Favorite Musicals

My family is a big fan of musicals.  We have our favorites, which I am going to share with y'all.
The favorite musical in my family is Seven Brides for Seven Brothers without a doubt.  The music is great the dancing is fun and it actually has a good storyline as well (as opposed to most musicals that just don't have much of a storyline).  This movie has been watched so many times in my family that I am sure we could sing all of the words to the songs and quote half the movie to you.
Then after that there is a whole big pool of the "other greats".  These include My Fair Lady, Singing in the Rain, Mary Poppins, Fiddler on the Roof, On Moonlight Bay, and By the Light of the Silvery Moon.      We love all of these for their unforgettable music, hilarious as well as sometimes thought provoking lines, and great stories.
A musical that I enjoy but I wouldn't call a great by any means would be "Call Me Madam", which is a musical I just recently was introduced to by my cousins.  I am OBSESSED with the music and the story isn't bad either.  I was informed that on the second time watching it the movie was found more enjoyable.  However, I just enjoyed it from the start. :)
Some other sub-favorite musicals are Sound of Music, The Music Man (I am OBSESSED with its music too), and Calamity Jane.
So there are some favorite musicals from my family.  What are yours and how do your ratings match with my family's?  Leave a comment below!

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Finally... Another Blog Post!- Summer Happenings

I know it has been quite a while since I last wrote on my blog.  Life has been quite busy though so this post will just bring you up to date with all that has been going in my life recently.

Taiki and I

At the end of July my family was busy getting our 4-H projects ready for the county fair and about that time also our summer Japanese exchange student arrived.  Load on my job as well as getting prepared for classes and then this last week actually starting classes and you have a very busy Lois.   Most of it was fun though and though my summer was hectic, it was enjoyable as well.
My favorite part was definitely having Taiki, our exchange student stay.  The little 14 year old boy fit in perfectly with my family.  By the time he left he had learned and even mastered many of my family's favorite games.
My second favorite part of the summer was probably the county fair.  I was smart enough to not do too much but I still entered a few items.  I found time to bake a couple pies to take (peach and pecan), which turned out pretty tasty.  However, Taiki was quite dissapointed they were going to the fair and not to his stomach so I ended up making a peach pie (his favorite) for him again before he left.
Of course I spent lots of time with my family this summer, which was good.  We managed to watch all but one of the Star Wars movies and played multiple games together.
Recently I became addicted to online Dominion (see earlier post about Dominion), which was probably not good.  However, when you are feeling a need for Dominion and your family isn't available to play what other options are there?
All in all, a good summer and hopefully this fall semester will be bearable too.  God bless. :)

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies

A recipe for chocolate chip cookies is an important part in every cookbook.  There are a lot of good recipes out there.  Some like them crisp, some like them soft.  Some like them with nuts, or perhaps with oatmeal too.  There are a lot of different ways to make chocolate chip cookies.  I found this recipe via FoodGawker and absolutely loved it.  This makes a pretty much perfect chocolate chip cookie.  It is perfectly soft and chewy, which is how I like them.  This one doesn't have nuts or any other goodies but is just simiply a choclate chip cookie.  I have another recipe that does have nuts, oatmeal, and cocoanut that I love also but that, perhaps, is for another blog post.  I hope you enjoy these delicious cookies. :)

Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients: 

3/4 c. unsalted butter, softened 

3/4 c. brown sugar 

1/4 c. granulated sugar 

1 egg 

2 tsp. vanilla extract 

2 c. all purpose flour 

2 tsp. cornstarch 

1 tsp. baking soda 

1/2 tsp. salt 

1 c. bittersweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars until fluffy and light in color. Add egg and vanilla and blend in.

3.  Mix in flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Stir in chocolate chunks.

4.  Using a standard-sized cookie scoop or tablespoon, drop dough onto a prepared baking sheet.  Bake for 8-10 minutes, until barely golden brown around the edges.  (The tops will not brown, but do NOT cook longer than ten minutes.)

5.  Let cool, on the sheet, on a wire rack for five minutes.  Remove from baking sheet and let cool completely.  Makes approximately 3 dozen. 

http://kelseysappleaday.blogspot.com/2011/08/best-ever-chewy-chocolate-chip-cookies.html

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.