I love how much Caleb loves his cousins! I only wish we lived closer to the rest of them!
Thursday, February 16, 2012
February Photo A Day - Makes You Happy
Saturday was my neice's 3rd birthday party. This is Caleb and his cousin Sophia showing some love to the birthday girl, Krista!
I love how much Caleb loves his cousins! I only wish we lived closer to the rest of them!
I love how much Caleb loves his cousins! I only wish we lived closer to the rest of them!
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
February Photo A Day - Self Portrat
I haven't forgotten about February Photo a Day. But I have gotten a bit too busy to sit down and blog. So pardon me while I catch up on the last few days!
Here's a self-portrait from last week. Friday we took Caleb to his very first monster truck rally, which he loved! Everyone warned us about the noise, so we invested in some inexpesive hearing protection. Thank goodness we did. It WAS loud!
However, nobody warned us we'd be sitting in a cloud of noxious exhaust fumes for two hours! My eyes were burning in the beginning! I wished I had brought my onion goggles! Maybe next time!
Here's a self-portrait from last week. Friday we took Caleb to his very first monster truck rally, which he loved! Everyone warned us about the noise, so we invested in some inexpesive hearing protection. Thank goodness we did. It WAS loud!
However, nobody warned us we'd be sitting in a cloud of noxious exhaust fumes for two hours! My eyes were burning in the beginning! I wished I had brought my onion goggles! Maybe next time!
Thursday, February 09, 2012
February Photo A Day - Front Door
I'm cheating by sneaking this one in a day early. But tomorrow is going to be a long day, and I'm not sure I'll be home before 9. I turn into a pumpkin around 10, so I figured if I was going to do this at all, I better do this today!
This is the front door to the very first house we've ever owned! (You know, the one we live in now!) We typically have some ferns on the porch, but they are inside for the winter.
And then, just because that was a really boring pic, here's a picture of the front door of our house in England. When Tommy was deployed, Zeus used to spend a good portion of every night sitting by the door, whining, waiting for him to come home.
Now Zeus spends a good portion of every evening trying to get into the trash in hopes that he'll find a snack. Bad dog!
This is the front door to the very first house we've ever owned! (You know, the one we live in now!) We typically have some ferns on the porch, but they are inside for the winter.
And then, just because that was a really boring pic, here's a picture of the front door of our house in England. When Tommy was deployed, Zeus used to spend a good portion of every night sitting by the door, whining, waiting for him to come home.
Now Zeus spends a good portion of every evening trying to get into the trash in hopes that he'll find a snack. Bad dog!
February Photo A Day - Sun
Sunrise over Gate 2 at Fort Jackson while waiting to get on post this morning.
Sheesh, I have to get to work early.
Also, not taken today, but because I love this picture for all the memories it brings back, here's a sunset off the veranda of our room on the Disney Magic on the Disney cruise we took two summers ago.
I believe we were leaving Corsica when I took this one. I took a sunrise/sunset pic almost every day on the boat. Every time I see this picture, my heart squeezes up a little missing that boat.
Sheesh, I have to get to work early.
Also, not taken today, but because I love this picture for all the memories it brings back, here's a sunset off the veranda of our room on the Disney Magic on the Disney cruise we took two summers ago.
I believe we were leaving Corsica when I took this one. I took a sunrise/sunset pic almost every day on the boat. Every time I see this picture, my heart squeezes up a little missing that boat.
Wednesday, February 08, 2012
February Photo A Day - Button
Today I'm going to use the February Photo a Day theme as a verb instead of a noun. Hope you don't mind!
Caleb recently learned to button and unbutton his own clothes, which is a pretty big deal. He tends to get very frustrated with tasks that require fine motor skills, and dressing himself has been a sore spot in our mornings for months. The only reason I've still encouraged it is primarily because I know he needs that skill. Trust me, I'd rather avoid the tantrum and save myself five to ten minutes of my morning by just dressing him myself.
Fortunately, his preschool teacher has more patience in this area than I do. Between our work at home and his work with his teacher, Caleb has come a loooooong way in the last six months. Not only is he buttoning and unbuttoning shirts and pants now...
He's also putting on his own shoes! (Shoes have been a nightmare in the mornings!)
]
No, I do not know what that is on the bottom of his shoe. Yes, it does look like gum.
But notice that intense look of concentration! The firm set of the jaw, the dark gaze, the smoke rising! ;)
Yeah, buddy! You did it! What a good start to the day!
Caleb recently learned to button and unbutton his own clothes, which is a pretty big deal. He tends to get very frustrated with tasks that require fine motor skills, and dressing himself has been a sore spot in our mornings for months. The only reason I've still encouraged it is primarily because I know he needs that skill. Trust me, I'd rather avoid the tantrum and save myself five to ten minutes of my morning by just dressing him myself.
Fortunately, his preschool teacher has more patience in this area than I do. Between our work at home and his work with his teacher, Caleb has come a loooooong way in the last six months. Not only is he buttoning and unbuttoning shirts and pants now...
He's also putting on his own shoes! (Shoes have been a nightmare in the mornings!)
]No, I do not know what that is on the bottom of his shoe. Yes, it does look like gum.
But notice that intense look of concentration! The firm set of the jaw, the dark gaze, the smoke rising! ;)
Yeah, buddy! You did it! What a good start to the day!
Tuesday, February 07, 2012
February Photo A Day - Dinner
So yesterday I spent approximately four hours in the kitchen making homemade tomato sauce that, quite frankly, was mediocre.
Now it's not my first time making a less than stellar dinner. In fact, I've become pretty good friends with mediocre meals over the years. But to have spent FOUR! HOURS! on my feet in the kitchen to produce something that I didn't LOVE was, to this home chef, devastating. It literally put me in a funk the rest of the night. I woke up this morning and made a boring bowl of oatmeal because I was so heart broken at not kicking that sauce's butt, I couldn't even find the energy to fry an egg.
(I think my two biggest issues were a.) it's not tomato season, and b.) this recipe really wasn't what I was looking for in a tomato sauce.)
Anyway, I have good news! I have redeemed myself in the kitchen! Thank goodness, because I was almost ready to hang up my apron.
I've been on a huge Pinterest kick lately. Pinterest just speaks to my soul. It makes me want to TRY things all the time! I realize I'm still relatively new to it, so I'm experiencing the honeymoon/novelty phase of it. But if every honeymoon phase produced as many good recipes as I've found on Pinterest, I'd be thrilled!
Tonight I made Chicken and White Bean Enchiladas with Creamy Salsa Verde from SkinnyTaste.com with a side of Spanish rice from Rice-a-Roni. (Hey, a girl's gotta eat sometime before 8 pm!) While a tad time consuming for a weeknight meal, the results were worth it.
I loved the chicken and bean filling, and the salsa verde on top was delicious. I think the recipe could use a bit more heat, but that might be because my jalapenos were a bit mild. The only thing I'd do differently is saute the jalepenos with the onions for the sauce, instead of adding them in at the end. I wasn't a huge fan of crunching down on my jalapenos.
Unfortunately, I was so hungry by the time they came out of the oven, I forgot to snap a picture of it in all it's glory before I started shoving my face full of food! D'oh! So you'll have to settle for this, the leftovers.
Oh, man, leftovers, I can't wait for tomorrow! Enjoy your rest tonight, 'cause I'm gonna tear you up at around 12:00 in the office break area while watching Steve Harvey host Family Feud! It's on like Donkey Kong!
Now it's not my first time making a less than stellar dinner. In fact, I've become pretty good friends with mediocre meals over the years. But to have spent FOUR! HOURS! on my feet in the kitchen to produce something that I didn't LOVE was, to this home chef, devastating. It literally put me in a funk the rest of the night. I woke up this morning and made a boring bowl of oatmeal because I was so heart broken at not kicking that sauce's butt, I couldn't even find the energy to fry an egg.
(I think my two biggest issues were a.) it's not tomato season, and b.) this recipe really wasn't what I was looking for in a tomato sauce.)
Anyway, I have good news! I have redeemed myself in the kitchen! Thank goodness, because I was almost ready to hang up my apron.
I've been on a huge Pinterest kick lately. Pinterest just speaks to my soul. It makes me want to TRY things all the time! I realize I'm still relatively new to it, so I'm experiencing the honeymoon/novelty phase of it. But if every honeymoon phase produced as many good recipes as I've found on Pinterest, I'd be thrilled!
Tonight I made Chicken and White Bean Enchiladas with Creamy Salsa Verde from SkinnyTaste.com with a side of Spanish rice from Rice-a-Roni. (Hey, a girl's gotta eat sometime before 8 pm!) While a tad time consuming for a weeknight meal, the results were worth it.
I loved the chicken and bean filling, and the salsa verde on top was delicious. I think the recipe could use a bit more heat, but that might be because my jalapenos were a bit mild. The only thing I'd do differently is saute the jalepenos with the onions for the sauce, instead of adding them in at the end. I wasn't a huge fan of crunching down on my jalapenos.
Unfortunately, I was so hungry by the time they came out of the oven, I forgot to snap a picture of it in all it's glory before I started shoving my face full of food! D'oh! So you'll have to settle for this, the leftovers.
Oh, man, leftovers, I can't wait for tomorrow! Enjoy your rest tonight, 'cause I'm gonna tear you up at around 12:00 in the office break area while watching Steve Harvey host Family Feud! It's on like Donkey Kong!
February Photo A Day - 10:00
This is where I was at 10:00 am yesterday.
But due to a particularly depressing result from a new recipe, I couldn't be bothered to actually post it yesterday. I was in a post-cooking funk.
This isn't related at all, but it did make me laugh. Spied at the local Food Lion while waiting to check out. I was WONDERING where they had moved the disco balls!
But due to a particularly depressing result from a new recipe, I couldn't be bothered to actually post it yesterday. I was in a post-cooking funk.
This isn't related at all, but it did make me laugh. Spied at the local Food Lion while waiting to check out. I was WONDERING where they had moved the disco balls!
Sunday, February 05, 2012
February Photo A Day - Stranger
I'm cheating. I chickened out and didn't take any pictures of strangers today. I almost did the grocery store, but I felt creepy, so I didn't.
So here's my cheat picture instead.
Made Caleb pose today for a Valentine's Day card idea I got from Pinterest. This one won't work for the card, but it was too cute not to share.
Tomorrow's theme is 10:00. We'll see if I can do better sticking to the theme!
So here's my cheat picture instead.
Made Caleb pose today for a Valentine's Day card idea I got from Pinterest. This one won't work for the card, but it was too cute not to share.
Tomorrow's theme is 10:00. We'll see if I can do better sticking to the theme!
Saturday, February 04, 2012
February Photo A Day - Hands
Caleb struggled with his fine motor skills for a while. Just in the last 2-3 months, he's really made great strides in this area, including drawing and writing. His preschool teacher has really been working with him on things like writing, button shirts, zipping pants, putting on shoes--all things that have brought on melt downs at home when we try to tackle them.
Watching him write his name (albiet backwards) is still amazing to me. That little marshmellow of a baby has grown into such a big little boy! At school this week, he counted to 40 for me! Fourty! At karate tonigth, he counted to 10 in Japanese with no assistance from his Sensei!
Those little hands are getting so big. At least they aren't too big to hold my hand yet.
Watching him write his name (albiet backwards) is still amazing to me. That little marshmellow of a baby has grown into such a big little boy! At school this week, he counted to 40 for me! Fourty! At karate tonigth, he counted to 10 in Japanese with no assistance from his Sensei!
Those little hands are getting so big. At least they aren't too big to hold my hand yet.
Friday, February 03, 2012
February Photo A Day - Words
I went to a luncheon today in which we took the True Colors personality test. I took this test just a couple of years ago while overseas, and I tested the same this time. I'm a blue.
It's strange. I took a conflict style assessment last summer that really threw me for a loop. At the end of the assessment, I ranked really low in assertiveness, which I never thought I had a problem with before. But I do tend to value harmony, and will sometimes feel like a confrontation is just not worth the fuss. Conflict takes a lot of emotional energy, and sometimes I just can't be bothered.
Having said that, I have noticed that while I may not address the issue at the time, sometimes it continues to bother me later. I mean, this isn't news to me. What is news is how often it occurs. 'Cause I'm assertive, gosh darnit! Aren't I? At leat, I thougtht I was...
It's strange. I took a conflict style assessment last summer that really threw me for a loop. At the end of the assessment, I ranked really low in assertiveness, which I never thought I had a problem with before. But I do tend to value harmony, and will sometimes feel like a confrontation is just not worth the fuss. Conflict takes a lot of emotional energy, and sometimes I just can't be bothered.
Having said that, I have noticed that while I may not address the issue at the time, sometimes it continues to bother me later. I mean, this isn't news to me. What is news is how often it occurs. 'Cause I'm assertive, gosh darnit! Aren't I? At leat, I thougtht I was...
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