Early Valentine's Day

Since Gabe will be out of town for the next two weeks.  (First in FL, then in NC...last minute meetings with customers about the power unit he designed.)
We celebrated an early Valentine's day around here this weekend.
First, Levi and I made cards.

That's all we can show you since the grandparents (our loyal blog readers) will be receiving one in the mail this week!

Then for our "Valentine's" dinner tonight Gabe made this.  We had spinach fettuccine as the pasta.
Gabe and I loved it!  Levi not so much.  I don't understand why our child doesn't like pasta.  He had leftover cod.

This afternoon I whipped this up:

I LOVE chocolate mousse.  And I wasn't disappointed in this recipe.  Yummy!
Levi did approve of dessert.  The strawberries we added on top instead of more whipped cream helped with that I'm sure.  Not a big surprise!

Since we were busy with home projects in January (and because Gabe will be gone for much of the next two weeks) we took a family trip to the zoo yesterday.
We saw baby elephant Lily again.  And were please to see the tigers out.  They are always hiding in the back of their enclosure.

And Gabe did get one more home project off the to-do list.  Gutters are clean!
I sure hope the work week goes quickly!  It's tough to have Gabe three time zones away...

Home Office Made "New"

Our month long project is coming to a close.  (We need to hit up IKEA this weekend for a desk lamp. And then figure out some wall decor.)  But that may take a few more months.  I'd better blog before I've forgotten and another month has flown by!

Here's what we started with:

Oh, you want to see an up close image of that outdated wallpaper border?  You got it!

Nice huh?
Levi sure wanted to help us paint.
We let him "help" for a little while and then told him he'll need to wait a few more years.

He sure did take the job seriously.  Look at the concentration on his face!

Well, here's the (almost) finished room:

And another shot from a different angle.

I'm so glad we have one more project off the never ending to-do list!

Sunday Supper Backlog

Wow!  I've started the new year really neglecting the blog.

This month the school/work weeks have been busy.  The weekends have been focused on the usual.  *Clean the house
*Grocery shop
*Tackle another home improvement project.
We've been working on painting the office downstairs.  But no painting project is ever easy in this house.  This project involved wallpaper removal, painting trim that the previous owners didn't care to keep paint off of, and replacing outlet plugs the previous owners just painted over.  But it's almost done.  And I'll be able to post before and after photos later this week!

Although I've been behind on the blog front, we have been hosting some suppers for family this month.
My sister Becky came over last Sunday for dinner.
Gabe made this.  (It was a good way to use the turkey his company gave him as a Christmas gift.)  But we aren't sure the whole make-your-own-stock was really worth it.  I made roasted cauliflower from last months bon appetit magazine.  Supper yummy!  And I don't even really like cauliflower!

Tonight my sister Tricia and Travis are coming over.
Tricia and I are going to go through baby boy stuff we can pass along to their little man!  (He'll be arriving in May and we are very happy for them!)
Right now, I have a sauce on the stove simmering for this.  And Gabe is going to roast some brussel sprouts.
Should be good food and lots of fun to remember what life was like around here almost 3 & 1/2 years ago!

I sure hope the rest of the year doesn't fly by as fast as January did!

Ft. Stevens

We had a great long weekend hanging out at Ft. Stevens in our new trailer!

Lots of games were played, books were read, legos were built and movies were watched in the trailer when it was cold, windy and rainy.
But we did go down to the beach a few times.  And walk/ride bikes on the park trails.

Lots of big waves!

We had some really sunny weather but it was very cold!
We walked the 160+ stairs to the top of the Astoria column to throw our gliders down.  But the wind was so cold we didn't stay up there very long!

But Levi did have just as much fun tossing his glider in the wind at the bottom of the column.

We also heard that there are some snowy owls hanging out on the jetty at the park so we went up there a few times and were able to spot them.  Pretty far away...but still pretty neat.  Levi called them "white blobs."
This is the best shot Gabe was able to get.

And this shot is pretty cool too.  We couldn't believe a hawk would even try messing with this owl!  He was totally dive bombing him.

We finished the weekend by celebrating the New Year.  That means Levi went to bed while Gabe and Heidi shared a bottle of "sparkling wine", and then went to bed themselves (at 11pm)!

Here's to a Happy New Year, and a fun first trip in our little trailer!

Welcome, 2013

First post of the new year!

We set some goals in 2012.  Some we shared here on the blog, some we did not.

Gabe and I were able to get some big home projects done in 2012:
-downstairs guest bathroom
-new deck (I never did a blog post of the finished product?  Apparently I never even took photos of the finished product.  I guess I'll share more when we are using it in the summer!)

We never did paint our office, but we did buy paint last week.  Guess that will be our first home project for 2013!  We'd also like to do some updating to our master bathroom.  We never even bothered to paint it when we moved in 3+ years ago.  It will be a big (read: expensive) project so we'll probably do it in smaller parts.

Gabe's project car is almost done!  Didn't quite make it before the new year deadline.  He's pretty much done buying all the parts he needs to finish it up.  (I'm pretty happy about that!)  He'll just need some more work time this month to get all those parts in.  We were both hopeful he'd have it done before winter weather came (that is if it does come at all this year).  Another winter driving the crappy Honda, with bald tires, does not seem like a safe plan!

And that brings me to the best goal we set last year: Sunday Supper.
I'm so glad we set this goal for 2012!
It was great to have people over.
Enjoy time with our friends.
Be more intentional with that time.
Try new recipes.

I wish we wouldn't have lost momentum over the summer.  But I feel OK about it because we saw friends more frequently and enjoyed great food in 2012.  That was what is was about!
For 2013, we've discussed maybe a once-a-month dinner.  We enjoyed the dinners and the time with friends, and it's now part of what we do on Sunday evenings!

Gabe and I also set some personal goals we never shared on the blog.  But I'm proud of what we accomplished so I'm going to share them now!
We both decided to be more intentional about exercising and eating less.  Over the course of our 8 year marriage, we both put on more than a few extra pounds that we weren't proud of.  We both sort of decided that in 2012 we were going to get ourselves back to where we were when we got married (in both our activity/fitness and weight).  And we both did it!  I lost 45 lbs and Gabe lost 30 lbs.  Now we feel great and are discussing taking it a step further.  We are running a 5K together in the summer or early fall.  (Part of the reason I'm writing it here is so that we are now held accountable to make it happen!  Ask me about it if June rolls around and I haven't mentioned it again!)

Finally, I set a final goal I didn't share on the blog.  Again, didn't share it because I wasn't sure if I'd be able to achieve it, and I didn't want to be publicly reminded if I failed.
I love to read but the last several years I found myself saying to people, "I love to read but I just don't have the time!"  I wasn't being honest.  I had the time.  I was just filling it with other things...(TV was probably the biggest thing).  So I joined a book club and decided that I would also read at least one additional book a month.  I found I often picked up a second (or third) book that my students recommended.  (YA lit is pretty addictive!)  I'm thrilled to report that in 2012 I read.....35 books.  Let me know if you'd like my top 5 picks/recommendations!

As for goals for the new year....I think 2013 will be a year to maintain some of the great things we started doing in 2012.  But with a few new projects, and lots of adventures around the West in our new trailer thrown in!  (Yes, I'll be back later to share all about our first trip!)
We are very excited about what 2013 is going to bring!

Happy Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

We spent most of Christmas Eve getting ready for Santa.

Cookies were made.

(Levi took a break during the cookie baking time to Skype with his cousins and Grandpa and Grandma in Nashville!)

Treats were left out for Rudolph and the rest of the reindeer gang.

A letter, soy-nog, and cookies were left for the big man in red.

Today, we spent the day playing!
Presents (with a break to set up the cool race track Santa brought) were opened.
Many games of Candy Land were played.  Of which Mommy won...none!
Important long naps were taken.

My sister and Travis came over for a great Christmas dinner of herb crusted beef tenderloin, root vegetable gratin, and bourbon bread pudding!  We stuffed ourselves silly.
Now, the tired little guy is in bed while Gabe and I watch our traditional Christmas day film.

Baby Lily

We took Grandma Winnie to the zoo this morning.
We got to meet this wonderful "little" elephant!

Obviously, they don't let you use a flash when viewing her so the pictures didn't turn out great.  I did remember to bring the video camera, so maybe Gabe can get some video of her on this post later tonight.

Lots of animals were enjoying early Christmas gifts.  We saw the orangutans get their gifts.  And the polar bears were sure having fun with their gift covered in snow!

The female polar bear was so fun to watch.  Levi was pretty content pressed up to the glass watching her!

We're all set to finish getting ready for Santa.  A letter is being written and cookies will be baked tomorrow.   So much fun!

More Holiday Traditions!

Christmas vacation is here and we couldn't be more thrilled!

This week we read Christmas stories in front of the tree, sipped warm chocolate, watched holiday movies...

and went to Dairyville with friends.  We were hoping to be able to see Santa.  But when we got there at 4pm and took a number, it was number 34.  When we left at 5:30 (they are suppose to close at 6pm) they were still only at number 16.  Maybe we'll have time (and nice pictures) with Santa next year.

Being able to see friends was probably more fun anyway!  Plus, both Levi and Zachary are pretty happy just watching the trains!

9th Annual Christmas Cocktail Party

Our holiday celebration was a lot of fun!  As it always is.
It's really hard to believe we've had this party on the third Saturday of December for 9 years straight.  We feel like we need to do something really special next year since it will be number 10.  We're open to suggestions!
I think the highlight of the night was probably Gabe's desire to try on coats.  Not sure why.  (You'll see photographic evidence in the collage above.)

Sure was fun to get the holiday started with our friends.  Now we're really ready for Christmas to be here!

Girard Family Christmas

We had Christmas with my family early this year.  My parents leave for Nashville on Thursday night.
It was nice to see each other, and Levi sure was excited about getting to open his first presents!

(He's blurry in the picture because he would not hold still!  He was dancing around the living room...so much excitement.)

Levi also had a very special surprise for Mommy and Daddy.  They made ceramic self portraits in school.  Levi's turned out really neat.  It was a wonderful gift.

I can't wait for Christmas.  There is really nothing as wonderful as an excited kid on Christmas morning.  So glad we get to experience the magic of Christmas with this little guy.  It's just not the same with a bunch of grown ups!
Now all I have to do is get through 3 more days of work!

Gingerbread House

Someone was really excited about making his gingerbread house this week.  Although, I'm pretty sure he was the most excited about eating candy while making it.  That is why you make gingerbread houses right?

Gotta love that cheesy smile!

We also decorated our tree this week!

Levi was really great at putting decorations on the tree.  In exactly one location on the tree.  This is the best picture I got of the volume of decorations he put on that exact spot on the tree.

They were a bit too dense.  I did end up moving a few when he went to bed...

Celebration is in full swing.  We had early Christmas at my mom and dad's house on Friday evening and our cocktail party was last night.  I have lots of cleaning up to do before Levi comes home from Grandma and Grandpa's house.  (The clean up is the worst part about hosting a party!)  I'll be back with holiday celebration photos later.

Our Tree and Other Holiday Things...

Christmas traditions (and preparations) are in full swing around here!
The calendar is out and someone can't wait to find out what treat or fun holiday activity is in it each day.

So far we've gone to zoo lights with Grandma and Grandpa G.  We bought a gift for a kid who wouldn't otherwise get Christmas presents.  (Levi picked it out and was excited about dropping it off at the donation site.  But now all he says he wants for Christmas is that same gift he picked out to give away.)

Today we went out to the farm and got our Christmas tree.

Although, Levi was much more interested in the big holes the ground squirrels have dug than picking out a tree.
Look who we ran into at the Christmas tree farm!

Levi was pretty shy.
But I think he was happy to see him and he loved the candy cane Santa gave him.

The lights and star are on the tree, but the rest of the decorations will be put on later this week.
With lots of weekend activities, we ran out of time to decorate!

And maybe the most exciting event of the weekend....we got our big Christmas present.
We're looking forward to taking it out to Ft. Steven's after Christmas!

Full of Thanks!

I love Thanksgiving.
And I was happy to be cooking and hosting at our house again this year.  That was until I saw everything we had to wash and clean up.  (I hate to admit that I still have a roasting pan and dutch oven to wash...and it's been more than 36 hours since the big meal.)

Levi and I made pies together on Wednesday.
Along with my traditional no-bake pumpkin, we also made chocolate pecan (for Grandma G!)
Levi loved helping me put on the pecans!

The meal was great!
(Turkey took a little longer than planned...so Gabe's not in the picture since he's still carving the bird.)  Also, I didn't fix my depth of field on this picture so I'm sorry not everyone is in focus.

Someone loves Thanksgiving just because of the cranberries.  Pretty sure he filled up on them!

When I asked Levi what he was thankful for this year he said:
"I'm thankful for YOU...and Daddy."
Melts this Mommy's heart!
I sure am thankful for these great boys in my life.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sunday Work Party

Aaron and Joe manhandling the engine into place

Sorry, no Sunday Supper this week.  Since I spent the bulk of the day in the garage working on my car we decided that we wouldn't do a Sunday Supper this week.  As you can see above, I had some help doing one of the last big pieces of the engine swap that started back in 2008!  Four years, to the month even.  That's some kind of record for the longest engine swap in history I think.  Although, I've had some distractions along the way.  We bought a new house, had a kid, remodeled a kitchen, replaced a deck etc...Not a great excuse, but it's all I have.  Today went great, Doug, Aaron and Joe came over to help, and I'm really glad they did.  I might have been able to do it myself, but it sure would have taken a lot longer.  I've got a quite a few details to work out still but it's a lot closer to driving!

Netarts in November

We spent the weekend at the coast, celebrating a special some one's birthday.

Happy Birthday Grandpa G!

Along with a party, we also enjoyed:
beach walks and digging in the sand

a trip to Cape Meares

cheese and ice cream (before lunch) at one of the best places on Earth!

Watch out!  Levi's driving the cheese bus!

and lots of time in front of the fire reading and listening to the wind blow!
It was a fun weekend with family!

Sad Popeye

Two weekends in a row with Sunday Supper?  Gabe writing a blog post?  Cats and dogs living together...mass hysteria!  Tonight we had Jen and Rich over for their second Sunday Supper experience.  Again we made a Cook's Illustrated recipe, this time it was vegetarian lasagna.  Heidi and I had made this one time before and loved it.  We also though Jen, who doesn't eat meat, would love it, even though it has eggplant in it.

Veggie Lasagna - First Layer - What's Missing?

The lasagna is good stuff, summer squash, eggplant, tomato sauce, white sauce and tons of garlic and basil.  Oh, and apparently there's supposed to be spinach in it too.  The recipe calls for it, I bought it at the store.  Yet, the spinach didn't make it out of the crisper until the lasagna was in the oven.  Whoops.

Luckily, it turned out delicious.  The wilted spinach and garlic we had as a side dish was also good.  If you're interested, the recipe follows.  And don't forget the greens!

Vegetable Lasagna

From the episode: Vegetarian Pasta Night

Serves 8 to 10

We prefer the lasagna made with our favorite wholemilk, block-style mozzarella from Sorrento, but Kraft part-skim preshredded mozzarella is also fine. Our preferred brands of crushed tomato are Tuttorosso and Muir Glen.

Ingredients

No-Cook Tomato Sauce

• 1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves , minced
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

No-Cook Cream Sauce

• 4 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (2 cups)
• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Vegetable Filling

• 1 1/2 pounds eggplant, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 7 cups)
•   Kosher salt and ground black pepper
• 1 pound zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 4 cups)
• 1 pound yellow squash, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 4 cups)
• 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
• 12 ounces baby spinach (about 12 cups)

 

• 12 no-boil lasagna noodles
• 1/2 cup kalamata olives
• 12 ounces low-moisture whole-milk mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 3 cups)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Instructions

• 1. FOR THE TOMATO SAUCE: Whisk all ingredients together in bowl; set aside.
• 2. FOR THE CREAM SAUCE: Whisk all ingredients together in bowl; set aside.
• 3. FOR THE FILLING: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Toss eggplant with 1 teaspoon salt in large bowl. Line surface of large plate with double layer of coffee filters and lightly spray with vegetable oil spray. Spread eggplant in even layer over filters. Wipe out and reserve now-empty bowl. Microwave eggplant, uncovered, until dry to touch and slightly shriveled, about 10 minutes, tossing once halfway through to ensure that eggplant cooks evenly. Let cool slightly. Return eggplant to bowl and toss with zucchini and squash.
• 4. Combine 1 tablespoon oil, garlic, and thyme in small bowl. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add half eggplant mixture, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are lightly browned, about 7 minutes. Push vegetables to sides of skillet; add half of garlic mixture to clearing and cook, mashing with spatula, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir to combine garlic mixture with vegetables and transfer to medium bowl. Repeat with remaining eggplant mixture, 2 tablespoons oil, and remaining garlic mixture.
• 5. Return skillet to medium-high heat, add remaining teaspoon oil, and heat until shimmering. Add spinach and cook, stirring frequently, until wilted, about 3 minutes. Transfer spinach to paper towel–lined plate and drain 2 minutes. Stir into eggplant mixture.
• 6. TO ASSEMBLE: Spray 13 by 9-inch baking dish with vegetable oil spray. Spread 1 cup tomato sauce in bottom of baking dish; shingle 4 noodles on top of sauce. Spread half of vegetable mixture over noodles, followed by half of olives, half of cream sauce, and 1 cup of mozzarella. Repeat layering with 4 noodles, 1 cup tomato sauce, remaining vegetables, remaining olives, remaining cream sauce, and 1 cup mozzarella. Place remaining 4 noodles on top layer of cheese. Spread remaining 1 cup tomato sauce over noodles and sprinkle with remaining 1 cup mozzarella. Lightly spray large sheet of aluminum foil with vegetable oil spray and cover lasagna. Bake until -bubbling, about 35 minutes. Cool on wire rack 25 minutes. Cut into pieces, sprinkle with basil, and serve.

Trick-or-Treat

Levi had a Halloween parade at school!  He was very excited and all the kids looked so cute in their costumes.  They made a special snack of pumpkin muffins and it was a fun little party.

We had a tough time deciding if Levi should go trick-or-treating this year.  When we asked him what he thought it was he said, "Hunting for treats....like in the road and in the yard."  I think he might have Halloween confused with Easter.
But one of Gabe's co-workers lives up the road from us and has two little girls.  In their neighborhood they have a big kid gathering and all go trick-or-treating together.  The kid range is probably 7 to 2.  So the big kids showed Levi how it was done and he caught on in no time.  The big kids were off and running (literally), the little kids took things a little slower.

We were pretty impressed at how well our shy little bat did.  I guess kids will do anything for a treat.

Look at the haul he brought back!  And we were the first ones to leave the group at 7:30.

Pretty sure Halloween is now Levi's favorite holiday!