My Clip on Good Things Utah

Today I made the Heavenly Coconut Delight on Good Things Utah. My grandma called this Lush. She would make it in several different flavors- chocolate, banana, pistachio, coconut, butterscotch, etc..

Here's the recipe:

Heavenly Coconut Delight- from 101 Things To Do With Pudding

1 cup flour
2 TBSP sugar
½ cup butter or margarine
½ cup chopped cashews or almonds
8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened
¼ cup sugar
2 TBSP milk
12 oz pkg frozen whipped topping
2 pkgs instant coconut cream pudding mix
3 cups milk
½ coconut, toasted

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a bowl, combine flour and 2 tablespoons sugar. Cut butter into flour mixture using a pastry blender. Add nuts and continue to work the dough with the pastry blender. Spread mixture in a 9 x 13-inch pan prepared with nonstick spray. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Allow crust to cool completely.

Using an electric mixer, combine cream cheese, 1/4 cup sugar, and 2 tablespoons milk. Fold in 1 cup whipped topping. Spread the cream mixture evenly over the crust.

In a separate bowl, whisk the dry pudding mix into 3 cups milk for about 1 minute, or until pudding begins to thicken. Spread pudding evenly over cream cheese mixture. Cover and refrigerate for 3-4 hours. Before serving, spread remaining whipped topping evenly over the top. Sprinkle toasted coconut over top. Store in refrigerator. Makes 15 servings.

VARIATION: Chocolate, banana, lemon and butterscotch pudding mixes can be substituted for the coconut cream pudding.

Groupon: My favorite HOT Daily Deal Site

I have to share my new money saving website for Tucson and other large cities around the country.  Groupon just launched in Tucson in April and I have been loving all the amazing deals I have been able to get.  Groupon offers a daily deal of 50-90% off a service, restaurant, retail store, bakery, and more.  I have been able to get screaming deals for Ecomaids, birthday cakes, admission to local attractions, and restaurants. 

I took advantage of the groupon to the Arizona Inn the day it was offered.  For $30, you got $70 to the Arizona Inn.  Our anniversary was approaching and I thought it would be great to go somewhere fancy to celebrate.  Since we were celebrating our anniversary, they threw in 2 desserts for FREE. The Pomegranate Cheesecake was heavenly! We spent $20 (tip and taxes) for $106 meal.  I actually used $30 in referral groupon cash to pay for the certificate, so it literally only cost us $20.

Groupons are available for over 50 large cities across the United States.  I am always looking for deals in Salt Lake City and Phoenix that we can use when we go visit.  If you are planning a vacation, it's a huge way to save money. 

I post the daily deals on mysavvysavings.com.  I hope this saves you all as much money as this has been saving me!

Rantings on Arizona

 

I'd like to share my thoughts on 2 issues Arizonans are dealing with today.  One is the new Immigration Law.  If this stay at home mom can find and read the bill, why can't the leaders in our capital read it before they open their mouths in condemnation of our state, our leaders, and the 70 % of Arizonans that support the new law?  The bill is only 13 pages!! After explaining why the State Department "expressed regret" to China for our immigration law, their spokesman also admitted to not reading the Arizona Immigration law. Although President Obama thinks "information can be a distraction", our governor is encouraging everyone to actually read the law which you can do here.

Many of you may not know that I am the secretary of the Marana Police Citizen's Advisory Commission.  In our last meeting, Chief Tometich informed us that before this law was passed the police already called Border Patrol if they happened to stop someone without a valid Driver's License and they could not produce the correct papers for a traffic violation or in regards to a crime .  The problem was that they were only allowed to detain them for 20 minutes.  If Border Patrol could not be there in 20 minutes, they were forced to let them walk free.  Might as well kiss them on the forehead and wish them well!  He said the only difference is that they will need to transport them to a detention facility if Border Patrol can't come get them now.

Read the law!

The second issue is Proposition 100 that passed yesterday.  I had the privilege to work the elections as a Judge.  I worked the Marana poll at the Parks and Recreation Building.  Before the election,  all the workers guessed how many voters we would have vote.  I guessed 130 voters.  For the Presidential election, they had over 460 vote.  Special elections usually have a low turn out rate.

Well, we had over 540 people come vote at our polling place!  Amazing!  I am so grateful that so many people participated in the election process.  We had many who voted for the first time and many who voted who had been inactive (hadn't voted in a long time). We had husbands and wives voting opposite each other. People felt this was an important vote.  So many times you hear people complain about government leaders, laws, taxes, etc...  and they didn't vote.  How can you complain if you didn't vote?


Proposition 101 proposed a 1 % sales tax increase to help fund education and public safety earmarking the majority of the generated revenue from the tax heading to education.  I know none of us are excited about a tax increase.  This tax hike will raise our sales tax in Marana to  9.1%.   As much as I hate a tax increase and know that it won't fix the complete deficits our school systems are facing, I hope it will help the schools. 

Here's some information you may not know.


K-12 Education Per Pupil Funding
• Arizona ranks 50th in the nation in any fair comparison of per pupil spending.
• Arizona spends $6,248 per pupil (2006-07), $3,000 less than the national average of $9,389.
• Every national ranking of per pupil funding consistently shows Arizona at or near the bottom of
the 50 states.
• From 1986-87 through 2006-07, Arizona’s percentage change in expenditure per pupil has
been -0.96%, while nationally it was 36.56%. This means that Arizona has actually
decreased its relative per pupil funding while other states have increased their expenditures.
 
Source: American Legislative Exchange Council Report Card on American Education, 2006-07 figures.


This is a 3 year tax increase and historically these taxes have not gone away after the allotted time.  I hope that the leaders, administrators, and educators are working together to look for long term fixes that won't require a long term tax hike.  

I voted for it, so you won't hear me complain.  :-)

Arizona: Doing The Job The Feds Won't Do

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

LET ME SEE IF I GOT THIS RIGHT.


 IF YOU CROSS THE NORTH KOREAN BORDER
 ILLEGALLY YOU GET 12 YEARS HARD
 LABOR.

 IF YOU CROSS THE IRANIAN BORDER
 ILLEGALLY YOU ARE DETAINED
 INDEFINITELY.

 IF YOU CROSS THE AFGHAN BORDER
 ILLEGALLY, YOU GET SHOT.

 IF YOU CROSS THE SAUDI ARABIAN BORDER
 ILLEGALLY YOU WILL BE JAILED.

 IF YOU CROSS THE CHINESE BORDER
 ILLEGALLY YOU MAY NEVER BE HEARD FROM
 AGAIN.

 IF YOU CROSS THE VENEZUELAN BORDER
 ILLEGALLY YOU WILL BE BRANDED A SPY
 AND YOUR FATE WILL BE SEALED.

 IF YOU CROSS THE CUBAN BORDER
 ILLEGALLY YOU WILL BE THROWN INTO
 POLITICAL PRISON TO ROT.

 IF YOU CROSS THE United States BORDER
 ILLEGALLY YOU GET
       A JOB,
       A DRIVERS LICENSE,
       SOCIAL SECURITY CARD,
       WELFARE,
       FOOD STAMPS,
       CREDIT CARDS,
       SUBSIDIZED RENT OR A LOAN TO
       BUY A HOUSE,
       FREE EDUCATION,
       FREE HEALTH CARE,
       A LOBBYIST IN WASHINGTON
       BILLIONS OF DOLLARS WORTH OF
       PUBLIC DOCUMENTS PRINTED IN
       YOUR LANGUAGE
       THE RIGHT TO CARRY YOUR
       COUNTRY'S FLAG WHILE YOU
       PROTEST THAT YOU DON'T GET
       ENOUGH RESPECT
       AND,
       IN MANY INSTANCES, YOU CAN
       VOTE.

In God We Still Trust

I absolutely love this song by Diamond Rio.  You can believe however you want, but to me God comes first followed by my family and my country.  He is my strength.  The moment our county turns our back on Him, He will turn His back to us.  We can't let this happen.  Please pray for our country.

Easter: Why I celebrate

My favorite talk about the Savior's sacrifice, death, and resurrection is Sunday Will Come given by Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin in the October 2006 General Conference.  I remember crying when I heard this talk the first time.

Here are some of my favorite excerpts from his talk:

"We know what the Resurrection is—the reuniting of the spirit and body in its perfect form.  President Joseph F. Smith said “that those from whom we have to part here, we will meet again and see as they are. We will meet the same identical being that we associated with here in the flesh.”

President Spencer W. Kimball amplified this when he said, “I am sure that if we can imagine ourselves at our very best, physically, mentally, spiritually, that is the way we will come back.”
When we are resurrected, “this mortal body is raised to an immortal body. … [We] can die no more.”
Can you imagine that? Life at our prime? Never sick, never in pain, never burdened by the ills that so often beset us in mortality?
The Resurrection is at the core of our beliefs as Christians. Without it, our faith is meaningless. The Apostle Paul said, “If Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and [our] faith is also vain.”
In all the history of the world there have been many great and wise souls, many of whom claimed special knowledge of God. But when the Savior rose from the tomb, He did something no one had ever done. He did something no one else could do. He broke the bonds of death, not only for Himself but for all who have ever lived—the just and the unjust.
When Christ rose from the grave, becoming the firstfruits of the Resurrection, He made that gift available to all. And with that sublime act, He softened the devastating, consuming sorrow that gnaws at the souls of those who have lost precious loved ones.
I think of how dark that Friday was when Christ was lifted up on the cross.
On that terrible Friday the earth shook and grew dark. Frightful storms lashed at the earth.
Those evil men who sought His life rejoiced. Now that Jesus was no more, surely those who followed Him would disperse. On that day they stood triumphant.
On that day the veil of the temple was rent in twain.
Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Jesus, were both overcome with grief and despair. The superb man they had loved and honored hung lifeless upon the cross.
On that Friday the Apostles were devastated. Jesus, their Savior—the man who had walked on water and raised the dead—was Himself at the mercy of wicked men. They watched helplessly as He was overcome by His enemies.
On that Friday the Savior of mankind was humiliated and bruised, abused and reviled.
It was a Friday filled with devastating, consuming sorrow that gnawed at the souls of those who loved and honored the Son of God.
I think that of all the days since the beginning of this world’s history, that Friday was the darkest.
But the doom of that day did not endure.
The despair did not linger because on Sunday, the resurrected Lord burst the bonds of death. He ascended from the grave and appeared gloriously triumphant as the Savior of all mankind.
And in an instant the eyes that had been filled with ever-flowing tears dried. The lips that had whispered prayers of distress and grief now filled the air with wondrous praise, for Jesus the Christ, the Son of the living God, stood before them as the firstfruits of the Resurrection, the proof that death is merely the beginning of a new and wondrous existence.
Each of us will have our own Fridays—those days when the universe itself seems shattered and the shards of our world lie littered about us in pieces. We all will experience those broken times when it seems we can never be put together again. We will all have our Fridays.
But I testify to you in the name of the One who conquered death—Sunday will come. In the darkness of our sorrow, Sunday will come.
No matter our desperation, no matter our grief, Sunday will come. In this life or the next, Sunday will come.
I testify to you that the Resurrection is not a fable. We have the personal testimonies of those who saw Him. Thousands in the Old and New Worlds witnessed the risen Savior. They felt the wounds in His hands, feet, and side. They shed tears of unrestrained joy as they embraced Him.
After the Resurrection, the disciples became renewed. They traveled throughout the world proclaiming the glorious news of the gospel.
Had they chosen, they could have disappeared and returned to their former lives and occupations. In time, their association with Him would have been forgotten.
They could have denied the divinity of Christ. Yet they did not. In the face of danger, ridicule, and threat of death, they entered palaces, temples, and synagogues boldly proclaiming Jesus the Christ, the resurrected Son of the living God.
Many of them offered as a final testimony their own precious lives. They died as martyrs, the testimony of the risen Christ on their lips as they perished.
The Resurrection transformed the lives of those who witnessed it. Should it not transform ours?
We will all rise from the grave. And on that day my father will embrace my mother. On that day I will once again hold in my arms my beloved Elisa.
Because of the life and eternal sacrifice of the Savior of the world, we will be reunited with those we have cherished.
On that day we will know the love of our Heavenly Father. On that day we will rejoice that the Messiah overcame all that we could live forever.
Because of the sacred ordinances we receive in holy temples, our departure from this brief mortality cannot long separate relationships that have been fastened together with cords made of eternal ties.
It is my solemn testimony that death is not the end of existence. “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” Because of the risen Christ, “death is swallowed up in victory.”
Because of our beloved Redeemer, we can lift up our voices, even in the midst of our darkest Fridays, and proclaim, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”
When President Hinckley spoke of the terrible loneliness that comes to those who lose the ones they love, he also promised that in the quiet of the night a still, unheard voice whispers peace to our soul: “All is well.”
I am grateful beyond measure for the sublime true doctrines of the gospel and for the gift of the Holy Ghost, which has whispered to my soul the comforting and peaceful words promised by our beloved prophet."

"May we understand and live in thanksgiving for the priceless gifts that come to us as sons and daughters of a loving Heavenly Father and for the promise of that bright day when we shall all rise triumphant from the grave.
That we may always know that no matter how dark our Friday, Sunday will come is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen."



I echo his witness that the Savior lives.  He loves us.  What a glorious reason to celebrate this Easter!

Beware of Terrorist Groups in Church

My friend , Pam, emailed me this.  I hate forwarding email, but I thought this one was worth sharing on our family blog.

WARNING 

 BEWARE OF TERRORIST GROUPS IN CHURCH 

   Latest news reports are that five terrorist cell groups have been operating in many of our churches.. They have been identified as: Bin Sleepin, Bin Arguin, Bin Fightin, Bin Complainin, and Bin Missin. 

   Their leader, Lucifer Bin Workin, trained these groups to destroy the Body of Christ. The plan is to come into the church disguised as Christians and to work within the church to discourage, disrupt, and destroy.

   However, there have been reports of a sixth group. A tiny cell known by the name Bin Prayin is actually the only effective counter terrorism force in the church.. Unlike other terrorist cells, the Bin Prayin team does not blend in with whoever and whatever comes along.

   Bin Prayin does whatever is needed to uplift and encourage the Body of Christ. We have noticed that the Bin Prayin cell group has different characteristics than the others. They have Bin Watchin, Bin Waitin, Bin Fastin, and Bin Longin for their Master, Jesus Christ to return.

NO CHURCH IS EXEMPT!   

(However, you can spot them if you Bin Lookin and  Bin Goin.)