Gook on a Plane

This afternoon we're leaving on an airplane.  We haven't packet yet-- oops.  Actually, that's not completely true. There is one thing that is already packed and ready to go.  Gook!  We planned ahead to make sure we could get the gook on the plane somehow.  I don't know if you're aware, but airport security is not a big fan of glass jars full of questionable substances.

That is why I spent a half hour sliming the gook from the jar above into the three ounce containers below!  The other trick we have to figure out is how in the world to keep it cold!  I think we'll transport it to the airport in a plastic bag filled with ice.  Then we'll have to dump the ice (or the bag altogether) before security and then find some more ice once we get into the airport.  Whew!  

Luckily, the goodness inside is totally worth the hassle.  Nothing tempts me to "accidentally" ruin my gluten free diet more than sourdough waffles.  If it happens this weekend, it's totally not my fault!

Oh and as a side note, I'll be taking a 3 day blogging hiatus while we're in Denver!  But I will return with oodles of cute baby pictures :)

Little Foot, Big Foot...

I have undertaken a dangerous project.  (I use the word dangerous very liberally here...)

I have taken these:

Which go to these:

And rigged these (you can't tell in the picture, but they are a lot bigger)

To make something like this:

The first go round was pretty sketchy, but I altered the pattern and ended up with this.  I need to tweak it a bit more but I think they look pretty good for making it up!  I'm also thinking about using different, heavier fabrics to make them a little more lasting.

This weekend we're going to Denver (woohoo!!) for baby Elaina's blessing.  The whole family will be there and Grant & I are so excited!  Grant's mom, Leslie, is a sewing whiz so hopefully she can help me figure some of this out.  (Are you up for a challenge mom?!) :)

Cattle Call

Welcome to Texas...

These are Texas Longhorns, or, what we like to call, giant tax deductions...

They're neither hostile nor hospitable.

But you do have to watch out for those long horns.  I almost got gored... well not really.  But that guy above turned his head when I wasn't expecting it and his long horns almost got me.  (I tried to think of something creative to call them, but really, they're just long horns).

These babies are owned by the company Grant works for, Fidelity Investments.  They live in Westlake, Texas, home of the Jonas Brothers and other disgustingly wealthy people.

The last time I took pictures with giant cattle like these, I was sixteen and running around the middle of nowhere in Idaho.  Also, my friend got shocked by an electric fence.  That was awesome...

Now if I could just figure out lighting in my pictures... These pictures were taken around 7:00 PM.  A little too much harsh light yes?  That's why we're all squinting and you can't see Emily's right eye... hmmm.

The Pioneer Woman posted here about front-light vs. back-light.  I am going to start experimenting with that... won't that be interesting :)  But then, maybe I can get away from these squinty faces...

But for now, it is this Texas Longhorn's day off so I'm done blogging and off to run errands with that guy down there :)

Playtime

The Tanner Family is currently childless (if you don't count the birds and Howard...).  Luckily, we have friends with children who are willing to pose for impromptu photo shoots.  Enter Bayden:

Bayden was in my Sunbeam class this year until his family moved a few towns away.

He loves to talk.  Really... he loves it.

He also loves Howard.  His family came over for dinner once.  We put Howard's bowl next to his plate so he could watch him during dinner.

Bayden often reminds me of how Howard likes to kiss him.  Grant taught Bayden to stick his finger in the bowl so that Howard would "kiss" him.  I think Grant is really training Howard to fight... not acceptable...

Here Bayden was telling me how a cloud outside was shaped like a donkey... what?

Bayden prays for me every night even though I'm not his teacher anymore.  I asked him who his new teacher was and he said, "You!"  The poor boy is in denial.

Bayden also has a younger sister, Ava.

At 18 months, Ava is already a true girly girl.  She has a serious shoe fetish.

She is also a cheese ball in front of the camera.  I love her little cheeks!

She taught me how to put this train together.

She is an excellent sharer.  Well... most of the time :)

Ava definitely has a little spunk in her.  She's not afraid to get what she wants!  And man, with that face... I have a feeling she will!

Thanks to Pamela & Ryan who didn't really give me permission to take pictures of their children... but let me anyway :)  No child is safe when I have my camera...

The Search for Sanity: Part V

Want to read previous posts about my acupuncture adventure?

The Search for Sanity: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV

Appointment 7:

• Little to no progress.  (It's getting difficult to recognize whether I'm making progress or not.  It's possible that things have improved because I didn't have a migraine between those two visits.  Or maybe my next migraine is just two more days away... it's hard to say.)
• Calli continued to go through the vials.  (Read back about the vials in Part IV). I didn't make it nearly as far this time.
• The first vial was Iron and I was a little sensitive to it, but she decided to skip it for now.
• The next was Vitamin A and I was very sensitive to it.  Calli did the same steps as before, using acupressure and acupuncture to "reprogram" my body to accept Vitamin A.
• I couldn't eat or touch anything with Vitamin A in it for 25 hours.  This includes: green vegetables & fruits, bananas, tomatoes, any milk or cheese product, and fish.  This was kind of a tricky diet, but not nearly as bad as sugar.
• I'm now back on my gluten-free and added sugar-free diet and I've been feeling pretty good since my last appointment!  I have taken Tylenol once but haven't had to take any Imitrex so that is good!

They Grow Up So Fast...

We have birds above our door.  We have been following them through their fluffy little lives.  First, egg  stage, then hatchling stage, and now... awkward, in between stage.  Kind of like being a preteen.... I have been trying to get a good picture of them with the new camera but their nest is too high for me to see into even while standing on a chair.  Thus, I've resorted to pictures that look like this...

Oh hey, I got a head in this one:

And this would be a great picture if it was in focus...

They all blend together a bit.  The easiest way to find them is by looking for beaks.

 

I think there are five total.  Every day they get a little more adventurous.  We've even caught a few standing up.  

And lucky us, they even leave us presents!

 

(This is nothing compared to the ones that get past the paper and land on the ground...)

Game of Choice

Settlers of Catan.  This game has consumed many of our waking hours in the last year or so. 

Everyone gets little wooden pieces called roads, settlements and cities.  It is a requirement to create towers, letters, designs of some sort with your pieces.  Last time I built a tower four roads high.  It was a record.

The goal is to get 10 points.  Ways to do this are to build settlements and cities, have the longest road, the largest army, or draw a victory point as a card.  

You need cards to build.  The roll of the dice combined with your placement on the board determines who gets which cards on each turn.

There is lots of strategy involved.  This game gets awfully personal.  Strategizing with your significant other is dangerous.  Strategizing against your significant other is suicidal.

Be careful how many cards are in your hand because if a 7 is rolled and you you have too many, then you have to give half of them up.  (And don't let that smile fool you.  The guys get more emotionally involved than they might care to admit.)

I won this particular game.  Maybe because I was lucky.  Or maybe because I'm supposedly ruthless at board games.  Just ask my Papa Logsdon...Can you tell which color I was?