Something different...

I've seen this on numerous other blogs and though it might be fun to do.

What do you believe will last forever?
The love I have for my child. Faith will always continue. The urge to learn as much as we can about this world around us. My love of reading.

If you could pick anywhere in the world to vacation, where would you go?
A trip around Europe. It couldn't possibly be just one place. Rome, London, Paris, little Italian villages with real pasta...anywhere with a gorgeous sunset and smiling faces.

What would you like to add to you life?
A baby!! Over two years of trying, that's the one thing I'm truly confident about!

What makes you jealous?
The same as most people probably. People have things that you don't, but more than that people who have the things you want and take them for advantage, or don't appreciate those things. A person who is thin and gorgeous and has things come easily...and even worse having my husband look at them lol!

What did you do during your childhood summers?
Through my entire life, kid to teen, the beach was the best place to be. Cranberry Lake, Deception Pass, Moran Beach Rd, West Beach, Rocky Point, and Crescent Harbor beach. I remember riding in the car with my mom numerous times, going to rocky point with our dogs, and stopping at the little gas station to pick up drinks and snacks. I always thought that was the best, and then Beach Boys playing in the car. Then as a teen, it was riding with all my friends to the beach listening to Eminem.

If you had an extra room in your house what would you use it for?
My personal craft room of course!! To have a desk that I can spread all my stuff out on would be the best!

What were you like 10 years ago?
Naive. I thought I could rule the world. I disrespected my family, and spent too much time wrapped up in boys who wouldn't mean much to me years later. I thought I had all the answers, and that life was easy. Its easy when your a kid, its all about you, you have no bills, you have no real responsibilities other than going to school and graduating. I was a lot of talk though. Things got to me more than I would say and I really did like school, and being smart. I also enjoyed life, but I think that's because you live it a lot more carelessly. You don't really worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow is something you always figure will come.

What is you ideal comfort food?
Cookies straight from the oven, or pretzels with cheese...yeah the healthy stuff lol!

What music do you and your father have in common?
We both enjoy the classics like The Beatles, and there is some country that we agree upon like Rascal Flatts, and have even come to an understanding that the genre might not be right but the lyrics are.

Whats the most peaceful day you can remember?
I can remember this one day, back in 2007, right after Nick, my husband, had gotten home from a 7 month cruise in the middle east, and we (Isabelle, our 8 year old daughter, him, and me) drove out to this group of ponds by McNary Dam. It was the first time I had been there. I had moved here to Eastern Oregon about a year before he did, thanks to the military, and I hadn't gotten up the courage to really explore other than where the shopping was. But as we drove to this little spot right on the pond, I started to feel this sense of peace. We backed up the truck, popped open the bed, and laid blankets out all over the bed of the truck. I packed a picnic, and we all sat back there and ate our lunch. Then Nick started to fish, and Isabelle and I just laid back under the trees, and read our books together. When I'm in nature and with my family I am my happiest.

Who taught you to cook?
My mother of course!! My dad who burned peas wasn't equipped (although I have to give him credit that he did eventually learn how to cook). My mom continues to teach me new methods, recipes, and tips.  Thanks mom! Because us girls know how important cooking is to our families...traditional role or not. You always need to know how to cook. Single girls, single moms, married, or divorced, its the one skill you have to have to.

Picture Diary:

One of my favorite days, exploring McNary nature trails with my two favorite people, Nick and Isabelle.

But what I love about this picture is that their wearing their passions and interests.

Nick loves the Seahawks and football, so his shirt and hat reflect that.

Isabelle is wearing her love for dance and dogs on her shirt. I just love that.

Soup's Ready! Rolls are NOT!

So I didn't get to posting last night...maybe it was the hour it took me to make the soup, or maybe it was defeat I felt when I saw my cookie flat potato rolls that were as dense as a brownie...yes that dense. But either way I didn't post last night.

So this morning, I'm here to celebrate the soup! Yummy! I have to say every time I make this I stuff myself till I'm nauseous, and then think I'll never eat that again. Then morning comes and I make that trip into chilly kitchen, and open the fridge door and think "Yum! That soup sounds so good right now."  I've made it a few times now. Its one of those great winter/fall Sunday meals, when you don't have anything better to do then peel 6-8 baking potatoes, and spend 15 minutes cooking bacon and chopping celery. However, yesterday I decided to make it while it was cloudy and predicted to storm all day. So what happened when I started to cook?? A miracle occurred!  The sun broke through all those clouds, and made it warm sunny day at 70 degrees. But either way the soup was amazing. I'm not posting the recipe at this time since it is my Aunt's and I don't have prior permission, and she may want this to be a secret since she just opened her own restaurant in Oak Harbor, WA. But lets just say its like a loaded baked potato in soup form, and will do nothing but expand you waistline, but despite knowing that you still want to eat the entire pot.

Now my rolls were a COMPLETE flop. I'm choosing to blame it on my yeast. It don't think it was as fresh as it needed to be.  I followed the recipe exactly, and let it rise for 2 1/2 hours and still didn't get much lift, but I was determined to try to get this on the right path. So I waited and waited, and after 15 minutes LOL,  I decided to make them into rolls and hope they would rise during the next step. Nope, those things were so flat, and when they came out of the oven (I prayed some baking god would smile on me) they were flat as a cookie and as dense as a brownie. It was horrible. God love my husband, he managed to eat 3 with his soup. I, however, managed to choke down 1/2 of mine. The recipe does seem to taste like a potato roll from the store, but next time I'm using fresh yeast.  So I'll keep you updated and let you know if they rise next time. Or maybe one of you will have the baking gods smile down on you and get them to rise!

Tender Potato Rolls (Ha!)

1 medium potato, peeled and diced

2 cups of water

1 package of active dry yeast

1/4 c honey

1 T. vegetable oil

1 1/2 t. salt

1 egg, lightly beaten

6 cups all-purpose flour

Place the potatoes in a small saucepan, and cover with the 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce, heat: cover and cook for 10-15 minutes or until tender. Drain, reserving cooking liquid. Set aside liquid to cool to 110-115 degrees F. Mash potato (don't add butter or milk); set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in the reserved cooking liquid. Add the honey, oil, salt, egg, 4 cups of flour, and mashed potato. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.

Turn onto a floured surface, knead until smooth and elastic, about 7-8 minutes. Place into a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into 36 pieces. Shape each into a ball. Place on a greased 15x10x1" baking pan. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

Bake at 375 degrees f for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Tips: A great tip from my bestie, Jaime, is to spray the tops of the rolls with cooking spray which will make them softer, the same goes for bread for a softer crust which is great for picky kids.

Also you can bake this in muffin tins and get a easy roll shape.