preserve the food

today consisted of canning tomatoes with my mom.

my mom rocks. she is a canning superstar-- i want to can like her when i grow up.

i have 28 pretty quarts of diced tomatoes cooling on the counter and 10+ bags in the

freezer. not bad for an afternoon of work and a morning of prep (plus clean up from

yesterdays picnic). my hands smell like tomatoes. we had mexican take out tonight. i am full.

watching "the ghosts of girlfriends past"

yesterday was one of the best days.

picnicking in the park with friends + veggie hot dogs+ croquet = too much fun

i am blessed.

i am thankful.

i am tired.

tomorrow morning i am canning chunky applesauce for my husband...yum

mr. jon

dear mr. jon.
i miss you.
there is no one around to harass me like you do.
there is only 1% milk in our fridge.
i made banana blueberry bread --with pecans.
the grey's season premiere just wasn't the same without you making suspense noises during the commercials, what was i thinking?
there is only a fourth of the usual amount of laundry to do.
lulu needs a bath.
i loaded the back of the truck & tied it down, ran the bbq, and set the mouse traps for mr. mouse --then threw him away the next morning.
we had black beans for dinner on thursday night. not a pinto bean in sight.
the bedroom was 79 degrees the other night -- i slept with the covers on.
i've been taking a lot of pictures, and there are no random 5 snaps in a row of upside down, sideways ridiculousness
everyday i spill water on myself while drinking from my water bottle, but no one else laughs out loud and makes fun of me.

so glad you will be home soon -- lulu might be getting pretty stinky and i am getting tired of being quite so capable..

apple picking

this was my view this morning--- isn't it amazing?? it's going to be my view on sunday morning also when i go pick some more...

my kitchen smells delicious -- this morning i started a batch of plums and apples in the food dryer (it also smells wonderful due to the chocolate chip cookies i baked tonight)

happy weekending!

is it my birthday yet?

can i request these please... allyie softie pump by frye

i am tired... somewhere or sometime during this afternoon i think i lost all energy, which would be why i am in bed right now and going to sleep as soon as i post this...

tonight i attended misbehaven spa & salon 's Bare Minerals Event. it was great fun and really hit the spot after a long day of work. when i arrived for my appointment i was treated to a paraffin wax hand treatment, a chair massage, a facial skin analysis, and then had my make up done by a bare escentuals make up artist visiting from seattle. lovely. oh, and did i mention that it is my fabulous sister-in-law who owns the salon? ... she is amazing.

i made these delicious cupcakes for my sweet boss's birthday yesterday.

german chocolate with a creamy chocolate frosted edge and coconut center

tomorrow morning i am going apple picking -- i love fall!

wednesday wonders

just a few things i am loving today:

i love this idea for displaying flowers -- and i lost the link -- whoops...

hello fall fabulousness from martha stewart -- i received my october issue of "living" yesterday, so many great ideas!

etsy love: katie daisy's shop: the wheatfield -- i think i shall see if she will make one for me with bees instead of butterflies

fabric headboards -- easy to make, easy to change

this dress (sold out) and this lovely girl's blog - whatiwore

this is part of my to-do list -- objective is to complete most of these tasks today, wish me luck...

sleepy time--pleaze...

well, actually it is way past sleepy time, however, i seem to be in a rut of staying up too late at night. it is driving me crazy and i must, i must, get back to my regularly scheduled sleep cycle. tonight i set out my first mouse traps. how exciting. 4 sneaky traps with smelly cheese whiz on top...come on over mr. mouse. -- really you don't want to get fat off of our puppy food -- those pooches are quite protective of their chow.

last night kim and i sent summer off with grilled tempeh reuben sandwiches and summer corn salad. the puppies watched as we cooked and hoped for crumbs. we sat out on the porch and ate -- with the lights glowing above us. we love our porch. oh, and dinner was scrumptious.

today was...

*early to rise - 5:30 & pumpkin spice lattes to help kim and i on our quick road trip (why am i not asleep again??)

*garbanzo sandwich spread on rye bread and fresh carrot celery apple juice for lunch

*a day of craZy kids at work -- i think they were making up for being so good yesterday

*sOre muScLes that remind me of how ThAnKfuL i am for a healthy body

*anticipation of a weekend picnic in the park to say "so long summer" and relax with fRiEnds

*not as high on the productivity scale as i would have liked -- tomorrow is another day

*planning the weekend canning adventure with my mom - i love her

*posting pictures from the weekend at the lake and kim and i's last day of summer supper

*the 1st day of my favorite season - i lOvE FALL!

blueberry banana bread and blogging

some mornings i don't get much done...

...like this morning. i had great plans of productivity for the day, and a mile long to-do list, but then i opened my computer and was reminded of the blog i was reading last night until i couldn't keep my eyes open any longer, so on i continued with the reading this morning -- and now it is almost afternoon and here i am blogging on my own blog...

however, this morning i will excuse myself from a lack of productivity due to the fact that the blog i was reading is by an amazing lady who goes by "nie" -- nie is the mother of four beautiful children, she is creative, takes fabulous photographs, and loves to cook. her and her husband survived a plane crash a year ago, however they were both badly burned. i am so inspired by nie's honesty and ability to share her experience, and as liz k. says "she not only survived but thrives and inspires" - or in stephanie's own words as she thought about her life one evening "And then I smiled. It was still perfect. I was alive and happy. Sure I miss the almost perfect life I once had. But right now, this is perfect too."

You can find her blog here at nieniedialogues

in other quick randomness

*had a wonderful time at the lake and retreating with coworkers -- more about that to come

*made some healthy and delicious banana blueberry pecan bread (message me if you want the recipe, it is really great for breakfast, high protein, low sugar yumminess) last night, had some for breakfast this morning, then had some more (with peanut butter this time), then had some more again -- kim better get home and eat some or it might be all gone.

*thinking it is past time to jump in the shower

*kim found a black widow spider in her bed this weekend while i was gone (exterminator is on speed dial), a mouse moved into the furnace closet and is growing fat on puppy food (traps to be set tonight), and the dogs are in barking mode at all things (apparently puppy class still needs a little time to work) i don't think i should leave kim home alone on the weekends anymore -- who knows what will happen next...

*i miss this boy..

.

6:43am...

the day has been going for awhile already... 17 minutes until i'd better be in the car to do errands before work-- but i figured i had time to squeeze in a mini post...

on my way to a weekend of fun at wallowa lake. it is lovely to get away and escape to the quiet world where i have no cell service or internet...what will i do?? i am taking a nora roberts "northern lights," my camera to take some pictures in the adorable town of joseph, oregon, the lake and whatever else strikes my fancy, and i will chat with friends and get a little r&r. joyful.

i hope your weekend is joyful also. off with me, if i go quick i can get a pumpkin spice latte!!

p.s. just a little cuteness from amy atlas -- i think i will make this soon (i have the pan already)

wednesday wonders

excited for december fun here...

ready to go here...

and here...

and also wishing i was here -- love this little town of bandon, oregon -- hoping next year i can make it for the cranberry festival. have fun mom and grandma!!

thinking about making these fall lovelies

it's wednesday, which means puppy class for these two pooches-- hot dog love= 1 hr of following directions

so many fun things happening right now and so much found love this morning, such as:

i think i need one -- possibly found in the ikea catalog

i just love love these wedding invites -- because they are two of my favorite colors, always loving orange and fall seems to bring about the grey love -- i think i best do something with the color combo, scrapbook page, room color, the endless possibilities...

pink and orange

did we really already have the weekend? it went by so quickly. friday was early to bed, saturday was scrapbooking and then a movie in the evening--plus hooray for junk food night-- which consisted of morning star buffalo wings with tartar sauce, potato chips & veggies with ranch dip, and a handful of mini oreos, yum -- the past couple of weekends kim and i have had been enjoying the farm fresh summer produce, i can't ask for a better menu than watermelon, cantaloupe, corn, tomatoes, cucumbers and beets -- and then more watermelon (who knew my bff loved it soo much) --delish. fresh is all that is on the menu this week(minus thursday pizza night) as it is the last week of summer -- boo hoo, but hello fall, my favorite season. i planted my fall plants today. there is nothing better than a trip to the local nursery for seasonal goodness. i brought home kale, mums, and some pansies. delightful.

tonight we celebrated three of my dear friends birthdays. it was absolutely lovely to get the group together and spend time chatting, laughing, and of course, eating delicious desserts. i love parties. i love planning parties. i could plan parties all day long...

here are some pictures from our evening:

blog love

there are so many things that i fell in love with this week, but here are some of my favorites:

*i think this should be my house some day--

*must make these -- they are just the cutest:

*its all about running barefoot -- or the closest you can get to it -- terra plana shoes:

*saving money -"enjoy your coffee, but save your money" - but it's pumpkin spice latte season...

*canning is back -if you didn't learn to can with your mom -check out these canning workshops

*so in love with these handmade beauties at rifle design -- can i have another wedding??

*only a week and a half of summer left -- enjoy it!!

wednesday wonders

* beginning puppy class again --kim and i took the pooches to the first of our seven week class

*a clean kitchen -- after having it torn apart and full of paint cans -- so nice to be able to cook again!

*a bright kitchen -- just loving the new look

*fudgesicles and hot dogs

*my new lil' class -- i have about 18 new kindergartners and only a handful of 1st graders who were with my this last year, they look so little compared to last years class-- right now they are all trying to master the monkey bars.

*my new urban compost tumbler -- so excited to begin using it!!

*watching old movies -- just finished "the babysitters club," watching "chitty chitty bang bang" right now, and this weekend jon and i watched "little women" and "interview with the vampire" -- if you are wondering where that choice came from, i couldn't tell you, however, both of us remembered what was in the movie differently than what actually is -- apparently the older you get the more you notice -- like how young brad pitt and tom cruise look, not too mention kristen dunst in her early teens...

*a great book that i finished this last week: "encyclopedia of an ordinary life" -- kim and i are taking a scrap booking class based on this book. what a funny and delightful read!

*pumpkin spice lattes

*fresh home magazine - brand new home fabulousness that i found today at walmart

*my husband -- i found this picture from a few weeks ago - we took it at the natural bridge falls in livingston, mt -- he is so good at timing his crazy faces for when i snap the picture :)

so long gone...

yes, we are still here -- you may have missed us or you may not have noticed that we took a little blogcation-- oh the busy that has been life for the past two and a half weeks...i think it is pay back for all my montana time.

a few weeks ago michael, lulu, and i said good bye to montana and drove the 920 miles home...

my travel buddies - we listened to focus on the family's radio theater cd's of "the secret garden," "anne of green gables," and "little women" - they are really well made and helped make the trip go by a little more quickly.

ready to be there after hitting hour 14 on the road with 1 more to go--

one trip to the vines in our garden - tomatoes anyone?

labor day/ week project - began on wednesday morning

this is my "happy" painting face -- i finished putting things back on tuesday morning -- i don't think i will be painting kitchen cabinets again for at least a few years -- happy with the results, but what a huge task, especially if you are already moved in to your kitchen. jon replaced all the old hinges and then had to drill new holes to fit. i still have to go back and do touch up's, sand drips, and clean off the hinges -- but i think i will wait at least a week. so much less expensive than replacing the cabinets, which are a nice wood and still in good condition for being 30 yrs old, just didn't have a very good last staining experience and were too dark for my lil' kitchen. this summer i did a fair amount of reading on being eco friendly, recycle reduce reuse, etc. --- while this project isn't 100% eco friendly, i can happily say that we are not passing our cabinets to the land fill yet and used a really low VOC paint, though i had to use an oil primer. ---p.s. my plug for VOC free --we have used VOC free paint through out the rest of our house and are loving it. it is a little more expensive, but very low odor, goes on smoothly and is quite durable, i definitely recommend trying it

at the parade - i LOVE my husband -- we celebrated 3 years on the 3rd

farmer's market after the parade -- the lemonade was delicious -- we also shared a freshly frosted maple bar, and a hummus pita -- plus a trip to starbucks for an iced passion tea lemonade. lulu did really well with all the people and other dogs, however she was a little opposed to staying in just one spot during the parade so we ended up walking the parade route and stopping here and there, which was fun for all of us. after going to the market we decided to walk main street -- this is one of our favorite ways to spend the weekend, taking lulu and going to market, sitting outside starbucks with coffee for a bit and then walking main street, stopping at our favorite places-- we hadn't been downtown since june, so we were able to check out the new walla walla bread company and were quite pleased with their potato bread and also enjoyed the open view of the bakery.

we love the county fair - this was our 3rd fair of the year and we still enjoyed every bit of it. the fish and hand pictures were drawn by my youngest sister. she received blue ribbons for both of them and the superintendent's choice for her underwater drawing.

jon and i also entered photographs. he received a 1st place for his picture and i received a 3rd (i wasn't surprised as the storm picture i entered wasn't fabulous photography, i just liked it). we completed our night at the fair with a carmel apple, beer battered french fries, and an elephant ear. my parents toodled around with us as we visited the sheep, cows, goats, flowers, vendors and all the rest. such fun! it was great to enter something in the fair ( i hadn't done this since my 4-H days) -- i encourage everyone to participate -- it doesn't take much time or effort to show case an item from your hobby: canning, scrapbooking, photography, sewing, flowers, baking, gardening, and more. -- plus, you get a free gate pass and have the fun of participating in a community event and making our fair more enjoyable!

ok -- enough soap boxes for one post-- in addition to all of the above, i spent the first week and half working full days, getting to know all of my new kids -- now i am back to just after school hours, however, it was quite fun to get to know all my new little ones at a leisurely pace. jon spent a week at home, working on bee business and building our retaining wall, plus helping me paint. we hope that you all had a fabulous long weekend and enjoy the last bit of summer! we should be back to a more regular blogging schedule soon :)!!