I downloaded a sample of this yesterday afternoon onto my kindle and read it last night. This is sooo funny!!! It reads kinda like Ozzy talks but a bit more coherent. Lots of "f" words thrown in but a good read non-the-less. I am only into his childhood escapades so it may get a bit more .... interesting as I click through the pages. I just bought the full version so my reading will commence later this evening. But now-responsibility beckons...

In the words of my new buddy......"SSSHHARROOONNNN.......where the F*** are my puppies!" Better go...

CSA arrival!

Thursday pickup of the CSA is quite exciting for me! Actually, even more exciting is the email that arrives the week before to tell me what is going to be in the box and what my options are for editing those items. Obviously, I am easily entertained as the thought of replacing apples (not a big fan) with Kale....thrills me!
In the continued attempt to use up the eggs that were purchased for the post wedding brunch I decided that Kale frittata would be in order. I had never made a frittata until I got the Barefoot Contessa cookbook and she has a simple recipe in there for one. Hers calls for bacon, potatoes and chives. I just doctored hers up and added Kale and onions. I used red potatoes for this one but usually use sweet potatoes. I just think the color looks cool. Purple cauliflower is awesome in this! I plan on planting MANY purple cauliflower plants this summer!




I also made a roasted beet salad with feta. Jeff still does not think that beets are great (or even good for that matter) so it just leaves more for me! Love them!!











Puppy update-I have decided that these two puppies are without a doubt-the cutest puppies on the planet. Seriously....adorable.

Wednesday night--no exercise AND CHOCOLATE

I drove home from work knowing full well that I was not going to "shred" (Jillian Michael) or walk on my treadmill while watching Medium Season 1 on a netflix disk...NO!! I was going home, hanging with puppies and EATING CHOCOLATE!! And...this chocolate would not be just any chocolate...it would be Nestle Semi-sweet chocolate chips!! This is my food of choice and has been since I can remember. I thought I was "off" chips but it came on me today-in full force! Blaise (the sonship) asked to borrow the truck at lunch. Said he needed to go to the "grocery store"...I knew what this meant...He was heading to the crack...oops, I mean "chocolate" store! I handed him the three bucks needed to score and................AHHHH, Heaven!




Oh, dinner...not that interesting. Tofu, cabbage, carrots, onions, and soba noodles. A few chow mein noodles sprinkled on the top....hmm, not like the high from the chocolate but it will do!

Married w/children...25 years into it!

I have been officially been married for 25 years as of today--yes, to the same man, yes, in human years (not dog years)...and yes, it actually is pretty darn cool! I thank God that this has worked out so well..

We got married without much of a plan...just assumed that everything would work out well..and it did!!! Not that we didn't have times that we regretted it (alot--just ask our kids!) Jeff is ANAL (sorry-but you are) and I am..well, messy, distracted and really quite off the wall. I admit it...not a whole lot going on upstairs...BUT..it has all worked out. Thank you Jesus!!

So, here is our 25th wedding anniversary dinner post. We had crab, zucchini pancakes, french bread and caesar salad with lovely wine. We stayed home because we didn't want to leave our puppies in their pen. They spend too much time cooped up as it is.

We are officially parents of grown children BUT--we cannot leave our new puppies in the evening. This leaves us in the WTF stage of life...but we wouldn't have it any other way. Here's to grown kids- who have made us proud, puppies that are making us crazy and .....everything else that awaits US!!!

Feeling fairly uninspired as a blogger this evening I thought I would go to my iphoto file to see if there was anything that sparked a blog post ( I must keep up with Stephanie as she has 2 posts for today!) and here it was!! A bathtub photo of my new son in law!! I don't think he looks at my blog so I feel fairly safe exposing him in this way!! Sorry Sam, I just had to do it! This is about the cutest thing I have seen in awhile....Love you Buddy!! Welcome to the family!!!

Saturday mornings are my favorite!

While I lollygag around this morning my wonderful husband is off to the coffee store to get my latte and a scone. He does this every Saturday--he is just groovy like that! I suppose we could get up, plug in the coffee maker and actually "make" our own coffee but that just does not happen at our house. We have tried the fancy ones with timers ( after having it set up many times by the son-in-law as well as the son...too hard for me to figure it out). We have a couple of french presses that we use for camping but I just hate cleaning them out--so that's out for the morning coffee.

But LULUS!!!!!!!! Just the perfect cup everytime!!!!! I hear the garage door.....yippee!!

Friday night-Shrimp!!!

The Eating Well cookbook that contains this wonderful recipe!

Salad--just because I need to use up these greens.









The finished product (served on rice)

















My typical stack of books that usually involve 3-4 cookbooks, multiple gardening books, a diet book or two for good measure and a bible for good intentions!!!

Thursday night steak

Jeffrey is quite the BBQ King!! He makes a mean steak!

And the best part of dinner--Blaise stopped by!!!

Gardening!!

Here are the books that I am waiting for!! I ordered them from Amazon and they are sitting in Anchorage (according to the online tracking thing).


This is what I get for going for the free shipping business. Should have just paid the $4.95 and had it here YESTERDAY!!


I have a very large area in the back of my house that has housed horses for the past two years. What a perfect spot for my new garden area!! I can't wait to get started. The very best part is that I do not have to break Sod!! It will need lots of topsoil and mucho horse poop (which I have LOTS of!) and I think it will be awesome!! Thinking that it may take me YEARS to actually get it the way I want it but that's okay.


I have tried for years to plan gardens on paper. This is just to ....annoying! I am sure the reality is that it makes for better gardening but it is just beyond my thought processes. I am going to start tons of plants in the sunroom and just put them wherever the mood strikes me. Worse case scenario...they have to be moved or the area planted with something different the next year.

Jeff has HATED it in the past when I start cutting out grass. He does love his grass but here there is NO GRASS. Kinda like a blank slate, empty canvas--a whole area for me to play with.

Pictures to follow....!!!!

Wednesday-Salmon

Hola!!

Eating dinner alone :( watching a Ghost Hunters (re-runs) double yuck!! But--my dinner is quite awesome--even if I do say so myself! Alaskan Salmon, caught by Jeffrey, fresh spinach and udon noodles. Nummy!

I am much to big of a wimp to actually barbeque when it is this cold out so I broiled it and it seemed to work out just fine. Just salt and pepper to start with and after it had cooked a bit I brushed a little ginger barbeque sauce.

I cooked the noodles, drained them and then sauteed them with the spinach, green onions and actually added a bit of red pepper flakes just because I like a bit of spice!!

This POST'S for you Steph!

So, I made split pea soup for my lunches this week and cookies to send in your box. Here are pictures of what my afternoon entailed--after the movie of course!!


Here if the finished product--very good!


and then the cookies......


This is Stephanie's favorite phase....

The MESS!

The Finished product!
Your box should be in the mail on Wednesday~~

Trying to figure out photos....

WHY can I not figure out how to put pictures anywhere but at the TOP of the words on this blog!! Steph, I see that your pictures are placed differently....so help me!! I am going test it now...

Dinner last night and random photos...also is there anyway to label photos?

Condiments for beef tacos

So, that seemed to work! Editing the HTML! Wow, I might actually figure this stuff out.
Here is a photo of the meat that I used. I sliced up steak and sauteed it with chopped garlic. I also added some chilies to add a little kick. Of course what really makes these good is the homemade tortilla shells.

And last but not least...AbbyCrabby Pants---just a little messy puppy going through life....

PUPPIES--they will be groomed on Tuesday!

Sunday Dinner and Skype

Just had the best evening Skyping with my kids!! First we watched the wedding video with Sam and Charlie and then with Steph--amazing that we can watch it with everyone being in different places. It turned out so excellent.

Thanks so much for calling guys! It is always wonderful to catch up with everything you are doing.

Dinner was a bit uninspired although it was pretty tasty. I made homemade tortilla shells, sauteed steak and used the standard toppings for tacos. Not bad for a quick Sunday night dinner.

Thinking that Jeff and I will go and see "It's Complicated" tomorrow. I was going to look up movie times but I am just getting too tired.

Hoping the darn cat will let me sleep tonight...if not this may be the night that I have to get stern with her and make her behave. What a little pest she is. Can't wait until she can go outside again and work off some of her energy. THe puppies on the other hand are pooped and have been snoozing for about 20 minutes now.

Saturday!

So-my youngest daughter has been married for two weeks today. We went and watched the video today (cost: $1,500.00) I was not totally committed to the whole video idea-I am a photo person all the way!! But, Jeff wanted a video so I relented and heck, Charlotte was well within her budget-the video was a go...I must say...it was the BEST (hands down best) decision made at this wedding!!!! Everything else--gone-- for the most part but the video...all I can say is YEA!!

Bob Merritt really captured both Sam and Charlotte's personalities. It really shows the wedding from their perspective(not an easy feat considering how much was going on) So..I am so happy we actually got this on film!!!

Anyway, I couldn't be happier with the end result. Love that we will have this forever-

But-tonight-Jeff and Blaise are off to the fights--I,on the other hand, am planning my day tomorrow......thinking, Champagne breakfast....waffles...bacon....an entire day of not getting out of pajamas...Can't wait!!!!!!!!

Made Pizza's--again, I cannot figure out the whole camera thing. I am thinking about taking a digital photo class....

Friday dinner and the pets..

What a lovely day! Cleaning, baking and watching online movies--it was awesome. I made "healthy cookies" from 101 Cookbooks--not really thrilled. They had no butter, sugar or any other "bad" ingredients but...just not good enough to make a second time. Sadly, I was disappointed.

Dinner involved sweet potatoes, eggs and broccoli. I thought it was good but I don't think the husband felt the same way! We are off to watch District 9--Blaise's recommendation--better be good bud! Good night girls--miss you--Mom

Friday--the first day of my LONG weekend!

I am so loving having Friday off so that now instead of a three day weekend--I have a FOUR day weekend! Yea!!

I got up early to avoid the crazy Friday Fred Meyers crowds and was at the grocery store by 8:15 (following a quick stop at the Lulu's drive-thru for a skinny latte) I do love an early morning shopping excursion at Freds! I did manage to avoid the donut that was calling my name--just barely.

My plan for the rest of the day is to 1) put away the groceries 2) wash the floor 3) do the dishes that are currently piled on the counter (oh, for the days of free slave labor...oops I mean children living at home) and then LOTS of watching instant netflix movies.

Dinner is going to be eggs benedict, fried sweet potatoes and broccoli. I forgot that I have a HUGE CONTAINER of eggs left over from the wedding. Might even take a picture of it. I almost bought a white plate today for "food photos" but decided that I may just want to read my camera manual and just take better pictures.

I may even give these little puppulas a bath....

Shred update and dinner

Here is the halibut makeover--I found a great recipe on "Simply Recipes" and followed it exactly. We both really liked it! I actually think the halibut cakes ARE better than crab cakes. The sauce is a horseradish sauce and it rocked. I used leftover broccoli from last night, added it to the rice cooker (brown rice) with a bit of cheddar cheese, made garlic bread from the last bit of the artisan bread that Jeff bought last night-DINNER!! I cannotfigure out the best setting on my camera to photograph this--JO HELP!! But here is my first food post.

I came right home from work and did the 30 day shred. A bit easier today although the phone just keeps ringing!! It is like the world knows I am trying to workout for 20 minutes at 5:15 pm. Jillian is very clear "don't phone this in" and I try not to....but what does that mean???? If I am not ripped with abs of steel by February I will be *issed!!!

Oh to be an old gal in the 2010's.....thank goodness I have children!!!!

Here is the plan....

So after pondering what my exercise plan of attack should be for 2010 I have decided to try the Jillian Michaels 30 day shred. The goal will be to do the workout everyday for 20 minutes, increasing the difficulty in increments. I do love the treadmill and walking but sadly, I just don't work very hard at these things.

BUT--after reading a bloggers update after training for a marathon I was quite encouraged to try Jillian. According to this blogger she had better muscle tone after doing the 30 day shred (for 30 days) than after a few months of training for a marathon. The difficulty for me will be ACTUALLY doing it for 30 days in a row. If any of my loyal readers (by that I mean daughters as I have no readers!) wanted to do this with me I would be quite pleased. Charlotte, you may be able to check it out at the library--good excuse to head over there!!!

I have a meeting with Jeff and then he is buying me lunch-that is quite exciting for me as I am afraid we are having leftover halibut for dinner. I pan fried a steak yesterday following the Pioneer Womans directions and it was quite lovely! Dare I say....almost better than bbq'd!!

It has warmed up a bit and is now only -27. Thank goodness for Lulu's Coffee and gardening books!!

Here it is-the first day of the rest of my life...

The day has arrived that I have dreaded but.....I am not feeling to bad....pretty good actually. I hated to see Steph leave for the airport (I opted not to go because I didn't want to make her feel bad) but the truth of the matter is-I am excited for her. She has so many options, so many fun opportunities-I think this is her year to shine!

I skyped with Charlotte last night and it really is the next best thing to having her right in the back room-although I am less likely to get chocolate chip cookies made by her when she is 400 miles away! She is happy, has a wonderful husband and is living her dream. Couldn't be prouder of her.

Blaise is closing on his new house--an absolute disaster when he purchased it. He worked full time at his regular job-put in HOURS upon HOURS of work and transformed the joint. It finally looks like a home! I think Jeff had fun working on it.....Blaise, on the other hand, did not seem to see the "fun" factor but he did a great job!

So, while I am missing having my kids under one roof, I am so pleased to see where they have taken themselves. Cheers Babies!!!! I love you guys!

Ps--bring wine and chocolate when you visit!!

So this obviously did not go so well as it has been a VERY long time since I put something on here. I can't really even remember how to do it. So here goes.....

I find myself at a very interesting point in my life, the phase known as the "empty nest" syndrome. With my youngest daughter's wedding this past weekend and with the sight of her tail lights departing down the driveway I am truly wondering...is this in fact the first day of the rest of my life or what it feels like...the end of the best years of my life???

So, like the modern woman I have convinced myself that I am, I will face this the only way I know how....I will raise a new "baby" by creating a blog! I have so many "friends" that I have never met and will NEVER meet and yet I fill my day by checking up on them-copying their breakfast menus, their exercise routines and drooling over their full wine glasses and beautiful salads. What a strange new world we live in but I am jumping in.