Plateau

I've reached a point where my strict eating habits have gone down the crapper and my early morning workouts aren't happening, though I still make it to the gym.  However, I take heart when I look at this family pic from Christmas.  I'm packing more blubber in my cheeks (both sets) in this pic than I ever have (aside from being pregnant, of course).  Just knowing that my face isn't this fat anymore helps motivate me to get back on my intense schedule...but I've got to finish this ice cream sandwich I'm holding in my left hand, first.  There's just something about summer time that invites ice cream sandwiches, cookies, BBQ's, strawberry short cake, lemonade, chips n' salsa...junk food galore. 

I've just got to lay off all this summer time revelry or else I'll look like chubby bunny when Christmas rolls around again...NOOOOOOOO!

Fishin' and Hikin'

Fishin'--Cannon went downtown, fishin' for Kings last night and had a helper.  They are best buddies. 

He didn't catch one but some lucky feller/gal did.  You can see why these salmon are called "Kings".  Look at the size of that monster hanging under the sign.

Hikin'--Sometimes you just have to hire a babysitter and take a hike. This was one of those mornings. My friend Linda took me on a hike that was simply amazing.  Creeks, rushing waterfalls, wild strawberry/raspberry patches, wildflowers of all colors and sizes...lots of lupin and green leaves carpeting the mountainside.  

Oh, and we saw a bear...a big, mama black bear. And NO, I don't have a picture of the bear...taking a picture of her was the last thing on my mind.  She was 20 yards ahead of us munching away.  She was a beautiful creature.  We saw her first and my immediate reaction was to turn around but Linda started clapping and hollering at her.  The bear looked at us and then ran off.  With moose, you turn around and walk the other way. With bear you holler and stand your ground. But even though I knew that, my instinct said "run"!  

I'm glad Linda is the ultimate outdoors woman (she's lived here 30 years and hunts and traps everything) and had the calm sense to holler at the bear.  After it ran off I said "I've never seen a black bear that close before!" Her response: "Oh, I should have waited to clap so you could get a better look!"  She was half joking, but not really. Me: "How close do you think it was?" Linda: "Close enough to shoot!"  Then we just laughed and went on our way.  You have to know Linda to understand how funny it was because she's so matter-of-fact and tough as nails...

It was amazing to see nothing but ocean on the left and mountain on the right.

Who's up for a hike?

Craigslist and the Beekeeper

Cannon asked that I post our latest c-list experience on the blog. This is what Cannon posted:

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Are you headed to Alaska? I have a trailer that I need to get up to Anchorage. it is a 5x8 trailer with a 1200 pound load capacity. It is very road worthy and would be a great benefit if you were in the position to use it. It has made the trip up and back several times, but the last time I came up I had no provision to bring it... So Bring it up for me to Anchorage Alaska. It has a nice plywood deck that is plastic-ized.

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This is our favorite response (names have been blotted):

*****wrote:I am actually going to Alaska (driving) this Friday with my wife ***** for research... I don't need the trailer for myself but am willing to haul near Anchorage if you would be willing to remove bees from a home in Scottsdale (safely, I need them for a research project)... I would do it but I'm scared to death of bees!  Should be easy, you just lure them out with a jar of honey and trick them into a box... Let me know... Again, we leave Friday at 1900pm

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Our response:

would love to help, but i already live in anchorage.  need the trailer here in alaska, rather than there, in arizona.

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oh, so you are already in Alaska! i see... I have an excellent idea then... I will bring you the trailer (to arrive Monday, June 8th at 2130pm) to Anchorage and you can store my bees at your home for a few months... They are clean, quiet, respectful of your property, and provide wonderful companionship should you choose to seek it... also, they might give you honey or syrup, depending on the climate changes in the past few years... 

i will leave you with food pellets, just drop one pellet in per day!  Easy*!

Should we make this happen? 

*****

Also* the bees need extra maintenance not listed here - I can give you a complete list upon request

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For kicks, here are a few other responses to Cannon's add on c-list:

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im IN AZ got work for a carpenter  that can run work ! 22yrs exp ill bring trailer  work to weeks fish and hunt if open then come back

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How,When,Where,Why?I did not have plans to go to AK.,although it could be done.I am retired and the trip sounds fun.My name is ***** at 602-***-**** in Phoenix. EMail me or call,what is the price you was thinking of paying,or what you had planned on.The trl. it's self is not enough.

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call *****in the add. that i posted he mite but i think he is taking a trailer up  but call him

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At bath time he figured out how to blow bubbles.  When he would concentrate really hard he would shake like he was flexing his muscles and stuff the bubble blower under his nose. I couldn't convince him that under-nose-bubble-blowing was not effective.

I'm so glad that life is mundane enough for moments like this. If I were gone or too busy, I'd miss this kind of stuff.

They took a break from wrestling to give me a big cheezer grin!

We are painting an accent wall in the kitchen. Don't mind the large, white plastered area in the middle of the kitchen...it's a sanding project and Cannon is almost finished.  He wanted to put some stuff on the wall "to make it smooth"and it's turned into a bear.  I think I'm going to banish sanding projects in the house...they never seem to work out very well. Ha!

Moose Quesadillas...

..these were roadkill moose quesadillas, to be exact.  We were really excited to get the call that a moose had been hit by a train. Our friend Brian helped Cannon skin the big beast and then they brought it home.  I have no idea what to do with a freshly skinned beast but they gave me the backstrap, which is apparently the filet mignon of moose.  I washed it off, chopped it up, and used a little for quesadillas.  Boy were they good!

...It was a pretty big beast and I am proud of Cannon for skinnin' the thing.  It is really weird to walk into the garage and see raw meat hanging... I offered some moose quesadillas to Cannon, he refused, saying that it will take him a couple days to get over the smell and sight of moose guts.  Can't say that I blame him.  Just leaves more dang quesadillas for me...mmmm!

Did you know that moose meat is actually leaner than chicken?  It does not have any sort of a gamy flavor either.  We're grilling some steaks up tomorrow and y'all are invited.

Kid Logic

Caleb thinks that if he walks backwards out of his bedroom and down the hall, we don't know he's sneaking out of his room when he's really supposed to be going night-night.  He's also tried going down the hallway on his hands and feet...thinking we won't figure out that he's escaped the bedroom.  

He gets a happy grin on his face when we "discover" him but quickly the smile fades as he tries to writhe out of our arms, spitting and hollering as we walk him back to bed.

Cannon is currently holding the door closed as Caleb dramatically wails for freedom...

Corn Flake Fruit Pizza Recipe

(see photo in prior post, below)

4 c. corn flakes, crushed to make 1 cup

2 Tb. sugar

2 Tb. butter

2 Tb. light corn syrup

2 (8 oz) pkg. cream cheese, softened

1 (7 oz) jar marshmallow creme

Fresh Fruit--whatever you've got. I used kiwis, mandarin oranges, strawberries & blueberries

Preheat oven to 350. Combine crushed flakes, butter, sugar and syrup.  Press evenly and firmly onto pan.  

Bake 5 minutes.  

Let cool completely.

Whip cream cheese and marshmallow.

Spread over crust.

Decorate with fruit.

Chill 1 hour before serving.

Of course, like any good cook, I used the recipe as a guide (wink, wink). I used 8 c. of corn flakes and added 2 Tb. brown sugar, an extra 2 Tb. butter and syrup.  For the crust I mixed everything but butter, then melted the butter and blended the mixture.  Because the pizza stone is pretty big, I drizzled extra syrup crisscross over the pressed crust, just to make sure it would bind when heated.

The creamy topping portion was just perfect.  It spread nicely over the crust and was the perfect thickness.  I would imagine my pizza stone is 16" diameter.

It does not take a lot of fruit to decorate. I only used 3 strawberries, 2 handfuls of blueberries, and 2 kiwis...with a few mandarin oranges.  So it's not an overly expensive or complicated dessert.

If you can't chill it for an hour, as long as the crust is cool before spreading the mixture, you're a-okay.

I'll take this pizza over a supreme any day of the week and twice on Sunday!  Enjoy!

 

Corn Flake Fruit Pizza

The pizza turned out. If anyone wants the recipe, let me know. 

Fruit Pizza Tonight

I have a cooking group tonight and the focus is pizza.  Just to make things interesting, I'm bringing a fruit pizza.  This picture came up in Google images and it is my pattern.  Hopefully my pizza will look like this one.  Isn't it pretty?

I'm going to add some chocolate drizzle over the top, just to make it look gourmet. (I got that idea from Paula Deen).

Road Trip Ends...

...And what a memorable trip it was.  We came into Anchorage and found that the honeysuckle trees are in full bloom.  The leaves are almost full size too.  It looks like summer!

Half of the fun of a road trip is well, being on the road.  Driving through Denali National Park is just spectacular.  Road trips in Alaska are like no other road trips in the world.  There is beauty everywhere and it's only going to get prettier.  We haven't even hit the wildflower season.  

On the leg up, we converted the back of the wagon to a mass of pillows and blankets.  We slept in the car the first night (little cramped but we survived), rolled into Fairbanks and stayed at a hotel right off the river.  Most of our time was spent driving Cannon to/from Fort Wainwright (a major pain since you have to get clearance each time you drive onto the base) and playing at the marvelous Pioneer Park!  We played hard, ate well (too much), hardly slept and can't wait to go back for more.  On the trip home we spent one night at Chena Hot Springs. Caleb enjoyed the warm water as much as we did.  

The fun of being on a road trip was having the DVD battery run out of juice.  Seriously! With 2 1/2 hours to go and an alert Buster I pulled every song with actions out of my memory that I could think of.  It was so fun to sing songs, watch Caleb try and mimic the actions and watch the scenery go by...I was glad the DVD batteries ran out.  We got some awesome play time/bonding time that wouldn't have happened if we were watching a movie.

As I type, Cannon is in Glenallen.  Caleb and I kept busy taking a bike ride, eating strawberry shortcake for dinner on the patio, swatting mosquitoes and watering the flowers.

I did take a moment to think about my wonderful relatives who have passed.  We come from "good stock", a great heritage.  I am proud to be a Hillam/Stoddard and now a Mix.  Also, we have offered gratitude in our prayers for those who have given their lives to preserve our freedom and liberty in this great nation and asked the Lord to protect our troops.  We are truly blessed.