Summer Adventure Take 4 August 24th

Every summer we try to make it to a beach so that we can kick our feet up and enjoy the water. Last year we went to Mukilteo Beach. As much as we loved it there, it tends to be rather busy during the summer months and parking is awful. We decided to try a new place for our beach adventure this year. Picnic Point is a beach that I have only been to once before. I remember it being a nice place for a picnic (hence the name) and it not being as crowded. I suggested it to the husband and he was excited to check it out. We packed a picnic and  made our way there.

The drive there was beautiful and not too far from home (about twenty minutes). We even found an amazing parking spot right away! In order to get to the beach, you first have to cross a bridge that oversees the railroad tracks. Sound familiar? This bridge was well maintained and sturdy, it didn't scare me at all!

Once we got to the other side of the bridge, we were welcomed by numerous picnic tables. We parked our butts at the closest one and dug into our packed lunch. My only complaint is that the picnic area did not have any garbage cans. We had to lug our garbage around with us and dispose of it back in the parking lot before leaving.

By the way, frozen grapes are amazing for a picnic. They stay cold for a long time and cool you down nicely on a warm day.

After we stuffed ourselves, we made our way to the beach to soak up the scenery. We were careful to watch our feet as there were tons of muscles and lots of rocks covered in barnacles.

I love the sound of the waves crashing. Something about the water really calms me and sets  my mind free.

We made our way to one side of the beach where we quickly noticed that the ground was covered in seaweed and it was SLIPPERYYYYY. With a little assistance from the husband, I safely made my way back to the other side. It was a little scary and I was nervous to fall and hurt myself my camera.

After spending a good amount of time walking on the beach and snapping photos, we decided to make our way back to the car. Wouldn't luck have it that as we reached the bridge, a train was coming! I told the husband to run with the camera so that he could experience what it is like to feel a train rumbling past you.

Although he said it was a little scary, he loved it and got some amazing pictures!

Total cost for the beach trip: $0! Parking was free and we packed a lunch from home.

After getting to the car and dumping out pounds of sand from our shoes, we made our way to town for some shopping. We picked up some clothes for the husband, whom I convinced to take me to Hobby Lobby afterwards. They already had Christmas stuff out! Christmas in August?! My prayers had been answered.

After our shopping, we had worked up an appetite. We do not go out to dinner often, so when we do we tend to go all out. Denny's it was! We had a coupon for buy one dinner, get a second for free! With a side of pancakes, our bill came to $16!

Nothing beats a good Moons over my Hammy!

Homemade Chicken Pot pies

Remember  when I told you about my love for the Pioneer Woman? Well after tasting the masterpiece that the best friend made from one of her cookbooks, I knew that I had to give it a try. Homemade pot pies were the task at hand. I had tried to make them with the husband in the past, but did not have much luck. This time I chose to go solo and try making them all on my own. And delicious is putting it lightly. They turned out AAAHHHMAZING. I mean we are talking award winning. Marie Callender? Watch out honey, there is a new cook in town.

Excuse my lack of pictures after the baking process. I was busy stuffing my face. 

Ingredients needed:

3 celery stalks

3 carrots

1 sweet onion

4 tbsp butter

2 cups chicken diced or shredded

1/4 flour

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup heavy cream (evaporated milk works great too)

1 cup sharp cheddar cheese 

black pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 

Begin by finely dicing the carrots, celery and onion. I used a Slap Chop as it saved some time and I didn't have to worry about cutting fingers! Melt the butter in a large pot. Add the vegetables and saute until they start to soften, just a few minutes. Add the chicken and stir to combine. Sprinkle the flour evenly and cook for a couple of minutes while stirring gently. 

Pour in the chicken broth and heavy cream. Cook on low heat for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, sprinkle with pepper and let sit for 30 minutes. 

While the filling is cooling, get started on the homemade crust. 

Ingredients needed:

3 cups flour

1 1/2 cups Crisco (important to use this rather than butter)

2 eggs

5 tbs cold water

1 tbs white vinegar

1 tsp salt

Place the flour and Crisco into a large bowl. Use a pastry cutter (I used a potato masher as I didn't have a pastry cutter, you can also use a fork) to combine the two. Don't be afraid to get your hands dirty if needed. Mix for 3-4 minutes or until most of the shortening is mixed into the flour. Beat one egg and pour it into the mixture. Add the water, vinegar and salt and combine until it forms a solid dough. 

Separate the dough into 4 equal parts. I used two pieces of wax paper sprinkled with flour to sandwich the dough before using my rolling pin. This made it a lot easier to roll out and place into my pie dish. Place dough into the pie dish and press firmly to make sure the entire surface and sides are covered. Pour half of the chicken filling into the pie dish. Place another piece of rolled out dough over the top and pinch sides to seal together. Beat the second egg and lightly spread all over the top of the dough. Oh and those cute little slits that I placed on top? I used the end of a spoon for those! 

Bake for 30 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving. 

*As this recipe makes enough for two pies, feel free to freeze one before baking and make it at a later time.*

Happy cooking!

*Side note*- The Pioneer Woman has recently came out with a new cookbook that is over 400 pages and has amazing ideas for the holidays. She will be traveling the country to meet her fans and sing books. Click this link to see if she is coming to a town near you. (This was not a paid review) 

Picture Taking Adventures

To go along with the photography class, the best friend and I thought it would be fun to venture out with our cameras in hand. She had suggested that we go to Carkeek Park in Seattle. I am never one to turn down the beach, so off we went! Once we had arrived, we sat down to enjoy a picnic before starting our adventure. I love picnics. I would have one every day if I could.

The first thing that caught my eye were these pieces of glass. The water reflected perfectly on them.

She also thought it would be funny to photo bomb me! I didn't laugh. 

Okay, I laughed a little. 

Before heading to the beach, we first had to cross a bridge that went over the railroad tracks. I figured it wouldn't be a problem as I have done that sort of thing before. That was until we approached four million stairs that were GRATES! GRATES ARE MY WORST FEAR! What if I trip? What it my foot gets stuck? What if I FALL TO MY DEATH? With a little coaxing, I finally made it all the way down to the beach. My legs were shaking like a leaf and I probably had a mini stroke, but I did it.

We then wandered the beach and tried our hand at shooting in manual. It was harder than we thought! 

I could literally spend hours staring at the water. It is one of my favorite things to do. 

We even got the privilege of seeing a kite surfer in action. 

It was neat to hear the oohhs and ahhhs of the bystanders on the beach. It was a perfect day for kite surfing. The wind was powerful and really took him for a ride. It must take a lot of talent to do such activity. I can barely get a kite in the air. I could never imagine trying to fly one while surfing AND trying to do tricks. 

After spending a fair amount of time taking photos on the beach, we decided to make our way back to the car. Luck would have it that a train was coming just as we decided to leave. We ran as fast as we could on the sand in order to capture some pictures. 

Oh and those dreaded stairs? Wouldn't you know that once we got to the top, another train was coming!  Sometimes you have to throw your fear out the window in order to take photos. This was one of those times. We stood on that awful bridge and watched as the train went beneath us. You could feel the rumble of the train all throughout your body. I loved that the best friend pointed out that the train was hauling coal. We made sure to place our shirt over our face ensuring that we didn't breathe anything in. Better safe than sorry?

In need of a resting period, we decided to eat healthy and go to the local donut shop. How could we say no to some frozen hot chocolate and a cream filled donut?

After indulging in our treats, the best friend had suggested that we drive by the local cemetery for some more picture taking opportunities. This may seem odd to some, but have you ever stopped and looked at a cemetery? The atmosphere is calm and the scenery beautiful.

Seeing all of the Veteran's stones inspired me to start the process in honoring my father with one. I chose to go with a more personal burial when he passed. I am making it my goal to have this completed by his twenty year passing anniversary (October 2015).

Overall, we had an amazing day. It was long and I was tired towards the end, but I love all the photos we took. Best of all, I love the time that we spend together. 

Photography Class Week 3 August 19th

Lesson/week 3 was about finding pretty light. The photographer loves shooting with natural light, as do I. She offered some great tips during this weeks lesson. I thought it was one of the most informative weeks. She said that the best times to take outdoor photos are during the "golden hour", which is 30 minutes after sunrise and 30 minutes before sunset. The lighting is soft during these times and allows you to capture great detail. She also recommends that you try using a reflector for achieving more light {It's on my wishlist!}. She also pointed out that it is important to start shooting in manual so that you can best manipulate your camera to do what you want. Make sure to turn off your flash while trying to capture natural light! As the stars aligned and offered me some free time during this week, the best friend and I decided to explore the outdoors together and bring our cameras along. We went to the beach, a cemetery and also the local Arboretum. I ended up taking over 300 photos, trying to capture the best natural light. I also tempted to shoot in manual. Below are the results. I clearly have a lot to learn still!

The left is manual and the right is automatic. Not a great picture to begin with, but you can tell that I still need to work on lighting. 

This is the photo that I submitted for class. I love the light and shadows that I captured. Her comment was: "Gorgeous!!! Love love love the detail here and great colors too!"

Melissa Etheridge August 18th

Warm 106.9 did it again! I received a call on Friday morning saying that I had won tickets to the upcoming Melissa Etheridge concert. I could not believe that I had won again! I never win anything!! I quickly called the best friend to inform her that we had a concert to go to in just a couple of days. The nice part was that the concert was in town! Only about a ten minute drive away. It was located at an amphitheater next to the big casino. Which meant...free parking! I seriously love the word free.  We headed to a cafe located inside the casino to waste time until the concert. The food was outstanding! We shared fish and chips. And by fish and chips, I mean heaven with a dash of perfect. The coleslaw had bits of pineapple inside, the fish wasn't greasy and the fries were perfect. The tarter sauce was worthy of rubbing on my body even. We ended our meal with cream brulee! I had never had it before. The cream wasn't heavy and felt smooth in my mouth. It was great when paired with a raspberry. We then hurried our way to the concert.

I had never been to an outdoor concert before. The venue was amazing! Our seats were located directly in front of the stage, twenty one rows back. Not bad for free tickets! The weather was just right, not too warm and not too cold. The grass felt great on my feet and the atmosphere was comfortable. Melissa played for 2 1/2 hours, I only knew two songs though. She has amazing talent and can play many different instruments. She is a true performer and put on a good show. The drinks were costly ($8 for two pops!), but the casino had a booth set up where I received free swag! I got an ice pack, sunscreen, mints and toothpicks all for FREE!

Not surprisingly, the audience consisted of a lot of same sex couples. This issue has never bothered me in the past. I am a strong believer that people should be able to do whatever they want and with whom ever they want. Who am I to tell them otherwise? Does it effect my life directly? Than who am I to judge? I have been judged numerous times throughout my life and try my hardest not to judge others. It was a little overwhelming at times to see so many women together all in one setting. I had never seen anything like it before. You could tell that some people were uncomfortable. Melissa Etheridge announced that it had been nine years since she has been cancer free. This concert was about celebrating life and being happy. I could see the genuine love all around us and  that people were happy to be alive and free. It's not about what sex you are or whom you choose for your life partner. It is about being happy and celebrating what little time we have here on earth. I wish I could shake everyone who is so narrow minded and ask them to look at the bigger picture. To those people who shot dirty looks throughout the concert, shame on you. For you will one day know what it feels like to be judged. Don't cast stones unless you are prepared for them to come flying back your way.

I love the moon shining above the stage.

Overall, it was a good show and I hope that my winning streak will continue throughout the summer.

Summer Adventure Break August 17th

We decided to take a break from adventures this weekend so that we could get some much needed errands done around town. On Saturday we headed out to get an oil change. When we arrived to the shop, we noticed that the parking lots was filled with beautiful cars. There was a car show going on! It was nice to be able to walk around and check out the cars while ours was being worked on. A Costco booth was there as well, where we received free breakfast bars and flushable wipes! I love swag! After we finished our errands, we went to the best friends house for some visiting time and dinner. We love going to her house as we always feel welcome and have a good time. Did I mention that she also happens to make the best food ever? We swam in the pool, ate our weight in tacos and then played a board game together. The company was great and we really enjoyed ourselves. The break was nice, but I am excited to continue about our upcoming adventures!

Mike's and Cupcake Magic Shell?! I am pretty sure that life doesn't get any better than this.

Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes

Whenever we are invited over to someone's house, I like make sure and bring something along. I decided to whip together some orange creamsicle cupcakes before heading to the best friends house. I love the summer edition flavors that Pillsbury came out with! Key lime was by far my favorite, but the orange was a close second. I love the little umbrella on top too! They were easy to use and added the perfect summer/tropical look that I was going for.

Reese's Cookies

Another one of the yummy treats that I found in the baking section were a box of Resse's Cookies. A little drool dripped from my mouth as my eye caught them. They were really easy to make as all you had to add was butter and water, stir and plop on a baking sheet. The dough was out of this world amazingly delicious. I was tempted to grab a spoon and take the bowl to the couch to indulge. I would later find out that I should have done that! When the cookies came out of the oven, they didn't look great. They didn't taste great either. Boo! They had such potential. I will however, buy another box so that I can feed my feelings eat the dough.

Photography Class Week 2 August 12th

Lesson/week 2 was about being creative. She reminded me that it is important to live life and to have fun. It is amazing how often we forget those simple things. I let myself get carried away with pleasing other people when it came to me taking photos. I want to be able to find my passion again and have fun with it! She suggested climbing out of our comfort zone. Shoot from different angles and be daring. I chose to submit a train photo taken awhile back. I completely jumped out of my comfort zone for the photo and am proud of myself for doing so. I had to climb rocks to reach the tracks and got down on the ground for an interesting angle. Her comment was, " Great shot!!! and OH MY GOSH. You be crazyyyy! I totally flip out on train tracks, but crap...there's not a lot of room to get off that track! Funny, once we were shooting on the tracks and I was all "You guys, I hear a train" but they said it was just a tractor (we were way out in the country) and about 10 min. later guess what....TRAIN!!! :)". 

Summer Adventure on a Budget Part 3 August 10th

SEATTLE BOUND!

That was the intent for our third summer adventure weekend. The last time we had gone to the city, I was close to death and did not enjoy it as much as I would have liked to. I wanted to be able to give it another try and actually enjoy myself this time. Our first stop was to check out a restaurant that we have been wanting to go to for many years. Adam from the TV show Man vs Food had once gone there and tried to eat the famous 12 egg omelet. It is a little hole in the wall that is located on a busy highway. Parking is awful, but doable and free. There is almost always a long wait to get seated, we only had to wait 30 minutes or so. However, you have to wait outside so you may want to make sure to go when it isn't that wet out. Ha, in Seattle? Good luck. Once we got inside, I was surprised to see the walls covered in artwork. It was neat to see how creative people can be. The restaurant itself was nothing to write home about. It seemed a little dirty and I am sure it doesn't have a good grade from the health board.

The husband was too chicken to order the 12 egg omelet and decided to go for the smallest offered, the 6 egg. It comes with toast and all you can eat hashbrowns. I ordered two pancakes and a side of sausage. When the food came about 20 minutes later, we were shocked. The pancakes were bigger than my head! And the omelet must have weight close to ten pounds. I was only able to get through 1 1/2 of the pancakes, I even shared. And he couldn't even eat the entire omelet! The portions were huge and the food was really tasty. I would definitely go back as it was a fun experience. $30 including tip

After waddling our way to the car with full stomachs, we made our way downtown.  Throw in a 30 minute detour because we got lost and we finally arrived. We found parking close to the market that we wanted to go to. Our first stop was to visit the gum wall and take photos. I love how gross and different it is there. I even got gum on the bottom of my shoe!

We then made our way to the first Starbucks ever. Where we had to wait in line for over an hour. I normally wouldn't have waited that long, but it is a once in a lifetime thing..I wanted to be able to check it off my list. Once inside, you get to choose from a list of cups that they have available. That's it. There are no tables to sit at or anything neat to see. Not quite what I had expected. We did end up getting a cup with the original logo on it. $13

We then wandered the Pike Place Market, looking at everything from the comic book store to the shoe museum. We picked out some fresh flowers and got a smoothie to cool us down. $20 Oh and that parking garage that we found? It only cost us $6! Score. The last time we went to Seattle, we spent triple that.

The husband deposited 50 cents so that we could see the famous "The worlds largest collection of giant shoes!". People gathered around us to see what was behind the curtain. 

One the way home, I talked the husband into stopping at our favorite donut place. I could literally lay on the floor and eat there until I had frosting coming out of my nose. $17 The last pit stop was to grab some hamburgers, shakes and a movie before heading home. $18 Although we didn't really stick to a budget for the weekend, we had an amazing time. It was fun to spend time together and not have to worry about anything. Weekend total: $104 which isn't that bad for an entire day in the city and all that we were able to fit in.

Heaven

Family Ocean Vacation, Minus Me!

I have not been as vocal about my family as I have been in the past here on my blog. I suppose that it's because I try not to give the issue more attention than it deserves. I am tired of shedding tears and having sleepless nights because of their blatant disregard for my feelings. During July, I had opened up to my sister in law about the hurt feelings that I currently have and have had over the years. She was great about dismissing most of what I said and did a wonderful job at defending my addict of a sister. Not surprising. Because it was my nieces birthday, she had suggested that I go to their house to visit and spend time together. After all, she thought it was my place to try harder  at "being a part of the family". Trying to be the bigger person, I headed over to their house. Wouldn't you know, that she was a no show. Definitely proved to me how important it was for he to spend time with me and be able to catch up. However, this did not throw me for a loop. I brushed it off as I expected nothing less from her.

What did throw me for a loop, was finding out that just a few weeks later, they would all be going on a family vacation together. To a cabin at the ocean that we have been going to since I was born. As a family, together. Without me. I seriously lack the words to describe how this made  me feel. I have been busting my ass trying to care for my mom and make sure that she is doing ok. Yet, she runs off on vacation? Without telling nor inviting me? Ouch. This is the first time ever that my family has stayed at this cabin without me. I have not been on a vacation in over four years! I would have given anything to be able to sit at the beach for even a day. But yet, my family is there...for a week...enjoying the ocean without me. Great job at making me feel like I belong in this family.

To make matters worse, I got to enjoy seeing photos  throughout the week of their vacation via Instagram from my sister in law. This one in particular is my favorite. I love seeing them have dinner around this table together without me. I have many memories there and this rubbed me wrong in many different ways. Maybe I should print it and hang it above my fireplace?

By the way, I don't even have a fireplace.