Things Lost and Things Found

So, before I go any further, no, this is not a Christmas post.  That's still coming.

Last week, we started to get an inkling that something was missing......

No, not Sophie.  But we were getting her ready to go somewhere and we couldn't seem to find her tennis shoes.  Anywhere.  So we let her wear her red sparkly dress shoes (okay, let's be honest here.  Mark let her wear her red sparkly dress shoes instead of putting on her winter boots, which would make sense).  When we got home, we started tearing the house apart to try to find her shoes (all the typical and obvious places and a lot of unorthodox ones too.  Think:  refrigerator, garbage can, etc.).  After looking for 4ish days and still not finding them, we gave in and just bought her some new shoes.  Seriously though, where in the world could they be?  That's one of the questions I'm going to ask when I get to heaven.  I think the last time I knew for sure that we had them was driving back up here after being at my parents' house for Christmas (that drive is a whole other story, and funny too but I don't think Dave will let me tell you about it).  I absolutely know she had them on her feet on the drive home.  After that.......who knows.  Dave was sick after Christmas so we didn't go anywhere.  We had company that weekend so we didn't go anywhere.  I was sick the entire next week so we didn't go anywhere.  And then they were missing.  Mysterious.

As for things found, I got a new cookbook for Christmas from Mark and Lisa and I tried out a few new recipes the other night.  The recipes called for a few spices I didn't have (shocking, I know.  I thought I had pretty much everything) so I picked them up at the store last time I went.  When I opened the bottles to use them, I smelled each one of them out of curiosity, and they smelled heavenly.  I cannot believe that I've lived without these spices for so long.  One was ground coriander and the other was chipotle chili powder.  And they were used in the same recipe, even though they're so different.  And it turned out really good.  I wish I had taken pictures.  I also made some amazing rice that I'm now in love with even though it's probably really bad for me.  And also, some Brazilian lemonade stuff.  Really good meal.  And really good recipes.  Can't wait to try some more.
(Cookbook: Our Best Bites, Recipes:  Spicy Honey Chicken, Sweet and Savory Coconut Rice, Brazilian Lemonade)

So, a few words in closing.......

Shoes:  MIA

Spices: Where-have-you-been-all-my-life