More Mia Pics

As you can see, Mia likes to dress up.

Brazilian Ju-Jitzu

I guess I should explain: I understand that anybody reading this Blog knows me well enough to know that this is not like me at all and probably think this is a joke; it is not. The other day I was watching "Fight Quest" a stupid show. They were talking about Brazilian Ju-Jitzu. Well in the strip mall closest to my house there is a Mixed Martial Arts place. I called, asked a few questions, and started shortly thereafter. My only motivation was to loose weight in a fun way. Running was beginning to hurt my knees and it's too cold to swim right now (it's only 70 degrees). So instead of hurting my knees running; I hurt everything else. I have bruises everywhere, all the time. I bought ear protection so I don't get cauliflower ear and a mouth guard so I don't ruin the smile Natalie fell in love with. I think I have a broken pinkie, and my feet are getting some thick callouses. I question why I am doing this every time I get submitted; which is often. I accidentally broke a nose (not my own). Brazilian Ju- Jitzu is basically wrestling till someone submits (you submit when an arm or leg is going to break from getting bent the wrong way or you are going to passout). We do Mixed Martial Arts some days. The other day we had boxing gloves on, one guy straddled the other and for five minutes got to hit the man lying on his back. The whole time I was wondering what I got myself into. The other day I had to wear a tie to work to cover up a bad mark across my neck. I think deep down inside Nat is strangely attracted to the new sport.

But it's a great workout. I'll post a picture when I get my first black eye.

I Am Elizabeth Bennet

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We Love Visitors

This weekend Aunt Megan and Uncle Troy came to visit. Mia LOVED them both. She sat on their laps and gave kisses. Shawn and I loved having them here too, we wish the weekend could have lasted longer. We did lots of visiting, some shopping, got pedicures/manicures and just enjoyed our time together. Thanks Megs and Troy for coming to see us - we can't wait until next time!

Missing You, Dad, On Your Birthday

Today is my Dad's birthday and I will not be in Utah to celebrate it with him or on Sunday when the family will likely all get together. But I will be thinking of him and I will be missing him for I truly have the greatest dad in the whole world. I know, dear reader, many of you think that your dad is the greatest but you are wrong. I will fight with you on it just as I did with Robert Howell in 3rd grade. My dad is a protector, a teacher, a leader and my friend. He is a great man. He is the builder of playhouses, the family provider, the fixer-of-anything, the tooth-fairy, a leprechaun, the Easter Bunny and Santa Clause, the interrogator of boyfriends past, the voice telling me that I'm smart, and the man, who except for my husband, means more to me than any other man I know. Happy Birthday, Dad. I love you.

Tornadoes?

Last night was our little family's first experience of dealing with tornadoes (okay, the possibility of tornadoes) here in Texas. As you probably know, it is "tornado season" down the tornado belt of the nation of which we are a part (unfortunately). Last night around 4:00 am, Shawn and I woke up to the most crazy weather we have EVER seen. It was raining harder than you can believe, the thundering and lightnings were constant and right on top of each other, the wind was blowing crazy hard ... this morning I'm surprised that the neighborhood isn't littered with debris. We laid in bed listening to the storm and as there was a tornado watch out (which may have been a warning at that point, along with flash flood warnings, wind advisories, etc.) I was just waiting for the tornado sirens to go off. Sure enough, a few minutes into our vigil, they did turn on and I was pleasantly surprised to hear how loud they were (they aren't super loud when they test them) - we could easily hear them over the storm. So, we grabbed Mia and the dog and some pillows and headed down to our designated tornado safe spot (the closet underneath the stairs). We waited until the sirens turned off and the storm calmed (and calmed long enough that we were certain we weren't in the "eye of the storm") then checked the weather online and decided the worst of it had passed and then we went back to bed. I'm sure this is the first of many treks down underneath the stairs. I just hope that they all end up like this one.

New Friends and Tender Mercies

Shawn and I have recently decided that we need to be more proactive in making friends and keeping friends. For about a week I fell into the trap of self pity and loneliness. Time does, it seems, make the heart grow fonder and thus as more time has passed since our exodus from Utah, the more homesick I have grown to be. I miss my family and Sunday dinners and birthday dinners and "just because" gatherings and I miss weekends with friends and easy opportunities to be social. So, in order to be more proactive, on Sunday Shawn and I stopped by a family's house with whom we hope to become friends and ended up visiting for over an hour. We felt like we were taking a step in the right direction and were both happy about our visit. The following day a neighbor called me and invitied Mia and me to go on a walk and to the park. A very simple thing but to someone desperate for socialization and friends, it was a tender mercy from the Lord. Truly He hears our prayers, even simple ones of "we need friends," and helps us.

"Good Girl" and "Nanas?"

These are two of Mia's phrases which I love the most. We tell Annie (the dog) "good girl" often and Mia has picked it up too. She will say it to Annie, but will also say it to herself. When she turns around to go backwards on her knees down the stairs, I usually tell her "good girl" but lately she'll beat me to it. She'll begin to turn around at the top of the stairs then look at me and then say "good girl." This is just one example but pretty much any time she does something that she knows is correct, "good girl" will follow.

Her newest word joined her vocabulary a couple of days ago and that is "nanas?" Every time she sees a banana she says the word but also when I ask if she's hungry, when I ask if she wants some food, when she sees me bring food of any sort (banana or not) to her tray... basically, all of the time. I still haven't figured out if "nanas?" refers specifically to bananas or to food in general. Either way, it's a really cute word when she says it.

Shawn's Mexican Beans

I have been craving the beans I used to eat in Mexico. The key ingredient was pig's feet; I asked around and I can't get them here. So I started working on recreating the recipe. I failed many times, but like all great things worth achieving, I knew I needed to persevere. After six attempts, a very smelly house, a mad wife (due to the smell), and a container of Beano later, I have recreated the Mexican bean recipe I have been craving. So with no further delay, I present to you, our faithful readers, my recipe...

1 cup dry pinto beans from your Mormon food storage (re hydrated)
2 jalapenos
1 onion
1 pork steak (the cheapest one you can buy pre-packaged)
(half a package of Bacon if you want)
1 tomato
1 large spoon of minced garlic
sea salt
a hint of oregano
a bit of chili powder

Cook everything but beans in a cast iron skillet or dutch oven (you might need to add some olive oil). Add the beans once that is all cooked. Then add a few cups of water depending on your desire. The Mexicans never had a problem having more people over, they would just add more water to the stew. Heat then eat... with Beano.

Caution: the less water you add the more spicy... oh yeah! Some like it hot.

Our Little Woodchuck

So the past few days, Mia and I visited her Grandma and Grandpa in Denver. We were pampered and spoiled and had a great time hanging out, going to the zoo, having nice meals ... the works. Well, one day, Mia was supposed to be napping though she disagreed since there were more exciting things to do downstairs with everyone else. I could hear that she wasn't sleeping (gotta love baby monitors) but she wasn't crying so I left her upstairs in the crib thinking that eventually she'd fall asleep. She didn't. I finally gave in and went to get her up (at least an hour later) to find that during that time she had put her new teeth to good use and had chewed the heck out of Grandma's nice wooden crib. Ooops. That's never happened before and I hope it's not a new habit since our crib at home is dent/bite-mark free and has to last for at least one more (and hopefully more than that) child. Needless to say, Grandma has named Mia her little "Woodchuck" ... fair enough I guess.