Post #100 and a good recipe

This is my 100th post! Hooray! Thanks to everyone who reads my little blog and puts up with my musings. Now, to get down to business.
My mother-in-law got me a subscription to Better Homes and Gardens for my birthday (it was a great deal--three years for 20 bucks!). There are fantastic ideas in the magazine. There are also really good and easy recipes. January's issue was filled with soup recipes. Mike loves soup, so last night we tried one of the recipes. We made the Southwestern Noodle Bowl (BHG, January 2008). It was delish. And quick and easy (start to finish, 30 minutes). Try it!
Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lb. beef flank steak or beef top round steak, cut into bite-size strips
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp salt (I used the half salt/half not salt mixture)
  
• 1/8 tsp black pepper (I used more)
• 2 Tbsp cooking oil (we used extra virgin olive oil)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 14-oz cans lower-sodium beef broth
• 1 14-oz can lower-sodium chicken broth
• 6 oz uncooked angel hair pasta (we used the whole wheat kind)
• 2 medium red or yellow sweet peppers, chopped (we did them in strips, one of each color)
• 6 green onions, trimmed, cut into 1-inch bias slices
• 1/2 c. salsa (whatever kind you prefer)
• 1/4 c. snipped fresh oregano (we had dried, so we did a tablespoon of it)

Preparation:

1. Season meat with cumin, salt and pepper, set aside. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in skillet (we used a stock-pot) over medium-high heat; add garlic, stir-fry for 15 seconds. Add half the beef at a time; stir-frying until cooked through (set aside the first half, then cook the second half--my pot was big, so I did it all at once). Return all beef to skillet/pot; add all of the broth; bring to boiling.
2. Add pasta, sweet peppers and onions to broth and beef. Cook, uncovered, until pasta is tender (whole wheat pasta takes a little bit more time). Stir in the 1/2 cup salsa (we skipped that step) and oregano; heat through. Ladle into bowls. Top with salsa, if desired.
   

This recipe makes 8 servings. Lots for leftovers!

Getting fit

I have joined a gym. It's a women-only facility called Ladies Workout Express. It's a lot like Curves, in that you do a circuit that alternates between cardio and strength-building exercises. I have gone twice now and have really felt good after doing it. I'll be able to go in the mornings before Mike has to go to work. It's less than five minutes from our house, so I have no excuses not to go! I am pretty psyched about this.

What pants?

W has gotten into not wearing pants for the rest of the day after his afternoon nap. Or, rather, I have gotten into not putting his pants back on him after his post-nap diaper change.

Cross stitch update

Here is the cross stitch I did for my mother-in-law for her birthday.
It's a bread towel. Those are violets that i stitched on there. I got the pattern for free here.

Farm animals

We went to the local farm/pick-your-own place last Friday because the weather was so nice (unlike today). The animals were out and about. The geese were militant and the sheep were sweet. The cats were smart and were inside the farm store curled up on piles of apples and inside produce boxes.
The curious goose. This guy kept following us around looking for a handout. There are little gumball-style dispensers that you can put a quarter in and get a handful of corn to feed the animals. The goose was mad at us because we weren't participating in this activity. He kept going over to the dispensers and sticking his beak in the spout. I felt sort of bad for him, but Mike pointed out how fat he was, so I didn't feel bad for him after that.
I liked this sheep. He was really fat and dirty. He had a sweet face, though.
Here's the back of a cat that was chilling out on some apples in the store.
Here's a cat curled up in the Mulling Spices box. Cozy!

Don't mess with W!

Have you ever seen such a tough little boy? The best part about the "fists" is that when you bang them together they make a "crashing" noise.

Wildlife

We have some squirrels who have torn up our outside chair cushions. They are taking the inner fluff out and carrying it off to their squirrel nests for insulation. Pretty smart, if you ask me.
Squirrel with a piece of chair cushion
Squirrel with whole chair cushion
The squirrel nest--it's huge!