Behind Bars

I sincerely hope you aren't worn out with pictures of Anna. I know sometimes it seems like the same old thing.

But, Anna has recently discovered that the bumper around her crib is adjustable. Almost every time I go in there she is looking through the bars for us. Then we get to play a little Peek a Boo, one of her favorites.

So the other day, when the lighting and temperament was just right, I got some pictures.





Above is one of my favorite Anna faces, she opens her mouth really big and scrunches up her nose, that's how you can tell she's really excited.

Revitalize Historic P.G.!

Have you ever been through the historic downtown Pleasant Grove? It's lovely. Really, there's a big park next to the community center, an old grocery and a theater where they have a country western dinner every Friday night. It looks like it could be a really cool area, if it was given a little love.

Right on Main Street there is an old Victorian-era house for rent (I assume for businesses) that I fantasize about. Would it be more fun to open a used book shop or a quilt shop? ( there is also a building down the street a bit that would make a great ice cream shop, maybe a lactose/gluten free dessert parlor?)

What kind of shop would you open, if you had the time, money and energy?

Just two pictures.

'Licious

Yeah, I made this.
It's beautiful chocolatepeanutbutterdeliciousness.

You can come over and try some. I won't mind. As long as you tell me how awesome it is.

Blue!..NO! Yelloooooooooooo

Anna has been fervently trying to eat my shoelaces for months now.

It is her quest.

Long Nap, Happy Girl

After an almost 2.5 hour nap, I found the happiest baby in the crib. She was smiling and kicking and fist-banging and inhaling rapidly throughout her post-nap lunch. so happy.



So was I, after my baby took a 2.5 hour nap (I ran out of things to do) and woke up happy.

Not Retarded

Beetle and I had our second Bread Tuesday, and we were totally successful.



We know how to do stuff.





We go to college.

Marketing

Motorola should market their RAZR as a teething toy.

1 out of 1 babies in this house recommend it.

Recipes that Don't Work: 2

Beetle and Harrison came over tonight to keep me company while Ben was at school. For a project we decided we needed to learn how to make bread.

So we measured out 5 C of flour.

Then things got a little sketchy.
The conversion from grams to teaspoons led us into a tailspin and then translating the recipe from using fresh yeast to instant yeast secured our demise.

so we added some water. . . , and some milk. . . and some salt. All part of the recipe.

But it never actually looked like dough. It was very tough, dry -but not in a flaky way - and dense.

we mixed, we kneaded. Then we let it sit to rise for an hour.

When we came back. . . it was the same size, no rising.
Obviously the yeast was a bigger problem then we anticipated.

So, in a fit of genius I decided that we would, instead of make bread, we would make bread products. Since it wouldn't be rising anyway, we decided to go for flatbread/pitas and pretzels.

They turned out pretty good. While they were still hot we added toppings like butter and salt or sugar cinnamon for the pretzels and honey and sugar cinnamon or peanut butter and honey for the flatbread. The flatbread was comparable to a less oily, sweet, dessert naan. But only while it was warm. Now that the they are cooled, they are the toughest, chewiest flatbread you could ever imagine.

So don't ask me how to make bread. I'm still working on it. and we may see a series of "Recipes that Don't Work" as I try to figure it out.

Are You a Jumperoo?

Anna got a new toy, and if you know her, you know it fits her perfectly.


Anna is a Jumperoo.

Curiouser and Curiouser

What?



Eh?




huh?



Oh.

Check out my cousin's Etsy shop, Anna got to be a model for their wooden toys and they took some great pictures of her.

Preparedness

I just returned from my first Enrichment night in this ward. It was all about preparedness - i.e. food storage. Everyone was really nice, we learned how to use a canner and sealer, we heard from some ladies who had experience living on food storage and we toured someone's immaculate storage room. Everyone was really nice - also, there was a tasting table of food people made from their food storage. Mostly cookies. Someone brought Krispy Kreme.

As I was thinking about Preparation, it's something I'm ready to get started on but I understand it's a long term goal and can never truly be perfected. So I'm willing to be patient and take it one day at a time.

Then I realized that I didn't have any wipes for Anna in the diaper bag. Or a pacifier. Or any toys. Or a blanket (it was all in backyards). I did manage to grab us each a jacket though.

So maybe I should take even smaller steps in relation to Preparedness - half a day at a time.


PS. Thanks to everyone who weighed in on the last post. Thanks for your pessimism, optimism and personal testimonials. I am no longer contemplating that action.