Alex's 100 Days

Back in the day, the infant mortality rate was high in Korea. Often a baby would die before it reached 100 days old. So, whenever it happened, there was a huge celebration. Since the introduction of Western medicine and through proper diet and research, it's now known that a baby can easily surpass 100 days. So the celebration does not seem to be important. Actually, currently, a professional picture is taken. If you enter a Korean family's house, you can more than likely find a framed picture of the baby dressed in nice clothes. So, following tradition, James and I had a photo shoot with Alex when he turned 100 days old. We also got some family portraits done since we don't have a professional picture of the three of us. The photographer is Vanessa Sanchez, my brother's girlfriend. Very talented young photographer.


.

3 months later and they get to meet!

Ever since James and I got married, besides my dad, another person that wanted us to have kids is my baby brother. My brother is 3 years younger than me and he's currently going to school to become a graphics design artist. I've seen a lot of his stuff and I'm really impressed at his talent and creativity! I think I missed out on that creativity gene but Matthew (my baby brother) has it in spades. When Alex was born, Matthew was suck in New Mexico all by himself. My parents were out here in Houston to support both James and me. Matthew had a lot of school work going on and midterms were coming up so he was pretty busy. Anyway, Alex and I were hoping to come out to New Mexico much sooner than now. However, Alex's doctor did not feel comfortable letting us go just yet. So now Alex is 3 months old and we're going to New Mexico in a few days but Matthew, being the considerate person he is, will be coming out here to help me fly out with Alex. I'm excited. It's been awhile, and Matthew finally gets to meet his nephew! Can't wait! This is a picture of my brother with a balloon under his shirt at my baby shower. What a nutter!

Hot house!

I got the hankering to make some Korean soups since it's been awhile. And I had to call my mom on how to make her beef broth. I remember she would spend DAYS or WEEKS boiling, making her own broth. I use to think she was crazy but now I see it's well worth it! So I'm currently making my own. I bought a couple ox tail bones (which I've only been able to find in an Asian market) and I had to make the initial boil to get the fat out. Now, I'm boiling more to make the thick broth. Then, I'll put them in sandwich bags and freeze them for later use. Here is the basic recipe:

Beef Broth

2-3 ox tail bones
1 HUGE pot

Fill the pot up with water, and add the bones. Bring to an initial boil then let it cool. Take the fat off the top of the water and add more. Boil for as long as needed to get a thick, dense color broth. Could take 2-5 days for the first time. Can use the same bones to make more, will need to boil longer.

How does your garden grow??

So I went to HEB today to get some food to make for dinner. There was a great sale on bratwurst, so I'm going to do Rachel Ray's Chianti brats. James LOVES them and has requested them a couple times, but I've been too lazy to make them. Another thing that is made with the brats is pesto pasta, and I usually use the regular basil and pinenuts for my pesto. As I was searching around HEB, I saw some real basil plants and I got SUPER excited! James and I were JUST talking about how I need to get started on my garden and more than anything, I want to grow my own herbs. I use to grow sunflowers and beans in my room when I was younger. Since we don't own the house we currently live in, I can't quite build my DREAM green house or garden yet. But I'm looking at some options and if I save enough, I may buy one of these and start my herb garden. I found it at Home Depot. My make shift green house ;-)

Fun Foto Friday!

Crib Time!

So tonight is the night! Alex is currently sleeping in his crib and will hopefully be like that for the night! We put his white noise machine in there, so he has some familiarity. He cried for a little while, but fell asleep. I just hope it lasts. I'm already extremely lonely without him, especially because James just left to work another overnight shift. Alex isn't quite 3 months old, but he was getting so huge for his bassinet, that a change really needed to be made. He's been pretty consistent sleeping 6 hours a night, and last night he actually slept 7 hours. So I hope this trend keeps up. He's growing so fast! Where does all the time go??

Live Long and Prosper

So my mother in law is coming next weekend to spend time with Alex. She said she wants James and I to have a date night, which would be great. James and I haven't really had a date night since Alex has been born. Well, we were talking about what we would do and we decided to go see the new Star Trek movie. I've heard a lot of great things about it and I'm VERY excited to see it. There are many reasons. But the biggest reason is that I'm truly a Trekkie. It's sad. I LOVE Star Trek. Now, I won't succumb to the Star Trek vs. Star Wars thing because I truly believe that Star Trek is mainly science fiction with a little fantasy and Star Wars is mainly fantasy with a little science fiction. Two completely different things, and I love them both. However, I have my father to blame for my true Trekkiness. Ever since I was born, I was watching Star Trek. I can quote Star Trek movies and I know stupid trivia because my dad and I would play trivia games AND we collected the Star Trek collectible cards. One thing I don't/won't do is learn Klingon. Sorry, I'm having trouble remembering Korean and that is a REAL language. So I really eagerly look forward to the new movie and my reviews on it. I know it's not like the old Star Trek and I don't expect it to be. That is one of the reasons that the last two Star Trek movies did so poorly is because they didn't appeal to a larger audience, just the die hard Star Trek followers. Anyway, if you've seen it, don't tell me anything! I don't want to know! I'm just waiting to see it with my own eyes!

Tonight I made James' favorite. It's from Cooking for 2, but I modified it a little.

Spicy Turkey Tomato Soup

1/4 pound lean ground turkey
1/2 teaspoon garlic
1 small zucchini, diced
1 small onion, chopped (I prefer red onion, better crunch)
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 cup canned Mexican diced tomatoes
1/3 cup uncooked whole wheat spiral pasta
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 chopped green chile or 1 can of green chile
1 tablespoon chopped jalapeno pepper, optional (if you want it spicy)

Cook the turkey in a saucepan with a little olive oil. Season it with the garlic and black pepper. Add the zucchini and onion and cook till turkey is done. Add in broth, tomatoes, pasta, cumin, green chile and jalapeno. Let it simmer till pasta is tender, then serve.