Update

I'll keep this brief as I know it is boring to read blogs that are all talk and no pics. Sorry 'bout that. The geek squad successfully recovered my photos from my hardrive, although the computer is totally kaput. I paid 160 just to get my pics back and another 100 for the external hard drive to have them stored on. I could pay another 300 for a new harddrive and then pay for all my software a-la-carte, however, when you add all that up, it just about amounts to the price of a new computer anyway. So Jonathan and I are in the market for one. We're conducting some research and will be purchasing one in the next month or so. I plan to be up and running again, with a backlog of updates, around the 1st of 2009. Wish the news were better than that...but I am eternally grateful I have my pics! Best wishes to you all for a very safe, happy, and gratitude filled Christmas and holiday season.

Out of commission

The Cope family has been up to a lot of fun lately, and until recently, I had some great pics to back that up. However, last night as I was looking through all of them and narrowing the field for the blog, my computer flashed a blue screen at me. It automatically restarted, and flashed a blue screen again. I am very scared about this and praying hard that my pics can be recovered. I'm heading to Best Buy tomorrow to enlist the help of the geek squad. In the meantime, you'll just have to take my word that Hawaii was fantastic (what's not to love about perfect weather, beaches, and swimming with dolphins?), Halloween in NYC with our friends the Blanchards was a huge success, and we've been cooking up lots of fun! Here's to hoping my hard drive is recoverable...and I've learned my lesson. I'll be purchasing hardware to backup my photos and protect them from any future events like this.

Leaving on a jet plane...

Okay, if you were feeling sorry for me with that last one ( I hope you had some pity, while more than likely seeing the humor in it all), I guess we can all feel better now.

We're leaving in a little more than 48 hours for Hawaii. What can I say? I've been craving true Hawaiian shave ice since July. I made a trade with Jonathan in August...he could go to SLC for conference, if WE could go to Hawaii for shave ice and some quality time on the beach. Afterall, the girls and I were deprived of a real summer thanks to those previously mentioned hormones.

So, we'll be on Oahu from Oct. 9-18th. I probably won't blog from Hawaii. I'd like to say I would, but realistically, I'll come home with some great stories, a lot of pictures, and a backlog of posts to do. And so the cycle continues...

Hormonal wreckage

This last weekend was General Conference in the LDS church, a semi-annual conference during which the leadership (most notably the prophet) of the church speak to the general body of the church on subjects and issues they feel spiritually impressed upon to address.

So Jonathan got to make a long anticipated trip to Utah to be with his brother Brandon and Papa Cope for the occasion. He flew out Thurs. right after work, so the girls and I hadn't really seen him since Wed. night. They enjoyed a BYU football game together, as well as attending the priesthood session of conference Sat. evening. He also played golf with some old college roommates, and took a walk down memory lane at the legendary Cafe Rio. It was a great weekend for him....

On the other hand...

The girls and I watched the Sat. morning session, and Sun. afternoon session via satellite transmission at our local church meetinghouse. The weekend started off well enough for me, considering I was flying solo. The girls and I made homemade spinach and tomato pizza with mozzarella and parmigiano reggiano cheese ( I am a cheese fanatic) Thursday night. They had a great time "painting on the sauce" and making fall leaves out of the mozzarella with my cookie cutters. They really didn't think they wanted "salad" on their pizza, but I sliced it up and put it on anyway, reminding them that vegetables keep our bodies healthy. They thoroughly enjoyed the finished product and never even noticed the spinach! I think this will become a frequent happening in our home as it was so easy and fun! I really enjoy cooking, and especially when I can involve the girls!

Friday, however, brought some bad news. My washing machine's water line stopped working. At first it was just the cold water that didn't work, so I ran a load or two with hot water (something I rarely do). But then, the hot stopped working too. Now the washer fills with a very slow trickle (imagine your child washed their hands and forgot to turn the water all the way off). It is so frustrating because it takes like an hour just for the the washer to fill up, then it does its thing, and takes another hour to fill for the rinse cycle. I seriously think it takes around 3-4 hours to complete one load in the washer. It is killing me! So that was Friday sometime.

Then on Sat. the girls and I went to conference as I mentioned ( which went very well) and then headed to the grocery store for a few items, after a pit stop at the park to get out some wiggles and reward their excellent behavior at conference. On our return trip from the store, with milk, ice cream, etc. in hand I went to open the back door to the house. It was locked ( I had made sure it was unlocked sometime previous to our departure, but little Macy must've been inclined to practice her big girl skills and play with it)! I went for the spare key in the garage and it was missing. Then I remembered that I had already used the OTHER spare key a few days prior, and Kennedy had taken it from the counter and lost it somewhere. I tried not to panic...but I think I really did. It was already 6 at night, dusk was quickly setting in and it was already quite frigid outside. I put the girls in the van so I could survey the house for any open windows, doors, etc. I tried every single lower level window (7 in all) and none would budge. I searched under rock wall stones, door mats, and anywhere where the previous owner might conceivably have hid a forgotten spare key. No such luck. By this time I was frantic and crying. Then I had the idea to use this as a teaching lesson. I brought the girls out of the van and asked them to kneel with me on the dirty garage floor. They did and I asked Kennedy (for the sake of a child's innocence and faith) to offer up a word of prayer that we would find a way into the house. Unfortunately, I had left my cell phone in the house, so I had no way of calling Jonathan for his ideas. I finally humbled myself and drove to Panera to ask to use the phone to call a locksmith. When we arrived at Panera, the place was humming, and I chickened out. I just knew I was going to break down into tears and make a scene. We walked through the shopping center to T.J. Maxx, thinking perhaps the crowds would be thinner there. Wrong again. I started to turn away, but realized I was running out of time to catch Jonathan on the phone ( priesthood session was about to start) and forced myself into the store to share the sad tale. It was very uncomfortable to feel so helpless and pathetic. I suppose I needed the experience. I did in fact manage to tell them I needed to make a long distance call ( Jonathan's cell is still a Texas #) before I started to cry. They obviously felt sorry for the sad looking creature before them and allowed use of the phone. As luck would have it, Jonathan didn't answer. Then I asked if they had a phone book so I could call a locksmith. Prior to this point they were probably wondering if I was fleeing an abusive sitiation or what. Here I was, puffy eyed and pregnant clinging to the hands of my two young daughters. I can't imagine what they were thinking. Finally I divulged the whole sorry tale of my being 5 months pregnant, alone for the weekend, locked out of my house, no spare keys to be found, haven't met my neighbors yet, tried all the windows, etc. I could sense some relief on the part of the store manager as it all came clear what was going on. I suppose he had imagined far worse. His assistant suggested I call the non-emergency police line to see if they could help. She helped me locate the number and I called. The nice officer on the other end said he would send someone right away and what was my return number just in case. I bashfully admitted I'd left my cell in the house and was calling from T.J. Maxx and did he want their number? No he did not. I drove back to the house to find a very nice policeman in our driveway. He escorted me to the garage door to try that first. Much to my dismay and embarrassment, he noticed that though the basement door was locked, it wasn't pulled tightly in place. With a firm jerk he pulled it right open. Boy did I feel sheepish. Then comes the worst part... I walked through the basement, into the house, and right back out the garage door to thank him, letting the still locked door close behind me! Are you kiddding me ( I only wish I was!). So now, with the basement door firmly in place, we were back to square one. Next we decided to try windows. I assured him I had tried them all, but he suggested we try the little bathroom window again. He hopped on the A/C unit, and managed to open the window! Hurray... only he was a wee bit too big to fit through. I told him I could do it, but once I got up there, I thought it better to lower Kennedy in than to risk wedging my pregnant belly in the window, and thus be in an even worse situation. I explained the task to my little K and she bravely said she could do it. The officer lowered her through the window, and a moment later she appeared triumphant through the open garage door (which I promtly unlocked to prevent any further embarrassment). We all thanked the policeman profusely (which seemed such an inadequate gesture) and in we went. I hurried to make dinner and get the girls in bed so I could diffuse my nerves. When at last they were down, I curled up in bed and cried and cried. I have been so hormonal this pregnancy! I feel like a premenstrual teenager sometimes. I felt so sad and spent. My body was exhausted from trying to be supermom and find a way into the house. My nerves were raw and emotions rampant. It was a bad combination. I cried myself to sleep and that was a rap...

Yummy Bean and Ham Soup

I've had food on the brain lately...I actually don't think it's the pregnancy, I think it's just me. Thinking about preparedness, and wanting to improve upon my weak collection of recipes my family loves. Anyway, I called my mom a few days ago for a recipe she used to make in cooler weather. She gave it to me, and we really enjoyed the results. It's tasty, easy, and it uses up a leftover ham bone that otherwise might just be given to the "dogs".

You can probably do many different variations with this, but I'll share how we did it.

Bean & Ham Soup

1 ham bone from a 7-8 lb. ham with meat intact
4 cans beans (great northern, canellini, or navy preferred)
2-3 bay leaves
1/8 c. red wine vinegar (mom uses apple cider, but I was out of that)
1/8 c. worcestershire sauce
pepper to taste
garlic salt to taste
1/2 c. tomato sauce
water to cover ham bone and other ingredients


Combine all ingredients in large stockpot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered for at least 1 hour (The longer it simmers the more the soup incorporates the flavor from the ham bone and other seasonings).

Right before serving remove bay leaves and ham bone, ensuring all the meat has fallen off the bone. Trim any excess fat from meat, and skim fat if necessary from soup, after letting it cool for a bit. Rewarm, and serve! Makes a great meal for cool fall evenings. I didn't serve anything with this soup; it's a meal in and of itself!

* I read several similar recipes on allrecipes.com that suggest adding a little mustard powder, cayenne pepper, etc. I thought about kicking it up a bit, but decided against it since I was serving this to my family (my kids don't like too much heat).

ENJOY!

And the verdict is...

Well, I put this off just a bit hoping for a little more time to do something really cute for the big announcement. Unfortunately, that extra time never came forward. So here it is, the unembellished truth...IT'S A BOY!

The pics spoke for themselves ( I'll try and post these soon). We'll just say this, the little guy had no shame in his manhood, or modesty for that matter. The physical evidence was insurmountable to Jonathan's utter elation (mine too, of course!). We're all excited, and even little Macy has decided, boy or girl, the new baby is going to get lots of kisses and hugs!

On another note, the measurments of the ultrasound showed the pregnancy even a little more advanced than before; so I have no idea when this baby is really supposed to be here. She said I looked about a week further than my paperwork shows. In any case, we're looking at an early to mid-Feb. due date. I'll take anything after 37 weeks, the sooner the better!

Back in the saddle

I've been a blogging fool tonight, so if you've got time and curiosity on your side, I suggest finding somewhere comfortable to sit, and bring along a favorite snack in case you get hungry! I've posted pretty much all that's noteworthy from this past summer, and for the most part, am all caught up!