Little Duckies and Snowflakes!

Me and the Butter Ball are sitting watching the BIG snow flakes fall and I thought it'd be a good time to get in a post. We hope Daddy gets home before it starts to freeze. Right now it's 34 degrees - but man alive it's really coming down out there! It sure looks pretty. What crazy weather...yet just like one would expect for Texas. We're glad to be inside all warm and cozy. I hope the homeless out there have some thick cardboard to cover up with. Haha - that was so mean. If you know anyone homeless don't tell them I said that.

The family has been up to the same old stuff. I've been knitting a lot and I am well on my way to a new scarf. Oh man, and I've tried a couple of excellent recipes that I'll have to share soon. I've got a new paper flower arrangement started for a door bucket. I can't wait to post some pictures of the finished product. I think it'll look great!

This weekend my goal is to get my flower seeds started indoors. I don't think I'll attempt any veggies this year but lots and lots of flowers! They are more my speed as those darn veggies are more maintenance than I can give the effort to. I do love fresh tomatoes though so it could change. Sister Shannon had those GREAT tomato plants last year so I should steal some of her babies when they start to grow back in this year. I know they like her sandy soil better than my clay soil - but still, I can try it out and see what happens. Well shoot - see what just happened here? I've gone and talked myself into some veggie plants after I said I wasn't going to try any this spring, all in the course of a few sentences! They just call to me, plus they taste so good!

Just got a call from Josh! They closed the office early and he is coming home! Yahoo for big old snowflakes and sleet and dropping temperatures! I gotta run and go straighten up real quick so it doesn't look like I've just been sitting around all day!! hahaha - Just kidding - my house is always spotless! hahaha - Just kidding again! :)

Hugs and love to everyone! Have a sled and toboggan kind of day!

An Anniversary Story - And So They Meet...

The most emotional and treasured moment of the whole day for the Princess, for she usually wasn't so emotional, was when she got to see her Prince for the first time. Right before the wedding the two met by the waterfall overlooking the river with the majestic manatees, turtles and exotic birds as their only audience. It was just like they wanted. The Princess had been dreaming about this moment for months now...

An Anniversary Story - The Big Day

The wedding day arrived before they knew it. The flowers were arranged, the guests were waiting, the orchestra was tuned up and candles were glowing. So the bride and bride-groom got dressed in their wedding best and were very excited to see each other for the first time on their wedding day. It was going to be spectacular! They loved each other so much and couldn't wait to join their lives together in marriage.

An Anniversay Story continued...

So the Prince and Princess planned a magical wedding. They wanted to have it in the jungle complete with monkeys and manatees, and that is what they did. They imagined a majestic waterfall and lots of candle light and only the most beautiful flowers. They imagined a delectable feast and dancing the night away. Most importantly, they imagined their family and best friends with them - right by their sides - as the Prince and Princess celebrated their love and new life together. They worked and worked to get everything ready for the big ball. They were even able to have it in the jungle with monkeys and manatees and a waterfall.

The Prince and Princess stuffed a lot of invitations!

All of the Kingdom was invited!

The Princess had to layout everything just right and label it to remember where it goes!

The Prince and Princess tied lots of ribbon for programs. Everything was turning out wonderfully....

Three Months Old

Today is Joseph's three month birthday! Our little pumpkin head baby went to the park for the first time yesterday. He slept almost the whole time, after he fussed for awhile. He really doesn't seem to adjust too well to the outside light and blinked funnily while he fussed. He must have my sensitive eyes. I've always had trouble adjusting to bright light too. So we strolled him around for a good long time and just enjoyed ourselves in the beautiful day! 80 degrees! We sat and watched the ducks go by. We watched the school kids play around (and secretly hoped someone would fall into the water cause that would have been funny), and watched some construction workers standing around watching us. That was pretty funny too, because apparently it took ten guys to do the work of two. They were working on a couple of projects around a bridge across the creek. Then when they left we went to look at what they were doing and made fun of their sloppy work. Sheesh! Tax payers money at work! But back to the 1/4 year old birthday boy...we got some fun pictures of him in a little outfit from a close family friend. What a baller! Happy Three Month Birthday, young Joseph - we love you!

An Anniversary Story

Once upon time in a land not so far away there was a handsome prince and beautiful princess. They courted for a long long time, fell in love, wanted to live together forever and make beautiful babies. So the prince planned a wonderful picnic at the Arboretum and a sneaky proposal complete with champagne and a sparkly ring. The music was playing, the breeze was blowing, and the princess said yes. The gardens never looked so beautiful as they did that afternoon. Everything had a special glow. Everyone they past could tell how happy and perfect they were for each other. Even the carriage driver remarked that the only thing shining brighter than the princess' new ring was the smiles on their faces and the love in their hearts. The prince leaned over and kissed the princess and they knew they would live happily ever after. To be continued...

Happy Anniversary to Us!

One whole year! Happy Anniversary Josh! Happy Anniversary Me! We are pretty psyched about this milestone - if you couldn't tell! So psyched that I might just use an exclamation point after each sentence! I think that quite possibly a period just doesn't do our marriage justice! Our marriage deserves excitement and emotion that only an exclamation point can give!

Our first year flew by! I'm sure it helps that it was filled with growing a baby and stuff. We celebrated with Joseph tonight at PF Changs. We had lettuce wraps and they were good! Then we ordered the Dan Dan noodles and Wok Charred Beef and a side of garlic spinach. The noodles were too hot for me to even look at (after I took a bite and forever damaged my taste buds) but the beef was really really good. I decided to order the Great Wall of Chocolate for dessert to see if anything could be salvaged of my broken taste buds (dang that Dan Dan Noodle to heck) and fortunately all was saved. I think the seven layers of chocolate cake with raspberry sauce was the CPR my mouth needed. Yes, I said seven layers of chocolate cake. Yes, it was heaven.

Friday Josh brought me two dozen beautiful roses that made a gorgeous arrangement (even if I say so myself) for our table. And they went in a vase that I used for our wedding reception one year ago, if that isn't romantic! :)

And my husband got me some beautiful earrings for an anniversary present, the little stinker. They are just the sweetest, sparkliest diamond studs. I certainly didn't deserve that - no, I did deserve them and they are wonderful and I am going to wear them everyday! Josh said " I know the traditional gift is paper for the first anniversary but I thought you would like diamonds instead!" Yes. Yes he was right.

Happy Anniversary to us and to you and to everyone! Happiness and hugs to the whole world! Have a wonderful week!

How Was Your Valentines?

Ours was good! It was Valentines-riffic! It was Valentinestupendous! We actually didn't do a thing. We don't buy into that commercialized crizap! It's fun sometimes but this year we opted out I guess. It really sneaked up on us and before I knew it, it was here...and I was ordering a Valentines burger from Braums with extra pickles and no onions. It doesn't get any better than that!

Our Joseph is growing and growing and won't stop. What's up with that?! He even started sleeping through the night. The first couple of nights I thought for sure it was a fluke, but now it's lasted two weeks - with one middle of the night feeding two nights ago. It's good and bad b/c although I get solid sleep, he wakes up pretty early whereas I like to sleep late. We kind of clash in that respect. Huh...babies. The nerve.

In mommy news: I got a haircut! Yeeehaww and yahooo! It feels incredible! So light and manageable - and liberating! No more ponytails. My ponytails were so long that when I sat down my hair got pulled behind my back and it was just plain irritating. Plus they gave me lots of headaches. I've always hated the ponytail, but always wore them. Go figure.

For some reason, this morning I sat down to put on my shoes and only ended up with one on. About five minutes later as I walked through the kitchen, I thought 'dang, I've only got one shoe on'. Another five minutes later I sat to make a phone call to insurance (hospital bills) and STILL only had one shoe on. Finally, as I walked to the bathroom lopsidedly limping - I ran back and grabbed my other shoe, got to the bathroom (since I was sitting down in there anyway) and put it on. Another liberating moment in my day. Both shoes on! Hey, I take what I can get. P.S. - Don't think I am a total retard, this is the first time that’s happened.

In daddy news: Josh has been busy bringing home the bacon. And boy oh boy do we love bacon. Mmmmmm...nice crispy bacon! He got the baby's ceiling fan put up (hooray light!) and did a wonderful job, I might add. Even cleaned up the mess. This weekend I think he plans on moving some shelves in the garage that I have gardening stuff on so the truck fits in there. The area is wide enough but not long enough with the shelves there, so we'll just reorganize a bit. That will be great b/c the other night in the crazy storm I lay awake obsessing over weather or not the truck was going to get pelted with hail. Everything turned out ok that time but next time....(duhn, duhn, duhhhh).

At work he got a new computer, which is always good. He says it goes as fast as a cheetah chasing the cheeto truck. Also, someone burned a bag of popcorn (actually caught on fire was the rumor at the water cooler) and smelled up two floors of the building. That prompted human resources to send out an email to the whole company reprimanding the culprit since they were meeting with some prospective investors when it happened! I thought this was too funny!! Use the popcorn button! Sheesh.

In other news: the stupid neighbors from two houses down PUT MORE OF THIER TRASH IN OUR CANS!! AGHHHHH! This is really wearing Josh and I out. I mean, for real, this is getting ridiculous. Can we please have some maturity and respect here? We were bringing our cans in to the garage to stop them but of course we left them out last night and viola, like magic, there trash was there this morning. We even think we heard their footsteps running by the bedroom window about 10 last night. It had to be those punks. I even have a flag out front that says PEACE, with a little white dove on it. A little, sweet, white peace dove doesn't even stop them, that's how ruthless they are!! We'll have to figure out something. I'd like to rig up a trap, like a pie in the face when they open the lid kind of thing. I'll keep you posted on the trash saga. Especially if we get em with some pies! :)

This is Heather Blachly signing off for now!
Or Heather O. Brien (according to credit card offers)
Or Heather Borien (according to some other offers)
Or Heather BlachlEy (according to AAA, no E in my last name)
Or Heather O'Blachly (just kidding, I made that up)

I hope everyone has a nice weekend and here is a picture to leave you with: this is how UPS hides our packages under the mat.

The Eco Baby

Joseph says "Save the planet, I'll need it later!"

Pure Magic

As if Joseph or Josh alone wasn't enough to steal my heart away, I captured this shot of my guys together. It was a beautiful day on Saturday and we snuck outside at our friend's party. Amber and Tom got married on St. Lucia and we were celebrating their destination wedding. The party was a ton of fun with fajitas and enchiladas and complete with Wii games! Almost everyone bowled, golfed and boxed the afternoon away. I didn't try it but I hear it is totally addicting. Amber and Tom are truly a great pair of people and I know they will treasure each other as much as Josh and I do. It reminds me of our own wedding and all the excitment and emotion that surrounded it. Our one year anniversary is right around the corner!! The first year of marriage flew by - nine months of it filled with a baby in my belly.

Turkey Lurkey Dee Turkey Lurkey Doo

Joseph came to me and asked what was for dinner. "Mummy" he said - in an english accent cause that's how he talks - "Mummy, what's for dinner Mummy? I want to help you cook dinner Mummy!" We decided to make a recipe that I found online for turkey zuchini meatloaf with a dijon peach glaze. It was soooo good and was voted two thumbs up!

We turned up some fun 40's-50's piano jazz and got to choppin' and mixin'. Joseph measured out the bread crumbs for me. He ended up spilling it all over himself and the chair though. I guess you can't send in a 2 month old to do a chef's work.

Why oh why do they only sell fresh parsley in a HUGE bunch? Why oh why do they send you home with a pound and a half of the stuff when you only need 1/4 cup?

Then, as if a talking two month old (in an english accent no less) isn't enough, and a surplus of parsley isn't enough (that's not that bad, I just needed something else to list here) I pull this crazy onion out of the refridgerator. Something is wrong with that onion! That is one crazy onion! It says "I'm crazy onion man, give me some candy!" So I got a fresh, uncut one from the veggie bowl.

Joseph had sat quiet for too long and it was soon time for all that energy to come out in some crying and frantic arm waving...so I stuck his plug in.

Luckily, for me and for Joseph, Daddy came home just then! Yahoo for 5:00! It was time to finish dinner.

So, here we have our turkey, onion (finely chopped), parsely, zuchini, breadcrumbs, one egg, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. And a bowl. :)

And it was so good that we all had seconds! Brussel Sprout Fact: brussel sprouts are in the same family as cabbage and broccoli and originated in Brussels, Belgium of course. Joseph ate so much that he couldn't do anything but lay on Daddy and vegge after dinner.

Look at that belly! That is one big ol belly, man. I belive his pediatrician calls that "healthy and happy". Yes, indeed!

So, the dishes are washed and here's the review:

Josh says "I really enjoyed the turkey meatloaf. I thought it was great! Goodness gracious great balls of turkey and zuchini meatloaf! Write that one down, wifey!"

Joseph says "Fun to make, fun to eat, good stuff Mummy!"

Heather says "Simply delightful but save the dijon and peach glaze for biscuts and tea."

This one gets a "write that down" stamp of approval. And for you epicurious folks... http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/5671

The Sandwich and the Boy

I was making a sandwich for lunch today and as I finished up, I thought to myself "dang, that is a good looking sandwich." My munchkin was napping nicely so I was able to finesse it a bit more than usual. The creativity flowed from my finger tips like wind over the ocean. First came the dijonnaise - not just plain mustard - and NO mayo (except for the touch in the dijonnaise, of course). Then the avocado. Now, I like my avocado on top of the dijonnaise - it makes for a very nice combo of flavors. Next came a huge, hearty, healthy helping of alfalfa sprouts. That is really the key for the perfect texture - I leave the lettuce off. Salami, tomato, cheese, turkey (shaved, if you will). Bread. Yummmmmmy.


Mmmmm. Drool. Gotta check on baby to make sure he is still settled in - this sandwich deserves all my attention while it gets devoured. Hold on lovely sandwich...

Awwww...now, if that sandwich wasn't so good looking, and if I wasn't so hungry, and if the gods had given me six arms and three heads and two bodies (wait - three heads and two bodies? that doesn't match up does it?) then I would hug up that baby and hold him tight while I eat my sandwich. He looks so peaceful and lovely dovely!

Love you Joseph. Love you sandwich. Life is good.