Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Make This!!

Puffins!!
Pancake muffins! I've seen them all over Pinterest. I really wanted to try these & am so glad I did. I only wish I had some bacon or link sausage to add to the mix. Next time for sure! These are very tasty & definitely taste just like pancakes.
 I like a decent amout of syrup on my pancakes & didn't feel the recipe had enough (for my taste). So I did the next best thing: I halved my puffin and added butter & syrup. They finally tasted exactly as I'd hoped! I will honestly tell you I ate 4. In a row.☺
There are many recipes for puffins on the web.  I searched for a recipe that used Bisquick & not a 'just add water' brand.   I used this recipe: The Lady with the Red Rocker.  Try these! They are really yummy!

I made a half a recipe just to make sure I would like them. I've had some real misses in the kitchen lately & am tired of wasting ingredients. A half recipe yielded 8 regular sized puffins.

Puffins (half recipe) - from The Lady with the Red Rocker
1 cup Bisquick
1/3 cup water
1/2 c maple syrup
1 egg
Mix all ingredients together, pour into muffin cups & bake at 350* for 12-13 minutes.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Puppy Love!♥

We got to meet the newest member of Brenda's family yesterday
afternoon: her new Airedale puppy, Barley.

Brenda & Tom travelled all the way to Hesperia, CA to pick him up. They graciously stopped by on their way back to Olympia so we could meet their sweet pea.
He was full of kisses...

 ...and hugs too!
 Kissing cousins!♥

LOOK AT THAT FACE!

Nas asked the obvious: "Can we get a puppy too?!"

Remy getting up close & personal.
 He was super sweet & curious!

HI!

Welcome to the family Barley! We love you!!

Get Active Video Contest!

Matty submitted a video into the local Clark County Get Active! contest. If you have a minute, please watch the video & 'like' it via the thumbs up icon on You Tube. Then go outside for a walk! Get active!! The world needs less couch potatoes!!!

Thanks for watching & voting!☺



Monday, May 21, 2012

Half Marathon!

On Sunday, I finished my 4th half marathon!
So hard, but so much fun!!!

I decided that I was going to wear my Coug gear for the race; hence the GO COUGS!

My sister Cynthia & her husband Mike also ran the race. Cynthia had a goal to run the half in 2:07. Guess what! SHE DID IT!

This was my worst race. I was almost 6 minutes slower than last year. Very disappointing. The silver lining: I finished in under 3 hours!☺
Mike finished in 2:12 with an injured hamstring!!!
My goal next year: to beat 2:59!!!
I am already looking forward to May 2013!!!

Fun fact: So many of the race spectators gave me a GO COUGS shout out or had something nice to say about my tshirt/visor. One group even sang the WAZZU fight song! LOVED THAT!!! I also encountered several Husky hecklers (but I kept it classy & let their comments fall flat). ☺

Friends!!

On Friday, my dear friend Katie came to visit from Spokane for one night only. We invited all of our mutual friends over for appetizers, wine & dessert. We all had a fun time catching up on each other's lives. It has been years (6+) since many of us had seen each other, but we all just picked up right where we left off. I love friendships like that!☺

I made this cute poster on PicMonkey.

Katie & I.

Katie, Tammie, Denise & Lin

Tammie, Kate, Nas & I

Renee, Kathy, Sarah & Katie

Tammie, Cindy, Lin & Denise

The whole gang!
Fun fact: Most of us met at Clark County Indoor Play Park MANY years ago!

Katie made a delicious chocolate cake for us to eat for dessert.  She has always called this cake, Kindermusik Cake (as she got it from her girls' Kindermusik instructor many years ago).


Kindermusik Cake
1 chocolate cake mix
1 chocolate pudding mix
1 lb. sour cream
4 eggs
1/3 cup Kahlua (optional….I don’t always add it)
¾ cup oil
1 cup chocolate chips

Mix and pour into a Bundt pan. Bake at 350 degress for 50-55 minutes.
Let the cake cool and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Decorate with strawberries. Enjoy!

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Matty *Update*

WARNING! If you are squeamish looking at surgery photos/blood - DO NOT READ THIS POST!



Okay? Okay! Read on if you are ready!☺

Matty had his post op appointment today. Everything went as expected during the surgery & Matty is healing very nicely!☺

The surgeon showed us photos from Matty's surgery. I was so excited, I asked if he could pause each photo so I could take my own photo. The surgeon kindly offered to burn a cd for us, so I could relax & enjoy the slideshow.☺

This first photo is where Matty's patella sheared off a chunk of cartilage. The surgeon actually referred to it as a "pothole."

 Here is the piece of cartilage that was torn off. The surgeon said he had to dig around to find it!
 Foreign body finally removed!

The next picture is of the micro fracture surgery. Check out that awl! OUCH!
 The surgeon punctured several holes to access the bone marrow/blood to stimulate new growth.
Finished!!
Ok....now for the blood! You've been warned!!!


Here are Matty's wounds 48 hours after surgery: 3 wounds.



Here are Matty's wounds 13 days post surgery! Healing nicely!!!
Hey! Looky that! Matty's leg hair is growing back.☺


Matty begins physical therapy next week with our good friends at Majerus & Company PT. He still has 4-6 more weeks on crutches, but is healing nicely & has virtually no pain!! Thanks for all your prayers!☺

Monday, May 14, 2012

Naseem + Chipotle

Naseem got a job last week! She got the first job she applied for.☺ She will be working at the local Chipotle restaurant.


I have to confess, I have never eaten at Chipotle, but my kids have & they love it. I was peppering Nas with lots of questions about the restaurant & she had me sit down & watch this DARLING video. Why do I like it? I love the fact that Willie Nelson is singing Coldplay's The Scientist, but also how Chipotle uses hormone free meat & purchases directly from farmers. Can't wait to visit Nas at work & try some healthy Mexican food!☺

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Bob's Red Mill Tour

Naseem is finally home for summer vacation! Instead of letting her sleep in until noon, I dragged her out of bed & encouraged her to join me on a fieldtrip.  I didn't tell her where we were going until we were about a mile away. Our final destination: Bob's Red Mill!
 I love Bob's Red Mill products! Not only are they good for you, but they are affordable too!

Fun fact: Bob's Red Mill products can be found in 71 countries!

We drove to the Bob's Red Mill World Headquarters for the tour. The tour starts promptly at 10:00 a.m. The tour lasted about an hour & was so interesting! 

Fun fact: Flax seed is Bob's number one selling product.
I love educational tours!☺
Not a fake smile: Nas was excited to be there!☺
 Fun fact: Bob's gluten free products account for 40% of the company's sales. Bob's has a dedicated GF mill area with special ventilation so the GF products are not contaminated with other 'grain dust.'

Just a few of the hundreds of Bob's products.
This is a super tote. A super tote can hold 2,000 lbs of product. They are only used once so no cross contamination between products can occur.  After use, they are sold to farmers or construction sites.
Fun fact: Any particles of grains/seeds that end up on the floor + the hulls from this corn are called 'sweepings.' Sweepings are sold to farmers to use as feed for cattle. Nothing is wasted is wasted at Bob's Red Mill.
Factory floor.
 It takes approximately 1.5 hours to clean the machinery between product batches. Bob's Red Mill uses brushes & compressed air for cleaning. Why can't they use water? It would make paste!☺
Furiously taking notes!
There were so many fun facts, I knew I wouldn't remember them all.☺

Our 'grain guide' Brenda.
SUPER NICE LADY!


Super totes.


In 1988, the original Bob's Red Mill was destroyed by arson.
Two mill stones were the only things salvageable from the fire.

Bob Moore & Nas!

The stones BRM uses are French quartz. The stones are sharpened once a year
and it takes 8 hours to do. This is one of two original mill stones.
The stones BRM uses now are much smaller.

When the tour was finished, each visitor was allowed to take home two samples of Bob's Red Mill product. Naseem & I each chose quinoa. Why? Because we've never had it before!☺ I plan to make this for dinner tonight:
Quinoa crusted chicken strips with chipotle pepper drizzle.
 After the tour, we drove 1.3 miles down the road to the Bob's Red Mill Visitor's Center & Restaurant for lunch. Tip: try the biscuits! They are amazing!!!

 Fun fact: Dave's Killer Bread uses Bob's Red Mill products. The Dave's Killer Bread store is across the street from the Bob's Red Mill Visitor's Center. After you are finished shopping at Bob's - you can shop at Dave's. I know it's do-able because we did it!☺


If you go: tours begin at 10 a.m. sharp Monday-Friday at the World Headquarters. No need to reserve a space, just walk right in. Friendly staff are there to greet you.☺ After the tour, make sure you head over to the Visitor's Center. Shopping + eating galore!!