Boeuf Bourguignon

A last, final, tasty thought for the year.


So, after watching Julie and Julia the other day, I had to make this. The publishers made it available online for free, so I downloaded the PDFs and printed it off. Then I did some research online on what to substitute for the wine in it.

This is absolutely the most time-consuming thing I have ever cooked in my life. I probably cut the beef in too-small pieces, though I did follow what the recipe said. They were smaller than what was shown in the movie, however. Just drying and searing them took over an hour.

I started with the bacon as instructed -- couldn't find a chunk of bacon, so I got thick cut bacon and cut it into the pieces of the size indicated in the recipe. While it was cooking, I got to work on cutting up the beef. While the first pan of beef was cooking, I started drying the rest. Once it was all dried, I was about halfway done cooking it all, so I sliced the carrots and onions and peeled the pearl onions. I purchased pre-sliced mushrooms, so that was already taken care of. At that point, the beef was all cooked, so I just kept going with the recipe. I started it in my giant cast iron skillet, but it isn't big enough to put everything in, so once out of the 450 degree oven, I dropped the temp to 300 (instead of whatever the recipe said) and got out my pampered chef professional stock pot. It can go in the oven, but not at 450 or I would have just done it all in that. ANYWAY. Since I don't cook with wine, I used 2 cups of cherry juice, about 2/3 cup of white grape juice, and 1/3 c of aged balsamic vinegar to cut the sweetness of the juices. (I might cut the vinegar to 1/4 c and increase the white grape juice to 3/4 next time). Aside from that and lowering the heat a tad more, I followed the very long recipe exactly and pulled the stew out of the oven at 12:30 a.m. and went to bed.

My husband loves my normal cooking -- I've started doubling most things so he has leftovers to reheat when he gets home from work while I'm still sleeping. He will eat it all. Yesterday, I'd made guacamole meatloaf burgers for a late lunch/early dinner. He devoured three quite happily yesterday, and I put two aside for him this morning. But when he came home to the heavenly aroma of beef, balsamic vinegar, onions, thyme ... He said, "Can't I just eat THAT?"

I let him have a taste. "Wow. Amazing. So good." He couldn't string two words together. He then ate the burgers, but kept looking longingly at the fridge. I finally said, "Go get yourself a bowl." He jumped up and ran, afraid I'd change my mind.

He was drooling and couldn't stop talking about it afterward. He wants to take some to his folks another time and I said, "Well, why don't we plan on that next Christmas or something, because this is an expensive, time-consuming recipe and I probably won't make it again for a while." It is divine, just way more $ than I usually spend on a typical dinner (about $40 for the pot) and way more time than I usually have to prepare.

We reheated it and served it for dinner tonight -- with boiled, buttered, and parsleyed red potatoes. So yummy. Kiddo, my carbivore, actually ate some. Little Mister ate the potatoes. The husband and I each had a bowl and are absolutely stuffed. It's a new tradition for us for New Year's Eve!

2009

January: I made the baby laugh a lot.
February: Kiddo made Miss Price out of a 7-up bottle for school, and I finished the afghan I started for the husband right after we got married.

March: I made a last-minute Indian costume for kiddo.
April: I joined a stash game on the online sewing circle I was in back in April. Using things only from my stash, I made diapers, wipes, bags, chapstick holders, and crayon rollups plus a crochet hook rollup for DisGrace. these are just the crayon rollups. And I used a TON of my fabric, plus got Little Mister into cloth diapers. I was happy.

May: I learned to knit.
June: I sent knitted dishcloths to Japan boy.
And took pictures at the Springville Art Museum after our family reunion.
July: I finished an afghan for my newest niece. And dealt with hubby's worst bipolar crash to date.
August: I took pictures of a dragonfly in our tree.
September: Finished Izzy's quilt for her first birthday, made mostly out of her infant clothes. commissioned by her folks.
October: Found out I'm preggers. And quit using cloth diapers.
November: Made candy jars with Kiddo for her school's Christmas store. She sold them all and got a nice little check.
December: Made a hood for my niece who just left on her mission. She was so happy with how it turned out, she asked me to hem her skirts (5 of them) before she left.
And we made a quilt for my stepdaughter. And she loves it.

Chopped

As you may know, I'm a fan of food. I like eating it. I enjoy cooking. I like watching food be prepared. I watch a LOT of Food Network. There is (usually) no blood, gore, violence, or sexy crap on the tube.

Last night, after I finished my shift, I couldn't sleep. I should have just turned on Charlie like I mentioned earlier and fallen asleep, but Chopped was on and I really like that show. Four chefs compete for $10K, one being eliminated after each round. The rounds are always appetizer, entree, and dessert. The producers put mystery ingredients inside baskets, one for each chef, and the chef has 20 minutes to come up with something amazing out of the basket. They also have access to a fully stocked pantry and, usually, a fully stocked fridge. Last night's mystery ingredients during the appetizer were eel, peaches, and fresh peas. The entree was some japanese pickled pear or something (I can't remember what it's called), whole shrimp, oatmeal, and something else. I got pretty distracted during the entree...and didn't watch the dessert.

There were two very young chefs (both men) and two older chefs (probably in their 50s, cooking for longer than the either two chefs have been alive), one man, one woman. The older man was eliminated after the appetizer.

During the entree portion of the competition, one of the younger chefs sliced his hand. He immediately ran to the first aid station, cleaned himself up a bit, and put a rubber glove on so he didn't contaminate his food. A minute or so later, the woman cut her finger. She kept cutting up her orange (ew), then went for a glove. It wouldn't go on right because her hands were wet and was getting in her way, so she threw it out and kept working. The young guy who cut himself told her she needed to stop and go get another glove. She didn't. Instead, she finished preparing and tossed a salad *by hand* with blood on her finger. I was mortified. The judges were mortified. She then did clean up and put another glove on.

When it came time to critique her dish, they wouldn't touch the salad, though did eat the other parts of the dish (for which she'd been properly gloved while preparing). She thought they were being overly dramatic and said, "I don't have cooties!" She also kept saying, "It was just a nick!" Whether that's true or not, you could see the blood drip into the dish. They told her bleeding into food could possibly endanger someone.

At least she poked fun of herself when she was immediately eliminated -- "Blood vinaigrette" didn't go over so well.

I couldn't believe a professional chef, in the business for over 30 years, would do something like that. I'm no pro, but my stars, if I cut myself *at home* and I'm just serving my family, I still stop what I'm doing, clean myself up, put a Band-Aid or something on, then continue prepping. No, I don't have only 20 or 30 minutes to do it, but food safety has to come first.

Made me never want to eat at another restaurant EVER again.

The Cure for Insomnia

So, my son woke up with a nightmare or something tonight. He does this once or twice a week, wakes up hysterical and clingy, then once he's asleep, he sleeps really well the rest of the night. In my bed, not his own.

Tonight, as I laid there with him while he drifted off, I thought, "I wish I could pop in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and fall asleep, too."

So sad. I love Johnny Depp. I love that movie. Freddie Highmore did an amazing job as Charlie. But every time I put it on for Kiddo to watch with me, I zonk out completely.

I think it might have something to do with the fact that when it first came out, we put an air mattress on the floor in the living room and watched it over and over and over and over. I was working 60-hour weeks at the time, and would fall asleep watching it with her because I was just that tired. So now, it's like Unisom, only without the morning-after headache.

I don't know where I was going with this, but it is what it is. Sorry Johnny. I'll happily watch you play Cap'n Jack Sparrow though. In any of the three movies. They tend to keep me awake ... Orlando Bloom ... Johnny Depp ... ahem.

Thumper

I told the husband I was going to call the baby Thumper and he asked why. "Because it felt like two little thumps last night." He smiled and said, "Thumper it is."

Thumper has thumped a few more times today. So fun.

*sniff*

My niece is going on a mission. Wednesday. She came by to say goodbye tonight (and pick up her skirts that she'd asked me to hem). Little Mister said hi, then "my-my" (bye-bye), and gave her a love. And I didn't cry.

I didn't even cry when she got her call. Or at her farewell. Or when I saw her on Saturday at the family Christmas get together.

But I want to now. I've known her since she was like ... 4. She's really DisGrace's husband's sister's daughter, so not "really" my niece. But she is. She calls my folks gramma and grampa, and I lived with her and her mom for a month or so when I moved back to Utah before I had a place to stay. I was actually living with my brother's wife, but he was on leave from the military and they needed alone time, so off to the other in-laws. Anyway. She was in high school and playing basketball and was such a good kid ... still is. That was 7 years ago! When Kiddo was a 3-year-old terror.

And now she's leaving! And I won't see her forever! Okay, 18 months isn't that long, but when she gets home, Little Mister will be a 3-year-old terror, and this baby will be ONE. And it's not even borned yet!

*sob* I'm gonna miss her.

But y'know ... we'll all be okay. She'll be off serving the Lord, and our family will just keep growing and be here when she gets back. When she got here, Little Mister followed me down the stairs, but the tile in the entry was so cold, he wouldn't put his feet on it. so flipping funny. And I felt Thumper move tonight -- I think that's the new baby's nickname. We've been thinking about it a lot, and really, that movement felt like a thump. So Thumper it is. Can't wait for Thumper to thump Little Mister from inside my belly. Bwahaha.

*edit: thanks MB.

Christmas = Awesome

So, Wednesday after my "men" rant, someone dropped off a little tree at our door, loaded with gift cards to various stores and restaurants, and a visa gift card, too. I started crying. Sure, we had Christmas covered, but we know January is always tough for us because the husband and I are both out of work the last two weekends in December for the holidays: His job shuts down for both of them, though is open between, and mine ... we just don't usually have much work around any holidays. So this came as a very welcome gift, indeed. I obviously don't know who did it, but I am thankful. And I haven't been able to pay it forward as much this year, though this does give me new incentive to try harder again next year.

Anyway. The Husband wanted to open his presents around 1:30 this morning. I said no, he had to wait just like the kids. haha. Kiddo actually obeyed me and didn't come out of her room until she heard Little Mister this morning, which means I got to sleep until 7. Awesome.

The husband LOVED his new phone and gaming stuff, most of which I put in his stocking (he had enough stuff I did separate stockings). Kidlet LOVED the earrings (thank heaven, after the hassle!) and all her other stuff, which was quite gratifying. Little Mister walked out of the bedroom this morning into the living room and said, "WOW!" several times. He loved his presents, too, though his favorite part were the Clementines, which he threw all over the house for hours until he made orange juice when he chucked one really hard into the wall. lol.

And really, that was a wonderful gift for ME, that all my efforts at home were well appreciated.

Then I logged into Myspace and Small Fry's status said, "I like my blanky."

Totally made my day, especially after we had a bit of drama this week with her gramma. *rolls eyes*

Kiddo bought me some hair clips at the Christmas store at school, which I can totally use, the chopsticks from Japan Boy are awesome (planning an Asian dinner soon so we can all use them), and we all got to watch movies together. The movie box went over well -- I made everyone eat breakfast first (very simple, eggs and toast), then we unloaded the junk food box and watched G-Force. Then Kiddo got to watch her Tinkerbell movie while I napped with Little Mister and the husband played video games, called my folks (glad you liked your gift Mom!), and then we took dinner to the in-laws. We took ham and green bean casserole (my FIL's favorite) and treats. They sent home more treats after stuffing us silly with Tongan food (lupulu, taro, yams, crab, etc.) and mashed potatoes for my picky stinker kids. After we got home, the kids started Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (though Little Mister had to go to bed before any creepy parts), and then the husband, Kidlet, and I finished it up. Now the children and husband are sleeping, and I'm getting ready to log into work to see if I have any. If not, I'll be watching Julie and Julia, working on my niece's skirts some more, and checking in with work every 30 minutes.

OH, and while we were at the in-laws, my MIL asked about American Christmas traditions. "What are the socks for?" It had never occurred to me really that they didn't do things the American way -- the husband said they don't usually do a tree or put out presents and stuff, but I guess I never really thought about what that meant. So I explained the stockings a bit and presents and Santa Claus (and it's a darn good thing Kidlet knows who Santa really is because MIL was really particular about that), and then invited them over NEXT Christmas so they can see what it's about.

I'm already plotting stockings for MIL and FIL, and maybe my BILs. Obviously we won't spend as much on them as we will on our children, but I think it'll be a fun surprise anyway. I intend to start shopping for things soon, during sales throughout the year.

I hope each of you had wonderful days like we did. (and oh noes, I just remembered I didn't get our traditional ornaments put in the stockings and I have no idea where they are! Blast!)

p.s. Kiddo wrote the cutest letter to Santa.

Dear Santa,

[Little Mister] wants a ball, a toy car, and a sit'n'spin. I want a Ipod, a Wii, a DSI, a PSI, and a keyboard. How is your son, Willy, and how is Mrs. Claus? How are the elves? How are the Deer doin'!? Rudolph gets 2 carrots and the rest get 1. Your Hot chocolate might be cold, so Heat it in the microwave for 30 seconds. Okay?

Love,
[Kidlet and Little Mister]

P.S. Sorry, No carrots
P.P.S. No Hot chocolate

hehehehehehehe

Happy Christmas!

I know I said I wouldn't be around much, but wow ... no work and kids asleep and random stuff happening ... I'm here again.

So, the husband and I talked about the knitting needles. He came home with roses and let me sleep in (I didn't even hear him come in the house, and the garage usually wakes me), and we decided to hold off on them. I love the roses (plus he stuck a sappy love note on the vase) and really, my personal training for the year was supposed to be my Christmas present anyway, so I'm good.

I think he's going to like his Christmas. He's a gamer, so most of it is gaming related. BUT, I called Tuesday to cancel his cell phone because he never uses it and they said, "Oh, well, we can drop your minutes a little bit, save you $20, and then you can still use it as a backup ..." So, since cutting it off was only going to save us $20 and we don't have a land line and we never use all our minutes, I'm far more comfortable keeping it active, especially so Kidlet has a way to call me if I'm late or whatever. But we had to get a new phone because Little Mister ate the husband's. Plus, the husband hated the old phone and wanted something "cooler." So, they got me a free phone, waived the activation fee, and shipped it free overnight. It is charged, activated, and turned on, and about to go in his stocking. Kidlet is going to call him in the morning. bwahahaha.

Men. MEN. GAHHH.

Don't get me wrong, I adore the guy. This week ... he's been ... such a MAN!!!

Tuesday night (December 22), 8:30 p.m., as he's walking out the door to go to work, he said to me, "Honey, I finally know what I want for Christmas."

Are you SERIOUS? I finished shopping last week, you are the only one who has presents under the tree, and really? Are you SERIOUS?

I dragged the kids to the game shop near-ish to our house and bought what he wanted. Fortunately, A) it wasn't expensive, B) the store wasn't at the mall, and C) the store wasn't super crowded.

Tonight (December 23, 5 p.m.), right before he went for a nap to get ready for work, he said to me, "Honey, tonight we're having a potluck at work and I need to take something. Should I get Chef Debbie to handle it?" "Who is Chef Debbie?" "You know, Little Debbie ..." He knows how I feel about Little Debbie. I threw a pillow at him and made two batches of these evil treats.



Today, he also asked me what I wanted for Christmas. I'm used to him shopping at the last minute (he bought my camera 3 years ago ON Christmas Eve), but I was hoping he'd do it earlier this year because what I really want will have to be shipped. But if I suggest anything earlier in the month without him bringing up the conversation, things don't go so well. He was bummed since they won't be here before Christmas, but he didn't rush over and order them either. BUT since those needles are on sale for $10 off right now, I'm sending him an email to the link tonight anyway, will tell him I did so, and hopefully he'll get them ordered tomorrow.

I can't WAIT to see what other interesting stuff tomorrow brings ...

Cookbook giveaway

Hola friends! The $5 dinner mom is giving away a LOT of copies of her new book. Go and enter!

If you don't know about her blog, she posts delicious, frugal meals and tips, including dinners for 4 people for $5 or less, and a lot of her recipes are gluten free and/or casein free. Go! Read! Enter!

Memories of Christmas

My daughter was eating a Clementine today, and the fragrance as she peeled it reminded me of long ago Christmas mornings.

When we were kids, we would each get an orange in our stockings, usually peanuts and candy too, but those oranges ... We didn't have a lot of money for presents, but we knew we'd get those oranges. The sense triggered memory was so strong, I could smell a real pine tree too, which we had when we were small kids, but my little family hasn't ever had one. It's amazing how one simple, every day smell can bring up such strong, happy memories.

I started to get excited about Christmas again. It was the last Clementine, so I need more when I go to Costco Monday. We tend to eat them as opposed to bigger navel oranges because they're easier to peel. I usually put chocolate oranges in the stockings because my daughter wouldn't eat much fruit until recently, but this year ... I'll be putting a couple of Clementines in each stocking, along with treats and small toys for the kids. And Kiddo's earrings into hers. The husband and I will probably just share a stocking.

My little family usually gets a few DVDs for Christmas and we watch them over the next few days. When I picked up a couple of DVDs today to put under the tree, I thought to myself, "Stewie, instead of wrapping the DVDs separately, why not put them in a big box with popcorn, hot chocolate mix, soda, chips, licorice, little bags of cereal for the baby, and all the other junk we like to consume when watching movies together, and then wrap the big box?" So that's what I'm going to do. Then we can have a movie fest on Christmas Day, since the husband is off work and won't absolutely have to sleep during the day. bwahaha.

One of my other favorite Christmas memories was the year my daughter was born. I didn't have a winter coat and I had very little money. I was a newly single parent, working part time, and all my money went to my daughter. My parents were (and still are) generous but at the time I felt ashamed and unworthy every time I had to ask for something. One day, my brother and his wife came over and found an envelope on our front doorstep. It was addressed to me. Inside was $200 cash and a note saying, "Please buy yourself a winter coat. Love, Your sister in the Gospel." I did buy a coat, but there was enough left over I was able to get a few things for my daughter as well. I wore that coat for a long time and, at times, I wish I still had it, even though it wouldn't fit anymore. I passed it on to DI long ago. I have never been able to do something financially that generous for anyone, but have been inspired by that act of generosity. We usually do try to do something anonymous for someone every year. Even if it's just one ornament off of a giving tree. Or organizing a ward's "adoption" of many needy families within the ward. That was a wonderful Christmas as well. Our tree had lots of presents under it -- all for other people. My daughter learned at age 5 what it was to help others who were more needy than we were, and happily gave her car seat to a single mom whose little boy needed one. She was big enough for just a booster by then, so it worked out.

I'll probably not be blogging much this coming week since I have a lot to do. But I hope you'll share some of your favorite Christmas and holiday memories with me, too. Happy holidays!

A Year of Projects

So, since I always get myself all twisted up in December because I'm trying to do so many projects, I'm going to try and spread them out this year. One a month, every month. I could probably do more if I wasn't pregnant/having a new baby or working, but I am and I do, so I'm not looking to do anything terribly huge.

After Christmas, I'm going to make a few pairs of footed PJ bottoms for Little Mister. He won't leave socks or shoes on but his feet get cold at night and sometimes we leave early in the morning to take Kiddo to school, so he needs more of these.

January will be focused on finishing a few projects still sitting here. Like my 2 remaining "pay it forwards" since they're due in February, and the winners from the fitness challenge I did (which should have been done a LONG time ago!) and a skirt for kiddo (though honestly I'd love to finish the skirt this weekend and give it to her for Christmas this year, too).

February will be finishing our wedding quilt. Blast it all. It's hand quilted and I really don't have that much left to do! Just the borders and then bind it. FOCUS, Stewie, FOCUS.

March will be a quilt for the baby. It's plotted out, and I'll be using this tutorial, just need to know whether we're having blue or pink before I buy fabric for it or start it, and we should find out sometime in February. (I actually love V from V and Co., just got overwhelmed yesterday with how slacking I've been this Christmas season. Not that I want to be Martha Stewart, but I even haven't baked a single thing! And I'm a baker!! I'm feeling better now).

Stockings. We'll need 6 next year. I'd like them all to be slightly different in look, though will use the same pattern for them. I'll start searching for fabric and notions on sale after the holidays, when they're super cheap, and I'll make one every month. That's 6 months of projects down: April through September. Wahoo. Yes, I know the baby is due in the middle of that, but hey, if they go well maybe I'll have them all done by May and can take a few months off. hahahahahaha.

October: A quilt for the husband. It's for his birthday in the beginning of November. The quilt a member gave him on his mission is falling to pieces and he *really* needs a new one. It will probably not be super hard to put together either and will not be hand quilted. I will probably never hand quilt another quilt again. I might even make a "cheat" quilt (preprinted top, not pieced). Then all we have to do is tie it (or have someone machine quilt it) and bind it. But probably not.

November: I have Japan-boy and his family for Christmas next year. I don't know where they'll be living or what I'm doing yet, but I will do something for them that they'll appreciate, though I can't post pictures or plans or ideas or anything because he sometimes reads my blog!

December: Ornaments. I like to give my kids (and parental units) handmade ornaments for Christmas, though failed this year. I have an idea in place already, so I just need to go for it. Again, I'm looking for fabrics after the holidays this year so I can score cheap stuff. And I'll be baking some in December, too.

So that's the plan. Hope it pans out.

*sigh*

The earrings made it.

The quilt did not. It's still in top, batting, and back. Because Little Mister keeps walking on it when I try to work on it. Awesome.

Made it to Target today to finish up some Christmas shopping. I hate leaving it this late, but ... owell. Managed to get a keyboard for the family and some other things on the lists. Including bras for Munchkin, which I told her I wasn't putting in her stocking this year even though she put it on her list because it completely embarrassed her last time. In the car, after we left the store, I started feeling the Christmas spirit a bit ... really for the first time this year.

Then I came home to a complete disaster of a house and read this post, and even though she's awesome and that is super easy, I feel defeated. The house is such a mess I can't even contemplate decorating any further than the baby tree, which has completely burned out lights, and I haven't taken the time to fix it. It just makes me want to cry. *sigh*

Instead, I think I'll go make Munchkin clean some more so we can bake this weekend. She wants treats for her teacher, so she'd darn well better cooperate.

A quilt for Small Fry

It's just the top. Going to tie it today and hopefully get it bound tonight after work so I can ship it tomorrow. Love it though. Might make another'n for us. Different fabrics though. I'm not such a tomboy. My husband would like it if I'd finish our wedding quilt though, so we'll see.

Overstock also emailed me yesterday. They really had lost my package, so they're sending a new one and it should ship today or tomorrow with 2-day shipping. Which means the earrings should be here for Christmas. Yahoo!

"Auntie ..."

"Can you hem 5 skirts for me before I leave on my mission in 2 weeks?"

"Um. Yes."

I'm going to finish Small Fry's quilt first though -- it has to get shipped to California. My target is to be done on Friday and have it ready to go and get to the UPS store. We'll see.

So not ready for Christmas. Bah.

In other news, this baby really likes Crazy Bread from Little Caesar's. It's so bad, the manager knows what I want when I go in, and that I don't get sauce with it. I finally explained, "I'm pregnant." He said, "That makes a LOT of sense." hahaha. So yes, I'm surviving on cold cereal and Crazy Bread. Not much protein at the moment, though eggs are usually okay and so is white meat poultry every few days. Tuna, surprisingly, is fine, too. Anything darker is not. Ugh. The husband is frustrated because I'm not making mass quantities of meat like I did when I was pregnant with our son, so he's not getting enough protein to sustain him at work during his whole shift, but I really don't know how to fix it. Owell. Off to make chicken tenders and pasta something to eat with the crazy bread.

aren't these cute?

I hope they really are. I ordered them two weeks ago but I haven't seen them in person yet. They got lost in the warehouse. *not happy* My cute daughter loves lady bugs, and I thought these earrings would be perfect for Christmas. I sure hope the guy I just talked to on the phone wasn't blowing smoke -- they put a "trace" on the package and in 4 to 6 business days, they'll send a second pair 2nd day air, so they should still be here for christmas. Hopefully. Since she's not getting much else.

*Note: This is the very first time I've ever had problems with receiving an item from overstock. I usually love them and will happily order from them again.

*snort*

I'm laughing so hard.

I told the husband I'd changed the garage's light bulbs this morning.

He only heard "change the light bulbs".

So after he replaced the car battery with the help of DisGrace's husband, he changed the light bulbs.

And threw away the two brand new ones.

hahahahahahahahahahaha

I'm going to be in bigger trouble tomorrow

So, tonight, the husband and I had a "discussion" about how to discipline our daughter. We came to terms with each other and had a cuddle, and then he went to work.

Or tried to.

Those of you on facebook know I killed the car's battery tonight.

He was not pleased.

The overhead lights in the garage have been dead for well over a month. I bought new bulbs, showed my husband where they were, and asked him to take care of it. We have 10-foot ceilings in the garage and most of the house (and where it's not 10 feet, it's much, much higher), so there is NO way I can reach the bulbs to change them at a short 5 foot 5 inches. He can reach from a stool because he is tall and has long arms and said he'd get to it, he'd take care of it, blah blah blah.

He didn't.

So tonight when I got home from the store, it was pretty dark in the garage and I needed to see to put some things away down there. I left the headlights on, thinking, "I'll turn them right off." Then the baby started freaking out and Kiddo started arguing with me and whining ... which continued all night, hence the "dicussion" with the husband. ANYWAY. I forgot. Completely forgot to turn the lights off. And even though it's a 2005, it doesn't have an auto shutoff feature. Lame.

He was pretty upset with me for leaving them on. It drained the battery completely. His brother didn't answer his phone, so I called the home teacher. He came right over (in his jammies -- I feel so bad) and tried to jump start the car. It made very quiet noises, but would not start. He offered to give hubby a ride to work, which hubby refused for a few minutes, then realized he really ought to go in (he'd called off twice this week from a bipolar crash, so we really needed him to be there tonight). So the home teacher took him.

Home teachers are awesome.

So I called his brother again, called my sister (who was with her husband at his work Christmas party so they couldn't talk), and ended up messaging hubby's sister because I didn't have his mom's cell phone number. Hubby's sister had their mom call me, and they are going to pick him up in the morning and help us get a battery from the auto place down the road. If it wasn't so cold and so far with two kids, I'd walk. Anyway.

I got to thinking. This really is THE HUSBAND's fault because he wouldn't change the damn light bulbs. It finally dawned on me that we have one of those rods for changing bulbs, but we've only used it for the floods in the living space in our vaulted ceilings so I didn't think about using it to change the regular sized bulbs in the garage. BUT, it came with a regular sized bulb attachment. I found the correct attachment and changed them myself.

He's going to be madder about that than anything -- hates when I ask him to do something and do it myself, but really. Over a month? That's plenty of time, dearest. I'm done waiting.

I even found a video online on how to change the battery in a PT Cruiser, which we needed because PT Cruisers are stupid and the battery is underneath the air intake compartment. You have to remove that and the filter and the air box before you can even try to take out the battery. I'll show the video to him, but if he doesn't change it, I'm going to do it myself. ROAR.

EDIT: Okay, so I was grouchy last night and my intent didn't come across. I wasn't really blaming the husband for the car, that was a joke. I was upset about it and the dead lights in the garage, but realize that it just happened and the blame game isn't one I really play. So ... yeah.

Baby!

I'm 12 weeks pregnant tomorrow. That means the first trimester is over. Which means I might be feeling better soon. I had a doctor's appointment today and we heard the heartbeat. Which means my risk of miscarriage is less than 1%.

I've been feeling fine about this pregnancy as far as carrying to term (or nearly) goes. But I had that moment of panic in the doctor's office waiting room of, "What if they can't find the heartbeat?" And I realized that I really do want this baby. What a relief, right?

Anyway. Thanks to Dawn's suggestion, I am currently attempting Velveeta Shells and Cheese. Not too bad. Need Sprite now though. Hmph.

My niece is leaving for a mission soon. She asked me to make a hood to go with her nice coat. I should get off the computer and go work on it ...

Cold much?

I've been surviving on cold cereal the last little bit. Honey Nut Cheerios, plain Cheerios, Raisin Bran, cinnamon Life ... Apparently, that's what's going to keep me going during this pregnancy and I'm okay with that for the most part.

If only I could get the rest of the family on board for eating cold cereal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, I'd never have to cook again.

Well. Until next summer sometime.

Silent Monks "Sing" Hallelujah Chorus

Thanks Treen!

Thank you Santa (and Dad)

My dad worked for the state prison for a very, very long time. Every Thanksgiving, they would give their employees a free turkey, which came in quite handy for our large family while we were growing up.

Dad retired about 12? years ago (right mom?). I didn't think we'd keep getting turkeys, but they did and do keep providing them for our family. My folks and I moved to Oregon in 2000, and I think we all sort of forgot about the turkeys. When I moved back to Utah, leaving my folks in Oregon, Dad's friend, Santa, started making sure our family got Dad's turkey. About 5 years ago, they switched from turkeys to gift cards to Harmon's. Santa always brings it to me, and my brother and sister and I have taken turns using it -- though not consistent you, me, him, it's been more random.

This year, I opted to keep it for the first time in quite a while. Harmon's is possibly one of the most expensive stores in the area, and I don't think I've *ever* shopped there. We didn't need a turkey, as I'd picked one up for super cheap at Smith's the week before Thanksgiving and didn't get the card until two days before Thanksgiving. I just held onto the card, knowing this time of year financially things get sort of tight for our family and that we've been sick a lot, so would probably have some necessities come up soon. I was right. Thanks to Santa and Dad, I was able to get us taken care of.

With the way things have been with the baby being sick this week, then me and my husband, we had run out of a few things and money, and man, that gift card came in handy. Eggs, bread, spaghetti sauce, ground beef, a frozen pizza, and more sprite used up the gift card. They were all necessities, as we've survived on scrambled eggs and toast for breakfast and spaghetti for lunch lately (this pregnancy, spaghetti is one of the things I can always keep down). I still have noodles from a stock up trip before, so I didn't need to get more (and at their prices, I was thrilled to not have to get them!). We're almost out of Sprite, which is a stomach flu friendly drink. Kiddo wanted the pizza, and I grabbed sushi (paid cash for it) at Harmon's, which was nice that they had it. A month late, but the husband finally got his birthday sushi.

There were a few things I liked about the store, even with the higher prices. It was very clean and easy to find everything on my list. The employees were very friendly, even the sample lady giving out samples of apple cider (which both my kids enjoyed). They don't take groceries to your car, but they have a "park and load" service: You bring your car to the loading area, and they load your groceries for you. I opted not to use that, though. The sushi thing, we'll probably grab more there next time he wants some because, while it wasn't the best we've had, it was way better than some of the other inexpensive places we've tried. But we choose not to go to the BEST place often because we spend $60 or more for just the two of us there. So it's a good alternative for those times when he wants it and we don't have the cash or time for the expensive place.

It started snowing while we were there and Little Mister thought that was neat. He kept staring out the window and pointing while I was buckling him in.

Too bad Kiddo's pizza didn't stick. She is now sick with the flu bug. Thank heavens I bought more Sprite and bread so she can have toast and some icy cold, tummy-settling Sprite tomorrow.

Friday Fave Five

1. Dreaming about an icy cold glass of Sprite and actually being able to drink it and keep it down. Oh yeah, I'm sick again. little mister had the stomach flu for 3 days this week and graciously shared with me and the husband.

2. Having a 10-year-old willing to stay home and help clean and tend her brother so Mom and Dad could sleep it off. (the stomach flu, nothing else). At least, she was willing until she realized it was WORK. But she stuck it out. She didn't have a choice. bwahahaha. BUT she helped a lot, making me toast, bringing me water, bringing me anything I asked for, taking care of the little one, even attempted to change his butt once, and did ALL the dishes in the kitchen and washed out the sinks (under threat of torture -- me breathing on her). And she drew me a beautiful flower with a little note to "Get Better, Momma!!". Cute.

3. Having kleenex, ginger ale, sprite, saltines, and bread for toast, plus other necessities for sick people on hand. Yay. No one had to rush out and get anything or bring anything to us, so we are quarantined. Hoping we're all better tomorrow so we can see my sibs and their fams. Plus, I made good dinners the last two days before I got sick, so there are leftovers for anyone who wants to eat them. The husband didn't even have to ask, he knew where they were and heated up his own food when he was feeling up to eating.

4. Being mostly caught up with bedding and towels *before* the bug hit, keeping up while the baby was sick, and being able to let it go while I've been sick. I'll start again tomorrow.

5. Blankets and space heaters. They've chased away the flu-induced chills. Kiddo also went to the dark garage and found the space heater for daddy so he could get warm. And the best blankie for me is the nap comfy, which now needs to go in the wash because the baby urped on it. Hm. Maybe I'll do that tonight. Right now even, so I can have it again tomorrow!

Cutest EVER

Whenever Little Mister hears the garage open, he runs to the gate at the top of the stairs and waits. When the person in question appears on the landing, he yells, "HEY!" at the top of his voice.

Even if it was Kiddo just going downstairs to get something out of the garage, which has all burned out light bulbs so she opens the door for light, so he saw her 10 seconds ago.

Cracks me up every time.

He also said Hey! to people at church on Sunday and people at the store yesterday. Before I got sick with his tummy bug, we ran to two stores for a couple of necessities. Hopefully whoever used my carts after me cleaned them up before touching! Anyway. He charmed all the strangers at the store, who grinned and said hi back, but kept their distance (thankfully). He has zero stranger anxiety anymore, which is kind of worrisome. We have to keep a close eye on the little man. *sigh*

Short-lived

Work was short lived last night.

Little Mister woke up shrieking.

A couple hours later, he was still awake and started puking.

yeahhhhhhhh ... he's still sick tonight, though he is sleeping now.

I should try typing.