Elf Mix-up

I was trying to post a little elf disco video of the boys on my own blog last night, but even though I was putting in my username & password, it wasn't showing up! Today I got a comment from Larna on it, and realized that it did post, just to this blog instead! I hadn't even thought of that! Lessons in blogging, I guess. (Feel free to go see it at my blog--if you don't have an invitation, just e-mail me for one! The video is pretty funny, and easy to do yourself.)

Pumpkin Crunch Recipe

Wow! I can't believe I am finally blogging! Here you go, Amy, the pumpkin crunch yummy dessert recipe:

15 oz. can pumpkin
3 large eggs
12 oz. evaporated milk
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 t. salt
4 t. pumpkin spice
2 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. ginger & cloves
1/2 t. nutmeg
1 box yellow cake mix
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)
1 cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 9 x 13 pan. Combine pumpkin, milk, eggs, sugar, salt and spices in a bowl. Mix. Pour into pan. Sprinkle dry cake mix evenly over pumpkin mixture. Top with pecans. Drizzle with melted butter. Bake 50 - 55 min. or until golden and firm. Cool completely. Serve with whip cream. Refrigerate leftovers. Enjoy!

I'm Soooooooooooo Sorry

Just call me "Space Cadet". I totally spaced tonight's performance until I got a call at 9 pm from Amy checking to see if we were ok. We had an enjoyable weekend in Idaho. We'd reviewed several plans of when to return home (from leaving after lunch on Sat to come right to the performance, to leaving late Fri. night and driving in the dark to leaving quickly after breakfast on Sat. morn so we could do stuff at our own house on Sat. -- like clean it). Anyway, we left it kind of open-ended and kind of changed our mind while we were there and then had a family member not feel well through the night on Fri night and therefore sleep longer than usual on Sat morn. With all of the chaos and with just enjoying hanging out with all of our extended fam, I spaced it as we left Idaho and as we drove home. And the silly thing is that we were probably almost driving by Rose Park at about the right time.
I apologize 1000 times to you all. I hope that it was still a somewhat enjoyable evening for your families.
We did, by-the-way, have a nice holiday visiting with both families despite some of the craziness: like being 2 hours late to one dinner; sick people; forgetting a coat, warm gloves, and boots -- each for a different child -- for our trip into the forest to cut down a Christmas tree; cooking way too many yams; 2-yr olds staying up way too late each night; my sister's onery (sick) and whining children, and FORGETTING A SINGING PERFORMANCE; etc.
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving time. It's actually one of my favorite holidays. I love being with family and I enjoy the fact that it's usually a little less hectic than Christmastime so I can enjoy it a little more fully. (Maybe I'll look forward to that again some more next year.)

Do we want to do a sacrament meeting?

Somebody asked me if we would come and do a sacrament meeting. I told him we were booked for this year. He wanted to know if we might consider doing it next year. I know we have done sacrament meetings in the past what do you think about doing it again?

December 2nd performance

Hi Singing Ladies, I hope all of you have a most happy Thanksgiving. I have some information about our performance on Tue, December 2nd. This performance will be in Rosepark where we practice. We are invited to eat at 6:00 and then we will sing after. I think we should meet at 5:30 to warm up. I look forward to singing with you and performing for our families on the 29th.

Larna

A Christmas Wish

Hey Singing Ladies!

My husband and I attended a Bishopric Seminar at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building last Thursday. As I marveled from the ninth floor at the amazing view of Temple Square, I couldn't help but think of all of you and the magic you have brought to so many of my Christmases. My wish for you this holiday season is for your hearts to be filled to overflowing with the Savior's love. May His tenderest, most personal mercies attend you and may you literally feel His love everyday!

I BELIEVE!

JoDell

Past Member Invitation

Has anyone thought of inviting our former members (I'm specifically thinking of the girls who live in Layton direction) to our performances that are in their neighborhoods. When we post or email the directions/time/place, I think that we should send out an invite to them. I'm saying this now because I'll probably forget again until it's too late, so maybe someone who's more on the ball can take the idea and run with it. I'm hoping that we'll see JoDell at her ward :)

From what I understand, there were several conflicts with Thursday's scheduled practice.  Which makes sense, because it is not our normal practice time.  So, with that in mind, I think we need to make a decision as to which date works best to practice.  It seems everyone's schedule works with having practice on Tuesday with the exception of Becky who could arrive about an hour late.  

I think we should go ahead with Tuesday and have Becky arrive late rather than hold a practice where people are missing.

I checked with Larna and the building would be busier on Wednesday too with YM/YW.  So let's go ahead with Tuesday and we'll just see you when we see you Becky - and thanks for your efforts to get to practice - I know it will be a busy night for you.

Larna will bring the mics - so let's arrive ready to go through our program and do it!

Thanks to all of you for your efforts in practice, travel, and commitment!

Amy

Final Practice

I have a big conflict that has come up for next Thursday. Our stake just found out we are invited to attend the recording of a DVD that will be distributed worldwide to the youth of the church for a New Year celebration. It is the night of our final practice. I am very short staffed in my YW and need to be there. We have to leave at 5:00 to be in our seats in the Conference Center by 6:00. Recording will begin at 6:30 and will go until 9:00.

So, I can try to come late but I might need to be driving girls home. I am still working on rides for our girls so I could probably make coming late work.

I know this is really throwing a wrench in things. I'm sorry. Another option would be another day. I am open Tuesday (election night), Wednesday night or Saturday during the day. Let me know what you all think. Again, I'm sorry.

Family performance

Hi, I thought that I would give you an update on getting my church building for our family performance. I called the person to schedule the building and he said that we can not schedule anything that is not ward or stake related between Thanksgiving and Christmas until Nov 1st. I will try to schedule the room then. I don't think we will have a problem, but we may want to come up with a plan B just in case. I know of at least one family that likes to do big family parties at the church during Thanksgiving weekend.

Larna

My part

Thank you so much for inviting us here tonight. Together, we are Gloria. When we are not Gloria, we are moms, teachers, lawyers, and friends from all along the Wasatch Front, ranging from Layton to Orem. We get together throughout the year to sing and enjoy each other's company. Honestly, we do as much laughing as we do singing. Our favorite music to sing is Christmas music, so thank you for allowing us to come and share with you something we love. We are Shauna, Amy, Shelli, Annalise, Jenni, Larna, Becky, and Kerstin.

Any, and all edits are welcomed!!!
Kerstin

Hello everyone,

I sent an email with the formations written out for your information.  I thought we could follow Becky's example and practice at home going from position to position in program order.  Have a great week of practicing!!!  Remember to have all songs memorized and bring your stools to next practice!

Amy

Born is the Light mp3

I won't have a chance for at least a week to get to the Finale scores/mp3 files for the new songs. In the meantime, you can download an mp3 of the accompaniment to "Born is the Light of the World" from this page. They're for soloists, and have more rubato than we are singing it with, but maybe they could help you practice a little bit!

Passing the Bar

I just found out that I passed the Utah Bar!! I've been checking the Utah Bar website periodically hoping our scores would be posted, and as late as this afternoon nothing was there. But this evening I got a text message from a friend telling me she had passed, so I checked again and sure enough, the results were there. With some trepidation I checked my applicant number multiple times and had my roommate verify that the word "pass" was indeed next to my applicant number. I should get a letter sometime this next week telling me my exact scores. Employers really only care that you pass, so the scores really aren't that important. But, I am thinking of taking the Idaho Bar in February, and if I did well on the multiple choice portion I can transfer the score and take only the essay portion.

I'm really relieved and feel very blessed. I felt more nervous the week before I took the bar than I can ever remember feeling about anything. I was having trouble sleeping and eating and just generally felt unsettled. The Sunday before the bar (it was on the last Tuesday and Wednesday in July) I had an interview with my bishop for Relief Society stuff, and at the end he asked me how I was doing. I told him how nervous I was about taking the bar, and he asked if I'd had a priesthood blessing. I answered that I'd been wanting one all week but didn't really know who I should ask because my home teachers have only come one time... My good bishop then offered to give me a blessing. He promised me I would pass, and he promised me that I would feel peace after I took the test. I felt like a great weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I slept well that night for the first time in days, and I really did feel fine after I walked out of the test. I'm also sure that all the prayers my friends and family said on my behalf were very helpful. I haven't had so many people tell me they were praying for me since I was a missionary, and I'm sure it helped. I am so blessed!

Do you have a favorite Christmas Carol? The Christmas season is truly brought to life through it's music. Have you ever found yourself touched by the words you hear at Christmas time? Have you taken time to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas and how it relates to you in your life because you were blessed to hear an old, familiar carol play? I have always loved Christmas carols and have been blessed on occasion to receive carolers at my door. One special memory I have occurred for our family on Christmas Eve. We managed to make our way up a stormy canyon rode and arrived safely at our little cabin to celebrate Christmas. In the dark of night, with snow gently falling all around, it was very quiet. As we began unpacking, there was a knock at the door. We opened it to hear the familiar sound of carolers. I was totally surprised and wondered where these angels came from. Then I listened to their words and was so touched I began to cry. My heart swelled with emotion and felt such gratitude to my Heavenly Father for this blessing to literally welcome us to our cabin and set the tone for a very Merry Christmas. Caroling can gladden the heart at Christmas time, uplift our spirits, and bring joy to our souls.

vote for me

Hi, I don't know if any of you have seen any of " the Liken the Scriptures" movies, but they are having a contest and I entered it. The winner gets some free liken products. Go and listen to the contestants and vote for the best.

http://www.likenthescriptures.com/news.php?action=view_article&article_id=192

Becky's part

Becky's part

What would Christmas be without traditions?

"Family traditions are like spiritual and emotional cement in the foundation of a happy home. They create fond memories, and these memories bond us together as nothing else can. Traditions influence the way we live and the way we look at life." (Ensign, March 1986)

Some of our families' favorite traditions center on the joy of service. For years we have thoughtfully chosen a family in our neighborhood and surprised them on December 13th with the 12 days of Christmas. Each night through Christmas Eve we leave a fun something that we know they would enjoy on their door step. What joy we have received from hiding and listening to the squeals of delight from children.

Another tradition we have is putting surprises in each others' stockings on Christmas Eve. One of the first years I sang with this group, I woke Christmas morning to a fun surprise in my stocking - a dozen Almond Joys! I laughed and laughed. You will understand why after you hear our next song. These next couple of songs have become traditions for our group. They bring out the fun side of Christmas. So enjoy with us!

Since it's Peach Season, I thought I'd share a recipe that we came upon when we visited Nauvoo and stayed in a nearby town's 1850 Guest House bed and breakfast. It's yummy!

Peach Syrup

1/2 cup butter (or margarine?)
1 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp white corn syrup
peach pieces -- fresh or canned
(about 2 cups -- I like to give them a few jogs in the blender so that I have big chunks as well as some "puree")

1. Melt butter
2. Add sugar and corn syrup and bring to a light boil
3. Add peaches and simmer
4. Serve over homemade pancakes, waffles, or french toast
5. Enjoy!

Program Part

Here is a first draft of my part for the program. I'll spend more time cleaning it up later. I just wanted to get going on our parts so they will be ready for Thursday's practice. I would love any suggestions you have. I was a science major so I wouldn't have to write papers. For those of you with writing experience, feel free to fix things. Thanks! Shauna

This part will be right after singing "Beautiful Child" and before "Innkeeper's Carol."

Our Savior's birth took place in such humble circumstances. We now live in a modern world filled with items to make life more enjoyable. For me, one of those “enjoyable” items is the rocking chair my husband and I bought before we had our first baby. One day I was moving the chair and came across a note that said the chair was guaranteed for 1 million rocks. I value every one of those "one million rocks." I can't count the number of nights I spent sleeping in the chair, holding a nursing baby. Or the rocks I spent laboring through the night with our first baby.
This last song we will sing to you has special meaning to me. I spent several nights singing this song while rocking my baby. I didn't sing to every baby. Matthew is the only one I can remember. He would lay on my shoulder and look up to request the baby song. I would begin with the beautiful message that played out through song of the story of looking in on our Savior's birth. As I rocked my baby I would think of the wonder of that moment. What would it have been like to witness the birth of our Savior? Were we allowed to peek in and view our Savior as a mortal or did we have to wait for the account of those who were there?
As I rocked my baby I realized the wonder of life continued and was due to the beauty of that little baby I was singing about. Our Savior came to earth to provide joy to our lives. He gave us everything, our earth, life, and the ability to cleanse ourselves and come together again as families. As we close, we invite you to reflect on His gift.

Upcoming Practice Dates

Jenni had posted a comment requesting the practice dates to be put on the sidebar. I went ahead and put in what I think is upcoming, but Shelli, please review them and let us know if they are correct. I'm pretty sure we agreed that the November practice will be on the first Thursday, since we have a performance the next week.

Just a thought

Annalise,

On Innkeeper's Carol, I am happy to learn either part. I went over it and either part is fine. Whichever part you would like to do, I am happy to do the other. Also, on pg. 6, third stanza, second measure, I can so hear a d# on count 3 & 4 in descant & alto's "told". Anyway, just let me know which part you want to do.
Kerstin

Formations 2008

Here are our formations from last night. The blue binder is Larna and the white binder is Jenni.

Processional

Kerstin introduces our group

Sing We Now of Christmas

Angel Carol

Becky's Solo

Jenni: how we find our music and a brief history of Silent Night

Silent Night

We’ll Dress The House

Christmas Round

Becky's Tradition Talk

Chocolate

Twelve Days

Piano Duet

Amy: the joy found in caroling using the example of carolers at the cabin

Sing a Glad Noel

Born is the Light of the World

Shauna: the sweet memory of singing to her baby, true meaning of Christmas, wishes for a Merry Christmas from Gloria.

Innkeepers

Subscribing to the Blog

Please note, this is only for those of you who are interested in adding this blog to your feeds. For everyone else, please just check the blog periodically!

I think I may have misled you last night. When you subscribe to the blog, you will not be e-mailed when a post is published (that was an option we had for keeping it private, but it could have been more complicated). Instead, the blog will be added to your "feeds." With Internet Explorer, you view your feeds by clicking on your Favorites tab, which then has a star for "Favorites" and the orange "Feed" symbol for feeds. Whenever a blog that is in your feeds list has been updated, it will be in bold. So here are the exact steps to take:

1) Click on either the orange feeds button at the top of the page, or click on the link "Subscribe to: posts (atom)" at the very bottom of the blog.

2) You will be taken to the "feeds" page, where you will want to click on the link that says "Subscribe to this feed."

3) The blog is now in your feeds tab, and is by default set to check for updates once a day. You can right click on the blog name in the feeds tab and change how often it checks for updates.

4) To see if the blog has been updated, just click on your Favorites tab, then Feeds. If Singing Ladies is in bold, there is a new post!

5) When you click on the bolded feed, it will mark the blog as being read. Please note that it takes you just to the text of the post, not the blog itself. I usually like to switch from here to the blog itself using my favorites tab.

6) One other note: the feeds page itself also only shows the main posts, not the comments. You have to be at the actual blog to see comments people have made. (I, personally have opted to have comments e-mailed to me. You can do this from the blog by clicking the "Customize" link at the top right, then the "Settings" tab, then the "Comments" tab and add your e-mail address at the bottom)

Alternately, of course, you can just check the blog periodically. I hope this doesn't sound too complicated, because it really isn't. I have found feeds to be a great way of keeping up with blogs without having to actually go to each blog all the time. (In my great blogging experience, of course, which dates back one whole month!)

Update

Hey guys. Just an update. I grew tired of waiting to hear from whatever school had the opening for a choir teacher, so I called our local middle school to let them know I was interested in starting a choir program (since I knew they, at least, didn't have a choir program as of yet). I finally heard the next day that the opening was at a different school. When I called that school they told me they didn't have an opening at all. I was pretty bummed. Then, two days later I heard from the principal from our local middle school asking me to tell him what I had in mind. I went over and introduced myself and took a copy of my resume. He asked me to come to their next SIC meeting and present my ideas. He seemed excited about it and he introduced me to the whole office staff. Of course, if they liked the idea, it would have to go through the district and they would have to open it up for hire, but it looks good so far.

I also mentioned I was possibly moving to another house in our ward. I finally got to look through the house I was sure we were going to love and move into in a month and a half when they retired to St. George. Well, I didn't like the house. Dave and I have spent 10 years on the inside of our house (carpet, painting, finishing the downstairs) and this other house has a lot of work left to do. Since Dave and I are not project people, we don't want to go back to doing more projects. So, we are pouring lots of concrete in our own backyard for a nice patio.

That's the update. This week we have ugly registration for our 12 year old. Wish me luck.
Kerstin

Zucchini Brownies

2 C. flour 1/2 C. veg. oil
1 1/2 c. sugar 2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. salt 2 c. zucchini (finely grated)
1 1/2 tsp. soda
1/2 c. cocoa

Blend together and pour in greased 9 x 13 pan.
Bake at 350 for 35 - 40 minutes.

Frosting

1/2 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. water
2 oz. (1/4 c.) semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 Tbs. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar (I always have to use more
for the right consistency to spread)

Boil sugar, water, and choc. chips for 3 min. Remove
from heat. Stir in butter until melted. Add vanilla &
powdered sugar. Frost while brownies are still warm.

Program Outline 2008

Processional

Kerstin: introduction explaining who we are and what we are all about
Sing We Now
Angel Carol
Becky’s solo
Jenni: how we find our music and a brief history of Silent Night
Silent Night
We’ll Dress The House
Round
Becky: Christmas is a time for fun family traditions such as 12 days of Christmas and sharing about her “Almond Joys”
12 Days
Chocolate
Piano Duet
Amy: the joy found in caroling using the example of carolers at the cabin
Sing a Glad Noel
Born is the Light
Shauna: the sweet memory of singing to her baby, true meaning of Christmas, wishes for a Merry Christmas from Gloria.
Innkeepers

Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

Cake: 
2 c sugar 
1 3/4 c flour 
3/4 c Hershey's cocoa 
1 1/2 tsp baking powder 
1 1/2 tsp soda 
1 tsp salt 
2 eggs 
1 c milk 
1/2 c vegetable oil 
2 tsp vanilla 
1 c boiling water 

Filling: 
Small box of chocolate pudding (3.4 oz or 4 1/2 cup serving size) 
2 cups milk 
8 oz. carton Cool Whip 

Ganache Glaze: 
1 Hershey's Special Dark Sweet Chocolate Bar, broken into pieces 
1/2 cup heavy or whipping cream 
2 T butter or margarine 

Cake: 
Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour two 9" rounds or three 8" rounds. (I prefer the 8" pans. I also, trace the bottom of the pan on waxed paper and cut out the wax paper and place it into the bottom of the pan to help make less crumbs.) Combine dry ingredients. Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (Don't mix - batter will be thin.) Pour into pans. 
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool and remove to racks. Make sure to cool completely. For high altitude, decrease baking powder and sugar and increase liquid just a little each. 

Filling: 
Prepare box of pudding according to package instructions. Add 1 to 1 1/2 cups Cool Whip to taste. Divide filling in half if you have three 8" round cakes. Spread one half of the filling on top of one cake, place a second cake on top of the filling, spread the other half of the filling on top of the second cake and top with the third cake. 

Ganache Glaze: 
Combine chocolate pieces, cream and butter in medium saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is melted and smooth. Cool to lukewarm. (Glaze will thicken as it cools.) Pour onto cake directly in the center of the cake and keep pouring until glaze has covered the top of the cake and is gently cascading down the sides of the cake. 

Enjoy!

August Practice

Remember practice has been changed to August 21st in Rose Park rather than this Thursday. Did we decide that our parts for the program needed to be written by this practice?
Amy or Kerstin, do you want to add anything? I dare you to post or comment.

Not YouTube

We promised it wouldn't show up on YouTube. Enjoy!

I came home and talked to the two babysitters we had here about "Big Booty." They were both familiar with the game and were excited to play. One of them said that in her version, if you got out three times you had to spell your name with your booty! Too bad for Annalise (nice long name.)

Welcome to our blog

Welcome to the world of blogging! Thanks for being willing to jump in (for those who are new.) We will make sure everyone is an author so we can all share. If we are missing someone, give us their e-mail address and we will invite them.
We will use the blog to post information on our practices and performances but also feel free to add anything fun from your personal life. If you really want to keep business to e-mail let us know. Hopefully everyone will be willing to post on the blog. If you have questions about blogging we will answer them at practice, on the blog or through e-mail.
Happy blogging!