Third Day's A Charm - I HOPE!!

2 days in a row now I've missed it - 2 days in a row I could have had some great shots - but my camera was sitting at home, once again............ When will I learn??

Yesterday I headed into work and between our house and Divide, there they were - the herd of about 80 elk - standing in the field RIGHT BY THE HIGHWAY!! It COULD have been a perfect shot because 1) they were right next to the fence line 2) there was NO ONE behind me so I could have easily slammed on my brakes and pulled to the side and 3) the sun wasn't up yet over the mountain so there was no sun glare, just perfect lighting.

Did it cross my mind to bring my camera this morning?? Absolutely not - I just headed out that door this morning and was thinking to myself that it sure was cold out (try 16 below) and I turned the corner at Twin Rocks Road and there they were AGAIN - the huge herd standing in this beautiful snow covered field RIGHT BY THE ROAD!! A perfect spot to pull off - but what was the use???? I was so close to them that I slowed way down to watch their steamy clouds of vapor release as they breathed in that cold, cold air!! It would have made an awesome shot!!

Tomorrow - my camera WILL be with me as it's already packed in the scrapbooking supplies - the chances of the elk just waiting for their photo to be taken?? Time will tell...............

Pack - Pack - Pack!!!

Although I LOVE to travel - I don't like packing!! I think it's because I like clothing CHOICES - and when you're trying to do a carry on bag, you're really limited on what you can take!

This week I'm packing for 2 trips - Suite Retreat at the Embassy Suites this weekend and then it's on to Las Vegas for a "Stone Expo" with Glenn!!

Packing for Suite Retreat is pretty easy - but let me tell you, there's a LOT to pack - I always end up taking my scrapbooking roll suitcase, a fair sized bag that's especially made for scrapbooking materials, 2 clothes baskets full of stuff, my laptop computer, and my clothes bag!! It's a good thing the Embassy Suites has those large rolling carts to put everything on!!

It's the first time in YEARS that all 3 girls and I are ALL going!! And we've got the big executive suite booked so there will be plenty of room for us!! Of course we're all bringing lots of food and drinks and with the "free" happy hour each evening and the breakfast that's included, we'll be set!

Our trip to Vegas is a "working" trip - both Glenn and I have signed up for several of their free classes - most of mine involve marketing while Glenn's are all granite based!! And any free time I'm sure will be spent looking at all the booths that will be set up displaying granite and marble!

So we won't need to pack any "dressy" clothes at least, just jeans will do the trick I'm sure!! And good walking shoes - and some type of jacket - and the computer to catch up on emails in the evenings - and a book to read when I'm waiting on Glenn - and the list goes on and on and on!!

I finally got wise a couple of years ago and got a basket to put all the "travel" items in that I sometimes take: the camera charger, a mini flashlight, a mini umbrella, my IPOD case and headphones, an extra cell phone charger to name a few - I got tired of trying to remember where I put each item so it's just easier to have it all in one spot!!

Also laid out to pack are all the hand-out materials that we had to print out for all of the classes - I printed and printed and printed! Between the 8 classes for both of us, there is at least a ream of paper - I think Glenn will get to pack that in HIS suitcase!!

Suite Retreat and Las Vegas - HERE I COME!!!

French Crepes Anyone???

Jessi had my name for Christmas and got me exactly what I wanted - a crepe maker!! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE CREPES!! Especially when they're filled with fruit and topped with lots of whipped cream!! One of my favorite places to eat in town is the Hungry Bear and everytime I go, I order the same thing, Strawberry Crepes and a side of bacon!!

So before Christmas, I started researching crepe makers and it wasn't hard to pick out the one with the best reviews - and that's what I received!!

This morning was the day to try out the crepe maker!! The recipe in the instruction booklet said the batter had to sit 30 minutes (guess that is because there is no baking powder in the batter) so I decided to go ahead and make it, since I had to first follow the instrctions for the FIRST time usage which meant turning it on high and then letting it cool back down!

After the allotted time, I started cooking the crepes - wow - they REALLY cook fast!!! I would hardly get the batter poured on the thing before it started cooking and yet, I still had to use the "special wooden tool" to spread the batter out!! I kept turning the maker down but it STILL cooks pretty fast!!

I had visions of beautiful huge round crepes - but that's just what they were - VISIONS!! In reality, the batter does NOT go to the very edge (you would NEVER have time to get it over there before it'd be done cooking) and unless you're extremely quick with the wooden utensil, they don't come out round, but every shape in between!!

No matter - it's the taste that counts - right??? I think I had 6 crepes done within 3 or 4 minutes and I had Glenn scramble some eggs up to put inside - the result - good, but not fantastic!! I have another recipe that sounded SO much better but I opted to try the manual one first - next time I will definitely try the other one as it has a little bit of sugar and a couple tsp. of vanilla in it and I do think that will give the crepe a much better flavor!!

But after the egg crepes, you can bet I HAD to have a fruit crepe - I didn't have any strawberries on hand - they're hard to get this time of year and super expensive so I just opened up a can of cherry pie filling and piled some on and topped it with whip cream - yum, yum!!! With the fruit crepes, this recipe tasted JUST FINE because of the sweetness of the fruit!! I was in heaven..........

So come on over anytime you want and I'll fix up some crepes for you!! No guarantee what they will LOOK like, but guaranteed to TASTE GREAT!!!

It's COLD Out.........

and I'm ready for some warmer weather!! This 20 below stuff is for the birds - well, not really!!

I was feeling a little "blah" yesterday so when I went to Walmart after work, I picked up a "beach" calendar and just hanging it at work this morning made me feel better!! That white sand, the turquoise water, the palm trees - can't you just feel that hot sun beating down on you while you lie on that beach chair with a pina colada in hand??? I'm counting the days down till we'll be doing that - just one more month and Mexico, here we come!!

My car is absolutely filthy after driving home Sunday from Ft. Collins!! They used this black stuff on the interstate and besides my car being totally iced up around the tires and the running board, it's covered in black stuff!! Of course yesterday I wore my off-white jeans to work and the bottoms were NOT clean when I arrived home from work, just from getting in and out of the car. Today I wore light tan pants (wouldn't you think I'd learn??) and sure enough, black stuff around the knee from leaning into the car, even though I really tried to be careful!! But I can't get it washed because it hasn't got above 15 degrees!! Maybe tomorrow???????

After being gone 3 weekends in a row, we're STAYING HOME this weekend!! HOORAY!! In fact, Glenn even asked me if I would like to see a movie on Friday night! Whoo Hoo - a date night!! But I was disappointed when I came to work and looked at the marquee for the theater and the movie I want to see, The Tourist, won't be there after Thursday!! Hopefully something else good will be playing! Should I ask for dinner out too???? I think so...................

Getting Ready For Baby Savage!!

In just a little under 2 months, Baby Savage will be making his way into the world so it was time to head to Ft. Collins to help Jill get the nursery ready!!

Aleah was excited to see us and I enjoyed playing with her while Glenn and Robby went ice fishing that evening - no luck either!! Jill and I watched an unbelieveably BAD movie - it was so bad we didn't even finish it!! Because I rate the movies from Netflex after I've seen them, I always check the list of the movies that I will "love" and this was one of them - NOT!!! It's called The Long Kiss Goodnight and I don't recommend it at all!!

Glenn got up at the ungodly hour of 5:00 to go ice fishing and after clattering around in the kitchen for awhile cooking breakfast (we were sleeping on a mattress in the living room as Robby had just painted the nursery and the smell was too strong in there), I could NOT get back to sleep for a long time and couldn't believe when Jill came down at 8:00 and I was still sleeping!!

We went shopping for a little while to try and find some decor for the baby's nursery walls but didn't come home with a thing!! But we had fun looking and after getting some coffee, we headed home to start sorting clothes - and sort we did - between all the clothes from Jessi and Jaime, there was a LOT to sort through - we sorted and matched and washed and dried and folded for what seemed like hours!!!

And then we headed to the kitchen to make some meals to freeze that Jill can use after the baby is born!! Aleah had fun just sitting in her chair watching us!! She looks SO CUTE in the outfit that Jaime gave her for Christmas!!

Glenn came home with FISH - 25 perch - yes, they're small little things but really tasty!! Because we already had a ham in the oven, he cleaned them and brought them home for Sunday night's dinner - and yes, they were great!!

Saturday night's movie was MUCH better and it was enjoyable just to relax after our busy day!! But Sunday didn't turn out as fun as we woke to SNOW coming down pretty good!! So much for Jaime and Brad bringing up the load of furniture for the nursery!!

While Glenn cooked us a huge breakfast, Jill and I scurried about doing the few last things she wanted done and then it was out the door for a treacherous 4 hour drive home on the snowy roads!!

And to think the next time I'll be in Ft. Collins, it will be for the birth of our 3rd grandson - we can't wait!!!

The DREADED Chore!

Does anybody dislike putting Christmas decorations away as much as I do??? Because I decorate the weekend BEFORE Thanksgiving, I'm always ready to take them down right after the first of the year!

And every year the same thought goes through my head - why is it SO FUN to put them up and such a chore to take them down?

I usually try to pack it all in a weekend and be done with it - but since we were gone New Year's Weekend this year, it's been strung out all week!! I have found that the easiest way for me is to gather all the Christmas items and put them on the pool table (and the floor, and along the side of the wall!) and THEN pack them away in the tubs - and actually, it doesn't take that long to pack them away either - it's just the THOUGHT of it I guess!

So I've reached the "packing away" point and tonight is the night to finish it up! After all, I need to get that done so I can start on Glenn's business books - once again, I have the ENTIRE year to input on the computer along with typing out 1099's for his workers during the year - any volunteers?????

New Year's Eve -2

We woke up to another cold, cold morning outside so the hot coffee tasted good!! It was time to pack up and head out - after much fumbling with my camera, we FINALLY got a group shot on the timer, only the lighting was not great because of the sunshine - of course we weren't complaining about that!!

The ranch has a cute little "town" that I'm sure the kids have a ball playing in so we stopped to take a shot of it before heading up the road!

As we headed toward Agnes Falls, there is a field where the sheep are fed and sure enough, there were a few Dall Sheep hanging out - they weren't too close but it was still neat to see them!

And then it was off to the falls - kind of a treacherous hike for almost a mile in the snow and ice but the result was well worth it!!

The frozen falls were certainly pretty and we could hear the water running under them - I'm excited to go back in the summer and hike up there as I didn't even know they existed!!

After a stop at the Coyote Cantina for a Mexican lunch, we headed home with the hopes of doing this again another New Year's Weekend - it was ONE great time with friends!!