Oregon (and a few Californian) Wildlife Photography

Eagle and baby

Sea Lions

More sea lions

Heron

Seagull

Banana Slug

Hermit Crab

Elk

Lemon Meringue S'mores

I saw this idea over here and umm, let's just say that in 60 seconds flat I had inhaled more than one of these...

All you need for this delicious mixture:

Graham crackers
Lemon Curd
Marshmallows

Throw a marshmallow in the microwave for the lazy gal's way to make a s'more. 10-15 seconds will do. Have some lemon curd spread on one of the graham crackers--the more the better! Layer all the ingredients and eat away!

Current Three Favorite Food Items

So I've been addicted to these three foods recently...

Toby's Tofu Dip & Spreads (perfect to dip veggies in!)

Fage Greek Yogurt--I love the separate fruit section.

Orange Flavored Cranberries from Trader Joe's--a fun twist on cranberries!

DIY T-shirt Neon Stripes Redo

As I said last week, I've been inspired to tackle my large pile of ill-fitting t-shirts. This Grand Rapids t-shirt is an oldie but a goodie so I put it in the revamp pile. I basically just sewed in two triangle panels into the side seams. And I am happy to say that it is back in action! And I love the addition of the neon yellow stripes on the side.

Hello to my favorite nephew and niece!

http://picasion.com/i/1TnKM/

City Biking Truth #20

9 Fun Kid Activities!

Here are some of my favorite projects that I've done with the boys (ages 4 and 6) recently!

Rainbow noodles

Jumping person on trampoline drawing

Rainbow painted toast

Peeled Orange vs Unpeeled Orange--which one floats? And why?

Googly eye drawings (we had deep sea themed drawings!)

Go on a letter hunt!

Balloon Races

Crayon Hot Rocks

Curly Coiled Snakes

Spooky Lighthouse Photography

(Somewhat Healthy) Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

This recipe was first created (here) as a healthier version of chocolate chip cookies. Now I have to ask...if a cookie is so tasty that you eat the entire batch in one day...should we not refer to it as healthy? These cookies are soft, chewy, and gooey. And not too bad for you!


Here is what you do!

Toast 3/4 cups rolled oats on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix dry ingredients:

1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup oat bran (I added this but it wasn't in the original recipe)

In another bowl mix with an electric mixer:

1/4 cup olive oil
3 TB butter, room temp
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
3 TB egg substitute
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix in dry ingredients, chocolate chips, and toasted oats. Cover and refrigerate for one hour. Don't ignore this part...I tried it first without cooling it and they didn't turn out nearly as gooey delicious!

Bake at 350 degrees on a parchment lined pan for 10 minutes.

Enjoy! Oh and try not to eat them all right away...

DIY T-Shirt Redo!

So I have a massive pile of t-shirts in my closet that have shrunk, don't fit me, never fit me, etc. I figured it was time to do something about it! I don't always like the typical t-shirt refashions but I loved this one  here that I saw. It basically combines two t-shirts into one. I like the extra pizazz that it gives a regular old t-shirt!

 

This goes out to my wonderful mom!

We are 2,275 miles apart this Mother's Day...and I hate it! I can't remember a Mother's Day when I wasn't home to celebrate my mom. She is a spunky and wise lady who always pushes herself to do her best. She has always been a great role model for me growing up and I'm happy to say she is one of my best friends! I love you, mom!

Chocolate Chip Sour Cream Coffee Cake!

My husband offered to bring in coffee cake for one of his grad classes so we got up early yesterday to whip one up! Lucky for me, there was some leftover! It is moist and chocolatey...mmm!

Head on over here to get the recipe for yourself!

The Beautiful Blooms of Eugene

Stumbled on Favorites

A birthday cake peanut butter sandwich!

The human chair prank...so funny!

A compilation of random acts of kindness in Russia. Aww.

The Secret of Success in Creative Work...so encouraging!

Popcorn Bomb!!!!!

Love these funny dog GIFS. 

Patty Griffin's new music...I've been playing it on repeat!

This Is Water--commencement speech by David Foster Wallace

Flower Pencil Bouquets for Teacher Appreciation Week

My boss asked me to do something for the boys' teachers since this is Teacher Appreciation Week--so I figured what would be better than to make flower pencil bouquets!

DIY 365 Day Drawing Journal

I've been seeing drawing journals all over the place (like this one) and figured I could make my own! Lucky for me, I had a blank sketchbook just asking to be used. I counted the pages and realized I didn't have enough for a full year so I decided to make a one-drawing-per-every-2-days journal. Has a nice ring to it, huh? I had fun writing the dates on the corners of the page--each one is different!

Sunday Self Portrait

What can I say? I love making wishes.

City Biking Truth #19

2013 Reading Goal: The Bean Trees & Pigs in Heaven

The latest books on my 2013 reading challenge are The Bean Trees and Pigs in Heaven both by Barbara Kingsolver.

Rating: 5 stars (The Bean Trees) and 4 stars (Pigs in Heaven)

I first read The Bean Trees back in 2006, I believe. I remember really enjoying the book, but by 2013 I had completely forgotten why. So I decided to reread it…one of my favorite things to do. There is something exciting about revisiting a book to see if it holds true to you. I’m always wondering if my experiences with books are affected by what books I had just read, where I’m at emotionally, who recommended a book to me, etc. When a book can ring true with me even with a 7 year gap in between…yep, those are the good ones.

And The Bean Trees is one of them. In fact, I think I might have loved it even more the second time through. I seriously devoured this book. I read it in an incredibly short amount of time because I just couldn’t put it down. I immediately went out and purchased Pigs in Heaven because I couldn’t bear thinking that I had to leave the world of Taylor Greer.  I seriously finished The Bean Trees and then immediately started Pigs in Heaven and…well…eh…it lost some of its sparkle.

This made me start thinking why this could be. And I’ve come up with two reasons.

1.       Pigs in Heaven is told from different perspectives so you see a more encompassing world

2.       And in this world, Taylor Greer is lost, scared, and depressed

When you start The Beans Trees, you meet this determined girl who is ready to escape her small town life…and she does it. She hops in her beat up bug and just starts driving. Taylor is tough, spunky, and spirited. She says what she wants and isn’t often scared. She is everything I like in my lead female characters.  She goes through challenging times and has low moments but overall she is confident and secure in who she is.

So suddenly I start Pigs in Heaven and I have to start reading about these other characters who are in Taylor’s life. Like her mom who was left behind in the small town Taylor escaped. And her boyfriend, Jax, who doesn’t really know if Taylor likes him or not. And even about people from the Indian Reservation who weren’t painted in the greatest light in The Bean Trees. No, no, no, I thought. I just wanted to go back to Taylor Greer’s world where she can learn, grow, and still be her wonderful, spunky self. Nope. In fact, Barbara Kingsolver actually takes you one step further out of your happy Bean Tree world. She makes your beloved strong Taylor Greer into someone who is scared, lost, and depressed. And in a very believable way. Taylor is threatened (I won’t go into the whole story…just read it) and so she runs. Kingsolver has struck the one chord that can make Taylor vulnerable and scared enough to run.

Whaat?! Taylor Greer isn’t supposed to run from challenges! And this is when I flung the book aside and figured I’d just reread The Bean Trees again. But the more I started thinking about this…the more I realized that Barbra Kingsolver was a genius.

She made Taylor be vulnerable. She made her be scared. And isn’t this a much more believable and more real character than the I-just-graduated-high-school-and-I-can-do-and-say-and-be-anything? Taylor has to depend on other people to help her see what the right thing is.  She needs help from the very people she has somewhat pushed aside in the past. Suddenly, Taylor is more human. Yeah she might not be as fun to read about…but she reflects a truer version of what a strong woman is. She is now someone who sometimes struggles, someone who has to be vulnerable, and someone who needs help.

So while I didn’t always love the journey…overall the combo between The Bean Trees and Pigs in Heaven is necessary to see an inspiring character grow realistically. Kingsolver gives an honest depiction of a strong woman actually living in this big world of ours.

______________________________________________________________

As I mentioned in my 2013 goal, I’m reading mostly women lit that focuses on women authors or complicated, strong female characters this year. Here is the list of my previous book reviews that I've done on this journey:

First: Madame Bovary
Second: Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress
Third: Patron Saint of Liars 
Fourth: Bird by Bird
Fifth: Frida Kahlo
Sixth: Women Seeing Women  
Seventh: Bridget Jones's Diary 
Eighth: Dorothy Parker's Complete Short Stories 
Ninth: The Heart is a Lonely Hunter

The Majestic Redwoods