Downton Abbey Anyone?

Hooray...a television show actually worth watching.  Has anybody else fallen in love with Downton Abbey?  Please tell me I'm not the only one.  If you like Jane Austin you will adore Downton Abbey.You can catch season one on Netflix or Amazon Prime.  Season two premiered last Sunday and can be watched on PBS. 

Why I Never Blog Anymore.

I haven't blogged for a very long time. The pictures below are only half the story.

The other half of the story is that for a very long time now it's bothered me that I do not have my bachelor's degree. For years the thought to go back to school has been at the back of my mind, in my dreams, and irritating my subconscious. I quit school about seven years ago when I had my first born so I fully recognize the irony of going back to school after having my third born. After quitting when Avery was born, my Dad ever so tactfully reminded me that I'm the only one of his six children who will not have a degree. How's that for peer pressure! Well apparantly at the age of 29 I'm still susceptible to peer pressure because I just finished a semester of school and I'm going back for more this summer. It's gotta be done, and now is the time to do it.

So here's a quick update on the Hughes family:

We got emus.

We got a beehive.

Sienna's crawling.

I married a farmer.

I'd like to elaborate, but I'm quite sick right now and may start hallucinating, so it's time to sign-off.

Sienna Mae Hughes

Sienna Mae Hughes

Oct. 8 2010 at 11:15 am

6 lbs 11oz, 20 in.

Too much skin? Sorry.

Family pictures are getting increasingly harder to take.

Once the doctor started me on Pitossin, Sienna was eager to get here.

I was in labor for less than 2 hours and she was in my arms. Luckily the epidural kicked in before I got to the very difficult part. I kept telling the nurses "It really feels like I'm crowning." They must have been thinking, okay crazy lady stop telling us how to do our job, because they didn't even look. When the nurse went to put in a catheter she finally believed me because she found a baby's head. The doctor entered the room and said "Okay, cough once and she'll be delivered." All and all the induction turned out to be quite the ideal delivery. Me and my prejudices.

Baby update

It looks like I'll be having a baby tomorrow. I can't say I'm quite ready, I'd like to wait a few more days, but by the end my 2 1/2 hour, 39 week check-up today, the nurse informed me with a huge smile on her face that I'd be coming in tomorrow morning to be induced. Let's just say at the time my smile did not match hers, but now that I've had a few hours to let it settle, I'm really looking forward to holding our little baby girl by tomorrow night.

I've measured small most of pregnancy and did a non-stress test and growth ultrasound at 32 weeks only to find that everything was just peachy. Today my doctor ordered another non-stress test and growth ultrasound that revealed low levels of amniotic fluid and a small baby in the 20th percentile. The two coupled together apparently means time for baby to be born. This isn't an emergency by any means and I'm not worried about delivering an unhealthy baby, but my doctor worries about the fluid getting even lower which could be bad for baby.

I've never liked the idea of being induced, so my doc stripped my membranes and hopefully that will put me into labor first. It seemed to work with Sage. I was in labor only a few hours after she stripped my membranes back then, so maybe I can go into labor without the aid of pitossin.

Wish me luck!

Thanks for a fun weekend at Tony's Grove Lake Jaclyn and Dave!

I really can't stand swimming in public pools for sooo many reason, but mostly because chlorine does bad things to me. I would so much rather swim in a lake. I think these pictures prove my point as to why pools are out and lakes are in.

The night before we loaded up all the boys in this canoe to take them for a little ride. Sage couldn't have been more excited...until they were out for two minutes and tipped. Luckily they had life jackets. Poor Sage was afraid of the canoe after that, although I did convince him to ride with me.

My kids LOVE Uncle Jeff.

We had a great weekend out of the heat and in the pine and aspen trees. Something fascinating about Tony's Grove Lake is that 430 million years ago, it was a tropical beach of the pacific ocean. Apparantly there are lots of fossils of tropical creatures, although we didn't see any.

Don't Forget...

This morning as I was getting ready for an overnighter with the kids at Tony's Grove Lakes in Cache Valley, I made a list of groceries and other items to pack. I set the note down and when I got back to it, Avery left me a little message:

"Don't forget Avery and Sage." it said, backwards letters and all.

Thanks for the reminder Avery!

Happy Birthday Avery

Yesterday my little baby girl turned 6! I can't believe how time flies. Because her birthday is in June, she laments all year about being soooo much younger than all the other kids in her grade, so now finally she can feel caught up.

I've done birthday parties for the last 3 years, so we decided to have a family party with one friend. She chose her inseparable pal Hailey.

She had her heart set on Chuckie Cheese's for her birthday party.

She got Barbies from Hailey, A swim suit and mermaid costume for Gma and Gpa Hughes, clothes from Gma and Gpa Stott, and from mom and dad she got a ballet bar with a ballet DVD, a hula hoop (the girls got some serious skills) and a Moxie girls make-over doll bust. (kind of the updated version of those large barbie heads where you could fix their hair.)

Love you Avery! Sorry you're the oldest and you have to suffer through all my parenting mistakes. Some how, you're turning out really great.

Baby on Board

I've been waiting along time to make this announcement on our blog. I challenged myself to wait until we knew the sex of the baby before saying anything, but I accidentally scooped my own story on facebook. (I really shouldn't be unleashed on that thing.)

Any way...the Hughes family gets to welcome a baby girl on October 14th, give or take. (Emphasis on the take part.) I truly thought we were having a boy based on an earlier ultrasound, so I'll have to get use to calling this baby "she" and "her."

3 of the 4 of us are very excited. When we told Avery she was having a baby sister, she started celebrating and hasn't stopped since. Just mention the word "sister" and the party starts all over again. Sage just likes a reason to jump up and down with his sister while shouting, I'll take anything since we've already have our boy and our girl, and Shane's well... girls seem to scare him a little. His mind flashes forward to teenage years and premature incessant worrying starts to kick in. After the ultrasound he started mumbling things about stupid hormonal teenage boys. Having a girl as his oldest hasn't seemed to change anything. We'll just give it time to sink in a little.

Also, we do have a name picked out, but that will have to wait till she's born before being announced.

Updates

Update #1
Ryan flew to Dubai and has been home for awhile. Last Saturday I finally got to talk to him about his trip. He said it was the most intense experience of his life. It sounded pretty grueling and rigorous and Ryan narrowly missed coming in first place by only a matter of a few points. For those of you who know Ryan, he's got some serious people skills and I'm sure he charmed the socks off the judges. The woman who won is a Canadian with Middle Eastern ties and knew several languages which understandably gave her an edge over Ryan. They were hounded by the media in Dubai and Ryan said right now he's a major super star in Dubai, then he added that won't get him anywhere here. (not that he wants to be a super star.) We keep bugging him to apply for Survivor or Amazing Race, but I don't think that's enough adventure for him.

Update #2
Our house projects have been put on hold until we can finish the yard which is undergoing a drastic transformation right now. We've cut down about 50 trees from the front and back yard. I know 50 sounds like a lot, but trust me, there are still PLENTY of trees. It's extremely rare to live in Utah and have a house with so many trees, and we are so grateful for the shade they will provide in the summer time. We've undertaken some pretty big jobs and I keep asking Shane to take off a few day so we can get it done. Hopefully soon I'll have some before and afters.

Update #3
I really dreading admitting this, but unfortunately my orange swimsuit never made it out of the suitcase in Cancun. The weather was unseasonably cool in Cancun so there was very little relaxing on the beach or next to the pool in my swimsuit. I went swimming a couple times to go snorkeling and then to a beach next to some beautiful Mayan ruins, but both times called for a comfortable forgiving swimsuit, not a stiff awkward retro swimsuit. I'll have to test her out another time.

We are loving Spring and I'm really looking forward to school being over so we can start our summertime adventures!

The newest members of the Hughes family

The Hughes family is growing...by five. We are the proud parents of five baby chicks, because apparently we don't have enough on our plate what with an unfinished house, bad sewer pipes (don't ask, you don't want to know) and a jungle for a yard.

Actually, my complaining isn't really valid. Chickens are so easy to take care of and the children ADORE them. Right now they live in a makeshift home in our basement until it's warm enough to put them outside in a coop. These chickens will lay brown eggs but supposedly Rosie will lay blue eggs! That's the sole reason we picked her. They should start laying in October and as many as two a day. They are strictly for egg laying, but we are considering raising some chickens for eating. (watch "Food Inc.")

Here are three of them. from left to right meet Rosie, Penny, and Annabelle. For some reason Annabelle is the undisputed favorite 0f the children.




Sage might like these chickens a little too much. He constantly sneaks downstairs and puts them in buckets. What purpose the buckets serve, I'm not sure, but that's his thing. I may have to get a lock for the door.

Please pay no attention to the disaster that is our yard....

...truthfully, it's only about to get worse.

This might be only the beginning of the Hughes family farm. We'd also like to get some beehives and to be honest I wouldn't mind getting a cow for fresh, unpasteurized milk. (Ha!, like that's gonna happen.) Shane's even talked about raising Emus. Yes, I did just say Emus. All the while my dream of horses has to be put on the back burner. (don't feel too sorry for me.) In the meantime, if you want fresh eggs, you know where to get them.

He did it!

Yahoo!! Your votes were heard, Ryan came in 4Th place! A big thanks to everyone who voted. My friend Natalie told me she voted everyday. The voting was pretty intense during those last few hours and I have to admit, I didn't think Ryan would make it because he was in 7Th place for a long time, but within those last 3-4 hours, he received hundreds of votes and now he has a flight to Dubai! The winner of the contest will be announced on March 29Th. Who ever wins gets $100,000 and first class plane tickets to travel around the world for 80 days. I'll definitely fill everyone in.

This might brighten your January day.

This is Andrea Boccelli and The Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing, "The Lord's Prayer." It's really beautiful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUm_OwfF_bQ&feature=player_embedded

Yummy Healthy recipes I promised.

It is so like me to come down with a cold and a fever the day after I make my proclamation to the world wide web to exercise, eat healthy, and loose weight. I'm feeling much better now and am ready to share my favorite recipe involving cauliflower. Honestly, my family loves it so much it's usually gone before I set the dish on the table. Shane discovered this while listening to the second greatest love of his live, NPR. What ever NPR tells Shane to do, he does it. And that is how the recipe came into the Hughes family repetior.

Preheat oven to 400 deg.
As thinly as possible, slice a head of cauliflower keeping as much as the cross section in tact as possible. Place cauliflower on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for about 40 minutes of until cauliflower is soft and edges are crisp and golden.

I hope your family likes it as much as mine. We've even convinced ourselves they taste like french fries.


This week I made my favorite granola recipe. It's perfect for a morning breakfast. It can be found here:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Cranberry-Almond-Granola-108238
Just a note, I usually substitute the brown sugar with honey.

I triple the recipe and sometimes make cookies out of it using this recipe:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Granola-and-Dried-Cranberry-Chocolate-Chip-Cookies-13143

Here is a sneak peak of where I get to bake these wonderful recipes. It's only a sneak peak because Shane asked me not to post any pictures of the kitchen until it is completely done.
Since he is the one who does most of the work, I'll oblige.

Next project on our reno list: Earn more money!

Given the choice, I'd take something old over something new, nine times out of ten. Take this clapboard wooden house for example. It is far more interesting to me than the multi-million dollar homes a couple blocks from my house. (Ummm, not that I'd want to live here, just take pictures and think, "oh, if walls could talk.")




And for a second example, take this shocking orange number:

Please be honest. If you found yourself eyeing this at a garage sale and the owner of the home casually walks up to you and says, "That was my mother's swim suit from the 1960's"

Would your heart skip a beat slightly as you try to keep a calm, non-interested, negotiating type poker face as you realize you could become the proud owner of a 1960's retro bathing suit?

Would you say something like, "It's a great swimsuit, but I can't be sure it fits." and the owner responds "Is it worth finding out for $1."

Would you suddenly trip over yourself and knock a few things over trying to find a dollar in your pocket before asking your mom to spot you the buck?

I can only answer for myself that "Yes!" that is what I would and DID do at a garage sale last summer. And guess what, I might just be weird enough to wear and if you must know my entire New Year's resolution revolves around my orange bathing beauty. First, the perks of the swim suit:

I folded up the front of the swim suit to reveal a hidden panel that acts like a built in garter for an instant tummy tuck. That is one feature DEFINITELY missing from today's swim suits.

The second perk of the swim suit is that it is potentially worth $75. I immediately researched the label, "Cole Of California Original,"when I got home and discovered that it is indeed from the the 1960's and that some of these vintage numbers sell for as much as $75. I was pretty excited to see my $1 investment make such a prophet, but alas, I will not be selling her.

You see, remember when I told the garage sale man the swim suit may not fit? Sadly, I was right. It was really hard to squeeze myself into it. The fabric isn't the wonderful, stretchy, spandexy futuristic swimsuit material we all know and love today that designers back then could only dream of; it's more of a clothy, must fit your body to a T, type material the women of the 60's had to suffer through.

The good news is, I'm not too far away from a decent fit. I think if I loose 8 lbs I should reasonably be able to wear ole' orangey without scaring anyone. I've already lost about 5lbs since last summer while suffering through the grueling P90X videos for 3 months. My New Year's resolution is to spend the next 6 weeks (I really like resolutions that last only 6 weeks) eating right and exercising to lose 8lbs and be ready for my swimsuit's big comeback debut in Cancun Mexico. I can't wait!- for Cancun that is. So that's it, I have 6 weeks to loose 8 lbs. At first I thought that might be asking too much. But then I saw a repeat of the "Biggest Loser" finale a couple nights ago and one of the contestants lost 101 lbs in 7 weeks. Can you say inspiring!!

I would like to start sharing some of the healthy recipes I'll be making on a daily basis for the next few weeks so that I feel like I'll be accountable to someone or something. Even if I'm the only one reading, just don't let me know so I'll actually stick to this plan!

This post is long enough, so my first VERY simple, nutritious yet delicious recipe I'll post tomorrow. Just a hint: it involves cauliflower and kids love it.

Gluttons for Punishment...

Yep, that's us; Gluttons for punishment. At least that's what my Brother-in-law Ryan kindly pointed out to us when he saw our new home sweet home. Okay, Ryan's not the only one to tactfully tell us our house is a fixer upper. Other phrases I've heard people utter are are:
"loaded with potential" (a nicer way of pointing out all the hard work.)
"Oh Boy." (a noncommittal response.)
Or just plain silence. (If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all.)

To be fair, most of these I heard coming from Shane or myself.

Yea, Shane and I weren't oblivious to the shape of the house when we bought. We decided we were up to the challenge because we're hoping to add a lot of equity with our reno projects. Speaking of our reno projects, would you like to see our to-do list?

Total kitchen gut
Major landscaping projects that will require the use of a bulldozer
Refinishing hardwood floors
Adding two bedrooms, a bathroom and a family room to the unfinished basement .
Carport conversion
New windows throughout the whole house

Oh look at the happy family. Will they still be smiling in a few months? Who can say.





The silver lining to the house is that the existing 1.5 baths are REALLY beautiful. I love them. Here is the .5 bath in the master bedroom.




And here's the full bath. I love this slate tile!




We also love that there is not a stitch of carpet in this house. It has the original hardwood floors throughout the home. The back room in this picture is an addition. It will be impossible to exactly match the hardwood floors without spending a small fortune, so we will be putting down travertine tiles in that room.



This kitchen no longer exists. All the cabinets have been ripped out (and saved for the laundry and storage rooms.) They needed to go; it was the right thing to do. Our new cabinets should be arriving any day now!

As you can see, the exterior could use some major curb appeal.

Oh boy, we are gluttons for punishment. At least the house has potential. Right....right? Anybody there?

My new love: Goody bags

My sister-in-law Anna, aka super runner,(Really, she came in fourth overall) managed the impossible today...

She convinced me to run a 5K.

I see that the above picture mentions a 5K walk, so I would just like to take this time to clear any confusion and say that I DID run. Thank you.

Below is Tracy, (Anna's sister-in-law) me, and co. at the finish line with our mini pumpkins they handed out instead of trophy's. I'd take a mini pumpkin anyday.

It was definitly worth it for the grab bag: TWO running shirts, pedometer, Hale Center Theater tickets and chap stick. Now that I know 5K's really aren't that scary, maybe I'll run a few more.

On the way home Shane said...next you can run a 10K!!! YEAH RIGHT is all I have to say.

Shampoo Free

I've always had a love/hate relationship with my hair. My problems are no volume and too greasy. I found this blog on treating your hair in a natural way and I think I might give it a try. It's really fascinating and informative. My mom has told me for years and years that baking soda and Vinegar are the best ingredients for your hair, and this blogger has researched why they are so great for your hair and gives other ideas like honey, herbs, avacado and more. If you want to save money or are like me and need hair help, check out this blog...it's really informative: http://babyslime.livejournal.com/174054.html

Back Roads Montana

I realize I post a lot about Montana, but I just wanted to get another post in. Shane was on a Montana tourism site a few days ago and found this picture:

It's tiny I know, but that's as big as it would go without losing all the beautiful detail. The reason I think it's neat enough to post about, is because we took a picture in the exact same spot last last summer and the summer before as well. It's in Glacier National Park on Lake Mcdonald.

Below is our version of the same spot. We rode our bikes on a trail called Apgar and found this gorgeous landscape to take pictures. Apparantly we weren't the only ones with the idea.

The cast of characters is Aunt Amy, Cousin Kesler (center), Cousin Bridger and Avery.

Right now, our computer's screen saver is of the same picture, but with our family.
Just thought I'd share!

Huckleberries 101

I just love saying Huckleberry.....Huck-le-ber-ry. Rolls right off the tongue. I also love eating them like in pies, shakes, cream cheese and doughnut topping or over crepes, which is all the ways Shane and I had Huckleberries on our recent 2 week vacation to Montana. In August Huckleberries are in full swing and we took full advantage

Here are some interesting facts about Blueberry's little-known close cousin.

*Huckleberries are very similar to blueberries except smaller and a little more tart. They also have more antioxidents than Blueberries.

*Huckleberries are almost exclusively grown in the wild, they're pretty spoiled that way. They need the right altitude, moisture, cool temperature or else they refuse to grow. So...if you ever find yourself in a nursery asking for a Huckleberry bush, and they sell you one; know that you more than likely taking home a Blueberry bush.

*Huckleberries grow in the Northwest like Montana, Washington, and parts of Canada. Shane says he's had some on the Tetons and we heard from Grandma and Grandpa Hughes that they found some in Russia.

*The going rate for a gallon of Huckleberries is $39. Why are they worth so much? Because you have to fight the bears for them! That's right, bears love Huckleberries so watch out and have your bear spray close by. The pictures represent $117.00, or three gallons of Huckleberries. (please nobody check my math.) We hiked a mile or so up a mountain in the beautiful Jewel Basin and spent 4 hours picking huckleberries and we did not sell any of them! They are in my freezer as we speak, just sitting there being delicious and healthy... waiting to be made into a pie.

You can always tell a Huckleberry picker by their purple hands. Or in Shane's case, a purple tongue.

Beautiful You Makeup.

My talented sister-in-law, Cali, is striking up her own career as a make-up artist. She does a very beautiful job so I thought I'd giver her a shout-out. Also, if you click on her web address, www.beautifulyoumakeup.com and click on "before and after," you might recognize a couple of people.