Delicioso

anyone out there have this conversation, repeatedly:

"Hey, babe, what do you want for dinner?"
"I don't know. Whatever is fine."
"Really whatever I want is ok?"
"Well, as long as I like it too. But, whatever is fine."
"Got it. Thanks for your help."

help? yeah right. i think i stress over dinners too much. anyway, i will be sporadically putting my favorite recipes with some helpful hints. don't worry, this is not going to turn in to a recipe blog (there are way too many out there, and plus, this is more of a Sofia blog than anything).

have you ever tried quinoa (pronounced keen-u-wah)? it's kind of a replacement of rice...but a lot healthier. i made this recipe tonight....with quinoa. i found this recipe online (our best bites), the highlighted parts are how I tweaked it.

Mango Quinoa Salad
What you need:

2 cups cooked quinoa at room temperature, or chilled I'll teach how to make it below

1 14 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed I used about half a can bc jeff doesn't love beans

1 medium mango, peeled and diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

6 green onions, thinly sliced i used 5 bc Jeff doesn't like onions

1 handful chopped cilantro (about 1/2 cup) I put more because Jeff is obsessed with cilantro

Dressing:

 4 tablespoon red wine vinegar

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 

1 lime 

Quinoa: Do the quinoa earlier in the day and then throw it in the fridge bc it's supposed to be chilled. Actually you can do all of it earlier in the day and throw it in the fridge.  I put 2/3 C of dry quinoa in a bowl and rinsed it in water for about 5 minutes. Then I drained it and threw it in a rice cooker, with a can of chicken broth and a bit more water. (if you don't have broth, you can do water, but put some salt in it- do about 2 C of water, or a bit more)- the original recipe has you make it on a stove, so you can do that too, but I'm lazy).

Salad: Throw all ingredients together in a bowl and then stick in the fridge (after you've poured on the dressing below)

Dressing:  throw the ingredients together and pour desired amount all over the salad

Add some kosher salt (regular salt works too) freshly cracked black pepper all over the salad. Put in the fridge.

I put this over grilled chicken and it was delish. Pictures?

Beware, this is very healthy. and very tasty. this was jeff and i's conversation:

Jackie: "you don't have to like this, but you do have to try it."

Jeff: "what am I? your child?"

Jackie: ("sometimes" i say in my head)

after dinner...

Jeff "I actually liked it."

Jackie (in my head): actually? what? like i'm a bad cook or something? please. 

My Spare Time

many of you know that I have recently become a "House Mom." i don't know why i capitalized it, or why i put it in quotes. anyway, this upcoming year is going to be quite challenging for jeffrey and i, financially. we are going from 2 full-time incomes, to ZERO full-time incomes. yikes. mom, can you keep buying sofia's clothes, please?

i have been thinking about starting to do something productive with my spare time...well, something that i can make money off of. for example, my friend julia-the furniture lady. or my friend, sarah-the sewing/headband lady. i mean, these women are AMAZING. but, i can't sew a button, and my furniture would be a joke. so, what am i good at? weirdly enough, making   i-movies. i've made one of sofia, one for our wedding, one for our one year anniversary, also for my 6th grade class, and family reunions, etc. i had to take technology classes while teaching, and they taught me a lot about i-movie.

so, i want your sincere opinion. i would love to work with photographers and have this be part of a package deal they sell. i'm going to put an example of a quick i-movie i put together of our wedding. would you want one of these as part of a package deal with your professional wedding pictures? am i being dumb here, or could i really do this?? how/where do i even get started?

disclaimer. beware ruiz, zelayas, cranes, stephensons, and wrights...lots of pics of you. my apologies. siweks...i don't know why jared didn't take many of you. oops.


JeffandJackie from Jacqueline Crane on Vimeo.

comment...i want your true feelings/opinions.

Crane Reunion 2011

one thing i love about jeff is his family. i say this not because I know they read my blog, but seriously, i LOVE them. a few things we did: eat, talk, play "dangerball", eat, outside games, day at the lake, eat more, family home evening, and the famous talent show.

i warn you now that there are a lot of pictures, but I wanted to put my favorite video first, so you don't miss it. the Crane family has an annual talent show, and you always have to bring your A game. we brought our game face for sure. it was special this year because each talent was dedicated to jeff's dad for his 60th birthday. so, to explain...at the beginning of the video its a slow song that jeff's mom and dad sang to all the grandchildren a couple years ago...we are re-inacting it (then it changes songs). sofia is on the left (8 months), seth in the middle (6 months) and wellsley (3 months). wellsley couldn't do as much as the other kids, which is why he is laying down (can't sit up yet), and a few times you see his head disappear because he can't hold it up yet.


Talent Show from Jacqueline Crane on Vimeo.

this is kelli.  she used to live in utah, now lives in kansas and i hate kansas for taking her from me.

logan was A LOT smaller the last time i saw him. now he's taller than me, with a very deep voice.

jeff's real other half.

my other half.

blake, with his popped collar, was so welcoming. love him. 

emily, on the left, announced she's preggers!! #5! brooke (on the right), not pregnant. would probably cry if she were (she has a 6 month old)

all the boys were matchy matchy with their BYU sweet 16 shirts. adorable. camille, show this to tij.

getting ready for the big talent show!

at the "beach" with maddie. i don't know what i'd do without her!

my babe and maddie's fell asleep together. touching.

why is my husband wearing his mom's hat?

the wrights

the texas cranes

 i put this next pic in not for you to see me in a bathing suit (post baby, ew)...and with no make-up...but so you can see the "beach" behind me. i put beach in "quotes " because to me it's not a beach! to me a beach has an ocean. but apparently everyone calls it a beach because theres sand. it sure is beautiful and way better than no "beach", right?

sofia loves g'pa

we love going to bear lake for our reunion. the cranes are an amazing family, i look up to them tremendously. they way they rear their children, the manner in which they treat their spouses, and their love for each other. i'm grateful to have married in to this wonderful family.

See Me Fly

is there anyone else out there that have husbands who throw babies around like rag dolls? i'm actually secretly glad that jeff does it. although i stop breathing when he throws her too high, or tries a new trick, or even does it over concrete (gasp). i know he loves it...and so does she.

proof.


See Me Fly from Jacqueline Crane on Vimeo.


well, we are off to bear lake today. stay posted for that post! should be fun.

Loopy

all day today I have been thinking about my 4:00 pm dentist appointment. i  have 3 cavities. THREE!! wowsers. i don't know what it is about needles that just freaks me out. come on, i've gone through labor and i'm still scared of the dentist?

anyway, all i have to say is: i. love. my. new. dentist. as soon as i got there, they put one of these on me...

yes, laughing gas. and i did laugh. then they numbed me. then they put the needle in to numb even more. i didn't feel the needle! it was fabulous.

i completely recommend my dentist.

jeff loved me when i got back because i was so loopy. he tried really hard to make me laugh, mainly because i couldn't smile, and i didn't know when i was drooling. he also tried to make out with my numb face. not successful.

She is Way too Mobile.

sofia is growing. too fast. way too fast. this is a picture of sofia way back in april. she wore this outfit as a dress.

now she has to wear it as it's supposed to be worn, as a shirt with shorts. look at her belly. and look how light her hair is getting! makes me so sad, i wanted her to have my hair color.

also, she crawls faster than i can walk. it kind of scares me. one second she's in the living room, playing with toys, the next she's in the kitchen looking at her reflection in the oven window.


She's so Mobile from Jacqueline Crane on Vimeo.

sorry she sounds like a puppy. she has a stuffed nose, and apparently can't breathe out of her mouth.

I've Talked about Her Before...

Friends, I've told you about my amazing friend, Julia. She's the furniture gal who turns ugly ducklings into swans. Anyway, she's doing a giveaway! Check it out. I put her button to the right (551 East Design) and put some pics below to show off just how awesome she really is.

Here's a before:

After:

Before:

After:

I was really really sad that both of these pieces sold so quickly. I secretly hoped Julia would save them for me to buy them in 10 years when I could afford them. One day...