It's July

We have been busy and my camera is still broken! Those are a couple of excuses for not updating around here! Here are a few lines about the latest goings on:

It was so blazing hot and humid for awhile that we couldn't breath. We have had a reprieve this past week. In fact because it was so hot for awhile, I actually walk around with a sweater on these days when it's below 80*!

The kids finished up the summer league swim team season. It was a lot of fun and what's more is that most of the families that do summer swim are really nice people. We hope to have many more swim team summers.


On a sad note Brendon Grandmother passed away last week. It was a bit sudden, but she has gone to a better place.

Brendon's parents, Kevin and Lyn, were supposed to arrive here last week, but had to postpone for the above reason. They will arrive this coming Monday and be with us until the beginning of August. We will have good times!

We really enjoyed our July 4th holiday weekend with family and catching up with cousins! We look forward to next time already!

Yesterday, I caught up with one of my best friends. Our daughters were born a week apart. We don't get to see each other often enough!

Today another one of my best friends is having lunch with some of her Aunts and I'm keeping her kids. Which is fantastic really, because it keeps my kids busy all day! In other words I will not hear a word about being bored for several hours! We are having delicious frozen pizza for lunch! Ha!

This is Nana several years ago. Isabelle is on the end and Joseph in her lap.

Pickles

We had a few pickling cukes already matured.

Here's one being prepared for dill pickles.

Here they are! This is a quick ferment method.

They are made with a salt brine, mustard seeds, dill (we used regular dill becauase we could not find pickling dill. We should grow our own!) and some garlic.

Next time we will use a little less salt. They sit out for two days, and then go in the fridge and last for several months. Apparently if you add in a little whey they last for 6 months.

We are having major fun with all the veggies!

(My camera is broken:(, so I'm using the little camera, and it shows in the photo quality.)

My First Triathlon!

Isabelle and Joseph with me after the finish!

I have enjoyed fitness for a long time, but had a break for awhile because of the hypothryoid.

About two years ago, I got back into fitness, but this time with running.

I started with the Couch Potato to 5K program.

I enjoyed running a few 5k's, and then a running friend suggested we sign up for a triathlon!

I had to think about it for awhile, but I'm so glad I did it!

I found a 3 month training program on line that was specifically for sprint distance triathlon.

It was fun to do the training (well, most days it was fun), and then cross of the work for that specific day, and it felt like I was accomplishing something. It was really fun to train for something specific as well.

Also, my friend found a swim club that met each Friday morning, for a one hour pool workout. It was awesome! We ended up regularly swimming about 2000 meters. Having the swim coach and people to swim with made a huge difference in my swimming ability!

Our triathlon was a 400 meter swim, then a fairly long uphill run to transition. Followed by a 12 mile (20K) bike, and a 3 mile (5K) run.

My swim was 11 min (which included the run to transition)

My bike was 53 min (on Mom's mountain bike! I need a road bike at some point.)

My run was 26:57

It was great fun!
I can't wait to do another one!

Summer Happenings

I totally need to catch up around here!

Tonight I turned on my camera to take pictures of the latest garden yummies, and my camera did not work! I changed the battery, and it still did not work! I'm very concerned. I put the battery back in the charger and will try again in the morning. Oh, please please work tomorrow!
Then, I took pictures with Brendons little camera and I can't get the images to upload. Oh, well!
Phooey!

Someone in this house took this photo a few weeks ago, and it very well could have been a kid! I have my morning coffee and catch up on emails and blogs. Sort of like my version of reading the newspaper! Also that counter space right there is the designated drop zone in this house and nearly impossible to keep tidy. Nearly... Oh, and my brain definetly doesn't work before that first cup of coffee kicks in...I warn you not to talk to me before then!


We have been busy with swim team. Every morning we have practice and it takes up most of the morning. By the time we get home the kids are starving, so we do lunch and then we do a little math work. We have a couple of play dates each week, go to the library one day and have a swim meet on Thursday. It's been a very pleasant summer so far!

Hopefully my camera will start working and I can post some more pictures.

Chores..Bathtime!

The dogs needed a good washing, so on Saturday Brendon tackled the job!

Sarah, is shaking it off as quick as she can.

It's hilarious, because this dog actually loves to swim!

The bath is over and now she's rolling around to get dry and dirty!

Mavis had a bath before I could take a picture, but she's on alert and ready to sprint just in case we change our mind!

Garden Herbs

It was time to pick some herbs and dry them!

We have basil, shown here with Isabelle, Cilantro and mint right now.

Cilantro

Joseph with his bounty!

Today's creations

Joseph plays webkinz while Isabelle bakes banana bread for her teacher!

Mom!

Ok, I'll smile, but my arms are already tired from all that swimming today!

Twelve Years

We went out for dinner to celebrate twelve years together!

Tasty Pasta Dish

I came across this recipe on the blog Gluten Free Gobsmacked. We try to avoid gluten as much as possible. It doesn't seem to agree with most of us. However, this recipe can be made with regular wheat pasta with no problem. If you use gluten free pasta, I think Tinkyada is the best brand, hands down!

I used just canned tomotoes, because I didn't have any fresh ones in the fridge. Substituting sausage instead of ground beef. I believe they were bratwursts actually. I cooked the sausages and then cut them in half lengthwise and then into little bite size pieces. I also did not have any mozerella, so I put in half a carton of sour cream instead. It was very delicious, and made enough for two meals.

Collard Greens are in!

Our garden grew some very pretty collards.

We ar going to cook these and freeze them already cooked.

There are about twice as many as you can see in the picture.

Yummy!

Mothers Day

A Pretty Dress

Every month the new Anthropologie catalog arrives in the mail, and I drool over it! Why do they want to charge so much for their products? Unfair! Thankfully they do not carry this particular dress in petite sizes, so I know it is never a possibility to think of buying it! I really need to get my sewing skills up to speed! It would be so fun to make these clothes, and so much easier on the budget too! My current sewing skills are, however, rather elementary.
They also have some of the cutest household items too!

Pinto Beans

I was looking for a new way to prepare pinto beans. I mentioned this to my weekend cook (Brendon) and he found this recipe! I do love the traditional bowl of beans (sometimes with the sliced up sausage thrown in) and a side of cornbread, but this recipe was super tasty and worth trying. He made more than double, so we have another couple of meals in the freezer. I love extra meals that are healthy and only require heating!

A Cartoon by Joseph

Potty humor reigns right now!

Rest assured he is learning his manners!

A neat blog

I found out about a blog called Simple Mom via Sorta Crunchy, which is listed in my sidebar.
It has some really neat ideas in there for your home and menus etc. I don't think she means that we are "simple" though!
http://simplemom.net/
Check it out!

My dish towels stink!

Do you have any good ideas or have you seen anything on the web about how to get rid of the musty smell?
At the moment my dish towels and cloths are all sitting in a heap in the garage, because I can't get the odor out!

Peanut Butter? I prefer Somosa's!!!

You Are Peanut Butter Sandwiches / Do-si-dos

You are easy going and naturally happy. You don't need a lot to make you smile. You genuinely care about people and are a great friend. You're always doing your best to make the world a better place. Even though there isn't an immature bone in your body, you still are like a big kid sometimes. Why make life complicated when the best parts are actually quite simple? You enjoy the small joys of life.

What'>http://www.blogthings.com/whatgirlscoutcookieareyouquiz/">What Girl Scout Cookie Are You?

We're back!

We had a few relaxing days at the beach. The weather was perfect during the day. We could have sat out all day and never gotten too hot. The water was not it's usual beautiful self, like the previous post shows. The first day some algae seaweed came in and turned the water the color of tea. The next following two days were red flag, with big waves and more rip currents than normal. There was a soccer tournament going for kids about 12-14, and when they weren't playing soccer they were in the water giving the life guards fits. I've never heard so many whistles the beach. Anyway, I did not mind the water too much as the weather was so perfect, but normally I am someone who likes to get in and swim around. I don't have too many great picutres because I was lazing around so much!

Isabelle and Joseph

The first day..see the brown water?

Doing some homeschool lessons..yes it's thrilling working at the beach!

Brendon and the rascals fly the kite.

Tomorrow!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

We celebrated Mom's birthday this past Sunday!

You can read more about it here.

Mom and Dad