Compost

This might sound odd to some, but I've been wanting a compost bin for quite some time now. We'd looked at the one at Sam's Club before and on Monday Dave said he wanted it for his birthday present. Ok! He knows I've been wanting it too so that was easy. It only took about 10 minutes to set-up, thanks to all our "helpers." Now I won't feel that little twinge of guilt every time I toss out carrot peelings or an apple core, and we'll have some fantastic garden soil to boot!
Excuse us little buddy, we need to put the compost bin here...

Wacky Wednesday

Yes, Kota is eating what you think he's eating. This was all Diego's doing...

Ka-BLAM

Ha! I did it, I changed my background. It was driving me crazy having that same background for so long. I kept wanting to change it but every time I tried it would wipe out all the handy-dandy info I keep in my sidebar and it was such a bummer to have to re-enter it all. Well I keep seeing everyone with these adorable "Cutest Blog on the Block" layouts and scoped it out. They made it so easy to change without losing my goods. Although I was still stuck with hot pink for the three main sections with all the writing. Good thing I know a thing or two about HTML and was able to straighten that out. It only took 5 minutes. I'm so happy to finally have a new look.

Pina Colada Zuchinni Bread

As soon as I read the name and the ingredient list I was eager to try this one! It was a fabulous treat for our hike on Saturday. Diego called it "cake" and I agree it can easily be considered a dessert. Delicious! This was also adapted from a Taste of Home recipe but the original made 4 loaves. I only had 1 zucchini and 1 egg on hand so I used my handy-dandy math skills to convert it to 1 loaf. I also changed the extract amounts and left out the nuts.

Pina Colada Zucchini Bread

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2/3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 tsp baking soda
1 egg
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tsp coconut rum
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup shredded zuchinni
1/3 cup crushed pineapple, drained

Grease a loaf pan and preheat oven to 350*F. In large bowl combine dry ingredients. In another bowl whisk together egg, oil, rum, and vanilla, then add zucchini and pineapple. Fold wet mixture into dry ingredient just until moistened. Do not over mix. Pour into pan and bake 45-55 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing to wire rack. Enjoy it while its still warm & fresh!

Dinner: Spinach Salmon Bundles

Adapted from a recipe in the latest Taste of Home magazine. I just LOVE a recipe with only 4 ingredients. My parents always send us home with a cooler full of fresh meat when we visit them in Alaska so I'm always eager to try new Salmon recipes too. This was fantastic!

Spinach Salmon Bundles

2 tubes (8oz) refrigerated crescent rolls (I use Reduced Fat)
4 - 6oz. salmon fillets
1/3 cup softened garlic & onion 1/3 less fat cream cheese
1 - 10 oz pkg frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

Unroll crescent dough and separate into rectangles, seal perforations. Place salmon fillet in center of each rectangle. Make sure the salmon is the right size, not too big to be wrapped with the dough. Spread with a layer of softened cream cheese then top with spinach. Fold dough around the salmon and seal all the edges well. Bake at 400*F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

I served ours with brown rice, garlic-roasted asparagus, and sweet corn.

The Eyes Have It

I read about this photo contest blog on my friend Tiffany's Sister-In-Law's blog. Hmm that was a mouthful. This week the focus is on the eyes and I'm submitting this photo of Diego at about 8 months old. I just love his unique eye color and how they look so gray on this particular day.

FTF

1. Scrapbooking - It's a creative outlet and feels productive at the same time. I have the freedom to highlight my photos and memories however I choose. No two pages are anywhere near the same. It's doing something for myself and for my family at the same time. I have the fun of creating the pages; they have the enjoyment of looking at them and reflecting on our memories. Both kids already at 3 and almost-2 enjoy looking through the scrapbooks, seeing pictures of themselves and remembering the fun things we've done. Especially in the military life I love having the memories of things we've done together, the places we've traveled, the places we've lived, friends that come and go, and especially documenting the kids' lives when Daddy isn't always here to see it first-hand.



2. Winter in Texas - I am getting so spoiled living down South. Growing up in Alaska I know what winter CAN be. Winter in Texas reminds me of summer in Alaska. On the "cold" days in Texas it reminds me of fall in Alaska. Now it does truly get cold here in Texas, it can be damp and windy and below freezing on occasion. The key is it isn't very often and it doesn't last very long. You may have to wear a jacket & choose to stay inside on Monday but by Friday you can wear a T-shirt and go to the park. Being an outdoorsy girl I really love that you can easily spend time outside year-round here. And yes it does get VERY hot in summer but its not so bad if you're not pregnant and besides that's why they invented A/C, ceiling fans, spray parks, sprinklers, kiddie pools, and popsicles!

3. Cali Napping - This has become a rare occurrence but when it happens it is so wonderfully quiet in here. Ahhhh! This girl does not like to sleep and its been months since she stopped taking her daily nap. She still goes in her room, we read a story (or three), she gets in bed, I sing to her and walk out. Five minutes later I hear her rustling around, rummaging through books, sorting through baby doll paraphernalia. In the beginning I'd go in there every few minutes and tell her to get in bed, to leave her toys alone, to only take one book to bed. I realized I couldn't' force her to fall asleep and I was only driving myself crazy going back in there every 5 minutes. Now I just expect her to stay quiet and stay in her room. She does come out though... she can't find her baby's shoe, she wants to put a dress on, her feet are cold, she's thirsty, she has to potty... you name it she'll think of an excuse. It's not so bad though because I know that the trade-off for her not taking a nap is that she will be fast asleep by 7:15. On a day like today where she is still sleeping soundly at 3:35 she will be wide awake until at least 9:30 saying... I'm not sleepy, my hands are cold, I want different music, I'm sad Daddy's not home, I need lotion on my cheeks... But I tolerate it because I understand her. I never liked to go to bed early either, and to this day am very much a night owl. It's hard to be frustrated when I know exactly where she gets it from.