Monday, December 17, 2007

Flowers

The last week and a half I have had a cold, a pretty bad one that has worn me out. Last Thursday the door bell rang with a delivery lady holding this lovely bouquet. When she told us they were for me Terran and I couldn't figure out who they would be from, then I opened the get well card. My parents had sent me flowers to help me along the road of recovery. What a wonderful surprise on the worst day of the whole thing.
Thanks Mom and Dad! I love you!!!!

Yours,
Naomi

Sunday, December 02, 2007

A GLANCE AT NOVEMBER

I feel like I haven’t done a real post for quite a while, though I’m not sure what a "real post" consists of. I guess it depends on what you like to read about other peoples lives. The past month went so quickly for T & I, it was incredibly full of a lot of big , busy things; including several road trips, lots of visiting and some running.

We started off by running a 3 mile race together that supported our local "Girl’s on the Run" program. I loved seeing those elementary girls there running their little hearts out and seeing their pride as they crossed the finish line. I think it’s great that they are teaching girls to set a goal and to meet it with hard work and training. I also think of the great health benefits they are going to have in their life starting to exercize at such a young age. T ran the race in under 24 minutes. I am so impressed with him running faster than an 8minute mile, it may be because I ran an 8:02 mile. The roughly 24 minute run put me in second place in my age group, so now I have a cool orange bag to carry books in and a red ribbon that says "Second Place". I was pretty happy, especially after I saw that the first place girl in my group ran the race in 18 or 19 minutes. A tad fast for me.

We also had a housewarming to go to for Tamara and Mark, T’s sister and hubby that afternoon. It was a fun, fun time visiting with them and their friends. Mark and Tamara are two of the most hospitible people that I know. I love going to their house, because I know how welcome we are and feel. If you ever get a chance to visit them I highly recommend taking the offer. You’ll have some good conversation, see some sweet kitties, and get to drink excellent wine and coffee. Thanks guys for a great afternnoon!!!

The next weekend we were off to Las Vegas with some family and friends for an airshow at Nellis Airforce Base. We had the joy of picking up T’s brother Arls from the airport, he was just returning from China. It was SO good to see him after 5 1/2 monthes.

Because Arl’s had been out of the country for several monthes and really wanted to go climbing on our minivacation T found a place outside of Vegas that we (I use "we" as a very general term,because it should be "they") could climb at.


The Three Amigos and the boulder that they beat. I was really proud of my 30 something hubby keeping right up with his young 20 somethng and alsmost 20 something brother. I have got quite a stud!

The area we were at is called Red Rock Canyons which is a beautiful nature area.Quite worth the 20 minute drive outside of Vegas. I laughed when I realized that this is the only picture of T & I from our trip. We spent time on the world famous Vegas strip and come home with a pic of us outside. I guess you can tell what holds our interest.


After we got home from Vegas it was almost time for us to start preparing for our trip to Washington to have Thanksgiving with my family and pick up a special something.
I was so glad to have the Holiday with my family. This was the first Thanksgiving we have had with them since we were married. It was a great visit, though very short at barely 48 hours.

Playing around at the Boeing Air Museum.



Every holiday has some kind of fiasco and I was the cause of ours. I started a fire with the marshmallow covered sweet potatoes in the oven. I thought they needed to be broiled to finish browning them. It was a pretty good one with flames filling the oven; my Dad had to be the hero and took them out for us. At least it was the only dish of food left in there and was the only casualty of a wonderful day.

Here is the "special something." Terran about a month ago bought this little 1963 Austin Healey Sprite over E-bay and my dad has been storing it for us after picking it up in Oregon.

We are very excited about our little 2 seater joy ride. It does run, but needs brakes and some other work. It wouldn’t be any fun if it didn’t need some TLC. T is hoping to have it on the road this spring for some cruising. I’m very excited for him/us, he’s wanted a classic car for along time.

Well, now I feel like I have written a real post and am feeling much better about my blog. Amazing how a little rambling can make you feel so much better.
Naomi

Friday, November 16, 2007

Kaia's Blankey

Little kids aren't the only ones that need their special blanket. Kaia sleeps each night on this blanket in our room and on trips. It's so cute to watch her make it in the evening and then find her all curled up on it in the morning. If she could I think she would drag it around with her during the day.


Friday, November 02, 2007

2 MILES, 2000 FT. in 2 HOURS

Mt. Garfield is our desert mountain; standing 2000ft. above the valley with a 2 mile trail going up the side. It's very steep quite unlike any other trail I've hiked. Terran and I took a beautiful, cool Saturday morning a couple weeks ago & made the climb. It's something that locals can't help but do once in a while. There is even a running race up and down it in the Spring.


A little breathless, but we conquered the mount.

Trying not to let the unease show.


Kaia didn't like being that high in the least bit. Aside from being slightly cross eyed in the picture she had a panicked look on her face while we were on top. While...


Kojo the daredevil just had to see what was at the bottom.




The highlight of the hike was the wild horses we saw on the trail. They were absolutely gorgeous. We love how strong and healthy they looked.




The Horse Whisperer.



This guy looked a little sad we were leaving, or maybe he's just playing peekaboo.


Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Monday, October 01, 2007

Playing the Tourist

Hanging Lake about an hour and 1/2 drive and a mile hike up a steep hill. Well worth the walk with this at the end. It's a huge tourist hike in Glenwood Springs boasting of 80,000 people a year.



Wes and Terran living on the edge.



My Honey and I












Sunday, September 23, 2007

For All You Coffee Lovers



I have never been a huge fan of low fat foods, especially desserts. I was raised with the motto if you’re going to eat it, it should be the real thing and taste good. No substitutes!! Well, as I grow older and those real foods I enjoy so much try to stick around longer than I’d prefer and in places I’d rather they didn’t, I’m a little more open to light foods. It was with a bit of hesitation that I tried this recipe and found that it is great. It tastes yummy and is gentle to the waist line. Ahh, you gotta love that.
Cafe con Leche Cream Pie
3/4 C. Chocolate Wafer Crumbs (about 15 cookies, such as Nabisco's Famous Chocolate Wafers or Chocolate Grams work)
4 tsp Butter, melted
Cooking spray
3/4 cup extra strong brewed coffee
1 1/4 tsp unflavored gelatin
1 (8 ounce) block 1/3 less fat cream cheese
1 (8 ounce) block fat-free cream cheese
1 (14 ounce) can fat-free sweetened condensed milk
3 cups frozen fat-free whipped topping, thawed
1/2 tsp unsweetened cocoa
1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Combine chocolate wafer crumbs and butter, tossing with a fork until well combined. Firmly press mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch spring-form pan coated with with cooking-spray. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes; cool completely.
3. Pour brewed coffee into a medium microwave safe bowl. Sprinkle that gelatin over coffee; let stand 10 minutes. Combine cheeses and milk in a food processor' process until smooth. Microwave coffee mixtures at HIGH for 20 seconds. Add coffee mixture to cheese mixture, and process until well combined. Pour cheese mixture into prepared crust. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Spread the whipped topping evenly over filling; sprinkle cocoa powder over pie. Chill one hour before serving.
Yield 10 Servings
Spacial Notes: This dessert needs to be prepared the day before serving for chilling purposes. When I first read this recipe that did not register and our pie didn't set all the way. :)
Bon Appetit,
Naomi

Friday, August 31, 2007

VISITORS


I am excited as my family is here for almost a weeks visit. My mom, my brother Tim, and niece Kaitlyn drove down from Washington for a end of summer visit. I could not think of a better way to end summer and celebrate the Labor Day Weekend. :)
Kaitlyn was excited to see me and Uncle Terran, but it was nothing compared to her excitement to see the dogs. She and Kaia are best buddies, one following the other every where. You can't see Kaia in the picture, but Kaitlyn would blow the bubbles and Kaia would run after them trying to bite them. Quite cute!!
Naomi

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Birthday Dinner



Last night for my birthday (it is today, but we celebrated last night) my hubby made the most amazing dinner for me. He cooked all afternoon and evening for this dinner. He made stuffed sole, with a roasted onion in a bacon wrap, a cheese and herb bread, and a artichoke, grapefruit salad. I could not believe my eyes or my mouth. He used my Jamie Oliver cookbook for the dinner and then we had our annual chocolate peppermint cake for dessert. I love good food and love my darling man even more. Having both together was wonderful!!!!!
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Thursday, August 09, 2007

Morning Harvest

I picked this entire bowl of beautiful red cherry tomatoes this morning. They aren't washed or sorted yet; just fresh from the vine.
Here is our garden this year. It has become a crazy jungle. The ground vines are cantaloupe, two tomato palnts in back ground (the large one is the cherry toms and is taller than my 5'2" height), behind the the toms is our watermelon. Please note that the tire is the tie off for the string holding the tomato plant up. It looks kind of junky, but has a valuable purpose.

Because the plants are so wild it's hard to see if the toms I'm picking are really ripe. These are waiting for the sun to help finish adding the last bit of blush they need to be ready eat.


Enjoying the harvest,
N.
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Saturday, August 04, 2007

Vacation

It’s a lovely, lovely cool Saturday morning (it rained last night) and I felt I should share about some of the fun we’ve been having in the sun. Actually I’m going to share about our mini vacation which was super and fairly cool too.
During one of my weeks off last month (Yes, I do mean July, if you can believe it. Time is flying.), Terran also took the week off and we went CAMPING. Hurray, hurray we got out of town and went to the mountains spending five days and four nights just the two of us, plus the dogs. We saw a total of 5 people out there and they were just passing through.

The Camp

I do not suggest forgetting the pump to blow up the air mattress with, especially when it is a queen size. T & I both spent quite a bit of time using up a large supply of our hot air to make sure we had a comfy bed to sleep on. You have to look through the car to see me blowing.
Our first night out we got barked at by a group of three coyotes on a hill across from camp. You have to look very carefully to see them. Terran was suprised that they would draw attention to themselves so close to us. We think the dogs upset them. Kojo and Kaia didn't know what to think.
Aah, snack time.
Kojo spent much of his time in camp trying to coax squirrels and chipmunks out of the trees. Poor guy, it didn't work. I personally wouldn't have shown my teeth so much if I had been him. You can't see it, but he is standing on a fallen log to get as high as he could.
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Camp Causalty

There always has to be some sort of injury when camping. Out poor tent was the one to suffer this time. We think one the dogs stepped on it and poked a couple holes. The bandaids did work and kept the rain out of the tent duing the afternoon showers.
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Beauty



Terran took both these photos
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The Wilderness

On a hike we saw a gorgeous herd of Elk. It had several bulls and a couple of calves with their moms. I like this one the best. It shows how cute the calf is.
Dogs are like toddlers and are very difficult to capture in good photos together, because they are always moving. We got several great dog photos this trip. I am thrilled! Here's a very cute one.
The hills are alive with the Sound of Music
King and Queen of the Mountain. Kojo and Kaia are obsessed with climbing any rock formation and standing at the top. I think Terran and I are to blame, because we are always hiking and taking them with us, even when we have to lift them up little cliffs and such to make the summit.
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Home Sweet Home

Finally, a really good smore made with the toaster oven. The ones roasted over the fire didn't turn out to well.

There's no place like home to get a good sleep
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Sunday, July 01, 2007

Kaitlyn
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Sunday, June 17, 2007

THE TWO DAD'S

Happy Father's Day !!!!!!!
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