Life is sooo good...: 2010

New Table!

December 30, 2010

I am so excited I got another Christmas present today from Chris. A new dining table! We had been using a small counter height bar table and Penelope was still in her highchair since the stools for the bar table had no back to them. We can finally get rid of the highchair and we actually have room for guests now!

I love it! It's just missing a nice center piece...maybe a pretty vase filled with my favorite flower, yellow tulips...

Recipe

Homemade Bread!

December 29, 2010

I used my KitchenAid for the first time today and made homemade French Bread. I am so proud of myself, it turned out really yummy. Here is my new toy in action...

Here is my dough formed into a loaf after resting for an hour and a half...

Here is my perfectly baked homemade French Bread...

Crusty on the outside, soft on the inside...

1 Packet of Active Dry Yeast

1 Cup of Warm Water

1 1/2 tsp. Sugar

1 1/2 tsp. Salt

2 1/2 Cups of Flour

Egg Wash (egg white mixed with a little water)

Add water, yeast, sugar and salt to your mixing bowl. Using your dough hook stir until yeast is dissolved. Add flour and mix on low for a couple of minutes, increase speed to medium and continue to mix for another 10 minutes or so. Leave dough in bowl and cover for about an hour and a half letting it rise at room temperature. Flour your working surface and your hands and lay dough out and form into a loaf. (It will look small but will get bigger as it cooks in the oven.) Cut several slits along the top of the loaf with a knife and then brush entire loaf with your egg wash to get that nice color and shine. Make sure you lightly grease your baking pan before putting your loaf on it so that it does not stick. Bake at 400 for 30 minutes until nice and golden brown. Eat warm with butter. Yum!

Holiday Photo Contest- Chatting with Santa

December 28, 2010

Uprinting is sponsoring a holiday photo contest via Giveaway Blogs. Here is my entry...

This picture was taken this year a couple of weeks before Christmas. It was Penelope's first time meeting Santa and she loved it! She asked Santa for a pink piano and a little barn...Santa brought her both. :)

The winner of the Holiday Photo Contest will get a $100 Amazon Gift Card and an 18x24 museum wrapped canvas print. Wish me luck!

Post Christmas Wrap Up

December 27, 2010

We had a fabulous Christmas. We got to spend it with family we hadn't seen in awhile and ate a ton of food. I didn't get a picture of everything but believe me we ate well. I did take a photo of the marshmallow pops Chris and I made.

Yummy marshmallows dipped in chocolate and sprinkled with coconut, graham cracker crumbs, peanuts, crushed candy cane and candy sprinkles.

We had a blast opening gifts, Penelope scored big time and I made out pretty good as well. Santa brought Penelope the pink piano and little barn she asked for,

and not only did I get the food processor I have been wanting but check this out!

I finally got it! I must have been really good this last year.

Hope your Christmas was as much fun as ours was!

Wordless Wednesday

First...Wordless Wednesday

December 22, 2010

Penelope's first ever visit with Santa, she couldn't take her eyes off him.

Eclipse!

December 20, 2010

Bento

Christmas Bento

December 17, 2010

Christmas is only a week away, I am so excited! I love this time of year and it is even better this year because Penelope is actually old enough to understand what's going on. She can't wait for Santa to come and bring her presents. I have been trying to teach her different Christmas songs but so far the only one that she lets me sing all the way through is Frosty the Snowman, she loves it. I decided I would make her a little Frosty inspired bento today. I wrapped it in a Furoshiki, which is a Japanese cloth used to wrap items for transport such as gifts or other items. Here is the edible gift I made for her.

OK, so this was my first attempt at making a "snow man", don't laugh! I used an ice cream scoop to scoop out balls of rice from my rice cooker. Unfortunately I only had long grain rice and it didn't quite stick as well as short grain would have. The snowman is on top of ground beef seasoned with soy sauce, mirin and a small amount of ginger. I used an olive for the eyes and nose and a hat...LOL. Green peas for buttons and wait...wait...a fruit roll up scarf! (She pulled the scarf off and handed it to me...smart girl.) the other box contains star shaped jack cheese, star shaped apples and banana slices with a Christmas chocolate to end the meal. Thumpety thump thump, thumpety thump thump...

Bento

...,Please!

December 11, 2010

Today when I asked Penelope what she wanted for lunch she of course answered "macaroni and cheese". This and "cheesy roll up" are the usual answers I get when I ask her this question, so I don't ask her very often. She is almost always satisfied with what I give her anyway. Today I thought I would give her what she wanted with a little compromise. I added some tuna and peas to her macaroni and cheese along with some grape tomatoes. She loves tomatoes!

Wildlife

December 06, 2010

There is a large population of Bald Eagles in Homer, Alaska. One of the reasons is the abundance of salmon in the area another reason is a lady named Jean Keene. Jean Keene fed the wild Bald Eagles that visited every year between the months of December and April on the Homer Spit, between 200 to 300 Bald Eagles daily for several years! Since she worked at a seafood plant she had access to surplus fish to feed the birds. Jean Keene, the "Eagle Lady" died on January 13, 2009 and even though it is now illegal to feed the wild birds in the area you can still see many of these majestic birds soaring in the sky and often times perching on the tops of tall trees all over Homer. We drove out to our local dump today and their were about 8 to 10 large birds just hanging out. I tried get some good pictures but Chris felt kind of weird snapping shots at the dump. Here are a couple of photos I took of the birds on two different trees. They are awesome to look at.

And on another note...I think I am being stalked by wild animals. First the bear, then the other night I was on my computer and I looked out the same exact window I saw the bear through and there was a round face looking back at me. AAAHHH! It looked like a large cat maybe a mountain lion? There have been several alleged sightings of them in the area. From what I have read a Lynx is more likely since they are native to Alaska. Either way it frightened me to see some wild critter trying to find a way out of the cold via our office window. I ran upstairs to let Chris know about the peeping tom but by the time he looked out the window it was gone. I think Chris is going to start thinking I am imagining these animal visits, really I am not!

Bento

Rawr!

November 30, 2010

Tuna Salad sandwiches shaped like dinosaurs on a bed of lettuce, carrots and tomatoes. Black olives and pickles and some Sun Chips.

Can you tell they are dinosaurs? Probably not...anyway Penelope could tell and she loved them. In fact she almost didn't want to eat them she said "dinosaur nice mommy, i don't eat, I play with him". In the end the dinosaur lost out and is now in the sleeping belly of a little girl.

Day Trip to Kenai

November 28, 2010

Today we took a road trip to Kenai to do some shopping. It is about an hour and thirty minute drive and very pretty. I saw several moose on the side of the road but didn't get a chance to pull over and snap some photos. Oh well I am sure I will get plenty more chances. Chris took us out to lunch at a restaurant called Louie's Steak and Seafood that is connected to the Uptown Motel. The whole way there he kept insisting they had the best prime rib in Alaska. Oh man...he was not kidding. That stuff was delicious! It was blackened and cooked perfectly and boy was it tender, I could cut it with a butter knife! The stuff just melts in your mouth. If you are ever in or near Kenai you have to eat at Louie's and order blackened prime rib. My mouth is watering just thinking about it...

Recipe

Post Thanksgiving Dinner Wrap Up

November 26, 2010

How was your Thanksgiving? Ours was delicious! Made way to much food for my family of three and will be having leftovers for several days.

I made a turkey breast and thanks to the Barefoot Contessa Chris said it was the best turkey he has ever had. It had really food flavor and came out moist and tender. Here is the recipe for Ina Garten's Herb Roasted Turkey Breast. *FYI-I didn't have dried mustard so I used regular yellow mustard from a bottle.* I also made the Pioneer Woman's Creamy Mashed Potatoes. Sooo good! Unfortunately I couldn't get Yukon Gold potatoes up here so I used red potatoes with the skin on. Yummy! My stuffing was a Sourdough Bread Stuffing courtesy of Dave Lieberman of Food Network. We also had Green Bean Casserole, cranberry sauce, rolls and of course Pumpkin Pie for dessert. I am feeling sleepy just thinking about all the food.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

November 24, 2010

"Gobble Gobble"

Just Around the Corner

November 23, 2010

Today Penelope and I went to Safeway to buy food for Thursdays meal, I can't believe it's already Thanksgiving and Christmas is just around the corner! I am so not in the mood to be making or eating turkey I would much rather have ham. I guess it's just one of those things I will have to deal with in order to be a good wife. ;) Actually we kinda compromised because I am making a turkey breast rather then a whole turkey.

Well, I'm all ready pretty close to finishing my Christmas shopping too. Since there are not very many stores close by I made sure to get a head start ordering online so that everything arrives on time. We are hoping road conditions are good this weekend so that we can make the 1 hour and 20 minute drive to Fred Meyer in Soldotna and do some shopping. Chris said something about going on Friday but there is no way I am going to go out and deal with those crowds on Black Friday. Hmmm...I wonder if Alaska gets as bad on the busiest shopping day of the season as in the lower 48. Anyone know? Anyone going to be brave and go shopping on Friday?

So the last few days have been pretty warm here, in the 40's and after almost 2 weeks of sunshine it rained today. It's a good thing the temperatures have been high and all the snow and ice melted on the roads otherwise the roads could ice over and get pretty bad. It's suppose to snow on Thursday so I guess we are having a white Thanksgiving...hopefully.

My Thanksgiving Highlight

November 19, 2010

Uprinting is sponsoring a photo contest via Giveaway Blogs titled My Thanksgiving Highlight Photo Contest. I decided to enter so here is my photo entry...

This picture was taken last Thanksgiving. Penelope was not yet two and it was her very first Thanksgiving dinner. I love this picture and as you can see she loved this turkey leg.

The winner of My Thanksgiving Highlight Photo Contest will win an 18x24 Gallery Wrapped Canvas Print and $100 Target Gift Card. Keeping my fingers crossed...

Bento

First Bento in Alaska

November 16, 2010

Penelope loved her lunch today. She was very excited about making her own "sandwiches". She would say "cracker first, then pepperoni, then cheese. Look mommy I did it! I made a sandwich! Now I put sandwich in my belly" after each little cracker sandwich she ate. It's so fun to watch her get excited over the smallest of things.

Crackers, cheddar and colby jack squares and pepperoni and salami slices to make little cracker sandwiches. She also had two big green olives (she loves olives like her mom and dad), and I put some raisins in there to fill up the empty spaces. She just recently discovered raisins while we were staying with the grandparents. She asks for them all the time now.

Muffin Tin Monday

November 16, 2010

I am going to try and start posting more bento's and keeping up with MTM's now that we are settled in our new home. So here is our first muffin tin in Alaska, this weeks theme was the food pyramid.

Top Row: French Bread w/ Butter (Grain), Strawberries n Raspberries (Fruit), Colby Jack and Cheddar Cheese Squares (Dairy)

Bottom Row: Green Salad w/ Cucumber, Carrots and Tomato (Vegetable), Chicken Strip (Meat), Ranch for dipping

Check out other muffin tins here.

Hidden Picture...Where Am I?

November 15, 2010

The Elusive Snow Bunny

Happy Birthday!

November 12, 2010

Look who turned 11 today....

Our handsome cat Mr. Rat. When I told Penelope it was his birthday she wanted to sing Happy Birthday so I decided to give the little furry guy some tuna. He eats nothing but dry food so this was a special treat for him and he ate it all up.

Another Day in Alaska

November 10, 2010

Penelope and I ventured out into the 30 degree weather today to make Storytime at the Homer Public Library. It was so worth it! Their were about 15 kiddos there which gives me hope that we will be able to find some playmates for her. It's an hour long program with singing, stories being read to the kids and a themed craft project. Today the theme was snow so they created a craft in which they used starch to stick rice (the snow) onto a winter themed picture that they colored. Penelope had a great time and is very excited about showing her artwork to daddy. It's waiting on the fridge so hurry home.

On another note I watched the neighborhood dog dig through the snow in our backyard, pull out a snow bunny, and run off with it in his mouth. Poor little snow bunny...

Proof!

November 07, 2010

Look! Chris got a picture of the paw print outside our window. He took a couple of pictures and the other one was bigger but I liked this pic cause you can see the bears claws in it. I guess Penelope and I won't be playing in our backyard anytime soon...

Welcome to Alaska...

November 07, 2010

OK, so you know those berries I mentioned in my last post that are all around our place? A few minutes ago I looked out our office window and right at a bear munching away at them. He was probably having his last meal before the big snooze...hopefully. I am so bummed that I wasn't quick enough to get my camera. I have been fascinated with bears for a few years now and my heart is still racing at seeing one in the wild, errr my backyard. We live in a house with an amazing view so it is set up where the bedrooms are downstairs and the living area is up, I guess it's called reverse living. Anyway our bedroom windows are at ground level and we have a small backyard that extends to forest so one of the first things I imagined when I saw them was waking up one morning to an animal staring in at me. I guess I am not so paranoid afterall...

Snow Fun

November 06, 2010

Well we have gotten about a foot of snow the last couple of days since it has started snowing. The temperature has been in the mid to low 30's, it actually feels really nice outside. Penelope had been asking to play in the snow and today there was finally enough for us to go out and have some fun in it.

Here is Penelope being a good neighbor and cleaning the snow off of our neighbors car.

And her very first snowman.

The face is made with these red berries we have on trees all around our place. They are more like grape tomatoes same texture and everything. I am going to have to figure out what they are. Penelope wanted to eat one because she loves tomatoes but better make sure they are not poisonous first.

My 15 Minutes

November 05, 2010

Anyone happen to check out the October 18th edition of Woman's World magazine? Several weeks ago I was asked by a contributor for my opinion on one of the best pasta sauces out there. You can read my wee opinion on page 40 of the magazine. Apparently I am an influential mom! :) Seriously though, Rinaldi's To Be Healthy Spicy Marinara sauce is sooo good. Trust me...im famous. :p

It's Snowing!

November 03, 2010

It finally started snowing. Penelope was so excited to go out and taste the snowflakes. I will try and get some pics tomorrow and don't forget tomorrow is "Men Make Dinner Day"! :)

Finally HOMEr!

November 03, 2010

Well we made it home and have been trying to get adjusted the last few days. It's hard not to roll over and go back to sleep at 9am when it's still pitch dark outside. It has yet to snow and the last couple of days the weather has been nice out, even sunny. Today it is overcast with a little rain and the temperature is in the mid 30's. We have done a lot of driving around checking out the town and the shops. Homer is known for being artsy and their are several art galleries, shops and boutiques. There are also a lot of restaurants here! The two we have eaten at so far have been yummy. We did some grocery shopping and the prices are definitely higher then in the lower 48. In addition to the Safeway I mentioned in a previous post we also have a Save -U- More store that has some decent prices, you can also purchase items in bulk and they have a great ethnic, gourmet and natural foods section. It's a little cluttered and messy and I have a thing about stores that are unorganized but I am excited at the selection of items there. We have also have a store called Ulmer's which is a True Value store that carries everything from toys, household appliances, toiletries and ammunition. I guess it's kinda like a Walmart but not as big. I will post more about the town as I become more familiar.

Our view is amazing! Every time you look out our front window it's like looking at a painting. The mountains covered with snow that go into the ocean. Every now and then you see a barge or ferry go by and I am excited about seeing the cruise ships in the springtime.

I was so worried that Penelope was going to miss out on Halloween with the move and everything but Chris came through and bought her a Halloween costume and candy to pass out. It's a good thing too because apparently the street we live on is Halloween central. We must have had close to 500 kids come to our door. Penelope had so much fun handing out candy and seeing all the costumes. I got a kick out of seeing the kids walking around in their costumes with no coats on, I guess they are used to the cold weather.

Here are a couple of photos of Penelope's day of flying, she did great by the way, some pics of her in her costume and one at Bishop's Beach.

We are still trying to get everything unpacked and organized so I will be on sporadically but I will try and post as often as I can till things are back to normal.

Getting on the plane in Eugene, OR

Anchorage Airport

Princess Fairy

Bishop's Beach

Almost home...

October 29, 2010

Getting ready for the long day of travel tomorrow. Chris is already there waiting for us, hopefully Penelope and I well walk into an unpacked house, you think? Check out the view from our new place...

Pumpkin Patch

October 25, 2010

We will be arriving in Alaska on the 30th so don't think we will be dressing Penelope up this year for Halloween but didn't want her to miss the whole experience so the grandparents had a great idea. This weekend we took Penelope to a pumpkin patch. We went to Mahaffy Ranch in Coos Bay, Oregon and had a great time. Penelope got to run around in the patch and pick out her pumpkin. We also went on a hayride and she decorated her very own cookie and had her face painted. She had so much fun. Here are just a few pictures of our day.

We also carved our pumpkins this weekend I will post pictures of that later. Penelope's came out great.

The End of the Road...

October 19, 2010

So I thought I would share a little information about our new home. It's right there on the map between Kodiak Island and Anchorage. This map doesn't show all the places in Alaska but it was one of the only maps I could find where Homer was easily visible. Homer is located on the Kenai Peninsula on the shore of Kachemak Bay. It's most distinguishing feature is the Homer Spit, a narrow 4.5 mile ~~gravel~~ (correction road is paved)road that extends into the bay. According to the most recent population census, the population of Homer is 4,137. It is the southernmost town on the Alaska Highway. It got it's first traffic light in 2005! About a 4 hour drive to the big city of Anchorage and 1 hour and 20 minutes to Fred Meyer in Soldotna. :) Shopping is pretty much local run business with one Safeway grocery store and no malls. Their are several restaurants but only 2 fast food chains, McDonald's and Subway. From what I have read Homer has a very active outdoor lifestyle in the summer months but slows down during the winter. It's the place to go if you like to fish, especially halibut and salmon. The temperatures average at 53 degrees in July and August for the high and 22 degrees for the low in January. Snowfall averages at 13 inches in December with July and August having 0 inches of snow. Compared to some other places in Alaska the weather is pretty mild. June 18-22 are the longest days of sunlight with the sun being out about 19 hours while Dec 19-22 are the days with the shortest daylight around 6 hours.

Of course all this information is just what I have gathered while doing my own research. I might be totally off so if anyone reading this is a native to Homer please feel free to correct me and once we get there I will try to give you some more accurate information. Sooo excited!

Moving to Homer, Alaska

October 16, 2010

Well I bought Penelope's and my airline ticket. On October 30th we will be flying one way to Homer, Alaska, our new home. It's going to be a long day...We fly out of Eugene, Oregon at 9:55am, get to Seattle, Washington at 11:00am, fly to Anchorage, Alaska at 12:00pm, arrive in Anchorage at 2:45pm, have a 3 and a half hour layover there and finally hope on a small 19 passenger plane at 6:30pm to Homer, Alaska arriving at 7:10pm. Penelope has flown several times as a baby but this will be her first time in her own seat. She has always been a pretty good traveler so I am hoping things go smoothly. I will post more about our new home later, in the meantime check out Penelope getting ready for the snow in some of her new winter wear.

Firsts!

October 03, 2010

When we arrived in Reedsport Penelope was very excited about finding a cute Fairy bed of her own along with some toys and new clothes. Thank you Grandpa and Grandma! One of the goodies they gave her was a plastic pail and shovel and as soon as Penelope saw it she asked to go digging for seashells. I don't know where this girl gets this stuff! We took her to the beach a couple of days ago and here she is digging for seashells for the first time.

It was so much fun to watch...

Last night we went bowling, another first for Penelope. Check out her bowling shoes. They were 3 sizes to big.

Here she is with her 6 pound ball.

She had a blast!

Oregon Coast

October 01, 2010

We made it to Reedsport, Oregon! Penelope and I are going to be staying here with the grandparents for a few weeks before heading to Alaska. Chris has to go back up in a little over a week and then he will be flying Penelope and I up after his hitch at work is over. I will try and take some pictures to post and share the Oregon coast with you. It's really pretty and the weather is great. It's in the 70's, nice and cool. No more 100 degree Bakersfield weather. YAY! I am really excited to be moving back to Alaska but a little sad to be leaving Bakersfield. There was a lot for her to do in Bakersfield and many little ones to play with. I hope we can find that again in Alaska. We made some really great friends and Penelope had her own little sidekick, Destiny her BFF. I am going to get my webcam set up once we are settled so the two of them can chat. I can't wait! Well we are off to eat at Chris' favorite Mexican restaurant, Sol De Mexico, he says they have the best Mole ever. Meh...

North to the Future...and other Big News!

September 23, 2010

I've got a couple of things to share with you...first of all I wanted to let all my followers know that I will no longer be posting product reviews and giveaways on this blog. I am excited to announce that I was chosen to be a contributor of Girly Girl Giveaways and will be posting all product reviews and giveaways there. I do have a couple final reviews that will be posted on this site until all my current giveaways have ended. Start following me along with Joy and Gloria at Girly Girl Giveaways! Second we are moving back to Alaska! That's right..after a year in Bakersfield, CA we have decided to move back up to Alaska and just in time for the snow! Penelope is very excited about the snow...So this blog will go back to what it originally was, a personal blog about my family, our activities and my cooking. Keep following I promise I will have some interesting stuff about the Land of the Midnight Sun. The next month or so will be pretty crazy with the move and all so I will not be posting as often but once we get settled in our new home I will be back up and running. Stay Tuned...

Balboa Park San Diego, CA

September 15, 2010

Penelope's latest love are dinosaurs so since we were going to be in San Diego I thought I would take her to Balboa Park and the Natural History Museum. A couple of days before our visit I told her I was taking her to see the dinosaurs and she said "oh see dinosaurs go raaawr." I explained to her that we were just going to see dinosaur bones and statues because dinosaurs are no longer living and she said "oh dinosaurs live in Alaska." "No Penelope dinosaurs are all gone." I said and her response was "oh dinosaurs live in museum." She was so excited when we arrived at the museum, she was running from exhibit to exhibit pointing and jumping up and down and of course roaring. Here are some pictures of our visit...