A Quiet Ride and a Guy Recipe

Yesterday I took a bike ride in my Dad's old neighborhood. I stopped at this bridge to make a phone call and drink some water. My Dad took us fishing here when we were kids. It was so quiet yesterday that in a 10 mile ride only two cars drove around me. One of the cars was pretty close to home and it was Max. He was not the quiet part of my ride.

As soon as I walked in the door Max wanted brunch. He knew just what he wanted too. I'm not sure what to call this recipe, breakfast tortas, breakfast burritos or frittata on tortillas? I use leftover filling from calzones, usually this is Jimmy Dean hot sausage browned with onions, peppers and lots of mushrooms. I then add a can of petite diced tomatoes and some Italian seasoning. Let it simmer for a bit and then drain. As I re-warm the meat mixture I crisp up the first tortilla with a little spray of olive oil.

Add eggs to the meat, flip the tortilla, as the eggs cook, slip a second tortilla under the first to warm it. This keeps the one on top warm.

Sprinkle the eggs with cheese, flip the eggs and cheese onto a tortilla and cover with another. Then I put a plate over it, turn the burner off and let it melt. Then flip the whole breakfast torta, burrito, dealio onto the plate.

An accidental recipe that guys LoVe!

A SUNNY Sunday

Okay, so maybe it was partly sunny but hey, we'll take it! After church and lunch at my folks, I talked my sis, Kathi into a bike ride to Berthusen Park. We aren't super speedy but sometimes slow and steady wins the race. It's a nice ride from my house with some decent road shoulder. The park is in bloom and was very pretty.

Today I think I'll bike the farm country, those roads on the other side of Badger, flat and quiet. Just me, the cows and miles to ride.

It's Wettttt by Downer Debbie and Memorial Day

A two part post, kinda related but not really, first some whining about the RAIN.

A long weekend, Memorial Day on Monday, no school, it's all good. I am happy to be going nowhere. Really happy that I am not going camping in the rain. Not going to deal with the mud, the rain and the damp cold.I think I'll pretend it's a Fall holiday, do some baking, get a movie, turn up the furnace.

And then IF there is sunshine I'll be pleasantly surprised.

IF you are going camping, take the hot cocoa, drive, pack the tarps and keep your camp fire going all night. Have fun ;) I am so happy that I'm not you. But have fun!

My hope is on June 4, they are predicting sun and 76 degrees.

Please, for the love of pete, let this be true.

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I hope to visit a cemetery this weekend. Do some remembering. I am so thankful for those who have gone before me, paved the way, and made sacrifices. This morning on my facebook, Sam's brigade posted pictures of the soldiers that have lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan from their unit. It broke my heart, all those soldiers have mama's, all looked so young and so proud to serve their country. God bless them and their families.

Whatever you do this weekend, remember.

Good Advice

I found this great advice on House of Fifty blog. And I wanted to share it with you.

Lovely Advice

Health:

1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
4. Live with the 3 E’s - Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
5. Play more games.
6. Read more books than you did in 2010.
7. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
8. Sleep for 7 hours.
9. Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily. And while you walk, smile.

Personality:

1. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
2. Don’t have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
3. Don’t over do. Keep your limits.
4. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
5. Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip.
6. Dream more while you are awake.
7. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
8. Forget issues of the past. Don’t remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
9. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don’t hate others.
10. Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present.
11. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
12. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
13. Smile and laugh more.
14. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

Society:

1. Call your family often.
2. Each day give something good to others.
3. Forgive everyone for everything.
4. Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
5. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
6. What other people think of you is none of your business.
7. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:

1. Do the right thing!
2. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
3. However good or bad a situation is, it will change. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
4. The best is yet to come.
5. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

Happy Birthday Max

Happy Birthday to my baby, Max. It's his 18th birthday. He is the last of the babies to turn 18. Hana, Zach and Max were always referred to as the babies and they probably always will be. Three infants, three toddlers, and in the blink of an eye, three adults. Well, legally anyway...

As a Mom the 18th birthday isn't my favorite. Tattoos, smokes and lotto tickets are all legal and ALL a BAD idea. Register to vote, you're an adult now, and be a thinker! Remember you are still in school, you still live in my house and your brain isn't fully developed yet.

Love you kiddo!

Chocolate Cream Pie

Sometimes a smell, a taste, a song can take you right back in time. I took one bite of this chocolate cream pie and I was back in time. At Bill and Janice VZ's on New Year's Day having cream pies for dessert, right there. After a day of crab cocktails and ham dinner, Dads watching football, Moms playing pinochle and kids playing we had ham sandwiches and cream pies in the evening. This pie is the chocolate cream pie.

I didn't get the recipe from my Mom but it has to be close.

It tastes real close. And really good.

Chocolate Cream Pie

1 (9") baked pie shell*

1/3 c. Hershey's cocoa

1 1/4 c. sugar

1/3 c. cornstarch

1/4 tsp. salt

3 c. milk

3 T. butter

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Sweetened whipped cream

*Pie Crust

1 1/2. c. flour

3/4 tsp. salt

2 T. milk

3 T. sugar

1/2 c. oil

Mix with a fork and press in a pie pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Watch closely.

Cool.

*I use this pie crust recipe for my fresh raspberry pie, coconut and banana cream pies. It's easy and has a sweet, salty crunch. And it doesn't need to be rolled, just pressed.

For the pie filling, combine cocoa, sugar, cornstarch and salt in a medium saucepan. Blend in the milk; cook and stir with a whisk over medium heat until it boils. Boil and stir for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and blend in the butter and vanilla. Pour into pie shell and press plastic wrap onto surface. Chill 3-4 hours. Serve with the sweetened whipped cream.

*Tips:

1. Stir like crazy, stir until your arm hurts or the pie filling will scorch.

2. Do not walk away from the stove or set down the whisk. Really.

3. Use the best cocoa and the best vanilla you can afford. Always. Forever and always. Amen.

My Little Sis is 50

My little sis, Kathi had her 5oth birthday this weekend and we were invited to a surprise party for her on Saturday evening. Her dinner group friends threw the party and did a fabulous job. Everything was so pretty and delicious and best of all, Kathi was honored and loved by friends and family. It was semi formal, so everyone was pretty snazzy.

Everyone had their picture taken with the birthday girl. Hubby was looking good in his tux.

Kathi and Karen have been friends since 6th grade, Karen drove up from Vancouver, Wa. Kathi and Karen left Sunday morning with a group of classmates for a girls' trip to Whistler. Celebrating 50!

Kathi and my brother Ken, the middle children.

Kathi with her friends, Randy and Janis. They hosted with Dan and Marla and Jim and Stacy.

I have patio envy. You would too if you saw their patio. It's gorgeous.

Kathi with her husband, Jeff. Yep, he's a lucky guy and he knows it.

Sometimes Jeff looks like one of the Baldwins brothers to me. What do you think?

The chicken was amazing. I don't have pictures of Dan and Marla because they were busy in the kitchen. Marla had on a beautiful green dress, and that girl can cook. She would fly through the room, then throw her apron back on and whip around the kitchen, pull off the apron, mingle and repeat...

We had such a nice evening, lots of laughs, delicious food, and a special birthday girl.

While You Were Out

So, blogger was down, still struggling apparently.

Comments disappeared and no one could blog. Boo!

Meanwhile, Max got his braces off! Over four years later he does have a nice smile.

I made beef enchiladas for dinner last night. It's Max's favorite dinner and he wanted to have them without braces. He'll use any excuse for enchiladas.

This morning I went with my Mom and sisters for a pedicure, some shopping and lunch. It was for Mother's Day and Kathi's birthday. A BiG birthday, the Big 5-0 for Kathi! A fun morning with the girls and now it's back to work. Cookin' and cleanin' for the weekend.

Do you have plans? I don't. But my toes are ready, just in case.

I'm Cold

It's raining. It's pouring.

It's makin' me crazy...

First of all let me say I feel more sorry for the local farmers than I do for myself.

And that is saying something.

Cuz it's a 'the weather is really crummy pity party' at my house.

I have a new plan. I'm going very minimal with flowers and plants in my yard and on my patio this year.

I have not bought one petunia, not planted one lobelia, not even plunked in a hosta.

It's just too cold.

I'm saving my money so I can get back to Hawaii as soon as possible.

Flowers on the Hawaiian Island are gorgeous and pretty much a sure thing. As opposed to here where it may not reach 65 degrees, ever again.

Bleh!

Mother's Day 2011

Mother's Day Brunch was at our house this year. We had it at five in the afternoon, it just worked out better. It was fun to set the Moms' table in the sitting room. When my Mom and sisters arrived they thought I forgot to set a table. We have always eaten off by ourselves on Mother's Day. When the kids were babies it was a big deal to get our food, shut the door and let the guys deal with everything. It's still fun to have mom and sister time.

I'm going to save everyone a lot of work and not share the tart recipe. They were delicious but a lot of messing around. I'll just save you from that headache and not share the recipe.

Honestly, I don't remember what was so funny. It obviously wasn't as funny for my Mom and isn't a very attractive picture of me but it really cracks me up.

I had a nice day, I heard from all my guys and some kids that aren't my own.

Pretty special kids in my life blessing my day.

An Evening in Paris

Last night was JSB for Max and Kassie. They met at Brooke's house for some pictures with friends. The four couples looked so great. Their parents took some pics in the house and in between rain showers we went outside for some shots.

Kassie looked beautiful in her gown and Max was handsome in his suit.

Emily, Brooke, Demi and Kassie

Max, Collin, Jesse and Drew

Thankfully Yvonne had thought to have an umbrella ready. It was raining, again.

After some pics at Brooke's house we went to the school. I had helped set up earlier in the day some background and a punch and coffee table for the students and their parents. This was the first year that parents were invited to mingle and snap at the reception. Mrs. K. came up with this idea and I loved it! As a parent it was so much fun to see all the kids dressed up.

Max and Mrs. K. paused for a quick pic, she is one of his favorite teachers.

Kassie and Lindsey with some props. They helped me with decorations for the reception. Next year they will be on the cheer squad together.

JT and his date, Katie. I loved JT's shoes and her dress. Katie and Max may not realize it but they have the same great, great grandparents. Both of their grandmas are named Esther, after their mutual GGGrandma.

Just a little family trivia for you.

The other sophomore waiters were gone refilling the punch bowl. They did some nice work and even stayed to help me take down and clean up. {Servant hearts}

Some of the junior girls glammin' it up.

It was at this point that Max picked up Kassie, told his mom and her mom..."we are leaving,

NO more pictures."

The evening continued for them at Tail Skid Meadows with an Evening in Paris theme. They came home and reported that they had a delicious dinner(Max & Kassie), everything was so pretty(Kassie), and that the seniors were honored and the skits were hilarious (Max & Kassie). Then off to the river bar for a bonfire.