Gourmet. stuff...

I know I've mentioned it before, but I'm in a gourmet club with some friends (11 other girls). Here's how it works: You have a partner with whom you host one time per year, then for the rest of the year (every other month) you get to have an amazing gourmet meal, complete with invitations, decorations, formal place settings, take-home gifts, etc... There are only 2 rules--1. you can't use cream-of-anything soup and 2. when it's not your night, you can't help at all. (This one is my favorite. It's so nice to not have to stay to help do the dishes!). It's so much fun--a great excuse to get together with the girls, and a great way to get amazing recipes and fun, new ideas for entertaining. So, if you love to cook or entertain, you should definitely check out our blog. My friend Sunny does a great job keeping it updated. The website is http://slcgourmetgals.blogspot.com/
Just thought I'd share the love...

Just because...

Here's a few more recent pictures of the lil' rugrat. She's ok, I guess...that is, if you're into ridiculously cute babies.

It's not all about Sienna....

Ok, it really is all about her, but I thought I'd at least post a couple of pics of the rest of us. We just don't take too many pictures of the whole gang these days. This was taken while we were bowling for Dan's mom's bday last week. Happy Birthday, Deanne!

Sienna & Grandma Dixon

Here are a couple of cute pics of Sienna and Dan's mom, Deanne (both looking great in purple!)

Good stuff...

I've posted before about my friend Jen's great weight loss/recipe blog Skinny Habits. Well, she's doing a give-away. I kinda hate these give-aways because they make you advertize it and then you decrease your own odds of winning, but what can you do!? ;) (Still love you, Jen!) Check it out... http://skinnyhabits.blogspot.com/2009/02/give-away-swissmar-borner-v-slicer-plus.html

6 months old!

My baby girl is already 6 months old! I can't believe how quickly she is growing. It's crazy. Let's see, what exciting things have happened. Well, she's recovering from her first episode of croop. Poor thing. It was sad, but she's feeling much better now. Hm...well, she now rolls from her tummy to her back (since she hates tummy time) but has yet to roll from her back to her tummy. Around 5ish months we started her on rice cereal, which she's a big fan of (most of the time). She's been working on some teeth and one of her bottom teeth just broke through few days ago. She's definitely a slobber monster these days. Oh, and she still has this awesome bald spot on the back of her head (and the mullet). Her bald spot is actually just beginning to grow in. It now feels a little stubbly. It's so crazy, it really looks like I just took a pair of scizzors to her hair. I just don't get it. Anyway, Sienna is still happy as can be most of the time. She really has such a sweet temperment. Here's a list of some of Sienna's favorite things...

• The exersaucer--it's like Disneyland for her.
  
• Bathtime. This kid LOVES taking baths.
  
• Her binky
• Being swaddled. I didn't think we'd still be swaddling her at 6 months, but everyone (including her pediatrician) says that it's ok and that she'll just grow out of it eventually. It is pretty cute, though...
  
• Sienna loves playing (now more pulling) with my hair and has recently become facinated with my earings. I'm thinking the days of long, dangly earings is soon coming to an end--so sad!
  
• Her dad--he can make her giggle like no one else can.
  
• Her flying squirrel. Well, that's what Dan calls it. It's a little lamb/lovey that she just loves. It's that soft minky fabric that is so soft. She just nestles her little face into it and falls asleep.
  
• Hearing herself. She just squeals and coo's and loves to hear the sound of her voice.
  
• Paper, remote controls, cell phones....and it's only the beginning!
  
• Seeing everything that is going on. Seriously, this kid is so noisy. She'll twist and contort her body in every which way in order to see what is going on. I can't even read a book while I'm nursing because the second she hears the page turn, she' stops and twists her whole body to see what's going on.
• Her grandma's, grandpa's, friends, aunts & uncles and cousins, who she gets to see more often now that I'm working. We are so grateful to be living in Utah where we have so many people who are able and willing to help watch Sienna.
  
• The sound of my voice. Anytime I come home and she hears my voice her whole face lights up. I don't know why my voice doesn't have that effect on anyone else...

Snowboarding with the Dixons

A couple of weeks ago Dan and I went snowboarding at The Canyon's with Dan's brother Jeff & his wife Kate. It wasn't the best snow, but we still had a fun time. I hadn't snowboarded for a couple of years, since the past 2 years when we've been in Utah I was puking (due to morning sickness or the flu). Anyway, I was definitely a little rusty. And since we didn't have fresh powder, those falls were not so fun. I banged up my left knee and my right hip pretty good, but nothing like what my sister-in-law Kate experienced when she caught an edge and slammed her head on the ground. We had to get the ski patrol to come check her out and have her taken to the medical office to make sure that she didn't have a head injury. We were grateful she was ok and after a couple of hours of resting she was able to get a couple more runs in. Despite a few falls and some bumps and bruises, we still had a great day. I love just being up in the mountains--smelling the fresh mountain air, the blue sky & sunshine, the peace & serenity. I definitely look forward to more snowboarding, only I'm counting on those powder days when the falls don't hurt so much! (Like my niece Taylor said," when it feels like you're falling on feathers")

Garlic Chicken Farfalle (with a kick!)

This was served at our last gourmet club, and it SOOOOO tasty. I had to share! I made some adjustments to make it a bit healthier and I think it still tasted delicious. I made it last night for some friends and for Dan and they raved. Here's the recipe...

Garlic Chicken Farfalle (with a kick!)

Ingredients
16 oz. farfalle pasta (I have never found farfalle--bowtie--pasta in whole wheat, so I just used penne)
1 cup heavy whipping cream (I used light)
3-4 chicken breasts
2-3 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp pepper (this definitely adds a kick, so if you don't love spice, use less pepper)
1/2 cup butter
1 lb bacon, crumpled (I used 4 strips of turkey bacon)
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1 (12 oz) bottle Lawry's mesquite marinade with lime juice (I found it at Smith's)

Directions:
Crock pot chicken and bottle of marinade on low for 6 hours. Pull marinated chicken out of the juices, allow to cool a little bit, and shred (or pull apart). Set this aside. (Discard remaining marinade). Cook bacon and cut into small pieces. Set aside. About 1/2 hour before serving, boil pasta. In small saucepan, melt butter, add garlic, whipping cream, pepper, parmesan cheese and crumpled bacon. Whisk together on low heat for 3-4 minutes. In a large bowl, pour over cooked drained pastsa, add chicken and stir through. Sprinkle with shredded parmesan cheese.

Queen Bee Tea on February 28th!

Some friends of mine have helped plan this fabulous event coming up on February 28th. It's a Dress-Up Tea Party & Charity Auction, held at La Caille Restaurant in Salt Lake City. The proceeds from this event will go to a non-profit organization called Project Lemonade, which provides financial assistance and scholarships for underprivileged children, allowing them to participate in extracurricular activities. It will be an amazing event, and the proceeds will go towards this wonderful organization. It would be such a fun thing to take your daughter and/or granddaughters to, so please join us! Or if you are unable to make it, spread the word to others who might enjoy coming. Please go to
www.project-lemonade.org for more info.