I love to cook

by Nicolle:

I love to cook. Mainly because I love to eat, but I also like the creative aspect of cooking. We finally got DVR, which allows us to record the shows we like and watch them (without commercials!) anytime. I have been watching "Quick Fix Meals with Robin Miller" and I love it. Her recipes "morph" into each other. For example, on day 1 I cooked olive stuffed pork loin with asparagus/sun-dried tomato pasta salad. Here is Greg ready to dig in...

On day 2, you use the leftover pork in wontons for wonton soup (see photo) and on day 3 you use the pork again for pork fried rice (no photo, but it was yummy).
My favorite recipe set so far starts with roasted vegetable stew with Moroccan couscous. On day 2 you use some of the leftover roasted vegetables to make a side dish of eggplant-olive caponata. The main dish is grilled chicken kabobs with scallions instead of wooden skewers (see photo below). On day 3, you use some of the leftover chicken and, again, the roasted vegetables for chicken curry.

Greg has been a good sport with trying all of these crazy meals, and I am having a great time. If you want to see some Robin Miller recipies, you can find them online...http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_rm/0,2757,FOOD_23676,00.html

Happy Easter (a few weeks late!)

by Nicolle:
Here is a photo of us in our backyard on Easter Sunday. I love the Spring in NC. Behind us, you can see our Azalea bushes in full bloom.

Clara wore an adorable bonnet, which you can see a little better in this photo. (It was pretty cold on Easter, so I was trying to keep her bundled in her blanket while we took pictures outside).

The day before Easter, we drove to Roanoke to visit my sister and her family. We had a great time. They cooked a yummy Easter dinner which we ate on Saturday night. While we were driving, we saw a church sign with the quote, "The tomb is empty, so our lives are full." I really liked that. On Sunday, our home teachers invited us for another Easter dinner. He is a professional chef, so we didn't hesitate in accepting this offer. So, we had two delicious Easter meals and I didn't have to cook a thing!

Nicolle's list of threes

Three Things I Love:
1. Greg
2. Clara
3. to eat

Three Things I Hate:
1. my neighbors' barking dogs
2. grimy hotel rooms
3. airport/airplane delays

Three People Who Make Me Laugh:
1. Greg
2. Jonathan & Lewis (college friends)
3. neurotic female TV characters (Karen from Will & Grace, Joy from My name is Earl, Elaine from Seinfeld and in her new show...Chitstine from the new adventures of old Christine).

Three things that scare me:
1. Rats
2. Birds
3. Bats

Three Things I Don't Understand:
1. anything mechanical
2. puzzles
3. people

Three Things On My Desk:
1. concert tickets
2. bills
3. a plant that almost always looks like it is dying

Three Things I Plan To Do Today:
1. practice singing... learn new music
2. work (prepare for tomorrow night's concert)
3. kiss Clara

Three Things I Want To Do Before I Die:
1. rafting trip down Colorado River
2. become more charitable
3. Have more children

Three Things I Can Do:
1. sleep... anytime, anywhere
2. sing
3. try out new recipies

Three Things I Can't Do:
1. go a day without running into something (I am a clutz!)
2. be patient in airports
3. beat anyone at "SingStar"...maybe I should remove "sing" from the list of things I can do!

Three Things I Miss:
1. being in school
2. Real Mexican food (Chevys)
3. friends who are far away

Three Things I'd Like to Learn:
1. How to speak a foreign language fluently (French, German, or Italian)
2. How to garden (vegetables, flowers, plants)
3. How to be more compassionate

Three Things I Regret:
1. rejecting Greg the first time he tried to get my phone number :)
2. living in a "Brentwood bubble" during high school
3. Not taking more advantage of Nashville while I lived there for so many years

Three Favorite Foods:
1. chocolate
2. Italian
3. chocolate (I really like it, okay)

Three Favorite TV Shows as a Kid:
1. Gummi Bears
2. Grease (I know it isn't a TV show, but I used to watch it every day after school!)
3. The Cosby Show

Three People I Tag
1. Mike. Leah, or Hendrix Britt
2. Janell (you know you love these things!)
3. anyone who reads this blog and wants to participate!

Greg has been Tagged

Three Things I Love:
1. Nicolle
2. Clara
3. Sleep

Three Things I Hate:
1. Hypocrites
2. Being Away from Nicolle and Clara
3. Teenagers that know it all

Three People Who Make Me Laugh:
1. Tracey Morgan
2. Chris Farley
3. Nicolle

Three Things that Scare Me:
1. Big Dogs
2. loosing everything(see Job)
3. Grammar

Three Things I Don't Understand:
1. Grammar
2. Why the Portland drafted Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan
3. Why ASU can’t be good at basketball and/or football

Three Things On My Desk (at work):
1. Photos (Nicolle and Elena)
2. Clutter
3.Gum (unopened)

Three Things I Plan To Do Today:
1. Put Bike together
2. Clean up basement
3. Workout

Three Things I Want To Do Before I Die:
1. Baseball game at Fenway Park
2. Golf at Augusta, Sawgrass, or Pebble Beach
3. Have more children

Three Things I Can Do:
1. use Excel (Everyday)
2. Change an alternator in a Jetta (4 times and hopefully not again)
3. Tile a bathroom floor (3 times and counting)

Three Things I Can't Do:
1. Speak a foreign Language
2. Focus on one thing for more than 2 minutes at a time (unless it is in excel)
3. Sing the female part for “Love Shack”

Three Things I Miss:
1. My Nieces and Nephews
2. Real Mexican food (Chevys)
3. Wakeboarding

Three Things I'd Like to Learn:
1. How to speak a foreign language (French, Swedish, German, etc.)
2. How to work on cars better
3. Patience

Three Things I Regret:
1. Asking for a Million Dollars in a job interview
2. Whatever I say in the heat of the moment during a sporting event
3. My Temper

Three Favorite Foods:
1. Mexican from Arizona
2. Thurman Chilli
3. Dairy De lite Hamburger – Has a diameter of 8 inchs

Three Favorite TV Shows as a Kid:
1. Duck tales
2. Looney Tunes
3. The Cosby Show

Three People I Tag
1. Chuck
2. Brandon
3. My family (on the comments section)

Clara and friends

Uh, oh... this little boy (Max Harmon) is already making the moves on Clara. She is looking over at me (Nicolle) as if to say, "Mom... he grabbed my hand... what do I do now?!?"

Clara had her first "conversation" with her little girlfriend, Shaelyn. These two were so enthralled by each other and it was pretty cute. You can see the video at the link below. (Clara is the one on your left with the dark skin and dark hair).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPVTDmxXEH8

I saw this next video on you tube and it cracked me up. I don't know who these people are, but if you want a good laugh, click on this link...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_ARBWKpfA4&mode=related&search=

Name Game

Greg and Elena(Vern Alvin Wolfey IV's Oldest Sister)

My sister Kindy, gave birth to a big 9 lbs 1 ounce baby boy on Saturday morning. This is their fourth child, but their first boy.

Kindy and Vern(Vern Alvin Wolfey IV's parents)

Vern, the father, was very excited, because before they had any children, he knew that he would name his son Vern Alvin Wolfley IV. There is a problem, now there are three living Vern Wolfleys.

This is where you come in. What I would like to hear from you is what Vern Alvin Wolfley IV’s nickname should be. Please be creative. Here are my top ones right now:

Natalie(Vern Alvin Wolfey IV's 2nd Oldest Sister)

Fourth: You all have seen Seinfeld when George says a good name for a child is Seven, after Mickey Mantle, well who is more of a Yankee than Lou Gehrig. Besides, Fourth can mean many things. He is the fourth child of Kindy and Vern. He is the fourth Vern Alvin Wolfley. He is the fourth Grandchild born to my parents in the last year.

Val: This is taken from Vern Alvin. What can I say. I need some more suggestions.

Please let me know what you this a good nickname would be for Vern Alvin Wolfley IV.

Meghan(Vern Alvin Wolfey IV's 3rd Oldest Sister)

Busted

by Nicolle:
I should be working right now (I have two very involved grant applications due in the next two weeks), but I had to show off what we caught on camera today... Clara sucking her thumb during her nap. She has been sticking her fist in her mouth for weeks, testing all of her fingers to see which one tastes the best. She tried really hard to test out the thumb, but it was usually stuck inside her fist. I guess she finally figured out how to get it out and liked it enough to keep it there. Uh, oh. I think she'll be a thumb-sucker like I was. (The thing sticking out at the top of her head is her pacifier, which she spit in favor of her thumb!)

We had planned to take Clara on her first camping trip this weekend, but the weather has turned cold and it is supposed to get down to 28 degrees on Friday night... too cold for the baby. OK, too cold for me, but Clara is a good excuse, right? Instead, I think we'll go hiking to some waterfalls during the day on Friday, since we have it off work.

Happy Easter weekend!

Clara at 2 1/2 months (11 weeks, to be exact)

This cute girl is learning to hold her head up and use her neck muscles

Our favorite thing to brag about... she started sleeping through the night last week and is doing it consistently. That's right... 11pm to 7am every day. What a good girl! We moved her bassinet from right next to our bed to the kitchen. She feels so far away and sometimes we miss her at night. Soon she'll have to move upstairs to her crib in her own room, but we ( her Mom and Dad) aren't quite ready for that, yet.

She cracks up when we make silly noises. Here she is being amused by her Daddy.

We love our Clara!