Feelin' Better

Sorry we've been under the radar lately. Sesame has been a teensy bit ill. :( She's feeling MUCH better now. She's even been telling Homer stories and chasing him around the house - much to his chagrin. :) We were able to recovery enough to travel north for a wedding this weekend. It made for a long Saturday, but fun nonetheless. Here are a few photos from the wedding! :)

Peach Photo...Go There Now.

Nells In August on PhotoPeach

Just Because I Can...

Some photos. Shock. Dismay. I know this is two posts in one day - but I'm sitting in front of the computer working all day today. So...how else should I procrastinate?! :) These are from our church picnic yesterday. Our little face-maker, crawler extraordinaire was in full bloom. :) Man, she's a heartbreaker. :)

I don't think we have to worry about her being animated. She's already there. :)

This is my favorite. She and husband are making the SAME FACE! LOVE it! :) She looks so much like both of us, it scares me sometimes!

The Post In Which I Reveal A Recipe And For Which I Cannot Think Of A Creative Title So I Just Wrote An All Caps Run-On Sentence Instead.

And now, Ladies and Gentlemen, for your reading and salivary gland pleasure, the recipe. (dun dun dun.)

Salmon with Wild Blueberry & Rhubarb Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 T. Canola Oil (I used EVOO)
• 1 small onion, cut in half, halves sliced (I used half a red onion since they are more potent!)
• 2-3 thin stalks of rhubarb, cut into 1/2 in. slices (Again, I just chopped the suckers...looked good to me!)
• 1 1/2 c. frozen blueberries (Don't forget to thaw them first. I of course forgotremembered to thaw mine before hand and definitely almost ruined the recipe made the recipe to perfection.)
• 2 T. blueberry or wildflower honey (Um...who has $9 for a jar of honey...not me. I used just plain 'ole, teddy bear jar shaped honey)
• 1/4 t. wasabi powder or paste (Every time I see the word wasabi I have to say it out loud like I'm in a kung- fu movie -- Wa-SABI!!!!! Wow...I shouldn't have typed that out on the interwebs for everyone to read...)
• 1 lb. wild king salmon fillet, cut crosswise into 4 equal pieces (OR two 5 oz. fillets that are pre-cut, wrapped in cedar and on sale at the grocery store! (: )

So...looking back on the ingredients...I didn't really make the recipe that's on the page...it was more of an outline! :) But on with the rest...

• Heat oil over med-high heat, add onion and saute' until lightly browned (4-5 min.)
• Add rhubarb and cook until bottom of pan looks syrupy (3-4min.)
• Add blueberries & honey.
• Lower to simmer until rhubarb is "tender and collapsing" aka "soft and squishy."
• Remove from heat ans stir in wasabi. Remember to touch your eyes immediately after this step. It will keep the kitchen interesting.
• Transfer to a bowl and cover to keep warm (because, really who wants a cold sauce on their hot salmon!?)
• Heat a dry nonstick frying pan over medium heat until hot (Or just reuse the pan you just used. Duh. Save on dishes!)
• Sprinkle fish with salt (I used kosher salt because we have a small love affair) and freshly ground pepper.
• arrange salmon in pan and cook until browned and crisp on bottom (4 min.)
• Turn salmon and cook until, you guessed it browned and crisp (3 min.)
• When the fish is done it will flake off easily. It should still be translucent in the center, so don't freak out about e-coli when you go to eat it and middle looks different. It's fine. You won't die. Look, ours was "translucent" and we're still alive. Conrad has a new little tick, but it's cute. :)
• Divide sauce among plates, and place fillet on top.
• Consume yummy goodness making excessive "mmmm" and "ooooooh" sounds at the table.

And there you have it. :) I do love me some good food. :)

A Break Through.

So yesterday Sesame had a breakthrough. Literally. Her first tooth rose above the gum line and protruded with attitude. (Yes, teeth can have attitude.) She's a little off yesterday and finally around 2 or 3 I thought to myself "I wonder if it's her teeth??" And, for the first time, there was evidence that this was the case!!! :) I called husband and promptly broke into tears....or maybe it was after I called him...either way this is what I remember:

Me: "She has her first tooth!"

Husband: "That's great honey!"

Me: "Yes."

Husband: "..."

Me: "SHE'S NOT A BABY ANYMORE!!! THE NEXT THING i KNOW I'LL BE WALKING HER TO KINDERGARTEN AND THEN SHE WON'T WANT ME TO WALK HER TO SCHOOL CUZ SHE'LL BE IN MIDDLE SCHOOL AND THEN SHE'LL START DATING AND THINK SHE'S IN LOVE AND HATE ME WHEN i TELL HER THAT THIS ISN'T THE ONE AND THEN WE'LL FIGHT AND THEN THEY'LL BREAK UP AND SHE'LL FORGIVE ME AND THEN SHE'LL BE GOING TO COLLEGE AND WE'LL JUST LEAVE HER THERE AND I'LL CRY THE WHOLE WAY HOME AND WONDER IF WE'RE LEAVING HER AT THE RIGHT SCHOOL AND SHE'LL MEET SOMEONE AND GET MARRIED AND THEN SHE'LL HAVE A BABY AND THEN MYGRANDBABY WILL BE CUTTING TEETH!?!?!"

Husband: "..."

Me: "So you don't think I'm overreacting do you? I mean I know I am...I"m just...having...a...MOMENT!"

Poor husband. I might have exaggerated a tad. :)

Also I caught Nells doing the following yesterday: sucking her upper lip so hard her tonguetouched her nose, climbing (at least trying to climb) her super coop, eating toilet paper (I still don't know where it came from!) and shoving her stuffed lamb's head through the crib slats. Wow.

On another note, I made this AWESOME-TACULAR meal last night! Oh my mouth is watering at the memory. Blue-berry Rhubarb Salmon. Yum. Yes, I did take a photo, Yes I will share the recipe and yes, I'm lazy and don't want to schlep myself and the babe downstairs to retrieve the camera right now. So you all will have to wait. :) bwahahaha.

And in other un-related news. (Why do I have so many random things to say today?!) My gardenia plant has been producing scads of flowers this week and last?! LOVE IT! My kitchen smells like heaven! It's fabulous!

Also, Husband and I are searching for cheap (as in free) home projects. :) Ideas? Our house is practically not decorated at all...there's nothing on the walls...and I'm a photographer. Ideas? Suggestions? Comments???

Okay. I'm done now. Really. I am. :)

I mispoke. Two untouched photos for you all!

Hilarity.

Read This. You will laugh to hard. :) One of my real-life friends wrote it.

Sunrise

I love sunrise. I do. I just can't help it. I don't think I ever realized that I loved mornings so much, in particular sunrise, until we had Sesame. She made sure I was up at 5:00 - 5:30 on the dot for a few months, and, more recently, has been rising at 6:00 for a bottle or just to cry "Momma" and be snuggled. It just so happens that Sesame's room has the perfect view of sunrise from our house. Granted, it's marred by rooftops and treetops and power lines, but it's still awesome! If I don't stay in her room long enough to watch God's painting come into existence, I hop over to my office. Second best view from our house. The sun usually sneaks up right behind a tree, so I'm left straining for a glimpse of the fiery ball, but

STILL, GORGEOUS. My retina is burning right now. I think I remember something about not looking directly at the sun. Whoops. :) The view from the office whilst cluttered with the aforementioned rooves, etc., still has a bonus. If one looks over the landmarks of suburbia, there is a corn stalk plain expanding for a good 20 acres or so. Lining the far side of the field is a natural fencline of towering trees. They look like grand Oaks or Maples, something sturdy and aged. In the morning when the humid, Indiana heat is trying to creep in over the cool midnight dew, a subtle fog billows over the grains and settles. Sometimes the sun is at a perfect angle and color and brilliance as it sheds it light over the dewy film and WHAM! The field is suddenly ablaze. It's so inspiring, so awesome - so awe-inspring. Every time I'm up to witness the event I think "I should trapse beyond the railroad tracks and photograph that." I never do. In part because I don't want to wake the baby. In part because I'm too lazy.

But mostly, I think because I know the photos won't ever do the real thing justice. So. I'll sit and watch from Sesame's window as I rock her and from my window as I write.

"For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." Romans 1:20

Diapers Will Do

So about a half hour ago Momma came over to walk. We try and walk together everyday if we can. It rocks. I love my Momma. :) Moving on...

I ended up with these two lovely photos when we arrived back to our driveway:

Yes, that's my daughter asleep in the front seat of the bus, without a tray to help hold her in and with her hat COMPLETELY over her face. And, yes, she's dead asleep. And, yes, I'm that mom that left the hat over her face in 90 degree, humid, Indy weather. It's true. BUT ISN"T SHE CUTE?!

Yes, this a large styrofoam cup swaddled in a Pampers Size 3 diaper. Yes, I carried it around our neigborhood this way. Yes, it's because 2.3 seconds after purchasing my cup of AWESOMENESS from a local coffee shop, I dropped it onto the blacktop. Yes, it broke. Yes, I lost ALL the whip cream...which I shouldn't have had ANYWAY (it's a SIGN!). Yes, quick thinking prevailed as we swaddled the leaking cup in a diaper. And, yes, I had a brain freeze from chugging an iced sugar-free, non-fat peppermint latte. And, yes, I would do it all again. :)

Fun times. I love my family. And coffee. But especially my family. :)

Five Minutes Ago...

Sesame was too cute to resist...

Master "Pee"

Dear Momma,

I am writing to clarify about our little "incident" this morning. You see, I understand that you thought my need to relieve myself dissipated after you removed my supremely soggy diaper. Also, I am eternally grateful to you for allowing me to be naked and free for more than just bath time. I cannot express to you the joy that filled my soul when you placed my bare-bottomed body in the crib while you filled the tub. I didn't mean to upset you either. What does that gaspy sound mean anyway? And why did you say all of my names like that?? I've never heard you use all my names together before. Anyway, I'm sorry.

Nellianne.

-----------

Dear Sesame,

Mommy made that gaspy sound because she didn't know little girls had such peeing capabilities. I didn't realize that a little girl could crawl over to the crib slats, sit up, stick her little legs through the bars, and urinate - leaving the crib sheet, dust ruffle, wall and crib slats soaked in tiny, little girl potty. Mommy was shocked. Mommy was dismayed. And Mommy couldn't help but laugh a little in her head. Anyway, you won't be naked in your crib anytime soon. I'm sorry too.

Mommy.

And the Faces Continue...

Remember when I posted the video slideshow of my "facemaker and stretcher extraordinaire"? Well...She's still makin' faces...

Just call me Nellie "Scrunchy Nose" Sesame.

Oh. And there have been other new developments. She's now a TOTAL blanket baby. LOVES the Nonnie Blankie. MUST have the Nonnie blankie to sleep To eat. To crawl. To play. To have a diaper changed. Pretty much we fall apart without the Nonnie blankie.

This is how we love the Nonnie blankie.

Also, this charming lady now has a vocabulary beyond "uagggggggh aaaaaaaah " She can say "hi" "Momma" and the newly aquired, "uh-oh." :) Yeah...Momma's pretty clumsy around here. :)

Posted both because husband's favorite is in color...and mine is black and white. Shock. Dismay.

Blog Changes...

Okay...so I'm teaching myself before the Photoshop Trial disappears to create banners, backgrounds and signatures. What do you all think of the banner at the top?? The signature at the bottom??? Do you like Dark or Light backgrounds?? Let me know what's easier to read. I've made a background but can't get the html coding to cooperate. For those of you newer to the blogging world (Nonnie, Pawpaw, Grandma, Pop, Aunt Beky - I'm talking to you!!), let me know what you think by clicking on the comments link at the bottom of this post. You can fill out the form to the right and let me know. Just say you are an anonymous user.