Peanut Butter Granola Balls

These are a quick snack to make. I think they are also great to make with a little helper.

Peanut Butter Granola Balls

1/3 c honey
1/4 c peanut butter
2 Tbs butter
1 c rice cereal
1 c oats
1/4 c dried fruit

In small sauce pan heat honey, peanut butter, and butter. Stir till loosened and smooth. Remove from heat and add remaining ingredients. Drop mixture by tablespoons. Refrigerate 15 minutes.

Book Group

I had book group tonight and really enjoyed our discussion on Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach. It was an uplifting book that is very simple and profound. One lesson to be learned is to stretch yourself and to experience life even though it takes several tries to get it right.

There's more to life than eating and sleeping and only doing what it takes to survive from one day to the next. I have days where I feel like I'm in survival mode, but I feel amazing and energized when I take the initiative to try new things.

Another theme that the book had was love-unconditional love. Loving people is hard, especially when you are rejected. However, Christ was able to love after being rejected, ridiculed and crucified. I think you can learn to love, but it takes practice.

This is a good book to read and one that I think you can get more out of each time you read.

Parents Left

My parents came for a visit and arrived Feb 28th. The next day, Sunday, March 1, my niece was blessed at church. Then we had a nice family get together with Rynell's side of the family. They are always fun to visit with.


Here is Papí with Audrey. This is the first time Mom and Dad got to meet Audrey. We had a nice time visiting with family.


Here is Nona with all the kids. The kids really enjoyed spending time with their grandparents. They would take every opportunity to be with them. I laugh at myself because I get to see them all the time and I get a little jealous when I'm not getting their attention. So I would just tell myself that the grandparents don't get to see them as much as I do and that I need to back off and calm down. Heehee!!!

We also went as a family to the Draper Temple open house. It's beautiful place, peaceful. I enjoyed watching the kids walk through and make comments about what they saw and thought.

Dad and I watched 4 of the 6 Pride and Prejudice video tapes. I'll just have to watch the last two with out him because I don't think I can wait till he comes back up at the end of April.

Mom helped me with a crafty project--decorations for an upcoming RS dinner we are having in my ward. I will post a picture of the results when it's completed.

While Mom and Dad were here, they came to the Spring Fest. Mom has never seen me at one of my performances and I'm glad that they stayed to experience that.

I feel like I didn't get to visit as much as I would have liked. I did have to work. I wanted to go to the fabric store with Mom because I need to get fabric to finish binding a quilt. So I have to do that on my own now.

Mom and Dad left this morning. They were going to leave yesterday but we had a snow storm that didn't make the roads safe for traveling. I'm thankful for the time we had to spend together.

Sunflower Cookie Wedges

I've kind of made these cookies one other time. I used sugar cookie dough instead of the recipe below. I realized, though, that this is a better recipe to use because it doesn't rise so it will cook all the way through. This is almost like the dough used in the Strawberry Lily cookies.

Sunflower Cookie Wedges

1/3 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup margarine or butter, softened
1 egg
1 1/2 cup flour
1 egg white, beaten
2 tablespoons yellow colored sugar
1/3 cup white frosting
2 tablespoons miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon shelled sunflower seeds

Line large cookie sheet with foil. In large bowl, combine powered sugar, sugar, margarine and egg; beat until light and fluffy. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. All flour; mix well. If necessary, cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate 1 hour for easier handling.

Heat oven to 325°. On floured surface, roll half of dough to 9-inch circle; place in center of foil-lined cookie sheet. Roll remaining half of dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Using 2-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut 18 hearts from dough. Brush beaten egg white around edge of dough circle in 1/2-inch band. Arrange hearts, slightly overlapping with points out, over egg white around outer edge of circle to resemble flower petals. Brush hears with egg white; sprinkle with yellow sugar.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown around edges. Cool completely. Remove foil from cookie. Place on covered board or large serving tray. Spread frosting in center of cookie; sprinkle with chocolate chips and sunflower seeds. To serve, cut into wedges.

As you can tell from the picture, I didn't use frosting, chocolate chips or sunflower seeds because I didn't have any on hand. Also, I don't have a pan large enough to fit the one big cookie, so it will make about 8 small sunflower cookies. I think that they are pretty and they make me happy!

St. Patrick's Day Pillow

Here is the St. Patrick's Day themed pillow that I made for sewing group. I am going to demonstrate how to paper piece. Since the clovers are small I figured it would be an easy project to start. My favorite part of the project was the batik clover fabric I found.