Taco Tuesday: How I love thee...

I wanted to post something but, what to post when my mind is only in one place? Yes, its Taco Tuesday! How do I love thee?  Let me count the ways. ...

10. What other day can I waist $2 per avocado and feel okay about it?

9. Its the one night of my week the kids don't decide they are too ill to eat as soon as they   see what is on their plate. Hallelujah! They shall survive one more week.

8. I get to fry something other than an egg.

7. What else shall I do with 5lbs of ground beef from Costco?

6. Because Nordies carries a shirt in your honor.  Nordstroms,... I love you!

I shall own this one day!

5.  Your corn tortillas are Gluten free! That is Solid!

4. Because it is the one week night that it is socially acceptable to have salt on the rim of my glass! And nobody seems to want to celebrate Benito Juarez day with me anymore. :(

3. You are no longer Monday .

2. You leave no guesswork for dinner. 

1.  You put the T in my Tapatio! 

I didn't write this but, I found it fitting!

I have to say, I'm pretty sure that since my birth certificate says I was born in San Jose, it really means that little town at the tip of Mexico. I really like burritos too. That can't just be a coincidence. Just sayin. 

I trust that you all will be celebrating accordingly. Cheers!

Love, 

What to do with this damn Chicken- and a rant...

 Before I start into my chicken recipe, I thought I would mention that I am tired. Yep, exhausted, drained, and otherwise running on auto pilot. Starbucks just can't provide anything to help me. At this point I think I just need some good quality sleep. I wonder if the other moms at school, that are so perky and driven every single day, have an underground speed dealing operation. I honestly think our amazing PTC president might just be the drug lord of El Dorado Hills. Okay not really, but how DO they do it? 

So, without getting involved in any illegal substances, I just keep plugging along. My husband thinks I have a disease called Chronic Fatigue because everyday when he asks how I am, I say, "good but tired"! So, let me try to explain part of why I am so tired...

Did I get the message across?  BTW, that is a Queen sized bed! Okay, so hold the calls to the doctor honey. P.S.- Don't I look great! I mean, especially for not getting any sleep! :)

With that said, we have another busy day ahead of us and mommy doesn't have the time to do a lot of cooking. Last week I ran across the following slow cooker chicken recipe. I loved it! The hubby, (the one from the picture above) liked it too. We ate a lot and so did my kids...SUCCESS! 

Slow Cooker Twenty clove-Garlic Chicken 

 

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon olive oil

3 to 3 1/2 lb cut-up organic whole chicken  pieces

1 large onion, sliced

1 medium bulb garlic (about 20 cloves) 

1/2 cup white wine

Directions:  

1.  In small bowl, mix salt, paprika, pepper and oil to form paste; spread evenly over each piece of chicken. 

2.  In 5- to 6-quart slow cooker, place onion slices. Arrange chicken over onion. Separate garlic into cloves;  do not peel cloves. Place garlic cloves around chicken.  Pour wine over top.

3.  Cover; cook on Low setting 7 to 8 hours. 

4. With slotted spoon, remove chicken, onion and garlic from slow cooker; place on serving platter. Squeeze garlic cloves to use cooked garlic on mashed potatoes, vegetables or bread.

Enjoy!

Love, 

progress

"Most people are in favor of progress, it's the changes they don't like." - Source Unknown.  

 I guess this says it all for me right now. Truth is, I have always wanted progress, I want to keep moving forward. A still and stale life has never suited me. Currently though, I feel like if life stood still for a little while, I would be grateful.

Progress has meant a few things for me lately that are somewhat hard to digest

1.  Both of my babies are in school this year. Every day, 5 days a week, we get up, have breakfast together and I cart them off so they can spend their days with a teacher.  They grow faster than the speed of light and the thought that this cycle will continue for the next 12 years until they leave home for college, well it hurts.  
2.  I have started, and grown my own business. That part is good! It has grown bigger than I thought it would. That part is also good.  I now have a business license, have begun collecting and paying taxes, and I am having difficulty managing family life and work life at times. That part is not that great.
3.  I’m getting old. Enough said.
4.  My dog has cancer and this means that time is passing and her cancer is growing. In a short time, we will need to make another hard decision to put our furry family member down.  I am reminded daily just how blessed we have been with her in our lives. To us, she was...

a crashed puppy!

 

 

 

the adornment of our Christmas cards before kids.:)

 

the "licky monster"

 

 

a lover of all things water!

the protector of our children...

a giver of the feeling of always being watched, while in the bath!

a beauty.

a tennis ball chewer.

an old lady who moves with cautious ease.

You will always be loved Miss Casey Jane! Thank you for staying strong for us and for our babies for so long!

 

 Love,

 

 

Home away from home for 10 days...and we are back!

We went for 10 days, we stayed, we played, we fished, we hiked, we swam, we boated, we built amazing Lego displays, and created yet another year of memories of our summers at Buck's Lake. We are back!

Where in the world is Buck's Lake you ask? Well it is about a 20 minute drive from Quincy, CA and about 1 1/2 hours drive northeast from Chico, ca and about an hour south of Lake Almanor. Still don't get it? Here is a map...

My parents bought a cabin at Buck's Lake about 13 years ago after years of camping there. It is a little slice of heaven tucked in the forest with great fishing, wildlife, and very minimal amounts of people, like you might get in Almanor or Tahoe. Our cabin is a small 2 bedroom 1 bath, A-framed place with only the essentials, which excludes phones, internet, cable and a dishwasher!

isn't it cute!

What it does have, is a ton of fun things to do, very comfortable accommodations, and the perfect setting for extreme relaxation. Here is a little glimpse of the inside.

the cool dinning table that seats 10 with the giant Lazy Susan is my favorite part.

Only downside of this place is that we have to get our fill during the summer and early fall because about 6-8 months out of the year there is snow. Nobody plows the roads up here so if we plan to come for a visit during the snowy season, we need to figure out how to get 2 dogs, 2 kids, 2 adults and all of our stuff up on snow mobiles for a 10 mile drive. At this point of our lives, it isn't very doable.  There is a great snowmobile park there for anyone who is willing to take on the challenge.

Ahh, i love it there. I miss it already. It has so many great things about it and I can almost smell the fresh mountain air all the way from here at my little computer desk.  Here are some of the little things about it that has left my heart aching to go back .

1. The endless amount of floor space for lego building.
2. The wood burning stove that sits smack dab in the center of the room, which used to scare me to death when my kids were little but now, provides endless warmth on the cold evenings.
3. A large deck for long days of reading, sunning, BBQing and just relaxing.
4. Fresh wildflowers always adorning the table.
5. A full sized shuffleboard table that is better suited for a dirty college bar
6. A bottle open and old tin can to catch your caps, on the deck right next to a full cooler.
7. Last but not least, my parents awesome decorating. 

But, it is really about what is outside the cabin that draws us to this place every year. My kids spend all day outside doing things I could only dream of during regular days at home, when I am fighting them to go outside and play!

He got his first Bow. Its not just fishing anymore folks! Yes, there was still snow on the ground behind him!

Oh and the dogs, they love us for these trips too!

 It seems as though we won't make it back up this summer, prior to school starting. The kids go back to school August 11Th!!! I know, its crazy! Who do I talk to about this? When is this decision made and why wasn't I asked for my opinion?

I hope all of your vacations are as great as ours was. We are back to the reality of the non-simple life. The phones are ringing off the hook and my kids have been asking for the iPad again. But, we still don't have cable (insert evil cackling laugh)! 

Love,

Finding photo creativity

I struggle often with finding my creative juices while taking photos.  I love to get cool new angels and poses that don't look posed. I want to have fun and make my clients happy although, there are times when I am just not feeling it.  

Sometimes I need a boost and they just don't have the kind I need at Jamba Juice. I recently discovered Pinterest. If you have not been there yet, well go! Find it, love it, make it your own. I just cant get enough!  Anyway I saw this cool pin about ways to keep creativity in your photos.

                                                                                        Source: divasanddreams.blogspot.com via Michele on Pinterest

I'm going to try to follow this... 

• I already cleaned up my workspace (#2) and now on to my house, which might take a little longer.
• I took a road trip this weekend and definitely documented (#23), more to come on that. 
• I  practice daily as my models/children can attest to (#29) 
• I turned on some crazy Pandora today (#5)
• I did an honest self portrait (#13). That was a big deal for me. I'm not usually in front of the camera, so it was a little awkward, which meant I just didn't look at the camera.  

What do you think?

I have to work on #17 but im also going to try to spell it right. :) I won't be doing # 28 because I don't cut and paste and that is what my blog is for anyway.  

Well,  off to do #6!  

Happy Monday! Now, go do something creative.

Love, 

Summer survival week 1

We have survived one whole week of summer, so far. I am actually (don't let my husband hear this) enjoying this whole no TV thing. I have found that while I thought I used to have the TV on for the noise, I must have actually stopped to watch it occasionally, because I am getting more done now. Weird? 

We went to the gym 3 days last week, which proved to be a great way to get the kids out of the house for some activity in the childcare center, while mommy tries to remove some of the post lent (back to drinking milk) pounds I have put on. I got most of the Mount Everest pile of laundry done so at least now I can easily open the door to the laundry room, which is such a weight lift for me! We have been listening to more Pandora and I actually read a whole book in one week, which hasn't happened since the whole Twilight Saga. Nuf said!

The kids have been doing a lot more playing outdoors, even in the rain, since our summer weather seems to have forgotten to appear thus far. Mouse has been reading more books and they both have done a lot of art. They have discovered the board games that have been otherwise untouched for about a year. Sad, I know. I forgot how much I loved Candy Land as a kid. 

 We also did something fun that was new to me. We LISTENED to a book! I had mistakenly ordered the Junie B. Jones audio books instead of the real deal and so we listened. And we listened some more. And the kids and I killed about 2 hours, laying on the floor with our blankets, listening to the books. It was so nice and it will be a sure fire way to pass time in the rainy weather. 

They look enthused, huh!

Here is the best part,...wait for it! When I get these 2 unused AT&T cable boxes back to the cable company, I get a whole $300 back! Yippee! That should help pay for some form of extra curricular summer activities to help us get through. I'm thinking Piano lessons. Up until now, the piano's only purpose is serving as a time-out spot for children that have not stopped whining about the lack of TV and are otherwise getting into mischief!

If there was a pouting award...he might win!

 Today, we started a new adventure, which my Jedi and Mouse have been eagerly anticipating. The arrival of their cousin (we shall call him The Monkey).

The Monkey will be joining us for the whole week, every other week, the whole summer. I am thinking we will be embarking on many adventures together. Firstly, we had to lay down the rules for the summer, so that we can ensure the tattling will be kept to a minimum and mommy can remain pleasant and happy. Here goes...

And that pretty much sums up the rules...

 Now, for today we shall play happily and begin our 2 weeks of swim lessons. According to Mother Earth, today will mark the end of the rain for a while, at least I really really hope so...

Can you hear the church choir singing?

Love,

Summer has officially started - Day 1

After a crazy last week of two super cute performances, two celebrations, and lots of weeping mommies, we have officially entered into summer. My little Mouse sang a darling song about growing into a flower. My seats were not the best so I had to throw a few elbows just to get this shot. I cried like a baby!

She was the "K" in her poem about Kindergarten. I cried like a baby!

 

Its done, its over, I officially have a first grader. How is that possible? I am crying like a baby!

And then there is my Jedi. He was the most darling little cowboy for his preschool performance. His teacher is so super creative that she had them make these cute vests and stick horses to ride into their show.

So cute! Although we would have rathered the horse be a light-saber, and the vest be a dark cloak, I think he survived!

The kids made items to raffle off. I bid on this great western themed mural that all the kids made. I won it! My playroom is going to be sooo cute with this in it!

 

I officially have a Kindergartner. I might add that he is a cute one too! Such a happy little Jedi. I am crying like a baby...again!

That brings us to our first day of summer today. I think it is summer anyway. (confused face)

We did okay..

1. The cable TV has been officially turned off. NO TV at all with the exception of the DVD player that is still connected because I am not willing to give up Friday night movie night. I am a salt addict after all and when else am I going to overload on popcorn?

2. I took care of 2 other children. One of which ended a long bout of constipation in my bathroom and flooded it after the toilet clogged. Happy for her. Not happy for me. :) Child is okay, bathroom is cleaner than it started, toilet has been plunged.

3. One child crashed into the side of the house while riding the quad in the backyard. Lessons will be given on quad riding tomorrow. Helmets will be become mandatory. Child is okay, house is okay. Mommies, near death rapid heart-rate has subsided.

4. Princess dress wearing child has realized that floor length princess dresses and bicycle chains sometime mesh and require scissors to untangle. Child okay, bike okay, princess dress is a little shorter than normal. 

All in all, I think it was a good solid start to the summer. Now, we just need to work on this weather so that mommy can be poolside while watching floaty clad children learn how to rightfully swim!

Also, please keep me in your prayers. This TV thing is going to be hard, I'm not going to lye. Something has got to give because of it, either my sanity or my mount Everest pile of laundry will only get larger. Happy summer and late Taco Tuesday!

 Love,