the award

tonight my cute hubby and i will be attending a black tie gala. he has been nominated for an award for a design that he has done. my fingers are crossed! he is so talented and deserves a cute little plaque (okay just kidding)--he is extremely talented and it would be so fun to see him win. even if he doesn't win a nomination is huge in my book! love you sweetie!!!!!

yummy dip!

last night for book club i tried a new recipe--it is delicious!
it is a great dip for strawberries (or for anything!) one of the gals was dipping her pumpkin chocolate chip bread in it.

1 pkg. cream cheese
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. white sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
toffee bits (i used 1/2 a bag--you could use more or less)
mix all ingredients together. enjoy!!!

victory!!!!!

okay, i know that i went off about how furious i was at the little soccer parents for bribing their children, but today i gained my own little appreciation for bribery.
my 3 year old attends preschool 2 times a week. he has a speech delay so they work with him on that and they transport the kids by bus. when my husband and i first heard about the bus we did not want anything to do with it. he is so young--are you kidding? take our baby on away on a bus--alone!?! well, now i love it! i am able to go to my other son's kindergarten and help out, exercise, run errands (alone!), etc. for the first couple times he loved the bus! he would just hop on and wave. then, all of a sudden he started freaking out! i could hear his cries as they would pull away and it would kill me. i have been trying so hard to figure out what was going on. he is super independent! in fact, this past sunday he sat by himself during sacrament meeting. we always sit on the same row. but, this week was the primary program and i was needing to sit somewhere else. but not him! he had to sit in "our place!" so, he sat alone and loved every minute of it! so, after much thought i promised him this morning that if he would get on the bus and not cry--we would go to the library and get a blue's clues movie and he could have 3 mini cookies (from a 100 calorie pack) while on the bus. it did the trick!!!!!! i was so thrilled! let's see how next week goes. keep your fingers crossed!

Is it just me. . .?

Is is just me, or do you all think that it is crazy to pay your 5 year old for each soccer goal that they score? I have decided that I am not a big fan of most of the parents of the kids on my son's soccer team. They pay their children $1 for each goal that they score. Fine, fine--I don't really mind that but it makes me so livid when they push down the others so that they can score (and then rake in the cash after the game!!!!!!) I am a pretty competitive gal, but come on!!!!!!!

roasted tomato sauce with basil

i love blogs with fun recipes. my friend recently passed this one on to me. i made it last night and it is DELICIOUS! thanks joanna!

1 1/4 lbs., plum tomatoes, (about 8 tomatoes) cored and halved
1 large yellow onion, peeled and quartered
3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
6 TBS olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
6 fresh basil leaves, cut into thin strips
1 TBS balsamic vinegar

preheat oven to 400.
place tomatoes, onion, and garlic on a large baking sheet with sides. drizzle with 3 TBS olive oil, season with salt and pepper and toss to coat. roast for 30-35 min., stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes are shriveled and the onion is soft and lightly brown.
remove the garlic and onion from the baking sheet and scrape the tomatoes and juices from the baking sheet into the bowl of the food processor fitted with a metal blade. peel the garlic cloves and drop them into the food processor with the tomatoes. remove any stems from the onion and add them to the food processor. pulse for about 1 min., until the sauce is almost smooth but still has some texture. add the basil, balsamic vinegar and remaining 3 TBS olive oil and pulse to combine. transfer the tomato sauce to a small bowl and season with additional salt and pepper to taste. use immediately or refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months.

other tips from joanna: you can play around with each batch. sometimes she adds more garlic, or more balsamic to give it a different taste. this year she roasted some bell peppers and eggplant at the end then threw them in and mixed them just a little so that the sauce was chunky.

enjoy!!!!!

anyone out there?

I cannot believe that I am finally starting a blog! I have had so much fun reading my friends blogs, hopefully someone will enjoy reading about some of the crazy things that happen around our house!