That sounds pretty good...

A text in the life...

Peppermint Bark...

A plethora of recipes...

Italian Eggs Benedict....

Stan the Welder Man...

Baked Zucchini and Potato Chips

Coconut Milk Chicken with Spicy Pineapple Sauce

Helping Me.....

I love...

Spice Rack...

Homemade Crackers...

Karma...

Infusions....

The Dining Scene...

Salem Beer and Cider Festival...

Finding Inspiration...

Kids...

Twitter...

I have Smart Phone Envy...

Kung Pao Chicken...

A Vacation, Day 2...

A Vacation, Day 1...

Countdown is on...

Favorite flower...

Spring Break...

Impressive...

Caribbean-Style Chicken Salad

Valentine's Advisor...

Ahi Tuna Wasabi Salad...

Greatest Freebie EVER...

Brudders...

Overwhelming...

My favorite little boy...

Enjoying it...

Five Years...

My first week...

Cat Lap Dance...

A productive New Year's...

The Moon of December 2, 2009...

Bad Blogger...

I was attacked...

Countdown...

Ode to Firefox...

Checked Out...

Up, Up, and Away...

I heart....

A Family Affair...

A Crazy Month...

Hot Water....

The Tweeners...

My Best of Salem...

Something is not quite right...

Fascinated by...

Seven Years Ago...

The one job...

I'm watching you...

Time...

Gorgeous...

Cleaning out the...

Trying hard not to...

Love this shot...

Just chillin...

New Lawn...

Poor Flurry...

Accidental IT Girl

Busy Times...

Contest at Haugen's

Updates...

I am going back to...

New Puppy...

New...

I love...

Being a Recluse...

Irrational Fears...

So long 2007...

Thank you...

It's been a while...

5 years on Sunday...

Weekend at the Lake...

Car Repairs....

Too much laundry...

The pink mouse's journey to Seattle...

Random Pictures...

Next Steps...

Being Late...

My LOL cat is...

Your Score: Lion Warning Cat

Your Score: 7331 Cat

31...

Finally, at long last...

I can not resist...

New job for Cez...

Scat Cats....

Corral Fence...

So freaking excited....

Happy Birthday...

I freaking love...

I love...

Poor Finnie...

One for Cesar...

Ingredients

Directions

51% Affectionate, 62% Excitable, 31% Hungry

50% Affectionate, 71% Excitable, 57% Hungry

Ingredients

Directions

2012-01-18T17:48:00.000-08:00

This might explain things.

C: you know that's not right.

Me: What's not right?

C: what ever it was you were just thinking. don't try to be slick. i got your number lady.

Me: Um, I was telling Don about how the shopping list said one carrot and you bought a bag of carrots. You're right, it's not right.

C: they did not sell individual carrots. asshat.

Me: Nowhere, not in the entire store?

C: that's right. i thought it was strange too. but things change. you used to be able to buy grapes by the bunch, cherries, sprouts, etc. now they all come in packages.

Me: Back in the day?

C: yes ok gotta go. you're still not right, btw.

Me: Hmmm. I'm going to tweet this interaction.

C: theres no comedic or educational value to this. but help yourself.

Me: It keeps you honest. Or on your toes. Or something.

C: weirdo.

Me: I married you, didn't I?

Many of our conversations end this exact same way as the last two lines of this exchange.

Also, my husband does not use capitalization in his texts. He would say it's because he doesn't have some fancy smart phone. I would say he's being text lazy. Tezy. That sounds dirty. He does use punctuation though, so there's that.

Also, also, please note that he called me names. Twice.

2011-12-19T13:13:00.000-08:00

Brace yourself. I'm about to publish the most complicated holiday recipe I have. The number of ingredients is astounding. But, I think you can do it. I have faith in you. I included pictures though, just in case.

3 bags dark chocolate chips (I guess you could use milk chocolate, if you like that inferior "chocolate")
2 bags white chocolate chips
Peppermint extract
Candy canes

Melt dark chocolate chips in the microwave. I set the microwave for 1 minute and than 30 second increments until it's all melted, stirring between each round. Add a couple drops of peppermint extract (a little goes a very, very long way!).

Spread the melted dark chocolate on a cookie sheet lined with wax or parchment paper, lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Put the cookie sheet in the fridge.

Now, it's time to take out your frustrations on innocent candy canes. I find a ziplock bag and a meat tenderizer really do a great job. You basically want candy cane pieces and dust.

By now, your dark chocolate should be hardened. It's time to melt the white chocolate in the same way you melted the dark.

Add some of your candy cane pieces & dust to the white chocolate and stir to combine.

Spread the white chocolate on top of the dark chocolate in an even layer. Add additional candy cane pieces and dust to the top, using the back of the wooden spoon to press it lightly into the white chocolate. Back into the fridge until white chocolate is hardened.

Break the peppermint bark into pieces and enjoy all of the swooning and compliments you received. Make sure you mention how very challenging the recipe is.

Happy holidays to you and yours!

2011-09-19T17:51:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I baked. And I cooked. And I prepped.

I baked:

Healthified Ginger-Pear Muffins, but used apples instead of pears.
Healthified Fresh Apple Cake
Healthified Raspberry Bars, but used Strawberry preserves instead of Raspberry

I completely prepped (so all we had to do was turn the crockpot on)

Steak Fajitas with Tomato Corn Relish, and added jalapenos to the relish

and I cooked

Healthified Mediterranean Chicken Panini for last night's dinner/lunch leftovers.

The fajitas were delicious, although they weren't really fajitas. The bars were delicious, would definitely make again. The muffins were good and the panini was ok, but those thin, sandwich rounds could not hold up. We haven't tasted the cake yet.

My feet really hurt last night.

2011-09-06T14:32:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to make this for a while now. I actually read about it years ago in a men's magazine, they claimed it was a great "morning after" meal. :-) I've taken to calling it "Italian Eggs Benedict."

I actually bought everything to make this for dinner a couple weeks ago. But, I used the basil for something else and the baguette became so hard it was only good as a baseball bat. But, I picked up a loaf of Salem Sourdough from Cascade Baking Co on Saturday, knowing Sunday would be a great day to make this.While the recipe above looks great, it was early and we were trying to diagnose an overheating problem in the car (fan relay failed, if you are interested) so I wanted something even quicker.

1 jar of your favorite marinara
Eggs (you can easily cook 6 - I cooked 4 and had a lot of sauce left over)
Prosciutto
Crusty Bread
Parmesan Cheese (the real stuff, none of that powdered crap)

Heat the entire jar of marinara in a large skillet.

Reduce heat to medium-low. Add marinara and adjust heat to maintain a simmer. Crack an egg into a small bowl, taking care not to break the yolk. Make a well in the sauce roughly large enough to hold the egg and slip it in so that the yolk and most of the white is contained (some white may spread out). Repeat with the remaining eggs, evenly spacing them around the pan.

Cover and cook for 6-8 minutes or until desired poached done-ness.

Toast slices of bread.

Serve toasted bread with slice prosciutto with egg and sauce on top. Sprinkle with Parmesan.

Next time, I probably will use pancetta instead of the prosciutto, just because it's less delicate.

Sit back and enjoy, delighting in the fact that you made such an wonderful, delicious meal with only 5 ingredients and hardly any energy.

2011-09-02T08:48:00.000-07:00

For as long as I can remember, we had Volkswagens. When I was in elementary school, my dad drove a metallic Blue Bug with bubble windows to work every morning. I learned to drive on a Red Rabbit that was missing first gear as well as reverse. When that one died, I drove a Blue Rabbit - when the starter went out instead replacing it, my dad installed an on-off switch under the dashboard to start my car. The Christmas before I turned 17, he worked in secret with his best friend to rebuild a motor for a 1974 Volkswagen Bug for me. While the other kids at my high school were driving their parents' fancy cars, I was driving the best car around with a super sweet engine. I loved that car.

During all those years, we spent A LOT of time at the VW shop. Autocraft was our home away from home. My dad would take my sister and I on a Saturday and we would be there for what felt like hours. I went in a couple weeks ago to get my brother-in-law a gift certificate for his birthday and I asked how long they had been open. 35 years. I told the owner I had been coming in for 31 of those years, with my dad, Stan. His reply? "Stan the welder man, he was a good guy." I wonder how many hours my dad stood there bullshitting with him? Probably more hours than I can ever imagine.

Today marks nine years since I saw my dad's face, held his hand, heard his voice. It was good to talk to someone else who remembers him too. Sometimes it feels like only my sister and I remember.

2011-08-05T10:05:00.000-07:00

After making this wonderful tian, I had plenty of leftover slices of zucchini and red potato. We love fried zucchini and who doesn't love potato chips, but we a) prefer it healthier and b) don't like the mess of frying at home. So, to the oven I went for these super easy recipes.

Unfried Zucchini
I threw the slices into a bowl of egg substitute. I then put each slice in a pan of panko bread crumbs (LOVE the texture), kicked up with salt, pepper and some parmesan cheese and made sure both sides had plenty of breadcrumbs. I laid them out in a single layer on a baking sheet covered in foil (no mess!) that I had sprayed with cooking spray. Let them cook at 350 until they are golden brown, maybe 20 minutes? or so. I let mine go a little long so they were nice a crispy. We ate them with ranch dressing I made from a packet of ranch, low fat sour cream, milk and a small dollop of light mayo (I would have preferred greek yogurt, but we were out).

Potato Chips
Spray foiled line baking sheet with cooking spray and lay out potato slices in single layer. Spray potatoes with cooking spray and salt. Back at 350 until desired doneness. We like them crispy, which maybe took about 20 minutes.

Sorry for the lack of photos. They went way to quickly to document! But just posting this makes me want to go home and make more of both tonight.

2011-05-26T13:22:00.000-07:00

A twitter friend mentioned this Polynesian Chicken Wrap recipe he had made the night before. It sounded so delicious, I decided to give it a try and adapt it for us. We loved it. It was unlike anything I have made before. It was a touch sweet and the chicken was so tender. Will definitely make again!

Brown rice, cooked according to package
2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1 inch chunks
1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons curry powder
1 tablespoon garlic salt
2 tablespoons oil
Shredded coconut
1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple in heavy syrup, drained with syrup reserved
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 -3 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons maple syrup
Red Pepper Flakes

Place the chicken and coconut milk (reserve about 1/3 cup of coconut milk for sauce) in a bowl, and marinate in the refrigerator 4 hours.
Toast coconut in a dry pan over medium heat, stiring constantly.
In a medium bowl, mix the crushed pineapple, 1/3 cup coconut milk, cornstarch and ground ginger. Gradually stir in enough of the reserved pineapple juice to make the mixture smooth. Add red pepper flakes to your liking.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, blend orange juice and maple syrup. Cook and stir 5 minutes, until clear and thickened. Mix in the pineapple mixture. Continue to cook and stir until well blended and thick, about 15 minutes.
In a small bowl, mix the flour, curry powder, and garlic salt. Drain the chicken, and discard marinade. Dredge chicken in the flour mixture to coat.
Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat, and cook the coated chicken strips 5 minutes per side, or until golden brown and juices run clear.
Serve chicken and sauce over brown rice.

2011-05-14T11:55:00.000-07:00

Or not.

2011-04-14T20:54:00.000-07:00

Librarians!! Salem-Keizer School District is about to cut all of the librarians that serve kindergarten through eighth grade. These librarians do more than shelve books and direct kids to the right area. They teach technology, they teach kids how to research, they teach kids how to use resources, they teach kids so much more. Classroom teachers can not do it all!

Join the cause at http://www.facebook.com/pages/I-heart-Public-School-Libraries/140518699350053 and support your school librarians!

2011-02-10T12:00:00.000-08:00

A long, long time ago in a neighborhood not very far away, the charming writer of Desperately Seeking Salem, Emily, blogged about the spice rack her husband made for her. I was inspired by this and decided to give it a go. I knew my sister needed a spice rack and thought this would be the perfect Christmas gift for her. I asked her to start keeping my niece's baby food jars and hand them over (Yes, she gave me the supplies for her own Christmas gift) and started formulating a plan.

I wanted the jars to be magnetic, I planned on mounting a piece of metal flashing under the lip of the cabinet. I also wanted to use chalkboard paint on the front in order to use chalk to label each jar. So that's what I did.

I taped off a rectangle on each jar and painted chalkboard paint within (3 coats). I let them dry for several days between coats and removed the tape after the last coat had a couple more days to dry.

Using a high shine, black spray paint, I sprayed the outsides of the baby food jar lids. They needed two coats. Once dried (again, several days later), I used a permanent glue to secure the magnets to the lids.

I bought my spice packets at Cost Plus and gave my sister a set of 18 spice jars, about 10 of them I pre-filled with spices and one of the jars to hold the chalk.

I also used the chalkboard paint on large glass storage jars that I bought at Ikea. She can use these for pasta, flour, sugar, etc.

Drawback? They probably need to be handwashed.

Too bad the niece is done with baby food. I really want a set for myself. Might need to just buy the baby food to get the jars.

2011-02-06T14:32:00.000-08:00

Inspired by the (I think) homemade crackers that David serves with his chicken salad at La Capitale, I decided to try my hand at making crackers. I had a thyme cheese ball recipe I wanted to use them with. I did a quick search on the Food Network's web site, and decided to go with Ina Garten's Parmesan and Thyme Crackers. I made a batch with fresh thyme and a batch with fresh rosemary and they were both delicious and so very easy. These crackers are very much like a savory shortbread. In fact, they were so good, and so addicting, I just ate the plain. No need for the cheese at all!

1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter
3 ounces grated Parmesan
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Place the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix until creamy.
Add the Parmesan, flour, salt, thyme and pepper and combine (I added about 1/4 cup of water after everything was mixed in order to get everything to combine).
Dump the dough on a lightly floured board and roll into a 13-inch long log. Wrap the log in plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 30 minutes to harden.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Cut the log crosswise into 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick slices. Place the slices on a sheet pan and bake for 22 minutes.

2010-12-08T20:52:00.000-08:00

I'm a big believer in karma. I also believe there are a couple of different kinds of karma. Some people experience big karma, where all their dirty deeds add together and karma repays in a huge way. Then there's the other kind, the kind I experience. Instant karma, cause and effect seen within a short time span, where all the little things you do are instantly awarded with karma.

For example, I once stole a pen from a restaurant. I have a thing for good pens. I must have stuck it in my pocket upon stealing it and promptly forgot about it. Fast forward to laundry day. Upon removing almost my entire professional wardrobe from the dryer, I found blue ink on almost every item of clothing. Nothing would get that ink out and I had to go spend several hundred dollars to replace that wardrobe. I've never stolen a pen since.

Certain events in my own life have made me wonder about karma. I see people who appear to be continuously rewarded for bad behavior. Is the big karma going to get them? Is little karma already effecting them? Will I ever know? Is it for me to know? These are the thoughts running through my brain.

2010-11-10T11:49:00.000-08:00

I never though I would be one to have a bartender, but I do. Rob of La Capitale has a way of making his customers feel like they are his only customer. He knows their names, greets them by name each and every time, and knows their favorite drinks (mine is the Hot and Cold Margarita).

As my husband said, Rob is like a mad scientist, mixing and concocting into perfection. His specialty is infusing different kinds of alcohol with things like fruits, veggies and herbs. That margarita I love so much? Made from Citrus and Serrano infused Tequila.

So I sent Rob a tweet several months ago, asking if he had considered doing an infusions class, that his loyal devoted followers would surely want to learn from his wisdom. And, in September, I had the honor of being one of the lucky 20 to attend @robdrinkenstein's infusion class at La Capitale.

After mixing us drinks (no pre-made mixers here, only fresh ingredients), class began. And for two and a half hours, I learned how to infuse. I also drank and ate. All around great evening spent with friends.

My first infusion was inspired by Rob's chocolate martini, made with vanilla rum. I hunted down the vanilla bean, I sliced it open and added it and the scraped out beans along with the rum to my new infuser, one of the gifts from the class. After letting it sit for 8 hours (and tasting after 4 and 6 hours), I added the required amount of sugar and was ready to make my chocolate martini. Which turned out pretty darn good. But not quite as good as Rob's!

Rob's going to continue to offer classes. He's talked of doing a Holiday Cocktail class, where he teaches you how to make Christmas cocktails. I would highly recommend it. Rob's a fantastic teacher and a great guy! I just might see you there!

2010-10-07T17:27:00.000-07:00

I have recently been called a "foodie." According to Wikipedia, a Foodie is an informal term for a particular class of aficionado of food and drink. Wikipedia also claims it was coined in 1981. I guess me hooting and hollering when we drove by Salem's new food pod (3905 Silverton Rd, 1/2 block west of Lancaster) is proof enough that I am, indeed, a foodie.

A few years ago, I would have said it was very hard to be a foodie in Salem, home of the fast food joints and chain restaurants. Recently, Salem has started to grow up and we've got a number of good and diverse local restaurants. We've decided to not eat at non-local restaurants, that if we're going out to eat, we want our money to stay in our community (Confession: We make exceptions for our occasional fast food visit and I do frequent Starbucks on occasion).

As happy as all of the new development makes me, I wonder about something. It seems like many of the new restaurants opening are more of the fine dining type, with dinners generally costing $15 and up. Like most Americans today, we are saving more of our pennies, certainly being more careful with them. This limits the opportunity we have to visit these establishments. For us, they become "special occasion" restaurants. I do appreciate how a few of these restaurants like La Capitale, has a separate bar menu from their finer dining menu, offering a greater range in prices.

I wonder how many of these fine dining restaurants Salem can support. I would love to see more local, modest priced restaurants that offer a variety of dining choices. While Salem pretty much has the Mexican and Chinese restaurant scene covered, a good hometown deli that is open for dinner too or more bistro style restaurants, like Word of Mouth would be a great addition. And if they were opened in West Salem, I certainly would not complain.

So Salem, what kind of food do you want to see in Salem?

2010-09-30T11:30:00.000-07:00

While I am not a beer drinker, I do love cider and I love supporting local businesses. This all lead to me attending the first ever Salem Beer and Cider Festival, which was created by Gilgamesh and Wandering Aengus Cider. The cherry cider from Wandering Aengus is delicious and I even found a beer that I didn't mind.

Mission Mill is a fabulous location and it was nice to not worry about the weather, however it did get mighty warm on the 3rd floor on such an unseasonably warm day.

It wasn't too crowded, but I assumed this was due to it being the first ever Salem Beer and Cider Festival and maybe because both the Beavers and the Ducks playing. And while I appreciated having live music, my suggestion would be to lower the sound. When we arrive it was so unbearably loud, I couldn't hear the person who was yelling in my ear. I enjoy background music at events like this, but it should be quiet enough that you can have a conversation with the person sitting next to you without yelling.

It's great for Salem to have their own beer/cider festival and it would be great to see more wines included next year. I could definitely see this becoming one of our annual festivals.

2010-09-28T09:58:00.000-07:00

Last night, I had the pleasure of finally meeting Mrs. Emily Grosvenor of Desperately Seeking Salem fame. I'm not really sure when I started following Emily's blog, it was shortly after she started it, but have thoroughly enjoyed her take on Salem as a newbie.

While attending Emily's blogging class at Clockworks last night, one of the things that stood out to me was the need to have a blogging direction. My current blog direction has been more of the personal nature and will continue to include some of that. And of course there will be cats - if I can't get away from them neither can you. But, I've also tried to keep it local, with photos of our city. This is the area I want to expand, including thoughts, opinions and reviews of what is going on in my city. I've lived in Salem since I was four. I'm not going to do the math, but that's 30 years. Wait, I said no math. Grr. Anyway, I've got a lot of thoughts on where we've been and where we are going. Stay tuned...

2010-08-03T20:52:00.000-07:00

It's interesting how much something can effect you when someone tells you you can't. We always knew we wanted kids, we were just never sure when. We wanted our financial situation just right or our house just right or have enough time off from work. Mostly, we just wanted to have time to be married before the kids set in. We were so excited by the first pregnancy and so very bitterly disappointed by the miscarriage. The second pregnancy may have been worse, because we heard a heartbeat and miscarried 4 days later. And 2 years later, we've got nothing. After months of Clomid and taking my temperature every morning at 6:00 am, the doctor thinks it's not going to happen. There's a small possibility of getting pregnant if we spend a lot of money we don't have on a fertility expert. At this point, we've talked about adoption and need to get enrolled in the adoption classes with DHS, but we're both feeling pretty helpless.

The worse thing for us both is how very hard it is being surrounded by all of our friends, family and neighbors who have children. We aren't resentful of them, just resentful of not being a part of it. It is so hard for us to do something as simple as going to the park and seeing all of the families with their kids. We both get so frustrated when we see someone with a herd of kids they don't even seem to like, never mind enjoy. Even our closest friends and family have no idea the deep seated pain in causes for both of us.

Frankly, we don't talk about it except for an occasional private cry in bed late at night. People don't know how to respond to it, don't know what to say. That's okay, we don't know what to say either. Just do me a favor... remember that you never really know what is going on in someone's life, behind their closed door. Just love them and support them and honor them the best you can.

2010-07-11T09:45:00.000-07:00

I swore I would never do it. I couldn't imagine that I would have anything interesting to say to post status updates. For pete's sake, I rarely do the Facebook status updates. But, when I started hanging out with a great group of ladies once a week for Happy Hour, I took the plunge. They were all on Twitter and they are such a fun, hilarious group of ladies, I felt like I was missing out. So, I jumped in. I am not a hardcore Tweep, mostly I Tweet funny things that have happened throughout my day and respond to other Tweep's Tweets. I'm pretty selective with who I follow and who follows me: I mostly follow local Salem Tweeps and local Salem businesses. It keeps me connected with my community. We've had a few Tweet-ups, which has been great fun, meeting new Salemites and hanging out. Twitter has offered a great opportunity to get to know local people who really just want to support our city and our local businesses. Thinking about twitter and are a local person? Look me up! Join the fun.

2010-07-09T09:43:00.000-07:00

There, I said it. I am envious of all my friends who have smart phones. I personally have an "average intelligence" phone. Yup, if my phone took an IQ test, it would score 100. If not for the touchscreen, it would have scored around 85. We're due for new phones in August and I had been counting down, licking my lips and drooling over the Droids. I polled my Tweeps (Twitter People), who told me which one to go for. I was set, counting down the days.

But, then something changed. First, I started researching costs. Do I really want to pay an extra $30 per month to have internet access on my phone? If both hubby and I got smart phones, we would pay more for internet on our phones than we do for the high speed internet at our house. Second, one of my Tweeps recently took a hiatus from Twitter, citing it was too much of a distraction, always staring at his phone. I realized that maybe having an average intelligence phone IS a good thing. I can't spend my day playing on my phone, distracted from real life. I can only tweet by sending "blind tweets," text messages from my cell phone, without seeing a response immediately. I can only check my email, my facebook, my twitter, and all my other internet obsessions (I'm talking to you Cute Overload, I Can Has Cheezburger, and Itty Bitty Kitty Committee - can you see a pattern?) while on the computer. And I really don't like to sit in front of the lap top for long periods of time - it's hot and not that comfortable. In fact, now that I am out of grad school, I rarely turn the computer on over the weekend. It's a great break and it keeps me from getting to obsessed.

In this age, I think we have lost some of our civility. A friend showed me a book she's been reading last night called "Choosing Civility: the 25 Rules for Considerate Conduct" by P.M. Forni and it got me to thinking. It use to be (back in my days, kids...) we didn't answer the phones or the door during dinner. If you were out with friends, there wasn't the distraction of a cell phone ringing. We weren't instantly available for anyone and everyone to reach us. That has been totally lost with all of this new technology and I miss it. For me, I try to make it a general rule of thumb: if I am with another human being, I don't answer my phone unless it's an emergency or information I've been waiting on. Everything else can wait. I don't expect this from anyone else, just something I do for myself, because I don't want to get lost in a world of technology. I want to balance it with real life experiences.

2010-06-05T19:29:00.000-07:00

I love Kung Pao Chicken. It's my favorite Chinese dish. I have never cooked Chinese food before, it's always intimidated me. But, for some reason, this week I decided I was going to try to make Kung Pao Chicken. After considerable internet research for a good Kung Pao recipe, I decided to go with a bottled Kung Pao sauce. The homemade sauce recipes I found required Chinese wine and I didn't want to send the time or money searching for it. I got a bottle of Panda Express Kung Pao sauce at Safeway and I stopped at Freshmart, the new fruit and veggie store in Salem to pick up the veggies. It turned out to be a delicious and healthy dinner. I served this with a quick "fried" rice recipe I threw together.

Kung Pao Chicken

1 pound chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
Panda Express Kung Pao Sauce
1-2 tablespoons Vegetable oil
8-12 dried Chinese peppers
1 Zucchini, diced
1/2 Green bell pepper, diced
1/2 Red bell pepper, diced
3 green onions, diced
1/2 yellow onion, diced
4 stalks celery, diced
2 tablespoons minced ginger
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 can sliced water chestnuts
1/2 cup Peanuts

Marinate chicken in Kung Pao sauce, enough to coat, for 2 hours.
Heat large, deep skillet on high with vegetable oil. Add dried Chinese peppers when oil is hot. Cook peppers until they turn dark in color. Remove peppers from the oil.
Add chicken in marinade to oil and let cook through, approximately 4 minutes.
Add all vegetables and cook 2-3 minutes.
Add 1/4 - 1/3 cup Kung Pao sauce and stir to combine, cooking until sauce thickens slightly.
Add peanuts.
Serve and enjoy.

2010-06-02T15:48:00.000-07:00

Day 2 of our vacation was really still just me. For my own graduation gift, I decided I wanted to go to a spa. I had exhaustively researched spas in the Bend area and finally landed on Shibui Spa. They told me I could come early and soak in their soaking tub and I took full advantage of this. Then I had the Three Sisters Fix Facial and a pedicure. It was amazing. What a relaxing place. One more reason I wished I lived in Central Oregon. I then wondered a very empty Sisters (no one's around on Mondays) and had lunch at my favorite deli, Depot Deli. I headed back to Eagle Crest and Cesar arrived around 5pm. We ordered pizza in and spent the evening relaxing and watching movies.

2010-05-08T13:07:00.000-07:00

On our 5th anniversary, we went to Seattle for a long weekend and stayed downtown. It continues to be one of our most treasured memories. At that time, we swore we would do something big for our 10th. Well, the 10th anniversary was in February, when I was in the middle of student teaching (read: no paychecks!). So, we compromised our plan trip to Hawaii in June and settled for something more reasonable (and appealed to my fear of flying - near plane crash - that's a story for another post). We booked 5 days at Eagle Crest outside of Redmond, OR. Its always been one of our favorite spots and it seemed like a nice, relaxing place to celebrate both our 10th anniversary and the completion of my master's program.

Since Cesar had to work both Sunday and Monday, I drove over Sunday by myself. This drive proved to me how much I really am my father's daughter. Growing up, we took lots of road trips. Mom always wanted to stop at every little place along the way. Dad, who always drove wanted to just get there. It was about making it to our destination. And I found myself fighting this very urge all the way to Sisters. It was a gorgeous day and drive and I had to fight that DNA every time I pulled over to take a picture.

Detroit Lake from Mongold Day Use Park

The road to Detroit is full of very fond memories for me. My dad painstakingly restored a jet boat when I was a kid and our family time was spent driving to Detroit either for the day or to camp many times throughout the summer. The drive reminded me of some wonderful times with my family and had me smiling with memories of my dad.

A not quite full Detroit Lake with Mt. Jefferson in the background.

The boat dock, in Detroit. Docked at many times in my youth:

2010-04-18T13:54:00.000-07:00

After 2 years, I have one week left of graduate school. One week. 5 days at the elementary school and a 4 hour class on Saturday. And then I am free. It is truly unreal. I have only really understood the last couple of weeks how much work I have down the last couple of years. I look forward to having my brain back, because even when I wasn't doing homework (which wasn't often), I was thinking about doing homework and feeling guilty for not doing homework. I see lots of novels and crafts in my very near future.

2010-04-04T08:25:00.000-07:00

2010-03-18T09:38:00.000-07:00

Well, this is my first spring break in 12 years. And boy, do I have a list of things to get done. And, no it's not that interesting to blog about (or read about), I realize. But, I am hoping it will keep me accountable!

~~Complete at least 1/2 of work sample~~ More like 75% of it, thankyouverymuch!
~~Clean and organize the office~~ all except my craft desk
~~Paint master bedroom (or watch mom paint)~~ Just need to paint where we had to mud
~~Redecorate master bedroom (or watch mom redecorate)~~ Just need to rehang wall decor
Spring Clean entire house - This is probably not going to happen. Cleaning can wait, right?
~~Get hair done~~ Love it!
~~Girl Getaway~~

Okay, that's a lot. Especially if you have seen the state of my office, the "Oh crap, people are coming over, shove everything in the office" office.

Not bad, not bad at all. Got a lot of fun stuff done too! I love spring break!

2010-03-14T20:12:00.000-07:00

Hubby and I stopped by the grocery store this afternoon and as we were leaving, I noticed a man pushing a cart, towards his bicycle. This same gentleman had briefly chatted to me while we looked at the Easter display, commenting that if a holiday was invented, stores would come up with merchandise to sell us. What was curious about his approach to the bicycle was that he had a 20 pound bag of dog or cat food on the bottom of the cart along with several grocery bags. I said to Hubby, "How the hell will he manage that?! Let's wait and watch." So voyeurs we became. I watched as he loaded not one, not two, but THREE 2-liters of soda into his backpack. I watched as he moved all of his other purchased, including a family pack of some sort of meat - I am guessing a BBQ was about to happen, into two plastic grocery bags and then double bagged them. I predicted and then watched with satisfaction as he hung a bag off of each of the handlebars. I watched as he put his helmet on (safety first, as my mom would say) and load that very heavy backpack onto his back. Then I wondered, as it appeared his bike was without a kickstand, how in the world he would load the dog food on to his bike, while balancing the bike at the same time. But he did. He had one of those metal rear bike racks that he set the dog/cat food on, standing on end. While, balancing the bike and the food, he gently pushed the cart, so it was against the building - I certainly didn't blame him for not returning the cart this time! - and walked his bike across the parking lot. At this point, Hubby, who had wrongly predicted all of the impressive biker's moves, again, wrongly predicted the man would walk his bike home. I said with certainty, "No, he's going to ride." And sure enough, he carefully balanced himself on that seat and rode off, adjusting the bag of dog/cat food with his left hand. I felt so satisfied, watching this story unfold. We probably sat in that parking lot for an extra 7 or 8 minutes watching a very impressive feat. Bike on, bicycle dude. You impressed me, today. I am just disappointed I didn't even have my cell phone on me to take your picture!

2010-02-17T07:00:00.000-08:00

I had this for lunch and it was delicious!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup lime juice

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tablespoons honey

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 cup olive oil

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts

1 ripe mango, peeled, pitted and diced

1 (15.5 ounce) can black beans, drained

and rinsed

1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into

thin strips

1/2 jicama, sliced into matchsticks

1/2 head green leaf lettuce, rinsed and

torn

Directions:

2010-02-15T21:53:00.000-08:00

This mighty huntress, Lexi, just brought me her prey. A stuffed chick that was supposed to be an Easter gift to my nephew, but the cats stole. What a good girl she is to bring me such a fine gift. And I am sure it was VERY hard to catch.

UPDATE 2/16/10: So, I tossed the "gift" off the bed. About 20 minutes later, she brought it back, dropping it next to me, with a look of "You don't like my gift?!" on her face. I left it there and woke up to find myself sleeping with it under my back. Sigh...

2010-02-14T14:06:00.000-08:00

If you need help shopping for your Valentine, check out Walgreen's. They have a Personal Gift Advisor at each store!

2010-02-07T18:11:00.000-08:00

I had my most favorite meal in the world for dinner tonight: Ahi Tuna Wasabi Salad and a Cherry 7-Up. No pictures, I ate it too fast.

Wasabi Dressing

2 teaspoon Soy Sauce
1-1/2 teaspoon Wasabi Paste
6 tablespoons Rice Wine Vinegar
2 tablespoon Sugar
1 teaspoon Olive Oil

Mix soy sauce, vinegar and sugar in bowl until sugar is disolved.
Add oil and wasabi paste. Whisk well.
Chill before using.

Salad

Mixed Greens
1 can Mandarin Oranges
Slivered Almonds
Sesame Seeds
1 package uncooked Wonton Wrappers (usually found near bagged salads), cut into strips
Canola oil

Fry wonton strips in canola oil until they are golden. Drain on paper towels.
Assemble salad with oranges, almonds, fried wonton strips, and sesame seeds.

Ahi

2 Ahi Tuna Steaks, about 1/2 lb each.
Old Bay Seasoning or Montreal Steak Seasoning

Coat all sides of the steaks in the seasoning.
Heat dry fry pan to medium-high heat.
Cook Ahi (no oil!!) in pan, 3 minutes per side for rare (Ahi should be eaten rare - otherwise you might as well save your money and buy canned tuna!)
Slice and serve on top of the salad.

2010-01-28T18:42:00.000-08:00

So, there are a couple of websites I visit to get freebies. Sometimes the free samples arrive, sometimes they do not. Most of the time, I don't even remember what I have signed up for. I use a Yahoo address set up just for this reason and I never, ever list my real phone number.

So, hubby told me a FedEx box arrived today. I hadn't bought anything, so I had no clue what it was. I looked at the return address and it was from PopChips. I vaguely remember signing up for a free sample, but this box was huge. So, here's what I got: 6 bags of chips, a chip clip and a huge coupon book with 2 coupons for 1 free bag of chips and several buy 1 get 1 free!

Plus a hand penned note! Yowsers! What a sample! We had a taste of one of these chips at Jamba Juice several weeks ago and it was delicious and crunchy! But, their handwritten note may be the thing that makes me buy their chips. I love a company that is thoughtful and remembers good customer service! I am impressed.

2010-01-27T20:32:00.000-08:00

These two spend most of the day ignoring each other. But, I caught them in a rare moment, ca-noodling atop the bookcase. That's Ripley on the left and Sampson on the right.

2010-01-24T11:41:00.000-08:00

Even though I have been in the classroom for 3 weeks, I just had my student teaching seminar yesterday, which outlined what our work sample is to look like. I was prepared for a lot of work, but oh boy, it's going to be a rough couple of months. In a way, my nerdy side is excited to get into the work sample. It includes a lot of analyzing of data and pie charts and what not and I enjoy doing that kind of stuff. But, this is the time of year where I have a ton of family commitments (8 birthdays, our 10th anniversary and the upcoming birth of our niece all between Jan 13 and March 20!! Aye ye ye!). Anywhoseys, there is a lot going on this time of year and now I am going to have to be very good at my time management so I don't miss out on anything. So, on this wet and gray Sunday seems like a good time to start, to get ahead of the game. And, if anyone has any ideas on teaching the American Revolution (which is what my work sample is on), I am taking suggestions!

2010-01-20T19:09:00.000-08:00

My nephew, Dylan, running and hiding around the fountain at Willamette University.

2010-01-19T17:03:00.000-08:00

Student teaching has been wonderful. Which, I'll be honest, is a HUGE relief. I had some panic attacks, usually late at night when I was trying to sleep, wondering if this huge commitment was what I actually wanted to do. I mean, what if I spent 18 months paying for grad school and then I hated teaching? Well, thank god, I don't. So far, I love it. Hubby says I am happy, I feel better and more positive. Now I keep waking up at night wondering how long it will take to get a teaching job. I can't wait to not have a foot in each career and just be in my new profession.

2010-01-12T18:02:00.000-08:00

My darling, wonderful, amazing, handsome, perfect little nephew, Dylan, turns five tomorrow. It honestly feels like yesterday that we heard "Twinkle, Twinkle" playing over the loudspeaker at the Salem Hospital, announcing he had finally been born, after a lot of help via an emergency c-section. My poor sis. And now, here he is, turning five with his little sister scheduled to arrive just 2 short weeks from now. I know I am completely biased, but he is such an amazing little person and I am so excited to see what this life holds for him. Happy Birthday, Dylan. Auntie loves you to Pluto!!

2010-01-08T20:06:00.001-08:00

Well, I survived my first week student teaching in the fifth grade. It was a good week overall. I think student teaching after being a professional is much different the student teaching when you are 22 and working on your bachelor's. I am thankful that I have so much experience under my belt in a variety of areas. It has certainly made transitioning into student teaching easier. Not easy, mind you, just easier. I finish my last curriculum class tomorrow, thank goodness. Now I will start my student teaching seminar and start putting into practice everything I have learned over the last 18 months. Yay! I am so close!

2010-01-02T10:18:00.000-08:00

Yes, it is safe for work. One of the funniest cartoons I have seen. And if you have a cat, you know about what we call kitty paralysis, that is the inability to get up because of a furball laying on you. Check out Cat Lap Dance.

By the way, as I type this, my chair is being shaken by a furball, on the back, digging to China as we say. I would probably be much more productive without cats, but not as entertained.

Listening to: Failure by Operation Aloha

2010-01-01T20:18:00.000-08:00

Today we:

Took down the outside Christmas lights
Took down and packed away all of the Christmas decorations
Cleaned the garage
Cleaned the kitchen
Re-routed the speakers
Put the living room back in order
Went grocery shopping at Roth's
Went to Pier One
Went to Best Buy
Had lunch at Chang's Mongolian Grill
Hung out with our neighbors and friends, Max and Stacey
Cleaned the cat boxes
Moved the BBQ back out to the deck (was in the garage from when we stained the deck)
Did Laundry
Watched Limey

Whew... I am tired.

2009-12-28T13:52:00.000-08:00

It was gorgeous. The pictures don't do it justice, but I tried

Here's a drunk moon (or what happens when you don't use the tripod):

The sunrise was equally as gorgeous the next day. This was the view from our deck.

2009-12-24T21:50:00.000-08:00

Where has the time gone? It has been such a busy month, finishing my last month at work and my last grad class before student teaching. This class has been a crazy with a lot of big assignments. I was really hoping to have an easy class at the end, but alas...

We just finish a wonderful Christmas eve at my house. My whole family was here (all 8 of us) and we had cheese fondue with all the trimmings and chocolate fondue for dessert.

Speaking of eating, I competed in the Salemites trivia contest a couple of weeks ago and won! I usually never win, my sister is the one who inherited my dad's lucky gene, not me. Anyway, I won a gift certificate to Sushi Kyo and I took my mom last week, as my hubby doesn't really like fish. Mom and I had a fabulous time. The food was terrific and watching the conveyor belt and deciding which plate to grab offered a lot of entertainment - at least for us. If you are a Salemite, I would highly suggest checking out the Salemites blog and your local bloggers. Many of them are much better at posting regularly than I am. Also check out EatSalem, another local blog which offers restaurant reviews and information. Both are a great way to find out what is going on in our community!

2009-12-03T07:40:00.000-08:00

in my own home. In my own bedroom. Cruelly, even viciously. As I walked by the window, which is covered with floor length curtains, a monster reached out and grapped my food... There were claws! And blood.

The suspect? Kash Ew Yuck Napolean (Yes, that is actually his name!) Even this baby picture shows the wild eyes...
Because of Sampson's allergies, Sammy now eats a special food, a really expensive food and there is no way they are all getting that food. A 4 pound bag cost almost as much as the 16 pound bag of regular food. If he weren't doing so well on this food, with his glorious floof growing back, even acting like a kitten again, even though he's going on 10, I wouldn't do this. But he is, so, they eat separately. Sampson in our room, the rest in the hall bathroom. Apparently, I took too long to feed them this morning. I have a bloodied foot to show for it! Hunger makes us do cruel things...

Proof, look how he killed this poor "wild" creature. Oh the humanity..

2009-11-30T07:50:00.000-08:00

I have exactly one month left of work before I take a leave of absence to student teach. I am SO excited. I got my placement a couple of weeks ago and I will be in a local elementary school, in the fifth grade for ten weeks and second grade for five weeks. I can not believe how quickly the 18 months of school have gone by. In some ways, it seems like I have been in this master's program FOREVER, and in other ways, I can't believe it was 21 months that I made this decision. I'm so very excited to start this new phase of life. Social work has been good, the clients have been great, but I am ready for something new.

2009-11-20T10:42:00.000-08:00

So, I am a true Mozilla Firefox convert. It's not because I am an Internet Explore hater, really I don't mind IE at all. Or at least I didn't until I discovered Mozilla's add-ons. Now, I simply can not function with out them. So, here's a list of my top add-ons, ones I use every time I open Firefox.

1. Morning Coffee - With a click of one button, this tool opens a set of websites in different tabs. You can program it to open the same tabs every day or by the day of the week. Seriously, if you try no other add-ons, try this one. Trust me. I am the Accidental IT Girl.

2. Insta-Click - This add-on lets you open links in new tabs by right clicking. I am a multi-tab type of girl. At this instant, I have 8 tabs open. Sometimes, I have 20. If you want to bring up the right click menu instead of opening a link, just hold the ctrl button while you right click.

3. Right-Click-Link - This lets you highlight text and when you right click, it allows you to open the text or search for the text in a new tab. Very handy for doing searches.

4. ColorfulTabs - This just makes the tabs a little prettier, gives them different colors. You can fine tune the colors and assign them, but I just have them on random.

I would love to know what others use. Or if they try these and like them. Or hate them.

2009-11-05T19:37:00.000-08:00

Had my gallbladder removed on Friday and still dealing with being really sore and really worn down. I'm getting there, but that's my excuse for a lack of posts. Cez hooked my laptop up to the TV in our room and I have watched all of the episodes of Greek on Hulu, which I have enjoyed for the silly, harmless, college flashback that it is. And it makes me glad I didn't attend a school with a greek system. Not my thing.

2009-10-22T22:08:00.000-07:00

My gram wanted to go hot air ballooning a couple of years ago and my husband offered to go with her. The view on the way up...
They were in separate baskets, so Cesar got to take a picture of Gram in her balloon (she's in the middle, in the baseball cap).
Swimming, anyone?

And my all time favorite shot:

2009-10-19T10:58:00.001-07:00

Fall!!! It's my most favorite time of year. Gorgeous leaves, cool crisp air and fresh pressed apple cider from Bauman's!

This tree is across the street from my office in Monmouth. Stupid telephone wire!

2009-10-15T08:02:00.000-07:00

My step-dad built the bird house, my mom painted it and it lives at my sister's house. I think she might have taken the picture even.

2009-10-14T08:16:00.001-07:00

It really has been. I started not feeling good in August, thought it was some stomach bug or food poisoning. But it lasted for about 5 weeks. Then the sharp pains set in (it seriously felt like I was having a heart attack) and I rushed to the ER. They sent me home (after waiting for 4.5 hours and being seen for 3 minutes) with a laxative! Pains kept on and I went to see my doctor. She thought I was having gallstones so off to an ultrasound, which found no gallstones, and labs, which found my liver function extremely elevated. In the meantime, I had a scare and needed mammogram and ultrasound, which thankfully came back clear (seriously, ladies - the mammograms are no big deal and SOOOOO worth the peace of mind - get them done!!). Back to the gallbladder, I was scheduled for a HIDA scan, where they injected some nuclear medicine into my veins while I laid in a machine kind of like a MRI machine and they watched how my gallbladder functioned.

So, I was referred to a surgeon who said:
a) I probably had a gallstone that passed before the ultrasound, which caused all the pain AND
b) My gallbladder was not functioning well AND
c) I have a polyp on my gallbladder which could potentially cause cancer.

Which all leads to being scheduled to have my gallbladder removed at the end of the month.

Which, is probably no big deal, but
a) I had never even had an IV before the HIDA scan and
b) My dad died in surgery, which adds a whole layer of emotional stress.

Sunny side:
a) I guess it is better that this all happens now then when I am student teaching in January.
b) I am bound to lose some weight - at least the weight of the gallbladder, right?
c) The surgeon was super nice, even when I started crying at the end. He spent almost 45 minutes with me, explaining all of my options and the surgery. I feel very fortunate to have him as the doctor who will remove an organ from my body.

2009-10-07T09:02:00.000-07:00

Monday morning, it was 40 degrees out and I was looking forward to a nice, hot shower. What I got was a lukewarm, cool shower. I didn't have time to check the water heater before I left for work, but met my brother-in-law at my house Monday afternoon. The pilot light was out. Tim got it lit and I thought, "Whew, that was easy." Not so much. We heard dripping on the burner plate. Yup, the tank had a leak and of course the warranty experienced in December. So I call around and get the prices on water heaters. We've got 50 minutes to get to George Morlan's on Lancaster in 5:00 traffice. We go to start the Jeep and it's dead. Hook it to the VW to try to charge the battery, nothing. It needs a new battery desperately (along with tires, shocks and brakes) but we never drive it and feel guilty about putting money into a car we never drive. Thankfully, the neighbor loaned us his rig and Cesar made it across town in time to spend $500 on a new water heater. Thank god for handy family members. Tim diagnosed the problem and Cesar and my mom's husband, Marc did the install. And I got a hot shower on Tuesday!

2009-09-28T11:02:00.000-07:00

These two adore each other. I mean, they are twins and all, but they are attached at the hips. It's sickening really, in a completely adorable way.

Oddly enough, Ripley is on the left and Lexi is on the right in all of these pictures.

Okay, here she is gnawing on the inside of his ear. It totally grosses me out.
You can't tell in these pictures, but Ripley is about twice as big as Lexi. She it a tiny girl, weighing about 5 or 6 pounds.

2009-09-10T07:43:00.000-07:00

This post involves a confession. I have Sirius Satellite radio and listen to the Martha Stewart channel every time I am in the car. It's true. I do. But there are a lot of interesting programs on her channel about food and pets, very few done by her. But, even if they were done by her I would listen.

I was listening to Morning Living, which is on during my drive to work. They do this great segment frequently where they interview a local food critic and ask them to name the best places for breakfast, lunch and dinner in their city or town. This got me to thinking about my best restaurants in Salem. Here's what I've got:

Breakfast: Word of Mouth - the Chicken Fried Steak or the Creme Brulee French Toast

Lunch: La Margarita Express - Arroz con Pollo in the creme sauce or Enchiladas Suizas or Huarache (sp?) or pretty much anything.

Dinner - La Capitale - Bistro Burger, add mushrooms. The beef is grass fed and it is the best burger I have ever had. I also had a delicious grapefruit mojito and it was very refreshing. Might I also recommend the Orange Creme Brulee?

2009-09-09T20:19:00.000-07:00

This is Ripley. He's Lexi's twin. Because they are bookends, I named them after Alexandra Ripley, who wrote one of my favorite books, Scarlett. They aren't deaf, which is common with white cats with two different colored eyes. But, they are weird.

2009-09-05T13:08:00.000-07:00

the Pringle Park Plaza.

I wonder how many people have fallen in.

These people should have been pushed in.

2009-09-02T09:19:00.000-07:00

(Warning: this story might make you cry....)

It was Labor Day and I woke up and made my dad's famous banana pancakes. That was weird in itself, as I had grown up on these pancakes and never made them myself! But on September 2, 2002, I woke up and had a hankering to make my dad's pancakes. Halfway through, I got a call from my sister, in tears and in a panic. She was camping in Florence with my dad. "Dad's been rushed to the hospital with chest pains. They are taking him to Eugene by ambulance." "Okay, we'll meet you down there. Don't worry, Autumn. It's Dad. He'll be fine." We got to Eugene and finally found the hospital and my Dad. They were preparing him for surgery, so we only got to see him for a minute. They had given him nitro for the heart attack and he was in agonizing pain from the headache it gave him. My dad, the guy who sewed his own stitches and had received countless eye burns from not wearing his face shield while welding, was hurting so bad, but still cracking jokes like usual. That was the last time I saw my dad alive. I could give you every tiny detail of that day. The surgeon came out during the surgery and told us it was not going well, that Dad's heart had a lot of damage. But, still, it's Dad. He'll be fine. He's never sick. But the second time the surgeon came out, I knew it was not fine, that he hadn't made it. It was like a scene from a movie. A movie that still plays in my head. Slow motion. The grief, the pain, the hysteria.

I was 26, my sister was 22 and we were members of the Dead Dads Club. It's a crappy club. The dues will cost you a huge emotional toll and you will struggle with your forced membership for life. We were now planning a funeral. My mom had offered to take care of everything for us. But they had been divorced for a couple of years and we knew that we needed to be the ones to do it. I knew the funeral home and memorial park to go to, they had handled the funeral of a friend in high school with such grace and compassion. Thank god Dad had told me he had wanted to be cremated (he traveled a ton and had done a will, but hadn't had it notarized). We found a beautiful spot next to a pond and picked out a beautiful marker. We buried Dad on Friday and had a graveside service. It was a rainy day, but Dad saw to it that the sun came out during the service. The service was full of his friends and co-workers, his family who had made long trips, even though my dad was estranged from them, our friends, co-workers and family. The little graveside was packed. People told hilarious stories about my dad, things like him chasing his best friend around a farm store with a cattle prod. My dad was famous for his jokes and his teasing. My sister and I later knelt on the cold, wet ground to place my father's urn in the deep hole that would be the final resting place of his remains. Somewhere, I still have his old cell phone that he had voice programmed. For years, I would listen to his voice on that phone, until I finally forced myself to put it away.

My Dad was my champion. He was so proud of me for putting myself through school, for finding a good job and sticking with it and always encouraged me to be the best I could be. He loved Cesar, told him so many stories I had never heard. We moved into Dad's house after we got married, since he spent about 7 months a year away on work. But, the times he was home were such a blessing. We had moved out just a couple of months before he died and he was actually suppose to come over for dinner the day he died. But, I will always be so thankful for all the time we had together those last couple of years.

That is the story of the days surrounding Dad's death. My sister, my husband, her husband, we all experienced this day and I am sure have our own memories of what happened. But, we have never talked about it. I have uttered these words out loud to one person - a fabulous counselor I saw last year. She helped me see that by not getting this story out there, I am not moving on through the grief stages, I stay stuck. It helped to tell her my story. And it helps to tell it here.

My dad was a wickedly funny man, always teasing and joking and had a snicker he would do when he had gotten someone good. He was a hard worker and very talented at his craft. He was a terrific wheeler and dealer and every time I buy a car, I wish he was there. He loved both of us so much and I think he still keeps an eye on us. He has visited me in my dreams several times, just hanging out with me. Dreams that are so vivid, I forget that he's gone when I wake up. He would have adored his grandson, and it cuts to the core that Dylan will never meet Dad. But, he will know Grandpa Stan, because we will tell him all of the stories. But, some of those stories might have to wait until Dylan's an adult.

Vintage Dad

Goofing with the welder's mask - You can see the smile in his eyes - Early 80s:

Dad and Mr. Nibbles, circa 1976-78 or so:

Dad, in his late teens, early 20s:

At Belcrest Memorial Park - All of these were taken on Sept 2, 2008

Dad's Marker:

The pond right next to Dad's grave:

The ducks that hang out around the pond:

2009-08-27T13:07:00.000-07:00

I hate most as a homeowner is the job that is WAY overdue at my house... staining the deck. Ugh, I despise it. We've had the stain for a year and we just keep putting it off. The deck has almost no stain left on it now because we have put it off so long. And I know it's bad for the deck and the wood. But I hate it! This weekend, we will pressure wash and strip the stain that is left and hopefully stain next weekend. Then we should be good for another 4 years. Only 4 years? What the heck?! Someone needs to invent a stain that lasts for 20 years. I will be your best friend...

2009-08-13T08:01:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm not, but she is...

2009-08-11T17:15:00.001-07:00

When did time start moving so very quickly? Wasn't it just the end of Spring yesterday? It can't be that we are in the middle of August. It's impossible. That means I am only 4 short months from student teaching, from not earning a paycheck for four months. That day seemed so far away when I started the program 14 months ago. Now, it seems impossibly near.

2009-08-05T21:03:00.000-07:00

My best girlfriends sent me my favorite kind of flowers last May when I was having a tough time... They were GORGEOUS, almost as wonderful as my girls!

2009-08-04T12:41:00.000-07:00

Garage. It is now clean. Clean enough to park a car in there. It's a miracle. Cesar and I spent a good part of Saturday emptying out the garage and putting random stuff away. It had simply become unbearable and since the cat boxes are in the garage (they use a dog door that we installed in the door from the house to the garage), we were hoping a clean garage would encourage better litter box behavior. We'll see. But we swept and hosed it out and it looks good. Now if only the office would take care of itself...

2009-07-30T09:03:00.001-07:00

Complain, but good god, it's hot. We Oregonians don't do heat. We just don't. We actually LIKE the rain. So, 106 yesterday. Seriously? AC's can not keep up. People are feeling sick. You can't possibly consume enough water to keep you hydrated. This isn't Vegas. It's Salem. It's hot. It's humid and we don't have the lights, the buffets or the shows. <> I miss the rain.

2009-07-27T15:08:00.000-07:00

if I do say so myself.

I took it outside of the Bush Barn, the weekend of the Awesome 3000, or in my 4-year old nephew's case, the Awesome 300 (since the preschoolers only run 300 yards).

2009-07-27T14:45:00.000-07:00

On the neighbor's car antenna.

I had a pair of blue ones in my yard, but they were too busy to sit still for a photo. This fella let me get really close and he was happy just hanging out.

2009-07-27T13:26:00.000-07:00

We knew we needed to reseed our lawn and we wanted to go with something more ecologically sound than your average sod. So, after much research, I found Protime Eco -Friendly Lawn Seed. I let C choose which seed to go with and to my surprise, he chose the Fragrant Herbal Ecology Lawn (which is not what I would have gone with, but I did give him the choice, so that's what we bought). So, after a long May weekend of removing sod, filling with dirt, leveling, compacting and eventually sowing, we had ourselves a new lawn.

The neighbors were hesitant when we told them our plan because it was so different, but now they all love it as much as we do. I can home yesterday to find a lawn full of neighbors, because it is so soft and smells so good. We LOVE it.

So here it is, after about 4-5 weeks of growth, only watering about 2 times per week:

And here it is mowed on the left, unmowed on the right:

If you like well manicured, golf course grass, this is not the lawn for you. If you love mowing and watering a LOT less while still having a green yard all summer and doing better by the environment all while smelling a beautiful smell every time you walk through your yard, this is the seed for you!

2009-07-23T09:55:00.000-07:00

Our big fat Maine Coon, Sampson, is having issues. He has had an allergic reaction the last 2 summers and had to get a steroid injection. He feels better, but because he was so itchy, he licked obsessively and now he's lost all of his long, flowing rump fur. He's still got the short furs, but he looks so strange with what we are now calling a bald butt. It's growing back, but not quickly enough!

Here he is in his more flurry days:

And here he is when he learned I was posting about this embarrassing situation:

2009-06-23T16:43:00.000-07:00

That's me... I am the "IT Girl" for my company. But I hesitate to use the title IT because that means I might have some training instead of just learning by doing. "IT Girl" raises people's hopes and expectations. They think I might actually be able to fix their computer problems. And there's about an 80% chance that I can. But that leaves 20% broken. Someone told me to just go with being called "IT Girl" because everyone already thinks I am so I might as well claim the title. I like that. Think I can put that on my resume?

2009-06-22T10:54:00.001-07:00

Ew... mobile blogging. How exciting.

2009-06-22T09:58:00.000-07:00

Well, I have survived the spring. It was touch and go there for a while. I am working full time and going to graduate school full time and we had to double our class load this spring to squeeze in all of the required credits. I also have been volunteering at the local elementary school on Fridays and I had to take another grad test (I passed ... yahoo!). But, I made it through and came out the other side mostly unscathed. Now it's back to just working and graduate school full time. Good times and noodle salad (as my friend John says, where there is fun, there is always noodle salad to be had).

Add to that mix that Father's Day and my Dad's birthday are in there and it made for an emotional time. This time of year has always been tough since Dad died. They say it gets easier and I guess it has a little, but not much. I think this time of year will always be a little hard.

This weekend was the weekend of unexpected expenditures. First, we had to replace the front tires on the Bunny (as my 4 year old nephew calls my VW Rabbit) this weekend out of the blue. Well, it wouldn't have been out of the blue if I had been paying attention, but I hadn't noticed how low my tread had gotten so, that made it out of the blue. I called around, looking for the best price and ended up at America's Tire again. They are SUPER friendly and very reasonably priced. We got both front tires replaced with very high quality tires for under $200!

Second, we had to take our Maine Coon cat to the vet. He has a swollen lip and has been super itchy. He had the same thing happen last summer and he got a steroid injection to treat it. He seems to be doing better, poor fella.

Along the cat note, we asked the vet the best way to deal with a bully. We have a little cat, Kash, who weighs about 8 pound and he constantly picks on the Coon, who weighs 18 pounds. She suggested putting a collar with a bell on Kash, so his victims will hear him sneaking up on them. I did and I wish I had had a video camera ready. Poor guy hated the sound of the bell and spent the whole afternoon yesterday bucking like a wild bull trying to get it off. I think the vet's suggestion may just work, but not for the reason she suggested. Kash is going to be too distracted by the ringing around his neck to pick on his cat siblings. Sweet!

2008-10-21T14:13:00.000-07:00

Hey all...

The photography studio my sister works for, Haugen's in Monmouth, is doing a great holiday contest. You can win a session, custom holiday cards and a gift basket. Click here if you are interested!

www.haugensgalleri.com

2008-07-29T19:37:00.000-07:00

Yes, it has been a while. Lots has happened. I have started my new job and it is going well. I was talking to my good friend Molly today about how it is so much less stressful than my last job. Molly said, "You feel like it's cheating, huh?" She had the same experience when she left too and it really feels like, wait this isn't hard enough! It is so good to be in an environment where not hard all the time, I am not carrying it on my shoulders, like the million ton rock my last job was.

I have completed my first graduate class and am halfway through my second (The art and science of teaching) and it is fun. I wasn't really prepared for it to be fun! It is a lot of work, but I am really enjoying learning again.

Cesar is doing good, animals are okay. 2 of the cats, Ripley and Flea are currently PO'd because I changed food. They spend a lot of the day screaming at me and running to their bowls, as if to say, "where's the real stuff?" The new stuff is better for them, but it is sure funny watching them try to relay their message. Puppy Pixie is still cute, but a pain in the ass, as puppies and small dogs tend to be. She currently uses Ripley (the cat) as her chew toy, dragging him around by the scruff (even though he is bigger than her) and he loves it (he's a bit of a whore).

Tis all for now...I will try to update more frequently. :P

2008-03-25T19:17:00.000-07:00

school to get my masters in teaching. I am going through University of Phoenix in Salem so that I can still work full time. I was pretty sure about teaching high school, physics, math type stuff but then I ran into a teenager last week and thought what the hell am I thinking?!! Teenagers are cranky and mean. Maybe I should do elementary school. Which I have also been toying with. Both have pros and cons, but I would like feedback from my friends who know me the best - What do you see me teaching? Please vote on the side of this page! Thanks guys!

2008-03-25T19:02:00.000-07:00

So, Cesar got me a puppy for our anniversary/birthdays. She is a Miniature Pinscher and she's 3.5 months old. She weighs 4 pounds and will only be about 10 pounds when she is full grown. She looks like a mini-me of our Rottweiler, Bella and she definitely thinks Bella is Mamma. Bella does good with her, gives her loves when needed and snaps at her when she's out of line. The cats are adjusting well, Kash has started chasing her back, which is good and hilarious to watch. Here's a couple of pics...

2008-02-01T12:01:00.000-08:00

Car!!!! Yes, it's a sad and happy day. We traded in my beloved Jeep Wrangler for something more fuel efficient. Ironically, it is the same model I learned to drive on. However, the one I learned to drive on was a early 1980s model and was manual, missing first gear and reverse. In the process of learning, it lost second too. My dad actually pulled over on the way home from getting my permit and had me drive home in this car without first, having never driven anything before, nevermind a stick and one without first. This model is much better equiped. Enough with the suspense already, you say. It's a 2006 Volkswagen Rabbit. Yup, I am going back to my roots. Here's a picture I found on line, its pretty close in color, a grey/green color. It's zippy...

2008-01-29T20:50:00.000-08:00

SNOW!!!!! I love watching in come down, I love walking in it, I love playing in it. I love it. Maybe because it doesn't snow all that often here, it is a special treat. I wonder if I would love it as much if I lived in Colorado or Alaska - some place that was always covered in snow. Every winter I wait and wait for it to snow, like a kid. On Monday, we had about 1/2 inch on our deck and I opened the back door and the kitties all went running out and then they all put on the breaks and ran back in. Their delicate little inside kitty toes could not take the snow. It was funny...

2008-01-24T19:05:00.000-08:00

I've been watching this show, October Road and there is a character in it named Physical Phil. He's been a shut it for the last 6 years, not leaving his house. I gotta be honest, sometimes, that sounds pretty damn good. Now a days, you can get everything you need online, groceries, clothes, gifts, shoes. Really, you don't HAVE to ever leave the house. You could get your friends to come to you if they liked you enough. Anyway, just something to ponder about... what do you think?

2008-01-13T13:30:00.000-08:00

So, we all have them, irrational fears. Mine is frogs. Yup, frogs. I don't know why, I happen to think that frogs are cute and adorable and like looking at them...in pictures, behind glass or from afar. I don't do well when they are within a foot or 2 of me. And I live on a wetland. Which equals LOTS of tree frogs. So, here's my story.

Got home last night from Dylio's birthday party and came in and let the dog out and fed her. Walked up and down the hallway a couple of times, noticing the cat Ripley burring or batting at something. I turned on the lights, thinking it was cat puke but no, that would have been better. It was a frog... a damn frog in MY damn house. I screamed. Thank god Cesar was home. He came over and got a plastic cup and scooped it up. Turns out it was dead. A damn dead frog in my damn house. Our theory is that it got in the garage and died, then my lovely felines brought it in. We're still ruling out suspects, so far the dog and my cat McGuire and Leah have been cleared.

So, I was freaked out all night, didn't want to get off my bed, like it was an island. I even made Cesar look under the bed to make sure there were no more frogs.

There was a damn dead frog in my damn house. Ugh.

2008-01-01T19:35:00.000-08:00

May you rot in hell. Yup, that is how great 2007 was for us. Cesar and I stayed up until midnight and flipped 2007 off as we showed it the door. I am very excited for 2008 and hopeful. Hopeful for new opportunities and new horizons and fresh starts.

Welcome 2008.

2007-10-28T21:16:00.000-07:00

I just needed to say thank you to all of my very good friends and family who have been so amazingly supportive and wonderful during the last very challenging week. My family has been amazing, spending countless hours with me, hanging out. My amazing husband who has cried with me and has done so much around the house that I have been unable to do. My terrific friends who have called, some daily to make sure I am okay. And more importantly, to make me laugh. And have brought dinner and company. Thank you, all of you. In the words of my handsome little nephew Dylan, "I love you to Pluto," all of you.

2007-10-19T21:00:00.000-07:00

...since I updated. Haven't had much to say. Well, out loud, in a post anyway. Lots going on in my head, but I think I will keep those thoughts quiet for a bit.

Went to Bauman Farms with my sis, Autumn and her kidlet, my nephew, Dylan. If you all still need pumpkins, it is worth the trip and the crowds. Lots of activities: hay rides, obstacle courses, petting zoo, corn maze and more. Oh, and of course, pumpkins. But Dylan was so tired from the obstacle course, that we didn't get to the pumpkins and they went back another day.

Got a new bed... A Select Comfort, Sleep Number Bed. We LOVE it. My sleep number is 70, Cesar's is 80. We moved up from a queen size to a king size. We are both sleeping so much better and I am falling asleep SO fast. It is awesome. And, because of the increase in the size of bed, we had to get rid of our hand-me-down nightstands. Thank god. Went with floating shelves instead on either side of the bed. Our room looks great... in my humble opinion.

2007-08-31T20:06:00.000-07:00

It's been 5 years on Sunday that my dad died. For those of you who don't know, he died very suddenly and unexpectedly of a heart attack. He was really young and so were Autumn and I. She was 22 and I was 26. I can't believe it has been 5 years. In some ways I can hardly believe 5 years has come so quickly. But on the other hand, it's been 5 years since I have seen my dad and it feels like an eternity. I miss him every day. Here are two of my favorite pictures.

Me, Dad and Autumn, circa 1980 and yes, it's a waterbed.

Dad and me just before walking down the aisle in 2000. The insider story on this one is I had just vomited downstairs because I was so nervous. My dad is cracking joke after joke to calm my nerves. He had just offered to let me puke in his tux pocket when this picture was taken.

2007-08-26T20:35:00.000-07:00

My BFFs, Meagyn and Emily's family own a house on Lake Nahwatzel on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. Every year since we graduated from PLU in 1998 except one we have gathered at the lake for a weekend in the summer. We being Meagyn, Emily, Erika, Teal and myself. There have been various combos, spouses, siblings, this year, a child, but always the same core group. Over the years at the lake, we have laughed, we have cried, we have skinny-dipped, we have often gotten drunk, and mostly just appreciated each other. These year was no exception. We did skip the skinny-dipping this year - it rained on Saturday, per usual trip to the lake, rainy on Saturday and sunny on Sunday. Here are the pics:

This is, from left to right, Teal, Soumen, Jason and Meagyn. Yeah Jason, good fishing!

Soumen, Cody and Jason trying to catch a bigger fish!

The Morse Family: Teal, Cody and Jason

Cody working hard...

Jason and Cody...with Cody sleeping hard...

The Girls (left to right) Emily, me, Meagyn, Erika and Teal

The Anderson: Christian and Erika

The soon to be Karmakar Family: Soumen and Meagyn - getting married in November

The Keys Sisters - Emily and Meagyn

Fr-Erika and Fr-Amber

2007-08-20T20:44:00.000-07:00

Why? Why? Why? Why? Geez.... So my Wrangler has been having some rumbling in the front passenger side tire. It was also popping out of 1st and 2nd gear and reverse. So, worried that it may be something serious, I made an appointment at the dealer. Since it has less than 30k miles on it, I figured, get it in while it was still under warranty. Well, I am an idiot and forgot that it was 36,000 miles OR 3 years. And, 3 years has come and gone. So, turns out they could not, of course, replicate it popping out of gear. The rumbling was my brake pads rubbing against the shoes or something and I had to replace the front breaks. So frustrating. Oh well, it is now fixed and better... I guess.

2007-08-12T20:25:00.000-07:00

UGHHHHHH!!!!! Cesar and I just spent 2 hours folding and hanging laundry. We have been living out of the guest room as a closet. I have had to go to the guest room every morning to find my clothing for the day. So, finally, we put it all away. It took FOREVER!!! We watched part of Cape Fear as we did the laundry, the one with Robert DeNiro. I LOVE that movie. He is so awesome/creepy in that movie. Anyway, back to the laundry, I told Cez we are never ever ever letting it get this bad again. Ha! Yeah Right.

On a side note, Lexi, the white cat who licks herself bald and has to wear tiny dog t-shirts to prevent her from doing so, went a whole month with no bald spots. But she started in again today and has a beaut on her chest. sigh.... Why do I get the freaks?!!

2007-08-06T21:04:00.001-07:00

Cesar and I went to Seattle for our 5th anniversary in February 2005 for a long weekend. We went to the Space Needle for dinner, where we had actually had our first official date 7 years before. We stayed in a super fancy hotel in downtown Seattle and we parked the car and walked everywhere all weekend. The night we checked in, I unpacked my shoes and found that one of the cats had put "Pink Mouse" in my sneaker and "Pink Mouse" came along for our trip. So, Cesar and I, being the dorks we are took "Pink Mouse" everywhere and took pictures of her journey. Here is the photographic evidence of "Pink Mouse's" trip to Seattle.

Where we found the stow-away:

Looking out at the view from our room:

On the Monorail, going to the Seattle Center, where the Space Needle is for dinner:

On a park bench in the Seattle Center:

On the top of the trash can, in the rides area at the Seattle Center:

Gazing up at the Space Needle before dinner:

Looking out at the beautiful view from the rotating floor of the needle (You can't see "Pink Mouse" but trust me, she is sitting on the ledge - we had to take the picture quick so the waiter wouldn't see).

Goodbye Seattle. We love you...

Stopping off in Tacoma to see Christian and Erika, and of course Homer...

2007-08-06T20:53:00.001-07:00

I haven't posted many pictures lately and thought it was time to add some. They are very random.

My sis, Autumn and I at the Christmas parade in Salem:

My very close to perfect dog, Bella:

A very cool moon pic Cez took:

2007-07-31T18:45:00.000-07:00

So, America says that the proper way to do things as an American is to graduate high school, hopefully go to college, fall in love, get married, buy a house, have babies. Well, check, check, check, check and check. The last one, not so simple. Cesar and I have known each other for 12 1/2 years, been married for 7 1/2 years, I have been in my job for over 8 years, in our house for 4. We've talked about kids on and off over the years and were ready to start trying for a baby when Cesar got laid off last year. Not very responsible to have a child when one person isn't working. So, now that he is working again, we are back in negotiations, so to speak. The thing is we both love kids and if we got pregnant we would be thrilled. Its hard though to sort out if it is us really wanting a child or if it is societal pressure - the required next step. In all honesty, I have been ready for the next phase of my life for a while now, but how do I know if that next phase is a baby or if it is something else? It's never easy, is it?

2007-07-27T19:15:00.000-07:00

I hate being late. It is very stressful for me. Although, in my job, I have learned to be late as the field I work in is consistently late and for me to show up on time means I am 10-15 minutes early.

Currently, I am 1 hour and 18 minutes late to a wedding. Sigh. Well, a wedding reception. Cesar's new job is anything but predictable and so we are late to the party because he's not home yet. The new job is an adjustment for both of us. For 6 months, Cesar was ALWAYS ALWAYS home. And now, we never see each other. We have one day off in common and that's about it. Hopefully as he gets the feel for it and learns it better, his days won't be so long. He is still loving it though, and that is what matters.

1 hour and 20 minutes late... I'm sorry, Molly. :(

2007-07-23T17:21:00.000-07:00

If you don't know what a LOL cat is, check out the link under my fave sites for I Can Has Cheezburger. This is the LOL cat I am.

You are the good Samaritan of the lolcat world. Protecting others from danger by shouting observations and guidance in cases of imminent threat, you believe in the well-being of everyone.

To see all possible results, checka dis.

Cesar is jealous because this is his LOL cat:

Lolzergs have nothing on you. You are swift and ruthless, cutting down whatever and whomever necessary in order to obtain the foodz. As one of the first lolcat known to man, your ancient skills in location-declaration and object-verbing have been passed down several generations, keeping the spirit of felinity alive.

To see all possible results, checka dis.

2007-07-21T19:02:00.000-07:00

You know, I am beginning to realize that everything "they" say is true. I have always heard that the 30s were good for women - that's when you finally figure out who you are and what you want, even though you think you figured it out in your late 20s. The 30s brings along an air of self-confidence and independence. I wish I had listened and processed all "they" had to say, instead of just letting it go in one ear and out the other.

Viva la 30s!!!

2007-07-11T18:53:00.000-07:00

Finally, it has arrived. We filmed it with our Pentax Optio and I edited it with VideoShow Expressions.

Please note, no animals were harmed in the making of this video. The ScatMat delivers a static pulse, like when you drag your feet on the floor and zap your sister or husband. :) And my couches have less fur on them...

2007-07-11T18:30:00.000-07:00

this made me giggle.

2007-06-26T17:57:00.001-07:00

I don't think I have posted this yet, but Cesar started a new job a couple of weeks ago as a cable installation tech. He is really enjoying it and it is right up his alley. So far seems to be a great fit. And he's happy, so that's what matters.

2007-06-24T20:12:00.000-07:00

So the Scatmats have arrived.... and seem to be effective. Cesar got some video that I will eventually get around to editing and posting. We check the counter each time we come home - we had kept the setting on low - the setting for kittens. They were still getting up there several times a day so we bumped it up to medium - the setting for cats. We shall see. We're still getting a couple of hits a day, so we don't want to move it to the big couch until they consistently staying off the love seat.

2007-06-17T00:00:00.000-07:00

I had my friend Joe's video up, but I wanted to add his web links and now I can't get the video back on here. So... Click Here to get to the You Tube address for Corral Fence. You can check Joe out at www.joeshinkle.com or at his myspace account. Go Joe!!!

2007-06-12T18:18:00.000-07:00

We are SOOOOO fed up with cats on the couch, leaving them COVERED in cat fur. We've tried everything: water bottle to squirt them, the herbal spray that they aren't suppose to like the smell of, yelling, screaming, ignoring.... We have found the ScatMat and it should be delivered tomorrow or Monday. When the felines jump on it, it will provide a harmless static pulse, designed to scare the crap out of them.

Don't worry, we WILL be video taping and posting.... :)

2007-06-10T10:20:00.000-07:00

Dad! We miss you every day.

2007-06-06T19:34:00.000-07:00

Hell's Kitchen. I know, I know... blah blah reality shows suck blah blah. I enjoy escaping reality and watching Chef Gordon Ramsey yell at the potential chefs. And it doesn't hurt that he's cute. :) It is a summer time show and it's back this week. It seriously made my Monday. Hey, I will take what I can get to make Monday better.

2007-05-30T19:39:00.000-07:00

3 day work weeks, long weekends, lazy days, warm days, the top being off of my Jeep, animals, my amazing friends and great family, music, and muscle cars.

I wish...
Dad was still here, that I would learn from my mistakes (especially financially), that I didn't use up my sick/vacation time so quickly, I could stick to an exercise program, I hated fried foods, I could stand up for myself, I didn't always have to be the peace maker, my dog didn't get car sick because I would take her everywhere with me, I knew if I wanted a child.

My dream life...
is living in my villa in Italy complete with a vineyard OR living in downtown Seattle in a loft working as a very successful MAC makeup artist.

2007-05-27T14:32:00.000-07:00

So, we are hamster sitting Delphinia, aka Finnie the black and white Russian Dwarf Hamster whilst the Hofers are off on their annual memorial day camping trip. Finnie was stationed on our dining room table, in her cage, a place where the cats could observe her, but do no harm to her.... or so I thought.

Last night, I was upstairs watching Music & Lyrics when I suddenly heard a huge crash. I instantly knew what it was: the damn cats had pushed Finnie's cage off of the table. I raced downstairs to find the cage scattered all over the floor and Finnie, miraculously, still sitting in the bottom tray portion of her cage. I scooped her up, checked her out - that hamster is a TROOPER, and yelled at the cats. Cesar who was right on my heels, helped me to clean up and super-glue and duct tape the cage back together.

Finnie has been relocated to the Den and got a new cage and my cats all got squirted with the water bottle. I won't ever be able to prove "who dun it" and Finnie wasn't much help in the police line up, but I have my suspicions...

Don't they just LOOK guilty?

Whisk together lime juice, red wine vinegar, garlic, honey, salt, and pepper until blended. Slowly whisk in olive oil until incorporated. Mix half of this dressing with the chicken breasts, cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour. Refrigerate the remaining dressing for later use.

Heat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat.

Grill chicken breasts until no longer pink, about 6 minutes per side. Set aside and allow to cool while proceeding with recipe. Toss together mango, black beans, bell pepper, and jicama in a large bowl with reserved dressing. Slice chicken into bite-sized pieces and toss with salad.

To serve, line a serving bowl with the green leaf lettuce and mound the chicken salad into the middle OR on a tortilla, as a wrap.

2007-05-22T20:32:00.000-07:00

can... not... help... myself...