stumble upon something new

i just found this website and i thought i'd share. it's called stumbleupon.com. it's pegged as a discovery engine as opposed to a search engine. the site finds out your interests and helps you randomly find sites that might interest you. in my first 15 minutes on the site i have already found some great stuff. it has blogging and profile capabilities as well, but i just love the idea of clicking a button and finding a new site just for me! check it out and let me know what you think!

leatherby's soft opening

yesterday was the day that klayton has been working toward and sort of dreading since the day we decided to move back up to idaho and re-open leatherby's - the soft opening. friends and family of the employees at leatherby's were invited to come and try out the food and service to see if they are prepared to do a grand opening. maria, avery and i went to check it out and it was wonderful! klayton is still holding his breath because things went so smoothly last night -- usually these things are disasters!! :) he has been working night and day for the past 5 weeks to get this place together, and now we are finally seeing all of the late nights and early mornings and endless discussions about employees and locations and food and managers and whatever coming to fruition. klayton has done and amazing job. i'm not going to pretend like i have been great through all of this - i have missed him and complained to him and fought with him some these last few weeks, but he is the hardest worker and i am seriously so happy for and proud of him. even when he has worked 18 hour days (which he has for the last week! literally - he goes to work at 7am and gets home at 1am. i wish i was kidding) he still gets up with the baby in the night and is so sweet and wonderful to us. i have the best spouse and i love him soooo much.

okay, enough mushy stuff. here are the pics from last night...

avery insisted that i dress her up for the occasion. she even asked that i give her ferris-bueller-in-the-shower hair! she's such a diva. :)

klayton says that she looks like audrey hepburn in these pictures. i think she looks like she got into mommy's makeup with her glossy lips. drool really does wonders.

here's an inside view of the restaurant. i forgot to take a pic of the outside. sorry!

a view of the front counter. all of these kids are still training, but hopefully after the weekend they will be up to speed!

here's klayton hard at work.

i forgot to take a picture of our food when it came out, too. so here is maria's half-eaten cream of broccoli soup and fries. leatherby's has the best fries ever... next to their ice cream, that is. we didn't get any ice cream because we ate all of these french fries, but i will get pics of their awesome old-timey ice cream sundaes soon!

ahh the family. so sweet.

the only thing better than the foo fighters...

is a montage of my baby girl set to them.

my checkbook and i hate you!

that's right, dentist. i'm talking to you! you sit there with your mini pick axe and your simpering smile and i hate you!

i've had this wicked toothache since monday, so i broke down yesterday and made an appointment with my friendly neighborhood dentist. well... 20 minutes and $77 later i scheduled my appointment to get a root canal in a week and a half. of course it doesn't help that i have no dental insurance because i quit my job with awesome benefits to take care of my little bundle of joy. it's a good thing that she's so worth it! the one thing that makes my visit happy is that he gave me antibiotics to kill the abcess that's causing me pain. they won't kick in for a couple of days, but at least there is the promise of relief. still though, if i drove by him walking on the side of the road i would hit him with my car.

okay, so maybe i wouldn't hit him... but i would think about it.

you wanna be on top?

i was watching ANTM reruns tonight, so after avery's bath we decided to do a photo shoot! okay, so she really didn't have a say, but i think that she enjoyed getting FIERCE!!

tyra's got nothing on avery.

this is avery's version of blue steel courtesy of derek zoolander.

this is her cheech and chong look. very hot.

ooh... vulnerable.

*gasp* magnum!!

come hither, baby.

she's scheduled to do her six-page spread in Hot Baby magazine this spring. look for it at a news stand near you.

fancy dessert

last night i made sunday dinner for my little brother and sister, mallory's friend, melissa, and klayton, and it was so good!!! i got the recipes i used from tyler florence on the food network and it was seriously one of the best meals i have made! i made tyler's "dad's meatloaf with tomato pepper relish" and for dessert we had flourless chocolate cake with raspberry coulis and vanilla ice cream! i felt so fancy! anyway, i wanted to share the cake/coulis recipe in case any of you have a shnazzy thing coming up and are sick of your old stand-bys. let me know what you think!!

Flourless Chocolate Cake
1 pound bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces
1 stick unsalted butter
9 large eggs, separated
3/4 cup granulated sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch springform pan. Put the chocolate and butter into the top of a double boiler (or in a heatproof bowl) and heat over (but not touching) about 1-inch of simmering water until melted. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar in a mixing bowl until light yellow in color. Whisk a little of the chocolate mixture into the egg yolk mixture to temper the eggs - this will keep the eggs from scrambling from the heat of the chocolate; then whisk in the rest of the chocolate mixture.
Beat the egg whites in a mixing bowl until stiff peaks form and fold into the chocolate mixture. Pour into the prepared pan and bake until the cake is set, the top starts to crack and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out with moist crumbs clinging to it, 20 to 25 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes, then remove sides of pan.

you can serve this cake warm or at room tempurature. dust the top with powdered sugar and serve with whipped cream or make up my fabulous coulis, drizzle it over each slice of cake and serve with ice cream and garnish with fresh mint!

Raspberry Coulis
2 cups raspberries (about 12 ounces), rinsed
3/4 cup Simple Syrup, recipe follows
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 tablespoon cornstarch
Bring the raspberries, syrup, and lemon juice to a simmer in a heavy medium saucepan over low heat. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the berries are very soft, about 8 minutes.
Sprinkle the cornstarch over 2 teaspoons cold water and stir to dissolve. Pour into the simmering raspberry mixture. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens, about 3 minutes.
Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl; discard the seeds. Cool completely, then cover and refrigerate until ready to use. Freeze any leftover coulis in a plastic container for up to 1 month.
Yield: 2 cups

Simple Syrup:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes. Pour the syrup into a container and refrigerate until completely cold, about 45 minutes. The syrup can be stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Yield: about 3/4 cup syrup

i would have posted my own picture of our cake last night, but it disappeared too quickly! sorry! :)

"just a mom"

you hear stories like this more and more. jane clayson johnson has written a book about it and now glenn beck, a conservative talk radio and cnn headline news host, lectured a woman who called into his show yesterday with a question. instead of taking her question, he interjected with this:

CALLER: ...and I'm just a mom at home with kids and --

GLENN: You know what, Lori, Lori, I've only got a minute and a half. I'm going to hold you over to the top of the hour because I've got to lecture you for a minute and a half.

CALLER: Okay.

GLENN: I hate, hate, hate when women say, "I'm just a mother." I hate it. And here's why. I believe that we are facing the most perilous times quite possibly in human history and I really, truly believe that -- what's the name of that show on Fox, that new show, the Terminator, what's her name? ...Sarah Connor. I really, truly believe that mothers of this country need to start viewing themselves as Sarah Connor and start preparing your children and teaching your children right and wrong, black and white, good and evil, how to be strong, how to survive in all ways because we've so screwed this country up that our children are going to be left with just a mess on their hands and we need -- I don't even know what Sarah Connor's son was called, Billy Connor, and we need more Billy Connors, and Sarah Connors are the ones that are going to do it and those are the mothers of today...

i've never seen the terminator show on fox (and i think it's a silly reference), but the message is important and i applaud anyone in this day who will stand up for the family. go glenn!

thinking of you...

my sister-in-law, mandy, dropped off this beautiful house warming gift basket this morning and i am so excited! she is one of the most thoughtful people i know, and it always gets me thinking of ways that i can and should be more thoughtful. the only thing better than feeling special because someone thought of you is the feeling that you get when you make someone else feel special! thanks mandy!

my best friend

one of my big resolutions for 2008 was to get organized! i was past the mindless beginning months of being a mommy where my life was set on avery's schedule of eat, sleep, poop and i didn't know what to do with myself! well, i was wandering around target the day after new years and i found this! when i was a working girl (and i don't mean that like the melanie griffiths/harrison ford jersey kind of working girl) i lived by my gorgeous (and pricey!) franklin-covey planner. i know it's lame sounding, but my pink leather rock star planner was the best. that's why is was so excited to find this compact, dressed-down version of the franklin planner for $15 bucks in target! it fits inside my diaper bag and is perfect for the many doctor appointments, shopping lists, addresses and playdates i have to keep track of! there is a ton of space for cards and cash in the front cover, so i even chucked my big fat wallet and use this for that as well! such a great buy! and i'm no fashion guru, but i think it's pretty darn cute too. just wanted to share in case anyone else out there is looking for more organization in their lives! there are a bunch of different sizes and styles, and the extra pages you can buy can help you customize the planner for your needs. thanks target!

home sweet home

well, i think that a month ago when we moved back to idaho i promised pictures of our lovely apartment. we don't have it totally done yet but i thought i'd share anyway. i love this place - it's literally 150 yards away from Leatherby's (klayton's restaurant), target, a huge movie theater, the mall, etc. it's super-spatious (for my little family at least), it has vaulted ceilings in the living room, a bay window in the dining area, 2 full bathrooms, 3 bedrooms and is brand new! when this city thaws i love to go on walks and buy stuff (mostly at target. i swear, that place has a direct withdrawl monthly from klayton's paycheck). okay, i'm done bragging now. sorry- i really am in love with this place. enjoy the pics!


here's our living room. the purple love seats are hand-me-downs from my mom's best friend, peggy treese. that's the front door.

here's the view of the kitchen from one of our purple squashy chairs. our tv sort of travels between our bedroom and the front room. yeah, we only have 1.

my favorite room. my mecca. the kitchen. that pot rack is from ikea (aka heaven). it really looks smaller in this picture than it feels to me, but it gets the job done.

here's our fridge.

the bay-windowed dining space as promised. yes, that table is tiny. the kitchen cart to the right has most of my many appliances. my kitchen is filled with pink and green, my signature colors (name the movie).

bathroom #1. it's avery's bathroom/laundry room. yes, my 9-month-old has her own bathroom.

there's my bed! this is the room that is the most un-done. go figure.

this is the master bathroom. there's really nothing masterful about it, but it adjoins to my room, so that's pretty neat!

bedroom #2, the guest room/office. this is the guest room half. yes, that really is a basket next to the bed with a towel, soap, lotion and a mug with hot cocoa mix and a bag of microwave popcorn in it. staying with me is like having your personal holiday inn express. continental breakfast included. my craft table (not pictured) is to the left of this picture. it's a mess, hence the non-picturedness.

here's the office part of bedroom #2. this is where i do all of my blogging! very exciting, eh? to the left of the desk you will notice my video library. it goes all the way to the floor. klayton calls it ridiculous. :) we bought our saweet computer last fall when our old one (and i mean really old) crashed. it is most definitely the nicest thing that we own. it plays live tv (neat, huh?) and records it too. it's filled with TMC cary grant movies that i have yet to watch.

and, of course, bedroom #3 is avery's room, which you have already seen. here she is sleeping like a good girl so i could write this post. she loves her baby papasan swing that her grandpa clark bought her while she was in the hospital. my dad loves ebay and got this awesome swing for a great deal. he is the coolest.

thus concludes your tour. if you have any questions please direct them to your tour guide or the brochures that you recieved in the lobby. the gift shop is down the hall and to your left.

monkey monday morning

happy monday! avery and klayton played monkey this morning and i wanted to share the great pictures i got. we had a really short weekend so i definitely wasn't ready to face monday morning, but it's here so denial is no good.

klayton has been working around the clock to get the restaurant together. they are opening next wednesday and he is so busy! i hardly even expect him to remember valentines day this week let alone my name when he comes home. i am so happy for him because he is so excited to get everything together. he is a business genius and he is enjoying building this restaurant from the ground up. i will post pictures of the big opening when it all goes down!

yesterday we had the opportunity to be inside the rexburg temple during the 4th and final dedicatory session. it was a wonderful experience and i am so grateful for temples and for the area that we live in! one of my best friends, maria, baby-sat avery for us (one of my nieces was sick so we didn't let avery around her cousins this weekend) so we could attend. she is awesome and is the best thing that came out of my years of working at melaleuca! :) we felt really blessed to be inside the temple and it was an awesome way to end the weekend.

this week i am looking forward to valentines day! i am going to make klayton a French dinner (he served in the Paris mission) and we'll probably just hang out at the house and watch a movie (ahh, the glamorous life of young parents), but it will still be a great time. i dropped some major hints to klayton for acceptable gifts (a new cookbook, the becoming jane dvd from cleanflix, etc) so i should be set there as well. haha. i am also really excited that my awesome little bro, Zach, is coming up to idaho to spend the weekend with us. when we lived in vegas he was my best friend and the greatest uncle ever. he is growing up to be such a cool kid and i can't wait for him to stay with us. i am trying to convince him to live with us for a while this summer and work at Leatherby's too (the fact that he is a built-in baby-sitter is just an added bonus!). we are going to watch the disney channel (our favorite!!) and would be going to see the hannah montana concert in the theater if anywhere near here was showing it. very exciting stuff!

super party

wow... last night's super bowl upset was incredible. i feel really bad for the patriots for blowing their entire perfect season in a few moments, but it was a great game. we had a few friends over to watch - my sister, klayton's brother (carson), glen, and derek, brooke and emma whipple. klayton ended up taking all of the guys into the kitchen to play monopoly after the halftime show while mallory, brooke and i watched the game and played with the kids in the living room. haha- i always knew that it would be weird to be married to a guy who wasn't a sports fan... but i never anticipated that his friends would all be the same! carson even fell asleep on our living room floor! totally weird. i had a blast, though, and hope that everyone else did too. i made WAY too much food but i happily sent most of it home with the starving college kids. here are some pics from our festivities...

carson thought it would be fun to wear all of my kitchen gear and stir the chili. he looks good in pink! he was in charge of brining drinks, so, of course, he bought the vanilla and orange cream sodas that are shaped like beers...ugh, boys... haha

i imgaine that a commercial was on since i caught all of the guys looking at the television...

emma and avery had fun playing together - and auntie mallory was a great referee

nursery

i have been wanting to do something special in avery's room in the last few weeks and i was so stuck for ideas. thank heaven for marthastewart.com! check out the awesome (and super cheap!!!) changes i made and let me know what you think! avery hasn't really said much about it, but i chalk that up to the fact that she can't talk.