New Year's adventure

Some people party on New Year's Eve. I choose to sleep and then do my partying in the morning :)

Eryn and I met at 7am on New Year's Day to start the year with a sunrise run. I didn't get to bed as early as I would have liked (darn caffeine!), but the promise of pancakes after our run got me up!

We met on Hall Boulevard, about halfway between our houses, and ran west through Summerfield. Then we dropped down into the park and ran along the river. It was early and peaceful and wonderful.

I take a photo of these trees every time I go through:

The sun was finally approaching the horizon:

It was a long-pants morning:

We parted after about 6 miles. I think Eryn went home for a nap. I ran home to change for my next adventure.

Brad and I had a 10 am spin date with Connie and Marc. Cyclebar Tigard opened in December, offering a few weeks of free classes to attract customers. We took full advantage, participating in a bunch of sweaty group classes.

We're wearing party hats:

HA! :)

Cyclebar is an awesome place! We really enjoyed the classes and definitely would have signed up for a membership if we didn't already have so many other activities - including memberships at Fierce Fitness Kickboxing. I highly recommend Cyclebar!

After spin, it was time for 50 burpees! A friend challenged us on Facebook to 50 burpees every day in January. Day 1, done!

With workouts and showers done, it was finally time for those Elmer's pancakes!

So yummy!

Now that is my kind of New Year's celebration :)

TF'17

Since the house is now decorated for Christmas... time to look back at Turkey Feast 2017!

Eryn and I do a lot of prep - including a big shopping trip to New Seasons and Winco:

But it's all worth it when friends gather for yummy food!

We kept it small again this year, and it was wonderful :)

Good food and good times :)

Muffin Wednesday: Cranberry Orange

A bunch of meetings and such got in the way of Muffin Wednesday yesterday. So we had Muffin Thursday today!

I pulled some whole cranberries from the freezer to make Cranberry Orange Muffins from Sally's Baking Addiction. The recipe went together quickly and easily and created this beauties:

YUMMO!!!

I whipped up these alone because Jasper had brought me a cookie kit from his CE2 internship at Scratch and Grain. So after the muffins were out of the oven, Jasper and I made chocolate chip cookies.

He humored me with a photo :)

These were also quick and easy - especially since all the ingredients are premeasured for us. Jasper learned to use a cookie scoop and made perfect cookies for our enjoyment! 

:)

Muffin Wednesday: Coffee Cake

Muffin Wednesday is back!!!!

Baking muffins with my students was a pretty big deal in the past. But with duties added to my plate, it sorta fell by the wayside in recent years. But this year, we're making it a priority again!

Today, Beto and I whipped up some coffee cake muffins from a Scratch and Grain mix. The local business, featured on Shark Tank, is one of our internships, and they sometimes send over kits. Yes, please! This was the Organic Coffee Cake and Muffin Kit - just add milk, egg and butter.

Beto learned each step, from measuring butter to greasing the pan to stirring the batter and crumb topping. Then we shared with our friends: 

Yummo! A tasty treat for a fall-like morning in CE2 :)

Yaquina Head (8/2/17)

Remember back when it was 104+ degrees in the Portland area? Mom, Eryn and I decided to escape the heat (a little bit) and spend the day at the coast.

Our adventure started with a drive down I-5 to Corvallis. We cut over on Highway 20 and made a stop to check out the waterfront park in Toledo. By the time we made it to Newport, it was time for FOOD! 

Newport Cafe looked cute, and we enjoyed a yummy feast of fish and chips, chowder, shrimp melt and fish tacos:

The food was great! And we bumped in to friends Kim and Tony from kickboxing class!

We said we'd be back, but we later learned that the owner's been accused of buying illegal seafood. Boo. Probably won't be back.

Next was a trip to Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area:

Kim and Tony warned us of whales playing off the coast, and boy, did we see them!

We stood for a long time just watching several gray whales hanging out off the head. It was super cool!

After checking out the lighthouse, we hiked the short trail up Salal Hill:

We continued up the coast, stopping at more lookouts:

Then, because we were avoiding returning to HOT, HOT home, we made more stops - just because.

Lafayette Locks County Park:

And dinner at Red Hills Market in Dundee. YUMMMMMM!!!

It was a fun day getting away and exploring new spots :)

TF '16

Flashback to fall:

Eryn and I filled carts at Winco and New Seasons for Turkey Feast 2016!

Our annual feast was a small affair but still full of friends, food and festivity :)

I almost canceled, as this was the week of the election and I truly didn't feel like a party. But we decided to make it a Trump-free zone and go ahead with the feasting.

The menu included ham (easier than turkey) and lots of gluten-free options.

YUM!!!

TF wouldn't be complete without more pie than we can eat :)

:)

Brownies and fudge

On a much less serious note...

I just found these photos I took before winter break. December was CRAZY with the snow and early dismissal and such. I baked holiday treats with some of my students. I remembered to take pics of these two:

Axel and I made brownies: (side note: Axel calls me Elizabeth. It cracks me up :) )

Cristina and I made fudge:

I love baking with my students :)

Cheesecake Swirl Carrot Bundt Cake

Brad and I got away last month for a couple days of relaxation at Ma and Pa's beach house. The weather was outstanding, and we did our long run on the Bayocean spit - in shorts and T-shirts!

When planning the weekend's meals, I remembered this bundt cake recipe I'd recently seen on Sally's Baking Addiction. I asked Brad, and he said we should totally make it and indulge on our R&R weekend!

It turned out perfectly, and he wanted me to post these photos. It's carrot cake with a layer of cheesecake in the middle!

With icing:

If you're looking for a recipe, MAKE THIS Cheesecake Swirl Carrot Bundt Cake! It's truly excellent! :)

Graduation cookies

Jacob LOVES to eat. He's also about to graduate from CE2 - any day now!!!!

He asked if we could bake cookies to celebrate his accomplishment, and OF COURSE I agreed!

Jacob requested white chocolate - his favorite. He got to a good stopping spot in his studies this morning, and we hit the kitchen armed with THIS recipe. And because it's October, we added spooky Halloween sprinkles.

The cookies turned out great! We both sampled the treats before offering them to classmates. It's always best to share :)

Celebrating Dad

Sunday was Dad's birthday!!!

He wanted to head north for the Mariners' opening weekend, but the rest of us had obligations. So we celebrated together Thursday night at Cheesecake Factory.

Mom's burger came out wrong, so she ended up with TWO! It was really funny at the time :)

The almost-birthday boy:

Free TINY birthday dessert:

We took cheesecake to go and eat while playing cards at my house. 

Mom went with Dad on the train for the Friday night game, then home early Saturday for band stuff. Dad stayed for the weekend and had a good time, despite all the losses.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!!! I hope it's a great year :)

CE2 cheese buffet

Yesterday was the First Annual CE2 Staff Cheese Buffet!

A couple weeks ago, Tammie said she was dreaming of cheese - of going to Grocery Outlet and buying a bunch of cheeses to try. I told her about my friends' cheese-buffet tradition, and we decided to have one in CE2.

We put it on the calendar, delivered invitations and started planning our feast. Pesto, smoked salmon, cookies, olives, hummus, fruit, crackers, bread and about a dozen kinds of cheese (It only looks small because that's a giant conference table)!

We also had fondue and raclette!

Our alternative ed team had a glorious lunch:

We should definitely do that again :)

Two dinners and a day of shopping

Just two Thanksgiving dinners for us this year!

After our annual Turkey Trot, our first stop was Friendsview for early dinner with Brad's family. My first plate - YUMMO!!

 

Some of the gang:

Then it was home to for a brief rest and also to put the finishing touches on our offerings for Dinner No. 2. I just took a little this time around:

Pie options:

Brad says there's always room for pie:

My side of the family, gathered at Eryn's house:

Both celebrations were very yummy and very fun!

Then after some cleanup at Eryn's, it was off to plot our Black Friday adventure.

We dug through the ads and made lists and a route for early Friday. After a few hours of shuteye, it was time to shop!

My alarm went off at 3:30 a.m. for a quick shower and oatmeal before picking up Dad at 4:30 a.m. Waiting for Fred Meyer to open at 5 a.m.:

It was a fruitful day of shopping and lots of fun to spend the day like this!

Have you seen these ride-on things at Washington Square?!? You rent the animal-shaped scooters and zoom around the mall. A bunch of teenagers were on them - and it was hilarious!

After our all-day shopping extravaganza, it was time for family and friends to gather for our annual holiday kick-off Christmas Vacation viewing:

It's not going in our yard, Rusty ;)