Thumb Check 2012

I Corinthians 3:6 I planted the seeds... But God makes them grow. . The garden has been more full of drama than veggies this year. I planted about half the seeds I planted last year to prevent the overcrowding. I also planned to thin the seedlings like I should in order to maximize the size and quality of the fruit. Barely did this last year and my garden looked like an overgrown jungle in a matter of weeks.
But before I could even get a picture this year... something (I blame opossums but lets be honest that's just because I am prejudice) ate almost all of my seedlings. Those little guys burst through the dirt reaching for the sun's nurturing light only to be plucked up and swallowed by a nasty little garden villain. Something ate every green bean, okra and zucchini plant. And they ate my bell peppers and jalepenos. Not once but twice! After they ate all my peppers the first time I replaced the plants thinking surely nothing would eat hot pepper plants twice! Looking back that wasn't a smart move...
I was left with 2 squash plants and a couple of cucumber and melon vines that have yet to bear any fruit.
We were still excited by our first fruits of the year... As pitiful as it seems. This was our first harvest: 1 yellow squash and 2 cherry tomatoes.




But the tomato plants are loving the weather and thriving in their Earth Box again this year. I planted 2 small plants and they began sprawling like crazy.




One day I counted 60+ cherry tomatoes on this plant alone!




The other plant is heirloom and they are delish!




For a few weeks it was frustrating to pick 1 ripe cherry tomato every 2 days. I was lucky to make a side salad by the end of the week. But now we are cooking with gas! Every 2-3 days I pluck about this many fresh tomatoes out of my backyard!




Next year I may just skip everything else and be a tomato farmer!
I have learned a lot about myself because of this garden. Each time I plant or water or pull weeds God reminds me of the work He is doing in my life and in the world around me. Lately he has been planting this deep within me: I make things grow, not you. Don't try to force everything. Don't try to control every one around you. Just do what I have taught you. Just plant. Just water. Just weed. Just wait.

Tom and Kevin

My husband and his fine feathered friend... That we will be having for dinner tomorrow!


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she did turn 3!

Though there was no evidence on this here blog... Leah Curley did in fact turn 3 years old on February 9! For her birthday, you'll remember, I gave her a virus. Here she is getting ready to decorate her cake with a 102 temp and a cough...She doesn't look sick!But her cough was getting nasty... so she got her very own little cake to decorate (and cough all over) to her heart's content. That night after work... her daddy brought her some purple tulips and a beee-utiful princess baloon that is still surviving in her room today. Miss Tami, at Daddy's office, also sent Leah a birthday present... it was a BUNCH of goodies... like lipstick...and a Barbie, among other things. We love Miss Tami, she is a sweetie!A day or two later my parents ventured into the cespool to bring Leah's doctor kit over. (Pops would later come down with the dreaded virus.) And you can also see the awesome CD player/microphones that Giggle and Granstan gave as a birthday gift... early, thank goodness... they stayed away from the germie family and avoided the bug. Leah got the coolest gifts this year! Aunt Leslie found a fun sunshine CD case to hold all of Leah's music. By the time Saturday came around, the little one still had a fever and nasty cough, so we cancelled the Gymboree Play and Music birthday party that Mommy was so excited about! :(

Leah understood why we cancelled, and didn't seem terribly upset that day. Along with other new toys, she had a new set of crayons to play with... she didn't want us to put this "crossboard" away for several days. Anyone know what a crossboard is? And when we brought home the GIANT cake we had already ordered for the party... She decided that she wants to cancel parties more often! :)








Happy Birthday Sweet Angel!

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A little dairy princess

Leah made it clear to me that she is the dairy princess, and I am the dairy queen.


Beautiful weather


+ Silly girl


+ ice cream


= the prefect afternoon



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a little argument

About a month ago, we took a little weekend trip to The Big Easy. We walked, we ate, we shopped and then we walked, and we ate some more. All the while trying our best not to get any voodoo on us.


The real purpose of the trip was that Kevin was going to be arguing before the 5th circuit court of appeals for the very first time. And I had to see it! Of course I can see Kevin argue in court in the Dallas area any time... or I could just wait til he gets home and argue with him myself... but the idea of the high level appelate court was so exciting to me!

At times I have been known to be little bit of a courtroom drama junkie. TV and real life. I may be the only person on Earth to have ever been excused from jury duty only to stay as a spectator and watch the trial proceed all day.

We saw all the beautiful sights of New Orleans...

And we saw Mr Hankie, the Christmas poo... really nice...

We ate more than a few beignets from heaven...

And we stuffed our faces with as much seafood from as many famous places as we could before Kevin's argument Monday morning.
Kevin impresses me in alot of ways. But to see him do his courtroom thing is one of the most impressive things. In the blink of an eye he goes from being my goofy red-neck husband to being a serious grown-up! And a REALLY good lawyer! :) I was so proud. Not a single person in the whole place even cracked a smile the whole day but I was grinning ear to ear like an idiot the whole time. I may have even giggled. (Heaven help us if Kevin ever has a case go to the Supreme Court!!)And just as most of our household arguments go... he won! He likes to win. I love that man.

Bread-n-Bows

It all started with some ladybugs and a little lamb.

Back when Leah was sick with a pretty bad cough, the only way to keep her still and quiet was to sit in front of PBS all day long for a couple of days. After I'd seen enough quality, educational, children's programming to make myself sick, I decided to do a little project I'd been putting off for a few weeks.

Leah's favorite bow (ladybug ribbon) was purchased at the Farmersville Farmers and Fleas market. She picked it out and wanted to wear it with EVERYTHING. One day it fell apart and she said "that's ok... mommy can fix it." (???) I guess that's because I'm always claiming I can fix things... and sometimes I can.

I'm not what you'd call crafty. But I REALLY wish I was. So, with my mind numbed by the sounds of da-DA-da-DA El-mo's wooooorld, I completely took apart the remnants of the ladybug bow and fiddled with it awhile. I used some fishing line and a dab of hot glue and I liked the finished product even better than the original!

Don't get me started... on anything... cause its awfully hard for me to stop. I immediately decided that I needed to make Leah a sheep bow... you know, because her Aunt Leslie is a shepherd... and by the end of the next day this is what I had:

And here's the sheep bow: If I was sitting still, I was making bows. I was doing alot of experimenting. My first batch was mostly made of scraps from my gift wrap and craft boxes. I've gotten better now, and I have more of a system. And I have a full-fledged supply of ribbon and accessories. I've given most of that first batch away, plus another 30 or so.

My new passion for bow making was temporarily tempered by my newer passion for bread making! I LOVE IT! Kneading just might be one of my favorite pastimes.

My friend Brandie brought her recipe and her yeast all the way from Forney to help me make my first batch. It takes a good portion of the day but I think the smell in the house alone makes it all worth it.

Here's my first loaf. It was not dense enough (sorry McAnally's) but I've since fixed that along with some of my other issues.

Here is my second batch... a small loaf, dinner rolls, garlic rolls and a few sad looking cinnamon rolls. I've made MANY batches since these and I've finally found a good method for my cinnamon rolls. Its SOOOOOOOO addicting! We haven't purchased a loaf of bread since the first batch with Brandie. Thank you, my friend! Leah and Kevin and all our neighbors thank you too. :)

Let me know if you need a bow or some bread!

let her eat cake

I have more respect for chemistry after our Colorado vacation. Since we were gone on Leah's actual birthday we talked about ordering a cake vs. making a cake for the special day. Neither I or my mother-in-law had baked many cakes at high elevations, but she happened to have a box of strawberry cake mix (with alternate instructions for baking at higher elevations) so we figured it would be fun to try.

As it turns out the instructions on the back of the box may work just fine if you are at elevations of approx. 3000 feet above sea level. Apparently there are lots of other different rules to follow if you are between 3000 and 7000 feet and once you are as high as we were... you should just order your cake from the bakery in town. (We obviously didn't realize this as we were at 10,000 feet.) This is a long explanation, but when you look at the first picture you will understand why I feel the need to do so much explaining. :)

I have to add a disclaimer that my mother-in-law is a GREAT baker of desserts... and an excellent cake decorator as well... so just remember that we were working under harsh baking conditions with very limited resources.

First Julie made a batch of brownies for the skiers who would need a snack when they came off the slopes. In the same pan, half of the brownies were just barely cooked, while the other half were so well-done they couldn't be chiseled loose from the pan, they had to be soaked off. Later that day, when both layers of strawberry cake had fallen so badly in the middle they looked like soup bowls, Julie had the idea to fill the "strawberry cake bowl" with the brownie goo and mound it up in the center so that it actually pushed the top layer up too...Would you ever know there is a huge mound of brownie goo in the middle of this lovely, perfectly flat-topped layer cake? And it was good!! I guess I shouldn't be surprised... actually... I can't think of anything that is wrong with stuffing cake with brownies. More people should do it!And just look at her face when she saw it!

So when we got home from Colorado, it had been 2 weeks since my parents had seen their little princess. They were on vacation the week we before we left and we missed them by just a few hours. So my mom made Leah a birthday cake as soon as we got home. Coincidentally, strawberry again! This one was her mother's recipe. Mmmm! And its a good one.

And Leah's very own tea-cup-cake. She is a big fan of cake at all elevations. Leah was able to catch up on all the flips she had missed while Bibby was gone. Also caught up on lots of silly time with Pops.For cake #3... (and yes I do believe this is excessive, but, I had already planned the party before the other 2 cakes were spontaneously made and eaten) ...I made a 2 layer chocolate cake and chocolate cupcakes! (Oh and chocolate mini cupcakes for the top of the cake.)

After having a mishap with my oven thermostat which ruined the first 2 batches of cupcakes, I calculated that I must have spent more than 10 hours making these desserts, at the completion of which I may have heard Kevin tell me to get a life... or a job... or something like that. This girl likes to party! And she LOVES to eat cake. I didn't get many pictures of the birthday party, but my sister did. She has been preoccupied with shepherd dreams and has been unable to get me the party pictures... I will forgive her... since she is going to let me name one of her sheep!!! :)

Pops' New Year

For my dad's birthday this year we went out for Mexican food. He will ALWAYS pick Mexican food. You can count on it. And when given a choice, Leah will ALWAYS pick "Kay suh dee yuhs, please!" So the two make a great pair.

I now have a new favorite picture... After dinner they checked out the "big, hot fire!"




And when we were full as ticks...we went back to the house to have some birthday cupcakes!

All day we practiced. "Say 'Happy BIRTH-day Pops!'" And every time she'd say "Happy New Yeo Pops" with such enthusiasm! Can she not remember? Or does she just know it will always make me laugh? Even now, a week later, she asks to look at pictures and videos of Pops' Happy New Year party.

Pops' favorite combination is yellow cake with chocolate icing. His other choice is white cake and white icing... but I don't do that sort of thing.

(I don't even think it really counts as cake unless it has SOME chocolate in it.)

Happy New Year Pops!

Notice of Retraction

I am officially retracting my post entitled "righty." This morning Leah ate every single bit of her blueberry yogurt.... with her LEFT hand. And made it look just as easy.I should have known. Children will make liars out of their parents FOR AS LONG AS WE LIVE! :)I guess I'll just wait a few years to make any more such announcements. The lick of the cow may be accurate after all.

righty

For two days in a row now Leah has eaten every bite of her yogurt with her right hand. This may be trivial information for most people, but I've been waiting to see if she's be a righty or a lefty since she was born!

At her 2 week check-up Dr. D took one look at her head and said "Are there any lefty's in the family?" Apparently there is a study that's been done on handedness and most people have the main swirly cowlick on the left side of their head, and they are righty's... and a good portion of right-sided swirly cowlick people are lefty's. According to the lick of the cow... Leah was going to be a lefty.

I'm mainly interested because when Kevin and I were dating I noticed that it seemed he had missed the day in 1st grade when they teach proper pencil holding technique... and he didn't get a make-up lesson. Its crazy awkward! And his handwriting... atrocious! (Yes... mine is horribly messy, but at least it has a little stylistic flare... some people say.)

Come to find out... early in his life, the forks, spoons, pens and pencils Kevin picked up naturally for use in the left hand - had been taken and put into his right hand! Over and over again. (I'm not naming any names.)

So I'm convinced Leah's daddy IS a lefty... by birth. And until recently I really thought she was favoring her left more of the time. But I think this yogurt business has answered the question.

I should be relieved... because although statistically more geniuses are left-handed than right-handed, so are a much higher percentage of the criminally insane!

Happy Groundhog Day! (Punxsutawney Phil says it's gonna be an early spring!)

Put a Santa hat on it...

The other day Leah "decorated" some cookies with a few little girl friends.

My sweet friend that hosted is very Martha Stewart and she made homemade icing in a myriad of colors so that we could pipe it onto our cookies.

I am NOT very Martha Stewart. I had a slight fiasco with my cookie cutting... I let the dough get a little too warm for the last batches, and some of my candy canes turned a bit "Loch Ness Monster" according to some people. Aside from that I'd like to just show off a little and brag on my freehand snowflake cookie pictured below. I was really proud. This may be the most artistic thing I've ever done! ;)




And here is my candy cane.... turned Loch Ness Santa Monster.

Leah would rather eat icing than decorate with it... I had just enough time to take that picture above before ALL the green icing on the cookie was GONE!