Windows are for Zerberts

When I was outside shooting my rosemary, I turned around to find Thomas's face pressed up against the glass. And then pound. pound. pound. His hands smacking on the window.

One of the first things we did to the house was replace all the windows - and I think the french sliding doors are my favorites of all the windows. Heavy, strong, with the 'french door' safely tucked away inside the glass. And 100% guaranteed by Milgard.

Far stronger than the Wee Ski and his window banging.

And since it's been awhile since I've shown a crazy amount of photos of the kid all in a row, here they are.

Welcome, squishy face. I'd missed you.



This was just before he slid all the way down the window while screaming in joy.



Must. stop. to. regroup. Suck the thumb. Get back on track.

Good to go now!




And this gratutious self promotion was brought to you by the Wee Ski's mom.

Flashback Friday: Conventions of old

Going back 4 and 5 years ago today...

First weekend of November is always the Youth Convention for the Archdiocese of Seattle...I so miss my youth ministry days when we'd bring up a crazy group of a few dozen high school students from St. Charles or St. Andrew's...and live it up with the teens for the weekend.

First few images are from 4 years ago -- in 2005. Dan, the youth minister from St. Andrew's, sketched the awesome drawing below that was on our sweatshirts from St. Andrew's.

Serving in youth ministry was one of the most fulfilling things I've ever done. There is nothing like seeing the eyes of youth come alive as they realize how rich and deep their faith can be. I feel so blessed as to be able to have served for so many years.

And it was serving in youth ministry that led me to Relay... :)


I heart Jen Heaps.



And a few from 2004...these kids are all in college (or out of college now!)...I feel old.


Amy G, Vickie, Mike and me...


How can five years have gone by this quickly?!?

Rosemary and Sea Salt

Fresh rosemary from my garden...

...with cracked sea salt over fresh rolls.

Oh Pioneer Woman, how I love you. I have been totally re-inspired to cook after getting your new cookbook. How can I not love cooking + photos of cooking?

For these, I loved that I could use Jonathan's favorite cast iron skillet. Quick, simple, and incredibly yummy. Served the rolls with a wild rice and shrimp casserole.

Here's the simple recipe:

Frozen, unbaked dinner rolls
Melted butter (I used Smart Balance)
Fresh rosemary, coarsely chopped
Coarse sea salt

Spray a small iron skillet with cooking spray (or coat with olive oil). Place frozen rolls in the skillet, leaving plenty of room for rising. Cover and allow to rise for several hours. After rising, brush rolls with melted butter. Sprinkle on chopped rosemary. Brush with additional butter. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt. Bake according to roll package directions (350° for 20-23 minutes), until rolls are a deep golden brown on top. Serve skillet on the table.

The View from 28 Inches Tall

Thomas Ski, in his directorial debut.

WARNING: This is filmed much from the almost-10-month-old perspective. Much like riding on a roller coaster. It may make you dizzy.

Blame it on the kid.

Dunham-ized!

If Jeff Dunham makes you laugh (as he does here at the Ski house), you may enjoy Thomas as Achmed... :)

NaBloPoMo

Taking the plunge. Blogging each day for a month. NaBloPoMo, or National Blog Posting Month, is for bloggers who want to blog each day for a month. Not real rocket science, is it?!?

But a little harder said than done. :)

With the NaBloPoMo challenge, you'll find a new post here each day throughout November.

To help with the challenge, you'll find "Flashback Fridays" here. Those posts will be about things that from the past (rocket science, again) that I never got the chance to blog. I might throw a few extra in there as well.

Excited to get going!

Welcome, November.

So hard to believe it's November already.

Ten things about right now:

1. Starting the transition from Halloween to Christmas.
   Since the house needs to be "Christmas Ready" by our Christmas Tree Shindig on December 5th, I made the executive decision to skip Thanksgiving decorating in favor of launching Christmas early. And for all those who complain about Christmas coming so soon -- bah humbug! It's crazy difficult to not get excited as soon as the trees are sheared - because it looks and smells like Christmas all over the farm!
2. Had a great date night with Jonathan on Halloween.
   Started with nearly crashing into another car on my parents' hill (after dropping the Wee Ski off). If you've been to my parents' house, you know that the narrow hill is shared by both cars driving up and driving down it. On the drive down, I had been describing to Jonathan how dangerous it was covered in wet leaves. On the drive up, a random guy who doesn't live in the neighborhood nearly slammed into us when he skidded 15 ft off the road after we honked. A little too fast for conditions, buddy. When we backed up and pulled off the road so he could pass, he ended up turning around and racing back up the hill. He must have hit 70 MPH on the back roads to get away from us. There's a chance that we began our date night with a wild goose chase. But if anything happens in the neighborhood, crime fighters Jonathan and Shelley have his license plate. The rest of the night? A fantastic dinner at El Gaucho (bananas foster, mmmmmm), a 3d movie (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs - so cute!), and watching the Easter Bunny chase down a high school kid to beat him up - right in front of a cop car. Only on Halloween.
3. A quick realization that we are no longer "young"...
   Taking a nap instead of going out on date night sounded absolutely incredible. We spent dinner discussing our wills and what happens to everything in a million different scenarios with Thomas. Tough decisions, but necessary. Slightly different than deciding who would get Viper should something happen to me. There's a good chance I was crying in the restaurant and later during the movie. :) Lots of emotion. Good emotion, but emotion nonetheless.
4. Poker Night is tonight at the Skis.
   We're hosting Poker Night for Jonathan and his poker buddies. Dinner's already made - chicken taco chili in the crockpot, sweet and sour meatballs in another crockpot, corn casserole, parmesan artichoke dip, and mountain dew apple dumplings for dessert. I'm seriously hoping we have leftovers. Just have to vacuum and set out the goods in the kitchen, and we're good to go!
5. Getting ready for lots of travel this month.
   Salt Lake City this weekend for the last Relay Regional Summit that I'm training at this fall, and family vacation time afterwards. Once Thanksgiving hits, the time will slip away so quickly!
6. Jonathan has been my superstar.
   He has been tackling little + big projects around the house. Without being nagged, without complaining. Lots of stuff that only he can do - and it is so awesome to wake up to a home with less clutter. Lots of organizing of stuff from our past + things right now.
7. The cake balls rocked.
   Loved how they turned out. Impossible to eat just one. Did not calculate the WW points.
8. Love that my cousins are now blogging!
   Tiffany and Tara are both back in Iowa, and Tara is in the process of building a new home. Updating the blog roll to the right with lots of good reads and family links, including theirs. It will also make it easier for my mom to find them. :)
9. Thomas is an awesome little kid.
   Especially since he doesn't know how to say no. "Want to go take photos and play in the fields?" Lots of giggling and laughing, and heading outside. So love that.
10. Loving Finian Road as well...
    I have been crazy busy with holiday projects - sending half a dozen major design projects to print last week...the UPS man should love me over the next 10 days! Shooting some incredibly fun families right now, with two Finian Road wee ones who should arrive to this world anytime! Working right now to organize the rest of the year for shooting and looking ahead to the new year. 2010 - yea!