Anyone who has Children...

http://resolved2worship.xanga.com/715041187/about-boys-and-other-things/

go read that. It is AMAZING.

addition to our house!

no, not a pregnancy... we got another cat! Meet Miss Taggart aka Dagny aka Micro Cat aka Peanut aka Meowenator. ;l...................... (that was courtesy of our first cat, Fjord - not too bad for feline typing skills).

She is 2.2 pounds of fearless kitten. She thinks she can take Fjord on. Sometimes she is right (typed as Fjord skitters spastically from her door out to the living room). She loves people and love Fjord. She would play all day if we let her. Fjord groomed her this morning for about three minutes. That was all she could take before batting him in the face and taking off like a bullet.

Tonight is my sister's birthday party. At our house. My house is messy. Thus, I need to go clean it.

hot damn

Brett Favre is good.

Black Bean Feta Tacos and Photoshop...

Delicious, delicious, delicious! Even my meat loving husband thought these were swell. And he hates feta. I found these at Smitten Kitchen and modified to suite my tastes.

2 cans black beans

1 tbsp. cumin

2 tsp. garlic salt

olive oil

juice of 1 lime

red pepper flakes

1/2 cabbage, chopped

1 carrot, shredded

2 green onions, chopped

fresh cilantro, washed and chopped

feta cheese

Franks Lime/Chili hot sauce

flour tortillas

Rinse and drain the black beans. Place beans in bowl. Mix in cumin and garlic salt while slightly mashing the beans.

In a separate bowl, mix lime juice and oil oil until it emulsifies. Stir in a couple shakes of dried red pepper flakes. Add cabbage, carrot, green onions, and cilantro. Mix. Set aside.

Heat a skillet on medium heat with a little oil (I use coconut oil... whole other post on that). Place desired amount of bean mixture in tortilla. Fold. Cook tortilla on both sides until crunchy and beans heated through (approx 1-2 min/side). Remove from skillet. Add the cabbage mixture, feta, and hot sauce. Enjoy!

I promise these are tasty... my husband made fun of me until he ate one. Then he proclaimed (although not too loudly - he thinks vegetarians are a little odd) that they were 'pretty good and filling.' That would be a resounding 'Yes HONEY! These are delicious.' At least the way I read it. Low fat, cheap, and delicious!

Now he is hanging our artwork in our living room as we wait for our friend to arrive. He had to work late. Very late. And talk on the phone for 5 hours.

Here are some of the shots from yesterday's endeavor.

Weekend of Fun

So this weekend was very busy, but full of so much fun. Friday consisted of a coffee/house/banana bread/sandwich party with OBaby and Mrs. O. Then, my sister and I went and looked at paint chips. If you see her, tell her that the house won't look like sesame street if she uses bright colors. She is afraid of it always being a 'Sunny day.' I told her not to worry, but I don't think she is quite sold yet.

but this weekend was tremendously fun because we had GUESTS! My two girlfriends from wheaton came and visited me. I love my little Natalie (the manatee) and Jaime so much! We hit up the state fair - their first ever state fair - complete with cheese curds, malts from the dairy barn, mini donuts, and fresh french fries. Yum! After the fair, I introduced them to the gargantuan that is the Mall of America. Not too bad for a Saturday afternoon. It was a success.

Sunday was time for partying on Lake Minnetonka - courtesy of cousin Quinn turning NINE. Tubing, boating, fishing, swimming, and EATING (mmm zestar apples from the apple house!) lots of delicious things.

Monday the girls took off, and we played dinner hosts to Jon and his girlfriend (whom we had met once before, at our wedding... didn't really remember her all that much). After a terribly difficult round of extreme croquet, we all pitched in to make tacos for dinner. An intense game of NERTS followed. The evening was topped off with Apple Cinnamon doughnuts from a local apple orchard.

All in all, I would say the weekend was a smashing success - complete with dirty dishes and laundry that has accumulated. Now I need to get down to business about losing some weight... this weekend was a food hiatus. :)

Meeting with Mrs. O

So today I met with the wonderful Mrs. O. It was so delightful meeting her for the first time, despite having gone to Wheaton together. And her small baby is darling! The chubby cheeks on that little man are so cute. It was very refreshing to see/talk to someone who was down to earth. Hoorah for being 'fun-employed.' The chocolate hazelnut coffee was pretty delicious (if I can say that despite not being a coffee connoisseur) as was the scone (which I can speak with authority). Maybe a little dry, but very lemon-poppy-y. Mmmm... Now I am inspired to bake delicious tasting things. But then I think of how it will go straight to my thighs and stomach, and then it seems slightly less appealing.

Yesterday I started in on the unenviable task of weeding one of the weed patches - but I wondered if it was really worth it since we are thinking of putting in a patio. Or maybe a deck. How ambitious. But then I was thankful that Spencer dealt with the two carcasses that had been in our lawn (a dead squirrel in the front found when he mowed the lawn) and a dead bird that was in our weed patch. I found that one on wednesday. Normally you would think that the bird would die by running into a window. But there were no windows there - so I suppose that would be natural selection at its finest: a bird that runs into the side of a house (no reflection) should die. According to Darwin.

Now I am sitting in my first fantasy football draft. Ever. And I have money riding on it. A lot. Could be interesting. I hope I win. Probably won't. It was pretty entertaining... Just finished. I think my brother thinks I'm an idiot. Oh well.

Well, off to Monticello where we will spend in the night, then hang with the niece and nephews.

Thanks, Mrs. O and OBaby for a wonderful morning! Can't wait until next friday.

Family and Photoshop

This weekend was full of family and food - can there be a better combination? Saturday we hosted, and on Sunday, we went up to my brother's. Here are some darling photos from this weekend. I promise photos of our house will be up soon.