Suburban Bliss:: Birth Control Via The Written Word

My year in review: we survived.

I wasn't exactly a fan of 2009. 

That's probably putting it a little mildly.

I wanted to beat the shit out of 2009 at regular intervals for a large part of the year.

I lost income, Logan lost income, we downsized leaving a(n overpriced) house that worked really well for our family (except for the Jerk Off* Landlord named Brian Lanfear and the water in the basement.) (I wonder if he's disclosed that issue now that he's trying to sell the house.) 

We had to sue Brian Lanfear to get our security deposit back from him and that was stressful. More stressful was collecting the money while the Internet (and by the internet I mean that annoying woman with that annoying website) whispered stupid things in my ear like I should just "let it go". You know, because we're the Rockefellers over here and burn money normally. $2000? Screw it!

Even if we were millionaires, I still would have taken that man to court. He was wrong and I don't deal well with people being assholes.

We had health scares and the summer into early fall was marked by marital growing pains that weren't entirely pleasant to live through. (Though we've done that before too.)

I spent a large part of the night looking through my flickr feed for the year and, you know, it really wasn't a bad year. I mean, I don't want to relive it, Jesus. But it wasn't a bad year when you step back and get some perspective.

Moving from our dream neighborhood was terribly hard for me, but saved us from certain financial ruin as we both lost income this year. I got to take a few great trips this year with women I love. I was able to give the kids an amazing experience in Washington DC and we spent time up north with friends who are like family. Friends who tried to have a baby for a long time, got two little girls. I watched my 11 year old start Middle School and she did it with amazing flexibility and emotional strength. Logan and I got away as a couple where I remembered that I don't just love him, I really like him. 

Liking someone makes it a lot easier to ride out the growing pains of a long term relationship, love only goes so far (unless it's your kids).

Don't get me wrong, 2009 can still go to hell, but it was better than my overall impression. I swam with bioluminescent plankton, I'm not sure I can call it a complete bust.

But 2010, let's be a little kinder to each other.

Happy New Year Everyone!

*Just My Opinion!

Our Holidays So Far.

How was your Christmas?

Ours was lovely, though a little bourbon heavy at the end. Each Christmas I make bread pudding for Logan and I to eat. It's the kind of thing that we don't eat on a regular basis because it's really not what one would call 'Good For You" but it is SO GOOD.

I made a new bread pudding recipe from Elise's Simply Recipes. The bourbon sauce calls for 1 cup of bourbon, and in the recipe it says "Add bourbon to taste." I assumed this meant 1 cup was the starting point so I poured the entire cup in, thinking I'd probably add more.

I like bourbon in sauces, like a mustard bourbon sandwich spread, but I don't generally drink bourbon straight.

I was surprised however when this sauce on my bread pudding blew my eyebrows off and then knocked me across the kitchen and put me to sleep moments later.

Wow.

Logan, aka "The Titanium Liver" however deemed the sauce "Strong but amazing." So your results may vary.

Aside from food there were gifts. The nice thing about older kids is that their gifts cost more so there are less of them and my goodness does that make wrapping a much easier task. (Also nice is how Max never questions the questionable explanation that Santa has a budget.)

Logan wanted a new iPod shuffle as a reward for completing his last marathon but money just wasn't available for such a thing, so I bought him one for Christmas. I engraved it: "Nothing Is Chasing You. xo"

That pretty much made my Christmas. His other large gift was a leaf blower and I know this is on par with getting a waffle iron or a vaccum for your birthday but it made him happy anyway.

In December we've entertained family, friends, co-workers, went to parties and dinners. Remember a while ago when I was lamenting all the time I spend in my bedroom? This is a lot of face time for someone like myself who's used to talking to a lazy cat for the larger part of each day.

One more party tonight and then the big annual New Year's Eve Free For All. You know the night where we invite a bunch of people with kids over and we eat, drink and talk? Then in the morning we pray the house is still standing?

Some people devote January to something like renewed motivation toward fitness goals.

My January will be devoted to alone time.

12 Days Of Christmas Cocktail: The Happy Holidays!

It’s a bourbon-y Christmas this year. Bourbon glazed carrots with dinner, bread pudding with bourbon soaked raisins (and the most potent and delicious bourbon sauce I’ve ever had), and now this cocktail — based on a drink called the Bourbon Crusta.

As Robert Hess puts it, “the "Crusta" is a style of drink which harkens from the early 1800's. While it never gained the same level of notoriety as the "Cocktail", today's cocktail revival is allowing it to once again make it's way onto drink lists again.”

I say a cocktail by any other name is still a cocktail. And this is a delicious one. I’m always on the lookout for a cocktail that includes maraschino liqueur, because I always have some on hand to make maraschino cherries.

Merry Christmas!

12 Days Of Christmas Cocktail: The Sleepless Christmas Eve

The Sleepless Christmas Eve adds a touch of orange flavor to the classic Black Russian.

Kahlua has a great flavor and makes so many good-tasting drinks. The black and white Russians are the most well-known, and I like them both. I lean toward the Black Russian for its straight-forward simplicity, but wondered if a variant might be worthwhile.

This drink is served in a cocktail glass or on the rocks. Ms Sub Bliss prefers a less “syrupy” drink and taking this cocktail on the rocks allows some dilution via ice meltage.

12 Days Of Christmas Cocktail: Daddy's Home!

Daddy’s Home!

Got any of that apricot nectar left from the 1-2-3 Time Out? Or any of that home made grenadine from the 7 O’Clock Bedtime? Today’s cocktail is a variant of the Scofflaw (a drink called the Scofflaw can’t be bad). The guys from the bowling team tried both of today’s drinks out after league play last night. Thumbs up all around.

If you’re not typically a fan of whiskey drinks but are open to trying one, this is a good choice. It’s not too strong and the whiskey flavor isn’t overpowering. Once you’ve had the Daddy’s Home, you can move up to the original Scofflaw cocktail — which packs a bit more punch.

12 Days Of Christmas Cocktail: 1-2-3 Time Out

Liss is a big fan of Prosecco. Sparkling wines add an air of festivity to any occasion — and not just holidays. Pop a bottle on the occasion of junior’s next uncomplicated bedtime to celebrate the silence! Or the next time you successfully put the adorable little monster into time out. You’ve got a girlfriend coming over to drop off the book for next book club? Any activity plus Prosecco becomes pleasurably memorable.

The 1-2-3 Time Out is based on the Bellini, a champagne and peach pureé cocktail. I like the flavor of apricots, hence the switch from peach to apricot (you could also use peach nectar if you like). I added grenadine (for a bit of sweetness and flavor) and orange bitters (for a little spiciness and aroma).

Shutterfly Contest Winner!

Whoa, it's Monday but with the kids out of school and Logan off of work, I feel like it's Sunday.

Many apologies for the delay getting the contest winner announced. 61 of you made books and they were all awesome. Logan even made one for his parents, but I didn't enter that into the contest.

 

#12 was Jessica O with her book of her little guy.

Jessica, email me at melissa.summers@gmail.com to collect your prize.
Thank you to Shutterfly for sponsoring Suburban Bliss and to all of you for entering to win!

12 Days Of Christmas Cocktail: The Security Blanket

If you live near Detroit, I have a great restaurant suggestion: Zingerman’s Roadhouse in Ann Arbor. The food is excellent, the atmosphere is perfect, and most of all — they have a great cocktail menu. We went to a cooking class at a local “gourmet market” last year; the subject was cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. Our cocktail learnings were led by the chap who developed the cocktail menu for Zingerman’s Roadhouse, and he was 1) very knowledgeable and 2) very into traditional cocktails (like Ms Sub Bliss and I are)... Anyway, he really impressed us, and we’ve had some great nights at the restaurant.

If you don’t live near Detroit, we are here to bring to you one of the best cocktails we’ve had at the restaurant. I like serving a drink that might be new to folks — this one gets rave reviews. Based on the Knickerbocker, this cocktail looks and tastes great. Know that there are many variations of this drink. I took a recipe that looked solid and changed it up just a bit. Ms Sub Bliss appreciated the changes and loved the outcome.

Thanks to Melissa for the early Christmas gift that has this photo looking so much better than some of the earlier ones! A tabletop studio light can do wonders.

12 Days Of Christmas Cocktail: The Ferberizer

I’m excited to share this simple, delicious and refreshingly light drink with you guys. Are there Trader Joe’s markets everywhere? There’s one here in our town and we love it. I was perusing the soft drink aisle and came across their sparkling juices. I bought a couple bottles knowing there was a good cocktail waiting to happen. The featured drink today combines sparkling cranberry juice (100% juice), a small amount of lemon juice (lime could work too) and gin. The gin is Plymouth brand (Winston Churchill drank Plymouth gin). It’s one of the milder gins, and it mixes really well. It won’t won’t overwhelm you with the piney juniper taste.

I’m sharing some drinks that include liquors that most people don’t necessarily keep stocked. If you want to try one of these cocktails but won’t use an entire fifth of one of the ingredients, buy the airplane size bottle (usually around 50ml or 1.75oz) — just enough to make a drink. If you like it, you can get an entire bottle.

12 Days of Christmas Cocktails: Gift Overload Meltdown

Eggnog gets a mixed reception in our group of friends. I made a pitcher of this last night for our euchre party. Some folks wanted nothing to do with it. Those who did try it, loved it. I admit that my experience with store-bought eggnog has left me cold. It can be cloyingly thick, and some have an odd color that I find unappealing. That said, if you find a good recipe and make it yourself, it is delicious. Here’s the best recipe I’ve found. Fairly simple to make and really good. It does pack a punch from the port and bourbon. You can decrease the amount of those 2 ingredients if you like. Don’t skip the nutmeg though, it’s a good addition.

I hastily tried this recipe with vodka and Frangelico instead of bourbon and port, to see if hazelnut eggnog has any merit. I haven’t fully vetted this idea -- I’ll report back later.

This recipe does include egg yolks and that can freak people out. I’m comfortable with the very small chance of getting sick from consuming raw eggs but a quick web search yields many ways to minimize the risks.

Listening to Eric Reed’s Christmas Blues today. Awesome.

 

12 Days Of Christmas Cocktail: Mommy's Colic Reliever

Amaretto has a great flavor. It’s pretty sweet to drink alone -- though Amaretto on the rocks after dinner is pretty awesome. A cocktail like “Mommy’s Colic Reliever” makes good use of that flavor but adds citrus to bring some tartness. If you’ve had an Amaretto sour, this is based on that drink — BUT only if it was made with lemon and orange juices. No sour mix necessary or desired. Nothing make a cocktail great like fresh-squeezed juice!

Compared to some Amaretto Sour recipes, I decrease the lemon and orange juices a bit (for more Amaretto flavor) and add vodka to 1) make it a little less thick and sweet, and 2) give it some mettle.

Want a maraschino cherry in your Mommy’s Colic Reliever? You can make your own: get a bag of frozen tart cherries from your market, and a bottle of maraschino liqueur (Luxardo is a brand I’ve used). Add the cherries to a jar and fill with the maraschino liqueur, enough cover the cherries. You can add cherries to the jar as you use them. I admit that I get a mixed response to these cherries. They are pretty strong and not nearly as sweet as the ones we’re used to. The great thing about making these though, is you also get to use the liqueur the cherries have been soaking in for other drinks. Add a tablespoon to your Manhattan.

12 Days of Christmas Cocktails: The Play Date

The very best rum and cola drinks are about to be revealed! The following recipes have been tested time and time again, and have been met with 99.9% enthusiastic approval. We have a monthly 4-table euchre party that lasts twice as long as it should due to the frequent refills of these drinks. Folks can’t get enough of ‘em. If you think you’re not a fan of rum and cola, try one of these and see what you think.

Sailor Jerry is my brand of choice. It’s vaguely similar to Shcaptain Schmorgan (like cold is similar to hot). Sailor Jerry has a slight vanilla-y flavor. It’s not a tropical, coconut-y rum. I keep a bottle of Sailor Jerry in the freezer for these drinks. 

Did They Eat It: Porcupine Meatballs

My mother is...a terrible cook. Mainly because she doesn't really enjoy the process of cooking, so she never learned to do it well. There are few things I think back and think, "Man, my mom made the best [fill-in-the-blank]." It turns out I do like pork chops, meatloaf and scalloped potatoes (not from a box), I just didn't realize it because my mom's recipes were not as good as they could have been.

However, inexplicably I have fond memories of my mother's porcupine meatballs. So when I saw this recipe I thought I'd try it out and see if I could lure Maddie with it. She loves bar-b-que sauce and ketchup. She also likes ground beef (in certain ways) and rice? She loves rice!

This has potential. 

There are lots of ways to make Porcupine Meatballs, here's a Google search. I guarantee my mother didn't put hot sauce or worchestershire sauce in her porcupine meatballs, but I found that combination irresistible and that's why I chose this recipe to try out.

You need to gather:

A pound of ground round
Half a pount of ground chuck
3/4 cup white long grain rice
a 14.5 oz can of tomato sauce
1 medium onion, cut in small dice [The onion I'm showing is way too big, especially for my family]
1 tablespoon dry parsley flakes [2 tablespoons chopped fresh]
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder/granules

Also:
A can of condensed tomato soup
Ketchup
Hot Sauce
Worchestershire sauce
[And if you didn't buy enough tomato sauce, hopefully you've got some taco sauce around to make up the difference]

12 Days of Christmas Cocktails: Mom, Look!

For anyone who’s ever enjoyed a screwdriver, I present this drink as a challenge.

This cocktail is to the screwdriver as Sun Valley (Ernest Hemingway finished For Whom the Bell Tolls while staying in the Sun Valley Lodge in 1939) is to Mt Brighton (a ski hill in the midwest, built upon piles of refuse). Ever heard the Christmas song “Sun Valley Ski Run” by Esquivel? Good tune.

I’m not a huge fan of flavored vodkas, per se. However, in these festive 12 days of cocktails, I’m making room for this vanilla vodka drink. It’s 12:14am and I am struggling to resist making another one before bedtime. I’m not kidding. That’s how good this drink is. Stoli vanilla (Stolichnaya Vanilla) is one of the top vanilla vodkas in my book. It’s not expensive and it mixes well. Vanilla vodka drinks break out in boisterous approval when they see Stoli vanilla being poured into themselves. You could use a cheaper triple sec than Grand Marnier, but I don’t recommend it. Buy a small bottle and give it a try.

We’re calling this one the Mom, Look! This cocktail will help put things in perspective when junior is showing you that super cute monster face he’s making for the 20th time. (Recipe after the cut.)

Hard To Feel Self Actualized Laying On Concrete.

This past weekend was one of those really nice ones, you know the ones where you feel sort of self actualized?

I never really bonded with parents at the kid's first school. I'm not sure why that is, probably mainly because I generally need someone super awesome, fun and outgoing to meet my friends for me. Then I just grab onto their legs and say, "Hey, like ME too!"

Case in point: I met two of my favorite friends through my other favorite friend. And it turns out, my one of those favorite friends likes to know everybody and my other favorite friend is also a pretty good ringleader.

Between the three of them (plus Logan) I'm not sure I've ever made my own friend. This makes me, well, pretty pathetic. When I changed schools and two of my socially intelligent friends had kids there, my world of social opportunities with other fun parents increased about 10 fold.

This weekend we had pizza and beers at one couple's house with eight other couples and ended up at a theater dancing to Mega 80s. Some of us didn't watch, some of us tried to climb on stage. (Hint: Wasn't me!) It resembled our old life before kids, only all of these people had kids.

It made me thankful for the moves we've made and the community we are a part of.

On Saturday we went to another party at a fellow parent from school's house and then moved onto the progressive in the old neighborhood (remember when I got to host it?). The one, you know, I dreamed about living in for 3 years and then had it ripped out of my clutches by a man who refused to negotiate a purchase price. (I am seriously going to try to give that last bit of bitterness up for New Year's Eve.)

Logan's friend Marguerite did my make up that night, she does it on the side working in advertising as the main course. She wants to do make up as her full time gig doing house parties as make up tutorials to augment her existing photo shoot gigs. I like a woman with a dream job, so I went over to try her out.

I sacrifice for my friends, it was a hardship.

So I went to the parties Saturday night and I was social, not just social. I was actually excited to be social. As opposed to years ago when I had to force myself to be social. Logan and I were talking Sunday morning about how different, more confident, I am now than I was in my 20's. 

We high-fived and got ready for a day of errands.

I'll admit I had a little strut to my step, wearing a cute scarf and cute shoes, as I walked out to the car.

I stepped off the deck, onto the concrete (not knowing it was a little icy) and ended up sprawled on the driveway.

I've spent the last three days limping around. Clearly I got a little too cocky.

Oh Hey! Shutterfly has extended my contest until Monday 12/21/09! So you have time to make your own book and share it with me. (click the "Add" tab in the upper right hand corner. Password, if you need it, is 'goober') See the original contest announcement here.

12 Days Of Christmas Cocktails: The Overnight At Grandmas

I've had some chocolate flavored liqueurs that have a fake chocolate taste I’m not fond of. Not the case with Godiva Chocolate liqueur. They have a few flavors including milk chocolate and white chocolate. I like the original. Godiva Chocolate liqueur fits into the category of "I haven't tasted a cheaper version of this that I like as well." Godiva ain't cheap, but sometimes its worth spending a little more for the good stuff. Thankfully today's other ingredients are very reasonably priced (the small bottle of peppermint schnapps I bought cost me $2, $15 for the Frangelico). Onto the drinks...

The 12 Days Of Christmas Cocktails: "The 7 O'Clock Bedtime"

Many years ago, each Thursday a bunch of friends would gather at our house to eat pizza and drink beers and hang out. We called these nights BeerZa and they happened at our house since we were the only ones with a kid. Maddie learned to tolerate a lot of laughing and talking while she slept during those nights.

At some point Logan developed an interest in cocktails. He wanted to develop his palate beyond beer, and didn't especially love wine but didn't want to order something stupid like Sex On The Beach at the bar. Everyone else thought that sounded fun, so each week Logan would prepare a new cocktail for us to try.

Overall this was a good experiment and it gave me a much larger catalog of tasty drinks to sample at our favorite watering holes. I mean aside from that unfortunate Gin incident in Chicago (sorry about drinking all your Gin Chicago!) (Sorry about throwing up all night Logan!)

Since then Logan's become pretty good at mixing drinks, knowing how much sour or sweet a drink needs before it's perfect. He's very specific about everything from FRESH ingredients to making his own grenadine to the perfect ice cube. (When we moved here and lost the freezer that crushed the ice, it was nearly a deal breaker).

I've become pretty good at picking and juicing fresh limes. And having a cocktail without drinking all the Gin in the state of Illinois.

All this to say, for the next 12 days Logan's going to be sharing one cocktail with us every day. He's doing this because he enjoys it and because a lot of the time you walk up to the bar and don't know what to order. This is a way of getting more familiar with what's out there.

You should make his drinks though, because they're really delicious. (Unless you're an alcoholic or pregnant, a mormon, or a kid...I mean you know what I'm saying.)

Here it is, from Logan:

The 7 O'Clock Bedtime
(you know you love it.)

Did They Eat It: Lean Lasagna

I was in the car picking Madison up from school and flipping through a food magazine deciding what to make for dinner. I got my mind set on this pasta and sausage bake deliciousness but then I remembered how I should read ALL the directions first so I know how long it takes to make.

That recipe required over an hour of bake time, inexplicably, so I scratched that plan and looked through my phone apps to see if I could find something to make. I use the Allrecipes app (only my kids never look that excited) and the Epicurious App.

I decided on a lean lasagna mostly because I wasn't feeling that hungry. Also it had spinach and after last week I required a lot of spinach/iron, I even had dreams of different spinach dishes I would like to eat.  (Lady troubles.) (oh man, that's gross.) (Sorry.)

I can't find the link to the recipe so I'll share it at the end of this post.

You'll need Ricotta, ground turkey, an onion, mozzarella, spinach, lasagna noodles, tomato sauce, oregano, nutmeg, basil, parsley and garlic powder.

Did They Eat It?

Shutterfly Photobook Ideas:

I'm giving away a Shutterfly prize package, as you may recall.

I created a book of pictures to give as a thank you for letting us stay at a friend of a friend's cabin.

To enter this contest you need to create a photo book and share it with me. You don't need to buy your book, you just need to create one and show me. Maybe I'll order it. Which would be super awkward you know trying to explain to my friends why I have a photobook full of people I don't really know on my coffee table.

I thought I'd share some photo book ideas with you as inspiration for your own creations.

Jim at Sweet Juniper has made lots of books for his kids because, you know, he's like that. Here are two he created for Shutterfly.

This one's a Greek Mythology Alphabet

Here's his latest contest, about food! Enter this one and maybe you can win TWO prizes!

Maggie Mason at Mighty Girl made this great book about Hank's Feelings. I wish I'd done this when my kids were little, at this point my book would be full of "Maddie Is Feeling Annoyed By Her Mother's Existence." Enh, you know, she's always been that way.

Liz at Say Yes To Hobeken created this book of words for her little guy, also named Hank. Apparently it's a law to name your kid Hank if you live in San Francisco.

Kristen Chase at Cool Mom Picks made this book for her husband returning from a military deployment. I love this one because it shows how you can use scans of your kid's artwork and incorporate them into a  book.

 

Party Perfect is one of my favorite blogs. If you're someone who gets party invitations from me, please don't go to that site. I copy her parties, you'll be disappointed. She made her own word book and it is an amazing use of this program.

Go! Create! Then Share It at my share site to enter the contest (password is goober if you need it) You know you've been meaning to do this.

Snow Globes

I spent about 9 hours Sunday night looking for attractive snow globes. I told a friend about my quest and he said, "What? How hard can it be?" Then he saw the one billion atrocious snow globes that exist in the world and apologized. I mean, really.

We've collected snow globes for Maddie since she was a baby and what I've learned from collecting snow globes is two-fold. When people hear you collect anything you get about a billion of that thing. And some of them, are terrifying.

I've also learned that when you see a snow globe that is even remotely modern or attractive you should snatch that baby up because you'll never see it again.

Keeping in mind we've been collecting snow globes for about 11 years, please note our collection has just 6 globes. Here's our, I mean, Maddie's collection.

I can't remember what year Nordstrom featured Olive The Other Reindeer for their holiday theme, but that year we decided to start a little collection for Madison. Right after we took her to Santa for the first and last time.

Now get ready because this one is going to blow your mind. It's a snow man in a snow globe, holding a snow man in a snow globe. Ideally that snow man would be holding a snow man in a snow globe too but maybe that's just too much if you're not on any controlled substances. This one came from Eddie Bauer Home.

Here's a cute little penguin I found by chance at Target while roaming the aisles pretending to buy things we absolutely needed for the house.

I picked this one up at Pottery Barn Kids and in Madison's dreams this is the what Christmas morning always looks like. (That's a puppy, not a pig.)

This one is my least favorite, it's a little Kountry Kute. But Maddie likes it and I am fond of the striking red base so I keep it out. (It's from Crate and Barrel)

This is another of my favorites, it's so sweet and simple. It came from the Martha Stewart Holiday collection at Kmart. I went there this year hoping she had another in this year's collection, but no.

I found a couple of decent ones while browsing this year I thought I'd share in case you don't feel like looking at 50,000 snow globes featuring bears in football jerseys.

Shutterfly Giveaway!

As part of a media buy on this site, Shutterfly asked me to make a photo book using their incredibly easy photo book creator.

I decided to collect pictures from our trip up north in October, to put in a book for the owners of the cabin we stayed at. They live in Arizona and don't get up to the cabin as often as they'd like. We thought a book of pictures of the cabin i full autumn glory would be a nice treat for them while they lay by their pool in the winter and laugh at us suckers who still live in Michigan.

Since Logan and I like taking pictures we made it our goal to spend our trip taking pictures, reading, and having sex.

Which I know is an awkward thing to bring up, but come on we're all grown ups. No, what's awkward is seeing the couple who own the cabin at a party a few years ago and gushing about their magical cabin. How calming and relaxing it is. Then mentioning, "Hey! We conceived our second kid at the cabin."

Just so you know, it's considered socially awkward to tell people, "I had sex in your bed."

Live and learn. They let us go back so I guess they didn't mind that much.

We collected our favorite shots, deleted the ones of Logan peeing in the woods, and came up with a collection of pictures that capture the cabin and the surrounding area very well. You can see the entire book here, but here are some of my favorite pages.

 

 

I'd like to say I designed these pages, but I didn't. I just picked a layout and stuck the pictures where I wanted them. 

I think our book will make a memorable thank you gift, and if we're lucky it will secure us a few more visits to the cabin. If I promise not to mention my marital relations.

You should definitely make your own book. 

Here's what's included in this Shutterfly Prize Package:

2 7x9 photo books
25 greeting cards
25 stationary cards
1 calendar

Here's how to enter:

Go to this page at Shutterfly and create your own photo book. After you've created a book, share it at my Shutterfly Share Site (click the "Add" tab in the upper right hand corner).

[Edited To Add: Password, if you need it, is 'goober']

CONTEST EXTENDED!

You have until 12:00am (EST) on Monday, December 21st, 2009 to share your photobook at my Share Site. The contest winner will be chosen at random from those entries and announced by 2pm (EST) on December 21st, 2009.

Good Luck!

A smorgasbord with only a little whining.

Pro Tip: Make sure your kid doesn't still have a tube in his ear drum before you decide to pour peroxide in his ear canal to clean out wax. I hope only the "Whining" part of Max's brain was eradicated when I doused it with hydrogen peroxide. While my son openly wept in pain, I felt pretty good. A big shiny ball of Shitty.

We've got an ear infection. Again.

I'm thinking Max and I should just hole up in my bedroom chronicling the ways our bodies continue to fail us.

Although Max is no fun because you give him a shot of ibuprofen and he's no longer mad at the world. Unlike me, who, as you might imagine, is pretty fed up with my body and all this crap. I'm 36 body, let's keep it together.

*****

Aside from sitting around asking my body why the yoga isn't making it happy? And the mostly vegetarian dinners and the broccoli and breakfast shakes packed with nutrients? We need therapy my body and me.

When I'm not doing that I've been doing things like making homemade vanilla extract. I was going to take pictures of the process but then I remembered that everybody did this project last year. I mean I did mine naked only wearing a mustache and a flower brooch, so it wasn't totally Last Year. But I couldn't exactly share those pictures. But listen if you're making vanilla extract as holiday gifts this year? You have to do it naked wearing a mustache.

I made 24 four-ounce bottles and that's a lot of vodka. I had to make another trip to Costco for a giant bottle to finish the project. However, since I'd already done my Costco shopping, I ended up buying bread, deli turkey, cheese, to make the giant bottle of vodka less noticeable. No one really batted an eye. The turkey must have distracted them.

I also didn't have a funnel on hand so I may have used one of the kid's water bottles filled with vodka to get the vodka where it needed to go. Don't worry, I used almost all of it before putting it back on Max's nightstand. He's got an ear infection, a little vodka won't hurt. 

*****.

I thought one or two of these might be our Christmas card photo, but Logan said* "No one wants to see us."  (*didn't say but kind of meant.)

Since we're using another shot for our xmas shot I thought I'd share a few of the other shots from our fun (unedited, ignore dust on the disc) photo shoot last week with Joe Vaughn.

Here's our Christmas Miracle. No one's eyes are closed and I don't look morbidly obese. Maybe Tiny Tim will live after all.

Max loves her no matter how insane she acts towards him.

I can't believe she's 11.

Here's our very own gap ad.

(If you can read Max's shirt, make him a sandwich.)

Did They Eat It: Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos

The last two times I've tried to do a Did They Eat It? I've messed up the recipe, not peeling the potatoes before chopping them up for Potato Soup (beige followed) and forgetting that recipes aren't instantly ready for eating once you finish putting everything in the pot.

That chili was really delicious at 10 o'clock at night. (Hint: the kids didn't eat it.)

For this edition I wanted to do something I more than likely wouldn't mess up. I found this recipe at Tasty Kitchen the day before I wanted to make it (key!) and started it in the slow cooker around 9am...just to be certain it was ready.

Put corn in the slow cooker.

Put a can of (drained and rinsed) black beans on top.

Add a pack of taco seasoning (I make my own). I used about 3 tablespoons for this recipe, we like a lot of spice, and could have used more but that's all I had left already made.

Dump it on top.

Lay three boneless, skinless chicken breasts on top. They should even be frozen which is like a dream come true since "defrosting meat I'd like to cook with" is right up there with "remember to get hair cut every 8 weeks". Something I just can't get the hang of.

Next dump some salsa on top, Logan is a fan of this kind.

Do you see how easy this is, look at these extraneous photographs I have to show you in order to make this a post!

Put the top on the slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Shred the chicken and mix everything up, keeping warm until you're ready to serve.

And here they are with a side of rice.

Did They Eat It?

Logan: "I Love These. No really I love them. I want to have them a lot." He almost looked like a starving refugee when he said this. Which means he did like this but my God, it's not like we've been starving here. Waiting 8 hours for your dinner to be on the table NEVER KILLED ANYONE!

Max: "These are pretty good, will I be able to see corn in my poo tomorrow?" Something about tacos perplexes Max. Every time he takes a bite he sort of looks around incredulous that the shell cracked again. Like, "This Taco Clearly Has It Out For Me." And that's true, but don't tell him.

Madison: "Look. I finally got used to the idea of plain old hamburger meat inside a tortilla chip shell and now you pull this crap out at me? Thanks for nothing. Jerks." She didn't starve that night, I call that a success!

Me: I loved how easy this meal was. I would have had to try to mess it up (not that I COULDN'T!). I've been feeling a little, you know, stupid with all these cooking mishaps. This was a nice ego boost right before we tackled our Thanksgiving Feast. If I changed anything I'd add more salt and spice and maybe cut the corn back a bit. Not because of the bathroom thing Max mentioned but because it just tastes too sweet for my palate.

You can find the entire recipe here.