Year in Review

Twas the night before Chirstmas, when all through the house
Not a computer was stirring not even its mouse
The stockings were hung on the bookshelf with care,
In hopes that the UPS man soon would be there.

The baby was nestled all snug in her bed
While visions of breast milk danced in her head
And baby in her jammies, and I in my G's  ,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter's zzz's

When out in the living room there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
David  had just slung some complex computer code
Enabling the internet to reach his computer nodes


The problem had only taken  a week
but that feels like forever when you're a computer geek
All the professors at Stanford will be so impressed
Maybe tonight he will finally get some rest.


And I tossed and I turned  stressing over my class
of 20 first graders that all had to pass
but soon I remembered I was on a year leave
Its no longer my problem I feel so relieved.

 Baby Aspen has been such  a fun new addition
That three in our family was an easy transition
Her early arrival was quite unexpected.
I guess she decided it was about time she ejected.

This year has been fun for team Erickson
I'm thankful  last Christmas we hit a homerun.
So, I exclaim to my friend on a private blogger site.
"Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"

Halloween

We enjoyed a Halloween party for David's work and also at our apartment complex.  I enjoyed carving pumpkins and  roasting and eating the seeds.  I also made some awesome pumpkin Chili.  I love the fall and winter because there are so many delicious soups that taste so good when it is cold and dark outside.

Thanksgiving Dinner

We celebrated Thanksgiving with some friends.  Great food and even better company.  Aspen slept through most of it.  She is starting to smile especially when I sing to her.  She loves my Thanksgiving song to the tune of are you sleeping.  "Mashed Potatoes, Mashed Potatoes, Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Pie, turkey and stuffing.  Thanksgiving is coming, Yum, Yum, Yum. Yum, Yum, Yum"

Basil

This week was basil.  It goes well with anything that has tomatoes in it.  I used it to make a tomato basil sandwich yummy!  I also used it on pizza.   I tried to make a pesto sauce.  I don't think it turned out very good. I think it taste better cooked than raw.

Cilantro

After experimenting with mint, I moved onto Cilantro.  It is the perfect herb to add to any Mexican dish. Here are some of my favorite recipes with cilantro.

Cilantro and Lime Rice  (This is just like the rice at Chipolte. It  adds a little flavor to a boring food.  It even taste good with brown rice, so you can get that fiber. )

Tomato Salsa (I skip the pepper and add beans and corn)

Mint

I am clueless when it comes to cooking with spices, herbs, and other seasonings. I have always wanted to be a chef that just knew what flavors to add to make  the meal taste just right, so I am going to be experimenting with every single herb and spice until I understand each flavor.  I thought that I would start with an interesting herb that I have never cooked with .. . Mint. It is fresh and fun.  It always taste good in gum, but will it taste good in food.  I went to allrecipes.com.  You can sort the recipes by ingredients.  I typed in mint and I am going to try all the recipes that I think sound  appetizing.Here is what I have tried so far.

Fresh Mint and Cilantro Salad  This was really good!  The melon soaked up the mint and lime flavors.  It had a really fresh taste and the mint was not too overwhelming.

Computer Baby

David is busy working on his PhD at Stanford in Computer Science.  He has also taken on a part time job to help cover the cost of me not working.  He works once a week and makes as much as I would make teaching if I had to pay for child care.

Utah visit

              Four Generations,  Me, Grandma, Aspen, and Mom
                                     

We braved a sixteen hour car ride with a baby to make a visit to Utah.  Luckily she slept in the car most of the way; however, there was an emergency pull over in the middle of Nevada at 10:00 p.m.  She just wanted to be held.  If you have ever driven through Nevada, you know there is a whole lot of nothing.  The exit we took went no where and we parked on some gravel until she calmed down.  I won't recommend a car ride this long with a baby, but sadly David's grandmother passed away.  I really wanted to go to the funeral because she has always been so nice to me.  She even called me while I was in the hospital just to see if I was okay.  We enjoyed seeing all of David's family and hanging out with mine too.

Baby blessing

I was lucky to have family in town for Aspen's baby blessing.  She cried most of the time,but David was able to pull through and give her a wonderful blessing.  I made the dress myself before she was born, but I had to do some serious altering because she is so tiny.

Baby Aspen Kate

The baby counter is way off.  Baby Aspen decided to come five weeks early on August 9 instead of September 14.  At week 34 I started to leak amniotic fluid.  I was admitted into the hospital and given antibiotics. I stayed in the hospital for one week and then they induced me at 35 weeks.  Aspen was born at 5 lbs 15 oz.  She is perfectly normal,  but she is really tiny. She stayed in the NICU for three days just to be monitored.  I had to leave the hospital without her which was a strange feeling, but now David and I are enjoying her at home.

Pizza Recipes

I love pizza, so  every week I am  trying  a new pizza recipe.  Sometimes I make my dough from scratch, but more often I buy it premade at Trader Joes. I especially like the ones that sound really strange and when you are making it you wonder is this going to work out?  I have discovered that you can put almost anything on a pizza.  Here is a link to some of my favorite recipes.

Greek Pita Pizza (I also make this one on regular pizza crust)
BBQ Chicken Pizza
Hummus Pizza  ( I don't use the broccoli and put onions on instead)
Baked Potato Pizza
Salsa Pizza
Brick Oven Pizza ( fresh tomato and basil pizza)
Black Bean and Spinach Pizza
Hawaiian Pizza with alfredo sauce instead of red sauce

Four months and counting.

David's Seattle Trip

Last week David traveled up to Seattle.    He received a Microsoft Fellowship Award and  was invited to a special ceremony for all the recipients.   He will also be working for Microsoft during the summer, so it looks like we will be moving to Washington for a few months.  I'm really excited.

Valentine's Day

We had fun celebrating Valentine's Day together.  David bought a box of chocolates to share and every year I get to pick a movie to  watch.  This year was the epic Gone with the Wind.  I tried to think of the longest girl movie ever.  David was a good sport he watched the whole thing with me. 

Urban Garden

I am attempting to grow a garden on my front porch.  It is small, but I really enjoy taking care of my plants and watching everything grow. I especially love my baby palm tree. My plants love California I can even grow flowers in the middle of winter.  Can you believe that I took this picture in January?  Neither David nor I are animal lovers, but I think we are definately plant people.

Circus, Circus

For my Christmas present, I asked David to take me on a date in the city.  We decided to go to the circus.  It was a lot of fun.  With the purchase of our ticket we got lunch and a show.  There were comedy acts, acrobats, jugglers, and a live band. 

Making Your Own Blog Background

I decided it would be fun to create my own blog backgrounds.  So one night I sat down and with the help of my husband I figured out how to design and post your own blog backgrounds. If you  are ever interested I have a link to the article I wrote about creating blog backgrounds.
http://ezinearticles.com/?Blog-Backgrounds---How-to-Make-Your-Own-Blog-Background&id=3515752

Happy New Year

To celebrate the New Year I made some fabulous lasagna.  One spinach and artichoke lasanga with alfredo sauce and a traditional lasagna with red sauce.  Yummy!  I was glad to spend another New Year with my husband. Here are links to the recipes below. 

Traditional Lasagna
Spinach Artichoke Lasagna
To make my version of Spinach Artichoke Lasagna. I substituted red sauce for Vegan alfedo sauce.  (I'm not vegan, but too much cream and cheese makes my stomach feel really ill.  I thought the vegan sauce was really good and I  didn't feel sick after.   I also substituted all the cheese for vegan cheeses. )