Food rut- no more

It is not uncommon for me to be in a food rut this time of year. Not so much in the summer when our CSA is in full swing and we NEED to eat our body weight in vegetables each week or where will we put this week's bounty(?)! No, I mean in the late fall when the apples are gone, the potatoes are all starch and beans and cheese sound good for dinner, again. That is prime food rut territory for me. I typically cycle through about 5 dinners week after week. It works out fine, we eat, but it does get a bit. . . dreary.
Something different happened this year. After returning form Michigan I have been on a new recipe binge. Recipes that I have wanted to try for year and food blogs and just my old standby, The Joy of Cooking have been fueling this trend. It helps that we had company for a few weekends and I like to try new recipes with company. I have even been pretty inventive, kabobs grilled on the pannini press, wonderful! Angel food cake with some (dreadfully old) frozen peaches made into a quick syrup, delightful. I have been enjoying not just eating the foods but preparing has been fun also.
So we have been living "high on the hog" (hardly eating meat) a few weeks now, and I enjoy it, but wonder if I will find that come summer I weigh over 900 pounds. We go to the Y almost daily, so activity is not a problem . . . But dessert might be. Recently made : Boston Cream Pie, Lime bars, Angel Food cake with Peach syrup, Almond Butter Chocolate cake with Chocolate Ganache, Ameretto souffle, and that is just in the last three weeks!

Alpine, bliss

It is no secret that Johno loves all things snow; snow shoveling, building snow caves, snow sledding, and of course skiing. he receives in the mail numerous magazines devoted to skiing and always reads them immediately when they arrive. Odin had "read" many ski mags with John and has been talking more and more about going to ski on the big mountain. So, since it was 20 degrees warmer today then a few days ago why not give it a try.

We took Odin skiing today, downhill, for his very first time. We had little expectation other than he have a good time. We thought he'd last about an hour. But apparently he had done his research. We were out about three and a half hours! Buck Hill, 15 minutes from our door, has a newly enhanced beginner area with two magic carpet lifts. After two runs on the little carpet Odin insisted on the bigger one. Then after one run on the big carpet he wanted to try the chair lift. All day he was a great sport and had a blast. He skied mostly between our skis, and we even let go of him a few times. Near the end of the day he was skiing next to John holding onto John's ski pole. His balance was surprisingly good, his enjoyment even better!
We took a bit of a gamble this morning deciding between a half day and an all day ticket. We ended up going for all day and took (or in John's case, are taking) turns going back this evening. It was a lovely day and well worth the money.

Since I met John his average number of skiing days has dramatically decreased. But then, we are no longer in college and he has a (gasp!) "real job" and oh yeah we live in Minnesota now. But I think he may be able to start bringing his average back up...

Nordic

It was a lovely weekend here. It was warm, and that is very relative, around 19 degrees, calm, and SUNNY! It was so uplifting to see all that sun.
We all went on a Nordic tour on Saturday along the Minnesota River. We are fortunate enough to be only a mile or so away from the river, it provides great recreation all year long.
Johno and I cross country skied and Odin ran a little, skied a little and was towed it the sled a little. We saw a number of bald eagles in trees and flying along the river.
The skijoring harness and waist belt were such great purchases. We have been using the waist belt to pull the sled with Odin. On a fairly packed trail I don't even feel him behind me, but I can tell when he hops out.

New year (repost)

This one was buried under my vacation posts.. now it's back in order.


So I made it to a new year here at blogspot.. Granted sometimes updates are few and far between. I thought (naively) that I would get to do a few posts while on Holiday Vacation(s), but it just didn't happen.
We have gone from being company to being company to having company. Today was the first day in many that it was back to normal- ie. Johno at work and the house was "quiet" with the exception of Odin's continous fact finding queries.
He had a swim lesson today, his first in the big pool at the Y. He did great, I am so pround of him. He was reluctant at first, but quickly decided that participating was way more fun than just standing on the side. Once in the pool he was his usual fish like self. I am so glad that he likes the water.. Makes canoeing so much easier.

Sleds!

Odin has discovered the joy of sledding!
We received some new sleds for Christmas and they are a huge hit. Odin is way better at staying on than any of us, but man are they fun!

way home

Coming home we stayed at a different hotel in Rockford.. Same exit, just other side of the road. IT had a mini water park in the pool. Very fun, buy also a very popular spot for other travelers as well. I fell asleep at 8pm that night.. I think just a little before Odin did.

3 years old!

We were still in Michigan for Odin's third birthday and it just so happens that my sister loves to do theme birthdays.. and does a fantastic job. So Odin's birthday had a construction theme. Complete with a "dirt" and "rock" cake. (we had a few conversations about when it is ok to eat dirt and rocks.) Of course it was a huge hit. Odin loved it and enjoyed telling anyone who would listen about his dirt cake.

Sudden Change

The weather went from just above zero to 50 degrees three days after Christmas. Our snow was just a memory. We made a snowman on my parents deck that I thought would be a nice reminder for them about how much fun we had at Christmas, but it too is gone. We actually sat outside around the fire for a bit, and my dad was not even wearing a jacket.. Now this is the Michigan that I remember.

The day after we arrived:
The day before we left:

Festivities

Michigan had way more snow than I ever remembered when we arrived, it was also much much colder. There was plenty of snow for sledding and also plenty to shovel. Odin still is not too into sledding, but took a few runs then was content to play in the yard.
All of my moms siblings were at my parents house for Christmas and Christmas eve. Including my cousin and her family. It was great to see everyone again. We always used to get together for Christmas when I was growing up so it was really neat to continue it now.

Travels

Traveling with a toddler (when does "toddler" just become "kid" by the way?) has never really scared me. Although I am pretty lucky to have a kid that likes to check out new things and is willing to put up with two (6 hour) days in the car to go to Michigan for Christmas.
We drove to Rockford, Il the first day and stayed at a hotel overnight. They have a pool and it is a nice way to gear up for another long day (plus Johno has a TON of Hilton points so it's free!). Odin and I usually go this route. Sometimes if we are all tree driving to MI we push on through.. I must say I do prefer to stop. I am starting to feel a little too old to sit/drive for 12 hours in one day.
We saw some friends in Chicago the next morning then were off to points east. Around Gary Indiana we hit blowing and drifting snow.. It kept on getting worse until Benton Harbor, Michigan.. Total white out. Very slow, but we made it out.

Of all the storms in the country that week, I think we made it through pretty easy. And we didn't have to worry about driving for a few more days at least!