Sunday, December 26, 2010

Christmas 2010

My shot of the Salt Lake Temple while snowing

 This year I flew home for Christmas on the 19th and flew back today the 26th.  My week was filled with hanging out with my parents new dog Max, a visit to Temple Square, sleepover with Lincoln and Sawyer and Dinner for Dad's birthday along with all the Utah contingent coming over for Christmas dinner.  I also got some nifty gifts - subscriptions to my favorite magazines, tickets to the Seattle Symphony, Antique Map Calendar, Goodies from New Zealand (There is nothing better than Cadbury Magical Elves!), goodies from the Millers, and an incredible gift from Amy that makes me feel like a true grown up! 
Playing Creationary with Lincoln & Sawyer
Gifts from NZ!
From the Millers
My new Pearls! 

Friday, November 26, 2010

Thanksgiving

Melody and I spent Thanksgiving at home this year. We had a food storage dinner! It was actually super easy and quite tasty! All I did was make a small turkey breast - super convenient freezer to oven type, and make homemade rolls. Melody did all the rest of it! Mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, jello w/bananas, and homemade pumpkin cheesecake!! Thank you, Melody! Other than the cheesecake, it took about 30 minutes to do all the rest of it! Gotta love it!


My friend Erika came over and ate with us. She said, and I quote "this is the most beautiful Thanksgiving dinner I've ever been too!" It wasn't all that... but it was quite tasty and very fun!

I tried to make everyone say what they were thankful for while we were eating, but no one seemed very excited about it. So..... here goes, in no particular order:

Safe arrival of a new nephew
Wonderful family reunion with all of my family
Losing 70 lbs. and becoming more healthy
Getting back in touch with old friends
Better understanding the grey area of life
My best friend, my mom
Gaining a great appreciation for others

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

On it's way to the Land of the Long White Cloud


Ahead of schedule - these things are on their way to my favorite Kiwis in New Zealand for Christmas.  I hope they enjoy!

Sunday, November 7, 2010

For those not on facebook

Here are a couple of pictures from our family reunion that happened in October in Utah:
all of us

Grandma, Grandpa & Grandsons

Brothers, Sisters, and Spouses

A week late, but they're still good

One of the best memories I have from my years at BYU was my freshman (or sophomore year - it's a little bit of a blur) year when a box from home arrived for Halloween.  In the box were the best cookies I ever had - I call them pumpkin face cookies.  The cookies aren't made with pumpkin, but you decorate them like pumpkin faces.  The original recipe calls for string licorice to make the mouths, but I prefer to melt chocolate chips and make my own mouths.  I pretty much make these every year now at Halloween and it's hard to not just eat them constantly - they are that good!  To keep Amy & I from eating them all, I mailed some to two of my former students who are in college. 

The happy face (represents Amy)


The mad face (represents Me)

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Leavenworth, WA

Now that my life has calmed down a bit... Melody and I decided to take a small day trip to Leavenworth, WA. It's this great little Bavarian village in the mountains of Washington. We took the long scenic drive and stopped at a great local fruit and produce stand! THE BEST APPLES I've had in a long time. It was a good time.

















Tuesday, August 31, 2010

First Day of School


Today was Melody's first day of school. She was smart and asked me to take this cute picture of her!!! I hope it was a great day! :)

Friday, August 6, 2010

The Famous Art Piece

Since we moved to our townhome, Amy & I  have been trying to decide how to deal with the expansive space over the fireplace.  We finally agreed on creating our own piece of art and I purchased six square canvases.  They sat on the ground for a few months until our Home Teacher gave us a hard time.  Amy hung them up with the plastic still on.  Then at Christmas we wrapped them with christmas paper.  After more teasing from our Home Teacher Amy unwrapped them.  They sat on the wall and finally last week I painted the canvases.  Here they are:


What do you think?

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Trip Thursday

I finally got myself out of the house and not just to go to the grocery store, JoAnns, target or Barnes and Noble. I decided to head to the Nordic Heritage Museum in the Ballard area of Seattle.  I probably spent more time in traffic than at the museum - that's because this was going on:

This picture was from two years ago, but you get the idea -the Blue Angels are in town and had practice today.  That means shutting down the I-90 bridge for their practice.  At least I got to watch them practice while I sat on the freeway and tomorrow I can see the show from my side of the Lake.  After a large detour I finally arrived at the Nordic Heritage Museum. 
The museum celebrates the heritage of Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, and my personal favorite Norway. 
The first floor has an exhibit about immigration from Scandinavia to the U.S.  Since some of my ancestors came from the area, it was fun to recognize some of the advertisements and situations portrayed in the exhibit.  The second floor shows the logging and fishing industries of the Pacific Northwest where many Nordic immigrants found jobs.  My favorite part of the second floor was the arts and crafts exhibit.  The third floor has exhibits dedicated to each of the countries represented in the museum.  I really enjoyed looking at religion sections that appeared in different country exhibits and the craftmanship displayed in wood and cloth. It was a great visit and then I sat in traffic on the way home and watched the Blue Angels 2nd practice! 

We Love Jeff Dickerson

from the Jeff Dickerson Fan Club Facebook Group

One of the major reasons Kyle Busch is my favorite NASCAR driver is his spotter. Jeff Dickerson.  There is nothing more enjoyable than listening to the two of them talk during the race on Track Pass.  But now they have parted ways.  It is not as fun to listen to Kyle's radio without Jeff.  This week Jeff has been hired to spot for Jeff Gordon.  I've been listening to the 24 scanner today so I can hear Jeff.  Amy & I aren't Jeff Gordon fans, but we love Jeff Dickerson and you can bet we'll be listening to him on the scanner as much as possible!

Note - I forgot to post this on Sunday afternoon when I wrote it. 

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Trip Tuesday

I'm trying to get out  of the house this summer- since I'm not doing any travelling- and see more of Washington.  Yesterday I decided to motor along a scenic drive over the Cascades.  I drove US 2 through Stevens Pass from Monroe to Leavenworth and then completed 2 more scenic drives in my Scenic Drives of Washington book - going from Leavenworth to Cle Elum and them from Cle Elum along I-90 back home through Snoqualmie Pass. Here are some pictures I took. 
Skyomish River

Tunnel through US 2

River along US 97

Saturday, July 3, 2010

4th of July Wear

Last Saturday Amy & I went to Walmart in Covington.  (We don't have very many in the general area around our house - except the one in Renton & it is not a good Walmart).  I wanted a 4th of July shirt, so we both bought one.  Apparently we picked up the wrong sizes and we are not driving back to return them.  I had given up on having 4th of July wear, until I was crusing through the craft blogs I read and saw some of the shirts these crafty ladies made for their kids.  I thought - why couldn't I make a shirt for us big kids.  Friday I ran down to Target and picked up a red t-shirt for Amy and a blue one for me.  Here's how they turned out:

Friday, July 2, 2010

First week of Vacation Projects

During the first week of summer vacation I had a lot of projects going on:
This was a project I picked up last summer (at least I think it was last summer) at American Quilting in Orem.  It is a sewing kit.  I have another one to do.  This didn't turn out the best, but I like it.

This quilt I bought as a kit in Boise last summer.  I've had the top done for 9 months, but never got around to quilting the whole thing together.  I did that and did the binding too.







I pieced this top the first day of vacation.  The backing just came, so now I've got to decide if I'm going to quilt it myself or not.

My favorite project, I've been working on for a few months.  I needed to reorganize my recipes.  I've  been typing up my cards, adding  recipes, and finally I printed them out and got them into binders.  I love it!



Sunday, June 20, 2010

A couple of Summer Recipes

It's raining here in Washington, but I was organizing my recipes and thought I'd share a few of my favorite summertime recipes.


Pizza Pasta Salad


8 oz uncooked spiral pasta

½ tsp cornstarch

1/3 cup water

¼ cup grated parmesan cheese

¼ cup red wine or cider vinegar

2 TBSP olive oil

1 tsp dried oregano

½ tsp salt

½ tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp pepper

1 ½ cup halved cherry tomatoes

¾ cup cheddar cheese

¾ cup motz cheese

½ cup sliced green onions

½ cup sliced pepperoni

Cook pasta according to directions. Drain and rinse

In small saucepan combine cornstarch and water until smooth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat; stir in par. Cheese, vinegar, oil, oregano, salt, garlic powder and pepper. Mix well. In large bowl combine remaining ingredients. Add pasta and dressing. Toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

It is so good - I can eat this for every meal for days (Which I would have to do anyway because I only feed me)

This one I got from a NASCAR Cookbook
NASCAR – Fruit Salad for the Clumsy


1 can pineapple chunks drained

Fresh strawberries sliced

Fresh raspberries

Banana slices

Grapes

1 can cherry pie filling

Dash grated orange peel

Dash lemon zest

Proportions are not important with this recipe. Gently mix together all of the fruit and the contents of the cherry pie filling to the consistency that you desire (light glaze that will just lightly bind the fruit together). Top off with zest.

We had this at my NASCAR party last year!

This recipe Holly fed me one of the times I went to Cleveland - I want to say the second time, but I'm not sure. 

Holly’s Chicken Salad


1 large can all white chicken meat

½ cup slivered seasoned almonds (ranch)

2-3 diced green onion stalks

1-2 small diced celery stalks

2 tsp ranch mix powder

Enough may to mix it all

Salt and pepper to taste


Combine all the ingredients, chill and serve on croissants.




I hope you have a wonderful summer!

Friday, June 18, 2010

What I did on my first day of Vacation

Got up at 6:15 to watch the US v Slovenia World Cup match
dusted the Living room
Loaded work CD's into iTunes
Did five loads of laundry
made lists of work stuff I need to do this summer
watched the England match
moved bookshelf from car to room
watched a bunch of Wizards of Waverly Place episodes
Stitched for 4-5 hours

Hopefully I'll continue to be productive

Friday, June 11, 2010

World Cup

Today I saw the first goal in the 2010 FIFA World Cup scored by South Africa.

Who are you routing for?

Friday, June 4, 2010

Nine Days

IN NINE DAYS. . . . .

I will be sane again
It won't matter that I can't sleep when the sun is still up at 9:30 pm and up at 4:00 am
I can wear my jammies all day
the district will be moving my stuff to my new school  (that is awesome!)
my 13th year of teaching will be over!

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Memorial Day Ideas

(The American Flag above the USS Arizona Memorial)
Memorial Day is probably the second most important holiday to me - July 4th being the most important.  Maybe it's my love of history or watching lots of War Movies with Dad during these kinds of holidays - but I am very grateful to those that have sacrificed for my freedoms. If like us you have grey skies or need some thing to do here are my suggestions:  ***Note - not all of these suggestions are suitable for all****
1.  Fly a flag.  If you don't have one, go get one!
2.  Make something and take to a neighbor that has served in the military, reserves, national Guard, or has someone currently serving.
3.  Watch a war movie - my suggestions:  Midway, Battle of the Bulge, The Longest Day, Band of Brothers, Drums Along the Mohawk, and the History Channel will usually have some good documentaries on.
4. send a thank you email to a service person -  http://www.amillionthanks.org/
5.  Donate to an organization that supports our veterans and current military servicemen and women.  You can make blankets, donate books, music etc - just search for what you'd like to do and you'll find the right place to donate to. 
6.  Write in your journal about what freedom means to you.
7.  Start a book about the history of the United States.  A great book is David McCullough's 1776.  (there's lots of others, but I really like this one).

Enjoy your Memorial Day and don't forget the reason for this day!

Sunday, May 23, 2010

NASCAR All Star Party

Yesterday was the NASCAR All-Star Race.  I hosted a party for Amy, Abbie, and Jeremy.  I decorated with Stars all over the living room.  We took pictures and ate lots of food - Pizza Bites, Brownies, Cheesecake from http://www.ourbestbites.com/ and other items. 

 The race has four segments.  Everyone got a team of drivers to route for.  At the end of each segment a prize was awarded to the person whose driver was leading.  Amy won this hat when Kurt Busch led the first segment:

Abbie won segment 2 & 3 with Jimmie Johnson, but Amy won the grand prize, when Kurt Busch came back from major damage to win the race and a million dollars (Kurt got the million, not Amy). 



Friday, May 21, 2010

My Job Next Year

Today I was officially excessed from PCFC and assigned to a new position.  I am now an Issaquah High School Eagle.

They weren't always the Eagles - they used to be the Indians, but well it wasn't very PC.  I don't know what in the Social Studies I'll be teaching, but I ended up where I wanted.  My favorite part (aside from being in a brand new building) is that the school colors are Purple and gold.  Gold may not be the best color on me, but Purple is AWESOME!!!!!!!!

Saturday, May 15, 2010

My recent Movie watching

I've been sewing the binding on some quilts and watching movies.  All of my choices have been great, mostly foreign, and I end up crying.  So if you need a cyring fest - you might want to try these movies (I watched them on Netflix)  *** since most of them are foreign you may need to be careful if kids are nearby, I can't remember which ones you might need to censor****

Rosenstrasse - This movie is about a daughter trying to understand her mother by finding out what happened in her mother's life during World War II. I really liked it and have a whole  new area of World War II to learn about. Made in 2003, PG-13 and in German





The Butterfly - 2003, French, NR  - This movie is about an older gentleman that collects butterflies.  A young girl who needs attention from her mother moves in upstairs and stows away on his trip to see a butterfly.  Also has a happy ending.








As It Is in Heaven - 2005, Swedish, NR (see warning above)  This movie was nominated for an academy award.  The story is about a conductor who returns to his hometown for a fresh start.  I loved this movie, even if it was slow in a few places.






The Boy in the Striped Pajamas - It's in English, 2008, PG-13 - It's about the Holocaust. I hadn't read the book, but it's very good.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Right now I'm watching Sweet Land.  It's an independent film about a mail order bride in a Norwegian American community who happens to be German not Norwegian, and a Socialist  after World War I and all the problems that come from dealing with all of that!  I love getting a picture of what a Norwegian American farming community would have been like, since some of my ancestors would have been in communities like that.