I've got sticky teeth

If today is Friday, there must be a football game. And if it's a home game I must make treats for the cookie table. And yes, it's Friday, and yes, it's a home game. So I decided to make popcorn balls for the first time.

First disclaimer: I LOVE carmel!

I searched the web, and found a recipe from Paula Deen on the Food Network site. It seemed to me that a chubby southern woman "of a certain age" should know how to make good popcorn balls. Now maybe it's because I love carmel as a flavor a whole lot more than corn syrup, but these were not tasty.

Second disclaimer: Paula Deen has failed me before.

I decided to document my cooking adventure just in case it was to die for. Instead, I've documented a failure. I'm an Einstein in the making! This is one way to NOT make popcorn balls.

I started by popping the corn in a cool kettle that we got as a gift many years ago. The corn had passed it's "best by...." date over a year ago, but with nothing to lose I used it anyway, and it turned out great! I picked out the duds, and to my surprise there were very few.

Next I started the syrup. The reviewers on Paula's site suggested adding a quarter cup of butter, which I happily did. I also left out one cup of sugar. OOPS! Half an hour later the syrup was still not at a softball stage. So I removed the syrup from the heat and added the sugar, stirring to dissolve it before returning the pot to the heat. A few minutes later it was at the soft ball stage, and I was on my way!

Cookie sheets lined with was paper: check

Wax paper sprayed with Pam: check

Popcorn sprinkled onto lined cookie sheets: check

I drizzled the syrup over the popcorn, greased my hands with shortening, and tried to mix the popcorn and syrup. Not check. The syrup puddled on the was paper, then cooled quickly and didn't want to scrape back up and coat the popcorn. I tired one reviewers tip and nuked the syrup. So that worked a little bit, but the stuff was just cooling too quickly.

third disclaimer: perhaps I was too busy with the camera to be thinking clearly...

Eventually I formed maybe 10 balls, and had a lot of popcorn leftover, and quite a bit of syrup stuck to the bowls, spoon, spatula and wax paper. Time to taste! My mouth was watering. The bite was perfect: crunchy popcorn with a soft, but not too sticky, glaze. Great bite, disappointing taste. It just has a thickened corn syrup taste.

Oh well, next time I'll use my carmel recipe and I'm sure I'll be much happier with the results. I just hope these things sell at the cheer squad's cookie table tonight at the football game.

I'm moving again!

Just when you think you've got things under control, something hits you that you didn't see coming. Is it because you're relaxed and have your eyes closed? It's easier to hit a target that's not moving? What?
When it was announced last summer that we'd be getting a new Stake Presidency at Stake Conference, I was mildly interested in the speculation, but knew that I had nothing to be concerned about. Stake Presidents and their counselors are typically called from the pool of Bishops and High Council members. No worries, Alan's not part of that crowd. So when the day came and the new names were announced, I was thrilled with the choices, but sad that we'd need a new Bishop. We LOVE Bishop Packard, and in the words of Sheryl Alderman, "the new Bishop has big shoes to fill". My response to her was that his shoes could not be filled, so we'd need some new shoes. That was before we got the phone call to meet with the new Stake Presidency.
So now I'm the Bishop's wife. Like I said, a shot out of nowhere! I knew when I married Alan that he'd be a Bishop at some point, but after 22 years, that thought was buried under years of raising a family, other church callings, softball, basketball, career, pulling weeds... all the usual "stuff". He got a "Handbook of Instructions", but there isn't one for the wifey.
I think that my job description is "Logistical Engineer". How I worked that out of a BA in Interior Design just shows how very creative I really am! It will take an engineer to create order out of our current state. But a house of God IS a house of order, and the inhabitants at this address are now put on notice: Mom's in charge because Dad is busy. So if you leave your stuff laying around you'll have to buy it back from me. I can't mix a messy environment with the need for a clear head.
It was going so well when I moved Brandon out of his downstairs bedroom and made the girls share until Heather left for college. It freed up Brandon's old bedroom to be an office/guest bedroom. What heaven! We've been able to have guests so easily. Well, that's easy for me to say, I'm not the one who had to sleep in that bed..... But still it was great until I realized that Heather would need a place to stay over the holidays and summers. Oh no! So I moved my computer and files into a corner of my bedroom as a temporary solution. And it better be REALLY temporary. I think my great office space will have to move to the loft. It can be done. I just need to figure it out.