We're back!

We had an amazing 10 days being with friends and family. The first part of our trip was spent with friends from college and we all met up at Kit's family's cabin in Shaver Lake, outside of Fresno. The time consisted of long walks, a day on a pontoon boat swimming and eating (I don't think that you are supposed to mix the two...), playing games, watching "The Office" episodes, making home made ice cream and late night talks that consisted of lots of laughter and the sharing of life together. It was a great long weekend. We love our friends that have become family to us...

Here are some pics...

On the boat...

The group (We missed you, Warks and Chris...)

Catan...

Making homemade vanilla ice cream, it was so good!

Then Kit and I had a day to just hang out together and then Kit's parents came up so that we could backpack together to Rutherford Lake in the Sierra Mountains, on the boarder of Yosemite. We had a great time! We backpacked over 18 miles, over 10,000 ft elevation, 4 days, 3 nights and had a great time connecting while we did it. Kit's first trip to this lake he was about 6 years old. He had told me that this is his favorite place to backpack (and the man had been many places) so it was fun to share in a spot that was such a special place for him. He loves being outside and camping and backpacking and so to watch him enjoy something so much makes my heart so happy.

Hiking in... it's really just the most beautiful landscape...

Taking a little break on the way up...

Arriving at Rutherford Lake after hiking 8.6 miles

(Needless to say we were excited to finally set up camp...)

Fishing, (I caught a fish and it was THIS big...)

I used a panther martin #6

Hiking out...

We made it!

Off to vacation... wait, work first THEN vacation...

Tonight, after I get off work we are heading out for our annual trip with college friends and our annual family backpacking trip. It will be a very long day, but I am really excited. We are heading up to the Shaver Lake, and it is going to be so fun!

I hope to have some good pictures and stories when we get back...

Our kitchen...

When we moved into our house almost six years ago, the kitchen had just been completely redone. We really liked everything they chose, with one tiny exception...

the counter tops.

They are corian, which is great, they are durable and there really is a lot of counter space.

I am a brat for even bringing it up, but I am growing and this has been a very good experience of appreciation for what we have.

With that said...

Ok, my biggest issue is the color. The manufacturer named the color "forest" but they must have meant some magical forest because in the 11 years that our family has gone backpacking, I have NEVER seen this color in nature. My counter tops are a not very pretty shade of turquoise.

I tried to get a picture, but nothing really captures it well enough.

Our whole counter top deal made me realize how selfish I can be. Here we have this beautiful house that we love and I have a kitchen that I can make meals for friends and family (I am working on my cooking skills, just ask Kit...) and it really does meet all of our needs.

So about 6 months ago I decided to embrace that magical "forest" color and have been bringing in colors that I like that work well with it. It was a little bit of a challenge at first but then I found material at Ikea that pulled our whole kitchen together. It has brown and black and the EXACT green from our dining room, and there are three shades of blue and one of them is the exact color of the countertops.

It also has some other colors that have been fun to bring into our kitchen. It sounds so silly, but putting this yard and a half of material up has made a HUGE difference.

So the color that I pulled out to use the most is orange. Between dish towels, displayed cookbooks, and my tea kettle, orange has become one of my new favorite colors.

Here is my tea kettle. I love it...

(When I was little, I was one of those kids who saw that cartoon movie, "The Brave Little Toaster" and believed that certain household appliances had feelings, so I am sure that there is something from that childhood memory that makes me love my little tea kettle so much...)

I got these dish towels at Ikea and they have the same counter top color in them, plus they have the orange that I was using, so I was really excited about that.

So now, when we get home, (our kitchen is the first thing that greets us...) we really have become fond of our quirky kitchen color. It feels so much more like home to us.

And it has been a great experience for me to be content and to appreciate what we have, because we really have so much...

fish tank updates

Here are some photo updates on the fish tank base. Kit is going to have to reinforce the stuffing out of that base because of how heavy the tank is, but it is coming along. Kit sold and then purchased a new tank last week, all on craigslist. They are the same size but the new one is much nicer.

This is the new tank... The next step is to put doors on it.

Prayer

When I was in high school, my mentor Marcia gave me the book "Prayers From the Heart" by Richard Foster. In it is a compilation of prayers from several different authors, including Francis of Assisi, Charles Wesley, Mother Teresa, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, as well as prayers by Richard Foster himself. I have had this book right by my bed for the last 12 years. The pages are wearing down and the book opens automatically to specific prayers I tend to frequent.

One of the prayers has become my favorite. It was the first one that Marcia and I read together and it seems applicable on a daily basis. Here it is.

~a prayer to begin the day~

Jesus, I desire to start this day with you. And yet, my mind keeps flitting to so many things:

the projects I want to accomplish,

the people I want to talk to,

the people I wish I didn't have to talk to.

I wonder, are these things distractions to spiritual concentration or invitations to see God in the ordinary? I'm not sure. Jesus, I know that you are the Center who knows no distraction. So I offer up my mental fragmentation to you, O Lord my God.

May my scatteredness become your gatheredness.

As I am contemplating a thousand things, Jesus, may I somehow be contemplating you.

amen.

I desire to have a more intimate relationship with the Lord, through prayer and his word.

So, Kit, the amazing man that he is, created a prayer board for me. On it, I put prayers, verses and lyrics to worship songs that I would like to meditate on through out the day.

I had an idea in my mind, (which Kit loves to tease me about ALL the things that are going on in there) and Kit made it happen. I helped a little but needless to say, my prayer board has become my most favorite thing in our house.

We used birch and maple wood, tin (it's magnetic) ceiling tiles that I found at a store in Fullerton, a gazillion c-clamps, nail gun, table and miter saw, and some liquid nails and...

ta da!

Right now I have the lyrics to "praise is rising" on my board.

Thank you Marcia for giving me that prayer book!

You are loved...

Holt International

People have asked which adoption agency that Tom and Nicole are going through in order to adopt our niece. This is the specific page that I refer to to show what Holt International is all about. At the bottom of the page is an "About Us" icon that has such great information.

www.holtinternational.org/ethiopia/

green thumbs

We always try to have a garden throughout the year. During the summer, it's things like tomatoes, basil, squash, zucchini, and cucumbers, and during the winter months we grow all types of lettuce. We have a TINY garden, but we are always so proud of ourselves when we get to eat our own produce, even if it's one squash, we still think we are "living off the land".

Our little garden...

We got a recommendation from our Grandpa Pierce, who has the greenest thumb we know, to try Japanese cucumbers this year. They look spiky and very curvy, but they are so good! We will definitely be growing these from now on. If you like cucumbers, you have to try these...

Our squash always makes me feel good about my gardening "skills", because I don't do ANYTHING, and the plant looks like this... they are so fun to cook with!

Our avocado tree is going like gangbusters! Guacamole, here we come!

books books books

Summer always seems like a special time for reading. It's beautiful weather to be outside with a book or by the beach with your friends and family or while you might be away on family vacations...

If you are looking for a good book, here are some of the books that I read (and re-read) this summer that I just love!

(My sister is always giving me book lists and recommendations and she has not misled me yet... thanks, Cole!)

This book is the first in a series of over 9 books by Alexander McCall Smith. He has a couple of series but this has been my favorite. The characters are amazing and the stories are so fun to follow. Plus, it's about Africa...

Closets...

About 6 months ago I watched an episode of Oprah, where the guest was Peter Walsh, a professional organizer from the show Clean Sweep. He redid a woman's closet and gave this tip on when you know that you need to get rid of clothes that you aren't wearing. He recommended, at the beginning of a season (which is hard because southern california doesn't really get seasons...) that you flip all your hangers on the bar backwards. Then as you wear an item, that hanger flips forward. He then recommended at the end of the season, or at 6 months, that you get rid of the clothes that are still on backwards hangers.

It was said on that show that the average person in the US only wears 20% of their wardrobe. Think how many people are in the world that could use all those clothes! I am not usually someone who gives stuff away, so I thought this would be a good challenge for me. So in April, I flipped all my hangers and today I started pulling stuff out that I haven't worn, and really don't plan on wearing, that was on the backwards hangers.

I got a good bag of stuff for give away. It felt good to think of stuff that I have had for awhile that has been just sitting there that will go to good homes and get some use.

I have a group of friends/family that I exchange clothes with and then from there we donate what nobody can use.

So, girlies, I have some clothes coming your way!

old friends...

We had dinner this last monday with our friends, Casey, Neil and their kiddos, Bennett and Mallory. Casey was my roommate in college and is one of those people that no matter how much time has lapsed, you just pick up where you left off and it feels like no time has gone by at all. She also has the incredible gift of hospitality. You know that when you get together, not only will you get quality conversation, but you will also get an iced coffee espresso, and an amazing meal and a dessert that she just "throws together" that looks like it came right off the cover of Gourmet magazine.

Needless to say, we had the best time and didn't leave their house until after midnight...

(That's right, we still got it...)

We love you, Anderson's!

Giada, please come to my house...

So Kit left this morning for a river rafting trip with his dad and two of his brothers. He was so excited about it, I know that they are going to have the best time. ANYTHING that involves the great outdoors is Kit's favorite.

So Thursday night we usually have a fun meal, even if I am working because we are always off on Fridays together, so we know we can sleep in. (Anyone who know me knows that sleep in by my definition and by Kit's definition are two different things, I am up by the crack and Kit usually is getting up around 10am.)

Anyway, I saw this recipe and decided to try it, even though Kit won't be here. I know that it's always fun to try something new and it's nice to work out the kinks when your loved one isn't present. Kit's really fun to cook for and now that I have made this, I KNOW that he is going to love it!

So, here is the recipe... Enjoy it with your family... it is crazy easy and delicious!

Pasta Ponza

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

Show: Giada at HomeEpisode: Pasta Party

• RECIPE
• COMMENTS & REVIEWS(42)

• Cook Time

  10 min

• Level

  Easy

• Yield

  4 to 6 servings

Recipe Tools:

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Ingredients

• Butter for greasing
• 2 cups (12 ounces) red cherry or grapetomatoes, halved
• 2 cups (12 ounces) yellow cherry or grapetomatoes, halved
• 1/4 cup capers, rinsed and drained
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra for seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus extra for seasoning
• 1/2 cup Italian-style seasoned breadcrumbs
• 1 pound ziti or other short tube-shaped pasta
• 1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 ounces) Pecorino Romano cheese, grated
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions

Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter an 8 by 8-inch glass baking dish. Set aside.

Place the tomatoes, capers, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in the prepared baking dish. Toss to coat. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the tomato mixture. Drizzle the top with olive oil and bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the top is golden. Cool for 5 minutes.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water.

Place the pasta in a large serving bowl. Spoon the tomato mixture onto the pasta. Add the cheese and toss well. Thin out the sauce with a little pasta water, if needed. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle with the chopped parsley and serve immediately.

card making cookie cutter...

We have decided to have a party, that will be more like a baby shower, for our niece before she gets here and then we will have a welcome party when she arrives. I have been thinking about this party since last spring and I can't wait to make it really special.

So every party starts with invitations. Evites are great but I LOVE getting invitations in the mail and having them on our fridge in anticipation of the party... So the theme of the party is "There Is No Me Without You", the title of the book that I blogged about a few days ago.

I decided to have the continent of Africa be a huge part of the decorations and theme as well. So after looking for the best way to get the continent of Africa for everything I need, I went with a cookie cutter. Hey I know there are die cut machines out there, but how many die cut machines make cookies too...

So I traced and cut out the Africa shape on white cardstcok, then attached it to colored cardstock with a brad. I put a heart where Ethiopia is and then hand wrote on the side.

The finished product...

I know that it could look quite a bit different depending on the paper that you use, but you understand the concept...

I can't wait for the party!

storage...

Ok, so I love to make cards and scrapbook, and when I say scrapbook I mean that very literally. I take scrap pieces of paper and glue them to pictures and make pages out of them. If "Creative Memories" is the Olympics, then I am learning to walk. But I have a lot of fun doing it. I have about seven, 8 1/2 x 11 inch photo albums that start with my freshman year of college (so over a decade, not too bad...) but I can never figure out where to store them. (I love all my books...)

I love looking through them and pulling them out to show family and friends. (Ok, I love showing them to our mom's...) I recently came across a storage solution for my albums that has worked perfectly for my space issues. I came across basket crates at Target and they fit the albums perfectly! I got two of them and I have plenty of room to grow in my collection. One basket loosely fits six albums, so at the rate I am going, I should be set for at least another decade...

(Before this, they were stored in our bedroom closet on a top shelf. Ask me how many times I had to pull out a chair to get to them...)

My sister is so creative...

I have to brag on my sister. She has made the most precious room for our baby girl's room and she got this idea for a pillow and it turned out so cute! I just had to share it with you...

We found the insert at IKEA for under two dollars and she used some extra material from our niece's bedding. She used iron on adhesive and then stitched around the edge of the Africa and the heart. The finishing touch will be buttons that will enclose the edge.

(Much easier than a zipper, in my opinion...)

Game Night!

We recently spent a week with my family on vacation and that means that we played lots of Yahtzee. It has been a family favorite for as long as I can remember. We have made shirts and we all have famous sayings that go with the game. We also have a song when you get a Yahtzee. Hey, you have to be there, it makes the game so much more fun! It is so easy to play that we've been teaching it to our nephews. our other nephew that is almost 4, likes to throw the dice but is still not quite up on the rules/objective of the game...

It always makes me think we should be playing more games, even when we aren't on vacation.

Being a family of two, our other personal family favorite is Rummikub.

We have had an ongoing score board since we have been married. I won't give anything away on who's winning (by a landslide), but if you ever want one of us on your team pick....

Etsy!

I don't know how many of you know about the website ETSY, but it is amazing! It specializes in buying and selling handmade items online, and there is the coolest stuff. We found out about it from some women that were trying to supplement their Ethiopian/International adoption costs and were selling really cool jewelry and other hand made items like hand bags and t-shirts. It also has an amazing selection of vintage items and one of a kind things that are so fun to look through. If you have time, check it out, you will not be disappointed, plus, you could help someone get a little bit closer to getting their baby.

www.etsy.com