Rock Star

Yeah, this video is 1 min and 20 seconds of Ella rocking on her horse. A little long...unless you are Grandma Lota and watched the last video 10 times in one day. If you make it to the end the last few seconds are pretty cute.

You're invited

Blogging Games

I saw this on Britt's blog. She is one of the most talented people I know, and I really want something cool from her. So I'm jumping in. Don't feel obligated to play...my handmade stuff isn't as great as Brittney's or as tasty as Jill's. But I do make a mean burp cloth.

So, here's how it works: the first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive, at some point during the year a homemade gift from me. What it will be and when it will arrive is a total surprise! The catch is that you must participate as well. Before you leave your comment, write up a pay it forward post on your blog to keep the fun going. Then come back, let me know you are going to play and sit back and anticipate the arrival of your gift.

Jibber Jabber

So I've been trying to teach Ella to say da-da-da, ba-ba-ba, ma-ma-ma for about 2 weeks now. Nothing. Not a single hard consonant. Then she spends one afternoon with Grandma Lota and Aunt Wendy and she comes home with this little trick:



(Of course, as soon as she sees the camera she is only interested in the flashing green light...and I kind of sound like I should be on Toddlers and Tiaras...but you get the idea.)

Apparently she also learned to play the piano and make blowing noises. When she's ready to learn to read we are sending her to Brigham.

Also, she has a tooth! I tried to capture it here, but no luck.

Beck and Jer

Did you see the new button on my sidebar? Did you wonder, who is Beck? Who is Jer?

Well, Jeremy is one of my very most favorite people in the whole world. We went to medical school and residency together. He is one of those rare people who is universally liked. I honestly have never heard anyone speak ill of him (which is something I can't say for many residents...we are sometimes a little catty. It's the lack of sleep and abundance of stress, I'm sure.)

Anyway, he is really a great person, and he and his wife have been through some tough times. They are trying to adopt a baby and have created a web page to help their cause. You can check it out here. His sister-in-law is the infamous cjane, and she blogged about them here. She does a much better job than I of singing their praises, but I would echo everything she said. Check it out. Maybe the blogosphere can help this deserving family.

Something New

If you're bored in the kitchen and looking for something new and different, check this out. It is the Harlem 1st Ward cookbook, created by Jamie's Young Women. Jame tells me that there are some really great recipes, and some that are...well, unique. Either way, it's only $12 and goes for a good cause. You can email jamie at jamiesuewride@gmail.com or me at alissapacker@gmail.com if you want one. (The above website is actually one of Kimmy's friends who is in Jamie's ward. Small world.)

Good Deals

Albertsons is having a "stimulus package special" that goes until April 15th. If you buy a gift card over $200 you get 10% off, up to $1200. They don't expire, so as long as you don't lose them it's a great deal.

Video for Grandma Janet

Just ignore the silly mom in the background (actually the foreground--I'm not a great videographer...)

Ella's 7 at 7

1. She has discovered other children. She makes a soft "oooohhhhh" sound whenever she sees another child and gets really excited.

2. She loves to clap and bang. She started by clapping your hands for you, then moved on to banging toys, and now if she's in a very good mood she will clap her own hands.



3. While she is loving solids, they are not loving her. If we don't give her plenty of prunes and apple juice we run into serious problems. Not fun.

4. She eats her shirt or her sleep sack when she is tired. This makes her sleep sack kind of gross.

5. She is learning to stand. She can only do it for about 30 seconds before she falls down, but she is very proud of herself.

6. She rashes up at the slightest touch. You kiss her cheek and instantly it is red. She scratches her head and has a HUGE red line. Luckily the red marks disappear as quickly as they came.

7. She loves her mesh baby feeder. I've tried pears and frozen bananas--it keeps her occupied for a good 20 minutes. Very handy when I'm trying to make dinner.

Klepto

Since Ella was born I have become a shoplifter.  Not the kind that wants free stuff. Not the kind that gets a thrill out of it. The kind that has a cart occupied by a car seat and/or diaper bag. Multiple times I have gone through the check-out line, paid for my purchases and upon loading them into my car find something hidden beneath the car seat that constitutes stolen goods. So then I have to load Ella back up and take the said item back to the store. By this point I'm so annoyed that I don't purchase the item; I just leave it inside and cut my losses. Since Ella is sitting in the cart now I thought my keifing days were over. 

Nope. 

Yesterday I was at Jo-Anne's and hidden under the diaper bag was a spool of thread. I had purchased multiple spools and couldn't find my receipt, so I wasn't sure if I had paid for it or not. It was also snowing and cold, so I took my chances and left. Today I looked over my receipt, and it turns out I have successfully shoplifted from Jo-Anne. So now I have to go back, pay for the stupid spool (or just leave it, which is what I'll probably do) and clear my conscience of the $2.49. 

You'd think I would learn.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

This is one of those recipes that you don't really want to give out because once you do people realize you're not actually a good cook; you can just follow a great recipe. So my secret's out...don't tell Bobby.

Throwdown Cookies
3 eggs
1 c raisins
1 t vanilla

1 c butter
1 c brown sugar
1 c white sugar

2 ½ c flour
½ t salt
1 t cinnamon
2 t baking soda
2 c oatmeal

Mix the raisins, eggs (break them up with a fork) and vanilla in a little bowl. Let them stand for an hour.

Cream the butter and sugars. Add everything except the oatmeal and egg mixture. Add the oatmeal and egg mixture together. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 350° for 10-12 minutes.
They are better underdone rather than overdone.

Left Unattended

Ryan went to St. George this weekend for a little biking fun, so I took the chance to release my inner seamstress. Danielle bought a pattern on Etsy for this shirt and on Thursday we cranked it out. This was no easy feat given two curious babies underfoot. By the end of the day we sequestered the girls in Ella's room and took turns playing with them while the other worked away. I still have to muster up the courage to add the buttons, but all in all I am happy with the finished result.




And for my next trick...

...trying to use my neighbor's Cricut to cut out fabric pieces for onsies. It is still a work in progress, but with a little tweaking there is hope.

food for thought

Last night while watching the Food Network Ryan asked me what I would make in a Throwdown against Mr. Flay. Good question. I decided if Bobby shows up at my door,  I will be ready with my Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. I don't know where we got the recipe, but they are really good.  And adding chipotle probably wouldn't work in Bobby's favor.  

"So to all you cooks out there, keep doing what you do. But ask yourself this: are you ready for a Throwdown?" 

food and fun

Thayer gave me the new Barefoot Contessa cookbook (Back to Basics) and I am loving it. My favorite new recipe is the Herb Marinated Pork Loin. It is easy, tasty, and reasonably priced. I bought a pork tenderloin at Costco for $13.51. I froze half of it, and the other half fed 6 adults and 1 child and had leftovers to boot. Can't beat that. Here you go:

Grated zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (4-6 lemons) (the second time I made this I used bottled lemon juice and it turned out fine)
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tbs minced garlic (6 cloves)
1 1/2 tbs minced fresh rosemary leaves
1 tbs chopped fresh thyme
2 tsp Dijon mustard
Kosher salt
2-3 pork tenderloins, 1 lb each
freshly ground black pepper

Combine the lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, rosemary, thyme, mustard, and 2 tsp salt in a 1 gallon resealable plastic bag. Add the pork tenderloins and turn to coat with the marinade. Marinate in the refrigerator overnight, or at least 3 hours. (I've tried marinating it overnight and marinating for 3 hours--couldn't tell much difference.)

When you're ready to cook, preheat the grill. Remove the tenderloins from the marinade and discard the marinade.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then grill, turning a few times to brown on all sides, for 15-25 minutes--until the meat registers 137 degrees at the thickest part.
Transfer the tenderloins to a platter and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Let rest for 10 minutes.

Carve in 1/2 inch thick diagonal slices. The thickest part will be pink; this is just fine. The end parts will be well done--something for everyone.

On another note, Ella is getting more hair. No ponytails or braids, but if you look close enough you can see a little clip hanging on for dear life on her left side. I've long maintained that there are two hair genes. One for thick, beautiful hair and one for styling hair. Most people get one or the other, and a few lucky people get both. I have neither. Hopefully Ella is okay with a little clippy because that's about all I'm good for. No french twists here.

And on yet another note, I am nearly done with my quilt. Thanks to a little positive encouragement from Beth et al it turned out nicely (with a few carefully placed skewed stitches to make it appear handmade). I'll post pics when it's done.

Getting crafty

For some time now I've wanted a sewing machine. Sewing is in my blood. Grandma Tweet can make anything out of everything. The smocked dress Grandma Lota made for me ended up in a "How to Smock" book. Some of my favorite memories are hanging out in the sewing room pressing seams while my mom whipped out one of her creations. Now that I have Ella the sewing bug got worse. I wanted to make her cute clothes and playthings. So I went to Shingelton's and bought myself a sewing machine. My first project was a burp cloth. I had a few hiccups along the way, but all in all it went fairly well.

Filled with confidence I started on my next project: a quilt for Ella. Not a real quilt, the kind with a named pattern (like "Log Cabin" or "Jacob's Ladder), just some fun fabrics pieced together in squares. Easy peasy.

I started by picking and arranging the fabrics, with a little help from the design-savvy Kimmy.
Then I sewed the connecting strips between the blocks.

At this point, I'm feeling fairly good about my self. The quilt is coming together nicely. I sew the long connecting strip down the sides, and start pinning things together.

This is when I notice that the blue connecting strips aren't quite matching up.
You can't see it well in this picture, but trust me, some of the blue pieces are bigger than others.

And now I remember why it has taken me so long to buy my sewing machine. Tweet, Lota and Sue may have passed down their love of sewing to me, but they forgot to give me their skills. And then I remember my C from my sewing class at BYU. And I remember that there was a reason I was the one pressing seams in the sewing room with mom.

Oh well. Ella will never have a mom who can make her brilliant Halloween costumes and Prom dresses. Lucky for her she has two grandmas who both can sew. And her mom will keep practicing and unpicking until those seams line up!