I was messing around with flash settings and couldn't decide which picture looked better so I put them both up.
I have a new found respect for people who put frosting on the sides of the cake. That was much harder than it looked!
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Adventures in Baking
This week I made my first ever cake from scratch all by myself! A friend of ours had a birthday which I took as a convenient opportunity to satisfy my craving for chocolate cake. I usually make cake from a box but had decided to make homemade frosting. While looking for a frosting recipe, I found a cake recipe and discovered I had every ingredient but cocoa. I thought I would try my hand at a little baking and I must say, it turned out wonderfully!
I was messing around with flash settings and couldn't decide which picture looked better so I put them both up.
I have a new found respect for people who put frosting on the sides of the cake. That was much harder than it looked!
I was messing around with flash settings and couldn't decide which picture looked better so I put them both up.
I have a new found respect for people who put frosting on the sides of the cake. That was much harder than it looked!
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Thursday, February 4, 2010
A General Update...Heavy on the Animals
So I know I haven't updated in a while but that's because not much is going on. Henry went back to school in the middle of January and has been extremely busy. I've been working and trying to get into a routine of working out. It's pretty sporadic but I guess that is better than nothing. I'm also trying to be a better dog owner and spend more time with Siri playing at the park. He went in for his shots a few months ago and has gained about 10 pounds in the last year. The vet said he's not overweight but he doesn't want him to gain anymore. Siri is definitely loving the extra attention and exercise. I'm looking forward to summer so we can go hiking and exercise both of us at once instead of going to the park with the frisbee and then I have to go home and work out myself!
Minke on the other hand, has gained two pounds since his summer misadventure when he was stuck in an abandoned house for nine days. That's great news for him since he had gotten down to eight pounds and he should be a twelve pound cat. He's never been a twelve pound cat...but he should be. I've never been able to get him over 10.5. I wish I had his problem...
Oh! We did have a tiny adventure this morning when I opened the front blinds and about nine grouse had been hanging out under our porch and were emerging into the front yard. Both Siri and Minke found that extremely interesting and were very vocal in their desire to go outside and examine the grouse. I'm sure Siri had only good intentions; he loves to chase things and would never know what to do if caught something. Minke, on the other hand, I'm pretty sure there was murder in his eyes. He loves to kill things. I'm not such a fan of him killing things so both animals stayed inside.
Valentine's Day will be the one year anniversary of us living in our house! The year has gone so quickly and I still don't have anything on the walls. I just don't know where to start decorating so nothing is getting decorated. I would love it if we won the lottery and I would call some people from HG TV, go on vacation for a few weeks and come home to a beautifully decorated home.
I guess since this post is all about the animals I will post some recent pictures of them.
Kitty is pretty obsessed with sitting on laps, even when I am on the computer.
He also likes to climb under the covers before I have a chance to make the bed and make himself quite comfortable.
A little drowsy from being awakened by me laughing and taking pictures.
Snoozing on my lap ... he's so photogenic!
Siri got a new collar...comparison of the old and the new. I guess almost four years in the same collar will do that...
What you can't see in this picture is my other hand holding his head down because he thought something exciting was happening and could hardly contain himself.
The drowsy face of the cutest dog in the world...in my opinion.
Minke on the other hand, has gained two pounds since his summer misadventure when he was stuck in an abandoned house for nine days. That's great news for him since he had gotten down to eight pounds and he should be a twelve pound cat. He's never been a twelve pound cat...but he should be. I've never been able to get him over 10.5. I wish I had his problem...
Oh! We did have a tiny adventure this morning when I opened the front blinds and about nine grouse had been hanging out under our porch and were emerging into the front yard. Both Siri and Minke found that extremely interesting and were very vocal in their desire to go outside and examine the grouse. I'm sure Siri had only good intentions; he loves to chase things and would never know what to do if caught something. Minke, on the other hand, I'm pretty sure there was murder in his eyes. He loves to kill things. I'm not such a fan of him killing things so both animals stayed inside.
Valentine's Day will be the one year anniversary of us living in our house! The year has gone so quickly and I still don't have anything on the walls. I just don't know where to start decorating so nothing is getting decorated. I would love it if we won the lottery and I would call some people from HG TV, go on vacation for a few weeks and come home to a beautifully decorated home.
I guess since this post is all about the animals I will post some recent pictures of them.
Kitty is pretty obsessed with sitting on laps, even when I am on the computer.
He also likes to climb under the covers before I have a chance to make the bed and make himself quite comfortable.
A little drowsy from being awakened by me laughing and taking pictures.
Snoozing on my lap ... he's so photogenic!
Siri got a new collar...comparison of the old and the new. I guess almost four years in the same collar will do that...
What you can't see in this picture is my other hand holding his head down because he thought something exciting was happening and could hardly contain himself.
The drowsy face of the cutest dog in the world...in my opinion.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Christmas and Such
After our amazing Hawaii trip, we came home to ever-welcoming Montana and a balmy -20 degrees. Having a 90 degree change in less than two days did not put me in a very good mood. For the first time ever, I actually considered moving away. It warmed up after a week or so as we came toward Christmas.
For Christmas, we went up to Henry's parents' house and spent a couple days with them and his sister Katherine and her boyfriend Logan. It was a nice relaxing time and we had a lot of fun.
Some pictures of cookies Hank and I made - I think we started a new tradition!
For New Year's, we went out with some friends and enjoyed a night on the town. We hadn't done that in a really long time and we had a blast!
Just before heading out for the evening:
Passing around the New Year's hat some very drunk people gave us.
My turn with the hat.
At the end of December, we put our truck up for sale and at the beginning of January, we sold it for our asking price! We are going to miss it very much - we loved that truck but it is going to free up a lot of money in our budget without the monthly payments and allow us to meet some financial goals we set for ourselves.
Our last days with the truck.
So far, 2010 has started off with a bang and we are anticipating our best year yet! Henry goes back to school tomorrow and it is really exciting to think about how our lives will have changed by this time next year. Happy New Year's Everyone!
For Christmas, we went up to Henry's parents' house and spent a couple days with them and his sister Katherine and her boyfriend Logan. It was a nice relaxing time and we had a lot of fun.
Some pictures of cookies Hank and I made - I think we started a new tradition!
For New Year's, we went out with some friends and enjoyed a night on the town. We hadn't done that in a really long time and we had a blast!
Just before heading out for the evening:
Passing around the New Year's hat some very drunk people gave us.
My turn with the hat.
At the end of December, we put our truck up for sale and at the beginning of January, we sold it for our asking price! We are going to miss it very much - we loved that truck but it is going to free up a lot of money in our budget without the monthly payments and allow us to meet some financial goals we set for ourselves.
Our last days with the truck.
So far, 2010 has started off with a bang and we are anticipating our best year yet! Henry goes back to school tomorrow and it is really exciting to think about how our lives will have changed by this time next year. Happy New Year's Everyone!
The Last Hawaii Post!
Our last day in Hawaii was wonderful. We went on a zip line adventure with Kauai Back Country Adventures and had so much fun! We got to go on eight different lines down through a canyon. It was a little scary the first few times but we soon got the hang of it and were running and jumping with the best of them!
At the top of the course.
Amanda going across line two.
A view of the stream below Henry's leg. He's wanting to show how high we were.
Perfect shot of Henry as he goes on line four.
We were extremely lucky and got to see Mt. Wai ale ale on one of the very few days each year it's not covered by clouds.
Henry was able to take a video of line five, the longest line. It was about 980 feet long and our average speed on all the lines was about 30 miles per hour. Enjoy!
After the zip line, we had some time to kill before we met my step-brothers for dinner so drove around and went to Wailua Falls and the Spouting Horn to watch the water shoot through the hole.
Wailua Falls:
Spouting Horn:
That night we met my step-brothers for dinner at the Beach House and had a wonderful meal and a wonderful time spending time with people we don't get to see very often.
Thank you Dad and Karen for a wonderful trip to Hawaii! We had so much fun and hope we get to do it again someday!
At the top of the course.
Amanda going across line two.
A view of the stream below Henry's leg. He's wanting to show how high we were.
Perfect shot of Henry as he goes on line four.
We were extremely lucky and got to see Mt. Wai ale ale on one of the very few days each year it's not covered by clouds.
Henry was able to take a video of line five, the longest line. It was about 980 feet long and our average speed on all the lines was about 30 miles per hour. Enjoy!
After the zip line, we had some time to kill before we met my step-brothers for dinner so drove around and went to Wailua Falls and the Spouting Horn to watch the water shoot through the hole.
Wailua Falls:
Spouting Horn:
That night we met my step-brothers for dinner at the Beach House and had a wonderful meal and a wonderful time spending time with people we don't get to see very often.
Thank you Dad and Karen for a wonderful trip to Hawaii! We had so much fun and hope we get to do it again someday!
More Hawaii...Finally
Good grief, Charlie Brown. I am having the hardest time catching up on this blog.
Back to our Hawaii trip - after the day of the helicopter ride, Henry had to spend a couple days doing homework. On Saturday, he did homework for about half the day and then we were able to go to Hanalei, the little town by our house and check out a craft fair/farmer's market. It was really fun and we were able to get most of our souvenirs. We were also introduced to Shave Ice (and yes, it drives me crazy that they don't call it Shaved Ice). Their claim that it is better than snow cones is true in our opinion. If you're really nice, they will even tell you the secret of putting a little bit of condensed milk on top which really takes it to the next level. Then we went to a beach and just relaxed, reading in the sun and sand.
On Sunday, we spent all day at the house while Henry did homework and I hung out on the beach at the house and read.
On Monday, we went snorkeling with the whole fam at Poi Pu beach on the southern side of the island. I saw so many beautiful fish and was even able to spot an eel. Henry was able to find a sea turtle of which I was very jealous. I did get to swim with turtles on our trip to the Big Island and I was really happy he got to do that too.
After snorkeling (no pictures, sorry. I doubt that anyone wants to see me in a bathing suit anyway), My Dad, Karen, Henry, Hailey and I all went to lunch at the Puka Dog place! It was so stinking good - I had to take a picture of it.
I have been craving them since we came back home and I wish we had found them earlier in the trip so I could have eaten one every day. My Dad bought us some of the sauce to take home and it is already gone. We love putting it on our bratwursts. So good. We are going to have to go to the website and order more because mustard no longer satisfies me. Must have mango sauce.
Then we went to the Kauai Coffee Plantation where we were able to get gifts for the people who took care of animals for us. We also got some gifts for ourselves! I even tried a little bit of coffee and enjoyed it. It was delicious.
The Coffee Plantation:
Some of the beautiful flowers at the plantation:
Bird of Paradise
Hibiscus
Some cool trees that Hailey calls "organized trees" since their branches are so even.
Ok, this post is getting long enough so I will have to do one more Hawaii post. Special shout out to Adam and Diana who went to Kauai on their honeymoon, discovered Puka Dogs and then told my Dad about them. THANK YOU!!!
Back to our Hawaii trip - after the day of the helicopter ride, Henry had to spend a couple days doing homework. On Saturday, he did homework for about half the day and then we were able to go to Hanalei, the little town by our house and check out a craft fair/farmer's market. It was really fun and we were able to get most of our souvenirs. We were also introduced to Shave Ice (and yes, it drives me crazy that they don't call it Shaved Ice). Their claim that it is better than snow cones is true in our opinion. If you're really nice, they will even tell you the secret of putting a little bit of condensed milk on top which really takes it to the next level. Then we went to a beach and just relaxed, reading in the sun and sand.
On Sunday, we spent all day at the house while Henry did homework and I hung out on the beach at the house and read.
On Monday, we went snorkeling with the whole fam at Poi Pu beach on the southern side of the island. I saw so many beautiful fish and was even able to spot an eel. Henry was able to find a sea turtle of which I was very jealous. I did get to swim with turtles on our trip to the Big Island and I was really happy he got to do that too.
After snorkeling (no pictures, sorry. I doubt that anyone wants to see me in a bathing suit anyway), My Dad, Karen, Henry, Hailey and I all went to lunch at the Puka Dog place! It was so stinking good - I had to take a picture of it.
I have been craving them since we came back home and I wish we had found them earlier in the trip so I could have eaten one every day. My Dad bought us some of the sauce to take home and it is already gone. We love putting it on our bratwursts. So good. We are going to have to go to the website and order more because mustard no longer satisfies me. Must have mango sauce.
Then we went to the Kauai Coffee Plantation where we were able to get gifts for the people who took care of animals for us. We also got some gifts for ourselves! I even tried a little bit of coffee and enjoyed it. It was delicious.
The Coffee Plantation:
Some of the beautiful flowers at the plantation:
Bird of Paradise
Hibiscus
Some cool trees that Hailey calls "organized trees" since their branches are so even.
Ok, this post is getting long enough so I will have to do one more Hawaii post. Special shout out to Adam and Diana who went to Kauai on their honeymoon, discovered Puka Dogs and then told my Dad about them. THANK YOU!!!
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Hawaii (Part 2)
Continuation of the Hawaii trip posts....
Scenic overlook on the way to helicopter trip.
The next day, we went on a helicopter ride with my dad and step mom and that was absolutely amazing. It was their birthday present to me and Henry and we so appreciated it. Henry and I got to sit up front with the pilot and we flew all around the island for about an hour. It was our favorite part of the trip. From now on, that is going to be something we plan into all our Hawaiian vacations. We bought the DVD of our trip so we can relive it when we are holed up in our house through the winter!
The Helicopter...
Henry and I in the helicopter. Before take off.
Some of the amazing views from the helicopter:
Napali Coast
Waterfalls in the crater in the middle of the island:
After the helicopter tour, we all met up and went to the Smith Family Luau. The grounds there were gorgeous, the food was delicious and the show was really good. We heard later this luau is one of the most authentic around and the materials used to make their costumes are all authentic and hand sewn. It was beautiful.
Me and Dad at the luau.
To be continued...
Scenic overlook on the way to helicopter trip.
The next day, we went on a helicopter ride with my dad and step mom and that was absolutely amazing. It was their birthday present to me and Henry and we so appreciated it. Henry and I got to sit up front with the pilot and we flew all around the island for about an hour. It was our favorite part of the trip. From now on, that is going to be something we plan into all our Hawaiian vacations. We bought the DVD of our trip so we can relive it when we are holed up in our house through the winter!
The Helicopter...
Henry and I in the helicopter. Before take off.
Some of the amazing views from the helicopter:
Napali Coast
Waterfalls in the crater in the middle of the island:
After the helicopter tour, we all met up and went to the Smith Family Luau. The grounds there were gorgeous, the food was delicious and the show was really good. We heard later this luau is one of the most authentic around and the materials used to make their costumes are all authentic and hand sewn. It was beautiful.
Me and Dad at the luau.
To be continued...
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