Poison

I poisoned my family on Thursday. Food poison, that is. I'm pretty sure I know how I did it, and it was 153% my fault. It didn't hit till last night, and it hit all of us within about 2 hours of each other.

See, Marce got it first. And then when it hit me, I said, "I think this is food poisoning". But he responded "no, the baby ate that food too. And she isn't sick". But he spoke too soon! We had a little nighttime vomit episode with her. And so he conceded that yes, it was probably food poisoning.

How did it do it? It involved chicken, forgetting to turn the oven on and then not cooking the crap out of it. I usually cook my chicken for an obscene amount of time just to make sure it is 100% cooked through. But this time, because of the delay in forgetting to turn the oven on, there wasn't time and so I'm pretty sure that is what caused us all to get sick.

Anyway, I won't shock you with the details, but let's just say you know it is food poisoning when it's shooting out BOTH ENDS nearly simultaneously.

We are all eating some dry toast, oatmeal and juice to try to replenish the lost fluids and nutrients. And I feel badly for poisoning my family. As I well should, I think. At least it wasn't a dinner party!

Don't forget to wash your hands people!

Just so you know

Just so you know:

It takes 4 grown adults to hold a 2 and 3/4 year old child down to examine a scratched eye.

And if anything needs to be dropped into this eye to make it glow like a radioactive particle ala the Simpsons, make sure all 4 of your are wearing protective gloves, because she will pinch, and scratch and spit and kick and do everything in her power to get away from you. And it will make you cry. And you haven't cried at the doctors office since you watched her get her first set of shots.

Oh, and if she needs to get anti-bacterial drops in her eyes 3 times a day for a week, make sure that your husband is present for the administration of of those drugs. Because if not, you might have a scratched eye yourself from the fighting.

But you will feel better knowing something is being done about it. Because seriously, when you pried her eye open after hours of crying and saw the VERY VISIBLE scratch that went the whole length of her iris AND pupil you nearly died of fright for the sight of your child.

But seriously, that radioactive stuff they put in her eye glowed neon green in the special black light? That stuff was cool. Made me miss the day-glow fashions of the 80's.

Ski Holiday

A few days before Christmas my mom took my brother and I skiing. Well, she skied and Nathan and I snowboarded. It was only the second time I have ever done it in my life. And last time I did it was 7 years ago. Even though it was long ago, I remember how difficult and painful it was. So you can understand why I was very VERY apprehensive about going.

I almost skied 2 years ago when I was about 6 months pregnant with Bibi. I don't fall down a lot when I ski and I was just planning on doing the bunny slope, so I didn't think there would be much of a problem. But I was about 75 (maybe 80?) pounds heaver than I am now, AND the day before I had gone maternity bathing suit shopping with my mom. The effort of only pulling those suits on and off made me tired and I had to sit down and rest in the changing room. So 2 years ago with my weight gain, pregnancy and fatigue on my mind I decided not to go skiing. Plus the day was cut short anyway because my sister-in-law tore her ACL within 4 minutes of getting on the slopes. GOOD TIMES!!

But back to this ski adventure. We went to Sundance and I was shocked to discover how big it is! I didn't know there were 4 different lifts! I didn't realize how many different run options there were. Sundance is definitely worth the price if you can go on a day that's not super crowded. Which this day wasn't

Nathan promised that he wouldn't ditch me and he would help me remember how to do it. And he was true to his word. The first run of the day was rough and it took me a while to remember how to turn, stand up and then finally maneuver the board. I was so slow on that first run that my mom decided to ditch us and run a few runs by herself. But she only got one more in! On the second run of the day I was much much better and we could stay together without problems.

Nathan later said that he always gets worried about trips like these because he loves having his mother along, but we tend to forget just how old she is! She's 60 (sorry mom, I just told the world your age) but she still does all the fun stuff with us so it's hard for us to remember her age. She still water-skis, and will get on those inflateable toys to pull behind the boat with her grandkids. She works out all the time, and If I suggesting hiking or backpacking or rock climbing the next time she came out, I don't think she would have any problem with any of those things. Actually, she didn't fall down even ONCE the whole day she skied. You know I cannot say the same! But he worries about the possibility of her hurting herself and then ruining her whole vacation. But mom isn't crazy! She knows her limits and keeps it safe.

Well, we had a great time. The baby got to hang out with her cousin all day, and I got a sore body for the next 5 days! It was worth it, though. Here are some pictures we took while up there. They were taken with a camera phone, so excuse the poor quality.



It snowed and rained on and off that day. It kept some people away from the slopes, and that's how we like it!
Thanks to my mom for the chance to go! And thanks for Nate for being patient with me as I forgot and then remembered how to snowboard. And thanks to the staff at Sundance for not laughing at me EVERY TIME I fell off the chair lift. Especially that one time where I miss-calculated how much time I had to dis-embark and I basically had to jump off the seat and I landed face down in a pile of snow. Giant bruises on my legs to show for that one. And a special thanks to Jules for leaving all her snowboarding stuff when she went to Texas. We hardly had to rent anything thanks to her!

Happy Boarding, everyone!

Family Pictures

These were taken on Halloween. I know, WAAAAAAY too long to post them.

Except for the one where I have a double chin, I think we all look super cute and happy. Which is amazing because our kid was NOT happy about some strange guy taking her pictures. (He's not THAT strange: He's our home teacher)

















Over an hour long photo shoot and 400+ pictures later, and this is all we have to show for it. Thanks Bibi for being so weird around (semi) strangers!

Dear Stupid Person

Dear person who is 19 days late in returning a book:

I am #1 on the list.

You are nearly 3 weeks overdue.

I hate you.*

If the library were to publish your name, I would come egg your house.

How selfish ARE you. . .?

What gives you the right. . .?

I've now lost the ability to formulate whole sentences. So you have that on your conscious too. Are you happy, stupid person? Overdue books and now speech/writing impediments

I hope you and your (soon to be) 3 week overdue book are happy.



* I don't really *HATE* you. I just want to punch you in the throat. Right Judd?

I'm going to need some new pants

I just saw this on Eric D. Snider's blog:

Wouldn't you know it, I've come down with Bieber Fever just as I was getting over David "Archuletarrhea"

I hear that the Fever hits fast and will knock you out for days at a time. Good luck with that! At least he won't be running to the toilet every 20 minutes. It's sixes, really

I demand a re-count!

Yesterday was the ward Halloween Party. It was a pretty good one. Awesome decorations, sinful cornbread (with honey butter AND raspberry butter!), music and dancing for the kids (and my husband. Yes! Marcelo came! Shocking!) and a chili cook off between ward members. People really participated in this one! There were tons of pots of chili to choose from and you could tell that people really liked showing off their different styles of chili. I bet there were about 25 different kinds of chili, but only 19 of them participated in the "contest".

Andy let me tell you why I participated in the contest: I hate beans. I know most people find them an integral part to chili, but I hate them. And I hate having to meticulously sort through my bowl of chili to pull out all the beans. So I signed up to bring a pot of chili so that I for sure knew that there would be something palatable for myself. And after about 3 minutes of searching online, I found this awesome recipe for a Pumpkin Turkey Chili that I wanted to try. I love pumpkin! I love ground turkey! AND NO BEANS!!! This one was it. I made it really fast (I didn't leave myself enough time to do everything after my run, and taking a shower and getting the baby ready. I'm such a bad procrastinator!) and we ran off to the church for the party.

Like I said, it was a good party. Even if it did start really late. But it let everyone get there on "Mormon Standard Time" and find a place for their chili. So after I had eaten my weight in cornbread (Seriously, I had 6 of them. And while they were quite small-1 1/2 inches squared- that didn't justify the whole cup of honey butter I put on as well) I watched as my child ran around and found her new best friend: The girl dressed up as the Little Mermaid. Seriously, my kid would've followed that little girl into highway traffic, that's how devoted she was to her. Or should I say to the Little Mermaid.

And then it was time to award the prizes for the chili winners. And I don't know how to say this, BUT I WON!!!!! GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLL!!!!! Seriously, how did that happen? I demand a recount! There is no way I won! My chili was NOT spicy (but maybe that helped?) nor did it have beans (but again, maybe that helped?) but it was the winner. The only thing i can think that put it over the top was that I added sour cream and cheese to the top of my "judging cup." But I don't think that was cheating. It's what the recipe called for! But seriously, anything with sour cream and cheese on top is going to taste freaking awesome.

We won a $20 gift card to Pastorero, a great taquitoria close to our house that has pictures of Guanajuato inside. It makes me reminisce. Anyway, I think that many MANY people in the ward feel robbed.. Because hardly anyone was like "Oh, congratulations!" I'm sure they were expecting someone else to win. Like the lady in our ward that owns Sweet Tooth Bakery, or the professional caterers in our ward. Yeah, maybe one of them. Not someone who found a recipe off the internet and who had never made chili before in her life. Oh well, I WON!!!!!!

So I know you are all DYING for it, so here is the recipe for the chili:

Pumpkin Turkey Chil
From allrecipes.com
* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
* 1 cup chopped onion
* 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
* 1/2 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 1 pound ground turkey
* 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
* 2 cups pumpkin puree
* 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
* 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1 dash salt
* 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
* 1/2 cup sour cream

Cooking Directions
1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and saute the onion, green bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, and garlic until tender. Stir in the turkey, and cook until evenly brown. Drain, and mix in tomatoes and pumpkin. Season with chili powder, pepper, and salt. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes. Serve topped with Cheddar cheese and sour cream.

Serves 6
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 303
Total Fat: 18.1g
Cholesterol: 76mg

***My own changes***I actually added more salt than it asked for. I tasted it and it was a little too bland and so I added some more. I also added some of my special blend of spices I call "Alino en Polvo" It has cumin, garlic salt, pepper, salt and onion powder. And a little oregano. I added a bit of that too. Not too much, just like a tablespoon. If you want me to make you a batch of "Alino en Polvo" I will be happy to do it. I add it to EVERYTHING. It's my own creation and it reminds Marcelo of home.

So that's my exciting news. I ousted the whole ward in the chili challenge and made enemies of the whole R.S.BC.

Here is the link for allrecipes.com. So you can see a picture of the food:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pumpkin-Turkey-Chili/Detail.aspx

Go make it! And then tell me how it went for you. What contests did YOU win?