Happy New Year 2007

Here's to you as good as you are

Here's to me as bad as I am

But as good as you are and as bad as I am

I am as good as you are as bad as I am

Or something like that!

Dreamgirls

After hearing that our nephew Riley helped in the making of the Dreamgirls music CD, Jim went out and bought it to surprise me. Yep, sure enough, Riley Mackin is on the back of the CD cover as well as listed on the credits at the end of the movie. What fun it is to watch him make his dreams come true. You can read more about Riley by linking on to "Paddys Spot" under my favorite blogs. Nice Job Riley!

Favorite Pics of 2006

F

Mount St. Helens

One of my fondest memories:

July 29th, 1998, brothers Mike, Tom and I hiked, climbed, and crawled (with tongues hanging out) to the top of Mt. St. Helens. I am reminded of that wonderful adventure every time Mt. St. Helens is in the news like today (top) burping out some steam. It's hard to believe we actually sat on her rim looking down at that growing mound in the middle. I distinctly remember a guy next to me with binoculars who claimed she was burping out puffs of steam then. I was too tired to care. The trip down was a lot harder than any of us expected except maybe Tom. I managed to give both brothers a good scare with my butt slide down a glacier and I'll forever mourn the toe nails I lost on both my big toes. And I would do it all again...

Polar Hug

And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more. ~ Dr. Seuss

Man-Child

I’m not sure exactly how he did it. Jim managed to talk Gavin into getting his hair cut. I try to stay out of their “manly talks”. I do know as Gavin gets older we seem to be doing more negotiating with him rather than simply telling him how it’s going to be. I really like this stage he is in; caught between being a boy and a man.

One hundred and counting...

Well, after two sandwiches, one bowl of cereal, and a mountain dew, Gavin has finally reached 100 pounds. He has been weighing himself daily and was so excited to finally reach his goal. Oops, after a hearty belch and taking his shoes off, he is back down to 98.

Let's hike to the cross!

We've been to visit the huge cross overlooking Boise several times now. We've even taken a few visitors up there on nice days. There is a great view of the city from up there. There is also a trail that you can hike from the parking lot of the Old Penitentiary all the way to the cross in the sky. I've been wanting to hike this trail for a long time and today I was able to convince Gavin that he wanted to do it too. When we pulled into the parking lot and I pointed up to the cross, our destination, Gavin had serious doubts that we could make it. He was in charge of the dog, I was in charge of the backpack. Luckily it wasn't as hard as it looks. We got to the top in less than an hour and had a picnic before we headed down.

Tall, taller, tallest!

We had fun last night seeing who was the tallest. Gavin has finally passed me up (by three inches). I'm always surprised to see how I really look in pictures. Surely I'm not THAT short!

Rollin on the River...

I rode along the river today. I only made it three miles before I turned around. The wind was blowing hard and very cold. There were a few fisherman along the way trying to catch some steelhead. I know the soup picture doesn't look that great but it was delicious! I made it with 1% milk and it was incredibly creamy AND, we can have it again tonight.

Turkey Carcass Soup

I love browsing the website "Allrecipes.com" for recipes that include what I happen to have in my refrigerator. For instance today I will make:

After Thanksgiving Turkey Soup


INGREDIENTS

1 leftover turkey carcass
3 medium onions, chopped
2 large carrots, diced
2 celery ribs, diced
1 cup butter, cubed
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups half-and-half cream
1 cup uncooked long grain rice
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
3/4 teaspoon pepper

DIRECTIONS:
Place turkey carcass in a soup kettle or Dutch oven and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1 hour. Remove carcass; cool. Set aside 3 qt. broth. Remove turkey from bones and cut into bite-size pieces; set aside.
In a soup kettle or Dutch oven, saute the onions, carrots and celery in butter until tender. Reduce heat; stir in flour until blended. Gradually add 1 qt. of reserved broth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.
Add cream, rice, salt, bouillon, pepper, remaining broth and reserved turkey. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30-35 minutes or until rice is tender.

The forecast calls for snow and very cold temps this week. Perfect soup weather!

BSU vs NEVADA

The Boise State football team is a win away from becoming only the second team from outside the Bowl Championship Series conferences to crash the big boys' party and play in a BCS game.
Saturday the Broncos play at Nevada, which is riding an 11-game home winning streak.
The undefeated Broncos are 11th in the BCS standings and have to finish Number 12 or better to automatically qualify for one of the big-money bowls.
But a loss will knock the Broncos out of the top 12.
The Broncos get a boost with the return of running back Ian Johnson, who is averaging nearly 150 yards a game and has 21 touchdowns.
He plans to wear a flak jacket to protect two cracked ribs after

Big game today! Jim and I plan on being there via big screen tv. GO BRONCOS!

Happy Thanksgiving

While everyone is still asleep I'm taking this moment to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. We stayed up late watching "Man on Fire" with Denzel Washington while Jim was shooting up the turkey with his special marinade. Yes, we are having "Deep Fried Turkey" this year. Sister Sue is bringing a bone in Hickory Ham. I'm making Pecan Topped Sweet Potatoes, a recipe I got years ago from sister-in-law Diane. Sister Kathy (from Valdez) is making the classic Green Bean Casserole. She made two pies yesterday. Jims parents arrived yesterday to help us eat it all. It looks like it is going to be a beautiful sunny day here. Yes, a lot to be thankful for.

Sunday Rides

In case anyone is wondering, I have been riding bikes, as promised, every Sunday with Heidi. We take turns now rousting each other out of bed. She has decided to name her bike Pumpkin since my bike is named Squash. Not only does it match vegetable wise, it also happens to be the color of her bike. We either go long distances with small challenging hills or shorter distances with bigger heart pumping hills. Here are some photos from one of our rides.

Tyson

Here is the newest member of our family. His name is Tyson and we love him very much. He was given to us by someone who could no longer care for him. When Jim first brought him home I thought, Uh Oh, here we go again but I have to say Tyson has truly won over my heart. So much so I now long for a female lab to mate him with. Call me crazy!

Knock, Knock

8:30amKnock, knock. Woof….woof…WOOF WOOF WOOF!Uh oh, that’s Heidi. I throw the covers back and run to the back door. There stands Heidi in the pouring rain, geared up. Did I wake you? No, no, it’s just when you said no matter how cold…I didn’t think you also meant no matter how wet. She waited for me patiently and once we were out on the road we rode over our goal of ten miles. Soaked and happy and feeling great, without Heidi I would still be snoozing. Zzzzzzzzzzz

SQUASH

SICK!Around the beginning of June of this year my friend Heidi and I got out our pitifully old bikes and decided to get into shape. She was riding her son’s bike which was too big (hers had the chain wrapped tight around the pedals…long story) and mine was an old beater that I paid $10 dollars for at a garage sale years ago. My bike was making a clicking sound and driving her crazy and her bike was out pacing me by a good 500 feet. Was it the clicking? At the end of the ride we decided we both needed new bikes. We went to the local bike shop in Eagle and found our new rides and put them on layaway. When I finally brought mine home around the first of October Gavin took one look and said SICK! When he saw the puzzled look on my face he said, it means "COOL" mom. Teenage lingo. I had my first few rides on Squash (the name matches the color) commuting to and from my new job in Eagle. It’s about a five mile trip that goes from the busy town of Eagle then past several pastures full of cows. I got in the habit of mooing at the cows and I swear they mooed right back! After a heart pounding ride this past Sunday, Heidi says we should take our bikes out on the trails every Sunday, no matter how cold. Gear up! She says. I say SICK!

Fright Night at the Friedrichs

Here it is Halloween Night. Jim's sister Kathy is here visiting from Valdez Alaska, busy making Salmon Fritters. She is the chef in the family and she canned the salmon herself. She has also made a fresh coleslaw salad and onion rings. Yum. I like Kathy! Kathy is the one who has introduced me to "blogging". She has her own blog titled "Fish Taxi". We enjoy reading about her daily life in Valdez.