first half of february, 2011

Man Alive.  I don't like the new way of blogging that I've been doing lately---doing bi monthly recaps seems a little wacko, but better than YEARLY recaps (am I right? am I right? to my friends who need to get back on the blogging train, consider this your invitation).

ANNNNYway, let's talk about the SNOW day that we had here in San Antonio.  February 4, 2011.  Crazy to wake up to a thin little receiving-blanket of snow (we're not talking QUILT, just a little thin blanket that only stuck to the cement and roads).  But, still, snow.  Crazy.  We were excited.  Tillie was too. 

suiting up for the big event.  love that she has her nostrils flared.  that's my girl.

cute neighbor, emily.

TA-DAHH! I love how crisp and bright the sky is. and I have a love for that 2.5 year old too.

Cal was pretty thrilled about it all too.  Too bad he's got a snotty snot snot nose.  Still darling---snotsicles and all.

this is tillie with her mischevious face.  she started playing a game where she'd grab the powdered snow and throw it up high.  Calvin REALLLLLY enjoyed this game.  See below if you think I'm lying.

whoop! there it is!!!

Later that morning I "braved" the roads to get to Costco, only to see a TON of cars that had slid off the road.  It was crazy and terrifying at the same time.  Luckily, my drive around 10 a.m. was pretty smooth sailing, especially b/c they had closed down the freeway and most of the snow had melted by then.  Unfortunately, Costco was closed.  That stunk.  Especially b/c I had driven all the side roads to get there.  Oh well.  It was a day to remember, that's for sure!

:::  Since the snow was keeping us indoors (hA!), I kept wanting to do random projects.  Make messes.  And, accomplish things.  Since I had bought a TON of clothespins at the store years earlier, and I happened to have some scrapbooking paper out (can't remember why I had the big mess out??) I decided to gussy them up a little bit.  I think they are cuter when people do them with fabric and put the metal clip on TOP of the fabric, but I'm a lazy girl.  This was much easier.  And, I was able to avoid major injuries this way.


All's yous got to do's  (I wish I talked like this normally) is get modge-podge (or it's equivalent) and do a little strip on the back of the paper and stick.  If you wanted to make them water repellent you could do a top coat, but again, I'm lazy.  Here's a lame picture on my dusty table to show you the finished product:

***Funny side note, Tillie was REALLY into helping me.  She loved helping me press the paper down tight.  But, naughty girl that she is, got into the glue and was able to make her OWN version when I wasn't looking?!?  Here 'tis:

If it wasn't so darn cute, I could have been a little more upset.  She was SO proud of her handiwork. And, honestly, I was too.  (and I was ESPECIALLY proud I didn't end up with modge-podge everywhere!)

 ::: Calvin starts WANTING to walk around----with assistance. Love this little toy that my friend LouAnn got for Tillie back in the day.  It's the perfect aid for walking hopefuls.  And, b/c it converts into a little bike, it is even COOLER.  We definitely recommend it.

One afternoon Calvin woke up earlier than Tillie (not uncommon around these parts, his naps are NEVER long enough---but when he's this cute, I don't mind too much.) and started be-bopping around the house.  He was so happy to perform for me. 
Here's a few shots to illustrate:
(the best is that he'd be focused and walking, then he'd turn over his shoulder, make sure I was watching, and flash me a cheeser grin and start laughing as he trotted away.  So funny.)

taking a time out to catch his breath.  this walking stuff is hard work.

ready to rock again.

Bored of walking, he fixes himself a little snack.  I think it's so funny to see a mini body up to the counter of a mini kitchen.  Sometimes I wish I lived in a mini world.

love that pudgy profile.

::: Like I said, I had lots of projects I wanted to do, and after I found this quote, "I can't do it all, but I can do a lot." I suddenly found myself motivated to take on crazy projects.  LIKE, for example, this one:

You may not realize that the above picture is the back side of a FAUX bright red leather.  Oh yes.  I purchased a few yards to recover my kitchen chairs, but then realized the red was too similar to the dark brown stain of the wood. It looked bleh.  So, I kept scouring the internet to find a worthy project for my beloved red faux leather.

I wanted to make a bean bag, or one of those "pouf" things for the kids to sit on while watching movies, instead of having Tillie pull out the baskets and sit on those!  Here's a great tutorial I found online.  When I actually FINISH the blasted thing, I'll take pictures to show you.  I had it all done, but then the way I closed the seam didn't work, so I have to hand stitch through THICK fake leather.  It's going to be a beast.  Hence, the reason I keep putting it off.  But, when I FINALLY get around to it, I'll post pictures.  :)  For now, it's funny to watch the kids plop down on it only to see stuffing FLY out of the pouf.  Nice.  High class, indeed.

Oh, and then I decided it was time for me to start making homemade artisan bread.  Remember, this was a snippet in my life where I was EXTREMELY motivated.  Very unlike me, I know.
Anyway, one of my favorite friends, Jandee Jo Jones, had raved about this recipe and book for a while, so I thought I'd better give it a go.
Am I fancy or what?!  And, it wasn't too crazy either!

But I will note, this was the FIRST loaf I made, and I did it on a baking stone, with a pan of water in the oven to help with the crustiness---it turned out great.  However the 6 or so loaves I have made since have NOT turned out nearly as nice.  I don't know what the deal is, but it makes me VERY sad.  I guess my career as an artisan baker is over.
Oh well.  We had a good run.  At least I got one picture.

::: I kept debating whether or not to give Aaron his OWN birthday post, but I think he'll agree, it's better to just "get 'er done"---so here I go.

You all know that Aaron is the best thing that ever happened to my life.  I am REALLY grateful he was born all those 29 years ago.  And, you also might know that he is not one for making a big deal of things.  But, he is, after all, married to me.  :)  I knew his birthday day was going to be super low key, but wanted to do SOMETHING.  So, I kind of made a big deal. Don't be so mad. I didn't do anything TOO crazy.  I made cupcakes for him and his co-workers at the office. What fun is making cupcakes if you can't share them with anyone?  So, with that rational, I got baking.

I'm a fan of the new baking cups I've been using lately.  It makes it possible to cook so many more at one time and you don't have to use/wash a billion muffin tins.  I purchased these ones from Orson Gygi in Utah, but I know that many other restaurant suppliers carry them.  They are called PAPER SOUFFLE CUPS.  I almost bought these online a few months ago, but was happy to find a true brick and mortar store that carried them---so I wouldn't have to pay for shipping AND so I could visualize the portions.  It's hard to envision what 2 oz. means to a cupcake, kapeesh?

I have a variety of sizes now... big ones for normal sized cupcakes and little ones for mini cupcakes.  I haven't decided which ones I like best.  I'll let you know when I decide.

Anyway, back to Aaron's birthday.  He was, after all, the man of the hour.  :)  He likes the confetti cake, so Tillie and I opted for that kind.  But, as we opened the fridge, we realized I only had TWO eggs left.  WHAT?!  I had wanted to start them really early, so I'd have enough time to cook, cool and frost them before Aaron went on his lunchbreak.  Well, looking out the window at 6:45a.m., I didn't know who was awake and who I wanted to bug at such an early hour.

So, instead, I loaded my pajamed kids into the van and we headed to good ol' Walmart.  By the way, it was FREEZING (30-something degrees) and SUPER windy.  So windy that my door flew open and rammed the cart return.  Nice.  Denting your door is the PERFECT way to start your day.  Boo.

Anyway, we got more eggs, and a few other things and headed home.
Luckily, the rest of morning went by much smoother.
A little tip for those of you wanting to do the SOUFFLE CUPS instead of the regular cupcake cups---only fill them HALF way.  No more, no less.  If you do more than that, they'll bubble up and spill over the edge=disgusting looking.

see, too much batter in the cups.  boo.

much better.

I wanted to do something fun with Aaron's cupcakes, so decided to print out 2x2 photos of him as he was growing up.  I thought it would be fun for his co-workers to see him as a little boy, not just as the strapping doc that he is now.  Here's how they turned out.  If nothing else, Tillie and I had fun.  I don't know if Aaron had as much fun being the center of attention---but I think it's a healthy thing from time to time to be noticed.  :)

Also, I think it's important to note that Calvin looks SOOOO much like Aaron did.  Amazing.

We also took a drawing that Aaron had done on our digital tablet a while back, and added a balloon and some text to it.  Tillie was SO excited to give him his special card.  I thought it turned out pretty fun too.

Our timing was great when we went to the office.  Aaron was just finishing up on a patient and we were able to hang out in the waiting room and chat with a few of the assistants and secretaries while we waited.  It was fun to hear them talk about how much they liked Aaron.  I love it when I hear other people think he's as great as I do.  And it was really fun to have them meet the kiddos too. 

gross... probably SO many germs on that cup. I don't care HOW cute it is...  :)

I am in love with that chair.  I think the office is decorated so well.

We ran over to get some lunch with him and remembered about Tillie's straw obsession.  Nice.  Calvin, as always, happy to eat eat eat.  :)

big burrito + almost birthday boy = good day

::: The cupcake day was the day before his birthday.  Luckily, the DAY of his birthday, Aaron didn't have to work.  So, we had a lazy morning.  Partied it up at Costco and grabbed their delicious hot dogs and pizza for lunch. Came home and took naps.  Then went to EAT again.  This time at a place I'd never been to, called CHUNKY's.  You might have seen this place featured on the show MAN vs. FOOD?  Here's a little article I found featuring a clip from the show.  (By the way, that show is ridiculous and makes me sick!)  Anyway, we had fun, the food was good, and we realized if we ate their on a regular basis, we'd be just what the name implied---CHUNKY!

Tillie had fun playing with the bear by the door. She'd give him kisses, high fives, and hugs.  He was pretty cute, I'll give her that.

We couldn't find Aaron's glasses that day, so he found some old ones we'd bought in China while teaching English.  hA!  They are miniature, but he still can rock them. 

I loved that they ALL happened to be in different shades of blue.  They looked so cute together.

HUGE portions.  We ordered Tillie her favorite, Mac N Cheese---little did I realize it would be DEEP FAT FRIED. hAa!  She wasn't too sure about it at first, but then did okay.

Uhhh, yeah, did I mention HUGE portions??  Here's a size equivalent.  Those water bottles are like 8 inches tall.  It was crazy.

Calvin MIGHT have eaten the most.  :)  Look at him eyeing the feast.  Too funny.

It was a fun excuse to celebrate Aaron and all his goodness.  We're all pretty glad that he was born.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Aaron.  Love, your favorite wife.