KT Tunstall Tiger Suit Album Review

This will be pretty short since I'm not feeling fantastic this evening.  Thanks to One2One Network I received a copy of KT Tunstall's new album Tiger Suit to review.  The only song of hers I knew before I got this cd was "Black Horse and A Cherry Tree." Most of the songs on the new album have a great dance beat, it might be good if you are in to running while music is playing, and it has kind of a natural feel to it.  Her voice is so different it's almost hard to classify, likely due to her being Scottish and having her own unique style of music writing and singing!

From Amazon:
"KT Tunstall has had a recurring dream since she was a child. She sees a tiger in her garden and goes outside to stroke it. She returns indoors and is seized by the fear that she could have been killed. Over the years, it has occurred to her that the reason the tiger responds so passively is that she herself is disguised as a tiger. That she is wearing a tiger suit." Click here to listen to some song samples.

Full disclosure: These amazon links do not have any affiliation to me, and I received the cd to review it and give my honest opinion, which I did!  I will also be entered into a drawing for a gift card for completing this review. 

Beanie Blessings

Something has been missing from Jeff's life for a few years, and tonight he was reunited with a whole 25 lb of his dehydrated refried bean buddies from the past.  It was a picture-worthy reunion. I almost shed a tear.

TWD: Caramel Pumpkin Pie

 Janell had her turn to host this week, and she chose Dorie's recipe for Caramel Pumpkin Pie. 

Things to do differently next time:

- find time to make my own pie pastry (I had some in the fridge and it was speed v. taste and texture today)

- ensure that the crust does not shrink during prebaking (I swear I didn't stretch it!)

- put foil on the crust during baking time so it doesn't get as dark

- don't prebake at all, maybe?

- cook the caramel for a bit less time so it doesn't have as much of a burnt aftertaste - though it never really burned as I cooked it, the flavor was a bit too full, perhaps

- try it with the streusel

I had fun putting this together with my kids tonight and just enjoyed two slices for myself.  This might be a good pie to remember if you have some pumpkin, but not enough for a pumpkin pie, since it only calls for 1 C of the puree! 

Three Cedars Farm

 The other night we packed up some dinner and met our friends the Nielsons at a pumpkin patch/cider mill/donut shop/animal farm/corn maze/hayride kind of place that's not too far from us. It was very fun!  Here are a few pictures of our time there. I recommend going if you live near us, and if you come visit sometime in the fall, you should ask us to take you there. I'm sure the kids will gladly go again, the little ones and the two big ones... :)

A wee bit fuzzy...but a nice picture nonetheless. Maybe I will work on fixing it some...

Blurry but I love her little crossed legs in this one!

New Bed

So, a few weeks ago I decided to make Jacob a bed. So, I did. I used almost solely wood I had scavenged, and did not design the bed before hand, and so it did not turn out so well. Jacob has been sleeping in it for a bit, but, I resolved to build another one. So, this morning, I did. Jacob and Rebbecca helped, and it is a bit sturdier than the last one I made. Here it is:

Did I mention Jacob sleeps outside?

TWD: Delayed Cranberry Upside-Downer

I made this a couple weeks ago when it was scheduled to be made, and thought it was great!  I shared it at our first presidency meeting for my new calling as Relief Society secretary.  Many thanks to Sabrina for her perfect fall pick. I was so glad I still had cranberries in the freezer from last year's post-Thanksgiving cranberry blowout sale at Aldi where I got 4 or 5 bags for a dollar. Sweet (or tart?) deal! 

I used peach jam that didn't quite set up (peach sauce?) instead of currant jelly for the glaze on top and it was a nice mix of summer-fall flavors. 

I decided to cut back a bit on TWD. I will still be involved, just doing maybe baking 2 weeks each month as opposed to all 4.  I do want to make the Tarte Fine that was for this week and will probably post that when it's baked. It sounds too good to skip over! 

Here are October's recipe titles and page numbers:
October 5, 2010- Double Apple Bundt Cake on pages 184 and 185.
October 12, 2010- Fold-Over Pear Torte on pages 348 and 349
October 19, 2010-Caramel Pumpkin Pie on pages 322 and 323.
October 26, 2010- All-American, All-Delicious Apple Pie on pages 300-302.

Which ones should I do?!  I think I'll do the apple tarte fine this coming week to make up for skipping it this week and then I'll make the pear torte and pumpkin pie and sit that last week of October out.   

Jacob turns 3!

Last week on the 20th Jacob turned 3. I have decided that when the oldest child has a birthday the mother should celebrate a little in her heart. It is, after all, the day that she became a mother, so it is a big deal. All day I went back and forth in my thoughts, "is it possible for me to have been a mother for 3 years already?" and "a lot sure happens in three years!" We had a great day. Jacob got to pick all the meals for the day (well, except for Dad's lunch since that was at the Public Finance Free Lunch Seminar while he was at school) and he sure has great taste: blueberry flaxseed waffles for breakfast, peanut butter and jelly for lunch, and chicken sandwiches for dinner. His cake was a yellow dump truck that was pretty fun to piece together. My two favorite parts were the license plate that said JACOB3 and the windshield wipers made out of tiny slivers of black licorice.

Since I had rehearsal on Monday night, Tuesday night we had a little get together with some friends and neighbors. We served the rest of the cake, ice cream cones, a few kinds of cupcakes, and I made what I called "stoplight crackers" - the smallest part of a graham cracker with yellow frosting on it, topped with a red, yellow and green M&M. The table was decorated with a road that I made out of construction paper, and Jacob's cars and trucks gave a nice visual effect of rush hour on the road. Happy Birthday, Jacob! We're so glad you're in our family. And happy half birthday to Miss Rebecca - we sang to her as well. Two kids in nursery for a few months...pretty exciting! Enjoy the pictures & video!

Tour de Troit

So, last Saturday, Jacob and I rode in the Tour de Droit. It is basically a ride, about 30 miles, through Detroit. It starts at the old train depot, and just wanders through the city. About 3,200 people do it. It was amazing. Jacob was a champ for the whole several hours it took, and we had a great time. It was definitely a ride, with a police escort, all roads were closed down, and everyone took their time. I think we averaged between 10 and 12 miles an hour. The vast majority of people were on regular mountain bikes with nubby tires. It was a pretty gentle ride. I would encourage anyone in the metro Detroit area to do it next year, as I plan on doing it.

Here is Jacob, getting ready for the ride.

Here is Jacob on the bike in front of the train depot, ready to get started.

Here we are, in the middle of downtown Detroit, riding.

The ride went on to, around, and off of Belle Isle. It was a very pleasant place. Here is Jacob, leaning, pondering the skyline.

Jacob and I on the island. Note, it was a bit cold.

We passed several union related buildings. This was the only one I stopped for.

This is part of the Heidelberg Project, where a guy does crazy things to houses. They were pretty neat.

You cant see them so well, but, these are more arty type houses.

Here we are at the end of the ride. Still happy.

And finally, two videos I shot of the event:

Dance Floor

So, our big screen TV is broken.  Or, I guess, more accurately, Stacey found a broken big screen TV by the dumpster (where all the good stuff is).  I have been meditating on what to do with it, and my first idea has been to use it as a dance floor for my children.  So far, it is a success.  They like the pulsating lights when they move even a little bit on it.  Any other ideas on what to do with it would be appreciated (other than sell it for parts, or something boring). 

I would love to burn it or blow it up or shoot it to bits, but, Michigan is somewhat constraining in having that kind of fun.

Me

Theres really no denying I was such a cute little boy.

In Review

I have wanted to do this for a while, but, couldn't because Google Video had deleted some of our previous anniversary videos. But, without further delay, here are videos representing the entirety of our married life:

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Lawyers in the Mist

So, I am sitting in on a corporate tax law class at the law school. It has been interesting to sit amongst the lawyers, and observe them (maybe one day I shall write a book, “Lawyers in the Mist”). Today, a fire alarm went off at the law school. The professor looked around, and asked what the students usually do during a fire alarm, and some students had some comments. He told us to hold on, while he figured out what was going on. He walked out the door, and came back without an answer of what to do. We dithered for another minute or so, with students talking back and forth, and the professor not knowing what to do. Then, he said, “Well, I guess when the fire alarm rings, the “reasonable man” would leave the building.” So we left. As we left, he noted that if this happened at a law firm, he suggested just closing your door and continuing to work. It was amazing.

Stuff, mostly Traverse City

So,  we have had such an eventful last little while in our family.  Here are some assorted pictures, in no particular order, to give you an idea of what we have been up to.  In short, last week, we went to Traverse City, Michigan, and spent Thursday-Saturday up there. Then, this last Thursday, Stacey and I went on a cruise (as part of my mother's birthday gifts to Stacey, she got us this cruise).  So, here are some pictures of all this:

his is Stacey and the kids in front of the General Store up by a lighthouse up by Traverse City.  It was a pleasant little General Store.  We bought taffy, which you can see in Jacob's hand

Up by Traverse City there are some dunes, the Sleeping Bear Dunes.  They were pretty fun to play on. In climbing up them, Jacob was not a big fan of climbing up, but he loved going down.  When asked if he liked the dunes, he was a little conflicted.  But, if you split the quesiton, and asked if he liked going up, he would say emphatically, "No".  If you asked if he liked going down, he would yell, "Yes".  So, he likes the easy parts of things.  He takes after his father.

Here I am jumping into the sand on the dune.  It took a long time to fall.  That means either it was a long drop, or I fell very slowly (hat tip, Lewis Carroll).

On the way up to Traverse City, we stopped at a little zoo.  It was a small little zoo, but the perfect size to break up the trip into two pleasantly little segments, instead of one long drive.  Here is R and Stacey in a little car at the zoo.

Here are J and R rolling around in the sand at the dunes.

Here is R trying to touch a tortoise at the zoo.  It would have been so easy, if the tortoise had not been so darned fast.

Traverse City had a very pleasant place to get ice cream called Moomers.  It was very good ice cream, not too, too expensive, and it was adjacent to a dairy farm, where presumably the milk comes from.  They have an observation deck with picnic tables so you can eat your ice cream and watch the cows at the same time.  It was very pleasant, until, by watching the cows, you notice incidence of liquid coming from the cows that is not milk.

Here is Stacey and I on the cruise.  It was a large boat (can hold about 1500 passengers) that just goes up and down the Detroit River.  They have music, you eat dinner, you drink, and you watch the old people try to navigate the slightly tilted dance floor with a few glasses of liquor in them.  It was a delightful evening.  I would recommend it.

Here is the side of our boat, the Detroit Princes.  If you look right under the "E" in Princess, you can see Stacey.

Here is J, climbing up the Dunes.  It was very funny to watch him and R play around on them.

This is where we had dinner Friday night in Traverse City.  The sign did not lie, it was good food.  However, it did prompt me to wonder, at what point does a restaurant owner just throw up his arms and say, "our new marketing strategy is to paint our building an ugly pink."

We went up to a lighthouse that is about a half hour from Traverse City.  It was very pleasant.  This is our family up in the top of it.  You cant really see out, but, if you can guess from our being inside a lighthouse, outside the glass is water.

Here is Stacey, playing on the dune.

Five Year Anniversary Video

Here is our Five Year Anniversary Video.

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These have been an amazing and great five years.

TWD: Peanut Butter Crisscrosses (with chocolate)

Real quick post tonight... I had fun making these tasty little cookies with three helpers this morning. We moved our workstation from my enormous kitchen counters (ha!) to the table so everyone could help. Even Rebecca had to sit in a chair like Jacob and our friend we had over for the morning. Thanks to Jasmine of Jasmine Cuisine for the choice this week!