John Campout

John accompanied the Young Men on a camp out this weekend. Below are some pictures from the campsite. Brother Simmons and Brother Whalen were the other adults there. Kids included Derek B, Dakota, Zach M, Hudson S and Michael W.

John was tasked to bring the food. For breakfast they had breakfast burritos (with scrambled eggs and sausage) and for lunch they made three dishes in the dutch oven: a potato dish, a bean dish and a dessert. The bean dish was the hit of the camp. John stayed in camp to monitor the food and was able to visit with a friend of ours, Travis Perin. Below are the recipes.

DUTCH OVEN POTATOES
1 package bacon, cut into fourths
10-12 large potatoes (scrubbed, rinsed and sliced into circles
Seasoning salt (such as Johnny's)
1 TB garlic powder
1 can cream of chicken soup
3-4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
When the dutch oven is hot, add the bacon and heat until fully cooked. Drain about half of the grease and add the potatoes. Stir in 3 TB of seasoning salt (or to taste) and garlic powder. Cover and cook about 20-25 minutes stirring occasionally (or until potatoes are no longer crunchy, but do not overcook). Add cream of chicken soup. When the soup is evenly distributed and hot, add cheese. When cheese is melted, remove from heat and serve.

KILLER BEANS
Start with a 14 inch dutch oven. Place 14 coals on top and 20 coals below.
1 pound peppered bacon (reg bacon works too)
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 gallon Bush's Baked Beans
2 cans (15oz) dark-red kidney beans
2 cans (15oz) black beans
1 cup mustard
2 cups barbecue sauce
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed tight
2 TB barbecue spices
1 TB hickory-flavored liquid smoke
1 TB mesquite-flavored liquid smoke
4 oz bottle Tabasco hot sauce, or similar
Chop bacon into small pieces and fry in dutch oven. After a few minutes, add diced peppers and onions and cook until onions start to become translucent. Add all other ingredients. Bring mixture to a boil. Add or subtract coals to keep beans at a simmer for 2 to 2.5 hours. Stir frequently. Remove the lid for the final 45 minutes so sauce will thicken. Serves: 30 to 40 people

DUTCH OVEN DUMP COBBLER
1 stick butter
1 large can fruit or pie filling
1 cake mix
1 can pop
Preheat the dutch oven and the lid. Melt the butter and add the fruit. Sprinkle the cake mix over the top then pour the pop over the cake mix. Cook 45 minutes with 10 bottom coals and 14 top coals. Combinations you can use: Chocolate cake, raspberry or cherry filling, cola; White cake, Sprite and peach; Spice cake, apples and root beer.

Admin Day

I was able to celebrate Administrative Day a couple times! Below are the flowers and candy some of my stores managers gave me. The big floral basket is from Mike and Brian (342). The orchid is from Dan (1494). The floral arrangement is from Doug & Brandon (1799), Rich (350), Kevin (1273) and Eugene (1242). Tracy and John (1299) gave me the plant. Ray & Jennifer (1159) gave me a Starbucks gift card. Mike Clutter gave me a Target gift card. Bob & Laura (1473) gave me a Safeway gift card. Ray & Rob (2639) gave me a huge box of chocolates. Robin (3255) gave me the metal basket & floral arrangement. Lynn Perhson (fuel) brought me lunch from Subway. In addition, I got tons of email well wishes & thank yous. It was a fun week!

The second picture is from Brian and Craig. Because of scheduling issues, they ended up taking me out for lunch at Clinkerdagger's on Monday the 29th and gave me the flowers at that time. When Craig called to make sure Monday worked for me, he said "You are nothing short of remarkable". And Brian wrote on my card "You're the best #1 Administrative Assistant in the world!" Kind of nice having bosses who think that way!

Last Symphony

Tonight mom and I went to the Spokane Symphony performance of "Pirates of Penzance" by the New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players. It was a fun performance and enjoyable to listen to some of the songs I've heard over the years such as "Poor Wandering One!" and "I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major General". Unfortunately, I was so very, very tired I was doing the head-bob and sleep-while-sitting-up thing during the entire second act. This is our last regular attendance to the symphony as we are not renewing for the 2013-2014 season. We have been season subscribers for a number of years but were not as excited about the upcoming season as normal so decided to cut back. We've enjoyed it over the years. Actually had started volunteering at the ticket office when I was pregnant with Audrey (1993) so have either volunteered or been season subscribers for about 20 years.

Time Out with Marcie

Went to Time Out for Women with Marcie and Lindsey plus their friends from Bonners Ferry (Tommi, Carolyn, Katie). Before we went to the Friday evening program, we stopped and had dinner at Panda Express at the Northtown Mall. Then headed to the INB center for the event. The 2013 Theme: Higher. Think Higher about your purpose, Believe Higher as you face the challenges that will require all your faith and heart, and Live Higher as you choose between good, better, and best in this busy world.. "So are my ways higher than your ways.." Isaiah 55:9 - - an invitation to move beyond what we have known and to find a higher way of living.

Friday's Program: Thinking Higher

• Heidi Swinton - Look up. Your future is as bright as your faith. Look beyond circumstances to the promises we have with Jesus Christ. You cannot be looking down and be of good cheer.
• Michael McLean - Only problem with life is there is no background music. Sang a few songs including "I Am One of the Ninety and Nine" and "Your'e Not Alone". 
• Dean Hughes - Can we find a way to say yes? Seeing the bigger picture. About ourselves, about the people we visit teach. What God would want us to see.
• Michael McLean's Threads starring McKenzie Turley. Nice. Would see the full program if comes to town.

Saturday: Believe Higher

• Mary Ellen Edmunds - don't plant carrot seeds and hope for melons. The more we think on purpose, the more enlightened we become.
• Mercy River - Sang a few songs including "I Was Born to Fly", "Hello Sunshine", "Just Like a Father" and "Beautiful Life". They sang and spoke in between the different speakers today. 
• Videos - They shared clips from Studio C, Mormon Channel and a preview of Ephraim's Rescue.
• Sandra Turley - Sang a few songs including "Spark of Creation" and "For Good" both from Broadway musicals. Shared a touching story about her personal issues with miscarriages and finally adopting a baby, but then having the birth mother take the baby back after 38 days. The Atonement - also there to take away the pain.
• John Hilton III - You're the first to listen to my whole story. Tap into the vision of what God already has in store for you. The mundane can be miraculous (and told of leaving a pamphlet on a door led to his eternal companion).
• Jennifer Brinkerhoff Platt - Our lives are a parable. A parable is a method to teach us. Shared story about joining the race, even if not able to complete the goal. The Lord loves me and wants me back. Satan hates me and wants to isolate me. Do my daily routines reflect what I claim to value? A talk a day keeps Satan away (reading conference talks).
• Mariama Kallon - I had heard her speak before, but she is so inspiring. Her story shows great courage. I deserve to be loved.

For lunch we walked downtown and finally ended up at Red Robin (the other restaurants closer to the venue had long wait times). Had a fun time getting to know Marcie's friends better. Besides enjoying the wonderful talks and presentations, it was fun to see people that I had not in awhile such as Dawn Bade, Tami Perin, Carol Janiga, Jennifer Leeds and Ariel (just moved back from Hawaii).

Safeway Events

Had a few additional events this month that thought were noteworthy.

April 15th I represented Safeway at a meeting with Mayor Condon. It was a gathering of the grocery retailers in the are to discuss the upcoming Lilac events and how we can support. It was nice to meet others from the industry as well as see a few I had met before (Jeff Phillips, Bill Smith).

Another Safeway event was attending a speaking engagement at one of the middle schools with my DM Brian. He is the Diversity chairman for the Safeway division and wanted to see this presentation by Peter Metzelaar. Mr. Metzelaar was born in Amsterdam in 1935. In 1942, the Nazis seized his entire family, except for Peter and his mother. He went on to explain how he and his mother went in the Dutch Underground. For two and a half years they stayed with a farmer and his wife and periodically had to live in a cave in the forest during the frequent Nazi raids. It got too dangerous staying there so they went to another home in The Hague. They were forced to leave there when his mother found out they were going to be turned in. In a display of cleverness, they hitched a ride, incognito, on a Nazi troop convoy to Amsterdam. At the end of the war, Peter and his mother were the only survivors in their family. In 1949, they both immigrated to the United States. Peter finally returned to Holland in 1993. He now shares his story at schools, synagogues and churches. An inspiring story!

Finally, Safeway is a major sponsor of the Spokane Women's Show. We have a booth at the show because of that sponsorship. I do a bit of the behind the scenes items (paperwork, scheduling) while other Safeway employees do the actual setting up of the show. However, Brian and I went to check out the display prior to the show opening.

Movie & Dinner

We went to the AMC theater downtown to see The Croods today. Pretty cute movie. Audrey tells me I don't say enough about the movies on my blog... so...it was animated, funny and I'd watch it again. Maybe that will be better - or perhaps I should have her insert her movie recommendations before I post? Since we snacked on popcorn during the movie, we waited until later to eat lunch and stopped at Carl's Jr while we were doing errands later in the afternoon.

For dinner we made pork chops, using a recipe from our Cook's Country cookbook we got on Easter!

GRILLED THIN-CUT PORK CHOPS
Bone-in rib or center-cut pork chops
3/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon minced fresh chives
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Set wire rack in rimmed baking sheet. Pat chops dry with paper towels. Cut 2 slits, about 2 inches apart, through outer layer of fat on each chop. Rub chops with salt. Arrange on prepared rack and freeze until chps are firm, at least 30 minutes but no more than 1 hour. Combine 2 tablespoons butter, brown sugar, and pepper in small bowl; set aside. Mix remaining 2 tablespoons butter, chives, mustard, and zest in second small bowl and refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes. For gas grill: Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Pat chops dry with paper towels. Spread softened butter-sugar mixture evenly over both sides of each chop. Grill, covered, over hot fire until well browned and meat registers 145 degrees, 6 to 8 minutes, flipping chops halfway through grilling. Transfer chops to platter and top with chilled buttter-chive mixture. Tent with aluminum foil and let rest for 5 minutes. Serve.

Good Week

April 1 - Audrey started at EWU. She is taking only one class, to help determine if she wants to go into computer programming or design. This quarter she is taking a computer programming class. She has one more class to take at SCC, but it is not offered spring quarter, so she will finish her AA degree in the summer quarter.

April 3 - I was standing in line at the Office Depot on Division when a woman approached me. She asked if I could give her a ride to Northtown Mall as she was late meeting a group for lunch. It was not far away, but with the traffic and lights, it definitely was quicker for me to give her a ride. As we got in my car she said "I knew I could trust you, you had a Mickey Mouse on your sweatshirt". And then when she got out of the car she said she would pay-it-forward (me doing her a favor). That made my day!

April 6-7 - Conference weekend. A great way to end the week, by watching General Conference. I love listening to the speakers and the beautiful music.