my unconquerable soul

have a cup of cheer

2012-01-22T20:14:00.001-07:00

I realized this Christmas that if I could freeze time and live my life Groundhog Day style, I just might have done it to relive this holiday over and over again. Celebrating the Christmas season with my two beautiful little girls, my husband, my parents, my siblings, my grandmothers... I can't imagine that life will get much better than this.

But, since things can't last this way forever, I will inundate you with many more holiday photos.

Resistance is futile.

Look at these two beauties! I can't get over them.

Here's Uncle Spencer (Carter's favorite. Shh! Don't tell the others!) and my little mischief-maker.

Those are some runway-ready faces.

Making cookies with my girl!! Look at that frosting face! Don't worry though- she takes about three baths a day when we are either at Grandma and Grandpa's cabin or their home in Las Vegas. It's ridiculous and I love it.

She loves cooking with me and is such a great helper!

No, really. She is!

I mean, you know, I go through about 15 spatulas because she keeps forgetting that she can't lick them while we are still baking, but other than that...

Cousin Twins. Three weeks apart (Carter is older), baby Giles and Carter are the best of pink-cheeked friends.

I love these boys! (Zach, Giles and K not pictured, but included in the sentiment none the less).

Look at them!! So sweet.

this is Halloween... err... Christmas Town

2012-01-20T15:15:00.000-07:00

Our Christmas was wonderful, in a Nightmare-ish kind of way.

Yes, Avery's obsession with the macabre has yet to end, and I for one am loving it. Who needs more adorable, bright-eyed little girls who love ponies and dollies and pink and flowers and sunshine?! Bo-ring

Santa, therefore, brought Av a Jack Skellington doll, and a few shrunken heads (that last part was a joke).

No, this is not our front yard.

Yes, we are the kind of parents who will slam on the brakes, flip a U, and hop out of our car to take pictures on someone else's front lawn to make our adorable little goth baby happy.

Moving on.

We spent Christmas at the cabin in Pine Valley, in the mountains just outside of St. George, and it was super wonderful. The kids all got along really well, there wasn't much snow (yay!) and I love spending time with my parents, siblings, children and hubs. The End.

...okay, not quite the end. Here are some great photos from our great time.

The boys in their matching Christmas PJs. Aren't they cute!? Oh, and yeah, my little brother, Spencer, likes to pretend he is the devil. NBD

Matching babies!!

Santa brought Carter her very own baby doll! She loves being a mama, which naturally includes sharing binkies, giving kisses, and dropping baby whenever she is bored. Isn't she the sweetest!?

Christmas Eve story time!

Christmas morning makes grumpy babies. Oh, and Carter looks pretty sleepy, too. Oooh Burned!

Sleepy Gi.

Avery with her Jack Action Figure!

For my brother-in-law, Josh, my mom bought Christmas Crackers. I rocked that paper crown with my sister sister.

Josh and Carter twins.

Uncle Spencey and Gi-guy.

Candy and toys and not enough sleep. Isn't Christmas the best?

Avery's new ladybug backpack was a big hit, but as the day wore on, her smiles for the camera wore out.

I know this is a month late, but I hope you all had a very merry Christmas!

step out into the dark

2012-01-03T15:59:00.001-07:00

Beginning a new semester after what seems like six months off (wait, it was six months off!) is daunting. It means new schedules and more organization. Less sleep and a lot less "me time" with infinitely more guilt peppered into my days because there are infinitely more "Go to your room"s and "Not now, Mommy is doing homework"s. But, as I type this in the last five minutes before Avery's rest time movie ends and Carter inevitably wakes up cranky and hungry from her nap, it also means more organization, more quality to the time I spend with the girls, more structure and more fulfillment. I hope.
I love resolutions and this New Year I have a lot! If everything goes according to my carefully laid plans (ha!) then this year is going to be spectacular.

oops

2011-12-08T15:52:00.001-07:00

I did it again.

My now-famous blog-disappearing-act, that is.

BTW Did Ricky Perry ruin the word "Oops" for anyone else? I can't say or hear it without thinking of a Texas dum-dum saying "...I can't remember the third one... Oops." Boo to that.

Anyway, hello friends!! Not dead. Just crazy. I won't say busy because I know a lady with 32 kids (slight exaggeration) and she somehow has time to quilt and read to the animal shelter and volunteer at the Elementary Schools (strike that, reverse it.) so saying busy just seems like I'm a light-weight at this point.

But I am still here and need to update you on our insane house overhaul project that shares a motto with the Energizer Bunny. Well, it is actually the Energizer Bunny cross-bred with a Gremlin- when you get this house wet and/or feed it after midnight the projects multiply and turn evil and keep going and going and going and going.

AND the inside of my head almost-always feels like someone is banging on it with a bass drum mallet.

Yep, that is the best analogy I have.

I also have updates on our incredible Thanksgiving Adventures in Portland and Seattle.

And how these kids just keep growing (and growing [boom!] and growing [boom!] and... STOP! Enough.)

And how I start school again in just a few short weeks *gulp*

I will catch you up soon! For now I will assure you that Christmas preparations are in full swing here: Our (unfinished and constantly evolving) halls are decked, wishlists written, and we are now in the mood for cheesy Lifetime Original Christmas films!! My favs? So glad you asked: Undercover Christmas, The Recipe for a Perfect Christmas and 12 Men of Christmas.

Possibly three of the worst films ever made. And I eat them up every year. Embrace your inner cheese-ball this year and give them a try!!

Or don't. That's better. It will give you one less reason to think about unfollowing this blog.

MERRY CHRISTMASTIME YOU GUYS!

hair like snakes

2011-11-18T11:36:00.001-07:00

This week is Avery's half birthday!

I can't believe it has been six months since all of this.

I can't believe in six more months we'll do it all again.

I can't believe that a few short months after that she will be in Kindergarten.

Wow, my heart stopped for just a second when I wrote that.

Here is her Pre-K school picture. She loves going to school and I am grateful every day for the great teachers and kids at her school!

I might die (just a little) inside when she heads off to real live big kid school, though.

Don't worry.

I'll try to be brave.

the horn

2011-11-14T13:49:00.001-07:00

In case you're interested, you should check out the cake I made for K's birthday last month on my new food blog! I don't mean to toot my own horn or anything...

but Toot Toot!!!

I mean, look at this thing!

TOOOT!

this, our town of Halloween

2011-11-14T12:15:00.001-07:00

Have I mentioned yet that somewhere in the middle of the month of October Avery watched The Nightmare Before Christmas for the first time and subsequently became obsessed with said nightmare?

Well, that happened.

So, days before Halloween, she decided that instead of being a SuperHeroLadybugAvery she had to be Jack, the Pumpkin King.

For only spending $4 on the costume (we had a long-sleeved black shirt and black pants for her already- we picked up a little boy's suit vest at DI for $2 and spent another $2 on the sparkly black ribbon for her bow tie) I think she looks pretty incredible. Laura did the face paint!

Carter was our little warm Cupcake again, and K pulled out his old bull-rider costume from our college days. Classy, right?

I was incredibly sick on Halloween with the worst head cold I have had in a really long time, AND, just to add some spice to our lives, we decided to undertake a big project in the house with our contractor on Halloween. You know, for fun.

They tore down the wall surrounding our stairway (a mother-of-a-toddler's nightmare) and began the process of reinforcing walls and putting in a banister. The finished product is wonderful! More on that to come. But they were at our house until 9:30pm, the poor guys. ...though I think they DID have some fun with the wood saw and creating sound effects when trick-or-treaters would ring the doorbell.

MUAHAHAH!!

Even though I was feeling sick I just couldn't miss out on some trick or treating with my little ghouls. So I phoned it in with a Dodger's Fan costume (an easy find in my closet) and a little black face paint. I only look like I am in slight pain in this picture, so I guess it was a successful night! ...though I can't really remember that well. I was on some pretty fun cold meds.

I think the Oogey Boogey Man would have approved of our Halloween had there been more bugs and less cuteness, but who cares? That guy is a jerk anyway.

gossip folks

2011-11-14T12:07:00.001-07:00

Did you know that in the middle of the forest, just north of Ashton, that there is a Haunted Forest, Hay Ride and Trick or Treating? Oh, did I mention that it's free (just bring a can of food per person for the food bank!! ...okay, so it's practically free.)!?

Every year Harriman State Park employees and volunteers go all out to decorate cabins and the surrounding forest with spooky and fun sights and sounds! There is trick or treating at every turn, games, prizes, hot cocoa and cookies... did I mention the hay ride?!

We missed our ward's Trunk or Treat to head up to the park for all of this fun, but I can't bring myself to regret it. In fact, I am pretty sure this was a tradition in the making.

(We dressed the big kiddies as kittens since my great friend, Laura, gave them all those cute headbands. We figured they could still be cute but stay warm since it is QUITE chilly up in the mountains at the end of October. Carter went as a cupcake, a cute and very fleece-y warm costume my mom got her at Old Navy. See her cherry on top!?)

mega

2011-11-07T13:08:00.000-07:00

I have this weird, obnoxious issue. I have a love-hate relationship with MegaMarts. WalMart, Target, Sam's Club, WinCo. They all give me the best deal on most everything from Huggies and Hagen-Daz, but even though I frequent each of these stores, I resent them. When I feel I have a choice (and extra cash- it really is expensive to be anti-establishment!) I choose Melaleuca over Proctor & Gamble. Scotty's Drive In over McDonalds. And now Some Random House on a Country Road over The U-Pick Red Barn.

Can you believe it!? I know. The audacity.

Instead of delving into the psychology of why my brain works this way and how long I am going to admit that I have a problem and do absolutely nothing about, especially when it comes to my new Pumpkin Patch discovery. In this case hitting up the little guy is WAY cheaper than going to the PumpkinMegaMart, and we had a wonderful time!!

My mom was here for the weekend, The U-Pick Red Barn was PACKED on the Saturday two weeks before Halloween, and we knew that someone else must be selling pumpkins somewhere! We were right.
I can't give you directions because I have no idea where we were, but K does, and I can't wait to go back next year! There was a "Haunted Forest", a "Bloody Pumpkin Patch" and oodles of beautiful gourds to choose from!

Sometimes I love living in the middle of nowhere.

happy happy joy joy

2011-11-02T14:21:00.001-06:00

I love myself some Disneyland. Yeah, that's right. I said it.

There is something about approaching the Happiest Place on Earth with my kiddies that activates a really bizarre and more than slightly giddy kind of glee inside of me. It is then that I just know despite the gobs of people and crazy lines and overpriced everything that we are about to have a fantastic time and make some really terrific memories!

I know that is so cheesy. Go ahead. Judge away.

On Monday, a couple of days after my disaster of a race, we caravaned with my mom, Mallory and Sir Giles to California to hit up Haunted Disneyland, complete with a Nightmare Before Christmas-themed Haunted Mansion. This detail is important when I get to our Halloween post, so stay tuned for that! Space Mountain was also super spooked out, and Captain Eo is back, people!! So rad.

It was a warm and beautiful day and we were able to get on just about every ride that we wanted to!

The bad news about Monday was that as we pulled into the Disneyland parking garage my mom's car started freaking out and she had to take it to the shop. She missed half of the day's festivities!! She is so awesome. She made us all go on without her while she put it in the shop, and we all stayed at this (gross!) hotel near the shop because it wasn't done until the next morning. You're such a trooper, Mom!! World's Best Grandma.

Meeting Mickey. Carter was not pleased.

Mally and GiGi. She's such a great mom, you guys!!

Carter ate way too much sugar (ahem Grandma ahem) and puked right before we went in to see Captain Eo, so I got her a sweet old fashioned Eo shirt!! I make her wear it all of the time.

She was soo tired at the end of the day!

...okay. There is really no excuse for this pic. I'm just here, geeking out in front of a pink castle. Nothing to see here. Move along.

Cheese!

Such a great day!!

tri tragedy

2011-11-02T12:12:00.000-06:00

It started out well.

See how happy and hopeful I look?

I thought I was prepared. The weekend before the race I even biked all of the way up to the windmills on Ammon Mountain!!! Seriously, I did!!

This race promised 12 whole miles of uphill on the bike, and I showed up ready to kick some butt.

Unfortunately... well, we'll get to that.

My third triathlon was the PumpkinMan Race on October 15th in Las Vegas, NV.

The swim for the race was the exact same as the swim for my first triathlon, and I was excited to get another crack at it, since the first time didn't go so well.

And I must say, I exacted my revenge on Lake Mead in a big way! In fact, my swim was my best time yet!! I killed it for sure and it felt so good.

...until I got on my bike.

Now I have mentioned many times my love affair with my bike. But things started off really rocky this go around, and it wasn't my bike's fault. It was mine.

You see, I didn't check to see what gear my bike was in before the race began, so when I hopped on and locked my shoes in, I tried to start pedaling. And hit a wall instead.

Not literally, it's just that my bike was in the highest gear. And I couldn't push forward.

Stupid Ammon Mountain.

So...

I fell over.

Like a tree.

TIMBERRR!!!

No joke.

So horribly embarrassing. PLUS I got a nice big cut on my knee and elbow for good measure.

Yeah.

Then I proceeded to get up, fix my chain (which came off during the fall), fix my gear and bike up 12 miles of baking hot desert hills.

But I couldn't seem to get my head back into it.

In fact, about 10 miles in I had to stop.

To puke.

Yeah.

I'm sorry to say that my run wasn't much better. About a mile and a half in there was a water station with a bunch of high school kids volunteering. One of the girls had a big Gatorade cooler thing and asked me if I wanted cold water dumped on me (it is really hot in that stupid desert!!). I said, "Sure!" ...I got water dumped on me as I ran by... but I also got a big knot on my head. Yep, the girl beaned me in the head with the cooler as she tipped it upside down.

Right.

No big deal, but just goes to show you how ummm fun this race was?

My family was there and they were all so supportive as I came in half an hour after my estimated finish time.

At least I wasn't last, right?
So, what does this mean for my future in racing?

It means that next year, PumpkinMan, your gourd is mine!!!

water war

2011-11-02T11:49:00.004-06:00

I just love going home to Las Vegas to visit! We went on October 13th to hang out and have some fun before my big race, and boy did we! Meeting Grandma for lunch and heading over to Town Square for some play time in the water shooty thing!! Too much fun. Like everything with Carter, she took a few minutes to warm up to the idea of water bursting out of the ground, but man, once she did she was so into it!! And Avery, as usual, was a wild woman. Both kiddos got completely soaked! It's a good thing their smart (beautiful, talented) mom brought a change of clothes!! (Yes, I did just compliment myself. It's been a hard week. Just give me this one.)

The last picture is of my sweet nephew, Giles. Isn't he a doll!?

to[u]can

2011-11-01T16:23:00.001-06:00

Before we went on our epic trip, my friend Laura and I decided to start canning the fruits of our labors from our garden... and every other fruit or vegetable that anyone would give us! It turns out that lots of people had things to donate: roughly 5 buckets full of grapes, 2 of tomatoes and 50 (might be a slight exaggeration) of apples!

Those things along with the tomatillos, corn, herbs and tomatoes from our own garden and we were able to put up quite a bit! Including tons of grape juice, tomato sauce, red and green salsa, and apple sauce! My house was a nightmare for two days, but it was so worth it and so much fun!

Our timing couldn't have been better, either. The day we started Idaho Falls had a freak blizzard. It snowed all day long!

My favorite part (besides hanging with Laura!) was using this crazy steam juicer that Laura's grandmother let us borrow. Look at this thing!! It's incredible! You just put the fruit into the basket, water underneath and watch it shoot out tons of fresh and delicious fruit juice!

I am so grateful for all of the new skills I have acquired this year in growing my own garden and learning how to home can things. I can't wait for next year!!

hard hat

2011-11-01T12:30:00.001-06:00

Holy cow has it been a long time!!

I think you will forgive me when I tell you that my house has looked like this for nearly a month now...

New carpet for my entire house comes on Wednesday and I am so excited!! ...of course, between now and then we still have to cut and paint all of the trim for the house, put in a banister along the stairwell, paint the ceiling in the girls' new room and the stair entryway and probably one million other things, but I know that soon we will be done and I am ecstatic!! Also exhausted. And extremely sick with the world's meanest head cold. And emphatically sure that I never want to embark on another home improvement project. Ever. Again.

Stay tuned for a month's worth of catch up posts! Even though we have been living in a mess we have still had lots of adventures and I can't wait to share!

sick day

2011-10-12T11:16:00.000-06:00

*Carter with a cold. September 2011
Although I hate it when my kiddos are sick, I do love the cuddle time that sickness affords. Especially with too-busy-to-cuddle-with-you Carter. She is so active and hilarious. She is always carrying around a book and whacking me in the leg with it until I read to her. She calls this, "reeboo?!" I am assuming that means "Read book?" but it could also mean "Buy me new sneakers." or "How about some waffles?"

Her favorite animal is still doggies, although she loves learning all of the animal sounds.
Just found out yesterday at a doctor's visit that she is in the 85th percentile. I have NO IDEA what that means, but isn't it terribly exciting!!?! Especially considering the fact that her big sister juuust barely made it onto the chart for her age!? No joke. Before this year Avery was in the negative percentile.
Okay, I don't actually think that there is any such thing as a negative percentile. I made it up. Just roll with it.
Her eyes are still blue blue blue and her hair is still blonde blonde blonde! The PA yesterday told me that her hair would probably turn, but she's never seen Klayton. I'm thinking she might be B4L. You know, Blonde4Life.
She loves to have laughing contests with me. I.E. She will scrunch up her cute little nose and go, "AhhAhhAhh!" So I will take a deep breath and say, "MUAHAHAHA!!" and she will go, "AHAHHAHHAAHHA!!" It's loads of fun.
She loves to run. And she is super fast, too! Mostly to keep up with Avery, I guess. But she runs SO FUNNY!! Chest out, neck forward, arms sprawled, head down. Think sprinter-crossing-the-tape-finish-line. Funny-looking on a big old Kenyan dude. Adorable on a chubby little toddler!
She is taking her first trip to Disneyland on Monday!! My parents are taking us and we are all so excited! Carter has a Minnie doll that sings her the Hot Dog Song (if you don't know what this is, you don't have kids), so I know she'll freak when she sees her!
Just thought you should know that my baby is getting bigger!! And we are loving every minute!

blue light special

2011-09-28T10:32:00.003-06:00

There have been so many things going on lately and yet the days are passing so slowly! I know as soon as Halloween hits, though, we will be into a new year before we know it! Right now I am trying to take a good, hard look at all of the good in my life, though, and I just had to share this experience I had with answered prayers today.

So, K had a huge deal in the works a couple of weeks ago for a new management contract and it felt like it was going to be the deal. You know, The Deal that pushed us over the top- from hanging on by our fingernails to really getting momentum and moving forward!

...But the deal fell through. The firm went with a different management company and K has been super discouraged. We are in the middle of finishing the basement of our house and expanding the business and K is in school full time on top of it all and we both have crazy/fun callings and we just need a boost (or shove) to tell us that we can keep going. So we have been praying for guidance and comfort and strength to keep going and to do the Lor'ds will, whatever it is.

Well, today we received a card in the mail from K's parents that I am sure they sent to all of their children, but it feels like a very personal answer for us. It was a note telling us that they are concerned with the state of the world today, they don't know what our food storage situation is, but they want to help us get more. Included with this very thoughtful card was a Food Storage Nest Egg (i.e. cash).

This FSNE is a huge blessing for us and feels like an answer to so many prayers from the last week. Prayers about making cash stretch and how to proceed and whether we should just scrap everything and change our names and leave the country and become Parisian Tour Guides.

As I have thought about all of the positive things in my life lately, getting this gift in the mail this week feels like so many other tangible blessings- the Lord is aware of my family and He is blessing our lives, whether it is in the way that we had hoped for or planned on or not.

So, now I am planning out a big trip to Broulims' Case Lot Sale and I am so excited!! We decided to take a portion of the money out of a food budget to spend on diapers, too, because, well, diapers are expensive and in my world they are oh-so-necessary.

And I stumbled upon something that probably every other mom out there knows about, but just in case you don't you have GOT to check this out!!

I mean, I guess I don't count saving money as a huge blessing, but it's all related and I want to tell you about this.

So just go with it.

It's called AmazonMom. When you make an AmazonMom account you get $$ off of everything you need when you have kids: Diapers, wipes, formula, food, toys, gadgets- everything! For example, this morning, unwilling to trudge to Sam's Club to pay $45 dollars (no joke) for 120 diapers (0.38 cents/diaper), I Googled "Diaper Deals" and found this through AmazonMom:

140 Huggies (my favorite brand) Snug&Dry Diapers for $33.50 (about 0.24/diaper)

Then, as an AmazonMom I saved 15% off of that price, and 15% off from signing up for Subscribe and Save (cancel when you want and/or get diapers shipped for free to your doorstep as often as you want- check it out). I just paid $23 (0.17/diaper) with free shipping!! That is nearly half of what I would have paid at Sam's! When you take out the gas, the frustration of taking two little kids to Sam's Club and the emotional trauma of leaving that place without a ginormous package of lunch meat and a Giant-Size Coke (my wallet can't afford one; my health, the other) that's an even bigger deal!

I am not a huge online shopper, but if I get to skip the Sam's Experience until I need a 10-can refill of my favorite Stephen's Hot Cocoa next month, I am extatic.

deep breath

2011-09-24T19:08:00.002-06:00

Can I tell you something?

I love to tell people what to do.

For real, I do.

I'm super good at it, too.

Especially when it comes to restaurant suggestions. And since I am a major foodie (although I loathe the term, there really is no use denying it) and an enthusiastic cook, there are few (VERY few) things that I love more than going out to eat. You know, mostly so I can judge other people's food. And try to copy it. But really, what is not to love about going out to eat!? There is always grub and usually some friends/family/people that you love or at least can stand to talk to for an hour or two, which means smiling, laughing, and lots of chewing. These are my favorite things.

I also love to write, however "quirky" (pretty sure that's the nicest thing that people ever say about my writing style) my voice may be.

And I love food!

Did I say that already?

Anyway, I have decided to start another blog to try to get some of this food-loving, need-to-write-about-something energy out of my system. I want to write about the food I eat and perhaps even sometimes what I make at home. My best memories all involve family and food (which explains the chub) and I want to share my passion with anyone who will listen. I want to entertain friends... and to try to tell as many people as I possibly can what to do.
Seriously- I'm good at it. You'll see.

Who knows how long my blog project will last, but for now I would love for you to check out my very first posts and let me know what you think!

Really, though. Give me feedback. I need it. The brutal kind.

Check it out here, then quickly tell me not to quit my day-job so we can stop all of this foolishness here and now. ...or you could love the whole idea, too. You know. Up to you.

Oh, and I don't say this enough, but thanks for being my friend.

isn't it neat?

2011-09-21T17:37:00.000-06:00

You guys.

The weekend was spectac.

...I thought that would be a super cool way to say spectacular.

It wasn't.

My apologies.

Anyway, we drove down to St. George on Friday where we met up with my parents, Aunt Diane, Uncle Doug and cousins, Jacob and Jessica, to hit up Tuacahn to see The Little Mermaid (SO fantastic). K and Carter headed straight up to the cabin because they were BEAT! Poor kids.

After a few hours of sleep at the cabin, we then went into Zion's National Park to embark on an EPIC hike (more to come). Then we loaded up a UHaul full of furniture that my parents and grandma handed down to us (thank you!!!) and drove back home, where we pulled in around 10am Sunday morning. No joke. It was a crazy trip.

Could I be more tired this week?

Could the girls have had a better time?

Could it have been any more worth the insanity?

Nope.

Here are a few pics from the show at Tuacahn. Isn't my little princess the sweetest?

nothing greater

2011-09-16T09:59:00.003-06:00

There is nothing better than an afternoon spent in the Great Outdoors with people that you love. Even when you forget the AMAZING gourmet lunch that you packed for everyone to eat on top of the mountain you are hiking on your kitchen counter.

This is from Labor Day weekend. Doesn't K do a super convincing impression of a pack mule? :) What a good dad.

We are headed to St. G this weekend to do a little more hiking, and I can't think of a better way to spend a weekend. Happy Trails!

Lady Love

2011-09-14T10:45:00.002-06:00

By now you know that Avery loves Ladybugs.

She really really does.

She has already decided that she wants to be a ladybug for Halloween, which is awesome because we already have a ladybug costume for her!! But it also stinks because it's crummy and old and I want her to have one like this.

Anyway, she love love love loves ladybugs. And this summer while we were at the beach my mom found a baby doll dressed up in a ladybug costume in an antique store!! It was on a top shelf, covered in dust and in packaging from the lady who makes the calendars of babies dressed up. What's her name? googleing... Ooh! Anne Geddes. Avery has never been a fan of dolls and playing mommy. She was always more of a kitchen toy kind of girl. Until mom decided to get her this doll. (Don't worry. She didn't pay anywhere near that much. In fact, thanks to my googleing I realized what a deal she got on this baby, apparently!!)

So now Avery carries this baby doll everywhere we go. She will not sleep without her. In fact, once we left her in Rexburg on accident, and they were the longest days of Avery's life so far. She still will stop strangers on the street and tell them the harrowing tale of leaving her Ladybug Baby all alone in Rexburg! They almost-always leave with tear-filled eyes and a new outlook on life. It's a powerful story of love, loss and recovery.

So that's Ladybug Baby, the newest member of our family. She has been pushed on the swing set, cradled, cuddled, dropped, spilled-on and shown-off countless times this summer. Already this fall she has been shoved in Avery's school backpack three times a week and has seen all of the animals at the State Fair, where Avery even tried to share her smoked turkey leg with her.

Is it wrong to wish that things would never change?

better than the best

2011-09-14T10:20:00.003-06:00

Friday night was Black Bean Soup night at our house.

I have recently become obsessed with this recipe, and subsequently with the Our Best Bites blog since I saw the recipe for this soup printed in LDS Living magazine. I knew I had to try it. And I am so glad I did. In fact, I think that we have had it just about every-other-week for the past three months! And I am no where near sick of it yet. Though the soup stands on its own, my favorite part is coming up with new mix-ins and sides to pair it with each time!

The best so far is adding homemade pico de gallo, sliced avocado, cheese, lime, and sour cream. Oh! And lots and lots of tortilla chips! But maybe that's just because it's what we had this weekend.

Another perk to making this soup this last month- I have been able to use lots of fresh veggies from my very own garden! There is nothing like homemade pico with tomatoes, onions, jalapenos and cilantro from your own back yard!

Since we had a friend over for dinner on Friday, I decided to try a new recipe from the girls at Our Best Bites along with my killer soup:

Brazilian Lemonade.

Throw some water, sugar and sliced limes, skin and all, into a blender, mix in some sweetened condensed milk (yep, you read right. SCM. Weird, huh?) and serve over lots of ice (To me nothing worth drinking is ever less than almost-frozen cold).

Crazy, right?

No. Delicious. Honestly, this lemonade hits all of your taste buds in a different way. You have to try it to know what I'm talking about.

The most amazing part is that I was able to throw this together in less than an hour, since that's all the warning I had that someone was coming to dinner, and my plan up to that point was "Uhh I don't know. Leftovers?" Though it didn't hurt that I live kitty-corner to a Mexican food market.

Try this meal and let me know what you think. You're going to love it. I just know it.

51

2011-09-12T10:54:00.000-06:00

This. Is my dad.

He's pretty much the coolest guy you've ever seen, right?

Right.

And today is his birthday!!

I know I told you how wonderful my mother is just a little bit ago. So now you have to picture someone who is amazing enough to hang with a lady like that.

It's hard. I know. Let me paint you a little picture, just so you have something to go off of...

My dad is a hard worker. In fact, after years as a cameraman for a TV station, he decided that he wasn't contributing enough to others. So he went back to school. To become a teacher. For the past couple of decades he has changed and influenced thousands of kids with his incredible sense of humor and love for them. And now he is back in school getting his Masters Degree. While teaching. And serving in our home stake. And being the dad of five kids. Grandpa to three. And the husband to my crazy-busy mom. Seriously.

[The only picture of ALL of us. Yikes.]

Oh, and speaking of his sense of humor, my dad is the funniest man alive.

Period.

The end.

I mean, the guy tells better jokes than they do on the Disney Jungle Cruise. Which he knows by heart. [Pictured below in January 2010 with Avery on said Jungle Cruise]

He likes to say that I'm the only one who laughs at his jokes, but that's not true! He usually gets a pretty big kick out of himself, too.

My dad runs and/or works out six days a week. He is faster than me on foot, too. Not that that's hard. But he competed in his first 5K this year and I am so proud of him! He's even promised to do a 10K with me soon! He is a total inspiration to me.

My dad is an awesome grandpa. Here he is sleeping with four-pound Av on his chest. And hanging with bald-Carter last Christmas. And dressing up as the Man from the North Pole just so Av could sit on his knee and gush about all of the things she wanted and how she was going to set out cookies for him later.

He has these kids wrapped around his little finger. Wait, maybe it's the other way around.

My dad is the biggest music fan there ever was. Remember that show on VH1- Rock and Roll Jeopardy? I used to sit on the floor in my dad's room while it was on and listen to him answer just about every single question correctly long before any of the contestants buzzed in. His music collection encompasses one HUGE floor-to-ceiling cabinet in the family room. Well, it used to, at least. Until my dad got an iPod. Now he has two full 80gig iPods and a third that he is working on filling. And he listens to it all. Trust me. He has a system.

He taught me to love the Beatles and concerts and music from a very young age. We've been to tons of shows together, too. Billy Joel in the fifth grade. Paul McCartney junior year. KISS- twice- as a teenager (The show where a very drunken man asked my dad how long we had been married as we waited outside the MGM Grand... Ahh memories...*shudder*). Arcade Fire this spring. And about a dozen front row Weird Al Yankovic concerts in between. And I'm not exaggerating. We love Al.

My dad is my spiritual rock. He has always shown me how important gaining a testimony of the restored gospel is through his tireless efforts to serve the members of our home ward and stake. Whenever I need comfort or help or have a really great experience to share, he's the guy I call. He has shown me how to build my own testimony, and what really matters in life. By example my dad has shown me how to love the sinner, how to receive truth and light, how to forgive and how to give and love and support and serve. It is my lifelong goal to be an integral part of a ward family, as well as my own family, because of the legacy he has given to me.

I love him oh so much. And I miss his mustache.

It's time to bring it back, Daddy.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

getting schooled

2011-09-12T09:51:00.001-06:00

Last week Avery had her first day of pre-k! She was so excited and looked so adorable. I was the weepy mom; taking lots of pictures and demanding numerous kisses and hugs good-bye. I was practically hanging onto her leg.

It probably should have been the other way around.

Thanks a lot, Av!

Her teachers are so sweet and the school is really so wonderful. I love all of the other kids and their moms that I have gotten to know. We are so glad to be back!

Time is passing and Av is growing entirely too swiftly for my liking, but I am trying to roll with it. This morning when I dropped her off I didn't even stand around and watch her play for an almost-creepy amount of time.

I stayed juuust long enough.

Baby steps, people.

trash talk

2011-09-09T16:24:00.001-06:00

I love this little girl of mine. Only she's not so little any more. She is sassy and sweet. She is so smart and always trying to learn more. And she has some killer trash-talking abilities. Lately she turns everything into a race, so when she "raced" me to the garden the other day, I was not surprised. I was, however, very surprised when she turned around, looked at me with a big, beautiful smile and said, "MOM!! I beat you like a red-headed step-child!!"

Oh yes. That's my girl.

***FYI: All of the pictures on this post are ones that she took herself using her Fisher Price hot pink camera. She loves that thing and she is fearless with it! The other night we went to Baskin-Robbins for a treat after Family Home Evening and she was walking around, getting in stranger's faces and telling them, "Say Cheese!!!"

Since you don't want to see pictures of hipster teens or a family of four, I'll show you some of my favorites that she took in the garden a few weeks ago...

I just love her passion and sense of humor.

And this one!!

Oh man, I cannot believe how big she is getting. She has so much personality packed into every square inch, sometimes I just don't know what to do with her. She makes me laugh constantly. For instance, the girl is obsessed with dogs. She loves learning to make all of the animal noises I can teach her, but dog is her favorite. You can watch her perk up when the doors are open or we are outside and she hears a dog "Woof!" She'll look at me and say, "Woo-woo?"
"Yes, Carty! A doggie!!"

So she wanders around and looks for it. "Woo-woo!? Woo-woo!"

Cute, right?

...that is, until you actually put her anywhere near a dog. Anytime we are at a friend's house or the farmer's market or park and a dog strolls up, Carter FREAKS OUT! She tries to get away from it, so the dog wanders off, and she FOLLOWS IT!! She doesn't know if she is terrified or hypnotized by the thing. It is hysterical.

Seriously, these girls make life so sweet.

miracles never cease

2011-09-06T22:03:00.000-06:00

Please go see this movie.

Seriously, I will babysit your children or pet or stamp collection. I will do your visiting teaching for you. I will run your errands. Just so you can go. You need to see it. And when you do, bring one big box of tissues.

Per person.

It looks super dramatic from this preview, but this film is very well made. And the reminder of what those people went through with so much faith was a welcome one. It helped me to look for the hand of the Lord in my life in the past week. And I have seen it, too. A lot.

I think that having grown up in the church sometimes makes it easy for me to be jaded by yet another story of pioneer perseverance, but the parallels between their struggles and ours, though so different in content, help me to know that if I stay strong and faithful then I can get through my trials, counting the miracles along the way.

David O. McKay once said, "The most important of life's battles is the one we fight daily in the silent chambers of the soul." I feel like that is especially true today, with so many intangible evils to face. Seeing the story of these people, how they faced evil and overcame, how they banded together, how they humbled themselves, reminds me that Satan is so real. The good news, though, is that he can and will be overcome! Each time I do my part to ignore the thoughts that say I'm not good enough, strong enough, smart enough, pretty enough, or kind enough, I count it as a battle victory. These mental trials might make me feel absolutely crazy some days, but I know that discouragement is the greatest tool the adversary uses against me. This fight is real, and the example of the pioneers helps me have courage to keep fighting.

Anyway, see it. You'll like it.

why I believe

2011-09-03T09:02:00.001-06:00

Check out the link to my very own profile page through Mormon.org!! If you click on the "I Believe" link you will get there. I have wanted to create this page for for a while, and I am so glad I finally did. Hopefully it will give me the opportunity to share with anyone who is interested exactly what I believe. And why! Faith is such a huge part of my life, and my recent involvement with the 12 Step Recovery Program has taught me how very real the Atonement of the Savior is to me every single day. You can read more about it on my new page, but I am so grateful for my faith and the strength it gives me. I hope you have a great Labor Day weekend!!

in case

2011-09-01T20:20:00.000-06:00

Here's an update on my sick day post. You know. Just in case you were wondering:

+Beets are super delicious. Seriously, where have you been all of my life? I should have known. They are a super food, you know.
+Also, I am feeling much better. Thank you for asking.
+Do you think I feel better because beets have magical healing powers? Probably not. But if they do, my favorite food book will tell me. Must look up.
+I spent all day canning Boston Baked Beans from the Ball canning cook book recipe. Phew. Tomorrow is green beans, but those should be a super-cinch.
+Canning things makes me feel like a mom super hero. Does Ball make capes?
+If it weren't for bacon, I think that I would fully embrace a vegetarian lifestyle. But that is a big if. Bacon deserves a cape.
+Do you think that bacon and beets would go well together? Note to self. Must try that. It sounds Super.

lightning round

2011-08-30T09:53:00.003-06:00

A few updates:
+Getting a head cold in the summer is just not right.
+Getting a head cold in the summer at the same time as my two children and husband means that I get to be everyone's favorite sneezing nurse!! Is this because I caught the cold last, and, therefore, am in a sort of "Finders, Keepers; Losers, Weepers" situation? No. No it's not. But it would be a little more fair if that were the case. I might stop thinking pathetic thoughts about how much I want someone to tuck me in and bring me soup, because at least then I would have lost fair and square!
+I'm whiney when I'm sick.
+I am becoming afraid of my garden. Especially my squash plants. Every time I reach into one to pull out a scary-big zucchini I have the distinct feeling that the plant could pull me in and gobble me up if it wanted to.
+Also, I watch Little Shop of Horrors when I am sick.
+I made this last night with said home grown zucchini and it was delicious with a poached egg on top.
+I have also made zucchini chocolate chip cookies and brownies in the last week.
+Before I caught this cold I bought some Swiss chard and beets at the Farmer's Market- two things I have never-before cooked. Am hoping to make this soup with the chard tomorrow. Tonight I am roasting the beets and serving them on top of a salad made from the beet greens.
+I am almost more afraid of cooked beets than I am of my squash plants.
+A good friend lent her Veggie Tales collection to Avery, and she is in love! I have never seen these things before, but they are pretty clever.
+They also feed my recently-founded fear of plants and vegetables.

I should probably go back to bed now.

a totally innocent Hungarian

2011-08-25T09:39:00.007-06:00

Yesterday my nieces started school again, and it has instantly turned summer to fall in my mind somehow, despite the sunny weather outside. And that means it's a new year!! You know, since autumn is my time to make resolutions and start new on old goals. It is also my time to dust off You've Got Mail. So between that, this post from my friend Kristine (whose blog makes me wish I could be this creative and fabulous), and my goal for this year of being a better friend, I decided to celebrate back to school with my SIL yesterday in Rexburg. And I brought gifts! Back to school time is a really hard time for Mandy. She loves having the kids around all summer. What a great mom, right!? So I've been thinking about her a lot and knew she'd appreciate this...

I walked in the door and said, "Don't you love [Idaho] in the Fall? It makes me want to buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly-sharpened pencils, if I knew your name and address." Yep. You've Got Mail quotes. And she loved it.
Mandy gets me like that.
I also brought my nieces, nephew and Avery a little back to school treat...which I didn't get a great picture of, but that's okay. It was just some yummy animal crackers, organic milk boxes (strawberry for the girls, chocolate for Milo), a pencil, and a little notebook. They gobbled everything up when they got home from school (Milo and Avery ate theirs as mid-morning snacks) and I got to hear all about their first days, their teachers, their bike route, etc. As well as hang with Mandy and watch Housesitter (a 90's classic).
In other words, it was a lovely day spent with some of my favorite people.
Happy Back to School!

swim to the surface

2011-08-22T09:39:00.015-06:00

Alright. I know I went on and on. And on. About my last race.

Sorry, you're going to get more of the same here.

My sister-in-law, Mandy, made that for me. Isn't it cute!?

So, as previously mentioned, I was so very nervous for this race! On Saturday I was signed up to compete in The Rush Triathlon in Rexburg, Idaho, and I didn't feel as prepared as I should have. Honestly I hadn't been on my bike enough and I just didn't feel like I was mentally ready. And I was scared stupid because of it.See my nervous smile?

Yeesh. Again with the nervous smile.
Plus I have a swim cap on. Never. Flattering.
Plus it was freezing out. That has nothing to do with how awful I look in this picture, but it is true none the less.

As soon as I got in the water I felt more comfortable, though. There is just something about open water swimming that I have fallen head-over-heels in love with. Not that I'm great at it or anything, but this time I didn't freak out when I hit that cold, dark water. I actually felt quite at home! Thanks Rigby Lake!! The swim is about .6 miles around Rainbow Lake (a man-made lake just outside of Rexburg, Idaho that is filled with man-eating trout. Or at least that is what ran through my head each time a piece of seaweed or someone else's arm or leg touched me in the water. Why are fish so much more scary when you are on their turf?).After the swim they have volunteers there to help those who would like help getting out of their wetsuits. I didn't use these "strippers", as they are called, on my first race, but I thought I'd give it a try this time. I'm not sure I'd do it again. This is me awkwardly laughing while a few 18 year old girls pull my wetsuit off. Sexy.After the first transition I hopped on my bike and headed off. The bike portion of this race was 14.2 miles, and it was pretty killer. Lots of hills. But there is no feeling like getting to the top of the Big Hill and knowing that you made it up. I might have cried (but just a little) as I thanked my Father in Heaven for my blessings and my body. For all of the bad stuff so I could feel all of the good stuff a little bit better. For everything.After all of the ups and downs (and emotional breakdowns), then it's just a quick change into running shoes, 3.1 miles, about a mile of which on a small dirt path up a Big Old Hill, and then a lap around the old high school's track to the finish line.

My brother-in-law, Spencer, ran the intermediate length race, and it was great to see him and his family.

So, it was done. I ate some fruit. Drank a lot. Walked around a bit. Still feeling so grateful for all that I had been given. And I decide to check the final numbers before heading home and hitting the showers.
But we don't leave.
Not yet.
Because it turns out that I finished second in my bracket.
SECOND.
So, you know, I had to stay and get my bright, shiny, silver medal!!

My goal was to beat my time from my first race, which I did by about four minutes! That may not seem like a lot to you, but both the swim and the bike course in The Rush were much more challenging and miles longer than the course at RAGE, my first race.
In other words, it's a big deal.
You should be impressed.

lightning and thunder

2011-08-18T11:52:00.007-06:00

I got a link to this news article in my email inbox this morning. And it is not helping my nerves. I just feel like they could have left this sentence out:
Filled with numerous grueling climbs both on the bike and run portions of the race, the Rush promises to put competitors to the ultimate test.

I mean, okay. I get it. I'm nervous. Really nervous. Are you happy?

How do pro athletes do it? How do they stay so motivated and not want to throw up before competitions like Kona or Le Tour de France?
Maybe I'm being ridiculous. Maybe they are all there feeling like they are about to throw up and having nightmares. Maybe they are just better at pretending they aren't doing those things than I am.

Or perhaps their confidence comes from being so awesome and fit. I mean, I am pretty much the PosterGirl for Unlikely Triathlete Magazine. Seriously, they want an exclusive with me. I am still mulling it over.

Wow. Thinking about these things is really not helping my nerves, either.
I think that I need something to make me feel strong. I need to get someone like Mickey, or some sort of motivational-rhyming-chant in my life. You know, a pre-game dance to give me strength from my ancestors. Or maybe just one that makes me feel a bit sassy. Or something that will give me the edge over my competitors.
I at least need my own kick-butt theme song!!

Alright, I'm pumped now. No more wondering if I will cross that finish line. No more whining.
Today I channel Rocky (which is why my face looks so stupid if you happen to run into me today).
Eye of the tiger, baby.

speaking of LSQ

2011-08-17T10:28:00.002-06:00

My family are all big Conan fans, but I have to admit that I am more of a Jimmy Fallon girl. Maybe it's because I had a crush on him when I was 14. Maybe it's because half of the gimmicks he tries on the show completely bomb. Maybe it's because he's so Thank-ful. Maybe its because of this hilariousness. But whatever it is, he is my #1 nerdy late night guy.
As of last night my feelings for Jimmy have become a bit more involved, thanks to this!

Seriously. Wow. Vanilla ice cream, a salted caramel swirl and clusters of fudge covered potato chips. Yeah, that's right. Potato chips. K and I downed an entire carton while watching our recorded episode of The Great Food Truck Race (we are suckers for FoodNetwork reality shows. Can you believe K chose the Boston Grilled Cheese truck as his favorite to win!? Psh).
...In hindsight we probably should have actually watched Jimmy Fallon while eating. Huh. Oh well.
I should feel bad about eating this (insanely delicious) garbage just three days before my big race (the RUSH triathlon in Rexburg, ID!!!), but I just can't muster the remorse. Not with all of the training and stress I have been indulging because of said race. I even had a Hunger Games-style dream about it. I was riding my bike through the jungle while crazy-in-shape evil triathletes hunted me.
For real.
Some gross(ly amazing) ice cream is in order. Right?
Right?!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

ladybug chores

2011-08-16T09:40:00.005-06:00

Cleaning and dressing and washing and wiping another human being is super fun.

Don't get me wrong.
But lately I have been thinking of organization. A lot. And I have decided we need some more of it here in my house.
I think when I went to school last winter a lot of our schedules went out the window, and now that Avery and K are headed back to school in the next couple of weeks and life is about to get a bit crazy again, I have become willing to sell my soul for a routine that works.
Okay, fine. I wouldn't sell it. But I would consider renting it out, or, like maybe a time-share scenario.
But I don't think it will come to that. In fact, as I thought of all that my gorgeous, wonderful, intelligent little four year old is capable of, I decided a big step toward getting things organized is to help her learn to help herself.

Enter my homemade Chore Chart, for lack of a better descriptor. I got the idea from an online video and decided to run with it last night for Family Home Evening. We discussed that Heavenly Father's house is a house of order and prayer, then I pulled out my picture chart and we pasted a little picture of Super Avery Ladybug (Avery with her $3 DI Ladybug Costume and a pink cape embossed with the letter A that my mom gave her two Christmases ago) on a clothespin so she can move it from task to task. The picture reminds her of, you know, (ladybug) Girl (superhero) Power!!
The picture chart itself is just a word document split into two columns with clip art to remind Avery of her morning and evening routines. On the left is morning: Make her bed, eat breakfast, read scriptures and say prayers, brush teeth, get dressed and water her flower garden. In the evening it's wash and set the table for dinner (which she gets a huge kick out of!), pick up toys and shoes, get in pj's and brush teeth, pick a story, and pray. I folded the paper in half, clipped it onto the fridge, stuck on SuperAveryLadybug's clothespin and went at it!
And she loves it!!
...okay. So it's only been 12 hours. But I have a good feeling about this one.
I even made one for "Mommy and Daddy"'s duties. Just so she wouldn't feel singled out.
...okay, and we could really use a little shove in the right direction, too.

well, sir, here we are again

2011-08-15T12:28:00.007-06:00

When you live in a place with perfect summers, it is important to have a great backyard.

If you have that great backyard, you really ought to treat it well.
My backyard's favorite thing to do is watch old movies. About once a summer we like to rent a projector, set up K's PA system, move around some furniture and give the yard what it wants.
Audrey.
Cary.
Gregory.
Humphrey.
Jimmy.
(Seriously, lots of names ending in "eeee" back then.)
Only the best for my backyard.

Good friends, good food, lots of treats, You Can't Take it With You- a Frank Capra film with Jimmy Stewart Jean Arthur and Lionel Barrymore- Soooo good), Casablanca, and a little Roman Holiday in between.

Perfect just got better somehow.

photo op

2011-08-15T11:49:00.006-06:00

I am sorry, but there are few things that could make me run for my camera faster than hearing my sister-in-law, Mandy, gasp and say, "Wow, girls! You look... well, it looks like a princess threw up in here!"

Princess Puke is dainty like that.

what's in a name?

2011-08-15T08:46:00.003-06:00

Every time I watch a special on the Food Network about barbeque competitions I find myself wishin' on a star that someday I will get to go to one of said competitions and eat myself sick.
But hittin' up Bubba's Barbeque here in town is a close second to that far-off dream.
Last Saturday we went with some friends and had a good ol' time (I'm sorry, but writing about bbq and keepin' the G's and D's on the ends of my words is surprisingly quite difficult).
When our friend mentioned that he had eaten at a Bubba's in Jackson Hole, WY a while back, I was super disappointed. We have been to the IF Bubba's many times and I had really hoped that it was a one-of-a-kind kind of place. You know, Portland Style. But then he laughed and supposed that there are probably hundreds of locally-owned joints named Bubba's BBQ because, really, what else is the name Bubba good for but naming big, beautiful bbq restaurants? Turns out the Jackson Bubba's was nothing like ours.
It's way nicer.
But whatever. Jackson Hole is snooty. Too snooty for a town that sounds like a 6th grade boy named it after being mooned by his best friend.
Anyway, after eating at Bubba's this time around I must admit that smoked brisket, baked beans, broccoli salad and warm chocolate buttermilk pie with a scoop of Reed's Dairy vanilla ice cream on top is now in the running for my last meal. Do you know what you would eat for your last meal?
It may seem like a morbid question, but I think about it. A lot. Growing up my family would say that they "Died and went to heaven" whenever anything delicious was around (usually involving copious amounts of chocolate/peanut butter/ice cream/all three). But even now whenever I encounter something that makes me feel like Carter looks in this picture, I think, "Wow. This is Last Supper Quality."
LSQ.
I think I'm on to something, here.
I just decided that I am going to make LSQ bumper stickers and bracelets.
WWLSQD?
And I will hand them out to people/restaurants/myself whenever I encounter something that is truly, well, LSQ.

What's LSQ to you?

such a funny pair

2011-08-13T10:44:00.006-06:00

Ahh these two.
We just finished two weeks of swim lessons at the aquatic center with our favorite Rexburg cousins and I have to say that am in love with this picture of Milo and Avery.
Remember these two way back when? That seriously feels like a lifetime ago.
Or what about this!? Or this!?!
I just can't wrap my head around how quickly these guys are growing up.
But until they get drivers licenses and (worse) snippy attitudes they are just loving life, each other, and pinching their swim teacher's nose for her when she dunks her head underwater. Which I am sure she loved. All 300 times they did it.

And speaking of growing up...Elle is going into the third grade, and Ava is in first! And my little baby girl is not so little somehow anymore.

bend, but don't break

2011-08-05T10:46:00.002-06:00

Today marks the one year anniversary of some pretty hard things in my life. I wish I didn't remember what today means. It's just one of those things when the date sticks with you. Like you remember birthdays and holidays, only I really don't want to celebrate today.
It's incredible to me, looking back on the past year, how some things change so drastically, even while life goes on in the same way. A year shows how much healing can occur, and how much pain is still left over. It shows how nothing can change while things are never quite the same. This past year has proven to me how strong I am. And how I'll never be strong enough alone.

I haven't spoken much to many about the last year in my life and the struggles that I have faced, but perhaps someday I will say more. For now I am just thinking, paying homage to a day that for me is best forgotten, saying a prayer of thanks for the healing and rescue I have found in the Atonement of Jesus Christ, for those who have dealt me comfort, peace and friendship even without knowing how badly I needed those things, and hoping that those out there who need help and strength will know where to find it.
A few months ago I changed the title of my blog to My Unconquerable Soul, a line from the famous William Henley poem, "Invictus". I know that all of us go through really hard things that stretch us and hurt us and make us feel like we are going to break. I also know that we don't have to let those things define us. Henley thanked "whatever gods may be", but I know to whom I can look for redemption and peace. And I am so grateful for my unconquerable soul.

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishment the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

burgled

2011-08-02T22:26:00.001-06:00

Dear Corn Burglar,I love you.
Sincerely,
Mom

progeny

2011-08-02T22:20:00.002-06:00

I have been MIA for a little while. But you really can't blame me.
I was hanging out with my parents! Love them. But, let's face it, they are pretty finicky (somewhere in Las Vegas my mother is rolling her eyes and giving me a big "OH BROTHER" look at this very moment). And I had to put a lot of effort into keeping them entertained.
Like taking them on a hike to Cress Creek.
Then picking up fried chicken and heading to the drive in to see Harry Potter (again again) with the girls asleep in the bed we shoved in the back of my Trail Blazer.
Then the Farmer's Market. And a backyard BBQ.
Oh, and letting my mom teach me how to can. I know she loved that.
All in all, I am pretty exhausted from having such a good time.
Feel sorry for me yet?

piece of lake

2011-07-27T11:21:00.002-06:00

On Wednesday mornings just after 6am you'll find me at Rigby Lake with my suit, goggles, cap and, just because I'm lucky like that, friends who are a little bit crazy, just like me.
And it is beginning to be my favorite part of the week.
Sure, biking on Monday morning out to the country, speeding past farms and cattle and cricks (yep. that's how they pronounce that word here.) was wonderful.
And yes, my new Asics (!!!lovesofmylife!!!) took me down to and around the greenbelt again on Tuesday morning.
But I think I am hooked on open water, freezing cold and a quite intimidating though it may be. There is just something about the quiet and calm contrasted with the power I feel slicing through the lake.
And you can't beat the scenery. Campers aren't awake yet. No families out swimming. No one but us. And nature-y critters, too. This morning I literally swam past a huge bald eagle perched on a tree on the lake's edge. It was like he was cheering me on.
Or maybe he was deciding what to eat for breakfast ("Hello Mr. Eagle. Please don't try to eat me.")

let me count the ways

2011-07-24T09:29:00.005-06:00

Is there anything better than a backyard bbq? There seriously isn't, right?
Friends, food, drinks, games, laughs.
It's all there.

The menu:
Grilled Flank Steak
Green Salad
Baguette
Blue Cheese Soufflé**

...I don't know who makes soufflé for a bbq.
I mean, I do. I guess.
Anyway, it was delicious and lovely and I hope to repeat the experience again soon (the soufflé and the bbq-ing with friends.)
**If you are impressed (Shoot, I'm impressed!) and want to try this recipe, I implore you to watch this before you do. It is incredibly enlightening and will put you at ease. Julia is my hero.)

where's willy?

2011-07-22T14:09:00.011-06:00

Confession: From ages 8 to 13 I wanted to be a marine biologist. But not just any marine biologist: I wanted to be a trainer with the killer whales at Sea World.
For real.
I went to sea camp and dissected fish and squid, I was a strong swimmer, I had a Free Willy poster in my bedroom: I was ready.

Although none of my riding-on-the-back-of-a-whale-while-waving-at-a-packed-crowd-of-Asian-tourists dreams came true, we still managed to have a great time at Sea World a few weeks ago. That is, except for when we waited in the hot sun for an hour for the Shamu Show, which is now super lame and touchy-feely (Save the Whales meets Beauty Pageant meets Haight-Ashbury) and totally bizarre. A few interesting facts:
+Intervention. Carter is terrified of big fuzzy characters who try to hug and kiss her. Go figure.
+Eight. That is how many coats of sunscreen it takes to keep K and C from turning into quite convincing lobster impersonators during a day at Sea World.
+36. That is Avery's current approximate height in inches.
+42. That is the height in inches that you must be in order to have any fun at Sea World that doesn't involve poking a mollusk.
I could have been best friends with a whale.

follow one simple rule

2011-07-22T12:01:00.004-06:00

Just thought you should know that I had a hot date up to the Playmill Theater in West Yellowstone last month. The play was... well, it was High School Musical. We should have known better. But the company? Outstanding.

doe

2011-07-22T10:22:00.004-06:00

I am hosting a dinner party tomorrow evening, and this morning I am wondering if my guests will ever know that

+This morning my kitchen looked like this because I had a Bloomsbury meeting last night, then I went to the 9:45 showing of Harry Potter with K, Camie and Wyatt instead of doing the dishes and picking up the house...+The flank steak I am going to marinate and grill is locally raised, free-range, grass-fed beef (mmmm)...
+I have been dying to try this Blue Cheese Souffle recipe for nearly a year now...
+They are going to be my souffle guinea pigs, since I have never attempted anything like this before...
+And however much I love cooking for friends, I would rather be here crying over this. Again.
I hope they don't suspect.

oh fudge!

2011-07-21T11:17:00.002-06:00

Yesterday I made Peanut Butter Chocolate Ice cream. You know, to go along with this.
Okay, not really.
But I did make it because I promised my sister-in-law, Mandy, that I would bring a treat up to Rexburg yesterday to celebrate the end of my school year, and this is what I decided upon.
AND I made it because we are both PBChoc Enthusiasts. We get together often to talk about the heavenly combination of rich, creamy peanut butter with smooth, decadent chocolate. We discuss at length how it is a match made in heaven. How chocolate without peanut butter, and vice versa, only reaches a smidgen of its full potential. But together they can do no wrong...

Shoot. I did it, didn't I? I went to my happy place and creeped you out just a little bit, huh?
Sorry.
Anyway, this recipe is a bit too rich and almost ice cold chocolate-pudding like. When I make it again I will cut out some of the chocolate and sugar, and maybe cook it a little bit less (in the directions when she says the consistency will be like chocolate pudding, I think she means BEFORE choc pudding sets. Like when you are still cooking it. And not like the finished product pudding.) and I think it will be perfect. However, as is it definitely still did the trick.

Is there an ice cream recipe that you love? I have made ice cream four times since I acquired this beautiful machine (thanks mom!!), but I am always looking for the perfect recipe. My favorite so far has been this Buttermilk Ice Cream. Holy cow is it good! It is creamy and tangy and rich and... yeah. I am going to go make some right now. I think I have a new food obsession.

run, don't walk

2011-07-20T09:49:00.005-06:00

Nothing makes pushing hard on that last mile easier than knowing that you are running home to this.Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Bread.
WHOLE WHEAT DCPBBB.
At 100 calories per slice.
Well, a teeny bit more if you eat it hot and covered in Smart Balance Spread, like someone I know.For real, you guys.I love this for breakfast after a run with a glass of milk and a piece of fruit. After all, dark chocolate is full of antioxidants, peanut butter has protein, bananas, potassium.
I also replace one cup of the whole wheat flour with some flax seed meal and ground wheat germ, which ups its protein and omega-3 quotient.
I dare you not to make this today.
Good luck with that.

alice cooper, eat your heart out

2011-07-19T16:16:00.002-06:00

I finished my last final of the semester this morning! It feels amazing to be done until January!! Now I can finally say that School is indeed Out for the Summer.
But not forever. And I am okay with that.
Because I know after a few fun-filled months with these two I will be recharged and ready to delve back into classic literature and analytical essays. Until then, however, all I hope to delve into is a swimming pool and a box of Big Sticks.

course angels

2011-07-19T16:05:00.000-06:00

My amazing friend Livi sent me a link to this video after reading this post and I just had to share. Mostly because it has an amazing message, but also because I would love for someone out there to tell me that I am not the only one who bawled through it.
I love Sister Dalton's message and believe it with all of my heart. A good friend of mine, Camie, taught me as I was training for my triathlon about "Course Angels". She described them as people and circumstances that would help me to cross the finish line, and she promised me that if I looked closely enough I would be able to see the hand of God in my course. She was right, and I have tried to apply that knowledge and advice in my daily life. After all, the Lord did promise us this help. He said, "I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up." Our Heavenly Father is over all, and he usually helps us through other people put in our path to make the burdens we each carry easier.

never knewd

2011-07-19T13:59:00.003-06:00

I can't believe I forgot to tell you! I guess between school and kids and training and insanity it slipped my mind. Well, it's time you knew.

I ran a 10K last month.
That's right. Not a 5K. 10 whole K's.
Since my triathlon (see here, here, aaand here) I really wanted to challenge myself. And since running is definitely my arch nemesis, I thought I would really try to push in that area. Leading up to the race I trained in four and five mile increments, but I had never gone the entire 6.2 miles. The morning of my race I was so nervous that I was not going to make it! I could hardly talk to the teeny tiny nineteen-year-old marathoner next to me (Not necessarily a bad thing. Had my wits truly been about me I may have had thoughts of tripping her or even trying to trick her into a Freaky Friday scenario in which we would trade bodies/lives/stamina). Around mile four, in fact, I had the strongest urge to stop. That's when I started praying. I count it a tender mercy from the Lord that I was able to find the strength to keep going, that the wind chose just that moment to pick up and blow a nice cool breeze at me from the river. The last couple of miles wound up being the most enjoyable of the race. I finished in just over an hour (one of the slowest!! like you had any doubts) and couldn't stop smiling the rest of the day.
**The picture is of me after I had changed out of my top and into my race day shirt. I really earned those red cheeks, baby!!
Next month I will be competing (I hope!) in the Rush Triathlon in Rexburg, ID. I added the I HOPE part in because, honestly, I have been SO LAZY since the 10K. I need to get back into it!! ...riiight after I make another batch of homemade ice cream (post to come!!) and catch up on some Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives (also known as Diners, Drive-Ins, Dives and Douche Bags in my house. I love Guy Fieri, but the guy is a major tool. Don't look so shocked. You know it's true.)

orange you glad?

2011-07-18T17:05:00.004-06:00

It's recipe time, boys and girls!! And I've got one for you that will do as diet food and doubles as a beautiful side for a fancy dinner party! Don't believe me? Just wait.This one has very recently become a big family favorite at my house. Got it from Jessica Seinfeld's book about hiding veggies in things. I have never seen my family gobble up veggies this quickly, and it is a super cinch to make. Go figure.
I serve it in individual quiche dishes to make it look special for company alongside Adobo Grilled Chicken (best spice rub for grilled chicken I have ever tried. Hands down. Period. The end) and a green salad.Cauliflower Gratin

1 medium head of cauliflower
1 TBS Smart Balance Spread (or Butter)
2 tsp Whole Wheat Flour
1 cup skim milk
1/2 cup reduced-fat shredded cheddar cheese (I use whatever I have on hand)
1/2 cup butternut squash or carrot puree (usually carrot b/c it's so easy! Makes it orange and smooth and creamy - just steam 1/2 cup of chopped carrots [mini carrots from a bag are easy!] until tender, then puree in a food processor til smooth- use a bit of the steaming water to get them super smooth)
salt and pepper to taste
2 TBS grated Parmesan

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Blanch bite-size cauliflower pieces in boiling salted water for 2 or 3 minutes, then drain in colander, rinse in cold water (to stop cooking) and set aside.
2. In same saucepan then melt spread/butter, whisk in flour and cook over medium heat. Slowly whisk in the milk to prevent lumps and bring to a boil. Cook 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce heat to low, add cheddar, puree and salt and pepper.
3. Add cauliflower to cheese mixture and transfer to greased baking vessel (9in baking dish or individual ramekins). Top with grated Parm. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until the gratin is bubbly and the top begins to brown. Serve immediately.

Serves six people. And each serving is only around 100 calories!! No. Joke.
Try it out and you will thank me.

like a weed

2011-07-17T19:21:00.007-06:00

I dreamed of this back in February of 2009 when I decided to garden. But it never happened. This year, however, I was determined. And knew I would fail. But when I mentioned to my friend Laura that I had ZERO plant experience and TONS of space, she sighed with longing. Alas, Laura lives in a basement apartment with little yard and no private outside space.

"I will NEVER use up all of the room I have out back," I promised. "You can have whatever space you want!"
"Let's do it together!!" she said.
And I am so grateful.
Have been just about every day since that conversation back in late April. It has been so much fun to plan things out and work along side her. And our garden is growing BEAUTIFULLY! We have peas, lettuce, spinach, beans, radishes, onions, carrots, corn, pumpkins, zucchini, yellow squash, funky pretty squash (you know, the witch-warty kind that you put on the table in September), tomatoes (roma, slicing and teensy orange and red ones), jalapenos, tomatillos, cucumbers, Anaheim peppers, flowers, aaand... I think that's it. I head out to the garden just about every morning, noon and night just to watch things grow and get dirty and feel so proud. Avery LOVES to help, too! She built a bird nest back there and we have planted around it. See those teensy plants behind her? Yeah, those are our squash plants. Check them out! They were just babies!! And that picture was taken just about one month ago! Incredible.
We have been harvesting lettuce for quite a while, and our peas are just about ready to pick. Soon we will have way more food than we know what to do with.
Which leads me to my next adventure.
CANNING!
This may sound like hard labor to you, but to me it is wonderful.

muggles and wizards

2011-07-17T16:03:00.008-06:00

Thursday was Harry Potter Day in my house, and we tried to celebrate it right! Glen came over, I made English meat'n'potato pasties, Butter Beer, and Acid Pops. K wore his evil Slytherin shirt while I donned Harry, Ron, and Hermione on mine, with Hogwarts Castle in the background. I even popped the lenses out of some old 3D glasses to make some Mrs. Harry Potter specs. Glen slept over at our place (wonderful boy!) so K and I could attend the midnight premiere and it was, for lack of a better word, MAGICAL. ...okay, fine. I'm cheesy. Like you didn't know that already. The point is that the final movie was wonderful and we had a great time with all of the other nerds in Idaho Falls.

Harry Potter means a lot to me, and it was pretty special to get to go to the final movie at midnight. I was grounded my freshman year in high school and, instead of doing my homework like a good girl, I went looking for a distraction. I found it in the form of a little paperback with a boy on a broom on the cover. After the first sentence ("Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.") I was hooked. I started reading underneath the table in biology class by day and listening to the incomparable Jim Dale read to sleep at night. I made countless arguments to friends and family that the books were ageless (NO I AM NOT WAY TOO OLD FOR THEM!!) until they finally conceded and read for themselves. I even made my brother-in-law read the first book as paying "rent" for living with us not too long ago! He was so skeptical, but go ahead and ask him if he stopped after just one book.
Anyway, seven books, eight movies, almost as many midnight releases/premieres, t-shirts, notebook doodles, Halloween costumes- you get the picture- later and I still call Harry (and Ron!!) my first (literary) love(s). It was wonderful to watch the culmination of years of enchantment come to a close on screen. Though I wasn't sobbing (like the 19-year-old girl in the seat behind me who LITERALLY could not get control of her wracking sobs and grating sniffles for the last forty minutes of the film), I may have shed a few tears for Severus and Harry and Lilly and James and Sirius and the twins and Lupin and on and on (oh, and one huge WAAAHOOOOO!! for Ron and Hermione). And then a few more as we sent James Sirius and Albus Severus off to school. It felt like saying "Goodbye" to old friends. Well, not so much "Goodbye". Maybe just "See you soon". After all, I have a couple of children of my own that I hope to send off to Hogwarts someday soon.

her majesty's a pretty nice girl

2011-07-04T08:18:00.010-06:00

CarterMania was a huge hit! We had homemade pizza with Beatles song names (i.e. a buffalo chicken pizza was the Hey Buffalo Bill Pizza, pepperoni and sausage was Srgt. Pepperoni and Piggies Pizza, etc.), the Sprite was labeled For the Benefit of Mr. Sprite, the juice, BeatleJuice, and on and on and on. Stacy even made Strawberry Fields Forever Cookies and sent them with us!! In an air-pillow encased package and everything!! They were super delicious. Party favors were CarterMania Mix CDs, peace sign necklaces and wax mustaches. Her cake was homemade Eaton Mess which we called Goo Goo G'Joob Trifle. The decorations are not the best, but, hey! I was on vacation!! My favorite part of the party was the little book I made for everyone to write birthday messages to Carter. I hope she'll like it. You know, once she learns how to read.

and I love her

2011-06-21T08:41:00.001-06:00

Getting so excited for this baby girl's party! I took these pictures on her birthday with Avery's help (Carter won't smile for anyone like she smiles for her big sister) and they turned out so well! I love her bright blue eyes! I am printing and cutting and pasting and brainstorming around the clock to make her birthday special (and Beatle-rific) and I want sooo badly to give you a sneak peek... But I won't.

Okay! Okay! Just one. Yesterday I spent an hour printing and cutting labels for juice boxes that I will have at the party. What do they say? Why, BeatleJuice, of course!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

weeee

2011-06-17T13:52:00.002-06:00

Happy Birthday my wild, crazy, beautiful, hilarious baby girl!!

I love being your mom.

don't float your boat

2011-06-15T18:10:00.004-06:00

Broil it!

Dinner tonight.
Greek salad and broiled baby zucchini boats.It is not yet crazy zucchini season here, where you stop answering your door because you are 99.9% sure that it is one of your neighbors bringing you ginormous zucchini from their garden. But I have been working in my garden all day, and I bought some zucchini the other day, and, well, it had to be eaten.
and eaten.
and eaten.
This recipe is AMAZING!! Try it now.
I am going to run to the store tonight to buy more zucchini.
Must have more.
Broiled Baby Zucchini Boats
Recipe by Mollie Katzen

1 TBS Olive Oil
2 TSP Minced Garlic
4 small zucchini or summer squash, halved lengthwise
Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese

Heat broiler. Heat olive oil in a large ovenproof skillet on medium-low heat. Add garlic and cook 10 seconds, until golden. Do not brown. Arrange zucchini halves cut side down in skillet; season with salt and pepper. Increase heat to medium and cook 8 minutes, or until caramelized on cut surface and just tender. Turn over; sprinkle cut side with cheese and cook 1 minute longer. Transfer skillet to broiler; broil until cheese is melted and golden* brown, about 3 minutes.

*Note: Some cheese will miss the zucchini. This cheese with get melted, then golden, and become little cheese crispies. Save yourself some time and "accidentally" spill another 1/4 cup of parm around your zucchini. I was warned about spilled milk, but no one ever told me how addictive spilled cheese is!

In hind-sight I will leave the stems on next time because I think they will be 30% more cute and I definitely plan on serving this to friends. Do what you want with them, but, trust me, you want to eat your veggies this time.

i was alone i took a ride i didn't know what i would find there

2011-06-15T14:19:00.004-06:00

My baby is one year old on Friday!!! Where has the time gone?

Carter is THIS CLOSE to walking, loves to chatter and say WEEEEEE!!! on the swings and slide and while dancing. She is my little thrill-seeker for sure. She is bouncy and always in a good mood (except for when she's not) and she is the loudest baby on the planet!! We love her so much. In fact, we are throwing her a big ol' first birthday bash in a couple of weeks while we are at the beach in Southern California with my family. It is going to be amazing!! Here is a teensy sneak-peek...

That's right, we are going CARTERMANIA on this first birthday!! I am so excited. Pics to come for sure. Until then we are going to be here working and waiting and counting down... Oh! And loving life with this little sweet Beatles fan (though she doesn't know it yet).

self-portrait

2011-06-13T15:02:00.002-06:00

It's a true likeness, isn't it?

A self-portrait of Avery in two mediums.
Can't believe how much this girl has grown up.

if you don't know, now you know

2011-06-08T09:14:00.015-06:00

Today is my mom's blankety-blank birthday!!! ...What? You think I'd divulge her age to you!? I don't have a death wish.Just kidding! haha Sorry, I had to. Love that pic. Anyway...

I thought you should be let in on this special occasion because, I have got to tell you, my mom is a pretty special person. She is the kind of person who has been happily married to her sweetheart for nearly 30 years (this February!!).

She is the kind of person that puts her family above all else. I mean, we're a super good-looking group, so you can't really blame her. But when we open our mouths!? That's when you have to give her lots of credit for putting up with us.
She is the kind of mom who would make a usually six-hour drive from Vegas to SLC in about three-and-a-half when her daughter took a little LifeFlight down the the U of U Hospital, just so she could be there when she got out of emergency surgery. Just so she could be the first person to lay eyes on her two-pound granddaughter and be the first person to fall in love with her. She is the kind of person who would only leave after things were stable. Who would make that drive about six more times in the next two months just to hold that baby and make sure her daughter wasn't alone.

She is the kind of grandma who makes her granddaughter feel special every minute they spend together. Who comes up to Idaho in the freezing cold or stifling air-conditioner-less heat. The kind who has never missed a birthday or special occasion.

The kind of grandma who is there for the birth of each subsequent grandchild. Who calls every other day to hear the new things that her babies are up to, just so she won't miss a single funny story or milestone.

The kind of person who is so insanely busy with work and service, but who will ditch that stuff to plan special activities with her family. Who will go to the blazing hot desert to check out a petting zoo that her grandkids will love, or who will hang at Disneyland for 11 hours in the pouring rain with her granddaughter to make sure she gets the chance to meet Tinker Bell and ride all of the rides. Twice.

She is the kind of mom who would come out to that same blazing desert to watch her daughter sweat, even though she thinks said daughter is crazy/masochistic.

She is the kind of person I am trying to be like. She is my best friend and champion, and she backs me up no matter what. I love her with all of my heart, I am grateful for her selfless service and love, and I want to be just like her when I grow up. Happy Birthday Hot Mama (she's freaking hot, right? I mean, it's not just me?) Love you.

you filthy animal

2011-05-27T08:51:00.005-06:00

Yesterday was Avery's last day of preschool!! It has been a good year, but I am so ready for the summer!!
...unfortunately Idaho is not.
It was about 40 degrees out yesterday when we all packed up and went to the zoo with Avery's class. We were supposed to have a picnic in the park afterward, but we all headed back to the school and ate lunch on the floor of the gym instead.
Here are a few pictures of me freezing my bum off.
Of course we had to visit the monkeys. Those guys are awesome.

K loves getting candid shots of me. How do I like it?

Not so much.

whiz palace

2011-05-24T13:42:00.006-06:00

Is it weird that I want summer to go by quickly so I can get back to these two?

know ya boo

2011-05-20T14:57:00.002-06:00

Is it weird that I miss my little sister even more now that she lives down in Las Vegas instead of ONE BAZILLION miles away in England!?Yeah, you're right.
It is weird.
It's just, like, now it feels like we are finally close enough to hang.
But we are not.
I should be glad that I got to see her last month in Vegas.
And last weekend here in Idaho.
But I'm not.
Because today I would really like to watch Troop Beverly Hills with her and Do the Freddy.
Or What About Bob, then eat a meal and only say MMmm and Oohh the entire time.
Or Strictly Ballroom, because I feel the rhythm. And I'm not scared.
Or BAPs, so that if I see L. L. two more times, it's on!

...yeah. We're nerds.

apps and zerts

2011-05-19T08:42:00.001-06:00

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

mean ben

2011-05-18T15:12:00.005-06:00

You guys, I need help.

I am pretty much obsessed with Parks and Recreation.
It is sort of taking over my life.
I joined Hulu.
And have been watching it.
Non-stop.
And I have to tell you one more thing.
I love Ben Wyatt.
A lot.
And Ron Swanson.
And Tom Haverford.
And Andy Dwyer.
...okay, I'll stop now.
But if you love waffles, tiny horses, nerds, libertarians, or if you have absolutely no idea what I am talking about, you need to check this out.

the party don't start til i walk in

2011-05-16T11:21:00.019-06:00

Avery's Fourth Birthday Party.
Wow.
It could not have been more of a success. I also could not be more beat right now. I think I'll let the pictures do the talking for me. We had a face painter, tons of sweets, excellent food, a huge red ball of death and fun and insanity, a pinata, presents, sunshine. I could not have asked for a better day.
I love my baby girl so very much! She is so special and perfect and wonderful, and she had a great day. I can't wait to show you my plans for Carter's first birthday party next month, too!! I am so blessed to be these girls' mom. So here it is, a fourth birthday party in pictures...

Pooped.
That's what this picture is titled.
Just thought you should know.

days go by

2011-05-12T09:22:00.000-06:00

Hey y'all! Man it has been a while! Beginning a new semester, having left my camera in Las Vegas and planning the Birthday Party of the Century (coming up in two days!!) have all caused me to ditch my blog. And that's no fun. Nor is it healthy, I believe. I hope that posting a little something (instead of paying rapt attention to my math professor) will help me make it through the next few crazy days.
My little sister sent me just a few (TEASE!) pictures from our family photo shoot in Vegas and I thought I would share my favorite. I love this one because we all look just a little bit kooky, which is an exact portrayal of my little fam if you ask me! My camera is returning to me along with the arrival of my parents, Mallory and Giles tonight! I promise to let you all in on the birthday bash and do a bit better at getting onto the blog and writing to you.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

i guess i'll just begin again

2011-04-28T14:57:00.006-06:00

Sorry to keep going ON and ON about my race.
I mean, I'm not THAT sorry.
It WAS pretty amazing.
Here are the rest of the pictures I have from the event.
I can't wait for my next race!! I'm officially hooked.

Here's my walking with my awesome bike and all of my transition gear before the race begins. I love Las Vegas!

Gearing up! I was soooo nervous!! Can you tell? I borrowed the wet suit from my friend Camie. Sexy, right?

Here the nervousness almost crossed the threshold from "Butterflies" to "I think I'm going to puke." I look fly in my swim cap, though, so that's a plus!
The swim was the leg of the race that I thought I would complete the most-easily. I mean, I'm a good swimmer. What's so hard about 750 meters in a lake?
But at 7am with 1000 other racers around me as I looked out at the dark, deep lake, I had second thoughts. Then, when I got in and it was SUPER chilly, I kinda started to freak.
The swim ended up being my WORST leg. By far. Not that it took me longer than the bike or run, but I am pretty sure I was hyperventilating and breast-stroking with my head above water (instead of the freestyle I spent hours in the pool practicing!!) 90% of the swim. Not cool. But at least my next race I can't do much worse on the swim!

Next was twelve miles on my bike. K got a picture of me on my beautiful bike, but it's hideous (me, not the bike), so you don't get to see that one. The course was crazy hilly and for the first few minutes I was really struggling mentally, but I just sang "Ready to Start" by Arcade Fire to myself to keep my legs peddling and after a while frustration and fear turned to pure bliss. I don't know how else to describe it. Pretty much all I can remember is how amazing it felt once I hit the half-way peak and got to turn around and whiz down the huge hill that I had just crested on my way back to transition. I was smiling ear to ear. And singing out loud at times. But only when no one else was around. Mostly.
My bike is the best ever and I love it and we had a really great day together, me and my bike. Which I love. A lot.

The last leg is the run; 3.1 miles. The first mile of the course was desert and rocks and holes and insanity! I couldn't believe it. They definitely didn't include that little tidbit in the race info! I have never run on sand before and I'm pretty sure I thought I was going to eat it big time. But I was able to keep that blissful feeling going from my ride and stuck out the run, which turned out to be a piece of cake. I have been training on the indoor track at BYUI and doing three miles of around and around and around felt like a big accomplishment. Out in the desert it kind of just felt cathartic. That's a weird thing to say, but it's true. I sang "How Firm a Foundation" in my head on this leg (though my foundation at the moment was anything but firm. stupid rocks.) and felt so blessed to have my body and the ability to do the race and friends and family who love me and were cheering for me. If I almost had a mental breakdown on the swim then I just about had an emotional one on the run. But in a good way.

Before I shut up about this stupid race forever I just want to say thank you to all of my bloggy friends who were rooting for me. I thought about you when I was feeling discouraged or tired or fat or whatever. You helped me do this. And I'll be forever grateful. I love you guys!

herr did

2011-04-25T10:39:00.004-06:00

When I was in Vegas last week I got my hair did by my little sister-from-another-mister, Mrs. Stephanie Angulo. She and my baby sis have been besties since kindergarten!! Anyway, she is an amazing stylist and hair person (I have no idea what to call it! sorry), and she even hooked me up with a hot pink feather hair extension thing! I'm so hip now. Seriously, I'm fooling EVERYONE into thinking I'm cool. It's pretty much a miracle.

Anyway, her husband, Trevon, has a photography/videography studio (Canico Studios) and he came out to help Mallory, also a very talented photog, take pics of our family in a park in Henderson (coming soon!) on Friday evening, and to take pics for Stephanie's hair-persony portfolio. Here's how the portfolio pics turned out. What do you think!?

i'm moving past the feeling

2011-04-18T20:04:00.002-06:00

Well, I did it. It's done. Over. Finished. Completed.
I am a triathlete.

stuck in the moment

2011-04-08T17:01:00.003-06:00

Well, I've got good news and bad news. The good news is, school is over!!!
For a little over a week.
Then I'm back into it.
But I passed all of my finals and had a great first semester back!! If only I could get through a little bit faster because I am exhausted just thinking of starting all over again mid-April. Sigh. Oh well. At least I'm getting it done!!

More good news: My triathlon is in one week from tomorrow!!! I have been training and preparing for about three months now, and I am ready to rock!!
A final bit of happiness: We leave for Las Vegas on Sunday morning, with a pit-stop in Provo to go to my niece's blessing! And we will be gone for a whole week! And my baby sister is going to take pictures of my family for me and we are going to see ARCADE FIRE on Thursday night and we are going to swim and relax and I am going to meet my nephew, Sir Giles, for the first time. EVER. He is nine months old, y'all. I cannot wait!

Now for the bad news.
First, About an hour and a half after my last final, Carter started to throw up. And I mean REALLY throw up. About two hours after that, Avery started in as well. And ever since then my life has consisted of cleaning floors and beds and toilets and sheets and clothes and cars and... well, you get the idea. Av is doing a lot better today (FINALLY!), but C is still not looking so hot.
And that leads to a bit of bad news that might sound familiar to you:
WE LEAVE FOR VEGAS IN ABOUT 36 HOURS!!
pleasegetbetterpleasegetbetterpleasegetbetterpleasegetbetter
Finally, I am terrified to compete in this triathlon!! What was I thinking?!?
*gulp*
*deep breath*
*sigh*
...sorry about that. I go from jumping-up-and-down excited to hiding-under-the-covers nervous about every five minutes. It'll pass. I know I can do it!!! ...I think.
Anyway, that's all from me for now. Just thought you should know.
Oh, and, you know, in case you have a prayer or two to spare, they would be mighty appreciated over here.

bugs never tasted so good

2011-04-04T11:24:00.002-06:00

My friend Stacy dropped some of her soon-to-be-FAMOUS cookies by the other day and I just had to brag about them. Seriously, how gorgeous are these things!?! And, they taste even better than they look, if you can believe that.
You want to know the best part? She brought them by to say "Thanks for letting me watch your girls free of charge!!" Are you kidding me? I should be thanking/paying/worshiping you, Stace!! The kids always have such a great time with Stacy. And she took my girls so I could chip away at the mountain of homework and finals that I have this week! I am so so so grateful. What a wonderful person.

The other best part of getting a surprise gorgeous cookie present is that now I know how super talented she is!! And I have hired her to do cookies for the girls' birthday parties!! Avery's is next month and so far I have a pro face painter and now some seriously dazzling cookies on the agenda! And we're doing a bug/Spring/green-themed party so these things were the perfect trial run!!
How do I know so many talented people?

sleep with one eye open

2011-03-29T15:11:00.000-06:00

VAMPIRE BABY IS ON THE LOOSE!!

why so serious?

2011-03-23T11:46:00.009-06:00

My friend, Laura, is a face painter and event planner here in East Idaho. And she is SO TALENTED!!! No joke. Just in case you don't find me the ultimate authority in talent, see for yourself!

Last Saturday BYUI put on a Dr. Seuss Themed Dinner for families, so we invited Laura and her family along and decided to suit up while we were at it! Avery and their little boy went as Thing 1 and Thing 2, I was SAM I AM (Check the awesome Green Eggs & Ham K made for me!!!), K was Horton the Elephant, Laura was a Star-Belly Sneetch and Mike, her husband, was The Lorax. The babies didn't feel much like getting their faces painted, but we did try to Cindy Loo Who Carter's hair (to no avail). We even won one of the costume contest prizes for Laura's awesome artwork!

Then at their little boy's birthday party last week Laura painted the kids faces! Avery asked for a cow, and boy did she get one! She wouldn't let us wash it off ALL DAY! ...

...No seriously. She even went to the doctor's office and was treated for a double ear infection... JUST LIKE THIS. hahaha

Oh, and when it was time for K to wash off Horton on Saturday night, I was on the phone with my mom. So this is what he did while he waited for me...

He sat in the dark on the couch and waited for fifteen minutes for me to get off of the phone! And when I flipped the light on, he said, "Why so serious?" hahaha
I live with a bunch of characters. That is for sure.

By the way, if you have a party coming up give Laura a call. She is incredibly talented, so nice and her prices are not bad at all! In fact, I just booked her for Av's fourth!!!
laura@jacanaparties.com or call (208) 881-4776

parfait

2011-03-23T10:04:00.002-06:00

We eat this* with french bread. Sometimes with a protien. Sometimes without.

Layer it on.

*Picture was taken before I baked this. And before I put some (...okay, lots of) Jarlsberg cheese on top. And then baked it again.
The finished product is not pictured. It was too yummy.

when i was thirteen

2011-03-22T10:54:00.006-06:00

I know that I am a grown woman. With two children. And a lot of responsibilities. But I just couldn't help myself. When I saw the trailer for a biopic about Justin Bieber, I knew that I would see it. I hardly even knew who he was at the time.
But the thirteen year old girl inside of me knew.Last week I went to NEVER SAY NEVER with some of my favorite people on the planet. Not only did I get to go, though, I got to dress the part! Thanks to my bestie, Nathan, I had a legit Biebs sweatshirt. I learned how to Dougie. I was ready.

The theater was empty.
We danced.
We heckled.
We drank.
Well, let me explain that last one. I invented a drinking game (every time Bieber shook, tousled or messed with his hair, we drank), brought little plastic cups and Gatorades for each of us (we made it through two whole bottles!), and we pounded shots all night long.
No joke.
It was amazing.
You are probably laughing at me right now, and that's okay.
I'm secure with my Bieber Fever.

honey pie

2011-03-15T16:02:00.008-06:00

Cherry Pie.

Big Cheese.
Strawberry Swing.
I Want Candy.
Mean Mr. Mustard.

It seems like there is a song for every delicious food out there. Except one. The onion.
And I just don't get it! ...Okay, I get it. They stink. They make you cry. They can be strong and piquant and just plain evil. I use them every day in just about every meal that I make, but sometimes I feel resistance to slicing one open and balling my eyes out. I always fight that resistance.
It's always worth it.
But last night I decided to try to find the sweeter side of my mascara's arch nemesis. Caramelized Onion, Bacon and Blue Cheese Tart. I found the recipe in a recent issue of Woman's Day Magazine. What? I got a subscription free with some airline miles I had accumulated. Fine, I'm lame. Whatever. Back to the tart.
Did you know that onions could taste sweet, but not too sweet? Be soft, but not mushy? Take on a beautiful color and really earn the whole CARAMELized bit?
I did. I really thought I did. But I had no clue. Not until last night.
I served this easy and unreal tart along-side some Cream of Asparagus Soup (I stole this pic from a google search since I didn't bother to take one of mine. It looked this good, though. Trust me.) which is SO easy and SO creamy and SO delicious. I adapted the recipe from one I found online at allrecipes.com:

Cream of Asparagus Soup

Ingredients

1/2 stick butter, unsalted
1 onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup water
4 cups good chicken stock/broth
1 tablespoon chicken bouillon powder
1 large russet potato, peeled and diced
1 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed and coarsely chopped
3/4 cup half-and-half
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. salt

Directions

Melt butter in a heavy cooking pot (I use my enameled cast iron guy). Add onions and chopped celery; saute until tender, about 4 minutes. Stir in flour, mixing well. Cook for about 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add water, chicken broth, and chicken soup base; stir until smooth. Bring to a boil. Add diced potatoes and chopped asparagus (reserve the heads of the asparagus in a bowl on your counter for post-blender). Reduce heat, and simmer for about 20 minutes.
Puree soup in a food processor or blender in batches (I use my stick blender). Return to pot. Return soup to simmer, add asparagus heads and simmer 5 minutes.
Stir in half and half cream salt and pepper. Bring soup just to boil. Adjust seasonings to taste. Serve hot*.

*I like to garnish mine with a swirl of half and half as I serve it, which makes it look fancy and cools it down just enough to dive in. Just use a teaspoon or two on each bowl.

aww nuts

2011-03-15T15:46:00.002-06:00

Avery's favorite thing to say when she is disappointed is "Awww Nuts!!" She picked up this expression from her daddy, of course.
I would complain, except she has picked up "Oh my goodness!" as well as "Geez Louise!" from me. So, yeah. We're even. Speaking of nuts, I have made Smitten Kitchen's Peanutella Recipe twice now, as well as one from the LA Times that was just plain old Nutella (make no mistake: there was nothing plain about either one!) and I am hooked! This will definitely be a staple in our house from now on. It goes on fresh strawberries, toast, and even in K's protein shakes. It's easy. It's cheap. It's delicious. It has no artificial garbage in it. It makes my house smell delicious. And, finally, anything that I get to seal up in a cute little jar is on my nice list.

gripe

2011-03-15T15:38:00.003-06:00

I hate it when a film meant for adults masquerades as a kids movie.
Because then my kid wants to see it.
And we both hate it.Thanks for nothing, Rango.

say hello to my little friend

2011-03-09T16:54:00.004-07:00

Have you ever found yourself on a road bike, pedaling away the miles while feeling like a powerhouse and humming happily to yourself? No?
Me neither. Well, until this weekend, that is.
My triathlon is a month away and the snow is melting and, well, it was time. If you have never been on one of these thin-wheeled beauties I think you are missing out. Yes, the seat is narrow and hard. Yes, it is tall and the wheels look wobbly. But pedaling a mountain bike feels like driving a Cadillac with your feet, Fred Flinstone-style, compared to this easy-breezy ride. I feel an addiction coming on. If only it would get above 40 degrees here so I ride without feeling like I am on the back of Harry's scooter putting up to Aspen to find the girl of my dreams and give her back her briefcase.

Yep, that was a Dumb and Dumber reference. I guess that's what road biking does to me.

Also, if you are looking at this picture and thinking to yourself, "Wow. She definitely does not have the physique of a triathlete." well... bite me.
...Okay, that was a little harsh. Sorry. But I'm dealing. You'll get over it.

Oh and if anyone out there is a road-biking afficionado, please tell me that these crazy, hard-as-a-rock, metal-spiked clip-in shoes and pedals that I have are going to be okay. So far I am terrified of them.

pat a shoe

2011-03-05T22:09:00.003-07:00

That's how you pronounce the name of the pastry I learned to make today during three glorious hours of Pastry II class at Rush's Kitchen store in Downtown Idaho Falls. Pate a Choux is the stuff eclairs, cream puffs, grougeres and this gorgeous little swan are made of, and, yes, it is as good as it looks.
No, strike that.
It's better.
Here was the reaction to my glorious homecoming this afternoon...

**See here for Pastry I details one year ago.

How does a spoiled girl change a lightbulb?

2011-03-05T21:19:00.002-07:00

She says, "Daddy, I want a new apartment."

And he would give it to them, too. Wouldn't you?

do the pretty girl rock

2011-02-22T20:59:00.005-07:00

Girl Talk.

Naptime in Carter's Crib. Literally.

A family in our ward (who I love love love) brought a MEGATUB of cheeto ball thingies over just in time for our January Junk Food Hiatus, so we finally dug into them the other day. Poured just about the whole thing into a big bowl. Avery was in Gross Kid Heaven.

PM Dance Party Chez Nous. Girls Only. Mama Mia (the movie) playing on the big screen at full-blast is a must. Songs only. Lots of spinning. Carter prefers reading (shredding) magazines, but she thinks mommy and Av are pretty funny.
Now do the Pretty Girl Rock.

and you played it to the beat

2011-02-22T20:43:00.002-07:00

Just bought this.
Thank you Adele.
You know, in advance.

innocent

2011-02-17T19:18:00.004-07:00

It started out so innocently.
First, there was a package of cheap steaks in my fridge. Cheap because, well, we're on a budget. Steak because, well, it's steak. And they were calling my name. So I pulled them out to rest on my counter while I figured out what to do with them. Then, a memory. Late at night. Good Eats. Alton Brown. Steak au Poivre. It was decided.
But what more? It needed a sauce sans Cognac. Then, another memory. Flipping obsessively through Barefoot Contessa's Party cookbook. Blue cheese (always in the fridge chez nous). Gorgonzola Sauce.
My oh my. I can't stop there. Potatoes. Garlic. Parsley. I had to do it. Garlic Roasted Potatoes.
Green. Green. Something green. Arugula. Walnuts. Cranberries. A teensy bit more blue cheese. Balsamic and Olive oil. It was done. I couldn't take it back.
Glen dropped by, so I forced him to have a seat with us.
We all were unprepared.
For the magic.

I hereby promise to stop blogging about food. And soon. But right now I can't stop. I am obsessed. I am hooked.
I need help.

mmmmeltdown

2011-02-17T16:46:00.003-07:00

This is the special roast chicken with croutons that I made on Valentine's Day (along with chocolate lava cakes mmmmmmm) before I got hit with a weird bug that has left me feeling like sewing myself into my sheets and never getting out of bed (if only I knew how to sew!) I have found solace in pretending like I don't have tons of homework due, these guys, her, them, him and, of course, my sweet kiddos who know just when to screech at the top of their lungs (When I am just drifting off to sleep), when to beg me to spin them around and around and around (All day. Every day) and when to give me sweet hugs and slobbery kisses (Carter still gives the WIDE OPEN MOUTH kind!!).

how can you know it if you don't even try?

2011-02-14T11:28:00.007-07:00

Love is in the air.
Happy Valentine's Day!

veg out

2011-02-14T11:13:00.005-07:00

Yesterday I made Ina Garten's veggie pot pie for the first time and Ho-ly-Crap was it good! I subbed vegetable stock for the chicken stock (effectively making this meal vegetarian-friendly) and made one HUGE pie (I only had one super-large oven-safe mug, so I made a tiny one just to see how cute it would be. SO. CUTE. Right?) and both turned out perfectly after an hour in the oven. Perfect winter meal. Yum.

I have been pouring over Ina's Party cookbook as well as her French one (I checked both out from the library! Love that place.) and I am more obsessed with her than ever! If you want some amazing ideas check them out!

cheese and crackers

2011-02-08T14:43:00.003-07:00

I made a recipe for homemade Goldfish crackers this weekend and they turned out pretty well! I wish that I had teensy cute fish cookie cutters, but I don't so I pulled out the old alphabet set and made a Tietjen Alphabet Soup (KMAC). I substituted half whole wheat flour, and, after tasting the first batch, sprinkled the second with a little bit of cheese powder for extra zip. This dough rolled out so easily and was a cinch to make. I will definitely give these another try, especially if I can find an itsy bitsy fishy cutter.

where do cowboys cook their meals?

2011-02-07T16:34:00.001-07:00

On the range.

man food

2011-02-03T22:27:00.003-07:00

I love the Super Bowl. The commercials, the horrific half-time shows, the treats, the trash talk, and... Hmmm I swear I'm missing something... Huh. Oh well.
Growing up, my family always went to a friend's house to watch the big game and eat some amazing MAN FOOD. Now, Man Food always is composed of three things: ridiculous portion sizes, ridiculously high fat content, and no plate needed. Just your bare, manly hands. I love eating it. I love making it. This Sunday my sister-in-law, Mandy, and her family are coming over to hang with us and watch the game and I am prepping some awesome eats. if you are having some friends over, too, or are just craving something horrible and looking for an excuse to give in, check out my ideas for this Sunday.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Pepperoni Pizza Bites for the Kiddos

Potato Skins

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Chocolate Chip Pie

There will also be a veggie tray, chips and seven-layer dip, and the like. And if you are wondering what has happened between this post and my last that lauded green falafel balls, well, nothing. I just can't pass up the big game without a little bit of ummm grossness. Sorry. But, I lost seven pounds (no joke) in January, so I think I'll take a one day hiatus from living well to celebrate football and Man Food and a family tradition and umm grossness.

what was beethoven's favorite fruit?

2011-02-02T10:25:00.000-07:00

BANANANAAAAAA!

another one bites the crust

2011-01-28T08:26:00.003-07:00

Made my delicious wheat pizza crust again. I know. I know. Pizza twice in a week?! What are we, college students?! But it's true. After my success on Monday night I was dying to try to recreate my favorite pie from Sammy's Wood-fired Pizza. It's got Gorgonzola cheese, prosciutto and pears on it and is topped with an arugula (or in this case, Spring Mix) salad dressed with balsamic vinaigrette.
Was it amazing, you ask?
Would I post two straight entries about pizza if it wasn't?

No.
No, I wouldn't.

dough nut

2011-01-26T09:40:00.004-07:00

I made my very first pizza dough on Monday! It was super easy and so delicious PLUS I got an awesome confidence boost because I made something with yeast without my bread machine that wasn't an abject failure! Definitely a first. Check it out.I got the recipe here after seeing it on Jane's blog! I'm a copy cat for sure, but the internet is so evil! I get cravings for things that I have never seen before and find myself having to make them THAT INSTANT. Like this little beauty, for instance. I am dying to make it. DYING.

Anyway, here is the finished product. It is definitely going to be a summer staple. Light and lemony and crispy and cheesy and delicious! Yum. I made a little salad to go with the pizza with red onions and pears and pistachios and a balsamic vinaigrette. Best dinner ever.
Well, it will be until I make this crust again, this time with gorgonzola cheese, prosciutto, pears and an arugula salad on top, a la Sammy's Wood-fired Pizza. Mmmmmmmmmmm

nothing wrong nothing right

2011-01-25T11:35:00.010-07:00

Time is moving so quickly! Carter is seven months old!! She is sitting up on her own, army crawling (she ALMOST has the whole hands and knees thing figured out!), eating real food (well... sort of), babbling, playing, laughing and growing like a weed! It is so fun to have a baby who isn't skin and bones (no offense Avery)!!! She is so happy and sweet and easy and I am trying to enjoy every day. If only they would slow down just a little!
Avery is three and three-quarters (don't you miss measuring your age in quarters!?) and I can hardly believe how grown up she is! Of course, that is a double-edged sword since not only is she much more self-reliant, but she is much more head-strong and mischievous. Not a day (or practically five minutes) goes by that I don't have to get after her for painting her entire body with White Out from my backpack, climbing onto the counter and eating a half cup of honey (and spilling the rest on the counter and her clothes), trying to take whatever toy Carter is interested at the moment, washing her hands (and using all of the soap), using the restroom (and using all of the toilet paper) and, well, you get the picture. She wants a GREEN big girl bike for her birthday (green is her absolute favorite color and if you even tease her about liking another color BOY are you in for it!) with Buzz Lightyear on it and a pouch to hold her lip gloss and toys (she has tested said bike out at Toys R Us many times) and she wants a doggy "of my very own!" Oh, and, by the way, she is a professional ice skater (can't even stand on skates without holding onto someone), "cooker" (every time I even set foot in the kitchen she is there pushing a chair along so she can stir and crack and cut and whatever else. Dinner feels more like Mission Impossible than Food Network lately), and big sister. Just ask her.

picture of health

2011-01-13T20:38:00.003-07:00

Okay, I lost my camera (again) so I took this with my phone's camera and the quality is horrible, but this meal was so-o-o good I had to share. I got the recipe here (yeah yeah. I know. Her pics are AMAZING. I'm over it) and did I mention it was so good!!
Since swearing off refined sugar and processed food, I have been feeling great! Despite all of the stress of starting school last week it really has been quite easy. And I have been able to grow as a home cook and shrink as a person (four pounds down! Thanks for nothing, Cheetos.) The list of my "firsts" with this whole experiment keeps growing. Despite the added time it takes to think before I run out the door (to make sure I have meals and snacks for me and the kids. I can't believe how much packaged garbage we used to eat!!), I am loving life. I think I might buy some Birkenstocks and stop shaving. I'll let you know how that goes via grainy cell phone pics. Don't worry. You'll love it.

In the last two weeks I have:
Poached my first egg.
Made my own crackers (who knew they even existed before Nabisco and Zesta!! But, trust me, once you make your own graham crackers you will NEVER go back. Never. I'm tackling Saltines tomorrow. So stinking excited!! And did I mention NO SUGAR? No Splenda, either. I'm talking whole organic stuff!)
Made a "cheesecake" with Greek yogurt, sucanat, cocoa powder, carrots and egg whites. The crust was hazelnuts and my homemade graham crackers ground up with a teensy bit of oil! Mmmmm.
Used my new air popper for the first time. And the second. And third. And fifteenth. Popcorn is now the Official Treat of the Tietjen household.
Made a cauliflower gratin that K and Av ate up, then licked their plates and asked for it again. And again. What was the cheese sauce? 1/2 cup part skim cheese, 1/2 cup skim milk, pureed carrots and a little Parmesan on top. It was bright Velveeta orange! haha No wonder they loved it.
Made two loafs of seven grain whole wheat bread (okay, my mom gave me her bread machine because there is NO WAY that I would have been able to do that. I stink at bread. But it was still delicious!
Made baked GREEN falafels with tahini and cucumbers and lettuce and tomatoes and pita. Mmmmm. They were made with cilantro and parsley (as well as the usual garbanzo beans and garlic and such), hence the greenness. Avery's favorite color is green so she was thrilled!
Purchased a truck-load of veggies and fruit... and haven't thrown one thing out. It's incredible! And a first.
Not skipped one workout and have kept my energy up. Not a first, but it's been a loooong time.

In the next week or two I hope to:
Make my own cheese. I went to a demonstration on how to make mozzarella last year and it looked simple. I can't wait to try it!
Look into better eggs (range free, cage free, etc.??) and meat products. I watched Food Inc. for the first time and I have vowed never to eat another ammonia-washed burger or sad, big-breasted chicken again!
Get my hands on the documentary Food Matters. It comes highly recommended by my friend Jane who is a natural food guru! She even has her own granola company! Check her out.
Try out more homemade handy snacks like Goldfish crackers! I actually found a recipe! I might seem excitable to you, but I have a three year old who is having withdrawals.

My biggest surprise in the last couple of weeks is how little all of us have missed our old, gross, sugar-and-saturated-fat-riddled lives! I thought Avery would have a tough time, but she is perfectly happy when I hand her a banana even if she asked for a GoGurt or chicken nuggets. How are your goals going?

a day in the life

2011-01-13T07:48:00.002-07:00

Up at 5.
Drive to Rexburg.
Swim workout.
Shower in stall.
Dress out of locker.
Breakfast in car.
Class at 8.
Home by 10.
Online school til noon.
Chef.
Laundress.
Dishwasher.
SuperMom.
Chef again.
Storyteller.
Tucker-inner.
Textbook-reading, paper-writing, iPod-listening fool.
Pass out at 10.
Repeat.
Repeat.
Repeat.

$#@! my daughter says

2011-01-09T21:30:00.001-07:00

Avery has had quite the week. On Wednesday she was playing in the room adjacent to where I was doing some homework, talking to herself and such, when I hear, amidst the mumbling, SH#@! No joke. Clear as anything, my baby girl said her first curse word. Not only did she say it, she used it 100% correctly. Holy cow, I was f-l-o-o-r-e-d. I have NO IDEA where she heard it from, either. I swear. Wait, I don't mean I SWEAR-swear, i just assure you that she didn't hear that mess at home. I got my jaw off of the floor eventually and snapped into mommy mode, telling her in the most serious way possible exactly how unacceptable mean language like that is. I have a nephew who used to bite until his parents finally (after multiple bleeding bites on his sisters) tried smacking him once on the mouth when he bit. And he decided really quickly that he was not going to bite anymore. Well, I'll admit it, just like that tactic I really wanted to associate swearing with something pretty scary, so I told Avery the next time she chose to say inappropriate words, she was going to get a smack on the mouth. She took it very seriously and told me sorry.
When Daddy got home (I, of course, had called and told him all about it earlier) he asked Avery if she had used bad language. She told him yes, but she would never do it again. Then I said, "Tell Daddy what will happen if you use foul language again."
Avery thinks about it for a minute, then, LIGHTBULB! "Oh yeah, " she says, "Mommy is going to punch me in the face."
Dead. Serious.
I am still laughing.
Then today Klayton and I popped some popcorn and turned on a movie for Avery. When K brought out the movie, he said, "Avery, do you want to watch Day-speak-ah-ble Me?"
Avery replies, "It's Despicable Me, you idiot!"
Now it was K's turn for the serious language talk. He sat her down and told her how hurtful words like idiot are. So Avery says, "But Daddy! Woody calls Buzz idiot!" Ahh Toy Story. Well, at least she didn't learn that other word from Woody.
When did my baby turn into a legit little kid? What is next?! I am afraid to find out.

fransisco

2011-01-05T12:43:00.008-07:00

Christmas at the cabin was wonderful!! We made cookies for Santa, got to talk with my brother in Equador, my sister in England, opened waaaay too many presents, and even had a visit from Santa!! My favorite part, spending time with my family. And Christmas Eve cuddling with Avery, who couldn't fall asleep until 10pm, she was so excited!

srsly.

2011-01-05T08:13:00.001-07:00

Grinding legit peanuts into peanut butter at Fred Meyer yesterday? Coolest. Thing. Ever. And delicious!
Yogurt + Granola + Banana + For Real Peanut Butter = Best Breakfast Ever.