A Fabulous Read!

If anyone needs a great book to read, I have one for you. I just finished Wally Lamb's "The Hour I First Believed" and it was phenomenal! Although I am biased because he is my favorite contemporary author it truly was a terrific book. It is about the lives of a husband and wife. They both worked for Columbine High School when the horrendous shootings happened in 1999. It follows their lives before and after up to 2008. It was such a deep and well researched book. He retells so much of what happened at Columbine HS that tragic day. Although it is 730+ pages it is a fast read because you cannot put it down.

I am fortunate to be able to see Wally Lamb speak at the Schnitzer this Thursday night thanks to Margaret Evenson! I am so excited :)

A New Bathroom!

One of my summer projects was to repaint our bathroom. We have one very large bathroom in our house so it was kind of a chore. I really thought I loved painting but as soon as I had half of one coat on I remembered how much work it is. When we remodeled our home 4 years ago we painted the bathroom two very light shades of robin egg blue. I liked it then and it went well with the house, but I got very tired of it. So I decided to paint it a chocolate brown color called "Swiss Chocolate" and incorporate blue and white accents. Well, not to toot my own horn but it looks awesome! I love the new color~

A Day at Sauvie's Island~

My friend Beth Palmer and I took a day last week and went to Sauvie's Island. We and her two adorable sons, Owen and David, enjoyed the scenery, lunch, and each other! We went to one of my favorite places, Kroger's. I bought mcintosh apples, fresh cider, pears, berries, and jam. We then went to the pumpkin patch where the boys had a blast. They played on hay barrels and loved seeing the animals. Here are a few pictures of our gorgeous day.

CJ's Triathlon

CJ and I have been working out a lot more. Which is a great thing because we both need it. We belong to Hawthorn Farm Athletic Club and love the facility they have. I have been taking Zumba, outdoor yoga, dynamic toning, and body sculpting classes. CJ has been lifting, running, swimming, and biking. We have been getting our rear-ends kicked, which needs to happen. Badly! On Sept. 13th CJ competed in the Lincoln City Sprint Triathlon. He did one at Hagg Lake when we graduated from UO in 2004. This is where he swam 1/2 mile in Devil's Lake, rode 11 miles on his bike, and finished with a 5k run! He finished it just under an hour and a half. Wow, it was impressive back then and impressive this time. What a work out. He was such a little cutie too! We stayed at our friend Emily Evenson's beach house and had a few friends that also competed in it including, Jeff Lee, Matt Lee, and Scott Burrows. All of the guys did great and we ladies stood at each of the transitions spots and finish line enjoying our coffee and each other!

Yum!

So, since I have had a little time on my hands I have been busy going through all of my fabulous cookbooks, finding recipes, meal planning, and doing lots of cooking! I have tried new recipes, improved others, and had a lot of fun. I absolutely love cooking and baking. Here are some of my favorites:

Feta, Potato, and Leek Tart~


Blueberry Tart with White Chocolate Crust~


Zucchini Bread with Chocolate Chips (I took pictures of the huge zucchini out of the garden but forgot a pic of the 6 loaves of bread I made!)~



Endive, Fig, Prosciutto, and Goat Cheese Wraps(not a great picture, but delicious none the less!)~



Chocolate Kaluhua Cake~


Goat Cheese and Strawberry Rhubarb Chutney Puffs~


Finally, a new twist on an old favorite! Grilled Three Cheese Sandwich on Sourdough with Balsamic Vinegar Tomatoes and Basil~

Kids Make Me Laugh...

Seriously, how funny are kids? I mean they can make my mood go from sour to fantastic with one little song, a phrase, or just a silly face! No wonder I am a teacher :) Here are two of my favorite kids, Jake and Kylie. As their nanny this summer I have seen and heard some of the funniest things come out of their mouths. They crack me up. I wanted to share with you two of their most recent recordings that I took and laugh at daily.

Here is Kylie's version of Pink! (Good thing she doesn't know what the song is about!) I recorded her on my iPhone and then she and I turned it into a little "music video" with her pictures. She was super excited about this part!




Here is Jake and his favorite phrase. He says at the best times too!



I hope these made your day~ Just posting them makes me smile :)

My Summer as a Nanny!

After completing my Master's, I wanted to get back into the working world. I decided a great summer gig would be nannying. I had spent a lot of time babysitting/nannying during high school and college but it had definitely been awhile. One of my professors referred me to a family who is newer to the area. They are a family with an almost two year old, Jake, and a four year old, Kylie. I absolutely LOVE these children. I knew starting out that I would only work for them for the summer, but when I started I didn't realize how quickly the time would go by. Two months has flown by so fast! I only have two more weeks with these wonderful children and I am going to miss them immensely. Kylie and Jake are very well behaved and have been taught the best manners! Kylie never says "what," instead she says "pardon!" No joke.. it is so cute! I love that their family has taught them how important manners and kindness are. She is such a softie and cares about everything/everyone. Jake is this funny little guy who will someday be a tough hockey player (like dad) or a football player. He is such a tough guy. He is a "tank" as CJ refers to him. He also cracks me up daily with his impression of the song "We will rock you!"

We have had so much fun this summer going to the zoo, children's museum, pump it up, the park (almost daily), cooking, science experiments, etc. Here are a few pics of my kiddos!