Adventures in Cooking

Since Thursday I think I've well made up for my lack of cooking the past year.

Thursday I made Nanny's homemade apple cake. Read about it more in a previous post here.


This led to making homemade applesauce for the first time. (did you know it turns brown??)


Saturday morning I made 5 lbs of potatoes for mashed potatoes. Yes, 5 lbs. It made A LOT of potatoes. And they are GOOOOOD.


Since we got home today, I've cooked and/or prepared tons of food for Harper: mangos, green beans, broccoli, carrots, pears and peaches. We're set for a while! Since the peeling my own mangos thing didn't go so well, I opted for frozen which worked out really well. Harper looooved them even said "mmmMMM" with no prompting then swiftly smacked her lips together and opened up for more. I also got frozen green beans and broccoli and am really happy with how everything has turned out.


I realize that preparing baby food does not technically count as "cooking". But, hey - I'm standing at a stove, boiling water, using a collander, blending things, using pots.. It counts in my book. And Harper loves it, so that's all that matters!

I got to dust off my mixer for the potatoes. Love to get to do that!

No, the mangos were not green, but I forgot to take a picture of those. The green are the green beans which churned up surprisingly easy and smooth.

A Few of My Favorite Things

I don't think I have an excessive amount of Christmas decorations. Last year I went a bit nuts since it was our first Christmas in our new house and we were having the family Christmas party here - I felt like nothing was "enough" and I was constantly rearranging things. But this year, I've really only put out a few select things and have gone pretty minimal. And I love it!! I don't feel overwhelmed or claustrophobic by Christmas and it's worked out great with Harper becoming more mobile. In honor of my minimalist Christmas, I'm dedicating a post to a few of my favorite things and sharing stories about each.

This lit grapevine reindeer was one of my few "had to have" items we purchased last year. I'm not really a fan of lawn art, but a tasteful display by the door suits my fancy just fine.

This nativity scene deserves its own post, but I'll try to just give you the edited version. I have started a mini collection of Willow Tree figurines and fell in love with the nativity scene. Jon found most of the set last year and bought it for me - after we agreed we wouldn't buy each other anything. I insisted he take it back because I knew how expensive it was, and it was something I could easily collect over time. We went to visit my mom in Las Vegas before Christmas last year and she offered to give me HER Willow Tree nativity scene - the whole thing!! She had no place to put it, so it was going to remain in boxes, and since she knew I wanted one, I made sure to squeeze the set in with all our luggage to bring home. Jon actually had purchased one extra piece to the set that she didn't have, so we took back the new duplicates (along with another set I had been given - yes, I got 3 total combinations of sets last year), and voila!! It goes so perfectly in our art niche that I'm considering leaving it up all year.

These were Hallmark's bags last year and Jon used them to wrap my nativity scene in. I loved it so much, I saved the bags and had him wrap up a different box this year so I could look at it.

This silly tree was made by my Grandma (I think) and it's one of those things I can't throw away.


I'm not a fan of displaying Santa, so this is the only thing you'll find. Another item from my childhood that I enjoy looking at. They're tea light holders and are just a fun folksy display.

These were gifts from my mom last year and I'm an absolute love with them. They're two scenes from The Grinch and are even animated. Too perfect.

Last year I was on a mission to fine a fake mistletoe ball, but had zero success, so I ended up finally buying real mistletoe to hang from our perfect spot on the chandelier by the front door. I found this ball at the after-Christmas sale at Target for 60% off and couldn't wait to hang it this year.

One of a few ornaments from our tree growing up that I've kept. Jon's family has the same one, which just gives me the warm fuzzies.

One of Jon's gifts from me last year. Kind of speaks for itself, doesn't it? If you can tell what it is!

The Letter D

Continuing with what Alicia started, I'm participating in a list of things I love. Alicia assigned me the letter D and it's taken me almost a week to come up with a list. It's been a lot of fun, even if it's been harder than I asked for (I specifically asked for an easy one - hmph). I've taken a few liberties with a couple items in order to come up with my 10.

Here's how it works: You leave a comment on this post, and I'll assign you a letter. You write about ten things you love that begin with your assigned letter and you post it on your blog. When people comment on your post you assign them a letter and the fun continues.

Here we go!

1. Dallas: As in Alicia. And she represents all those friends who I've been able to get to know better through this crazy blog world since I've moved away. Alicia, Alyssa, Freida, Kristin, etc... All people I feel I've gotten to know so much better via their blogs. These are all beautiful women I was never particularly close friends with "in person" back home but who bless me abundantly by allowing me to share in their lives and who share in mine.

2.Dirty Jobs: Jon loves to watch the Discovery Channel, which means I usually end up watching it too. I don't like most of the shows he does: Mythbusters, Storm Chasers, to name just two. But Dirty Jobs is something we both love to laugh and get disgusted at together. Mike Rowe subjects himself to some nasty situations and we find great pleasure and entertainment in this.

3. Downpour: I absolutely love the rain. Dark, cloudy weather puts me in a great mood and rain just makes me giddy. I think it's because I love staying home in my comfies and rainy, cold weather is a great excuse to do that. I love thunder and lightning and walking in the rain is one of my favorite things to do. So much so that I never carried an umbrella until last year when I figured no one would think highly of a pregnant lady being stupid enough to let herself get drenched, and of course I now keep one close so that I can keep Harper dry. The only thing I don't like is wearing wet shoes or socks, which is the only snag in my love of the rain. But in my opinion, just a small price to pay.

4. DFW: I technically live in Fort Worth, but DFW is what the area is called, as well as the airport. I really love living in Texas and am so happy we made the decision to move here. Even though I miss my friends and family more than anyone knows, I wouldn't change my mind. And living only 20 minutes from the airport makes it even easier to get there for flights or to pick those up who are coming to visit - which we LOVE!

5. Dachshunds: Ever since my first Dachshund Lucy, I promised I would always have one. They are such funny, amazing, spunky, feisty, loving critters and I can't imagine what life would be like without them. Between my parents and I, we've been blessed to have had Lucy, Cooper, Peanut and Chuck in our lives and we miss them terribly. I of course currently have my Wylee Boy and she's the home for Maxine, Odie and BenE. All of these fur babies have worked their way into our hearts without much effort. (Side note: This is nothing to take away from Sarge, but I was trying to be more specific than just saying "dogs". Besides - everyone already knows I love all dogs).

6. Diet Coke: My one major vice. I don't smoke, but I am addicted to a different drug: Diet Coke. I drink one as soon as I get up and one or two more during the day. If it's a particularly sleepy morning, I'll stop for a fountain Diet Coke and I can swear there's nothing better at that moment.

7. Driving: I had to wait 6 months to get my drivers license when I turned 16 because my mom didn't want me being a new driver in the snow. Smart. But I definitely made up for lost time once I finally got it. I was off and running and drove down the hill as often as I could afford to or find reason for. I still love driving, though these days I spend more time in traffic away from my family than I care to. Road Trips have always been something I've LOVED doing and being a relatively new Texan, I always look forward to arriving somewhere new and seeing the sights along the way.

8. Decorations: As in holiday decorations. I enjoy making my home feel comfortable, and holiday decorations help me greatly in doing that. I love decorating my home for Christmas, as most people do. But since buying the house, I've also begun loving to put out little things for Valentine's Day, Easter, Thanksgiving and other lesser-celebrated days. I usually buy my things on clearance after the holiday for use the following year, so when I go to pull out the next holiday's items, it's always a little like Christmas when I find things I might have forgotten about. Iit's the small things I love - but that's what this list is about, right?

9. Dramamine: This is a stretch, but bear with me. I can get motion sickness in just about everything. Cars, boats, roller coasters, buses - you get the idea. I used to take Dramamine but I didn't like how sleepy it made me feel so in recent years I've started using the pressure bands to put on my wrists and they work great. The reason I'm thankful for Dramamine though is that I can appreciate all the opportunities I've been given to have reason to take it. It seems the sickest I've been are places I've had some of the most fun in. On a boat in the Bahamas following wild dolphins spending precious time with my family (twice); on a plane headed to Europe where I first went in high school, then went to spend a semester in Florence, and third when I took an adventure with two friends backpacking for 3 weeks all over; on a big bus with my best friend Heather when she took me as her "guest" on her company incentive trip to Cabo San Lucas where everything was free - everything. Such amazing times and memories for each of these and reminds me how much I love to travel, despite my handicap.

10. Daughter: Saved the best for last. She by far is the light of my life and my greatest love other than God and my husband. She brings me so much purpose to my life and more joy than I could have ever imagined - and I imagined a lot. I always thought I had a good idea what motherhood would be like, but I truly had no idea. It's 100 times bigger than I ever thought: more love, more joy, more heartache, more frustrating, and more rewarding. I wouldn't change it for anything and I am so glad I was chosen to be her Mommy.

All Decked Out

Despite having a very clingy and cranky baby, we've managed to get quite a bit done this weekend. We got the house totally decorated and Jon is almost finished with putting the lights up. We also got most of our shopping done, believe it or not. This is a huge relief to me as I hate having the requirement of shopping hanging over my head at the holidays. We also stored away a bunch of things in the attic including a lot of baby things we're no longer using. Bittersweet since I'm so glad she's getting bigger and more active, but it's also weird to think that we won't be using things like boppys, swings or receiving blankets until the next one comes along.

Now I'm just waiting for my Christmas cards to arrive so I can then mail them out and check that off my list.

Weekend Wrap-Up

Well, unfortunately Jon turned out to be sick all weekend. I was crossing my fingers on Saturday morning that he'd have made a full recovery overnight and be 100% healthy again so we could get things done. But it was not in the cards and he spent most of the weekend in his comfies, coughing and trying to sleep. He's back at work tonight and we're praying he makes it through okay.

This meant that I played single parent all weekend as Jon was being very careful about not spreading his germs. It's a tough job, being a single parent. But it meant that I got to give Harper double the lovin' because I had to make up for what Daddy couldn't give. We had lots of fun and lots of laughs, but we both hope daddy makes a speedy recovery so he can join in soon!

I was able to accomplish most of the things on the list, though I refuse to climb a ladder so I couldn't get the Christmas decorations down. And there was no way I could start the cabinet project (again) without anyone else to watch Harper, so that didn't get done either. The clothes are in the back of my car waiting to be dropped off tomorrow, so I believe I can check everything else off the list! Feels good even though I'm completely wiped out and can say that I definitely would have chosen being curled up in bed with a bowl of ice cream most of today instead of doing all the cleaning and picking up.

As inspiration for what we may hope to accomplish in the near future, I'll post a few pics of Jon's latest project: the garage. Being the frugal couple we are, we're always looking for ways to save some cash. My company has been clearing out the building of extra supplies we don't need and giving the things away to anyone who will take them. One of the items that is in great abundance are these wire shelves that attach to the sides of cubicles for storing papers and things. I brought a couple home hoping Jon might be able to use them for something, and with a little intuition and help from brackets he bought, I present to you -- STORAGE!!

Now, I realize this may not look like a big deal. But imagine the work bench in the first picture covered in the things that are on the shelves. All his tool bags, tools, chargers, batteries, paint cans, etc... Just piled up everywhere. Now they're out of the way and it's awesome!!!

I'm so proud of him for figuring out a way to make something free and non-workable into something that so perfect! He'd probably hang these all over the garage if we had the wall space for it. He's done a really great job and it's so nice to have the space by the door so I can have a place to set things down when I'm trying to come in the door with my 10,000 bags and Harper. Love it!

That's Life

The holidays are coming. Life is about to get a little bit busier.

Things have already been a little hectic and I feel more tired than usual. Things throwing us off our routine, lots of projects to get done for the holidays, trying to figure out where in the world all the time to get those things done is going to come from...

Blogging unfortunately has taken a back seat to some of these things, but I promise I will try to get on here as often as I can and at least post pictures. If not here, then on Harper's blog.

Todays' plans are pretty ambitious, but I think we can manage:

• Laundry
• A thorough dusting (with wood floors comes lots of dustbunnies, I've realized)
• Dropping clothes off at goodwill
• Starting the final phase on the cabinets
• Pulling the Christmas decorations out of the attic
• Making a dent in the aforementioned Christmas projects

Lots to do!! Here's to hoping that life doesn't swallow me whole.

"Papa"

I need to be better about posting on this blog. So much of our life is all about Harper, it's hard to come up with things to add here. But today I have one!

When I lived in Italy for a semester, we ate at one restaurant for lunch every weekday as part of our cost included in studying abroad. By far my favorite dish to eat was Papa al Pomodoro and I was so excited whenever it was on our fixed menu that day. It actually looked like the cook would take all the random leftovers at the restaurant and throw them into a pot and served it. But it was the yummiest concoction I could've ever hoped for!

A few years ago I found a very similar dish in one of Rachael Ray's cookbooks and was so excited to make it. Her version runs a very close second to the authenic one I was used to, and has easily become one of Jon and mine's favorite dishes. We've actually been waiting for the weather to get colder so we could have a good excuse to make some. This weekend we got our wish and he whipped it up last night. We got into our comfies and curled up on the couch with our bowls and I think we said "MmmMmMmM" about a hundred times each! I'm posting the recipe below with some of my own suggestions.

Enjoy!

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil - plus some for drizzling
4-6 cloves garlic, chopped -we use at least 6-8, but we really love garlic
1 medium to large onion, finely chopped
1 can diced tomatoes (15 ounces)
1 ocan crushed tomatoes (28 ounces)
Salt and pepper
1 quart chicken stock
4 cups stale bread (about 1/2 pound), chopped or torn - for our latest batch we used a sourdough baguette and left it out for 3 days. We weren't able to make it as soon as we had hoped so I tossed it into a ziploc and froze it. It's been our best bread yet.
2 cans small white beans – smaller than cannellini beans (15 ounces each), such as Goya brand
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, to pass at the table (we use plain' ole shredded parmesean. Cheaper and easier to find but just as good)
10 fresh basil leaves, torn (optional) - not optional in our opinions. :)

Preparation
Heat a medium soup pot over medium heat. Add 3 tablespoons of EVOO, about three turns around the pan, garlic and three quarters of the onion. Cook for 7-8 minutes, then add the diced tomatoes and crushed tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Add the stock and raise the heat to make the soup bubble. Reduce the heat to simmer and add the bread and beans. Stir the soup as it simmers, until it thickens to a stew-like consistency. Turn off the heat, adjust the seasonings and ladle the soup into shallow bowls. Top with grated cheese, an additional drizzle of EVOO and a spoonful of reserved finely chopped raw onions. Torn basil is an optional garnish.



This is a 30-minute meal but you really need to let all the flavors simmer for a good 20 minutes in order to get a really good batch.

Turning 30

I had planned the vacation specifically so it would be on my birthday. About 5 months ago I realized that 30 was going to be tougher than I thought, so I figured any sort of distraction and/or added celebration would make it easier to swallow. I think it was one of my better decisions.

Jon woke up early and went to run some "errands" which included buying me Einstein's for breakfast and bringing home 30 roses. So sweet and such a nice thought. I loved them.

I made an appointment for an overpriced mani/pedi at the fancy salon down the street. My last pedicure was in August when mom came to visit so needless to say I was long overdue. Never ever again will I pay $75 for a mani/pedi - but mom had gift cards (that we think I had given to her when I never used them in the first place - overpriced salons just aren't our thing) so it was "free".

Went to lunch at Island's (YUM!) then back to mom's where we took Harper swimming for the first time. I had been looking forward to this for so long, having practically grown up in the water, and was so glad to discover that she loved it. I even dunked her twice under water and she never cried.

We eventually got out and started to get ready for our date: Dinner at Zefferino's, then The Blue Man Group. Zeff's is the place we went for our first official date together, so it holds a special place for us. It's at the Venetian and we both love to walk around there - it's such an amazing hotel. The Blue Man group is currently at The Venetian and we had both always wanted to see them, so it all worked out great. It was a fun night - great dinner, and such a treat. Never again will we spend that much, but it was a special night and will be remembered. The night started going downhill a bit when I quickly realized that I hadn't adequately broken in my shoes enough. The next morning I had huge blisters on my pinky toes, and they hurt so bad that walking to the parking garage I actually took them off to walk barefoot - gah!!! If you know me, you know I'm a semi-germaphobe and I was so disgusted that I might get a foot disease... but they hurt so bad that I didn't even care. That was Mistake #1.

Mistake #2 came when, after a nice lovely dinner and two glasses of wine, I realized that the 10pm show was going to be a very bad idea. They're a very entertaining group of guys, but man... it was late. Such a sad realization that I was getting too old.

Mistake #3 isn't actually a mistake but an accident. Somehow the stars aligned just right, and as I was turning my head, Jon was raising his arm to put it behind me, and he elbowed me square in the eye. Adding the blurry eye to an already tired Mom was just the topper.

Great night though, and really nothing but good memories from the whole day. Here's to 30... should be interesting to see what it brings!!

Does That Make Me Crazy? Part 2

I can't have milk unless it's ice cold. Since I don't have mugs to freeze then put milk in (which is awesome, by the way), I must have ice cubes in my milk. It really isn't right otherwise.

I also must put ice cubes in my orange juice. Anything other than ice-cold OJ is just gross.

Also, there is an offramp I drive everyday with 2 arrows made from those mounded "turtle" light reflectors on the pavement. I can drive over the 2nd arrow without having my tires touch them, but never the first. Every day it's my goal to try not to make my tires touch them, and when I don't, I'm always so happy that at least I can do it on the 2nd arrow.


Does that make me crazy?



(To give credit where credit is due, I got the title of these posts from the morning radio show I regularly listen to on my way to work. They play the song "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley and have listeners call in to tell about the weird things they do. It's one of my favorite things to listen to, probably because it makes me feel sane. I'll be updating this post as I think of more things. I'd love it if you continued to share what makes you crazy. Again, so I can feel sane.)

Does That Make Me Crazy?

I have a lot of things that give me the willies - leading me to believe I might be crazy.

I only eat with plastic utensils when available, because I can't handle the sound of metal squeeking and scraping on plates. It doesn't often apply to other people using metal utensils around me unless it makes a really loud squeak.

I am bothered by things that are "out of place". For instance, sunken ships give me the heebie jeebies like no other. Half-sunken ships or ships I can see from the surface are the worst. Because of this, much to Jon's dismay, I will never visit Pearl Harbor. Even the thought of it right now totally freaks me out. Another example is a common sight going in and out of DFW, where the planes "cross the street" via a bridge over the highway. Seems like one is always crossing over when I'm driving under. I also don't like driving closely past big planes or jets. I guess in my mind, it's just not normal for those big aircrafts to be parked like cars or driving over bridges. I also discovered this applied to people when I once saw a coworker up on a reeeaaally tall ladder in the sanctuary, replacing a light. Looking up at him sent chills down my spine and I had to walk away.

Sounds, like the utensils I mentioned, seem to be haunting me a lot lately. There are yummy granola bars that we love, and there is a coupon on the inside of the box. But the sound of scissors cutting this cardboard coupon out is enough to send me over the edge - so I leave it for Jon to do. It makes my shoulders shrug and my neck twitch, causing a sort of tick just thinking of it now or any time. I've been needing to buff my nails, but the sound and feeling of the buffer on my nails has been causing me to put it off indefinitely. The sound of styrofoam on just about anything practically sends me running, plugging my ears and humming.

Going to sleep is a big event and requires several different things to be "just right" before I can relax. Most of it involves my "stinky", which is my blanket I have to sleep with every night. I won't dare admit what's on the blanket, but that's not why I love it. It's worn in, feels so soft, is the perfect size and thickness. I love it. I can't even begin to describe the process or the requirements for sleeping, for fear that I'd be commited to an insane asylum. Jon has learned to deal with it and in fact most nights finds it quite humorous, waiting for me to get settled.

As I think of more things, I will post them. I don't know why I felt compelled to blog about this, but I think, like therapy, it helps to talk about things in order to begin to overcome them. I'm not yet bound by my phobias, but I don't ever want to be. I guess you could call this me taking preventative measures.

What makes you crazy?

Saturday Project #6

My dream has come true: We got new floors!!! And they're gorgeous. We are so happy with the work and how they turned out. Anyone who is considering working with Empire, we can highly recommend them!

We've been not only wanting new floors for a while, but lately it has seemed more of a necessity too. The carpet was only 2 years old, but looked worse for the wear. First of all, it was near-white (not chosen by us) which is just bad who ever you are. Second, we have 1 dog who has taken his jealousy of Harper out on the carpet, freckling it with his little spots. And another dog who could easily be Pigpen's twin, as he seems to be a walking dirt cloud. Both of these things do not bode well for a clean carpet. With Harper getting more and more active daily, and with it becoming harder to keep up with vacuuming, let alone shampooing, something needed to be done. We had planned on doing the job ourselves, but I thought it would be a good idea to find out how much it would be for Empire to do it, thinking that maybe the cost of having someone else tear out the old, level the floors and install the new would be well worth the inconvenience of us trying to figure it all out. And it was! Having them finish 3 rooms in about 6 hours was beyond better than we could have imagined.

Technically it was a Friday project, but we've spent a good portion of our Saturday cleaning up all the dust and putting furniture back. Jon was here while they installed it and he said it was really gross to see all the "sand-like" dirt that came out of the carpet when they tore it up. Gross. For once, I'm glad I was at work and didn't have to witness that or the mess of it all happening.

Here's how it all went:

Finished Bedroom

Finished Living Room (before it was cleaned)

Finished Office

Saturday Project #5

Welcome to Saturday Project #5. I'd like to introduce you to the newest member of our Saturday Project Team:

Jon!!!

Jon's new schedule allows him weekends off, which means we now have twice the manpower to get projects done around the house. Today was very productive for us. We did lots of cleaning this morning including shampooing the carpets in the living room. We really do our living in that room, and the carpet proves it. Unfortunately Wylee has also begun taking his jealousy out on the carpet, which does not make us very happy. We are saving our pennies and waiting patiently for the day where we can get wood floors installed in part of the house. But until then, the carpet shampooer is my friend.

We then tried to make a dent in the cabinet staining process. The upper cabinets are done on one side, so we're working our way through the lower ones. I was on drawer duty and Jon did the actual cabinets. It went well but we were only able to get one coat on today. (The USC game and a very fussy teething Harper did a good job of pulling us away!) Hopefully one or 2 more coats tomorrow and we might be done!!!

I'll be posting a before and after soon.

Jon also got ours and the neighbor's lawn mowed, so I'm gonna call that a very productive day!

7 Things

I was tagged by Stephanie to list 7 things in the following categories. See you if you got tagged at the bottom.

7 things I want to do before I die
1) Take Jon to Europe
2) Go to Hawaii
3) Read the Bible in a year
4) Learn Spanish
5) Have another baby (full term, please)
6) Find a job I love again
7) Win the lottery (which would require playing it first. Minor detail.)

7 things I can do
1) Make great mac n cheese
2) Keep a secret
3) Speak fluent American Sign Language
4) Cry at commercials
5) Remember birthdays, anniversaries & random events
6) Drive well
7) Highlight my own hair

7 things I cannot do
1) Make a decision
2) Run
3) Sing, but I do it anyway
4) Cook
5) Not get completely freaked out by the sight of sunken ships
6) Make a fluffy chocolate chip cookie
7) Fall asleep without adjusting positions at least 10 times

7 things that attract me to the opposite sex (changing this one to 'my spouse')
1) His faith
2) His humor
3) His balance (in relation to me - he balances me well)
4) His reassurance
5) His love for his daughter
6) His dorkiness
7) His good looks

7 things I say most often
1) "Seriously?"
2) "Shut your mouth!" (as in, "you're kidding!!!!")
3) "really, really" or "Really?"
4) "I love you"
5) "What?"
6) "Who's a pretty girl?" (to Harper)
7) "Mamamamamamamamamamamama" (trying to influence Harper's first word)

7 celebrity crushes (in no particular order)
1) Philip Seymore Hoffman
2) Dave Matthews
3) Jason Statham (yummy Englishman)
4) Harry Connick, Jr
5) Hugh Grant
6) The Edge (U2)
7) Alicia Keys (My only woman crush)

7 people who I think should do this
1) Freida
2) Alicia
3) Natalee
4) Tara
5) Grace
6) Debbie
7) Alyssa

Cow or Giraffe? You Make the Call

While in Decatur last week, my mom and I each got new purses. She had been seeing these animal print bags everywhere and really wanted one. Her excitement was infectious, so when we walked into a store that had the exact bags she had been wanting, we both got one. (well actually she got two) ;)

I'm incredibly indecisive, but mom eventually helped me choose one. I really liked the giraffe print ones, but couldn't decide on a style and color. I was really excited about the one I chose because I had tried to downsize my purse to an itty-bitty one a few weeks ago, but with a baby, you need a big purse to shove a diaper and/or bottle into so you don't have to lug around the whole diaper bag all the time. I decided on a tote-style black giraffe print with red accents.

My excitement was immediately deflated when I brought it home and showed Jon. He said "wow, a COW purse!!"

hmph. Of course, I didn't want a cow purse, I wanted a giraffe purse. I'm not a cow person. I don't like cow things, especially not cow print things. Giraffe - cute, trendy! Cow - not cute, not trendy.

This isn't my exact purse, but I'm too lazy to take a picture, so I found one similar to it online. I just have to say that I would've chosen this purse in brown, but they didn't have it. I'm just sayin'.

You make the call: giraffe or cow?

Whadda Week

Sparing all the gruesome details, here's a wrap-up of our week:

Saturday
I woke up sick. Fever and aches. Yuck. I had a pretty good idea it was allergies, but I knew the true test would be to see if Harper and Jon would wind up sick as well. They didn't.

Rest of the weekend I just did the best I could. Saturday night my fever finally broke around 2am which meant I got some sleep without those weird dreams that are caused by fevers. Those things are weird, man.

Monday morning
Wasn't sure I was going to make it into work on Monday, but following the old "24 hours without a fever" rule, I sucked it up and got Harper and myself out the door.

Then my phone rang.

To sum it up in a nutshell, everyone received notification on Monday morning that HSBC was closing the doors on its Auto Finance business. This would be our last "open" week of operations and everyone was being handed their walking papers (with a tidy severance). EVERYONE. Including me. Including every single one of my coworkers. Including my BOSSES. And THEIR bosses. And so on, and so on...

Of course I called Jon the second I hung up and after initial shock, we both felt like we had a peace about it. All of us have known that it could potentially go down this road eventually. With the mortgage mess, to the economy, gas prices, and now the car industry - things have been tough for us. But we had done such a good job of doing everything "they" asked us to do to pair down, hit goals, change procedures... that we thought maybe we were going to dodge the bullet and the company would keep us (Auto Finance) around a little while. I figured I'd get a severance and just do my best to find another job as quickly as I could, then benefit from the double (triple) income for a while, and plan what we'd do with the bonus.

Monday Afternoon
I'm not losing my job. Everyone else is, but I'm not. WHAT?? Here's the part where I spare most of the details, but in a nutshell, the company is moving me to another department in the same position. This department will eventually shut down as well, but there are no promises as to how long (or short) it will be open -- anywhere from 6 months to 2 years.

hmph. Mixed emotions. Glad I have security. SO thankful I have a job obviously, which is more than everyone else can say. Just trying to process it all.

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
Very, very surreal. I'm barely sleeping 4 hours a night and am not eating very much. People shredding everything. Projects come to a halt and trashed. Nothing is the same. None of my usual tasks matter anymore. The calendars that I worked so hard to keep organized can be deleted. It's all gone. Shred bins over flowing. Desks cleared off.

Wednesday we said goodbye to our first wave of people, our Funders. Lots of tears. Hugs. Trading of phone numbers. Not fun.

Wednesday the crew also started work on our foundation. ugh. Throw something else on the pile, why dontchya? Thankfully Jon was home to deal with all this and I just came home to huge holes in our ground that led to under our house. Fun.

Friday
Anger. Frustration. Nothing was fair about Friday. All my coworkers were leaving. I was staying. They didn't have a job. I did -- albeit one that I wasn't thrilled about having since I don't know how long I'll be there for anyway. And one that I wasn't even asked if I wanted. I may sound ungrateful here, but Friday I was so angry that I wasn't given the option of going. There's more to the story, but URRGGHH!! I didn't want to stay! Me staying meant someone else was going, and that's not fair.

Lots more tears. Speeches. Hugs. Laughs. "See ya later"s. "It's a small industry, we'll cross paths again", and people telling me to "take care of that sweet baby" which just made me break down more.

I realized something Friday amongst all the tears and frustration and goodbyes. These people were my friends. I don't know many people here and still feel like a new Texan. I remember coming into this place a 16 months ago and immediately being welcomed. Thinking how nice everyone was and realizing "ahhh, so this is Southern Hospitality". It took a while to get to know some, and longer to know others, but these were my friends. I know about their lives, they know about mine. I've met some of their families. And most I will never see again. It's hard to explain how you actually look forward to going to work in some ways, to see people, to talk to people, to share with people. I don't really have that here, outside of my family. Work was a family to me -- everyone felt that way.

I have no doubt that most everyone will move on to bigger and better things. Some will struggle. Some will change careers completely, being scarred by this experience, having no hope for the industry. I look forward to hearing from people, learning what they're up to in a few months' time. I wish everyone the best.

In the meantime, I'll be training for my new job, learning the ins and outs, then being left to figure the rest out for myself. I've decided I'm not going to try to get to know many of my new coworkers, because, gosh darnit, I can't go through this all again. (Only half-joking there). But I'm going to do my best to move forward, pick myself up and see what's ahead in my future. I have no idea what it will bring, but I trust in the Lord and know that He will lead me.

Oh, and our foundation is even again.
And I'm still sick.

Beyond all Understanding

RIVERSIDE, Calif., July 24, 2008—Christopher Laurie, son of Pastor Greg Laurie and Cathe Laurie of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California, died this morning in a car accident in Riverside. A resident of Huntington Beach, Laurie, 33, served as the art director at Harvest Christian Fellowship for the past three years.In addition to his parents, Christopher is survived by his wife, Brittany, and daughter, Stella, as well as his brother Jonathan. Christopher and his wife are expecting another daughter in November.Memorial plans for Christopher are pending. More information will be posted to the Harvest website as details become available.


************************************

It's always a strange mix of emotions when a Christian dies. On the one hand you're sad because selfishly you wish your loved one could be here with you to continue to share in memories and to just be around. Knowing that you'll no longer see their face is a hard realization, and usually takes quite a while to sink in. On the other hand, it's a time of rejoicing and jealousy even, for you know they're in Heaven where they belong, face to face with their God and Creator. How fantastic!

Today Greg Laurie's oldest son Christopher died. Greg Laurie is the Senior Pastor at Harvest Christian Fellowship, which was my home church for many years and is where I came to a true understanding of what it is to follow Christ. I also worked at Harvest for 3 years in what has always been my favorite job. Because I attended the church for so long, and especially because of working there, I had many opportunities to interact with Pastor Greg and his family including Christopher.

Today's news came as quite a shock obviously. While I grieve with the Laurie family, I also grieve with my dear friends and family at Harvest - with whom I have never felt too far from-- until today. News like this only made me want lots of hugs from those who also understood. I won't get those hugs until October, so texts and phone calls will have to do for now. Scouring the news, reading blogs, and sending prayers and thoughts with several thousand others is pretty much what I've got right now.

Almost immediately I began to feel the "ripples" of what kind of impact this news is ultimately going to have. The Harvest Crusades are just 3 weeks away, and I have absolutely no doubt that they will go on as planned. What the devil meant for evil, I truly believe God will use for good. There is going to be significant news coverage on this "story" in Southern California and in church communities around the country. And in just the stories I've read today, every outlet has mentioned the Crusades coming up. I believe people will come just out of curiosity to hear what Greg will speak about and how he will address this tragedy. People who would never have any intention of coming otherwise will show up and will in turn hear an amazing testimony of how God is being shown Good and Just through this family and all who knew Christopher. I pray for those people who do come and that this terrible event will bring many souls to Christ... what a testimony that would be!

Everyone at Harvest knows that every year right before the Crusades, it never fails that Greg is attacked in some way. Last year he was diagnosed with Vertigo about 3 days before they began and barely had any sleep the entire weekend. In other years it's been a lost voice, or some other type of random illness. Satan is always looking for ways to sidetrack those who are sharing God's truth and this event is bound to shake the faith of a few. However, I know the Lauries will come through this awful tragedy with an even stronger faith and a very powerful testimony to share with so many more than they ever imagined.

My heart breaks for Greg, Cathe, Jonathan, Brittany, little Stella and their unborn daughter. I am sad and grieve, trying to comprehend how and why, and I hug my daughter and husband a little tighter and longer tonight because of it.

We need a name!

I've decided our blog needs a name. I'm not very good with these kinds of things, so I'm reaching out to aaaalllll our faithful readers... haha, all five of you.

My friend Stephanie's blog is called "Leave it to Weaver". Cute, right? I noticed hers links to another one called "Keeping up with the Joneses". My first blog was called "What Would You Say" after a Dave Matthews Band song, and it fit pretty well since I just talked all about the really random things that happened to me - and Dave is pretty random.

So I figure there's gotta be a cute one that can be related to Hanes. The only thing I can come up with is "Hanes Her Way" but not sure I want to name it after underwear.

Any suggestions? Winner gets something REALLY cool.... Or just a fun mention. ;)

OH! And I'll also take suggestions on a name for Harper's blog. Maybe HERS can be Hanes Her Way! Although the generic title of the blog is "baby hanes" so it could be open for either gender. I don't think our future son (yes I said it) would appreciate that name.

Happy First Anniversary!!!

To us and our house!!!

We moved in one year ago TODAY. How crazy is that... time has flown yet it also seems like Moving Day was sooooo long ago. While we LOVE our house, we have not loved all of the things it has brought with it. The yard we absolutely fell in love with has been a much bigger project to keep up with than we had anticipated. It now takes Jon a full 4 hours (at least) to mow all the grass and we have not been great about keeping up with the weeding, which means it's a couple-day project just to pull those. We do love being outside though, and it's so beautiful when it's kept up.

The other major problem we are facing is our foundation. Yes we live in Texas, and yes foundation work is pretty standard for everyone eventually here. However it's not so common on 2-year old houses, and we're not too pleased to get to be the ones to deal with it. Our cracks started appearing a month or 2 after we moved in and we've been through one round of cosmetic repair work to fix the damage including drywall and new tiles. However, the cracks started reappearing almost immediately after they were fixed, and now our bedroom door doesn't close properly, and the outside brick has a huge crack through brick and mortar. The Builder has finally agreed that the foundation is in need of repair, and the process is already underway to fix it. The foundation company has made us feel confident in that it will be a minimally invasive process, at least compared to what it could be. They will not even need to enter the house, except to do the actual measurements once the foundation is being raised, and will only dig holes through our garage floor and one on the outside of the house, which they will use to tunnel under the office. I think the 3-day procedure takes place the first week of August, and the Builder will be back out shortly thereafter to repair all the cracks AGAIN.

Of course, looking back, we might have made different choices in moving here. Now that gas prices are so high, and we have a baby (two things we didn't plan on happening when we bought this house), we probably would have chosen a smaller, more expensive house closer to both of our jobs. BUT-- we knew God brought us this house for a reason and we're confident that things will be taken care of with minimal impact on us when we decide to move from here. And we do love our house.

So, on today, our first anniversary, I'm treating the house to a full cleaning. Well... let's be honest... a pretty good cleaning. There's only so much I can do by myself with a 3-month old. I've already scrubbed the tub and shower and can I just say YUCK. How can a place we go to get clean get so dirty???? I might next tackle the baseboards and vacuum then call it a day... but we'll see what else I can find.

**UPDATE**

I went ahead and just deep cleaned the bathroom from head to toe. I mean, I even scrubbed all those little ridges in the cabinets and doors- all the funny places where lint and dust collect. Feels SO much better. Now the question is - do we think Jon will notice?

Battered and Bruised

I suppose since Jon has been married to me for almost two years, it's about time he started seeing the real me. That is to say, the real me which is the completely clutzy/accident-prone/should-be-wearing-a-full-suit-of-armor-everyday me.

I've fallen off the back of a moving pickup, walked into countless doors, get caught on any sort of knob with any part of my clothing, bump into walls, and fallen down flights of stairs multiple times.

But now... It's gettin' ugly.

A few weeks back I was throwing something away in the big trashcans in the garage and somehow managed to have the thing flip over and fall onto my foot. Mind you, these are the big cans the city gives you that people set curbsite, with the huge lids. There were 2 big bags of dog food sitting on the lid waiting to be put away, and I thought I could somehow easily lift off the lid and throw whatever it was away, then be about my business. But no - the weight of the dog food being lifted threw the balance onto the back wheels, causing the entire can to flip and fall on my foot. It happened so fast. Needless to say, my two toes next to my big toe, along with the joints on my foot turned lovely shades of blue and stayed that way for several weeks. My foot is still sore.

Tonight, just another example of how random things happen to me. First of all, there were no babies harmed in the making of this accident. I had Harper in her sling as that's become our nighttime routine to get her to sleep. She was sleeping soundly as I went about my business of cleaning up the kitchen. I was putting a case of soda into the fridge but had to pull off the cardboard opening that the fridge packs have. Well, instead of just pulling off the corrugated part to make a lovely opening for the soda, half of the entire front came off too. And with that, a can of soda fell to the ground, so while I jumped to help avoid it from landing on my foot, it smashed to the ground and burst open, spraying soda EVERYWHERE. Somehow in me jumping around trying to avoid the can, I slipped on the now-wet floor and fell straight to the ground. Thankfully (for Harper) I managed to partly catch myself on the island and fell right on my knees. The little stinker never even flinched, even as I squeeled then cried out in pain--LOUDLY.

Of course Jon was there in .28 seconds (just like he was with the trash can incident) and took the baby from me as I tried to scrape myself off the floor. Soda-soaked pants and all, I got up and looked around at the damage. Soda covering EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!! And ending up far into the outer-reaches of our kitchen, even making its way into the halls. The doors, the cabinets, the walls, the inside of the fridge... ugh. I think our floor is going to be sticky for days, no matter how much I mop it.

As of now I've got a nice swollen spot on my knee with another one forming. My back is beginning to hurt and I've just noticed a slight ache in my hand that caught the island. Oy.

Pretty sure Jon is trying not to imagine just what awaits us next.....

Saturday Project #2

Last week there was no Saturday Project. Jane, Harper and I were planning on heading to Decatur to see Aunt Nancy's store. But just about 30 mins before we were supposed to leave, she called and said she was sick in bed with a terrible sinus infection. We really wanted to see her shop, but mostly wanted to see HER, so we skipped out. Harper and I stayed home and I had then thought maybe I would make our Saturday Project to pull weeds.... but... well, it wasn't too hard to talk myself out of that one. ;)

Instead we just caught up on Mommy/Daughter time and it was WONDERFUL.

This was our Saturday Project this week:

The picture may not look like much, but believe me, the top of that file cabinet hasn't seen the light of day since before Harper was born. Paid bills, aaaaaalllll of Harper's paperwork, my medical paperwork and all kinds of other miscellaneous stuff has found its way there and stayed. Until today!! It's finally all gotten a home inside the drawers (what a concept!) with neat little labels and easy-to-find hanging folders. I feel so much better, you have no idea. Most of the paperwork already had places to go, it just needed to find its way there. But now all of Harper's things are easy to find and, for a person who lives for being organized, this makes me feel like a huge weight has been lifted - as silly as that may sound. It took us a while, and lots of singing and bouncing Harper in her bouncy chair, but we did it!

It was actually pretty fun because she's starting to laugh and smile at me all the time. But I'd get caught up in playing that the filing took longer than I anticipated.

Happy 30th Birthday Heather!!!!

We love you!!!! Miss you and can't wait to see you. We hope your birthday is AMAZING!!!
Here's a few pics I had on hand of H & H from the past few years. There's OH so many more. Many that Harper will NEVER see - unless crazy Auntie Hedder shows her!!

In Vegas for my birthday. My 27th??? Not sure.

Cabo!!!!!!

Headin' to see Dave Matthews Band.

Another Vegas trip.

One of our MANY car pics. This one was waiting to get out of the parking lot of another Dave concert. We were bored.

Stupid Pet (Human) Tricks

Things we do to pass the time while the baby's sleeping...

Mini Cooper

Fred named Cooper after a car. Fred's favorite car. And Cooper was definitely one of our favorite dogs. Well, all of them are our favorites in their own way - and Cooper definitely had his own ways.

Cooper was the second dachshund we got after Lucy. I was still living with my parents in Corona at the time, and I remember he was the absolute tiniest puppy I'd ever seen. I remember being afraid the cat might try to eat him since he just looked like a little mouse. I remember when Cooper was born - it was November 2001 and we were pretty sure we were getting one of the puppies from the litter that Bryan's wife's dog was having. We got Cooper and someone else in the family got his brother Linus. My parents later met Linus and took video to show me how much alike the two were.

Cooper was the dog that forever stayed a puppy. He was 6 1/2 when he died, but still looked and acted like a funny little floppy puppy. We all called Cooper "dumb" or "slow", but in the most affectionate way. He was a dog's dog, and just wanted to play, play, play. Cooper was also our "delicate flower" since he was allergic to most vaccinations and didn't process medications well. The first time he got vaccinated, we brought him home and about an hour later his lips and face had totally swelled up. Another time, he was given something that made him completely listless and caused him to vomit uncontrollably. Both times he recovered just fine, but it gave us a good scare - and he never complained. My mom said that recently the vet told her he's one of the most docile dogs he's ever met. Which I think is why we always thought he was kind of the "Dopey" of the bunch. He never complained or made a noise, and was pretty much just always waiting for you to throw the ball or knot again.

A few weeks ago, after a few hard days of playing (exercising) with Benny - the newest (overweight) addition to my mom's clan, Cooper wasn't moving out of his bed. Mom took him to the vet and after x-rays, it was determined that he had calcification of the spine, a common thing to happen to dachshunds, and what we also think Lucy died from. It can be treatable with medications in some dogs, but can also get drastically worse and begin leaking, causing terrible pain. They decided to try the meds for 2 weeks to see how he did and to see how his liver was holding up. He was kept on total restriction from movement, and my mom even put him in the Pack N Play in order to prevent him from further hurting himself while they were trying to get him healed. Some of the meds made him completely out of it and he even had trouble walking straight, so mom adjusted some things and had least he was more alert. But it just wasn't meant to be...

Mom said he had 2 really bad days in a row where he barely moved and cried in pain. After seeing Lucy struggle so badly, they decided they had to do the humane thing and put him to sleep.

We're all very sad about him being gone, and I truly can't believe it still. Cooper was a very special little dog and people always fell in love with him right away. I always called him the little dog with the funny face, and most people commented on how it looked like his front two feet were on the wrong legs. That was just Cooper. He was a little 'off" and had his own definite quirks like therapeutically chewing away at the knot when he was nervous - which was often. Or eating his food VEERRRRRYYYYY slowly most days, taking the time to chew each morsel individually while all the dogs around him are inhaling it so fast it's gone in 3 seconds flat. That was just Cooper. And we'll miss him.

(I have a few hilarious videos of Cooper but am having trouble finding them on my backup disks. Hopefully they'll turn up soon and I'll be able to post them.)

One Day at a Time...

That has been my motto for this past week. Unfortunately, things didn't seem to get much better as the days wore on, so by Friday I was pretty much just a puddle of emotions trying to get through the final day without completely crashing and/or having a major breakdown.

The week started off with an early morning meeting on Monday at work, at which we found out that there were going to be layoffs. That day. Starting immediately. Some of the managers who were in that meeting with me, were some that were laid off. Though it was handled very well, it made for a very long day as they called people one by one down to HR to be given the news. By the afternoon, the dust had settled, and those who were left were able to breathe a sigh of relief. But it wasn't a day I'd wish for anyone.

Now, for several reasons, I and my position were never really in danger. There was a strategic elimination that we later had confirmed was based on performance and overall effectiveness of the position/department. Two things I didn't have to worry about. But even through Tuesday, I was still finding out about friends that were gone and it didn't make for a pleasant time. The only factor that softened the blow was that I found out what the severence package was they were giving to those employees who were let go, and the company is doing what they can to make sure those employees are WELL taken care of. For some, in a strange way, it might even be the best thing that can happen to them.

The rest of the week at work was just a rollercoaster with Execs in town, getting to work early, dealing with unexpected and changing plans, etc....

On Wednesday, I woke up and I felt like Harper had gained 3 pounds overnight. She just felt very "heavy" and VERY big in there. It was an unexpected shift and I think I finally made the leap over to the "perpetually uncomfortable" side of the pregnancy. This really threw me for a loop, as I've had a relatively uneventful pregnancy. She's always been very active, but now it seems like I feel her every single movement and I have to readjust as a result. It's a weird thing. I'm also swollen all the time now and can only wear my wedding rings since they were sized bigger to begin with. Even my bracelet doesn't slide on and off easily anymore and is uncomfortable to wear. I've gotten slippers to wear at work because even my comfy Crocs - which are the only shoes I can wear anymore - leave big indentations.

By Thursday afternoon, I had pretty much had it and got home and had an emotional breakdown. I haven't had *too* many of the hormonal outbursts or random cryings, but when they happen, they happen good. I had gotten calmed down and had settled in for some dinner and TV when we got the call...

Cooper had to be put to sleep. I'm posting more about Cooper in my next post (above), but needless to say, this was hard news to take.

SOOOO... I'd like to wash this week OFF of me and throw it away never to be seen or heard from again. Except in this blog, of course. But I'm really hoping these posts serve as a reminder that nothing is promised, life is gonna throw you curveballs, and hopefully we can have the strength and resiliency to get back up. ALSO, though these weeks don't happen very often (THANKFULLY!), soon I'll be able to look back and see a definite purpose in it all. The last time I remember feeling like this was in January of 07 where it was a terrible MONTH. But looking back, that whole month led us here to Texas... and look where we are now. A beautiful home, great jobs, a baby on the way... and a whole future ahead of us.

SNOW!!!

Okay, so we've had a few "dustings" since I've moved here, but this is full on, no doubt about it SNOW in Fort Worth, Texas!!! The news has been predicting it all week, and for once, there was something to make a big deal about!! I went to work this morning, but it was becoming quite obvious very quickly that things were looking treacherous out on the roads so I come home shortly after 2pm. It took me 2 hours to get home but I finally made it against all odds!!!!! Once home, I grabbed the camera and made Jon come outside to take some pictures. Soon the neighbors were outside with us, so I got some great shots of everyone. So much fun! Not sure about work tomorrow. They don't really have snow plows in Texas, so I'll have to wait for it to melt before I try to go anywhere. Oh, and I LOVE MY CAR!!! Iggy did such a great job, I had absolutely no problems as I trekked home. It was awesome!!

Jon and Sarge

The Parkers! David, Diana, Ethan and Noah.

The Kutz Clan: Christina, John & Hailey

Holly & Wylee

Wylee says "I'm not going out there!"

Hailey all wrapped up.

Jon and Holly

Quick Update

Don had surgery on Monday and it went very, very well. The only anticipated setback was never an issue, and the surgery only lasted about 2 1/2 hours. He recovered for 2 days at Baylor Grapevine, but was then offered the change to transfer to Baylor Irving to continue his recovery and participate in an inpatient therapy program. So that's where he's at! He'll be there at least another 10 days as he continues growing stronger and getting 3 hours of therapy a day. We're very excited he's doing it even though it means we don't get to stop by before and after work since that hospital isn't exactly anywhere near our way home.


Jon has been busy staining the kitchen cabinets and they're turning out really well. He took a detour last weekend to get the backyard all trimmed and beautified and he did an amazing job. I really couldn't believe how great it looked. We're very excited to have our new patio furniture and looking forward to enjoying our beautiful backyard this spring and summer!


My computer has a virus that I can't get rid of, which has put a serious hamper on my blogging. I'm going to plan on working on that tomorrow.


The pups are well - silly as ever. I'm attaching a few cute pics of Sarge and a video of each that we took in the snow today.





This is Wylee taking his first steps in snow (that we know of)


This is Sarge having a ball playing with his girlfriend Maggie in the snow.

BBQ

This past Sunday Jon and I had a few friends over for a BBQ at our house. We had to borrow the BBQ from John and Christina next door, and everyone brought a dish to share. We had a great time! Here are some of the pics.


Ethan and Noah flexing for the camera.




The gang


Notice the beautiful yard! Jon's handiwork...



Next door neighbors, John & Christina.



Friends Heather and Les.