Find babysitters.

Find babysitters.

My husband and I never go on dates which is probably why we watch so much TiVo and rent so many movies. It's really not our fault, we have no realtives closeby and move all the time (this is our eighth home in seven years) so we don't know any babysitters.

Hopefully this will change now that we are settling into our neighborhood but so far our Saturday night plan pretty much consists of watching TiVo-ed college football. But next time we go on a date I want to wipe the dust off my golf clubs and head to the range.

This range is the closest to us and I've been wanting to go for like a year. It has a double deck practice tee with thirty-three lighted and climate controlled, covered hitting areas so no weather excuses--we can go 364 days a year (they are closed Christmas). It reminds me of a movie but I can't quite recall which one. Anyway, feeling like you're in a movie is much better than watching one anyday. Fore!

Go on a fall drive.

Go on a fall drive.

Seeing as we already had our first snow of the year, it may be a little late in the season for a fall drive. But lower in the mountains where I live, the trees are just now reaching their richest colors so I am still planning on finding time to drive some of the local scenic routes with the family this weekend. I love mountain drives year-round but you can't beat them when they are alive with color in the fall--when they don't yet require vehicles with chains and 4-wheel drive.

I found this toll-free number to the U.S. National Forest Service's "Fall Foilage Hotline" where you can call for up-to-date information on where the best drives are near you. I can't think of anything cooler. I will be calling it tonight and setting up our weekend drive plan: 800-354-4595

Bake bread.

Bake bread.

My favorite food hands-down is bread. There is no better treat than warm, fresh-baked bread. This is why I have no regard for the Atkins diet. Though I would have to assume it works-- why eat at all if you can't eat bread?

My favorite university lecture ever was completely devoted to the merits of bread and its essential place in our lives. Oddly enough it was a religion class, backed up by scripture references and found later on the final exam. Strange? Undoubtebly. Still--and maybe it was because she brought fresh-baked bread and homemade jam when I had been eating vending machine food all semester-- that was my all-time favorite day of any college class.

I have been wanting to find a good bread recipe and this one for Potato Crescent Rolls is on my list to try. Feel free to share you favs as well. Yum!

INGREDIENTS:
2 potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2/3 cup white sugar
2/3 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, melted
DIRECTIONS:
Place potatoes in a saucepan, and cover with water. Bring to a boil, and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain, cool, and mash.
In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
When yeast is ready, mix in 1 cup mashed potatoes, sugar, shortening, eggs, salt, and 3 cups flour. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until dough has become stiff but still pliable. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, and up to 5 days.
Deflate the dough, and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into two equal pieces, and form into rounds. Roll out each round to a 12 inch circle. Brush generously with melted butter, and cut each circle into 16 wedges. Roll wedges up tightly, starting with the large end. Place on lightly greased baking sheets with the points underneath, and the ends bent to form a crescent shape. Cover, and let rise for 1 hour. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Bookmark the new blog "Dewzer".

Bookmark the new blog "Dewzer".

This is my hubby and he suprised me by starting a blog this week called "Dewzer". He is a busy man so he will only post once a week but I can't wait. He is the funniest person I know. And he will deny it 'til death, but he's a total hottie too.
I love you hun!

Watch a movie.

Watch a movie.

Well it's new release Tuesday in the movie world, though since we went to online rentals that doesn't mean a whole lot in our house anymore. There isn't a blockbuster nearby and we were hard-core movie pass fans so it's been a difficult transition. We watch a LOT of movies so we need some sort of discount plan. We had tried Netflix and even Redbox and were not pleased so we decided to try Blockbuster online again. We hadn't had success with it the first time around but we were assured it had opened a facility nearby so the turn-around time was quicker than years previous and that their selection and inventory had been expanded as well. Not so much true. The top 5 movies in our queue are marked short wait or longer. Also, I must gripe that this has given my husband primary control over what we watch as he manages the queue. I miss running down the street to Blockbuster and getting whatever I want.

So instead of watching this tonight (which yes, we saw in theaters already but absolutely loved):


we will be watching this tonight (And I think I already saw this movie like 5 times when it was first released under the name Titanic):


And instead of having this for my kids to watch:


we will probably receive this in the mail for them to watch:
(Actually I'm kidding about this one but remembering the high school rendition my class did of this, it cracked me up when I saw this had been made into a movie. But now that I've pointed it out to my husband--who I promise is cool but loves things like Lord of the Rings and World of Warcraft-- this movie will now likely show up next week in our mailbox)

Read a book.

Read a book.

It's banned books week which I think is really cool. And I think this poster is even cooler. I am pretty conservative but some of the most protested books today are some of the very books that shaped my childhood and it would sadden me to see them taken out of public libraries. The most shocking one to me being The Bible. Reading this book cover to cover, incidentally, was on my To-Do list for this year. Up until our recent move I was teaching 15 and 16-year olds the Old Testament in Sunday School which made it pretty easy but I have since fallen waaaaaaaaaaaaay behind.

I have been working a lot lately from home and haven't had a chance to read anything, really, but I am determined to get to the library this week and check out one of these Top 100 most frequently requested books to be banned from the past decade (these are ranked starting at the most requested--take a look, you will be shocked):

Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
Daddy's Roommate by Michael Willhoite
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
Forever by Judy Blume
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
The Giver by Lois Lowry
It's Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Sex by Madonna
Earth's Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel
The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard
The Witches by Roald Dahl
The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein
Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
The Goats by Brock Cole
Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
Blubber by Judy Blume
Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
Final Exit by Derek Humphry
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
What's Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Beloved by Toni Morrison
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
The Pigman by Paul Zindel
Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
Deenie by Judy Blume
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden
The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz
A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)
Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole
Cujo by Stephen King
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
Ordinary People by Judith Guest
American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
What's Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras
Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
Crazy Lady by Jane Conly
Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
Fade by Robert Cormier
Guess What? by Mem Fox
The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Native Son by Richard Wright
Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women's Fantasies by Nancy Friday
Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen
Jack by A.M. Homes
Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle
Carrie by Stephen King
Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge
Family Secrets by Norma Klein
Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole
The Dead Zone by Stephen King
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
Private Parts by Howard Stern
Where's Waldo? by Martin Hanford
Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
Running Loose by Chris Crutcher
Sex Education by Jenny Davis
The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene
Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts
The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney
Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

Get car fixed.

Get car fixed.

This is my car. Well,this isn't actually my car, this is a picture I stole off Autotrader. But it is just like this car. Except the rims aren't that shiney. Oh and it doesn't work.

I have had less than loving feelings toward it for some time now, based mostly on the amount of money I spend on its gasoline addiction. My hubby and I have been considering trading it in for a smaller, more econimical vehicle. I think the car sensed our relationship was coming to an end and decided to abandon me first. Literally. On the side of the road. While it was full of fresh dairy and meat products. On the weekend my husband left his cell phone at work.

I am a little annoyed because I just treated it to a day of pampering last week--full upholstry and carpet steam cleaning. I even sprang for the vinyl detailing. Cars these days. They just have no appreciation (no pun intended).

Buy snow boots.

Buy snow boots.

So you remember that snow high in the mountains I referred to yesterday?

Well it made its way to my backyard. This is what I saw when I looked out the window by mid- morning.

It's funny, though. As much as I wanted to be completely bummed that a perfectly fall day had been stolen from me, I could not hide my giddiness and bounced around in excitement the entire morning. No, really, I scared my kids. I don't know if it's because I grew up where snow was scarce and any sign of it meant a day--or two weeks--off from school but every year the first snow still makes me feel like a little kid at Christmas. Granted it's not usually in September...

But no worries, my favorite season isn't completely lost. The temperature today was already back in the 60s and next week promises days of 70 degree weather--and since I was caught without shoes for myself or the kids yesterday, it looks like good weather for snow boot shopping.

Go to Cinema in the Park.

Go to Cinema in the Park.

It's raining outside and snowing in the mountains. This makes me happy but made me realize summer is over and I moved in after our neighborhood's last "Cinema in the Park" for the year. I think this is the coolest thing ever and I will be there every Friday night with my family and a picnic dinner next year. That is, unless some unforseen event occurs and my husband and I develop a social life.

Put pictures in fridge magnets.

Put pictures in fridge magnets.

I have some photo magnets I bought at Target on a whim probably 3 or 4 years ago and I just found them while unpacking. The bonus is they come with free photos of strangers, just in case you don't have photos of your own to put inside.

The free photos look so cheesy I decided I didn't want photos of people in them at all.

My little craft project for whenever I get to it is to go through magazines (ones that are on my to-do list to look through and throw away anyway) and find cool fabrics and textures and cut them out and put them in the magnets instead. I could use pictures of anything--close-ups of fruit or vegetables or grains--but I am thinking of going with fabrics from clothing I adore but can't afford. Double bonus-- I get the clothes I want in my home for free, and since decorative fabrics don't go well in kitchen areas, this is one way to put them in without worrying about them absorbing the smell of my delicious soy-ginger salmon.

The above dress, by the way, is from Anthropologie and is yours for only $428.

Call garage door company.

Call garage door company.

Someone stole my garage door opener.

OK so maybe I don't know this for sure but it wouldn't be the first time. Several years ago when I was on the complete opposite side of town, I parked my beat up car on the street--unlocked as neither the car nor anything inside had any value. Or so I thought. It seems I understimated the value of a stranger's garage door opener because when I got back to the car, that was all that was missing. Just mean, really.

Well it's happened again.

I know this because while we aren't missing an opener per se, our garage door opens on its own. It happens several times a day. Both when we're home and when we're not. We are in a different house with a different garage, but I think perhaps it's the same mean-spirited person who stole our garage door opener the first time--sitting outside in the bushes, opening the garage and running away laughing. I think maybe I heard the laughter, too.

So maybe my theory is far-fetched and a more logical explanation is that we crossed frequencies with a neighbor. But I'm holding to this one because it helps explain the other big mystery in my life. They opened the garage, came into my house and stole something just for fun. They stole my mail keys.

Find the mail keys.

Find the mail keys.

I am convinced at some point in my life I severely damaged some portion of my brain.

I'm pretty sure it was either in high school when I took a dive into the outgoing ocean current... and missed it... OR it was in college when I tried to hang by my legs from a tree branch and slipped headfirst into the ground. Or perhaps these are just indications of brain damage earlier in my life.

Either way, I cannot for the life of me keep track of keys. When we moved in to our house about about a week and a half ago, the post office gave us an envelope of mail keys to our community mailbox. I remember putting them in a safe place where they would not get lost and I would not forget where I put them. Beyond that, I have no recollection of seeing them again or where it was they were placed. See, this is where the brain damage theory comes in. That and the fact the post office put them in a 5 x 10 neon pink envelope clearly marked mail keys.

If anyone knows of some sort of corrective surgery for this type of brain injury, my hubby and I would both appreciate it. Thanks.

Spend time on the deck.

Spend time on the deck.

We don't quite know how, but we got lucky and got one of the best lots in the valley for our new house. I am no photographer, but this is the view from our deck at night.



And this is a picture of the deck, which is pretty darn cool itself.



















A friend once told me the city was like a Monet painting--kind of ugly up-close but beautiful from far away. I have to agree. I like where I live.

Start Soup and Sandwich Sundays.

Start Soup and Sandwich Sundays.

There is a chill in the air today and it reminded me of my mom serving us split pea soup and grilled cheese sandwiches when we were kids.

Our church gets out at 2pm which is the perfect time for a light lunch before dinner so I've been wanting to start "Soup and Sandwich Sunday". It might only last one week but it was fun for today.

I stayed with grilled cheese but, sorry Mom, even my grown-up taste buds can't stomach split pea soup. Today I made this soup instead. It has portobello mushrooms so you feel fancy making it and that's all that really matters.

Golden Mushroom Soup
Serves 2 (I like soup in small quantities so it would feed like 5 of me)

2 tablespoons olive oil, Bertolli brand
1 large, fresh portobello mushroom, gills scarped off and mushroom finely chopped
1 can (10 3/4 -ounce) condensed golden mushroom soup (Campbell's brand)
1 cup water
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic, McCormick's brand (I like a less-intense flavor, so I only use half)

In a large saucepan over medium heat, warm olive oil
Saute mushroom until tender, about 2 minutes
Mix in soup, water, cream and garlic
Bring soup to a simmer, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes
Ladle soup into bowls and serve, preferably with milk.

Get TiVo.

Get TiVo.

My biggest argument for TiVo is this: Soon after moving from our double dual-tuner TiVo house into our TiVo-less apartment, I put the kids to bed (having missed all of my favorite programs) and walked into the the living room to a disturbing sight --my sports-fanatic manly hubby was watching no other than "Little House on the Prairie". And not just casually, he was fully involved. This happened on more than one occasion. I couldn't blame him. There was nothing else on. Is this the life of people without TiVo? Well, that is not the life for me.

We are finally in our new house. Direct TV is hooking up our satellite today. These are the first programs on my to-do list to schedule for recording (in no particular order):


(this one is just for me)

We will miss this one:




And we will NOT be recording this one:

Instill a love of sport in my kids.

Instill a love of sport in my kids.

I want my kids to love to be active. They don't have to play any particular sport or even sport at all--it could be dance or yoga or whatever makes them happy. But I really want them to have the satisfaction of training your body mentally and physically, of reaching for and achieving a goal, and of course best of all--experiencing the endorphin high.

This is a picture of my just-turned-four year old at her very first soccer game last weekend. You think she has a love of sport?

Yes, she is crying and begging to go home and they are 5 minutes into the game. She ran off the field and fell into my lap crying. I'm pretty sure it was because her feelings were hurt she hadn't gotten to kick the ball. Which is an improvement over the first practice, when she ran off the field crying because a soccer ball had been kicked in her face.

Looks like I won't be a "soccer mom" for long. She's signed up and paid for 2 seasons though so we'll try again next week. I may have to find a more clever way to work on this one. Any ideas?

Eat more avocados.

Eat more avocados.

As the title of my blog, I thought it fitting avocados be the center of my first official post. And why not? They are delicious and nutritious and make for a beautiful picture, do they not?

I always hesitate to buy avocados because I am not good at either picking out the ones just ripe enough for when I need them nor do I have any skill at cutting them open and peeling them. That was until I found out today they have a site dedicated to such knowledge here. Although I have not yet applied this newfound knowledge, I feel confident self-proclaiming myself an expert.

And in case you didn't know, they make a sandwich. Or a salad. They really do. Mmmm, avocados.

Start a blog.

Start a blog.

I want to have a blog. I don't know why because whenever I read someone else's blog I most often think how much time it must consume in that person's life and of what little value it is to themselves or anyone else. But that didn't stop me from becoming addicted to a few materialistically-driven blogs as a daily guilty indulgence.

I decided though, I would not start my own blog until it had a positive purpose in my life. Today, while eating a turkey and avocado sandwich for lunch, I found the inspiration. I mentally added to my lifelong to-do list that I needed to eat more avocados. Then I realized I already spend way too much time making growing to-do list every day. Might as well make it a blog and cross of my first task:

Start a blog.