This Weeks Eats Vol 2

Last week was a little busy and lucky for us I had a few things in the freezer to munch on. This week, I must go shopping. I'm trying to get a few things together to make some great meals.

I bought a huge pack of pork chops at Costco the other day with a coupon, and I've packaged them into sets of two, used my food sealer, and thrown them in the freezer. I like to do this because it really saves time and money when it comes to weeknight cooking. I buy a lot of meat in bulk when its on sale and Costco has a great meat department.

We also have a local specialty store "Tacoma Boys" that has amazing produce and high end meats, cheeses, wine, etc. But they're usually pretty spendy and I only go there to get cool gift items and/or when we have wine and cheese night over at my parents house. But my sister told me they have weekly specials online and a lot of times she can find their chicken breasts for 1.99/lb and they're all organic and super yummy... so I'm going to start doing the same with that.

Anyway, here's a few ideas I have for this week's eats:

Wasabi and Panko Crusted Pork with Gingered Soy Sauce:


Bistro Braised Chicken


Chicken Breasts Served with Goat Cheese and Sun-Dried Tomatoes


Grilled Portabello Goat-Cheese Pitas


Noodles with Roast Pork and Almond Sauce


I'm really excited to try some new things and use up some of that pork in the freezer. And I'm going to try to incorporate in a vegetarian night each night. I'm really glad that my husband's okay with that. He doesn't really care so much as long as it tastes good and he's not still hungry, and we both LOVE portabello mushrooms so you can't really go wrong there.

I'll let you know how each recipe turns out. Happy cooking everyone, I'd love to try some recipes you love that are lowfat and tasty, please link me up!

A New Recipe

Since I'm working this crazy swing shift I hardly ever get to see anyone. It's been nice the last couple of weekends we've really gotten to see my family a lot. Last weekend I saw them both days. I actually like my family most of the time so it irritates me that I can't see them or my friends much anymore.

Anyway, that has a point. A few Sunday's ago we were over at my sister's house and she'd made these enchiladas that were K I L L E R. Seriously, they were AMAZING. So I got the recipe from her and made them yesterday and drooled over them just as much:



Easy Chicken Enchiladas

1 10oz can Healthy Request Campbells Cream of Chicken Soup
2 tsp. chili powder
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 cup chopped onion
6 oz shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
8 medium/small flour tortillas
1 medium jar of enchilada sauce (I think it was about 15 oz)
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

Sour cream and fresh chopped tomatoes to top if you like:

Cook the cubed chicken in a pan with the onions until done. Mix in half the can of soup mix, the chili powder and about a cup of the enchilada sauce and about half the cheese. (Note the tortillas are much easier to handle when slightly warmed, I throw them in the microwave in my tortilla warmer for about 40 seconds before making them). I sprayed a baking dish with cooking spray, filled each tortilla, rolled, and placed in the pan. I then mixed the remaining soup mix and enchilada sauce mix together. Sprinkle the enchiladas with the cilantro, pour over the sauce mixture, and then sprinkle on remaining cheese. Bake for 20 or so minutes at 350 or until the cheese is bubbly and melted. And... blob on the sour cream for a delectable dinner!

(For you Weight Watcherians out there, one is 7 pts and two are 13.5 (without the sour cream included)).

Tuesday Tryouts

Yesterday I found out from a sweet gal that I'd won a BEAUTIFUL calendar from her shop. Seriously? I never win anything. Ever. (Well, I did win tickets to Brittany Spears' movie, Crossroads back in High School... but that doesn't really count and frankly, I'm a little embarrassed I even called in...)

Anyway, this is way better. So we'll just pretend this is my first win.

Her site is Frenchbleuvintage.com and she has MANY gorgeous things. This is what I won:



Sorry honey, move the Mustang calendar over, this puppy is WAY cuter!

So, yesterday I made the Grown Up Grilled Cheese. It was so freaking good. I can't even begin to describe the monumental chaos it caused for my tastebuds... buttery cheese, bacon, onion, garlic. I mean really you can't go wrong. They were DELICIOUS. I give them 5 stars out 5.

This morning I made a batch of the Steak Tips with Peppered Mushroom Gravy. Another winner. It has a nice delicate flavor from the fresh thyme and shallots and it was super easy (and cheap!). Hubs and I both loved it, will definitely be making it again, I'd give it 5 out of 5 as well.

(To be honest, usually if it has mushrooms and steak, for me... you can't go wrong).

This past weekend we had friends over and I made the Stilton Burgers. BIG HIT. They were loved by all. I accompanied them with Yukon Gold and New Potatoes that I'd cut into wedges, drizzled with a little EVOO, S/P, and roasted in the oven till golden. Then I grated up some fresh parm and chopped up some fresh chives and tossed the hot potatoes in that mixture. Then for dessert, I made baked pears... I just peeled them, cut them in half, cored them, hollowed them out a little in the center, and filled them with a traditional crisp topping. Baked till tender and toping was crisp... very nice... served with a bit of light ice cream and drizzled with Smuckers fat free, sugar free carmel sauce, you can't go wrong.

I'm dying my hair back to my natural color. Actually right now I'm sitting with it all piled and stinking on top of my head, wearing my best "hair dye" t-shirt that is also covered in yellow paint. Its a sight for sore eyes. I haven't had my natural hair color in a long time. This is going to be weird.

And... I can't stop sneezing today. Even before the hair dye.

Edit: Here's a pic of the new hair:


How's your Tuesday?

Do any of you ever say "See You Next Tuesday?" Or is that just me?

This Week's Eats

So I don't really believe in resolutions... but I do like to start each year out fresh with a few things in mind of how I can better myself for the year. One thing that is always fresh on the brain is food. I love to cook (and eat) and I'm constantly trying to find good recipes that satisfy, yet are easy on the waistline. Today I was going through some of my cooking light magazines, pulling out coupons and recipes, and making my grocery list for the next week or so and I though I'd share some recipes with you:

Steak Tips with Peppered Mushroom Gravy

Looks a bit like stroganoff, we'll give-r a shot.

Grown Up Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Stilton Burgers

Chicken Tamale Casserole

Roast Chicken with Balsamic Bell Peppers

I'm really excited to try some of these out, get grocery shopping and get cooking. We're having friends over this weekend and I'm making the Stilton burgers with sweet potato fries and baked pears for dessert.

Happy Christmas

I had a wonderful Christmas and was spoiled rotten by my family and friends. I love every gift I received this year and some of them were so thoughtful I almost cried when opening them. (Okay, so not really, but I was tearing up on the inside, I promise).

I got to meet an aunt of my husbands that I've never met and we've been together for 10 years! That is just crazy. His entire family was at his grandma's house this year so we all crammed in and ate like pigs. I passed out my homemade jam, bread, and cookies and received lots of goodies in return (some of which I may or may not have broken into ...ahem banana bread, ahem...).

We then went to my aunt's house. It was a smashing time. Always good to see the cousins. My grandma and grandpa flew up from Arizona this year too, making it just that much more fun. (A funny aside... and I'm totally going to hell for sharing this... there was a putrid smell in the hall about halfway through the evening. I don't know who caused it... but I do know where it came from. Someone (who is still at large) took a large mud-skipper in the downstairs bathroom, causing quite a mess and stench... much to my Aunt's dismay. Just after she had cleaned it, she discovered this, from the lovely Dan... poor thing probably had to go to bed with a double martini after her house was ravaged by the Thompsons...

my sister speculates my grandmother was the culprit, as she was missing for an amount of time.)

This morning we had a bit of a scare. I won't go into the gory details (I know... not like me). But hubs was up and at it from both ends beginning at 3:30 am... by 9:30 we were at the emergency room. For those of you who know me well, know that I am an EXCRUTIATINGLY WEENERISTIC WEENIE when it comes to hospitals. Merely entering one can make me vomitous and light-headed. I get cold sweats, lose coloring in my face, ringing in the ears...the whole bit really. Sometimes I have to sit down and put my head between my knees and then College Prep Bio class all comes back in a huge rush of deja vu'.

I did okay today... only a few moments qualm. A quick splash of water to the face in the ladies room and I was back to pretending all was well. Until they started talk of pricking fingers... but I quickly distracted myself and was back on track. Hubs is home, has been sleeping all day, they've given him an antibiotic... thinking he has some sort of gastro-intestinal infection. They ruled out food poisoning and ecoli, thank goodness. He's already feeling much better, lots of sleep, water, etc. A bit of "Hangover" and "Inglorious Basterds" and all is much more manageable.

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday.

Handmade Gifts Part DOS...

Yesterday I did my first 5k run/walk. It really was a blast and I'd be lying if I said I ran the whole time, because I didn't. In fact, I speed-walked most of it with a few short stints of jogging. Hey... I'm out of shape. But I was there. I walked 3.2blahblahwhatevermiles in just 46 minutes. That's not bad, that's pretty quick walking mile (with a few huffing and puffing jogging bits thrown in).

To be honest, I was a little afraid to do it. I thought all these little tight-butt runners would be there with their Saucony gear and perfect washboard abs, but actually there were all sorts of people from little kids to probably 350-400 pounds. I was right in the middle. It was great to see everyone out their in their Christmas get-ups... we saw a whole team of reindeer pulling a fake sleigh, a christmas tree, a present, elves, Santas, Mrs. Claus. It was fantastic. I had a great time and I'm really looking forward to the St. Patty's day run in March and I'm signing up early cuz its cheaper. (And I'm frugal. I buy huge 5lb bags of cocoa powder at Cash n Carry, remember?).

(You'll notice I'm running so fast I'm blurry... that was purely for the photo-shoot purposes...)

I've also been making more handmade gifts. There's a store by us that sells local produce and you can always get it cheaper if you buy bigger quantities... over 10 lbs and you save roughly .10-.20 cents per pound. I go there to buy a lot of my produce for jam making because A. its local and B. its a great price. I got tons of big yummy apples so I've been making gobs of fresh apple butter. Not only is it a super fun gift to give, but it also makes my house smell delicious with no chemical fake apple cinnamon smell either. (Although they're getting rather good at imitating scents... sometimes I almost believe its real!)

Here are a few shots of the goods:
(See those adorable tags Steph made us? I love her tags!!!)

Lemon Poppyseed Shortbread Cookies and other Bits

This weekend was chalk-full of wonderful. Saturday hubs and I braved the crowds and did some Christmas shopping. We also helped with a surprise birthday party for our good friend who was turning the big FIVE OH. :) That was a lot of fun. Yesterday I managed to get about six batches of shortbread cookies baked. I tried a couple of new recipes for gift boxes I was thinking of doing... earl gray shortbread tea cookies, lemon poppyseed shortbread tea cookies, and plain shortbread, an old family recipe and its GOOD.

I've been dreaming a lot of starting my own restaurant one day. My sister and I have talked about it before. Its funny because sometimes after our conversations I look at her and say, "Are you serious about this??" And she always says "I kind of am!" And of course, I kind of am too... naturally the cautious sort of person it would be really hard for me to go out on a limb and do something like that, but at the same time... I have the business background, as does she, we're both greatly creative people in the kitchen and out, and recently, our mom's become interested in the idea as well. I just think it would be so much fun!

Don't get me wrong... I know it would be massively hard work... but hard work can be rewarding, especially if you're working for yourself. And cooking is something I enjoy more than words can express. Putting together meals for friends and family is something that comes naturally to me. I feel like its an extension of myself in ways. Food has always been a passion for me. I have pictures of me as a little kid, wearing an apron, covered in flour, baking with my grandmother. Not much has changed.

Its just something I've been toying around with.



My mom made the best chili last night! I just LOVED it. The taco seasoning gave it a different flavor but it was DAMN good. Give it a shot!

Holy Ancho!

Okay, so I've been a whore for Cooking Light lately, you know it, I know it... lets just consider the cat out of the bag. After that amazing Braised Beef I made a few weeks ago I thought it couldn't get better. But then I made a baked Rigatoni... yes, it was fabulous. But then... yes then... I made Ancho Pork and Hominy Stew. HOLY YUM.

I have to share. Its too good... TOO GOOD.

Ancho Pork and Hominy Stew

2 tbsp ancho chili powder (I used regular...LOL)

2 tsp dried oregano

1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika (have to use smoked... its so different)

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 lbs pork tenderloin trimmed and cut into 1/2" pieces

1 tbsp olive oil, divided

2 cups chopped onion

1 1/2 cups chopped green bell pepper

1 tbsp minced garlic

2 1/2 cups fat free, less sodium chicken broth

1 (28 oz) can hominy, drained

1 (14.5 oz) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes, undrained

1. Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; set 1 1/2 teaspoons spice mixture aside. Add pork to remaining spice mixture in bowl, tossing well to coat.

2. Heat 2 tsp oil in large Dutch oven or soup pot over med-high heat. Add pork mixture to pan; cook 5 mins or until browned, stirring occasionally. Remove pork from pan; set aside. Add remaining 1 tsp oil to pan. Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic; saute 5 mins or until tender, stirring occasionally. Return pork to pan. Add reserved 1 1/2 tsp spice mixture, broth, hominy, and tomatoes; bring to boil. Partially cover, reduce heat, and simmer 25 minutes. Yield 6 servings (Serving size 1 1/3 cups).

CALORIES 300; FAT 8.3g, PROTEIN 28.9g; CARB 26.9g; FIBER 6.1g; CHOL 76mg; IRON 3.2mg; SODIUM 523mg; CALC 51mg

And now I'm off to decorate the tree...finally. Keep those quotes coming if you have more or think of more... I'm loving them! Thanks guys! Have a super day!

Dugout

So I'm still not completely dug out of my craft-room yet, but I am a couple flat-rate boxes lighter, and minus about 15 sets of Stampin' Up stamps, and a large flat-rate box full of corks, and I'm about to be two bridesmaid dresses lighter. So that's something.

Yeah, something.

I feel like its never ending. I know one day I'll have the craft-room of my dreams, but this space I have is just too small for the stuff I own. So in order to be able to be crafty and be productive I have to get organized. For me, its the only way.

So I ask you, my friends, my confidants... for help. How do you organize your ribbon, your punches, your odds and ends, your Glimmer Mists, your rulers, your ATC's, your thread, your paints, your stamp pads (and I could keep going on...).

I did get a fantastic idea from Miss Stephanie on paper. I'd seen it when I was back at her house in June of this year and of course, like everything else in her freaking craft room, it was perfect. And... I was jealous. Her craftroom is the size of my master bedroom, but really, who's comparing???

Anyway, here's a peek at my new paper organization system. Thanks Steph:

Just to show you I'm not a complainer (usually)... here are a few (material) things I am thankful for this November:

(My very most favorite Jade plant that I got at the Farmers Market in Tacoma)

(Some flowers my mom gave me Sunday when they came over for dinner)

(My November calendar I made with Purple Onion Stamps)

(COOKING LIGHT. Say no more!)

(My Starbucks city mugs)

Beef Pot Pies & Other Fall Fabulousness

So my friend Jamie made this beef pot pie. I just so happened to stop over to grab something from her and it was smelling up her house. And then I saw it. It was love at first sight and from COOKING LIGHT! Hello. Of course then and there I knew I had to make it. So I coerced her into giving me the recipe.

Beef Pot Pie with Wine Broth

1tbs olive oil, divided
1 lb ground sirloin
2 cups chopped zucchini
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped carrot
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 8oz package presliced mushrooms
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 1/2 tsp worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 14oz can fat free, less sodium beef broth
2 tbs cornstarch
2 tbs water
cooking spray
1 11 oz can refrigerated soft breadstick dough (I used crescent cuz they come light)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. Heat 1 1/2 tsp oil in large skillet over medum high heat, add beef; cook until browned. Drain, wipe pan clean. Heat 1 1/2 tsp oil, saute zucchini and next 6 ingredients until veggies are tender. Return beef to pan. Stir in wine and next 4 ingredients. bring to a boil, cook 3 minutes. Combine cornstarch and 2 tbs water in a small bowl with a whisk. Add cornstarch mixture to pan. Cook 1 minute stirring constantly.

3. Spoon beef mixture into an 11x7 baking dish coated with cooking spray. Seperate breadstick dough into strips. Arrange strips in a lattice fashion over the beef mixture. Bake at 400 degrees for 12 minutes or until browned.

Pumpkin Parade (cont'd)

Oh snap. Problem with cooking up a whole pumpkin is there's LOTS of it. I can't help but use it up... I hate wasting good ingredients...especially pumpkin which is one of my all time favorites.

So... I made three pies. Yes. Three. But... I'm giving two away, so hopefully that will help. (My waistline, that is.)

I just can't help myself.



Also... I realized I'd never posted any pictures from my ride-a-long in the big truck. Let me start out by saying it was certainly an interesting experience. I won't mention any names to protect the innocent... but man do I have stories to tell.

Okay so Monday afternoon I show up with my clothes and pillow and sleeping bag and toiletries... and I'm a little nervous, I won't lie. I mean, all alone for a week with a person I've never met, no bathroom in the truck, what if I have to pee, what if we hate each other? What if she's a sociopath?

So, to ease my worries the first thing she says to me when I get on the truck after "You must be Aimee" was "I have type two diabetes and I pee in a bottle, its over there if you need to use it."

Okay. Stop.

((INSERT WIDE-EYED RACCOON FACE HERE))

You know that moment when they stop the record and it makes that little vvvdddgggtttt sound? I imagined that in my head after she'd said those words... took a moment, pretended she didn't say it, and went on with piling my belongings into the truck. Yeah, she didn't really just say she peed in a big apple juice bottle with a funnel in the middle of the night did she? No, she didn't. Yeah f-ing right. You can't just pretend you didn't hear something like that. Not possible.

Whatever, so to top things off she has a cat. No biggie, I don't mind cats, in fact I even kind of like some of them. So problem is... cats need cat boxes. And they stink. Especially in a tiny little truck. Especially when they take huge great dane sized shits in their boxes. Yeah, ugh. And sorry charlie, those little pfffting air-fresheners just don't cut the mustard for great dane sized cat shits.

So that was another fun part.

There were some fun parts... like all the really pretty trees and non-stop instant messenger on my crackblackBerry. We ate "REAL" breakfast every day, so I think I gained 20 lbs because she never just wanted to grab a banana from the truck stop and go. We also ate real lunch. And real dinner. Of course it was always greasy and ridiculous. It took almost a week to get all that out of my system... great dane... 'nuf said.

We went to this hilarious little mom and pop restaurant in Pollard Flat, CA. You walk into the bathroom (and I had to piss like a race horse, sorry folks, no apple juice jug for me!) and low and behold there's a woman in the bathtub. Like... EEEK?? And apparently she has a motion sensor on her and when the door opens she says "aaah, get outta here!" I mean, if that isn't enough to make you piss yourself...

I had to take a picture. This little lady nearly scared the piss right outta me.

Aside from a lot of driving and stopping driving and stopping, there isn't much else to report. The cat would have these freak-outs in the middle of the night and start meowing like a crazy beast... and I stepped on the carpet of the truck in my socks and something got on them and I ended up throwing them away at the truck-stop.

Oh, I also showered at a truck-stop...which was surprisingly not bad. Very clean. They give you a washcloth and towel...both which frightened me and I did not use.

I suppose it was good for me to get out there. At least I know know... I could never be a mother trucker.

Stay tuned for tomorrow... a fantastic recipe for beef pot pie, and its light!

Pumpkin Parade

So adding to yesterday's post about the pumpkin soup... I still had a lot of leftover pumpkin. I'd heard that Starbucks had good pumpkin scones so I went on a hunt to find a copycat recipe...when I came across one that is supposedly better than Starbucks pumpkin scones.

Um, I must say, its off the chart. I whipped these delicious flaky morsels up in less than 10

minutes and they take 15 to bake. I'm taking a few to my sister for a "happy house-warming

" and plan on doling out a few more to some special people...but then I'll certainly feast on more than my fair share. Here is the original recipe from pinchmysalt.com but I made a few changes. Here are the pumpkin lovelies I made:

So I made the scones the same as her recipe, but changed the topping, here's the scoop:

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup cake flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp. ground allspice

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

6 tbsp. unsalted butter

1/3 cup pumpkin puree

1/3 cup fat free half n half

6 tbsp. brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup rough chopped pecans

2 tbsp. extra brown sugar

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Get out baking sheet and line with parchment. Cut butter into small pieces, put in small bowl and return to fridge to keep cool. In medium bowl, combine both flours, baking powder, salt, and all spices, whisk together and place in freezer or fridge to keep cool.

2. In a separate bowl, combine pumpkin, half and half, brown sugar, and vanilla. Whisk together well. Put in freezer to keep cool and take other two bowls back out. Cut the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry blender until it resembles coarse crumbs.

3. Get liquid out of freezer and pour into flour mixture all at once. Stir with wooden spoon until everything is just moistened. The dough will be very crumbly, this is the way it should be. Turn the mixture out onto the counter and push the pile together with your hands. it should stick together fairly well. Knead it just a couple of times until everything is together. Don't knead it too much or the dough will become sticky.

4. Pat the dough out into a rough circle 1" thick. Cut the dough like a pie into 8 pieces. Place pieces on the baking sheet so that they are not touching. Pat a small amount of chopped pecans onto the top of each scone, and then sprinkle with a light dusting of brown sugar. Take care not to spill the brown sugar, as it will burn on the parchment if scattered. Bake scones for approx 14-15 minutes, they should be light brown on the bottom.

Then... enjoy!

She's Crafty

Lots of things have been going on in the daily life.

I said before I've been spending time doing the things I love.

It helps that this is my favorite season too.

So inspiring.

I spent some time with some good friends. We ate good food, drank wine, laughed, made things. It was amazing, and just the getaway I needed to cleanse my soul and recoup.

I also took my cousin out to dinner. She's just moved away to college. It was nice to spend a little time with her, chatting and such. I love hearing about the college life, I miss it sometimes. All that hubbub.

Here's a favorite fall recipe of mine. My sister discovered it last year and sent it to me... I make it for all sorts of events, its always a crowd pleaser:

Gingersnap Pumpkin Bars

1 package (18-1/4 oz) yellow cake mix, divided
1 cup crushed gingersnap cookies
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 egg, lightly beaten

FILLING:
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 can (29 oz.) solid-pack pumpkin
1/4 cup milk
2 tsp. each ground cinnamon and vanilla extract

TOPPING:
1/2 cup crushed gingersnap cookies
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup cold butter
1 cup chopped pecans
(additional gingersnap cookies, halved, optional)

Step 1: Set aside 1 cup cake mix for topping. In small bowl, combine gingersnap crumbs and remaining cake mix; stir in butter and egg. Press onto the bottom of a 13x9x2" baking dish, set aside.

Step 2: For filling, in a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs. Add pumpkin, milk, cinnamon, and vanilla; mix well. Pour over crust.

Step 3: For topping, in a small bowl, combine the gingersnap crumbs, sugar and reserved cake mix; cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in pecans and sprinkle over filling.

Step 4: Bake at 325 degrees for 70-75 minutes or until filling is set and a thermometer inserted near the center reads 160. Cool on a wire rack for 1 1/2 hours. If desired garnish each serving with a gingersnap half. Store in the refrigerator.

Vultures on My Birthday.

So yesterday I turned the big two seven. I love numbers that end in seven, always have. So I think this is going to be a good year. My favorite number is actually 97. There's a funny story behind it, but we'll save it for a rainy day.

Jamie Lou planned out the most fun day ever! We hit something like 7 or 8 estate sales. She had this little list with every address and what was at each sale. First stop was Starbucks... of course. Then we hit one in North Tacoma on the way up to Seattle. North Tacoma is the ritziest area of Tacoma... its where all the old money is. So I love going to estate sales there, they always have gorgeous old jewelry and furnishings. So since that was our first one, we wanted to get there in time to be one of the first group going into the house. We've done this before... sometimes they give out numbers, etc. We wanted a number. So we got there early, in fact we were the first ones there. But the notice on craigslist had said "ABSOLUTELY NO EARLY BIRDS, YOU WILL BE TURNED AWAY".

One thing about Jamie and I is we like to be really respectful to the family of the deceased (or whoever lived there). We are going into someone's home. This particular sale was actually run by the family... it was the man's mother. There were four older ladies in front of us who could be described by no other term than "VULTURES". Although they got there after us, they ran up to the door and waited to get their numbers first. (First Sign). They were laughing like hyenas and cackling and standing on tippy toes and looking into the windows, exclaiming about what they were going to take first (stuffed animals!!, go ahead ladies, eat your heart out). (Second sign). The wife of the man whose mother had passed, came to the door, asked if anyone else needed numbers, and wanted to make sure everyone was there, she'd let us in if that was the case. So then a chatter started amongst them. I looked at Jamie and pursed my lips together into a makeshift beak, bobbing my head like a vulture (or... a chicken to the naked eye). We both laughed.

That was when the screaming started. One of the ladies in the line was practically hoarse from screaming at her husband waiting in the car. He had to come in too, he had one of the numbers. Instead of going to get him, she screamed at the top of her lungs. He walked up, looking more than just slightly annoyed and said, "Do you have to beller like that?" This was the moment when I thought a high-five would be appropriate, but managed to keep my hands to myself.

We avoided hair-pulling and smashing crystal vases. But just by the skin of our teeth. (It was really hard to contain ourselves when Jamie was nearly bowled over for an ice cream scoop and then we were deafened by the sound of squelching "WHAT no flippers, no pancake flippers? no flippers?" over and over and over again.)

After a wrong turn, going over the Narrows Bridge, paying a $4.00 toll, and muttering obscenities under our breath we were once again underway on the treasure hunt, heading to Seattle to stir up a few more great finds.

Of course all treaure hunting works up a HEALTHY appetite. I've been hearing about this place and I figured it was time for us to visit. So Jamie took me there. And it was fabulous. I had this crazy omlette with chili, salsa, sour cream, cheese and hashbrowns. And a banana nut muffin that was homemade and seriously delicious. I think Jamie took a picture of it before I devoured it. But I got into her camera and had seconds ;)



And um, how cool is this sign?

Another interesting note about the day, ran into a friend of the family. Granted, I don't know him well, but I recognized him and he asked me (ironically on the day of my 27th birthday), "Do your parents know you're here?" I was slightly perplexed as he has to be aware that I am in my late 20's and no longer suckle the teet. I politely replied, "I haven't lived at home for five years..." and then Jamie piped in, "its her husband you should be worried about." We quickly paid our $$, laughed nervously, grabbed our stuff and ran.

WEIRDOS.

(This is totally probably not funny to anyone but me, but I'm going to write it here anyway, so that I can remember it for all time. Jamie was typing a message to her mom on facebook with her new BlackBerry telling her we were just about to eat @ this fabulous restaurant (I was sending a picture via email). And Jamie makes funny typos. She always has. Sometimes we think she might be slightly dyslexic. (One of my favorite examples... for "EXPENSIVE" she occasionally types "EXPENIS" its happend more than once. It's not a fluke). Yesterday she types to her mom, "We're about to eat at Beths vag" I am serious as a heart attack. She had somehow gotten her fingers on the wrong keys. We both about died.

And all this before breakfast.

How was your weekend?

Oops, I Ate It.

Soo... this post is kind of personal for me, but I think its important to let people into your life, let them know who you really are sometimes. You know, let your guard down. You don't always have to be the funny one, or the pretty one, or the strong one. (most of the time I'm all of those. Okay, so I'm mostly joking...)

With that said, I'm going to make some jokes out of some of the things I've been struggling with lately. Some things in my own life that have brought up a lot of emotions for me. A roller-coaster if you will. A joke roller-coaster, cuz that's what I do, I make jokes. The biggest cause of 'over indulgence' is my job, which has caused me so much bitterness and anger that I don't even know where to start. So... when I'm feeling down, or stressed, or angry, I tend to do one thing to make myself feel better. Funny, it never works. I'M AN EATER.

Okay, there, I've said it. I throw parties in my mouth. Sweet, salty, fattening, low fat, home baked, bbq'd, souffled, you name it, I want it, hot or cold, in my mouth. Old bike tires, give em to me, I'll eat em like the Cookie Monster. Okay, so maybe I won't eat old bike tires, in fact, I'm pretty certain I've never even licked one (set your minds at ease). But you get where this is going. Whatever it is that's bothering me, I shove it down with a nice slice of rhubarb pie. In two words I can describe my body... rubbish lorrie.

Yesterday I was feeling especially bad, and a good friend came and picked me up and took me shopping. It's sometimes a little disheartening to go shopping when you're not the weight you want to be. And I have gained a bit of weight recently... from this 'party' so to speak and I've got to do something about it and I know it. The work-out regimen has become lax, the couch potato-ing much more appetizing, and its time for all that "rubbish" to come to an abrupt and screeching halt. Please, hold the cheesy potatoes and put the dressing on the side. She's enlisting the help of Richard Simmons to undo the damage that has been done. (A little aside, whenever I hear the name Richard, I want to scream "DICK"... ) The gym, the Firm, Turbo Jam, Bodyworks Plus Abs, and Freeweights... here I come. I'm picking back up where I left off and re-starting this 'bringing sexy back' bit. (Really, this whole thing was my friend Jamie's idea... as we were trying on far larger sizes than we like to admit the general public... but this is my blog, so we'll pretend it was my idea and I'm the motivated go-getter, k?)

So um, there's me in a nutshell. If you see me shoving doughnuts down the hatch, you best apologize cuz you've probably hurt my feelings. (ha). Now, back to work, but tonight I'm working out and getting in my craft room, same tomorrow, and Sunday I'm canning homemade applesauce and applebutter with the sis. (We're going to do low-sugar all natural on the applesauce, so it will be a perfect snack for back on track). Yeah, I work out and I rhyme... jealous?

Oh, and because no blog post is complete without a picture, here's one from Steffie's wedding this weekend from the professional photographer. (I LOVE THIS PICTURE...that old truck was so freaking cool).

We Will Rock You

EDIT: I'm going to give away a Jar of this Strawberry Rhubarb Jam to kick off my Etsy shop, so just leave a comment with a way to contact you by tomorrow at 7 a.m. to be entered in the giveaway.

It's like I woke up to that song, the way I've been singing it in the shower and humming it to myself all morning, but that is not the case. I have no idea why its stuck in my head, I only wish for it to be out.

In other news, my butt is recovering from the spinning class and I've nearly forgotten the pain. I think I might do it again, Thursday.



Also, I made Strawberry freezer jam last night. I just can't get enough of the jam making. Something about being in the kitchen with the fruits and sugar. My husband comes in and stirs a bit from time to time. It's just fun, its peaceful and calming. Due to an influx of jam in our house, I've listed a bit of the Strawberry Rhubarb in my etsy shop... I want to do them pretty low priced, I just ask that you please leave feedback! Um, if anyone buys any, I want you to know I bleach everything, sterilize everything before I do the jam, everything's very clean and sanitary

This weekend was amazing, Saturday we threw a shower for a friend of my sister's down in Vancouver @ a house with AIR CONDITIONING, which was amazing. (Many of us here in the Northwest don't have air conditioning... we wouldn't have cause to use it except for a few times a year). Everyone loved the food and decorations, it was fun. I daresay. I'm not normally a shower-lover (in the gift giving sense, not the daily water sense). Sunday I cleaned and cleaned and shopped. I made myself a new coupon binder complete with baseball card holders to view each coupon and separated into sections. Pretty awesome. I love to save money, it makes me feel like a superstar.

Back in the Saddle Again

OMG you guys. I did the spinning class @ the gym last night and let me tell you, it was a killer. Not only was most of the water drained from my body... (I know this because there was a puddle under my bike and my shirt was drenched) but also it took me ten minutes to actually pry myself off the bike. I think the saddle was embedded in my butt.

Why do they call bike seats saddles? I rode horses for years, that little tiny piece of vinyl covered detested CRRRRAP is NOT a saddle by any means. Saddles just don't make your crotch hurt like that.

Anywho, I managed to waddle myself out of there like a duck and somehow climb into the car.

My sister brought me a huge halibut fillet (from a guy @ her work that fishes up in Alaska) that I promptly broiled with a little salt/pepper/evoo/and fresh grated parmesan and omg, I have never had such a party in my mouth. Every salty, buttery morsel was just like Heaven.

Also, this made me laugh from this blog. Thought you might enjoy a little Friday chuckle. Cheers to a happy weekend!

A Lazy Day of Rafting

Saturday morning we headed up to Leavenworth, WA to spend the day wine tasting, eating, shopping, and enjoying all the little Bavarian Village had to offer. It was a gorgeous day, 80+ degrees and the sun was shining. I have a hard time entertaining myself in the car, so Jessie snapped some photos of me. She wanted to use the manual setting on my camera, so I made a face, that way you wouldn't think she screwed up the picture.


We stopped in Auburn @ our favorite breakfast spot EVER, the Sunbreak Cafe'. Then on the way up in the car, we may or may not have cracked roadies in the back seat so we could deal with Dan's driving. (Let me tell you a little aside story. Dan is my sister's boyfriend. They've been dating for a long time and he's like my brother. He's a great guy, he treats her really well. He's slightly goofy, but aside from that only has one flaw that I know of... his driving skillz are NIL. He drives like a 80+ year old raisin. Not only does he drive slowly, but he also weaves back and forth in his lane... not passing, just in his own lane. He drives an Xterra which have a short wheelbase anyway and so basically... what I'm getting at... its not much different than riding the Teacups @ Disneyland. ) So yes, we had beers in the back seat.






We had these amazing braught burgers @ Uncle Uli's, this little pub in town, they were loaded with kraut and goodness. I am definitely going to try to recreate it one day... perhaps with turkey braughts.

The next morning on a belly-full of fruit loops (for me at least, omg, I love sugary cereal and NEVER eat it) we headed off to meet our maker. The Wenatchee River.

And we may or may not have been wearing stunning wetsuits, so stunning in fact, that I have no words to describe their tight neopreneness. I do believe in this instance a picture speaks 1000 words:


and because I feel like it would be cheating if I showed you that picture (which does not include me because I was taking it) and did not show you a picture of me in all my wetsuit glory... here I am. (Note: My armpits are NOT hairy. I am slightly hippie, but I do shave my pits. They are shadows. I'm only noting this because I'm basically petrified to post this GODAWFUL picture of myself and God Forbid you see my chub through the suit, but then I have hairy pits on top of it... I didn't want you to think my mother was a complete huligan. My pits are shaven)

Ahem:
(you'll notice, due to the angle of the picture, my head looks quite puny. This however is not the case, I do not have a shrunken head).

White water rafting was a BLAST. That's not to say I wasn't hanging on for dear life and scared out of my ever-loving mind for 99.9% of the trip, but when it was all over I can definitely say it was fun... and I had a good time. And then I had a PBR. Or two. To take the edge off. Our guide had been doing it for 25 years, which is good. That made me feel slightly safer... but then he began making comments like, "you're all big people, big people tend to fall out of the boat easier." GOOD LORD. (I'm slightly ashamed to admit that over the first slight bump, I actually almost fell out of the boat... I didn't have the ebb and flow down yet and my balance wasn't ready for it... luckily, husband grabbed my lifejacket and threw me forward, I'm hoping no one else saw...)

Every time we'd come up on a rapid he'd start talking about "if you fall out..." Usually he was looking at me when he said this. But I'd be damned if I fell out of that boat, I had my feet so far in those foot stirrups and my hamstrings were so sore later from gripping my butt onto that blown up piece of vinyl... looking back there was no way I was going anywhere. (Also, anytime I felt unsteady, I just grabbed the back of Jack's lifejacket to steady myself. I'm sure he didn't mind).

But I made it out alive with all limbs intact.

I think I'd do it again... maybe after the shock of this first one wears off...