PandAFord

Debt Free Cruise!

2011-12-20T20:46:00.002-07:00

As many of you know 2011 was a big year for us. We completed paying off our debt and celebrated and gave thanks over the week of Thanksgiving by taking a debt free cruise!

We left from Miami on Saturday, November 19th and spent 7 days on the Carnival Liberty cruise ship. It was a very big ship with lots of options of what to do while at sea.

We had a balcony from our room to watch the sun set and enjoy sitting on our deck.

Here is our chip behind us at our first stop, Cozumel Mexico. In Cozumel we did some shopping and walked around for a while.

Our next stop was Belize, where we rode on a small boat to the land and then also did some shopping. We found a store there that had some really cool, very expensive, hand made stuff that maybe one day when we are millionaires we will buy stuff from.

On Thanksgiving day, our stop was Mahogany Bay, Isla Rotan. We sat on the beach for a while and then canoed around for a while with a clear canoe. Then we did some shopping found a free internet connection where we checked facebook briefly and did our foot ball pickems.

Here we are at the Turtle Farm on our last stop, Grand Cayman.

We had a good trip away from everyday life doing something different that we wouldn't normally get to do. We worked really hard to get our loans paid off over the last 4.25 years and this was our reward, a debt free cruise paid in cash!

Potato Soup...

2011-11-15T20:10:00.001-07:00

I realized this morning that I had quite a few potatoes that needed to be used up soon. So Patrick and I picked out a recipe to start with and we decided what to add and I got to work. The final product came out very good! and was pretty easy to make. Here is the recipe for the soup lovers out there.

Potato Soup:
1 cup spicy chicken broth (we made it)
3 cups chicken broth (4 if you don't have spicy broth)
4 cups water
1lb Velveeta Cheese
2 - 3 lbs potatoes washes and cubed (we left the skins on)
3 cups cubed ham
1 cup chopped onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 teaspoons chives

Add all the ingredients except the ham to a pot and simmer until potatoes are soft. Add ham just long enough to heat it and then serve! I think one recipe will serve about 8 - 10.

The soup had really good flavor! Surprisingly, It was not spicy at all. Next time we may add a bit more spicy broth and see how it goes. The hardest part about the whole soup is peeling the garlic and chopping everything up. So it take a little bit of time, but it is worth it.

F.Y.I. Blog...

2011-10-24T19:12:00.001-06:00

Of the 34 blogs I keep up with, one of them is the Fuller Youth Institute blog. Most of them are pretty thought provoking and I feel like I stay a little more in tune with the youth culture that way. I have read their blog for several months and have saved a few that I thought some of you may also be interested to read. They are listed below...

Mapping Teen Brains

Boys Need Their Friends

Family Dinners of All Flavors

Do We Infantilize Teenagers When We Call Them "Kids"?

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Are Parents the Problem or the Solution?

Is Reality TV a Catalyst for Mean Girls?

The last of the Garden...

2011-10-14T09:37:00.002-06:00

I did not do a good job of keeping you updated on the garden this year. I guess things were just to busy. I had a lot of zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes and green beans. And then I had 1 watermelon, a dozen peppers and a few things of lettuce.

These pictures are form this morning. As you can tell fall is setting in here. We have already had our first frost and things are changing colors or dieing. The plants on strings are my cucumber plants we still have some out there growing that were to small to pick we will see if they make it or not. The plants beside them below are two of my zucchini plants.

This grape tomato plant was our largest producer by far. This plant really liked this spot. I have never seen a tomato plant grow so big and produce so many tomatoes. I have been using our tomatoes for the last month over at the church on Wednesday meals for the salads.

These are our other tomatoes plants. I'm not really sure what happened here. They did well last year but this year they were so small. I'm wondering if it is because I reused the planters or if we had such a dry start to our summer. I have no idea! The one on the left was our peppers and it did pretty well.

Here are all the goodies I picked before the freeze last weekend while my parents were here. All of the tomatoes in the box are from the one mega plant.

Here are the leave changing colors for all of you that don't believe that fall is here and that the highs this past week have been 70 or lower and the lows at night have been near in the upper 30s.

Dawg Update...

2011-10-13T09:17:00.000-06:00

Your favorite dawgs are pretty much inseparable now! They love each other and are true brothers now! Stafford has been given privileges now to stay out of his crate while we are away from the house and he is enjoying that. The dawgs have also been allowed to spend one night by themselves while we were out of town and they did well. Our little boys are growing up!

As you can see Stafford is catching up with Herschel in size. He only weights 3lbs lighter than Herschel and is actually a tiny bit taller than Herschel now. He is still thinner but they are very comparable in size.

They think is is funny to both get in Stafford's house when we ask Stafford to get in. Actually, Herschel wants so much to obey us that he gets confused about which dog we are asking to do something. So he does everything we ask Stafford to do.

Stafford loves when I open the window by the front door. He finds it very fascinating! He also likes to growl or bark at anyone out there. We are trying to teach him he can bark at some one on our side of the street but not at people in the park in front of our house. I feel that we have come a long way in this area.

We have two very cuddly puppies! Herschel has always liked to be close to us and snuggled in blankets when we are sitting but Stafford loves it even more! Here you see them cuddling together. Aren't they so cute?!? Stafford has learned the blanket rule pretty well. So he knows he is only allowed up when there is a blanket up. But what he is having trouble with still is obeying us when we tell him to get down. He is so comfortable that it is just to hard to obey.

We love our Dawgs!

GF Brownies...

2011-10-12T09:16:00.000-06:00

I have to start this post by saying Patrick is not a big fan of brownies in general. There has only ever been one particular recipe of brownies that he fell in love with that that was Kathy Taylor's brownies in Idaho. She made lots of brownies for our teen youth rally and for some reason we had some left over and we put them in our freezer so that when the teens came over we would have a ready made snack and well I will just say the teens never saw those again, we ate them. Not all at once of course! but one every once in a while just adds up after a few days and weeks.

Well because of Patrick's Gluten intolerance he will never again be eating Kathy Taylor's brownies, so occasionally I get in the mood to make something gluten free and what do you know a brownie recipe catches my eye. And then I make it. And then I ask Patrick to eat one and see what he thinks. And then he reminds me he doesn't really care for brownies..... Well this particular time he actually liked the brownies. Maybe it is because it is kind of more like fudge but either way it was a score!

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures to show you but if you want to have a Gluten Free Brownie recipe up your sleeves for when you host some one who is GF then try this one! And my favorite part about this one is that is is flourless! Flour is the most intimidating part of GF baking my opinion. If you bake regularly you may even have all of the ingredients on hand as well, I did.

An Update...

2011-10-11T20:00:00.000-06:00

Here is an updated family photo for all of you out there who are missing out on the current family satus. We have two ~~dogs~~ children now, Herschel and Stafford, and everyone is doing well.

We have been very busy during the last couple months with out of town company and/or trips on the weekends. I think there has only been 2 weekends of the last 9 that we have both have been intown and with out company. And those numbers will soon be 3 and 11. My sister in law and my parents have been to visit, Patrick has spoken at a teen youth rally and a teen retreat, He has been gone for a week of gradschool, I have been to Kansas, and I have a friend from high school coming soon. We have had good times and would not want to change any of it, we are just ready for some more consistancy and some more family of 4 time.

On top of all of that, over the last few months I have been working more hours and we have been getting closer and closer to getting our debt paid off. We will be done by the end of this month if not sooner! And in November we are going on a week long cruise to celebrate! Patrick and I are also goign through the Financial Peace University Curriculium together and are getting excited about what we can do next with our money once we have our debt paid off.

Patrick stays busy with gradschool when he is not doing stuff for work. I will be glad when gradschool is over....in 5 years. But I guess the busyness is part of working full time and going to school.

I can't think of anythign else right now but I thoguth you might want an update on us since I have been pretty quiet on the blog lately. Now you know why.

My Parents Visit...

2011-10-10T20:04:00.002-06:00

This past week my parents came to visit. They had three objectives: see Patrick and I, see their Granddogs, and see the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. We had a good time hanging around the house...

visiting Tent Rocks National Monument for a hike...

attending the Balloon Fiesta...

and taking naps.... I mean watching the Georgia Bulldogs beat the Tennessee Volunteers!

Thanks for coming!

Chocolate Zucchini Cake...

2011-09-13T16:00:00.000-06:00

I can't remember if I told you this or not but I have Zucchini out my ears! And when you have Zucchini out your ears and your husband doesn't like Zucchini you have to be creative. So a few Wednesdays ago I tried a new desert recipe and lets just say it was a hit at the churches fellowship meal that night. So much so that since I have more zucchini I am going to make it again this coming Wednesday night and I am even going to try it gluten free! Sorry that I didn't get a picture before everyone dug in but this will have to do.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder

1 ts baking soda

1/2 cup butter

1 1/2 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 ts Vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups shredded zucchini

1 cup Chocolate Chips

1 cup Walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a large baking dish.
Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda & salt in a bowl. Or just mix them really well if you are like me and don't have a sifter.
Beat the melted butter, eggs & vanilla together.
Then beat in the sugar and then the flour mix.
After all is mixed well, fold in the zucchini.
Pour into baking dish (if you are adding walnuts sprinkle them over the top now) and place in preheated oven.
After about 5-10 minutes of baking, sprinkle chocolate chips on top.
Bake until the top is dry and edges have started to pull away from the sides. Approximately 25-30 minutes total. Test with a tooth pick.

This cake is wonderful and moist! And the chocolate chips on top act as the frosting so you dont have to worry about it cooling and all before frosting it! Believe me you need to try this!

Kansas Trip, Again...

2011-09-12T15:57:00.000-06:00

Almost two years ago exactly I went on a trip to Kansas City to see my two close friends who live there, http://pandaford.blogspot.com/2009/11/kansas-trip.html. Well, over Labor Day weekend I went back to see them again. I spend a lot of time just catching up with Tiffany, saw her new house, met her BOY FRIEND, helped with a teen fundraiser, and ate lots of GLUTEN!

After a few days with Tiffany, I went and spent time with Tara, Chris & Ileigh. Tara had gotten pregnant just a few months after I was at their house last time so I had not met Ileigh yet.While I was there we mostly hung around the house and got to catch up, cook, and make/freeze baby food together.

Iliegh is very cute as you can see!

I had a good time being away from work and coming to spend quality time with my friends! Hopefully it won't be as long before I get to return!

The Garden Dogs...

2011-08-14T15:50:00.002-06:00

Look at these two cute faces....

So sleepy, and obviously best friends...nose to nose cuddling!

Did I hear you ask why these two GA Bulldogs are so sleepy? And what do the dogs have to do with the Garden?

Take a close look at this picture. do you see it?

Look closer. Do you see the teeth marks in my tomatoes?!

But you would say no, not these precious, adorable little dogs...hiding under the table. They would not do such a thing!

But you are wrong. All of these green tomatoes, yes these; the ones that should not be off of their vine yet. Yes, these tomatoes were taking off of their vine prematurely by those cute dogs you love so much!

I think mostly instigated by this small black one who loves the shade so much. The one who loves to bite everything, but most of all Herschel, and who likes to eat both his and Herschel's food when we forget to pick it up when Herschel is done. The one who is scared to go out the dog door when the grill is on and who is having a bit of trouble learning that I do not like to wake up as soon as the sun is up.

Yes, our new player, Stafford, is a bit of a trouble maker!

But I think he will grow out of it, we just have to give him some time.

Over all the Herschel and Stafford have been doing good, we run into a little rough patch here and there but if we only loose a few green bean plants and tomatoes along the way I guess it is worth it all in the end. they just better not touch the cucumber plants! We have our first two cucumbers that are almost ready for the picking!

As you can see I am not hurting for Green beans. I picked these today and I still have some in the fridge from last time I picked them.

I also made this in my spare time last week after seeing it on the Internet, thought you might want to gander upon my Swan Apple.

Garden Update...

2011-08-02T19:59:00.000-06:00

I have not been trying to keep you in the dark about our garden this year. I have just been busy and haven't had much time for blogging . This are coming along smoothly even though we have had quite the drought this year. I think all of the plants would be a bit further along had the weather been better, but they will produce over time.

First is our hanging tomatoes. We have already gotten a hand full of grape tomatoes. There are a lot of green tomatoes currently.

Then we have a hanging pepper planter with seven pepper plants in it. We have several peppers coming along.

Next it s a row of green beans. I have picked a handful of beans also.

Then we have our watermelon plant. This is bigger than we ever got ours to grow last year so we will see how it does over time.

Next is our tomato plant that we put in the ground. It is growing much bigger than our others and has lots of Roma tomatoes on it.

Here is one of our lines of cucumber plants.

And last but not least Zucchini.

Things are growing! I will try to keep you updated more ofter sorry about the 2 month break.

Stafford...

2011-07-28T21:00:00.000-06:00

Last Thursday, while Patrick was on the phone with his mom, I got the idea to look up the animal shelters website and look at the dogs that they currently had. Patrick and I had talked about getting a second dog at some point we just had not decided when. We wanted a Friend for Herschel. We knew we would want a dog that would be smaller than Herschel or the same size at the most. We also knew we wanted to get a puppy so that the dog would be younger than Herschel.

Well, I just happened to find a dog that I liked a lot that seemed to fit our qualifications. After a little while I had talked myself out of getting the dog and kind of forgot about it. Until the next day. I kept thinking about the dog and decided to so see him in person to see what I thought. Well how could you say no to this face? especially when he met all of our qualifications?

So I called Patrick and he brought Herschel to the shelter to met Stafford and to see if we thought they would get along at home. Herschel was not sure at first, but he has come to like Stafford more each day. We brought Stafford home that night! We are not sure what kind of dog he is maybe a chihuahua and jack russel terrier mix?

First 24 hours:

With-in 48 hours:

With-in 72 hours:

Yesterday, 5 days after meeting:

Sharing the chair has been a big step for Herschel.

Here is Herschel and Stafford playing in the back yard on about day 3.

I'm sure you will learn more about Stafford later but for now that is really all I have time for. I have worked on this post 3 different times in trying to get it done. I am in the midst of my busiest week this summer!

A Herschel Update...

2011-07-09T11:37:00.000-06:00

I realized a few weeks ago that Herschel hasn't really been talked about or shown to you all lately and I know you are having withdraws. So here are some of Herschel's exciting moments from the last couple months.

First of all, he got stung be a bee on his front left paw in May while trying to catch and eat them, still one of his daily activities. He was pretty pitiful for a few hours there, limping around and holding it in the air and such, but after a good nap he was as good as new!

In June, while my friend Amy was here, we found out that Herschel likes lettuce even more than we knew. I handed him a whole romaine leaf and he chowed down like it was a bone and came back wanting more!

Herschel also had an interview this summer, since we told him it was time to start earning his keep. He looked very Handsome and professional I have to say.

And what do you know he received his first modeling job by Pooch Plant, for the CouldK9 pet bed! We spotted him at Sam's when we were there one day. Look for him in your local Sam's club! Isn't he cute!

Colorado Springs Trip...

2011-07-08T12:00:00.003-06:00

This past weekend Patrick and I drove the 5 hours up to Colorado Springs to visit some friends for about 24 hours. We had gotten an invitation to attend a surprise baby shower for my friend Mary.

So we drove up on Friday night and went to dinner and baby shower shopping with my friends Marie and Brad and then spent the night at their house. It was good to get to catch up and see them!

On Saturday afternoon we attended the shower that ended up not being a surprise. To bad I didn't know because I would have gotten to spend more time with Mary that weekend. Instead I was worried that she would see me when we were away from Marie's house, and I would ruin the shower surprise.

While we were there everyone got to find out if the baby is a girl or a boy. Mary had given her ultrasound pictures to one of her friends with out looking at them so that it would be a surprise. Her friend Chrissy made cup cakes revealing the gender. The above picture is of then finding out that they are having a girl! I got two pictures of this and in one of them I caught Mary being excited and in the other I caught John being excited, to bad I didn't catch them both in the same picture.

We had dinner together and then the presents were opened! I think Mary was excited about everything she got! Marie, my Mom, Mrs. Keeton and I all went in together and filled the green tote above with goodies.

I'm glad I got to go and be a part of this special event for Mary. It turns out some of John's family got to come and visit during that time also, which I know made it extra special.

26 Years...

2011-07-07T14:00:00.002-06:00

I have been on this earth for 26 years now. It doesn't really seem that long. In some ways it also doesn't really seem like I should have to be an adult yet. In other ways I feel like I have been here longer than 26 years and that I should be a grandma already. But no matter what it feels like the calender says it has been 26 years.

I'm not sure at what moment in life one feels like a real adult; but when I get there, I will let you know. What I do know is that birthdays as a kid are more fun than birthdays as a young adult. I also believe that birthdays have the potential to be better when you are old, but I will also have to get back to you on that one.

What I do know is that my birthday this year started out as a normal day of work. I went to nanny for about 5 hours and about an hour into it I find out that the kids remembered that it was my birthday and lead me outside where they had prepared a surprise for me.

Over the weekend they decorated their play house for me.

They made a pin the tail on the donkey game for me.

And prepared the table with flowers and bottled water. And then we all got to throw home made confetti.

They loved it so much and they got so excited that they forgot to be extra good for me that day. But I guess it is the thought that counts.

After work Patrick and I decided to go to Red Lobster to use my discount and then we did some shopping. First we went to Target so that I could use my birthday gift card on a swimming pool since it has been so hot. Turns out the swimming pool has a microscopic hole and it leaks very slowly so I will have to get another one. But we (I) had fun that night in the pool after we got home.

We also went to best buy to use a $5 dollar gift card I had won at work back in January. we looked around for a while and then I saw the last Harry Potter Movie that was released and decided to get it since we didn't have it yet. It was $20. So we got to the register and after giving the cashier the gift card she said we owed 80 cents. So I questioned her a bit since I had figured up that we would owe about $16. She told me that the movie happen to be half off even though it was not on the sign and that my gift card was in fact for $10. So I got the movie for 80 cents which made my birthday that much better!

Love...

2011-07-06T22:01:00.000-06:00

7.75 years ago I met Patrick. 7.5 years ago I feel in love. Love is a bit different now than it was then but never the less it was still love. 4 years ago I married my love. Love has brought us a long way - through 3 different states, through disagreements and bad attitudes, through trials and pains, through joys and laughter and most importantly through the plans God has for us.

It is times like tonight that I feel my appreciation and love for Patrick the most. Times when he leaves the house at 9:30pm to be Christ to some one who calls with trials, times like tonight when both of our plates are completely full with what life throws at us and he makes time for the plans Christ has for his night instead of his own plans. It is times like to night when you can see his true character and desire to be Christ's presents where ever he can.

I love that man! and I love that we can share in the goal of being Christ to this world, even if he does do it better than me. He is a great example for me to follow!

------------------------------------------------

June 16th was our anniversary. During the week leading up to it I received white roses and we went to dinner and a movie.

On our anniversary I fixed my first home made, gluten free, lemon cake with cream cheese icing. Chick here for the recipe. I really do mean it is home made, everything about it was home made. It took me the better part of the day getting it all made, the cake and 3 different types of frostings. It was very good for my first try, however it was a bit dry. I will have to figure something out to make it more moist but other than that it was great!

Vacation, Part 2...

2011-07-05T09:00:00.003-06:00

After Amy left on June 6th, Patrick and I drove down to southern New Mexico to tour that part of the state since I didn't have to work that week. We had never been down there to see any of the sites so we took our opportunity.

First we went to visit White Sands National Monument. It was very cool in the hot sort of way. Once we drove into the Monument and climbed up one of the sand dunes all we could see was sand dunes. It was amazing! Definitely something to go see if you are in the area! We also watched a pretty interesting video while we were there telling us about them. If you have a chance to learn about them definitely do!

We also took our chance to sled down the dunes! The gift shop rents sleds out and its a lot of fun. The hard part is walking back up the sand to go down again.

As you can see the sand goes on forever! You can't hear and thing else out there either it is like you are in a different world.

After White Sands we visited a space museum and saw an I max show.

After that we drove to the church camp that my brothers family was at for the week and said hello for a few hours. And then drove on to Carlsbad, where we visited the caverns the next day. Carlsbad Caverns is located about 80 stories below ground and is huge!

And lastly we visited the UFO Museum in Roswell NM and saw a real live alien!

We had a good vacation! and got to see some really cool stuff that we would not have seen if we didn't live in NM. I'm glad we got some time away.

Vacation, Part 1...

2011-07-04T21:22:00.002-06:00

As you know it has been a while since I have blogged, which means I have been very busy and not had time; and then I tried and blogger wasn't working right. Well tonight, I am going to make some time and we will see how caught up I get.

At the very beginning of June, I had about 10 days off. I had taken a weekend off of work because my friend Amy was coming to visit from Idaho; and then I had the next several days off because the family I nanny for went to Disney Land. When we found out they were leaving town we decided to take a mini vacation for our 4 year wedding anniversary during that time. So this post covers the first part of those 10 days off of work.

Amy had never been to Santa Fe, so I showed her all the tourist stuff. When we went to the San Miguel Mission, a 400 year old church, we found volunteers making mud bricks so that they could refurbish part of it that was deteriorating. It was pretty cool. Here there are laying in the sun to dry out.

Then of course we had to go to Bandelier and see the caves, one of my favorites! Good thing we did because it is currently surrounded by the fire that Patrick posted about earlier. I think the caves will make it but we will see about the gift shop/museum/visitors center.

On the way back from Bandelier we pulled over to get a proper picture of Camel Rock. I have seen it many of times but never stopped for a picture. It was worth it.

While Amy was here we had a good time catching up and just hanging out. All of my other Idaho friends should take note and come visit us because we miss you terribly! Thanks for coming Amy!

Major Wildfire to our West

2011-06-27T11:47:00.003-06:00

In an estimated 21 hours, the Las Conchas fire has burned almost 44,000 acres, or nearly 69 square miles. It is still about 20 miles from Santa Fe, but is only a few miles away from Los Alamos. We could see the glow of the fire from Santa Fe last night.

We are not presently in danger, but this fire is a VERY serious threat. To put it in perspective, the Wallow fire in Arizona you’ve heard so much about has been burning for 30 days and is roughly 12 times larger than Las Conchas—which has not yet burned an entire day. At 1 AM, Los Conchas was estimated to have burned 6,000 acres; when updated 8 hours later, the estimate was nearly 44,000.

You can keep up-to-date with the fire’s progress with the first link provided. We desperately need rain, as total precipitation this year (including snow) is less than a half inch. Your prayers for safety, precipitation and serving the New Mexico community are GREATLY appreciated.

If you have Google Earth installed on your computer, this link http://nirops.fs.fed.us/cdekml/CDE.kml should allow you to install a layer that will show the progress of Las Conchas (and other fires) as it is updated. It worked easily for me, but I’m afraid I am not available to troubleshoot for you if you run into problems. This is not a real-time update, but seems to updated at least once a day.

“Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” Lamentations 3:21-24

living forward,
patrick ford

Fresh Baked Bread...

2011-05-20T10:54:00.000-06:00

In November I shared with you our trick to pizza crust, and now I have a new use for the Sam's pizza dough balls I was telling you about. Last week we had a bit of a pizza party, we had thawed to much dough and I wondered how it would do as bread. I suspected well but I thought way not try it. There wouldn't be much wait since the dough only cost about 75 cents each, so I tried it.

I plopped it down on my baking sheet on top of some flour, I would have used parchment paper as it works wonderfully for the pizzas but I had left mine at the church. I then covered it with olive oil, garlic, paprika, Italian seasonings and dried chopped onions. I put it in the oven for about 40 minutes at 400 taking it out half way through to reapply some seasonings and add Parmesan cheese. And it came out wonderful, I think I ate half of it the first day!

Now there are at least 2 reasons you should get you some Sam's pizza dough balls! I even used some of the bread to make mini pizza in the toaster oven with some of the left over pizza sauce and toppings. It was also good!

Seedlings, 3 Months...

2011-05-16T18:47:00.000-06:00

Today I planted some more pepper plants since a couple of mine had died. If they all grow to full term then I may have to start selling them on the streets, but I still had not planted the bell pepper seeds I got from Hubbards Hardware from my dad while I was in Memphis, so I went ahead and planted a few more types while I was at it.

I also have started taking my plants outside during the day time. They get more sun that way but they also get to build stronger roots since they are getting used to the spring NM wind. I have 9 tomato plants pictured above that are still holding on strong. I also have zucchini, squash, broccoli, cucumbers and peppers that are still chugging along. hopefully they will keep growing strong as they adjust to the outdoors.

We have one Habanero Pepper plant that is doing much better than all the other peppers.

Here is Herschel showing you that the land has been prepared and is ready for planting. I can't wait till I get to plant everything in the ground. We are getting so close!

I was surprised and so happy to see our asparagus growing today. There are 4 out of the 6 bulbs growing so far. Some are bigger and some are smaller.

I was also surprised to see our raspberry plant growing! I can't wait to eat them! This is one of the things I miss about living in Idaho. Remember, we had too many raspberries, even between us and the neighbors we couldn't eat them all.

Roomie Time...

2011-05-16T17:39:00.000-06:00

During the first week in May, one of my college roommates, Tiffany came out to Santa Fe to visit. She lives in Kansas now and works as a youth pastor there. She has been trying to come out and visit for a while but hasn't been able to make it happen until now. She was invited by a friend to come to NM to officiate their wedding so she extended her stay and got to spend time in our home.

While she was here we ate some New Mexican food and did some site seeing. We went out to the Bandelier National Monument where we went on the hiking trails and climbed many of ladders.

We had a good time while she was here catching up and just getting to be in the same place together. We haven't gotten to spend to much time together in the last 4 years and it is always good to catch up with a friend. Maybe I will make it out to Kansas sometime soon!

Midwifery Workshop...

2011-05-11T14:50:00.000-06:00

During April, while on my 17 day vacation, I attended a Midwifery Workshop at The Farm Community in Summertown, TN. Because I have been thinking about going in to midwifery, I figured I should go learn more about it and get some hands on experience to see if it is something I would really be interested in doing. There were 16 other women there with me that week. 7 of us stayed in the cabin below.

We had classes from about 8:30am-9pm with breaks for meals. Some classes were hands on and some were lecture. There is a list of classes further down on this post. There were all kinds of people there from all kinds of back grounds and experience in this field. One of the women is pretty close to becoming a midwife while others were doulas and others had no experience, it was a good mix.

This is our dummy with which we learned how to check which way the baby was facing. There was a flap they could lift up and put the baby in and we would feel around and figure out which way they were facing. We could also practice measuring the belly. Sorry if it is too graphic!

After we learned on the dummy we actually got to practice on a pregnant woman. The one with the red shirt actually gave birth that next morning.

Here is Ina May Gaskin showing us how it is done.

We also practiced checking the babies heart beat with a few different tools.

After that we learned how to check dilation on a dummy.

And then how to cut the umbilical cord.

And we got a certificate at the end that says we did it.

I also got to go on a tour and the following two pictures are the coolest things I saw on the tour. A school bus that was turned in to a house when they settled on the farm. It is not in use anymore.

We also got to see two goats that were only 4 days old! The brown one reminded me of Herschel!

Now the question..... Am I still interested in Midwifery after learning more?

Yes, I am still interested. I am still not sure of the logistics, when, where, how, etc. But I definitely know I would enjoy it if I need to embark on a new career during my life. I also am glad I went just for my own future pregnancies, to know more about how my body works and such.

I will continue my research as time allows and embark on my journey if and when I feel the time is right. As for now I will continue working at the Olive Garden and as a Nanny and follow where God leads from there. Thanks for taking this journey with me!

Spicy Lentil Soup...

2011-05-09T21:03:00.001-06:00

In the last 5 days Patrick has been having some health problems, we think in relation to his diet change over the last 6 months but have yet to find out. Last Wednesday his blood sugar got so low that he couldn't even get home from church by himself. (We live across the parking lot from the church) He had to have a friend help him in to the house since I was not at church that night. He went to the doctor on Friday and got instructions to eat lots of protein and complex carbohydrates in the mean time while he has some blood tests run. We should get the results of those tests soon but while we wait we have been eating lots of meats and such.

Today I decided to make some lentil soup since lentils have so much protein. I had never made lentil soup before but I figured it couldn't be to hard so I began to search the Internet for recipes and decided on this one, Brown Rice - Lentil Soup. Now if you know Patrick or I, you know that we edit recipes before making them, so what you have below is our version, Spicy Lentil Soup. I do not believe that the original recipe would have been spicy, so if you don't like spicy you might want to compare the two before making it. I have put the ingredients in bold that we added. The Spicy Lentil Soup turned out great! We both loved it and it will be made again!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons oil (we used olive oil)
3/4 lb lean pork, diced
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 onions, chopped
1/2 Jalapeno, chopped finely
10 cloves garlic, chopped (1 clove was in the original recipe)
2 carrots, chopped
5 1/2 cups water (or 6 cups if you don't have the next ingredient)
1/2 cup of very spicy chicken broth (we happen to have made our own and it was in the freezer)
3/4 cup dry lentils
28 ounces of caned diced tomatoes
3/4 cup brown rice, uncooked
2 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/8-1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 tablespoon rosemary
1 hand full of spinach, chopped

Directions:
Measure salt into a small bowl. Use this through out the cooking.
Heat oil in a large pot.
Add diced pork and a sprinkle of salt.
Cook, stirring, over medium-high heat until browned.

Stir in the celery, onion, Jalapeno, garlic, carrots, and a sprinkle of salt. Stir and cook until they start to soften, about 10 minutes.

Stir in water, spicy chicken broth and lentils. Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and cook, covered, for 20 minutes.

Stir in the tomatoes, brown rice, remaining salt, pepper, cumin, pepper flakes and rosemary.

After you have put you soup in your bowl sprinkle some of the chopped spinach over the top and mix in. By adding it at the end it keeps it from getting all mushy.

We doubled the recipe since we like leftovers. 1 recipe would probably feed 4-6 people.

If you're happy and you know it...

2011-05-09T09:03:00.000-06:00

At first, I was happy and I knew it so I clapped my hands. But, then, they said that if I was happy and I know it, I should no longer clap my hands but should replace this action with stomping my feet. Then, they said that if the aforementioned qualities described me, I should nod my head. But, not for long: After a few seconds of that, I was supposed to demonstrate my knowledge of happiness by turning around. I thought, "stop changing it - this is confusing." I was happy no longer, and chose to reveal my unhappiness by throwing a fit of rage. Sadly, they did not recognize my rambunctious fit for what it truly was, but simply assumed that I was following the directions to "do it all."

This is kind of how I have felt on the inside lately. Life is busy and complicated but we move on...and it still happens with or with out our approval. Updates on life are coming soon...when I find the time.

17 Day Vacation, Part 3...

2011-04-26T20:56:00.000-06:00

After my time in Memphis was over, I road a greyhound bus to Nashville where I got to visit with lots of friends form our college days. My friend Kristen picked me up from the bus station and I got to spend the next 24 hours at her house visiting with her family. Elijah was 4 months old at our wedding and it is always a treat to get to interact with him when we come to town. He is by far the smartest 4 year old that I know! You can ask him anything and I'm not taking about the normal shapes, colors, alphabet type of things, I talking composers, planets, instruments, weather and much more.

After I spent some time at the Bart & Kristen's house I went and spent some time at my friend Janet's house. We had a ladies night out since her teenager was at a sleep over and then the next day we ran errands and cooked together.

On Sunday, after I got to attend church at Otter Creek and go out to eat with some friends, Janet drove me down to Summertown, TN to my Midwifery Workshop. It was really good to get to see friends! Too bad TN and NM arn't closer.

17 Day Vacation, Part 2...

2011-04-26T20:39:00.000-06:00

After my cousins wedding, I rode to Memphis with my parents. On the way out of TX they introduced me to Yogurt Land. It was tasty. While I was in Memphis, I got to visit with by dads mother and go to dinner with her at her retirement home. I also got to see my mom's parents a few times, we went out to eat and to a movie and then spent some time at their house together. I also got to go with my grandmother to the cancer clinic and spend some time with her there. Seeing family was good!

I also got to spend some extended time with my good friend Melissa. We actually had a sleepover! It was great to get to see her for more than just a couple hours. She picked me up after she got off work one night and drove us down town to her apartment and then we walked around downtown until after dark and then went home for a movie. I'm so glad I got to spend that time with her! We will definitely have to do it again sometime!

17 Day Vacation, Observations...

2011-04-22T21:55:00.001-06:00

1.17 days are too long to be away from my own bed and my Herschel baby.
2.13 days is too long to be away from by best friend. Things are not as fun with out him.
3.17 days of interacting with people is too many for an intravert. A day alone is much needed.
4. Going back to work is not something I am looking forward to, though I am happy that I don't have to work till Tuesday.
5. Living out of a suitcase, especially for 17 days is not fun. The last time I did that was the month before I got married.
6. Sitting in classes for 9 hours a day several days in a row can be tiring when you're not used to it. A bum can be sore from sitting.
7. We keep our house much cooler than everyone else and I sleep better at home because of that.
8. TN rural areas are beautiful. Being out in nature for a week has been nice. Especially being back where there are trees and grass everywhere, and everything is green.
9. I miss TN thunder and rain storms. I got a good share of them this trip. Wish I could bring a big one home with me and get it out every once in a while.
10. After eating vegan for a week I can tell you it is not for me! I miss cheese, eggs and meat way to much! Even eating gluten free is better than eating vegan.
11. Getting to spend quality time with friends is always a treat. Thank you for your continual hospitality.
12. Getting to spend time with family, especially grandparents, is always a good thing.
13. I'm getting older, but I don't always feel any older. Age seems timeless in a way.
14. When you tell someone to watch out for ticks, snakes and poison ivy, especially when they are not familiar with those things, they are funny to watch over a weeks time.
15. I miss cooking and watching my plants grow when I am on away from home.
16. There is a first for everything...this is the first time I have been alergic to TN. I guess I am not imune anymore.
17. I dislike blogging on my phone and can't wait to get home to a full sized computer. I have a lot to share.

17 Day Vacation, Part 1...

2011-04-12T22:06:00.000-06:00

As many of you might know I have left home for 17 days and have 4 mini vacations rolled up all in one. Part one is over and I am now in the midst of part 2. All is going well, but I am missing my 2 men, Patrick and Herschel.

Part one of my trip took place in the Dallas area, where Patrick and I attended my cousin Missy's wedding. We got to see a lot of extended family and spend a few days with my parents at my brothers house. The wedding went well and I am glad I got to be there and help out. Jonathan and Missy live in Abilene, TX so we should see each other every once in a while since Patrick is taking grad classes there.

While we were in TX I got to catch up with my brothers family and Patrick got to see Harper for the first time. She is close to 3 months old now. It was a good but short visit. Thursday night to Sunday afternoon, then I was on to part two of my trip when I rode back to Memphis with my parents.

My Dream...

2011-04-01T08:57:00.000-06:00

I had a dream last night. Most of my dreams are not worth posting about but I found this one interesting since I have recently been reading up on delivering babies naturally. I am sorry that not every detail fits together, but that is how dreams are, there are very random parts and things you're not sure of. then of course where is Patrick during all of this?

The earliest part of the dream I can remember is that my Mom, Herschel and I were in the park across the street from my house, but we weren't necessarily together at the time because I felt like I was alone with God during this next part. In the dream I felt like I was going to give birth right then and there, but there was no pain that brought that on it was just a feeling. I lay down on the grass in the sun, but also some how in a large pit of water (which does not exist in our park) and just relaxed for a couple minutes and then I felt the head with my hand and I pushed painlessly and pulled the baby out. While I was relaxing before the baby came out a man driving by seemed to know what was happening and parked his car, got out and came over to watch, at that point my mom came back but I remember just trying to ignore them and soak up the moment and get the baby out. Once the baby was out the placenta came out pretty fast and just started floating around the pool of water in a kind of angelic way. We all noticed that the baby was a boy.

I handed the baby to my mom and ran (literally ran) home to get a plastic bag so that I could gather up the placenta, I figured that was not a very friendly thing to leave in the park. When I went in the house (and this part is the part of the dream where some one completely random shows up in the wrong context) I saw some one sitting in a dark corner reading a book I looked more closely and said, "Michael Harlan is that you?" (one of our teens from Idaho) He said, "yes." I must not have been to surprised because I went on to try to get the plastic bag, but at the same time my mother walked in with the baby and my dad, brother and sister in law walked in like they were returning from going to the store or something.

At that point we discussed how I didn't have any clothes for the baby since it was early but then Kera, my sister in law, suggested that I borrow some of Hannah's clothes (my niece who is 3) since the baby was so big until I got some of my own. I then continued to try to get a plastic bag for the placenta. and the dream ended.

Pretty interesting. I kind of hope that I feel just like that whenever I do give birth! It felt so in touch with nature and with God and relxed. It was wonderful to deliver my own baby. We will see of course if that ever happens but it was nice in the dream. And at this point I really do want to give a water birth, I have wanted that for a while now. So I am glad that was in the dream even if the water just appeared out of know where.

Nanny Job, Take 4...

2011-03-29T15:30:00.000-06:00

I Nannied for 3 different families while I was in college. While of course enjoying earning money, I also enjoyed getting to know the families and becoming in a way a part of that family for a time. I still am in touch with two of the families to an extent and always enjoy when I get to catch up with them and see how big the children are.

For about 5 months, I have been apart of a nanny agency here in Santa Fe called Santa Fe Nannies. I get e-mails occasionally listing the new jobs in the area. I have been trying to hold out for a full time position but there just haven't been many. About 5 weeks ago I interviewed for a job and ended up starting about 2 weeks ago with them. It is a 15 hour a week job, so I have still been working at Olive Garden. Today I signed a contract with the family to stay with them through the end of August. At that point I will reassess my situation and possibly re-commit or move on to something new.

The family I will be working for has 5 kids. A 3 month old girl, 1 year old boy, 3 year old boy, 5 year old boy, and 7 year old girl. I will only be keeping the middle 3 for the rest of this school year and then the older 4 during the summer. If I continue with them into next school year then I will have the youngest 3 at that point.

So far my time with the family has been good. The 5 year old has been the hardest. He has been testing me though I think he is close to done. In the first week I was there he locked me out of his room and separately he locked me and the other kids out of the house. As you can see from his picture he is a bit wild.

The 3 year old is mostly sweet, well behaved and nice to be around. However, there is the occasion when he decides that acting like his older brother is the thing to do. Both of these children are very talkative. There have been many of times so far when they like to swing outside and tell me about everything that has ever happened, or make up silly stories.

The 1 year old is very curious and likes to get into stuff as most one year olds do. I have to watch him fairly close to make sure I know where he is. He is the only one who still takes a nap, so I do get a break from 3 kids for a bit of my time with them.

Please pray that this continues to shape up to be a good situation for both me and the family.

A Late Bloomer...

2011-03-27T14:33:00.000-06:00

Yesterday when I did my seed update, this did not exsist. However, it has been very busy over the last 24 hours. A Zucchini Plant!

Bring Me Bacon...

2011-03-27T14:29:00.000-06:00

Do you love bacon but hate frying it up?

Do you hate cleaning up the grease mess after your done?

Well do I have a secret for you!

I realized a while back after cooking about 12lbs of bacon for a church dinner that many do not know the secret to the easy and mess free way to cook bacon. That's right! You can bake bacon!

Pre-heat your over to 400 degrees. Then cover your baking sheet with 3-4 layers of foil in alternating directions. Put your bacon down as close together as you want. and bake for about 20 minutes. The time will of course be a bit different depending on how crunchy you want it and how much bacon is in the oven, but it is an estimate. You could start watching it after about 15 minutes. After you are done put the bacon on a plate with paper towels and then just set your baking sheets aside until the grease cools and hardens. Then just roll up the foil and discard. Enjoy!

Seedlings, 1 Month...

2011-03-26T10:29:00.000-06:00

March has been a big month for the little seeds I planted toward the end of last month. They have come a long way from little dried out seeds to living and vibrant plants, well most of them. Some of them sprouted a little late and some refuse to grow at all, isn't that just like humans! The ones that grow are so much more exciting to watch.

Pictured below are my 10 tomato planters, 9 of which are growing. I'm not sure if that last one on the left will come up or not. We don't really need 10 but I will keep watering it just in case we need it. Remember last year, when I put my tomatoes out to early and the New Mexico spring winds killed several of them? Well I will try not to let that happen this year! Just as a reminder, we planted, roma, grape, and beef steak tomatoes.

Next we have 3 broccoli plants hanging in there.

And then 5 pepper plants. 1 Jalapeno, 1 habanero, and 3 "mixed" peppers. So I guess those are surprise peppers from about 5 different types in the bag. There are about 3 pepper seeds that have not sprouted yet. I now know I need to plant my pepper seeds earlier, they are still so small.

Next we have our beloved cucumber plants. Patrick's favorite. 5 out of 6 of them have sprouted.

And then our 2 watermelon plants. Patrick loves watermelon! We tried to grow it last year but it didn't work out so well. We don't think they were getting enough water, so we are going to try it again one more year.

Then the next picture is of 2 squash plants I should not have started early on the left, and 3 cantaloupe plants on the right. The cantaloupe was just like the watermelon last year, so we are giving them one more try.

This next planter, was only planted like a week ago. I decided that our herbs should be in something that we can easily leave outside in the summer and bring inside in the winter. So I planted basil, oregano, and rosemary. They have not sprouted yet. You can see some of last years transplanted oregano in the back left. It was way to hard to remember to keep alive, it is all dried up now. We will try again this year.

Born in the USA...

2011-03-24T17:15:00.001-06:00

Today I just finished reading the next book on midwifery. It is called Born in the USA: How A Broken Maternity System Must Be Fixed To Put Women And Children First. It was an interesting read. It took me a lot longer because it was written by a man who is both a doctor and a scientist who used larger words and discussed court cases and drugs and things I am not accustomed to. I often fell asleep while trying to read this book before bed, So I tried to read in the middle of the day more. I am glad to be able to move on, though like I said it was good for me to read.

While I was reading this book, I took some notes because I knew I would not remember what I wanted to blog about and I definitely would not remember where to find it in the book, however, I have lost my notes so here are the things I remember.

Something the author discussed quite a bit was the drug Cytotec. Cytotec, or misoprostol, is a drug that was originally made to prevent ulcers, and says very clearly on its package not to use if pregnant. However doctors all over the USA use Cytotec everyday to induce labor (with out telling the mothers if its possible side effects) even though that drug is not approved by the FDA for that purpose. The most common complications of Cytotec while inducing labor is a ruptured uterus, resulting in a cesarean, an on the spot hysterectomy, a dead baby and /or a dead mother. I don't know about you but I am not willing to risk any of those things just to have my baby come out faster for the doctors convenience.

The other part of the book that stuck out to me most, even tough I know there was more in my notes that are now lost, is the two pages that I have taken pictures of. I don't want to re type them but I think they are an important and an interesting read. It is pages 189 and 190 of the book.

Chicken Salad Sandwich...

2011-03-13T17:09:00.001-06:00

About a week ago I decided I need to use up an apple that I had in the fridge and instead of just eating it I decided I would make some chicken salad. However I planned from the start to cheat a little bit. I had some sliced chicken meat for sandwiches so I decided to just use that with the salad. It was pretty good! and easy! I have never made chicken salad before so my advise to you would be to cut the apple pieces to about half the size I did, but other than that I enjoyed it!

Chicken Salad:

3-4 cups of chicken or deli slices

1 apple chopped into small pieces

2/3 cup celery

1/2 cup crasins

3/4 cup chopped walnuts

4 hard boiled eggs chopped

1 tsp dried onion flakes (or 1/8 cup chopped onion, I didn't have any on hand)

3 tbs lemon or lime juice

6 tbs Mayo (add more as needed)

1/8 teaspoon paprika

1/8 tsp pepper

1/8 tsp salt

1tsp basil

2 tbs chives

In the first bowl mix all of lemon juice, mayo, and seasonings. In the second bowl mix everything else. Once both are mixed well put them together until wet mixture is spread evenly. I then toasted two slices of home made bread and put some cheese, chicken slices, lettuce, and the salad mixture in between them. And it tasted great! Enjoy and feel free to adapt the recipe as you like. This recipe is gluten free if you use GF bread.

Seedlings, 2 weeks...

2011-03-12T08:48:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been two weeks since I planted most of our seeds and I wanted to give you a progress report. Most of the seeds have sprouted accept the peppers, it's kind of disappointing but we will keep hoping for them to come to life.

First you see the 3 little broccoli.

Then the 2 little watermelons.

And then you can see 4 out of 6 cucumber plants have started growing.

These 2 little plants on the left surprised me at first and then I thought about it and I don't think I planted squash inside last year, and now I know there is no need for future years. Note to self! The other 3 plants are cantaloupe and they are coming along nicely.

Next we have the many tomatoes. All but one have sprouted. Looking good so far, hopefully I wont kill them off when putting them outside like last year.

And then we have our one lonely pepper. None of the others will sprout for me so far. Any tips?

Chicken Fried Rice...

2011-03-08T15:17:00.000-07:00

Patrick and I really enjoy fried rice and it is pretty easy to make. Pick the veggies you want in it, pick your rice, pick your meat and then all you need is soy sauce, salt and pepper. If you want to get a little fancy you will also need sesame seeds and sesame oil.

I generally use carrots, celery, peas, corn, onions, eggs, and chicken with white rice. Patrick generally uses a lot of garlic, corn, onions, eggs and chicken with brown rice (brown rice makes it gluten free for him).

Make Rice. Make scrambled eggs and set a side. Stir fry your chopped meat, add your veggies and eggs, salt and pepper them and add soy sauce. Take all of that out of your skillet and add oil till it's hot. Add the rice stirring constantly to fry it, add soy sauce until it tastes good to you.

If you are using sesame oil and sesame seeds add at this point. Add meat & veggie mixture. Taste. add more soy sauce if needed. This is a very flexible recipe catered to you. Add whatever you want! We just use what ever is on hand.

You may have noticed that I have not mentioned how much of each food you will need and that is because it really doesn't matter. You can make it however you want. But believe me don't make more than 2 cups of dry rice or you will be eating this dish for a while! You will also need a large wok to mix up all the fried rice if you make 2 cups.

Ina May's Guide to Child Birth...

2011-03-05T09:00:00.001-07:00

The third book I read about midwifery is called Ina May's Guide to Child Birth by Ina May Gaskin. I finished it yesterday. This is the first of three books written by her I am required to read for my midwifery workshop in April at The Farm in TN that she founded and where she currently still works. I am also required to read 2 more books (not by her) for the workshop.

Part one of the book consists of lots of stories of birth, mostly written by the mother who was in labor at the time. I think I would have been more interested in this part of the book had I not just read Baby Catcher which is a whole book of stories (written from the midwife's view), which I think are more interestingly written. So that part was like a step down in my reading.

Part two of the book was very informative for me. I enjoyed it far better that the first part. It is the first book that lays out what happens during different types of births almost step by step. I think the next book I read by her will do that even further, but during this one I learned about more pregnancy terms and conditions.

I also learned more about what has come to be traditional procedures over the last 50 years that really are not necessary, and in many cases we are actually finding out that they are dangerous for a number of reasons. However since the medical community accepted them many years ago it seems it is hard for the community to un-accept them. In a way, if they un-accept them, they would be saying they have been wrong about what is best, and what hospital or doctor would want to do that? Only humble ones I guess.

In the last paragraph of the book it says,

"One thing is certain: That goal (a personal goal of Ina's mentioned in the book) can not be realized as long as most U.S. women remain convinced that their bodies are poorly made to give birth."

As Christians this is interesting, we know that God designed our bodies to handle what he gives us, and that includes childbirth in my opinion (sure there are us-forseable complications that require help). And the fact that millions of women have given birth naturally over thousands of years tells me I can do it too. I don't understand how the last several decades can make such a difference in how women view their bodies. Have our bodies changed that much during those thousands of years? Surely we can take a step back and see that certain changes over the last decades have damaged women's perceived capabilities.

This was a good read for anyone looking to go into midwifery or is or looking to get pregnant.

Happy Birthday Herschel....

2011-03-04T11:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Herschel's 4th birthday! We decided we would take him on a birthday adventure, so we took him to Petco to pick out a toy. Petco is the only place where he tries to pee everywhere each time we go (please note this does not happen at Pet Smart, it must be much cleaner there!)

While we were there we got a lion that is longer than Herschel and has lots of squeakers, which he loves! He seemed to like all the toys there but did not pick just one so we had to pick for him. He was too distracted.

While we were walking around he also picked out some pig ears himself. He pulled them out of the little bin and put the on the floor for us. He loved them. When we got home he did not want to play with his Lion until he had gotten his pig ears!

He was a funny dog. We took him outside to play with his new treats and he thought it was the best time ever. And now that his pig ears are gone he is super excited about his new lion. He jumps and runs it around and squeaks it and goes crazy!

Happy Birthday Herschel!

Baby Catcher....

2011-03-02T16:36:00.000-07:00

The second book I read on Midwifery is called Baby Catcher: Chronicles of a Modern Midwife by Peggy Vincent. It has been my favorite book so far. It was easy to read and hard to put down.

The book is the story of how Peggy the author has come to be a midwife and her experiences. It begins with her experiences during her training in the 60s and goes on through out her time of serving women until she quits her practice in the 90s. She is very narrative in her style and I think that is was makes it so fun to read. While I was reading, I felt like I was right there with her delivering babies.

It is eye opening to read about her experiences of just trying to do her job. Insurance companies, doctors, modern medical practices, ambulance drives, lawyers, and all kinds of people tried to get in her way; and not that midwifes today wont have to deal with that but it was a different time then. She and others have prepared a path for those of us considering midwifery today.

I don't have anything particular to share about this one except that it would be a fun read for anyone even remotely interested in midwifery, birth or labor stories. You will read about lots of interesting situations midwifes find themselves in and how they react to those. You will also read about how Peggy was originally trained to work in hospitals but makes the shift to helping with home births. You will read about how a natural process, that our bodies were made for and have been doing for thousands of years, can be so life changing in so many ways and for so many people.

I think my mom is going to read this one just to see what I might be doing one day. Feel free to read along with her. It really is a good overview!

First Growth of the 2011...

2011-03-01T15:18:00.000-07:00

This afternoon Patrick pointed out that my first little seedling has sprouted. I had not noticed yet, a tiny broccoli plant! It's exciting! Spring is coming!

Rice & Broccoli Casserole...

2011-02-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

This Recipe is one of my favorite casseroles! It was introduced to me in college by my friend Janet Winn. We would have it at her house occasionally and I loved it! She even made it for me at a dinner party last time I was in Nashville! and then my friend Kristen wanted the recipe!

I have tried to adapt the recipe to be gluten free. As you can see below I tried to make it with brown rice and I will probably never do that again, the texture change made it weird to me. It was not the same, and since it is not Patricks favorite and he doesn't eat much of it I will just make it for me next time, the right way. (If you do make it gluten free make sure you are using gluten free cream of mushroom soup and gluten free rice.)

This is what it looks like before it is cooked. Afterwards it will be browned on the top a bit. It is a must try!

Babies in the Cornfield....

2011-02-26T09:00:00.081-07:00

The first book I have read on Midwifery is called Babies in the Cornfield: Stories of Maternal Health and Death from Around the World, by Ann Davenport. The only reason I choose to read this one first out of the 8 books I got from the library is that it was the shortest one.
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It is a pretty interesting book for those of us interested in midwifery, though I would not recommended it to the rest of you. The book gives a wider range of the history of midwifery both in years and locations instead of just focusing on what has gone on in the US over the last 60 years. Most of the books I have read touch on the fact that in the past hospitals did not exist and all babies were born by "midwifes" or labor and birth assistants whether they were professional or not. However, a lot of the books leave it at that and pick up about the 1950 in the US.

This book discusses the percentages of babies born healthy with no problems, babies born dead, mothers dieing during labor, and complications during or after labor-- remember we are not just talking about the US but places all over the world. It said that in other countries the main reasons that the mother or the baby die during pregnancy or labor, or that there are complications is because the travel time to a person who can help, whether in a hospital or not, is many times a whole days travel time (and in many cases by foot) -- so time is the enemy. Once a problem is discovered, it is many hours before help can be reached.

You would think that since we live both in the 21st century and in the US that we would not have as many deaths during/after labor. Wrong. However instead of our deaths being because the mother can not reach help quick enough, our death rate of mothers/babies is actually higher because of murder. That's right!

"Murder is the leading cause of death for pregnant (remember this include mother and baby) or recently pregnant women in the USA"

I find this quite disturbing, as I am sure you do as well. This section goes on to list all kind of complications that can and do occur during pregnancies and labor but says even if you add up all those cases together murder alone still out numbers all of them in our country. Crazy!

The book also discusses some history about how and where birth happens. In many countries birth happens out in the corn field or where ever you happen to be when your body is ready. Sometimes that means the mother is alone and delivers her own baby. I'm not sure any of us would want to have our baby at the grocery store, during church services, at work, or while on the way to pick up your other kids from school.

Times have changed! And I do think for the better in some ways! Though I also think for the worse in other ways. We will look at some of those when I post on some of the other books I have been reading.

Each book of course has a lot of information and I do not intend to touch on it all. Theses are just my reflections and what stood out to me.

Seed Planting...

2011-02-25T09:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I set sometime aside for planting seeds for my garden this year. Since we have such a short growing season it is helpful if I start some inside. Also since I grow my tomatoes from seed and not buy them as plants in the spring (mostly because of the price difference), I needed to get those going.

Last year I used those little bitty store bought grids to grow the plants, but this year I decided to just use little cups. The cups definitely take up more room! But luckily we have the window space! I have two windows full.

I can't wait for it to be warmer here and to get planting. Each year I learn more about harvesting my own crop. It's a fun and rewarding hobby! I also am wondering if some of our perinials from last year will come up this year, that was a trail experience for us.

For now we will water and let God do the rest.

Midwifery...

2011-02-23T20:11:00.000-07:00

As you know, I have not been using my college degree in a professional way since we left the church in Idaho. I have had many jobs during the last 20 months, none of which did/do I really want to stay at long term and none of which requires much training. Sure I believe I have done those jobs well, they just aren't anything I have felt a calling too, especially not long term.

So for the last year I have been considering what to do with my professional future. During most of 2010 the goal was to simply have a second income to help pay off loans. But in 2011 I have taken another approach to the search that is going on with in me. It has gone something like this....What if I never go back into a ministry job? Do I need to be trained for something else in case financially I can't be a stay at home mom when we have kids? When we do have kids, what can I do that will be flexible enough to still be with them a lot? What else would I want to do long term? What else do I feel called to do?

I have only shared this with a hand full of people, but for about 2 months now I have been considering becoming a midwife. I have done research on the Internet, watched documentaries, read books, talked with a few people, and today I officially signed up for a Midwifery Workshop in Summertown, TN for a week in April. My plan is to attend the workshop to get some more information and hands on interactions to see if this is something I would want to pursue further.

If I do decided to pursue further that means I would have to go back to school, likely online school, and then do a set amount of hands on hours. It will be a 2-3 year process, I think. I'm still in the research phase of this part. This is a pretty big commitment so I want to make sure I know what I am getting myself into before I take the dive.

I will post more information as I have it, I will also be writing reviews on the books I'm reading for those of you that might also find this interesting. Please pray for me as I try to find Gods calling for my future!

Only in Santa Fe!! UPS now delivers to parking lots!

2011-02-18T22:14:00.002-07:00

Only in Santa Fe!

A package from Amazon.com was scheduled to be delivered today via UPS. My Bluetooth mouse stopped working a week ago, and I ordered a new Logitech mouse & keyboard set to replace it. I tracked the delivery status online a few times today, and everything seemed to be on track. Shortly after 7 PM, I refreshed the delivery tracking status and received a message that the delivery address was incorrect!

I quickly checked the Amazon order summary—everything was correct there. Then I turned to the national UPS Customer Service phone number. Let me just say that I despise the UPS’ approach to “customer service.” Let’s say you have a problem with a scheduled delivery—as I have had one more than one occasion. My only recourse in this situation is to call the national support phone number. I then explain my situation to someone who cannot effect any resolution and doesn’t have any more information than is available online. What this poor man or woman DOES have is the phone number to a local UPS facility which coordinates the deliveries and has the ability to resolve issues.

Tonight, I explained my dilemma and frustration to the UPS answering service, and resigned myself to wait until Monday evening for the delivery to be completed. However, just a few minutes after this initial conversation with UPS, I received a call from the UPS delivery facility in Santa Fe. Andrea told me that she had just received my message and wanted to help. Great! I confirmed my address with her, and then she explained that the driver who was delivering this route is really not familiar with the streets. Being relatively new to Santa Fe, I can sympathize. Our streets and address numbers are a disaster! I expected Andrea to ask me to provide clear directions to my residence so that the driver could complete the delivery. I prepared to give instructions from various landmarks, intersections and businesses nearby while tasting my pasta to see if it was done when the conversation took a VERY unexpected turn…

THE DRAMA

Andrea: “The driver said he was on Cordova [a street 300 feet from my front door] a few minutes ago. You could go meet him on Cordova.”

Me: “I guess I could get out and look for him. Where is he?”

Andrea: “He said was at 111 Cordova.”

Me: “I’m sorry. I don’t know where 111 Cordova is. Is there a business or intersection nearby?”

Andrea: “He said he was near the drug store.”

Me: “Which one? CVS? Walgreen's? They are both pretty close.”

Andrea: “Uh, I don’t know. Probably CVS. If you want, you can call back when you get on Cordova and I can find out where he is.

Me: “Okay, I will call you back when I get on Cordova and I will try to track him down.”

Patrick hurriedly drains the pasta and turns off the stove. He puts on shoes and a jacket, grabs his keys and wallet and dashes out the door with quick assurances to Herschel that he will be back soon. Moments later, he’s on Cordova, heading toward CVS.

“RING…RING…RING…RING…RING…RING…RING…RING…RING…RING…RING…” End Call

“RING…RING…RING…RING…RING…RING..RING…RING..”

Andrea: “UPS, this is Andrea.”

Me: “Hi, Andrea. This is Patrick Ford. I’m on Cordova, trying to find your driver.”

Andrea: “Oh, let me try and get in touch with him. Can you hold on?”

Me: “….Yes. Sure.”

Patrick cruises through the parking lot of the shopping center housing CVS. Back on Cordova, heading west. Across St. Francis, towards and beyond Walgreen's. Across the railroad tracks. He turns around at a car wash, in view of Cerrillos Rd. Now back east across the tracks, St. Francis, and past CVS.

Andrea: “Okay, so I talked to the driver. He said he can meet you at the church. At Cordova and Old Pecos Trail. I think it’s St. Johns." [Yeah, it is.]

Me: “Great. Thank you. Oh! I think he just pulled out in front of me, so this should be easy.”

Andrea: “Okay. Have a good night.”

Me: “Thanks, Andrea. You, too.”

Patrick steps out of the truck, parked 30 feet from the UPS delivery vehicle. The driver spins his finger in the air, as if silently singing “This Little Light of Mine” at a VBS or directing Patrick to come around to the other side of the van. As Patrick comes round the vehicle, the UPS guy stares blankly.

Patrick: “I am here for my package.”

UPS Guy stares for a few seconds, then stands and heads to the back. Then he pops his head around the door opening.

UPS Guy: “Who are you?”

Patrick: “Patrick Ford. My address is [redacted here for privacy reasons]. I just spoke with Andrea. You should have one package for me.”

UPS Guy comes back with a package after a few seconds. He almost drops it and kicks it off the truck while setting it down. Patrick signs for the package, then reaches halfway into the vehicle to pick it up off the floorboard. UPS Guy stares again.

UPS Guy: “That’s it. We’re done.”

Patrick: “Oh. Uh, thank you.”

As Patrick pulls out of the parking lot and drives away, he notices another truck pulling in and stopping at the UPS truck. This driver of the pickup gets out and makes his way around the UPS vehicle.

Only in Santa Fe.

Beef Stroganoff...

2011-02-18T14:53:00.000-07:00

When Patrick and I started dating and were learning about each other I found out that he really likes Beef Stroganoff. (which I had never had) So I got the following recipe from my Step-Grandfather Bill. He and his first wife wrote two cookbooks together during their time as missionaries. Most of the recipes are made from really healthy ingredients and have been passed down through the family, and we will continue that tradition with this recipe for sure!

I went ahead and posted the page from the book above instead of typing it all out again. However now that Patrick is gluten free we have to make it a little bit different. I made the beef stroganoff for the first time yesterday as gluten free.

I substituted a GF flour for the coating of the meat and used corn starch to thicken the sauce. I also had to make my own beef consummate by making 3X as strong beef broth. I also needed to use Gluten free noodles instead of the usual egg noodles.

A trick to making this recipe stretch further is to use twice as many veggies as it asks for. We generally use about 7oz of fresh mushrooms and one whole large onion per recipe. The wok to the right is actually 3 recipes. We freeze normally make a lot when we find discount beef and freeze some for later.

Thank you Bill for sharing this recipe with us! We love it! and I know Patrick is glad that it is easy adaptable to be gluten free. I think he is also glad that this is one of his birthday week traditions now! (Especially since I haven't figured out how to make his favorite lemon cake with cream cheese frosting gluten free yet!)

FDDN 2011...

2011-02-15T10:26:00.000-07:00

On Sunday night I hosted a Father Daughter Date Night at our church in Santa Fe. Everyone had a great night eating, fellowshipping, sharing and playing pictionary. We had two couples have to cancel their reservations because of sick children, but we hope they can join us next year.

We had some very cute couples join us.

We also had a grandfather join us with his two sons and their 5 daughters.

We will have more events like this in the future, giving each parent a chance to bond with each of their children individually! Join us next time!

Harper Ann Hubbard

2011-02-09T09:27:00.000-07:00

Harper Ann Hubbard

Born on January 17, 2011 at 1:16am

Weighing 7lbs 8oz, and 20.5 inches long

Jeff, Kera & Hannah are very happy to have thier baby out of mommys tummy and at home with them!

I wasn't at the birth, but I was able to go a couple weeks after and spend about a week with my brothers family and help with the baby and prepare meals. I also got to attend one of my cousins wedding showers as a surprize guest since she had no idea that I was going to be in town! It was a fun week and I am glad I got to go. It will be April before I see everyone again at my cousins wedding, I'm sure Harper will look so big by then!

Hannah was out of school the whole week I was there becasue of winter weather. So I got to spend more time with her than planned. She loves to watch her movies, play with her kitchen, help with Harper and beat her daddy at Candy Land. She is a funny girl! While I was in Texas I got to feed Harper her very first bottle. We were trying to let her parents sleep sicne it was the middle of the night. She took the bottle just fine!

A week with out Patrick..

2011-01-24T15:00:00.003-07:00

I started this post a week ago, but I guess it's never to late....

Patrick left town for his first Graduate School class at Abilene Christian right after lunch last Sunday. I had big plans for the week that consisted of working as many shifts at Olive Garden as possible. So Sunday night I baked some cookies, moved Herschel's bed to the "Patrick is out of town" position and relaxed most of the night.

On Monday morning Herschel and I woke up slowly and then I was off to work. Herschel was being silly that morning! After work I helped a friend by picking her boys up from school and gave them haircuts. After that I had dinner plans with a friend. Monday was pretty good.

Tuesday was a different story... Tuesday was a sick day. I woke up and felt horrible and didn't know what was going. I called in sick to work and Herschel and I spent most of the day doing this.

The rest of the week was up and down. Some days I would feel better and think I was not sick anymore but others I felt worse. Finally when I had to call in sick again on Friday I went to the doctor and found out I had a bacterial infection and needed antibiotics. I spent the next week getting over being sick and I am almost back to 100%. I have another week of antibiotics to go. Hopefully the next time he leaves for a class will not be quite the same!

Frank's visit...

2011-01-22T19:53:00.000-07:00

Patrick's dad came to visit it us this week for a few days. This was the first time he has come to our house since we have been married so it was special having him with us for a few days. We are glad he came!

Frank is a reader of my blog so he had already decided, from previous posts of visitors to Santa Fe, that he wanted to ride the tram up Sandia Peak to eat at High Finance and see the view of Albuquerque and surrounding areas from 2 miles high.

The first picture is of me and Frank at the Tram station before riding, the second is of Patrick and Frank on the Tram, and the third is of all of us 2 miles high with Albuquerque to our left.

The other 2 days Frank was here he got to see the downtown area, go through a few museums, meet and share a meal with some of our church family, eat at Olive Garden for the first time ever while being served by me, and spending time with Herschel, Patrick and I at home. Herschel was definitely a highlight of our time spent at home. And Herschel enjoyed meeting his other grandfather!

Thanks for coming to see us Frank! Come back anytime! Herschel says hi!

Guacamole...

2011-01-08T10:15:00.000-07:00

Since we have moved to Santa Fe, we have become friends with Jackie and her family. Several times we have been to her house she has made guacamole for us. Patrick says it is the best guacamole he has had, even to this day. Since she doesn't have a set recipe we have tried to replicate it several times. It doesn't taste exact but it is still very good.

Guacamole:
1 ripe avocado smashed
1 roma tomato diced
1 jalapeno chopped very small (put less if you don't like a hit of spice)
1/3-1/2 onion chopped very small (put less if you don't like a hint of spice)
1 Tbs of lime juice
a dash Salt to taste

This recipe makes about a cereal bowl full. I would say it serves about 3-4 as a side dish, or 2 if all your eating is chips and dip. Enjoy on corn chips or in/on any Mexican dish!

Crayon Rolls...

2011-01-07T09:57:00.000-07:00

In early November, I was reading my (step-)Aunt Susan's blog and came across where she was contributing on someone else's blog to a 12 days of Christmas event. The person hosting it, one of Susan's friends, was posting 12 different home made gift ideas in preparation for the coming month. I looked through the ideas that had been given and this one in particular sparked my interest, a Crayon Roll. It is a sewing project and one that I thought didn't sound to hard for a beginner.

Basically it is a series of fabrics that you make pockets on and put a crayon in each pocket and then roll it up and fasten the tie. It is pretty cool! Below are the ones I have made and given out so far. I forgot to take a picture of one of them with crayons in it all rolled up but you can follow the link above and see a finished one. I still have a couple of them I want to make but December has been to busy to get any more done, I actually made the ones in the picture before Thanksgiving in preparation for Thanksmas in TN.

And for my "Not-So-Secret-Sister" you know who you are, I will have one like the bottom one for your sweet little girl when I get another chance to sew!

Oh the anticipation....

Olive Garden Training...

2011-01-06T14:06:00.000-07:00

I have been done with my Olive Garden server training for over 2 weeks now. I'm a little late on sharing with you the experience since we have been pretty busy with holidays and out of town guests but I figured I would go ahead and share.

We had 6 training sessions, only 4 of which are documented here. Yes, at each training session we got to try as least 4 dishes and one desert. I would say we got to try about 75% of their menu during those 6 sessions.

Training was pretty fun, besides the fact that all of our materials were read to us pretty much verbatim, so I felt like I was back in freshman year general education classes at Lipscomb.

By the 5th Training session we were out on the floor basically on our own with two tables. We were checked in on and observed occasionally but all in all we were on our own. After two weeks or so of handling two weeks I have gotten to move up to 3 tables and occasionally 4.

Since then things have gone well. My managers have already picked me out as one of their most responsible servers and speak well of me. It was good that I started the job before Christmas because I was able to make some good tips over the holidays. Next week I will find out what a normal, not holiday, week is like at the OG.

I have really only done one thing that I regret while working at the OG. This past Tuesday afternoon I spilt an entire raspberry tea on a chief of police. Luckily he and his buddies thought it was quite funny, probably since it was partly their fault in the first place. After talking with coworkers it seems that this type of thing happens quite often. I just hope it doesn't happen to me again! But I guess there is a first for everything!

Christmas 2010...

2011-01-05T12:13:00.000-07:00

This Christmas we had the opportunity to host Patrick's mom and sister at our house for a week. We had a Christmas meal, opened presents and spent the rest of the week site seeing around Santa Fe. We visited Canyon Road, the historical Plaza, the New Mexico Museum of Art, Bandelier National Monument, Los Alamos and the Bradbury Science Museum, and Tent Rocks National Monument.

Since I have posted pictures in previous posts of most of the places we went, I figured I would focus mostly on Tent Rocks National Monument. Patrick and I have never been to tent rocks before so we, along with Anita and Deborah, were invited to join some friends from church on the Monday after Christmas for a little hike.

The place now known as Tent Rocks was formed naturally by a volcano a long time ago and was continued to be formed by the rain and wind of the past. It was pretty cool to walk through and see the formations.

We had a good time being able to spend some extended time with Deborah and Anita and being able to show them around our new town! I also think they enjoyed it. They are very in to art and Santa Fe has a lot of that to offer! Come back soon!

O Christmas Tree-t...

2010-12-19T08:00:00.040-07:00

Last night, at our house, was our teen Christmas party, called O Christmas Tree-t. We had a good time decorating our outside Christmas tree, eating snacks, making smores, and playing Yahtzee.

Before the party started, Patrick and I finished decorating our inside tree. Everything is ready for our Christmas guest! Patrick's Mom & Sister will arrive on Friday!

Here are a few pictures of our fun. We enjoyed having the boys over! Maybe there will be a repeat next year!

Elliptical Runner...

2010-12-18T10:00:00.000-07:00

When an item is wanted very badly that it expensive, generally money must be saved in order to purchase the item. It is rare that someone would choose to purchase that item for you because of the price; however someone may choose to give you money to put toward the purchase of that particular item.

I have been wanting a band new elliptical machine ever since we moved from Idaho and had to leave our older garage sale type model behind. I have been slowing saving money all year from my monthly budget and from birthday and Christmas money. I have also been waiting for the model I picked out to go on sale at Costco.

You see the good thing about buying the elliptical, or almost anything for that mater, at Costco is their return policy, plus free shipping on this particular item. Costco basically lets you return anything for any reason. So I have been saving and I have waited so long to purchase my elliptical and it still has not gone on sale and I still do not have enough money for the one I have picked out at full price. So Patrick suggested that I go ahead and buy the one that is on sale currently and see how I like it. If I don't like it then I will return it for a full refund and I will buy the one I want.

My elliptical arrived today, when we had 9 inches of snow covering our driveway, in this huge box that weights 213lbs. the UPS driver helped us with Step 1: getting it in the house.

Step 2: Prepare a home for the new item.

When purchasing the elliptical I also purchased some rubber flooring to protect our wood floor.

Step 3: Empty very large box of all its contents.

Step 4-100: Assemble machine.

Step 101: Enjoy finished product.

Patrick also wanted me to try this elliptical because it folds up a little bit, meaning we can still use that door to our back yard. We don't use it very ofter but just in case we wanted to we still can. I will keep you update on if I like this one once I have had sometime to use it. Just for reference here are the links to the one I have and the one I wanted in case you wanted to do some research.

Winter is Here, Part 2...

2010-12-17T19:57:00.002-07:00

As I shared with you in yesterdays blog post, we had a little storm come through and drop snow on us. This picture is about 9am yesterday. The pictures on yesterdays post were from about 8:15 last night.

The next picture is about 9am today and it was still snowing. It snowed off and on for about 30 hours and left us with about 8 or 9 inches of snow.

It looked pretty cool on the picnic table so I thought I would take a picture. I'm sure there will be many more similar to this.

Herschel has noticed that winter has been rolling in slowly. He likes to spend his time cuddled up in blankets or on his heating pads. He is a cold dog since he doesn't have much fat. Poor Herschel! but at least he is very cute!

Winter is Here...

2010-12-16T20:35:00.000-07:00

This morning about 7 am it began to snow. It has snowed off and on all day and will continue to snow until tomorrow afternoon. These pictures are from about 15 minutes ago, at about 8:15pm. We have about 6-7 inches of snow now and it's still coming down as you can see in the second photo. I will keep you updated!

Just incase we need it in the future......if you are willing to mail us some milk, bread and other necessities, let me know. Thanks!

Olive Garden....

2010-12-11T08:02:00.000-07:00

As you know I have had several part time jobs since we have lived here; but the whole time I have also been looking for full time work. And honestly I really probably could have had a full time job already but I was trying to find a job I liked and that I wanted to keep for a while; because I really hate accepting a job with someone and then a week or a month later quitting because something better has come along. I feel like such a quitter and I don't like to give up on things! But I decided that since it has been 9 months of job hunting that I would just go get a job and then if the perfect job came along I would have a decision to make. I guess I should have done that earlier since the perfect job has not made itself known yet. But now is the time.

Patrick and I went out to eat Thursday night and I asked the waiter if they were hiring. He said he thought they were but I would have to check back tomorrow when the general manager was in. So that was the plan, but I figured while I was at it I would also go by all the other restaurants in that area and put my application in and see what happened. So I went past 4 restaurants and set up an interview for next week with Applebees and set up and interview with Olive Garden later that day (yesterday).

I'm going to stop here with the story for a second to let you know that for several years I have had a secret desire to try out being a server. I was going to do it one summer when I was taking summer classes but it turned out that after 4 hours of training and going to my first maymester class it was going to be to much to do both so I quit, while feeling really bad! So ever since then I have wanted to try it again if I got the chance. However, I knew I wouldn't like the crazy scheduling that changes weekly and has you out late nights till the restaurant closes. Oh well.

Ok, so I went to my interview yesterday afternoon at Olive Garden and after about a 30 minute conversation with the manager, I then talked to the General Manager and was offered a full time job. So that's pretty cool! In about an hour I go in to do paperwork for a couple hours followed with a free lunch for Patrick and I! Any job who will give me free food (or really anything of value) has a star in my book! and much less want to fee my husband too! On Monday I will start my actual training. It is a 35 hour training that I have heard is pretty extensive and plus I get to try everything on the menu! Pretty excited about it!

I have liked staying home the last month or so but it will also be nice to get out of the house and try something new. Like I said I have no idea how long I will work at Olive Garden. It may be 2 years it may be 2 months but at least I know I am bringing in a pay check. I'm not going to quit for just anything, but if God put something in my path that is just perfect and that I feel that I should be doing then I will go for it!

5 Loaves of Bread, but no Fish...

2010-12-09T16:13:00.000-07:00

For the last few months I have been making dinner for our churches Wednesday night meals. We feed about 30-40 people each week before bible class.

This week some one else had made a stew but I was in charge of getting somethings together to go with it. So I planned to get some bread, salad and ice cream. However, once I realized...

how easy that would be,
how much more free time I would have this week
how much wheat flour I have that Patrick can not consume anymore,
and that I have not made any bread in my bread maker in a while

... I decided to make home made bread for everyone. So I figured 5 loaves would be about right for 30-40 people and one of those loaves of course had to be gluten free. I would not have gotten 5 if they were store bought but people tend to eat more when it is homemade, probably because it taste and smells amazing!

So I was on a mission to find 5 recipes that I wanted to try and go for it. So I searched on the Internet for a while until I found bread-maker.net. I read through the recipes and most of them sounded wonderful. So I picked...

I spent little sections all day Tuesday and some Wednesday mixing the recipes and pressing start and then 3.5 hours later taking the bread out to cool, slicing a bit off to try, and starting over again. It was pretty fun. Now I just need 10 more bread makers and I could open a bakery! Just Kidding!

Unfortunately I did not get pictures of any of them! It's so sad. But they went over very well! Everyone was very impressed and excited to see the array of breads when they walked in for dinner.

My favorite was the jalapeno cheese bread, it was a little spicey. The chunky chili corn bread was probably my least favorite but that could be because I am not a big fan of corn bread anyway. I would recommend any of these for you to make. If you make the Cheese & Pepperoni Bread you may have to add 1/2 cup milk; it started mixing and just did not look like it was going to work so I added some on a whim and it came out great.

The Basic Rice Bread was my first time attempting a GF bread from scratch. I have only made one other in my bread maker but it was a pre-mixed bag that you added the liquids to. I did add a bit of seasonings and herbs to the rice bread to give it a bit more flavoring for Patrick. He said it was pretty good. He wants me to make a gluten free jalapeno and cheese bread next. I will let you know how it turns out.

Enchilada Casserole...

2010-11-30T11:00:00.000-07:00

I got this recipe from a lady named Becky when I lived in Longview Texas for a summer. I have changed it some to make it tastier and to make it cheaper to make. I can't believe I haven't already shared this one with you, it is one of our favorites!

Enchilada Casserole:
2lbs of ground beef
1can cream of mushroom soup
1can cream of chicken soup
24 oz of salsa (1/2 spicy salsa) (or original recipe 8oz taco sauce & 15oz of enchilada sauce)
1 onion Chopped
Grated cheese (aprox 1/2 -1 cup per cheese layer)
Corn tortillas (I used about 18)
1tsp hot sauce - optional

Brown the beef, then add the chopped onion, soups, hot sauce and salsa. I alwasy taste it at this point. I can then add more hot sauce or pepers if needed.
.
Put a little bit of the sauce spread out on the bottom of a casserole dish to keep the first layer of tortillas from baking on.

Then layer in this order...tortillas, sauce, cheese, tortillas, sauce, cheese, tortillas, sauce, cheese, tortillas -- then put cheese on top. The sauce layers do not need to be thick - Just a thin layer, enough to wet the tortillas. You may be able to get another series of layers in depending on how deep your dish is.
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

We generally eat this with canned corn and tortilla chips.

You should have enough sauce to make two dishes. I generally freeze the rest and then it is already made for an easy dinner later.

Note: This dish is only gluten free if you use gluten free soups and salsas. The salsas we buy are already gluten free but I did have to track down some gluten free soups for this one.

Thanksmas 2010...

2010-11-29T11:09:00.000-07:00

Last year for Christmas all of my Dad's side of the family was in Memphis for us to spend time with. Well, this year for Thanksmas all of my Mom's side of the family was in Memphis. We enjoyed our time together. Because we all live in different states we only see each other all together about once every 2 years, which is not nearly enough. Here is the usual family photo.
As you may figure out from the name, Thanksmas is when you have Thanksgiving quickly followed by Christmas all in one day or days.
So of course the tree was up and the stockings were hung.And the gifts wee given! Here is Herschel opening his new squeak ball before it was his turn, he just could not wait.
My niece, Hannah has willingly taken over my old job of passing out all the presents, and I am grateful!
Here are some of the gift highlights...

I got the Harry Potter Books in Hard Back in a Hogwarts Chest.

Patrick got a real live Georgia Foot Ball Helmet for our Georgia Room.

Herschel got a bone that is larger than him.

And Hannah got a Cinderella doll and matching dress that she loved! Hannah insisted that everyone had to give Cinderella a hug whenever they gave Hannah a hug. It was funny.

We had a good time with our family. It is always good to see everyone especially those we only see every other year!

Herschel did a good job being away from home but he sure was happy to walk in our door after the 15 hour drive back home Saturday. He showed us he was happy by pulling his bone into his chair and chowing down as soon as the car was unloaded.
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Now we look forward to doing it all over again when Patrick's mom and sister come spend a week with us for Christmas!

Black Bean Brownies...

2010-11-22T10:00:00.000-07:00

My Friend Katrina has a daughter who is gluten free, so she has learned some recipes along the way that Katie enjoys, one of them being black bean brownies. I know, at first you hear black beans and you think gross, not in brownies. However, after we made them we really could not tell they were in there. Patrick was not a huge fan of them, but he is not a huge fan of any brownies. But I thought I would share the recipe with you anyway just in case you didn't have a brownies mix on hand when you needed it or you know someone who can't have gluten.

Black Bean Brownies:
1 can black beans
3 eggs
3 tbsp oil
4 tbsp cocoa powder
1tsp vanilla
3/4 cup sugar
a pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Pour drained beans into a blender, blend till smooth.
Add all of the other ingredients and blend.
Pour mixture into greased 8x8 dish and bake 30mins or until tooth pick comes out clean.

Friends...

2010-11-21T19:54:00.001-07:00

Well, we made it to Memphis safely after going to the midnight showing of Harry Potter. We left Santa Fe about 3:30 Friday morning and we made it to Memphis about 8pm that night. It was a long day but we all made it, even Herschel! After a good nights sleep we had lunch with my mom and grandparents and then headed off to Nashville to cram as many friends in to 2.5 days as possible.

I just want to say seeing friends is wonderful! We have had to make two big moves already, both times leaving behind a wonderful community of friends. And I'm sure those weren't the only times that will happen, but it is hard to go so long with out seeing friends! Luckily we get to see our nashville friends at least once a year, and even though that is not nearly enough we manage.

So far we have seen Brad, Jenny, Claire, Jesse, Jessica, Jackson, Bart, Kristen, Elijah, Annalyn, Phil, Sheryl, Linda, Laurie, Marshal, Grace, Kelsey, Michael, Shelton, Kaylin, Lauren, and various church members. And we have at least 5 or more people and some repeats to go. Tomorrow is our last full day here and it will be sad to leave everyone for another year, but it is so worth the reunion whenever possible! We love you guys!

Homemade Pizza....

2010-11-16T14:00:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I haven't posted about home made pizza yet! I was looking through the recipes I had posted and was surprised not to find this one! Patrick and I have been making home made pizza since before we moved here. But when we found out that you can buy frozen dough balls from Sam's food court we have been making them much more often. The only catch is that you have to buy a whole box at a time, and there are 20 balls in a box, so you have to have some freezer space. Each dough ball can make 1 12 inch thick crust pizza or two 12 inch thin crust pizzas; and the box is only like $15. We are currently on our second box.

When Patrick found out about his gluten intolerance it through us a little curve ball but we have found some pizza dough he can have too. It just takes a bit more work since it is just the dry ingredients.
For the Sam's dough, I just put it in the fridge the day before or leave it out on the counter for about 6 hours to thaw. It is the one in the bag on the right. Patrick dough is on the left. It also makes 2 12inch thin crust pizzas.
So we make 1 pizza each and put the rest of the dough in the fridge to use during the next day or two. It ends up working out well.

First we cut up any toppings we want to use. Here we have sausage, ham, onions, tomatoes and bell peppers.
And of course garlic for Patrick!
Then we put olive oil on the pans and spread the dough. Then we use tomato paste mixed with seasonings and herbs for flavoring, put our toppings on and cover it in cheese. I buy the 5lb bag of cheese at Sam's and freeze it in 1/2lbs portions. Just enough for one pizza!
Then they bake at 425 for about 25minutes, swapping them half way through, and they are done though I do not have a picture of the final product because we ate them!

Chex Bars...

2010-11-14T16:11:00.001-07:00

With Patrick eating gluten free now, we have had to look for some new ideas, especially in the desert area. A Friend of mine shared a brownie recipe with me but Patrick wasn't a big fan of it, actually he isn't a big brownie fan anyway. So I began the quest to find something else he could eat and I found a recipe for Peanut Chocolate Chex Bars. So I made them yesterday (all from the original recipe except honey nut chex instead of chocolate)and we took them to a friends house for lunch today. Patrick likes them but has requested some changes in the recipe. So the recipe below has been edited from the original.

Chex Bars:
4 cups of honey nut chex
1/2 cup of chopped salted almonds
1/4 cup of m&ms
1/3 cup of mini marshmallows
1/4 cup of butter scotch morsels
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter

Butter or grease sides of 9x9 glass dish.
Mix first 5 ingredients in large bowl.
In sauce pan heat corn syrup and sugar over medium heat, stirring constantly, just to boiling. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter until smooth.
Pour over cereal and mix in bowl until evenly coated.
Press firmly in to dish and cool.

Now let me warn you, this recipe is super simple and it's gluten free! You can change the ingredients and/or the quanitys. I made 1 and a half of the original recipe and put it in a 9x13 dish. Easy Peasy! Enjoy!

Unemployment = Sewing Time...

2010-11-13T11:45:00.000-07:00

I have had a bit more time on my hands lately and have been able to re-enter the world of sewing. It really is fun but it is time consuming and it takes up the whole kitchen table which is fairly inconvenient.

This past Wednesday, my friend sue came over again to show me how to do a few things that I haven't learned yet on the sewing machine. We had a good time as usual. It really is nice to have someone who is willing and who also has the time to help me learn! and all in exchange for lunch! This week we had tortilla soup, one of our favorites!

Later that day I found a pretty cool sewing idea on the internet. One that I am not able to tell you about right now, but I will in the future! Since then I have been to buy fabric and have plans to make at least a dozen of my new project if not 2 dozen. I have already spent about 3 hours on the project yesterday and will spend about that much time again today. I will be able to reveal the project to you but not until after Christmas. So sorry for the wait, but I just thought I would let you know I am up to something! Something pretty cool!

Roasted Potatoes & Onions...

2010-11-10T13:22:00.000-07:00

I have really been slacking on my recipe posts lately. I think it has been a combination of being busy and Patrick dietary changes. I really have not cooked much in the last month or two because of his restricted diet. He can eat more now and we have cooked some but either I have already posted the recipe or we haven't cooked anything worth blogging about.

Last Wednesday, for the church meal, I cooked pork chops with green bean casserole, roasted potatoes and onions, and a caesar salad. I got many complements, but most of them were over the potatoes, and so I thought I would share my very easy secret. For $1 at the grocery store I buy this pre-mixed seasoning. We think it is very tasty!I then cut up potatoes and onions, put them in a casserole dish, pour some olive oil and seasoning over them and mix well. Then you bake them, stirring occasionally, till they are done. FYI...The larger you cut the potatoes the longer it will take.

Another good thing about this pre-mixed seasoning, is that it is gluten free! So this is a recipe I can keep on making with out any substitutions for Patrick! Enjoy!

The GF lifestyle...

2010-11-09T15:45:00.000-07:00

...and no, not the Georgia Football Lifestyle. The Gluten Free Lifestyle.

About 2 months ago, Patrick went in to his new doctors office for his initial appointment, you know the one where they ask you a billion questions so they can get to know the general state of health you live in. Well, after learning all about Patrick, his history and his fybromyalgia the doctor suggested his problem might be dietary. He thought Patrick may have an intolerance or allergy that is causing some of his day to day problems, or his "normal."

So he asked Patrick to go to the hospital to complete all kinds of labs and to go on a cleansing diet to get everything that he might be intolerant or allergic to out of his system. So for the 2 weeks right after my parents left in September, Patrick could only eat lamb, brown rice, eggs, and three vegetables of his choice. He picked cucumbers, tomatoes and asparagus. Those two weeks were fairly hard for Patrick, as we all can imagine; however they did help him start feeling better.

After those 2 weeks Patrick went back to the doctor to check in and to find out the results of his labs. We found out then that Patrick does not have celiac disease (which is good!) but that the doctor did think he had an intolerance to gluten.

The next step was to spend about 2 months adding certain things in to Patrick's diet, week by week, so that he could see if anything else gives him problems. We are about half way through that process now. By Thanksgiving he should be able to eat everything but Sea Food. We are pretty sure that nothing else will bother him but we are still monitoring.

So now we have begun the gluten free lifestyle. It is not easy, I have to learn how to cook all over again. We have to buy special gluten free foods instead of whatever sounds or looks good, we have to think ahead before eating out, and we also will likely have to have a larger grocery budget next year because gluten free items are more expensive.

If you are not familiar with gluten, then think of it this way any bread, cracker, cookie, cake, pie, pizza, or pasta that is made from wheat or all purpose flour, or has any traces of those things in it, can not be consumed by Patrick anymore. But it is not just the bread type items, gluten is also found in many other things, it is used a lot in processed foods. So we now read the ingredients in everything before we buy it. Sure there is a lot he can still eat but it isn't as simple as eat what ever you want or even as simple as don't eat bread products. Have a look at the safe ingredients list and the unsafe ingredients list, I don't even know what most of those things are!

Patrick feels a lot better after being off of gluten and he says it is worth not eating certain things to feel this way. We just have to learn a new style of eating, cooking and shopping.

New Job Goes Sour...

2010-11-08T15:47:00.000-07:00

I started a new full time job on Monday, October 18th. My last day at that job was Monday, November 1st. I was a great worker who did my job well and was learning how the office worked, however, my employer did not like the fact that I knew they were breaking the law in several ways, I will spare you all the details for all of our sakes. I am really not sure how they have gotten away with it as long as they have, and why the other employees haven't spoken up.

So we are back to the drawing board. I have applied with a nanny agency since I have so much experience with kids, but I am also continuing to apply for other jobs in case that doesn't work out. Please pray that something will come my way that I will enjoy! But for now I will enjoy the time off and the time with family over Thanksgiving.

Hp7...

2010-11-07T13:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I drove down to our local regal cinema and bought our movie tickets to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. We are going to the 12:01AM showing on Friday the 19th.

Yes, I do know that the particular showing we picked is in the middle of the night during regular sleeping times, and that in the past, I have not shown any interest in being up during that time of the night. (I have actually volunteered to be the babysitter for those who wanted to go to midnight showings in the past just so I could sleep...and of course help out some friends.) However, I have decided that since we have to get up very early on Friday to drive the 16 hours to TN then why not loose a few more hours of sleep and see a movie that I am pretty excited about. So there you have it, my reasoning. Reasoning that I will continually have to remind myself about as the time gets nearer and I want to be in my bed asleep.

We will go see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and then go pick up Herschel and head out to Memphis at 3 in the morning. I have made a deal with Patrick that I can make it with out the 9 hours of uninterrupted sleep in my own bed if he will drive until the sun comes up. (I will let you know how that turns out!)

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For those of you that haven't really gotten fully into Harry Potter yet.... a few thoughts......

When I was one who would just watch the movies, and no I would not have even considered a midnight showing at that time, I had a different understanding on the story. Mostly I was just interested because it was entertaining and fun to watch the same character move through out his life.

When I started reading the books, yet another understanding came to me. I started to really become a fan, instead of just an observer or on looker. And when you get into the books, you find you can not put the book down. You feel like you are there in the story with them and you have to see what comes next. And yet the books are better than the movies! I do have to say that in general I really do not like to read. There are very few books that I have been interested in enough that I have finished them. But these books are very easy to read, and are very engaging.

Now that I have finished reading through the whole series I have an even greater understanding and love for the story line. As in many books that are not marked as "christian books" there are christian themes. One theme that is particularly relevant to the movie that we will see in less than two weeks comes from the phrase "One can not live while the other survives." Now if you haven't read the books or seen the moves then you may not understand as much but basically what I see from the christian stand point is that Satan and God are both fighting to be the ruler in my life and in yours. They can not do that successfully if they both have a foot in. I have to rid myself completely of Satan in order to let God rule completely. The movie also eludes to the fact that others can help and encourage you along the way but when it really comes down to it you have to do it yourself! It is a decision you have to make and re-make everyday.

There are many more christian themes that are found among this 7 book series, but this one like I said is most relevant to this movie coming out soon. I can't wait to get the books for christmas and re-read them to be reminded and challenged by more!

All that to say... if you have been turned off by these books/movies in the past, you may give them another try, I really think you will find some good stuff in there.

Fall Festival, 2010...

2010-11-06T12:52:00.001-06:00

Last Saturday night was our churches Fall Festival. They have one every year, but since I had not been to one here and I was in charge of it, it was a little different. I think everyone had fun, it sure looked like it. We plan to make the event more of a community out reach next year but wanted to do a little bit of practicing this year first.

We tried having a trunk or treat this year. They had never done it before, but I think everyone did a great job of decorating their car for never having done it before.
This is us sporting our Georgia Gear at our trunk. even Herschel has his GA shirt on!After the trunk or treat we all came in for hamburgers and hot dogs, then we played some individual games like bean bag tosses and such and then did some group games.

First we played a donut eating contest, which is where you try to eat a donut off a string with out using your hands. It's pretty funny. Then we played musical chairs, which was very fun! The adults got into it just as much as the kids! This is one of our friends Leslie, In my opinion she won the prize for best costume and most creative church announcement! Way to go Leslie!

Balloon Fiesta 2010...

2010-10-28T11:49:00.000-06:00

2 1/2 weeks ago Patrick and I got up at 3:30am to drive to Albuquerque, NM to attend the famous annual Balloon Fiesta. We had been to a smaller one when I lived in Longview, TX but this one is much more well known. It was pretty cold and dark out for much of our time there. That is why some of the pictures aren't very good. Most of this post is pictures, hope you enjoy!

It was cool too see them all go up and get to see how the balloons worked. The first 3 show a balloon going up. First they blow air in with a large fan then they turn the flame on and slowly it gets ready to rise.

And this is it in the air.

There were hundreds of them!

And lots of fun shapes too!

This last one is one of my favorites that I saw. Come join us next October and see it all for yourself!

The Season is Over...

2010-10-26T16:17:00.000-06:00

We had our first freeze last night here in Santa Fe. On Sunday I made preparations for that by pulling up our garden and picking all the produce.

Herschel ate a squash and watched from the sun during that time. He really seems to love eating healthy! We are lucky parents not having to force him to eat healthy! I hope the rest of our kids aren't picky.

We had lots of green tomatoes. Probably having to do with our short growing season and the fact that two of our plants were late bloomers. But we have gotten a good amount of tomatoes off of them and have many more to enjoy as they ripen.

We also got several more cucumbers, a couple more squash, several habaneros, a few green beans, a 2 tiny cantaloupes. (I think these weren't getting enough water at the beginning of the season, but i'm going to see if they ripen up or not over time.)

And then we had a whole lot of oregano to pull up. I have transplanted some of it to see if it will keep growing and then I just cut off the rest to dry, but it is a lot!

The only thing I left in the ground, except the perennials of course, is the squash. There are about 20 more squashlings left and I thought I would just see if they would make it. I guess only time will tell!

New Job...

2010-10-25T12:00:00.000-06:00

I know it has been almost 4 weeks since my last blog post. Those last three 1/2 weeks have been busy, but that is not the only reason I haven't posted. I either haven't felt like I have anything to say or I haven't felt like saying anything, and those, at least to me, are different. I have been a little down in the past month because of my continuous job search. I feel like I have been searching for a job for over a year now. First from Idaho and then from New Mexico. And then once I found a part time job in April, I have felt like I was stuck in a job that I really hadn't planned on working that long. Sure their were good things about it, I just felt like I should have found something full time sooner, since it is now 6 months later.

Well the good news it that I have found a full time job and that I started last Monday. I now work for a holistic Medical office for 40+ hours a week. This past week I have been having to get used to working more hours than I have for the past 15 months (since June 2009). It will take a little time to get in a groove, where I am still getting the dog walked, meals cooked, laundry done, etc., but it will happen.

It will be good to have a predictable and reliable paycheck again. We are still trying to pay off loans with whatever income I bring in, and we should be able to have those paid off by next August. Which is pretty exciting! Thanks for all the prayers over the last 15 months. God has taken care of us.

Herschel meets Mimi & Papa...

2010-09-30T18:17:00.000-06:00

Last week my parents came to visit. It was their second time here but first time since we have had Herschel. Herschel loves his Mimi & Papa! And his Mimi and Papa love him! My mom was afraid that Herschel would be to hyper or would misbehave. But the verdict is that he is a very sweet and well behaved dog! Which we of course already knew. My mom took him for a walk and invited him up on the couch with her and let him sit in the hammock with her. They were pretty much inseparable! Dad took a more laid back approach. He would pet Herschel, play with him and let him sit on the couch but mostly that was just when Herschel came to dad.

The morning after my parents flew in, they came with me to work at Casa Cuma Bed & Breakfast and got to eat fruit and nut pancakes for breakfast. Then they walked down town while I finished up at work and then we picked Patrick up from work and went and ate pizza together. That night, my mom and I made lasagna for the Wednesday night church group.

On Thursday morning we all loaded up in the car and drove north of Santa Fe to do some sight seeing that even Patrick and I hadn't done yet. We had several stops along the way and it even included a night a way in one of our resorts.

We first went to Bandelier National Monument and saw lots of scenic views and all the cliff dwellings that people used to live in.
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It was fun to climb up in them and look around. I think it would have been pretty cool to live back then. I wouldn't mind camping out in one of those caves for a few nights! There are great views form the caves!
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There was also a bunch or ruins that showed other places people use to live, work, assemble, and store things.

After visiting Bandelier we went to Los Alamos, where the Atomic bomb was build, and went through the Bradbury Science Museum.

Then we went on to Taos and walked around downtown for a while and then up to Red River, NM where we spent the night in one of our Worldmark Resorts.

On Friday we went to the Taos Pueblo where people have lived in mud houses for over 1000 years. Now, it is mostly a place for tourists to visit to shop and see historic things but people do still live there. It was fun to see the homes that have been there for so long. they re-mud them each year to preserve them.

They had a really old cemetery on the tour also. It seemed pretty cool to think that there are people from recent years and from along time ago in the same cemetery. It looked like they just crammed another person in when ever someone died. It was pretty full!

This picture is of two historic style ovens. yep that's right you bake your bread right in there. I'm sure glad I don't have to use one of those! I like my 21st century oven.

After the Taos Pueblo, we went home for a little bit to see Herschel who had been so lonely, then headed over to Albuquerque to go up Sandia Peak for dinner. The views are always nice at 2 miles high! In this picture Santa Fe is behind us in the distance. When it is dark you can see the city lights from where we were.
Saturday, we mostly had a lazy day at the house, where Herschel got lots of loving from his Mimi and papa. Thanks for coming! See you at Thanksgiving!

San Francisco...

2010-09-18T16:01:00.001-06:00

Several months ago, my grandparents called and asked us if we would go to San Francisco with them as their tour guides. We had never been before, but they remembered how well Patrick took us around in Alaska a few years back using his telephone. So that is what they wanted us (Patrick) to do again in San Francisco.
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So about 3 weeks ago, (yes, I am very late in posting this; but in my defense I had so many pictures to look through and I have been very busy/tired!) we all boarded planes, met in Salt Lake City and went on to San Francisco together. We spent a Thursday -Tuesday there and did a whole lot of stuff! We first rode 4 different bus tours so that we could see a lot of things quickly and to decide what we wanted to go back to see more of later.

On the bus tours we saw things like the "Painted Ladies" Victorian Homes (which for me were most famous from the show Full House), Fisherman's Wharf, Union Square, Lombard Street, China Town, Pier 39, Golden Gate Park, Sausalito and the Golden Gate Bridge.
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The day after we finished our bus tours we rented a car and went north for a day over the golden Gate Bridge to Muir Woods Forest and wine country.
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When we got back to the city that night we drove down the famous crooked road, Lombard Street. It was crazy steep getting up to it and Crazy tight going down it!
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Then the next day we went south to Monterrey and Carmel and on the way we got to see the Google Head quarters, which of course Patrick was very excited about.

The last day we were there we went to the California Academy of Sciences, Alcatraz, ate dinner in China Town and got foot massages.
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Grandmother and Bill,
Thanks for a wonderful trip! We will always remember our times together in Alaska and now in California. We love you!
-Patrick & Allison

Completed Picnic Table...

2010-09-15T20:07:00.000-06:00

You may remember that Patrick and I built a picnic table in July.

Well this past week we completed it by sanding and staining it. We are both glad to have that project completed! Patrick, thanks for all your hard work! I love it!

Gardening, 16 weeks...

2010-09-14T13:51:00.000-06:00

Our gardening season is nearly over. It is getting cooler at night now and with-in a few more weeks we will have our first freeze. It will be sad to see the garden go but I am still glad I tried even though everything didn't work out. Some things I think just wont work very well here because the growing season is so short. Other things I planted I just don't think got enough water. I guess we will learn more next year!

In the last few weeks we have gotten lots more squash and green beans, more tomatoes and our cucumbers have taken off. We had a couple good ears of corn but the rest didn't do so hot. Most of the corn has already started dying off. I am going to pull up the stocks today.

We are really hoping the freeze holds off for a few more weeks because we have a lot of cucumbers that are growing now and we would like to be able to eat them! We also have several Habanero peppers that have started growing lately that we would like to consume!
And of course many tomatoes that we want to survive longer so that we can eat them.

Our grape tomatoes are turning red fairly fast as of lately.

And our first Roma tomato is ready to pick today!

While I was out taking these pictures a few days ago Herschel decided to play with a Bee. Yes a Bumble Bee.

I saw him digging a little and playing with something so I went over to see what was in the grass and well it was a Bee. And obviously a disabled Bee since it was not flying away.

I'm not sure if he caught it and hurt it or if it was already disabled before he got to it. But he sure did think it was something worth playing with/fighting.

He spent about 10 minute with this Bee and I am pretty sure he got stung at least once, which I think made him even more ferocious. I tried to get him to leave the Bee alone but I guess this is one of those learn by experience things.

Ham & Cheese Ball...

2010-09-07T19:50:00.000-06:00

This recipe is a favorite among many of our friends, family, and past youth groups. It is a crowd pleaser for sure. And it is fairly easy and cheap to make! I grew up with my mom making this recipe on occasion but I'm not sure where she got it.

Ham & Cheese Ball:
1/3 cup chopped green onion stems
1 lb of cream cheese (do not soften)
5 oz of chopped thinly sliced ham
2 Tbs of Worcestershire sauce

By hand, mix 1/2 half of the ham with the rest of the ingredients. Yes, your hands get very messy! Then form mixture into a ball and roll the ball on to the other half of the ham to make the finished product pretty. Place the ball in to the refrigerator to chill before serving. Serve with wheat thins.
I made this for Patrick on Saturday to kick off the GA bulldogs football season.

Foot Ball Season Has Arrived...

2010-09-04T12:31:00.000-06:00

Today, we kick off the 2010 football season for the Georgia Bulldogs, and even though the game is not even over yet, we know they will win! It has been a good day so far. We slept in till about 9:30 (which is the first time we have done that in a long time), and then Patrick and Herschel got dressed in their GA gear. Since I sleep in mine I was already ready. Then the game started.

I think Patrick will enjoy his GA room to the fullest this football season. It sure is a step up from our GA room in Idaho.

This is what we had in Idaho. A free red futon (which is now in Patrick's office at the church) from craigslist with a few GA decorations. This was our home office in Idaho.

Now we have up graded to our den being the GA room. And thanks to birthday and Christmas gift givers, we are continually acquiring more decor.Here is Patrick ans Herschel in their game day clothes! Herschel playing with his football on game day.Since it is the first game day of the year, it was requested that I make a cheese ball. So I got out all of our football dishes to see which to use. Next week I may have to make brownies in our G shaped pan (not pictured here).This is what we ended up with... chips and salsa and a cheese ball with wheat thins.

.GO DAWGS!

Easy Squash...

2010-08-24T12:00:00.000-06:00

As you may recall, I am having to learn how to cook squash since I have never really eaten it much less prepared it.

Earlier this month I made Vegetable Tian which was tasty. A couple of weeks ago I tried another squash dish. I had 15 squash from our garden and I was making a side dish for our Wednesday night meal at church. I didn't want to have to spend money on a lot of extra stuff to mix with it, so I picked a very simple recipe. I looked up several recipes and settled on one from cooks.com. However, when I went to make it the instructions were not very specific, so I just kind of made it up as I went. Well, everyone was very pleased with the outcome, so I made it again last night when we had some company over.

It also didn't really have a name, so I am going to call it "Easy Squash" because, (1) it is fast and easy to make and (2) it is likely you will already have everything you need for the recipe at your house, well except the squash itself. This recipe is also one of those recipes that there are not exact amounts of how much seasonings to put, sorry.

Easy Squash:

up to 4 squash (two are in the dish below)

1 egg beaten

a cup of cheese or more

1tbsp of dried onion mixed with a very small amount of water to soften

garlic powder, paprika, salt & pepper

olive oil or butter

Slice squash and arrange in dish like seen below.

Pour the beaten egg over the top. Sprinkle with half the cheese. Then sprinkle generously with garlic, paprika, salt, and pepper and top off with the rest of the cheese. Lastly sprinkle olive oil over the top, or place small slices of butter on top to melt when cooking.

Then cover the dish with foil and bake it for 30 minutes at 350. Sorry I forgot to take a finished picture, but it just looks more melted than the picture above.

As a side note Herschel loves squash! He did a few tricks for me to get some. Here is a little bit blurry picture of him sitting and taking the squash from me ever so gently.

Garden Update, 13 weeks...

2010-08-22T18:52:00.000-06:00

I was just looking at my blog, and I noticed I haven't blogged much in the last month and what I have blogged is mostly garden updates and recipes. Speaking of the recipes, I never got one out this past Tuesday, but I know you will forgive me, I have been busy. So any way I will try to get a little bit of a life update blog out to you in a day or two but for now..... more garden updates.

Last Sunday I went out and picked some of our green beans and more of our squash. 3 days later I got to pick even more green beans, squash, tomatoes, and lettuce. The harvest has come for many of our veggies! I even picked an ear of corn one night to see how they were coming and it was very tasty. All of the corn stalks are growing at a different rate depending on where they are in relation to the sprinklers, so I think they will all be ready at a different time which will be good for us.

The exciting news is that our cucumbers are growing fast! We have two that are about the size of the one in the picture and then many more smaller ones. In another week or two I think the first ones will be ready to pick! Patrick will be so excited! He loves them! We also have broccoli coming in now on the first plant that sprouted, (before I had to re-seed). If all of the broccoli comes in, we will have to freeze some for sure! Our oregano is spreading also. The rosemary isn't doing much though.

Well, I know that is a short update, but I wanted to get it in before we leave town with my grandparents this week. More on that when we get back!

Garden, why so much squash?

2010-08-11T13:30:00.000-06:00

Yes, your seeing the above picture correctly! 15 squash all ready about the same time! And more on the way! And if you remember this post in June, Patrick doesn't even like squash and we only planted it because we already had the seeds! And when we planted it we didn't necessarily think all four seeds would sprout! Boy, we were wrong! I think this makes 21 squash so far, 2 of which I have consumed, and I can see at least a dozen more on its way. I think next year we might plant only one squash seed. I really do hope our church likes squash, because tonight, I am cooking dinner and one of our side dishes will be the 15 squash above!

I have even had to cut many of the squash plants leaves off because they are growing so big that they are covering up the cantaloupe on one side and the cucumbers on the other. Here is an inside view of all the little squashlings.

And on to other garden news...
Our habanero plant that I bought at Lowe's for 50 cents is finally perking up a bit and flowering. We will see if we get some peppers in the future.

This picture is of our 3 cantaloupe plants. One of which has a flower on it and all of which have dirt on them from Herschels latest midnight fun. (notice the hole where he was digging to the left, I guess he thinks if it is too dark to see the fence around the garden it is ok to go into the garden)
This is our Roma tomato plant. It has started growing really fast. We have several green tomatoes and it wont be too long before they ripen up!

This is the grape tomato plant still producing along. We ate a few of our tomatoes in omelets today for lunch! Yum!

This is the very start of our first cucumber! Patrick is so excited! We both wish we had cucumbers like we do squash. We have 7 cucumber plants coming along. It is possible we have a big yield once they get further along.

And here is our 3 largest corn. I think they are about ready. I might try to serve then for dinner later this week!

And next is what could have been a very cute picture of Herschel. I will give you some back ground... Herschel is blanket trained, meaning he is not allowed on the furniture unless his blanket is up. He LOVES his blankets! He thinks carpet, hammocks and beach towels are also blankets. If you put a beach towel down on the ground he will immediately go get on it! He knows that is his space.

Well he also knows about his blankets getting washed, and really isn't to excited about. He will follow me around the house as I collect his blankets and then will watch me put them in the washer machine. However , he does not wait right there for them like my friend Lily liked to do once apon a time, He then goes on about his business until it is time to take them out of the dryer, at which he is super excited!

Just a few days ago when I washed them, and was about to take them out of the dryer, with a little coaxing Herschel jumped up into the dryer to his blankets. However we were to slow with the camera, so you get a picture of Herschel jumping out of the dryer into my arms. Well it could have been cute, that's all I'm saying.

Smoothies...

2010-08-10T17:04:00.000-06:00

Smoothies are something I have always loved! I used to make them in high school at our house or even for sleepovers and I have even made them church groups in the past. Smoothies are refreshing and can be very healthy depending on how they are made.

Back in high school, I used to only make smoothies with Ice cream, apple juice, bananas and strawberries. Even though those are very good and are still probably my favorite I have branched out a bit. A while back Patrick and I had some fruit we needed to use and so we had smoothies for dinner. I thought they turned out very well, so I wanted to share the recipe with you.
Smoothie #1...
1/2 cup orange juice
1 apple pealed and cored
1 Mango
7 cups of frozen strawberries
2 small bananas

This makes at least 3 large glasses

Smoothie #2... (High School Version, approximately)
3 large scoops of vanilla ice cream
1/2 cup apple juice
2 cups of strawberries or more
1 banana

Vegetable Tian...

2010-08-03T20:26:00.000-06:00

I really don't know what to do with squash. I didn't grow up eating it. I like it as long as it is not super mushy, I just am not sure how to cook it right. So, since (1) we have had and will continue to have more squash than we can eat from our garden and (2) we were having dinner guests on Sunday night, I decided to venture out and try a new recipe.

I read a recipe blog each day even though, until Sunday, I had yet to try any of them. It's called "For the love of cooking" and it is written by a stay at home mom who loves to cook. 98% of her blog posts are recipes and it is just interesting to read. When I decided I needed to learn how to cook squash, I looked through her recipes and I found Vegetable Tian. It not only sounded healthy and easy to make it looked very good too! Now mine did not look as good as hers but I do think it was a success!

Vegetable Tian:

2 tbsp olive oil

1 large sweet onion

1 head of garlic, minced

2 russet potatoes

2 zucchini

2 yellow squash

3 large roma tomatoes

sea salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste

Dried thyme to taste

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (or more)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Saute sliced onions in olive oil on high for about 5 minutes. Don't over cook them, they should still be a little firm. They will cook more in the oven. During the last half of the 5 minutes add the minced garlic. Spread the onion mixture on the bottom of a baking dish.

Slice the potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini and squash in about 1/4 inch slices and layer them alternately in the dish on top of the onions. Season with salt, pepper and thyme and drizzle with a little more olive oil.

Cover and bake for 35 minutes, then uncover and sprinkle with the cheese and bake for another 25-30 minutes or until browned.

I thought it was pretty good. I think next time I will add a bit more salt, pepper, cheese and maybe some paprika or something to give it a bit more flavor.

I really enjoyed being able to use the squash I grew. In a few more weeks I will have some roma tomatoes I can use too!

Garden Update, 10 weeks...

2010-07-30T16:21:00.000-06:00

Here are some updated pictures of the garden. We have squash, tomatoes, green beans, lettuce and weeds coming in right now. Soon we will have corn. Hopefully everything else will continue along.

A few days ago, I finally put the third tomato plant in the Topsy Turvy hanger. I think the tomatoes will continue to do well. I definitely learned a lot this year about tomatoes and the Topsy Turvy planters!First large tomato yield.

Cucumber plants growing slowly but surly.

Romaine Lettuce

Green Beans

Squash

Corn

There is new growth on our raspberry plant. It should start producing next year.

We also have growth on two of our Asparagus plants. They are also supposed to start producing more next year.

Flowers

The picnic table is finished besides the sanding and staining.

Tortilla Soup...

2010-07-29T16:04:00.000-06:00

I got this recipe from my friend Katrina in Idaho. We have taken the recipe she gave us and adapted it a little bit to our taste. Patrick and I really like it a lot and we get many compliments on it when we make it for company. The best part is that it is easy to make! We generally double the recipe in a large pot and then eat on it for several days.

It has been pretty rainy and fairly cool in the evenings lately so I decided to make this soup when we had company this past Tuesday night. Having company is also the reason this post is late this week. Oh well, Enjoy.
Tortilla Soup:
2 cans of chicken broth
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can rotel
1 can of corn
1 can of black beans (or the equivalent in dry beans)
1 small can of green chiles
1 cup of salsa (I put 1/2 cup of spicy salsa and 1/2 cup of regular)
1 onion chopped
2-3 chicken breast, cooked & chopped

Pretty much you just mix all of this in a pot and you have your soup. The most time consuming part is cooking and chopping the chicken. Most of the time I bake the chicken in 3 cans of chicken broth and then just use the left over broth for the soup. I set the chicken to the side to cool, then I cut it up into bite size pieces and put them in the pot. We also generally use dry beans so I have to remember to soak them and cook them a little while before adding them to the soup.

You can change this up however you like. It is pretty adaptable. You could add chopped peppers or olives, or add some hot sauce.

We generally serve the soup with Doritos, cheese, and sour cream. Patrick likes to eat his soup poured over his Doritos with cheese on top and I general eat mine with Doritos on the side and sour cream and cheese in mine. Like I said it is pretty adaptable.

Enjoy!