How Does Your Garden Grow?

Poorly.

If only hours watching Victory Garden and Gardening with Cisco translated into a beautiful garden.

I love the idea of a beautiful lush garden. 

I think I have a semi green thumb.

Unfortunately I also have a lazy behind.

(Yay me for finally cleaning out the raised beds. Not too bad for 30 min)

 

Every year about this time, I get serious spring fever.
Bulbs busting through the ground  and primroses at the grocery store always suck me in.

(Yay for the bulbs I actually planted and mental note to plant more next year)

I start planning what kind of wonderful stuff I will plant. I look forward to the perennials that get better each year and thinking about which annuals I can tuck in between them. 

(always exciting to see the peonies start poking up through the ground)

I also am a fan of the idea of a veggie garden.  I'm not a big veggie fan, but every year I tell myself "it will taste better if I grow it myself."  The jury is still out on this. I grow lots of tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini and asparagus. I start out strong, but mid July when my garden really gets going and needs me the most I kind of peter out.  My veggie garden is on the side of our house so I think it is an "out of sight out of mind" kind of thing.  Who knows, but I'm going to try again this year.

 

The dream is a perennial garden.  Plant it once and enjoy it for year (in theory).  That was the hope

for the asparagus, but it just hasn't taken off like I had hoped. Maybe THIS will be the year.  On the other hand my rhubarb looks to be off to a strong start. 

With the PNW experiencing such a mild winter, Spring seems to be springing early.  Won't be long before the siren song of nurseries and plant displays out side of the local grocery stores start calling my name.
What are you planting this year??
:0)

Sink or Swim

I clearly have a problem when it comes to salvage stores.

Last week a dutch door.  Today it was a sink.

 

We are getting ready to redo our kitchen.  I definitely know what I like and what I want.  However, I'm starting to think the kitchen I've been seeing in my head (and Pinterest board) might not be the kitchen I actually need in the real world.

 

We went to a show room today to look at sinks.  Our mission a white porcelain, one bowl, under mount sink. Seems pretty basic right?  Found exactly that for the pretty price of $840. Um...yikes!!

Just a few blocks down the road is a Habitat for Humanity Restore.  Not as fun as Ballard Reuse since it has more "modern" salvage but it's still always fun to poke around. 

 

So making our way past the old closet doors and funky 80's light fixtures we end up in the sink section.  Next to the almond kitchen sinks and shell shaped bathroom sinks was this...

Hello Gorgeous.

 

What were the chances of finding this totally pristine farm sink??  Surely it was going to be priced pretty high, but nope, 60 bucks.  A quick google search and I knew the street value of this sink was $1100. Scooooooooooooooore. 

 

The next step was calling my contractor to get his take.  Well, he didn't seem to share my level of enthusiasm. Booo.  However, it is becoming clear that in addition to ripping apart my kitchen his job duties will include frequent reality checks.  Despite all the sound advice and reasons he offered I still bought the sink.  I just couldn't walk out of there without it.  Worse case I can throw it on Craigslist and double my money. 

So now the fun part begins. Surfing the web to try and find a picture of what my new sink could look like as part of my new kitchen.  To be honest, I go back and forth on it.  I think the deciding factor will be the amount of space I have between the counter and my window.  There is not a lot of room and it may turn to be a no go. 

I guess I could always go with plan B.

TGIF

:0)

Dutch Door Love

I have always loved dutch doors.
How could you not?
They are so cute and scream cottage cuteness.
I do not live in a cottage...yet, but I do love the feel of them and anything I can do to "cottagefy" my house seems like a step in the right direction.

I spent yesterday afternoon at a little salvage store in Ballard called Ballard Reuse.  It has all the cool stuff pulled out of old homes.  Funky door knobs, leaded windows, old mantles and doors. Lots and lots of doors.

I had originally gone up there to get a door for my panty, but I got sidetracked.  The last time I was there I found a blue dutch door.  I told Joj about it and he said I should have bought it. Ugh, did not expect that response at all so this time around I thought "if they have another one it's coming home with me".  I even made sure to measure my current front door... just in case.

Well, there was another door.  It was the size I needed. It came home with me.

I'm sooo excited.  It's in really great shape (not always the case with the salvaged doors) and now the fun part is picking out what color to paint it.  I have a red door now, which is okay, but I'm ready for a change.  I kept thinking how fun a chambray colored door would be.  A quick instagram search and low and behold I found the perfect inspiration. 

Now I just need the rain to stop (rainiest January on record which is saying something for Seattle) so I can paint and get this baby hung. 
Happy Saturday
:0)

10

 

 

Sam is 10.

Hard to believe and sometimes she seems a lot older.

I wasn't sure I would be a good "girl mom", but so far she has been pretty fun.

I sure do love my Samalamadingdong.

Easy Peasy Pasta

I like to have "pantry dinners" in my bag of tricks for when I need something easy for dinner.

My friend "pinned" this chicken recipe and I thought I would give it a try.

A quick note on Pinterest ~ I don't get it.  I mean I understand the concept, but whenever I try and find something I just get 500 "pins" of the same thing.  When I click on a "pin" to get more info I'm inevitably sent to another board with nothing more than the same pic and link to another board.  Ugh

Anyhoo... my friend's pin showed up facebook, I clicked and found this easy and surprisingly tasty recipe. If you need an easy meal that is made with stuff you probably you hand give this bad boy a try

Chicken Ala Tiffani (aka Italian Chicken)

4 Chicken Breasts

8 oz lite Cream Cheese

1 can Fat Free Cream of Chicken Soup

1 packet of Italian Dressing Mix

12 oz Whole Grain Pasta

Now the original "pin" had this as a crockpot recipe and while it worked okay, I think if you sauteed the chicken in some garlic and EVOO it would add some nice additional flavor (if veggies are your thing, throw in a couple of those as well)

For the crockpot ~ combine the first 4 ingreds in the crockpot and cook on low for 4 hours and then serve over cooked pasta.

Now while this isn't going to win you Top Chef, it was tasty enough to get the thumbs up from the kiddos so that is "winner" in my book.

WWWWD

As a teacher who is now on the parent side, I see things from quite a different perspective. 
It can be tough to have been "brought up" to believe certain things are "best practice" and when I don't see them happening it makes me go hmmmmm.
A while back I posted about my Jerry McGuire moment. 
I truly believe that you are either part of the problem or part of the solution and I'm choosing to be part of the solution. 
One of the perks of being a former teacher is that I know how the game is played.  Parents have a lot more power than they realize, but the trick to say things in a way in which you will be heard.
Tonight a group of parents will start this ball rolling in hopes of raising the level of possibilities for our children. 
We joke we are at war with the status quo, so who better than to be our unofficial mascot than William Wallace himself.  (think what you may about Mr Gibson... Braveheart is one of the best movies of all time and William Wallace could not be any more swoonworthy)  So embracing "What would William Wallace do?" We will stand up for our kids and fight the good fight so that they receive the kind of education they deserve taught by inspired educators.

Mountains into Molehills

Here in the PNW we have a little candy company called Brown and Haley.

(Maybe you are familiar with Almond Roca ~ no Christmas is complete without it, just fyi)

Well they also make something called a Mountain Bar. 

I loved these when I was little and hadn't seen them in the store in years.  Yesterday my mom and I were in a little local gift shop and they had them.  I plunked down my 69 cents and chose the Peanut Butter one.

As I was about to rip into it, I decided I would just check to see what the calorie count on this baby was. 

230

It stopped dead in my tracks.  I was so excited for my peanut buttery goodness, but I just couldn't justify that many "empty" calories (especially with something the size of a half dollar) so I put it in my purse.  Later in the day, I decided that if I just ate half of it that would be better than all of it.  I ate half of it and it just wasn't as good as I remembered and certainly not worth the calories I just gave up. 

I was bummed yet proud of myself at the same time. 

The old me would have just popped it in my mouth and not given it a second thought (I might have even gotten a second one for the road, tsk tsk) but my newly more aware self took a second to think, evaluate and then decide. 

 

Even though I still ate half of it, I realized that I won't be temped in the future and a Butterfinger mini packs the same punch (maybe even slightly better) and is on 80 calories. 

It all comes down to choices and every calorie saved gets me that much closer to my goal.

Fresh Starts

Happy 2013!!

As with every January 1st we look ahead with excitement for things to come.

Fresh starts always seem to be the theme of the day.

Trying to get a jump start on my New Year's Resolution, I started mine on Dec. 2nd.

I was watching a YouTube video on simplifying and the chick made a good point ~ why wait? 

So I didn't. 

I've really been trying to be more mindful of my eating. 

Most days go well, some are less than stellar, but still much better than before.

Focus on the positive, right??

One of my goals is to eat more eggs.  I'm not a huge egg fan to begin with, but I know they are a good source of protein and good way to start your day.  For me, the secret for eating eggs is to mix them with things I do like so I've been enjoying this little breakfast casserole. 

I whip it up on Sunday and breakfast is ready for the week. 

The best part it is only 230 calories per slice and surprisingly filling.

Pair it with some fruit or a smoothie and you are good to go.

 

Benji's Egg Casserole
3 servings of hash browns
1 C 1% milk
6 eggs
2 oz shredded cheddar cheese
1 C bacon bits (I use the Kirkland "fresh" bacon bits)
In a 9x9 pan layer hash browns, eggs/milk, bacon and cheese
Bake at 350 for 55 min
Makes 6 servings

Enjoy

Yokofest '12

The house is quiet so I thought I would do a little post of our annual Christmas party. 

It was a few weeks ago and it went really well. 

Way back when,  I remember watching an episode of the Wonder Years and it was about the neighbors who threw a Christmas party every year. 

I remembered thinking, "when I grow up, I want to be those neighbors". 

When we bought our current house, we kicked off our annual shindig tradition ("Yokofest" as it is known in the hipster circles of Browns Point).

This year it was legan (wait for it) dary.

We had over 50 folks so up and the house was FULL and buzzing with that good party vibe.  We have a pretty eclectic group of friends but it is usually the same crowd year after year. So despite the fact folks are from all over W. WA, they have gotten to know each other making mingling much easier. 

 

After 8 parties, I think my sister-in-law and I have found the secret.  We kept the food simple.  In years past we have found ourselves slaving away in the kitchen and not with our guests.  What's the point of having a party if you don't get to enjoy yourself??  This year, the goal was to have all the food done and out by 7:30-7:45.  The party starts at 7 but we know folks like to be fashionably late so this worked out perfectly. 

We pride ourselves on a good spread.  Good food and lots of it. We try and offer lots of options (nothing worse than going to a party and you don't like or can't eat any of the food)  It is a lot of work, but the end result is worth it. 

At the end of the night, the best part is always the people.  We are so blessed to have so many dear friends who make the pilgrimage every year to kick off the holidays in our home and I wouldn't have it any other way.

 

Bullying

Not all bullying happens on the playground.

I thought the point of fundraising was to help get kids to camp not line some rep's pockets.

Silly me

Scouts

Not this kind of scout...

This kind of scout.

I had an interesting experience yesterday, Ben was scouted.

I was working the gate at the football game yesterday when a guy came up and asked if the Tigers were playing today.  They weren't and the guy said, "that's too bad. I was hoping to check out one of the players".  Out of curiosity I asked who he was hoping to see.  He said "I want to talk to the tight end about coming to play for our select 13/14 team.  I think his name is Yokosomething".

Really?? Ben??

Now in our little neck of the woods, there is a little thing called select soccer.  It is insane.  Like totally life consuming, drain your bank account crazy.  Whenever I hear my friends talking about traveling here or writing a check for thousands of dollars there (yes, you read that right, THOUSANDS)   I think thank god Ben doesn't play soccer.  So when the word "select" came out of his mouth I got a pit in my stomach. 

Was it kind of cool, the guy knew about Ben and actually knew his name (well, he was close)?

Yes

Where we ready to get involved with something "select"?

Not sure

I sent the scout down to talk to Joj and Ben.  I figured Joj could size this guy up and ask the important questions.  When I caught up with Joj I asked what he and Ben thought. 

Turns out Ben wants to try out for the team. 

Try outs are tonight and Ben is going to check it out.  I'm glad that Ben is excited about football and sees this as an opportunity to improve his skills, but I'm also very leery about we might be getting into.

I guess we will have to wait and see.

Flour ~ it's important

Today is finally Fall here in the PNW.

It is gray

It is raining (altho around here WA call it "sprinkling" ~ we are like Eskimos and snow, we have a million different names for types of rain)

Joj is on his way home from a biz trip in SC and the kids are at school. That means the house is QUIET and it seemed like a good time to bake. 

I'm making some long promised Snickerdoodles.

Whenever I am looking for a recipe I always start my google search with "the best ____ ever".  I found one that sounded simple enough, didn't require crisco (which I was out of) and had a pretty picture of the final product.  Okay, sold.

I measured, mixed and baked.

When I checked on them, I was NOT happy with what I saw.

Ugh.

I really HATE when a recipe flops.  All that time and expensive butter down the drain (literally). It sucks more when you realize that YOU didn't read the recipe correctly.  Yes, cookies will spread if you leave out a C of flour. Umm yeah. I believe the kids these days call it a "facepalm".

Long story short I found another recipe, read it very carefully and the result is pretty impressive if I do say so myself. 

Wishing you a very yummy weekend

:0)

 

Back to school...

Yesterday was the first day of school.  Ben is a big 8th grader (his last year of middle school) and Sam is in 4th grade with the same teacher she had in Kindergartem (we are very excited about that)

This summer seemed to zoom by a little too quickly for my liking, but I have to admit I do like that fact that kids are back in school. 

We need some structure around here so it's a good thing. 

The start of school also means back to work for me. 

I do English testing for my old district and it allows me to make a little mad money without being tied down to a "real job". 

Plus it allows me the flexibility to volunteer at the kids' schools which is nice.

I hope your first day of school went well.

:0)

In the blink of an eye...

From this

to this

Saturday night was our 25th high school reunion. 

Still seems very weird to me. 

I was a Sr. class officer so I got to help plan the 10th.  It was a nightmare (the planning not the actual event) but I swore I would never plan another one.  We didn't go to our 20th, but the chick who planned it ran into the same problems we did with the 10th. 

Fast forward a few years and the introduction of Facebook (cue the angels singing)

Last summer the class of '86 hosted an informal get together at a local bar and I went.  It was fun and so much more relaxed than regular reunion.  When the question was asked "are we doing anything for our 25th?" I suggested we follow suit and keep it simple.  This time around all it took was a phone call to reserve space at the bar and a "be there or be square" post on FB. 

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy.

We had about 80 folks show up which was a nice size ~ made it easy to "work the room".  I'm hoping for the 30th (gulp) we have a few more folks show up, but keep it an easy going affair. 

After all it isn't about the fancy food or the screaming loud DJ. You go to catch up with folks who "knew you when..." and relive the good old days. 

It's all about feeling 17 again, even if it is for just one night every 5 years.

Are you ready for some football?

The Northeast Tacoma Tigers kicked of their 2012 season today.

Despite the HOT weather this week (legit HOT weather, like in the 90's hot weather, not wimpy W. WA it's over 75 and we are all dying hot weather) today's game was played under overcast skies and in the mild high 60's.

Perfect football weather.

Unfortunately our first game was against last year's league champs.  Um, yeah...

The good news is we weren't shut out and there is nowhere to go but up. 

Despite the today's loss, this is the best team we have fielded so far.

(this is only the 3rd year of the program and they have come a long way in those three years)

Just look at the determination in these faces. 

GO TIGERS!!

:0)

Get Lucky

This weekend I headed over to the Gorge in George for a little 80's rocking.

Journey, Pat Benatar and Loverboy was a triple bill that was just too good to pass up.

I met up with my brother and his wife in Ellensburg where I went to College at CWU. 

If Boeing ever opened a Ellensburg branch I would pack up and go in a heartbeat.  The town is small, kind of quirky but it is the cute houses and almost constant sunshine  gets me every time. 

One of the best parts of Ellensburg is a little watering hole called The Tav. 

Besides being the first stop whenever you went out, it is also the home to the Super Mother (the world's perfect burger) I don't know what they do do it or if they cook it a special way, but it is my all time favorite burger and even though it was 20 years since my last one (gulp) it tasted just like I remembered it ~ awesome. 

Of course I had to wash it down with a Raindog (that's Rainier beer for those outside of Washington) for old times sake.  After lunch it was off to the campground.

We decided to stay at the Wild Horse Campground which a couple of miles from the venue. They  also provide a shuttle to the show which meant not having to deal with parking.  Woo Hoo!!

Of course the shuttles were packed, loud and most of the riders were a bit tipsy but it wasn't a long drive so it was okay.

The venue itself is pretty stunning.  Right on the Columbia River.  The sun was out and you couldn't have asked for a more perfect night.

After my VanHalen experience I was a little leery, but all the bands sounded amazing, especially Loverboy.

Oh Mike Reno, I love his voice.  Personally, I think Loverboy sounded the best out of the three bands and I was a little bummed they only played a 30 minute set (altho not a bad gig if you are Loverboy) However, I will definitely be going to see them the next time they play in town. 

For those of you who are curious about the "Asian Steve Perry" I have to say he sounded pretty good.  On most songs he was practically drowned out by the 20,000 folks singing along.

Overall, the weekend was a blast.  It makes me want to get out see other bands (especially if it means more super mothers)

:0)

43

Yesterday, I kicked off my 43rd year.

It always seemed like my birthday signaled the beginning of the end of summer. 

However, this year, summer just started so I feel I've been in a bit of time warp.

Bottom line summer is cruising by way too fast for my liking.

That being said, it has been a pretty busy summer so maybe that has something to do with it.

For my birthday my little brother and his wife got me a ticket to the Loverboy, Pat Benatar and Journey show next week. 

Loverboy was my first concert at the very mature age of 13 (it was also a birthday present)

This show will be at the Gorge in George. 

The last time I was there was in was in '94 for Lollapalooza. 

Can't wait

:0)

Mom Prom

So Blossom '12 was pretty fun. 

Of course the highlight of the evening was when they killed the lights and cranked the tunes.  Nothing like a bunch of "girls" huddled on the dance floor.

Let's just say the DJ had our number and when Jessie's Girl started up everyone lost it.

:0)