ah yes, a snow... man?

last time my sis and her girls were here i suggested they make a snowman. i suggested they use one of my mom's bras. and then i suggested using my dad's underware. and they did. point of interest, i bought my dad the simpson's boxers for Christmas one year. doh!

mr. personality

jack is so kissable. my mother likes to go in for the neck. actually, she likes to kiss him all over. she is the one who taught him the technical "kiss". i am a bit of a prude and i would just kiss jack's cheek... mom taught him how to do a full on open mouthed smooch. it is a very wet experience. sometimes he slips you the tongue. sometimes it is very gross. but it is wonderful.

little man

i just got 2 films developed. woo! here is a new photo of jack. he is in a jacket and tie. sometimes we call him "little man". it is strange having a boy in the fam. my dad and mom each had 2 sisters, 2 daughters, 3 granddaughters... and now a grandson. it is new and exciting.:)

so this is Christmas?

i came downstairs to go on-line to see what my payroll was... i look over and there are 2 Christmas stockings. it is almost april. (in case you didn't realize that.) i guess they slipped through the cracks. i suppose it is time to get my angel collection down off the stairwell ledge as well. i should come up with a spring display. but, all that must wait. it is payday. i have to go get some photos and some coffee. to hades with decor today!!!!!

supercross

march 15 i saw a supercross! our friend doug got us free tickets. it was just doug, dan, andy, and i. we left jack for his first sleepover at my parent's house. the supercross was at the "metrodome" in the cities. it was a great one. the races where very exciting. there were a lot of crashes, and upsets. it is so exciting when racers are battling for position. (i know some of you might be in wonderment that i actually like this sport, but i do.) at one point chad reed was 2nd and he just fell off his bike. he managed to make it back to 7th place. i will be posting picts when i get them, but here is a scan of my ticket. woo.

i almost caught a tee that was shot in the crowd. i wonder if i got on tv. also, i got to do the wave at a televised event. that's pretty cool. what wasn't cool was the view dan and i got of a hot pink thong from a few rows down. we saw EVERYTHING. none of that pantie was in that chick's jeans. we also saw a lot of crack from another girl. i swear, i saw so many hoochies that night. and BABIES! lots of babies younger than jack! one was wearing a very cute little jersey and riding pants... and it was so cold. and the kid didn't hardly have hair. BAD PARENTS. made me very sorry for the little guys.

ankle biter

today jack was literally gnawing on my ankle. it was so funny. my laughter kept distracting him from the gnawing.

jack is doing so well. he has 2 bottom teeth and one top tooth. he is finally crawling. he was sick last week, but he is getting better. i can hear him. he just got up from his nap. he is probably standing in his crib. this is another of his new tricks.

cha ching

today i won free toilet paper! hooray! isn't that nuts? my grocery store, super valu (no "e" at the end of "valu". makes it more edgey?), has a promotion going where you enter these codes in on-line and you are entered for things such as free groceries and a trip. i keep entering in these dumb codes because i am yearning for a trip to paris.:) i also keep it up because i actually win things. crazy! this is a great promotion. so far i have won 2 2-liters of soda, 1 bag of snack mix, and now a 4 pack of generic t.p. i am not a t.p. snob, i will take generic. i have been a college student. i am grateful when there is t.p. in a bathroom, period!!!!! did anyone else ever have to have a secret t.p. stash?

what i am reading

i read a lot. i tend to do most of it while nursing jack, these days. i read a lot of mags. dan has a ton of free subscriptions lately that he got somehow. these are: "reader's digest" (time waster), "time" (beat-you-about-the-face-liberal), "nat'l geo adventure" (hard to find interesting besides the photos), and "esquire" (what?! dan didn't know what it was. what it is... effeminate men's ads and sexual innuendo and crud. i am going to find out how to cancel it. i am ashamed of what the mail lady thinks. i am scared my step-son will read it. i am angered by this mag.). dan also gets "cycle world" and "auto restorer". i dig it. that's my real man.

i only get one mag these day, mary englebreit's "home companion". it is great. very arty. a bit crafty. always a delight.

but i do read a book now and then. the Bible. that's hard to hold while nursing. i have just picked up an art book about carl larsson that i am dying to get into. i have also been reading an art book i picked up in the museum bookstore at the minneapolis institute of art. it is really interesting because it gives you a little history behind the works.

here is a little painting by larsson. i like it because it is great, obviously, but also because it reminds me of my mom's apple trees.

quiche me, you fool

i love quiche. or, scrambled egg pie, as my boys know it as. i make it a lot for brunches, baby showers, and Church coffee time before Church. real men do eat quiche.

first you need a real crust. i tried store bought and i was so ticked off. piece of junk. so, you must make a crust from betty crocker's new cookbook. the quiche i just made sunday used a 2 crust recipe and i put it in a cake pan. accordingly, the egg mixture was greater.

1-crust: 1/3 c. plus 1 T. butter, 1 c. flour, 1/4 t. salt, 2-3 T. cold water. mix with a pastry cutter until mix resembles crumbs. add water and form to a ball. this makes the crust nice and thick and rustic.:)

2-crust: 2/3 c. plus 2 T. butter, 2 c. flour, 1 t. salt, 4-5 T. cold water. mix with pastry cutter until mix resembles crumbs. add water and form to a ball. then just pat into pan. this makes the crust nice and thick and rustic.:)

lots of times i add herbs to my crust. it is so great. i use: marjoram, rosemary, & thyme for meat quiches. (these are also good herbs for bar-b-q!) i use basil for cheese or sun-dried tomatoe/feta cheese quiche.

quiche: 4 eggs, 2 c. skim milk (or heavy cream or whatever), 1/4 t. salt, 1/4 t. pepper. then add whatever meats, cheeses, herbs, and veggies you like. bake at 425 for 15 min. then bake at 300 for 30 min. or until done. if you made it in the cake pan with the 2 crust recipe and added more milk and eggs, it could take considerably more time.

my fave quiche: sun-dried tomato, feta, basil. i also like: bacon, cheddar, marjaram, thyme, rosemary. my all-time fave place to get quiche: madison's in pensacola, fl. order it with the garlic mashed potatoes. the worst quiche: there is no such thing. as far as i know.

monster cookies

i have a great recipe for monster cookies. i got it at this year's lady's retreat at camp chetek in chetek, wi. it is a doozy. bust out the big bowl.

i have substituted some of the oatmeal with baby oatmeal! what a great way to use up the extra! i even made a meatloaf with baby oatmeal and it was great. the texture was fluffy.

monster cookies: 6 eggs, 2 c. sugar, 2 1/4 c. brown sugar, 1 1/2 t. vanilla, 1 1/2 t. maple syrup, 4 t. baking soda, 1 c. oleo (i use butter), 3 c. peanut butter. mix. add-- 9 c. oatmeal (i use 3 c. oatmeal, 6 c. baby oatmeal cereal!), chocolate chips, m&m's, etc. bake for 12 min. @ 350 degrees.

these cookies are so awesome chewy. i adore a chewy cookie.

this makes about an ice cream bucket and a large tupperware marinater container.:) that's what i use. this makes plenty for sharing with deserving loved ones.

calla lily painting

i started an oil painting sunday. it is of my pot of calla lilies. i didn't have a fresh canvas, so i painted over a dismal failure. i painted the background a dark blue and black. i think i like chiaroscuro. i think it is my "thing". (c. is when the background is very dark, usually black, and the subject is dramatically lit. for all you un-arty people) well, i got a few highlights painted on the pot and it looks like a calla lily at midnight. it is weird how nice it looks. of course, i got to work on it barely an hour and haven't touched it since. now i have to go upstairs and change a smelly diaper and make really awesome cookies. no time to paint. maybe tomorrow. no rush. i might really muck it up tomorrow. no delete button in painting. or the command+z that i love.

?que pasa?

i asked jack that question just this morn. he didn't answer. i will answer it for him. jack has 2 teeth. they are the bottom front ones. he got the second tooth about a week after the first one. no fuss. no messy diapers. no symptoms at all! he is too good to be true, this one.

jack has a new word. he says "brother". he has said it 3 times now.

jack loves to cruise around the furniture. he loves to have people walk him all around. yet, he will not crawl. he sort of crawled this morn and i tried to help him and he just gave up.

i need to get some photos on here. sorry. i will get some developed soon. maybe with the bush money we will get a digital camera. then i will probably go crazy and people will cry "enough photos of that insipid baby, already!".