Eating Takes FOREVER!

UpdaTes--Rings and Stars

So, as I posted earlier, Hell will freeze over. Here are some pics of the ring.









BTW, she did say yes. Against everybody's better wishes. If anyone needs to empty their stomach contents, I can retell the story of how I proposed sometime.

In other news, we have season tickets to UT's Football games. Wow are they fun--way different than the crowd-on-ritalin BYU football games. Night and day. Anyway, we had some decent seats, and guess who was sitting above us in the box seats? See if you can guess from the photos...

Workin' Out Baby!

Rebecca decided she was going to work out with the ankle weights today. She wanted to work on those rolls that are just above her knees. I told her that I think she is just adorable the way she is! Especially with the headband.

Fall Means Squash

So last Friday, I canned tomatoes with Crissie. So earlier in the week, I found a couple in my ward who grow tomatoes and have more than they can eat. So I went over to their house and got some tomatoes. While I was there I was admiring a butternut squash that he had.

Brother G.: The dog digs them up. Do you like zucchini?
Me: Yes.
Brother G.: What size?
Me (confused): The size at the grocery store is the only size I have had.
Brother G. motions with his hands the normal size of a zucchini at the grocery store.
I nod my head agreeing.
Brother G.: Let me go get you on.

He comes back with a butternut squash and a zucchini that is 7 to 8 inches around at the biggest part and 1 1/2 feet long! So this week, I have been planning my squash adventures. On Monday, I made butternut squash soup. I actually combined two recipes, one from my grandmother and one from online. It ended up being like this:

Spiced Butternut Squash Soup

INGREDIENTS:
3 pounds butternut squash, halved and seeded
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 medium onion, sliced
1 leek, sliced
2 carrots, chopped
2 cloves garlic, sliced
32 oz. chicken broth
2 large russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 Tablespoons brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup half-and-half cream

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Pour a thin layer of water in a baking dish, or a cookie sheet with sides. Cut squash in half and soup out seeds and stringyness. Place the squash halves cut side down on the dish. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a fork can easily pierce the flesh. Cool slightly, then peel. Set aside.
2. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, leek, carrots and garlic, and sauté until tender. Pour the chicken broth into the pot. Add the potatoes, and bring to a boil. Cook for about 15 minutes. Add the squash and let boil another 5 minutes. Mash with the potatoes until chunks are small. Use an immersible hand blender to puree the soup, or transfer to a blender or food processor in batches, and puree until smooth. Return to the pot.
3. Season the soup with cayenne pepper, allspice, nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, salt and pepper, then stir in the half-and-half cream. Heat through, but do not boil. Strain through a sieve for best quality.

Yummy! Funny thing was that I wanted to strain it to make it the best possible and my sieve was only about 1/4 or 1/2 cup size. So it took me like 30 minutes at a minimun to strain it. I'm glad I can laugh about it now. I have about 7 cups frozen and have eaten 2 cups already. So next is the zucchini. I'm grating it and putting it in the freezer. I have an idea of what I'm going to do with it, but I'm going to wait for a lemon or two from off of the delicious lemon tree in my in-laws backyard.

Non-Stop Holding, Cuddling and Crying

Rebecca is either sick or teething and I think its the latter of the two. She woke up at 4 this morning screaming. During the day she wants to be held and if you set her down, she starts crying and crawling over to you to hold her. She is having a rough time! Occassionally she is happy, but the last few days those moments are few and far between. She is fine when you are holding her, but she is normally just cuddling. She is sometimes running a low grade fever too. Poor little toot.

Drinking Some Water

The Talent!

So the other website I was using to host my videos isn't working anymore. For some reason it was having issues with the volume. But now Blogger lets you post videos!

Last Weekend

Johnny had his first soccer game on Saturday that Rebecca and I attended. Johnny is #28. He had a really fun time. It got pretty hot while we were there, but we had our hats on. The third picture is Rebecca mad at me because I was trying to get a picture with the goggles on her and she would have nothing of it.

Then we have James and me, Isaac, Rebecca in her cute dress, and James hugging Rebecca. Rebecca and I pretty much spent the whole weekend with Crissie and the boys, since the big boys were gone hiking.

Oh yeah and the Dad was hiking this weekend...here are a few pics. Quite beautiful.

Zweibackin' Mess

Rebecca had some Zweiback toast for the first time last Thursday. Of course she LOVES it; what kid doesn't like things that make huge messes?! It was all over her and the seat and inside her diaper. This picture down below is her playing on the table. When at home she probably spends 50% of her time standing holding on to this table and then the couch, over to the stationary bike and back again.

Friday I went to Livermore and Crissie came down too. I made Burnt Sugar Ice Cream and she made wheat bread. It was fun and delicious. James decided to climb up the stairs by using the railing instead. He's a little minkey.

The exact dates that Hell will freeze over

For all those who don't know, Hell will freeze over on March 13 & 14, 2008. More details to unfold. Stay tuned while this reporter uncovers the late-breaking facts. In the meantime, mark these date off on your calendar and plan a trip to ATX.

Labor Day

Friday, Steve decided to take off work, because orginally we were going to go down to our friends place in Santa Cruz, but they ended up having family only. So instead we went to the beach out by Half Moon Bay. It was a BEAUTIFULLY day. There was a little bit of fog in the morning but then it burned off and was gorgeous. There was a little breeze which kept it cool. The water is still and always will be freezing, but that's okay. So here is a picture of my sandy toes. I loved the red nail polish sticking out from underneath.

Then we have some Rebecca and Daddy pictures as they stood out next to the waves. It was a nice beach and wasn't very crowded (which is always good).

Then on Saturday we went to the cabin and for dinner we ate at La Villa's, the local mexican restaurant. Rebecca was loving the guacamole. She ate more of it today as well.