Let there be Boo

Back by popular (tho hardly populous) demand:


Well it's May 11th, the perfect time for new year's resolutions, so I've decided to update our blog.  (If you can follow my logic so far, you deserve a medal).  


It's been a busy year so far.  Amy's working hard at Technicolor, and there are a number of possible promotions she could earn, so we are hopeful.  Boo is growing by leaps and bounds.  I have no idea about height and weight, other than to say that she's darned hard to carry around now, and she comes in at just under my belt in height.  This is her, hard at work climbing the daddy.

Rachel has learned to say "I love you", and occasionally says it spontaneously (usually accompanied by a hug) now.  It is heart melting.  She is developing a riot of brownish curls.  There's a touch of red, and a bit of blond, and we really don't know which way her hair will decide to go, color-wise.


The Boo has also developed a love of hats, in particular a knit confection which was a gift from one of her grandmothers.

I've continued to hone my culinary abilities, although Amy and I were both saddened that Alton Brown ended Good Eats, our favorite cooking show, after it's 13th season, we continue to enjoy his zany comedy as the host of Iron Chef America.  

Here is a picture of one of our recent dishes.  Tacos al pastor, con salsa aguacate.  Traditionally they are made with pineapple, but I substituted orange, due to a total pineapple deficiency in our cupboard.


The tacos are made from bbq pork patties, mixed with spices and orange, and served with cilantro, supremed orange slices, and queso fresco, over a salsa made from roasted tomatillo, habanero, and avacado.


Let me tell you, they were darn tasty.


We recently had our five year anniversary, and decided to go on a 2nd honeymoon.  Rachel stayed with Amy's family, who were gracious enough to watch her and our puppy, so that we could go up to Carmel/Monterey Bay.  Here are some of the highlights of our trip.

This is the San Carlos Borroméo de Carmelo Mission It was built around the turn of the 18th century, and is were the Spanish missionary Junipero Serra was interred.

Carmel by the Sea is adorable.  Rather than addresses, the houses have names.  This one is aptly named "Good Day Sun Shine"  Amy and I really enjoyed walked among the faerie cottages, and rustic cabins, it's the most charming community I've ever seen.

We also visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  It was fairly huge.  Our feet gave out before we saw more than 2/3 of it.  The penguins were Amy's favorite.  (I liked the sharks)

Okay, this last one is chronologically out of order, but Boo was an adorable blue dragon from last Halloween, and I'm hoping that seeing how cute she was will help me convince mom to sew matching jedi outfits for myself and Boo, so we can go as Jedi Master and Padawan for our next Halloween. :)


Well, that raps it up for now.  Peace to all you out in digital information land.

To New Yearity, and Beyond!

BABY EATS CAMERA CREW: FILM AT ELEVEN

Don't pester me mommy, I'm on the last page...

Look, the rare and elusive Rachel Smile... blink and you'll miss it... at least on camera.

What did I tell you about the personal space bubble, daddy?

Finally! Some room to breathe.

I'd type this in upside down if I knew how...

Well, it's been a fairly busy couple of weeks for our family. Some of Amy's family came over to visit on New Year's, and we made some potato soup, which everyone (except me) loved. (What can I say, I'm just not a soup fan) And yes, I'm the one that made it. (I've been corrected, Amy helped) I've begun a serious overhaul of the apartment - Spring Cleaning style. This week I tackled the kitchen. It took about 13 hours, spread across 4 days - but every single cupboard, shelf and pantry is clean and organized. Next week it's on to the bathroom... yay. Amy interviewed for a job this week, which we will hear back about sometime this coming week, so keep us in your prayers everyone. Rachel had her first official walk. She started from a standing position, with no handholds, and walked three full steps, without falling down at the end. She's still a little leery of the whole process, but we're getting there. She's going great guns in the tooth producing as well. She's got two on bottom, one on top, and two more on top that have pierced the gums (I verified this, so it isn't just Amy wackiness).

On to the food!
Thursday night we had pork shoulder blade steaks, rubbed, and broiled, then served with tacos (Corn tortillas for this dish please)
For the rub I used Garlic, Kosher salt, Cumin, Chili powder, Pepper, Chipotle chili powder, Spanish Paprika, and lime juice. (1 Tbs Garlic and Kosher Salt, 2 Tbs Paprika, 1/2 Tsp everything else, 3 Tbls Lime juice) Broil on...Broil. Turned over once, also flipping the pan end to end.

Friday was Amy's favorite dish, and a great success in my opinion. (I'm probably my own harshest critic) It was honey almond chicken served on white rice with a loaf of braided sweet egg bread.

1. Melt 2 Tbs Butter in a medium sized saute pan on medium heat. When the butter is melted add 2 Tbs. honey. As soon as the honey has turned liquid add 1 can (14.5 oz.) of chicken broth, and whisk to combine.
2. To the broth mixture add 1 Tbs. Sweet Basil, 1 Tsp. Marjoram, 1/4 Tsp. Mint, 1/4 Tsp. Spearmint, and 1 Tbs. Crushed Red Pepper flakes (For kids and wimps this can be reduced to 1/4-1/2 Tsp. - don't exclude it entirely it's necessary for the flavor) and 3 Tbs. slivered almonds (Or sliced, or diced... whatever)
3. Add thawed chicken breasts to the broth, put on the lid, and cook on medium heat, turning breasts over halfway thru (time will vary based on thickness of the chicken, etc.) Remove lid for second half of cooking.
4. When chicken breasts are cooked through, remove from broth, and simmer broth mixture on medium low until broth thickens to a light sauce consistency.
5. Plate chicken on fluffy white rice, and top with the thickened almond/broth mixture.

Serves 4.

Yay for photoshop and food!

Hello out there in IE land! This is a semi-recent picture of Rachel in my absolute favorite outfit of her's. I just love those Pooh-bear ears. I can't stop picking her up and kissing her, which annoys her to no end, let me tell you. Amy wouldn't let me post until she had photoshopped some of the photos (I procured her a copy of Photoshop CS5) So here we go.


Our whole family (Bella included) made the trek out to Arizona for Christmas. Rachel and Bella loved it - lots of space and secure play areas make for happy critters. Here's the little pooper scooting around mom & dad's tile area, muffin tins in hand.

And here's Grammy, stealing her little munchkin, and brainwashing her into believing her name is Rachel. Madness I tell you, don't soil my pooper! (Pun intended)
And here is our little goober giggling as her Papa tickles her. (My forearms don't have that much hair) That's partially masticated cheerios in her mouth, in case you were curious. :) Christmas was terrific, and we all had a great time. I've been having a blast cooking with all my new tools (on my comfy low impact floor mat) and playing the games dad got me. I also have a new favorite shirt from Amy. "Guns don't kill people... Magic Missiles do." What can I say, my wife knows me. (And yes, I'm a geek)

Per Jenny's suggestion I decided to Blog about some of our more interesting/tasty meals - but I'm lazy - so I'll just do so here, rather than making another Blog. Last night we had Curried Pork, with a Hot Curry mixture from Penzey's Spices (Not that cheap supermarket Curry) With a little butter, the zest and juice of 1 small orange, and edamame (hulled) along with red bell pepper and sliced mushrooms. It was served over rice made with a touch of honey and butter. All in all, it was very tasty, and the Curry flavor was very mild and played well with the orange. By mild I mean not overly Curry-ish, as it was actually somewhat spicy. Sorry mom. I had originally wanted to use Cashews, but Amy couldn't find them at the store - so I substituted with the edamame, which was still quite tasty.


Well that's it for now, tomorrow is new years eve, so I will wish everyone a happy new year. New years day some of Amy's family are coming over, and we're going to start up a Star Wars based role-playing campaign, which I am very excited about, as I love Jedi. I'll post again on Sunday, with more photos of Rachel, food, and other grist for the mill.

At long last...

I know it's been ages - I blame technology. We didn't have any means of getting pictures from Amy's camera to the computer, because she lost her cable. Dad bought her a new one for Christmas, which I have put in a safe place - so the blog resumes. We've got about 500 back-logged photos - most of which won't make it into the blog - (It's amazingly difficult to get a picture of a baby without any motion blur - the only time they're still is when they're sleeping!)
So, here at long last, is our little super pooper (Also called Rachel). She is wearing her "Grandma spoils me" outfit, and playing with a new doll, both presents she received for Christmas this year.
In answer to the many calls for pictures, I've posted the collection above, showing Rachel growing. Hugs to all, and Merry Christmas!
I'll be posting our Christmas adventures blog tomorrow, along with more pictures.
Love,
Scott (And family)

Sorry for the delay in posting... life has been busy for us. I (Amy) love the picture posted above - it is a little older, but it's a picture of 2 of my favorite people.

Rachel coos a lot now. One of her favorite things is to kick her hands and legs around, smile and coo.

Scott has his hands full with Rachel (no pun intended by the visual illustration!), but overall is doing well.

Amy continues to get skinnier as she balances her work/life responsibilities:)

Insert Clever Title Here

Well hello again loyal bloggers! (Which is to say, family members that want pictures of Rachel) We had Amy's family over for our bimonthly Dungeons and Dragons game yesterday, but because my photographer(Amy) dropped the ball I have no footage of our game. Our intrepid heroes did battle with a veritable horde of angry bow and axe wielding barbarians before stepping through a magic gate and into a land of perpetual winter, there to face horrors unknown! (At least until their next session) The champions then did battle with a mighty plate of nachos, and while chowing down we teamed up and played a board game called Talisman, which I won. Rachel had numerous aunts and grandpeoples vying for the right to hold her and talk in syrupy tones, but was nonetheless a little grumpy, for reasons unknown. She continues to grow like a cute, fat weed, and I am including lots of pictures that Amy has taken. Since I am apparently too ugly for words I will limit my pictures for this post to the litte poopster. Peace Out!

Ah take uup zee challenj, uff de guantlet, wheech izz trown down by me seestir, unt Ah do post Deece Peectures!

Grumbleberry's first Christmas

Then let them eat pictures!

Yes, it has happened, Scott has opened up a blog! (Gasp... shudder... feints in horror) For those of you who have led a french revolutionesque campaign to see more and hear more about our little Grumbleberry(Also known, during her scarce peaceful moments as Rachel, Cutie, Burrito-baby, Munchkin, Gurgle, Lizard-baby, Urgle, and Super-pooper), let me put your minds (and my ears) at peace: YES, THERE WILL BE PHOTOS. Having found out the information you were seeking, you doubtless have stopped reading and started searching for photos by now, but just in case you make it to the monster at the end of this blog, Scott and Amy will have periodic bits in here as well. Alright ma friends and relatizzles - Peace Out!