Hurray for productivity!

So I'm finally going to post a productive blog. I know, I know, it's very exciting. Don't get too excited now. My whole basis behind starting this blog, was to share delicious recipes I find, and to post all the really awesome things I crochet (toot! toot!). And while I've shared a few recipes, and said a few funny things, I haven't really done anything. So sit back, relax, have a sip of root beer, and just laugh at my rhetoric, and then leave an comment!

Seriously. Leave a comment. I think maybe 5 people have commented on my blog, and my husband does not count. I'm a little ashamed of you. Okay not really, but I thought there'd be a bit better feedback!

Anyways let us commence with the opening ceremonies.

This week has been a very productive week for my crochet, I've completed 3 projects, started a fourth, and I have about a half dozen orders on the books to complete before Halloween. Woohoo!

I apologize for my lackluster photography skills. Amelia broke my camera lens, and until I can either get it fixed or replaced, then good ol' unreliable phone camera has got to do. And while I have the world's most adorable little girl, she is a terrible model when it comes to showcasing her hats.

 

A free high five to whoever can guess what this next one is

 

 

any body? It's not that hard....

 

did any one guess...

 

well good on ya! That boys and girls, is an Ewok. For those unfortunate souls who have never seen Star Wars, I insist you immediately locate all 6 episodes (movies) sit down and watch them back to back. From Episode I to Episode VI, when the Ewoks actually appear.

 

Who loves Star Wars? We love Star Wars.

 

Tra la la la la.

 

good song eh?

 

Okay so you may have noticed the lack of commentary tonight, however my back is killing me. I'm not sure what I did, but I bet it involved chasing a one year old around a pond and feeding ducks.

 

 

OH! Good story about the ducks. Okay so we're sitting there feeding the duckies with our good pals, Tamra and Jax, and I noticed one of the ducks was missing a leg (darn those alligators!) Well I say to Tamra, get this, it's a real kicker, "We should call her Peg."

 

Ha ha ha. Get it? Because she only has one leg...

 

Anyways. I'm really tired. I think only my family gets to see this loopy, sleepy Becca.

 

It's recipe time! Peanut butter jelly time. Peanut butter jelly time. Where ya at? Where ya at?

 

So since Michael has started this really awesome poopy shift, I haven't really been in a good house wife kind of mood. So dinner isn't getting made, dishes aren't getting done, etc. etc. Hey, Amelia has a clean bum and full belly, that's a successful day. Well I started to make dinne last night. Decided I was exhausted, so I only made the rice. So this morning I'm trying to decided what to make with the rice, because let's face it, I had no idea what I was doing last night. I decided to make a chicken-broccoli-rice-awesome casserole. In the short three years of our marriage, I have successfully made approximately zero, zlich, nada, goose egg, good broccoli casseroles.

 

Well let me tell you something! This one is a winner. As is winner winner chicken dinner! Seriously. There was chicken in it. So thanks to my good friends at deepsouthdish.com (and google) I made this really scrumdiddlyumptious casserole this morning. I am quite pleased with myself. Yay for feeling domesticated!

 

 

Ingredients

• 2 cups of cooked rice (I used brown rice)
• 3 cups of chopped broccoli, cooked
• 1 cup sour cream ( I didn't have a cup of sour cream, I used a half a cup of that and a half a cup of milk)
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice (I only used about a tsp)
• 1 (10 ounce) can of condensed cream of celery soup, (didn't have cream of celery, used cream of chicken)
• 1-1/2 cups of grated Cheddar cheese, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/4

Wishes and Dreams

Future House Dream List Item #3 sound proof the walls. I am so, so, so sick of hearing bass booming from the jack wagons who just roll up in the gangsta (don't care if it's racist) at 9 o'clock on a weeknight. C'mon. Really? Why are people so inconsiderate?

Future House Dream List Item #4 Have modern, functioning appliances. One large burner on my stove doesn't cut it for me. Having a tiny freezer with NO shelves in it, no bueno. And a dishwasher without a top rack spinner or a utensil rack. Seriously? I mean really? What's the point of having a dishwasher?

Ooo! Last one.
Future House Dream List Item #5 "ranch-style" floorplan. Meaning no stairs! I'm 24 years old and I have the knees of a 90 year old. Going up and down the stairs twelve thousand times a day is not ideal.

I lied. One moreFuture House Dream List Item #6 live in a city/neighborhood not filled with crime. Maybe I'm just sheltered from living in Montana for so long, and there rarely being any "serious" crime. But I have to force myself not to watch the news here. There are so many murders, robberies, kidnappings, etc. It absolutely terrifies me. Just this week, There have been at least a half dozen well-publicized murders. A few weeks after we moved into this apartment, there was a meth-lab explosion across the street from us. The morons took three innocent lives that day. I feel a tad safer, knowing that there is a police officer right next door to us. I think the sight of his police cruiser disuades a lot of potential criminals from entering our apartment area. Even when we lived on base, I didn't feel safe. There were maybe 4 street lamps for the entire street. There have been a string of car break-ins lately, inside of peoples' carports. I mean if you're not safe on base with the MP's patrolling, that's sad. Although, the part of base we lived on, is not a gated community like most bases are. Unless Michael is home, I don't even want to be out of the house past sunset. That's when the crazies come out. You know what I'm talking about.

However, I digress.

To my mommy friends:
What do/did you get your toddler to eat? Amelia and I have struggled with her eating solids. She's only just recently started eating enough for solids to actually count as food. I hope that makes sense. She's doing much better, but I just don't know what to make her. 9 times out of 10 she feeds it to the dog. I understand that even so, a lot of toddlers don't eat "meals" per se, but I feel like she's not getting enough nutrients.

Anyways. I took sleeping pills so I could actually fall asleep before 1 am when my husband gets home from work, and they are finally kicking in. Sweet dreams all!

By the way. These are Oatmeal Scotchies, or Mouthgasms lol.
I hadn't made them yet when I gave you the recipe,
 so here's a really stellar webcam shot.

The Chronicles of Coxson

This one is long. But it's mostly pictures. So think of it as a digital picture book. Like the ones you used to read in high school.

Trying to blog every day is really hard. And being a mom makes it that much more difficult. And now I remember why my previous blogs have a big fat FAIL stamped across them. Just kidding, this one is a lot more fun to write. However I don't think I'm going to be able to give you a daily dose of our oh so fabulous life. But as I sit here trying to make up for yesterday, Amelia is napping, and Michael is watching the Twilight movies. Yes, you heard me right. Anyways, I just can't seem to think of anything worthwhile to say.

So rather than sharing whatever funny anecdote happened this weekend, I think I'll actually take the time to introduce my family. I think most of you that read this, are pretty familiar with us Coxsons. We are a particular breed of species. We speak 2 languages, Sarcasm and English. (Okay Michael speaks Spanish too, don't want to discredit his hard work). A lot of what I have to say is generally going to with a sardonic tone. Now I know sarcasm doesn't always come across the best in text, so you should just assume that everything I say is serious.

This sweet picture was taken back when cameras
still had film.

Michael and I met in the summer of 2004, I was a Junior and Michael was a Senior. Oh how we had a whirlwind romance. Haha that's a big ol' fat lie. Okay so we met at a tri-stake (church) youth conference barn dance. They were taking us on this sort of pioneering hike. This was (what seems) so long ago, I honestly can't remember the details. All I know is I think I became friends either with Anna (best sister in law ever) or with their friends and somehow Michael and I got introduced. At the time his family lived in Big Sandy, MT (Go Pioneers!), and I lived in Great Falls, MT. So the only time we ever went out, was when they happened to be in town. I think this picture was from our first date. Soon after, Mike's family moved to Bradleyville, MO, a.k.a the mole on Missouri's butt. After they moved, Anna and I stayed friends, but Mike and I didn't really talk.

The following summer (2005) Mike, Anna, and their brother Adam, came back up to Montana to work at the K-M Scout Camp. I went to EFY in Provo, with Holly, Sam, and Stephanie. EFY is a week long "camp" where high-school students get to stay at college campuses all over the US. It's pretty much one of the coolest things I got to do as a high-schooler. I met a lot of awesome people, and came home in the best spiritual shape of my life. Well while at EFY, we were only allowed to call our families once I think. As I was on the phone with my mom, and she said, "A Mike called for you." Now being at EFY, I was on the prowl for cute boys, and thought I had met the boy of my dreams. So when my mom said Mike, I had no idea who she was talking about. After a few minutes I realized who it was, and she told me that they would be there through the end of summer. After I got home from EFY, I went back to work at TCBY (the best job ever). One day at work, Mike randomly showed up, and we were happily reunited. For the rest of that summer, we went on dates and had tons of fun until they went back to BFE.


Summer after my Senior year (2006), talked throughout my senior year a bit, but living 1500 miles apart doesn't help much. One day we were chatting on IM, and mike jokingly said something about how I should come visit him. So me being the newly graduated girl I was, basically hopped on a plane to Missouri. Fun ensued, and remained in contact after that.

Bored yet? 8 years is a long time to cover. Be glad you're getting the Reader's Digest version.

In December of 2006, Michael put in his mission papers, and shortly thereafter was called to serve a full-time mission in East LA. He served as a spanish speaking elder. I quickly agreed to write him while he served, and did so diligently for about 6 months. After that, is another story for another time.



Sexy right?

After Michael's mission, I think he waited 3 whole days before he got home to call me. Realizing what a putz I had been for the last 2 years, I swiftly got my poop in a group. I had started a new job recently and that helped me a lot, to get back to where I needed to be. By that I mean, I stopped hanging around the people that I desperately needed to sever ties with. It might sound silly to some of you, but after that first phone call, I knew that I was going to marry Elder Coxson.

After a few more phone calls, we decided that I was going to go visit again. Michael's family was going on a vacation, they were driving from Missouri up to New York. I flew into Indianapolis as they were already on the road, and they picked me up. The premise of this vacation, was to visit the church historical sites. To date, it has been the best vacation I've been on, and of

 course will never forget.

 

And now for a short photo montage

 

The whole fam damily on the vacation, minus dad

Man. We look good.

Uh...

Niagara Falls

More falls...

Oh ya...did I mention he proposed at Niagara Falls?

We're so cute 

 

Hill Cumorah Pageant = best show ever.

 Oh yeah. There was a lot of kissing.

Super awesome engagement pictures by Adam.

 

Let's see. So we got married on August 19, 2009, just two short months after being reunited.

 

And then we had a baby! Hurray!

 

 

 

Okay, I think I've put you through enough pain and suffering for one night. I'm sure I will be chronicling Amelia a lot more later. But to be fair. I did warn you this was long. And more for me then you.

 

Happy blogging :) have a good Sabbath!

                  

 

 

 

 

 

 



Hashtags and Youtube

So for those of you not up to date on the latest youtube phenomena, there is a video pandemic sweeping the world. I made the mistake of showing my husband. Oh how we reap what we sow. For your viewing pleasure, I have conveniently provided the link for you. Enjoy! Except Nicole, I already know you hate it.

http://youtu.be/9bZkp7q19f0

For the past 24 hours, Michael has been listening to this every 5 minutes or so, and doing the giddy-up dance. Don't get me wrong, he is still extremely attractive while being such a nerd, but one can only take so much! Just kidding! I hope this phase doesn't last long though, I can only go to bed with that song stuck in my head so many nights in a row.

Next on the agenda.

What the flip is a hashtag? I mean I see what it is. I just don't understand what the point is. Why is saying this at the end of what I have to say, any different than saying #thisattheendwhatIhavetosay?
I'm going crazy seeing them all over. Oh, you #hadagoodday? That's cool. Why don't you tell me more about it? And if you do this, I am absolutely picking on you. So be offended. Okay don't be offended, but please explain to me, why this is necessary.

Tonight at church we had a talent show. I displayed all of my crochet things, which I think were a big hit (yes I like to brag about them!). And there were a bunch of wonderful talents shared with us. My favorite was these three little kids who got up and sang a primary song, called "I'll Walk With You".
Now if you don't get to hear little children sing very often, I strongly encourage you to find out the next time your church is having a Primary Program or any sort of choir with children. They will melt your heart. As Taylee, Ryan and Myriam sang the sweet lyrics, I could feel tears began to well up in my eyes. I tried to suppress the water leaking from my tear ducts, and just couldn't do it, I think I felt a tear or two slip through. Here are the lyrics for those of you who don't have access to a children's primary songbook:

If you don’t walk as most people do,
Some people walk away from you,
But I won’t! I won’t!
If you don’t talk as most people do,
Some people talk and laugh at you,
But I won’t! I won’t!
I’ll walk with you. I’ll talk with you.
That’s how I’ll show my love for you.
Jesus walked away from none.
He gave his love to ev’ryone.
So I will! I will!
Jesus blessed all he could see,
Then turned and said, “Come, follow me.”
And I will! I will!
I will! I will!
I’ll walk with you. I’ll talk with you.
That’s how I’ll show my love for you.

 

 

 

More importantly though, these three darling little children, reminded me of how important it is to be loving and caring of everyone. I know that too often in my life, I am quick to judge others. And I know that I certainly don't want to raise Amelia that way. I think it would break my heart if I saw her  turn away from someone because they were different. I hope that I can find it within myself to remember that when I see someone who isn't the same as me. And I really hope you do too. We all make jokes, and while they may be "harmless" jabs, they're always at the expense of someone else's feelings, whether you or they know it.

 

 

Good deed of the day!

 

So as it turns out, this is a lot harder to do when you don't get out of your house much. I went to my morning exercise class, saw the same people I always see there. Not a lot of opportunity to do a good deed. Other than that, Amelia and I stayed home until the talent show. I suppose sharing your talents with others is somewhat of a good deed. I mean keeping them to yourself is rather selfish. But I won't make excuses. I hope you all tried and had better success than I did! Please share!

 

Recipe of the day:

 

Oatmeal Scotchies, or better known as the origin of Michael's term "Mouthgasms"

 

1 1/4 cup flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 cup (2 sticks) butter softened (don't you dare use margarine!)

3/4 cup white sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla

3 cups of uncooked oats

1 2/3 cups butterscotch chips

 

Prehead oven to 375.

 

Combine flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a separate bowl.

 

Beat butter, white sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla in a large mixing bowl.

 

Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in oats and butterscotch chips with a spoon. Drop by rounded teaspoon onto baking sheet. It is important that you don't make these too large, because they spread out quite a bit. If they are too big, they will spread too thin.

 

Bake for 7-8 minutes.

 

Peace out!

Good Deeds Challenge

So I am going to try really hard not just blog about how my day was, what I ate for lunch, what color Amelia's poop was (mom joke). But somedays you just gotta blab!

The day started out pretty good. My alarm clock woke me up a little earlier than normal, by playing in her crib cheerfully. While I was waking up, I heard some banging and clanging downstairs. Freaked out for a minute, I took Amelia downstairs with me, probably not the best move if I thought someone had broken into my house. Thankfully it was just Michael. I forgot he had a physical fitness assessment this morning, so he got a small break for the same old boring schedule, and he got to spend the morning with us. He was trying to be a sweetheart and make me breakfast in bed, but again, I spoiled the surprise. But it was surprise enough that I got to see him before 6 o'clock at night. He still made me breakfast which was legit and he had done a load of dishes. I sure do love that man.

Other than the 20 minute wait in the grocery store checkout line, Amelia and I have has a very uneventful day. Which somedays, is a good thing!


On the menu tonight, Salmon and Asparagus, mmmmmm mmm good. No special recipe needed, just basic culinary skills!

Okay so I don't really have anything fabulous to write about today, so instead, I've decided to issue a challenge. I invite all of you to participate in this challenge with me. I figure if I am determined to blog every day, then it will be more of a test for myself, to actually do a it every day. Anyways the challenge at hand, is to do a good deed, that you wouldn't normally do. It doesn't have to be huge, or epic in anyways, just something you wouldn't normally find yourself doing. And then if you want to join in the fun, post a comment on each days' blog about what your good deed was.

Mine for instance was by no means, a feat of extraordinary strength. However, for me it was extremely difficult on my patience. We've had issues with our neighbors playing their music very loudly. Well as Michael pointed out, at least they stopped blasting their bass at bedtime. Hallelujah! Well I used all of my super-mom powers to not bang on the walls today. Go me!

Your turn! On your mark....get ready....get set... GO!!!!

The tale of the burritas...

Well. I suppose I will now state that not all of my recipes are, well...my recipes. Last night's entree was a recipe supplied by someone on Michael's mission. He served a Spanish speaking mission in Eastern LA. I guess you could say he ate a lot of Mexican food, and that would be an understatement. I think he probably consumed more Mexican food in those two years than most Mexicans consume in their whole lives. With that said, I am not at all responsible for the outcome of last night's supper.

 

I cooked it. Yes. But you can only do so much with a recipe that looks like this:

 

 

Okay, so it's really not that bad. But how can you make a sauce when you have no idea how much garlic or chicken boullion to put in it? Either way, I managed.

 

I must admit, it wasn't inedible. But it wasn't amazing. According to Michael's "palate rating system", it was not a mouthgasm. But I suppose when the last time he ate it, it was cooked by the woman who invented the recipe, it probably tasted A LOT better. Either way it was....alright. If you really want the recipe, in legible print, let me know and I'll post it :)

 

Since I'm such a nice guy, I will leave you with a recipe that has gotten a 5 Mouthgasm award from my husband. He has requested that we eat this dish at least once a month. This is neither my recipe, nor my photo. For full recipe information, please visit:

 http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Aloha-Pork-Chops

 

 

Let's face it. First off, I could never make my food look that good, no matter how delicious it is. Secondly, this was really freaking amazing. And super easy to make. I think it took me maybe an hour altogether, and that time includes the 15-20 minutes of wrangling a hyperactive one year old.

 

Ingredients

• 4 boneless pork loin chops (3/4 inch thick)
• 1 tablespoon lemon-pepper seasoning
• 1 teaspoon plus 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 cup sweet-and-sour sauce
• 1 can (20 ounces) pineapple chunks, drained
• 1/2 medium green pepper, julienned
• 1/2 cup chopped red onion
• 6 cups cold cooked rice
• 1/4 cup stir-fry sauce

Directions

• Sprinkle pork chops with lemon-pepper. In a large skillet, brown chops on both sides in 1 teaspoon oil over medium-high heat; remove and set aside. Drain skillet; add sweet-and-sour sauce and pineapple chunks. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; return chops to skillet. Simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes or until meat juices run clear.
• Meanwhile, in another skillet, saute the green pepper and onion in remaining oil for 2 minutes. Add rice and stir-fry sauce; cook and stir for 4 minutes or until lightly browned. Transfer to a serving platter; top with pork chops. Yield: 4 servings.

And Presto Chango! Mouth-watering goodness on a plate.

 

 

Now for the rest of today's shananigans. For those of you who haven't already been on Facebook umpteen-million times today, this is what I got to do today:

 

 

 

 

In case you have never been to the south, or you don't watch Animal Planet, that is an

ALL-I-GAT-OR. I was over at my friend Tamra's house, and as the little chillun's were soundly sleeping in their carseats, the grounds keeper for Tamra's apartment complexes caught a little guy out of the pond. This was actually a gator he had caught a little earlier, the second one was much smaller. So to show off my brute strength and daring bravery, I opted to hold the bigger one. As you can see, he's not really all that big, maybe 5 feet. Oh you don't think that's a big alligator? How about compared to this 10 1/2 foot beast that Tamra's husband caught last night:

 

 

 

 

 

Or this guy we saw on Saturday at Cypress Gardens:

 

 

 

Okay I shouldn't assume that these alligators are all male. That's sexist and I don't really care haha. I have no idea how to tell what kind of reproductive organs these reptiles have, and honestly I don't think it matters.

 

The following message is from Amelia:

 

 . b...g cfxji c v m c l.llllllllllllljhfhrj wlodheoem rtgjkminifdbuiinjvubhcx mcxm,xk cjcxncxnmcx nbcx  x /
 t\

 

Back to gators. Nope. Actually I said all I had to say about that. Nuff said.

 

Introducing...

First off, I hope you have your sitting pants on, because this one is loooooooong.

Some 3 or 4 weeks ago, I decided that I was going to create a blog, because I'm a funny guy and everyone wants to hear what I have to say. Well then our awesome, really old (2 1/2 years old) laptop died. It may have had something to do with the glass of water I spilled on it, but there's no sense in placing blame. Anyways, one week later and we have a new computer (and the peasants rejoiced!), and now I can blog my two cents about being a crazy WORK at home mom.

Ah...you caught that did ya? Work at home? Becca doesn't work...or does she? Show me ONE stay at home mom, that doesn't work. Exactly! You can't! Why? Because being a stay at home mom is anything but a day off. There are no sick days, no vacations, no work parties. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely, one-hundred-and-eighty percent love being a mom. Especially to a toddler as entertaining, smart, cute, and mischievious as Amelia.

To those of you who aren't familiar with Amelia, let me introduce her. Amelia is 382 days old. Or as I more commonly like to say, she is 54 weeks old. Why do I say it like that? You know how while you're pregnant and people ask how far along you are, you say, "Oh, I'm 26 weeks." Although, let's admit it by 26 weeks, most people just think you're cashing in on those free "hot now" donuts at Krispy Kreme.

"Uh....how old is he?"
"Um, he is 48 months old..."

If you don't understand that movie reference...well go get chocolate wasted.

Anyways. So I decided that I will leave the calculating of how old she is, to the infinite number of strangers that want to pinch her cheeks and often think she is a boy. As many parents of bald baby girls know, you can dress them in ALL pink (which we will never do) and people will still ask how old he is. Let's see...Amelia loves ice cream (as you can see), chasing the dog, and jumping on the couch. She is the most well-behaved baby a mom could ask for. Seriously. I don't know how Michael and I managed that one, but I imagine we won't be so lucky next time. Granted she has been throwing some pretty intense temper tantrums lately, but we're trying to quit the tit, and she's not very happy about it.

I won't ramble on too much about Amelia, because I can guarantee that all of my posts will have a little (probably all about) her shananigans and antics of the day.

There are a few key things you should know about me, well probably my husband too.

We are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, also commonly referred to as the Mormons. For more information on our AWESOME religion, please visit www.mormon.org :)
I will delve more into my personal testimony in another blog, but if you have any questions, I would love to answer them! I fully intend on frequently revisiting being Mormon later, but for the purposes of introducing myself, I will hold off for now.



 




We have been married for 3 amazing years. I like to think we have an ideal marriage, we don't fight ever, we're very money conscious (I'll bet you'll love me for this one later), and we're both relatively funny. In case you were wondering, the aforementioned items make for a kick-butt marriage.

Oh last thing, for now. We make really cute babies. Okay baby, in this case. But I'm pretty sure any future spawn will be relatively good-looking also. However there is the off chance that we used all of our good genes on Amelia. I mean, she is pretty awesome.





By now, you might be wondering, "Why is this crazy lady writing a blog about how awesome her family is?" Well...
A) for telling you how awesome my kid is.
B) I like to think I'm pretty funny, and so I've decided to enlighten your day by making you laugh.
C) I'm a decent cook, and a pretty alright baker, so I decided to share all of my awesome recipes with you.
D) You will get to see all of the really sweet things I crochet.

In case you were wondering, today's word is: AWESOME, it is brought to you by the letter Q.




Ah. Now the fun begins. I crochet like a mad fool. No not fool, my dad doesn't like that word. Let's say...I crochet like...me :) I will shamelessly promote my "business" and toot my own horn. A lot. I have a little crochet business called CuteLoops, you can visit my awesome creations on facebook or on Etsy. www.facebook.com/RebeccasCuteLoops or www.rccuteloops.etsy.com Here are a few examples of really sweet things I've made :)
 I warn you, I will post A TON about my hooking. Haha see what I did there? However, I hope to become a mediocre blogger, in which case, you will be able to filter through my posts, and decided which ones you want to occupy those brain cells.





I will most likely be posting recipes frequently. Either labled edible or with poison controls number. Tonight's menu is courtesy of Michael's mission, burritas, no that is not a typo. So if we're lucky, you'll get that recipe later :)

Well I think that'll do for now. I'm getting yelled at by crankypants (Amelia). So stay tuned for more awesomeness! I promise in future blogs I won't use the word awesome as much... mwah ha ha ha.