Halloween 2008

Halloween for the Pearson family was quite exciting this year. Anna thorougly enjoyed trick or treating, and always went straight for the sucker candies. Several days after Halloween, she continued to say "Trick or Treat" hoping that I would give her more candy.

I didn't make all our Halloween costumes this year, as I have in years past. My days are far too busy chasing after my baby and toddler, and my evenings are often spent cleaning the house. This year I only made one costume and that was for Levi. He decided a month ago to dress as a wizard to match Anna's witch costume. I'm very excited that the costume turned out quite well. This is also the first time I have seen Levi actually get excited over a costume. We used a broom handle wrapped in natural fibers for his staff. I even attached an orb to the end, but Anna decided to play with the staff and destroyed the orb.



Ian dressed as a Dalmatian puppy to match my Cruella DeVil costume. Ian made it quite clear that he disliked his costume, so we have very few pictures of him dressed up, and even less of him smiling.



We attended a party at Levi's work, a trunk or treat at the church then the neighborhood trick or treating. We have a lot of candy, and Anna is constantly searching the house to find where it is hiding. She just doesn't understand why she has eat real food when there is candy available. This is one battle I'll be fighting for a very long time.



Now that things have settled down a bit. I hope to start potty training my adorable 2 1/2 year old. I can start putting all the candy to good use as an incentive in this next challenge.

4th of July Fun

The month of July is almost over and I'm finally getting around to post our adventures over the 4th of July weekend. We drove to Washington to spend some time with Levi's parents. When we arrived, Anna was thrilled to discover a big house to explore, a young Doberman Pincher, a pink bed with her name on it, and a basket of new toys. What more could a 2 year old ask for? One of those new toys was a stick horse. Anna would drag it downstairs, place it on the coffee table and put it to sleep. Thinking back, I still giggle at my funny girl.


On the 4th of July, we attended a local parade and browsed stalls for trinkets. Anna received so much candy from the parade, we were having to sneak much of it away while she wasn't looking.

That evening we were able to watch the fireworks off the balcony as they exploded over the Puget Sound. That view will always be one of my favorites. It was fun to eat kettle popcorn and watch the fireworks explode. This year they had some fun heart shapes and smiley faces. Loved those!

During our visit we were able to make arrangements to visit with our friends Jason, Carla and their toddler Cora. They now live under 20 miles away from Levi's parents, so it was exciting to visit with them after being apart for a year. Anna and Cora were born a week apart and spent much of their first year together. After a year apart, it was so exciting to see the girls play together again. They ran through the house laughing, hugging and getting into general mischief. It was fun to see Jason and Carla again after so long. Even though it's been a year, it felt like old times with our visit.



We visited the Tall Ships museum and saw a replica of Columbus's ship. I was very surprised at the small size of the ship. During that visit, we were able to board a military boat and see the ships up close. On the dock, there were people dressed in pirate costumes and making the general atmosphere fun. One pirate had a pet rat that Ian enjoyed touching with his pointer finger. I wasn't fast enough catching the picture, but here is a cute one.





Our last days there were spent at the Tacoma zoo and at the beach. The zoo was exciting for the kids and Anna especially enjoyed feeding the petting zoo animals. The beach is in walking distance from the Pearson's home. Anna delighted in playing in the water and couldn't understand why us adults kept trying to point out sea shells and other boring things. Water is so much more exciting.





We enjoyed our 4 of July weekend and are grateful to Levi's parents for opening up their home for our family.

Easter 2008

It's been hard to find time to blog lately as there are so many distractions keeping me away. One is the ever fun "Facebook", the other is the TV. Last week some of my favorite shows came back. They are, The Bachelor (this one is mighty fine), Dancing with the Stars, Beauty and the Geek, and a new show called New Amsterdam. I have also been watching Stargate and Firefly. The TV and Facebook are not the only things that keep me away from my blog. I've been digging in the back yard for weeks now, trying to get flowers planted, and the garden area cleared and ready for planting. I've also been arranging bids with several contractors for a new roof and a new fence. And as always, Anna and Ian keep me busy and awake at nights.

Easter 2008 was a great one for the Pearson family. My sister and I organized a family party and we chose my house for the location. Everyone but my younger brother was able to attend, and we are thrilled that 19 people were able to feast in our home and enjoy themselves. After we ate, all the kids ran into the back yard to enjoy an egg hunt. Many of the eggs were filled with fun toys that the kids later used for bartering and trading. We then had a game of touch football, then the kids enjoyed making ho ho racecars with peep drivers and spree candy wheels.

Anna was thrilled to have all her cousins visiting her. She shared her toys and delighted in all the attention she received. Ian was by far the most popular person at the party. His aunts, uncles, grandma and cousins were all anxious to get their turn to hold him and get some coos, giggles, and cute gurgling sounds. Levi enjoyed snapping pictures of all the events, and I enjoyed showing all the kids how to make food racecars.

I can't remember the last time we were all able to get together and have so much fun. The last few times we've gathered together it was to mourn for our loved ones, Grandma and Liz. With Spring here, flowers starting to bloom, and playful times like yesterday, it makes it a little easier to move forward and enjoy the precious lives we are blessed to have.

National Chocolate Cupcake Day

Today is National Chocolate Cupcake Day. It only comes around once a year, so be sure to celebrate this holiday with the rest of us chocolate lovers. MSNBC
has posted a cupcake recipe from a real New York bakery, so if you're feeling the urge to eat something that doesn't come out of a box, this would be an excellent recipe to try.

The Magic of Brining

My dear friend Missy recently passed on a recipe of Tender Apricot Chicken. I was a little hesitant to put apricot on my chicken, but I figure one of these days I'll be brave and give it a try. Until then, I do need to share with the world my favorite cooking method. I hope it brings smiles to your face once some of this delicious food is introduced to your taste buds.

Several months ago my Husband Levi talked on and on about the delicious benefits of brining chicken before it's cooked. Our conversations often went something like this. When asked, "What's for dinner tonight", and my response had anything to do with boneless chicken breasts, his smile would become fixed, his eyes would become a little heavy and he would slowly make his way out of the kitchen and pray for it be edible. After a few meals like this, he started to talk about brining and how it would be fun to try. Brining? I didn't know what that was. Best to stick with a tried and true (although not a lip smacking and satisfying) method.

As many people know, boneless chicken breasts are very easy to dry out. Even the cook with very little experience can dry out a full pan in only minutes. It doesn't take a genius to transform a perfectly juicy, plump chicken breast into a dry, hard, flavorless, tough piece of meat. Few people can claim to creators of juicy and deliciously flavored chicken perfection. I my friends, are one of them. It's a magic skill called ~ohhh~ Brining.

Raised in a house where salt was used very little, the concept of brining was very foreign. I first became aware of this cooking method by Levi's good friend, best man at our wedding, and current boss Jason. He invited us over for Thanksgiving dinner two years ago and served a brined turkey. I had no idea what that meant, but seeing that Jason is a professional chef, I knew it must be good. After one bite of the brined turkey, I became instantly aware that there is a whole wonderful world of brining out there for me to discover.

With this new found knowledge and practiced skill, I worked my brining magic on some chicken breasts served at our 4th of July BBQ held this year. It was a hit. And now I pass my magic card to all of you in hopes that you now become part of the minority, and no longer produce dry, tasteless chicken for your friends and family to consume.

Happy cooking!

Brine solution: 4 cups water to 6 tablespoons Kosher salt.
Add herbs of choice. I used around 1 1/2 tablespoons Italian seasoning and 1 bay leaf.

Preparing Chicken: Place chicken in large ziplock bag and tenderize it using flat side of mallet to 1/2" thick. Place chicken in brine solution and rest for at least 2 hours. Once complete, remove chicken and rinse with fresh water.
*Optional- Season with a very small amount of additional seasoning (I like McCormick's Montreal Chicken seasoning).

Cooking: Grill on medium heat about 3-4 minutes each side or until inside isn't pink.

**Warning**
It's hard to go back to the old style once you try brining.

Mistletoe

Kissing under the mistletoe may have been started by our Druid friends.

Boy am I greatful for their influence!

The season is rolling in

Over the last week I have been overwhelmed with the holiday sale ads, the scent of mulberry and cinnamon, seeing people put up holiday lights, working on holiday crafts with my family and dreaming up holiday parties. Up until now, I've been able to control my holiday excitement, but today the final straw was plucked from my pile. This morning on the 2news channel, they had Kurt Bestor perform some of his beautiful holiday music.

I don't think I can hold back any longer. I might have to allow this holiday season to overexcite me and cause me to go shopping. Oooo ~shiver~

Halloween Costume

Help my friends. Usually by this time of year my dazzling, award winning Halloween costume is almost complete. This year I have made a late start and the ideas are few. Do you have any good costume ideas?