I almost did it......

I am so disappointed. I tried to blog for an entire month. I did make it all the way to Thanksgiving with my thankful blogs. Some of them were lacking a little but hey, I am thankful for weird things. :)

These next few weeks are going to be busy, busy and I am not going to know where all the time went. Before I know it my birthday will be here, I will be getting ready for NY and then it will be February. Time never went this fast when I was 10.

Tomorrow is the Civil War, I am excited and nervous all at the same time. In the mean time GO Ducks!!!

Happy Thanksgiving

Today we will be heading out to Uncle Charlie & Aunt Cathy's house.

I am so thankful that I will be spending today with Christopher, Mom, Jack, Grandma, Grandpa and the rest of the family.

I am thankful that Grandma is doing so well from where she was a year ago today.

Tomorrow morning we are heading to the beach to spend the weekend with Chris' family and go crabbing.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!

Wednesday...No wait Friday...No Wednesday

I love the Wednesday (in my head I say Wed-nes-day) before Thanksgiving. I get so excited knowing I have a 4 day weekend and that it is a Friday in the middle of the week. I have always loved this particular Wed-nes-day since I was a kid.

When we were little I got so excited knowing Mom was going to be home for 4 full days and I thought that was awesome. No other holiday gives you 4 full days with Mom when you are a kid. I LOVED it. It was like a bonus weekend.

Now as an adult I love it for the same reason. I get a long weekend without taking any extra days of vacation. We usually do something fun with the family for the entire weekend.

I am thankful for today's Wed-nes-day!

DVR.....

The things I am thankful for are starting to become a little silly.....I need to start digging deep and finding better things. They started out good now they are just plain lazy.

As I got home from work, changed, jumped into my bed to watch Days Of Our Lives on DVR, I realized I haven't done my thankful blog today.

I crawled in bed and pressed play. As I was laying there with Kona on one side and Shiver literally on my chest I thought man I love my DVR. I can come home relax for 40 minutes and watch the one show I have watch since I was in 4th grade.

Silly yes, but I am thankful for my DVR and the trash TV it has on it to help me decompress from my days at work.

Thanksgiving Week....

I am thankful that today is the start of Thanksgiving week. When I got up I though arrrrrr Monday how I loath you, but this week I have a 3 day week so I can't hate you that much. Actually you aren't so bad today. I think I like you. :)

Ginger Ale & Saltines

I haven't had to rely on Ginger Ale and Saltines in a long, long time. Today was one of those days though.

They are magical together. Almost close to amazing if you ask me. I am so thankful for the combination of the 2 and how awesome they are.

Friday Night

I am thankful for a quiet Friday night at home full of reading, hat making and relaxing.

Dinner

Tonight I am thankful Christopher is making dinner.

The Cutest Blog On The Block

There is no deniying the fact that I love changing the layout of my blog. I tried to change it about 10 times yesterday and couldn't get it to change. I found a layout or background at The Cutest Blog on the Block and couldn't figure out how to get it to change. Today I figured it out.

Thank goodness!!! I am so thankful for a cute blog. <----- Now that was cheesey.

Chanterelle Mushrooms

TSA

I am thankful for the TSA.

Personally, I love my life and value my life. If that means going through an x-ray scanner or getting a pat down when I fly to get where I am going safely, then so be it. If you don’t want to be scanned or pat down DON’T fly, that is your choice. Personally I am glad they care.

It is a right to fly and something we each chose to do. In doing that we agree to the terms put on us by the government and TSA, who are trying to protect us from getting blown up in the sky or flown into another building.

If people don't like one of the 2 options they have to x-ray or a pat down then take a train, drive, walk or hitch hike. Regardless you know this is your option when you buy the ticket. Unless you have been under a rock the last year or even 9 years for that matter.

With that said, thank you TSA for protecting me and getting me to my destination safely every time I fly. I will sacrifice a little just to be alive.

Costco

Maybe I am grasping for things to be thankful for but they make for fun blogs. ;-) Considering Erin is probably the only one that reads them. If you get tired of them sorry....I'll try and make them more interesting. ;-)

I am SO thankful for Costco.

Friday I caught up on our bills did our budgeting and figured we could go and do major grocery shopping. Major grocery shopping, we did.

We went to WalMart on Saturday and picked up the basics and then went to Costco tonight. Our freezer is now fully stocked with Chicken, Salmon, bread, pork and steaks. I think we have enough meals to last us till February.

Thank you Costco!!!!

Mushrooming....

Every year Chris' parents go mushrooming. I never really knew what this meant. I just assumed they went and got mushrooms. Didn't know where they got them how they knew the right ones that were edible. I knew that such mushrooms existed and his Mom canned them every year. I have always been interested and going we just have never really found the time to go.

Last weekend Chris went fishing with his Dad while I went to the Verbort Sausage Festival with my Mom and a quick stop at Plum Hill (see we love this place). On their way home from fishing he stopped a picked a bunch of mushrooms at Brown's Camp. I loved them so much I wanted to go now so we could get some to can.

Saturday morning we got up kind of just laid around then decided we were going.

Once we got there, Chris showed me what they looked like, what I was looking for and where to look, then off we went. With in minutes we had a bunch and kept finding more. I kept getting excited yelling, "I found one, wait I found 5!"

It was like a mini treasure hunt for me without the map leading me to the treasure. After 3 or 4 hours we figured we had enough and were going to head home and get a few other errands done that we need to do.

We were relaxing talking about how much fun it was and all the sudden I was convincing Chris we should go back again today. So we got up early, cleaned all our mushrooms from yesterday, stopped at Mc Donald's in North Plains and off to Browns Camp we went.

After a couple hours and a few different stops we found about half of what we found yesterday but still enough end up with 12 1/2 pints canned and in the pantry for us to enjoy.

It was a great weekend just the 2 of us and Kona.

Today for Saturday and Sunday I am thankful for Oregon having amazing Chanterelle Mushrooms, the beauty of the Oregon Coast range and the good time Chris, Kona and I had the last 2 days experiencing all of it.

Date Night

Tonight is Date Night at Plum Hill....What is Date Night? Plum Hill has become one of our all time FAVORITE Vineyards. Not just because the wine is amazing but the owners RJ and Juanita are amazing too. The tasting room is all decorated and it doesn't have that "snobby" vineyard feel when you get there. They are great and we love them. Every 2nd Friday of the month they have Date Night. We haven't been able to go to Date Night yet so we are going for the first time tonight and I am very excited and thankful that we finally get to go to one. :)

Co-Workers

I am not usually appreciative of my co-workers much but this has been a trying week with one person gone and one day someone else had to leave earlier than normal.

It was stressful, but it all worked out. Today I am thankful that the co-worker who was out on business is back, well at least till next Tuesday. :)

My Artichoke

Tonight I am thankful that I finally get my artichoke I have been craving for so many days.

Oh how I love artichokes.

4pm

Today I am thankful for being able to get off work at 4pm. You don't realize how much different it is leaving work at 3:30 or 4 versus 5pm. It is dark out at 5pm these days and I don't like it much. :) So I am thankful for days I can leave before it is dark outside.

Suprises

I am thankful for surprises....I don't get them very often but when I do they are special. Today Chris stopped by my work, took my car and filled it with gas then brought me a Dr. Pepper. I was having a stressful day and it made it all so much better.

Love you!!!

Day Light Savings

I was going to be thankful today for an extra hour of sleep. Honestly though I have been dragging all day and don't feel any better than I did yesterday. Actually I feel worse today.

I am thankful though that tonight I will get an extra hour of sleep or at least thankful it will feel that way. :)

Verbort Sausage Dinner....

Today I am thankful for that once a year tradition. Every first Saturday Mom and I head out to Verbort to enjoy their Sour Kraut and Sausage dinner. Today was just as great and I am thankful I got to spend it with my Mom.

We also made an extra stop at Plum Hill!!! Love that place.

Give and Get is Here!

Today I am thankful for the GAP Friends & Family or Give & Get which ever you prefer. :)


Give and Get is Here!: "Enjoy 30% off from November 11-14 at Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy plus we'll make a 5% donation to a non-profit."

Nov 4th....

I am so thankful I have a job. There are so many people out there looking for jobs and struggling to find a job that pays what they had before.

Me I am just thankful I have a job whether I like it, love it or hate it at times I have one.

Today....

I am thankful for the amazing weather we are having in early November.

Voted...

Today Nov. 2nd I am thankful I have the right to voted. As they said in the 90's I "Rocked the Vote"!

I'm Back & I am Thankful

I kept thinking to myself.... "Self, you need to blog more. You like it so why do you keep putting it off?" I did come up with a few answers but I don't think I want to blog about those quite yet. :)

To come back from my mini blogging hiatus I decided I would post every day in Nov. what I am thankful for. I know everyone does it but I figured I am in the mood to blog and be thankful.

Today Nov. 1 I am most thankful for my trip to San Diego. It was amazing and I had a great time with my family.

OBGYN

I am afraid of them. Why? I am not so sure. I haven't had insurance for about 2 years.

After 2 years (I know bad Taneha) I am going to the OBG this afternoon. I am so nervous I want to cry and cancel. No reason at all. Well, there is a reason or 2 to be honest. That is for another post, but really only Erin reads this and she already knows the honest part so I may not have to write another post. :)

Off to see the wizard.

Top 5 Books

A friend asked me today what my top 5 favorite books were. First, no fair I don't think I can do this.

This is what I finally came up with.

Here is the run down. I don’t really have all time favorite books, well maybe one or ten. So I will break them down a little. FYI my orginal list has 20 books on the list.

If you love funny, comical, fast read, girly books Jenn and I LOVED these. All 5 good books, a good series. Wouldn’t say I would put any single book as a favorite but favorite series if that make sense.

Confessions of a Shopaholic, by Sophie Kinsella
Shopaholic takes Manhattan
Shopaholic Ties the Knott
Shopaholic & Sister
Shopaholic & Baby

Same author wrote The Undomestic Goddess – It is a quick good read too.

But I think my all time 5 favorites

- Water For Elephants – by Sara Gruen (Probably one of my all time favorites I started it 3 times on the 3rd time I couldn’t put it down. I think I read it in 3-4 days.)

- Shoot The Moon – by Billie Letts (She wrote Where the Heart Is which was one of Oprah’s first book club books.)

- The Lucky One – Nicolas Sparks (Some people don’t like him mainly all his books seem similar. Amy V LOVES him, Krissy not a fan. I have only read 4 of his books this one was one of my favorites. I did like all the 4 that I have read though.)

- Accidental Happiness – Jean Reynolds (I randomly received this book and loved it.)

- Sam’s Letter to Jennifer – James Patterson (Not anything like his mystery books at all. This was one of the first books I read in literally 2 days. LOVED it.)

I have many more but you said top 5. A few other favs though are

- Girl with a Pear Earring (probably would tie one of them for my top 5 fav. )
- Memoirs of Geisha
- The Choice
- At First Sight
- The Pilot’s Wife

So there is a run down of a few good ones. I have many more but it was only suppose to be 5. Depends on what you are also looking to read. Kite Runner is another one of my favs. I have started a list from authors that aren’t as popular as Nicolas Sparks or James Patterson, of books I want to read now.

Also most done with another I started last Saturday. On to the next one.

Dan Dan Noodles

In an attempt to lose weight again, save money and eat better I love trying new recipes. This morning I got the PERFECT email from Cooking Light.

I receive emails from Cooking Light, MyRecipes.com and I get the Cooking Light magazines. I love new ideas and especially ones that help me watch my calories.

This morning I received an email from them, subject, Budget-Friendly Recipes. WHAT? SWEET! This is just what I am in need of right now. Especially since, we are doing our monthly grocery shopping tomorrow.

In the email, it says, "Budget Cooking: Feed 4 for $10". Again, SWEET! The picture of Peppery Pasta with Shrimp was enough to get me looking.

Recipe 6 however so far (because I have completely stopped to write this blog) has been the kicker.

Dan Dan Noodles, I LOVE Dan Dan Noodles. It is one of our favorite dishes at PF Chang's. Either Kirsten or Erin I cannot remember who either way they are wonderful introduced me to them.

Therefore, Thursday night, after grocery shopping, we will be loving some Dan Dan Noodles.

Here is a link to the recipe in case you want to attempt to make them. I will let you know how yummy Cooking Light Dan Dan Noodles are versus PF Chang's.

Dan Dan Noodles - Link

Quick Update

Tonight I came home a little bit motivated after thinking I need to get out of this. I read a few chapters for a little bit then decided, ok time to work out.

Julia Michael's 30 day Shred kicked my ass. It didn't end there. I did 2 loads of laundry, dishes, dinner, a few rounds of Bejeweled and now I am getting ready to read a few more chapters before bed.

All in a couple hours and I feel good.

What Happened?

This weekend I caught a glimpse of myself in a mirror, it wasn't a pretty sight, hair that hasn't been cut since August, a body that is in desperate need of a walk, a run a workout, or anything physical. Last summer I was working towards a goal and probably worked out almost 2-3 times a week. This year NOTHING, ZIP, ZERO, ZILCH.

What happened? Where are the days when I could go out after work and meet a few friends for drinks? Now I would rather go home, read or go to bed.

My back, my legs, my neck and my head ache from being so tired and the stress. My brain is dead half the time. I used to pride myself on remembering EVERYTHING (which my husband and Thomas HATE). I can't remember CRAP to save my life lately. I go to working early in the morning and lately have been so busy I don't know where the day has gone. At times I have a stack of papers to work on at home. If I get to them it is another story.

When I get home the dishes are usually waiting, the vacuum cleaner is yelling, "please, please, please use and abuse me" and clutter well it is in every corner. Sometimes I feel like I hate the place we live in so much I don't care, therefor that is my excuse for the way it looks. I think it is a good one myself.

What it boils down to. I need to get up off my ASS and do something. I need to clean my house and start caring again. Once I do it I will be less tired and everything will be done. I just can't get myself to the point of starting. I find other things to do with my time. Like end up at Lost Lake or play 50 rounds of Bejeweled Blitz. Which btw I see nothing wrong with.

I have to do it. What am I going to do if we have a baby? Really, can I live like this if we have a baby? I think not.

Goal for the next 30 days.....Clean my house, work out at least 2 times a week (just a start) and eat better. I will let you know on May 13th how it is going.

Here is to going home and working out tonight. :)

Lost Lake

The weather report for Saturday at one point was off and on showers. Mainly in the afternoon or evening. I figured I would get up, clean the upstairs and do laundry all day.

When I got up and looked outside, to my amazement (why since it is Oregon) it was beautiful. Poor Kona had been cooped up in the house and was getting the nervous, "I need out of this effing house" whine. I was trying to think of what we could do that would be fun but close since Chris had to leave by 4 or 5 to go to work. I decided to make noise and wake him up about 10ish. He went and got coffee for us, finally. When he got back I suggest going to this lake towards the beach where he went fishing recently, Lost Lake.


View Larger Map

I changed quickly and he loaded the truck. An hour later we were there. I was reading a book, Kona was running playing with sticks and Chris was fishing. With in 2 minutes of casting he had a fish on.

It ended up being a beautiful day and we had a great time. It was nice to get away I needed it after the emotional week I had.

Can't wait to go back again and can't wait to go back to go camping this summer.

Hard Boiled Eggs

To be honest I have really never paid attention on how to cook hard boiled eggs. My Mom always did it or now Chris. He LOVES hard boiled eggs so they seem to always be around and I never have to do it.

Do you put them in before the water starts boiling? Do you start with cold or hot water? Do you put the eggs in after they start boiling? How long do you boil them? Seriously I don't know the right answer.

I decided I wanted to make a Chicken Caesar Salad tonight with hard boiled eggs. So I guess since Chris is working I have to figure it out.

Here is where we are thankful for the World Wide Web. http://www.google.com/ How do you cook hard boiled eggs? Wah Lah 1,760,000 result. I think I found my answer, well kind of.

Do you put them in cold water and bring to a boil? You can.
Do you wait for the water to start boiling and then add eggs? You can. Good thing cause by the time I start to look up instructions water was boiling and eggs were sitting next to the boiling water.
Now how long do I cook them? 15-20 minutes.
How long do I let cool? 10-15 minutes...Now I wait.

Not bad...Now on to the Caesar Salad and *dressing.

*To the web I went again, man I love the internet. Below is the recipe for dressing I am going to try. We will see how yummy it is, I have everything and it looks REALLY easy.

Caesar Dressing

1 Cup Mayonnaise
ont>1 Tsbp lemon juice
1 Tsp Worcestershire
1 Clove Garlic Minced
1/4 Tsp Salt
1/8 Tsp pepper
1/2 Cup Parmesean Cheese
1 Tbsp of Milk or Half & Half

Mix all together shake or whisk

I'll let you know how good it is.

**Update Caesar Dressing suprisingly YUMMY! I was impressed with it, why I am not sure but who knew it would be so good. Oh wait it had a cup of Mayo of course it was good. ;-)

Also last minute I decided to make blacken chicken to throw in the salad.

1/2 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp dried tyme
1/8 tsp ground white pepper
1/8 tsp onion powder (I didn't have this so I just left it out)
2 Skinless, boneless chicken breasts

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet. Heat a cast iron skillet over high heat for 5 minutes until it is smoking hot.

2. Mix together the paprika, salt, cayenne, cumin, thyme, white pepper, and onion powder. Oil the chicken breasts with cooking spray on both sides, then coat the chicken breasts evenly with the spice mixture. (I put it in a sandwich bag and shook it together.)

3. Place the chicken in the hot pan, and cook for 1 minute. Turn, and cook 1 minute on other side. Place the breasts on the prepared baking sheet.

4. Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, about 5 minutes.

Thai Chicken with Baby Corn

OK I want to blog more. I love it and have been so busy lately but should have at least 30 mintues to blog something about life, my life, Chris' life, Kona's life or the grass outside. ;-)

For tonight I tried something new for dinner. I LOVE Thai food. Ok I LOVE Asian food and I love to try new things. I love chicken with baby corn and found a recipe similar to something I usually get when we get Thai.

Oil -- 3 tablespoons
Chicken breast or thighs, boneless, skinless and thinly sliced -- 1 pound
Onion, thinly sliced -- 1/2
Garlic, minced -- 3-4 cloves
Baby corn, cut into rounds -- 1 cup
Straw mushrooms -- 1 cup
Oyster sauce --3 tablespoons
Fish sauce -- 3 tablespoons
Sugar -- 3 tablespoons
Pepper -- 2 teaspoons

Method
1. Heat the oil in a wok or large pot over medium-high flame. Add the chicken and stir fry until halfway cooked through, 2-3 minutes. Add the onions and garlic and continue stir frying until the chicken is cooked through and the onions are lightly translucent, another 2-3 minutes.
2. Reduce heat to low and add the corn, mushrooms, oyster sauce, fish sauce, sugar and pepper. Simmer for another 5 minutes to cook through and serve with rice.

Variations
Add some julienned red peppers along with the onions if you like.
One half bunch of chopped scallions can be substituted for the onion.

Now I am going to go watch The Real Housewives of Orange County reunion. Don't judge you know you watch too.

Can't explain it.....

I am happy - I am not happy
I am happy for you - I am jealous of you
I am happy we are health (well for the most part minus Chris' back) - I am sad you struggle
I am happy my husband loves me so much - I hope all husbands love that much
I am happy my husband has a job - I am sad I never see him
I am happy I have a job - Sometimes I hate this job
I miss you so much - I don't want to miss you
I wonder, I pray, I think, I pray, I cry and I pray some more.

I have so many things I am happy for but sometimes feel empty. I sometimes feel a lone and yet I know I have so many people that love me.

I really can't explain it. I know there are so many other things in this world far worse than how I feel or what is going on in my life.

I want to blog but I don't want to. I don't want to seem selfish and emotional. I don't want everyone to think I am letting the "world" know what is going on.

I am happy and have GREAT things in my life. There is just this empty part that comes up every now and then.