30 June 2010

give a kid a camera ...

A few months ago daughter disappeared
upstairs with my camera.

Please note: this freaked me out a little
since this is a good camera.
Hubber got it for me as an anniversary gift last
year so that I would be able to take
fabulous pictures for my real estate clients.
So ... you get my point right?

Well, good news, camera is ok. phew!

The results ... see below ...


 (I love that you can see daughter in the mirror.
Other one is my niece.)




I think she did a pretty cute job with the camera.

29 June 2010

The Veggie Invasion!

It's no secret that we LOVE our veggies.
I like going to the Farmer's Market to get
some goodies but we just don't get there enough. 
(goal: try to go at least once a month)

Side note: Farmer's Market eggs are DELISH.

Back to it ...

My inlaw's have a fantastic garden.
It's a biggy. Raised beds. Yep. Oh boy does it produce
lots of veggies.
(This is the bulk of it. They also
grow blueberries, artichokes and more.)
 
So many that they must give some away. They must!
I mean who wants to see veggies go bad.
Luckily they know that we like veggies too.
And we really like our tap into our very own
family Farmer's Market. They give us
A LOT of goodies. YAY!
(Our loot from Sunday night. Perfect!)

Daughter really likes picking veggies herself.
She pretty much knows where different things are growing
and what she can pick.
(Daughter & her friend picked these
carrots, rinsed them with the hose &
ate them! YUM)

Part of our dinner Sunday night was these
green and purple beans.

And this is what happened when they started to boil.
(The purple is gone. Oh well, they were YUM!)

Another thing we get is PaPa's famous in the family jarred peppers.
They sure are scrumptious!
This jar is for my brother. Yep, he loves them too.

I always try to get him to retire and sell
his jarred goodies. He won't though.
"It's too fun as a hobby", he says.  Well, can't argue with that.

I will keep working on him though. hee tee hee
Good talent should be shared with all and hey! Why not make
a few bucks too?

Until next time ...

Oh and I will keep you posted on father-in-law's
new business venture.
;o) hee tee hee hee hee ;o)



 



28 June 2010

Family Fun in The Sun Fair 2010

Put on by the Sacramento Food Bank

this little event had vendors, crafts for the kids
(which is where I helped out), a
jump house, free lunch and much more!

One of the coolest things was the
mobile mammography trailer.
They were providing fee mammograms for women
over 40.  I think that is awesome!
Really awesome.

(the trailer * very cool AMAZING)
 
I had a blast at the kid's craft table.
1) it's for the kids and I LOVE helping kids
2) there were crafts and I LOVE crafts
3) I learned how to make the keychains out of plastic string
yep, daughter was pretty impressed.
period.
 
Please enjoy the photos
 
(my new fantastic friend * she
brought the keychain craft)

(helping him start a keychain)


(creative kids at work * got to love it!)

I had the best time.
I came home and immediately contacted
Cindy from Albie Aware letting her
know to contact me for the next event.

Stay tuned ...







25 June 2010

A Sweet Thank you

I got this fabulously sweet card yesterday ...
Isn't it so very pretty?
I love LOVE love the sea shells.
One of my faves, by the way.
Why? Do you ask? It's because
they remind me of the ocean and the
ocean is so peaceful and relaxing.

Ahhh ... I could really go for a beach
vacation right now.

Ok, back to reality ...

I enjoy giving a thank you from time to time.
This is something I never left time for in the past.
Just a phone call was all I would do.

I realized how much I like getting them.  They make me smile.
So I made it a New Years resolution.
And, I think I am doing pretty good at giving so far.

It's so nice. Just a simple gesture to show
your gratitude. I didn't feel like I did
anything out of the ordinary to deserve this one
but obviously my friend did.
So very nice.
Well, enjoy your weekend.  I am off to day dream about
life at the beach.

Toodles ...

24 June 2010

A funny & Some Seriousness aka New Inspiration

The funny
I left for the office this morning with
Hubber's truck keys in my purse.
My day had a busy busy schedule so I couldn't go back.
Even funnier
He is the one who remembered and called me at the office.
This is after I pulled out my phone last night
when he handed them to me and said,
"I am going to put a reminder in my blackberry for
tonight so I remember to pull the keys out at home."

Hmmm...guess what happened? You got it!
No reminder. I forgot to do that too!
hee tee hee hee

Seriousness aka New inspiration
It is no secret I have been a workout momma
lately. True story.  It started a few months
ago.  I have to tell you ... if you struggle with
keeping up a routine just try and try and try your
hardest to stick with it. 
Because once you start to see results
you get happy and want to press on.
Currently I am exercising twice a day at home
and just joined a fitness class two nights a week.

Also I have noticed that I do not crave the *bad*
stuff as often as I used too.  I believe my
mind and tummy are trained to appreciate the greatness
of feeling fantastic.
Thank you Hubber for being the very best
personal * personal trainer anyone
could ever ask for.
He does not let me slack and you know? 
I feel so good after I finish a workout 
even if I grumbled and ranted about being too tired
after a long day of work.

Now work days are easy breezy. Everything changes
when you feel great.

I love the photos below.  They inspire me.
Thanks to my new favorite photo site weheartit.com

This one makes me giggle.

This one makes me smile. 

This one makes me jealous of those abs. 

I hope you have found some inspiration here today.


23 June 2010

Oh so random ... Today~

I have so many thoughts, ideas, plans and not enough
time to execute as many as I would like.
I know YOU know the feeling.

I want to get a sewing machine.
Like really bad. I found a nice one
on Overstock.com but haven't gotten it yet.
I am trying to justify getting that little nifty 
when I know it will sit more then it will sew.

I love LOVE love my love for
working out.  Exercise is good.
swam laps last night with daughter
fun fun fun & refreshing

I am motivated.  I am excited.  Mrs. California is
right around the corner.  I am so lucky to
have the chance to compete for this title. 
It's true. I am sittng here smiling right this very second.

I believe that everything happens for a reason and
that good things do happen to good people.
Sometimes it takes a while to show up and knock
but it does eventually and when it does
you quickly realize the wait wasn't so bad after all.

Speaking of knocking ... I was just telling
Hubber that I feel like there is an amazing
opportunity right outside our door. I feel like if
we can just figure out what it is all we would need to do is
reach out and grab it.
Do you ever feel that way?  Like there
is something waiting for you?
I have SUCH a good feeling about this.

My random photo today is
photo credit: wehearit.com
Gosh I wish my blog was scratch-n-sniff!

How random are you today?








22 June 2010

What? Butternut squash is good? YES!

Daughter LOVE love LOVEs
butternut squash.

We bake it two ways in our house;
1) cut into cubes with light salt, pepper and garlic.
(bake for the first 25 minutes at 350 * 
add the garlic for the last 5 mins * 30 mins total)

2) cut into cubes and sprinkle brown sugar over the top.
just a little sprinkle is all you need.
(bake 30 minutes at 350)

Seriously, the hardest part of this dish
is peeling and cutting the squash.

Daughter and her friends eat this up like candy.
(pictured here with good companions
chicken nuggets and ketchup)

Thank you Butternut Squash Growers.
You are appreciated!

18 June 2010

Thanks D-A-D!

How cool is it that this year
my Dad's birthday falls on
Father's Day?
He gets double the pampering on Sunday.

I am sad they live alllll the way in FL and we
are in CA.  Humpf!

Happy Birth*arther's Day Dad!

It's his weekend but yet when I
get home from the office yesterday
this was on my counter ...

It's all wood pieces.
Not just one piece shaped like an apple.
He uses different types of wood for color
and texture, etc.
Daughter already picked out the perfect
spot for it in our kitchen.

This type of woodworking perfection takes lots
of time and skill.
Thank goodness Daddio is retired!

He has made us other things too like he and she hobos
and an amazing clock for my brother.
My brother's clock is a pond and it has two time pieces
in it. One regular and one backwards as if you were looking at a
reflection in the pond.  It's really cool.

You can see what my Dad spends most of his time
making by going here.  
His work is really amazing.
You can contact him if you want to have a piece
of this trend.  Trust me,
everyone will comment on it!

Have a wonderful weekend!
And HAPPY FATHER'S DAY
TO ALL THE D-A-Ds!




17 June 2010

More Summer Spruce Up!

Good morning.
Good morning.
Good morning.

The AMAZING weather is upon us.
YAY!

Time to clean off the patio furniture
and fire up the grill!
Summer is here my peeps and this year is going
to be a big thrill!
I just know it.

While bringing in your flowers for
decorations don't forget
your outside tables too.
We must not neglect our outside tables.

It's as easy as this ...
grab some jars
(garage sales and thrift stores
and good places to search)
Snip some flowers - or buy
some if you wish.
(check out your local farmer's market)
Add some water to your
fabulous new finds and plop the flowers
in. Sometimes letting them randomly fall
in to place makes the best arrangements.

photo: weheartit

Share how your decorate outside for summer.
I would love to hear and possibly post your ideas too!




16 June 2010

Sunday in Yosemite? ... Ok!

Trees.
Nature.
Tunnels.
Huge Rocks.
Hikes.
Waterfalls.
Squirrels.
Lizards.
Bears ... OH MY!

Did you know the name Yosemite means literally
"among them are killers" or "there are killers among them"
and is a corrupted form of an American Indian
word used to describe the Ahwahneechee people?

Kind of odd for such a peaceful place don't you think?

As we were walking hiking actually
we wondered how Yosemite got it's name.
So as soon as we got cell service we
looked it up.
(what did we ever do without the internet?)

Anyhoo ...
With the same families we spent the day
with on Bass Lake we
took in the sites and sounds of Yosemite.
There was so much to see and do but we only
had A day.  We packed in a lot though!

Next time we will spend a couple of days in the park.

Here are some pics ...
(warning - there are a ton)

We make 3 ... 4 with Half Dome

Our hike

Daughter found a ladybug on our hike.

New friend

The tunnel

Snow. Yes snow in mid June.

The scenery ... + LOTS of waterfalls
We loved the waterfalls


Half Dome

The funny car cloud

 The bear ... Oh My!
(there were two but the silly park ranger would not
let us stop in the road long enough to take a pic
of the 2nd one ... sheesh! hee tee hee)
I really wanted to ask where we get the saddles from.
I wanted to take him for a spin!

We had THE best time.
Oh and on the way out we passed a camp ground.
Our conversation went like this,

hubber: "Look at the campground. It's packed!
(there were tents everywhere)

daughter: "Ya, we will never do that because mom is
a chicken!"

me: "Hey! Just because I don't want bears, bugs or snakes
to eat me in my sleep.  We can camp in the backyard for starters. 
I wonder if they allow trailers in there?..."

Gosh I LOVE my family.








15 June 2010

Dear Caffeinated Green Tea ~

Thank you for the little
pick me up this morning.
Your delicate flavor, healthy antioxidants
and warm steamy goodness could not have hit
my mug, or my mouth, any faster.
Perfection in a cup!
(in my opinion)

Love,
Liz

14 June 2010

A day on the lake. Bass lake.

We went on an out of town
but still close to home trip this weekend.
(Just a 3 hour drive)
That's it. 3 hours to beautiful ...
peaceful ... Bass Lake & Yosemite.
Most often that is all we need.
Just enough to get out of our
nice little neighborhood.

 ***Off track for a sec ... how lucky are
we Sacramento people?
1.5 hours west to San Fran ...
1.5 hours east to Tahoe ...
3.5 hours north to Lake Shasta ...
3 hours south west to Bass Lake/Yosemite ...
Murphys/Arnold about an hour ...
2 hours to Napa Valley ...
2 hours to Bodega Bay ...
45 minutes to a TON of wineries in the foothills ...
Ahhh ... I could go on but I will stop. :o)

Back on track***

3 families (13 people) +
1 pontoon boat + an 8 person tube +
sunscreen lots of sunscreen =
one EXCELLENT day on the lake!

We (meaning all 3 families) have decided this
is an annual thing we will do. Actually
this started last year on Lake Camanche.
Our vote: Bass Lake is mucho better.

Good times ... Family ... Food
Our family brought veggie and fruit trays
don't you know!  :o)

What more could you ask for?
Not much ... In My opinion.

Here are just a few pics ...
Bass Lake ... So pretty.
Magnificent hubber/daddy giving daughter
driving instructions.
She is 9 1/2 & drives a race car so
why not a pontoon boat too?

Daughter in action. She did great!

Thanks for stopping by today. Yosemite pics in the next few days.