Best card ever...

I just got this card from one of my most favorite ladies, Rita the Builder!!!  I can't stop laughing every time I look at it, she said it reminded her of all the pictures and maybe a story or two from my brother's wedding... Ha!!!

Scribblers

A good friend recently sent the us a package of Scribblers and I just have to share!  I had no idea there was such a thing and am so excited that she shared these awesome crayons with us!  She sent robots for Noah (of course), some animals and Toy Story Scribblers for Silas and then added a packet of the Halloween Scribblers and a special Batman one just for me :)  The boys are loving them and I love that they are made from recycled crayons and are so stinkin cute, I want to get more just to display somewhere!!  Thanks Pickle Woman :)
You can check them out at 2ndChanceCrayons.com!

Love this...

You don't raise heroes, you raise sons.  And if you treat them like sons, they'll turn out to be heroes, even if it's just in your own eyes.

I found that quote on a piece of scrapbook paper by Cosmo Cricket and am totally obsessing about the paper and craft ideas they have on their website.  I went to a scrapbook night and when cleaning out all my random stuff came across these pages and am so in love with them I probably won't ever be able to cut them up.  Well, maybe for just the right project someday!

Seriously, every single one of these pages reminds me of my Noah, from
the quotes, to the pictures, to the space references, so perfect!
LOVE - LOVE - LOVE

 

New favorite!

We have a short list of favorite movies that we rotate through very regularly at our house including but not entirely limited to the following -

The Hangover
Old School
All American Pie movies
Knocked Up
Meet the Parents
The Notebook (mostly me)
The Devil Wears Prada (again, mostly me)

We have pretty much memorized all of these movies and they always seem to be the ones we "go to" however, I have a new one to add to the rotation and am pretty pumped about it!!!

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this movie!  I saw it in the theater (loved it), watched it with my ladies last night (loved it again) and will be watching it with Ryan tomorrow night (laughing just as hard as I did the first time)!

Beans, beans the magical fruit...

When it gets hot like it has been around here lately the last thing I want to do is cook. This usually means we resort to Chipotle, Cafe Yumm or a delicious homemade salad or two.   I am a huge fan of bean salads so I thought I would share a couple of my favorite recipes!  Not only are these salads easy and delicious but I think they are pretty healthy too, bonus!!!

Corn & Black Bean Salad

1 can whole kernel corn
1 can black beans (drained & rinsed)
2 tomatoes chopped
1/2 of a red onion chopped
1/4 cup minced cilantro
2 cloves minced garlic

Dressing
2 Tbs sugar
2 Tb white vinegar
2 Tb oil
1 1/2 tsp lime juice
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp pepper

Combine ingredients and toss with the dressing.  Best if chilled for several hours or overnight before serving.
Seriously delicious!!

Cool Beans Salad (Silas loves this one)

3 cups cooked basmati rice
1 can kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
1 1/2 cups frozen corn (thawed)
4 green onions thinly sliced
1 small sweet red pepper (chopped)
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro

Dressing
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 Tbs sugar
1 clove garlic minced
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp pepper

Again, combine ingredients and toss with dressing.  Chill before serving.  So easy!

Totally Together

So I found this book on one of the blogs that I read and unfortunately I can't remember which one...  Anyway, LOVE, Love, love this book!  I have tried making checklists like this for myself but always feel like I never get it quite right.  This book is awesome!  It is half day planner half to do list (in the form of a weekly checklist).  Bonus - it covers all those pesky house maintenance chores that I always seem to forget like changing filters, cleaning the oven, dusting the baseboards etc.  Everything is scheduled and I am assuming that if I stay on top of the weekly checklist my house will be clean, even if it is not apparent because all of the cleanliness is buried under toys...  The book starts on the first week of September and I am getting pretty excited to give it a shot!!!

I picked up a copy on Amazon for like $12!

Bangs...

I have been slowly working on a post to update of my "List of 52" from the beginning of the year but completed a major one last weekend...  I cut bangs!! Not just little wispy bangs, big fat bangs!  I was not too sure about them at first but today I woke up and decided I love them!!

Before & After

Nothing major but a much needed improvement!!!

Before!

Much better!!!
Yep, they are laying on the floor eating nuts this time...

Blast from the Past

So we decided that since we are getting new floors in the kitchen we might as well get rid of the nasty pinkish peach tile counter tops too...  I really loved the brown grout and wood trim and all but the new ones will probably be a little more sanitary, ha!
Anyway, the counter people came to rip off the old tile yesterday in preparation for our new ones to be put on today and it was like opening a time capsule!  You know when things disappear out the back of your drawers and are never to be seen again without seriously pulling things apart...  Well that is what we found yesterday behind all of our drawers and surprisingly none of it was our stuff.  There was a serious stash of  all kinds of interesting things, steak knives, forks, chopsticks, a child's artwork & school papers, lots of paper snowflakes, an apron and a Duck Tales Happy Meal box dated 1985!!  Apparently the little boy that lived here was named Ian and based on the dates and types of school papers he is probably about the same age as me, pretty fun!!

Apparently Ian was a serious Matchbox collector :)

I totally remember having this set when I was little!!!

Seriously loved that show and am singing the
song in my head as I am typing this!!!!

One of my favorite pastimes at my parents house is to sit on the back porch and read my mom's cookbooks. She has LOADS of awesome cookbooks and has taken notes on every recipe she has ever made in the cookbooks.  A few weeks ago I came across an oldie but goodie!  Cookies for Kids by Better Homes and Gardens was a cookbook that Dustin and I had when we were little.  It is from 1983 and is seriously the best cookie cookbook ever!  I think we have made almost every cookie in the entire book.  There are so many crazy and fun cookies I could hardly contain my excitement in finding it.  Of course my mom was not going to part with the book so I made it my mission to find my own copy so the boys can have as much cookie fun as Dustin and I had with it over the years!
I finally found a "like new" used copy on Amazon and now have my very own Cookies for Kids book and could not be more excited.  The boys and I have been baking up a storm!

These are our bump on a log cookies we made the other day!
I can't wait to try some more!!!

The Floors

I just have to share my floor excitement!!!  A good portion of our house looks exactly the same as it did in 1985.  Seriously, step into our kitchen and (besides the appliances) you may get the feeling that you just stepped out of a DeLorean with Marty McFly!  BUT, we are heading out tomorrow night to pick out some new floors and countertops!!!  I am so excited  I might burst and I thought everyone else should have a visual of why I am so excited about this...

Yes, they are pink and they are flowered...
We also have two other types of pink flowered linoleum in two of our bathrooms.
And, yes, my kids are laying on their backs eating grapes, probably not a wise choice...  

The Hallway

I have been trying to figure out something to do with the hallway going to our garage.  We use this hall every time we come or go anywhere and it was becoming a dumping ground for all of our shoes, bags, coats etc.  I originally had a red bin in the corner where the boys would put all their shoes and coats upon entering the house, however, the wet dirty shoes did not mesh too well with the clean dry coats, I needed a new plan...
I found these shoe storage bins at IKEA a few weeks ago and am in love!!!  Our hallway looks amazing and the boys love having their own bins to keep their hats and shoes in, plus there are enough bins for us each to have two!  Goodbye briefcase on the kitchen counter, purse on the doorknob and shoes on the floor, you now have homes!!!

I completed the hallway with a few new pictures and
a fresh coat of paint!

I added some hooks at the end of the hall
for the boys to hang their coats and backpacks.

Treasure Hunt

My parents recently took the boys for a few days to give us a weekend at home alone (HUGE THANK YOU NONNIE & PAPA)!!  We saw a few movies, went out for a few nice dinners and I did some SERIOUS spring cleaning and even managed to paint a few rooms!  I'll post more pictures of all the projects I completed soon (I had a "To Do" list for the weekend that was seriously eight pages long) but I just came across this one while uploading some other pictures and had to share...

This is what came out from under our couch in
the living room!  I regularly clean where
I can reach but we actually moved them out from
the walls and apparently the boys really enjoy
shoving stuff between the couch and the walls...
It's like a mini toy store/snack shack!

The Daily Battle

Lately I have been feeling like this house will never be clean again! It is like every time I get one corner/closet/floor picked up the little ones have moved on to 15 more, decimating everything in their path on the way!  I am coming to the realization that expecting a clean and organized house with a two year old and a three year old is just not going to happen!  At least we are all having fun in the process of destruction!  Thought these quotes were appropriate...

Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing.  

~Phyllis Diller, Phyllis Diller's Housekeeping Hints, 1966

I am thankful for a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home.... I am thankful for the piles of laundry and ironing because it means my loved ones are nearby.  

~Nancie J. Carmody

If the shelves are dusty and the pots don't shine,

it's because I have better things to do with my time.

~Author Unknown

Happy Valentines Day!

This is the picture my mom drew on the front of the Valentines Day card she made for us!  It was immediately put into a frame and will be on the wall shortly!!!  Love it!!!

Thanks Mom!!!

Happy Sweetheart Day!

Forget Valentines Day, in our house we celebrate Sweetheart Day (just kidding, I love Valentines Day)!   However, February 13th is a pretty special day around here.  It was on this day 11 years ago that Ryan proposed with a very special box of Sweethearts!
I thought it would be fun to look up some Sweetheart facts to go along with our theme for the day!

NECCO® manufactures eight billion Sweethearts® Conversation Hearts each year, the majority of which are sold during the six-week period between January 1 and Valentine’s Day; making Sweethearts the #1 selling non-chocolate Valentine’s Day candy.   Since the turn of the 20th century, more than 250 billion Sweethearts have rolled off the NECCO production lines. Sweethearts Conversation Hearts, originally called Motto Hearts, were created in 1866 by Daniel Chase, brother of NECCO founder, Oliver Chase.  Before World War I, Sweethearts Conversation Hearts were made in various shapes such as postcards, watches, baseballs or horseshoes, and the hearts were embossed with curlicues. If you placed the annual production of Sweethearts Conversation Hearts back to back across the United States they would stretch from New York to Los Angeles and back again.  That equals 5,924 miles! Got a special message for your sweetheart?  NECCO can custom imprint Sweethearts Conversation Hearts, if you’re willing to buy a full production run – approximately 3,500 pounds of the six-flavored candies or 1.6 million individual hearts. Each year, JEOPARDY! includes a Sweethearts Conversation Hearts trivia question on its show in celebration of Valentine’s Day. NECCO introduces 10 new Sweethearts Conversation Hearts sayings each year.  In 2005, NECCO introduced sayings inspired by the game of love including “#1 Fan,” “Fit for Love,” and “Dream Team.”  In 2006, the new Sweethearts sayings were inspired by the comforts of home including “Sweet Home,” ”Home Soon,” and “Call Home.”  This year, NECCO will introduce 10 new sayings that pay tribute to pet-loving ways with sayings that include “Cool Cat,” “Puppy Love,” “Love Bird,” and “My Pet.” According to Ryan, there is an average of just one "Marry Me" Sweetheart  per box, which means he went through like 20 boxes and several bags to find enough "Marry Me" hearts to fill an entire box!

Kahlua Brownies

A few people have asked for this recipe since I mentioned it in an earlier post so here it is...  By the way, I have to pretend like I don't know what goes into these... They really are the most amazing brownies I have ever had in my life, my absolute favorite!!!

Brownies - 
4 oz unsweetened chocolate
2/3 cup butter, room temp
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 tea vanilla extract
1/2 cup Kahlua
1 1/4 cup flour
1 tea baking powder
1 tea salt

Frosting - 
2 tablespoons Kahlua
1 tea instant coffee
1/2 cup butter, room temp
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tea vanilla extract
2-3 tea milk

Topping -
1 oz semi-sweet chocolate
1 tablespoon butter

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease a 9x13 baking pan.

In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the chocolate and butter together.  Remove pan from heat and mix in sugar, eggs, vanilla and Kahlua.  Stir in flour, baking powder and salt.
Spread in prepared pan.  Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until batter starts to pull away from sides of pan.  Cool.

Frosting - 
In a small bowl, mix Kahlua with instant coffee, stirring until coffee is dissolved.  In a medium bowl, cream butter, powdered sugar and vanilla together.  Add coffee mixture and beat until well blended.  Add milk to get desired consistency.  Spread frosting over cooled brownies.

Topping - 
In a small saucepan, melt chocolate and butter together.  Cool slightly, then drizzle topping over frosting.  Cool until chocolate is set.  Ready to serve!!!

We have the most awesome realtor in the world and as an added bonus his daughter is the best babysitter ever.  I am pretty sure Noah is in love with her!  Anyway, she watched the boys a couple weekends ago and Noah must have mentioned doughnuts or something because her and her mom brought over a doughnut cookbook and pan the other day so Noah could make his own doughnuts!  How sweet is that!
I had no idea that you could bake doughnuts, I always assumed they had to be deep fried and I refuse to have a deep fryer in the house.  However, when you bake them they are really not too bad for you!  Ours definitely did not look like the pictures in the book but they tasted good and Noah thought they were pretty cool!

Our mini doughnuts with super cool sprinkles!

Sweets Confession...

I have gone back and fourth about writing this post because I know that once I do I really need to commit to making some serious changes... I have got a really big diet/food/sugar problem, I would almost venture to say I have an addiction to sugar and junk food. I have never met a piece of candy I did not like and have very few fruits and vegetables that I do like.
Most people that know me would assume that I am exaggerating this because I don't have the body type of someone who eats nothing but sugar and junk food, but all I can do is thank my parents for my good genes because in reality I should weigh 400 pounds. I have been paying close attention to what I eat over the past week and there were two entire days where I did not have a single serving of fruits or vegetables. I don't drink enough water and no matter how many times I tell myself that coffee is made of water I don't think five cups of coffee is really the equivalent of five cups of water (especially once I add my sugary Coffee-mate to it)!
To give an example of how bad my problem is - I bought a tub (not just a bag, a TUB) of Valentine candy corn last week for Noah to have for potty treats (one per potty) however, Noah does not ask for treats any more after going potty and that tub of candy corn is gone... Big eye opener!!!!
The ridiculous part of all of this is that I LOVE to cook. I buy all organic foods. I make great healthy dinners most nights. I fix my kids healthy organic snacks and meals. However, I inhale jelly beans, potato chips, candy corn, ice cream and coffee like a Hoover all day long. I don't eat breakfast, I rarely eat lunch I just munch on junk all day and then feel like I am making up for it with a healthy dinner.
So not healthy...
We have been having struggles with the boys wanting to snack all day and then not eating at meal time and I have been so frustrated about this but in reality they are probably just doing what they see me do every day. How can I expect my kids to eat regular meals and healthy snacks when they have probably never seen their mother eat an apple or carrot???
I know that I can't deny myself everything that is sugary or not healthy because I do love food. I am not going to pass on Key Lime pie at Jake's or my mom's Kahlua brownies but I really need to learn to eat meals and to cut out all of the junk during the day. Sweets should be special treats eaten in moderation not part of my daily meal plan.
Before I sat down to write this I dumped all my candy stashes into the trash. Yes, I hide candy all over the house like alcoholic would hide vodka (just a little embarrassed to admit that)... I talked to Ryan about my problem because honestly he had no idea how much sugar and junk I really consume. I am going to make a conscious effort to eat at least three healthy meals a day and am committed to not buying any more candy to stash around the house like a crazy lady!

Wish me luck!!!

Goodbye Candy Corn!

Goodbye Chips!

Goodbye Jelly Belly's

And hello to some big changes around here!!!

p.s. I want to clarify that this is not a weight issue. I just want to be healthier and a good example for my kids!

Ebates!!

I am having another moment where I feel like I have been living in a cave...  Maybe everyone already knows about this but seriously, how did I not know about Ebates????  As a stay at home mom it is not always easy for me to peruse around stores like I used to and therefore I do most of my shopping online.  Ebates gives awesome rebates and coupons for using their website to get to the stores I am already shopping at - Old Navy 2%, Banana Republic 2%, Nordstrom 5%, Sephora 8%, Snapfish 11.5%.  Seriously, I felt a little sick when I saw this...  I have been ordering all of my cosmetics from Sephora.com for years, I order most, if not all of the boys clothes from Old Navy and Gap, I order all of my pictures from Snapfish.  This could have added up to some serious cash in my pocket over the years!
Bonus - They give you $5 for just sining up!  It is definitely worth checking out!

Soup for the day!

OK, I am back on my soup kick!  This is my Grandpa's recipe for baked potato soup and it is worth the work it takes to make it!!!

Baked Potato Soup

2 medium potatoes
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup diced white onion
2 tablespoons flour
4 cups chicken stock
2 cups water
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 cups instant potatoes
1 cup half & half (I just use whole milk)
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/8 teaspoon thyme

Garnish - Shredded cheddar cheese, bacon, chives (whatever you like on your baked potatoes)

1. Bake potatoes at 400 until done (about an hour)
2. Melt butter in large soup pot, saute onions and add flour to make a roux
3. Add chicken stock, water, cornstarch, mashed potatoes and spices, bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop out with a large spoon.  Discard skin.  Chop potato into cubes about 1/2 inch in size.
5. Add baked potatoes and half & half to soup and bring back to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
6. Garnish with desired toppings and you are good to go!

The year of saving...

One of the items on my list of 52 is to keep a budget for the year which, to me, means keeping track of every penny we spend...  Since we moved into our house in July of 2009 it feels like we have had non-stop expenses.  Some stuff has been fun (furniture, yard remodel, new oven & gas cooktop etc.) other stuff, not so fun (insulation, rebuilding the chimney, windows, fences etc.). We did make a deal when we moved in that we would never do anything to the house that we could not pay cash for and have stuck to that.  However, at the end of the year we sat down and added up all the "home improvement" we could remember and I puked a little in my mouth when we saw the total.  So what this means is that I will probably have my funky fresh 1985 kitchen for a while...   (pink flowered linoleum is super cool right :)
We are saving all receipts for every purchase and I have created a handy spreadsheet to keep track of it all.  I am so curious to see what we spend money on.  I know our basic expenses, mortgage, insurance, cable etc. but have absolutely no idea what we spend on gas or food or anything like that.  I do have to say that knowing I have to write things down has been a huge deterrent from my random trips to Nordstrom, Target and Starbucks...  I am going to pat myself on the back right now for making it 22 days without a single stop at Starbucks (I have not even cheated and gotten one at a grocery store Starbucks so I could file the receipt in the grocery section :).   I am just a little competitive and don't want to be the one coming forward with $85 worth of Starbucks receipts at the end of the month!  Hopefully we can keep it up for the entire year and maybe then I can talk about some new kitchen floors!!!

More Soup

I am on a serious soup kick and this rain makes me want to make it even more...  Here is another one of my favorites I just made.  This one is super easy and really healthy too!

Oven Baked Minestrone

1 1/2 lbs lean stew meat cut into small pieces
1 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
32 oz. beef broth
2 cups water
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
16 oz. can diced tomatoes or tomato sauce (undrained)
15 oz. can kidney beans (undrained)
6 oz. can sliced olives (undrained)
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced carrots
2 cups thinly sliced cabbage

Brown beef, onion, garlic in oil in Dutch oven.  Add remaining ingredients *except cabbage* and bake covered at 325 for 2 1/2 to 3 hours.  Add cabbage for last 45 minutes.  Serve with Parmesan cheese on top!

Can't wait for dinner!!!

Sara's Taco Soup

My cousin has been raving about her taco soup recipe for a long time and I finally scored a copy of it last week (thanks Sara :)  I am pretty sure this is my new favorite soup and that is saying a lot because I am a soup maniac.  I would eat soup all day every day if I could!  This is possibly the easiest recipe ever and it was absolutely delicious!!!

Taco Soup

Cook 1 lb ground beef &
1 diced onion in a soup pot -

Add: (don't drain any)
1 can refried beans
1 can black beans
1 can pinto beans
2 cans diced tomatoes w/ green chiles
1-2 cups chicken broth
2 packages of taco seasoning
2 cups frozen corn
1 can green chiles

Mix all ingredients well and bring to a simmer over medium heat for 20-30 minutes.
Serve with tortilla chips, shredded cheese and sour cream.

***For some reason ground beef in soup seems wrong to me so I used chicken instead.  To make it even easier I bought a rotisserie chicken at the store and just cut that up.  Instead of cooking it on the stove I threw everything into the crockpot and let it simmer all day.***

I did it!!!

I was totally craving veggie chowder the other night and decided to make my first attempt at homemade French bread... I was so worried that I would stick the dough in the oven to rise, nothing would happen and it would be a big flopping waste of time.  Apparently I had no reason to worry, not only did the dough rise like it was supposed to, the bread turned out delicious!!!  It is amazing to me that bread requires so few ingredients and ends up tasting so good, who would have thought (I guess people who make their own bread :)

One down...

I took the plunge and purchased a few plants for around the house yesterday...  My fingers are seriously crossed that I can figure this plant thing out and keep them alive because I really do love having plants around.  It does not seem like it should be that hard - water, prune, light etc.  However, my track record is not great so hopefully I can keep these ones out of the yard debris bin!

I got these ones for the dining room, aka the Cozy Coupe parking garage.
These ones will have the special threat of being near the "play zone" and
there is a pretty good chance they will end up on the floor before I
have a chance to kill them...

I don't even know what this plant is...
My grandma brought it to me as a hostess gift,
 but I'll see what I can do!

These two are in our bedroom.  They probably have the best
chance of surviving out of all of them due to the low kid
traffic in the area, that is if I remember to feed and water them...
Gotta love IKEA plants & pots!

Hubby does dinner!!!

Ryan has decided he wants to learn how to cook and has volunteered to take over dinner duty every Saturday night (no complaints here)!!! My mom got us this awesome cookbook for Christmas and so far everything he has made has been delicious! Last week, Smothered Steak Sandwiches, tonight, Quick & Healthy Pasta Carbonara! I can hardly wait!!!

Seriously recommend this cookbook!!!

Project 52

I saw this on one of my favorite blogs Handbags & Handguns and decided it was right up my alley!  I am never one to be caught without some kind of list and I usually have at least two "To Do" lists going every day.  I love the feeling of getting to cross something off and not having to carry it over to my list for the next day!!!  With that said here is my "To Do" list for 2011!

1. Paint Silas's Room
2. Cut Bangs
3. Donate Blood
4. Try Zumba
5. Get Silas in a big boy bed
6. Host a Girls Night In dinner party
7. Run a 5k for a cause
8. Use my Crock-Pot at least 2x per month
9. Try at least one new recipe per week
10. Read two classic novels (over 50 years old)
11. Dress up for Halloween (in a real costume)
12. Get some house plants and keep them alive
13. Read at least 25 books
14. See at least four movies in the theater
15. Find something pretty and childproof to organize my jewelry
16. Keep an exercise log
17. Take a trip somewhere with Ryan (even if it is just for a night or two)
18. Host a BBQ this summer
19. Get professional family photos taken
20. Watch 25 movies from my Netflix Queue
21. Go to a Duck game or two
22. GO to a museum or art gallery
23. Take the kids to at least four new parks this summer
24. Take a road trip
25. Learn how to bake bread & rolls from scratch
26. Send out two handwritten notes/cards per month
27. Grow tomatoes 
28. Update blogs at least once a week
29. Organize our linen closet once and for all (and keep it that way)
30. Get a hot stone massage
31. Potty train Silas
32. Get our ceilings painted
33. Get Noah out of diapers at bedtime
34. Read at least 10 books to the boys per day
35. Bake a pie from scratch (crust and all)
36. Take the boys to the Children's Museum at least twice
37. Go to a concert
38. Implement at least three things we can do at home to live more green
39. Go to the zoo at least once a month when the weather is nice enough
40. Design my dream dining room with hopes of moving the Cozy Coupes out of ours to have a nice family meal or two
41. Clean out my composter and start using it again
42. Meet my annual retirement account contribution limit
43. Keep track of our budget for the entire year
44. Go to the coast at least once (Silas has still never been)
45. Learn how to make a coconut mojito
46. Grow mint in my herb garden for those mojitos
47. Hire a babysitter for an entire day to get out of the house and do whatever I want
48. Register Silas for a fun class or two while Noah is at school
49. Make a ridiculously huge holiday meal for one holiday during the year
50. Go sledding
51. Hike up a mountain (no mountain in particular)
52. Go to Multnomah Falls (hiking to the top does not count as mountain listed above :)