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.

Thanksgiving #2

So after we got home on Friday from Thanksgiving #1, we turned around on Saturday and drove to Oklahoma for Thanksgiving #2. Thanksgiving #2 was rather uneventful... so much so that I didn't even take pictures. Lame, I know. I don't usually get to see my family at Thanksgiving, so I don't know of any traditions. One of my sisters always makes pecan rolls at my family gatherings... DELICIOUS! No one can really duplicate her recipe. Her daughter can... and did for several years when that sister lived in AZ and couldn't always come home for the holidays.

This holiday was extra fun because there were 3 babies there! Little Man, my nieces' baby (1 month older than Little Man) and a 3rd that I'm not technically related to, but it's so convoluted to explain, it's not worth the breath. All of my siblings are step (for over 20 years now), and I have spent many holidays with their father and his wife (my step-mom's ex-husband and wife). I think my kids will even grow up calling them "PeePaw" and "Mare" just like everyone else. Someday I'll probably have to draw a diagram just to explain to my kids. So the 3rd baby is from that side of the convoluted family. Anyway, it was fun to watch the babies interact with each other, and then to watch the adults pass around babies and play.

Here are a few pics from Thanksgiving #1...

Thanksgiving #1

The Mister's side of the family has this tradition going back oh, 40+ years. Camping at Thanksgiving. It started with just his immediate family, and eventually blossomed into this giant 100+ person meal. Several families from his childhood church camp (6-10 families) at the same campground in south Texas, and then everyone else arrives on Thursday with food in hand. We used to go every year, but then his parents retired and moved to central Texas. So now it's just us. There have been a few years that we didn't camp, for one reason or another. Last year, we just invited his parents to our house for the week. Which means they bring their yappy dogs (rat terriers.... really.). So this year, to avoid time spent with the yappy dogs, we suggested camping again. It was also Little Man's first time camping. He did alright... woke up in the middle of the night all 3 nights, but otherwise it was good.

So now we're off to do Thanksgiving with my side of the family. My side at any holiday is TOTALLY different than his side. His side at Thanksgiving: 9 people in attendance (my family of 5, his parents, a brother & his wife)... My side at Thanksgiving: 30+ people (I'm the youngest of 6... plus nieces/nephews now bring significant others, and even a couple of them have babies!). My side is LOUD... almost too loud. Someone will usually sit down at the piano and start playing, and then like a moth to a flame, others gather round and start singing. Very Norman Rockwall.

Normally we don't see my side until Christmas, but this year we are going to start what will hopefully become a new tradition. We are going skiing. Instead of dealing with the usual family drama(s) (oh, don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about), we are removing ourselves from the warzone ridiculousness state and heading to Colorado. I'll tell you more about that another day.

For now, I'm off to finish a few chores before we head to Oklahoma. Should be interesting...

My heart broke a little...

Saturday night, my heart broke a little. Sister #2 came downstairs after her shower and she was crying. I thought she hurt herself. But when I asked, she let it all out. She said she wanted to move back to our old neighborhood and play with her old friends. She said she didn't like it here. My heart broke.
We moved about 7 1/2 months ago. The Little Man was on his way, and we needed a house with more space. So over spring break we moved. We let the sisters finish the school at the school they had been going to for nearly 2 years. We thought that would help... you know, try to keep some sense of normalcy. Especially knowing that once Little Man made his debut, a lot of that normalcy would fly right out the window.
The new house is in a new neighborhood, but there are quite a few families with kids already here. In fact, there are 13 other kids on our cul-de-sac and 12 on the cul-de-sac behind us. And 4 of them are Sister #2's age! In fact, both sisters have made friends with almost every single one of them. And once school started, they have friends on the bus that they know from church. So it came as a real surprise when she said this.
What do you do? I was almost at a loss for words. We explained to her that we weren't going to move back to our old house. And we suggested she play with some of the kids that aren't as bossy. Deep down, I know this is just one of the parts of childhood you have to just muddle through. But as a mom, it breaks my heart.
Yesterday, she woke up in a fine mood... and she even played outside with some neighborhood kids yesterday afternoon. I guess we'll take it one day at a time.