. . . good news . . .

. . . plans are announced for

two new arizona temples

to be located in

gilbert & the gila valley . . .

. . . lots of wonderful info

about the temple

can be found here . . .

5/1/08 edit/update:

The 10-acre site selected for the

Gilbert Arizona Temple

is located near the Loop 202

on the southeast corner of

Greenfield Road & Pecos Road

. . . goodbye . . .

. . . black beauty . . .

. . . i'll miss you,

but i won't miss you tricking me

every time i turn onto our street

& thinking,

"oh, drew's home . . ."

. . . no he isn't . . . . . .enjoy your new life

with the son of a helicopter pilot . . .

{even though he wanted to know

if we were related to "the politician"}

"which one?" we asked.

"you know . . . the old county attorney,

rick romLey"

"no. no we aren't."

{what with us having

different last names & all!}

. . . hello? . . .

. . . oops! . . .

. . . i did it again . . .

. . . since my last oops! post,

& thanks to you loyal readers,

many oops! now reside in far away places

such as California, Utah, Texas, Wisconsin & Oklahoma

as well as Gilbert, Mesa, Chandler, Queen Creek,

Scottsdale & Paradise Valley

{edit: apparently Mexico, too!} . . . . . . which has necessitated more time spent

@ my trusty bernina sewing machine . . .

{in reference to my previous anniversary post,

props to my husband!

we spent nearly all the cash

we got as wedding gifts

on said bernina,

which has been well loved

& heavily used}

. . . so, here, for your viewing pleasure,

are just a few of my favorite

springtime additions to the oops! line . . .

. . . please take note of the

red lady bug version below ↓ . . .

. . . here's one for

all your little boy camo needs . . .

{sorry, but all the real camoflage ribbon

i've found so far is genuinely ugly . . .

so, this will have to do}

. . . one of the top selling features

of oops! burp cloths

{see below↓}

is that they're exactly the same

front & back . . .

. . . you can still email me to order

{see sidebar up there ↑ & to the right →}

or, if you're planning on

attending a bead party

thursday 24 april

{see here or here for more info}

you can see 'em firsthand

& they'll be

ready for immediate delivery

also available:

bling bling by amelia {i know her!}

& to die for bead diva creations . . .

. . . twenty-nine . . .

. . . happy anniversary . . .

. . . to us . . .

♥♥♥

. . . a service project . . .

because i'm such a giving person, here are two delicious recipes. okay . . . really i just found them on the internet, but i did y'all a favor & tweaked them just a little & now they're very close to the real thing {if i do say so myself, or you can ask my family - whatever}

cafe rio{ish} creamy tomatillo dressing

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup mayonnaise (use real mayo or die!)

1 package buttermilk ranch dressing mix

1/2 bunch cilantro

1-2 cloves garlic (or about 1 teaspoon pre-minced)

juice of one lime

3 jalapenos

4 tomatillos

peel the husk from the tomatillos. {when shopping for these, get some good sized ones, which you'll have a hard time finding at bashas', trust me. go somewhere like food city!} wash & quarter the tomatillos. cut the jalapenos in half lengthwise. {if you can't handle a little heat, go ahead & take out the seeds & veins which is where the spice comes from. i left everything in. yum.} spray a baking sheeet with non-stick cooking spray. place tomatillos & jalapenos on it & bake at 425 degrees for about 25 minutes, or until veggies are soft & slightly charred. set aside to cool. in a blender, mix buttermilk, mayonnaise, dressing mix, cilantro, garlic, & lime juice. remove most of the seeds & juice from the roasted tomatillo quarters, but add the flesh & skin, along with the jalapenos to the blender & puree. Chill for an hour. {the dressing . . . not you!} tip: if you don't squeeze most of the liquid from the tomatillos, your dressing will be too runny & too many of the crunchy seeds will ruin the texture. a few are fine, but you don't want them all.

cafe rio{ish} rice

4 cups water

2 cups rice (not instant)

4 teaspoons chicken bouillon

4 teaspoons minced garlic

1/2 bunch cilantro

1/2 onion

1 can green chilis (or equivalent of fresh)

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon butter

juice of two limes

finely mince the cilantro, onion & green chilis. bring water to a boil & add all ingredients. simmer covered for 30 minutes. tip: i used my rice cooker. it rocks.

dear cafe rio{ish} people . . . please don't sue me

. . . family pix . . .

. . . remember when i said that

we had family pictures taken

a couple of weeks ago? . . .

well . . . here we are:

. . . and, amanda porter

of darby elizabeth photography

has posted some more of them

on her blog . . .

. . . thanks, amanda . . .

. . . girls' {+one boy} night out . . .

. . . what do you do for fun on girls' night out? . . .

. . . well . . . on the way,

tate {the token male}

likes to work on his whistling skillz . . .. . . his specialty is primary songs . . .

. . . he really can whistle. it's amazing . . .

. . . some like to discuss

the pros/cons of

permanent makeup . . .

. . . working on

no-look/overhead photography

techniques is a good use of time . . .

. . . still . . .
. . . practicing . . .

. . . there they are! . . .

. . . our driver was

the only one

who stayed on task . . .

. . . kissy-face shots

are always appropriate . . .

. . . straws, crayons, crayon boxes

&/or drink coasters

make tasty appetizers . . .

. . . if you chance to

meet a {cantaloupe} frown . . .

. . . do not let it stay . . .
. . . lastly, while waiting for the food

{that won't get eaten anyway}

try to perfect your

newly acquired

eye-crossing trick . . .

. . . practice makes perfect . . .

. . . i can't talk about it yet . . .

. . . but i will, soon, here . . .