I Heart My Health! (and sunday dinners #3 and 4)

Oh! I am so thankful to back in the land of the living (and breathing). I have been down with a sinus infection for the last two weeks. I am not 100% back but I can fake it. I seriously got to a point where I could lay on the couch no more. I wanted to get back to my old working mode (wait! maybe something is still wrong with me!). So, I went back to work, hand sanitizer and airborne in hand. Luckily, I managed to contain my germs at home and so far no signs of hubby or NK getting sick.

I did manage to cook here and there. Two Sundays ago we had some Garlic Chicken Pasta. If it wasn't my favorite meal, I probably would have already forgot what we had two weeks ago. It is a go to meal when we are busy and I can keep it in the crockpot and we can eat it when we want. If I remember, that was a big football day and I figured we could all just eat when we got hungry, or when we needed a break from laying on the couch! Last night was a yummy Sunday dinner as I was feeling much better. We grilled some steaks and scallops and did a surf and turf dinner. We had a baked potato and some carrots too. I was stoked when I got the steak and the scallops on sale at Henry's. The whole meal was under $15. I was surprised NK was lovin' the scallops.

In the non-food world, I can't believe that NK is 19 months old. It is her last teen month. We are getting so close to 2. And, if you know me, you know that I have already started planning the birthday party. She is growing up so fast. I am also getting excited for Valentines Day. I have some neat things planned to do with NK and some cute gifts to make for NK to give at daycare.

Sunday Dinner #2

I realize that it is Tuesday and the Sunday dinner is now well over. I was down with a cold all weekend. I have been sick four times since I have taken on this new job. Yikes! I need to build up my immune system. We did manage to cook dinner on Sunday. It was more of a football watching, snack eating, barbeque at halftime dinner but we were still all together and that's what's important right? We had chips and dips and some potato skins that I made for snacks. I left the grilling up to Shane and we had hamburgers, grilled potatoes, ranch beans , and fruit. This was a great meal for NK since her favorite food is ketchup. If we eat something that requires ketchup she dips everything in it. Even her fruit! Sadly, the Chargers lost but it was a good day overall.

There's always next year! For them and the Cowboys! Daddy, can NK still wear her Romo jersey next year?;)

Bring Back the Sunday Dinner

One of my many goals for 2009 (one I did not list below) is to bring back the Sunday dinner. The way my grandma and my mom used to cook it. Nothing fancy (maybe sometimes), just a nice dinner to share with family. It's a nice way to start the new week. I actually like cooking Sunday dinner because I have almost the whole day to prepare. I'm not coming home from work and rushing to get something on the table.

So, last night we had a pot roast that I put in the crockpot in the morning, mashed potatoes, ginger honey glazed carrots, and Shane's green beans. For dessert we had brownie sundaes. Everything was delicious. One Sunday dinner down and 51 more to go! Here's to a year worth of yummy Sunday family dinners!!!

On another note, look at my little NK. What a difference a year makes in her little world.

January 2008 Six months old and just starting to scoot around.

January 2009 Eighteen months and all grown up! I'm lovin' these pink boots!

Play-Doh and Teething

So I thought we would try playing with play-doh today! It was fun! NK had fun squeezing and mushing it. She would have played with it all day if I would have let her. Of course she tasted it! Can you tell she didn't like it?

What a fun morning we had! And then, in an instant, it was like the evil twin sister was released. NK was so irritated. She's teething right now and this, by far, has been our worst batch of teeth yet. I kid not when I say that she cried for two hours straight. Nothing could comfort her. She finally conked out and took a much needed nap. She woke up back to her old self. yeah!

Christmas "Wrap-Up"

Get it wrap-up? Like a gift? Ha!Ha! So I'll leave the funnies to the professionals. Before it gets to be Valentines Day I should give the Christmas wrap-up. No joke.

Christmas is such a busy time for us. Shane always has to work such long days and I am usually running around finishing everything up! Did I get to do everything I wanted? No! Did a have an absolutely fantastic holiday season anyway? Yes! Like I said before, my mom took us to Disneyland the Monday before Christmas. This will definitely be a tradition we continue each year. We will go a week earlier though so Shane can come too! Christmas Eve was at my Aunt Adele and Uncle Mike's this year. As always the food was yummy and there was way too much! NK looked adorable in her Christmas dress. She loved climbing the stairs, "playing" the piano, and running laps around the house. This was her first year in the family name draw and my cousin Carson drew her name. He's the youngest of the cousins so that was cute. Christmas morning rolled around and Santa was good to NK. He brought her a play kitchen, a high chair for her dolly, pots and pans, and a bake sets. It was fun to watch her play with everything. Then it was off the my parents house for presents with my family the traditional Christmas breakfast. If you have never had a grease cake you have not lived my friend. What is a grease cake? Fried bread dough! That's it! Put some honey butter or jam on that thing and you are in heaven. Of course we also had eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, and biscuits and gravy. Again, never a shortage of food in this family. After that heavy meal it was back home for a nap and playtime. Later that evening we went back over to my parent's for Christmas dinner. It's nice to end the busy holiday with a quiet, relaxing, casual dinner. We spent some time with Tracey because she was headed back to Paris in the morning.

We were truly blessed this holiday season. We had a wonderful time with our family near and far.

Happy New Year!

HAPPY 2009! Today is about parades, football, and of course, FOOD! But it is also a time to reflect. I have been thinking about the last year this morning. Here are my highlights from 2008:

Nellie's first birthday along with many other firsts: crawling, walking, talking, first foods. She grew so much in a year. It has been amazing to watch! Motherhood has been the best gift ever.

Finally getting a job. It was well worth sticking it out!

Knowing that I have a solid relationship with my husband that can withstand beginning parenthood, financial strains, and my emotional outbursts;). We were sure put to the test this year and yes, it was tough, but we did it.

Barack Obama elected president. OK, so I don't often get up on a political soapbox, I tend to keep my political beliefs to myself. However, not only was this election monumental, but I have faith in this candidate and the change he can bring to our country.

So, what are my hopes (goals, resolutions, dreams) for 2009?

First, that my family continues to be healthy and happy.

That we become homeowners.

That we pay off bills so the previous is possible.

That our family will grow:).

To get all our affairs in order, just in case.

To go on a vacation,PLEASE!!!

To blog on a regular basis.

To learn how to knit.

To get caught up on all my scrapbooks (make that all my projects).

To keep my job.

To join the daring bakers challenge, if they'll have me.

I guess I could go on and on! Here's a few to get me started right:) I feel it in my bones, this is going to be a great year! I wish you and yours a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2009!