Chicken and Dumplings

One of my new birthday gifts was a a large enamel coated dutch oven.  Something I have always wanted but never wanted to pay for.  Yes, I am totally spoiled.  The first meal I made in it was Chicken and dumplings.  So delicious.  I have had this recipe for years but haven't made it for quite some time.  I got the recipe here.  It is always a favorite.  I usually double the dumplings and leave out the thyme.

Halloween 2011

I lined the family up for a picture in costume and noticed they were all wearing black.  What ever happened to Spiderman and princesses?!  

My Birthday

I went with a really good friend to the spa on my birthday.  We had pedicures . . .

 and then we got our eyebrows waxed.

 We met our husbands for lunch at Kneaders.

 Check out this yummy turkey avocado sandwich that I had for lunch!

 And this delicious fruit tart I had for dessert!

My family showered me with many great gifts including this one and the "thing" that goes with it.  I'll leave that part up to your imagination.

It was a most excellent day!

A New Member of the Flock

Meet Ethel, the newest member of the flock.

We had some friends who had 2 chickens.  When one died, they worried the other was lonely.  They asked if she could come join our chickens.  Of course!  It's a little of a "trick" to get her accepted in, but happens quite quickly.  The kids have enjoyed holding, petting, and loving her already.

Choir Concert

Is Erica really old enough to be in high school?!

 She was in her first choir concert.

Honey

Our first honey harvested by my honey!

Todd brought the boxes in,

 scrapped the caps off of the honeycomb with a hot knife,

 spun the comb really fast to release the honey,

 and then filtered the honey, twice.

There it is . . . our beautiful raw honey.  

We got 18 pounds from our first harvest!  We are hoping to get more next year as the bees will not have to work at building all the honeycomb because we left it for them to use again.  Also, Todd is thinking about getting some more hives.  What a successful project!

A Hike

Last night we took a family hike at Camel's Back park with the Atwood family. 

No, we did not climb straight up that hill . . . 

We took the switchbacks.

Check out the view on the way up!  I am mostly talking about the cute guy on the left, but the view of the city is nice too.

When we got back to the bottom, the kids (and Karen) rolled down the grassy hill.

 We ended with some fun on the playground and a stop for ice cream at McDonald's. 

What a great way to spend a Friday evening.  We missed Jay who stayed home sick.

3 Old Boxes

Or maybe I should say . . . 3 old boxes that are new to me.  I love old things that can be repurposed.  And I especially love old boxes.  I found 3.

This first one is to store wood in next to the fire place.  It replaces a thrown together, lidless, unpainted, particle board box.  And I love it.

 Here's the second one.  Guess what I am using this one for?

My new sewing box!  Love it too!

And here's the third.  I don't know what I'm going to do with it yet but I still love it anyway!

Ukraine to Utah

Please take a minute to check out this blog: Ukraine to Utah.  Kevin and Becky are friends of my brother.  Their story stole my heart.  I know how it is to know a child, not born into, but is still meant to be a part of your family.

And if you have a few extra dollars, send them their way.  

An Addiction

I have a new addiction . . . green smoothies!  Yep, that's pretty much what they look like.

Every morning, around 7:00 am, I pull out the blender, a bunch of greens, and some frozen fruit.  I start blending and filling up these jars for the whole family.  I drink 2 of these quarts a day, Todd drinks one, and each of the kids get a pint. I did say whole family and that includes grandpa.  I asked him everyday for the last week if I could make him one.  He would give me a look like, "You've got to be kidding,"  and he would always say no.  But I kept offering.  And yesterday he said, "I guess I should be drinking those too.  Do you have any extra?"  And he loved it.


The one above is the one I drank this afternoon.  It is one of my favorite blends.  It has raw spinach, kale, chard, peaches, and strawberries.  Do you have any idea how many great vitamins, minerals, and nutrients are in these?!  If you can get past the color, they are delicious.  Come on over and I'll make you one.

I won!

The Women's Show that I mentioned in the previous post is like a trade show with a bunch of retailers that are of interest to women.  It is held the 2 days prior to the Women's Fitness Celebration.  It is also where we go to pick up our race t-shirts and race numbers.  Many of the retailers have drawings at their booths to encourage us to take a look.  And I won one of the drawings!

You can see most everything in this basket . . . salt scrub, body butter, pomegranate soap, cuticle lotion, linen spray, nail brush, foot pumice stone, and a cute little wallet.  The flowers in the back are actually attached to a cute pair of chocolate brown flip flops.  The part that you can't see in the picture is my favorite part . . . $150 gift certificate to one of the nicest salon and spas in Idaho.  Hooray!


I love to be pampered, but it seems to always come with a little bit of guilt, like maybe I should be spending my money on something we need.  Now I can enjoy my spa pampering, guilt free.  What can be better than that?!