Baking Day

Cinnamon Rolls! This is the dough....well actually half the dough it makes a lot!

This is a ton of really fattening butter and sugar spread about just so....

All rolled up and ready to go... Again this is only half the dough!

There is so much butter and sugar that it oozes out...It takes a while to get the counter clean!

These are now stacked in my freezer....

So if you ever want to come over sometime....I have something ready!


The receipe I use is in The Pioneer Woman Cooks book by Ree Drummand. Sooo worth it!

Dog Sitting....

This is Kuhla..... Last Friday Kuhla's parents called to ask if we could dog sit for a week. We know Kuhla's parents and are friendly with them but our dogs had never met, so I was a tad nervous about it....They had called everyone they could think of....we weren't even on their list when someone recommended us. They were leaving at 6am Sunday morning...



They had an initial meeting at about 10 pm Friday night. They played like long lost best friends. Oh the romping, the frolicking, the pure joy they seemed to have with each other...


They are sooo over it now! Our poor sweet Teddy! She is just too nice! And in my opinion Kuhla is a bully. She steals Teddy's bone and she won't let Teddy on the porch at times.

I've only seen them play once since Kuhla moved in Sat night.



This is what Teddy thinks of Kuhla....

Tyler has taken on the job to take care of Kuhla this week. He has done an amazing job. He goes out every HOUR we are home to play with them or check on them! Its really cute. He's such an animal lover!

Both Teddy and Kuhla are Golden Retrievers. However, Teddy is not into the Retriever part she just enjoys being Golden....


Kuhla loves to retrieve. It is fun to watch her fly after the ball...I was hoping Teddy would study this and show some interest...Nope. She just sits by me, being Golden, and expects me to pet her while we watch Kuhla do all the retrieving.




Teddy is ready to have her family back to herself and poor Kuhla sits by the door where she last saw her human disappear behind. I know she is missing her family!



Kuhla will go home Monday morning. I'm sure she will be overjoyed to be back with her family.

Fearless

So yesterday we decided last minuet to head to the lake... At "our" lake, there is a bridge...

Usually by this time of year the water is low enough we can drive under this bridge and get to a nice quite "no wake" zone. Great for swimming and hanging out. This year the water level is high so the guys decided to use the bridge in a different way...

Can I just say there is a fine line between not wanting your boys to grow up to be "pansies" and wanting them to out live you...

I was shocked when Ty decided he wanted to do it! Even my baby!

I find them very inspirational, to be so fearless, to be so bold, to be so carefree....

I hope they remember these summer days.

I hope they remember their mom let them jump off a bridge... but their mom also said "you don't have to do it if you don't want to"

It is inspiring to see the joy, the fun, the excitement that can be had when fear doesn't hold you back.

Of course there is a healthy common sense fear and I strive to strike a balance.

As we drive to this lake we pass over a much taller bridge, I would say about 30-40 feet over the water. We have seen idiots jumping off of it. I want to say to these boys "don't do it!" "Does your mother know where you are?"

After our bridge jumping adventure I made sure to make a stop so we could all get out and look over this much taller bridge. I wanted the boys to see the difference, I wanted to hear fear and common sense in their voice....striking a balance, its tricky.....

Quotes I love

I've taken a lot of Daisey pictures lately....sorry if you're tired of seeing them but I think they are stunning. This one I think is my favorite...What do you do with a bunch of Daisey pictures?? This alone is a good reason for a blog ;) As you know, I love to read. When I read something I feel I can really relate to I write it down. Today I'm going to share some with you. Enjoy!


"When I was very young and the urge to be someplace else was on me, I was assured by mature people that maturity would cure this itch...I fear this disease is incurable"

"A trip, a safari, an exploration, is an entity different from all other journeys. It has personality, temperament, individuality, uniqueness. A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. And all plans, safe guards, policing and coercion are fruitless...we do not take a trip a trip takes us."

"A burning desire to go, to move, to get underway, anyplace, away from any here."

-John Steinbeck taken from his book Travels With Charlie

"I want to do it because I want to do it" -Amelia Earhart 1937

Of course this quote is in response to the question of why she wanted to fly around the world, which of course led to her death....I still choose to find it inspirational...

"I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I lived just the length . I want to have lived the width of it as well." - Diane Ackerman

" I gave myself up so completely to present desires and pleasures that I had no energy to waste on mere wishful thinking" - unknown

"There is a crack, a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in"

- Leonard Cohen

Fruit Loop

This weekend Jeff and I found ourselves with some unexpected alone time! What to do??? Forecast said in the 90s which meant EVERYONE would head to the lake or the beach (which is where are boys were. One at the lake, one at the beach) So we decided to take the opportunity to do something we would enjoy. Imagine that! No whining from the back seat! Eat exotic food! oh the freedom! So we decided to head to Hood River and do the Fruit Loop. Neither of us had ever done it before... The views from the Hood River Valley are stunning! Many of the farms we stopped at had unbelievable views! Here is Mt. Adams.

I have always secretly dreamed of being a farmer...

This farm..the one that grows sunflowers and pumpkins...two of my favorite things is for sale!!! She was trying to sell it to me and making some progress when my husband drug me back to the car. "What??" I said. "I was willing to move to Florida for you and you won't move to Hood River for me??" "I could make a fortune selling pumpkins!"

He wasn't convinced....

This is the view of Mt. Adams from "my farm" if you turned your head to the left you would see Mt. Hood looming over the property. Amazing!

Cute chairs. I took 5 or so pics of these chairs and I don't think a single one captured them as I hoped :(

A lavender farm with an amazing house! Look out the front windows and Mt. Adams is straight ahead. Look out the back windows and there towering over your fields of lavender is Mt. Hood! So incredible!

So much gorgeous scenery! And yummy fruit to eat! We enjoyed delicious cherries! So fat and red and juicy! Yum...wish I had taken a picture of them.

A really nice woman volunteered to cut us a peach. We smiled and said yes please...she promptly sliced into her finger...it was grouse! Blood squirting across the table and on the peaches. We then politely declined..... (actually we asked if she was OK, blood makes me sick so it was on a polite inquiry since I knew I would be incapable of lending any real assistance...yuk! Hope she's OK....)

Here's a view for you. Sitting on the swing watching Mt. Hood....

It was a hot day! After the Fruit Loop we headed down to the river and went for a swim in the mighty Columbia.

Such a great day to spend with my man. Its good to have time to each other. Can't wait until the next opportunity...

Recap

Things are growing in my garden!!! I can't wait for these babies to rippen up!


The most exciting thing I found was my first baby pumpkin!!!! I love growing pumpkins!

Yesterday I left the house at 10 to run some errands...

I came home at 12:00

My boys were still in bed!!!!

Really? I don't understand?

Last night I told them they had to be up by 10!

Really? They said "I don't understand"

I told they don't have to understand just do it!

I guess I'm just old and cranky these days but good grief get out of bed!

Jeff is settling into his new office at Providence and very thankful for his faster, less stressful commute! He will be flying down to Medford once a week for one night. He likes the adventure in it. I prefer him home with me each night....

Josh, works some, plays soccer some and then complains of being exhausted the rest of the time. I fear he is growing again...

Ty has picked back up with his guitar teacher. Tim Ellis is an excellent teacher. I drive 40 min into Portland for these lessons but they are so worth it! I've been noticing dark hair on my babys upper lip...could it be????

Jeff and I went and played racquetball last night. As I was heaving myself around the court I tried not to think of how much more I weigh than last time I had played this sport!

Back in the day I was known for my skills. I could beat the boys! And I did. I should have let them win...they always got so bent out of shape! babies!

Except my Bible teacher, man he could play! I would beat everyone else and then he would accept my challenge to play....and he would crush me!! It was so frustrating! It was my lesson in humility...

I surprised myself at how quickly my swing and "moves" on the court came back to me. I won the first game! 17-21! I was so excited! I was so tired! Here was something that my husband didn't crush me at!

I was feeling cocky! I said lets play another to 10. I shouldn't have...

He crushed me! 10-3...........

I need to learn to stop when I'm ahead!

Big News!

Sometimes when you wait long enough for something you actually finally forget you are waiting for it and WHAM when you have really given up and you finally stop coming up with scenarios in your head for it to happen.....it happens. I was driving home from PDX on Monday when my phone rang. I answered it, using my hands! Gasp! No Oprah I haven't signed your no phone pledge....



Anyway it was an interesting conversation which lead to a job offer for me!

Funny, all this focus on Jeff and his job. Which, by the way, he's still looking so please keep praying!


I have been asked to teach at CAA next year!!!!



Unbelievable! It has been 6 years since I left. Well, was asked to leave.....financial reasons you know...I was just tooooo expensive!



Honestly, I'm not sure it has sunk in yet. Here's the interesting part....I will be teaching Josh's Global Studies class...poor kid....



So I teach two sections of GS and help out with sponsoring SA. I work Tue, Thur and Fri. So I can still ski with Ty on Wed with winter sports! It really seems so perfect.



The pay is lousy but the commute is awesome! I'm so excited to be able to teach where my kid is!

I really didn't think this day would come. I'm so thankful for this opportunity!

The Animal in Me

I love this picture. Or course the boys aren't really scared but I imagine myself to be the Tiger and I imagine being able to strike that much fear in my boys somedays. The bigger they get the harder it is to use intimidation to get their attention....I'm definitely having to switch tactics...


This tortes loved to be rubbed. Like a puppy he would put his head out to be scratched! I have my days when I just want that kind of attention. Could some one just admire me and rub me behind the ears?? We also relate on the dry skin issue...

This is what I feel like when the boys aren't listening to me and I have given up. I imagine I look a lot like this as well. Doesn't he look just disgusted with life? These guys give me the willies! I admire them but there is such a look of knowing in their eyes that just disturbs me. Like he knows exactly how I work but I haven't a clue about him

I also have days like these two. I feel so much affection and love in my heart that I just want to maul my kids and/or husband or whoever I'm feeling affection for...

And then there are these days.....

These Manatees just float around their pen eating lettuce. This is proof that eating lettuce will not give you the figure you always dreamed of!! So celebrate and go eat some chocolate!

There are times when I'm so happy I can't contain myself. Usually when things have gone my way and are working out just the way I think they should! ;)

Sigh, there are those days I have my nose so far up in the air that I miss what is really important

And there are days when I just want to stick my nose in my armpit and ignore what is going on around me.

I know I teased yesterday that I would tell you some big news today. But like most things in my life things aren't going as quickly as I had anticipated. So stay tuned tomorrow.....

Classic

So something really interesting/exciting/completely unexpected happened yesterday..... Oh, I was so skinny then! Why do our bodies have to rebel against us??

Lovely, puffy blue coat. I remember this coat. Since I had zero body fat I could get away with wearing it. Today I would look like a Pillsbury dough boy in his prison blues....

Ah, we are so cute! I have no idea what we are all dressed up for? Jo looks taller than me here!

I'm sure I don't have to point out that we were the hotties of Meadow Glade! ;)

Why do I pick short friends? They only make me feel tall!!!! I honestly miss the days of my flat chest....

Thank goodness for John Mark! The one guy in all the land who was taller than me and a nice guy!

Hmmm, there are some pictures my kids shouldn't see...While this is not me getting a ticket (I'm taking the pic) he had just finished with me...But then it got worse. We snuck away from school and drove two hours to Astoria for our court date without telling our adults....I will kill my kid if he pulls these stunts!

In my defense it was my friends who were the bad influence.... ;)

Then we all "grew up" and got married. I am barely 20 in this picture. I felt like an adult. I"m telling my kids right now, they don't know anything at 20! 20 is way too young!

Cougar Trail while I was volunteering at Outdoor School. I've never been so muddy in all my life! The guy standing to my left Tim, yes, the short guy, was apparently very impressed by my abilities because later, after I had spent an hour in the shower scraping mud out of my hair, he ambushed me with a kiss. I truly didn't see it coming, maybe because I was looking over his head...hmmm. Guys if you want a kiss ask first!

My very first kiss was much the same way....short guy, didn't see it coming, ambushed! Not what I had hoped for. And where were the tall, gorgeous men on my volleyball calendar and why weren't they wanting to ambush me???

As you can see there were plenty of short girls to ambush....

Don't we all look pretty! Janice and Jo had each made their dresses. Mine is a gunne sax or however you spell it. I was very excited and felt very pretty in it! (It strangely looks a lot like my future wedding dress!)

Ok, so I haven't forgotten about the teaser I began with. I did have a call out of the blue yesterday! Absolutely did not see it coming. I have a meeting in a few minuets. I really can't share the details today. Hopefully tomorrow!