the beginnings of Halloween

This week marked some activities that are getting us in the mood for Halloween. First of all, I was in charge of a Halloween activity for the ladies at church. The purpose was to swap old Halloween costumes with each other and brainstorm ideas for homemade costumes so we could all save money. I used it as an excuse to make all the fun Halloween treats and some decorations that get me so excited about this holiday. We had wormy apple punch, mini caramel apples, dirt cups with worms, eye ball deviled eggs, bone breadsticks, ect. Our family got to carve a pumpkin too as a centerpiece that had dry ice induced fog rolling out it's face. Ada really got into pulling the seeds out, Odessa would only touch it with a spoon. It's so funny to see the differences in one child and the next.

We also looked into moving this week. Crazy, I know! But we got curious about some cheaper apartments in the area. We are paying a little more in rent than we would like (we didn't realize when we moved here that groceries were going to put us through the roof!!) Plus we really would love to have a place with a yard or a couple other amenities. I am including this picture of our duplex in Chicago (Park Ridge) last year when we had it decorated for Halloween. I didn't realize how nice it was to have a front of a house to decorate for holidays or an alley to try and garden or a little fenced yard for the girls to play in. I don't really have a place for our yard decorations here, so we had to get creative and just play with them. Here Odessa is saving me from an attack of a giant spider. So we did go and look at an apartment yesterday that is quite a bit cheaper than ours and came away realizing why we pay more! Once you feel you are not really getting ripped off, it's a little easier to handle. Stephen really wants to stay close to work for now and so we will stay here at least a year. It may mean a few more really budget savvy meals, but ok.

Probably the most life changing thing that happened this week was that Odessa finally turned that corner in potty training. She went more than 5 days without any accidents and got to take 3 straight rides on the Seattle Center carousel as reward. Whew! We finally found something that motivated her enough to keep her excited about getting up on that throne. Now I have entered that realm of mothers of children who are wearing underwear and just maybe, they shouldn't be. That realm where you find yourself asking your child all the time if they have to go, where you worry about accidents at the store and bringing extra clothes and an emergency pull-up (I have to carry a larger diaper bag!) where you DO NOT HAVE TO BUY DIAPERS EVERY WEEK (ok, at least for one kid). It's amazing, it's liberating, it's very time consuming. Now I understand why those moms do the things they do, because I am doing them now. Big step, we hope mom can handle it.

Ready for rain

I hate Money

I wanted to mail a small package as a thank you to a speaker for a church function. Her office is downtown, so not far. I needed a box to protect the items, an envelope wouldn't work. I honestly don't know where a close postal office is, but there is a UPS office down the hill from us. I took my items there to be mailed. It weighed a half of a pound. After taking all the information and figuring on the computer for awhile, (I told him to use the cheapest method possible, this was just a "Thank You") he looked up at me and said "that will be $22.00". Ha!!! I said "no way". More figuring by his teenage coworker and then it was "$14.00 - we won't charge you the 7.00 for the bubble wrap". Seven dollars for BUBBLE WRAP? I said I was sorry for taking their time, I was sorry for chasing my kids around their store, pulling all the cards and shipping tubes out of their displays, I was sorry for the quarter I wasted on parking. I gathered up my little items and said to myself I would walk them downtown myself for $14.00. I was very polite, I was just being scandalously sarcastic inside my head. So the next morning I put them in a big envelope with the address on front and pointed my husband in the right direction- a place a few blocks from his work! What a pain!

Next foible of mine: Odessa had a follow-up appointment for her tooth at the dentist. Never schedule an appointment on the 1st of the month. If you haven't flipped your calendar page, you might miss it! That's what happened to us anyway. I called to apologize and see about rescheduling and heard on their message that they require a 2 day notice for cancellations or it's a $75 bill! Ack!! I expected some sort of fine for missing the appointment, but $75! Her first appt after insurance cost us $32. I was so mad at myself, you should have seen me. Thank goodness, when I talked to the receptionist later in the day she informed me that a letter explaining their policies had been sent out, but not a bill. Whew! A first warning of sorts.

Third foible: Going to the thrift store. Yes, you are pretty sure you are saving a whole load of money by paying only $1 for those rain boats and $2 for that shirt, but you end up buying more than you were planning because things are cheaper. Then there is the parking: I only had 30 cents on me- that got me 14 minutes. My friend showed up and reminded me that the parking meters here take debit or credit- but I thought I would come back out in 14 minutes instead of paying for the same minutes again. Ack! What's wrong with me? I came out a few minutes too late and what do you know- a $35 parking ticket. The cops and parking enforcer were casing the street the WHOLE time we were there. I saw 3 other people getting tickets. I am sure one of the officers stood by my car the entire 14 minutes!!

I just hate it when stupid mistakes (or poor willpower) cost me money. My mother was right (isn't she always? ughh). You really are more poor out of graduate school than when you are in school. Ah school loans, where are you now? Demanding payment, that's what!

Well, here are a couple of recipes to brighten the last of this mesage. We enjoyed them so much last week, I shared with my family and thought I would post them here as well. They're from Rachel Ray- supposed to be 30 min, and they are not too hard.

Smoky-Spicy Sweet Potato Soup
4 sweet potatoes (2 1/2# peeled and sliced 1 inch thick)
Salt
1 Tbls Olive Oil
4 slices smoky bacon, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and shredded (I added more)
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, chopped plus 2 teaspoons adobo sauce*
5 sprigs Thyme
1 bay leaf
32 oz chicken broth
1 tsp grated orange peel and juice of 1 orange
1/8 tsp cinnamon
honey or maple syrup for drizzling
pepper
sour cream for serving on top

1. In a large saucepan, add the sweet potatoes and enough water to cover, bring to a boil, salt the water and cook until tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Drain and return to the pot.
2. While potatoes cook, in medium pot heat olive oil. Add the bacon and cook over medium-high heat, stirring often until crisp, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a paper-towel lined plate. Discard all but 2 Tbs fat. Add the onion, carrot, chipotle chile, adobo sauce, thyme sprigs and bay leaf and cook until onions are softened 6-7 minutes. Stir in the chicken broth, orange peel, orange juice and cinnamon; drizzle with honey or syrup and season with salt and pepper. Simmer about 5 minutes, discard thyme and bay leaf.
3. Add the broth mixture to the drained sweet potatoes in the pot and blend in batches in the blender or food processor. Serve the soup with the bacon peices and sour cream on top.

*I learned somewhere if you get a can of Chiles in Adobo sauce you can freeze the leftovers in ice cube trays lined with plastic wrap and then you have one chile cubes to use in future recipes.

Grilled Eggplant Subs with Mozarella and Tomato Jam
1/2 cup Oilve Oil
2 cloves garlic
1 sprig rosemary
1 small red onion, chopped
1 15 oz can fire-roasted diced tomatoes (I used regular diced and then added a frozed chipotle pepper with adobo sauce, I took out the pepper when it was finished cooking, it would have been really spicy)
1 TBS brown sugar
2 TBS balsamic vinegar
2 eggplants, cut into 8 slices each
salt and pepper
1 cup packed baby arugula (I used romaine although I know it's way different)
1/2 cup basil leaves, torn
juice of 1/2 lemon
4 crusty sub rolls
1/2 to 1# ball smoked mozzarella (I had to use a smoked white cheddar b/c no smoked moz at the store)

1. Preheat grill pan to medium high or broiler to high. In small saucepan, heat the oilive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and rosemary and let steep for 3 minutes.
2. In large skillet, combine 1 TBS of the infused oil and red onion over medium heat and cook until softened, about 6 minutes. Add the tomatoes, brown sugar and vinegar, lower the heat and cook until thickened, about 7 minutes.
3. Brush the eggplant slices with the infused oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill or broil, flipping once until tender, 2-3 minutes each side. Do this in 2 batches if needed.
4. Dress the arugula and basil with the lemon juice and remaining infused oil, season with salt and pepper.
5. On each roll bottom, layer 4 eggplant slices, a handful of green and smoked mozarella. Grill or broil to melt the cheese. Slather the roll tops with the tomato jam and set in place.

Domesticalities

That isn't really a word, I don't think. Anyway, we learned a new lesson yesterday. Let a toddler play with a camera, she breaks it. Let her play with it again, she might fix it. The girls were carrying the camera yesterday and then it started working again. It's nice that we could download the photos that were on the card, but sad that we missed so many things this last month that we would have like to take pictures of. The Fair, Eugene, birthday, anniversary, dinner parties, trip to the beach . . . . sigh.
Over Labor Day weekend we bought peaches outside of Ellensburg. I have never canned peaches by myself, so I only bought one box and I was pretty nervous about it. I ended up with a hybrid, Rich Lady. They were red and fuzzless and a semi-free stone meaning they didn't just fall away from the pit. But they were firm and so flavorful! I was so glad Stephen came from a canning family! He whipped through the blanching and peeling so fast, I couldn't believe it. I was so proud of the end result until I talked to my cousin in Eugene the next day. She and a friend canned 90 quarts of peaches!! It was her first time canning too. Our moms seemed quite proud that we are interested in carrying on the home economics traditions. They were canning queens. My sister in Richmond tried preserving marinara sauce made from her own tomatoes this year and my other sister was teaching ladies in her church how to can peaches too.





























Another domestic triumph lately was making tamales from scratch. My neighbor Jen is really good at it and she sent me a recipe and web site with instructions. Although it is time consuming and labor intensive, the end result was worth it. (Even though I let the water run dry once- thanks Kristyn for letting me finish cooking them at your house!) They freeze great and are inexpensive and kids love them- so easy to handle. My freezer is full of them and I can't wait to make more.
Stephen had his own triumph this week. Fruit flies are a constant annoyance for people here. You hear everyone complaining about them. Stephen finally made an effective trap and we have cleared most of them out. He took a glass pop bottle and put red wine vinegar in the bottom with a drop of soap. The vinegar attracts them and the soap breaks the tension on the top so they drown. We have caught dozens of them- yuck! (this is not an original idea, we got it off the internet- but we tried various versions before this worked best).
Things are humming along as we enjoy a few fleeting days of beautiful sunshine. Enjoy it while it lasts!

Fears and Stuff

Yesterday we took a long walk into some areas of downtown we've been wanting to explore. There were several groups of activists on busy corners with posters and megaphones, shouting their messages of repentance, political action and local music (of all things). Most of them exploiting people's fears about salvation, the economy, the Middle East.
We took the monorail from Westlake Center to the Seattle Center intending to walk home. At the Seattle Center we saw that an Italian Heritage Festival was going on and since Stephen spent 2 years in Italy, we had to stop and check it out. We got to the children's stage in time to see a puppeteer show- the Italian version of Cinderella. Odessa squealed with delight when the puppets first popped in and out of the windows and we thought she was the perfect age to appreciate the show. Pretty soon though, she was squirming out of her seat to sit in my lap and whimpering "I want to go home" over and over. She was very distraught, so we finally left. We were both dissapointed because we were enjoying it and so was Ada! Like we had supposed, she finally admitted on the way home she was scared of the puppets (I detect a future clown hater).

This week seem to be full of things that might prove fearful. Stephen and I have had long discussions about the economy and how a recession might affect us. On one hand, I take the reports seriously that this is a major crisis. On the other hand, I have been to 2 dinner gatherings this week and afterwards I realized that none of us even brought up the economy. Part of me is bewildered about how to take in the whole situation. I guess it's hard to freak out about something that hasn't yet changed anything about your everyday life. We missed the debate, so watched it yesterday on the computer. Now we're analyzing which candidate provides the least number of propositions to fear. Why are campaigns all about picking the lesser of 2 evils? Probably because they are always pointing out each others faults, so you are constantly comparing who is worse.
In a favorite scripture in the Doctrine and Covenants (revelations given to Joseph Smith) it says "if ye are prepared, ye shall not fear". So we're looking at how we're prepared and what we can do to be more prepared for whatever things may come. It's an uncertain world, but I think we will just try and do as I have heard both of our parents say before and "keep on keeping on."

"How 'bout them Broncos?!!"

This was how my sister answered the phone when I called her after Saturday's game. The Boise State Broncos played University of Oregon in Eugene, OR on Saturday. We are both sincere Bronco fans. My father has worked for BSU since before I was born, so I have always been and always will be a Bronco. Stephen can actually claim alumni status, so of course he is a Bronco. Plus Boise is our hometown and they have a great, underdog team that beats some pretty good big teams. (May I refer you to the Fiesta Bowl of 2007?)
Since we ONLY live 4 1/2 hrs from Eugene AND my cousin Sarah and her family just moved there from Racine, WI (where we used to visit them regularly) we decided to take a road trip down to Oregon. We opted out of getting tickets since they were pretty pricey and decided to watch the game on a big screen at a local sports bar/restaurant. Good plan: watch the game decked out in BSU paraphernalia sitting amongst U of O fans and give them all alcohol.

But the dirty looks and tension in the air was worth it because we WON. Oregon is ranked 17th- we are not even ranked. They were heavily favored to win. We stopped their attempt to make a 2 point conversion early in the game and it was like "ha! don't assume you can push us around because you're supposed to be so good". Things got progressively worse for Oregon. We passed the ball time after time, sinking long passes and making touch downs. This is our FRESHMAN quarterback, ha! At half time we had an 18 point lead and the announcers were saying things like "I have never felt the way I feel right now in this stadium" and "Oregon has never had such a deficit of points to make up before". Ha! Oregon came back (mostly in the 4th quarter) and played well. But it was too little, too late. It was as if we had poked the giant and he had slept in for another 2 quarters before finally waking up. What fun, what a ruse. It was SO WORTH the road trip.
Plus we got to see my cousin and their new house. We took the girls to a farm and petting zoo in the morning and they had such a blast. Stephen decided that someday he wants a little orchard farm. If I had a dollar for every hypothetical job change he makes . . .
Alas, still no pictures because we still don't have a camera- ack! What a fun weekend.

Shall we do warm and fuzzy?

It's a nice day for warm and fuzzy. Seattle is gray and a little cooler. That means only half the people at Green Lake and the great greenbelt that wraps around it, so I don't mind much. Plus I got myself some luscious sheepskin slippers at the Fair last weekend, so bring on the cold weather, I'll be ready. The girl's both have raincoats coming over e-bay. Thrift shopping online, my next step up the food chain.
The warm and fuzzy however refers to the fact that it's Stephen and I's 4th anniversary today. I love seeing everyone's old wedding photos, so I will post a few of those. It's fun to have so many other young couples in the ward. For some reason, references to our wedding days and receptions keep coming up. I find it slightly amusing and slightly depressing that no one yet has been perfectly satisfied with their reception or something about their wedding day went amiss. Result of too many expectations produced by movies like My Best Friends Wedding and other silly movies I guess. Oh, I am one of them, no doubt about that. But I had a perfectly delightful day and really shouldn't covet any other type of embellishments to it.
Last night Stephen and I got to go to the Seattle LDS temple and act as representatives for people who had passed away. In their names, we were sealed (or married) to each other- for 5 different couples. As these people are deceased, we believe they still have their free will to accept this sacred ordinance or not. It was wonderful to kneel and hold hands across an alter. A mirror hangs on the wall behind each person, and the reflections go on . . . forever. That is to represent the eternal aspect of this sealing. I think 4 years have increased my understanding of the importance of this ordinance. It's also increased my appreciation for Stephen a great deal. The day I was married I thought I was a pretty lucky girl, but now I KNOW how lucky I really am! Stephen has learned that my mom wasn't kidding when she warned him upon our engagement: "you've got a tiger by the tail". I'm lucky he still likes tigers.
So just because I didn't have the huge white tent I had wished for or the grand dance floor, I did have a beautiful sunset, Italian arias and the always unique wedding-party-city-bus-ride to the luncheon. Here's to a lot more years learning how lucky we really are!