He takes his hobbies seriously

If Carter isn't meticulously "parking" cars in a row down the entire hallway, he's driving them around making engine noises (including sound effects for gear changes and squeaky breaks).

If he's not doing that, he's orchestrating car accidents with his various ramps and train track pieces. When they collide, he says, "OHHHH! Train trash!" or "OOOHHHH! Car trash!" (trash = crash).

If he's not crashing cars, he's talking about dump trucks, tractors, and train tracks, asking for Nascar while pointing to the TV, or reading books about excavators and helicopters.

If he's not doing any of the above, it's because he's eating or sleeping (with a HotWheels car clenched in his fist under the blanket, no doubt).

And the first thing he says each morning is, "Hi Momma! Trains?"

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Two

Happy birthday, baby.

K & M

Yay! My sister Meg is getting married to an amazing guy. I took their pictures yesterday, and here is a video! It's late, so I won't elaborate.

Click to watch!

Mind-blowing.

I love watching TED Talks. They're so thought provoking, and I'm pretty much addicted to them. But this one, you have got to see. A year ago, this idea would have seemed so incredibly futuristic to me. Like something out of a sci-fi movie. But all the super smart interfaces on phones lately make what you're about to see feel almost within reach. So get a load of this...

Boom!

I took a much needed day off today. My first real personal day from work in almost exactly 2 years if you don't count one or two sick days and the regular work holidays. Steve already had the day scheduled off because our babysitter had the day off, so it just seemed like a good time to take a break. We took Carter to the Living Planet Aquarium. I was a little worried he'd be too young, but he had just as much fun as we hoped he would. The entire time he was either a giggly, bouncy mess, or completely enthralled. He hasn't stopped talking about the eels since.



This boy had no problem reaching his hand in the water to pet a stingray, but when a huge turtle behind the glass came a little too close to his face, he jumped into my arms. Funny boy.



My favorite part of the entire day was when a huge grouper swam right past Carter's face and he squealed, "Ooooh hoo hoo hoo! [think Tigger laugh] Lookitduh biiiig fish! BOOM!"

Austin & Alissa

My brother is getting married in May, and I had the privilege of taking their engagement photos this evening. It was so cold, I couldn’t feel my fingers! I was wearing two coats and poor Alissa had short sleeves on. It was still fun. Here are a few of my favorites, and then a (poor quality) video of the rest. Check out Alissa’s cute foot tattoo in the first one, I love it!

I love you guys!













CLICK HERE FOR THE VIDEO

Comforting Chicken Pot Pie (feat. Photographer Dani Vest)

I got this most fabulous recipe from one of my e-BFFs, Dani. I have since wowed many men with it (my own man, and to the chagrin of the other mens' wives. Ha!) (Totally kidding) (Well, kidding about the snotty "chagrin" part, not about the "wow" part)

I have made a few "personalizations" to Dani's original recipe, and have been meaning to post it for a while, but I think pictures are important on recipe posts, and that's been the main hold up. I'm too lazy to make the recipe tonight just so that I can get some good pictures, so I hope she won't mind that I'm borrowing her pictures for this post.  I promise if you follow the recipe, yours will turn out looking just as beautiful as these pics!

Ingredients

2 pie crusts
3 chicken breasts (or you can buy a rotisserie chicken at the grocery and shred it up)
5 new potatoes (the red kind)
2 can Cream of Chicken soup
1 lb. bacon
1 bag frozen peas and carrots - thawed
1 sweet onion - diced
butter
egg

1. Heat oven to 450

2. Chop the entire package of bacon into one-inch chunks. Add to a frying pan and cook until crispy. Move cooked bacon to a paper towel. Dispose of the grease, but don't wash the pan!

3.Wash and dice the potatoes (don't skin them!) Throw them into a pot of boiling water and add a chicken bullion cube (or not, if you're watching your sodium)

4. At the same time, put the chicken breast into another pot of boiling water.

5. While those are cooking, grab a pie dish (the biggest one you can get your hands on, this pie is huge!) and put the bottom crust in. Bake it in the oven for 8-10 minutes or just until it's golden brown. This prevents a soggy-bottom pie. When you pull it out, turn the oven down to 400.



6. Add a bunch of butter to your post-bacon frying pan. Like, a lot. Half a cube (this is where the man-pleasing comes into play) Dice the onion and saute it in the butter. When they become somewhat translucent, take them off the heat and set them aside.

7. By now your chicken and potatoes are done. Potatoes are done when they break apart when you stick a fork in them and twist. Strain the potatoes. Shred the chicken into bite-sized chunks. (I use two enormous forks. It's kind of a workout, but don't worry about losing too much weight, because remember all that butter? Yeah.)

8. Get the biggest mixing bowl you own. Combine the chicken, potatoes, peas & corn (just throw them in there frozen, they'll thaw within a few seconds with all that other hot stuff), onions, bacon and the Cream of Chicken soup cans. Use a big rubber spatula or wooden spoon to stir it all up (be patient. go slow or you'll make a huge mess)

9. Spoon the entire mixture into the pie.



10. Add the top pie crust and trim, slice, and accessorize the top to your liking ;) (At least a few slits in the top to allow steam to release while baking)

11. Whisk one egg with a fork and brush it over the top. (This is more for presentation than taste. It's what'll give your crust that Betty Crocker glow)



12. Bake 40 minutes on top rack.



Seriously?

Seriously.

Her Morning Elegance

This is the most amazing music video I'm sure I've ever seen. And. The Lyrics are delicious.

Sun been down for days
A pretty flower in a vase
A slipper by the fireplace
A cello lying in it's case

Soon she's down the stairs
Her morning elegance she wears
The sound of water makes her dream
Awoken by a cloud of steam
She pours a daydream in a cup
A spoon of sugar sweetens up

And She fights for her life
As she puts on her coat
And she fights for her life on the train
She looks at the rain
As it pours
And she fights for her life
As she goes in a store
With a thought she has caught
By a thread
She pays for the bread
And She goes...
Nobody knows

Sun been down for days
A winter melody she plays
The thunder makes her contemplate
She hears a noise behind the gate
Perhaps a letter with a dove
Perhaps a stranger she could love

And She fights for her life
As she puts on her coat
And she fights for her life on the train
She looks at the rain
As it pours
And she fights for her life
As she goes in a store
With a thought she has caught
By a thread
She pays for the bread
And She goes...
Nobody knows

And She fights for her life
As she puts on her coat
And she fights for her life on the train
She looks at the rain
As it pours
And she fights for her life
Where people are pleasently strange
And counting the change
And She goes...
Nobody knows

Thanks for the find, Ali.

They were rude. And when I asked them to be nice, they were even more rude.

Twins!

My yellow pepper was pregnant with two green peppers. Is this concerning to anyone else besides me?



Maybe I won something! I should check online to find out.

I'm blind

Glasses or contacts? Please inform and discuss.

Me on Good Things Utah

A few weeks ago I was invited to be on a local ABC women's talk show, Good Things Utah. On the show we talked about my company, Urban Botanic. It was fun! Here's the clip:

Vermont's Finest

If I can just make it until tomorrow night when my head finally hits my soft pillow...

Work is beyond busy. Home is even busier. Control over Mt. St. Laundry eludes me. Three big dinners to host/attend this weekend. Ack! It's all too much. So I've pulled back my hair, slid on my fuzzy socks, and am now taking a deep breath while I Imagine Whirled Peace with my friends B&J. Cheers.

Dead Meat

That's what Steve will be as soon as he gets home from picking up our dinner from wherever he's going to surprise me. He left about 15 minutes ago, and I was upstairs on the computer in a green knit sweater and my undies. And socks. And a bobby pin holding back my bangs. There I just listed everything I'm wearing at the moment. Well, I was doing something on the internet that required the use of my debit card (shopping? me? nah.), which I left in my purse. Which is in my car. Which is in the garage. So I hopped down the stairs, through our kitchen, and opened the door to the garage. It was pitch black in there, so I flipped on the light. It pretty much blinded me, but I was able to make it down the 3 steps to my car. I opened the door and dug through my purse. Finally, debit card in hand, I whirled around to go back into the house, and was stopped dead in my tracks. You know what was staring me right in the face?

MY ENTIRE EFFING NEIGHBORHOOD, THAT'S WHAT!

He didn't close the garage door.

And it's pitch black outside, so it was all the same to me when I opened the kitchen door to a pitch black garage.

Here is a classic example of why men get in trouble for really stupid, petty things. I realize it's stupid and petty, but all the same, he is dead meat when he gets home in a few minutes.

Are any of my readers shrinks?

***Update*** The cats hate Dino. He is now back home with us. Oh, what to do.

If so, advise me, plz!

After many moons of contemplation, this past Friday I gave my Chihuahua, Dino, to a nice lady with another Chihuahua and 3 cats. She's very much an animal person, and Dino seemed to take to her well. So off they went. I spent the entire weekend missing Dino and wondering (once again) whether I did the right thing. He's such a good little dog, and every reason I had to give him away fell under the category of my own weakness/inability to be a dog owner and be sane at the same time.

It was eating me this afternoon, so I gave Dino's new owner a call to see how things were going. She said, "Well? They're going." Dino and the other chi are in love with each other. But whenever one of her cats comes in the room, Dino goes absolutely ape all over the place. She wants to give it a few more days before making a decision on whether they can get along long-term and if things aren't looking good, I'm making her give him back to me.

So the part where I truly need counseling in order to get rid of my angst and guilt? Is the part where I'm seriously considering keeping him if he comes back to me. I'm picturing this trade-off scene between me and Mother Neurosis: "Hereyago, MN, here's my guilt [plop] AHHH that feels better. Now give me back my insanity." A fair trade?

Don't tell me it's just a dog, because I KNOW. I KNOW IT'S JUST A DOG. Eff.