Tuesday, March 29, 2011

FARMERY BLISS



Here is the haul I got at the farmer's market this weekend. While I did not technically buy EVERYTHING produce at the farmer's market (the fam eats a lot of bananas and they don't sell those up to the farmer's market) I bought most. So far everything has been delicious. I have never tasted such flavorful cucumbers as the ones pictured here. MMMMMMMM good. And the pan chocolate was about the best I have ever had (and my husband is French, so that is saying something).




This is cheeseburger soup. I saw something like this on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on food network. My version includes an entire block of Velveeta, chicken stock made from leftover ramen noodle seasoning packets, chopped farmer's market tomatoes, ground turkey, onion and iceberg lettuce shreds stirred in at the table...oh, and milk. This made a crap ton of soup. We ate it for dinner, lunch and dinner the next day and dinner again last night. But it was super yummy!

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Let's check something off the list...



My man deserves his props. He is a wonderful husband and father. Here are the top 20 things (in absolutely no particular order) I love about him. To be fair, it is actually the 20 things I just thought of and then stopped.

20 favorite things

  1. He handles the dishes
  2. He accepts me just as I am and knows the real me more than anyone
  3. He thinks I am pretty and tells me so
  4. He is affectionate
  5. He loves his kids
  6. He is fair
  7. He is handsome
  8. He makes my stomach jump when I watch him play guitar
  9. He is a super hard worker
  10. He loves to laugh
  11. He lets me drive on long trips because I hate riding
  12. He loves God
  13. He doesn’t judge me (too much) when I go whole hog on something to the point of obsession and then a couple of weeks later get bored of it
  14. He likes to spend time with me
  15. He is loyal
  16. Family comes first in his life
  17. He eats almost anything without complaint
  18. He is a dork, so I can be a dork too
  19. He gives me time to myself to recharge
  20. He is happy to be a monster or a patient or whatever else little guys need him to be for the purposes of pretend play
I LOVE THAT GUY!

Monday, March 21, 2011

New book review

Well, you will probably notice over the next whatever that I am a bit obsessed on the parenting side lately. My oldest will start kindergarten next year and after some experiences my sister had when my niece started school, I fear some negative influences in the "too much information" department could enter my daughter's life. I plan to be prepared like Rambo. I know she is only 5, but some families don't seem to consider that when they pass information to their kids. So I just read this:



I loved this book. It is written in a really accessible way. It didn't feel judgey and it was very realistic about what goes on in the lives of our kids. I like the fact that this mother encourages openess with your kids and gives you tools to start fostering that kind of communication early on. If you wait till they are already teenagers, it may be too late.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

STILL SICK...SORRY

We are still in the process of trying to fully diagnose the wasting disease that has plagued me since Christmas. I got another chest x-ray and a CT scan of my sinuses yesterday. Hope to know more soon. In the meantime. I sort of suck. I have gotten some stuff done, but no pictures, or I have pictures of things that don't have anything to do with getting anything done.

Here are some random pics from my life:

My kids like to wear bloomers on their heads. They call them pajama hats.



This is my best friend. I think she is PURTY!



updates soon....

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Been sick...



Been sick with the pneumonia. Spent some time in the hospital and then convalescing at home. Now I am trying to ramp back up. Just to get the flow going again, I will include a list of random things about me. I tried to do 25, but my brain started to hurt from trying to think of things of real interest. So if you have anything to add, please do tell!

  1. I am a little obsessed with the Duggars (the folks with 19 kids). So much so, that my 5-yr old daughter and I can both name you all 19 of their children in birth order.
  2. My husband and I wrote a song that was performed by the finalist from Bulgaria in the Eurovision music contest in 2009. This is a really popular contest in Europe (kind of like American Idol). ABBA was discovered in this contest.
  3. I have never seen Titanic.
  4. The nicknames I have had in my life that have stood the test of time are: Toilet Bear, Mr. Cooper and Gentle Bird.
  5. I can’t eat a lot of hot food at one time or I feel grossed out. Like a big steaming glob of mashed potatoes or oatmeal or something. I prefer gently warmed.
  6. Wet hair is completely skeevy to me. When I wash my hair, I have to keep it in a towel and then put on a shirt really quick so it won’t touch my skin.
  7. I have double-jointed thumbs.
  8. I hate talking on the phone (unless I am in traffic and bored) and my friends get annoyed because I don’t answer, don’t listen to my voicemails and never return calls. Most people know to call my husband if they need to talk to me.
  9. I love baby goats. I wish I could have one. They are the cutest creatures God ever made (except my kids).
  10. Sometimes I feel sick to my stomach when I look at statues- particularly if they are high up or very large.
  11. I have many happy days in my life, but I can’t figure out what “the happiest day of my life” was.
  12. At the end of movies, my best friend and I like to sit in the theatre and watch the credits roll. Then we pick some random name to cheer and yell and clap for like we know the person.
  13. I have some kind of mental block that keeps me from remembering anyone’s birthday.
  14. My husband and I also never remember our wedding anniversary. At some point in the day (most years) one of us will say, “Oh hey, we forgot our anniversary again.” And then we will laugh and not do anything about it.
  15. We never have ice at our house. We always have to go buy a bag if someone is coming over.
  16. One of my all-time favorite foods is ramen noodles.
Can you believe it is already March?