My Dad

Today my Dad turns 83.

But he could pass for 63, easy.

It helps that when he got married at 21,

he looked like he was 12.

(of course, Mom looked 10!)

Aren't they adorable?

This might be my favorite picture of him in forever.

(only 60 years later...)

He is so full of life and laughter.

When I was MUCH younger and still living in Calgary,

he made it a point to meet me for lunch every Tuesday

in the summer for a "lunch time concert".

Downtown has several large churches

complete with fancy organs.

That summer (and maybe every summer, I don't know)

they had a lunch time organ concert at several of them.

We met there for the concert and then grabbed a bite

someplace close by.

I hated my job that year.

I hated everything about it.

But lunches with Dad made it bearable.

At least the Tuesdays.

It was my last summer in Calgary.

It might have been one of the best.

Ok, nope.

I had LOTS of great summers in Calgary!

They usually landed on a Thursday.

(sorry - old joke)

There were camping trips.

Complete with renegade squirrels raiding the

peanut stash in the trunk of the car

and "toes" that kicked out teeth.

There were trips to Waterton.

There were canoe trips on the dam.

There were horseback rides.

There were day trips to Banff.

Trips to the "river garden" that just weren't

complete unless we got to ride on the trunk.

Not to mention the big backyard garden 

every single year.

There were beans.

And peas.

And potatoes.

And carrots (if you squinted).

And more beans.

And Tabor corn.

And Dad was a main feature in all of it.

He was a full time Dad.

Even though he was a full time employee.

And a nearly full time Bishop.

He taught me the true meaning of service.

*And a really cool lesson on fasting!

We are so blessed to have his example

of how to do it RIGHT.

LOVE YOU DAD!

Happy Birthday!

First Day of School

School started on Monday here in Florida.

I haven't had a school kid in YEARS.

But every year I hear the siren call

of the school supplies department

at the store.

I had to buy pens.

Because I had to.

I need to go to the store tonight.

Must.

Fight.

The.

Urge!

I will NOT leave the store with

college lined spiral bound books.

I will NOT.

But I might...

Changing Skies

We have been having lots of afternoon thunder storms.

Nothing like the stuff that is causing flooding

in Arizona.

But still pretty impressive...

Kyle's new phone takes good pictures!

And I have to say...

I love our back yard.

It looks a little different without the pool.

And on those HOT days

(today is a "feels like 105" day)

I miss it.

But for the most part,

it's nice that it is gone.

Kyle keeps the grass cut.

With the help of the horses.

And the chickens.

I just sit in the chairs outside

the barn and enjoy it.

SPOILED!!!!!

(yup)



It's A Girl

I was out of town over the weekend.

I came home to a new arrival.

Kyle has been working for a family for a couple of years.

He takes care of their property.

He builds things.

(Like a tractor garage)

(And a riding arena)

(And a million fences)

(And, and, and...)

He fixes stuff when it breaks.

Like the dump truck.

And the tractor.

And, and, and...

He often works alone.

Sometimes he works with their daughter.

Last year they got a new puppy.

The puppy chewed all the shoes.

The puppy was then kennel trained.

LOL

Kyle (aka Dr. Doolittle) and the puppy (aka Shadow Bean)

have become good friends.

Anyhow.

On Friday, the daughter left for BYU.

And the puppy moved to our house.

SURPRISE!

Welcome Shadow!

(She LOVES the chickens... they are fun to chase!)

(We will be working on that...)

(and yes, that is a dog, IN the house)

(Don't tell the other dogs...)

(She is a little spoiled.)

(Already)

Happy Birthday My Darling!!!

Today is my darling husband's birthday.

Nun-ya bidness how old he is.

(But he was born the same year as Soni...)

And next year's a big 'un!

I look forward to doing birthday posts

on the people I love.

And there are few people I love as much

as this wonderful man.

And nobody I love more.

He is kind.

He is gentle.

He loves his family.

He works hard.

He provides well.

He worries.

He worries if he isn't worried.

He researches.

He plans.

He prays.

He loves.

And he is all mine.

I love you my darling!

Happy Birthday!

Early Morning

It's the beginning of a new school year.

And since Rod works at a school,

they are preparing for a new flock of flight students.

They are having a big shindig for them today.

But it rains here in Florida every afternoon.

So they are hosting it in the hangar.

Which means the guys have to be gone by 3.

Which means the guys have to be there by 7.

(he usually works 9 - 5)

Which meant we had an early morning.

He got up and went out to feed the animals.

I got up and went to the kitchen to

feed the people.

And it turned out pretty yummy!

Sprayed my silicone muffin "tin".

Put some green onion,

rough chopped baby spinach,

cooked and crumbled bacon,

finely grated cheddar cheese

and some beaten fresh eggs

into each cup.

Slipped it into the oven at 350 for 20+ minutes

while making our smoothies

(peanut butter cup)



Rod had already taken his...

Getting ready to eat mine.

(at my desk, in my office)

Have a great Wednesday everybody!

Fun Food

We had a "fun food" weekend.

First off, Kyle has ALWAYS wanted

to find some purple potatoes.

I'm not sure where he saw them first,

but they often have them on Chopped (Food Network)

and he just thinks they would be neat.

And then last week they got some in

at the CSA next door.

So he brought home a bag.

And then he cooked them up.

And mashed them with sour cream.

This is what they looked like.
(after he ate a bunch)

They tasted just like "real" potatoes.

Which are not a Trim Healthy Mama approved food.

But I tasted them anyway.

Yup.

Mashed potatoes.

But FUN!!!!!

And then yesterday I took the day off.

So decided to do some food prep.

But first I had to "research".

And this is what I found.

Hard boiled eggs.

In my PRESSURE COOKER!

Hard Cooked Eggs that Peel Like a Dream

Thank you Frieda!

These are amazing!!!

(Yes, those are my eggs, yes, they are white,

yes, they are store bought.  If they were going

to explode, I wasn't going to waste MY eggs! lol)

In a nutshell...

I tore a cardboard egg carton in half so I could

fit a dozen eggs inside my pressure cooker.

(first put in the trivet thingie that came with it)

Then added 1 cup of water.

Turned the cooker on low pressure

(mine is electric, so that was the veggie setting)

it automatically set itself for 6 minutes.

But if yours doesn't, that's what you want.

Because my eggs were fridge cold, it took a total

of 20 minutes including the time to bring it up to pressure.

Next time I'll use my eggs, which I keep on the counter,

so it should go faster.

Once the time is up, allow it to sit for 4 minutes

and then do a quick release of any more steam.

Transfer the eggs immediately to an ice bath.

(there ARE eggs in there...)

When you can't stand it anymore,

grab one, roll it around a little on the counter,

and peel.

Then break into the Hallelujah Chorus

because even with fake nails,

these things peeled like magic!

And the whites were hard, but soft...

and the whole thing was DELICIOUS!

Deviled eggs... here we come!

(I put them in the fridge, unpeeled, brought one for 

breakfast this morning at the office and it STILL

peeled perfectly!) 

I also baked some yummy zucchini/blueberry

gluten free, sugar free bread.

It was really yummy!

And I forgot to take a picture.

Oops!

Oops!

Got BUSY!

In fact I just remembered I still haven't

sent in my monthly Visiting Teaching report.

(I'm a Supervisor)

Excuse me for a moment...

OK, I'm back.

(No really, I just sent it...)

The girls have been busy laying up a storm.

And I've been busy posting lots of $.

And washing eggs.

And doing something else,

I'm sure...

but I can't remember what.

I've also not been sleeping.

We go to bed.

Turn on the TV and set it to turn off in 30 minutes.

I am asleep before the first commercial.

But for the last 3 nights I've been

waking repeatedly during the night.

Last night it was

2:47

3:47

4:47

5:47

(which really ticks me off)

I'm blind so I have a clock with BIG numbers.

I'm not sure what's different.

But I'm getting a little over it.

Especially when you wake up at 5:47

and then the alarm goes off at 6:00.

And then I fall back to sleep

and don't wake again til the next

alarm at 6:30.

(My backup just in case...)

Luckily I have my morning routine

down to a fine science.

OH!

But this morning I had the BEST morning drink!

(Better find out if Rod liked it...)

Every morning I make Rod and I a breakfast smoothie.

I use a base recipe from Trim Healthy Mama.

Into the blender:

2 C unsweetened almond milk

1 C low fat cottage cheese (you can't taste it, I swear!)

(adds protein and creamy-ness)

1 scoop whey isolate protein powder (french vanilla flavor)

4+ teaspoons Truvia

1 tray ice cubes

That's the base.

Then every day I add something to make it special.

Lots of days I add orange extract.

Tastes exactly like a creamsicle!

Or some Giradelli 100% dark cocoa powder

and some defatted peanut flour.

Peanut butter cups in a cup!

Cocoa powder and banana for

a Peter's chocolate banana shake anybody?

Rod's favorite is the Mint Chocolate Chip.

(a splash of peppermint extract and

a chunk of 85% dark chocolate)

This morning I added a big splash of

rootbeer extract.

Presto!

Rootbeer Float!

SO PERFECT FOR A FRIDAY MORNING!

It's going to be a good day.

So let it be said.

So let it be done.

We are butchering rabbits this weekend.

I see LOTS of rootbeer floats in my future.

Weekend Surprise

This was my weekend (first of two)

to teach in Rockledge.

My "local" class.

I still have to run up the highway.

(It's local when you figure my others

are at least 100+ miles away...)

However.

Once again we had zero students.

Not the guy's fault though.

Really.

The other class was going to run over

the Labor Day weekend.

I already taught there over the

4th of July weekend.

And that was not fun.

So, in an effort to make my life better

(yah, I'm sure that was the reasoning)

my Regional Training Coordinator

called my Senior Vice President and

moved everything forward 1 week.

Which was great in theory and on paper.

But meant turning around and refilling

a classroom in one week.

It didn't work.

So I got a surprise weekend off!

(Next weekend too!)

Which was a nice surprise.

(My bank account doesn't agree, but I'm

ignoring that and going with the happy thing.)

Saturday I got a LOT done!

Rod has to be up and to the airport by 7.

Which meant we got up and got all the

animals fed and got HIM fed by 6:30.

Then instead of heading back to bed

(which is something I sometimes do... gasp!)

I did some "research" online while I waited

to hear whether we really had zero folks or not.

(The Senior VP drove over to the school to check.)
(He lives less than 2 miles from there...)

As soon as he confirmed I wasn't going to be needed,

I jumped up and headed to the store.

I like to shop early on Saturday morning before the

stores get busy and the clerks get cranky.

I scored a new cover for my ironing board.

Now I just need a new iron.

We bought one a couple of months ago.

I hate it.

It doesn't get hot!

You iron and iron and iron and iron

and spray with water

and iron

and blast with steam

and iron

and still go to church looking like you just

rolled out of a corner somewhere.

Grrrrrrrrrrrr.

Anyhow.

Then to the health food store for some

whey isolate protein powder

(the only kind I can use that doesn't

mess with my blood sugar/thyroid)

Back just in time to jump online

for a webinar about our new online

expense report system.

Come to Mama!

I can upload all my receipts

just by taking a picture with my phone.

Right there in the restaurant!

Submit my expense report on Monday morning

and (if my RTC is on the ball, which he usually is)

he can take a look and approve it right on HIS phone

from wherever he is! 

(You think I do a lot of traveling...

wouldn't have his job for all the tea in China!)

It can then go right to accounting where it gets

approved and submitted for ELECTRONIC

transfer to my bank account!

No more waiting by the mailbox for 2+ weeks

hoping I actually receive a check.

SO AWESOME!!!!!

Of course, when I tried to jump onto the system

to check it out, the system was down.

I'm hoping to play with it today.

While listening and following along on the webinar,

I was also putting my groceries away and

getting organized.

Then I got started.

Made a big 9x13 pan of German Pancake

with maple flavoring and pecans on the top.

YUM!

Rod and I really love it.

Makes a great grab-and-go breakfast.

Then I mixed up a new recipe of breakfast

muffins I found in my "research" earlier in the morning.

They were DELISH!

And I used my new little silicone muffin paper thingies

so there was almost no cleanup!

Let the oven cool for a little bit

(yeah, did it all in the wrong order)

and baked 2 trays of bacon

to complete our grab-and-go breakfast experience.

Then another of my "research" recipes

yielded 5 little servings of a totally

yummy peanut butter no bake cheesecake.

(Since it was National Cheesecake Day.)

TASTY!

Meanwhile, I also scored a HUGE branch of

ginger root.  Seriously it was like 9 inches long!

(I should have taken a picture! Duh.)

It took FOREVER to peel.

Popped it all into the blender with some

water and let 'er rip!

Made a full quart of fresh ginger juice!

(lots of pulp, but after letting it sit and steep

for a day or two, I'm going to strain the pulp

out so I'll just have the juice.)

I make a drink the Trim Healthy Mamas call

Good Girl Moonshine.

(I call it sunshine)

It sounds disgusting.

It is DELISH and totally addicting.

1T (to start) of good organic Bragg's

apple cidar vinegar

with a good splash of ginger juice

and a teaspoon of pure stevia.

(my next project is to find a stevia plant!)

Lots of ice and water.

Tastes like fresh lemonade.

And does all sorts of healthy things for your body.

It's one of the "all day sippers" so you can keep

it with you and sip off of it all day without

raising your blood sugar.

Anyhow.

By then it was time for Rod to come home from work.

But he didn't.

He went to a friend's house and they built a new gun.

(awesome looking gun - and saved a TON of $$$)

Kyle and I relaxed and watched some Chopped on TV

and then headed back outside to take care of

the animals.

All in all a really nice day!

Tomorrow I'll tell you about Sunday.

But here's a sneak preview...

Flappy Thing

I have been moved at work.

I now sit in a room with two other ladies.

And the employee entrance / exit.

So people come and go.

A lot.

To combat the annoyance factor of that

we have some large room dividers.

It helps.

A little.

We also have a light that stays on

all the time.

Unless it turns off.

It is regulated by a motion sensor.

And normally there is enough going on

that it stays on all the time.

Except on Fridays.

One of the ladies I work with is only here

part of the day and in another office

for the rest of her day.

The other lady works extra hours during

the week so she can leave around 9:30

on Friday mornings.

Which leaves me alone much of the day.

Which I love.

But I sit behind the cloth divider.

And the motion detector can't see me.

So the light turns off.

And it gets dark in here.

Which makes it hard to work.

I tried putting a post-it note on a ruler and

waving it in the air.

It didn't work.

I have to get up, walk out from behind my desk,

and over to the break in the dividers to get the

light to turn back on.

Or wait for someone to walk through.

Which is kind of like waiting for the pot to boil.

Last week I got a great idea!

I borrowed one of these little flappy plant thingies

from another co-worker.

It's solar powered, which is cool, because it sits

right under the light.

It's just enough movement (the leaves flap up and down

and the flower sways from side-to-side)

to keep the motion detector happy.

Except that somebody slammed the door and it fell.

To it's death.

Amazon to the rescue!!!!!

This morning I brought in TWO (one to replace the

broken one, and one to work for ME)

And Rod brought me some industrial velcro

(they use it on the airplanes)

to anchor the silly thing.

It's trying REALLY REALLY hard to charge its little

solar battery - it looks a little like a spazzzz.

Flap, pause, flap, pause, flap flap, pause...

I'm hoping it will get it together before I'm alone in here again.

And it goes dark.

Such is life.