Oh Yea! Tuesday!

I have nothing to blog about... but it's been a while so I thought I'd just start typing and see what came out...

I'm kinda stuck in my weight loss quest. I made it to twelve pounds lost... then gained two back.... then lost one... then another... then gained one.... So I've been stuck between ten and twelve pounds for around two weeks now. I guess that means I need to do more, push harder, be more conscious of what I'm eating (that has slipped considerably since babyshower/superbowl weekend). I need to change up my workout, which so far has just been to ride my stationary bike 3-4 times a week. Anyway... that's that. "Yea" for the solid ten lost and "Crap" for the forty still to go....

Kids doing fine... Logan has become a computer whiz. He is constantly playing games on the internet without any assistance. Doing puzzles online and learning to count to ten. I thought Nola was going to be my baby genius... but he's giving her a serious run for her money!

Kirk hates his job. Not quitting, but looking for other options. Long story short, he was put into a restaurant that was quickly falling downhill and they wanted him to jump in and turn it around and make it great. And taking a pay-cut while being expected to work miracles is no one's cup of tea.... so he wants out. Don't blame him at all....

I haven't taken more than a handful of pictures (of anything - artful or family) in two months! What is my problemo? I think the winter blues are getting to me. No outside, no sunshine, no camera. Oh Spring... Where are you when I need you?

So my plan today is to take some pictures... of something... anything.... maybe. Maybe tomorrow I will put up a post with photos!

Storms A Comin!

They say we will get blizzard like conditions for the next three days... like the blizzard of '82. Well, I didn't live here in St. Louis in 1982 - I lived in sunny Dallas, Tx. But I grew up hearing all my friends here talk about that 'one time it snowed so much' when they were kids... And how they tunneled to each others houses and built forts in the snow... the stories go on and on about the blizzard of '82....

So while I"m not convinced it's going to be that big of a deal, especially seeing it through adult eyes, I'm trying to prepare for it none the less. Making sure we have charged flashlights and batteries and I know where all my big candles are... They're predicting lots of power loss due to the ice build up. In 2006 we had an ice storm and we lost power for about three days. Nola was just born (about 3 mo old) and I was up at 4am feeding her when my neighbors giant old tree in their front yard cracked, fell, and took out our power. It was an eerie sound as the tree cracked, much louder than I thought it would be, even not knowing what it was at the time... and then five minutes later it crashed down, hit their house and took out all our power lines. I believe I screamed in the dark... I was in my living room and very close to where their tree stood.

There was also the aftermath of that ice storm... I remember standing on my front porch in the evening and looking out over the neighborhood covered in ice... and then it started sounding like a giant was walking towards me... the trees were just crashing to the ground off in the distance. My street is very quiet so the sounds were echoing up to where I stood and it sounded out of this world....

I've heard we had three feet in 82. And they are only predicting 10-12 right now... plus all the ice. So I'm not sure if they are just trying to scare us. But the weather reporter on the news last night said the words the national weather warning used were: crippling conditions. That can't be good, right?

So I will be stocking up on smokes, wine, batteries, salt, milk... and hoping for the best.
See you all after the thaw! ha ha!

Week Three

I am at the end of week three of this year and of working out. And it's going pretty good!

So far I've lost 9 pounds. NINE!

I was aiming for three and I got nine. And I'm realizing that I enjoy working out. It's like a break from the kids, I can listen to my headphones really loud (if someone is watching the kids... if it's just us then I only listen in one ear...) and it's getting so much easier as I go. And the fact that I'm actually seeing results is keeping me going. So yep. That's it. Nine....

Hot Salt!

What's better on a super snow day than something super HOT? Hot Salt!

I had all these hot peppers drying from the summer and kept meaning to do something with them... So I decided to not just make pepper flakes, but hot pepper salt.

Started out with a plate full of dried Pinata Peppers that I grew this past summer.


I took the tops and stems off and put them into the food processor.


A couple pulses of the chopper and they were broken down to large flakes.


So I added some Kosher salt and mixed it a few more times...


And voila! Hot Salt! And this stuff is on fire! I've added it my salads and to spaghetti... WOW! Burn Baby Burn!


I'm just proud of myself for actually doing something useful with something I grew. I think this stuff will last us a long time, seeing as that you can't really use too much at a time...

Barbie 2011

So if you didn't read yesterday's post - go do that now.

Later in the day Logan comes out of the bedroom with this in hand.

Holy shit Barbie! What the hell happened to you!?!?!


"But Mama.... I just wanted her to be cool! I wanted her to be cool like your fingernails, all black and sparkley.... " Nola.

I guess she's right... I do have really cool fingernails. But poor Barbie will never be the same again.