Adventures: Oregon! (Melanie)

It's been a couple weeks, and a lot has happened! Chad and I went to Oregon to see my family, and we had quite the adventures there!

Here are some pictures of things we saw on our way there:

I don't know if you can see it, it's really hard to tell

in the photos, but there are a butt-load of birds 

in this tree!!!

I also love taking pictures of landscapes/beautiful things,

so when I saw these clouds, I was just awestruck. I love

it when you can see the clouds in the sky, versus just on the sky.

Then we stopped at Buffalo Wild Wings for lunch. It was so yummy!

We've been there before, so this time we got our favorites.

After the first round of Mango Habañero, nothing else was very spicy. 

Then the windmills and the tree farms started creeping up, 

and we knew we were in Oregon (not just from the "Welcome

to Oregon" sign...)

Then, of course, the inevitable rain.

Next, we helped Mom and Nick replace the sink in the kids' bathroom. Sadly, I didn't get a picture of Chad under the sink, but someone got one of me!

Here's Mom (and Chad's feet), showing us how it's done.

Then Nick, he fits the best under the sink.

And me...

Nick took pictures of me writing thank you notes from our wedding...

ouch...4 months late.

Here's a sneak peek at our Voodoo Doughnut excursion into Portland:

This is Kida, our dog. My family got her in the same trip when 

they dropped me off at college. She's a mini Aussie, adorable,

and she has the longest tongue of any you have ever seen. 

Then, on our way back:

Multinomah Falls, as we pass! If you've never been, you need

to go see it. It is magnificent and breathtaking, especially 

if you hike up to the bridge. 

That's all folks, enjoy the day, and I hope it's sunny where you are!

Active Adventures: Monday's Moments (Melanie)

This week is a special week! Yesterday was my husband Chad's birthday, and we had his sister and brother-in-law over for dinner and dessert! Sadly, I forgot to take pictures!!! :(

Chad is also interning in LA at an accounting firm there and they needed a business picture for his profile there, so I spent a while trying to get the camera to work, we were both getting frustrated by the end when I got this darling picture of him:

This week is also the ten-year anniversary of my baby brother Joshua Ronald Boss's passing. 

I can't believe it's been so long! At his funeral we had these beautiful flowers, Star-Gazer Lilies. I took a picture of these lilies at the flower-mart in down-town LA in December, thinking exactly of this week. 

I'm so excited that Chad and I get to spend this upcoming week and 

the actual anniversary with my family in Oregon! 

Active Adventures: Weekend Randomness (Melanie)

Active Adventures is really just pictures and stories of everything else that isn't included in the loads of other tabs we have :D this is where we share about life and its occurrences.

Last weekend Chad and I went to my grandparents' house for Easter. My Grandma Nell had just finished a puzzle and was trying to put it away, but it was putting up quite the struggle:

Crazy huh!? That thing had been sitting outside in the storage shed for probably 4 years or so...

My Grandma Nell's sister, Ann, has a ranch just down the hill, and they were shearing sheep that weekend, so we got to go down and watch.

These are all the sheep holed up in the barn. 

These ones are next!!! 

This is the guy shearing the sheep. 

Isn't she cute!!! 

These ones have been sheared. They told me that the reason they shear them,

is so that they can feel when they're lambs are cold and then they'll take care of them.

Then, this past Saturday I had a Relief Society breakfast and there were these Pinterest-reminiscent center pieces, so I just had to take a picture!

Then today, this morning, this is our street...There's a hot-air balloon landing in our street. What? It looked like it was about to hit the house, but I think it was fine. I had to take Chad to work, so I'm not sure what happened, but from what I know, landing is a pretty long process. 

Well, that's all folks! I'm going to Oregon this week, so look for updates on Voodoo Donuts, ribs, Buffalo Wild Wings etc. It's going to be great!

Healthy Home: Packing List (Melanie)

Our Healthy Home section is for cleaning and organizing tips, tricks and ideas.

Chad and I are going to visit my parents next week in Oregon, and every time we go somewhere I make a packing list. This helps keep me organized and to not forget anything. (I always forget Pajamas...and I'm going to go add that to the document right now, because I always forget)

Here is a very general packing list:

Packing List

Clothes:

___        ___ Underwear

___        ___ Socks

___        ___ T-Shirts

___        ___ Long-Sleeved Shirts

___        ___ Nice Shirts

___        ___ Work Shirts

___        ___ Jeans

___        ___ Shorts

___        ___ Slacks

___        Church Clothes & Shoes

___        Tennis Shoes

___        Sandals

Toiletries:

___        Toothbrush & Toothpaste

___        Floss

___        Hairbrush/Comb

___        Deodorant

___        Soap

___        Shampoo & Conditioner

___        Razor

___        Extras

Things:

___       

___

___

___

___

___

___

___

___

___

___

___

___

___

___

___ 

There is a line for a number of things and a line to check things off. At the bottom, under the tab 'Things' there is empty space to put the extra things you want to bring. I usually put things like 'Computer and Cord' and 'The-Book-I'm-Currently-Reading' and so on. 

Enjoy! Suggestions welcome!

Delicious Delights: Ginger Snaps

I didn't like ginger snaps for a very long time. I only started to like them when I had my Grandma Nell's soft ones. They are scrumptious!

Ginger Snaps: 
4 1/2 C flour
4 tsp baking soda
2 C brown sugar
1 1/2 C shortening/vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1/2 C molasses

Preheat oven to 375.   

Stir together flour, soda and ginger, cinnamon, cloves and salt.

Combine remaining ingredients and beat well.

Add flour mixture all at once. Beat until dough comes together. Dough will be tough.

Roll into 1" balls, then roll in sugar.

Place on cookie sheet & flatten with fork (I didn't flatten them).

Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes.

Do those not look delicious to you?! I was scared I wasn't going to get the awesome crinkles in them, but it worked! I'm happy. No mistakes this time either, it was nice. :)

I learned at work the other day that Ginger Snaps are also called "Wellness Cookies". What?! Then I thought about it and remembered that Ginger Ale cures an upset stomach, so Ginger Snaps would probably do something similar...if the sugar from the cookies didn't upset your stomach in the first place. We also discovered that Ginger Snaps are Chad's mission president's favorite cookie! 

Any other amazing Ginger Snap recipes out there? 

Book Bites: Memoirs of a Geisha

I love the Japanese culture. I took one year of high-school Japanese (while taking my fifth year in Spanish) and I loved it. My Sensei was fabulous and not only taught the language but the reasons behind why things were said that way, what they meant culturally and so forth. Without really even studying the language, I fell in love with the culture. When I saw this movie come out I really wanted to see it, obviously it took me a while. Then Chad found the book at the library, so I read that. Oh my word. It's definitely a good read. I loved the book. It contained a lot of culture, and the premise was fascinating. A Geisha, many people believe, is a Japanese prostitute. That's what I thought, but the book--a dictation of stories from the life of a Japanese Geisha--clarified this misunderstanding. A Geisha is a walking piece of art. They are known for their music, dances and their singing. Anyways, definitely a good book.

Needless to say I was ecstatic to see the movie! It was decent, I guess. It'd probably be better if I had not read the book, but the book had so many details they simply could not capture in the movie. Also, be wary, there are a couple awkwardness-es that happen, due to the nature of the book. I do believe it is a fabulous glance into culture, and also the way that the war affected their people and their culture.

Check it out:

Delicious Delights: Peanut Butter Cookies

It has been a couple weeks, hasn't it? A lot has happened! We've had General Conference and Easter, and I've been slacking on using my camera! I need to get back into it. Today, I want to talk about Peanut Butter Cookies. I love peanut butter. I would cry if I became allergic to it, because that would be sad. I'm very sorry for those of you who are allergic to anything, especially peanut butter.

Here's the recipe:

Peanut Butter Cookies:

5 C flour

2 t baking soda

1 t salt

1 C butter

3/4 C shortening

1 3/4 C sugar

1 3/4 C brown sugar

4 eggs

1 t vanilla

3/4 C PB

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray cookie sheet, or get out non-stick cookie sheet. In medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. in large mixing bowl, cream butter, shortening, sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla. Stir in PB. Add flour mixture and stir until well blended. Drop dough by tablespoons onto cookie sheet. Using fork dipped in flour, flatten each cookie slightly in a criss-cross pattern. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes or until slightly golden around the edges. Do not over bake. 

I didn't take pictures of the whole process, it's pretty simple, and I forgot. Oops. My first batch in the oven were perfect. They were still a bit soft in the middle and we ate them fast! The second batch was in there a bit too long and they were really crunchy. They sat around in the Zip-Lock bag for a couple days until I discovered that they are divine dipped in milk! 

These are my beautiful peanut butter cookies (done a little bit too much). 

At work (I work at a bakery, as I've mentioned before), we put granulated peanuts in our peanut butter cookies, and we don't bother with the criss-cross pattern. I grew up putting the criss-cross pattern in the Peanut Butter Cookies, so that's what I do. 

If you have a different Peanut Butter Cookie recipe that you just love, please share it!