oh no he di-int

i took wyatt to get his hair cut today at fantastic sams (he likes their lollipops) and afterwards, we went to starbucks with ms. katie. the lady who'd cut his hair was also getting a refreshing beverage and announces to the very uninterested employees, "isn't wyatt's hair shiny and new?" they all mumble.


the man taking our order was not so blessed by the pantene hair fairy and wyatt says, "that guy's hair isn't shiny, but his head is - he's like, almost bald."


and, oh yes, the man heard.


minutes later, grayson is wandering around to all the cooler than cool starbucks cats with a nickel asking, "heads or tails?"


we are class-E.

etsy grocery bags

i always feel guilty when i have the "wrong" reusable grocery bags for the store i am shopping at (trader's bag at the nugget, nugget bag at raley's...) so i found these bags that are really cute on etsy!

i like the produce bags too, but i'm not sure they'll hold the big stuff. i'll have to try them out soon.

by the way, the butternut squash lasagna was pretty GOOD!!! the "fake" cheese melted just fine and the flavor of the squash made it really sweet.

possible disaster dinner party

i tried to make a vegan butternut squash lasagna but i'm not so sure. so far, i'm about 1 for 20 on this sort of cooking... most things just taste like bland, old lady food and the ginger + carrot soup was so foul that the only thing that was in our bellies was a good chuckle when we decided not to eat it.

this one at least smells good, but isn't lasagna supposed to be thick? and is this fake mozzarella gonna make it? looks a little suspect. at least the home made peanut butter cups should be nice and disgusting. i used carob chips and made the mistake of tasting one while i was melting them - foul.

tune in to see if any one survived and when your dinner invite comes in the mail, pretend it did not.

comando BS

so, i'm sitting in Bible study today at my house and grayson comes downstairs with three costumes. he strips down to his birfday suit, and proceeds to ask mrs. sarah to put his buzz lightyear costume on.


two minutes later, he realizes he wants to be a power ranger, so he's naked again and after wearing the power ranger one for all of ten minutes, he's naked again, and waiting for some one to help him with the batman costume.


i'm so glad i have such good friends... i don't even think any one noticed!

1/23/10

danielle parts ways with the air force (at least as far as working for them) AND we reap the benefits at her fabulous dinner! the everyone-bring-a-bottle-of-wine was a nice touch and we got to sample a little bit of everything - hence, the dudes singing karaoke. pour some sugar on me. fab.

What's that behind your ear?

Wyatt got into magic sets this year and my stepdad had fun at Christmas pulling quarters from behind his ears. So last week we were at a store that had a gumball machine and I told the boys I didn't have any quarters, so Wyatt told me to check behind his ear. I almost laughed, but he was serious, so I went through the motions. Obviously there was nothing there, so he told me to check the other one!


This morning, Wyatt asked me why I couldn't pull $5 from behind his ears instead of quarters because that would be "awesome."

UNstressin me OUT

So the Yahoo article today was about reducing stress, which we all know by now will let us live longer and prevent us from looking like dried up, wrinkled, gray prunes. The list was good: carry a bandaid in your wallet, buy stamps in bulk, yadda yadda... so I got the idea on how to keep others stress free. Some of these are real, and some are just a laugh. Either way, you're reducing stress just by reading this. 


1. Make a friend dinner for no reason.
2. Don't take your children grocery shopping (this helps you and others)
3. Take a friend to a dance class.
4. Make love (again, this is good for you and your partner)
5. Never call people after 9pm or before 8am if you don't know their sleep schedule
6. If you know a friend has a large To Do list, take something off of it if you can
7. Find a neat coloring book and color
8. Never ask a good friend to babysit the Boeker boys -- that's a job for healthy teenagers
9. Don't let a friend be bored. Boredom is worse than stress.
10. Clean your house with a friend. Some times it's fun to clean together, so do their house first and then yours!




These comments are not approved by the FDA.

LOTR -- The VERY extended version

What a gloomy day! Ugh, it hasn't stopped raining since yesterday and the boys don't have school since it's MLK day. Right or wrong, we've decided to let the boys watch Lord of the Rings with us. I'm SO glad we've seen it so many times that we're not really trying to watch it because I don't think I've talked or explained so much in a movie. Ever.


For the first hour, it was, "What's his name again?" Why does he wear that hat? Grayson says, "Why's his name Candle? That's silly." Gandalf. "Do they have to take a bath?" "Why don't they use their swords more?" "Where did they get those horses all of the sudden?" AND over and over, "Is he a good guy or a bad guy? I want to be on his team."


And the Orcs don't scare them. But Gollum took about 15 minutes to get used to.


So that's what the Boekers are doing on a cold, rainy holiday.

The Vita MIX

Yes, I got sucked in at Costco, but... This thing is fantastic! So the ingredients for my breakfast drink this morning:


grapes
kale
spinach
banana
frozen rasperies
1/2 apple
1/2 lemon
soy protein
goodbelly (juice)


Talk about FANTASTIC. Even if I won't ever get a new car, I'm pretty happy!!!

Wine Journal!

Being so close to Napa and Sonoma, I've really developed a taste for wine. I prefer it to beer by far, which I never thought I'd say. I guess the relationship started when I lived in Texas and my dad would take me to wine tastings occasionally. He'd buy a bottle or two and I'd drink it out of "free"ness, and never thought I'd develop a true appreciation for it.


SO in the 7 years we've been in California, I've been pregnant off and on for most of those years, but the past three years, there have been no buns in this oven - but plenty of wine. The first party we were invited to upon moving to Vacaville was Shaleen's wine party. There, Jason stuck with beer mostly, but I thought I'd put on a little class and at least try a variety of the wine. I immediately LOVED it. Well, some of it.


And so the story goes with dinner parties and gatherings... I'd try a little something out of my price range now and then. Try some that I otherwise would have written off as goofy. But over and over, I'd forget what I liked and what I would be happy to never have to choke down again. I'd stick with my two favorites most of the time - Bogle (old vine is my fav) and Mondavi. For Chardonnay, it was ALWAYS Kendall Jackson.


Recently, I've decided to branch out again, and rather than waste money over and over on the same junk, I've started to keep a detailed journal. I don't just record the name, but the year and vintage. For example, Rodney Strong Sonoma Valley is a much different flavor than the Alexander Valley. This way, I know what's worth buying again and what I've tried and it didn't make the cut. When my favorites are reduced in price, I can stock up -- much better than stocking up on something you despise!


Next step? Remember to bring the journal when I go shopping!

The WASTE NOT WANT NOT series

If you watch HGTV at all, you’ll notice that so many houses built before 1990 have smaller closets and kitchens and space for stuff in general. Have you ever wondered why the closets were so tiny?  I mean, those closets not only held the little wife’s clothes, but the husbands as well! 

I’m 30 years old. And while I haven’t amassed a fortune, made my footprint (other than carbon) on the world, or even done anything worth bragging about at my next high school reunion, I have amassed a wealth of knowledge on what NOT to do, buy, and spend my time and money on.

My New Years resolution this year was to waste less and to follow a kinder lifestyle. To my amazement, these things have easily fit hand-in-hand. By trying to eat  only fresh, organic, locally grown food and spirits (ok this is cheating because I’m 20 minutes from Napa), I have learned not only where and how my food was produced, but what food really does cost. And the lives that are effected in the production of that sustenance.

I am kind of ashamed when I think of all the “stuff” I’ve bought and a year later thrown in the donation pile. Think about something you bought just because it was on sale. Do you ever find the price tag is still attached to the things you’ve already grown tired of? Yeah, some things we buy with the intention of being our salute to the national trend, but for the most part, shouldn't those things just accent our wardrobes and houses?

Wouldn't it be great to just LOVE our furniture, kitchenware, clothes etc. years after we bought them? To buy things that we feel good about tomorrow and next year? To fix the things we have that are broken -- maybe recover that chair or swap clothes with friends?

What advice would you give a young friend, maybe getting married and starting a new life or starting to build a family? What can you do to start wasting less, buying less, and being happier with what you have?

left over red sauce?

so, tonight is the big texas/alabama game and i had some leftover sauce from last night. i wanted to make something "fun" ish, so i took the sauce and made calzones for the adults, cheese pizza for the kiddos. i modified a bread recipe from a friend. turned out GREAT!!! here you go...

crust:

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 1/2 cups regular flour

2 scoops cold milled flax

2 tbsp. yeast

1 1/2 c warm water (combine the water and yeast first, let sit a while and combine with the other)

tbsp. salt

a "drizzle" of olive oil

-- mix all of that in a mix with the dough attachment for about 5 minutes

STUFF:

roll a little over half that dough you just made into a pizza shape and on 1/2, use the leftover sauce. on the other half, use pesto

on half, put the following:

sliced mushrooms (i used cremini)

black olives

mozzarella

red onion

artichokes (quartered)

whatever else you like on your pizza

fold in half and pinch the sides. bake on 425 for about 17 minutes. the rest of the dough, i made a cheese pizza. i used the rest of the red sauce, mozzarella, colby jack, and a little parmesan. the boys have no idea how healthy dinner was!

yummy red sauce

i actually made my own (healthy) red sauce last night and poured it over fusilli and they boys loved it. here's what i did:

sautee garlic and onion in a skillet

add:

kale

zucchini

2 can of diced tomato

1 can tomato paste

2 carrots

sprinkle in:

parsley

salt

pepper

basil

oregano

cinnamon

while the fussili is cooking, blend all of that in a blender. toss into the fussili and if you want, sprinkle parmesan on top. i served it with raley's dutch crunch bread sliced & broiled with pesto.

TOP 10 THINGS I DON'T WANT TO HEAR WHILE TAKING MY SHOWER

aka - why I didn't rinse the conditioner out of my hair...

1. Mom, Grayson pushed the screen out of your window. Seriously, it's on the roof and he's trying to get it.

2. Mom, Grayson put Iron Man in the toilet and it won't let the poop flush down.

3. Mom, there's some one waiting downstairs to sell you a vacuum cleaner.

4. Mom, Grayson's eating oreos/marshmellows/butter

5. (sobbing) Mom, Wyatt punched me in the back because I punched him in the face.

6. Mom, can you get out of the shower because I want to use your potty and I don't want you in here. (we have 3 restrooms)

7. Mom, Grayson's calling some one. Really, he's talking to a real person.

8. Mom, when you get out, can we go swimming?

9. Mom, Grayson's putting toothpaste in his hair. I think he thinks it's gel.

10. Mom, Grayson ran out the front door and I couldn't stop him. He says he's going to check the mail and it's not even 3:00 yet.

Happy Birthday Dad/Happy New Year!

So, my dad is hecka hard to shop for because he likes what he likes and most of what he likes involves Best Buy. A girl can only buy so many gift cards without being painfully predictable. So this year, I remembered my dad's favorite cake -- red velvet and I found out that Shari's Berries makes one and delivers. VIOLA!!! Looks good, eh?