Its Fall!

Today was truely a beautiful fall day! Beautiful weather and fun times today. Farmers market in front of our house all afternoon - Dakota's favorite day of the week as she loves to sit on the deck and people watch.....

And while she people watched, I baked a gluten free apple crisp.....

And then an afternoon walk to Hovander Park!

Dog Training

Here's a little clip of what Dakota is learning :) Last night we gave her a bath, I wish I had videotaped the aftermath! That dog loves her baths, and running around like crazy afterwords - and squeezing her squeaky toy at double time!

Summer 2011

Reasons for not blogging all summer!

Decorating my living room! I love my flowers

              Celebrating our 1st Anniversary

Lake Tahoe!

 Celebrating my birthday!

San Fran!

Getting a new dog - Dakota girl

In a friends wedding

Buying a new bedroom set!

A New Addition!

We've added a new member to our family! We are now the official owners of a sweet female puggle named Dakota. Dakota girl has had some rough times in her 18 months of life, but she seems to be bouncing back well and fitting right into our home. She doesn't shake anymore when a stranger walks up! Not bad for only 2 weeks of training on that.

She's bonded especially with me, which I love!!! Follows me everywhere - loves to watch movies with me, clean house, and KILL BUGS! I have no fear any longer of the bugs in our home, she pounces on them before I even see them! She then sits proudly over their dead bodies until I clean it up. What a good dog! Its amazing how much a little 18lb ball of fur can bring so much happiness into a life. Millie's been gone a year and I finally felt ready to attach to another dog. I'm so glad God created these puppies for us to enjoy :)

Here's a couple pics from today's walk :)

Geneology - fancy word for family history

I love researching my family history - not just the date of birth/death  - but the places they lived, where they married, etc. So far I have been able to obtain a photocopy of several GGGrandparent's marriage licenses, old family photos from the 1800's, and much more. You learn fun stuff about your relatives.....

That they came to America in the 1600's
Why did 3 brothers die in the 1680's - was there a war or an epidemic?
What happened to all the brother's and cousins who all lived in NY during the Revolutionary War?
And where, of course, does the famous Richard Monckton Milnes enter our family line?
Why did the woman in one family hid from the pig farmers? (yes, this is truly recorded in a family book)
How did my GGGgrandmother continue to have kids into her late 50's?! Yes, its recorded in the 1851 census reports (and others). Was there perhaps a marriage to a 2nd and younger wife?
And....who was the secret actress that divorced my GGrandpa in the 1800's? And did their son really die?

There are more death certificates to be discovered, more war records to be read, more history to study....and this only covers one tiny line of the family. So many more to be recorded!!

Mother's Day

The eve of Mother's Day ~ this year is different for me. It's different because I am a mother. It's different because I don't have my babies to hold. But my husband still gave me a mother's day card :) I love it. Though my babies are no longer here, I can still celebrate tomorrow. It's a way of showing the world that the unborn did and still do exist and to celebrate their lives, no matter how short they may have been.

Gluten Free Cooking

So here's a post about what I eat as a gluten free(GF) addict. I don't often cook with gluten free items, so I may have a boring meal plan :) I tend to eat items that are naturally gluten free..... here's some ideas

Dinners
Chicken breasts with potatoes and veggies
I typically will put this all in the crockpot in the AM with nothing but prebought gluten free chicken broth. Or, if I'm out of the broth, I will use orange juice, or just water. I will also a variety of spices/herbs to season it

Stew - meat, carrots, potatoes
I put this in the crockpot as well, with prebought GF beef broth. Also will ad GF ketchup and spices/herbs.

Chicken/beef stirfry
I cut up uncooked chicken or beef and cook it on stove with veggies and rice. Again, these are all naturally GF foods.

And yes, those are the typical dinners we eat. Not much variety. Most of our dinners consist of variations of meat, potatoes, and veggies.

Lunches
I usually have a sandwich or tortilla

GF rice tortillas - add GF peperroni, GF lunch meat, cheese and spices/herbs
GF Bagels - add the same topppings as listed
GF pizza crust - same toppings as above. Usually add GF beans as well

All my pizza crusts, bread, bagels etc are  prebough GF items. I have had no sucess with making my own. The taste and texture is just to aweful when its homemade and I usally end up having to throw it out.

Breakfasts
GF oatmeal
GF cereal

So there is my exciting meal planning. I have very little variety, but when I lived at home, I didn't have space to store gluten free food makings. Now that I have my own place I might try to get more variety. But we shall see : ) I would love to make my dinners more exciting, since my husband eats it with me even though he doesn't have the allergies. No way am I making 2 different dinners a night! :) Up to this point, I haven't found a reciepe for good GF lasanga or spagetti. I personally think the noodles taste really bad and the consistency is usally runny.