sweet name.

miette’s name means small and sweet, or crumb in french.

so imagine my non-surprise when i googled her name and found a candy shop/bakery in san francisco, bearing her name proudly! miette patisseries and confiseries looks like one super cute shop! check out their blog and if you ever happen to be in san francisco, get a treat for yourself, and a dozen for me!

anyway, i am glad that miette shares a name with something so adorable.

honey chicken stir fry

THIS is delicious.

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken
1 garlic clove minced (i use at least 2! depends if you like garlic or not)
3 tsp. olive oil, divided
3 tbsp. honey
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 pkg (16 oz.) frozen stir fry veggies (i use the ones with red pepper, watercress, sugar snap peas, those little corn cob thingies… you know!)
2 tsp. cornstarch
1 tbsp. cold water

4 servings of rice… i use whole grain, but use whatever you like

In a large nonstick skillet or wok, stir fry chicken and garlic in 2 tsp. olive oil.
Add honey, soy sauce, salt and pepper.
Cook and stir until chicken is light brown.
Remove from pan, try to keep warm.

[personal note #1: i usually buy a huge pkg. of chicken breast, bake them, cut them into 1" cubes, and freeze them in the amounts i use for various recipes... so i don't re-brown my already cooked chicken!! i thaw out the portion i need the night before, then toss it in the skillet. it saves a lot of time. i just heat that first set of ingredients until they are nice and hot.]

In the same pan, stir-fry the veggies in 1 tsp. olive oil for 4-5 minutes or until heated through.
Return chicken to pan; mix well.

[personal note #2: at this point, i like to add more honey and soy sauce so that the veggies get a little flavor too.... i just sort of drizzle a bit of both over top... i am not big on measuring, i do a lot of eye balling and taste testing]

In a tiny bowl, combine cornstarch and water until smooth.
Stir into chicken mixture.
Bring to a boil.
Cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened.
Serve over rice.

I believe this is a Betty Crocker recipe — just wanted to give props to where they are due!

solo adventure.

as i was looking through past posts on this blog, i realized i never wrote about by trip to the pacific northwest!! in september i went to vancouver (all by myself!) to visit with one of my favorite people (also my maid of honor), danielle and her husband ben.

i had never been west of lincoln, nebraska, so you can imagine the gawking that occurred at all of the scenery. the people on the plane probably thought my forehead would be permanently stuck on the window. seeing the rockies for the first time was definitely memorable.

the city from stanley park. i packed expecting a lot of rain, since that’s what you expect from a place like vancouver. but we had great weather. it was only cloudy one day!

we spent an entire day hiking on mount seymore. it was so beautiful. we hiked all the way to the top, and there was a great reward for us up there… the scenery was breathtaking… you could see everything… the city, the ocean, huge mountains… it was perfect.

the city (on the first nub) surrounded by ocean from atop mt. seymore

it was so great to see danielle and to meet ben. danielle and i spent so much of our lives together. it was good to find that even after all of these years (7 or so) apart, we are still great pals, like no time had passed. danielle and ben were the best hosts ever! they treated me so well, spoiled me, actually!

not only was it enjoyable to see my old pal again, but it was really good to have a break from the every day life of being a stay-at-home mom. i think being away from your dependents for an extended period of time (i was gone for 6 days) really makes you appreciate what you have. it’s so easy to take the days for granted, or to wish them away. getting yourself out the door, away from your situation, gives you a renewed perspective on how to handle the mundane daily tasks of child-rearing and home care. i am truly blessed.
plus, i just adore traveling, and hope i can do more someday!

anyway, thanks to all who made this trip possible! you know who you are!!!

2009 netflix

my brother has gifted us subscriptions to netflix for the last several years — it is a WONDERFUL gift. one of my favorites. anyway, i thought it would be fun to see all of the movies we watched in 2009. i copied this list from our netflix account, it shows the most recent first.

this list does NOT include all of the movies we have watched that we own… and you all know i watch the same movies OVER AND OVER AND OVER.

anyway, here they are…. some with a few notes, my favorites in bold
**justin would not agree with all of my favorites, this is strictly MY list.

Paper Heart – super cute

The Taking of Pelham 123 – i just really can’t stand john travolta in any role beside in grease

District 9

Sugar

Away We Go

Public Enemies

How to Be

Mad Men: Season 1 – justin liked this series, but it didn’t draw me in

Coraline – creeptastic

Watchmen

The Future of Food – informative, but sooooo boring

The Counterfeiters

True Blood: Season 1 – okay, this is a little embarrassing…

The Brothers Bloom – FANTASTIC

The International

The Soloist

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Adventureland

The Wire: Season 5 – we really liked all of the wire seasons. if you can get past the cussing and questionable scenes in the first season, it is really really good.

The Wire: Season 4

The Wire: Season 3

The Wire: Season 2

Gran Torino

Emma

Six Feet Under: Season 1 (only got through season one… loved the humor… but it wasn’t for us)

The Princess and the Warrior

Push

Tell No One

Hot Fuzz

The Other Boleyn Girl

North Country

The Wire: Season 1

Bobby

The Wrestler

Rendition

Revolutionary Road – depressing, but so good

Defiance

Let the Right One In – great movie, but i can’t stand voice overs in foreign films… just give me subtitles

Lars and the Real Girl – LOVED LOVED LOVED this movie.

The Uninvited

Frost/Nixon

Valkyrie

Australia

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – while good, did not live up to my expectations… too much hype

The Reader

The Darjeeling Limited

WALL-E

I’m Not There

W.

My Boy Jack

Seven Pounds

Rachel Getting Married

Blindsight

Flash of Genius

Hancock

Bella

Planet B-Boy

Reservation Road

Charlotte Gray

Changeling

Wanted

In Bruges

Rome: Season 1: Disc 1 (we didn’t even make it through a whole season, just two episodes… not good)

Elizabeth: The Golden Age

Get Smart

Becoming Jane

The Invisible

Appaloosa

American Teen

The Duchess

Lars and the Real Girl and The Brothers Bloom were definitely my favorite netflix-ed movies of the year.
I am ready for another good year of crazy amounts of film!

cat drama.

this morning justin and i had to pry open the auto dog feeder in the garage. our cat was stuck in it.

we mistakenly left some dog food in there after our sweet kati-dog passed away. apparently, the cat took that as an invitation to enjoy some tasty delights. no wonder we have mice. he has been chowing down on real food!

anyway, the cat was stuck. really, really stuck. and sad about it. so we had to slightly dismantle the feeder to get it out. it was quite the drama.

we have a LOT of animal drama around here.
just wait for my post about the opossums.

whites. darks. bulkies. delicates. linens.

log on –

i haven’t done laundry since… 2009. i think it was december 30th.
the piles are very, very high.

it will take me all day to finish. maybe even longer.

oh laundry, i usually love you as a chore, but when your mounds are overwhelming, i despise you.

–signing off

snowy delight.

these pictures were taken after our first real snowfall. the property we live on was pretty much designed for wintertime fun, so we try to take full advantage of the snow when it arrives. (even though i hate the cold) we have some great hills here, so if you get the sledding bug, come on over!

this was miette’s first time playing in the snow. she loved being pulled around on the little baby sled.

cool hat, miette! who made that hat and scarf for you?? oh yeah, ME!

he likes to throw snow, beware

exhale.

the past few months have been really busy.
when i woke up today, i felt like i had exhaled for the first time in months. i slept really well. and even though i still have appointments and plans for this week, it just feels different. maybe my brain re-adjusted itself during my slumber. maybe it’s my new home accessories from IKEA. or maybe someone has been praying for me. but i just feel — good. great. happy. relaxed.

the results are in…

and after a VCUG (test where they pump xray fluids into your bladder to do xrays) miette’s kidney reflux is GONE!
i have been doing a lot of praying about this (and i know others have been too) and i am so thankful she is past this.
she will still have to have an ultrasound every now and then to make sure her kidneys/bladder are still functioning correctly, but she gets to go off of the anitbiotics and move on.

miette did great in the test today. of course, there were tears, but she really, really did well. what a trooper!

halloween.

a nebraska cornusker cheerleader and alber pujols join forces for some candy collecting.

we need to get this kid a new mitt. he switched hands on us.

m and her pigtails… too cute.

instead of traipsing through neighborhoods after dark, we went candy collecting at Belwood Nursing Home, which is where justin’s grandma stays. the residents of the home were happy to see all of the kids dressed up and gave out some great candies. all of the kids had a great time, and we have plenty of ‘goods’ to show for it!

grandma and grandpa B with just a small portion of their great grandkids… henry, violet, annabelle, miette and finn. grandma had a princess crown on her head, she was “queen esther”!!

and the resulting candy.