Positive Changes

2011 is going to have some positive changes! First, I'm going to be starting a new role with a new company. Amazing, exciting, scary, bittersweet!!! I've been with Trus Joist/Weyerhaeuser/iLevel for 12 years. I've met some of my closest and dearest friends working there, gained a wealth of professional experience, and worked with some brilliant people. Grateful for all of it!

My new adventure will be with AD-As Design Solutions. Check them out! It is a great company,there is a lot of opportunity for me to use the experience I've gained and to stretch/grow in many areas too. I'll be doing marketing, customer relations & communications, and wearing many other hats as often happens in small companies!

The other positive change for Kevin and me is that.....








I'm pregnant! 11 weeks.... Amazing, Exciting & Terrifying! I think I'm through the nauseousness... and onto feeling good. At least this week.

Lots of changes!

Pictures as Promised

Finally got around to uploading pictures from the last blog.

Here is one of little Pixie after her surgery, she hated that d@$&* cone! And it didn't even stop her from ripping off her bandage every chance she got. Determined and persistent, that is my girl!

These are a couple of pictures that Kevin took of Pixie chillin' on the couch. He just couldn't resist, he thought she looked hilarious kicked back....
So much so that he took several shots of her. I imagine her saying, "what are you looking at?"
"Seriously...."

And now, drum-roll please.... pictures of our tree! It is a fine Noble Fir that we've decked with very colorful and shimmery balls and lights.

Willy's new favorite spot in the house, under the tree. He started to come out as I took this photo. Willy, Sweet Willy...he loves it under the tree and he likes to drink the water.

I'm Back!!!!

I took a little blogging vacation... the break was triggered by a small bout of depression and fear. Little Pix went in for a dental and to have a lump removed from her leg, and the biopsy came back as malignent - a Mast Cell Tumor. So, I sort of hunkered in.... but we've been seeing our regular vet and have integrated a few therapies to help make sure the cancer does not return and that Pixie is happy, healthy, and with us for as long as she wants to be! (eyes watering, time to change the subject!)

Kevin and I have been getting ready for Christmas. I don't have pictures to post today, but stay tuned for the Tree! It's our first tree as a married couple, well "real" tree. Last year we put up a very small fake tree that I've had for years....

Willy (our cat) loves the tree! He likes to sit under it... look at the lights, those sparkly balls, and dream of mischief! He'll chill there for a bit and then bolt a circle around the tree and down the hall to climb his cat tower - it's all very exciting.

This week my mother shared her lemon square recipe with me! This is my FAVORITE holiday treat that she makes, and she makes a lot - and there are a lot of delicious options but lemon squares are my favorite! I'm going to make a batch or two to share..... because it is the season of sharing and joy, and these decadent little morsels will put a smile on your face - I guarantee!

I'll post pic's later (they're my favorite part) but I needed to get a post in before Kristin took me off her blog watch list!!!

Halloween!

Kevin thought it would be fun to see how his Halloween glasses looked on Pixie.... then on Honda. Good thing our girls are patient! I'm not sure they were giggling like Kev was, but they indulged him.

We dressed up Saturday night for a party at Cornelia and Bob's. I was Ellie Mae (The Clampets) and Kevin was a pilot. Cornelia and Bob have an amazing yard and it was decked out for the occasion. Three fire pits, many pumpkin lanterns, a "strawman" for burning... oh and a silent film playing on a big screen projector - something with hyenas, werewolves, and Transylvania. There was also spider cookies (you can imagine this frightened me!), eyeball cookies, brain and heart (these were jello molds), oh and sewer punch! It was SO much fun.



Th-the that's all Folks!

What do you do?

When you find yourself with a full week to yourself while your husband makes a caravan south to retrieve some of his worldly possessions. Do you:

A. Do nothing, read books, veg-out
B. Schedule a pedicure
C. Schedule a massage
D. Drink wine, eat cheese & visit with friend
E. Make yourself a "To-Do" list
F. All of the above
G. D and E


My answer? G. I'm not sure that is the correct choice but none the less that's where I found myself this past week. And just how did I do on that list? Well, I got 100% completion. And added a few extra credit points too! I'm not an over achiever.... well maybe sometimes... but a more accurately I just can't sit still for too long. So, while Kevin was gone I

1. Painted the "extra" room
2. Cleaned out the "extra" room, swept, mopped, cleaned rugs
3. Cleaned out and organized the guest bedroom closet
4. Finished Fall removal of the garden
5. Fall clean up of the front flower bed (this activity and the above required me climbing into the trash bin and playing trampoline - sure I looked ridiculously funny! Sort of felt like a 5 year old, and that was a good thing)
6. Secret operation. My memory was erased upon completion so I cannot share.
7. Made applesauce from Canyon Orchard apples

My reward, besides a sense of completion/accomplishment, and a calm knowing that there will be space for some of Kevin's things once he returns, was hot bath on Sunday night and an early bedtime. I was pooped!

Kevin gets home today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I have a new To-Do list for the weekend ahead :)

My new closet!

Kevin did the most wonderful thing yesterday.... he added built-in's to my closet. It is SO wonderful! We made a trip to a favorite man store (Lowe's) and picked up a few pieces and parts, next thing you know - voila! I am a happy woman :)

Juicing - Organic style

Ok. So Kevin loves carrot juice, and he does this great combo with carrots, apples, and ginger. This morning he get's everything ready but needs more carrots, so he goes out to the garden and look what he brings back....

The most enormous carrot I've ever seen. That's organic baby!!! It was fresh and sweet too, not woody or tough.

Here are the rest of Kevin's supplies. And he insists the juice must be drank in the first 5 min for ultimate benefits. It is delicious!!!!

Dinner Time!!!

Just a fun shot of Kevin and I taken last night while making dinner. Kevin was telling me about his day, he's very excited about the business planning he and Vince are doing :) I'm so proud of him, he's jumped into a new field in the middle of a down economy, and he's doing f-a-n-t-a-s-t-i-c!

So last night I drummed up something so tastey for dinner. Shrimp Pesto w/ Roasted Butternut squash, Tomatoes & Onion.

Here goes....

I peeled the shrimp and popped the tails off. Why do they leave them on? I know it's supposed to be fancy, but then you just have to deal with trying to get the buggars off when you're enjoying your meal. Silliness!

I peeled and chopped the butternut (from Canyon Orchards - gotta love local!) then took 1/4 of a red onion and rough chopped it and quartered 2 tomatoes (green ones I picked from the garden that have now ripened). Tossed them in a little olive oil, sprinkled with salt, pepper and garlic powder, then roased at 425 degrees for about 40 min.



Started the water to boil for my pasta. And when it had about 10 minutes left I kicked on the burner for the saute pan and put in 1/4cup white wine, 2 tsp coconut oil, shrimp and salt& pepper. Cooked about 8 min (until done).

As soon as the pasta was done I drained it and added 2 pesto cubes (garden basil I turned into pesto and then froze in ice-cube trays).

Voila!!! It was so tastey and really beautiful. I sprinkled mine with a little Parmesan too. That's my plate, not Kevin's... I gobbled it all up too!!! I am a foodie :)

Seattle

I had to travel to Federal Way / Seattle Washington for work last Wednesday. It was a perfect opportunity for me to spend some time with my brother, Drew. He let me crash at his house and loaned me his truck for the commute! Work was busy, a whirlwind of meetings and learning what new work I'm responsible for and lining up - very quickly - a plan to train our sales team. That's all I'm saying about that.

Visiting Drew was fun! We had some great food... you know me I'm a foodie! We had delicious vegetarian fare at Cafe Flora. We met up with several of Drew's friends throughout the weekend, shared meals, wine, laughs, etc. Enjoyed some fantastic mexican food, I ate cactus and bean tacos - yes CACTUS. It was tastey! Had some Indian food.... And was treated to a wonderfully delicious home cooked meal at a friend of Drew's home.

Aside from eating... we worked on some of the wedding photos, fine tuning the printing!

I landed back in Boise mid-afternoon on Sunday - cold and rainey! Kevin built a fire, we made soup and just enjoyed relaxing together. Great to be home!

Another one bites the dust

And so it goes that yet another work week is drawing to an end :) This week my Mom came to Boise for a class and stayed with us Wednesday and Thursday nights - Fun! Thursday night she even got to see me play a tennis match for the first time - she enjoyed it! And best of all she even thought we won... sadly we did not. Played an oppenent with a killer (very spinny) serve and his ground strokes had top-spin to spare. Good Times.

After the match we had dinner at the Tavern at Bown Crossing. And then headed home to make 2 chicken pot pies for friends that both had surgeries this week - Kristin, her left hand and Heidi's baby Brooke had eye/brain surgery. The recipe looks quite tastey - I didn't test it because of the chicken, but Mom said it smelled great! I found the recipe on a really great blog site (thanks for the tip Jackie!), For the Love of Cooking.

This is the first recipe of her's that I've tried but she has a great selection and I love the layout. I will definitely be trying more recipes. For the chicken pot pie, I did change up the veggies - I used broccli, zucchini, carrot, and peas. I also added to the herbs - basil, thyme, rosemary. And, I used a store prepare crust instead of making it from scratch (no time for from scratch).

I hope the Brandts and the Hagmans like it!!!!

Boise Art in the Park 2009

This Sunday my parents came up from Twin and we had a delicious brunch at La Vie en Rose then walked over to Art in the Park. There were SO many vendors! We saw some really great art: photography, paintings, jewelry, woodworking, etc. The row of vendors just went on and on and on! Mom gave me a sterling silver double banded bangle with an inscription, "surround this woman with love and light." Love it :) She got a multi-band ring with gold and silver. Kevin and Dad both got lemonade...

While Mom and I were shopping at a jewelry booth we saw a shop-lifting shake down! Apparently two women saw this man "drop" 3 pieces into his small Coach bag.... yes folks, carrying Coach and shoplifting at Art in the Park. We walked away before we saw the goods unveiled but his belongings were being searched. The two witnesses were walking away while the booth owners were unsuccessfully looking for the stolen goods. I suggested to them that perhaps they should tell the owner exactly where they saw the goods deposited because it didn't look like they were going to successfully find the pieces. And now, I'm left to wonder what happened?!

It was so hot, we were all glad to make the last loop and head back to the truck. My parents headed back to Twin after we got to the house. It was a lot of fun spending the day with them!!

Lucky, lucky Girl!

After a long, rough day at work yesterday I went straight to the tennis courts for a match that was fun but we lost.... and them to home by 8:40pm with no dinner in my stomach, sweaty and stinky, and short tempered....

Trying to spare my wonderful husband from my fowlness (stinky body, stinky mood) I ducked straight into the bathroom to rinse off. I came out smelling better, but still needed to work on the mood. SO, I sat quietly on the couch icing my wrist. My sweet husband let me sit quietly, and knowing I was hungry and tired, offered to make me dinner. The Grump was determined to remain and said "no thank you." But Kevin persisted, offering to cook the ahi-tuna and salmon left from our Sushi night with Robin, and make a salad with lettuce and cucumber from the garden..... Ohhh, that sounded yummy :)

I ate my delicious salad, made with patience (patience and patience) and love... And with a full tummy I started to kick The Grump out! I told my my husband how much I appreciated him and settled in for the rest of the night.

The Vintage Pearl: new dainty drop earrings... win a set!

The Vintage Pearl: new dainty drop earrings... win a set!

I hope I'm not too late to win.... it's a long list of comments!! Love the earrings!!! Also, thanks for your information about ordering a flower charm!

Did I Mention Canning???

Oh my, what do you get when you blanch, core, and peel 35lbs of tomatoes and mix them with garlic, red wine, olive oil, onion, and fresh herbs (basil, oregano, rosemary, & thyme)?

You get 7 quarts of sauce.... that's right 7 quarts people. Good thing there is a lot of simmering - unattended so I could get housework done! I'll admit though, I was hoping for 12 jars..... another time, perhaps. I have another 20+ pounds waiting for me, what to do...

Saturday night we had a work night at the Rausch's. It involved husking, blanching and cutting from the cob 4 gunny sacs of corn! All to be frozen for eating throughout the next year. I gave up trying to remember just how many dozen ears this was.... I think 18-20 dozen...

It's all a labor of love! The reward is eating and enjoying it over the next months and knowing where it was grown, how it was grown, how it was handled... and not having to purchase it from the store!

Other exciting news, Kevin is getting a new truck!! A 2004 Nissan Titan, Smoky gray. He is very excited since the 89' Toyota (a.k.a. White Bird) has no AC in Idaho's 100+ degree summer weather.

No pictures this post - bummer, pictures are my favorite part!

Take Care.

Trip to the Ranch!

Last Friday I made a trip to Kelley Orchards in Filer Idaho... 85 acres of beautiful fruit orchard and 13 acres of garden veggies and melons, all nestled along the Snake River in the Canyon.






It was a girls road trip - Robin, Sydney, and me! Too fun.



Saturday morning I helped Robin at the Eagle Farmer's Market and we sold out of peaches and corn! It was a great weekend.

Canning season begins

Lovely, gorgeous, bountiful fruit from the garden has begun to ripen! We've been busy making pickles, jam and tomato sauce.

Kevin taste tested a batch of pickles we made a couple weeks ago and they passed the test - delicious! And so it begins... canning is a labor of love. I love it, and I have to remind myself of it every time I'm up too late putting up jars.

Kevin is a great help!

And the end product is so beautiful!!!

Baker Creek Camping

Kevin and I made the trip to Baker Creek for a weekend of camping with my parents and Mary Lou. It rained.... then the sun came out.... then it rained... rained some more... more sunshine... you get the picture. We were able to pitch our tent during a dry spell.



And my parents took their 4-wheelers for ride up to Baker Lake Trail Head.




But the rain would not be held at bay, so no hikes for us - bummer. Pixie and I did spend some time down by the creek... lovely baby Pixie.








































Nights were chilly, Sunday we awoke to ice on our cooler...brrr. We were warm in our tent tho'

It was beautiful!

And we were able to see the sheep herders moving the sheep - literally through our camp and down the road. Sheep everywhere!

And when it was time to pack up camp, Pixie loaded herself!

2009 Garden and Front Flower Bed

Hi All! Just wanted to share a couple of photos of our garden and the front flower bed. Kevin has been enjoying all of the cucumbers we've picked from the garden so far... we've canned some pickles already! The tomatoes just started ripening last week. You know what that means - SALSA!!!!! Yum.



Our Yard is in full bloom and full of bees! I actually got stung in the face a couple of weeks ago, right on my cheeckbone. Fiesty little buggars. I have to say it didn't hurt much and the swelling went down.... after 4 days. In all fairness to the bee who lost her life, I was pretty close the hive. The bees are busy collecting honey, and our beekeeper (Jon) will be harvesting this coming weekend. DON'T WORRY, he leaves plenty for the bees and they have the rest of the season to collect more. He also feeds them through the winter so everyone has plenty to eat!

Movement Play Camp

July 9th through the 13th I spent in California with JoAnn and Donna (Kevin's Mom & Sister). We went to a Movement Play camp in Willits, CA - which is 3ish hours north of San Fransisco. It's a "micro festival" summer camp out for grown ups who love to play! When JoAnn asked if I'd be interested I thought about it and then said, SIGN ME UP! I could use some play :)

The grounds of the camp were amazing! So many beautiful flowers,ponds, and fountains.
It is a sustainable eco-camp, so you know I was in heaven!




The schedule for camp included: ecstatic dance, acro yoga, tribal belly dancing, fire dancing, hoop dancing, did I say dancing?, shamanic cheerleading, and eating great vegetarian/vegan food.

This is a picture of Donna spotting Me while JoAnn flew me at Acro Yoga class!


And here you can see Donna and me working a kitchen shift, preparing one of many delicious meals.



OH!I almost forgot to mention (Kevin will be shocked!) there were hot tubs too! Yes, of course those of you who know me well know that I did not soak in the tub, but many did and enjoyed themselves!


After a great time at camp the 3 of us headed back to Berkeley. Little did I know that when you go camping with JoAnn and Donna you need to bring "club" clothes... I like their style I must say. And luckily literally because Donna dressed me up and we hit a hot spot in downtown San Fran where they played Blues Swing music. As always it was fun to watch JoAnn dance!