I made some new and improved features to our photo gallery.
New features:
Adoption Update: Today marks eight months or 35 weeks of waiting for our referral. I cannot believe it has been that long, time is flying by. There was finally a much anticipated sibling group referral this week, the couple waited just shy of 12 months, 4 year old girl and 18 month old boy. A six month old girl was also referred this week. Congratulations to the happy families!
Work-Outs: Let’s just say I took the week off! I was so lazy this week and I blame it all on Matt, had he not spoiled me so much for my birthday weekend I would not have been so lazy. It was really hard to get back to normal life! Matt woke up early and rode his road bike all week, he loves riding early in the morning, while I am content to be in bed.
Gardening: Things are sprouting away. It is so nice to see some green out there. We are having a little sunshine problem, with the sun being low in the horizon and our acacia trees getting so big, little is making it through to the garden. I am going to come up with some sort of reflectors out of used political signs to get a little more light on the garden. Thankfully this is only a problem for about four months out of the year.
Random Stuff: It finally is feeling like fall! I am so excited, the weather is absolutely gorgeous. I can keep the windows open all day and enjoy the fresh air. We were finally able to turn off the A/C for the year. I hope to keep it off until May again.
Cabinet Matt hung for me on my birthday, complete with kitty shelf.
Carter’s new favorite napping spot
I had a wonderful day yesterday with my hubby. He took most of the day off just to spoil me. This is a big change for him, in the past he was not so good at taking time off for himself or anyone else. It made me feel really special to have him to myself yesterday. 🙂 He started the day by making me breakfast and doing the dishes which also included unloading the dishwasher. Then we went mountain biking, lucky for me he is pretty patient, it had been a while since I had been on the mountain, things were a little slow, and a little whiney at one point, but I did end up having fun. Then in the afternoon I got to take a hot bath, get a back massage, and take a little nap. He even did some house projects for me yesterday. We hung an antique cabinet in the kitchen, moved the table, and rearranged a few things. We capped off the day with pizza and going over our sample ballots to figure out how we were voting today. It was a very nice, relaxing birthday. Thanks to my wonderful, amazing husband! (He actually spoiled me all weekend long.)
My family celebrated with me on Saturday night with good food, games, ridiculously impossible candles (thanks mom), and lots of presents. I now have a nice apple corer and peeler for all those apple recipes and a pressure canner which I cannot wait to use. Thanks guys!
Thanks to everyone’s birthday wishes this weekend. I loved reading comments and getting emails.
BTW if you haven’t already done so, quit reading blogs and go VOTE.
For her birthday, stephanie wanted to go mountain biking.
here she is.
this video does not do the hill justice. it is 5x steeper looking in real life, both going down and going up.
So tomorrow is Stephanie’s Birthday! I’m posting early, because I think she will be expecting it then. Being early I can still have some element of surprise shock value that I posted it.
Some photos from Saturdays family celebration.
Stephanie’s tiara
Good Mexican lasagna made my Stephanie’s mom.
And the birthday girl blowing out some super sparkling candles
“woah halloween is fun. candy is good!” was what we heard tonight from one cute kid while handing out candy.
This is the matt edition of the friday update. so it’s probably not as in depth as stephanie would be.
Adoption
same deal as the usual. no sibling referals this week. I think how it feels for us, and i feel bad for who ever is number 1 on the sibling list. they have been waiting a long time, and I hope they are matched with a sibling group soon!
Work outs
Stephanie has been doing lots of walking, and is still rocking on her push ups. Me, i kind of work on them. I have lost some motivation. not sure why, i do like the results so far. I’ve been back cycling on the road bike in wee hours of the dark mornings (with headlights!) a lot this week. I guess my road bike and i just need a relationship break. We are friends again.
The garden is coming along. Maybe next week some pics may be needed. Things are still alive, and sprouting a bit more.
Grass is coming in nicely for the winter rye
we carved some mean pumpkins with Steph’s parents & steph’s bro & wife. the results:
I could not have said those words a month or two ago. I was not thankful at all, I was done, I wanted to be a mom and that was it. I have spent a lot of time reflecting lately on my life, the wait, and who I am. I was the person who never really knew what they wanted to be when they grow up, I said I wanted to be several things, teacher, marine biologist (you can be one in Arizona right?), scientist, professional football player, lawyer, and many other things have crossed my mind. I never had a strong desire to have a professional career, all I knew was I wanted to be a mom. I have spent the last couple years of my life waiting for that to happen, forgetting that I have a life right NOW, just waiting for my life as a mom to start, because that would bring me the ultimate in fulfillment. I have come to the realization that living a life just waiting for my future isn’t all that great, not that the future won’t be great, but just focusing on that and nothing else isn’t the most fulfilling way to live. I have been focusing more on living in the moment, living for each day, and learning to enjoy what I am passionate about. I realized that I have grown quite a bit in the last couple of years and that I really like the person I am becoming. I am not trying to boast about how wonderful I am, if you know me really well, you would know I struggled with liking me (I think a lot of women do, but I could be wrong).
I am thankful that I have had the opportunity to wait and learn so much more about myself. I have been given the opportunity to develop passions that I did not know I had, passions for cooking, baking, gardening, and the environment. I have learned that I can be fulfilled and content without being a mom, of course, that would bring fulfillment and contentment to my life also, plus great joy, but for now I am going to enjoy the wonderful life I do have, right here, right now, and I will move on to the next chapter when the time comes.
Misty also wrote a great post on joy and waiting this week (then she got her referral two days later, go figure).
No I did not write this post in hopes of getting a referral, I just wanted to share my thoughts. 😉
This pie is tasty! I don’t usually make it because my mom makes it for me. 🙂
Pie crust – make your own or buy it at the store
Pie Filling:
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbls. flour
1 small sour cream (I think that is 8 oz, mom you can correct me if I am wrong)
1 egg
1 tsp. Vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
1 can apple pie
Topping:
1/3 c. flour
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. margarine
Bake 24 minutes at 400°, sprinkle topping, bake 20 minutes more.
Autumn Apple Salad with Pomegranate
Vegetarian Times – October 2008
Fuji, ginger Gold, and Pink Lady apples are good choices here because they resist browning.
2 tsp. olive oil
1 large shallot, finely chopped (1/4 cup)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tbs. honey
12 cups mesclun salad mix
3 oz goat cheese, crumbled (1/4 cup)
1 cup pomegranate seeds
1. Heat oil in small skillet over low heat. Add shallot, and saute 4 minutes, or until soft. Remove from heat, and stir in balsamic vinegar and honey. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Combine mesclun mix and apple slices in large salad bowl. Drizzle with half of shallot dressing, and toss to coat. Divide salad among six plates. Top with goat cheese, pomegranate seeds, and remaining dressing.
This salad won me over because it had goat cheese and pomegranate, but the Fuji apple I bought for it stole the show, it was yummy.
The magazine also gave a tip on how to remove pomegranate seeds without getting squirted. Slice off the top of the pomegranate, then cut the fruit into quarters. Place one quarter in a large bowl of water, and rub the seeds from the pith with your fingers. Let the seeds sink to the bottom of the bowl, and repeat with remaining quarters. Strain out water — the yield for one pomegranate is about 3/4 cup of seeds. My giant pomegranate yielded over one cup.
For those of you who frequently shop at Target, I know many of you do, they are offering a free reusable tote if you send in five Target plastic bags.
Reusable bags are easy to use and one great way to help the environment.
Adoption Update: No referrals again this week. Hopefully we see some next week. I finally scheduled our travel vaccination appointment, some people wait until they get a referral, but I didn’t want to have to do it so close to when we travel, I think we will be pretty busy preparing for Tom and Jerry once we get our referral and don’t want to have anything extra to worry about.
Push-Ups: I finally am graduating from week 3! I am starting to feel the improvement.
Gardening: A few of my seedlings died this week, but I have lots of new stuff sprouting. I would take pictures, but they are so tiny it would be hard to see.
Other than that nothing too exciting has been happening. The weather has stayed very tolerable, only getting to the upper 80s or low 90s, the mornings are a very cool mid 60s. I have been spending lots of time outside, riding my bike places and just loving this time of year.
I made a few blog updates tonight as requested by my beautiful wife.
This is Matt’s favorite brinner recipe.
Spiced Apple Pancake
Good HouseKeeping October 2007
Tip: For the puffiest pancake, use a cast-iron skillet. If you don’t have one, choose a heavy 12-inch skillet with a bottom that is at least 10 inches in diameter and an oven-safe handle.
2 Tbsp. butter or margarine
2 Tbsp. water
1/2 c. plus 2 Tbsp sugar
1-1/2 lbs. Granny Smith apples (3 to 4 medium), peeled, cored, and cut into 8 wedges
3 lg. eggs
3/4 c. milk
3/4 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice or 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon (ummm I use both because I like it that way)
1/4 tsp. salt
1. Preheat oven to 450°F. In 12-inch cast-iron skillet, heat butter, water, and 1/2 cup sugar over medium-high heat to boiling. Add apple wedges; cook 12 to 15 minutes or until apples are golden and sugar mixture begins to caramelize, stirring occasionally.
2. Meanwhile, in blender or food processor with knife blade attached, place eggs, milk, flour, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, adding liquid ingredients to blender first. Blend until batter is smooth.
3. When apple mixture in skillet is deep golden, pour batter over apples. Place skillet in oven; bake 15 to 17 minutes or until puffed and lightly browned. Serve immediately.
