Wild Night with the Mans Family

I couldn't add these pics in for some reason with my last post, so I am putting them here. We went over to spend the evening with the Mans Family. We made pizzas, played memory and put Max and Haws to bed. Yes... once again, Haws fell asleep while we were over at someones house. To his credit, he didn't get much sleep the night before because he was on a over night camp out with the boy scouts. Little Max is not quite so little anymore. He was moving around so much I only got one picture of him that didn't turn out blurry. Thanks for having us over Cin and Tom. We always have fun with you guys... even while we are sleeping :)

Haws in his usual position.

Little Max chewing on his favorite giraffe toy. Word on the street is these things are awesome!

Banana Chocolate Chip Cake

Inspired by a few over-ripe bananas, I went searching for a recipe for banana cake. A client of mine had made some last week and it looked delicious! So this is what I found that resembled what she made. I am going to have to get her recipe when I see her next and see if it is the same one. This is not Gluten Free... but this was a hit!

Banana Chocolate Chip Cake

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed bananas
1 egg
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup milk
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

(I added about a tsp of cinnamon. Cinnamon makes everything better... just ask Tom :)

Directions:
1.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.
2.
In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
3.
In a separate bowl, combine bananas, egg, melted butter and milk.
4.
Stir banana mixture into flour mixture until blended. Be careful not to over mix.
5.
Stir in chocolate chips.
6.
Pour batter into 9x13 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean. (It will have some melted chocolate, but no crumbs.)

Tom and Haws enjoying the cake.

Sewing Project

One of my new years resolutions is to learn a new skill every year. This year I chose sewing. I have tried to take up sewing a few times through out my life with out much success, I would always lose interest before I mastered anything. So with a new found determination, I signed up for a class through the community so that I would be forced to commit myself to a 8 week class. We had to pick a project to bring to the class and I started with a apron. I thought I would keep it simple and just do the kind that tie around the waist and are just "half aprons". Little did I know how hard this would be! The first class all I did was cut out my pattern. I stayed up until 12:30am last night cutting out my material and today in class, I spent most of the time pinning together the pieces. I did start to actually sew today and it was really tricky. I picked a pattern that has a lot of curves and that makes it especially tricky. I did it though and was pleased with the little work I got done. I have a whole new appreciation for all of you out there who are such talented seamstresses. If I make it through this class, I think we should have sewing parties!

IN THE MARKET

With home prices dropping, Haws and I have decided it is time to start looking for a place to buy. This is an exciting, yet scary experience. We have really loved living in our current community and love our ward and friends in this area. We live close to work (no more than a 15min commute!) and are close to both of our families. It is not like we are looking to move out of state... but we know the chances are slim that we will be able to afford a place in the area we are currently renting. We went out today for the first time with our real estate agent, who happens to be my dear friend Kelly, who I have known since I was about 12. She is a hard worker and it is nice to be working with someone we know we can trust to take good care of us. We saw some nice places and some not-so-nice places. I keep thinking about what an important decision we will be making by deciding where and when to buy. Where we live will determine so many aspects of our lives and in this shaky economy, big purchases can be risky. I pray that we are lead in the right direction. This might be a long journey, but I thought I should document the start of it. Wish us luck!

(I found this home for sale sign online... notice the name :)

Book Lovers

We are starting a book club with some girls from church and I am looking for recommendations for good books to put on our reading calendar. Have any of you read a book they feel is a "must read"? Also... if you are interested in joining us in the book club... let me know :)

I have a confession to make...

I cried tonight while watching American Idol... twice!!!

JACK IS BACK!

I am so excited for the new season of 24. After almost a 2 year drought , I am definitely ready to have Jack back in my life. I can't believe that Tony is back too! This is going to be interesting... Mondays are something to look forward to again :)