Smalley's Caribbean Barbeque

Skott and I went to Stillwater, MN on Valentine's weekend.  It was super cold that day but we had fun wandering around through all the shops.  For a late lunch we decided to try Smalley's Caribbean Barbeque.

We started off with some amazing oatmeal stout and some corn fritters for an appetizer.  So far, so good!

Then the food came:

Now I will be the first to admit that my taste buds have gotten a bit "soft" since moving away from the Tacoma area.  You just can't find good, authentic SPICY anything inland.  I'm talking the real heat, not Tabasco crap.  Anyways, we ordered our food "hot".  Never ever had a problem saying that in the last 6 years.  Well, the waitress wasn't kidding when she said the spice recipes are authentic.  Lucky Skott, he took the first bite..... and almost choked.  So I was prepared when I dug into my brisket. 

 I thought I was prepared.

  Then I made the mistake of breathing in just a little right before the food touched my tongue!  Oh boy!

The food was DELICIOUS!  Hot (spicy) as hell, but VERY GOOD!  Once we got over the initial shock (either that or we completely fried all our taste buds) we enjoyed our meal very much.  We both love trying new things.  We each had an amazing sweet potato side dish that was to die for.  I had grilled veggies with curry sauce and Skott had shrimp, chicken, and plank fries.  By the time our meal was done, we were both sweating profusely.  Bravo Smalley's! 

We will be back.

Only next time we are ordering the "mild" version.

February Family Dinner

Family dinner was held at Carrie's this month on Valentines Day.  The food was really good and we all had a fun time visitng. 

Carrie had fun spoiling Marley and teaching her to play the piano

Erika and her frosted sugar cookie with a candy heart that says "Bite Me"

Erika, Justine, Marley, and Nic

I didn't get more pictures because the boys (and Skott) were upstairs having a Nerf gun war, and everyone else was in the living room where the light was really bright and our antique camera kept washing out faces.

I can't remember exactly what happened here but Aundray's pants were so big and Skott was demonstrating that fact for us.....

Nerds are Cool

I LOVE BEING A NERD

It allows you to get really fun, unique gifts for Christmas, such as this awesome Chemistry beaker Coffee Mug.

Skott did my stocking this year in a "nerd" theme.  Other cool things I got were:  a staple-less stapler (it really works!), a titanium spork, a Built brand insulated lunch bag, and a mini microscope/field light.

Two great websites to check out for all the nerds in your life:

thinkgeek.com

uncommongoods.com

Kitchen Painting, Part 1

We have been trying to decide what color to paint our kitchen for almost two years now.  Every time we thought we had a color decided on, we would paint a sample swatch and not like it.  We have these great art noveau pictures and decided to try and pull a color from one of them.  It turned out to be exactly what we wanted!  We also chose a color for the walls, but that project will have to wait until spring break.  I was happy to get the trim around the window done, as well as the U-G-L-Y fake oak looking bead board covered up before I went back to school.  Once I got that splash of color in there, we decided we loved it enough to continue on and paint the door off the kitchen (going to the downstairs) the same.  I am not finished with the trim around the door so I will post that later when we do the walls :)

Here are some before and afters:

Window above the kitchen sink:

One of two ugly sections of fake oak bead board: (I had already started priming when I realized I had no photo of the before)

The other section of bead board.  I thought I had a before picture somewhere but can't find it.  The door to the downstairs is at the edge of the picture, on the right.

(Left) This is Izzy, snoozing peacefully while I paint.  (Right) This is Izzy trying to stuff herself in the toybox in the corner of the living room when Skott started putting up the trim with the air compressor.

is there a theme to this one?

Excluding this last week, when temps were -21 with wind chill, Skott and I have been trying to get out and go for walks several times a week.  It reminds me of the first few years we were together.  In Boise, we were too poor to do anything so we went on a lot of walks!  Then we moved to the Oregon Coast where we took daily walks on the beach.  We used to walk for hours and talk and talk and talk. 

So here it is the end of January and we still don't have a 2010 calendar!  hahaha  We meant to get one after the new year at the mall, and then forgot the last couple times we went.  That's what I get for being too cheap to pay full price huh?

I am back in school.  I have a pretty heavy load this semester:  Plant Physiology, Conservation Biology, Physiological Nutrition, and Spanish 102.  Plus I am doing a report on the research I did last summer and presenting at the Student Research Day.  18 credits.  Once again, I got offered the amazing opportunity to grade for the Chemistry lab.  Pay is great and I can do it all in the comfort of my own home (and pajamas!).   I almost cried my first day of Spanish class.  I have a different teacher than last semester and the ENTIRE lecture was all in Spanish!  Once the shock wore off, I  managed to have somewhat of a clue what is going on, but it is going to be tough!  All my professors are great!

Skott is working lots.  It seems to run in spurts where he will have two or three weeks with lots of overtime and switched shifts, then it is quiet for a couple weeks.  He just got done with a heavy work week.  Let's hope the next few are quieter for him.

We are getting closer to finishing the kitchen and posting pics!

Idaho visit

I knew it was going to be a great visit when my awesome sister, Josie, picked me up at the Boise airport looking like this:  (a joke, obviously)

I flew in the same day as half the town of Boise.  I think Josie and I were the only ones in the airport not wearing orange and blue BSU colors.
During my layover in Denver I ran into a cousin that I lived with in Jerome when I was attending CSI.  Hadn't seen her in 15 years.  It was awesome catching up with Janae and meeting her wonderful kids.

I spent several nights with Josie. The morning after I arrived we got a call from Heidi.  The home health nurse had sick kids and couldn't make it to work.  "Would we mind watching Ayla?" she asked.  Silly question!  Little munkin was so much fun!

I stayed with Heidi for a few days.  I got to go to a doctors appointment with Ryan and Ayla.  My job was to carry the diaper bag while Ryan carried Ayla in her carseat and all her "gear".  I joked that this was an epic moment:  me carrying a diaper bag!  hahaha  Ryan and Heidi taught me how to do therapies with Ayla, as well as feed her, "burp" her, and give her meds via feeding tube.  They work with her several times throughout the day.  They are such good parents!  This is Ayla and Heidi during tummy time on the slippery mat:

Ayla and her "proud" face.  I was telling her what a big girl she was to bounce so high.

Heidi, Ayla, and I:

I was fascinated by how smart Ayla is.  This is a picture of her watching her "Learn to Read" videos.  She knows the word spider and the accompanying picture and starts smiling as soon as it comes on.  It plays the Eensy Weensy Spider song and she grins the entire time.

This is a very happy me.  About day four.  I found Tully's coffee just down the street from Heidi's house.  I was originally going to see if I could go the entire trip without coffee but I couldn't say no to Tullys.  I haven't had Tullys since we left Washington state.  It was heavenly.

Rachel was working a lot but Josie and I did manage to get over to her house one night that she got off work early.  It was great seeing her and the girls and meeting her boyfriend Bobby.  I spaced bringing my camera.  My cousin Gideon called while I was there so he and his wife came over.  It was great seeing them too!

My in-laws from Glenns Ferry came to town on Tuesday.  I was really happy to see them!  Spent the afternoon with Pops, Mom, and Aunt Joyce.  We went to lunch and then to the Boise Co-op.

Josie and I rented a car and drove to Pocatello one day to visit my Grandma Tolman.  Once again, forgot camera!  We picked up my Grandma and went to Tiffany's house for a delicious lunch.  I had a lot of fun visiting with Tiffany and enjoyed the wild imagination of her daughter, Emerald.  I asked Emerald if she wanted to come and live with me and she said, "Only if you have lots of horsey toys!".  A girl after my own heart.

I stayed with Josie after visiting Grandma just in case I was exposed to anything that might be dangerous to Ayla.  On Wednesday night my mom, Seth, and Duane came up from Utah.  We enjoyed hanging out on Thursday and that evening we went to dinner at The Ram with Heidi.  I got my mom and Seth to try calamari.  Of course, didn't tell them what it was until after they tried it!  Can't believe my little brother is 15 already. 

Despite having so much fun that I forgot to bring the camera out much, I have memories that will last forever.  This was an amazing visit and I am so grateful that I was able to spend time with everyone!

I was sad to leave, but happy to get home to my family.  The dogs were determined to check out my suitcases and Izzy planted her butt in this one, probably insisting that she come along next time!

January family dinner

We hosted family dinner at our house this month.  We had nachos and taco salads.  For dessert we served "Kitty Litter Cake" (thanks for the idea Wendy S.!)

Everyone pretending they like eating poop! 

We missed having Nikki and Marley there but both of them were getting over colds and since I am headed to Idaho to visit family (and Ayla!) I didn't want to risk getting sick and passing anything on.  Carrie took them over a plate and dessert so they could "enjoy" the kitty litter.