A vacation...finally

So, I spent Christmas with my sister, Autumn, her husband, Tim, their son, Dylan, my gram, and Cesar up in Discovery Bay, Washington, on the Olympic Peninsula. We had a blast. We stayed in our Worldmark Trendwest timeshare and had tons of room to spread out. We went swimming almost every day and had a gorgeous view of the Bay. The highlights of the trip were watching Dylan open his presents and the Olympic Game Farm. IT WAS AWESOME!!! Seriously, this buffalo's head was INSIDE OUR CHEROKEE!!! I even petted it's nose.There was a baby buffalo who had his head in the window too! The Jeep was covered in Buffalo Snarf and all 5 grownups were laughing until we almost wet ourselves. Ironically, Dylan could care less. We figured he's so use to all sort of random animals all over the place that he didn't thing the buffaloes were that supreme. I tell you, I would pay to do that several times a year at least. It was a great laugh.

I took 12 days off of work, the longest I have taken during my job, with the exception of when Dad died. It has been awesome! I seriously needed the time off...I was getting a serious case of burn out. Now, I am not saying that I will be excited to return to work on Tuesday, but I will be hopefully be returning more refreshed.

Delicious Pastas...

So, since we canceled cable, I have been without the Food Network, which I watched frequently as I love to cook. Thank god for PBS's Create channel, which I still get. They show a ton of cooking shows, especially on the weekends, and my current favorite is America's Test Kitchen. The test recipes over and over until it is perfect. I have made several of their recipes and I concur...they do test until perfect. This weekend I tried the Campanelli with Asparagus, Basil, and Balsamic Glaze and the Orecchiette with Tomatoes, Fennel, and Parmesan and let me tell you they were delicious. And super super easy! You have to login to the site using your email address, but it is totally worth it.

Oh, and thank god I still get the E! Channel. Life sure would be sad without the Girls Next Door!

Nothing too exciting...

Well, not too much going on here. We had our 2nd annual Halloween dance for the folks we work with on Friday. That was pretty fun, but also exhausting. They sure do love it though and appreciate it! Finally cleaned out the garage and made a paint shelf for all of my craft paint to hang in my office. Okay, some of the shelves aren't exactly straight, but it'll work quite nicely, if I do say so myself. Once I paint it, maybe I will put up a pic.

Oh, and Kash had his little "cut off the nuts" surgery last Wednesday. The vet tech told me to take him home and keep him calm. I was thinking, "yes, he'll be all mellow and cuddle all night." HA! That kitten is a wild man. There was no keeping that boy down. It's like nothing ever happened... It's probably better that way anyway.

Yummy Chile Rellano Caserole

So I got this excellent recipe from my mom, we ate it all the time as kids. I made it tonight, the Jorstads joined me for watching the last 2 weeks of Lost and I thought it was delicious. See what you think.

Chile Rellano Caserole

• 8-10 Poblano or Anaheim Peppers (I used fresh Anaheims we grew that I roasted, peeled, seeded and rinsed, but you can use canned whole chile peppers, about 8-12 ounces)
• 2 cups shredded Monterrey Jack Cheese
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar
• 3 eggs
• 3 cups milk
• 1 cup Bisquick mix

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Spray a glass rectangular pan with cooking spray.
3. Split open the peppers so they lay flat and dry them off.
4. Arrange peppers in a flat layer in the bottom of the pan.
5. Sprinkle peppers with the 4 cups of cheese
6. Beat the 3 eggs and add the 3 cups milk and 1 cup Bisquick. Mix well.
7. Pour over the top of the peppers and cheese.
8. Sprinkle the top with salt.
9. Bake 50-55 minutes until golden brown.

Delicious. Hope you enjoy it! Thanks Mom.

It's Monday

Yippee...I got my first blog comment. Yeah Johnny. You rock! The rest of you could get this praise from me too. All it takes is a blog comment. :)

Anywhosey, Autumn started her PartyLite business this weekend with my party kicking it off. She did great and it was fun. I also attended her Saturday party and will be attending her Thursday and Friday show as moral support. Whew. That is a lot of crazy partying, huh? ;) I am such a wild woman.

Thank you to Tim and Cesar for putting the hardtop back on my jeep this weekend. I had a much quieter ride to work today and now I can take it to Carl'B Klean and let them wash it and vacuum out the 8 pounds of sand that are in it from the dunes last weekend. Okay, and from the last 3 times I have gone offroading at the dunes.

Camping in October

I spent the last weekend camping down by Florence. It was absolutely gorgeous weather, couldn't have asked for better. There was a full moon and it was hard to tell if it was day or night when we were in our tent because it was so bright. I took my baby out, although this is a picture from Sand Lake. As usual, I took my camera and then totally forgot to take any pictures. Cesar took it out too and reported that he went up some crazy hill.

I tried out my sister's 4-wheeler (this is the 2007 model) for the first time. It was awesome Although I did go off a little drop off and nearly went over the handlebars. I also got what is known as throttle thumb, but I got over that.

The best part of all was when my sister and I took out the sandrail and she flew over the whoopties (think lots and lots of speed bumps, made of sand, one right after another - the wind makes them and they are painful) and we were bouncing so much we were actually coming off the seats. Then we hauled ass down the flats and did some cookies. It was awesome. I want one. :)

Finally the office is clean! Kinda.

So, we spent a good part of the day cleaning the office. Does this mean that it is spotless? Um, no. However, there is nothing on the floor that shouldn't be and I can work at my craft table at the same time Cesar works at the desk. It's a miracle. Maybe one day we'll actually finish installing the Pergo in the office and guest room.

Ripley is much better. He's actually snuggling with Kash and licking Kash's paw. I actually caught Ripley spooning Bella the rottweiler this afternoon with Kash in be-twigst them. Weird.

My poor baby...

My poor baby Ripley is sick...again. Last time around it cost us $500.00! I know, you non-pet-lovers, and maybe even some of you who do love pets can't believe it, but hey, in my book, you make a commitment to adopt an animal, you give them everything they need, including expensive medical care. He's currently laying on the bed, with a big skin pouch where they gave him liquids. It hangs by his elbow like flab. Anyway, Ripley is one of the twins, or "the crackers." His crazy ass sister, Alexandra (named after Alexandra Ripley, who wrote Scarlett, the sequel to Gone with the Wind) or Lexi for short, licks herself bald and has to wear tiny dog t-shirts and occasionally, a cone. I am not a vet, but am convinced that it is their lack of pigmentation that weakens their immune system and/or makes them crazy. Oh well, I love them in spite of or maybe because of their craziness.

Yesterday, I spent the whole day with my sis, Autumn and my nephew, Dylan. I was working on my dear friend Emily's birthday present, which I so shamefully forgot. I would tell you what it is, but I can't. What if Emily reads this before I see her the next time, and then her very late birthday present is no longer a surprise? Well, Emily if you do read this, I am so very sorry.

Losing my blog virginity...

Well, I decided to take the plunge. Blogging... I have avoided it for a long time, thinking "what do I possibly have to say that people would want to read?" Then I realized that it is not at all about what other people want to read but rather, about what I want to say.

So, we'll see how long I keep up with it. I am known for starting projects and not finishing them. Just ask Cesar and he will tell you all about the cat tree I bought all the wood and carpet to make and sat in the garage until my dad used it for something... a year later.

I do have lots to say. My mind goes 800,000 different directions in a single day and I thought it might be kind of fun to share some of the craziness out loud, err in type.


So, as I sit here with what I consider my perfect cat McGuire,

I still wonder what I will blog about. I guess this is a good start. Well, wish me luck.