Sweet Fuzzy Lovin'

For the last few weeks Reese has been a stuffed-animal-lovin' fool. Any stuffed animal, anywhere, qualifies for some serious lovin' and the lucky ones get kissed and patted heartily. Funny thing, the other day I handed her the baby doll her Aunt Britney gave her, and she just held it out from her and looked at it, then at me like,

"Um. . .this isn't fuzzy. What am I supposed to do with it?"

I grabbed it and showed her how to give it loves, and this look of recognition came across her face, "Oh, I get it! It's an animal that lost its fur!"

She took it in her arms, lovingly rubbed it against her face, and smacked it soundly on the back.

Things should definitely be interesting when someday we bring another one of the 'fuzz-less animals' home from the hospital to stay. Hmm. Yeah, that should be an adjustment. :)

A while ago my sister Meg sent us a bunch of clothes that Annalee had grown out of for Reese to wear. Inside the box was a pair of fuzzy, purple, animal slippers (puppy? kitten?bobcat? I just don't know). For any Bones fans out there, do you remember last season when they took care of a baby, and Bones picks up the toy and goes, "And just so you know, this is wrong. Elephants aren't purple." Ha. I liked that part.

Anyway, they're still too big for Reese, but today, in a hurry to get Ry to school on time, we threw them on her feet. We soon found her in the back seat cuddling with them both. She'd pulled them off her feet and pressed their little faces up to her cheek and sighed and patted them on what would have been their backs if slipper animals had them. We got a great laugh out of it. The funny part is that we have yet to keep them on her feet- I tried again this afternoon, she did the same thing, and even planted a wet one on one of the mystery animal's nose.

I'm putting the video I took of her walking in them- right before she pulled them off- even though I turned the camera on its side not realizing that I wouldn't be able to flip the video. However, it is well worth tilting your head to watch because she walks like some cartoon character with ginormous (how do you spell that?!) shoes. Its great!

Random Photos

This one's for you Shaypay- the angry parrot lives on!

Reesey, using the force. She's a child prodigy.

Camping

I thought I should put up a few of the camping shots we had from about a month ago when we had our ward campout and then hit Salamander Flats with Melese and Kyle.

We had a great time, and Kyle even initiated Reese into the 'Cheeto of the Month' club.

Reese loved the hammock! In fact I think we all did- all except Kyle- I think he was in there a grand total of about 10 seconds with Mese before he started looking a little green.

Just Another Manic Monday

I've been making biscotti this morning, and I just keep thinking about Everybody loves Raymond ("Biscotti, Debra?") - anyone watch that show? I never really thought much of it until a few months after we got married Ryan and started watching it and now I think its hilarious. A completely disfunctional family, yes, but it's crazy how suddenly funny married sitcoms are once you're in the same boat. One of our favorites is Mad About You. Mostly because we feel like, maybe, if we had born New Yorkers, we would actually be Paul and Jamie Buchman. Oh, yes, I'm the 'clenched' one who spends most of the day thinking up stuff to be stressed out about, and Ry isn't completely sure about the bisque (quick suck in of air through your teeth).



While we're talking about TV, is anyone else a fan of Bones? Love it. I'm definitely looking forward to Booth and Bones finally hooking up this season. Oh, and I love the murder-solving aspect too. :) That's all.



Well, I thought I'd put a few more pictures of the bug up. This morning on a totally unresponsible -mother whim I decided to put Reese in the bookshelf with her stuffed animals for a quick picture. Hmm, she used to fit so well. :) I know, its horrible, but she had the same cute smiling face as most of her animals, so she just seemed to fit right in. Also, here is a video of her walking-
she's quickly becoming a seasoned veteran. Only trouble is her huge belly makes her a bit front-heavy so she biffs it like crazy once she tries to get up some speed. She also loves blowing kisses- she's a huge hit at the grocery store!

Romance and Cake Pans

I am a sappy romantic. We watched Shall We Dance last night and I am utterly amazed at the fact that no matter how strong I am feeling at the end where he rides the escalator up with the red rose in hand, I begin weeping. Well, not really weeping, but my throat closes off and my eyes get a little too shiny, and then of course no matter how hard I try I can't keep a pathetic, high-pitched sigh from escaping me. I love it.

Well, I write today with renewed resolve to become. . . not necessarily a quote-unquote blogger, but someone that keeps a record. I've always loved to write, and thinking back today, I was realizing that some of the times I've been the happiest happen to be the same times that I was dedicatedly (word? oh well, Shakespeare made them up all the time) writing. En plus, there are so many amazing things happening in my life write now and I feel completely ungrateful for them and like a complete. . .hmm, somehow 'clod' is the only word I can figure to describe the mental image I'm conjuring up right now, hmm. . .anyway I feel like a complete clod (ha! I like it) by not recording them all for others to read and assuredly laugh at.

I feel I should also mention here that my big sister told me to. :)

This last week has been an on-going refining fire. Not in the sense that people usually use that word, but in the sense that little by little I'm realizing that the job I'm in doesn't bring me happiness. I'm a cook at school up the canyon, and while there are plenty of good aspects of what I do, each day that I've gone to work, I've come home with a strong resolve that I was meant for bigger and better things. Not a cocky thing, but I guess I'm gaining a testimony in a way, that life is meant to stretch and challenge and make us better people. Once we're totally comfortable and have leveled out on the plain the only thing left to do is either find another mountain to climb or head back down.

I love challenge and stretching and being pushed to do things I'm not quite sure I can do. Yes, I do realize that all of this 'passion for problematic living' is being expressed while I'm not actually in the situation. Somehow it feels right, though. I want to grow and feel like I'm doing amazing things with my life and my culinary abilities, so I'm in the process of looking for something else. I'm really into baking right now- gourmet and artisan-type breads and pastries. It's so much fun to play around with. Thanks to my friend Stephanie, I have finally found the most incredible banana bread recipe known to man. No joke, it divine. Now that you're drooling (don't be ashamed, salivating over something delicious is completely natural), here is the recipe:

Cardamom & Almond Banana Bread

mix the following dry ingredients:
1 1/2 c whole wheat flour
2/3 c oats
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 c organic brown sugar cane (you can use light brown sugar)
1/2 c dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cardamom

separately mix the following wet ingredients:
1/4 c butter, softened
4 ripe bananas
1/3 c sour cream

Mix both dry and wet ingredients together. Mix in 1/2 c almonds. Coat loaf pan with cooking spray and pour in the bread batter. Bake at 350 for about 1 hour.

So so good- I promise you won't be disappointed.

It's actually quite weird, but I love the fact that I've know what I love since I was 5 years old and waking up early to watch 'Cooking at the Academy' instead of cartoons on Saturday mornings. You thought I was kidding about the weirdness, but I wasn't. Yeah, I never told the kids in my fourth grade class that I actually got cake pans and pastry bags for Christmas instead of something normal. They just weren't ready for that one. And to be honest, neither was I. I think I rattled off my brothers' gifts when they asked me what I got. :)

Anyway, I'm working on getting Reese as excited about food as I am, and I think all my hard work is paying off. She is becoming quite the little connoisseur. She loves to watch while I mix and bake and get dinner ready, and we shared a great bonding moment the other day while we shared a smoothie together on the kitchen floor.

These pictures are from a few weeks ago when we visited the Museum of Natural History up at University of Utah. Reese was so excited she giggled all the way into the building, and even walked around like the big kids for a few minutes. We had a blast! The museum is free on the first Monday of the month, and we decided that our 30 minutes through was the perfect amount of time with a one-year-old who's attention span is about 30 seconds at a time.

She really liked the teepee. :)