Month: June 2015

Information Overload

/ jennced15 / Leave a comment

2014-07-31 03.48.39

Do we have a lot to talk about?! 🙂

 

No, this is not my favorite list for this Friday but it is things that make me happy. (BTW–the above picture is not an indication of anything new. Still looking for a job that will take me back to Ireland)

 

  1. THE BLOG IS UP AND RUNNING — (Hallelujah is what we should all be saying on this one). For those of you that need a little background . . . this blog started just over a year ago as a weekly email to friends. I had every intention of turning the emails into a blog but week after week something got in my way. As luck would have it; I left my full-time job in February (still job hunting) and found that I had a little more free time than before to FINALLY get this thing going. I am fully aware that I have much to learn in this process but I am so excited to start sharing with everyone all the things that make me happy.

 

  1. STEPHANIE (my sister) IS ENGAGED — that is right. She got engaged last weekend and is planning on getting married in September. I am very excited for her and excited that I get to help her create something beautiful. It is a good thing I got this blog up and running because I will have no time over the next two months. Believe me; I will share with you my favorite things that I enjoy during this time. 🙂

Vern the great 070

 

  1. FLICKR HAS BEEN UPDATED — you can now view all of my pictures from a year ago to just this last Monday.

 

  1. THE LEATHER COUCH IS FINALLY CLEAN — a lot of you are going to be scratching your heads on this one. Quick back story: my youngest niece was sick one night and happened to puke all over the leather couch. I originally thought no big deal until we realized that the horrific smell was here to stay. I literally tried everything and we even tried to have it professionally cleaned and the smell stayed. Since we were finally to the point of trashing the couch; I decided to do an exhaustive search on the internet for one last big idea . . . I found it. All I can say is THANK YOU to the post by mellielou on 7/25/08. Following what you did finally got the smell out of the couch and the whole family is a lot happier now.

 

Moving on from the above news-feed . . . on to my favorite things this week. We have finally made it to the fourth week of the month which means we are doing music. In light of all my happy news, I thought that I would give you 5 of my favorite “happy” songs. I challenge all of you to not tap your feet, move your shoulders, crack a smile or start singing.

Please share with us what songs make you happy!

  1. Kenny Loggins – Footloose

  2.  James Brown – I Got You (Feel Good)

  3. Smokey Robinson & The Miracles – I Second that Emotion

  4. George Harrison – I Got My Mind Set on You

  5. The Fratellis – Chelsea Dagger

 

Bear Lake

/ jennced15 / Leave a comment
I hope everyone had a great week! Mine had bottomed out at the beginning but it improved as the week went on. I am not going to lie; it has been extremely frustrating finding a job and my severance has finally run out. I actually need a job now. Pray for me that it is a great one. I really need something that is going to invigorate me and keep me happy working for the next ten to twenty years.
In the meantime; we are at the Places I’ve Been post and I have decided to share where I was last weekend with Beki and my nieces: Bear Lake. So here are my five favorite things about the Bear Lake area and then I have included a photo roll from the weekend as well.
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1. LaBeau’s Drive In. They have great lake food and shakes. It is probably going to kill your diet and raise your cholesterol but it sure tastes great after spending all day on the lake.
2. Minnetonka Caves. I love going through this cave but I also love the drive to the cave. It is so beautiful. A great time to relax and get out of the heat of the day.
3. Pickleville Playhouse. I can’t leave the Bear Lake region without spending time watching a great melodrama put on by my cousins and I HIGHLY encourage everyone going to that region to stop in and see a great show.
4. Of course the Lake! It is beautiful! So blue, clear and freezing cold. It actually makes you really glad to have it be close to 100 degrees outside.
5. Jet Skiing. It is a lot of fun to just lay on the beach, play in the shallow surf but it is a WHOLE lot of fun to jet ski on this lake.
I hope everyone does something really fun this weekend! Get out there and explore nature!

Just Another Week

/ jennced15 / Leave a comment
It has been a long and exhausting week. Nothing new by way of a job so I hopefully will be doing some temp work starting next week. Got to pay the bills right? I have to admit that it will be nice when I can finally tell all of you that I have a job again. In the meantime, here are some of my favorite things since last week.
1. We celebrated my sister-in-laws birthday this last Sunday so that of course meant we had to have a  bonfire in the backyard.
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2. I made Black & White Cookies for everyone. IMG_4795

3. We have another round of adorable pictures of Zeke gumming his first rib bone.

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4. I have decided that living by the ocean would be a beneficial thing for me. It will keep my stress down. IMG_4567
5. I would still really love to go back to Ireland and live for a short time. If not there, then I would like to go back to the Northwest. I just need some company to want me. *:) happy IMG_4435
If you have any questions about the pictures attach, let me know. Enjoy your weekend and we’ll catch up next week.

Weekend Parties

/ jennced15 / 24 Comments
It is Friday again and that is wonderful!! I am going to share some random things this week but all of them are things that were my favorites about this week!!
1. I made pizza last night and had to use my friend Sariah’s recipe for the crust because it is the best EVER. Here is the recipe and the way my pizza looked. I am sure some of you are going to be having pizza tonight. 🙂
Quick & Easy Pizza Crust
Makes one 12-inch pizza
1 (.25 oz) package dry yeast
1 tsp. white sugar
1 cup warm water
2 ½ cups flour (I use a mixture of white with something(s) else like wheat, oat, buckwheat, etc.)
2 Tbl. Olive oil
1 tsp. salt
Preheat oven to 450. Dissolve yeast, sugar and warm water until creamy (about 10 minutes). Stir in remaining ingredients, knead into ball and let rest 15-20 minutes. Turn out onto floured surface and make into desired item.
One pizza crust: 15-20 minutes
Individual pizza crust (4-6): 10-12 minutes
Breadsticks: 7-15 minutes depending on size
**If any of you know me, I only top my pizza with a few items: olive oil/fresh herbs/garlic, cheese, chicken if in the mood, and then after cooking top with tomatoes and spinach. No joke . . . BEST THING EVER!! IMG_4735
2. I made this for breakfast and it was wonderful on a warm summer morning. Picture included.
Raspberry Peach Smoothie
(redbookmag.com)
1 ½ cups fresh peaches
1 ½ cups frozen raspberries
ÂĽ cup Medjool dates (3-4)
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
2 Tbls. Chia seeds
½ tsp. vanilla
Sweetener to taste
Blend all ingredients together, once smooth, add 2 cups of ice and serve. This feeds 2 or more people. I serve it two ways: as drink or as a smoothie bowl and add additional fruit to it. It is pretty hardy. IMG_4719

3. This morning I have the kids and it was so fun to watch Ezekiel try to interact with the cat on the other side of the door and then it turned into a photo shoot so here is the roll.

4. Planning a BBQ birthday dinner on Sunday for my sister-in-law (Happy Birthday Brook!!) so of course I am thinking that I need to have the party look like one of these.
5. Of course we have to have a summer hit playing as well! Thank you to The Beach Boys.