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Waldport Get Away
Winter this year has been a bit of a slog. The weather has been post-apocalyptic to say the least. We actually had a round they dubbed “Snowmaggedon.” The snow came down hard in the Pacific NorthWest, and we ended up with about 8 inches at our house. For those outside of the area, that is absolutely unheard of. We don’t get snow, especially in the lowlands. My wonderful little town quickly found itself buried in about two feet of snow, and to say the least, no one knew what to do. The grocery stores were wiped out, and people hunkered down, staying home from work and school for days on…
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Christmas Tree Hunt
Christmas trees are a big deal for me. I mean, Evergreen Lady right? So naturally around Christmas I start itching to get a tree. For my years living in Arizona, having a real tree wasn’t exactly feasible as the only options cost about a hundred bucks and were dried out little match sticks. So I had a fake one. Once we moved here, I knew it was going to be on like Donkey Kong. Growing up, we had a fun tradition of the magical tree. My parents would bundle my sister and I up on a drizzly night, and have us hunt for pinecones. Once we were thoroughly soaked and…
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THE OBLIGATORY PUMPKIN POST
It is fall here in the northwest. Half the trees are on fire, and the mornings are foggy, but the afternoons have a sticky warmth. Basically it is the time of year where you need a sweater in the morning, and by the end of the day, you are praying no one in the office can see just how sticky sweaty you are. Then there is the Pumpkin. You can’t even say October without someone trying to shove a Pumpkin Spice something down your throat. Normally, I am not into that basic life. But after living in Arizona for the past five years, where you pretend there is a…
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Potato Poppin
Going grocery shopping, I am always wooed by potatoes. I don’t know if it is my Midwestern roots with my parents being from Iowa and Ohio, or the fact that eastern Europeans tend to LOVE meat and potatoes. What kind of German/Lithuanian would I be if I didn’t love a good starch. But it is inevitable that I can’t use all the potatoes before they go bad. And back in March, I was faced with the same dilemma. I had bought a bag of precious fingerling potatoes, intending to saute them in a bit of butter. But by the time I got around to eating them, they had gone to…
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Westport: the local only spot
Saturday came around, and we decided since it was a long weekend, we needed a bit of an adventure. We hopped into the car with zero plan. After tooling around a bit, and eating lunch, we inevitably started heading toward the beach. About halfway there, we realized we didn’t want to go to crowded Ocean Shores. Normally, we would go a bit farther north and go to our favorite highly secluded beach. But this time, we decided to take the proverbial left in Albuquerque, and went to Westport. I grew up in this wonderful state and can honestly say I had never been to Westport. And now I can tell…
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Weight loss update
So, I think it is about time I post an update on this battle called weight loss. So far, I am about three months in, and I have lost ten pounds. Not a miracle amount, but hopefully slow and steady will have me winning this race. What have I been doing? It all started with eating better. As you all know from my previous weight loss post, I started working with a nutritionist. And for the most part I follow the rules she and I have created. I am human after all, and every now and then being a little naughty is ok. We talk a ton about how to…
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Cheddar Salami Scones
So, full confession, I am a food-aholic. I love food. And my biggest downfall? Food tv So what happens when I binge watch The Great British Baking Show? I start craving baked goods. Guys, I am not a baker. I am a home cook for sure; throwing ingredients into a pan in a decidedly haphazard fashion works for me. No need to accurately measure when you are judging by taste. So the thought of slowing down, measuring (not to mention weighing?), and submitting to the science of baking, isn’t usually appealing. But watching @Paul.Hollywood for three hours talk about all the under proved and over worked bakes started to make…
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Mt. Rainier, our backyard volcano
Hey guys, Man it has been a while since my last post…sorry about that. Life gets crazy sometimes, but I am back and posting now! Anywho… So the past few weeks have been pretty jam packed, with work, dog, and hubby-to-be, and we really needed a bit of time to relax. So we decided to head out of the city and visit our resident backyard volcano, Mt. Rainier. For those that don’t know, Mt. Rainier tends to be the pride of the state, most often pictured in the background of our most recognized city, Seattle. But we have tons of these bad boys. Anyone ever hear of the Mount St…
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Bloomsday
My best friend texts me one night and says something along the lines of “Hey! I see you have been walking at work, want to come to Bloomsday with me and a few ladies? It is a fun walk, lots of people go…oh and it is like 7.5 miles.” Something must have addled my brain that day, cause I said “Sure! I would love to!” When reality finally hit me the next day, I knew I would need a plan. I walk about a mile at work each day on my lunch, since I sit all day. I would push that up to two walks a day. And…
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Weight Loss
Hey guys, Sorry I have been away for a while. Real life popped up and I have been one busy little lady. I thought I would take a minute and touch on a big theme in my life right now. Weight loss. Uggh, I know, I know. We all see the media shower too thin models rocking scant outfits, and think we are supposed to be there too. That isn’t what I have going on here. I am a big girl, have been for a long time. Even at my thinnest in college, when I was running two or more miles a day, I still had curves. I don’t want to lose those,…