Finding 50 {Days 323-329}

My pretty pictures have a common theme this week – snow.

We had snow in Portland on Tuesday and then I spent over 40 hours this week driving through snow and ice to and home from Idaho and Utah.  It was a very long drive.  One I am very grateful is over.  It was physically and emotionally exhausting.  But I tried hard to have a gratitude attitude about the whole thing and am just so thankful to be home in my warm house, in my flannel pj’s and not in a car anymore!!!

Day 323 – November 22

In my snowy garden.

Day 324 – November 23

A snow day and no school so we headed out of town early – good thing because it took us 11 hours to get to Ontario that day (should have been 6-7 hours.)

Day 325 – November 24

Day 326 – November 25

Happy Thanksgiving!  Lots to be thankful for.  We spent Thanksgiving in Idaho Falls with Jim’s family.  It was hard getting there but glad we did!  It was 7 degrees most of the day!!

Day 327 – November 26

Loving the bird feeder in grandpa’s backyard.  With all the snow on the ground I am sure those bird’s appreciate it!

Day 328 – November 27

An amazing Idaho sunset through the snow covered trees.

Day 329 – November 29

Snow in the gorge.

Hope you all enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and took time to count your many blessings!

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A Gratitude Attitude

I have to say I consider myself a pretty grateful person.  I strive to look for the pretty and delicious in life and be grateful for the things I have.

The last few days have  put my gratitude attitude to the test.

As we lay safe and sound in a nice warm bed last night my husband turned to me and said,  “Despite everything that has happened in the last two days we have a lot to be grateful for.”  Although I really didn’t want to admit it, I wanted to complain a little bit more, he is right.

We left Portland headed to Idaho Falls late Tuesday morning.  School was canceled because of snow so we decided we’d wait for traffic to clear and head out of town.  Of course because of the snow it was slow going.  We were doing fine until we hit The Dalles where we came to a complete standstill.  We continued to sit there for TWO hours.  I am not a good sitter.

It was a beautiful sunny day though and all the freshly fallen snow was quite pretty.  I got out of the car to take some photos along the highway (no worries, there was not a car moving for miles!!)

I am grateful that I was not in the truck that was jack knifed in the middle the road and I am grateful for pretty snow.

I am also grateful for a car that has a good heater that kept us warm as we sat waiting for two hours!!  I am grateful for Harry Potter that kept us entertained for the many hours we spent in the car!

What should have been a 6 hour drive to Ontario, Oregon turned into almost twice that.  But I was grateful to arrive safely at our hotel and sleep!  The next morning we headed out again (4 degrees) and I was grateful for this beautiful sunrise we got to watch over the snowy plains of Idaho.

The roads were a little snowy and icy but we were doing great until we hit Twin Falls when our car lost power.  Jim got it over to the side of the road and called our mechanic in Portland.  The car started up again but the warning lights told us it was URGENT to get service.  Thanks to Google we found a repair shop in Twin Falls that was open that worked on Volvos.  We were grateful it was only a few miles away and our  car made it there!

The mechanics were headed out to lunch and wouldn’t be able to look at it for a few hours.  I was a little ungrateful but  we decided to have lunch at the same place they were going.  My husband who has a better gratitude attitude than I do bought the mechanics their lunch.

We went to Sherm.

This is Sherms, I am sure he is or was a nice guy.

He has the biggest chicken fingers I have ever seen!  We knew we were in Idaho when they brought fry sauce with the french fries!!

I am grateful for the nice warm lobby we could sit in at the car repair place while they checked out our car.  We are grateful for a DVD player and Sense & Sensibility too.

And check out the cool counter they have.

We got the “good” news that the repairs would be about $1,200 and they couldn’t get the part until Friday because the road was closed from there to Salt Lake City.  We were grateful that the airport was only a few miles away and we could rent a car to take us the rest of the way to Idaho Falls.

The roads were clear until about Blackfoot where we hit alot of ice.  I am grateful I was not in the car just ahead of us that slid off the road flipped on it’s top!  I am grateful we arrived safe and sound at Grandma’s house and she had a nice warm dinner waiting for us.  I am grateful my 3 kids arrived safely in Idaho from Utah.

Like my husband said, we have a lot to be grateful for.

I am grateful.

What are you grateful for today?

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Thanksgiving Menu Board

So since I am not planning a menu, shopping or doing any dinner prep for Thanksgiving this year I decided I could use a little of that energy on a craft project.

Last Saturday a few friends and I made a trip to Goodwill.  We were looking for some sweaters for a fun repurposing project which I will share next week.

The best part about trips to Goodwill are the things you find that you didn’t even know you were looking for – can you relate to that!?  When I saw this serving tray I knew exactly what I would do with it.

I have been wanting to make a large chalkboard menu board.  Something I could use at parties or dinners to write the menu on.  This tray was the perfect size and shape.

It was mine for only $2.99.  I already had the chalkboard spray paint at home so I was ready to get to work.  I used some steel wool to take the shiny finish off of the tray.

I put a lot of newspaper down on the garage floor so I didn’t get in trouble with the hubby this time.  The last time I spray painted I didn’t use quite enough paper and we now have a red garage floor – oops!  Some of you may be wondering why I didn’t do it outside but if you live in Oregon you’ll know why!

It took several coats of paint to cover the whole thing .  I painted the front and back.

Since I didn’t need to write our Thanksgiving menu on it I decided to just write a Thanksgiving word on it and display it on the mantle – Thankful!

I am thinking it is going to be the perfect addition to our Christmas dinner table – set on the buffet to showcase what’s for dinner!  It would also make a great message board for the kitchen. Any other ideas?

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Finding 50 {Days 309-315}

It’s hard to believe that there is only 50 more days of pretty left for this year.

My pretty this week was all found at the beach. I helped chaperone Tessa’s choir retreat and worked in the kitchen. Usually when I am in the kitchen for a large group event I am in charge. It was so nice to just be a worker bee this time. We had a great time, ate a lot of great food and had fun listening to the kids sing.

It rained off and on but we were lucky enough to enjoy some beautiful beach weather during one of our breaks from the kitchen. It was a perfect beach day. No rain, no wind and some sun!

Day 309 – November 8

My sweet daddy turned 82 today!  We celebrated with dinner and of course a cake on Sunday.  Love you dad!

Day 310 – November 9

A perfect Oregon beach day.

Day 311 – November 10

Anyone know what the name of this stuff is?  There was a lot of it!!

Day 312 – November 11

One of the biggest pieces of driftwood I have ever seen!

Day 313 – November 12

What a life!

Day 314 – November 13

Day 315 – November 14

Enjoy finding the pretty in your week!

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Dearest Mother:

Last week, while I was in Utah, Jim and Tessa were at home in Portland. 

Jim was in charge of cooking.  He tries but Jim is not a “real” cook.  His idea of cooking is grilling a piece of meat.  He tries and we love him.  He truly is a simple “meat and potatoes” kind of guy. He would be happy with just about anything and loves everything that is placed in front of him and always lets me know how “tasty” everything is.  So I am lucky.

While I was out of town, I received the following text message from my daughter Tessa.

But first, I must state that I do have the permission of all parties involved to share this text message.  I hope you find it as amusing as I did.  I laughed so hard I cried.  Jim laughed too.

Dearest Mother,

I would like to inform you of what we have had for dinner the past two nights.

Night one – pork chops with a weird seasoning(that didn’t have any flavor) and baked potatoes.

Night two – grilled chicken with a marinade father made up and baked potatoes (classic meal he cooks when you are gone) 

 If I have to eat another meal that consists of a meat with an interesting seasoning  on it with a baked potato I might throw up and starve. 

Please, the next time you go out of town, prepare meals ahead of time for my own sanity and health. 

Love you dearly,

 your almost starving daughter.

As you can see, Tessa is not quite as easy to please.

Guess I’ll be putting some meals in the freezer before I leave town next time so poor Tessa doesn’t starve!

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Finding 50 {Days 302-308}

Despite the fact that it is November there are some amazing things going on out in my garden. The roses are still blooming! I’m not sure what time of year they think it is. I also found some pretty amazing fall leaves during my visit to Utah this past week.

Day 302 -November 1
The roses are confused I think! Don’t they look amazing with the water droplets?

Day 303 – November 2

Day 304 – November 3

Happy 21st birthday Cali!!

Day 305 – November 4 The weather was amazing while I was in Utah and the Fall colors were brillant!

Day 306 – November 5 The lovely little duck pond across from Cali’s apartment. She gets to walk by it every day on her way to campus.

Day 307 – November 6
More garden pretties.

Day 308 – November 7 Love the light and the water drop on the end of the leaf! So pretty!

Enjoy the pretty in your week!

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Provo Food Adventures

As I mentioned yesterday, I spent the majority of this last week in Provo, Utah visiting my three kids that live there.

Every time I visit I have my list of places to eat. I must always get my Cafe Rio fix!  I did that as usual but I also look forward to finding some new places to try out.

For my Utah readers I thought I’d share where we went and what we ate.

Tuesday, Cali got done with school early so I picked her up for lunch.  Logan suggested we try out Molly’s.  Molly’s also has a catering company, Marvellous Utah Catering and they have catered several events at his office.  (No, I didn’t spell Marvellous wrong, the family name is Marvell!) Logan raved about their food and I can see why!  It was delicious and his kind of food.

It is served cafeteria style and you have your choice of different types of delicious barbecued meats, side dishes, breads and desserts.

I had the pulled pork, tomato basil soup, spinach salad and a to die for cheddar biscuit.

Cali had the brisket which was delicious and I am glad she shared with me!  She also had the mashed potatoes, Caesar salad and one of those amazing biscuits!  We skipped dessert but I hear it’s delicious too!

The servings are huge and Cali and I ended up each taking half of our lunch back to Logan which he didn’t mind at all!

The best part of lunch at Molly’s was getting to eat it with this cute girl.

Tuesday night dinner needed to be quick because we were headed to Salt Lake to see the Drowsy Chaperone (a fun show!)  We met Clark and his friend down on Center Street in Provo at Angels of Philly. They boast to have the best Philly Cheesesteak this side of Philly and I have to say I have eaten the real thing in Philly and theirs was pretty close!  Probably the best I have had since Philly.  Their fries were yummy too – nice and crisp, just the way I like them.

I ate about half my sandwich which my boys didn’t mind at all!

Wednesday was Cali’s actual birthday so she got to choose where we went for lunch.  She chose one of her favorites – Zupas. Since the first time I ate at Zupas I have wished we had one here in Portland.  They have wonderful fresh salads, soups and sandwiches.

Cali ordered her favorite – the ultimate grilled cheese and cauliflower soup.  I went for the Mangoberry Salad.  Each lunch comes with a slice of bread and a chocolate dipped strawberry!

After lunch and a little shopping we stopped for a sweet treat at a new cupcake shop we found out by the University Mall.  I loved the name – Cupcake Chic.

Their cupcakes were good, a rather dense cupcake, but I think the best part was their pretty packaging.  What wouldn’t taste could coming out of a cute little box like this!

The two boys joined us for Cali’s birthday dinner on Wednesday night.  Logan suggested we go to LaJolla Groves, a new restaurant out at the Riverwoods complex. Both boys had eaten there before and loved it and my sister in law Tricia raved about one of their lunch menu salads.

The restaurant is beautiful, with a calm, peaceful atmosphere.  The menu is Italian and everything looked good.  Clark ordered the chicken crepes on Logan’s recommendation and they were delicious.  Maybe not quite enough food for Clark’s appetite though.

Logan had the salmon which was the best he said he has had, and he’s had a lot of salmon.  Cali had her all time favorite Chicken Alfredo and I had a yummy pesto pasta.  You are also brought a yummy bread basket with all kinds of fun breads – pesto, sundried tomato etc.

The desserts are amazing too.  We decided to share the lemon dessert and not only was it gorgeous, it was delicious!

But of course, the best part of the meal, was getting to share it with these three!

Next time I am in Provo I’m going back to LaJolla Groves to try that luncheon salad my sister in law raved about.  Also, if you are there don’t forget to go back and visit their little bakery and marketplace where they sell their baked goods.

Thursday, my last day in Provo, I had to get my Cafe Rio fix so I met my sister in law Tricia, niece Emily, Clark, Logan and Cali there for lunch.  I had my usual steak taco which I love!

My visit to Provo was now complete.

Good food and time with these three!

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Happy Birthday Girl!

I just returned from a fun visit with my three kids in Utah.

It was an amazing three days full of good food (more on that tomorrow), shopping, visiting with family, seeing old friends (So good to see you Carol!!) and meeting new friends (Thank you Michelle!!), seeing the Drowsy Chaperone, visiting the BYU Bookstore (one of my favorite places) and enjoying the amazing weather and beautiful Fall foliage of Utah!

The best part and the main reason for my trip to Utah was this….

My daughter Cali turned 21.  I now have three children in their twenties!  It was fun to spend her special day with her, spoil her a bit and celebrate together.

On her birthday night a group of her friends gathered at her apartment to celebrate Cali’s birthday.  They sat around in a circle and shared something they loved about Cali.  Even though I wasn’t there (mother’s don’t need to be everywhere!) Cali shared with me some of the things they said and I have to totally agree with them.

They love Cali’s joy and enthusiasm for life.  Cali knows how to have fun and manages to have fun just about everywhere she goes.  She always has a happy face, even when she may not be feeling quite so happy.

Right before I left town Cali and I had a little impromptu photo session and I think these photos portray Cali’s joy for life!

One of the other things they loved about Cali was all her fun faces.  To say Cali  has a lot of facial expressions is an understatement.

And even when she has to scooter around campus on this thing for six weeks she remains happy, cheerful and never uses it as an excuse!  And she looks darn cute doing it too!

Happy Birthday my sweet Cali girl.  I love you and am so proud of the amazing woman you are becoming.  You are going to make an incredible theater teacher and I know you will touch and impact the lives of so many young people!  You make the world a much better place!

Happy Birthday Cali!!

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