Recipe: Bagel Spread with Smoked Salmon and Dill Cream Cheese

This is another one of those, "I wonder how this will taste, how long it will take to make for pre workouts".

I made this recipe this morning for breakfast, just to see how long it would take, as I don't want to be making too much of a fuss in the morning (530am) before working out. This didn't take long at all. The longest part was waiting on the bagel to toast.

This recipe is also one of those Weight Watchers meals that actually taste pretty good. I'm looking forward to another one, to be honest! You gotta love those healthy meals that actually taste good!


Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

Bagel, split in half (I used mini bagels)
2 tablespoons 1/3 less fat cream cheese, whipped variety (The store only had original whipped)
1 1/2 teaspoon fresh dill, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice (I used bottled)
1 oz smoked salmon, sliced thinly (I found pre-sliced smoked salmon, oakwood flavor)*



Toast bagel.

While your bagel is toasting, mix cream cheese, dill and lemon juice in a bowl, until all ingredients are fully incorporated.

Once your bagel is finished, spread the mixture on both halves of the bagel. Top with your smoked salmon.

Enjoy!

Note:* In case you have never gone shopping for smoked salmon, the flavors of the smoking methods are all over the place! Find one that sounds good to you! If you end up not liking that particular smoking taste, then change it up until you find one that you do like!

Recipe: Grilled Ciabatta with Ricotta & Blueberries

Since starting boot camp again, I have been searching for things that I can eat before and after the workout. I found this healthy recipe on Pinterest, and when I showed Mike, his initial reaction was that it looked gross. Men.

So, I bought the stuff anyways, and gave it a shot last night when I needed a little snack before dinner. It was so good, I ended up having another after dinner, before bed as a little dessert.

One of the things that I realized that I needed to play with, was the amount of fresh mint. My first round, I bit into it, and I was overwhelmed with mint. It was so powerful, it cleaned out my sinuses, which honestly, didn't need to be cleared.

It's super easy to make, and I see making this often!

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

Ciabatta bread, sliced (We couldn't find any of this bread, so we picked up some artisan bread)
Ricotta cheese, low fat
Fresh mint, cut finely (I used about 1 leaf my second round and it was better)
Fresh blueberries, handful or enough to cover your slice
Organic honey, teaspoon drizzled

Toast your slice of bread.
While it is toasting, wash and prep your mint and blueberries.
Once your bread is finished, thinly spread ricotta over the entire slice. Sprinkle your mint over the ricotta, top with blueberries and finish by drizzling your honey over the top of them all.

Enjoy!

Recipe: Tequila Grilled Shrimp

After our last adventure of making a tasty shrimp meal, we decided to try again. I found this one on Pinterest as well, and discovered that it's a Martha Stewart recipe. I had figured that it could be a really good, really fresh meal, but as I started to make it, I realized that her recipe was only have there. I had to improvise, just a little.

Mike liked this one a lot. Me, not so much. It was good, but I much preferred the previous recipe over this one. I had a small side dish of Sriracha sauce for dipping, and that helped, but Mike had the majority of this batch. I also didn't "grill" my shrimp, which would have helped.

There is a section of the original recipe that didn't specify what to do, so I made it up as I went. I cooked the shrimp in the marinade when I should have spooned them out and placed them into the pan for cooking.

So, here is the recipe:

Ingredients

1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined (I used 2 pounds of pre-cooked cocktail shrimp)
1/4 cup silver or white tequila
1/4 cup lime juice from about 3 limes (I didn't have enough limes, so I used bottled stuff)
1/4 cup orange juice from 1 orange (I didn't have any oranges, so I used the OJ we had, which also had pineapple flavoring...oops)
Coarse salt and pepper
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced (I left seeds in, for kick)
Lime wedges for serving (I tossed mine into the mixture while cooking to add more lime flavor)



In a medium nonreactive bowl, stir together shrimp, tequila, and juices. Season with salt and pepper. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Heat a grill or grill pan to medium-high heat. Clean and lightly oil hot grill. Grill shrimp until opaque throughout. 4-6 minutes, flipping once. Transfer to a platter and top with jalapenos. Serve shrimp with lime wedges.

Enjoy!

Note: I tossed the jalapeno into the mixture whilst it was cooking in the pan, as well as some lime wedges, to boost the flavors a little more. I also didn't have a grill or grill pan accessible, so I used a standard skillet instead.

Recipe: Aurochs Roasted with Leeks

Again, I found myself flipping through the pages of the Game of Thrones cookbook that I gave to Mike for this past Christmas. So far, I must admit that this has been well worth the money that I paid for it, especially because it's always a toss up to how good the food will really taste when it's based off of a book or movie series...in this case, both.

I have repeated a few recipes already from this book, and foresee doing it again and again. Have I found the "go to" cookbook?

As I flipped through the pages, I found this recipe. I wrote it down, and thought that this would be a good one to try, as we usually never have roasts. It's very seldom that we do, and I think that with how much Mike and I liked this recipe, we might be having roasts more often.


Also, in case you're not familiar with an Auroch, it's a cross between a mammoth and a cow. Picture a mammoth sized cow... =) Imagine killing and feeding your entire village with that!

So, because the recipe is called Aurochs Roasted with Leeks, just keep in mind that aurochs have long since been extinct and beef or bison roasts will do just fine. =)


Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

Top round roast of bison or beef, about 3 pounds (I used close to 6, just for leftovers)

6 leeks, white and light green parts only, well washed and sliced (I bought 2 mainly because that's what the store had left)

4 carrots, washed and sliced (I used more than 4, just to help add volume)

1 head of garlic, broken into cloves and peeled (I'm sure that if you can find pre-peeled ones, that's best)

Small bunch of fresh thyme, rosemary, bay, sage or a mixture (I used rosemary and sage)

Olive oil

Salt & Pepper

Broth or water for basting, if needed (I didn't need it)


Preheat oven to 400*. Take roast out of fridge 30 minutes before it goes into the oven!

Place the vegetables, garlic, and herbs into a roasting tray, or similar dish and drizzle with olive oil. Toss to make sure that everything is coated.
Drizzle oil over the beef, then liberally sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place meat directly on top of the vegetables.
Place the tray in the preheated oven and cook for around 1 hour. Near the end of this time, check for done-ness with a meat thermometer. 145* should be about medium.
Check the vegetables halfway through the cooking process. If they look dry, baste them and the meat with juices from the tray. This is where you can add a splash of broth or water into the tray, and use that. Basting will keep the vegetables from scorching.
When meat is cooked to your satisfaction, transfer it to a cutting board and allow it to rest for 15 minutes. (I left mine in the tray to rest, giving the vegetables a little more juice) Slice it thinly and serve it. Serve with the vegetables.

Enjoy!

Boot Camp, Freezing Weather and Amputations

Hello everyone!


Now that Mike and I have been back from our trip in Oregon, we are still getting back into the swing of our normal routine. It's been a little challenging, as the weather hasn't been very cooperative.

I might have mentioned that our garage door had frozen shut, due to the cold, so Mike had to hit the door to get it unstuck. Of course, in doing so, he managed to slightly bump the sensors out of place, which caused the door to go down a foot, then go back up. After about a week to two weeks of having to deal with that, Mike finally started to get someone to come out to the house to take a look. Within seconds, the man had it fixed. We just got the bill for that too. Five seconds of work costs $30-$50.  I think I'm in the wrong business!

Now, when I say that it's been cold here...I mean it's been cold! I have found that I have been quoting the movie "Just Friends" quite often. There is a part in that movie that has the two main characters heading inside, and they are commenting on how cold it is there. They mention that it's like the South Pole. So, I've said that a few times to Mike. I get a chuckle here and there, but I've since stopped as I'm sure that it's getting old to hear.

One morning, I had gotten up to go to my boot camp workout, and when I got there, I thought that perhaps the door was open for me. I walked across the way, pulled on the door...locked. I pulled out my phone to see how early I was. Only five minutes or so. I thought, "Oh, I'll just wait here." I lasted all of ten seconds before walking back to my car. There was no way I could continue standing out there. When I returned to the warmth of my car, I checked my phone to see what the temperature really was. Mike and I have an app on our phone called "Weather Bug". It gives you the exact temperature of the area you live, plus the wind and all of that fancy jazz. I refreshed it numerous times, thinking that it was not telling the truth, but it was.
After the workout, I talked to Mike, who pulled it up on his phone, and this is what he saw...

Three degrees warmer than my morning workout check.

 

When I had checked the app before my workout, it said it was -36*. Half hour later, and it had warmed up 3*. The whole day was this cold. It didn't get much warmer than 1*. So, when I say that it's cold...I really mean that it's freaking cold! When I see that we are in the positive numbers, I smile because it's warm, well, warmer than -36* anyways...

 

Boot camp has been tough, but so far, it's been worth it! I know that I have areas that need to be worked on and I know where I struggle. I have to say that I have enjoyed going, even though there are mornings that I would rather sleep in and not go, but when I'm done, I'm glad that I had. It's only an 8 week program, and I'm done with 2 of those already!

 

This Saturday, I have my Girls Day Out event. I'll be at the mall all day, trying to get my name out there again, and hopefully sell some things. I've already been contacted for a wedding, and I am still working out the details. Nothing is set in stone, of course, but I am happy that I have someone interested in me, enough to do their wedding. They are talking with a couple other photographers, so like I said, I'm not signed into anything yet.

 

A couple nights ago, Mike and I were watching a movie. With the weather being as cold as it has been, we have the fire on, and it warms up the house nicely, except our bedroom, as we have the door closed and it gets pretty chilly in there when we go to bed, but during our time awake, we love it. The cats, however, love the fire more than we do. Each time it's on, the cats plop down in front of it, and remain there all day...well, as long as the fire place is turned on, that is.

 

Cuddling by the open fire.

 

 

Now, during our movie, Kitty decided that he wanted to cuddle with me. Okay, fine, no big deal. He leans over, and forces his cuddles sometimes, if I don't move to allow him my lap. I finally wrapped my arms around me, allowing him what he wanted, which he loved, but then, one of the girls freaked out for no reason, scaring him, and he started to claw his way off of me. I managed to grab him to help get him off of me before he ripping into my flesh...he still managed to claw me but it could have been a lot worse than it was.

I really do mean that it could have been a lot worse. The scratches started to bleed. It hurt to move my arm, and I couldn't bend my arm. I washed it with a wet cloth, which was making the bleeding keep going, but the inflammation was less...however, the pain remained. Days later, and I've got that scabbed over, hurts to extend as it stretches the healing skin, and sometimes I can't roll up my sleeves without taking some it with me. I told Mike after a shower, the night that it happened, and even the day after, that he needed to take my arm. Just cut it off because it hurt.

 

"For the love of God, just take the arm!"

 

As I said, had I not been able to grab hold of him, it would have been a lot worse. Mike was concerned with how close it came to some vital veins etc, and was concerned that had it been worse, we might have needed to go to the hospital.

 

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Kitty, he is the one that I rescued from outside that was living under my shed back in the Springs. He was a year old at the time, with a broken tail. He is also the 20 pound cat. He isn't fat, but because of his breed, he's big and strong. People ask me why the biggest cat of ours is named something like Kitty, which is reserved for tiny cats...when he was living outside, that's what I called him, and he responded to it. I've called him that ever since, even though his vet records state that his name is really Alley...like Alley Cat.

 

Last night, Mike and I finally took my new computer out for a spin with our online game. Before Christmas, Mike and I talked about how frustrated I had become over playing games with him as I was lagging and unable to keep up with him. My graphics sucked, and it was challenging to play. Mike had done some research and decided that he could build me a computer online with a company in Oregon, where his last five computers have been from, and it would be pretty awesome for the gaming side of things. When we got home from Oregon, it arrived a week later. We had the computer set up and ready to go, but I wasn't in the mood to play games. I wanted to just relax. So, last night, we started to play the game again, and it was much easier to play. I was pretty excited to see how nice the game looked on the screen and I know that we're going to be playing more soon enough.

 

I've been making some new recipes, and I will be making more here tonight, so keep a lookout for those.

 

Mike and I are hoping to get down to the Springs this weekend, but I will have to see what is going on with family this weekend, and the weather, as trying to get through several passes with snow and icy is a bit tricky.





Today, I have a few things that I need to work on, such as basic household things, and then I am unsure of what I will do after. I've been pretty focused on one of our older Playstation 3 games, which makes Mike laugh at me every day he comes home, but I've been into playing it, and looking forward to continuing with it. So, he will just have to keep laughing at me.

This coming Tuesday, Mike has a jury summons to go to. He should be dismissed pretty quickly, as it's a trial that is affecting the hospital. I think it's going to be pretty challenging to get a jury that doesn't know the case or what it's about. If I get a summons for it, I know a lot about it as well, and would most likely be dismissed when I state that I know.

Well, I think that's about it.

Until next time!

Recipe: Shrimp with Garlic and Parsley

Ever since Mike and I ate at the coast in Oregon during our Christmas vacation, I have been on a crazy seafood kick! I have missed the taste of the fresh crab and shrimp, and being in the Northwest corner of Colorado, we are limited to what kind of seafood we can even get here!

Mike had gone to the store after work and managed to find some frozen shrimp. We started to think about what kind of shrimp to make, and I found this recipe on Pinterest, and we loved it! I foresee making this a few more times, if we can find the shrimp again!

Mike loved the sauce so much, that he decided that we needed to make popcorn, so that he could dip it into the sauce. I had warned him numerous times not to get sick off of the sauce, and he heeded my advice, but loved it. I joked that I could put it into a container so that he could put it on his eggs in the morning, but he said that he was finished with it!


Here's the recipe.

Ingredients:

4-5 tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced (we used more because we love garlic)
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (we used more)
1 teaspoon sweet paprika (we used smoked paprika and more of it)
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined (we used 2 pounds)
1-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (we used more but we used bottled)
1-2 tablespoons dry white wine (we used more and an old wine we had)
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped (we didn't use this at all)
lemon pepper to taste (optional) {we did not use this}


In a saute pan over medium heat, warm the olive oil.
Add the garlic, red pepper flakes and paprika. Saute for 1 minute or until things are fragrant.
Increase the heat to high, add the shrimp, lemon juice and dry white wine. Stir well. Saute the shrimp until the turn pink and are opaque throughout, about 3-5 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with parsley and serve!

Enjoy!

Recipe: Apple Pie Smoothie

While Mike entertains himself with football or whatever video game that I've guilted him into playing, I usually poke around on Pinterest until something interesting happens. During my hours of scrolling through things, I found this smoothie recipe.
Looking at the ingredients, and knowing that I had everything on hand, I decided to give it a try the next morning, right after my morning workout.

Mike had asked that I double the recipe so that he could have some as well. So, I did.
I have some ideas to tweak the recipe to make it better for me, but I know that Mike really enjoyed it as he finished his and mine!


Here's the recipe.


Ingredients:

1 scoop vanilla protein powder
1 cup chopped raw apple
2 teaspoons walnuts
2 tablespoons ground flax seed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup cold water
5 large ice cubes

Place all ingredients into a blender and blend until you reach desired consistency.

Enjoy!

Note*: Flax seed is more for texture than taste. When I doubled the recipe, I felt that the flax seed was too much, so I am planning on cutting it back next time I make it, and hope that it is better for me, as I didn't like the over powering texture.

Recipe: Honey Biscuits (Cookies)

Once again, I found myself flipping through the Game of Thrones cookbook that I had given Mike for Christmas. I find it ironic that I would give him such a gift, as I would be the one to use it the most, however, I am not regretting it yet!
This book has so many tasty things to offer, and as I mentioned before, you can make them in the traditional medieval way or the modern way, depending on how much time you have.

I was pretty surprised by this recipe. It was simple, easy and I have to say, it will test your self control! They are so yummy, that both Mike and I had at least six the night they were made. After that night, we paced ourselves, and Mike is begging me to make more!

I will say that you will want to eat these warm. If you manage to save some for the next day, pop them into the microwave until they are warm to the touch, with no cold spots. If you try to eat them cold, they will be hard, and that's because of the honey. Just so you are aware.


Here's the recipe.

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice or mixed spice
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
1/2 cup honey
1 cup raw sugar for decorating



Preheat oven to 300*.
Either line two baking sheets with parchment paper or plan to make these in batches.

In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, spices, sugar and ginger. Using your fingers, rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs.
Heat the honey in a small saucepan over medium heat until it is warm and runny, (or microwave for 1 minute).  Add the honey to the flour mixture and work with a wooden spoon or spatula until a soft dough forms.

Pour the raw sugar into a bowl. Roll the dough into 2 inch balls and coat them with raw sugar. Place eight balls on the prepared sheets without flattening them; leave room around the sides for spreading.

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the tops of the biscuits are just cracked. Let them stand on baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.

Eat biscuits right away or store them in an airtight container for up to a week.

Enjoy!

Recipe: Garlic Stuffed Artichoke

I have been on an artichoke kick lately! I know that some people don't like them because they are bland, and sometimes it's because they don't have a lot of meat on them, but I love them!

I found a pretty simple recipe online a while ago, but it didn't do anything to it. So, I started to doctor mine up and found something that I really like. I usually serve mine with a homemade spicy aioli, but this time, I opted to be healthier without the sauce.


Ingredients:

Artichoke (medium to large)
minced garlic (I use about 2-3 spoonfuls, depending on the size of the artichoke)
olive oil
butter
Sriracha sauce


Preheat oven to 350*

Grab a sheet of foil, large enough to cover the artichoke completely.

Drizzle a little amount of olive oil on the foil where the artichoke will sit.

Wash the artichoke and cut the stem off the bottom. (It's okay to take about half an inch from the bottom. Be careful not to cut too much off the bottom, as you don't want to cut the heart away)
Cut an inch to two inches off the top, enough to flare the leaves away.

Drizzle some olive oil into the artichoke, stuff with your garlic and drops of Sriracha. Place butter on the top, giving it a layer on top.

Wrap up in foil, place in a baking dish and bake for an hour and forty five minutes.

When it's finished cooking, carefully unwrap the artichoke and pour the melted mixture over the artichoke.

Enjoy!

Note*: I've also added lemon juice in the artichoke as well. Be creative as there are a lot of ways to prepare and enjoy an artichoke!

Recipe: Onions in Gravy

This is the side dish that I made for the Honeyed Chicken from the Game of Thrones cookbook that I bought Mike for Christmas. I think I needed to add a little more flour to thicken it up, but it was still pretty tasty regardless. My biggest problem was the boiler onions. They are usually a pain to cut and peel without completely destroying them. It's not that bad, but when they make your eyes burn...all bets are off!


Ingredients:

10 ounces boiler or pearl onions
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 sprig (teaspoon) finely chopped fresh savory, rosemary or thyme (I used rosemary)
1/3 cup apple cider
1 tablespoon flour (I might need to use more to thicken it up!!)
3 cups beef stock
splash of brandy (optional)

Clean and peel the onions. Cut 7 of them into quarters and set the remaining whole onions aside.

Place the honey into a deep frying pan over medium heat, along with the butter, herb(s), and quartered onions. Stir to make sure the onions are covered with the butter and honey mixture and cook for around 8 minutes or until the onions start to brown. Stir all the while so that it doesn't burn!

Add the cider to the pan in three splashes, pausing for the liquid to heat between each splash. This will help deglaze the pan, dissolving all the lovely, sticky, tasty stuff into gravy.

Sprinkle the flour over the pan and stir to make sure it is fully incorporated.

Add the stock and reserved whole onions. Bring mixture to a simmer.

Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for at least another 5 minutes. Reduce heat until it has reached the consistency you desire.

At this point, check the taste. Add brandy is you're using it, season with salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

Recipe: Honeyed Chicken

 

 

For Christmas, I got Mike a Game of Thrones cookbook. If you've read the books, you'll know what I am talking about. For those of you who haven't, you should read them! This cookbook has every recipe from the meals they had in the series. Things that were mentioned in the books are in the cookbook and they do it in the medieval style and modern, so that it's pretty simple and easy to do, and depending on how much time and how creative you want to be, depends on the style you can do.

 

The first thing that I saw that I wanted to try, was the Honeyed Chicken. I chose this one because we eat a lot of whole chicken. I have prepared it in a few different ways, and this seemed like it could be really tasty! It was.

 

 

Ingredients:

 

1 whole chicken for roasting, about 6 pounds

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

salt

1 cup apple cider vinegar

2/3 cup honey

1-2 teaspoons mint, dried or freshly chopped

1/2 cup currants, raisins, dried cherries, cranberries, etc (I used cranberries)

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

 

 

Preheat oven to 450*

 

Pat the chicken dry, then rub it down with the 2 tablespoons melted butter and sprinkle with salt. This will make the skin crispy and delicious! Cook approximately 1 hour, or until the juices run clear (it took me about an hour and 20 minutes).

 

While your chicken is roasting, combine all the remaining ingredients in a saucepan and allow the sauce to simmer until the dried fruit plumps and the sauce reduces to half it's original volume, about 30 minutes.

 

When the chicken is done, spread half the sauce and currants (or other fruit) over the bird. Reserve the other half for gravy.

 

 

Note*: I didn't leave any for gravy. I poured all of it on the bird.

 

 

Enjoy!

Flick? Flick Who?

Hello everyone!

I trust you all had a fabulous Christmas and New Year, and I guess Thanksgiving, since I haven't updated since then. Ooops.

So, let me see if I can remember everything that has happened.

Mike and I had a very quiet and small Thanksgiving. My folks were planning on coming out to celebrate Thanksgiving with us, but my mom's cat got sick, and needed to stay there to take care of him. Since then, he's gotten much better and is now back to his old playful self.
Mike and I had continually forgotten to pull out the turkey days before Thanksgiving, so we had a semi-frozen bird. Because of this, and because of the oven having a safety feature that turns the oven off after so many hours, our bird wasn't burned, but it was pretty dry and tough. We didn't have much of it, nor could we salvage anything to use for leftovers.

My second craft show here in Craig went by much better than the first one. The first show, I was in the entrance wing, and hardly anyone came by. Granted, I made about $70 that show, but still. It was painfully slow. The second show, I was moved into the mall and away from the wing, so I wasn't cold from the snow and wind, and people stopped by my booth. I sold only one greeting card, and a lot of business cards went out. We shall see what happens with that.

My last craft show was a week later in Hayden at their assisted living center, The Haven. It was extremely slow, as the people who were supposed to advertise dropped the ball. We had a few people come in, but not many sales to anyone in the show. I think most of us vendors just bought or swapped each other's goods. I ended up buying a scarf and blanket. I also sold two greeting cards and talked to a girl who had just given birth and wanted to talk to me about doing some 3 month old pictures. I'll see what happens.

Snow has engulfed our little town! It started snowing around the second week of December, and continued sporadically for a while, but then dumped like no one's business. We currently have about 2-4 feet of snow, and at one point, Mike tried to leave, and the garage door was frozen. He ended up getting unstuck and made it into work, but now our garage door is acting funny. It doesn't like to go down, instead, it will go down a little, then try to go back up. After a few tries of stopping it before it goes up, and forcing it to try and go down, it will. I'm not sure how long he will tolerate this before getting someone in to take a look at it.

A day or two later, poor Mike looks out the window of the house and sees the snow. He sees that it doesn't look too deep and starts to head out to work. He backs out of the garage and his car gets stuck in the snow. He comes back into the house and grabs some gloves and his hat and tells me what happened. I get up, changed and head downstairs to take a look and possibly help where I can. The morning temperature was about -4* and windy. It was blowing snow, causing all of his shoveling moot.
I got my winter gear on, and grabbed one of our beach buckets and started to help get some of the snow out from under the car and around the wheels. Because of the weather and the blowing snow being tossed onto me, I stood inside of the garage, trying to keep a relatively positive Mike company. He called his boss and explained the situation, and tried to get to work. Once he was able to get his car back into the garage, he started to shovel as much of the heavy wet and deep snow off of our football length driveway. He walked up it a little ways and thought that he could make it out, but almost got stuck halfway down. He called his boss again, and it ended up as a snow day for Mike.
Later in the day, our friend KC came to our house with his snow blower and cleared our driveway. That weekend, we took him and his wife, Errica out to dinner. (For those of you who recognize the names, Errica used to work with Mike and we have made friends with them).

Mike digging his way out of the 4 foot drifts.

Now that the car is safe inside, time to go to work!

 

 

 

I couldn't help but feel sorry for Mike that week. Whatever could go work, did. Not only did he have to contend with the weather twice, but his scheduled massage was cancelled due to a migraine on her part and then the snow day cancelled his make up massage. He was able to get one later, but still. I was laughing, but trying hard not to. All things considered though, he was a good sport about it and didn't let the problems get to him. Now, had we been in the Springs in his old job, I don't know if he would have kept it together as well as he did here.  From what we've been told, this is the worst that it has been in a couple years.

 

Because Mike and I were going to Oregon for Christmas this year, with the generosity of his parents, we had our little Christmas the day before we flew out. Mike was pretty surprised with what I gave him, and I was happy that he liked what I gave him. It was a little challenging for me this year, as he hadn't really mentioned much that he wanted, and what he did mention, he ended up buying later. I had been noticing that all of his wrist watches had been either having battery issues or some other problem, so I got him a really nice wrist watch for his birthday. I got it on a killer sale too! It was listed at about $600. I paid $130. It's a great model and it looks really good on him too! I got him a few games, cd and a cookbook based off of his favorite book series, Game of Thrones. I got to try some of the recipes yesterday, and I must say, this is a good cookbook too!

 

Early on Mike's birthday, we drove to the Hayden airport and got inside one of their little puddle jumper planes to Denver. Due to the cold and the storms, the turbulence was really bad. I'm prone to motion sickness as it is, but this was brutal. In combination of lack of sleep, food and the turbulence, I was struggling to keep from getting sick. Mike and I didn't think about packing any Benadryl, so I had to meditate for most of the flights to Oregon.

 

When we got to Oregon, it was raining, but the temperature wasn't terrible. I had forgotten how much I loved Oregon and the green! I think I missed the green more than anything! Because we had been up at 3am Oregon time, (4am Colorado time), we were hungry and tired. We got something to eat and headed to Mike's parents' house.

This Christmas was the first in a really long time that everyone was together in the Fahey house. Mike's sister Elizabeth, her husband and three kids were able to come after all, and it was the first time we got to meet their littlest addition, Evangeline. She is so adorable and is a year old, already walking and almost speaking in sentences. She's a tough kid too and super smart! I hope that our kids will be like that when they are that old!

This is also the first Christmas that I have spent with Mike's family. I had heard that their holiday gets kind of crazy, but I didn't truly realize until it happened! I think that if I didn't get a heads up beforehand, I might not have made it through as well as I did! =)



All in all, it was a great day spending it with the kids and the adults too. We played a long round of Apples to Apples and Wise or Otherwise.
On Christmas Eve, we had a little fire in the fireplace, but the smoke engulfed the house. Because I am allergic to smoke, I struggled for two days. My eyes burned and itched and I couldn't breathe. I felt like I was underwater. On Christmas, they didn't light their traditional fire and I was thankful! My senses needed a break for sure!

The day after Christmas, Mike and I headed to the coast. On the drive there, we had to drive through a mountain pass and there was snow there! I wanted to get away from the snow but we saw it a couple times on this trip. We went to a place that we had been before and really loved. It's right on the coastline and the room had a jacuzzi tub, and we were able to borrow movies from the front desk and had seen maybe 5 of them? We tried to walk along the beach, but the weather would have none of it. The wind had kicked up and was causing the rain to pelt us in the face hard, like sleet would, so our walk was short. Because our room overlooked a good portion of the ocean, we weren't too concerned about missing out on the walk.

Our view.

 

 

Our first dinner on the coast was right across the street at a seafood place called, Mo's. I think both of us overate there, but the food was so good! I ended up telling my mom about the food that we had, and my mom was relaying the message to my dad, who said to stop as he was already salivating over missing out of the seafood.

 

The next day, Mike and I spent the day shopping at the outlet mall for much needed clothes and shoes. We got there ten minutes after the place opened, and didn't leave for 7 hours. We had lunch at a small Chinese/Japanese place, and it was okay. It wasn't great, nor horrible. It's a convenient place in the mall, and it was what it was. We got a lot of clothes for both of us, and some shoes. We went into a game store and everything was half off. So, we picked up a couple of board games and played on of them with the family when we got back from the coast, and it was a huge hit! The game is called Bubble Talk. It's like Apples to Apples but with pictures. If you are ever looking for a fun group game, pick this one up! You won't regret it!

 

In one of the stores, I came across a sweater that was a disaster! I took a picture of it and sent it to my mom and told her that I was buying it for her. I called it the "Chewbacca" sweater. She told me that she wouldn't wish that ugly thing on anyone. I thought it was funny, and to be clear, I didn't buy it for her, nor did I buy it for me.

 

"They skinned Chewie!"

 





Both of us were incredibly wiped from our shopping day, but we got so many good deals! We ended up getting so much but saving so much too! In one store, we spent about $180 but saved $400! That was in one store alone!

That night, we ate at steakhouse and had some good food, and I told my mom about some of the food that we had, which some was seafood and she told me that my dad was heading out to Oregon now. I laughed and told Mike about it. I think I foresee a trip to Oregon with my folks! =) haha.

When we got back to his family's house, we went to the zoo and spent the afternoon there. When we got there, I started taking pictures of the bears playing and my camera tells me that my battery was low. I switched it out for the other battery, but it was already dead. I was pretty upset over it, but we were able to leave it charging in the gift shop, and continued to go through the zoo with his family. After one run through with his family, I grabbed my battery and we headed back in to do another run through. It turned out that I didn't need the battery after all, but it was nice to have just in case.

We had a good time out in Oregon, and had to head back to our little corner of the world. The flights home with the three hour layover in Denver was better than the flights out to Oregon. When we landed in Hayden, it was snowing and already icy. As we waited for our bags to come on the belt, a family standing next to us was watching a little video on the monitors overhead. The video showed a family dog sledding and tubing. I overheard the mother exclaim, "Oh kids look! This is what tubing is! Honey, we should take them tubing, I think they'd like it." I wanted to ask where these people were from. There was no accent, so they were American, so I have to assume they were from California or a place with no snow for this kind of reaction to it.

We got our bags, snow covered and all, and started to head out to pay for our week of parking. It was pretty expensive. More so that the Springs, but just a dollar less than Denver. After we got out ticket to prove that we paid for parking, we marched ourselves to the car. Mike's car was covered in ice and snow, and he had to scrap the car down for a while. As I waited, I grabbed this shot of the snow that had accumulated since we had been gone.

Wanna build an igloo?

 

 

Mike drove slowly home, through the ice, snow and wind. As we were driving home, we saw something on the side of the road, and saw as we carefully passed that it was indeed a cow, sleeping on the shoulder. No, it wasn't dead, as I was already asked that. It was still alive, as it looked at us as we passed it by. We laughed about how we had to brave the weather, keep a look out for kamikaze deer and now sleeping cows.

 

We got home, and the cats were happy to see us! We arrived home at a bit past midnight, and we were to the point that we were too tired to sleep. We let the cats in with us to cuddle and they behaved most of the night. I woke up the next morning, completely surrounded by them. They sure did miss us!

 

The next day, Mike starts to clear out the snow to the hot tub so that he could use it. As he was shoveling, he pops his head back inside to tell me that he is sharing the scenery with a friend. I got up as he closed the door to continue his task, and I see that we have two deer, next to the fence, watching Mike work.

 

"Whatchya doing?" - Deer

 

 

Mike and I had to make our shopping list for groceries, since the house was barren of food. We went on New Years Eve, completely exhausted from having come home the night before, and not feeling all that well, since we had just spent a week with his family, and all the kids had some sort of ailment. We were invited to go to our friends' house for New Years Eve party they were throwing, but we had to tell them that we weren't going after all. They were pretty understanding, and were not expecting us to come, so that made us feel better.

 

Today was Mike's first day back since the trip. I spent my morning cleaning and doing the mountain of laundry. I had some time to update the blog, and as I sat here working on it, I could hear Mike come home, and of course, the garage door acted up, and it is the final straw. He is fed up with the door and was looking for reasons as to why it's doing what it is doing. He also mentioned that he has gotten his first jury summons and then he rolls over his toe with my computer chair. Poor guy. I think he deserves a drink! =)

 

My new computer is coming tomorrow, (thank you Mike for your very generous gift) and I am anxiously awaiting it! I still needed to shovel off the deck and stairs to our front door, to ensure that they can deliver it, but other than that! I'm so looking forward to being able to play the games that we have bought for each other, and play without the lag and rubber banding.

 

I've got a few new recipes that I am looking forward to trying, so be on the look out for the recipes!

 

I'm not sure when, but I believe there is a boot camp starting up here in Craig, and I am trying to get all of the information on it so that I can participate. I've been needing to workout again, and I met my best friend at a boot camp, so I am hoping to make some new friends, if possible, at this camp. Guess we shall see what happens!

 

I think that I have successfully updated you on everything!

Until next time!