Thanksgiving 2009!

Hayley and Garrett came for Thanksgiving this year. We had lots of fun AND lots of treats. She EVEN made homemade Oreos!! Yum. No Mom and Dad this year, Mom's back is really bad and she couldn't fly. We missed you Mom and Dad. G and H brought the Great Dalmudi and we had fun playing that.

This is our new little baby....Rocky. My Uncle Ron's dog was the Dad (he was born is CO, hence the name...ROCKY!) My Uncle Ron's dog had a litter of puppies in January, and at Hayley's wedding he asked if we wanted one. Scout was sick, and I told him no. But I started getting a hankering really bad. I called my Dad up and asked if he knew if Ron had anymore puppies coming...he said yeah I think he just had some. So, I called my Uncle and the rest is history. We picked Rocky up on Friday and have been busy ever since. Lucky for us, my Uncle was driving to see my Aunt in Northern Washington, so he brought him to Hermiston, OR and we met outside a gas station.

The Thanksgiving table. My friend Shelly was over, her kids were with their Dad for Thanksgiving, so she joined us. I tell you this, because she is taking the picture, and you might kind of wonder.

Hannah made these cute name cards for everyone. Hey, if I'm not scrap booking, at lease we can use that paper for something cute hahaha.

Hayden and Rocky. He has been really cute with Rocky. He really wants Rocky to LOVE him.

This is me hold Rocky for the first time. Hannah took this picture. I cried when I saw him he was so cute and little.

Public Service Announcment

This "stuff" works. I'm sure you have all seen Brooke Shields in those adds for Latisse, the medicine that grows eye lashes. I always wondered if it really worked. Well, I saw a friend the other night that I hadn't seen for about a month or so. I noticed her eyelashes...they were SO long. So long, in fact, we teased her about her eyelid getting tired because they had to blink those looooong lashes. So long, in fact, that they seriously cast a shadow upon her face. She told me she had been using a generic for Latisse for about 12 weeks or so. Well, it worked that's for sure. I came home and did a little research on the side effects because I had heard it can turn your light eyes brown. It can indeed to that, it's called permanent iris pigmentation. It can also cause: lid pigmentation (darkening of the eyelid), hair growth outside the treatment area, and eye inflammation. She did say her eyes had been a little burny and red. Hmmmm, too bad I like my green eyes. They need to do a little more work on the formula for me to become a user. But WOW her eyelashes were sure long! The things were are willing to do/risk for beauty, isn't it amazing??

recipe club

I have a minute. Scott went on Hayden's field trip this morning. Hope is downstairs, she just finished up a "fashion show". My friend gave her a bag of clothes. Most are still too big AND summer dresses...but she does not care one bit. She is just like me when I was little. My Mom tells me I changed clothes a million times a day. So does she, her room is proof :) She is now downstairs playing dolls, and she was tucking her dolls in (on top of the Costco toilet paper package). I told her she was a good Mommy. She said she wasn't a Mommy, she was a girl. Then she said she was a "toy mom" at least she knows fact vs fiction. **Oh and do you let your 3 year old, who was already dressed in clothes that fit, wear her slightly too big summer dress to the gym because she wants to AND because she dressed herself? I don't know. I fear my standards are lowering :) **

I went to recipe club last night. It's where a bunch of girls get together, bring a recipe to share and sit around and chat (and of course EAT!). I love recipe club. Anyway, last night's theme was Holiday Favorites. My friend Denise brought this recipe for stuffing. I thought it was delicious and thought I'd share. I'm always looking for new and better recipes for the holiday tradition. I'm kind of picky about stuffing, I'll be honest, usually I think Stove Top tastes better than a lot of stuffing. But not this, it was tasty!

Spicy and Sweet Sausage Stuffing

2 sticks real butter
1 onion
4-5 celery sticks
3 pkg cubed seasoned stuffing mix (I used the Marie Calendars brand)
2 Rolls of Jimmy Dean Bold Sausage (If you can't find bold, do 1 regular, 1 hot) brown, crumble and drain on paper towels.
1/2 c. sliced almonds
3 1/2 cups chicken broth or more if you like it more moist

Saute the onion and celery in the butter. Add in rest of ingredients. Cover and bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and add 2 pkg chopped craisens and 4 peeled, cored and chopped granny smith apples.

Whobody knew?

A shout out to Carrie and Hayley for being my remote IT support! Thanks for the advice ladies. Who knew?? :) Obviously Carrie and Hayley and probably everybody else but me hahaha.

Anyway, I will tell you a funny little story about Hope. The other day she was playing with her little princess figures. All of a sudden she is saying very loudly, "Whobody moved my Cinderella?" Translation: somebody moved Cinderella, who was it? She invented a new word. I do miss when kids grow up and stop saying cute little mispronounced words/made up words.

**Just a side note, Hope's look on the picture above, is approximately the same look as when she was saying "whobody did it?"** Just thought you should know + I needed to test out my new computer skill.

So, I will blab here!

Please tell me you are all watching Modern Family! I do so enjoy that show. Also, did you catch the remake of "V"? I must admit I did an eye roll when Scott and Hunter said they wanted to watch, BUT it was rather entertaining.

I posted some lovely photos in the previous post. I hate now how on the posting page when you put pictures up...it doesn't show the picture, it's the picture code or whatever. Do you have that, too? It is rather a bother, and I can't really blab about each picture like I'd like to. Grrr.

So, I will blab right here. Hayden was 007 this year for Halloween. Really, he just wanted to carry an airsoft gun (not loaded of course) Hope, was many things (lots of different dressing up parties this year) but for the actual night she put on a Barbie dress-up and some wings. I even put on a little make-up, she was in heaven. Hannah was a hippie A large group of her friends gathered and they went out together, with the rest of the street kids (and some parents) following along (Hope included) I think she wanted to go all by herself, but oh well. Hunter stayed home and passed out candy. He was being a party pooper...what? you'd think he had a broken ankle or something.

Speaking of the broken ankle, he did get his cast off a day or so ago. Believe it or not! After 4 short weeks the doctor said "kids are amazing". They really do heal so fast. He is, however, having a harder time walking than he thought. I think he thought he would immediately start playing basketball or something. Darn it all. I have been using some of my PT skillz on him though. He should be better in no time. You know it.

Anyhoo, I must warm up dinner. Leftover chili is on the menu, I love leftovers. I did make fresh corn bread though. Today was the official start of "the season" for me. I wanted to play Christmas songs on the piano. I'm getting in the mood. Hot chocolate is sounding good. Not to mention, I saw a Golden Retriever puppy picture on the back of a Target add today, and ran up to show Scott how cute he was. He rolled his eyes (big time) and said "NO DOG!" Oh course not now silly, but someday :)

October pictures

Here are some pictures for you. Hope's birthday party, Hope helping to make her cupcakes, Halloween, Hopey's 3 year old pictures!!

The Hiding Place

"The worth of a book is to be measured by what you can carry away from it." James Bryce

I was asked to host a book club for our ward. Initially, I struggled to find just the right book. It's the first book club discussion. So, I wasn't sure who the participates would be. I wanted something that appealed to many, but wasn't BORING. And I did NOT want to read a church book. Sorry, I just didn't. One day, it hit me, why not The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom?? Have I been glad I did. Or that someone had a hand in helping me select it, if you know what I mean. If you haven't read the book here is a nice link to see what I'm talking about.

I feel like I learned so much more the second time reading this book. I happened upon the quote above about the worth of a book. I have known that Scott losing his job is part of a bigger plan. There wasn't a good reason for him to lose it. He had his "numbers" in fact, he was 165% for last quarter and already at 95% for the next. But this book was so very helpful in reminding me, of a couple things. First, God is in charge. We need to have faith and things will work out. What I have a little bit of trouble with, is that I know things will work out, I just want them to work out how I want them to work out. You know? I could go on and on with this one, but I think you get the point. We all have struggles, I'm trying to learn as many lessons from this one as quickly as I can :) I loved learning all about Corrie's life lessons. "In darkness God's truth shines most clear."

The second thing that really stands out for me with this book is the attitude of gratitude that Corrie and her sister Betsie have. Betsie and Corrie, by some miracle, had been allowed to keep hidden (in the concentration camp) a sweater to keep them warm, a bottle of medicine, and a bible. Betsie was sick and Corrie was thankful that she had this medicine for her sister. However, her sister couldn't stand to see others in need, and they would share the medicine with all that needed it. It really was a miracle, because the medicine should have been long gone after all the use. Every time they went to the bottle there was medicine. Until, they got some other medication, and then Corrie couldn't get another drop out of the bottle.

But it's the story of the fleas that I love. When Corrie and Betsie first get moved to a new barrack, they are with a group of women who are miserable, fighting and live with fleas infesting everything. Right away Betsie is thankful, that they were placed where they were, so they could help heal these women. She is also thankful for the fleas. Corrie initially remarks about how she couldn't feel thankful for the fleas. But she soon changed. The women in that barrack were allowed a lot of freedom from the guards, because the barrack was so infested with fleas. Corrie and Betsie were able to teach the women. Then Corrie saw that we should indeed be thankful for EVERYTHING. That has been a good lesson for me, being thankful for all of our opportunities, and our struggles!

I'm still here...and Happy Birthday to me!

Scott's new full time job is looking for a full time job. That uses the computer. SO, my blogging, facebooking and net surfing have been severely limited. There are times when the computer is free, but with blogging if I don't do it when I feel like it, I just don't feel like doing it at all. Scott does have some leads, but we are certainly still waiting.

Before I forget, my friend made a cake for a birthday celebration (mine, my birthday was on the 20th) It was some of the best cake ever. I have made (and blogged about) another chocolate cake with peanut butter cups stuck to the side. This was different because it had cream cheese frosting and layers of melted peanut butter between the layers. Hello??!! EVERYTHING is better with cream cheese frosting. Here is a picture of the heavenly creation. And here is a ">link so you can make it ASAP. Beware, take it with you to a party...because you will want to eat the entire thing once you start!!

**the link didn't work try this**

I have printed the recipe and will add it to my file. Plus, I've added the Picky Palate to my favorites, thanks Picky Palate!!!

looking on the bright side of things...well trying anyway

Quick catch up...Scott traveled a lot in the beginning of the month for work, so I was busy busy with the kids. You know how it is, having to be 2 or 3 places at once? Good times.

Anyway, Hunter broke his ankle playing football on like...hmmmm the 2nd of October (it was a Friday). At first, the coach saw a bruise on his shin, and iced that. It wasn't until Hunter said, "Uh, it's not my shin that hurts it's my ANKLE!" that Scott realized it might be a little more serious than "taking a helmet to the shin." The coach's response to Hunter's comment..."Son, your shin feels better because we have been icing it." Oh...great...thanks. Scott did the ER trip that night and found out he had broken his ankle. I took him to the Orthopedic doctor expecting him to cast it and send us away for 6-8 weeks, when he said Hunter's ankle would need to be operated on. It was right in the growth plate, and needed some help to heal right. So, that was Tuesday, surgery was scheduled for Thursday.

On Wednesday, I was at a Primary Presidency meeting when I get a call from Scott telling me I need to come home. He didn't want to tell me why, he just wanted me to come home. That's never a good sign in my book, so after a little yelling :) he tells me. He had just got laid off from Sharp. I told him I'd be right home. Hung up the phone, and proceeded to say a very bad word. Talk about your very worst nightmare.

Hunter's surgery went very well. He is on the mend. He is getting to do a lot of reading, crossword puzzles, math puzzles etc. I printed him a math puzzle yesterday, that I looked at and went....hmmmm. My boy is smarter than me.

Within an hour of being laid off, Scott had updated his resume and started networking. He knows a lot of people. Hopefully, all of this networking pays off.

I (we) are trying to look on the bright side of things, like...we have no debt, our cars are paid off, we got some severance pay, lets see what else, I don't have to take Hope to Costco with me, I can run in the afternoon when it gets warm, fall is a beautiful time of year here, I have lots of friends and family who love me.

Apparently, I had more to say...

I made another green smoothie today. I used (my own recipe): 2 handfuls of spinach, banana, apple, 1/2 lime (whole thing!. This smoothie was so fresh tasting! So much better than yesterday. Understandable, spinach is a lot more mild than kale. I read a book today while Hope napped, the whole thing. It was very interesting. All about why we need more greens in our diet. It was called Green for Life.



Read all about the amazing benefits of adding (lots) of greens to your diet. At least 2 large handfuls a day. Iceberg lettuce doesn't count. You know what does? Spinach, basil, parsley, kale, mustard greens, collard greens, arugula, romaine plus lots more. I would never go on a complete raw food diet, but it's very interesting to read lots of different books about our food, and take the best from all these different opinions. They all have something good to say. For instance, I could never eat ONLY local food. There are some people(localvores)that will only eat food that is grown/raise 100 miles from their house. I do think that is cool, I did grow a garden and eat out of it this summer and I do like to shop farmers markets. BUT, that would also mean no citrus, bananas, and greens in the winter. We are buying 1/4 of a grass pastured cow this month (and chicken) from Harmony J.A.C.K. Farms. For some of the benefits of grass fed meat go here or read The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan. My point is, to not devote yourself to one way of thinking...but be balanced and glean the best from lots of different theories.



I made these Mar-a-Lago Turkey Burgers last night and they were VERY good. Do try!

Well, since I have done that boot camp at least 3 times since I posted about it...maybe it's time for a change. It's not that I haven't wanted to blog...

Anyway, here is a little sampling of what's been going on in that head of mine.

First of all, I came really close to buying one of those really expensive blenders. I have been wanting to make those "green smoothies" But spending up to $500 on a blender...?? Just couldn't do it. Although, I made my first green smoothie yesterday, and I had to work very hard at blending it up. Life would be a lot easier with a $500 blender. Here's the one I made yesterday: 5 leaves kale, 3 apples, 2 cups water, juice of 1 lemon. I'm not going to lie and say it was delicious...it wasn't. But it WAS way better than I thought it was going to be. It made enough for all the kids to sample (they were completely grossed out), Scott got a swig, and then two of my neighbors were lucky enough to be around and partake.

I'm sure you are so interested in the green smoothie, and WHY I'd even make such a thing. Well, I'll tell you but not now, playgroup is in 15 minutes, and I still have to shower. There is never enough time, but I'll blog more later. I was sick of "Heather's Boot Camp" on my blog!

Heather's boot camp

run 5 minutes easy at first (warm up) then moderate pace (on the repeat run, fast past)
jump rope 5 minutes (fast pace, high knees)
suicides length of the gym (push it!)
5 minutes side squats across the gym and different plyometrics (leap frog, wall jumps, high skipping with BIG arms)
5 minutes rowing machine (keep the pace quick, my arms were burning by the end)
a ton of weighted squats (a bunch until it burns)
Versa T rainer (this machine we have at my gym, you lay on your stomach and pull your body weight up)

repeat

Finish with 5 minutes killer abs. I did different plank type ab exercises today.

The workout took me about 1 hour 5 minutes. That's including a quick stretch.

I'm not training for any event right now, so I've dropped down to running 2 times a week. I'm spinning a couple of times a week, but I have missed a boot camp type class. Instead of paying extra to do a boot camp style class with a personnel trainer...I'm doing it myself. I get a better workout anyway, made just for me, by me to meet my goals. Just thought I'd share. It kicked my butt.

Karma

Yesterday I was in a bad mood. I didn't sleep well, I kept hearing coyotes. I don't know why, I have never been woken up by coyotes...but they kept me up the other night. Anyway, I was a big fat pain in the butt. I made Hayden cry, Scott even called me Belinda. (remember she is my alter-ego) I was rushing around trying to get everything done. I got to the gym early, so I could leave early and come home and shower and then rushed back out the door to Costco and Sports Authority. Both places are ALL the way across the river about 15 minute away. I pull into the parking lot, grab my purse, and realize my bag is way too lite...I left my wallet in my gym bag! uhhhggg. All my rushing around for nothing. I went home and took a nap with Hope and said "Forget it!" Costco still hasn't happened, but you know what? We aren't starving.

Ahhhh!

Ahhhh! Back to school...it felt good to get into my old routine of getting kids off to school, picking up the house, then going to the gym. Hope even took a nap this afternoon. The house was clean and quiet, until 4:00...then same old same old. But it was nice for a little while :) It was nice having the kids home again, too. Hopey missed her brothers and sister aka "the kids". She even talked to them on her cell phone (old cell phone not working ;) and told them all about the bus cake I made, and she told them she missed them and wanted them home.

Heart attach for a big fat dummy

Funny story...
So, last night I was reading on FB, and this lady was talking about results from Hood to Coast. "OH good" I thought, I wanted to check and see how we did. I look on there...and I see my team...we are sitting at 16!! I'm like, "WE GOT 16th place in our division!!" I was so excited I was jumping around and yelling. I even go down and tell Scott and the rest of the family. Meanwhile, I am jumping up and down waving my arms. He knew...he said he already looked. He didn't seem nearly as impressed as I felt. But that didn't stop me from being as excited as if I had won the lottery. Just for your info, there are 1000 teams on H2C, I was on an all women's team. There are about 8 different divisions of teams, come to find out later. So anyway, after my little celebration, I got up to see just how many teams were in my division...see my Dad had asked how many teams there were. My Mom said, "There were 1000 teams!!" I knew we weren't 16th out of 1000, I thought it was out of at least 100. Well, no. It was out of 30 :) 16th out of 30 not 16th out of 100+. Still damn good. hahahahahahahaha!!!

Back to school is almost here!

This is our last summer night. We had back to school night this afternoon/tonight. First, we went to the brand new elementary school. How I love the new school. It's so pretty. Both kids got good teachers. Hannah is in 5th now, and she will have three different teachers. She has her "besty" in her class so she couldn't be any happier. Hayden got the teacher everybody wants, so I'm super excited. She is supposed to be hard, and we already have a homework assignment ;) We went to back to school night for Hunter as well. I got to check out his teachers and they all met with my approval. I will say his science teacher, Mr. Hunting, looked about 12. It's not even his first year teaching. I must be getting old. I was a total looser parent and didn't have any of the forms filled out so he could get a ticket to receive his schedule. Luckily, my friend was giving out the tickets, and I promised to turn in "my assignment" on Wednesday. I have never been to a back to school night at Skyridge, so I didn't know better(last year we were at Disney) and I assumed the first day was fine. OOOOps.

We got all the sports schedules for Hunter, Hannah and Hayden. It looks like Tuesdays and Thursdays are going to be crazy. I will need to be 3 places all at once. No problem!!! Hannah's practice is held at a Middle School about 20 MINUTES away!!! Yuck! That's at 4:45, Hayden's practice is 2 minutes away, but it's right at 5. Hunter needs to be picked up from football practice right at 5. Hmmmmm... I'm working on different carpools so we can make things work. Goodness.

My parents have been here (they watched the kids for Hood to Coast) and they leave tomorrow. It was fun having Ma and Pa here for a visit. I'm off to go fold laundry, and make my bed. I love clean sheet Monday!

Hill to Coast wrap up

It's done! I had a great time at Hood to Coast. It was hard as can be, but lots of fun. My team started at 8:30 am on Friday, my van didn't start running until about 1ish. Times are very mixed up for me. I was in a Hood to Coast vacuum. Eating, sleeping even exercising were all done at very strange times and places. I ran my first leg at about 3ish. Then we had some time off while van 1 ran their second legs. We ate dinner and chilled and we were back at in at about midnight. I was the second runner in our van. My middle of the night run was the one I was nervous about. Good reason too, it SUCKED!!!! a)it was in the middle of the night b) it was all uphill. And by uphill I mean up a mountain. About 10 minutes in, I thought what the heck?? Then I hooked up with this dude John from DC and we chatted, then we hooked up with some other person, and we just chatted and complained until we were up the mountain. Finally, at the end it was downhill, and downhill never felt so good. I was so happy, proud, relieved, pooped, excited to be done with a run. I had some Gatorade, which made my "stomach" a little sick ;) After some Imodium all was well. After our second legs, we parked the van and slept for about 3 hours. It felt like heaven. Then we were out for our final leg. I was wanting to just get it done! I didn't know the other ladies in the van so well before, but got to know them quite well during the race. We had a great van. 3 of the women had done the race many many times. Two of them wrapped the van like none other. The LaCamas teams were the "Head Hunters" so we had a crazy jungle/pirate/skull theme. We had people taking pictures all day and night. They packed us each a little backpack full of fun stuff, and made us shirts and matching hats! Loved them. I am not really very sore, we were all very careful to stretch and use "the stick" after each run. I have soaked in Epsom salts and have taken a nap today. I'm feeling good. That's all for now, I'm off to make a little dinner and pick up the house (just a little).

Wish me luck..."not break a leg" though

Wish we luck, I'm going to go pack for Hood to Coast. Wait, I don't need luck on the packing...just the running part. I'm excited and nervous and maybe dreading the middle of the night "very hard" run. I went to the dentist yesterday, and (he has run it before) he asked me my legs. When I told him what legs I was running...he got all weird and asked me what I knew about my second leg. I told him I knew it was going to suck, it was uphill, in the middle of the night, and very dusty. He gave me a mask to wear (you know the kind dentists wear). But I am the type of gal that imagines the very worse, I have been running some really ugly hills. I'm hoping to be pleasantly surprised. The hills I think I can do...it's the middle of the night. I'm going to be tired. You know the other thing I'm worrying about? My contacts. When should I take them out, when should I put them back in? I'm bringing my Croc flip flops so my feet don't have to touch anything gross. I'm not worrying about any makeup except mascara. I don't want anyone to think I'm sick or anything. (When people see me without mascara for the first time...they always look twice! Damn those blond lashes!) Oh shoot, I need to go wash my sports bras. I don't want to start smelly. I am going to be very smelly. My workout shirts are those fancy ones that hold onto all the stank. I'd wear perfume, but I don't want to be that girl. I just want to get on with it already!!

Have you tried these? I think they are mighty good. It's like a tart/tangy jelly center covered in dark chocolate. You must enjoy the dark chocolate to fully enjoy this snack. Just saying they are tasty.

I want these

I have heard lots of good things about this red cookbook, they didn't have it at my Costco today, but they did have the blue one. I flipped through the blue one, and it does look good. Lots of good hints and suggestions throughout. I think I need them. ****A note to all of my sisters, please do not buy this cookbook :) Christmas is coming.****

Does anyone have a Valium?

Kidding hahaha :) I'm just tired. I took all my children plus Hannah's friend Hannah back to school clothes shopping. It was rather hellish, I must say. The big kids were all pretty good. But Hope...oh my. I brought the stroller, but she doesn't sit in it. She'd want to walk or have me carry her. Of course, right? The mall wasn't so bad. The real melt down started at Kohls, I got lots of pity looks as I was carrying her screaming through the store. (I took the cat boots off, heaven forbid) However, pity turned into something else entirely at Famous Footware, where the salesperson had picked up one too many times today. She wasn't so patient with my little one, who just wanted to try on shoes. I'm just glad that's done! She did fall asleep in the car. :)

Now, what to make for dinner? I'm afraid the San Fran trip has sucked all my menu planning brain cells right on out of my head. HMMMMM, I can't do omelets again...

Julia Child makes an omelette

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The movie was great. I came home and googled Julia Child, and found this little gem. I have made many omelettes, but never made an omelette like that, until today (that's what we had for dinner). It was so easy, and so good. Way better than how I used to make them. Try it! Meryl Streep deserves an Oscar, that woman can do anything.

Hello?

Hello??? Last year the first day of school was the day after Labor Day which was like the 2nd. So, I just magically assumed that the first day back would be the day after Labor Day...or the Wednesday because I did remember that the first day back was a Wednesday. Oh no, the first day back is before Labor Day on the 2nd of September!! I'm sure at one time I knew the correct date, after all I even have the back to school night marked on my calendar. But in the back of my mind...I was thinking the first day of school was the 9th or something crazy. I do believe my kids got gipped on 2 weeks of vacation compared to the Tomball schools. I am NOT complaining ;) This next week is our last full week of summer. I can't believe it. School supplies are all bought...and spread all over the dining room table. Hannah needs shoes, everybody needs jeans, nobody really needs shirts, and since socks apparently are disposable...everybody needs socks.
Hunter 8th
Hannah 5th
Hayden 2nd

Next year:
Hunter 9th
Hannah 6th
Hayden 3rd

I can't believe Hunter will be in high school and Hannah will be in middle school. Yuck!

I'm taking/dragging Scott to see Julie and Julia or whatever it's called. He is being a good sport, and not complaining (at all) because I really really really want to see it.

Got zucchini?

It's hard to tell just how big these are, but trust me they are huge!!

Right about now we have more zucchini than we know what to do with. We pick the big bad ugly zucchini not to eat, but to play with. Hunter and Hayden have "zucchini ed" people (ding dong ditch, but you leave a zucchini). Hayden and his friends like to use the big ones for air soft gun shooting practice. We have even carved some up. I have cut the small ones and put them in just about anything and everything. Not to mention bread and cookies. I don't think I'll buy a zucchini at the store ALL winter long! If you want to feel like you have gardening success...plant zucchini.

I watched my neighbor's kids today (she watched mine while I went to San Francisco). OMGoodness, is it time for school to start yet? Soon. I finally feel like I'm back in the groove after my girls trip to San Fran. Boy, does it take a few days to get your feet back under you.

Last night Scott and I went for a late run. I had run 6 miles earlier that day, but needed some night running/training. It really wasn't so bad, and this is coming from someone who gets grumpy past 9. I had book club last night and I even had a full tummy. I was tired starting out, but once that heart starts pumping, you are awake. Amazing how that works. Hood to Coast 1 week from today. I really just want to get it done. I think I'm prepared/ready as I'll ever be, so bring it on!

I went to my friend's Silpada jewelry party tonight. I didn't think I'd buy anything but left with a new cuff bangle bracelet. Well, didn't actually leave with it, payed for it, and it comes next week. Maybe I'll wear it for Hood to Coast, kidding. I don't think it would go with my Head Hunter singlet (super ugly shirt we had to buy for our team). Totally rambling now, goodnight.

My little Giada

For several months all Hope wanted to watch on TV was Max and Ruby. I like Max and Ruby so that was fine by me. In fact, I think we all kind of liked Max and Ruby...bigger children have all been know to sit and watch M&R...with Hope;) Well, I started DVRing Giada's new cooking show on the Food Network, and Hope has watched. Now, she wants to watch Giada as much as she wants to watch Max and Ruby, that's saying a lot. For many weeks she had been into "making recipes". Making recipes=making messes, really but it keeps her busy and happy. Really, anything can go into a recipe. Cheerios, nuts, crackers, berries...then she likes to freeze it. Everyone must sample, too. It's delightful. Now, she has found a fellow chef to bond with. "I'm like Giada" she now tells us as she is wiping up some concoction. Hope describes things she eats as "tasty and delicious" or "tasty and sweet". She is a funny girl.

Ice Cream

Oh my goodness, do you like chocolate and peanut butter ice cream? If the answer is yes, then you must make this ASAP. Joy the Baker does not disappoint with this one. I'm just passing this good treat along. It tastes like frozen pudding...with peanut butter.

Another favorite ice cream recipe is found here. Just saying...if you are in need of a treat here you go!

Testing

This is my same blog, just a different address. Testing to see if this works.