life in type

news :)

long over due for many of you to know! some of you we were able to contact personally and are sad we couldn't tell you all that way. rest assured that we love you just as much! so onto the news.... thomas and i are indeed pregnant :) yay! we are about 20 weeks a long and having a baby boy. all is well in the pregancy, although if you had asked me that a few weeks ago i may not have sounded as excited. i had 24 hour morning sickness until i was helped out by my doctor and that made things a lot more comfortable and i stopped losing weight, ha! i was told it was ok to get a massage after your 1st trimester so we scheduled one. turns out, it's just not a good idea to get a massage from anyone who isn't prenatal certified regardless if they say they know how to do it. i'm seeing a chiropractor to help out my back which is getting better. thomas is great! he's working hard and has been studying for his entrance exam to graduate school and did well. we find out if he's accepted in may. he's so supportive and doesn't seem to mind my complaining :) he's been the best companion i could have asked for. i wish i could say the same for myself :)

anyway, i just got back from NYC for a business trip with my boss/friend melanie mauer. we had a blast and worked really hard. we managed to have a mini shoot of each other in central park so i now have a few images of my growing baby bump to show you. no, we don't have a name yet, just a long list. 

 

love you all!!

t & k

 

good-bye 2011

an update of the past few months...

we had thanksgiving on the farm in danville. it was a success but left us with a few improvements to make on my grandmothers dressing recipe. we might have to do more work to find out what, "till it's good", "just enough" and "add enough of" mean. we played yatzee after the meal and i can't remember who won but that's not really important right? what's important is that we were all together and the turkey was basted with butter :)

thanks to melanie mauer, thomas and i were able to get updated photos of just the two of us. she always does a great job of showing you on film what your relationship feels like. and it was a super fun session. even thomas had a blast! which is not untypical of time with melanie :)

 

the browns

summer fun with our nieces and nephew :)

 

 

t & k

fresh food storage

thought this was so interesting....had to share! prepare yourself, it's kind of nerdy. 

grouping your produce can be a great way to keep it fresh for as long as possible. by keeping these things apart, they won't enduce premature ripening :) 

Ethylene-Producing Produce

apples apricots avocados bananas blueberries cantaloupes citrus fruit cranberries figs guavas

grapes green onions honeydew kiwi mangoes melons mushrooms nectarines okra papayas

passion fruit peaches pears peppers persimmons pineapple plantains plums/prunes tomatoes watermelons

Ethylene-Sensitive Produce

asparagus broccoli brussel sprouts cabbage carrots cauliflower chard cucumbers

eggplant endives escarole green beans kale lettuce parsley peas

potatoes romaine spinach squash sweet potatoes watercress yams

read up!

t & k

we ran a 5K!

how cool is it that i have a few friends training for marathons and half marathons! and i decided to run a measley 3.1 miles! i've never been a runner so this is a big deal for me, ha! thomas did it half asleep in 27 minutes, it took me 35, and his sister drea in an amazing 29! but i didn't stop (my #1 goal)!! wahoo! 10k here we come...maybe :)

yah for a frosty morning :( i was freezing up until the 2.5 mile marker but by then we were almost done and i got cold again. 

 photos by alan brown

 

t & k

pumpkins 2011

thomas and i haven't been too great at keeping traditions going each year with the exception of one....carving pumpkins. we even managed to do it when we were in china. here are this years carvings:

my tribute to the late steve jobs (and my husband who loves his company dearly)

thomas' mario pumpkin

happy halloween!

 

t & k

harper family photos

the rest is yet to come but here's a peek: click here

 

 t & k

got pie?

our ward had a pioneer day pie contest last saturday and thomas decided to try his luck with the harper family rhubarb pie recipe. we didn't think much of it because we didn't know how much people out here would like rhubarb but we found out when they awarded him 3rd place! out of 22 pies! 

the prize...mrs. fields cookies :)

so proud of my little chef!

 

t & k

shou guang vegetable festival

a town 20 mins outside of weifang hosts chinas annual vegetable festival. there are several complexes that house intricate groupings of vegetable growing contraptions that you can walk through, under and over. 

t & k

seasonal is best

i recently have had quite a few people inquire as to when the best time to buy vegetables/fruit is. of course it depends on your area and weather but here is a list of the most common summer veggies and their peek times so you can snag the good stuff. or know when the best time to plant and harvest in your area is. 

for the pdf click here

 

t & k