My wonderful valentine's present

So what did I get that was so wonderful yesterday for Valentine's Day? Dan did get me flowers (thanks honey, they are gorgeous!), but that's not the big gift. The big gift was from my dentist--a $2000 estimate! And that's after our insurance.

This is what happens when you put off going to the dentist. I finally took Tyler in for the first time (he's four) and myself for the first time in 6 years. I would suggest you go more often, especially if you are like me with horrible teeth. I can remember going in all with my brother and sisters, and I was always the one with the repeat dentist visits. This is including my brother who as a kid would go a week without brushing his teeth, and still not have cavities! I have only had maybe two visits to the dentist with perfect checkups. So as we have moved, changed insurance, had to find a good dentist, etc., it was just too easy to keep putting it off. So yesterday I was given the wonderful news: I need four crowns, and I have two cavities. They are starting on the two worst teeth that need crowns, which are right next to each other, and then we'll go from there.

And just as a PSA, if you happen to have a filling pop out one day while you are flossing your teeth, don't wait over a year to finally see your dentist because there WILL be decay in your tooth.

Visual Survey

Okay, I saw this on Jenny's blog and am giving it a go myself.

FIRST - read the question

SECOND - type in the first answer that comes to mind in Google Image search

THIRD - post the first picture that comes up and write what you typed in (it’s hard sometimes to use the first image, but you must)

1. Age I will be on my next birthday - 32

2. Favorite Food - dessert

3. Favorite Color - blue

4. A place I would like to visit - England



5. Where I live - Houston


6. Name of a past or present pet - Fred, our cat when I was little, and the only pet I've ever had

(Okay, this one totally made me laugh outloud!)

7. One of my favorite places -Disneyland

8. Favorite holiday - Christmas

9. A bad habit -procrastination
(I had to cheat and take the second one. The small line says, "I'll find a picture for it later.")

10. Favorite animal - gorillas, at least that's my favorite animal to watch at the zoo

11. Favorite cartoon from childhood - The Smurfs

12. My name (or nickname) - Ang

13. Sport I play (or my favorite) - me, sports? The only active thing I enjoy and do regularly is yoga

14. Favorite extravagance (what I do or get when I have a little extra time and money) -get a treat (this is what we call going for ice cream, snacks, sweets, etc.)

15. A phrase I over use -Is that a deal?
Okay, come on all you bloggers, give it a try!

Winter in Texas

Granted we do have days that get "cold." We have had a few overnight lows of 30 or so; Last week the highs were only in the 50's. But today was not one of those "cold" Texas days. Today, we hit 80. I don't know if I am ever going to get used to it, or if I will ever blog about things other than our weather.

Anyway, today I had to drive down to the med center. As part of our adoption application we both need physicals, and before my doctor ordered gobs of blood work, he wanted to see my last round of blood work which was at the RE's office. So Tyler and I drove the 45 minutes that it takes to get there, picked it up, and wondered what to do next. It seemed silly to just turn around and drive home; the children's museum is close, but it's closed on Mondays; did I know of a park nearby? And then it hit me, let's try the zoo.


We haven't been to the one here yet, and Tyler really wanted to go. We had a fun spontaneous trip, and I was surprised that his favorite thing was the reptile house. We are going to have to go back one day for a planned trip when we can stay just a little longer. Oh, and did you notice he's wearing shorts! Gotta love the weather.

President Hinckley

I have been thinking a lot about President Hinckley these last few days. I can still remember in 1995 when he became the prophet. I was sitting in Latin class, my freshman year of college, when our teacher walked in and told us that President Hunter had just passed away. A student, I think his name might have been Ty, said, "Well, Hinckley's the man." And wow! wasn't he. Since he was the prophet for so long, I have so many memories of him. He signed my mission call. While I was on my mission, he came to a Regional Conference in Houston, and he spoke to the three Houston missions. We didn't get to shake his hand, but to be with him in a meetinghouse chapel was awesome. I can just picture him so sincerely teaching and encouraging us. Because of him I want to be just a little better each day. I loved his optimism, his energy, his enthusiasm, and his sincere love. I am so grateful for him, and so grateful that we have a prophet. And how comforting is it to know that he is happy where he is, and that we are not left here alone. The work will go on; we will have a new prophet.

If you are not familiar with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, check out the official website:
www.mormom.org
www.lds.org

More about cooking

So, we have tried a few more sneaky recipes at our house. Tyler requested sloppy joes this week, and since I am rather fond of my own recipe, I just made it with a 1/2 cup sweet potato puree thrown in there. Dan said that it wasn't as good, and I agree that it seemed a little thicker than normal, but Tyler ate all his, and none of us complained. Tonight I made meat loaf and twice baked potatoes. Again, I like my own meat loaf recipe, so I made it with the carrot puree thrown in. But I did follow the potato recipe just as written. Again, Dan said that I ruined the dinner, but I thought it was just fine. We had Dan's brother and his wife over for dinner, and they both liked everything, and this is coming from someone who likes vegetables even less than Dan. As for the potatoes, I could taste the cauliflower in them, but no one else could. I also thought they were kind of bland. I would add more butter and some garlic salt or onion salt next time. I would make any of the things I have made so far again, but I think Dan would do some complaining. As far as Tyler goes, hiding the veggies doesn't matter because he doesn't eat these things to start with. Dinner time is so much fun at our house.

Deceptively Delicious

Well, I bought this cookbook and we have tried our first recipe. I started off pretty easy with one of the dessert recipes. We tried the yellow cake and it was good. Granted, I haven't had to make any purees on my own yet, and the cake really wasn't what I would call healthy, but it was nice to know that it was better than making a regular cake. I am going to try more of these recipes soon, and I will post my reviews of them as I do.

Blogging Update

I hope you appreciate this post. There must be some fierce traffic on here tonight because it has taken FOREVER to upload these pictures! So here is our update, and you better enjoy it.


Christmas was awesome. Here's a picture of Tyler and myself each playing with our new Christmas toys. (Mine is the camera. My sweet husband surprised me with a DSLR.)

Tyler turned 4. FOUR! I can't believe we have a four year old. I love that kid.

My parents and brother came to visit. We loved having them here and miss them a ton. While they were here we also discovered our current favorite game (Ticket to Ride) and Grandpa made us pancakes three times.

Kemah with Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle Dave.

(Isn't that a great picture of Tyler? We got him the camera for his birthday, and he wanted to take pictures in Kemah like Mom and Grandpa. And David, who took this one)

A visit to the Houston Temple.


Tyler actually took the last one. I think it was a total accident that he got my head straight, and the rest of the picture tilted in that cool way.

Then in January we have tried to get organized at home, worked on primary stuff (the first of the year is crazy if you work in the primary organization!), filled out pages of our adoption questionnaire (we are really trying to get it done this month) and tried to have some fun time too.

Phew! I think a resolution ought to be to update more frequently.