Friday, August 8, 2014

COCONUT CARROT SOUP

I made soup for dinner tonight that was so delicious, and I had to write it down lest I forget how to make it and always dream of "the soup I made that one time that I was never able to replicate."

I made carrots for Henny and used a couple of the packs for the soup.
Boil carrots until soft, then blend with chicken broth/stock until baby food texture. Divide into 8 oz. containers.

For the soup:
2 (8) oz. containers of mashed carrots
1 can of unsweetened coconut milk
1/2 yellow or brown onion
olive oil
salt, pepper, garlic salt, yellow curry powder, red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons butter
shredded chicken

Saute the onion in olive oil until it starts to soften. Add the butter. Once butter is melted, add the carrot puree, coconut milk, chicken, salt, pepper, garlic salt, curry, and red pepper to taste.

Simmer for 20-30 minutes. Top with chopped cilantro (and crushed cashews for a Thai twist).

Really easy and delicious, and even the baby loved it!

Thursday, July 24, 2014

US LATELY

Here's a couple of pictures snapped during everyday events: doctor's appointment, beach day, nursing, falling asleep in various locations, date night, learning how to climb things, etc. 

We're tackling childhood milestones like they're quarterbacks. Babbling has turned into mimicking and near-talking. Crawling has turned into cruising and climbing. Fuzz has turned into hair, and the baby chub is all but gone now that he's so active. The bathroom is a wonderland unlike any other with its toilet paper rolls for unraveling, toilet water for splashing, and cupboards and drawers for raiding. Henny is curious and busy and playful and top-heavy.

And we're enjoying all of it.

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

EL CAPITAN RESERVOIR

We spend our fourth of July celebrating independence on the El Capitan Reservoir. We tubed and surfed and boated all day long, soaking up every minute of sunshine and freedom. Henry was the best sport he could have been in that little life jacket. It was totally uncomfortable and restrictive, but he handled it without a whine.

I'm not posting much on the blog these days, as I've explained before. I originally started the blog with the intention of it being an online creative outlet for myself. It turned into a social tool and a rather unsuccessful monetary effort. We're heading back to the original purpose for family and myself. Between work, family, maintaining my home, and my marriage, plus all of the actual, real life experiences we're enjoying, I don't have the time or desire to blog everyday, or for the sake of pageviews. When I blog, it's for my own remembrance. I hope that those of my friends and readers who are still interested will stick around as we make the transition to real-life blogging.

Over and out.

Sunday, July 6, 2014

SCOTTISH HIGHLAND GAMES

Now that the majority of our yearly trips our over, our weekends have freed up. Last weekend, we went to the Scottish Highland Games, a yearly event in Vista that is a hilarious homage to Scottish history and culture. We walked around the different clans' booths, ate some meat pies, and listened to some Scottish rock bands and bagpipes. There was even a shepherding event with sheepdogs. The Frames descend from Scotland, and we looked in the book of families and found our name. We're not a clan of our own because we're peasants and laborers. It was a fun little family outing, and we're planning on going next year!

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

SOME PRACTICE ENGAGEMENTS

I trekked into the woods a week ago to snap some practice pictures before their actual engagement shoot. Only a handful came out looking nice - turns out, I'M NOT A PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER. Who knew?
We're really excited to see these two get married. They're a good match. She always needed a tall guy. Her five foot eleven fits his six foot five very nicely.

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

US LATELY

Pardon my absence! Things have gotten busy in our parts. First off, I got a job! Two, in fact. I think I mentioned a while ago that I became a contributor on GOBankingRates.com, but I'm also now contracting for various websites, and the work is so consistent that I've got something every day! I'm busy, like actually busy with non-baby-related things for the first time in a looooong time. 
Second, my sister has fallen headlong into wedding planning, and she, her fiance Jesse, and I went out into the oak reservoir by my parents' house to take some practice engagement photos. Some of them turned out good, but mostly, I'm a writer, not a photographer, if you catch my drift. As far as wedding planning goes, they've got two months 'til the big day, so it's a little crazy. But obviously, everyone's very excited and helpful (or trying to be).
Thirdly, burgers, fresh fruits and veggies, and picnics in the park. You can't expect it to be a post on TFL without some mention of food. Henry is quite the little eater, despite his low percentile (he's long and skinny, that one), so I like to have lots of healthy foods on hand for snacks and meals. Get this: he'll eat the beets that I won't eat. That's how not-picky he is. 
He's crawling like a racer, and recently mastered stairs, so that might explain both my absence from the blog and my weight loss (also due to reason number three). 

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

SEATTLE

We took the funnest little one-night trip to Seattle this weekend for Father's Day. Henry was a trooper, as always (except for waking up five times during the night, but the days were easy and he slept for both plane rides). We visited friends and family, saw some of Seattle's famous sites, and ate some delicious food. We packed in as much as we could in 36 hours, and I'd say given how little time we had, we pretty much maxed out the trip. We hit Pike's Place for browsing and lunch, saw Snoqualmie Falls, visited Kerry Park for it's famous skyline view of the city, drove around underneath the Space Needle (but decided we didn't have time to go up), and gawked at the unbelievable forests that are everywhere up there. Seriously, trees so thick right off the freeway that you couldn't see the houses ten feet away. Walls of greenery.
It was totally beautiful, and we were blessed with great weather the whole time (yes, that includes the drizzle). Happy late Father's Day wishes to my amazing guy Conrad, who is the most helpful, loving, involved Dad there ever was, and to my own Dad and father-in-law, who are so fun and great. Thanks for being great examples, guardians, and providers to all the kids out there!