Oopsie

Apparently I've fallen off the planet. With school I've been forcing myself to NOT update my blog as it leads to a very tempting distraction. I've got a week and a half left of classes and I'll update here then.

Also coming soon: A "new" blog. I intend on re-vamping my blog into one about me, my family etc and another for crafting-related topics.

1st Official Sewing Project

I started my sewing class about 2 weeks ago. It's once a week on Mondays. The first day of class we did some small little sewing "drills" so that we could look at them whenever we forgot what a certain stitch looked like. The second class we started to cut out our patterns & material and some of us began sewing together our first project - aprons! Our instructor let us know that our third class we would be skipping due to the MLK Holiday and to get our aprons as far along as we could prior to our next class because we would be starting our second project then (a robe). I finished my apron a few minutes ago and it's so stinkin' cute. I WAS going to use it in the kitchen but I don't want to get it dirty cause of how stinkin' cute it is, so it is now my crafting apron. Hopefully I don't get any paint on it! (how silly is that, I'd rather get paint on my clothes than on my shiny new apron!)

I also bought some really cute material for two gifts I'll be making (can you guess what they'll be?!). So off I go to start making those gifts...

Click image for larger view

Pay it Forward

Ok so I am not big on those statuses that go around on facebook where you're supposed to do something then copy/paste the status as your own. I don't so much care for the "spam" part of it and most of the time they are stupid wastes of time and I think they are annoying (to me, do what you please). A friend posted this one the other day though and I couldn't help but want to do it immediately.  

"Pay it Forward 2011: I promise to send something handmade to the first 5 people who leave a comment here. They must in turn post this and send something they make to the first 5 people who comment on their status. The rules are that it must be handmade by you and it must be sent to your 5 people sometime in 2011. Note...I get to pick what to make!"

I commented on her status then posted it as my own and got a flood of responses and a bunch of my friends re-posted it as their own shortly after. I decided I just can't stick to making only five people something - especially if they are making me something. So I decided to do a trade - you make me something (anything) and I will make something for you in return.

Here is my list of people I am making something for, and who are making me something in return:

1. Kallie Thorsen
2. Roy Jackson
3. Krystle Briese
4. Karen Woods
5. Jeremy Hustad
6. Alexandra Smith
7. Jimi Sepulveda
8. Sheena Menard
9. Candice Abellon

I will definitely post something about both what I am making and also what I receive and for/from whom. It's exciting to not know what people will be sending me and it's equally exciting trying to think of what to make for my friends. I know that the majority will get something homemade for their kitchen or dining rooms but a few will get something different - I just haven't thought of it yet!!

A crazy week!

This week has been crazy for me!! Okay -- to others who have been working or who have been going to school or been doing both - not so crazy. For me...whose been out of school for four years and out of work for at least six months (and off and on prior to that) this week has been crazy!! My schedule isn't really all that hectic to be honest but I am just not used to having to be somewhere at a certain time, navigating to and from my class locations (while lugging books and keeping warm), keeping up with housework and meals, getting homework/projects done and now working from home in the off chance I have a moment to do so (and the work is available). The week isn't even over yet and I already feel like I am falling behind!! To top everything off - Hubby is on a new diet so now I can't just toss some spaghetti on the stove and call it done, I've got to come up with some meals that he can actually eat. Granted, he did agree to cook one night a week *at least* as I just lack the chance to do so myself that particular night.

I will say that so far my classes are super fun! Monday nights I have my sewing class and it was the first time that I ever did anything with my NEW machine. Yes, I have a new sewing machine instead of the hand-me-down one that Craig's Aunt gave me. What's the story there? Well I took the machine (a Singer that was about 10-15 years old) in to get cleaned up, get the timing fixed and make sure it was in working order. The repair shop then told me it would cost more money to fix the machine than it was worth and suggested I recycle it - so I did. It made the most sense to go this route as just the cost to clean and fix it up was $104 and the part that was broken (a cam-shaft?!?) was difficult to get and costly to replace. A new machine with extra parts and in perfectly working order was $200. I added the stores 3-year maintenance plan for an extra $100 which means I can bring my machine in as many times as I want or need to over the next 3-years with no additional cost (base price to have it cleaned up is $84 and it's suggested to do so at least once a year), plus I get 20% off at the store in the event I need supplies during my sewing class (which coincidentally is at the same store.) The class is fun though - there are only five students in the class so it's easy to get one-on-one time with the instructor and no one should fall behind on projects. There is only one lady in the class who has never once sewn in her life but she seems to be a quick learner, the rest of us have sewn projects here and there and just want to get better at what we're doing. Personally - I just want to know my machine. I am super excited about the projects we'll be making and am also excited to start making gifts for friends and family. I have a huge list forming!!! I also talked with Craig and he thinks I should make an etsy account to sell handmade things - we'll see how that goes (as everyone and their mothers uncle has an etsy account these days).

My Tuesday and Thursday morning class is Environmental Ethics. So far it seems like everyday we'll hold a class discussion on "What is Nature?" and on our reading assignments - which is pretty cool except that I am not a big "discussion" person - I like to listen to discussion's and hear what others have to say but I am not much of a vocal person or one to share my opinion in public. I suppose it's my way of avoiding arguments. We'll have a few research papers to write, but overall I think the class should be pretty fun. Oh!! One really cool thing about the class is that it's locally based - meaning it's Environmental Ethics in relation to the Pacific Northwest - so we won't be talking about global issues or ozone layers or anything of that nature. I thought that was really cool because it'll be a great way for me to get to know the area better and I can do things on my own to help "save the environment" --at least, locally.

My Tuesday and Thursday evening class is Intro to Building Systems. I took a similar class at DISD but neglected to pay much attention and it was apparent when it came time to use the material at work. I didn't feel as if I knew what I was looking at sometimes or what my boss was talking about. So I decided to take the class again - I'm glad I did. This class is also locally based so I can get to know Oregon codes, zoning and the way the Oregonians do things. This class is also residential based - which is new to me so I hope to learn a lot more in regards to building and designing residential. I've only done assignments and work related issues in the commercial field so it's a welcome change!!

My Wednesday night class is manual photography - and it doesn't start until next week, so I will tell you all about it then!

As far as work is concerned - if you've read my past entries I mentioned my old job in CA asked me if I was available to do some Auto CAD work for them on an as needed basis. I told them I was willing and able to do the work and naturally-- the work started this week! I started on Wednesday afternoon and typically should be working Monday, Wednesday and Fridays and the weekend if the work-load allows. Also; because I have 3 hours in between classes on Tuesday's and Thursdays, I can work then as well. It'll be nice having the extra income and the work keeps me busy and motivated - yippie!

New Year with New Friends

We hosted a New Years Eve party at our house to bring in 2011. This was the first time we have hosted anything at our house and we were super excited to finally have people over! First off it was nice having furniture for people to sit on and second our house was still decorated for Christmas and was the cleanest it's been in a while (which is always a good thing). We had about 10 people come over and most of us got pretty drunk - there was an over abundance of sugary drinks, jello shots, doughnuts, candy and cake so some tummies got upset. Next year we'll try and avoid so much sugar!! It was great to kick off the new year with our new friends - they are all such a lively bunch and we are so thankful to have met them.We look forward to getting to know them all even better and creating more memories in this next year.

Alex & Virginia (Gin is actually a friend of a friend from San Diego)

Heather, Dustin & Katie striking a pose.

Terri & Michael

Mike & Anna (behind BJ's Head)

Playing with our party hats!

A whirlwind "vacation"

We had such a fun time out in So Cal for Christmas this year! We tried not to over book ourselves so that we could have a moment to relax in between seeing everyone we possibly could and even still I think we over exerted ourselves! It was so worth it though! After a 95 minute delay for our starting flight we finally arrived in San Diego. Craig's parents were gracious enough to pick us up and we spent our first two nights at their house in Sun City. Our flight landed at midnight and we didn't make it "home" until about 2am and promptly went straight to bed.

Day 1: I spent the first few hours of our first day at my old work, visiting with coworkers and discussing some work that they may have me do from a distance. I am excited to get started working on one of the several projects they have going - mostly because it will keep me busy but it will also bring in some extra income, which will be nice! I am not sure exactly when they will have me start but they know I am available to start any time! After I got back from visiting with them I joined Craig and his Dad (my "FIL") as they put away and tried to organize their garage after their move. They literally moved the day before we arrived so the garage was a mess! My MIL had a doctors appointment so we visited as much as we could with my FIL and he took us out to lunch - MEXICAN FOOD! We then headed over to Craft Brewing Company in Lake Elsinore to visit four of our brewer friends (and whoever happened to be there). It was really cool to see how much this small micro brewery had grown! I am so happy for the guys there! After CBC we went down to the hospital to drop my FIL off and visit with my MIL for a little bit. We then headed over to Black Market Brewery in Temecula to see another brewer friend and any of the guys from the Temecula Valley Homebrewers Association (that we were members of). Fortunately we got to see some key friends from the group and hung out with them for a few hours. Unfortunately we didn't get to see everyone (sad face). Craigs best friend (my BF) and his girlfriend (my GF) Dasul and Eliza met us at Black Market for some drinks before we all went over to my SIL's house to check out the new paint and mini-redesign. Then the eight of us went to Texas Loosey's for a late Tex-Mex dinner!

Day 2: The next day (Christmas Eve) we spent the morning slowly getting ready for the day - chit chatting and visiting with one another. Dasul and Eliza had stayed the night at the house and the four of us went out to see a movie, which didn't work out too well. We ended up just driving around town together until we got back to the house to get ready to go over to Craig's grandparents (Gramy and Grampys) for the traditional Christmas Eve dinner and white elephant gift exchange. I was beyond excited to see both of the new additions to the family, but only one was there. Sweet baby Hailey!


Day 3: Dasul and Eliza were gracious enough to drive us down to my parents house in San Diego where we spent part of the day visiting with Craig's Grandma, Aunt and Cousins. We spent a few hours just chit-chatting and then went back to my parents where we had a great Thanksgiving-esq meal for Christmas dinner (my parents didn't get to cook Thanksgiving this year because all the kids were gone). After dinner we sat by the tree and opened gifts and then spent the remainder of the evening with our Niece Mackenzie.



 Day 4: We met up with some of Craigs friends for lunch - we were so thankful that we were able to see them while we were out. We did not get to see all of them (as some were out of town) but it was nice to catch up and see one of the newest additions, Joey. After lunch we went back to my parents to visit some more before heading out to see our friend Garry's brewery: Manzanita Brewing Co. My parents and some other friends joined us there as well so that made it all the more fun!! Then on our way back to my parents house for the night, we stopped by my Grandmas house and were able to visit with my Aunt Sherry who was in from Colorado. Once we got back to my parents we had some more Mexican food for dinner (no complaints here!!)

Day 5: This day was probably the most fun! We got to spend most of the day with our niece, Mackenzie! We told her that we got to watch her for the day and she was SO excited! I had her make a list of things she wanted to do, and that we could vote on which thing to do. All of her ideas involved staying home or going to the park down the street so Craig and I decided that she would probably LOVE to go a bit farther into town. We didn't tell her what we were doing until right before! We got to downtown San Diego and asked her what she wanted for lunch - Mexican food it is!! Then we headed over to the harbor to take the ferry over to Coronado. Mackenzie had never been on the ferry before so she got a kick out of looking over the side of the boat to see how fast we were going - initially she was afraid of going out on the sea because of sharks. We had to reassure her that the sharks didn't hang out in the bay. After we got to Coronado we just took a walk down to the Children's park (with Mackenzie on Uncle Craig's shoulders) and let Mackenzie play for a bit (and yes, Aunt Jojo did climb around the jungle gym with her for a short while). We took the ferry back to the harbor and then hopped on a peddle taxi to Seaport Village where our first stop was for ice cream!! Then it was a mad dash to the candy shop! Mackenzie got to pick out whatever candy she wanted (to a limit, of course) and we also nabbed ourselves a few of our own bags, too! Finally we headed home (snacking on candy of course). The best part of the day was when Mackenzie said "This is the best day of my life!" which was just after we got lunch and before we even did anything. We asked her why and she told us that it was because she got to spend the whole day with her Aunt and Uncle who she loves so much! Yea - I almost cried.

Not all of that is hers. Just the one on the right. :-)

Once we got home we had to turn around and go out again to meet up with some more friends for dinner at Callihans. There were I believe about 15 of us - lots of great conversation and we got to meet some of the new significant others of our friends.

Day 6:
Flew home and curled up with our doggies on the couch. :-)

Our Christmas Letter

So, I neglected to write a letter to go along with our Christmas cards this year. When I sat down to do it, I just didn't know what to say and wasn't really in the writing spirit so I skipped it. The day I mailed the cards out, I received a card from some friends of ours updating us on their lives and instantly wished that I had written a letter (or that I mailed the cards out a day later so I could have re-opened them and put a letter inside). Oh well. Here is my Christmas letter - or rather a run-down of the past year.

We started off the year with Craig getting a new job in Irvine. He quit his previous job of 2+ years doing IT support and some programming for a construction supply company to move on to the new job doing mostly programming at a higher pay, but at the cost of a longer drive (to and from Menifee to Irvine 5 days a week yielded about 3+ hours a day sitting in traffic.) Needless to say it was difficult for both of us - I missed him and he would often times come home and go directly to bed. After three months at the new job, Craig's friend mentioned a job opportunity in Oregon - he basically told Craig that if he was willing to move to Portland he would most likely have the position. The opportunity to advance Craig's career was an amazing one and although it took some convincing, I couldn't take this away from him. After a few weeks of phone interviews, emails and waiting - we finally got the news that Craig had the job. He left for Oregon the first week of June and started his new career while looking for a place for us to live. I stayed behind to pack and get us ready for the move.

I was fortunate enough to have been called back to my previous job (with a pay raise) last December and worked there until the end of June at which point I joined Craig in Oregon. The weekend of the 4th of July, Craig flew back to So Cal and we loaded up the moving truck and headed out on our drive to our new home in Portland! Fortunately Craig's Dad and Uncle helped us immensely, by driving the truck while Craig and I took my little car with the dogs. Overall the move took us a weekend and we somehow had the energy to unload the truck the day we arrived at our new place (after about a 9 hour or so drive). I know to most of our friends and family the news of our move was rather sudden - hey it was sudden for us too! We wished that we had been able to say our goodbyes (or rather, see ya later's) to everyone before we left but it just wasn't feasible.

So far we have been in Portland for five months and the time has flown by. We very rarely drive our cars and Craig takes the bus every day to and from work. The transit center is only a 10 minute walk from our front door and Craig's company pays for a monthly bus pass. Our monthly gas bill has dropped from $400 a month down to about an average of $30 a month for BOTH of our cars. It's great!! Craig enjoys his job (especially the commute) and I have been looking for a job to no avail. Because I have not had much luck in finding a job here I am going to take some classes this coming winter semester at the community college. Starting in January I will be taking a photography class, sewing class, and two classes toward a certificate in sustainable building (intro to building systems and environmental ethics). I am excited to get out of the house more often and am hopeful that it will keep me busy enough during the days! I also recently received an email from my previous employer about doing some contract drafting for them, so far I don't have enough details to confirm having the work yet but I am hopeful!

The summer weather here is amazing and just doesn't compare to a San Diego summer. There are a few days where the weather went over ninety during the summer and since most homes in Portland don't have air conditioning (there isn't much of a need) it was a less than pleasant experience but overall the summer weather was perfect! The fall weather was definitely much cooler but still bearable and once we got into the winter weather we actually got some snow flurries (just one day) which I had never seen before so I really got a kick out of it (actually Craig was laughing at me running in and out of the house to check on the status of snow in our front yard)!! So far I would have to say that it doesn't rain here as much as I expected it to. Sure the sky's are gray and cloudy, there is moisture in the air and you'll get rained on at random times but it's not that bad. I have been warned that February is brutal though.

We spent our fourth wedding anniversary in Seattle, which was really fun! Seattle is only a three hour drive away so now that we've walked the city it is great for little weekend trips in the future. This year was the first year we missed having Thanksgiving with any of our families - we made the best of it though and I cooked my first turkey dinner, complete with my Mom's cran-jello goodness (I don't know what to call it, so that's it's name now). We made sure to call our families and wished them a happy Thanksgiving. It was weird being on this end of those phone calls though. We have; however, made a few new friends up here and are having a "New Year with New Friends" party for New Years Eve at our house. I am excited to have people over for the first time (and if you know me you know I love to entertain). Our new local friends have invited us to several outings which has helped us to combat missing everyone in So Cal.

Our dog's are loving it here too! Both Ginger and Bender have lots of room to run around in the backyard and they are loving all of the time they get to spend indoors with us because of the cold and wet weather. Portland is a huge dog-friendly city and practically every park and hiking trail allows dogs (some leashed and some off-leash). We have found a few great hiking areas to take the dogs to and Bender has gotten noticeably exhausted after just a few miles. Ginger could keep running forever though!! 

We are looking forward to the next year and are hoping to take a long vacation to Ireland, England and Scotland in October. We are still working out the kinks in our travel plans but are staying really hopeful (and we'll keep you posted on our plans)!

We hope you all are doing well. We love and miss you all and hope to see you when we are in So Cal for Christmas!!

Love,
Craig & Josie Gardner
(Ginger and Bender, too!)

An Update!

I've been avoiding my blog lately. I don't know why, I just have. My days are pretty boring so there isn't much to write on a regular basis - I guess that may be the why. I have checked some things off of my list and have done little updates in relation to my list but I feel the need to write some blurbs about it. I am having fun checking things off and it's keeping the momentum (and me) going. So here goes some rambling about my list items (and in numerical order).

1. Complete Design Portfolio:
Well I have full on avoided this item. I really MUST do this though so that I don't have any more excuses for looking for a job. Yes, I'll admit to being extremely lazy about it - it's nice to not work AND not be stressed over money every day but I know it's irritating to my hubby. It would also make traveling MUCH easier and saving for our future MUCH easier. I am just lacking even the slightest bit of motivation though, which I don't know how to get back. More on a few things I am going to try in the following blurbs...

8. Take a Photography Class:
I am suuuuuper excited about the photography class I am enrolled in for the Winter 2011 semester at Portland Community College. It's called Photography Manual and it basically is geared toward learning how to use your digital camera's manual functions. I have tried on my own to figure out all of the manual functions on my camera but am easily frustrated and end up switching to automatic and end up getting a decent picture - but not the one I was trying to get! I figured with the amount of money I spent on my new fancy camera I MUST learn how to use it properly! I also want to figure it out in detail before purchasing a new lens for it (#53), as that is bound to cost me upwards of $600 or more.

17. Cook 50 New Recipes:
As of right now I have cooked nine new things that I've never cooked before. I am enjoying looking for new things to try (especially ones that are easy enough to make on a regular dinner basis) and I think my hubby is liking the new dishes we've been having.

32. Update my social security card: 
Well, silly me. I was planning on mailing in all of the documents I need to, to get the typo on my card fixed but it requires I mail off my drivers license. If I don't have my drivers license I can't get into bars, drive, get a drink at a restaurant, or hop on a plane. So I have been waiting for a time where I won't need my license to mail it off - hopefully in early January.

34. Acquire a sewing machine & 35. Learn to sew:
Well, much thanks to hubby's Aunt I now own a sewing machine. I need to take it in to get serviced before my sewing class at PCC begins in January. It's a basic sewing class and I think we'll be making an apron, robe and pajamas or something. I'm not really interested in what I'll be making but I am excited to learn MY machine! Hopefully after the class is over I'll feel more confident to take on my own little projects (36, 37, & 38).

51. Get a Wii again & 52. Get Wii Fit:
If you haven't notices by now, I have changed these to an xbox 360 and the kinect. I did this because it's a more advanced technology and there are a few games that look fun!

55. Get entertainment unit/ storage for living room:
Well hubby finally caved and we bought a stand for our TV. It's from the Hemnes collection at Ikea and it's stage one of the entire unit we plan on getting. Thank goodness for Ikea allowing us to buy the entire thing in parts. We have 3 more pieces to get to complete the whole unit, which will give us more storage!

69. Visit SoCal for Christmas:
This is our first year that we missed Thanksgiving with ANY of our families. It was a tough one, but we made the best of it. I never want to miss a Christmas in So Cal though so we booked our flights back in September. We'll only have a week in town and I wish we could do more but Craig doesn't get paid vacation, so it's what we had to do. I am excited though, very excited.

73. Visit Ireland:
Well - I started to plan this trip to be in March of 2011, but it just isn't feasible so I pushed it into late September/early October 2011. We also have added Scotland and England to the itinerary - hopefully we can manage to actually do everything we'd like to do. Nothing is booked yet and the research continues, but here's hoping all goes well. (another reason why I could really use a job).

84. Become pen pals with niece and nephews: 
Well I have been sending my niece and nephews pictures of everything Craig and I have been up to here in Oregon. I try to include a little note with the pack of pictures. Its fun to hear what they think of what we've sent them! Now to get their parents to help them send me something back (although, my nephews sent us some hand drawn Halloween cards, which was really cute!).

100. Send my Grandma fall leaves:
My Grandma LOVES all of the different colors fall brings, I remember growing up she'd always pick up leaves and flowers. When we moved to Oregon I told her I'd send her some fall leaves from here. I picked some up a few weeks back and dried them out in books and will be compiling an album with pictures of us. It will be her Christmas present this year. Now - to finish it before we fly out there!!

So there you have it. My little update to my list (and my life). I also want to note that along with the Photography and Sewing classes I am taking two classes toward a certificate in Sustainable Building. The first is more of a refresh course of something I have taken in the past : Intro to Building Systems. The second is a bit more interesting and I hope I can keep up with the material, as it sounds exciting to me: Intro to Environmental Ethics. The certificate is supposed to take less than a year of full-time student status but I think with my past education I can get the certificate in less time, while only going to school part time (in hopes I find a job of any sort).

New Recipes: Bacon Wrapped Asparagus and Chicken

I have two new recipes for you! Both of them turned out great and made a good meal with a side of mashed potatoes (and the sauce from the chicken makes a good gravy for the taters).

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

• 1/2 Lb Bacon
• 1 Lb Fresh Asparagus
• Olive Oil
• Pepper
• Salt (optional)

Preheat oven to 400*
Prepare asparagus spears by cutting or snapping off the bottom 1-2 inches.
Starting just under the tender tips, wrap the bacon in a spiral motion down the asparagus. I used one piece of bacon and wrapped it around 2-3 spears of asparagus (an alternate method is to cut the bacon in half length-wise and use two cut pieces per spear).
Place spears, seam side down if possible, on a rimmed baking pan. Lightly coat with olive oil and pepper to taste. Use salt sparingly or not at all.
Roast at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until bacon is cooked to desired crispness.

My husband and I LOVED bacon wrapped asparagus. We are huge asparagus eaters and wrapping them in bacon just made it even better. I would eat these as a snack or they'd be pretty fun to bring to a pot-luck party (in which case I would do the individual spear method).

Bacon Wrapped Smothered Chicken

• 2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 4 slices of bacon
• 8 oz sour cream
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• Salt/Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Wrap each chicken breast in 2 strips of bacon and place in a glass 9x13 inch baking dish.
In a small bowl, mix the sour cream and soup. Cover the chicken with the sour cream/soup mixture and bake uncovered in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes or until slightly brown on top. Let cool and serve on top of hot, cooked rice if desired.  

I used chicken tenders (4-6) and used one piece of bacon per tender, I also didn't have any sour cream so I used a little bit of milk to make the soup creamier. It turned out pretty good, but I would suggest making sure you have the sour cream as it adds just that little bit more flavor. Overall it was really good and will be something I'll make for future dinners!

86. Get a massage

YES!!! I've finally had a professional massage!! Yippie! It was great!!

This past weekend my new local girls and I got together for a girls weekend. We spent the weekend at The Resort on the Mountain in Mount Hood and all got spa treatments. It just so happened that during the same weekend there was a wine, art and music festival so it totally worked out perfectly.

I will have to admit I was a bit intimidated to get my spa treatments - naked, under a small and thin blanket with a complete stranger touching me - eek!! The Resort had a spa package where you could mix two treatments for a lower price (so naturally we all did this). The first treatment I had was The Earth Cocoon "a re-mineralizing and detoxifying wrap purifies the body, mind and spirit." It was really interesting, they cover you in a type of mud and then wrap you up like a baked potato (with mylar film) then you lay there all wrapped up while the masseuse gives you a scalp treatment with a lavender-mint conditioner. After the treatment is done they unwrap you and shower you off with small wash clothes covering your special places. It was a nice treatment, once you get over the awkwardness of being naked (but not exposed). The second treatment I got was the Mountain Spirit Massage, which is your basic run of the mill massage that could be customized per your individual needs. Since I had never had a professional massage before I just let the masseuse do his thing. Yes... I said, "HIS"....a large black man was my masseuse. I was a bit intimidated to be honest but he was nice, gentle and I had to keep telling myself he's a professional. In the end it was SO worth it (once I got over the idea of a male stranger with his hands all over me). 

Call this one DONE. If you've never had a professional massage I strongly suggest you get one!! Spoil yourself!!

34. Acquire a sewing machine

A while back Craig's Aunt mentioned she had a sewing machine she didn't use and I could have it if I wanted it. About a week ago I asked her about it and it arrived on my doorstep via UPS today! I am excited to figure this particular machine out. I know a little bit about sewing from my Mom and was taught on her machines; this machine is slightly different but I think I'll be able to figure it out! Hopefully I can find a users manual online in the event I need some troubleshooting!!

New Recipe: Baked Acorn Squash

A few weeks back, hubby and I stopped at a farmers market and I kept overhearing people talk about acorn squash and how good it was. We ended up leaving the market with two of them. I then came home and looked up a recipe for baked acorn squash. Here is the recipe and the results.

Classic Baked Acorn Squash

• 1 Acorn Squash
• 1 Tbsp Butter
• 2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
• 2 Tsp Maple Syrup
• Dash of salt (if using unsalted butter)

Preheat oven to 400°F.
Using a strong chef's knife, and perhaps a rubber mallet to help, cut the acorn squash in half, lengthwise, from stem to end. Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and stringy stuff in the center of each half. Score the insides of each half several times with a sharp knife. Place each half in a baking pan, cut side up. Add about a 1/4 inch of water to the bottom of the baking pan so that the skins don't burn and the squash doesn't get dried out.

Coat the inside of each half with 1/2 a Tbsp of butter. Add a dash of salt if you are using unsalted butter. Add a Tbsp of brown sugar to the cavity of each half. Dribble on a teaspoon of maple syrup to each half.


Bake in the oven for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, until the squash is very soft and the tops are browned. Do not undercook. When finished, remove from oven and let cool a little before serving. Spoon any buttery sugar sauce that has not already been absorbed by the squash over the exposed areas.

Serves 2 to 4, depending on how much squash you like to eat.

 Review: My husband liked it, I didn't. I think it was the maple syrup part that I didn't like, because that was all I could taste - I am not a maple syrup person (not even on pancakes, which I love). I do think this would make a decent breakfast when using maple syrup in the recipe (not that I would eat it). If we cook this again I think we'll be testing out cinnamon, sugar and cloves or nutmeg. There are variations of this recipe on the internet so feel free to find your own and test it out. Acorn squash is pretty cheap at farmers markets (we got two for $1) and by itself it tastes a lot like a mild sweet potato.

17. Cook 50 New Recipes

As I started to look through my list on a recent update I realized I have no way of tracking how many new recipes I try. I usually end up cooking something new on a whim, so I decided to make a post to both keep track of and share any new recipes!

1. Pumpkin Pie Chili 
2. Baked Acorn Squash
3. Bacon Wrapped Asparagus
4. Bacon Wrapped Chicken
5. Acorn Squash Supreme (recipe coming soon)
6. Real Pumpkin Pumpkin Pie (recipe coming soon)
7. Thanksgiving Turkey (recipe coming soon)
8. My Moms Cran-jello goodness (not sharing the recipe, sorry folks)
9. Gourmet Bean Soup (recipe coming soon)

65. Go Kayaking

My arms are sore, my legs are stiff, I have blisters on both hands and I know that my entire body will be hurting even more tomorrow...but I had a blast kayaking! A new-to-me friend invited me at the last minute cause she had an extra ticket and I was so happy she did. Not only did we all have a blast but I got to know her and her other friend some more so it made it even more fun! We hope to go again in the future when it's not quite as cold; however, we did miss the rain so that was a bonus!

Here are some pictures:

October 2010 Project

Well as a part of my list to complete two crafts per month (#47) here goes my wrap-up for October 2010:
 

Unfortunately I only got one craft/project done for this month which is okay as it was a bit more time consuming than other crafts I have done in the past. Craig and I spent three solid weekends in thrift stores just to kill time during the days. We have so much fun finding all the interesting little objects in the stores (which we usually don't buy) and then we tend to find several items we've been on the lookout for, like this:

 We saw this on our first trip to one of several Salvation Army stores in our area, we happened to be there during their half-off weekend. The sticker price on this baby was $250. I pointed out the piece to Craig and we passed on buying it. Even with half off we thought $125 was still too much to spend. The following weekend we ended up in the store again and I didn't see this piece anywhere, it had been on my mind since first seeing it. The third weekend we went there ta-da this baby was still there! It was a half-off weekend again and the $250 tag was still on it. I called one of the workers over and told him I saw this 3 weekends in a row and the price was still the same - I checked to see if he could lower it any. We ended up buying it for $100 total. It was still a tad more than we wanted to pay but it was exactly what we were looking for for our kitchen/dining room. The weekend after we brought it home we ran to Lowes and bought some stain/sealer in one and started the re-finishing process...

 

 

I was surprised at how well this color stain matched our dining room table. I was very pleased with the outcome; however, I must let you know that this project is still incomplete...

...more to come, later.

New Recipe: Pumpkin Chili

I was looking around on allrecipes.com for some good pumpkin pie recipes and stumbled upon "Pumpkin Chili' so I had to give it a go. Here is the recipe (with my modifications) and the results.

Oh yea and I am changing the name of this to "Pumpkin PIE Chili" because I like it better.

Pumpkin Pie Chili

• 2 Lbs. Ground Beef 
• I only had 1lb so that is all I used.
• 1 Large Onion, Diced
• The recipe didn't specify what type of onion, I used yellow.
• 1 Green Bell Pepper, Diced 
• We bought our peppers from the farmers market, so they are much smaller than what you'd find at a regular grocery store I used two small ones to compensate.
• 2 (15 ounce) cans kidney beans, drained
• 1 (46 fluid ounce) can tomato juice
• 1 (28 ounce) can peeled and diced tomatoes with juice
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
• Rather than only using 1/2 cup out of a 15oz can of pumpkin puree I used the whole can - waste not want not, right?
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice 
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• Because I used the entire can of pumpkin puree I decided not to add the extra sugar. I didn't want the chili to turn out too sweet.

In a large pot over medium heat, cook beef until brown; drain. 
Stir in onion and bell pepper and cook 5 minutes. 

Stir in beans, tomato juice, diced tomatoes and pumpkin puree. 
Season with pumpkin pie spice, chili powder and sugar. 

 Simmer 1 hour.  (Note: While it's simmering, be sure to stir every so often - I didn't and ended up with some burnt yuck at the bottom).

 Overall it was really yummy! We have enough leftover to play with so I intend on adjusting it a bit. It had no "kick" to it so if you're not a fan of spicy chili then this would be a great recipe for you - if you like spicy I'd suggest adding some diced jalapeno (that will be my next adjustment). I am glad I made the adjustment with the pumpkin puree and nixing the sugar. Oh and only one bowl was enough for Craig to get nice and full...although he had three biscuits with it.

The Latest in Thrift Store Finds

I thought I'd share our latest thrift store finds and what my plans are with them. The first collection was found at a combination of about four different thrift stores. You'll see the glass jars in an upcoming post so I'll leave those a mystery! The bamboo looking thing is actually a really nice table runner that I found for a buck. I wasn't looking for a table runner but for a whole dollar I couldn't pass it up. I also found the Pampered Chef spoon rest (the white bowl thing with the metal base), my mother in law had one and I always liked it. I got that for a buck fifty and it's in brand new condition. The portion of the frame you see is for a project in our bedroom, I've been looking for an empty frame large enough for a project I've been thinking of - it'll have something to do with my jewelry. The spoon, small mirror and potato masher aren't interesting so I'll skip on by those....

 ....and move right on to this beauty. I found her sitting on a shelf all alone and I felt SO bad for her that I just had to take her home. I spent three dollars on her scary little face. I can only imagine the story behind her. She looks as if she was thrown at something due to the nature of her injuries: her poor nose is chipped off as well as a portion of her right eye. I fixed her eye with a little bit of white nail polish and now she sits proudly (and creepily) on our mantle. Eventually she'll make her way to another place in our house but for now that is where she'll be. Looking over us with those creepy eyes.

 The last item we found (well that I am posting about) is this ottoman. Four bucks. We actually found three of the exact same ottomans but only brought home one. I didn't realize our dogs would love it so much - BOTH of them have taken turns curling up on it. For that reason I wish we had purchased two of them. Oh well. I intend on re-upholstering it, as soon as I figure out how.

54. Sofas & 56. Bedroom Furniture

I thought I'd combine these two goals from my list as they are #1 not completely all that interesting and #2 they happened right around the same time as one another, which was totally not expected but totally welcome. 

54. Get sofas for living room:

We finally ordered sofas for our living room! Yay!! No more sitting on a really uncomfortable camping chair that smells of many bon fires! WooHoo! We ordered them on 10.11.10 and they were finally delivered on 10.26.10. They are super comfy and feel like velvet (that'll be fun with the dog hair). I plan on making some pillow covers in a coordinating (but not brown) pattern, in addition to making a few more pillows just for decor purposes. What do you think?! Now I just need to cross off goal number 55: "Get entertainment unit/living room storage" for our living room to be more complete.

56. Get bedroom furniture:

We totally did not expect to be getting bedroom furniture for a few months - probably after the holidays to be honest. We wanted to pay off our current debt (the mattress and the sofas) before even looking at furniture sets but, being a huge craigslist shopper I was up late browsing the furniture section just for kicks. I had no luck finding anything interesting at all when all of a sudden I saw "4 piece bedroom set: $150" I thought: ok it's going to be crap but I'll look anyways. This is what I found:

Sooooo awesome! I sent the seller an email before I went to bed thinking "there is no way they will still have these by tomorrow at THAT price!" I woke up the next day, checked my email (good news, obviously), we ran to the bank and then met the seller to check out the pieces. He agreed to deliver them for an extra $20 which wasn't a big deal at all. All of the pieces have zero scratches, scuffs or nicks; all of the drawers slide wonderfully and are even lined with shelf paper; all of the pieces are CLEAN and in brand spankin' new condition. I was amazed! The coolest part of this bedroom set (aside from the price) is that the lines and style are exactly what I was looking for! The original picture from the seller they appeared to be a lighter shade of red, but once we got them into place they are a bit darker which is perfect for our taste!!

LOVE craigslist and LOVE Craig for letting us get these!!

PS - I know these pictures aren't that great, but maybe I'll take some better ones when the rooms are both more complete!!! Stay tuned!

96. Get lost in a corn field

Well I've managed to get lost in a corn field. Yup!

We went out to The Haunted Corn Maize on Sauvie Island for some good ol' spooky fun!! It was frigid cold. I was not prepared. I still had fun. The maze was actually quite spooky and we were startled quite a few times. I was impressed with it, actually. I have been to haunted houses before and there was typically nothing spooky about it - or there were crowds of people ahead of us who ruined our experience with excessive screaming. This was not at all the same. For the most part you couldn't see where "ghouls" were hiding because they constantly moved around behind the corn. It was fun!We had planned on getting pumpkins after the maze, but they had closed the patch and it was too dark and I was ready to leave cause I was freezing cold! So we went home and decided to do pumpkins the next day.

Dustin, Katie, Mike, Heather and us in the corn!

The next day, after we got home from taking the dogs on a long walk through the Hoyt Arboretum we headed over to the Roloff's Farm (Little People, Big World on TLC) just to check it out. It was about an hour from our house so we thought 'what the heck.' The farm was much smaller than we thought it would be - at least the pumpkin part of it, I am sure if we took a tractor ride we could have seen the entirety of the 32 acre farm. We meandered around looking for the perfect pumpkin and saw Amy and Jacob Roloff entertaining visitors and taking pictures with them, lots of kids running around and enjoying the place. It was much more fun than finding a pumpkin at the grocery store or parking lot patch! After we got our pumpkin seat belted into the car safely we headed over to the farm where the corn maze was to browse through their market. We ended up taking home some honey, a sugar pumpkin, some cheese, apples, and apple cider. Oh and on our way out we got a caramel apple!

 

I love fall. :-)

20. Brew my own beer

On 10.10.10 Hubby and I set out to brew my first beer. Hubby helped with the heavy lifting, gave me direction and basically told me to pay attention a few times (watching a pot boil for an hour can get kind of boring). A while back at the Southern California Homebrewers Festival I tasted a beer someone had made: Chi Cream Ale. Ever since then I have wanted to try my hand at making it - it was so wonderfully good! The one I tasted was really light and would make a great summer beer but at the same time it had all the hints of fall flavors and spices - nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon. I had asked the brewer what ingredients he used and he told me to use a basic cream ale recipe and then add Trader Joes chi tea bags to the end of the boil. He left me with no accurate measurements, just a general idea. We went to Trader Joes and found their Ruby Red Chi tea in boxes of 20 and bought 4 of them. We figured at 8 ounces of water per tea bag, 80 bags would work for 5 gallons. Strangely enough I had never once tried chi tea so I used one of the bags for a cup of tea so I could judge how strong the flavors were - we ended up using the remaining 79 bags in the brew and added it to the last 10 minutes of the boil as well as kept it in the pot while we cooled everything. Overall it steeped for about 20 minutes. The aroma was amazing! Now we wait for the beer to ferment so I can see how good (or bad) my first brew turned out! I am excited to taste it and so hopeful that it's at least drinkable!!

80 bags of tea

Cleaning out the mash-tun.

Stirring the wort - such a nice aroma!

Adding Hops

Adding the tea bags

And finally a bit of Ginger.