Crostini with Pea Pest Topped with Red Pepper and Bacon

Ah, food. I was feeling bad, since for dinner I was eating leftover homemade mac and cheese, so I decided I needed something "healthy." A few weeks ago, I made Giada's pea pesto. Delicious. A few days ago, I made French toast. Together, there was an opportunity for healthy, so I went with it. 

I think I kind of failed on the healthy part. Whatever, it was delicious!

Behold:

So I toasted the French bread in the oven. I made the pea pesto. Then I sauteed some red pepper because I needed to use it up. Then I got another wave of brilliance: BACON! Why? WHY NOT? So in to the skillet it went. 

And hence, crostini with pea pesto topped with red pepper and bacon. It definitely became un-healthy, but that doesn't make it any less yummy!

Christmas is A-Comin'!

I'm super excited! Matt is coming home in two days and Christmas (and my birthday!) are just around the corner!

However, I'm getting impatient to decorate the house. I don't want to decorate without Matt! And I just went to Target and bought some more decorations that I'm sure I don't need. I don't usually go overboard decorating my house for holidays, since I find it a huge waste of money and space usually, but I have a weak spot for decorating for Christmas. Not sure why, but I do :)

When we have everything set up, I'll be sure to post pictures. I have found some awesome ideas on Pinterest that will be both cheap and really cute. I have been working on making scrapbook paper ornaments to hang from the windows which have cost me nothing! I have so much scrapbook paper it's a great way to get rid of some of it! And the best part is I can save them to reuse year after year, or I can recycle them on Christmas cards.

I'm super nervous about this year's Christmas tree, though. My dog and cat will think it's a new toy that has been set up specifically for them. Hopefully I don't have to set up the wire fence around the tree.

Check back in a few days for pictures!

Caprese Quinoa

Matt's gone, so I am cooking for myself, which I hate. I love cooking, but cooking for yourself is really boring. I have lately gotten really into quinoa, which I have discovered is the perfect vessel for one dish meals. Perfect! Fast, easy, and healthy! 

I absolutely love Italian food, in pretty much any form. Caprese salad is one of the most well known Italians foods, and even looks like their flag. Caprese salad is slices of mozzarella cheese and tomatoes layered with basil leaves, and then topped with balsalmic vinaigeratte. These exact ingredients happen to be why I love Italian food so much! So why not put it in quinoa? Yes, please!

I'm sure this idea has been done before, so while I won't admit to "inventing" anything, I will say I did not use a recipe :) I love it when that happens!

All you have to do is cook your quinoa. Fluff it, then stir in tomatoes, mozzarella (the real stuff, please! SO much better!), and basil, sprinkle with pepper and salt, and drizzle with olive oil and balsalmic vinegar. Enjoy!

As you can see, Jack really wanted some, too :) Although that was probably mostly for the cheese. 

Thanksgiving

It's been awhile since I've updated! I've been very busy lately!

Matt left on 10 November for SERE training, which is survival and resistance training. Since I just moved here, I've been a little lonely, but managing to keep myself busy. Matt went into the field about a week before Thanksgiving, so he couldn't call me anymore, so i drove up to Seattle for Thanksgiving for a much over do visit!

I have said it many times, and I'll say it again, God has certainly blessed me with two wonderful pets who travel beautifully. The drive from Sacramento to Seattle takes about 14 hours. I split that into 2 days to make it easier on Jack and Huey. The first drive, from Sacramento to Eugene, is a long drive (440 miles), but it's through gorgeous country! Unfortunately, I was driving, so I couldn't really sight see, but what I managed to glimpse at was beautiful. The surrounding area of Mt. Shasta is awesome. Once you get into Eugene, though, you're getting into the Willamette Valley and it starts to get boring. Oh, well. The hotel I picked was about the best one I could pick, it was across the street from a gigantic park that is perfect for walking Jack after a long car drive.

The next day wasn't that great. Eugene to Seattle is only about 5 hours, so it's significantly shorter than the first trip, but there was a freak wind/rain storm my entire trip! Normally I would be freaking out, but for some reason I was surprisingly calm, maybe it was the presence of the pets with me. On a side note, I'm pretty sure it dumps water every time we drive from Portland to Seattle! Seriously. It pours. This was about the worst I've ever seen it, though, there was standing water on the freeways! I made it safely, though!

Jack quite enjoyed himself at my parents house. Too much. Like any typical grandkid, I'm pretty sure he likes their house better than mine. At least their yard. I KNOW he likes their yard better :)

I hung out pretty much by myself the first few days, I was sick the second day I was there and my parents were still at work, so it worked out ok. My sister and her husband came up on Wednesday. It was the first time I had seen them since their wedding! Needless to say, I was excited! I think Jack was, too, he now had 5 people in the house with him!

Thursday we went down to my aunts house for dinner and a mean game of Apples to Apples, which happens to be my favorite game. Jack stayed home by himself, but my mom bought him a nice femur bone to keep him occupied. From the looks of the bone when we got back, he quite enjoyed it ;)

Friday night we hung out at home, but I went and hung out with my in-laws that evening. On Saturday we had my grandparents over, and my cousin, and then my other cousins and aunt and uncle. All at the same time. As you can imagine, my dog was ECSTATIC. Never had he had that many people to love on him! I think he's kind of sad, being back in Sacramento with just me. Oh, well. Matt will be him soon, and I know of all people to be stuck with, he'd want to be stuck with me :)

The drive back was uneventful; even through the pass it was sunny and dry, which is a complete one eighty from what it had been a week before. Now Jack, Huey, and I are just going to hang out for a week to wait for Matt to come home! So exciting!

Pretty Flowers

I'm not a photographer by any means, but I do love taking pictures of flowers. Sometimes I get lucky and get a really good one. I thought I'd share some of my favorites, since this blog needs more pictures. 

I love lilacs. Taken during the spring of 2010 at the University of Idaho Arboretum

I have no idea what this is, but it's purple, so I had to take a picture of it. UI 

I LOVE tulips. So much

Yeah for pollination! This rose was in the Rose Garden in downtown Portland

I'm a huge fan of the multi-colored roses 

Aren't these cool?

I love sunflowers, too. I think this picture is really sweet, if I do say so myself. Taken at Kelly's house on her wedding day 

I love how the sunlight seems to be shining through the petals :)

This is one of the flowers in my current flower box. 

Chrysanthemums in my front flower pot. I love all the fall colors of mums. 

Can anyone guess why I picked out the daisies?

So many purple daisies :)

My other flower box. I love the red and purple together

From one of the bushes in my front yard. I don't know what it is. 

I still find it weird to see palm trees in the area, especially the one in my front yard 

Of course I had to include a picture of my wonderful bridal bouquet

One of my favorite pictures I have taken of all times. This was a marigold planted in my yard in Mississippi

Super awesome picture!

Day in the Life of Huey and Jack

Yesterday I followed my dog and cat around like a stalker and took pictures of them all day, mostly so I would have pictures to add to the blog. Yup, I use my fur babies for blog material. I don't feel bad about it. At all. Anyways, most of the pictures turned out super blurry, probably because I didn't want to use the flash, but oh, well. You can now see into the extraordinary spoiled lives of my dog and cat. 

Chewin' on the new toy mom gave me! (24 hours later, it's in the trash, but it lasted longer than I thought it would! He can shred soft toys like it's an Olympic sport)

I am a cat. Therefore, it is physically impossible for me to look straight into the camera. 

This is my normal stance, guarding the entrance to the kitchen. 

PHOTO BOMB FOR HUEY!

I am a cat. Thus need to sit in an uncomfortable position. 

Those aren't my paw prints on the table...

My lounging ledge! All mine. 

Beginning of Cat-Dog Standoff. Who will win?

Jack's close up. 

It's a draw!

I am a cat. Even though I don't fit under the bed, I will anyway. Then grab at your feet as you walk by. 

Share some of your yummy bone with me?

Happily chewing away. 

Please, Huey, wipe your paws

The crazy neighbor Husky dog. 

Creeped out yet? 

Jack doing what he does best, taking branches off the bushes

I miss Daddy so much!

Please tell me that beef is for me. 

No? Ok, I'll just stare at the ground the whole time until you drop something. (He seriously does this every time I make dinner, he walks up to me and just stares at the floor until I accidentally drop something.)

Oh, you think you got new books in the mail? SURPRISE! It's a Huey! A Huey bed, anyway. 

Baby Fever

I have baby fever. I love coming up with baby names, even though we're still probably a year out from having kids (super lame). So today, to keep myself entertained, I went to randomnames.com to make baby names. You just click, and a name pops up! So this is actually quite entertaining, since they're really random and the names don't go together.

How I came up with the names:
   -I went to a website and had it spit out a number between 1-10. It gave me 3.
   -I went to the random names website. They have a "girls" category, and a "boys" category. Every third click, I used that name. I did this ten times, to make ten first names per gender.
   -I repeated this, making ten middle names per gender. Naturally, the first first names went with the first middle name, and so on.
   -They also have a "random" category, so every third click I used the ten names that came up. Make sense? Gosh I sure hope so.

I will explain the names this way: first, if I think the names go together, and then say if I like each name.

Here are the names:

Girl Names:

1. Callie Tatiana- They don't go together AT ALL. I love the name Callie, Tatiana's ok, definitely not together.
2. Lora Laila- Again, don't go together. I like the name spelled as Laura, don't like it Lora. I like the name Laila, but I don't think I would use the name for my girl. Although, it does rhyme with my sister's name.
3. Traci Tonia- No, no, and no.
4. McKenna Tatum- If you say them together, it actually doesn't sound that bad. I don't mind McKenna, but I wouldn't use it. And Tatum, while actually ok, could be considered a boy's name, and I'm not a fan of unisex names for girls for some reason. Probably because I'm girly. Don't mind unisex names for boys, though.
5. Millie Kennedy- Don't flow together well at all. Don't like the name Millie, it's way better for a dog or cat. Or a pioneer. Kennedy is a really cute name. I would totally use it as a girl's name, but I can't come up with a good nickname for it (I'm not calling her Kenny).
6. Robin Kasey- They flow quite nicely together. I don't think Robin is a bad name, but it's unisex and I wouldn't use it. Not a huge fan of Kasey, especially with a K. If there are names out there that can be spelled with both a C or a K, I will most always prefer the name with a C.
7. Danielle Lucia- Don't go together at all. LOVE the name Danielle. LOVE it. Unfortunately, I can't name my daughter that. I just can't bring myself to name my kid Danielle Darnell. Lucia is pretty, too, but not a name I would use.
8. Tammie Emma- Horrible combination. "Tammie" is definitely the preferred spelling, but I don't really like the name. LOVE the name Emma, and I do plan on using it if I can convince Matt to like the name. I would use it as a first name, even.
9. Rosemarie Jessica- Probably the worst combination here! Except the next one. Rosemarie is just too old fashioned for me to want to use, but I would use each name separately. Not a huge fan of Jessica for some reason, I have no idea why, but I LOVE the nickname Jessie. Even though that's a unisex name. That's one of my exceptions to the rule :)
10. Gianna Billie- Doesn't match at all! Gianna is a very pretty name, although I don't think Matt would like it. It's almost too formal of a name to use, if that makes sense. I would definitely call her Gia, but it sounds so snotty! And Billie... no.

Boy Names:

1. Stanley Finn- I think this actually flows nicely together! Not such a huge fan of either name, but there's nothing wrong with them.
2. Jett Van- LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL! First off, hubby's a pilot, I am NOT naming my kid Jett or any other airplane name. Second, Jett Van, you would think we're naming our kid after motorized vehicles. So absolutely not on any part of this name. Plus they don't flow well together at all.
3. Kyler Osvaldo- Doesn't sound bad together, but it's definitely weird to mix an American name with a Spanish name. I actually like the name Kyler, Matt would definitely not. I'm going to say no to the Osvaldo, though, I'm not going to give my kid a Hispanic name. No disrespect meant, I'm just not attracted to those names.
4. Callum Felix- No. Just no.
5. Mason Elmer- No. First off, it doesn't go together. I actually like the name Mason, I would use that. It reminds me of one of the kids I used to babysit in high school! He was seriously the cutest baby ever, had the most AWESOME sticky-up hair. Anyways. Elmer, no. Not only is it just a horrible name, it sounds way too much like Elmo.
6. Eduardo Mick- Doesn't match. Also, what is with this thing spitting out Spanish names for me? I would not use either name, especially together.
7. Nikolas Julio- Doesn't work. If I used Nikolas, it would be the normal Nicholas. I would definitely name my kid Nicholas. Not with a Spanish middle name, though.
8. Josh Ayden- I think these names flow nicely with each other. I would name my kid Josh, definitely using the full version of Joshua. I would use the name Ayden, too, although I think it looks funny spelled out. Maybe Aiden. I do love names that end in -aiden, or -ayden, but I think Aiden as a middle name would be ok. I don't think Matt would like it, though.
9. Vernon Isiah- Despite the fact that Vernon is not my favorite name (Harry Potter, anyone?), I think these two names go well together. I have been thinking of using Isaiah (not Isiah) as a middle name, I think it works well with a lot of names. Plus it's a Bible name. I would not use it as a first name, though.
10. Gavin Stephan- Do not work well at all. Not such a fan of Gavin. I like the name Stephan, but prefer the spelling Steven.

Random Names:

1. Quinn- It popped this out as a boy name, but I think it's a cute girl name. I would not use it, though.
2. Brianna- I don't hate this name, but I don't really like it, either. However,  I don't mind Brianne.
3. Elias- No
4. Mollie- Cute name for an animal, not my baby
5. Savanna- I prefer Savannah. I actually like this name, I would use it if I could come up with a good nickname for it.
6. Jazmin- If I ever used this name, I would spell it the normal Jasmine. Not sure I like it enough to use it though.
7. Eden- Girl name. Since "Garden of Eden" doesn't bring up the happiest of places, I would not use this name.
8. Brenda- Too old fashioned for me.
9. Dakota- It spit this out as a boy name. I would not name my boy this, WAY too girly. I would, however, name my girl this.
10. Brandi- I like this name, but not with an -i. I prefer it Brandy or Brandie.

Fun times! Now it's lunch time!