Championship Skating: Ladies Short Program

Jessie and I again had a great time at the 2010 US Figure Skating Championships! Tonight we were able to attend the Ladies Short Program. You can see us in this picture watching Mirau Nagasu perform. She ended up 1st place after the short program, but 2nd Sasha Cohen was equally as interesting (and their scores were very close). WOW those skaters are accomplished, flexible, beautiful and mesmerizing!

Packed Meeting....

When John was originally put in as the Weblos Leader and was going to attend PACK meeting, Audrey heard PACKED meeting - - just thought that was funny!

Anyway, they had one of their meetings the other night and they took this picture of all the boys. We combine with another ward, thus the larger amount of kids.

New Calling

I am now the 3rd Sunday Relief Society teacher, for even months. This is in addition to my other callings (choir pianist, organist 4th and 5th Sundays) but since it is only teaching 6 times a year, I think it will be fine and not too overwhelming.

We also switched to the 1pm-4pm church time slot on January 3rd. Can I tell you it seems almost decadent to wait until 1pm to go to church? Since I don't have little kids at home, we all go into our various corners to read or study and so we all get a lot of personal time on Sunday mornings now. Since I normally am at work by 7AM on the week-days, I still get up pretty early. Plus, I can eat lunch before I go to church so my tummy is not rumbling during Sacrament meeting like it does when we attend the 11am-1pm schedule (and go to choir at 10am).

Championship Skating: Pairs Final Competition

I was able to get tickets to the Pairs Final competition and went with Jessie. We had a great time and enjoyed watching these couples compete for a spot in the upcoming Olympics. Caydee Denny and Jeremy Barret ended in 1st place with an overall score of 190.30.

Creamy Loaded Mashed Potatoes

This recipe is a keeper...

CREAMY LOADED MASHED POTATOES
3 lbs potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 & 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
3 green onions, finely chopped
6 slices bacon, cooked & crumbled

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 2-quart shallow baking dish with nonstick spray; set aside. Boil potatoes until tender, drain and mash. Stir in 1 cup cheese, the mayo, sour cream, green onions and 1/2 the bacon. Put into the baking dish and bake 30 minutes or until bubbling. Top with remaining cheese and bacon. Bake an additional 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

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John had wanted to see this movie from the first time he saw the preview in late October. I was not interested, nor was Audrey. But then Audrey read some reviews and changed her mind - so by the end of December Audrey also was pushing to go to this movie. We finally found a day to go and decided to get the full experience by attending the 3-D viewing. Note: I get motion sick normally. Well, we went to the movie and we all loved it! However, I did have to look away from the screen a few times and by the time I got home, was quite nauseous. Oh well, it was worth it!

First Week of 2010

December 31st: We decided to stay home and watch movies on New Year's Eve. We did prepare some "snack" foods for dinner (cocktail wieners & BBQ sauce, chips/dip, sparkling cider) so we had our own little party. I went to bed about 9pm but did wake up to hear the fireworks going off at midnight. I know, I'm sounding rather old...

January 1st we headed out to the Kremin's for a Weigh In - just a little fun competition and motivation. Everyone put $5 in the pot and then on 1/31 the one loosing the most percentage of weight gets the money.

January 2nd we went to Cortney & Shane's wedding at Gretna Green and reception at the Ramada Airport. Cortney is John's niece. She looked lovely and the evening was enjoyable. We were able to visit with John's siblings and their families (Duane, Marcie, Marie). Here are a couple of pictures from the reception with the newest babies in the family - so cute!!