dear nana.

dear nana,

i love my alligator backpack. i sort of feel like diego (cue the music: deep inside the jungle where natures running wild, coming to the rescue is a very special child!) with it on. like maybe i could go hunt tigers and lions and zebras. zebras are my favorite. well, no monkeys are my favorite. no, no...dogs. yes, dogs are my favorite.

anyway, thank you again for the backpack. i think it's great.

love, pratt.

pictures.

two great pictures taken by a friend of mine. savannah. she just happened to be at amy's when we stopped by for a visit. and she captured these two shots. what a talented photographer.





thank you savannah! i LOVE them!

an awesome cookbook

hi guys.

i have a cookbook that my sister emailed me. sugar.

well, sugar has made MY day because the cookbook has the benihana spicy shrimp sauce. woohoo!

it's got lots of restaurant recipes.

here are a few:

chili's blondie brownie recipe
california pizza kitchen recipes
ben and jerry's ice cream recipes (and cookies!)
cinnabon cinnamon rolls
olive garden recipes
mcdonalds recipes
outback recipes

if your mouth isn't watering, there is something wrong with you.

email me at hannahfielderfulks@yahoo.com if you want me to send it to you! i can't figure out how to upload it, sorry!

corn chowder recipe.

so i'm making corn chowder for clint's birthday dinner tonight. well, i just finished making it. and let me tell you...it is fab.u.lous.

honestly. it's so cold outside, we wanted a hot soup. but we had potato last week, and we both wanted something different. so...i found this on foodnetwork.com today.

and i made this and my mother's chocolate creme brulee recipe. o.m.g. i can't believe it, but God smiled down on me..and it's actually perfect. taste, consistency. everything.

okay. here's the corn chowder recipe. i actually halved it. because it makes 6 to 8 servings. and they are big servings. and i find we don't eat leftover soup like we should. so...i made 3 to 4 servings.

corn and potato chowder

Ingredients

1 tablespoon butter
1/4 pound bacon, diced
1 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped green pepper
salt and black pepper
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons flour
4 cups chicken broth or stock
4 cups peeled, finely diced all-purpose potato
1 1/2 cups shredded carrot
2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
1 cup half-and-half
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Pinch of cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

Directions

Sling the butter into a soup kettle and melt over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook till crisp. Scoop out the bacon and drain on paper towels. Save for later--don't nibble too much.

Pour off all but 1/4 cup of fat from the pot. Toss in the onions and peppers, seasoning them with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook till soft and then throw in the garlic, cooking it all for 1 minute more. Sprinkle on the flour and mix into the veggies. Dump in the broth and potatoes. Cover the pot and bring to a boil; then lower the heat and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, or till the potatoes are tender. Add the shredded carrots and corn. Cover and simmer everything 5 to 6 minutes longer to blend the flavors.

Stir in the half-and-half. Season with the thyme, cayenne, some more salt, and lots of freshly ground black pepper to taste. Sprinkle with parsley and the bacon bits you've been saving.

Give it one last stir, and ladle it up piping hot.

the recipe is apparently from a book titled, "dinosaur bbq" by john stage and nancy radke. and if any of the other recipes in the book are as good as this one...it'd be a purchase you might want to make.

cooking the bacon and using some of the leftover grease gives it a really hearty taste. and the smell of onion, bell pepper and garlic on the stovetop...well, there's just nothing better.

oh, one more thing. i actually used a hand blender to blend up the ingredients once i had added everything. it gives it more of a creamy consistency. if you don't have a hand blender, you can transfer it to a food processor and get the same result. just be careful. it will splash...and it IS hot!

enjoy.

liberty bowl.

just for documentation sake.

january 2nd. 2010. coldest day of my life.

no...coldest night of my life.

thankfully, we won. but let me tell you. by the end of that game, i was hoping that the ecu kicker would make the field goal. i really was. i was pulling for the other team. i couldn't feel my toes. or my nose. i wasn't even sure my legs were still there.

so this is to act as a reminder that for the next bowl game...when teh temp is around 20...clint might should just take a guy friend. because i'm pretty sure i complained the entire time. no fun, clint. i know...i'm sorry. but i really did think i was losing my fingers. and toes.

thanks for wanting to be with me. i'm a lucky, lucky gal.

and pratt...we missed you so, so much. dad promised you that we won't go anywhere without you for a long, long time. he said that he would always rather be with you...than somewhere alone. it's true. so, so true. we love you.

christmas day.

we had a wonderful christmas day.

we woke up at our own house and opened gifts. pratt got a glowworm from me, a book, splat the cat, from dad and santa brought a drumset.

the drumset was left by the tree. and pratt was pretty excited when he spotted it!

nana and papa randy came over to see us that morning. we opened a few presents with them and then we headed to my parents house.







pratt opened his first round of presents...and then took a nap. no lie. then after he woke, he opened the rest of them.

we had a wonderful lunch. pratt had his own special seat. in our old highchair with his own fork and spoon. pretty great.


we all got lots of great gifts. one of my favorites was my great grandmother's set of flatware. pretty great.

the wright family came over and brought pratt a few presents! emily gave him a great animal puzzle that he loved. and ashton and jonathan brought him a wooden roller toy and chicka chicka boom boom! it's safe to say that the roller is his favorite. it's so loud. and so as soon as ashton and jonathan have a baby of their own, i will happily send it to them! just kidding. it's a great gift. wooden toys rock. and so do emily, ashton and jonathan. we love you guys.

after all the christmas presents were opened, we went out to see uncle max and aunt pam. and as a special surprise, we got to see becca too! max has a pony on the farm that pratt met for the first time. it was love at first sight! this was the sweetest pony and pratt had a wonderful time riding it!

i love the picture of him holding onto the saddle. so sweet!

we really had a wonderful christmas holiday/break. there is nothing greater than being with family.

nothing greater.

christmas eve.

so. it's now 2010. and i'm blogging about christmas. i've been busy. really, no joke. i have been.

we spent christmas eve at grandma and grandpa's house. in the dream hometown. it is most likely the last christmas there, as they are moving....(i refuse to believe this...as i can't imagine them not being in that house. but that's a whole 'nother blog post.)...soon. well, so, we celebrated christmas there this year.

we had a wonderful time visiting. it's so nice because there are five kids (about to be six!) and pratt fits in so well. three boys...and two girls. and everyone is so sweet to him. it reminds me of being christmas with frank and nick. there is really nothing greater than family.

so here are a few pictures.

grandma, you might want to get bart's group picture. as mine isn't all that great. check casey's face to see what i mean! ha!

we had such a wonderful time. we always do. i wish we all lived on the same street.

life then...would really be perfect.