SUPER BOWL 2010

Despite a rainy day, we had small but fun group for our Super Bowl party. (we won't talk about who won. Grrr!)

I made Caribbean Wings...first time for the recipe & they were awesome! Definitely a keeper. Our friend, Ryan, made ribs & they were to die for. Mmmm...I can still taste them! I also made cocoa rice krispy treats in the shape of footballs...also very good! Recipe was on the Cocoa Krispies box. It was nice being with friends and enjoying a good game...not to mention the Super Bowl commercials. My fav was "Man's Last Stand" - Dodge commercial (google it...hilarious!)

I have more PHOTOS on my facebook page (click on the word "photos"). And below is the recipe for the.........

Caribbean Wings

1 serrano or habanero pepper (seeded & chopped)

1/4 c soy sauce

1/4 c honey

1/4 c brown sugar

2 Tbl sugar

2 tsp fennel seed

2 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tsp allspice

2 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp ground ginger

4 garlic cloves chopped

4 gr onions chopped

1/4 c apple cider vinegar

1/4 c lime juice

1/4 c orange juice

6-7 lb chicken wings

In food processor, blend all but the chicken until smooth. Reserve 1 cup marinade. Place wings in large ziplock baggie & pour remaining marinade over them. Seal & marinate in refrigerator 4-6 hrs.

Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 sheet trays w/parchment. Remove chicken from bag & place on baking sheets. Bake 20 minutes...meanwhile, in small saucepan bring the 1cup marinade to boil. Reduce to low heat until thick - 10 min. After 20 min, remove chicken from oven, brush with marinade. Raise heat to 400 & cook 20 min until cooked through.

FRIDAY FAMILY DAY

Fridays are our family day...when we put down our cell phones (or try to!) and put the focus on our family time.

Most of the time, we just wing it on our day off. It seems that we're so busy up to that day, that when it's finally here, we're not quite ready for it. I was excited to find a coupon for my fav breakfast spot..the Jerry Bob's in Oro Valley. So off we headed for a big breakfast. Last time we were there, some poor lady tried parking in the handicapped spot, stepped on the gas instead of the brakes...plowed over the handicap sign and stopped just a few feet away from the big glass window of the restaurant. Very scary. According to the staff, it hasn't been the first time either. Yikes!!

After breakfast we tried to figure out a plan...snow sledding? No, too late to take a trip up Mt. Lemmon (plus I had on flip flops)... Miniature golf? Maybe. Bowling? Another possibility. Ultimately, we took Nate to the zoo. Always a fun family favorite. We like to take a milestone photo of Nate on the bronze elephant.

Later that night, Don & I got our hair done. That's right...we BOTH got our hair cut & colored...well Don's was highlighted & I LOVE it!! We have the best hairstylist ever.

Well that's a day in the life of the Sullivan's family fun day. Exciting, eh? haha.

WINTER THOUGHTS

Well, the weather in Tucson has been pretty good here lately, although the road to Mt. Lemmon is still closed due to excessive snow. Guess the sledding will have to wait for awhile.

In the meantime, I'm thankful that I can still walk to the park with my 3 yr old. Nate is exerting his independence more & more which makes life interesting. There are things about this age that I love though. His personality is developing more & I love to see how he's learning, how his imagination is taking shape and how he can do more things for himself. Kind of nice to be able to say, "hey Nate, can you let the dog outside?" or "hey Nate, can you throw this away for me?" haha! He thinks it's a big deal to do those things so might as well take advantage of it while I can!

He is a happy boy & loves life. He also likes things a certain way, for instance....his friend J.J. came over for a play day & was using his lightsaber like a gun, saying "Bang! Bang!". Well that didn't sit well with Nate at all. After all, it's a "SWORD" not a gun! Those chubby cheeks & mouth turned into a huge frown & those frustration tears welled up in his eyes. Going to take him some time to know the meaning of the word "pretend". He got so mad, he ran into his room, slammed the door & refused to let his friend in! Good times.

We are having many teachable moments. It amazes me at times to see what runs through his head. We celebrate the little (but very big to him) accomplishments like, cracking nuts with the nutcracker, putting his puzzles together, putting his train track together, doing crafts, spelling words, snapping & zipping up his pants by himself, etc etc. The other day, he sang a song that he learned in bible class...all by himself. We didn't even know he knew it!

And I love those moments when he says, "Mom, I love you THIS much!"...and opens his arms as wide as he can.

WINTER BLEW THRU

Snow on Mt. Lemmon

This week we had a big winter storm blow through Tucson. Can you say, "tornado, flood & blizzard warning"? Seriously!!!! The wind was HORRIBLE & did some damage to parts of Tucson/Phoenix. In fact, a tornado did touch down in north Phoenix last week. Crazy! We got a lot of much needed rain and the weather made for good conversation for a week at least.

I started a new photo album on Facebook and began uploading more pictures. Here's the link for you:

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2010

Also check out my purse blog at D.S. Bag Design for the latest recycled coffee bag creations! I have started doing applique coffee bag art & am loving it!!

FAMILY PHOTOS

For those of you interested, I put all our photos on my facebook page. Just too many to put on the blog. Here's the link for our Christmas album:

Christmas 2009

Winter Wonder

I am so bummed we missed the snow at my parent's house! It snowed today & the lake across from their house iced over. Here's a photo of my dad standing on the frozen lake. Now you know where I get my craziness from. hahaha.

HOME

After a 2-day (exhausting) drive, we are finally home again! Sadly, all 3 of us have head colds & are sitting around hacking up a lung. We took our time coming home...partly because we weren't feeling well & decided to stay in hotels a couple of nights. We also took a spontaneous detour & visited our alma mater, Abilene Christian University & our early married stomping grounds. It's funny...things seemed bigger when we were there...or maybe it's just because 16 years of memories are slightly warped. haha. 

I'm a little bummed because my parents called & said it was snowing! I was so hoping to see snow before we left but it escaped their area. Seems like everyone around us got a whopping of it, though. Now we are back in the high 60's & wearing flip flops. Not too shabby.

We are looking forward to a new year with new goals. Namely, eating healthier & Nate starting preschool in the fall! In the meantime, we'll just look forward to celebrating the Chinese New Year. Blessing to you all.