A Wee Bit of Catch Up

When I begin blogging last month, the primary purpose was to digitally journal our lives.  Well like many things in my life, I started strong and lost my steam.  Well and then there was that "going back to work" thing that takes up sucks the life right out of me.  Teaching 5th grade in the inner city is not for the faint of heart.  This year I have 34 new lovies and oodles of curriculum to cover.  This may be the year that I borrow a line from Nemo... "Just keep swimming...".

On the home front....

Jed turned 14.  He had to choose between a "party" or a present. 

He thought long and hard and finally decided on a present... a super duper air soft rifle.  We ordered it online and he waited patiently and waited for it to come.  Finally it was here. (Cue angel choir music)  The boys ripped into the box.  

Jake, in true Jake fashion said, "Oh cool, a present for me too!"  That boy sure loves popping the packing bubbles.  (I mean really, who doesn't like to twist the bubbles while twisting your back so it sounds like a really amazing back crack?)

Jed is super thrilled at that amazing air soft rifle.  They will be heading to play air soft at the arena soon.  For now, they are just "plunking" outside.  

Papa took the boys to the cabin again.  This time the focus was a giant garage sale.  It's just too hot down here and up in the mountains people spend more time strolling around in the beautiful wilderness air.  While taking off from the hardy selling, the boys spotted plenty of game.  Most notably elk in velvet and the small herds of mama and baby elk.  Very sweet picture from Jed's phone.  

Meanwhile back here in the oven, Jay and I found this sweet disk on Craig's List for a steal, so we hooked up the trailer and headed across town to Queen Creek.  That ought to make knocking back the weeds in our pasture manageable. Those weeds are quite vexing!!

Jake is my creative guy and he made himself this little Sharpie Shirt.  It smelled better after a washing.

Yesterday Jay told Jed to throw Skippy John Jones outside to get some fresh air.  Then they headed out for some errands. I kept going outside to find Skippy (because really, he's a scaredy cat and he usually just stays right next to the house if he goes out.)  I searched on and off for hours.  When the guys got home, they joined the search.  Searched the neighbors, searched the canal, searched the pasture.  Nope. No Skippy. My heart was heavy and my stomach hurt with worry for our guy.  

On our travels to find Skippy, I noticed our neighbor had these sweet creatures in his pens.  Awwwwww.  Almost makes me long to bottle feed a baby.  Almost.

And we did notice this beautiful sunset with a wee bit of clouds. 

WRONG!!  Those wee clouds brewed and brewed and we had a huge dust storm with hugey winds.  It turned into an electrical storm and finally we got a dozen or so drops of rain. And downed limbs off of our trees.  And a few flapping roof shingles.  So one chain saw + a dad + some teen labor  = those limbs are history.  

Oh and Skippy.  He's back. Thank you Jesus!!  Really, Praise the Lord.  During the storm, I called and called and there he was running towards me.  Where was he?  I don't know.  His whiskers were covered in spider webs and he was a shaken up.  After a bit of a drink in the toilet and a good visit to the food bowl, all is well in his world again. And ours too.  

Magical Weekend

I am having a blast "dating" my husband.  Today we went out to breakfast at Black Bear Diner, my favorite!!

And yes, I had my favorite, bacon and more bacon omelette.

They had this machine, it squeezes fresh orange juice.  We were sitting right next to it and the smell was heavenly.  I wanted to put my mouth under the spout and drink up that liquid sunshine, but I controlled myself and Jay held me back.  

Then Jaybird took us shoe shopping.  Yes, you read that right... Jay went shopping willing!!  Gasp!! 

Here are the biggest shoes I have ever held.  15 wide.  My normally average-ish length foot looks small in comparison.  

I was deciding between these four shoes.  I even texted Connie for advice.  I would model them and ask Jay which was cuter.  He kept telling me that looks don't count, only comfort.  That's why I needed a lady's input.  

So which one did I pick?  Scroll down..........................

Jay bought me both of these pretty pairs.  

After making my feet oh so happy, we went to a movie.  See this dating stuff is awesome.  We saw The Heat with Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy.  We laughed and laughed through huge bags of popcorn and vats of soda.  

When we got back home we found our kids back from their trip with Papa to the mountains.  I think they ate him out of house and home and he probably needs a nap from their endless energy.  The memories that they make with him are priceless!!!  Thanks Papa for being a magical weekend maker!!  We love you bunches.  

BINGO

The cats are gone until Monday afternoon.  So us mice joined other mice (Lisa and Pat, who put their kids on a plane to visit their grandparents) and played.  Played Bingo.  Yep, you read that right.  Not dancing, or drinking, or out being footloose, but bingo. 

This is my second time playing bingo.  We went to a bingo hall (who knew they even have these??).  Apparently it's legal because all money goes to the community charity.  So really we were donating to our community rather than gambling.  Ummm yeah...!!

So we joined a hundred or so hard core bingo players. These people are serious about their bingo.  They set up their "shrine" using statues or stuffed animals or troll figures.  Then they take out their bag of daubers.  Various colors and labels. Speciality bags made just for daubers. They buy multiple packs of cards and tape them together. The games are all in a particular order, so one must get them in order and highlighted just right.  Some people rent computers too that play the game for them.  It is big business and oh so serious!! So shhhhhhh!

Actually you have to be quiet and super concentrate because you are trying to fit a pattern and find all the numbers on multiple cards.  And keep up with the numbers being called. It's a bit stressful at first.  There is no time where you relax and just hang out.  Focus, focus, focus!!

We were oh so close several times.

And really not close at all on others.  

So at the end of the night, we won nothing!!  Zip, zero, nada. But we had a fun evening with great friends.  That is the biggest win of all!!

While the Kids are Away....

The boys are up at the cabin with Papa.  They are in heaven... cool temperatures, rain storms, cable TV, and an adoring Papa... that's paradise I tell you.

But while the cats are away... us mice will play.  And what a fun day I had.  

I enjoyed my last official weekday of the summer with several cups of coffee and the end of a good book on the porch.  

Then I joined Andrea and Felicia for lunch.  I haven't seen either of those lovely ladies in years.  We reconnected and caught up on our lives.  I think Felicia and I might have bored Andrea to death with all the farm talk.  Maybe.
  

Sorry ladies, the Iphone doesn't quite do our loveliness justice.  

Then I zipped over and had coffee with Yvonne @ Starbucks. That gal can make me laugh like no other and my summer would not be complete without a Yvonne visit.  She tried to teach me how to crochet.  I have watched Youtube videos and read tutorials, but I am still a bit hopeless.  The funniest part was that some guy was over in the corner.  We didn't see him and he certainly couldn't see our hands.  But he could hear our booming voices.  At one point when Yvonne, who was projecting in her best teacher voice, told me to "stick in the hole... come on, just poke it in the bottom hole, not the top hole" the random man raised up to see just what we were doing. Yvonne caught sight of him and after apologizing profusely, we fell in a heap of giggles and yarn.  Needless to say, I have a follow up crochet lesson needed in the near future.  She also let me talk her into streaking her hair with the blue hair chalk that I recently bought.  

My hair looks equally lovely, it's just harder to see with my brown hair.  

Then after cross fit 45, the love of my life took me to dinner. We go out so rarely.  With the four of us, our dinner bill is usually over $50 and that doesn't have the enjoyment to expense ratio that like a movie would have.  But using an old gift card, we chowed down on fajitas and tacos at Macayos for cheap. Yum, yum, and more yum.  

Cross Fit

I want to be healthy and strong.  And fit.  And look terrific in a swim suit (or at least not horrible).  I want to be a good example to my kids.  And I want my arms to not have wings. And wear all the clothes in my closet. And maybe even cute new ones. 

The problem... I hate to sweat and workout.  Plus I'm old, fat, and lazy.  

So late in June I read about a workout "craze" called Cross Fit.  I found a gym not far from the farm (read - less than 10 miles).  They have a "free trial workout" every Saturday @9. So I put on my big girl panties and crappy old sneakers and made myself go. OMGoodness.  I thought I was in purgatory (not quite Hell, but close).  The beginner class KICKED my butt. (remember old, fat, lazy).   The instructor Kelly suggested the Masters program (a step below beginners) and offered me a trial week.  That was a month ago. 

I'm still going 3 days a week - MWF.  Am I loving it??  Well... I still hate to sweat and workout, so not exactly loving it.  But I am well on my way to a goal of healthy and strong.  

What do I like about cross fit?  The whole workout is designed to last 45 minutes.  That's warm up- to core workout- to stretching.  It's a very finite workout.  The whole entire gym does the same WOD (workout of day) with different additions or modifications.  The really awesome hard bodies also lift big weights and run.  Us Masters, we do fewer reps and stretch a bunch more.  But the core workout is like 10 minutes.  Sometimes it's in minutes (like 4 stations - 1 min @ each station then rest for a minute, then do it again). Sometimes it's in reps (like 9 -8 -7, etc)  But, THAT. IS. IT. It's finite.  So I can push myself and motivate myself enough to get through it because I know that once I have finished the WOD, I'm done.  Then I can stand next to the huge fans and gasp for air and try not to puke. And drive home with my shaky noodle arms and almost still my racing heart and catch my breath by the time I pull in the garage. 

Almond Milk

In my journey to eat clean, I have altered the foods that I consume.  One thing I wanted to try was almond milk.  I adore almonds and could really eat them raw by the handful. We even have almond trees on our little plot. Thanks to borer bugs, and the woodpeckers that like to eat them, the almond trees are on their way out.  I have searched (read lurked) many different blogs and websites and realized that almond milk is oh so easy to make.  I don't think it's much cheaper (especially if you are a couponer), but I know that I put exactly almonds, water, and sea salt (plus flavoring if desired) into mine.  

First, I soaked the almonds (I used blanched, but I don't think it matters) overnight.  This morning, I added the soaked almonds and a bunch of water into my beloved Blendtec blender.  

I then strained the mixture through my strainer bag (I also use this bag for fruit wine making).  Then I pour that frothy goodness into my very pretty bottles.  

Then I pour that foamy nourishment into my very pretty bottles.  

And there you have it... two glorious bottles of almond milk.  I may add a flavoring to one of the bottles (such as cinnamon.) I could certainly add a sweeter like honey or stevia, however I am trying to change my taste buds. 

Now what do I do with the left over almonds in the strainer bag??  Good of you to ask... I'm making almond flour.  Jed said, "Mom what are you going to do with that?  You don't like to bake."  He's right, I don't much like to bake when Costco has such tasty treats.  But remember the clean eating?  I'm going to really try.

 The only step to making almond flour is to take the "pulp" and put it on parchment paper.  Bake it @ 180 degrees until dried out.  Then store it the fridge.  I read a recipe for almond flour brownies that is really calling my name.  Maybe I'll bake Jed, maybe.

Homemade Yogurt

In keeping with getting more beneficial bacteria into our bodies to promote good gut flora (yeah that's a mouthful), I would like to make yogurts, kefirs, and other goodies.  Today I finally got around to the yogurt.  I read a great tutorial here. She does a fantastic job of explaining, so I will just show my pictures.  

Here I am stirring the milk and being ever vigilant about the temperature.

Three jars of foaming yogurt.

In the cooler bath... I hope they set up into creamy yummo!!