Book Review and Recipe 2!

So I just got done reading "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It was such a fun book to read! Not very long and easy to get through. It's full of fabulously cliche detective stories. It's nice because the book isn't one continuous story, every chapter is a new story! That also made it kind of hard for me to get in to, but all of the stories were great! It is narrated by Holmes' 'trusty sidekick' Watson who is an old doctor friend of his. Sherlock always insists on having Watson around to help him solve his cases, although Watson can rarely add any insight to the genius of Sir Sherlock. Since I can't give you a synopsis of the story line, here's just a taste of the book.

"You appear to read a good deal upon her which was quite invisible to me" I remarked.
"Not invisible, but unnoticed, Watson. You did not know where to look, and so you missed all that was important. I can never bring you to realize the importance of sleeves, the suggestiveness of thumb-nails, or the great issues that may hang from a bootlace..."
"Well, Watson," said Holmes, when our visitor had left us, "what do you make of it all?"
"I make nothing of it," I answered, frankly. "It is a most mysterious business."
"As a rule," said Holmes, "the more bizarre a thing is the less mysterious it proves to be. It is your commonplace, featureless crimes which are really puzzling, just as a commonplace face is the most difficult to identify. But I must be prompt over this matter."
"What are you going to do, then?" I asked.
"To smoke," he answered. "It is quite a three-pipe problem, and I beg that you won't speak to me for fifty minutes."



Now, for the recipe. I tried to think of something new that I've tried lately, but I kept coming back to taco salad! This has got to be one of my all-time, favorite recipes. It's easy, tastes really good, and goes especially well with some County-time lemonade!

TACO SALAD
1 lb ground beef
1/4 c chopped onion
1 16oz drained kidney beans
1/2 c Catalina dressing
1/2 C Water
1 T chili powder
*Brown meat. Drain. Add onion, cook until tender. Stir in beans, dressing, water and chili powder. Let simmer for 15 minutes. (I usually double the recipe. FYI. I just brown the meat and onion, drain it, then throw everything in a crock pot together and put it on warm while we're at church. SO easy!)

The rest of the ingredients are up to you! Or whatever you happen to have in your kitchen.... :)
lettuce
tomato
tortilla chips
green onions
sour cream
olives
guacamole
cheese
catalina dressing
*But may I stress the correct way of layering the ingredients, since the Crosby household has it down to a science. :) Place the tortilla chips on your plate and smash them. Then add the meat and beans, then the lettuce. Everything else is then up to you, but make sure you mix it all around good before eating. ENJOY!!

First Ultrasound

I got to go to my first doctor's visit the other day and it was so fun! They did an ultrasound so I got to see how the baby is progressing. It was nice to know that there really is a baby inside of me and I'm not just getting chubby and that this is really happening! She said the heartbeat is strong at 174 beats per minute on average. It's to early to tell the sex, but she said if she had to guess, she would say boy at this point. Who knows!? It was moving around a lot, which is so crazy to me since I can't feel it yet. She burned the entire ultrasound onto DVD which is really cool, and if I can figure out how to get it on here. Anyway, this is the picture she gave us from the ultrasound. Is it just me, or is there an uncanny resemblance to a skull and cross bones? :) So I guess our baby's gonna be a pirate! The crossing section are it's legs, the big round area is it's abdomen, and the little black dot inside the abdomen is, I think she said, the bladder. There you have it! Our baby's first picture!!!

Back in the Burg

We moved back from Nampa last week, and while we loved our time there, are SO glad to be back home! Although gas prices seem to kill a little bit of my soul every time we had to fill up.

We moved into the same apartment complex, just a different apartment. We now live in a spacious 2 bedroom! We lovingly call the 'spare oom' the baby's room but are currently using it for storage! The best part is that the hall closets are bigger in the 2 bedroom, so our washer and dryer actually fit in the closet and can be hooked up! WAHOO! No more walking from the 3rd floor, across the complex, in the snow...uphill both ways to do our laundry. And although we don't have AC, it's suprisingly not bad. We bought 2 fans and they do a good job.

The first week back has been a whirlwind! We first were able to get a day off for the Garner reunion in Bear Lake. What we thought was just going to be a short drive turned into 4 hours, but it was definitely worth it to see everyone. I'm still trying to learn everyone's names, but it is a great family! I feel very at home with them.

Then, the day after we got back was our ward campout, so we packed up some stuff and headed about 30 minutes away to some of our bishop's property. It was so much fun. We absolutely love our ward. We had great food, played horseshoes, caught up with everyone, but the highlight definitely was the human rubber band. For those of you who were there, you know what I'm talking about! :) I'll try and post that video if I can figure it out.

Book Review and Recipe!

I've decided, it's not enough I just tell you the good books I'm reading, but also give you a little review so that you can decide if you want to read them too! (ps I'm ALWAYS up for good book suggestions! It seems I can't get enough of them these days! That will probably change once school starts! :)
I just got done reading "Freedom Factor" by Gerald Lund, inspired to do so after a patriotic lesson in Relief Society the week after the 4th. I once again realized how uneducated I am when it comes to our country's history and procedures. So as a start to learning more about our country and our inspired constitution, I read this book. It was fabulous! Quick synopsis: Bryce Sherwood is the aid to a powerful senator in Washington. They are about to pass a bill that will basically restructure the constitution. Blind to this bill's obvious and serious downfalls, Bryce will not yield his efforts. He has been promised much power among other things if he pushes this change. At the same time, he meets a young woman who is very passionate about saving the constitution. Despite their differences, they can't help falling for each other (swoon!) Not even his new gal pal Leslie can convince him of his wrongs, so a visitor from the past, Nathanial Gorham, a signer of the constitution, comes to try and convince Bryce to change his ways and places him in, for the lack of a better phrase, an alternate universe; a United States where the constitution never existed. He sees first hand what this great land would be like without the freedoms we enjoy.
So, if you're feeling a little less patriotic than usual, this book is a quick read, educational, enjoyable and inspire you to be a better citizen...maybe! Two thumbs up!

Now, as for this recipe.... If you're sick of making banana bread with your old bananas, here's such a yummy alternative!!! I learned it from Jolene staying in Nampa this summer.

FROSTED BANANA BARS
1/2 C butter of margarine softened
2 Cups sugar
3 Eggs
1-1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 medium)
1 t vanilla extract
2 C flour
1 t baking soda
pinch salt
*You can also add 1 Cup Sour cream. It's not necessary, but makes them very moist!

Pour into a greased 15x10x1 inch baking pan. Bake @ 350 for 25 minutes.

FROSTING
1/2 C butter or margarine softened
1 pkg, 8 oz cream cheese
4 C powdered sugar
2 t vanilla extract

Spread over cooled bars and enjoy! Yields 3 dozen!

They are SO yummy!!

One Year Older and Wiser too!

Happy Birthday to Richie!! Okay, Okay, I know it's been a while since the last post, but internet access has been limited over the past few weeks, so I'm just barely getting around to putting Richie's bday stuff on here from July 2nd! His celebrations were scattered, but it was a good time anyway. First his family got to come up to Nampa for a Wheeler reunion and it was so much fun to see them, even just for a little bit. Richie's mom made him a delicious blackberry pie and they spoiled him with a new tent and a big backpack among other things. Then, on Richie's actual birthday, we were sent up to Cascade so Richie could work in the Donnely store. So, my resources were limited at the cabin, but I tried my hardest to make a nice dinner and cake. Not my best work however! :) Later that week we got to go out to Dinner on Richie's company to Texas Roadhouse. Oh my goodness, I think it may be our new favorite restaurant! Nothin like some good ol' meat and potatoes! If you have never been there, I highly recommend splurging and going, even if it's just for the hot rolls with honey/cinnamon butter.

One year down...eternity to go!!

Bring it on! Right before we got married I remember quite a few people telling us this first year was going to be a bumpy ride and that it would be really hard. I'll admit, it takes some getting used to living with a guy! But, Richie and I both agree this has been the best year of our lives! It's been such an awesome year filled with growth neither of us ever expected. I'm so glad I married my best friend, it sure makes life a lot funner. And it's even better when your best friend is a good looking, sweet, smart, talented guy who will watch Anne of Green Gables with me if I really want him to, even though it's not his 'favorite'! :) I sure lucked out! Love you babe!


To celebrate we went to a fantastic Thai restaurant called "Mai Thai" in the Eagle/Boise area. (We didn't get any pictures! What were we thinking! So, if you want to check out the actual area, here's the website: (http://www.maithaigroup.com/) Wow! It was so good and the whole ambiance of the place made the meals even better. Richie had a curry dish (called the "Evil Jungle Prince". I got a kick out of that), cause he can handle the spicy stuff. Myself on the other hand played it safe with some Chow Mien. Our waiter also got us some free Summer Rolls (Sushi) which were very tasty. We splurged and even ordered Dessert. There was a particular dessert item called "Captain Jack" for $7.95, that was served on fire, so we thought we'd get that. LAME! We learned our lesson. The ice cream reminded us of Brian Regans bit on 1/2 cup ice cream servings, and the fire was pretty weak sauce. We passed Coldstone on the way home where we could have gotten double for the same price, and kicked ourselves the rest of the way! :) Moral of the Story, don't ever order an ice cream dessert that is served on fire! Especially for over $7! It was a really fun experience though and a great way to celebrate our first, fantastic year of marriage!

Sorry about no pictures! I'll try and post some later!

What a Crazy Summer!

Ok, here's the quick update. We were supposed to be here until the end of July, but plans have changed and Richie's uncle/boss needs us back in Rexburg by the 14th! So, we scrambled around calling the apartment we wanted and were able to still get one! Whew! Then, Richie's grandma wanted us to come live with her. So, after we heard that, we packed up all of our stuff from Jo and Jolene's and headed over the river and through the woods to Grandma's house. We're so lucky that we have so much family here that is willing to take us in! It is a huge blessing. Although life is great and everything is going well, I'm ready to not be living in and out of a suitcase and have our own apartment again! And that's all she wrote.

The BUN is in the OVEN and the CAT is out of the BAG!

You see, when two people really love each other....just kidding.  Yep! Mark your calendars for February 2nd! Richie and I are completely excited to be getting a new addition to our family and feel SO blessed!

Fun weekend!

Although we couldn't make it to our reunion, I was able to get a day off of work and go visit Richie at the cabin for the weekend! We went on a four wheeler ride, discovered we are not meant to be fishers (we didn't catch anything but the attention of some squirrels) and tried to go camping, but after almost 3 hours of driving trying to find places people told us about, got frustrated and went back to the cabin to sleep in a comfy bed! Among those grand adventures we also got locked out, tied a quilt, watched some movies and had a cook-out in the back yard.  Man, Richie's pretty dang good at roastin dogs and mallows! It was a great weekend and the best part was that Richie got to come home on Sunday and doesn't have to be at the cabin alone this week, so we are happy!!

Bummer Deal

For this next week or maybe longer, Richie is working up at a branch of the store about 2 hours away staying at his Grandma's cabin while I am here in Nampa. Kind of lame, but that's life sometimes I guess! I got to go up last weekend to be with him and his Grandma Linda and Great Grandpa Ewing. It is absolutely gorgeous up there!  Because of the harsh winter, all the new spring wild flowers are just coming out!  Our big project while we were there was to get Grandpa Ewing some more firewood.  Let me tell you, this man is 89 years old and still works like a champ! It was lots of fun to be up there with them and play some mean rounds of Canasta! I also get to go up this weekend to keep Richie company, and we're both looking forward to that.  But we're both missing the Crosby side of the family very much right now!! We wish we could be there for the reunion everyone!!! Too bad work and money are always getting in the way:( We love you!!!

Beautiful Country

We live in such a beautiful country! There are these fields, of mustard seed plants I think,  close to where we are living.  The fields are so big and brilliant in color that when you come over the hill it's breathtaking every single time! And in the middle of one of the fields is an old, white, farm house surrounded by old farm equipment and weeds.  I think it's absolutely gorgeous so I went to take some pictures there the other day.  Fun stuff! The last picture is of Richie fixing the brakes on our car! Isn't he great? They work fabulously now!