Trivia: Kangaroos are part of what animal family???

Last Saturday The Mr. and I drove down to the Seattle area to pick up his Buell Lightning from the Harley Davidson shop. On the way back home, we met up with The Rich Bachelor for a late lunch at That Burger Place. It's only a hole in the wall, but they serve great burgers. What is especially neat about That Burger Place, is their meat choices. You can see some of them in the photograph below. Notice anything different? How many times do you see goat, buffalo, venison, ostrich, yak, kangaroo, elk, antelope, alligator, llama, camel and caribou on the same menu as fish, chicken and beef?

It was a hard choice when it was our turn to order. I wasn't feeling adventurous, so I got regular ol' beef, but The Mr. went ahead and ordered a kangaroo burger. Yup, kangaroo! Before he ordered, he was wondering aloud what kangaroo would taste like, and The Rich Bachelor, piped up and said "ahh- like chicken, all those birds taste like chicken!" The room fell silent for a second and then The Mr. and I burst out laughing and I said "A Kangaroo is NOT in the bird family." I don't know what he was thinking, but it was hilarious. Definitely blog-worthy. Here is my version of a Bird-aroo, or would it be a Kanga-bird?

Oh yeah, and click here for the trivia answer.

It Sparkles Again!

I cleaned our fridge because it really needed it. Yes, that is play-dough and chocolate cake on the bottom shelf, two of my favorite things. As of today, the fridge is now jam packed in preparation for the weekend. Oh, and can you tell we like mustard?

Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd.... or shall I say, IKEA!

On Wednesday, I usually hang out with a little baby and his mommy. I haven't thought of a good nickname for mommy yet, but let's call her son Drooler - (for obvious reasons!) Last Wednesday, I decided to drag Drooler and his mommy to one of my favorite stores on Earth. IKEA! Actually, I asked and they took me there, so it was voluntary on their part. I love that store. Really. Anyone who wants to learn how to make their home more beautiful, simple and less cluttered should take a walk through IKEA at least once a year. It's like a museum, or looking through a nice modern decorating book with a twist. My birthday is September 27th and I am sure they sell gift cards. (Maybe it's a little early to start hinting- let's see.... eight months?)

These two photographs are just two examples of what I picked up. The table center to the right is composed of liquefying candles, votive holders and a woven grass placemat I wanted to pick up last time I was there but didn't. That was over a year ago and they still carried it. I love how their style is so classically modern that they can get away with carrying the same items over and over. I like how they mix contemporary and classic. Another item that was on my wish-list from the last trip was a lantern - I got black, and it looks like wrought iron. This is not all I got either, some of the items were on sale, so I decided to splurge.

I also got these spice jars for the top of my stove. There has never been anything that lives up there, and I wasn't sure at first, but I like it. They hold the spices I usually have to go all the way to the pantry for, because I buy them in bulk Costco sizes. It doesn't really make sense to store your most used spices in a pantry.

Financed by Drooler's Mommy, we ate dinner at the IKEA restaurant, later had frozen yogurt at the Bistro, then Starbucks (mm.... Cinnamon Dolce Latte) then Prayer Meeting....... it was a long day.

So that's all folks. Tune in next time!

Crafting

One of the crafts I really enjoy is crocheting. I use up yarn leftovers by crocheting baby hats and they are really a lot of fun. The purple hat with the flower is for my neighbors, who are having their first baby some time later this year. There is a doll hat in there for someone, and the others - I am not sure who they are for yet.

The other night I was at a hymn sing and I was working at rolling some yarn into balls when disaster struck. One of the strings I was winding somehow grabbed onto all the other ends of stray balls of yarn that were in my bag. What it created, is what is shown in the photograph. A huge mess! It took at least an hour and help from Knittery Kate and others to separate all the different yarns, but it was worth it. They will turn into cute hats. These photos were a little boring so I played around with them a bit. What crafts do you like to do? I think it would be cool to hear. Leave a comment about what you like to do!

Lots of Snow at Mt. Baker

Heading up to Mt. Baker:

Last Friday, The Mr. called me and said that he checked the snow report for the area, and that Mt. Baker looked like it was going to have great conditions. We planned to go up the very next day, and called Knittery Kate's son T to see if he would like to go up with us. I was so excited! Snowboarding in powder is so much fun, and not something I have experienced a lot. Well, we got up early Saturday morning and we were not disappointed. We couldn't believe the change in conditions as we drove further and further up the Mt. Baker highway. The snow appeared suddenly, and the piles on the sides of the road only got higher and higher! We all had a great day.

The snow alongside the road was taller than the cars:

Bumper Cars

Oregon has been having some crazy weather this month as well. King5 released a video recently that was pretty amazing. A resident in Portland caught a home video of vehicles on their street literally playing bumper cars and pin-balling off of each other. Very scary. Click here for the video. Click the sqaure/stop on the music bar in the left hand column of my blog page so you can hear the sound clear on the video. Keep watching it till the end. At one point, a car is sliding along horizontal to the street because there is absolutely no traction at all.

*note: yesterday our computer was down so I didn't get to post, the silly thing has problems.

Sriracha is Super in Soup

Yesterday, it was raining outside and I felt like making something that would warm me up. I grabbed a bunch of items from my fridge and decided to make soup. Here is the "recipe":

1 pound extra lean ground beef
1/2 a large sweet onion
Garlic powder
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Italian seasoning

Finely chop the onion, toss with the beef in a stock pot, coat well with the seasonings and when it is browned, add:

2 cans tomato sauce
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato paste (opt. I like my soup flavorful)
1/2 a white cabbage, chopped into chunks
2 cups sliced carrots
a handful of frozen corn
a handful of frozen peas
add water until it looks good to you
as much Sriracha Hot chili sauce as you can handle, or your favorite spice


Sriracha HOT chili sauce is one of my favorite condiments. It goes great in soups, chili, breakfast burritos, with teriyaki, Thai food, Indian food and Vietnamese (specifically Pho soup and Lemongrass chicken.) My favorite uses for it are teriyaki and the soup listed above.

Freezing Cold

Last week it was freezing. Literally! The pond out back was frozen solid and we even caught a few glimpses of people venturing out onto it's surface. I don't think this is something we will see that often! One family all stood on the shoreline and watched as dad put on all his hockey gear and spent time skating around the ice with his stick and puck. Jersey and all - a true hockey fan! I'm not sure the mom trusted the ice enough for the kids to go out on it, which was probably a safe idea.





The day after I saw this group of kids on the ice, and was worried that they were out there all alone. I looked around and that's when I saw that their parents were sitting inside the window of a house across the street taking pictures. They were staying nice and cozy warm with their hot cocoa in hand!

Nostalgia

I wrote about our trip to Joshua Tree National Park a couple of days ago, you can read it by clicking here . My dad read the blog and later on wrote me an email saying that he was struck with nostalgia while reading it. He went and dug out the old albums and guess what he found?


These photographs were taken in the same location, 21 or so years ago!! Above is my Dad, Mom and my younger sister. Below is my paternal grandparents with my sister and I.

4 Byin'

I missed posting this yesterday, because our computer was having problems. Thankfully it is back up today! I wonder if it will crash again in a couple of weeks. Hmm.

While we were in California, we also spent a day with Douggie off-roading (or 4-byin' as some call it) in their 4x4 truck and Suburban. A few of the family members and friends that were staying at their home came as well. We ate lunch together, enjoyed the view (the Date Palm grove specifically)and looked around their property (they have a tangerine tree- yummy!) Then we jumped into the trucks to head out further into the dessert.

As we were pulling out of Douggie's driveway, we looked over and saw that there was someone in a lot of trouble. The garbage man had hit the wrong button and dumped his garbage into a pile on the street! We circled around the block because we just couldn't give up the superb photo opportunity.
We drove South from their city until we found a place where there is a great area to go exploring. It was a crazy bumpy ride, but so fun. At several points I doubted the ability of the truck to continue on, but we made it! Sometimes you are in tight spots, or there are rises and falls in the terrain that are difficult. Once we even had someone get out and watch as the truck drove on- to make sure we didn't bottom out. We drove for several hours and then came upon this out-house on wheels, which struck us as funny. It was in the middle of the wilderness and Men's was on one side and Women's on the other. On the side of it was a sink, soap and even paper towels!
When we got back, we all went to Uncle R and Aunt R's and they put on a magnificent meal for us. King Crab legs, Jumbo Shrimp, asparagus and all sorts of yummy food.

He giveth snow like wool... Psalm 147:16

These two photographs were taken out our back window around the same time of day on January 9th and 10th.


...He saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth... Job 37:6

Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? Job 38:22

For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead... Romans 1:20

Joshua Tree National Park

December 30th/06- The Mr. and I spent the day at Joshua Tree National Park. There was quite a group of us, since Uncle R, Sallad and Grace, the Totems from Colorado, Cousin Douggie and some of his family also spent the day with us. This was a full day of driving, but very interesting. The park is made up of two deserts. The Colorado Desert, and the Mojave Desert. Mojave is pronounced "moh-hah-vee" for those who are unfamiliar with it - (as Sallad was.) We had a nice breakfast at R&R's and then went to meet the rest of the gang over at Cousin Douggies place. One of the places we stopped was the Cholla Gardens in the Colorado desert. Cholla is pronounced "choya" and they are some of the craziest plants I have ever seen. The boys read aloud the sign warning them to keep their fingers to themselves, and promptly went to experiment (as you can see in the slide show below.) The Mr. found out how powerful the Cholla really are when he went to kick a tiny ball that had fallen to the ground and it embedded itself in the rubber sole of his shoe. That's sharp!

Once you cross into the Mojave Desert from the Colorado Desert, the scenery changes. The Mojave dessert is home to the Joshua Tree. The Joshua Tree looks like something you would see in a Dr. Seuss book. This area also had huge piles of boulders. Sallad, Grace and the Mr. did some scrambling. They told us that they were going to climb, but I didn't realize that they would actually get as high as they did - or that it was even possible without equipment! As you can see from the photos, they were pretty high! The little line on the top of the boulders is Sallad and the other two are somewhere in the area as well. I didn't go, because to tell you the truth, I was afraid of Rattlesnakes! Shutter!

The Young Chatty

There have been a couple requests to see a photo of The Chatty Housewife as a child. Well, here she is, with her tongue sticking out in concentration. No, I don't do that anymore. I have to apologize for the poor photo quality since we don't have a scanner. This is a picture of a photograph.

I have fond memories of this day. Dad, Mom, my younger sister and I were at the beach all day. (At least it seemed that way- I am sure naps were involved somewhere.) I am not sure how old I am in this photo, so I can't say whether my brother was with us or not. Either way, it was a great day.

Update Below!

Make sure to scroll down and read the update to "It's a Boy!" There are pictures!

R&R

R&R can stand for rest and relaxation, but in this case it also stands for Uncle Rob and Aunt Ruth. We stayed in their home from Thursday through Saturday night and they were more than hospitable. Their place is so relaxing and we felt very at home there. Thursday night, Uncle R grilled steaks on the BBQ for us and they were delicious. Uncle R spent quite a while trying to flip a steak with some poky contraption, but finally let in and used the nice flat spatula that was fetched for him by yours truly. The two men stood discussing something around the BBQ until the steaks were medium-rare. I wonder if it had anything to do with proper utensil usage?

Behind their house, there is a commons area with ponds. There are fancy little waterfalls, gardens and rockeries. While we were there, we saw several different types of birds, including a Road Runner, Egret and a Hummingbird. I was standing on the back patio taking photographs of these flowers and this little guy flew right into my sights and posed for me. I have never seen a hummingbird sit so still! It was a treat to see and hear the bird when I was so close. They are the tiniest, prettiest little birds.

It's a BOY!

Just a quick note to spread the happy, exciting news. Phone Guy and Princess have a brand new BABY BOY!!! He was born yesterday in the early morning after 30 hours of labor and mom and dad are VERY happy. More news to follow! When I know the specifics, I will update this post.



UPDATE:

I just got off the phone with the new mommy and can now give an update! He weighed 7 lb 1 oz, is 19 1/2" long and has lots of dark hair. His due date was the 8th, but he came a day early to show his Mommy and Daddy how cute he is. All three of them sounded like they were doing great, and the new Grandpa and Grandma were stopping buy to drop off groceries for them as I hung up. Sounds like they will be well taken care of!

Steven's Pass with Napper and Cheerful

I wrote this a while back, but didn't get around to posting it. Our computer is dead so we have hooked up Ol' Faithful, our old computer the Mr. built and it seems to be working ok. It might be a while before I am able to post more of the photos from the California trip. :(

On December 16th we went snowboarding at Steven's Pass with Napper and Cheerful. We drove down to their place the night before, and got up early the next morning so we could make first tracks. The road conditions through the Mt. Baker-Snowqualmie National forest were icy and a little slow-going, but we were excited for what was to come. We arrived at Steven's while the lift operators were just starting to let people on the lifts. We started at the top of the Big Chief double chair, and made close to the first tracks coming down Showcase. It was a great first run. Here is a map. We had so much fun that we stayed till after it was dark. The night skiing they offer at Steven's is great. I would love to go again but do things a little differently. Sleep in, start boarding at noon and stay till 9 pm. That would be ideal, although we would miss out on making the first tracks, which is so nice. The extra sleep in the a.m. would help out our energy in the p.m.!

Magic Mountain was a Blast!

On Wednesday Dec 27/06 we spent the day with Sallad and Grace at Magic Mountain. It was so much fun and I still can't believe the rides we went on. I had never been on anything so crazy or scary, but the rides were incredible. I didn't take our camera, but was able to find some neat photos on the web of my top 5 roller coasters. All the photos are click-able for larger versions.

Tatsu- The orange and green coaster to the left. My favorite coaster at the park. You are hanging under the track horizontally as if you are flying. You sit in the cars which hang from the track above, the floor drops away and you are flipped 90 degrees. Your body is supported by comfy rubber supports as well as shoulder bars that go to your lap and ankle supports. It's like flying, and if I hadn't felt so safe, I would have totally freaked out. It is an amazing ride. There are flips, turns and free-fall butterfly in your stomach loops.


Batman- My second favorite coaster.
You are suspended from the track above and your feet dangle free, it's a neat feeling. If you think about it, the riders in the top of the photo are currently doing head stands. :) We went on this one twice in a row because it was so much fun. Good thing Sallad was medicated. The second time around we got the front row. There is nothing in front of you except air. This is a great ride. I am starting to sound like a MM saleslady, but it's true!


Goliath- Travels at 85-mph with a 255 ft drop leading into an underground tunnel- very crazy. I went on this twice and blacked out at the same spot each time, but would still go again. They call that specific spot a "Helix Turn", which gives "positive G-forces" but I think it would be better titled as the "keep blinking and your sight will eventually come back" turn.



Riddler's Revenge- The photo to the right. This is a stand up roller coaster. You are completely supported, but standing the entire time and it's a very weird feeling. It has a 110 foot tall vertical loop, and is the tallest and largest standing coaster in the world.

Déjà Vu- This coaster to the left is labeled as a boomerang coaster, because you fly through it twice- once forwards and once backwards at crazy crazy speeds.

Well, that's my top 5, and if you ever get to visit MM, plan to take some motion sickness pills with you just in case. You wouldn't want to be stuck buying them in front of everyone and have them tease you about needing to be medicated. (Hey Sallad- are you seeing straight yet?)

Zuma Beach

On December 26/06, the day after the conference, there was a beach party at Zuma Beach. The weather didn't look all that great to start out, but the day turned out pretty good. The rain stayed away, and the sun peeked out here and there giving just enough light for neat photographs. Highlights of the day were hearing Uncle Dan Munck give the talk, seeing dolphins jumping on the horizon, walking and talking with Aunts Gwen and Glenna and watching kids try and eat chili dogs dusted with sand.

Happy New Year!

Hello! Bear with me while I take a break from posting for a bit. Our trip to California went great, the bible conference was very encouraging and we got to renew friendships with a lot of family and friends. We got home late last night and I am sick as a dog. (Just a cold I hope.) I plan to have my blog updated with stories and photographs as soon as I can. Thanks for stopping by!