a computer, sorry. Gotta enjoy the Friday night with the kids now. Have a good weekend!

This is Why it's Not a Good Idea to Put Plastic Bowls on Hot Burners!

2008-08-14T15:09:00.000-07:00

This is the popcorn bowl Mike and I got as a wedding present. It came with a set of bowls, and we use it all-the-time! One of my children set it on the burner before she started to cook dinner and look what happened... We got the burner off, and so it's still good to use, but the poor bowl isn't. It is going to become a "Garden Salad Bowl". I'm going to plant spinach, lettuce & basil in it, and then just pick when they're like baby green size, and they'll keep growing after that. So, it will be like eating really fresh salad. And, the best part - the bowl will drain easy after watering!

Mouthwatering...

2008-08-06T15:14:00.000-07:00

Earlier this summer, Julie asked me take her and Morgan to Happy Sushi, a sushi restaurant in Logan. She said she liked the California Roll, so that's what we had. I was surprised she liked it, 'cause the seaweed tasted kinda fishy to me. Morgan had some noodles/soup stuff & he was ok with it all.

I make a dish that is like sushi (kinda). Ceviche. I learned to make it while working as a waitress in Florida when I was young and beautiful. I'll put the recipe up next time I post. Basically, it's fish and/or shrimp/scallops, spices, and lemon juice. The juice "cooks" the fish.

Back to sushi. We went again one night, and instead of having the California Roll, we ordered the Golden California Roll, and Morgan and I were hooked!

So yesterday at work, out-of-the-blue, I got a craving for a Golden California Roll, but I'd brought lunch, so I used mind over matter and conquered the craving. Or so I thought.

Today I was just working along, busy as a bee, and it hit me - "Go to Happy Sushi, go to Happy Sushi, you can do it. Take a lunch break and go, go GO!

So I did.

While I ate my lunch I realized today in my XXth year of life I had finally learned the definition of mouthwatering. No, it isn't defined with words, but with a feeling, a real true mouthwatering feeling. That was the most satisfying lunch I've ever eaten. To top it all off, it's healthy.

Mouthwatering. That's the word of the day & the week!

When we make some at home, I'll take pictures and show you.

Have a terrific week! Jennifer

Chillin Out in July

2008-07-09T11:32:00.000-07:00

Right after the Scout Breakfast on the 4th of July, we came home and got Morgan packed up for Scout Camp. They went up to a Scout Camp in Wyoming early the next morning, and Julie and I are so looking forward to him coming home this Saturday. It's a very quiet house when Morg's not home! To see the camp, click here.

Julie and I were supposed to be spending a lot of time together, but of course she's hanging out with her friends, and that's fine.

The only thing exciting around our house lately is that Morgan got a kitten. I'll try to get his picture up soon, and the story about his name/s.

Catching Up...

2008-05-30T11:57:00.000-07:00

As you can see, I don’t update too often, but hope to this summer. I’m quite busy at work, and again have to say that I LOVE the work I get to do!

Last night Julie played viola in the Logan High School Orchestra for graduation. She said Miss Hen had tears in her eyes when she told them all about the new teacher for next year. Miss Hen will be moving to Chicago, Illinois. She’s been so great with all of the orchestra kids, and I know Julie will miss her a lot.

This past week, Morgan earned 3 rank advancements in Scouts, which means he pinned me three times, and no blood! It was an exciting and special night for him. We’re going to have a fun summer working on merit badges. Here’s a couple pics; one of Morgan shaking Royce Hatch’s hand, and another of all the boys with their leaders. These are a great group of kids (with some great leaders too). They will have a great time at camp this summer.

Breakfast Oops...Soaring

2008-04-23T07:29:00.000-07:00

Shoot! I meant to take a picture of my breakfast, but since it's already gone to the place where all good breakfasts go, I'll just have to tell you. It was a nice, soft, round, perfect glazed donut, one of those high-risers. So I carefully set it on top of, and inside my bookbag before leaving for work. Once at work, I savored the moment until the donut was mine. I reached it, and pulled out a pancake-flat, round, un-perfect donut. Yes, it was good, but the flat ones never taste as good as the poofy ones!

So today there's a posting about a USU flight instructor, just because I thought it was interesting. It also reminded me to encourage everyone I know to go for their dreams, and to go for mine also. I remember telling a friend once of my life-long passion for writing, and how I was writing a book and hoping to find a publisher. My friend's reply was, "You'll never be able to earn a living writing." The decision was clear to me then, don't ever repeat those words or anything like them to anyone else. We all need encouragement from time to time, and sometimes we need a lot of encouragement for a long period of time. Positive reinforcement brings positive results, no matter what the pursuit is.

One of my favorite sayings is from Helen Keller,
"One can never consent to creep when one feels the impulse to soar".

When I graduated from USU in 2003 after a 23 break in my education, that saying kept going through my mind as we processed from the Quad to the Spectrum for the commencement ceremony. That feeling of soaring is something incredible to feel. Have a soaring day!

Flying

2008-04-23T07:28:00.000-07:00

A day in the life of a flight instructor - Features

April 15th is an interesting day...

2008-04-15T06:58:00.000-07:00

Happenings in History:

Leonardo Da Vinci was born! (makes me want to watch Everafter, one of my favorite movies; remember the part where he "walks on water?")
1st McDonald's opened in 1955 in Des Plaines, Illinoios
Titanic sank

Ok, on to some good things to celebrate today:

Rubber Eraser Day - celebrate erasers, they get rid of our mistakes! More info at http://holidayinsights.com/other/rubbereraserday.htm, http://homeschooling.about.com/library/blapr15a.htm
Take a Wild Guess Day

Vacation at Home!

2008-04-03T17:40:00.001-07:00

Gee whiz, it would be nice to take a vacation. I love vacations at home. It really seems like we don't spend much time at home, enjoying Home and one another.

We start by cleaning the house really good, then going to the library and checking out a bunch of movies, and finally to the grocery store for great snacks. Usually, we'll have stuff ready to cook a nice dinner on one of the days. Shut the blinds & curtains, turn off the ringer on the phone (now we have to turn off the cells, and try try try to forget about texting or finding out who's texted us!)

Then we wear our favorite jammies the whole vacation, which is usually over a weekend. Read, nap, talk, watch movies, cook together - it's all very meaningful, and memorable.

Tomorrow will be fun!

2008-03-31T16:23:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend I gave Morgan a maze to figure out. Well, he kept trying and trying and finally realized it wasn't solvable! It was an early April Fool's joke!

The best holiday of the year was fun

2008-03-11T15:31:00.000-07:00

Everyone knows the best holiday of the year is...
St. Patrick's Day!

You get to remember your ancestors (Irish or not)

It's a fun day to try & catch Leprechauns

You get to eat green food!