Calling all Crock-Pot recipes

With the whole morning, really evening sickness I'm on the hunt for some yummy Crock-Pot recipes so we actually have quality dinners. So, whatcha got? Feel free to e-mail me!

So you suggest I wash my hands?

...that seems to be the thing I'm hearing over and over regarding this swine flu epidemic. My poor dry hands. And I expect to hear all of you singing "Happy Birthday" while you do so.

Positively....

...pregnant! I am 8 weeks along, due December 7, 2009. I looked up stork pictures and this guy from Vlasic showed up, lol.

"Give me the Edward look"

I bought these on a silly whim today. They taste terrible. I handed the box over Kirk and told him to give me the Edward look...

Five Guys

Burgers and Fries

We ate there Saturday. They have burgers and fries and peanuts to munch on while you wait for your food. The line flowed to the door the whole time we were eating there. Reminded me of the Chipotle lunch line in Columbia. While Kirk was in school we would often meet there for lunch. My order is always the same...burrito, rice, black beans, grilled chicken, guac, cheese, sour cream, and lettuce. Funny thing about those Chipotle burritos, Kirk seemed to insinuate that it was disgraceful if he couldn't finish it in one sitting...silly guy.

Oh, I have this annoying habit of being sensitive to smelling like a place we've eaten at. And yesterday I reeked of Five Guys. I forgot that I had to wear the same white cami to church on Sunday so it got doused in Heavenly (by Victoria's Secret..love it!). Back to memories of Columbia, Saturday during lunchtime you could always find us at El Maguey's splitting an order of steak or chicken (sometimes both steak and chicken) fajitas for $5. You couldn't beat the price or taste, but we sure smelled after that. We always wore something there we didn't want to wear for the rest of the day. What restaurant do you love to go to, but hate to smell like?

Twenty Seven

So I had 27 items in the 20 items or less line at a very crowded local retailer. Disclaimer, I thought I had about 20...27 really is pushing it. The cashier is checking out the person in front of me and looks in my direction and asks me if I have 20 items. I do a quick glancing count and come up with 18 so I say yes. Feeling on the spot and a bit chastised I start doing a more thorough count and realize I have a few more than 20. The woman behind me was very nice and said she didn't know why the cashier even asked me.
I feel a bit like Kathleen Kelly, put on the spot for being in a line that she shouldn't be. Maybe I should have pulled a Joe Fox and wished the checker a Happy New Year. At least I didn't have customers behind me telling me to get in another line, jeez!
Anyway, so I'm up and I tell the cashier that I realized I do have more than 20 and am sorry. She said that's okay, that people have come through with 45 or 50 items. Well, I can understand that someone has to enforce those "rules" but don't make me feel like an idiot. Maybe Cathy, next time someone comes through your line with a few more than 20 items let them know that they should be aware of how many items they have because it's not fair to the other customers in line.

Nikon, Youkon, We All Can Nikon

Let's hope my new camera is easier to use than the title of this post is to say! I am so excited for this progression in our family's photos. We wanted to make good use of a Dell gift card that was soon expiring. The manual makes this camera appear very user friendly, let's hope!

Nursemaid's Elbow

Some mistakes you make only once, hopefully...

like parking your manual vehicle and not putting the parking brake on, it tends not to be where you left it (did I mention I did that a few months ago?...oh, I didn't did I...yeah, there's a reason for that lol)

or changing up a beloved chicken noodle recipe by making entirely wheat noodles and adding some minced garlic...Kirk chose to have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich instead of soup leftovers for lunch the next day, ouch

and pulling your child up by their wrist from sitting to standing, it could cause their annular ligament to get forced out of place causing immense pain until undergoing some manipulation. The short story is this happened to Bruce tonight. After a period of time and some research we called into our pediatrician's office and were advised by the on-call doctor to take him to urgent care because it did, in fact, sound like Nursemaid's Elbow (when I asked Kirk why it was called this he said, "...because the nursemaid would always pick up the kid by the elbow because it ain't her child"...mean old nursemaids! haha) We got in to see the doctor, he tried the rotating trick once. After a few minutes we could tell his arm was a bit better, but definitely not back to normal which is supposed to happen quite rapidly. The doctor came back a bit later and tried it again and that time worked like a charm. He felt the tell-tale click and we immediately saw a positive response. Throughout this evening we've felt a strong wish that any pain of our poor lil fellar was experiencing would be transferred to ourselves....my mind immediately turned to the Savior and Heavenly Father. How selfishly grateful I am to have the experience of being a parent. What a smoothing and polishing I am undertaking!

Forced Vacation

On November 10th K was laid off from his job. This came as a surprise and yet not. His beloved company had to discontinue his employment due to the bad economy and little work. I was out shopping when K came home early in the day. I saw that he was calling my cell, but couldn't answer because I was in line checking out. I felt horrible when he told me he had been laid off and asked why I wasn't home (to be of comfort and assistance). No time for laziness or moping, K got to calling different contacts. Two interviews with local companies occurred during the week. By the following week K had received offers from each. Both would have been exactly what K wanted to do and were good opportunities. So, long story short....the Lord really blessed us. We took an extended Thanksgiving vacation to Mississippi, K now has work to keep him busy, and he feels that this is a great change for his career.

Update: K started his new job on Monday and is busy working on a project already.

Cafe Rio Recipes

Need I say more?