Ho-hum, winter is dumb

Okay, well, I guess "dumb" isn't quite the right word. Winter is a necessary part of the ecology of our planet.
It still sucks.
Oh, yeah, and those of you who know me are like "who are you and what have you done with Heather?" I used to love winter. Bugs die by the truckload!!!
But it's not the same now. Inversions, ice storms, traffic jams, etc. Can't take babies outside in the snow, not for any length of time. Can't go to the park, have to bundle up just to go ANYWHERE.
It's not the season, it's the hassles. I am so looking forward to spring, when I can take the girls outside to play, I can get down and dig in the dirt and plant things, and it warms up to where my feet aren't so freezing all the time! Winter's like having a pair of ice cubes for feet!
Well, I guess I can wait. For another month. Or two. Mrrrrrr...
In the meantime, what does one do in a tiny little house? Crafts, I guess, if I could get my sewing machine unburied for any length of time. Cleaning, of course. That never stops. Sorting our junk. Working on projects around the house, stuff that has been left undone.
It's just hard to get motivated. If anyone has any great ideas, I'd love to know!

Cooking Escapades

Well, this outta be interesting. I found a recipe online for "Easy Slow Cooker Beef Stew". Well...I shoulda read the ingredient list before I tried it. You'd need the biggest slow cooker on the market for it! It's even testing the limits of my big stew pot, and that's after omitting three cans of vegetables!
So since I don't have a pot that big, I am, of course, using the stock pot. And...not being an experienced cook, I didn't realize that I needed to brown the meat before putting the stew together.
This should be an interesting experience. I hope it comes out all right, because this is a LOT of stew. I'd hate to throw it out.
I've been experimenting more with cooking lately. I'm not very good at it, but I'm getting better. At least, more adventurous. Thank goodness I have a hubby that eats practically anything!
Anyone got an easy recipe to share? Please let me know! I'm always looking for stuff to be creative with, just as long as it's not terribly expensive!
Got any cooking tips to share? I'll take those too! I've got pretty much everything I need, tool-and-pot wise.
I'll let you know in my next post how this stew goes! Next up: wontons!

Ah, the thrills of parenthood!

What's up with my world? Well, I'll tell you!
We have a few answers with Esther, finally. She has mucular otitis in one ear. Translation: gunk behind the ear drum. We're treating it with antibiotics, give it a few weeks and get rid of this #$@$ inversion, and hopefully she'll clear up. We don't know if it is causing deafness, but the ear drum isn't moving, so i assume it has some responsibility for her garbled speech.
She was evaluated today for an early intervention program. She may receive tutoring and special classes if they determine she is behind in any areas. Personally, i thought the testing went well except in the speech area, which is what I was expecting. We'll see what happens, they meet tomorrow and I'll hear after that what the results are.
Taea is doing okay, except this inversion has given her a sore throat and bad attitude as well. It has increased my coughing again, sore throat, etc, which isn't good because the steroid they gave me to open my lungs also reduces my immunity. Gonna have to stuff myself full of herbs!
Jeff is doing okay except for his dang jaw, as usual. I found another type of mouth guard for nighttime grinding, this one is much slimmer and hopefully won't gag him through the night.
Other than that, it's pretty much life as usual. Working on some new products for Quilted Bear, trying to keep the girls alive and healthy, and waiting for the other shoe to drop with the Democrats bailout plan. That is an AWFUL lot of money, personally, I think they should just give it to the consumer so we can pay off all our debts, which will bail out the banks, and everything will be fine!
Until we get back into debt, that is.
Human. Such simple, sad fools. Some day, maybe we'll learn.
Till then, or until my next post, whichever comes first...just stay alive!!!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Years to all! I want to thank everyone that came to our party, it was a lot of fun. Exhausting, but fun! Esther is still staying up late as a result, I've GOT to get her naps back on schedule!
Now I get to deal with three months of winter blues. I have a mild case of SAD, though I really don't want to take medication for it. I prefer not to have my moods be a result of chemical intervention.
So instead, I think I'll clean my office out and make room to work on crafts. Making things always cheers me up.
It's a new year, with new possibilities. I'm sure we all agree that 2008 stunk. Economy wise, politically, and in a lot of other ways. I guess we can't really complain. We managed to buy a house, and we're doing well in most respects. I just feel bad for everyone who has lost money or a home in the melee.
Well, Happy New Year again, and lets all pray that this year is better than the last!