Katie Tovey, what a lady

Today is my grandmother's 79th birthday. She is a woman that I sincerely admire and respect and I can barely keep up with her hectic lifestyle she's still leading. When I think of my grandmother I always think of self-less service. One of my favorite grandma Katie quotes is "If not me who? And if not now when?" in regards to service or getting a task done. Nothing I could write would do her justice, so I thought I'd just mention a few of my favorite things about her.

-She grew up on a ranch in Idaho and loved riding horses
-She always knows the blunt but tactful way to say things
-She makes THE BEST bread and rolls on the planet
-She is always thinking of others
-She raised 10 children and still had the energy to go to "Jazzercise"
-She makes everyone she comes in contact with feel valued and loved
-She is fun!
-She is a fantastic dancer
-She is always humming a tune as she's going about her days work
-She's taught me that no matter how rich or how poor you are, you still need to take care of what you have.
-She never forgets a birthday, and with a family as large as ours that's an amazing thing.
-She is stubborn and tough, but in a good way
-She always smells like fresh soap and flowers
-She always has an endless supply of treats and goodies for grandchildren and great-grandchildren
-She is a baby expert and I should be paying her instead of a pediatrician
-She never forgets a friend
-She makes 79 look GOOD!!!!!!









I know she will probably not get to read this, but for posterity's sake there it is. She is an incredible person and I hope to be half as great a grandmother someday!

Cold winter days make for good book reading

I love to read, always have. My parents are the same way and every time I visit them they are always in the middle of a new book. When I was little girl, before I even knew how to read, I would create a big nest of blankets and pillows and dolls and spend hours pouring over books and looking at their pictures. After I finish a book I am anxious to move on to another one and immerse myself in a new story with new characters. I could spend hours in a bookstore pouring over the newly released works and looking for something interesting. I've rubbed off on Riley and he's an avid reader now as well. In the winter I get to do quite a bit of reading when it's cold outside and I'd rather stay in. To me a perfect afternoon would be curling up in front of the fire with a blanket and some hot cocoa and reading to my hearts content. Even if I don't really like a book, I try and stick with it until the end just because I always hold out hope that it will get better. Sometimes they do and sometimes I absolutely can't read another page. Here are some books I've read lately:


-Playing for Pizza by John Grisham. I actually bought this for Riley for Christmas, but I couldn't resist reading it first because I'm a huge Grisham fan. This was one of his non-legal stories about a washed up NFL quarterback that ends up playing small ball football in Italy. This book was highly entertaining and talked not only about football, but about the Italian cuisine, history, and landmarks. The main character went from being an embarrassment to his U.S. team to a local Italian hero. This was a fun read.



-The Innocent Man by John Grisham. "In the town of Ada, Oklahoma, Ron Williamson was going to be the next Mickey Mantle. But on his way to the Big Leagues, Ron stumbled, his dreams broken by drinking, drugs, and women. Then, on a winter night in 1982, not far from Ron’s home, a young cocktail waitress named Debra Sue Carter was savagely murdered. The investigation led nowhere. Until, on the flimsiest evidence, it led to Ron Williamson. The washed-up small-town hero was charged, tried, and sentenced to death—in a trial littered with lying witnesses and tainted evidence that would shatter a man’s already broken life…and let a true killer go free. Impeccably researched, grippingly told, filled with eleventh-hour drama, John Grisham’s first work of nonfiction reads like a page-turning legal thriller. It is a book that will terrify anyone who believes in the presumption of innocence—a book no American can afford to miss."-Book description from Amazon.com

Grisham's non-fiction writing is just as good as his fiction. This book really made me stop to think about every person who is put on trial and the power of DNA testing to solidify a perpetrators guilt. If you are interested in the legal system and crime solving you will like this book.


-Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. This book was about a man in a nursing home remembering his life in the circus where he met his true love. With all of the hype surrounding this book I expected a lot more. There were parts that I basically had to skip over because of the content. I would not recommend it.




- The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Amazon.com says: "In his debut novel, The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini accomplishes what very few contemporary novelists are able to do. He manages to provide an educational and eye-opening account of a country's political turmoil--in this case, Afghanistan--while also developing characters whose heartbreaking struggles and emotional triumphs resonate with readers long after the last page has been turned over. And he does this on his first try. "

This book is an account from a man's perspective of Afghanistan and not for the faint of heart, but if you can make it through until the end you won't be sorry. This book had me in tears so many times, and opened my eyes to the racial struggles that exist in other countries. It felt more like a personal memoir than a novel the writer has created and made me more than thankful for the country I live in and how easy my life is in comparison. I highly recommend this book and can't wait to read the author's second novel "A Thousand Splendid Suns", which is from a women's perspective.

I just started a new book yesterday and can't wait until I have some quiet this afternoon to sit down and have a good read.

Snow, Snow and more Snow

What crazy, snowy weather we experienced today. The white stuff has been coming down since before we woke this morning and is still going strong now in the evening. Church was cancelled and our whole day was spent holed up inside our cozy little house in front of the fire. We stayed in our comfy clothes and just enjoyed a relaxing, quiet (for the most part) Sunday. Riley ventured out around noon to shovel the driveway and walkway and Kendle got bundled up to play around in the snow for all of twenty minutes or so.













While they were out in the cold I decided to whip up some home made potato soup and scones. There is nothing better on a snowy day like today. Yum!

The last time we had snow like this was a couple of years ago when we still lived in Burbank. I hope the snow plows come soon, but it's nice to not have to worry about Kendle having school tomorrow, that semester break day sure coincided well with the weather. For most of the day there was not a soul to be seen outside. Then after dinner we saw someone skiing behind a truck down the middle of the street. It looked fun but slightly dangerous.

Days like today don't happen too often around here and it was a treat to be able to enjoy it with my family.

Pet Peeves

I feel like I need to vent some of my pet peeves and perhaps by writing them down they will seem a bit silly to me and not worth wasting my time and energy being irritated day after day.

#1 Every day when I go to pick Kendle up from morning kindergarten, there is a woman who despite all of the notes the school has sent home about "parking lot etiquette and safety" thinks it is perfectly OK to not pull her car up behind the first car parked by the curb. She is there every day and she refuses to pull all the way up and parks right smack dab in the middle so all of the other parents have to maneuver and back in to the big space she leaves between her car and the one in front of it. I am going to go insane watching her do this for the rest of the year. It's just common sense. If there is a big space between your car and the car in front of you, pull up so other people have room to park by the curb as well!

#2 There is nothing better than reading a soggy, wet, newspaper in the morning. I know it's time consuming to walk that extra step and put the paper closer to the door (or heaven forbid put it in a plastic bag when it's pouring outside), but it's also time consuming for me to lay my wet newspaper out on the counter to dry so I can read it in a couple of hours. Then when the paper boy comes to collect his money he has the gumption to give me a disgusted look when I don't add a tip onto the check. What ever happened to good old fashioned customer service? Which brings me to #3:

#3 Walmart. I hate you, but I need you. Why must you only have one checker when there are fifty people trying to check out? Why must you leave price tags off of random items? Why must I always get the shopping cart with the squeaky, wobbly wheel? Last night after Riley's indoor soccer game I sent him there to pick up some groceries for me and apparently they only had one check stand open and he had to use the self-checkout for his big cartload of items, only to have something not be able to scan and the "self-checkout" attendant then came over and said "Oh, I can help check you out over here". That was the straw that broke the camel's back. Riley said he went off on them and told them they had the worst customer service out of any store he's ever been in and that he will never shop there again. He was so mad when he got home that I think he might actually hold to that. We shall see. Bottom line - Walmart, people will continue to shop at your store because it's cheap and convenient but don't be surprised if every customer leaving your store is telling themselves they should never come back.

#4 I know other people have talked about this before, but the radio stations around here are HORRIBLE. There isn't one station that I can listen to consistently. I consider myself pretty well-rounded when it comes to types of music that I like. I like rock, country, pop, indie, a little alternative, reggae, classical and stuff you can't even put in a specific category, but I can not take one more Chris Daughtry (or is it just Daughtry now?) or Nickelback song. I can pretty much turn on the radio the same time every day and hear the same song as the day before. If I don't get Sirius Satellite radio soon I will become a permanent talk radio listener.

I know this wasn't the most uplifting post, but I do feel a little bit better now that I got that out of my system. Sometimes a girl just needs to rant a bit. So now I'm feeling a bit guilty if I brought anyone down by reading this so I'll attempt to lift your spirits by leaving you with one of my favorite quotes which should help me put this all in perspective:

"If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain"-Dolly Parton

Looking for suggestions

I'm trying to organize all of Kendle's hair accessories and wanted to know if anyone has some good ideas for containing all of those rubber bands, ribbons, barrettes, clips, and headbands. Kendle has a TON, and maybe we need to weed through and toss out things we don't wear anymore. Right now I have them in a couple of little baskets with handles underneath the bathroom sink, but it has become a disorganized mess spilling over into the rest of the items I store under there. It makes finding things in a hurry impossible. Do you store them according to what they are? I've tried to group them, but they seem to all end up back in one jumbled mess. Am I the only one who has this problem?

Running around like a chicken with their head cut off

Wow! The last few days have been so crazy around our house, I haven't done a very good job of keeping my blog updated. Beware, this is a very long post.

-Last Friday Riley wanted to take me out to dinner at P.F. Chang's, but we couldn't find a babysitter for that night. We opted to go out to lunch instead thinking lunch time might be a little less crazy at a new restaurant in town. Before I picked Kendle up from school I went to visit a friend that had recently had a baby, and drop off another baby gift for one of the gals I V.T. and I never give myself enough time to do things like that, so then I'm rushing, rushing, rushing to get Kendle from school before she is the last kid left standing by herself. After picking her up we race home and my mother-in-law is just arriving to watch the kids. I hurry and make Kendle a quick sandwhich and apologize for the messy house and then me and Riley are off for our fun lunch date. After driving around P.F. Chang's tiny parking lot for about 15 minutes, and noticing about 20 other cars doing the same thing, we decided it just wasn't going to happen. So we headed over to good old Olive Garden which was just a slightly lesser version of crazy with only a 20 minute wait. We ended up wasting half of our "date" on driving around and waiting. Riley had to head back to work for a bit after that, but we rented some movies for later that night. My pick was "The Nanny Diaries" which was no where near as good as the book, and Riley's pick was "3:10 to Yuma", which I didn't watch but he gave it two thumbs up.

-Saturday morning me and the kiddies made muffins and then ran some errands before lunch. I was going out with some friends that night, so I frantically cleaned and cleaned before I had to go get ready. I didn't get everything done that I wanted to, but at least I got the kitchen floor mopped which needed it badly. Especially since Morgan is crawling everywhere now and licking the floor. Ewwwww! A night out with the girls was just what I needed though, and we had a great time eating good food and then browsing the mall and acting like immature teenagers. I'm glad I have such a fun group of friends who don't take themselves too seriously.

-Sunday was the usual lazy morning, and then rushing to get off to church on time. Hello! We go at 2:30 and we're still rushing to get out the door on time. I've been trying to do better about having something ready for dinner when we get home at almost 6:00 and every one's starving, so I did one of my favorite crock pot meal's and everyone was happy and a little less cranky. I'm still trying to figure out what to do with our Sunday mornings though. I can only pick up the house so many times before church before I've had it. Riley tells me over dinner that Morgan broke my friend Natalie's necklace while she was watching him during Sunday school for me, so Natalie I owe you a new necklace!

-Yesterday morning we were up bright and early, no sleeping in on day's off from school for my daughter. That was OK though, because we were out the door and running errands before Kendle had to go to a birthday party at 10:30. The party was a lot of fun and she had a great time. It was at McDonald's and the hosts bought all of the kids a happy meal. So a Happy Meal + a sugary cupcake = one bunch of happy kiddies. From McDonald's we headed down to my parents house in Oregon to see my brother Tucker who came home for the weekend from college. His birthday was last week, so we had a late birthday cake for him and Kendle made him the best card ever! She took a big piece of construction paper and folded it in half. On the front she wrote:"If I had a million dollars, I would buy you...." and then inside the card she had cut out and glued all sorts of things that she thought he would like (from a 5 year old's stand point that is). A new bike, some cookies and candy, one of those Hickory Farms packages, and also a picture of a pretty blond girl. That one cracked us all up! Tucker told her that was the best card he's ever gotten. My sister and I went to Hermiston and picked up Chinese Food from Chen's for dinner. Chen's has the best food. We enjoyed a nice drive together and chatted about boys, music, and our favorite SNL skits. I love that we get each other's sense of humor! Leaving my parents house after a day of visiting is always an Oscar winning performance for Kendle. She cries that she wants to stay. She says she wants to live with them. She can produce real tears in two seconds flat. Then five minutes down the road she's out like a light and snoring in the backseat all the way home. Riley had an indoor soccer game so he arrived home shortly after we did. What a day!

I vow to keep things updated on my blog more consistently so I don't have to do enormous posts like this anymore. I've realized that since the main reason I have a blog is to journal about my family, I better start doing a better job!

Introducing............

Moira Ann Tovey

This little bundle of joy weighed in at 6 lbs 13 oz and measured 18 inches long. My brother Richard reported that momma and baby are both doing good and that everything went just fine. It's driving me crazy to be so far away and not get to see this precious little being in person. It doesn't get much sweeter than that.

Awaiting the arrival of the newest Tovey

This is an exciting week for our family. My brother Richard and his wife Debbie are expecting their third child, due to join the family this Friday the 18th. Deb has had a pretty hard pregnancy and it will be such a relief for her to be free of the sickness and get back to normal. This will be the seventh grandchild for my parents and the fourteenth great-grandchild for my grandparents.

Rich and Deb have such a fun little family and we miss them a ton. Can I just say, that my brother made the best decision of his life when he proposed to Debbie (which was only after dating for like two weeks or something) and I love her to death! After law school my brother accepted his first job as the assistant district attorney for Coos County (southern Oregon) which is very, very far away from us, but does provide many interesting cases and stories (anyone who knows that part of the state knows what I'm talking about). I am so excited that we will be able to travel down for the baby blessing and see them. I can't wait!

It's amazing to see our family continue to grow and to watch the nieces and nephews grow up and form friendships with one another. It's hard to imagine as a child that one day you will be the adult with a family of your own and that your brothers who you fought with and who made you cry will one day be your friends and people that you genuinely love spending time with.


So baby girl Tovey, here's wishing you a safe and happy arrival! Good luck Deb and Rich, we'll be thinking about you.















* I love this song by Katie Herzig and it totally reminds me of Rich and Deb. They struggled through years of being poor college students, having babies in student housing, and were still some of the happiest people I knew.

7 months old

It seems impossible that Morgan is 7 months old already. The time has just been flying by! I enjoy him so much and appreciate his laid-back, happy personality. He is a huge momma's boy, but also loves spending time with his dad watching football. When Riley walks in the door from work, wherever Morgan is at in the house, he starts getting excited to see him. If he's in his walker, he'll come sprinting. And the cutest thing is when Riley picks him up, Morgan will always put his little hand on his dad's face. I love it. He also enjoys following his big sis around and watching her watch TV. I'm sure Kendle's animated little facial expressions are big entertainment for him. He's fascinated by everything she does.

He is crawling like a maniac now and getting into lots of mischief. He's also started to get up on his knees to try to pull himself up or he does this crazy bear-crawl thing. (Time to put the crib mattress down lower.) We've noticed he really likes music and loves when I sing songs to him. One of his favorite hang-outs is underneath the piano bench to play with the foot pedals.

Morgan loves to eat, but his favorite part is when I let him hold the spoon after we're done. He is growing like a weed and it's hard to keep him in clothes that are long enough anymore. It deeply pains me to buy him a new outfit, he'll wear it twice, and then it doesn't fit after that. No teeth yet, but the drooling continues.

This little boy brings so much happiness to our family!

A case of the Mondays

I've been feeling ever so blah today. My baby woke me up at three in the morning and my husband hit the snooze button one too many times. I went visiting teaching this morning, but after picking Kendle up from school have had no desire to do one productive thing. It's just one of those days.

Oldgirls and the scruffy bear

Yesterday afternoon, I finally had enough. Something had to be done. Kendle and I spent two hours, (yes two hours) cleaning and organizing her room. Sometimes I get really frustrated with her for not putting her things away and keeping her room tidy, but maybe it's partly my fault for not having things accessible enough for her. So we got some big bags to put all of the stuff we would donate in, and then another trash bag to throw things away not worth donating. I'm not kidding that just before Christmas I went through and did a little dejunking, but it never ceases to amaze me the amount of clutter and "little treasures" that can accumulate in a few short months.

If it were up to Kendle her room would be chalk full of marbles, shells, drawings, rocks, stickers, little bits of stubby pencils and those annoying McDonald's toys. And stuffed animals. She loves them with all of heart, and though she has her favorites, few escape her care or concern. But miraculously, she was great about weeding through all of the knick-knacks and letting go of some of her old friends. One in particular was this old scruffy bear that she has had forever. That thing is missing an eye, totally frayed, and it looks like it's survived a tornado. Mr. Bear has had many adventures with Kendle and I was even a little sad to see him go. Or maybe it made me sad that she's outgrown him and let him go so easily. She's growing up.











Then we started going through some of her clothes, particularly summer things that aren't going to fit her this year and we found her "Oldgirls". That's what Kendle has always called overalls and I think it's the cutest thing ever. I don't even want to correct her and have her say it the right way. We discussed how her "Oldgirls" weren't going to be long enough anymore, but that maybe I could make them into "shortgirls" for spring and summer. She liked that idea, so I put them in the sewing pile. I'm amazed to see how much she has grown just since the beginning of the school year.

At the end of it all, we ended up with a toy box no longer overflowing with toys, two organized bookcases, clothes hung and packed away, and one happy little girl.

The Burbs

Does anyone remember that movie with Tom Hanks, "The 'Burbs"? What got me thinking about it is how it is only Wednesday, and our garbage can is almost full (our garbage day is on Friday). How do we come up with so much garbage? I told Riley he's going to have to go outside with a shovel and beat the garbage down like the crazy guy in that movie, (that's kind of a family joke of ours). I swear we take our garbage in the kitchen out at least once a day and yet it just keeps on coming and coming. And, I have to admit I keep stock piling it in there until Riley finally takes it out. So here's to another week of barely making it until garbage day, and if you see a crazy guy beating his garbage down with a shovel it's probably just my husband, no need to be alarmed.

Some of my favorite photographs

Not only does my little sis have a brilliant mind, but she is also really interested in photography and is a pretty good amateur. She is very creative and thinks outside the box. These are three of my favorites that she has done.

This first one she took a year or two ago of Kendle for a photography assignment or contest, I can't remember which. I think they were supposed to try and replicate a famous picture or other piece of art. I LOVE this picture. I have it hanging in my home. I feel like it captured Kendle in such a delicate way and I love that her hair and dress are blowing in the breeze. It is such a contrast to her usual personality. She was still a "wittle" girl then.



















This picture was taken on Christmas day as we were seeing my brother off. We were standing outside in the cold and I wrapped a blanket around Morgan to keep him warm. I was giving him a little kiss on the forehead as he was snuggling into me.



This is my favorite. She actually has this mounted on a board and did this one for a school project as well. I wish my sister could make me a duplicate to hang in Kendle's room. My sister loves Converse All-Stars and did an Andy Warhol-esque tribute to her favorite shoes. I look at this and it just shouts "Tamra" to me. I think a little part of her soul is in this piece.



Now that she has a new camera, I have some projects I would like her to do for me. I would really like to have some pictures of my hometown "landmarks" to hang in my home. If you've ever driven through Irrigon, (emphasis on the IF) chances are you've passed Fred's Melons, the old High School, the old little league field where I played years of softball, and perhaps you've been to the beautiful park there. Or to the locals "The Marina". Another project I had in mind was some family pictures maybe in the spring. (Hint, hint Tam if you're reading this.)

So even though I want her to be a doctor or microbiologist, I do love her photography and her passion for it. She has an old soul. Thanks for the pictures Tam and keep them coming!

Being Sneaky Continued.....

So after trying out some recipes from the new book I received for Christmas (see previous post), I've come to the conclusion that since most of these recipes are low-fat + a puree, I need to do some tweaking to keep my family in the dark. I tried making the banana bread recipe on Saturday and you could still taste a slight hint of the puree. But I was thinking, if I would have made my usual recipe and then put it in, it wouldn't have been noticeable. And since Riley is the one who bought me this book for Christmas, now he is becoming suspicious of everything I make. He eats it, but stays suspicious. I'm telling you, I have the pickiest family out there, hands down. So if they really like something I make, I will share it with you.




As the author explains in the book, it is best to use purees that are similar in consistency or color to what you are adding them to. For example, she has a recipe for adding cauliflower puree to scrambled eggs, which blends well with the already lumpy scrambles and gives kids half of the daily value for vitamin C they need. I've noticed though, that cauliflower purees have one of the strongest tastes so I'm going to use that one sparingly. It just takes a couple of tries to figure out what works for your family's tastes.





My family really liked the chicken nuggets:
1 cup whole wheat, white or panko (Japanese) breadcrumbs

1/2 cup flaxseed meal

1 tablespoon grated Parmesan

1/2 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. onion powder

1 cup broccoli, spinach, sweet potato, or beet puree

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast or chicken tenders, rinsed, dried, and cut into small chunks

1/2 tsp. salt

nonstick cooking spray

1 tablespoon olive oil

In a bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients (except salt) and mix well. In another bowl, mix your puree of choice ( I used broccoli, but I'm thinking sweet potato would work well next time too) with the egg and set next to the breadcrumb mixture. Sprinkle the chicken chunks with salt and then dip into the egg mixture and then toss in the breadcrumbs until completely coated. Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set over medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot add the olive oil. *The recipe says to cook the chicken for 4-5 minutes on each side but mine started to burn because I think my pan was too hot. So at this point after browning in the skillet, I put mine in the oven on a foil lined pan and cooked them for about 20 minutes more at 375 degrees. But you could do whatever you prefer, bake or brown in the skillet.

With the Chicken Nuggets I served Twice-Baked Potatoes:
4 large baking potatoes

1 cup cauliflower puree

1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream

2 tablespoons trans-fat free soft tub margarine spread

1 clove garlic, minced ( I used a little garlic powder instead)

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

2 slices turkey bacon, cooked according to package directions and crumbled (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Scrub potatoes and prick with a fork. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake until a knife penetrates easily, 50 -55 minutes. When they are cool enough to handle cut in half lengthwise and scoop out the pulp, leaving a thin shell. Mash up the pulp with the cauliflower puree and the rest of the ingredients. Spoon the mixture back into the shells and place back on the baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes or until lightly golden brown on top. Remove from oven and sprinkle with bacon if desired. *I also added a sprinkle of reduced-fat cheese to the top of mine before baking again.




There are so many other tasty recipes I can't wait to try out, but basically this book just got me thinking in a whole new direction. I am trying to eat healthier and lose weight, and even if you aren't, you can still add purees to your regular recipes instead of the low-fat ones. The trick is to make dinners your family loves. It sounds like a lot of work, but really it's not. Steam or roast your veggies depending on the type, throw them in your food processor and then zip-lock bag and label them. Here are some purees that are recommended:

Avocados, Apples, Beets, Bananas, Broccoli, Blueberries, Butternut Squash, Raspberries, Carrots, Strawberries, Cauliflower, Cantaloupe, Peas, Cherries, Red Bell Peppers, Pineapple, Spinach, Sweet Potatoes, Zucchini and Summer Squash, and Canned Pumpkin.

Kendle and I are looking forward to making the doughnut recipe together which has pumpkin and sweet potato puree included, and also the peanut butter and banana muffins. So maybe next time you make your family tacos or pasta, think about what you could slip in there that they won't notice, but you will be smiling about.

*As I try out more recipes and find ones that my family likes, I'll post about them.

I am Victorious!

Tonight my family enjoyed a peaceful dinner hour for the first time in months. No fighting, pleading, or bribing my daughter to eat her vegetables, (or Riley for that matter). Was it too good to be true? It might be, but I'm willing to keep up the charade. My secret? Pure trickery in the greatest fashion imaginable.

Have you heard of the book, Deceptively Delicious? Two words: life changing. It is all about adding vegetable and fruit purees to foods you are preparing. Making a chocolate cake? Throw in some beets or avocados. Macaroni and cheese? Add some carrot puree to fortify it. It was one of my Christmas presents along with a rockin' new food processor. I saw Jessica Seinfeld, the author of the book, on Oprah one day and being the desperate cook that I am thought I would try anything at this point.

I was really skeptical that the recipes would work for my family, so tonight was kind of a test run. I made the chicken nuggets (with broccoli puree) and the twice baked potatoes (with cauliflower puree) from the cookbook, and also served regular steamed broccoli alongside (she states in the book that it is still crucial to continue to serve vegetables alongside the meal to enforce their importance). Not only did Kendle eat the chicken nuggets, she loved them! She wants to eat the leftovers for lunch tomorrow! With every bite she swallowed, my smugness grew. And Riley liked the dinner as well. It wasn't until he was almost finished with his potato that he asked if I had added a "special" ingredient to the filling. Who knew I could get my husband to eat cauliflower?! Also this afternoon, I baked the chocolate chip cookies, (with chickpeas) and while the low-fat recipe isn't exactly what would satisfy my sweet tooth, it wasn't half-bad. The little girls I had over this afternoon loved them and Riley even commented on how tasty they were (he thought they had nuts in them).

I can't wait to try out some more of the recipes. I'm sure I will have to tweak them a bit to suit my own tastes, but none-the-less I have found a way to get some nutrition into my picky family. My mind is racing with possibilities! Now if I could just figure out a puree to stick in Kendle's peanut butter sandwiches......

*Stay tuned for some deceptive meal ideas*

More all about me, this time ABC's

I've been ABC tagged! More fun facts you've always wanted to know about me:

A- Attached or Single? Attached

B- Best Friend? My mom

C- Cake or Pie? It's very close, but I think German Chocolate cake might edge out the pies.

D- Day of Choice? Friday

E- Essential Item? gum/lip gloss

F- Favorite color? RED

G- Gummy Bears or Worms? Neither, gag.

H- Hometown? The big I-town. Irrigon,OR that is

I- Favorite Indulgence-Long bubble baths

J- January or July? July, I'll take flip-flops over boots any day

K- Kids? 2 little monkeys that sometimes resemble children

L- Life isn't complete without? Someone to share it all with

M- Marriage Date? March 2, 2002

N- Number of Brothers and Sisters? 4 brothers, 1 sister

O- Oranges or apples? I would take a fresh orange over an apple if I didn't have to peel it.

P- Phobias or fears? Spiders, and deep water where I can't see the bottom

Q- Quote? "No boy is worth crying over, and the one who is won't make you cry."

R- Reason to smile? Counting my blessings. Being happy for the small simple things in life.

S- Season of choice? Spring, especially the part where it's starting to get really warm and not windy or rainy anymore.

T- Tag three friends or family. Nan, Debbie, and ....whoever else hasn't been tagged yet

U- Unknown fact about me? I have an extra rib

V- Vegetable? Broccoli, especially with cheese on top

W- Worst habit? Procrastinating

X- X-ray or ultrasound? Neither is very fun, but I'd have to say x-ray because I can't stand the goo on my tummy from an ultrasound.

Y-Your Favorite Food? Too many to choose just one. A big dose of pasta is up at the top of my list though.

Z- Zodiac sign? Taurus, the Bull