The past week has seemed a blur. On the verge of fully recovering from colds, we caught the flu last Friday. It seems that "catching up" on anything, blog or email included, just hasn't been visible on the radar these past few weeks... or months!

In all, we're really doing just fine. :) As much as I haven't been available to do as much blogging as I'd like, I have been making myself available to my family. :) We're getting into a good groove with homeschooling. Dinner is on the table (usually 20 minutes late! heehee) every night, and by 9pm we're all snuggly tucked into our beds (usually). :)

I'm still waiting for that second-trimester burst of energy to kick in. I haven't posted any pregnancy updates this time (though I really should get a picture!) but if I had, they'd all be along the lines of "Just plugging along... not feeling the greatest... I was planning to do x, y, and z, but I'm falling into bed instead!" :) Joshua has stepped up to the challenge and helped with lots of meals and after-meal clean-up, and given me plenty of naps while he watched the children. Such a blessing!

This honey ginger chicken stir fry was beautiful and I liked it, though it didn't get rave reviews from the rest of the family. ;) I did save my notes and maybe eventually I'll try again with some tweaks!

I love fresh ginger, but don't have enough recipes that use it. What are your favorite ways to use fresh ginger root?

Ruth (20 months), waking from a nap

We had a great trip to visit family in Ohio! I really enjoyed not turning on a computer for 2+ weeks and I'll admit it's taking some nudging for me to get back into blogging. I am not quitting or anything, though -- so you WILL continue to hear from me regularly, once I figure out how to manage that! ;)

I wanted to give a little photo update (with Ruth-cuteness as requested -- of course!) before heading back to recipes and kitchen tips and all that. :) Read more...

Almond Jot Hot Chocolate

I kept thinking I would have time to do some updates here, but time has slipped through my fingers and we're on the verge of leaving for a 2-week trip to visit family in Ohio. There will most likely be a few updates while I'm away, but unfortunately I won't be able to host Kitchen Tip Tuesdays or the In-Season Recipe Swap while I am gone (and internet-less!). :)

Thanks for your understanding! I'll be back the 2nd week of September and can't wait to empty my camera's memory card and brain into the pages of this site! ;)

This post has been on my "to do" list for several months!

After my brothers visited us in late January (see photos from that trip here!), they had so much fun they wanted to come back to Seattle! So 8 weeks later, they were back in our living room for a fun 7-day visit! We packed in lots more fun (and even frugal) adventures and here is a photo log from their trip. :)

Pike Place Market was one of their favorite places last time, and they wanted to go there again to see more of what we had missed last time. :) We got to the parking garage at 9:28am -- any time before 9:30am the parking is $8 for (I think?) 8 or more (10?) hours. Anyway, since parking can get pricey really quick in Seattle, we just left the car there all day and walked a lot. :) The bus is free downtown BUT we country-folk couldn't figure out the routes and how to use it. Haha!

One of the shops in Pike Place Market is the Vital Tea Leaf company. As tea lovers, this place was super fun!

The Chinese ladies there sat us all down (3 adults and 3 kids!) and brewed tea for us. They brewed probably 5-6 different kinds and served them to us in thimble-sized cups. (Seriously, this is the size they use?!) They even brewed herbal infusions for the kids (no caffeine) and other kinds for us. It was fascinating to see just how they make their teas.

(L to R: Eliyahu, Tammy, Ruth, Rich, Phil, and Yehoshua)

They will do this for free for anyone interested, so if you love tea and have the time to sit and enjoy some, this is a great new cultural experience! My brothers and I enjoyed it so much, and ended up buying some teas (and a tea set) simply because we had such a blast! :)

Just a tuckered-out Baby Roo. :)

Joshua had to work during much of our fun, which is why he isn't in any of these photos! This is the children and me up in the Seattle Space Needle. Normally this is a more expensive tourist-y attraction, but my brother Phillip had gotten a good deal on a season pass package which for $30 allowed him and a guest unlimited trips, plus 4 more free tickets, free drinks, etc. So for $30 we all got to go up and it was fun!

But I personally would NOT pay the $16.50 per person it normally costs. It was somewhat crowded (even on a cool, somewhat-overcast March day!!) and considering the other "up high" options in Seattle like...

The Columbia Center. Which, when you're standing next to it on the ground, is really difficult to photograph! ;)

A couple weeks before my brothers came, we were driving through Seattle and I said "I wonder what that tallest building is. Wouldn't it be cool to go up there?!" I looked online and found out that there was an observation deck on the 75th floor and from the reviews, it sounded like lots of fun!

Basically you go in the building and on the 4th or 5th floor there is a security desk and after taking your $5 per person (I don't remember being charged for Eliyahu-3 or Ruth-1) they escort you up to the top. There are 2 sets of elevators that whisk you up about 35 floors at a time, in just a few seconds. :)

This is what some of the other skyscrapers looked like when looking out of the Columbia Center. The cars looked like matchbox cars, and the people were so tiny! It was fascinating and a beautiful view of Mt. Ranier, Lake Washington, Puget Sound, and a good deal of downtown Seattle.

My brother Rich, holding Eliyahu in front of one of the large viewing windows. It is all enclosed, and the view isn't 360 degrees, but the windows do go quite a ways around. I liked the view better than the Space Needle, personally. It was also MUCH more laid back and NOT so "tourist-y", which we loved! :)

In March, truly clear days are kinda hit and miss... this was the most we could see of Mt. Rainier that day.

My brother Phillip, holding Ruth. :)

Another fun free activity was visiting the Locks in Ballard. Since we had never seen locks before, it was interesting to us. The kids enjoyed it, too! The only cost was $2 for an hour of parking.

Eliyahu and his Doggie... always together. :)

Richard and Yehoshua. :)

We drove across the I-90 floating bridge to head out east to visit friends in Moses Lake, Washington.

A view from a rest stop near the Snoqualmie Pass.

Out in desert land! Moses Lake is dry and sandy. We went hiking near Goose Lakes in the Columbia Basin wildlife area. It was a long hike (several hours?) but we had lots of fun! :)

My long-time friend Candy, her dog Hercules, Ruth, and me. :)

Ruth isn't usually too shy. :) She had a good time on the farm!

A highlight for Yehoshua and Eliyahu was getting to ride horses! Here is Eliyahu, beaming. :)

Yehoshua loved every minute!!

My two brothers went out riding for a number of hours with Candy. Here they are in front of one of the many impressive rock formations. I also uploaded a short clip of the horses splashing in some water. :)

Yehoshua and Eliyahu rode horses again the next day (we stayed overnight). :)

And... those were most of the best pictures. :) We had a really fun time! Washington is a beautiful, diverse state and I loved getting to explore more of it! :)

I've had these photos for at least a month, but never found the time to post them. I guess part of the reason is that I didn't think anyone would really be interested in seeing our house. After all, it's just a standard apartment; nothing remarkable in my opinion although by now it does feel like "home" to us and that is enough! :)

So, due to the prompting of a few readers... here we go! :) Read more...

This tea cup and saucer were a gift for my 17th birthday. This week, I sipped tea from the same cup as I turned 27! I had a quiet day at home, thinking about the passing years and setting a few goals for the coming year. :)

If you frequent places like FaceBook, you've probably seen the "random facts" everyone's been posting about themselves. I have so enjoyed reading those types of posts and learning more about my friends and acquaintances! :)

So in honor of turning 27, I decided to share 27 random things about 27-year-old-me. (Who is so very different from herself 10 years ago!) :)

1. I love pizza, and it's easy to make, so we have it about once a week. I've also found that guests usually really enjoy being served pizza.

2. I love variety. For that reason, I like to grow my hair really long and then get 10+ inches cut off all at once. Then I grow it really long again! :) I love trying new things and changing things up a little, just to keep life interesting. :)

3. I really like to empty things and use things up and throw things away. When the shampoo bottle gets low, I can hardly wait to finish it and set out a new one! :) This is partly why I enjoy using free sample sizes of things. I get the fun of throwing away a package after just one or two uses! I know, this isn't very "green" of me. In general I actually try to be frugal though. :)

Read more...

Two of my brothers flew out to Seattle from Ohio and spent 5 days with us earlier this week. We had a very full and very fun time with them! We got out to see just a handful of the many things in this area, and still had time for quiet woodsy walks, relaxing evenings, and some sleeping-in. :)

I was especially excited about getting to go to Pike Place Market for the first time! It was full of interesting things and people. (Read more for photos from the past week...)

What fun it must be to be a "big kid"! Ruth watched out the window as Yehoshua and Eliyahu played in the 12+ inches of snow on our deck yesterday. The snow was great entertainment for them. :)

Joshua brushed several inches of snow off his Weber Q grill Saturday evening, and grilled us some yummy chicken. Are we the only crazy folks who like to grill year-round? I'm thrilled that Joshua is always willing and happy to grill food for us whenever I ask! :)

About 24 hours later, the grill was again covered in snow. A lot of snow! At least, an unusual amount of snow for here. Anyone want to make some snow ice cream with me? (I've never tried it but it sounds easy! haha)

Looking out our windows towards the hills... such a serene view, it's hard to believe that Seattle is only a few miles down the road, on the other side!

I'll be back later today with a giveaway, and tonight with a kitchen tip. I need to get some chores done while Joshua is outside playing in the snow with the boys. :)

This picture arrived in our mailbox yesterday, and I absolutely love it!!!! Do those little faces look familiar? Yep... it's Yehoshua, Eliyahu, and Ruth (who is 10.5 months old now, for those who asked)!

I've admired the art of Hannah C. Heyer in the past, as her sister Ruth is a good friend of mine. :) I did not know, however, that Ruth was secretly commissioning artwork of our children as a gift for us! What a wonderful surprise! :)

Here are close-ups. Hannah only had photos to go by, but she managed to capture their personalities amazingly well!

Ruth, with her bangs pulled back as usual. ;) I love her hand grasping the spatula and the other hand outspread with excitement! :)

Yehoshua, the experienced big brother, wearing his apron and chef's hat. The ears, the eyes, the chin... yep, that's Yehoshua. :)

Eliyahu... grinning excitedly at the prospect of helping. :) And I think if we could see more of his shirt, we would see that he's wearing his favorite green froggie shirt yet again. ;)

You can see more of Hannah's art (she's crafty too!) at AmbitiousSnail.etsy.com. :)