blog help?

so yeah, the frame in the header is empty.  any suggestions on how to put a photo in there?

A Love/Hate Relationship...

I have a love/hate relationship.  Well, I probably have several.  But the one I'm talking about right now is  the relationship I have with this:

This is one of our Le Creuset pots.  I think the Mister calls it a "Dutch Oven."  Whatever.  Anyway... Let me explain.  I love it because a) it's Le Creuset... one of the best makers of kitchen ware around (can you tell I'm trying to avoid using the word p  o  t  too much... not sure if this entry would show up in a google search for that word... and well, I just don't want that!).  I also love it because  b) it makes this:

That is one of the easiest dinners to make... pot roast!  Around 3:00 this afternoon, I browned my roast in some oil, added some red wine, salsa, onion, carrots, potatoes, and onion soup mix, and voila!  Three hours later, dinner is served.  And I just LOVE the potatoes that have been cooked with a roast.  I think I LOVE them more than the roast itself.  Yummm!

But you can also tell in this picture one of the reasons I hate it.  Can you guess?  If you guessed that it's a booger to clean, you are right!  See that oil splatter (I guess that's what it is) around the top of the dutch oven?  Yeah, it's a pain in the patootie to clean.  Because Le Creuset's are made with cast iron (I think), you can't soak them for very long or submerge them in water because the top rim will start to rust.  Nice.

The other reason I hate it is because of it's color.  Flame.  That's what the color is called.  And there is not a single other thing in my kitchen that is that color (on purpose).  And get this... we have 2 Le Creuset's this color.  We bought the first one at a Chef's Catalogue warehouse sale many many years ago.  I think we bought this color because it was the lesser of two evils.  I don't really recall what the choices were, but surely they were atrocious if this is what we thought was best.  And then when we bought the second one, it had to match the first.  Because that is what you do.  I know, I don't really get it either.
So there you have it.  My love/hate relationship with my dutch oven.


Oh, and I know some of you might be falling out of your chair simply at the thought of me cooking.  The Mister is out of town this week, and we ate out last night as well as the night before that, so I had to cook.  And no, no one has died from my cooking.  Hmmpf.

I fought the law...

well, really it wasn't the law.  It was the ink in the printer.  And it won.
So now I look like I'm turning into a smurf.  Literally.  My hand has blue stains.
I've tried everything.... soap and water, a cleaning wipe, Mr. Clean's Magic Eraser, fingernail polish remover, and even the stuff men have in the garage that's like soap with grit in it.  And my hand still has blue stains.
Nice.

Where did December go?

Well, my gracious sakes!  Where did December go?  I mean really?

I know I've been a slacker on this here blog.  I kept saying (to myself), "I'll get the camera out and upload some pics and then I'll post."  But that never happened.  Until right now.

For the week of Christmas, we went to Steamboat Springs for some skiing.  We totally loved it and had a blast!  The girls had skied before, but it was about 18 months ago.  So we put them in ski school for 2 days, and then we skied together on the 3rd day.  They are totally on board with making this an annual tradition. Here are some pics of our trip:

Sister #1 and Sister #2 in their cute coats & hats...

pretty self-explanatory...

On Christmas, we went to the fancy restaurant at the top of the mountain for brunch...

the girls loved it because they had (among other things) a chocolate fountain with fruit & marshmallows for dipping!

There are many stories from our trip... including the one that explains why we're thankful Sister #2 wore a helmet while skiing... but I'll save those for another day.