Summer Fun

This little water bug loves swimming! She just jumps in, swims to the steps, and does it again over and over. She also jumps off the pier at Mimi in and Pop's, which I haven't captured on camera yet, but is a pretty far jump for such an itty bitty girl! He personality is so shy and cautious in so many other ways, but not in the water! :)

Another favorite: blueberries. We went blueberry picking recently, and she did nothign but eat and eat the whole time. She would put a couple in her bucket, put it up to her mouth, and tip it back to let 'em roll on in! Yum!

Cousins

We got to spend most of last week at the lake with Caroline's cousins. Joshua, Laura Beth, and Anna were visiting from Kentucky, and her Uncle Matt and Amanda from Mobile. We had such a blast at Mimi and Pop's! The two little ones played very well together, and the "big kids" (Philip included) enjoyed tubing. Caroline LOVES the water! She woke up this morning saying, "Boat! Pop! Mimi!"

Kiddie Music

I am not a music buff. Philip, however, is. This is no surprise if you know him at all. :) He has a genuine love for lots of kinds of music, though his favorite tends to change through the years. (When we met, it was 80's; just ask him what song we had performed at our wedding. Currently, really twangy Texas country).

Caroline seems to have inherited her daddy's love of music. It has a mesmerizing effect on her. It can stop her in the middle on almost any screaming fit. When we're in the car, I had been playing a kids' album that we downloaded from Amazon. It had 150 songs and was priced at $1.99. Not good quality, to say the least. Ever since Philip was subjected to this music on our last road trip, he has been scouring the internet for GOOD kiddie music.

It actually exists. :) And I LOVE it. (So does Caroline, by the way.) Philip called me from his truck laughing hysterically one day. He had been listening to one of the albums on his way to work. He said, "I can so identify with the song, 'Ate Too Much of My Favorite Food!'" Again, not surprising if you know Philip.

Anwyay, here are a few of our favorites. You should give them a listen on Amazon.

Dizzy by Lunch Money

Snack Time by Bare Naked Ladies (my MP3 player has them listed as BNL!)

No! by They Might be Giants

Family Dance by Dan Zanes

Catch the Moon by Lisa Loeb (lullabies)

Monday: Chicken with Bell Peppers and Pasta, served with steamed veggies

Tuesday: Crock Pot Venison Chili

Wednesday: Marinated Baked Pork Chops over rice, served with green salad green beans

Thursday: Leftovers Night

Friday: dinner with friends :)

To Do List…

When I was still writing that darn dissertation, I had a very LONG list of things I wanted to do with my time once it was complete. I was planning to:

• read more
• blog more
• cook more
• organize our house
• clean more
• organize my photos
• scrapbook more
• sew more
• organize my coupons/shopping…

The majority of my list involved organization or doing {insert good thing} more. Well, the time has come to execute said list! I begin with an inspiration from my dear friend Julie, who has also begun participating in MENU PLAN MONDAY, which will actually help to accomplish several list items: organize my coupons/shopping, cook more, and blog more. You see, I have been couponing for about a year now. I have saved our family a lot of money and built quite a substantial food stockpile in the process. The problem now lies in planning meals around what we have on hand. I used to just hop over to my favorite recipe website, allrecipes.com, browse through menu items that had a five star rating and looked like fun to try, and run out to the store to pick up the necessary ingredients. Now I need to look through my pantry and freezer and plan meals accordingly.

A little about meals at the Ryle household: I love to cook. Especially with garlic and onion. :) And lots of veggies (admittedly not P's favorite part). We are trying to eat a little healthier overall. Philip and I both love leftovers. We think most meals taste better the second time around. So I really only cook three or four meals a week, and make enough to eat more than once. And I am trying to use my crockpot more, which is actually easier now that it has a home in my cabinets and is not buried under bags of chips and boxes of cereal in the bottom of my pantry (begin organizing house... CHECK!). Here is my first Menu Plan:



Monday: Slow Cooker Garlic Chicken
Tueday: Slow Cooker Fried Rice (made with leftover chicken from Monday)
Wednesday: leftovers
Thursday: I will be traveling to Mobile with Caroline, so P gets a frozen pizza...
Friday: I am making ahead and taking Chicken Alfredo Lasagna to Mobile to enjoy with the group there

So there ya go! Sounds yummy... and the garlic chicken in the crock pot is already smelling delicious!

Graduation

UA's Commencement was held on December 12 at Coleman Coliseum. My dad, Philip, Caroline, and my friend Erin were there to watch me get hooded (my mom was helping Mamaw, who has just had a heart procedure done).

My major professor, Dr. Tavan Trent, was there to hood me and a few others.


Five us of math nerds received our doctorates that day!

~Patrick Taylor, Julie Ryle, Karan Thaguna, Berhanu Kidane, and Chunhui Yu~

Afterward, my bunch grabbed lunch and then headed home to enjoy my yummy houndstooth cake Erin made. She is becoming quite the cake decorator!


**Funny little story: Caroline and I had driven to Tuscaloosa the day before graduation to pick up my cap and gown (I procrastinated a bit on that one). We were walking throught the book store, and of course there are elephants EVERYWHERE. Now Caroline may not say any words besides "da da," but she is a big fan of animal noises. The elephant is the one she learned first and likes best. Her elephant noise is basically a spitting sound, and she spit the entire time we were in the bookstore. People were looking at us like she was crazy. All I have to say is, ROLL TIDE!

November 2009

Another facet to my frugality: homemade laundry soap. Steph and I made a liquid variety (recipe), but I have since learned from my friend Julie that you can make a much easier powdered variety. Oh, well. I have a five gallon bucket of detergent in my garage, and I fill up a few old detergent bottles I had every month or so. This bucket should last me a year, and the ingredients cost $1.61. Worth it.



New Caroline skill we're working on: using utensils. She's really not all that bad at it. She does get tired after awhile and dig in with her hands. How else will she learn? :)


Our friends the Shirleys left Birmingham and the States for the mission field. They are serving God in Kenya! We were honored to go to their commissioning service at Brook Hills the weekend before they left, and were able to spend a bit of time with them at a lunch after. Their Christmas card this year had giraffes in the background. Philip was jealous. :)


Philip's parents and brother came up for a visit the weekend of the LSU game. We headed over to T-town to enoy some of the atmosphere before heading home to watch the game. Caroline loved watching the percussion warm up in front of Denny Chimes. Roll Tide!