Chili Powder

Photo of the Day 12/29/06

cinnamon rolls on fire
Originally uploaded by chili powder.

No, I didn't take this photo- I googled it. It would have been nice if my cinnamon rolls actually came out of the oven looking like this (minus the flames) but, sigh...they didn't.

For my coworkers very last day of work, we decided to do a breakfast. I had the great idea of making Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls. As soon as I got home, I made the dough, let it rise for an hour, punched it down...etc....and a few hours later the cinnamon rolls were ready to put in the oven.

But....I used the wrong pans. And while they were baking (they were looking BEAUTIFUL! Giant and yummy!) Some of the sugar mixture dripped into the bottom of the oven and started smoking. We turned of the oven (the smoke alarm was going off at this point) and then we looked into the oven to see flames! Zack had to use the fire extinguisher to put it out. Bye Bye beautiful cinnamon rolls.

So the smoke detector went off FOREVER. We opened every door and window and the darn things still wouldn't stop.

Zack cleaned the oven yesterday and turned on the self-clean cycle of the oven to clean up the rest of the mess. AND THE DARN SMOKE DETECTOR WENT OFF AGAIN! For like 30 minutes. Marcel and I were chillin in the closet to get away from the ear piercing sound.

Quite an adventure for some cinnamon rolls. I ended up buying some at HEB...:(

I kid now, but I was seriously depressed about this on Thursday night...

photo by ?,  Artwork by jennifer

Photo of the Day 12/28/06

snowmanboohoo
Originally uploaded by chili powder.

A coworker of mine is leaving tomorrow so I made her a crying snowman cake. Now that Marcel knows I know how to make cakes, looks like I won't be getting off easy at birthday time by getting a HEB cake...

The tricky thing was the transport of the cake- I didn't have a cover big enough for cake, and I didn't have any toothpicks to make a little saran wrap tent. So check out how I had to transport the cake to work. Yeah, got a few looks bringing the cake into the kitchen....

photo by jennifer

Photo of the Day 12/24/

cookies
Originally uploaded by chili powder.

Sending you virtual Christmas Cookies! That's about 6 hours worth of cookie making, pretzel dipping, and coffee cake baking!

Merry Christmas!

For Mom

Here is the soup recipe that I have been promising you for weeks....

(This soup is perfect for when you are dealing with a stuffy head. It is a bit spicy, so you adjust according to your taste.)

Caldo Tlalpeno*

Broth:

2T Vegetable oil

1T Garlic- minced

1 Large onion

2 Serrano peppers (or used dried or canned chipotle chiles)

6 C chicken broth

6 C water

1 1/2 T Cumin

1 T Chili Powder

4 Limes- juice

salt- to taste

Add ins (you can throw whatever you want in really, here is what I use)

5 Roma tomatoes- chopped

1 Can diced tomatoes (Mexican-Style)

3 T Fresh cilantro- chopped

1 C Rice (I throw in the instant kind)

1 Zucchini - diced

1 Yellow Squash - diced

1 1/2 C of Frozen Corn

3 Carrots- sliced into thick coins

2 C of cooked, shredded chicken

Saute the garlic, onion, and peppers in oil until tender. Transfer the mixture into a BIG pot. Add the rest of the ingredients (I make the broth first, then add the vegetables to make sure it is mixed well). Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. Serve over crushed tortilla chips, and garnish with chunks of avocado and Monterrey jack cheese. This makes a TON of soup- so you will be able to freeze a bunch of it.

Jennifer

Yes Marcel, there really is a Homeslice

After Zack and I first ate at Homeslice, and we told Marcel about our yummy New York Style pizza experience, and he challenged us. He was intrigued to hear that we had found the perfect pizza, but he did not believe that was the actual name of the pizza shop, he was absolutely convinced that we made it up. Instead, he proposed the name "Man's Best Pizza" as the "real" name of the shop. It was a fun little argument that we had going on for a few weeks.

Friday night, Marcel came face to face with the sign (below) and had to admit that, although Mom and Dad are a bit strange, we did not change the name of "Man's Best Pizza" to Homeslice just to bother him.

And by the way- awesome pizza and a great (i.e. "hip") atmosphere in the evening. We ordered a whole pizza, frosty beverages (with crushed ice!) and a giant Rice Krispy treat to share...I honestly don't know if we will get pizza from anywhere else from now on. You can also order from the walk-up window if you just happen to be wondering along South Congress..

Yes, I am talking about food AGAIN.

So Zack and I went for a run yesterday- a hilly 10 miler (Scenic to Mt Bonnell and back). Zack is getting ready to run the Freescale Half Marathon, and I am looking at a few trail runs starting in March, so we have been running together on Saturdays. It is one of my New Year's Resolutions- running with my hub. So anyway, we were were getting very hungry during our run and we were passing the time by, you guessed it, talking about FOOD. We were trying to figure out where we were going to eat when got back to the car- I remembered seeing a new pizza joint on South Congress and suggested that. So, we decided to head to Homeslice Pizza post-run.

Now, I  am a picky pizza person. I like the different pizza shops here like Rockin' Tomato and Austin's Pizza, don't get me wrong, but none of them have "New York Style Pizza" (I think I mentioned this before, didn't I?) Well, FINALLY I found a pizza shop- that sells by the slice- and ROCKS. It rivals my favorite pizza shop in Syracuse... Homeslice ROCKS- crushed iced in the sodas, thin and crusty pizza with lotsa oregano! Just like home...And in a very cool part of town- very bust little area on South Congress that makes for great people watching.

Later yesterday we headed over to a friend's house to chicken-sit, which consisted of corralling 9 or 10 chickens into their hen-house. Well, actually we had to chase them and then pounce on them to pick them up and get them in the house. I must say, I think Zack and I make a pretty good chicken catchers for being the bird rookies that we are.

Then, last night we ate another of of the dinners that we prepared at the Studio Kitchen (yes, more food talk). And it was once again, awesome! We had the White Chili- which was actually pretty light- white beans, chicken, and corn in a water based broth. And it was incredibly tasty. We are already sold on the Studio Kitchen and we have only tried 2 of the meals.

And, after taking care of the chickens we stopped by Sun Harvest to grab a bottle of wine. Now, I choose my wine based on how silly or clever the label is. And if there is a silly animal on it, all the better. So last night I chose "Three Blind Moose" wine. Pretty good- sweet and strong. Not the kind that you can gulp down with ease- it had a bit of a bite. Yeah, Sunmart training is over- I'm back to drinking wine again...

This photo is weak- I know. You can't even see the cute label. I don't have wine photography skills. But I went through the trouble of getting out that cloth napkin and posing the bottle (and shoving the crap on the table to the side) so I 'm gonna go ahead and post the picture.

Jennifer

Chow

Whenever I go back home to Syracuse I always make it a point to eat New York food- pizza and Buffalo wings. Pizza and wings just taste better back home. I have tried wings in Austin and I just haven't found a place that makes them in the "true Buffalo Style"- they always have some strange spice in them that causes serious stomach issues. So, of course when we were home I had to have s wings and pizza. Well, at my favorite pizza shop Zack found a pizza that combined wings and pizza- Buffalo Chicken Pizza. I had a few bites and immediately tried to figure out how to duplicate it at home. After a few tries, I got it (Seal of Approval from Zack)! Here is my version of Buffalo Chicken Pizza for those of you who love wings and pizza!

• First, take about a 1/3 pound of chicken chunks and throw them in a saute pan with a little bit of oil. Cover and cook until tender.
• While the chicken is cooking, take a Pre-made pizza crust and spread a very thin layer of blue cheese dressing on it.
• Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and chop into bite size pieces, then put into a bowl. Throw a little margarine in the bowl and then as much Texas Pete's hot sauce as you want- the more spicy the better.
• Take some pre-shredded mozzarella cheese (I am all about easy prep), lightly cover the blue cheese on the pizza crust- add all of the chicken spreading out evenly, and then add more mozzarella I used about a cup total I think, you really don't need a ton of cheese.
• Cook at 425 until golden and you are all set!
• And, since Marcel can't have the very spicy chicken, I put a little bit of the plain chicken aside and put that on a quarter of the pizza, with a few olives. That way I didn't have to make something different for him.

Yum!

Starting Thursday, we are changing up the grocery shopping and cooking around here. We are going to try out the Studio Kitchen. We will be assembling 12 six-serving entrees that we will put in the freezer and pull out when we need them- yay! That should hopefully last us a month since we will only need 3 servings at a time. I am hoping to save time by not having to "prepare" meals every evening, and also hoping that it will put some variety into our dinners so that we wont be tempted to run out to a restaurant because "we just don't want chicken stir-fry again tonight!". The three of us will be going together to assemble the dinners so it will be a nice family bonding experience.. Plus they give you snacks and wine- can't beat that! Here is the menu this month, we don't have to get all of the selections, instead we can double up on the ones we really want...

• Pesto Lasagna - getting 2 of these
• Sesame Honey Pork Tenderloin 
• Texas Strudel- passing on this...
• Honey Pecan Chicken with Honey Mustard Sauce getting 2 of these too
• Pork Chops with Apples and Yams 
• Herb Roasted Chicken getting 2 of these too
• Sausage Casserole passing on this...
• Sicilian Meat Roll passing on this...
• Texas White Chili
• Fillet of Fish Almandine
• Mexican Casserole
• Cowboy Pot Roast

Sounds yummy huh!? I really hope this helps make my life easier!

Jennifer

Grabbin' a slice

Marcel getting a taste of New York style pizza at Dorian's on Wescott (my old stomping grounds) near Syracuse University. You gotta dip that slice in blue cheese to get the full effect!

Crumbs

I just turned my (work) keyboard over and dumped about a cup of graham cracker crumbs out.  How is that even possible...I mean how does the thing work with all that crap in there?

Friday night at the coffee shop

Friday night, after Marcel and I went swimming at Big Stacy Pool, we headed over to Cafe Mundi for some coffee and empanadas.  I had the best Iced Mocha I have had in years,  and a very tasty samosa empanada as well. We all just chilled for a while and Marcel took photos:

If you are wondering why it the photos are so red, it's not because of the lighting at the cafe. Marcel likes to cover the flash when he takes photos to intentionally make them red.

Jennifer

Sno(w) in Austin

Though it is only May, I think it is safe to say that Summer is here in Austin. Weather reached 100 degrees last Sunday, and the lines are becoming very long at Sno-Beach.  For those of you outside of Austin, "sno" cones are a very big deal here. There are carts placed all around the city, and we eat it up. When it is 100 degrees and you are sweating the instant you walk out your front door, nothing cools you down like a giant cup of sno. If you are thinking of a snow-cone that you get at a carnival or amusement park- it is actually quite different: First, it is in a Styrofoam cup and you eat it with a spoon. Second the ice is very fine like snow, not crunchy like the traditional snow cone. And lastly, you can choose from over 50 flavors. Oh, and you can add cream to the sno so that it is more like ice cream.

We have already visited the cart twice this week. And after 8 years of living in Austin and only getting "cherry" I finally branched out and got "wedding cake" flavor with cream.  It was so good, like icy and creamy vanilla cake. Marcel got cotton candy with cream, and Zack red cream soda. The stand is in the parking lot of an old gas station, and we park on the street and tailgate.  Marcel lives for Sno-beach!

Also, I broke out the recipe book this week, and made up a frozen-yogurt pie. My mother used to make me this pie when I was younger using ice cream and whoppers. I changed it up to make it a little more "healthy". It was a big hit with the guys and I actually ate some for breakfast the other day because I couldn't wait for lunch.

Jennifer

(Marcel post Kung-Fu, tailgating at the sno beach)

Pooped

Whoo-ee I am still exhausted from this weekend!

Recap:

Friday, Marcel had Field Day at school. The Pre-K kids got together and played games such as 3 legged races, tricycle races, egg races, sack races on the playground. I caught about an hour of it and it was so cute! The kids were all clapping for each other, yelling out encouraging words, cheering. Marcel was very proud that he won the sack race against one of the Pre-K teachers.

A few hours later, we left for San Antonio. We made it there quickly (we beat rush hour) and had time to relax once we got there. Marcel got to check out the pool and watch cable, so he was in heaven.

Saturday morning was the race. It was a great park and a great race course. Later, when I have more energy, I will write up a race report on Brown Socks. 

We drove back to Austin after the race and we all promptly passed out. We awoke in time to head to  a friend's craw-fish boil where we spent the rest of the evening. Marcel refused to eat craw-fish, instead he ate about an entire bag of potato chips and about 10 oreos. He did get a chance to pick up a few of the live craw-fish, which he thought was pretty cool.

Well, we are off again- time to go see "Kicking and Screaming" with Marcel. Marcel is looking forward to seeing "Buddy the Elf" in a movie again.

Cake Cake Cake

I am a chocolate girl at heart.

But today, I decided try out a recipe for Orange Cake. And guess what- it is the best cake ever. I gave Marcel one bite on a fork and he promptly grabbed the rest of the slice and shoved the whole piece in his mouth. He wiped every last sugary crumb off the plate, then asked for another piece.  As did Zack.  And so did I...

The plan was (and always is) to make the cake, have a few pieces, then send the rest to work with Zack or myself. I'm not sure if this one will make it through the night.

If you like orange and lemon desserts , you have to check it out! You can find the recipe here.

Does not follow directions

Lately I have been trying out some new recipes. With this whole "saving money for a house down payment" penny-pinching thing that we've got going on, it doesn't allow us to go out to eat as frequently as before. So, I am trying my hand at some different types of cooking at home.

First step toward my "at home gourmet" project, was to organize all of my recipes that I have pulled out of magazines, printed off the Internet, or jotted down on scrap paper. I pasted all of these recipes onto colored paper, and then placed them in protective sheets in a binder.  I now have my recipes organized by type, and food-proofed (I am a very messy cook). I even have a few dozen of my Mother's recipes that I transferred from another cookbook. Now I just have to make the recipes!

Though I have painstakingly collected and organized all of these recipes, I don't always follow the directions so I have to scribble my modifications on the recipe. My cute little recipe book will soon be a disaster. I'm not always happy with the original recipe, it may be too greasy or too complicated , so I usually tweak it to my (and Marcel's and Zack's) liking. Or I am missing some of the ingredients, so I substitute and find that it rocks.

A few days ago, I baked up a chocolate chip bundt cake for Marcel's school but was unhappy with how greasy it was from all of the oil and chocolate. On a mission, yesterday, I went back to the store and got more ingredients to make it again, to my liking. I came up with a pretty darn good, lighter version of the cake. I accidentally bought lemon cake mix instead of yellow, but it was actually pretty good. Different, but good. I thought I would share my recipe discovery. The photo shows all that is left of the cake that I made last night.

I plan to post more pictures and recipes in that album as I find ones that I think are yummy. Or ones that are super-easy for quick dinners.  If Marcel says "Mom, you need to go to the chef shop!" after he eats one of my creations, I will post the recipe. That means it is kid-approved as well!

Jennifer

Advertising Wins

We are not big TV watchers. Movies- yes, TV- not much. But, every Saturday morning Marcel faithfully watches the shows on WB from 7 am to 9:30; Teen Titans, Scooby Doo, Pokemon... And  with that comes a bunch of advertisements. Now, I grew up in a household were we looked at commercials as a good thing; my Dad is employed by a television station, therefore commercials are what paid the bills. But as a parent, it is hard to look at advertisements during kid cartoons and not cringe. The flashier, the better. The goopier, the better.

Marcel totally digs the food commercials mostly. Every weekend, I hear at least two requests for Saturday Cartoon Commercial Food. "Mom, can I get some Go-Go Puffs please!" is a common one. Last Saturday, he asked for these new waffle-life toaster cinnamon rolls. And of course, I bought them for him that afternoon. I am such a sucker.  I had one last night, they aren't bad...

Marcel with his Cinnamon Roll waffle toaster things.

Jennifer

Weekend Treat

The weekend treat around our home this weekend is Dump Cake. It is the easiest, yummiest thing I've made since you used to bake those little chocolate cakes in the microwave.  I heard about it from a Mom at Marcel's school, so I looked it up on the Internet and found there are many variations of Dump Cake. I told a coworker about it on Thursday, who then made it that evening, and brought it to work on Friday. Yum. So then I told Zack about it, and we decided dump cake would be a great post 20 mile run snack.  I think I actually ate the majority though...

I changed it up a little, not using pie filling, but pie apples instead. In about 5 minutes I threw the following ingredients into a cake pan and ended up with a delicious fruity cobbler-like dessert: A can of pie apples ( including juice), a can of peaches (including juice), a few handfuls of frozen blueberries, a box of white cake mix, a few handfuls of pecans, and a stick of butter (cut up).  Bake at 350 for 45 mins to an hour (until brown) and you are set! We are already brainstorming about the next variation- Blueberry pie filling and pears, cherry filling and apples....? Yum.

Jennifer 

Moo Marcel Moo

Gramma Sue,

   Did you know it is my Mom' s Birthday? It was fun eating ice cream and eating cake. 
Dear Marcel, Love.

marcel

Painting Pictures

Marcel has taken to "doing art" with our digital photos- here is one he did this evening-

We didn't post much over the weekend, because we were taking it E a s y.  It was quite the wonderfully lazy weekend. This photo above was taken at Zilker Park on Friday- Marcel learned to fly his very own Ninja Turtles kite that day. He had a blast, and as you can see, Mom and Dad got a bit of kite flying in as well. It was a perfect  day to fly a kite.  On Saturday we all went to the nearby middle school track, and Marcel learned to ride his bike (with training wheels). By the 4th time around the track, he was ready to go by himself, fearlessly dodging a group of "big kids" in his path. It was pretty awesome. And, on Saturday I had a lovely date with my husband! We went to Musashino and ate sushi, while Marcel got to go play with some old friends. We had the most awesome dessert at Musashino, Tempura Ice Cream. Then, we did the obligatory post dinner Starbucks coffee thing, and hung out a the media bar for a while. 

Why my vacation rocked:

1. Hanging out with my family rocks. Our vacation was 9 days long, the longest vacation the 3 of us have ever had together. In fact, even when we were dating, Zack and I were always working opposite schedules, or our school schedules were not in sync, and we would only have a few days together for vacation. I felt like we were able to watch Marcel grow a bit over the vacation, he suddenly seems older and wiser.  Perhaps it's because he recognized the picture of Alan Greenspan in the Wall Street Journal today...
2. I was able to run at the trail anytime I wanted to! I ran 3 to 4 miles every other day last week.  Can't beat that. 
3. We ate out everyday. We ordered pizza. We went to brunch. We ate Amy's Ice Cream. We snacked on donuts and cookies at the new Disneyland-like Whole Foods. Our groceries consisted of honey buns, Cracker Jacks, and cherry yogurt covered pretzels. I barely cooked.  I'm detoxing from the vacation and eating plain edamame now.
4. I read 2 books and watched a bunch of movies and still had time to "lazy around".
5. I flew a kite! I can't remember successfully flying a kite EVER. What I do remember about flying kites as a kid is having the kite fall after a few seconds in the air, or getting it tangled in a tree.  Kites really fly here in Texas!
6. We went to Enchanted Rock. Enchanted Rock holds a special place in my heart because an old friend Daina Adams and I went there shortly after I moved to Texas. I loved it, and had never seen something so bizarre and peaceful. We drove this little Ford Aspire rental car through the hill country to get there (my car was in the shop because some one had rear-ended it...) and the car had no power to get up those hills. We were causing this huge back-up, all of these slick fast cars were out for a joy-ride and we were in this car that couldn't go over 20 mph up a hill. It was hysterical. Anyway, I mentioned my old friend Daina Adams' name in the hope that she we google herself, find this post, and we would be reacquainted! Daina? Are you out there?
7. My back didn't suffer too much from the accident, thankfully.  Last time I was rear ended, and the time after that I was in a lot of pain. This time, it wasn't too bad. Perhaps it was my car? Or the fact that I didn't know it was coming and didn't tense up? Who knows, everyone has a theory of course. My insurance issues have been settled, and the process was pretty painless.  Can't say the same for the woman who caused the accident...

Here's to a great vacation, and upcoming Easter weekend! I get to go to an egg-hunt at Mar's school on Thursday!

Jennifer

Muffins for Breakfast...

Please! Try this blueberry muffin recipe. It is SOOOOOO yummy!

Jennifer

Bone Salad

Marcel requested "bone salad" for dinner tonight.  This is him pretending to eat the entire bowl. 

Twilight Zone

Marcel went to a "Pump it Up" birthday party this morning and had a blast.  It was a pretty cool deal- but it was a bit freaky when I realized the techno music that was playing in the gallery was the same music I used to dance to when I went "clubbing" 10 years ago.  "The Twilight Zone", or "Tribal Dance"- something like that. And now I am a mom standing in the middle of 20 screaming children, talking about recipes, school districts, and traffic....whoo-eee that was a weird one.

They had pink cake at the party. I LOVE PINK CAKE! I barely had breakfast, but I sure had some sugary strawberry, strawberry filled, pink cake. I could never pass up pink cake, even at 11:00 in the morning.

This evening I made Chinese chicken salad using a recipe I found on the side of the soy  sauce.  I had been looking for the recipe for months after I had 5 bowls of it at a birthday party last year.  Anyway, in this salad you break up ramen noodles and throw them in with the rest of the lettuce and dressing and stuff. I added some sesame sticks and sunflower seeds to add some more crunch.  Anyway, I mix it all up, and I just don't know if this salad is going to fly with Marcel. I have some fresh tortillas in the wings just in case he just can't take the sesame oil or the cilantro. A few weeks ago, I put sesame oil on the green beans and he called me out on it. So we start eating it and he likes it....except he can't figure out one of the ingredients ..."Some sort of bones are in this" he said as he chewed them (the ramen noodles). We have decided to call the salad, "bone salad" and Marcel has asked me to make it every night. 

I also wasn't really sure if Zack was going the bone salad, since he isn't the biggest fan of cilantro after a bad experience with brain tacos (with much cilantro) back when we were dating.

On a different note, I attended an information session yesterday about going back to school! I went to the info session ready to be informed about the MBA program. Instead, I walked out interested in a different Masters program that seemed to be a better fit. Anyway, I am pretty excited, and hopefully will start the program after we move into a house.

Jennifer

Jen Ray & The Mallo Cup

What is your favorite Old Time Candy?

I'm home with a sick child, so I have plenty of time to assemble my Old Time Candy list:

100 Grand

Appleheads

Bit o Honey

Canada Mints

Candy Cigarettes

Charleston Chews

Chuckles
Freshen Up gum

Jujubes

Licorice laces (now I could only eat red laces, an unfortunate incident with Sambuca has turned me off black licorice forever)

MALLO CUPS

Orange slices

Pop rocks

Razzles

Rock candy

Root Beer bottles

Salt water taffy

Slo pokes

Smoothies

Spearmint Leaves

Sweet tarts- Giant Chewy

Tangy Taffy

Whistle Pops

I am so hungry now.

Jennifer

Candy(3)

Yes Sue, please send Mallo Cups because she mumbles about them in her sleep.  And while you are at it, please send the delightful Japanese Green Tea Kit Kat.  I love Kit Kats so. 

zack

Candy Candy Candy!

The story goes (Mom, feel free to comment here...) that when I was a kid I used to run around saying CANDY, CANDY CANDY like deranged Elf. Yes, my grandmother always had butterscotch candies in her purse. Her mother, my great grandmother always had a full candy dish on the coffee table. I acquired my taste for the sweets young.

I also come from a family of bakers, my grandmothers both bake, as does my mother.  My maternal grandmother would always make a lemon meringue pie for me when I visited. Love = Sweets.

So Zack is reading this candy book (see 2 posts down) and now I can't stop thinking about my favorite long-lost candy, the Mallo Cup. When I first moved to Austin, I found Mallo Cups at a gas station in North Austin. Now, they no longer distribute the candy to Austin; I know this because I contacted Boyer Candies a few months ago. Now that Zack is reading Candy Freak we are talking about candy all the time, which makes me want a Mallo Cup even more! Which leads me to my desperate plea: Mom, please send Mallo Cups!!!

Jennifer

D is for Dinner

Tomorrow is the letter "D" day at Mar's school. This eve we cut out a bunch of magazine pictures of things that start with "D" for his collage homework. He does the cutting himself now, and tonight he just barely avoided cutting the handle off of a duster and somehow cut the arms off of a dress so it looked like a square instead.

So, with the "D" theme in mind, I snapped a few photos at dinner. A typical 4-year old meal- salad, edamame, and potstickers - right?. Potstickers are one of Mar's new favorites since we had them at Firebowl on Tuesday. He was a bit disappointed when he opened them up and they did not have "stickers" inside though. I was able to fix that one with a fortune cookies. I read my fortune to him, "You will be honored by someone you respect". He told me that of course it was him that would be honoring me- "Oh mama that's me, okay".

Oh, and here is another illustration of a "D" word this eve....DORK (me of course). I am so happy tomorrow is Friday, I'm worn out.

Jennifer

Mar's Movie Review (and other stuff)

Marcel has asked to post on the blog. He typed this himself, with a bit of guidance, except for "Daddy" which he already knows how to write:

I SURE MISS MY DADDY                (Dad is at the race this morning)

He also wants to say that we watched Digimon today:

Digimon was good. My favorite part was when kokomon(sp) was dancing. Thanks for letting me have a pretzel yesterday. This is a fun day huh? Can we go to Bobby Park someday? We love you Dad! I like computer games. Can you please bring me a book? Um Um, can we to the library? That's funny Mommy. That's all my blog Mom. Oopsy I spilled water.

Mar

                     

Time to return to real life

The holiday season will officially be over tomorrow, when Marcel returns to school and we return back to our normal lives. This vacation has been fantastic; we have been so busy, but also have had much time to chill:

• I made too many Christmas cookies* this year, but had a great time doing it.

• We watched Elf about 10 times, and saw Polar Express in the theater.

• Ran the Trail of Lights 5K and visited the 37 ½ street light display, as we do every year.

• Went on a very cold walk around the Town Lake Trail on Christmas Eve.

• We had a great, relaxed Christmas and ate a ridiculous amount of cookies and candy.

• We went to a Spurs game and introduced M to a world of using your outdoor voice inside (he was screaming “Booooo”, Go Spurs Go” and “Deeee-fense” by the 2^nd half of the game).

• Zack and M went  hiking at Bastrop State Park and Emma Long. M was very excited about his adventures.

Jennifer 

*Christmas Cookie Overload:

Cherry Cream Cheese Brownies- The Yum Winner this year.

Peppermint Snowballs

Junior Mint Brownies

Half Moon Cookies

White Chocolate Brownies

Peanut Butter Kiss cookies

Vanilla Cut-Out Cookies (decorated with lemonheads, M&Ms, Red Hots, sprinkles, and coconut)