Painting

My girl this morning
painting her hands
. . . . .while eating her breakfast:)

A Dream

I have always had a dream of being a photographer. My Grandpa on my Mom's side enjoyed photography in his free time and traveled the world taking photos that hang in the houses of my family members. I have always felt that it runs in my blood.

Recently my friend Charkie (from a Mom & Baby group Juniper and I belonged to when we lived on the other side of the water) told me about this blog.  She totally inspires me to be a better photographer;  not to mention learn how to better edit and organize my 6000 (yes, 6000) digital photos so I can share them here on my blog.

The following two pictures are a couple of my favorites from my large photo library. I thought I'd share with you. . . 

Great Grandpa shows us a Juniper Tree at the Ranch.  He said he found this volunteer the same year our little Juniper was born.  

Juniper next to the Juniper Tree.  I love how my Grandpa is walking  in the background.  

Best Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

These are by far my favorite Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (thanks to my cousin Kristen for including this recipe in our wedding gift).  The key here is the raisins soaked overnight in eggs and vanilla.  They aren't the same if you forget this step!  I've also found them to be just as good made with 1/2 wheat flour. Enjoy!

Makes 4-5 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

3 eggs

1 c. raisins

1 tsp. vanilla

8 oz (2 sticks) butter or margarine

1 c. brown sugar

1 c. sugar

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

2 1/2 c. flour

2 c. oats

3/4 c. chopped pecans (optional)

Instructions:

Mix eggs, raisins, and vanilla.  Refrigerate overnight.  

Heat oven to 350*.  Cream butter and sugars.  Mix salt, soda, cinnamon, flour and oats; add alternately to butter mixture with raisin-egg mixture.  Stir in pecans.  Drop by spoonfuls on greased cookie sheet.  Bake 10-12 minutes.

Source:  The Metropolitan Kitchen

On my ipod

I don't have an ipod, but if I did, this would be playing over and over.  I love it.  Juniper loves it.  Nate loves it.  

Bye, Sister

Yesterday I put my sis on the ferry as her time with us came to an end. She had tears on the way to the ferry and I had tears after we dropped her off. I am so flattered that she left her boys in Indiana to come spend five days with my little family. Juniper just loved her and we were able to do so many fun sisterly things together, including a bunch of sewing, shopping, and eating good food. Here are some pics of our time together. Thanks, sister for spending some time in our world!!!

Sarah enjoying a homemade single short nonfat decaf white chocolate mocha. It doesn't get any more Seattle than that! Mmmmmmmmm!



















Searching for beach glass with Auntie.



















The napkins we made for Sarah.
























The aprons we each made.

Yep, It's True

I haven't been to a movie since Juniper was born. Today my hubby was sweet enough to watch Juniper while Sarah (my sister) and I went to see Juno. I went all out and got popcorn and a big lemonade. Sarah said she doesn't share popcorn, but broke down and dipped into mine. We were so happy to be together and were delighted to see such a good movie. I highly recommend this movie!

My Sister is Here!

Much to my excitement the Domestic Goddess has arrived. I think it is easy to forget who we really are until family is around. . . . then it seems to be a little more clear because they know us so well. I've tried so hard to deny my disorganized procrastinating side, but when people visit it becomes VERY apparent.

Yesterday I read Sarah's blog and she pointed out she would be visiting for 5 days. I counted out on my fingers how many days I had down and the total wasn't 5. So I checked the itinerary and realized I had it wrong. Sarah would be here until Wednesday, not Tuesday. No problem, I thought, it's actually better because I don't get to see her very much. This was just the beginning of my scatterbrained little sister moves that have been making me giggle (and question my planning skills) all day. I thought Sarah arrived at 12:30pm and had planned the cleaning of my house and ferry ride over to the airport around this time. About ten minutes before 10:00am this morning, my hubby handed me Sarah's printed itinerary and said, "here, do you want this?" I looked at it and said, "WHAT? OH MY GOODNESS!!! Get Juniper dressed we have to go!!!" Sarah's flight was set to arrive at 10:59am!!!! Nate checked the ferry schedule and reported we needed to catch the 10:25 (it takes about 20 minutes to get to the ferry) if we even wanted to make it . . . . so off I headed in my sweats, without a lick of makeup and not even brushed hair, with Juniper on my hip, running down the stairs to the car. I yelled to Nate, "oh *%#^, the car is on empty!". Nate ran into the house and came out of the garage with a red gas can and dribbled whatever was in there into the tank. As he did this, I buckled Juniper in, and threw several used napkins and other misc. coffee cups and trash out onto the driveway. I screamed out the window as we left, "can you pick those up? Thanks, I love you!"

I knew the dribble of gasoline wouldn't do the trick so I screeched into the gas station to put a few gallons in, meanwhile repeating in my mind that we will make the ferry we will make the ferry. As I drove off and thought we were just fine, I looked for my cell phone and realized I didn't have it. I could not believe this because who goes to the airport to find someone these days without their cell phone? Especially if they are going to be late? Oh my goodness! I laughed and screamed out loud and flipped around to go back and get the phone. I kept on thinking, we will make the ferry we will make the ferry. I ran inside and saw Nate's jaw drop as he watched me scramble for my phone and dash out the door. I repeated my mantra, we will make the ferry, the entire way across Bainbridge Island. You don't even know how relieved I was when we were about the second to the last car on. Phew!!!

The rest is really history, because we were just in time to get Sarah. I was glad I had my phone (of course) because I was able to leave her a message telling her we were on the way. She was able to call me when she landed and by the time she was off the plane and out by the arrivals, Juniper and I pulled up to get her.

Sarah seems to be really happy to be visiting us. She thinks our house is really cute, and loves Juniper. I took her to my favorite grocery store and we made dinner together while she organized my pantry and cleaned out my disgusting microwave. We've had some good laughs so far and I am sure we will have more. It's nice to have a sister who accepts me for the scatterbrain that I can be!!!

Here are some pics of the guest room I've been working on, and the before and after pics of my pantry.

Thanks, Domestic Goddess for visiting us! We can't wait to have more adventures tomorrow. I think I'll actually wear jeans and brush my hair for you!!!

Annoying Comments

Hi. There have been some strange comments on my blog from no one that I know, usually redirecting me to some weird picture or as my Mom informed me, a spam thing. Please beware. I am going to try to take care of this problem by reporting it to blogger. As far as the comments go, I guess open at your own risk. If the name doesn't sound familiar, be careful. I'll try to delete them as they appear. How annoying!!

Woolpets

While we were at the Caucus voting for Obama on Saturday, I ran into my neighbor (Laurie) who owns such a neat little business. It is called Woolpets. She invited me and Juniper to come watch two of her sheep get sheared, so yesterday we went! It was pretty neat to watch the lady get these sheep completely sheared without much objection. I also chatted with Laurie about her business and what she does with the wool. She and her husband used to own a preschool but now pay the bills with this cute little business!! Last night Nate asked Juniper what she thought of watching the sheep get haircuts. She said, "just watch, don't touch 'em".

American Government

On Saturday, Nate and I (Juniper too) went to Caucus for Obama. If you'd like to read more about what this means, here's the link. It was an educational experience as well as fulfilling to know we participated in what we believe is the most important election of our time. We were thrilled when we learned that Obama had won the Washington Caucus and felt so good that we helped out with his success!!! Oh, the place was just packed! Cars were lined down the street and there was such a feeling of excitement. I think Obama has definitely gotten people excited about participating in politics again.

Easiest Peanut Butter Cookies

I learned this recipe on pbs one night . . . . it couldn't get any easier than this so I had to share. I think they are just as good as any traditional pb cookie recipe.

1 c. Peanut Butter
1 c. Sugar
1 egg

That's it!!! You don't even need a mixer, just a spoon and a bowl. Press down with a sugared fork and bake for 10 minutes at 350. The recipe makes about 18 small cookies or 12 large ones. Enjoy!!!

It's a Dog's Life

Yesterday morning, after calling Kingsley (our 1 year old golden retriever) for a good ten minutes and starting to panic (he usually comes right away), he came running up to the door shivering and soaking wet. He had gone through our neighbor's yard and down her steep stairs for a swim in the freezing Puget Sound. I felt so bad that he had to escape to go have fun that I decided I better just brave the cold and take him to the beach today. Here are some pictures from our outing.

Yes We Can

Check this out!!!

One of the Many

Skirts I've recently made for Juniper. I am having so much fun finding bargain fabrics (okay usually bargain) - this fabric was on sale for $3.00 a yard! A lady at the fabric store taught me an easy "no pattern" way to make them! I"ll share later if anyone is interested or when I have a little more time. I'll be posting more of these skirts as she wears them. . . . as far as the little snack she is eating it's Pirates Booty. She loves it!!

Play Dough

I've been meaning to make play dough for a long time. I tried before Christmas, but the recipe I tried didn't work, and it used a lot of ingredients. Last week I tried a new recipe from teachnet.com and was very happy with it! Juniper plays with it at least twice a day. (Not quite sure why it is called "Earth Friendly", but makes me feel good about making it!)

Earth Friendly Play Dough
1 cup flour (not self-rising)
1/2 cup salt
1 cup water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1-1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
Mix in saucepan over low heat. (It does not have to heat long.) Dough is ready when it rolls into a ball. Keep dough fresh in an airtight container. If you need to make different colors, add food coloring while mixing over heat.

Hello Again

Hello again friends, family and blogging world! I am going to give this blogging thing another try. I've been wanting to show off some of the clothes I have been making for Juniper as well as some of the yummy recipes I've been trying. I decided that a blog is a great place to share whatever I'd like. Thanks for checking in!!