Meatballs--Nothing is better

So apparantly my meatballs are becoming famous.  Micah has pronounced my sweet and sour meatballs to be the best meal I've ever made and will EVER make.   Adam came to visit and I made them for him.  I guess he liked them because he told his mom to get the recipe. So here it is for anyone who wants it:

1 lb. hamburger
1 egg
1 small onion chopped
1/3 cup bread crumbs
3/4 cup milk
3/4 t. salk
1/8 t. pepper
1 t. Worcestershire sauce

Mix and shape into balls (about 24). Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. While baking mix:

1/2 cup brown sugar
1 T. cornstarch
Add: 1 can (13oz) pineapple tidbits
         1 T. soy sauce
         1/3 cup brown vinegar (I use apple cider vinegar)
 **I also like to put cut up carrots and green pepper in it.  Just cook these in the microwave or on the stove so they are nice and tender before adding them to the above sauce.

Cook, stirring constantly until it thickens and boils. Add meatballs. Cover and simmer at lower heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve over rice.



There you have it.  Trust me, you will like it.  Kudos to my sister Heather for giving me this recipe years ago. 

Enjoy!

Pigeons 2, Micah 0

A text I received from Micah today:

          "I got pooped on by a pigeon biking to research!! I want to destroy every pigeon in existence!!"

Our First Married Christmas

A few weeks ago, we made our tree for FHE.  We're poor, ok?  We like our tree, so don't make fun.

I'm not much of a decorator, but after Thanksgiving when Micah said our house wasn't very festive (besides the tree), I knew I had to get my act together and decorate this place for Christmas.  We took a much needed trip to Michael's to get our supplies.

First, we needed stockings.  Micah let it slip that he thought my stocking I've used up 'til now is ugly. I was a litte offended, but then agreed that we should have matching stockings anyway.  The criteria according to Micah: 1- It has to have a "good boot, not a wimpy one"   2- We have to be able to write our names on them  3- They have to be traditional red and green (no light green).  We succeeded! I chose to go for one with a little frill (see the specks of gold? At least it's not pom-poms)

We bought some garland and lights for this little craft project of mine.  I painted clothes pins red and painted "Merry Christmas" on little papers.  I think it turned out rather well, if I do say so myself.

LIGHTS!

The Noel plaque was another craft of mine.  I like it.  Micah surprised me with the mini $1 tree next to it. He said he wanted me to have a "real" tree. How thoughtful.

The ONLY white lights in the house.  It took Micah a day to realize that I had added candy canes.

A few things we already had:

I made this blanket when I was 10 or 11.  The pillow was made by the mother of one of m piano students.

24 Days of Christmas.  This book was my favorite tradition (one of them, at least) growing up.  Each day you read a scripture and a Christmas story.

We dug out the ornaments and decorated the tree. 

Well, folks.  It looks like we are officially prepared for the Christmas season!

We have some funky churches in our town

For example: 

Church of Tamara (Like Tia and Tamara on Sister, Sister? Sweet!)

                       Chinese Baptist Church (The parking lot at this one was filled today.  Who knew there were so many Chinese Baptists in Tucson?)

                      

The Cool Church ('Nuff said)

And then this one:

The bike trip of a lifetime!

On our way to the mountain. There is some pretty cool stuff on the streets of Tucson.

Hey look! We found Stephanie!

There she is from the top of "A" mountain.

I told Micah to take a picture of the A.  I knew I should have done it myself...

 

A panoramic view from the top. I can see Mexico!

I look like I just biked straight up a mountain.  Micah has some sort of magical endurance so nothing fazes him. He always looks good :)

A cute little gazebo at the top!

Really tired.

THE SNAKE!!!!  (Look at the end of the post for an awesome video)  So for months now, Micah and I have driven underneath the belly of this snake, so we deciede to ride on over and check it out from the inside.

Fangs.

We then rode around campus to see what we could find.  This was a Native American celebration for Veterans Day. The guys in the cirlce on the field were singing some awesome stuff.

There are olive trees all over campus. Who knew?

Again, olive trees. A couple days after this picture was taken, we were reading Jacob 5. Micah suggested that we go sit in an olive tree and read it.  It would be fitting, but we didn't end up actually doing it.

The snake.  I didn't know how to make this right-side-up....and I didn't know how to make the sound work....but enjoy it anyway!

What a great way to spend Veterans Day / 11-11-11

Best Friends

This little girl is my niece, Bailey. 

She's the cutest!

She LOVES Micah so much.

  If he's around, she goes right to him and stays with him the whole time he's there. 

 If I'm around but Micah's not, she will ask me "Where's Micah?"

One time when we went over to my sister's house. 

Micah stayed outside for a minute and when I walked in the house, Bailey was getting a splinter taken out of her foot. 

She was not very happy.

She cried and cried...

until Micah came in.

"Micah?" she sniffed tearfully.

Then she stopped crying and just stared at him. Wow.

Micah has some hold on this little girl's heart.

I like watching him play with her and talk to her.

It makes me believe he won't actually shoot the clothes of our future daughters if they dress immodestly. 

He's too much of a softy.

I love it!