Royal Icing

I promised that I would post my go to royal icing recipe. I have used several recipes and this is the best one I have found. A few helpful hints...

 Don't skip sifting the powdered sugar, sifting the powdered sugar gives a smooth texture to the icing. Also note that decorating with royal icing is a process because piping the outline of the cookie with icing must harden before you can flood the cookie with icing, which takes a little bit of time.  I usually pipe all of my cookies first, then go back and flood them with thinner icing.  Royal icing is still one of my favorite ways to decorate sugar cookies.  

Here is also a link to a great sugar cookie recipe.  This cookie holds its shape which is great when you are decorating with royal icing. Enjoy decorating!

Hit that Note

Tomorrow is our primary program at church.  I am one of the choristers in primary and I LOVE the opportunity to teach children about our Savior Jesus Christ through song.  It's not easy.  Some weeks it can be a struggle to come up with a new way to teach music but thankfully there are so many talented people who have great ideas who can help inspire ideas for me.  Last Sunday, as we practiced our program I felt the Spirit so strongly and wanted to reward them for their hard work.  So, I came up with this idea...

I decided to make sugar cookies in the shape of a music note and this thought came to my mind...

"Way to Hit Those Notes!"

I found the cookie cutter on Amazon in the shape of a music note and then placed the cookies in little 4x6 in. party bags.  I made a little print out with my thought (you can download the PDF here).  I decided to ice the cookies with royal icing which is a bit of a process but the frosting hardens nicely and its less messy than a buttercream icing but both are delicious and would work.  I kept the icing white and just used black sprinkles instead of tinting the frosting black.  

The music in primary is beautiful and a powerful way children learn and remember gospel truths.  I'm so proud of our primary kids and the hard work they have given this year to learn the songs. Hopefully this helps them feel my love and appreciation for all their effort this year.

Truth from Nana Ruth

This past weekend I went up to Swiss Days with a friend of mine.  I can't believe it's been five years since this wonderful lady came into my life.

Five years ago, I remember I walked out of church and introduced myself to Ruth. She had just relocated from Georgia to be near her kids and she lived a couple of streets over from me.  We instantly clicked and our friendship grew. Soon she became "Nana Ruth" and adopted us like we were her own.  She's taught my daughters art classes, piano lessons and given her time to be part of our lives.  That is just how Ruth is, so loving and giving.

Since then we have both moved to opposite sides of the valley and don't get to see each other as often.  We text, call and reach out on birthdays, holidays and on occasion plan fun outings like a visit to Midway to enjoy Swiss Days.  I look forward to it every year.  I enjoy traveling to that small town and seeing all the fun vendors, eating delicious food that isn't very healthy and saying farewell to summer.  Swiss Days is always over Labor Day weekend and this year I wanted to take Ruth with me.

We left early so that we could enjoy as much time as possible before I had to return to pick my kids up from school.   The sun was beautiful, the sky was clear and we ventured up Provo canyon in Shon's little convertible sipping on cokes and breathing in the crisp mountain air.  

During our drive up the canyon we chatted about life and I soaked in Nana Ruth's wisdom.  We talked about what brings happiness and how to stay balanced.  Then she shared this with me:  

I know I've heard that thought before, probably in a conference talk but when she said those words it hit me hard.  "You can NEVER get enough of what you don't need."  It is easy to lose sight of what is most important when we chase the things that we DO NOT need.  This made me look inside myself and think about where I give my attention. The things that we don't need will never fulfill.  That is why we always want more and can never fully be satisfied.

Then Ruth gave her tips to a happy life:  
Do the following

1.  Scripture study...even if it's just a verse.  Connect daily with His word.

2.  Pray... really talk to God

3. Listen and follow the prophet

4.  Get Botox when needed....

I laughed so hard when she told me tip number 4, but she was dead serious.  I have never tried Botox but maybe I need to...

-watercolor of Y mount-

(One of my finds at Swiss Days)

The best thing about Ruth is that she makes friends everywhere she goes.  When we sat down for lunch she struck up a conversation with the ladies across the table from us and we all laughed at her witty jokes.  Later I left to use the restroom and when I returned she was in the middle of a group of ladies who were chanting, "we love Ruthie."  I echo their words...we love Ruthie. 

This lady is one in a million and I feel blessed that God planted her in my life.

So this week I am going to focus on this little truth from Ruth:

"You can Never get enough of what you Don't Need"

Happy Labor Day!