Snowshoeing

For Christmas I got John and me snowshoes. Today we were able to try them out. We headed to the Sycamore Access area of the bike path to get started. There were a lot of tracks from cross country skiers, but we were the first snowshoe tracks. It was very quiet, we only met two other people the hour and a half we were out.

John is much more coordinated on the snowshoes. He can actually jump. I almost fell over after posing with one foot in the air.

I really enjoyed snowshoeing. I'm looking forward to spending a few hours a weekend in the woods getting some sunshine. I think it will make winter suck just a little bit less, and that is a darn good thing.

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

For Christmas John got me my dream mixer. It's the KitchenAid mixer with the bowl lift. I love it. It's heavy duty, which means it quietly kneads dough while I do other things. Bread making is now a breeze. I kicked off what is sure to be a winter full of baking with some cinnamon swirl bread. It makes some amazing toast.

Not only did I get to use the mixer with this bread, I also got to use my new French rolling pin and spatula. I am excited to have more kitchen gadgets to play with.

Merry Christmas

I had a wonderful Christmas. I hope you did too.

I had so much fun I can't possibly describe it, so I'll just post a few pictures.

tulle academy

Yesterday I saw something in a store and today I made it without a pattern or directions. It sounds cooler than it is, as it was just cutting ribbon and tulle and looping it around elastic.

Most importantly, I got Carnahan to craft with me. She is a notorious craft hater, so it's kind of a big deal. I may have even talked her into sewing lessons next year.

And for those of you wondering, I didn't make a tutu for myself, Carnahan and I each made one for her daughters.

Snowed In

Des Moines is in the midst of a horrible winter storm. It has stopped snowing, but the wind is still blowing. It is blowing so much it isn't worth shoveling yet. That means I get to dread shoveling until the blizzard stops. I am not looking forward to digging out of hip high drifts.


As I'm stuck inside hearing the wind blow I decided to spend some time baking. My house smells great, and I don't have to walk to the grocery store to buy bread. Unfortunately the PB & J muffins are a little bland. Luckily the guys at work will eat anything, so I can get rid of the them.

New Collar

Cooper got a new collar. He's had the same one since 1995, so it's kind of a big deal.

Bambino's and the Cumming Tap

Last night we ventured to what was once the town of Orilla, which is located between Cumming and West Des Moines. There isn't much there, other than Bambino's , a delicious restaurant. I've heard of Bambino's for years, but I had never been. It exceeded my expectations. They make their pasta, rolls and salad dressings from scratch, yet it's affordable. It's worth driving a half hour for food that good.

We had dinner with TC, Melissa, Ryan, and Allyson.

After dinner Melissa headed home to relieve the baby sitter. The rest of us headed to the Cumming tap for some cribbage. Allyson helped TC out, as he hadn't played since college. Ryan and John beat TC, Allyson and me 2 out of 3 games. I've been loosing at cribbage a lot lately. It does not make me happy.

Thanksgiving Eve

Aunt Kathy and I originally planned on driving up to Cedar Falls the night before Thanksgiving Due to the weather and me working late we decided it made more sense to just get up and go Thanksgiving morning. I was sad, as that meant less time with my family. It ended up being OK, however, as I was able to catch up with Michelle.

Michelle moved to Omaha last summer. She's managing the Twisted Fork in the Old Market area. As sad as I am that she's not here anymore, I am happy that she is making new friends that aren't total losers (other than Stimmel, Derek, and me her friends in Des Moines are not super awesome).

We headed to the Continental for some tapas and basil martinis. John and Nich stopped in to say hi before they headed off to dinner. We all enjoyed catching up and sharing stories. It was a great night.