Playing Around

With Scott out of town several days to Vegas last week for work and then again in Dallas this week, I haven’t been as motivated to work lately.   I don’t know why, but I’ve really been in nesting mode.   This week I’ve spent some time planning Avery’s 1st birthday and working on Valentine’s day cards.   I know my Avy’s Birthday is several months away but I’m so excited about it.  I went to Hobby Lobby and started picking out all kinds of goodies for the party.   The theme is going to be spring flowers and butterflies and we are going with hot pink and lime green as the main colors.  Yay!  I can’t wait.   I’m making her entire outfit.  I learned how to make a tutu on Youtube this week and I found these super cute iron-on transfers that are perfect for her top and will match her tutu perfectly.  I also learned how to make really cute hair bows and clips.  Youtube is awesome!  I’ll show the results when I’m finished with it all.  I have lots of ideas for her big day.  I’ve also been spending some time to learn more with Photoshop.   I stayed up until 1am last night designing Avery’s Valentine’s day cards, and I have to say, despite the terrible headache I still have from going to bed so late and burning my eyes out on the computer, the effort was totally worth it.  I love the outcome!   I’ll post it on Valentine’s Day after they are all sent out and you all can let me know if you think I need more practice 😉   I learned how to make my own patterns and brushes which is really cool.   Designing has really given me a productive outlet for my creative side.

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Dancy, Dancy – The Avery Dance

We all have our unique versions of dance.  It often becomes our signature.  Avery’s signature dance is the cutest of all (of course, I’m subjective 🙂 ).  She bounces, shakes her leg, and mostly bobbles her head which we were able to capture on video.  Some spots are kind of shaky because I couldn’t refrain from laughing.  Avery debuts at the #1 position for all time best dancing in the Hibner family:

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Challenge for a Healthier Life

I decided to give myself a new challenge!  I love challenges and the feeling of accomplishment so what better challenge than that of becoming healthier.    I love exercise and physical activity so now that I have a routine of walking twice a week with Phoebe, I’m ready to step up my personal challenge.  I am going to start making sure that one meal a day is completely raw veggies or fruit.   I’m not doing this to lose weight (maybe two pounds would be nice) but rather to ensure a healthier life.    I actually don’t think this will be too difficult.   On a typical day, my breakfast entails a glass of milk, lunch is a sandwhich and chips or a Smart Ones microwave meal, and dinner is the full meal deal.   My plan is to start eating fruit for breakfast so I got the ball rolling and had fresh cherries this morning.  Now that I posted this,  I can’t veer off the road because I’m holding myself accountable to maintaining a healthier life!

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Recipe of the Week – Chicken with Garlic-Herb Dressing

For this week, my inspiration for cooking is with chicken.  I found this recipe in my cookbook, and I’ve been focusing on Tyler Florence’s recipes because they are simple and excellent! 

Ingredients

• 2 heads garlic, cut in 1/2 horizontally
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 whole fresh thyme sprigs, plus leaves from 6 sprigs
• 2 lemons, juiced, plus 2 lemons, halved
• About 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, leaves chopped
• 1 (4 to 4 1/2-pound) chicken, cut into 10 pieces
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 heads radicchio, preferably Treviso, cut into quarters
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Cut a piece of aluminium foil about 12 inches long.

Put the garlic on 1/2 of the foil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, drizzle in some olive oil, and add 2 sprigs of thyme. Fold the foil enclosing the garlic, making a pouch, and add a couple teaspoons of water. Fold the foil over the garlic to enclose and fold in the edges 2 or 3 times to seal. Put the package in the oven and roast for 30 minutes, or longer, until the garlic is soft. Open the package and let the garlic cool a bit, then squeeze out the cloves into a food processor or blender. Add 1/2 cup olive oil, the lemon juice, parsley, and thyme leaves and puree to make a thick vinaigrette.

Preheat an outdoor gas or charcoal grill to medium heat.

Rinse the chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Put the pieces in a bowl, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and drizzle with olive oil; toss to coat with the seasonings and then refrigerate while you get everything else together.

Put the radicchio in another bowl, drizzle with olive oil, balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss; set aside.

When you’re ready to cook, take a few paper towels and fold them several times to make a thick square. Blot a small amount of oil on the paper towel and carefully and quickly wipe the hot grates of the grill to make a nonstick surface.

Season with salt and pepper and place the radicchio quarters on the preheated grill. Cook the radicchio for about 2 minutes per side until it has a nice char; pull it off the grill, place into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside to steam and finish cooking.

Then put the chicken on the grill, skin side down, and grill. Grill the chicken for about 20 minutes, turning once, then baste with about half of the vinaigrette and keep cooking until an instant-read thermometer stuck into the thickest part of the thigh reads 160 degrees F and the chicken is nice and caramelised all over, 15 to 20 more minutes. During the last few minutes, throw the lemon halves on the grill, cut sides down, and cook until just marked and smoky.

To serve, separate the radicchio into individual leaves in a big bowl. Add the chicken and the rest of the dressing and toss well. Serve with grilled lemon halves, squeeze the lemon over the chicken, and top with reserved dressing.

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Capturing the Moment

A Daughter’s Gift

When I imagine
the life you will live,
I think of the pleasure
your presence will give.

I see the joy your smile will light
and the wonders you’ll weave
when your dreams take flight.

I feel the hope
that will grow with your grace
and the difference you’ll make
to each heart you embrace.

I imagine your life
as I know it will be;
for, my daughter, you’ve given
all this to me.

-Unknown Author

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Recipe of the Week – Spaghetti Alla Carbonara

My New Year’s Resolution is to try a new recipe every week. This week, my special recipe of the week was spaghetti alla carbonara. It was really, really yummy!

Ingredients
1 pound dry spaghetti
3 count of extra-virgin olive oil
8 slices of bacon, cubed or sliced into small strips
1 onion (chopped)
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped (optional, I did not use)
6 tablespoons heavy cream (I substitued milk because did not have cream)
3 large eggs
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for serving
Freshly ground black pepper
1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Directions
Prepare the sauce while the pasta is cooking to ensure that the spaghetti will be hot and ready when the sauce is finished; it is very important that the pasta is hot when adding the egg mixture, so that the heat of the pasta cooks the raw eggs in the sauce.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until tender yet firm (as they say in Italian “al dente.”) Drain the pasta well, reserving 1/4-1/2 cup of the starchy cooking water to use in the sauce if you wish.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a deep skillet over medium flame. Add the bacon and chopped onions and saute for 8-10 minutes minutes, until the bacon is crisp and the fat is rendered. Add the garlic into the fat and saute for less than 1 minute to soften.

While the bacon is cooking, whisk eggs, cream, and parmesan cheese together. Pour the bacon/onion mixture into serving bowl with the eggs/cream/parmesan mixture, whisking quickly until the eggs thicken, but do not scramble (this is done off the heat to ensure this does not happen.) Thin out the sauce with a bit of the reserved pasta water, until it reaches desired consistency. Drain pasta and add to the mixture. Invert a plate and set of serving bowl so it holds in heat for 5-10 minutes and allows pasta to set. Season the carbonara with several turns of freshly ground black pepper and taste for salt.   I used lots of  fresh cracked pepper.   Mound the spaghetti carbonara into warm serving bowls and garnish with chopped parsley.  Pass more cheese around the table.

Recipe by Tyler Florence

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Avery’s Milestones – 9 Months

Weight:  19 lbs
Height:   26 inches
I document these milestones so we’ll remember later how she grew and developed.  Unfortunately for us, she is growing so fast!  Avery has been using her pincer (yep, that’s spelled correctly 😉 grasp for several weeks, a developmental milestone that most babies reach when they are about seven to 11 months old.  She imitates really well.  I click my tongue on the roof of my mouth, and she has learned to do it and now thinks it is the best thing.  So funny!  She waves when waved to.  Avery drinks from a straw and sippy cup, but also takes a bottle and likes to hold it herself.  She laughs at Bentley all the time which I absolutely love.  She is able to stand up by herself without support for a bit.  Just two days ago, she climbed up on her stand and play karaoke machine.  Thank goodness we were right there.   She loves to climb on everything.   I think her only real word is mo-mo for “more”.  I’m still not sure if she understands the meaning of dada, mama, nana, etc. though she says them all.   She loves to sing and dance.   My favorite is the Elvis when she shakes her one leg to music.   She now has 4 teeth, two on the top and two on the bottom.   We know within 24 hours when a tooth is coming because she gets fussy, and she isn’t a fussy baby.   Those toofies are so mean!





Daddy giving Baby kisses:

Daddy making Baby laugh:

A week before her two top teeth popped out:

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Vail: Simply Gorgeous!

Scott and I flew out to Vail for a nice getaway from Saturday, January 3rd through the Thursday, January 8th.  The Vail motto is “Like Nothing on Earth” and it’s very fitting.   We usually prefer the beach but wanted to get out of our box and did just that.  Upon arriving, we headed to our hotel, the Arrabelle (www.arrabelle.rockresorts.com)  which was fantastic and relaxed a bit before heading out to walk around.  The wonderful thing about the hotel was that it was right in the heart of all the little shops, restaurants, and right at the ski lift.   We went to dinner that night at a tiny (very tiny) sushi restaurant called Osaki’s and it was just as awesome as I remembered it.  There are only 5 tables and a bar area so we got lucky to get in.  They have very strict rules like if you are 5 minutes late, you get charged $75 so we got there early 😉  Needless to say, it was packed.  On Sunday, it was a gorgeous sunny day and Scott talked me in to skiing.  I hadn’t planned on it with my two knee surgeries.  I did it anyway and though I was super nervous the first time down the mountain, the second time, I had a blast.   Maybe it was that spiked Peppermint Hot Chocolate (pepperment liquor) that we had during our mini- break at Centre V’s that gave me more liquid courage for the next round.   Scott absolutely loved it!   Neither of us had been skiing in over 10 years so we were very green, though Scott says he would have done blues.   Now you know why I went with him…to make sure he didn’t!   After skiing, we were wiped out.  For dinner, we headed to Kelly Liken which was really delicious.  On Monday, we ventured out and went snowmobiling!  What a blast!  We went to Piney River Ranch and the views are amazing.  After snowmobiling 15 miles, there was a cute little cabin where we stopped for hot chocolate, apple cider, and cobbler.  There was a lake right there as well.  I’d love to see this place in the summer (well, all of Vail, actually)!  For dinner on Monday night, the concierge recommended Up the Creek restaurant and we had a very nice experience there as well.  Vail is known for fine dining and for being such a very small town, there are tons of excellent restaurants to choose from.  We love good food!  On Tuesday, we had a sleeper day of just relaxing at the spa and then headed to Beaver Creek to do a little shopping.  We had dinner at Beano’s on top of the mountain which is a fun experience because you ride in an open sleigh for a 20-minute ride up the mountain.  Once at the restaurant, we were greeted by a super cute porcupine!  This meal was Scott’s favorite.  On Wednesday, Scott wanted to go ski again and since there was tons of fresh powder, he convinced me to go along.  Ha!  Little did I know that skiing is much, much harder with lots of fresh powder.  I hated it the first time!  On my way down, I vowed I wouldn’t do it again.  Scott wanted to go again and I told him no way, no how and somehow, I ended up doing it again.  It’s funny how the second time was much better than the first but after that, we were both done!   I headed to get another spiked hot chocolate after that one 🙂  With all the restaurant options, we decided to do Osaki’s again Wednesday night.  We had reservations at La Tour but cancelled and opted for a lighter venue.  Unfortunately, I cannot handle rich food every night.   By the end of the trip, we were eager to get back home to our baby girl.  I missed her dearly!  I do think that it was really great for us two to have us time for a few days,  and it certainly made me appreciate Avery even more than I already do (which seems impossible).    We can’t wait to go back and take her skiing in a few years and would also love to go back during the summer one year.

On Our Way to Beano’s on the Sleigh:

Porcupine in front of Beano’s:

Snowmobiling:

View While Snowmobiling:

Snowmobiling Break at the Cabin:

At Moose’s Pizza for Lunch:

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Looking Back at 2008

The most memorable events of 2008:
Special Moments:

Februaury: The first glimpse at Avery’s face on the 3D/4D ultrasound. Breathtaking!

April: The birth of Avery Grace on April 21st! One of the most precious moments of my life!

August: We met Dee and she became Avery’s nanny!

September: Dawn and Matt’s Wedding!

Avery’s First Christmas

Travels:

January: Our Babymoon trip to Hawaii to celebrate the upcoming arrival of Avery.

June: Trip to New Mexico to Visit Great Grandpa Hibner.

August: Trip to Puerto Vallara and first time away from Avery.

October: Trip to Belize with Avery. What an adventure!

On the Road:

June: Our annual Frio River Fun. Avery was only 6 weeks.

BBQ Cookoff for the HomeBrew BBQ Crew for 4th of July in Shiner.

Day After Thanksgiving: Trip to Fredericksburg with all of us girls.

Day After Christmas: Trip to San Antonio for shopping and Riverwalk fun.

Current Events:

January through December 2008….Economic turmoil

President Obama elected

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Happy New Years

For our New Years Eve party, we headed to Mariam’s with Avery in tow. She didn’t party too hard; she was sound a sleep about 15 minutes after we arrived 🙂 We drank lots of champagne and had so much fun. We headed home around 1pm and apparently missed out on all the REAL fun of singing and playing guitar to Rock Band.

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