Saag Aloo

I woke this morning to the delightful smell of saag aloo. Not made in some greasy restaurant kitchen, not from a box, but, yes, from my own kitchen here at the chicken coop. A little pinch of garam masala, a few generous shakes of cardamom, some coriander, and potatoes and spinach make this dish a tasty treat. It wasn't as good as India Palace's or Bombay House's, for that matter, but it was pretty darn good for homemade by an Anglo-American. I won't even try to make naan because conventional ovens just don't do tandoor. But, if there's a way to save $35 on Indian take-out by making saag aloo myself, I sure will try.

Another item of business is my househunting in Cleveland. I've been on the phone and in Hotmail all week long, trying to set up appointments and figure out where we're gonna live come July. I've got some prospects and I hope that by visiting the homes I will be able to make a good decision. Here's some of the ones I'm going to see (some pretty, some not so much):

Which one do you like best?

I'm having computer problems. I just lost my post.

I'll write later.

S.

Family Night

"This is the night we've waited for

Always a treat we have in store

Loving each other more and more

Together on Family Night."

Our fix-the-pipe Family Night ended with Finn scratching Lucy. Pretty typical for our family nights.

TLC has a new program called Family Night that airs, you guessed it, Monday nights at 8 PM. It features "America's favorite family," the Roloffs and some other shows I've never personally watched. But, I like the Roloffs and I thought Monday night Family Night was interesting seeing as how LDS folks have done this for years.

"Pile of Junk"

It's finished. The yard sale of '07 is officially done. All day Thursday donations-in-kind kept pouring in, into the night. Even Friday the donations kept coming in. The sale was AWESOME. It was like the closing scene from "It's a Wonderful Life," where the townspeople kept bringing forth money to support their long-time friend, George Bailey. I can't tell you how many people rounded up their purchase or put money in the donation jar. There were people coming out of the woodwork to buy what Ethan Sharp (my 4-year-old pricing buddy) called a "pile of junk." This is my trampled yard after the sale (and I'm not complaining). I couldn't believe how many people came. Road 92 looked like a parking lot. I was in sale-heaven, living as closely as I ever will of my dream to own a store (any kind of store). And, all in all, we made $2,500.

THANKS to each of you who donated, baked cupcakes, or bought the said "junk" to support the Peck Family. I was inspired by everyone's participation. It truly takes a village to raise a child.

Three cheers for Daniel!

These Could Be Yours!

Amazingly-toned abs with this ab machine!
Impress all your friends with this Napoleon Dynamite cap.
Keep your cakes fresh for all those Summer picnics with this Tupperware cake server!

All of these finds could be yours if you come to the biggest yard sale of the year!

It all happens this Friday and Saturday

8 AM to 2 PM

3600 Road 92

Come and bring a friend!

Donations welcome: bring them this Thursday (tomorrow) to the above address, all day!

I want this post to change the lives of it's readers. I want this post to stand out and help someone have a changed state of mind. So far, all I can come up with to write about it what we ate for dinner last night. BORING! What is it about a post on a weblog that makes one enjoy reading and keep coming back for more? I don't have it figured out. I guess my object in writing shouldn't be to cater to one's audience, but to write for myself and about my life. Or, maybe there's a balance there. If I only wanted to write for myself, I could do that in my journal. I do like seeing things in people's homes. Here's some things in my home that I enjoy lately:

Mr. Tarantula411.
My new, homemade chenille shower curtain.

Hancock's Going Out of Business (boo-hoo) Sale: 40% off.
Last night's dinner. That one was a keeper.
Our Primary plant. I feel like I hold the entire 3rd Ward Primary's faith, represented in this one little plant. I started with eight seedlings and am down to this one. I am feeling the pressure to keep this one alive.

Excellent bedtime reading material.

The dogwood in bloom. The view from my front door.

Little Chubster and Her Accomplice
Betadine, betadine. The anti-bacterial that also makes a great medium for painting bedrooms, including bedspreads, bedskirts, clothes and much, much more!

Mornings are so unpredictable. Sometimes he'll drag the whole blanket off his bed. Sometimes he'll wake up on the wrong side of the bed. All I know is last night, this little "dude" woke up 3 times. Once because he had thrown up (which has become a Sunday night ritual), the second who knows why and the third, because he had to play quietly and eventually poop. I spent last night volleying between nursing Lucy and laying with Finn. "In the trenches," as Whitney calls it.
This little butterball is definitely getting her share of mother's milk. She has fatrolls that Finn never had. I like having a chubby baby. She coos too.

The Craziness of It All
(Above) Finn before giving birth to Duplos. He likes to discreetly tuck the Duplos into his shirt and then later on, you go to pick him up, and (look, Ma!) there's blocks in there!
Finn was peddling around yesterday on his truck. After he went by, I noticed he was carrying a passenger. He's an animal lover, to be sure.

On that subject, we were on a walk Tuesday morning and Finn wanted to pet the horses. So, I let him. One of the horses bit his finger with a sound like the crunch of a carrot snapping. I thought he had bit his finger off. Finn inhaled for a long time (you know the first part, before the initial cry) and then let out a wail. I knew it hurt bad. Poor little guy. We were both crying on the side of the road. His finger is still intact (look at the first picture), but a little bruised and swollen. The Dr. prescribed antibiotics and Neosporin. The funny part: Finn wanted to pet the horses on our walk yesterday! Trusting, that one.

"I was so embarrassed, I liketa died."
The View From Everest. Isn't this an amazing picture, like you're almost touching outer space?

Okay, so the title of this post has nothing to do with anything I'm about to type about, but I have always thought this phrase was funny (taken from a Southern cookbook my dad got me last year).

So, it's Sunday night and I've got the Sunday Night Anxious Jitters. It's that feeling of needing to change something, paint a room in my house, start a sewing project, or cut my hair. (More on my hair later). I love/hate this feeling because I know it means I feel good enough about my life to tackle something else, and it also means I could fail trying something new.

Okay, so my nails are BUGGING me. I hate long nails and mine are long right now and I can't stand it. That's all I want to say about it.
Finn had a lesson in Easter Egg hunting from his first-cousins-once-removed in Moses Lake today. We had a lovely dinner with the Bruneels: ham, funeral potatoes, broccoli with cheese sauce, homemade rolls (I wish I had one right now to supplement the Easter candy feeding frenzy I just experienced), fruit, stuffing and Gloria Barber's strawberry cream cheese white cake supreme (my mom made that). It was all delicious. Thanks, Bruneels, for hosting. I had fun riding on the zip line and seeing their new addition to their home. Great time with you all!Steak kabobs with Alan Ozaki's sweet marinade. Among other bbqed dishes Travis made last week, this topped all. I snarfed those down like only a nursing mother could.
Did I mention I hate my hair too? When I found out I was pregnant with Lucy I had my fabulous hair stylist chop my locks off. I had about 1 inch of hair all over my head. Now that my somewhat rational mind is thinking straighter, I want to grow it out. It's not fun getting ready for the day when I'm not excited about what my hair is going to look like once I'm primped and ready to go. I always want long when I have short and vice versa. I can't decide if I look like the fifth Beatle or a couth Nacho Libre with my current 'do. Do I need hair extensions? Maybe I should consult the video of myself in High School sporting lots of conceptual hairdos. My mom and I had them made outside of Penney's at some promo they were having.

I guess that's all I have for now. Since my parent's have decided to sell their house, I've become interested in becoming a realtor. Maybe when Lucy starts kindergarden. I'm sure I'll move on to another interest before then. In the meantime, remember this oldie but goodie?

Yard Sale!

Start saving your stuff and donate it to a good cause!

Yard Sale to Benefit the Peck Family

Friday and Saturday, April 20th and 21st, 8 AM to 12 PM

at 3600 Road 92

Bring donations Thursday, the 19th, all day

Anyone interested in coming to help at the yard sale, please comment or e-mail: sarahfox5@hotmail.com.

Pass this on to friends! We want a big turnout and alot of stuff to sell for this worthy cause!

Diet: Abandoned

"Consistently delivering high quality, NESTLÉ has ensured warm and enjoyable moments for families across America." --Nestle's website

I am a dark chocolate fan. What are you? Milk, dark or mix?

Happy Birthday, Bam-bah!
Who's birthday is it? Finn's or Grandpa Fox's? I have to say a little something about this homemade, all-scratch Pecan Pie Cake. That's all I need to say. Yum.
My mom: all dressed up and somewhere to go. Lucy kept her cool for part of the time. I like having guests over around 8 PM because it diverts her attention from herself and her cryingness to the noises of people talking around her.

Another matter of business:
Big Bob Gibson's Alabama White BBQ Sauce
1 quart mayonnaise
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup corn syrup
cayenne pepper, to taste
1 cup prepared horseradish
Lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place all ingredients in a very large blender or food processor. (It may be necessary to do all this in two batches; just add 1/2 of each ingredient and then repeat.) Blend for 1 minute, or until thoroughly combined and mixture is smooth. Pour sauce into a large bowl.

Use when grilling chicken; brush lightly over the chicken during the last few minutes of grilling. This sauce is also great for dipping; set some aside for passing at the table.

(I only make a quarter of the recipe and even then, it provides an ample portion of sauce.)

And, thirdly:

Someone asked why the move to Cleveland. Travis is going to Case Western Reserve University's dental school there. (Don't worry: I had never heard of it before either). Or, maybe you're alot more up on that kind of stuff than I am. At any rate, Travis and I will be packing our bags and heading out mid-July. Anyone needing room and board on their cross-continental trips through the Emerald City are welcome and encouraged to stay with us. We might even whip up a cake from scratch for you. Now isn't that hospitality?!?

And, I almost forgot:

Several posts back I posted a picture of me and asked readers who I looked like. Well, the prize went to a reader who calls herself "What the cat dragged home" (Deb Fox). Personal ties aside, I think I looked the most like Mozart. I'm not sure what the prize is. Maybe I'll find something yardsaling and add it to the other things the cat-lady drags home much to the delight of her husband.

Bellingham Trip

Look closely, there's a fry in his mouth and a fry in one hand. I had to fish the fry out of his mouth and it was a long one. How in the world? Leave it to Finn...
4 Generations. The fourth one is a little blurry, but this was the best picture. Emily did a great job on her painting and I was very proud of her. Lauren and Erin did a great job on the concert and I felt like I was amongst true artists.

The Forest City

We have been honing in on Cleveland as our home for the next four years. I won't go into the details, but it looks like "The Mistake By the Lake" is calling our name. I'm not sure how I feel moving to a city with "mistake" in it's nickname. It could be worse. We could be moving to Eltopia. Other nicknames for the city are: America's Best Kept Secret, The Emerald Necklace, or, my personal favorite, North Pittsburgh. Some people have said it feels like a small version of Chicago. All I know is it's snowing there right now and I have been basking in the blossoms and warm weather here. I guess I'll just get a gym membership and run inside in the winter. Honestly, that's my biggest fear, that I won't get to run outside. Another fear is that we'll get robbed. Positive thinking: I guess that could happen wherever we move.

The best news about it all: I can take my blog with me. Will Life at the Chicken Coop still be life at the Chicken Coop? I don't know. I guess we'll have to find out...

More Amor

Spring Sandals

Who Do I Look Like?
Ronald McDonald? A white James Brown? You decide. I'm sick and so is Finn, so I'm offering a prize to whoever's guess is the best. Good luck!

George, George, George of the Jungle

Dinner tonight: Big Bob Gibson's Alabama White BBQ Sauce-smothered chicken, green beans, corn, brown rice with Smart Balance and some yogurt and Go Lean for dessert. Yum! Travos (I almost changed that typo, but it is kind of funny having a husband with a Latin-sounding name) is an awesome bbq-er.

Tales

Finn is always trying to kiss Lucy. He loved posing with her for this picture because they got to be really close. He is a lover, for sure.
Lucy was blessed this Sunday in her 100% organic cotton dress from Karen Sharp. She didn't even cry during the blessing.
Yesterday Travis accidentally ran over Finn's favorite car. Finn went outside to find it laying in a heap next to our garbage can. He kept saying, "Uh-oh!" and tried to put it back together. Travis bought him a new one last night.

Fresh Start

I was sick of my blue, plate-covered wall in my dining room, so I painted over it and did an installation called, "Women and a Chalk Dog."
The big picture in the middle is by Walker Evans and is called, "Subway Portraits." The other pictures are of my mom, her mom and sister, my great-grandma and her family, and an etching my mom did when he was pregnant with Whitney in college.

And, the chalk dog? Just went well with the pictures somehow.