Light Refreshments Served

I would like to post a quote of the week each Monday, and I would love if you the readers supplied your favorite quotes. Please leave a comment with a quote that has inspired your life and I will post them over the next few weeks.  Thanks!

“Be the one to make a stand for right, even if you stand alone. Have the moral courage to be a light for others to follow. There is no friendship more valuable than your own clear conscience.”

-LDS Church President and Prophet Thomas S. Monson

Living in Tucson, AZ, I spend my time being a wife to my husband of 16 years, mom to my two kids and two dogs, all while juggling a job, my church callings, and my sanity.  I was actually thrilled to go to Girls Camp so that I would have a few less days this year melting in Tucson’s intense summer heat.

Camp Shirts

I have just arrived back from spending four and a half spiritually fun filled days with 91 Young Women and their leaders.  Yes, you guessed it.  I ended up as Ward Camp Director… again.

Now, for all of you who don’t know, to the girls, the most important part of camp is not the food, the hike, or even the zipline that our stake camp had this year.  What is most important to these girls is the T-shirts that we make beforehand as wards, YCLs, and camp levels.  You know, so you can match all of your friends at camp and make some sort of statement.  There are T-shirts of all colors, shapes, and designs.  Some are intended to be funny… Camping is in-TENTS!!!, while others are meant to be informative… just your ward and camper’s names, and then there are the T-shirts that while are a bit brown-nosing, every leader dreams of… I (heart) Sister (insert your favorite camp leader’s name here).

I have come to conclude after having observed this phenomena for the past two years that both Michaels and Joanns earn most of their yearly profit margins, not during the Christmas season as one would think, but in the couple of months leading up to the YW Girl’s Camps across the country.  Harried camp directors storm the stores the Monday morning after the ad comes out trying to find 23 lime green T-shirts, all in correct sizes along with tubes of neon puffy paint and boxes of dye for all the tie dying that must go on.  Store executives have an evil plan and each store will only carry 20 of the elusive lime green shirts, making the camp director drive fifteen miles across town to find the missing shirts so that each girl will feel appropriately included.  Three stores and half a tank of gas later, her mission is now accomplished.  If that isn’t magnifying your calling, I don’t know what is.

Sadly, during the drive home from camp, the T-shirts lose their allure.  What was once a hot commodity is now going to be relegated to the bottom of a dresser drawer.  After all, what 14 year old would wear a T-shirt covered in puffy paint scriptures at school to compete with the Abercrombie and Fitches of the world?

Summer’s Nectar Lemonade

Hey there Light Refreshments pals, maybe you noticed I hardly ever blog anymore? Please don’t take it personally. I’m not sick of you or of blogging or totally consumed with Twitter or anything like that. You see, it all started when Ellen learned to climb out of her crib and stopped taking naps and started being with me or, more accurately–crying at me–all day, everyday. Just because you don’t take a nap, it doesn’t mean you don’t need a nap. Word.

Remember how I wrote a blog a few months ago to all you new moms assuring you that “it gets better.”? I take that back. It gets better, and then it gets worse again until about age 5. And just so you know, I tried to blog with Ellen on my lap yesterday and in about five seconds she spilled Hawaiian punch on the computer, emptied out a boot full of sand on the computer, and pooped her pants. Really guys, it’s more charming than it sounds.

Hang in there, self.

Lisa (Fry Expert): Any place that gives you a generous cup of fries and then just pours another cup right in the bag, for good measure, is allllright with me! 5 Guys gives you the choice of regular or cajun fries, and I like the weight and “real potatoey flavor” of the regular (to steal the phrase from Amelia). The fry sauce is thick and traditional. And one large order of fries fed me and all my children, which is no small feat.

Stace (Mood/Feeling): If you’re looking for a burger joint with high energy and super tasty burger and traditional fries for you and your family then Five Guys burgers and Fries is for you! I love these big, beefy burgers and Big fries (one small order of fries easily feed me and my three kids) because they satisfy every yearning I have for a good old fashioned burger and fries, at a reasonable price and worth every penny. The one down side….no milkshakes. Two warnings; don’t be scared off by the long line they move quickly and it can be crowded and noisy (like downtown New York!) so listen carefully for when they shout your number!

Hailey (Shake Specialist): I was 0 for 3! But I loved that bacon cheeseburger!

Jenny (Celebrity Spotter): Guy Fawkes, Guy Trundle, Guy Ritchie, Guy Francis, and Seth McFarlane

Brett (Hip/Coolness Factor): Any truly hip person knows that, even while keeping up on trends, you should keep some classics in your arsenal. Items such as 501s, white shirts, a solid blazer, khakis, a few cashmere sweaters and Chuck Taylors can always be worn to give a timeless feel to your look. Now, I’m not a fashion expert by any means (my wife will attest) but I have always been drawn to the classics. I think that is part of the reason I love 5 Guys Burgers and Fries. It’s the “classic” version of burger joints. It’s not kitschy or quaint. It’s not an ambience attraction. It’s not popular-because-it’s-always-been-there either. 5 Guys is just … timeless. You walk in and you feel like you have been there before and like it’s been there forever. The design, presentation and menu is just … simple, comfy and familiar. Just like a pair of old jeans only it tastes much much better.

Overall, our food was good, but the visit with friends felt anxious and short because the place is so darn loud! It was difficult finding seats together and then hearing the person next to you. So while I’d recommend the food, I wouldn’t recommend it as a place to sit down and visit with friends.

Kacy seems happy with her soda selection, don’t you think?

(I’m surprised that my Dad didn’t write up about the cleanliness of the bathrooms of the establishment, but that might be because he was too busy wiping down the counters.)

I forgot my camera, so thanks to Amy for the photos!

I just watched Inkheart. More accurately,  I watched Inkheart, ate some strawberry shortcake, threw away the Costa Vida dinner remains and then came straight to my computer to tell you that I just watched Inkheart, starring Brendan Fraser’s eyebrows. (His bangs are going to KILL me for giving the eyebrows top billing!)

I was so excited when I heard they were making a movie out of Cornelia Funke’s (I think it sounds just like it looks: fyoon-kay) Inkheart series. But the reviews weren’t so good and yadda yadda yadda, we just got around to watching it. (By “watching” it I mean ordering it to go from Amazon.com to our TV using our computer–and you thought reading people in and out of books was remarkable!) The movie isn’t horrible. It is my belief that Paul Bettany and Andy Serkis can carry ANY movie. And I had forgotten what a great story Inkheart is.

It’s about a fellow, a “silver tongue,” if you will. When he reads books the characters become real and come out of the book. *Other things can come out too, like the tornado from Wizard of Oz. Sometimes people go into the books–it’s hard to control and even harder to predict exactly what will happen. As you can imagine (if you are thinking creatively), it’s kind of a sought-after gift.

We listened to the first book in this series on tape. It’s good. And now the trilogy is complete. Maybe your kids were too young to be interested when it came out but might be old enough now. If so, lucky you. When I finally got on the Harry Potter train [Hogwarts Express--ahh, yee-ah!] the first 2 or 3 books were already out. It was great. But I soon caught up and had to play the painful waiting game with J.K. (Worth it, by the way).

Anyhoo, I know we’re all killing time until July 15th when the startling and painful Halfblood Prince comes out in theaters. (So help me folks I have always maintained Snape’s loyalty to Dumbledore and I make you an unbreakable vow–here, give me your wrist–that I am NOT GOING TO CRY–uh oh, already tearing up. . . ) So here’s something to do with your kids that doesn’t involve sunscreen, Frisbees, or grass. Blek. You’re welcome.

What? You don’t spend the summer hunkered down with your kids under blankets with the AC blaring yelling at the youngest to be quiet so you can hear what’s happening on the scratched book on CD you checked out at the library? You don’t know what  you’re missing, my friend.

*What would you read out of a book if you could? Come on, be honest–not the Liahona. The first thing that comes to my mind is Turkish Delight and that full-course dinner gum from Willy Wonka. Who am I kidding? I’d read Albus Dumbledore straight out of harm’s way and keep him safe. Oh, hi everyone who is too good for Harry Potter! You’re dumb.

Stace (Mood/Emotive Guru/Value for the Dollar): Sammy’s has a simple, hip, creative atmosphere with meaty burgers, piles of fries (both spuds and sweet potatoes) and shakes all fairly priced for a total of $10-13. If you’re daring and looking for a fun, taste bud adventure take your kids to chat over a shared pie shake (great idea Drew!)! Or…. if you’re looking for a small local diner with live music try their Summer Spectacular series on Friday nights, eat outside and after dinner enjoy a free ice cream cone!

Kacy (Beverages/Ice/Topics Discussed): While Sammy’s does offer free refills, the pepsi machine is behind the counter which means you have to ASK for them. That’s not free to me. I like to get my own. Because I can drink a lot. And I want to drink a lot without shame. Pepsi instead of Coke? It’s a mistake, but not a fatal one.

Jenny (Celebrity Specialist): It’s not hard to figure out which celebrities would be found at Sammy’s because there are poloroids of them on the walls. Without studying those photos, however, I’m gonna go with Any Osmond (except Marie . . . shhhhhhhh), especially David, who happens to be friends with Sammy. Speaking of Davids, Li’l Mister Archuleta would (and likely has) enjoyed a pie shake or two. On any given day, I’d say George Wendt would happily spend the afternoon at the counter (on the corner seat, of course), contemplating which scripture tote to purchase. Seated in the far corner, just to Get Away From It All: Jon Gosselin (Kate brought in the entire brood last week and was completely Put Out that there wasn’t room for all her crew, and that she couldn’t get her food in three minutes).

Hailey (Shakes/Dessert Specialist): To say that I was disappointed that Sammy’s ice cream machine was broken is a gross understatement. Utterly and completely devastated is more like it. I had been looking forward to a Sammy’s pie shake for a whole week, as I had enjoyed it once in the past. I dreamed of banana cream pie goodness the night before and woke up hungry! So, I sat there and shed tears over my sweet potato fries, but invisible tears because it was Kacy’s birthday and I didn’t want to be the Debbie Downer. The worst part of it all is that, not two minutes after I left, my friend who was going in as we were leaving texted me to say that they were now serving shakes. Oh, the inhumanity!! Whatever. Get the banana cream pie shake when you go. IF YOU CAN. (I’m not mad.)

Lisa (Fries/Fry Sauce): Sammy’s has two choices: a battered “regular fry” (a thicker thin fry–believe me, that makes a lot of sense in my mind) and the “sweet potato fry.” When I asked the waitress which one I should order, she told me “do half-and-half!” Which I did and was thoroughly delighted and felt that I had eaten two, versus one, servings of vegetables that meal. I would order the half-and-half again and again. The fry sauce was homemade and thick. I ate it all. That should say it all.

Brett (Hipness/Coolness Factor): Whether or not you love the food at Sammy’s, there’s no denying the atmosphere there is very loose, welcoming and, ultimately college scene friendly. It’s not that they are trying to be “hip” either. Sammy’s owner Sam Schultz is a promoter and scene virtuoso. He’s been able to use his burger joint as a way to get the word out about talented local musicians by hosting evening concerts with Mindy Gledhill, Jarrett Burns, Jackie Tohn, The Jets and more, often for free or for a very low price. Check it out: http://sammyscafe.blogspot.com/

Topher (Burgers): I was more than happy with my hamburger at Sammy’s. I had “The Masterpiece.” At first I saw that it had BBQ sauce on it and I thought to myself, Gross. I hate BBQ sauce! And mixed with avacado and bacon? Now I’ve heard everything! But it was a wonderful combination. The hamburger was substantial and very meaty, as a hamburger should be. It didn’t taste like something I might make on my own grill at home, it tasted fancy, like something a famous person would make on their grill at their home. And Sammy’s is right in our own backyard! Please do not hesitate to try “The Masterpiece.” If you gobble it down in even half the time it took me, that’s a real achievement!

My only negative experience with this hamburger was when Kacy brought up the whole story about Gary Gilmour. And then I was thinking about a bunch of dead people while I was eating. But I quickly thought about something else. And it was Kacy’s birthday, so I guess she’s entitled to whatever story she wants to tell.

Happy Birthday, Kacy! Everyone should go and eat this burger (with two kinds of fries.).

I have always loved photography and really admire those who have a talent for it.  Here are some awesome shots I checked out recently.  More info here.

A very Happy Mother’s Day to all our readers.  We hope you have a wonderful day!  Here are some virtual flowers from all of us at LRS to you!

This is a really funny website called “Overheard in the Ward“.  It is all about funny little sayings, conversations or comments that people overheard in their wards.  Get your daily humor boost and go check it out!

Digital birth announcements are cute, personalized announcements to post the news of your new bundle of joy on your blog and Facebook,  or email  to all your friends and family.  Click here to learn more about lullabyannoucements.   Want a FREE birth announcement for you or a friend? Leave a comment and we’ll pick a winner on Friday Feb 20!