Happy Monday!

It was a great weekend - even with the rain.  I usually don't mind it, but I do get quite annoyed with the mist-like rain that just seems to be everywhere.  And I suppose only us Northwesterners even know what I'm talking about.

I finished watching season two of True Blood.  I thought the season opener was terrible, but stuck it through the next episode, and got back into it.  It throws me off sometimes, as it tangents off quite a bit from the books, but I am learning to enjoy it for what it is.  Loren watched this season with me - I think mainly to hear how many times Bill blurts out with "Sooookhay....NO!". 

Last night I made red velvet cupcakes.  YUM!  I made them correctly this time, as to avoid a dry cake (the lack of champagne while prepping probably helped).  The dry goods and directions were part of a Sprinkles mix that I got from Ms. Jen Waters as a house warming gift.  I can see why this was a special treat back 'in the day'.  I can't imagine mixing butter by hand until fluffy, nor mixing each ingredient in slowly, and for mintutes at each step.  It was enough doing it with my Kitchenaid!  They came with these cute little button tops, and turned out like the ones below with the red button top.  Loren would like me to say that he decorated them with the sprinkle.  :D

Photo courtesy of sprinkles.com...I was too lazy to take photos. 

Maybe tonight?  or....maybe not.

WELL ALRIGHT!

Happy Friday!  I've had a GREAT morning.  Why?

- Actually got sleep last night.  I have a cold that has been kicking my butt, but last night it gave me a break!
- Loren and I had a great commute to work this morning. 
- I HAVE CAFFIENE.  Peppermint Mocha.
- I have some petite vanilla bean scones to nosh on this morning.  Thank you Starbucks.
- I am listening to She and Him.
- My sister-in-law has photographic proof that my nephew is THE Tony Stark.  I know, right???
- And tonight I am going with a friend to get a pedicure. 
- This weekend I'm going to use my new Adobe Suite CS5 for some photo editing, and get my scrapping back into shape! 
- ....which will be after some FUN shopping and eating of tasty almond tarts and pastries with wild abandon at the Lynden Dutch Bakery with my SIL. 

Due to the caffiene, I'm trying hard to concentrate on my tasks today.  And not go to cuteoverload or canihavecheezburger or damnyouautocorrect.

Pretty photo

Here is a photo of the ponderosa pine that is in the front yard of my in law's house in Miles City.  'twas the night before Christmas, and all through the plains, a strange fog rolled in and froze all the trees.  :D  Okay, that is all I have in me for 'poetry'.  After opening gifts I went out and took this photo.  There were entire groves of trees that looked like this - it was so beautiful. 

It's been a while...yes?

A pot roast is in the oven (thank you Pioneer Woman for having fabulous, yet simple, inspiration for good ol' beef) and I'm listening to classical music, which started with Yo-Yo Ma playing a part in Gabriel's Oboe from the Mission; it is such a beautiful piece.  I don't think I've heard it on the oboe, praise the Lord...not my favorite instrument.  Remember it from Peter and the Wolf??? They should just let the duck play himself.  ANYHOW, I digress. Chores are almost done for the weekend, and I'm making time to blog.  I'm finding that if I don't make time to do what I want I end up wasting time. 

It has been a while since I've posted...life got so busy the last quarter of 2010.  It is the busiest time of year for work and by the time I got home each night it was all I could do to make dinner and make sure our bills were paid before I crashed for the night. And that gifts were wrapped and shipped on time.  Christmas cards?  Yah, they were mailed out after New Year.  A 'little' behind.  :D  Some highlights of our November/December:

- A new Sony DSLR for yours truly...YEA! Now I need to learn all the ins-and outs. It takes such good shots without any manipulation that it is hard to get motivated to learn anything fancy with it!
- Real snow on Thanksgiving day.
- Got my mom hooked on Angry Birds.  I'm getting these knitted ones from Etsy for her birthday...lol.
 - We purchased a LIVE tree from Stoney Ridge Farms, which is just a couple miles from us. We haven't had, or have put up a fake tree the last seven years or so.  I had forgotten how great they smell (like making love to a lumberjack).
- We had fabulous house guests a couple weeks before Christmas.  The kids helped decorate, which was a lot of fun!  They did a terrific job of spacing out all the ornaments, and didn't obviously eat any of the candy canes.
-  We hosted our first Christmas the house.  It went really well - with lots of laughs.  The best was our nephew who felt utter disappointment when he realized not all the gifts under the tree were for him.  Well, that was SECOND best....best best was the fact Loren got the entire sequence of his emotions on the video camera. :)
-  We spent our first Christmas with Loren's family in Montana.  It was beautiful while we were there; no snow storms or wind storms.  Just cold! 
- New Year we spend with Aimee and CJ in Spanaway.  Her mom and dad hosted a little gathering with lots of food, laughs, chit-chat and Xbox Kinect. 

I'll sign off with a fun list I saw on my friend Andrea's blog...

Bold these if you've ever.....
1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disney World
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been a passenger on a motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Got a tattoo
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

SCRAPPING!

I actually did scrap this past weekend!  I completed a layout for the EFFER DARES, and a Pencil Lines sketch.  However, we've had friends visiting from out of town, so I've not taken the time to photograph or post until now.  And even now I'm only prepared to post one layout! 

This was for the Effer Dare 168 to scrap a memory to music.  This is a lovely picture of my late friend Colleen when we were, oh, 16ish.  We were hanging out at Universal Studios, and I luckily caught her with her eyes open!  She was one of those people who always blinked JUST at the wrong time!  The lyrics are to Sarah Mclachlan's "Fumbling Towards Ecstasy".  We played her constantly, and we went to this concert at the local theater when Sarah Mclachlan was just starting her career - to top it off, our friend actually won the tickets off of the radio!  It was a fabulous time that can never be repeated and will be a memory I cherish forever.

Wenatchee Farmer's Market & Stuffed Peppers

A couple weekends ago my mom and I made a weekend trip to Leavenworth.  It started out to be a one-day trip to get some fresh fruits and some shopping, but then we decided we didn't want to drive back, and got a hotel for Saturday night.  I then found the Wenatchee Farmer's Market was open only until 1pm on Saturday, and knew we would be cutting it close to get there in time (it is a few hours drive from Lynden).  So, we then added on Friday night! 

We got the the farmer's market and were pleased with the selection of fresh veggies, fruits, chiles and everything else!  It took two trips to the car, but in the end we came out with three flats of peaches, one flat of nectarines, a few pounds of saturn  peaches, a dozen green AND purple bell peppers, red and white onions and the most delicious cantaloupes.  There was so much character, too!  Corn and cantaloupes being sold right out of the back of trucks, and the tastiest homemade pork tamales with spicy tomatillo sauce.  The tamales were the best I've ever had, and only 50 cents each.  Moms and I had two each, and seriously would have gone back for more on Sunday if they had been open!  Unfortunately I was leaving a three days later for Vegas, so couldn't stock up on as much as I wanted.  If I lived within an hour or two of that market I would be there every Saturday.  The prices were CHEAP, and the produce was so much better than what our best grocery stores offer. 

Example:  Stuffed Green Peppers
Sunday night I made stuffed green peppers for supper/lunches before we took off for our trip - I didn't get a final result photo b/c we were starved and they smelled/looked SO good that I forgot!  They were THE best stuffed peppers.  The flavor of the peppers was amazing; so much better than any of the grocery store offerings.  I'd never had a purple pepper before...when fresh it smelled stronger than the green, but when cooked it turned green and was so similar in flavor that they weren't easily discernible from each other.

(this is my first attempt at at collage for the blog, and I think it turned out a little small.
I'm trying to figure out the correct pixels and am going to just improve as time goes on.

shout out to Loren for putting a generous amount of cheese on the peppers ;) )

Recipe:
This originated from various recipes I found online and tweeked to our tastes.  By tweeked I mean actually made it a bit spicy (mid-westerners *say* spicy, but really means *flavor*) and cooked them so the peppers retained some firmness.

2 Cups Water
1 Cup uncooked white rice
4 Large bell peppers, halved & seeded
1.0- 1.5 lbs lean ground beef
1 onion, diced
15 oz can tomato sauce
15 oz can diced tomatoes, drained
2 Cups finely shredded mozzarella cheese
Garlic cloves, to taste (I probably used 6 cloves, diced)
garlic powder, to taste
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
cayenne pepper, to taste
cumin, to taste
vegetable broth

1. Bring water and rice to a boil; cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 350
3. Brown the beef, drain, return to stove top and add the onions, cooked rice, and spices.  Stir well
4. Add the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes, stir well and let simmer for 15 ish minutes.  After 10 minutes or so, add some vegetable broth if it looks too dry. 
5.  Put the halved bell peppers into a 9x13 baking dish.  Note: some recipes call for steaming the peppers before hand. However, I really think that 45-60 minutes in the oven is plenty of time, and they do turn out nice and soft, but not mushy.  I'm afraid that if they were pre-steamed they'd be much.  But, if you like really soft veggies, you may want to try the steaming.
6. Spoon mixture into the bell peppers and place in oven for 45 minutes
7. Remove from oven and top with the cheese.  We used fresh mozzarella and it was amazing!  I've also used cheddar in the past with great success.  Hello, it is cheese...anything would work, I'm certain.
8. Bake until the cheese is hot an bubbly and serve!

Awesome product! and some other stuff.

Through my friend Stephanie I was introduced to the Good Fortune Soap Company and their faucet soap.  People!  Go out and get one for each of your showers and a backup!  I am using the apple/lavendar scent, and it is soooo nice!  It is fresh and clean, and not too fruity.  And really, how awesome is it that the soap is already IN the loofa?  And if you needed to, you could put the rest of your dove/caress/lava (to each their own, right? ;) ) in the loofa when the apple/lavendar bar is out.  But be sure to re-order from Good Fortune.

(stock photo from their site...I wish my faucets were that cool...they aren't.  Our guests can attest to our crappy plumbing. The only saving grace is a 75 gallon hot water tank. Niiiiiice.)

The best part about Good Fortune Soap Company?  You can use their soaps, lip balms, etc., LOVE them, and know that you are also supporting a company that makes outreach and community care a priority with their profits.  I think it is great to actually LIKE the product you are purchasing to support a good cause!  Check out their OUTREACH page.

That was the awesome product - now, other stuff.

I'm getting over my cold, and am stoked (yes, I wrote 'stoked') b/c I have 175 photos coming from shutterfly on Friday and I am going to spend my weekend scrapping!  I'm going to try to get some lo's done from the following challenges:

- Scrapjack of Maggie Holmes.  I know this is expired, but I love it!

- Pencil Lines Sketch 203.  I heart Pencil Lines and do not use their sketches nearly enough! 

- Dares - saw this on Steph's blog, and she is DARER 168, if you will - "scrap a soundtrack to a memory". 

- Good Grief Blog - My friend Jen Waters (if you go to her blog, um, look at all the loot she's recently won. i.n.s.a.n.e.!) is a DT member on this blog, and I have been following it since she joined.  Scrapping memories of my friend Colleen is going to be difficult, but I can't think of a better way to memorialize our memories.  I don't know if I'll actually get anything done, but I will get some great ideas on how to start.

So, that is it for now.  If there are any other good challenges out there this week/month, let me know!  :D