Bean Sprouts

lucky number 43

Those of us who are keeping track will know an obvious reason to celebrate #43 this year:  Clarence's birthday.  And celebrate we did:  (or as much as you can on any random Tuesday in the middle of a work week):  fish tacos with all the extras and homemade key lime pie (do you have any idea how many of those little key limes it takes to make one pie???... I probably squeezed at least 15 of those babies).  Well worth the effort, I'd say-- both for the yummy treat and that big old sweetie of mine!

 

Here's to you, Clarence... Happy Birthday!  We all love you so much!!!

 

Perhaps a little less obvious #43 celebration would be the time 43.49 seconds... which happens to be the qualifying time in 50 yard breaststroke for AA championships... which also happens to be Bella's time (to the hundreth second) in her most recent swim meet.  Yep, that little fish of ours is headed to Miami University in a few weeks to compete in her favorite event with other super speedy regional swimmers.  

You go, girl!  Congratulations!!!!



 

 

picture this: a year in review

So many happenings and so little time to play catch-up, so... before this new year completely sweeps me off my feet, I must make note of some of our special moments in 2011:

 

Bird Watching:  

A feathered family nesting right outside our window... better than TV and so fascinating to see the babies hatch, feed, grow and eventually fly (we hoped).  One of the more adventurous little birds skipped the test flight phase and jumped directly down to the deck... let's just say this:  a dog, more jumpers, and an empty nest... hopefully they were quick learners in aviation.

                       

                 

 

Baseball:  

The king cobras strike again and a young, soon-to-be cobra awaits his turn next season.

                 

           

 

Gymnastics:

Flips, twists, bends and splits-- Sophie can do it all.

                      

Syracuse Cousins:

An action-packed weekend in May and a fun time for all. 

                 

                     

                 

                        

 

The Cabin:

A slice of heaven on Thunder Bay and the best way to kick off our summer.

                 

                 

                 

                 

                 

                 

 

4th of July:

Steaming hot weather for the stars and stripes celebration... wagon rides are free of charge-- just check with Isaac for your reservation.

           

                  

 

Swim Team:

Soon to be a summer tradition for all Team Miller kids... Captain Isabella is our seasoned veteran.

                   

                 

 

Summer visitors:

The Iowa crowd is never too far away-- love it!

           

           

 

First day of school:  

5th, 3rd, 1st and pre-k, oh my.

                 

 

Football:

A season I dreaded before it began and ended up loving... the team, the coach, the parents, the sport, and that super cool kid who plays it.

                 

                

 

Our Nonna... and some ducks:

Whenever Nonna is around, she makes fun happen... and she's always up for anything that comes (or waddles) her way.

                 

                 

 

Emmit:  

the. best. cat. ever.  He will be missed.

     

           

 

Halloween:  

a cat, 2 sports guys, and a school of fish... although I can't take one bit of credit for the fish costumes, I can still admire how totally awesome they are!

                

           

     

 

Hay Straw Rides at the Black Barn:

Super yummy apples sold with a smile by our Auntie Fran look-alike.

                 

 

My custom-made kitchen island for my not-so-custom kitchen:

That amish guy really knows his stuff... and he's cute to look at-- Bonus.

                 

      

 

Pre-K happenings:

A Thanksgiving feast with friends and family, a visit to the zoo, and a Christmas art show.

                  

                 

           

 

Christmas Elves:

Those donut-delivering daredevils had an entire week home alone while we traveled to Iowa before Christmas.  Just enough time for shenanigans with the angry birds and pigs.

                 

                 

 

Whew...  now I think I'm ready for 2012.

 

 

  

 

 

 

love: grandma's sweet rolls

What better way to celebrate a day of love than to do so with a pan (or 5) of sweet rolls.  Not just any out-of-the-can variety cinnamon rolls, mind you, but the world famous (at least in our world), incredibly awesome, ooey-gooey sticky, super-duper yummy: "grandma sweet rolls".  

I've known about these treats since Clarence and I started dating and have indulged in my fair share of them... always perfectly delicious.  This is one of those wonderful recipes that has been part of a family history but never officially documented on paper.  You know those recipes that only one person is able to make because their are no specific measurements... it's mixed just until the dough "feels right" and then sprinkled with this and that until there's "enough".  Magical and maddening at the same time!  This winter break I had the pleasure of sharing the day with my talented mother-in-law while she made her sweet rolls-- only this time she measured every ingredient (for my benefit) while I quickly scribbled notes to get all the details on paper.

This recipe (and by that, I mean chicken scratch notes on a crumpled sheet of paper) would be a true test of culinary skills.  With my trusty baking partner at my side (and his gaggle of penguins), Levi and I set out to make this delicious treat as a valentine surprise for the rest of our crew.

My dough runneth over!  I think my yeast worked quite well... although, I may need a larger bowl next time... add that to my growing list of desperately needed kitchen supplies!  Norma has a huge bowl that accommodates this massive amount of dough, and Clarence recalls her using the same one for as long as he can remember.

After a morning of letting the dough rise, punching it down, and letting is rise again... it was time to roll, sprinkle, and roll.

Slice and dice:  into the pan to let the dough rise one more time... now I know why these were often served as that night's supper and then the next day's breakfast!!

Freshly baked and out of the oven to cool.  True to grandma's tradition:  we made one pan of "heels", which are the end pieces of each roll that aren't as neat as the middle slices-- this pan can be "tested" (i.e.:  "eaten") immediately... and it was!

Mixing the frosting:  we slathered it on THICK and probably made at least 3 batches of that sweet confection for our pans.

The finished product:  incredibly scrumptious and almost as good as grandma's... Levi gave it a "second place", for which I am quite proud!

YUM... Happy Valentine's Day!

and thank you, grandma, for sharing your love!