tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24927542247740049752024-03-05T14:59:20.006-07:00All & NothingSome days I write about all I bring to life, other days I write about nothing much.Kendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791249950444252618noreply@blogger.comBlogger660125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2492754224774004975.post-14053190295054039712014-03-06T09:27:00.005-07:002014-03-06T09:27:55.681-07:00Outpost by Ann AguirreA little while back I noticed that one of the authors I follow on Facebook, <a href="http://www.annaguirre.com/" target="_blank">Ann Aguire</a>, was giving away books to readers who would be willing to do a review. There were a couple books on the list that I hadn't read yet, so I signed up, hoping to get one of those. I wasn't super hopeful that I'd even get a book, but I figured it would be worth my time to try. Imagine my surprise when I received an email about a week ago telling me my book was on it's way!<br />
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I watched the mail eagerly, and when the book-shaped package came, I ripped into it enthusiastically. At first I was disappointed to find this book:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ct_SZdiZcOtnUjO1nz2lHS3GSj88v_8awgflWd4uwKPta0_5JQKeC7_abRr0OlhASX6P_etBdr915smaLFhYQp6WoWleU0cnKSntJVN_pnbJWHBQtdnpzCg2-tavyDHP_TksoIwq2U25/s1600/0304140707.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ct_SZdiZcOtnUjO1nz2lHS3GSj88v_8awgflWd4uwKPta0_5JQKeC7_abRr0OlhASX6P_etBdr915smaLFhYQp6WoWleU0cnKSntJVN_pnbJWHBQtdnpzCg2-tavyDHP_TksoIwq2U25/s1600/0304140707.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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The only reason I was disappointed is that I've already read that book. It's part of a three book series that I devoured a couple months ago. I was really hoping for a book I hadn't read yet. But then I opened the book to find this:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrOsLzaigzuuKqfOxuxZLRYj11xzOBM5VrvXOz7ePwf0A0M0V9Wjy1aNQTdqCw6cBEAZuHttnKlpnaBHZN0ZBV8MWGAvT2pMBDoYt0kPIFADY7HCRDYEzoiUbDRYPk-kf7AEzb_SaqBi95/s1600/0304140707a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrOsLzaigzuuKqfOxuxZLRYj11xzOBM5VrvXOz7ePwf0A0M0V9Wjy1aNQTdqCw6cBEAZuHttnKlpnaBHZN0ZBV8MWGAvT2pMBDoYt0kPIFADY7HCRDYEzoiUbDRYPk-kf7AEzb_SaqBi95/s1600/0304140707a.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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It's signed by Anne Aguirre! Okay, my disappointment was starting to dissapate. I've never had a signed book before! And then I started to think about how much I did enjoy this series and so i figured it would be fun to share it with you all. It has been a while since I wrote about anything I'm reading (besides cookbooks).</div>
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So,<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008BHAM6G/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B008BHAM6G&linkCode=as2&tag=alno00-20">Outpost</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=alno00-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B008BHAM6G" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />,is the second book in Anne Aquirre's "Razorland Series". The first book is<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004H1TC9S/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B004H1TC9S&linkCode=as2&tag=alno00-20">Enclave</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=alno00-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B004H1TC9S" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />and is a great book. Lindsay is actually reading it right now and she really likes it too. It's about Deuce is a girl who has grown up in an underground society. She's always wanted to be a huntress and finally reaches that goal only to have her whole world turned upside down when she's banished from her society. There are monstrous creatures called "Freaks" which kind of remind me of zombies but different. I don't want to give too much of the first book's story away, but basically "Outpost" picks up after she and her companions find a new community of humans topside. </div>
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If you liked reading Hunger Games, you'll like this series. Ann writes really well and her characters are very interesting and deep. And, unlike lots of series I've read recently, I absolutely LOVED the third and final book in the series. </div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54488/195/40936ED69709248907737FEB699552D8.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" /></a>Kendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791249950444252618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2492754224774004975.post-43787916499514747552014-02-12T01:30:00.000-07:002014-02-12T01:30:06.168-07:00Nom nom nom<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
It's been awhile since I posted anything food related. (He heh, or anything for that matter!) But I think I'm finally getting back into the groove of it. It helps to have a couple new cookbooks in my greedy little hands. My new favorite one is by one of my favorite food bloggers, <a href="http://nomnompaleo.com/" target="_blank">Nom Nom Paleo</a>,<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GA4L9AA/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00GA4L9AA&linkCode=as2&tag=alno00-20">Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=alno00-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00GA4L9AA" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> I've been cooking her recipes since the beginning of my paleo journey and I've never been disappointed. So when she came out with a real-hold-in-your-hands-cookbook. I was all in. </div>
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I love this cookbook. I love the pictures, both real and cartoon. I love the way the recipe are written and the tips and information given in each recipe. I love that it lays flat when open! It's a great cookbook all around.</div>
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I've made several recipes out of it so far, but I actually remembered to take pictures of these specific two. The first is "Uova in Purgatorio". Eggs and spaghetti sauce? Really? Really! I was skeptical at first, but because I'm always looking for ways to spruce up the egg, I decided to try it. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN9zYjVB3pWjvOyMRXq73TweXSnzW-FkgETTcoQFmaRHjHg5rfK1_LDJ5_g8hpr8RezxzWkoh9McM0iExO_GaB_FG9Suuah6bRx2g9DfV21am6XRyR7eFaCMKCosCvsnYDmPObKHZLFu82/s1600/IMG_0525.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN9zYjVB3pWjvOyMRXq73TweXSnzW-FkgETTcoQFmaRHjHg5rfK1_LDJ5_g8hpr8RezxzWkoh9McM0iExO_GaB_FG9Suuah6bRx2g9DfV21am6XRyR7eFaCMKCosCvsnYDmPObKHZLFu82/s1600/IMG_0525.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Oh.My.Word. Goodness in a bowl is what this is. And surprisingly, my picky family liked it too. This will be eaten again at my house for sure!</div>
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Funny thing is, the second recipe also deals with eggs. I wanted to make deviled eggs for a get-together, but I wanted to make something different. So, I decided to try her recipe for "Bacon-topped Deviled Eggs". In order to make these, I also needed to make her "Five Minute Bacon Aioli". </div>
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<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH6-4iq1jcuzGeckfD_iYJsYrp0-02J5Ju6Dhgh6SUboRjFKHFkcu5CqF-3_1zyqQb38OPRoV6-LDhetuNVIblF7LW9VmfkZ02J1y1vEQg7sZ0NIZYysJZcZwnmTSI7G360se3NNzFAhlk/s1600/IMG_0533.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH6-4iq1jcuzGeckfD_iYJsYrp0-02J5Ju6Dhgh6SUboRjFKHFkcu5CqF-3_1zyqQb38OPRoV6-LDhetuNVIblF7LW9VmfkZ02J1y1vEQg7sZ0NIZYysJZcZwnmTSI7G360se3NNzFAhlk/s1600/IMG_0533.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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So I did. Although these took a bit more time than I usually put into deviled eggs, it was so utterly worth it. These were my favorite deviled eggs of all time. So, so good. And everyone else thought so too, even my friend who isn't much of a deviled egg fan. There was nothing left, every single egg was gobbled up. I will definitely be making these again!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPXVGqOuiHCnAJShsv01qAh_dTvxzT9XUg8Rf11Z06UKjGDh-wk5tUk2RicjeGWQDuxE5LWN6KlQx72OGD5809u1yNaAa7v2kkavvG48cpK1u0f0P9-gElFlds-SBBQ6F7sRP8b2lCiNFS/s1600/IMG_0534.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPXVGqOuiHCnAJShsv01qAh_dTvxzT9XUg8Rf11Z06UKjGDh-wk5tUk2RicjeGWQDuxE5LWN6KlQx72OGD5809u1yNaAa7v2kkavvG48cpK1u0f0P9-gElFlds-SBBQ6F7sRP8b2lCiNFS/s1600/IMG_0534.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GA4L9AA/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00GA4L9AA&linkCode=as2&tag=alno00-20"><img border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B00GA4L9AA&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=alno00-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=alno00-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00GA4L9AA" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54488/195/40936ED69709248907737FEB699552D8.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" /></a>Kendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791249950444252618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2492754224774004975.post-47213526307569885132014-02-11T17:26:00.000-07:002014-02-11T17:26:02.431-07:00Playing Hooky<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Wanna see some of the cute things I've whipped up with my crochet hook recently? A daughter of one of my friends saw a cute amigurumi creature I made a while back and raved about it, so I decided to make her one for her birthday coming up this month.<br /><br />Meet <a href="http://blog.shopmartingale.com/crochet-knitting/free-amigurumi-pattern-from-crocheted-softies/" target="_blank">M. Richard the Whale:</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-6s6k2n5XuELRj70Zh1nkDFhR9zxX3QNwwnp6aoNb28UzeDuillcUZEoIarg3ych0P5xNznmnEI2lCfHVFR1RMpYtJ82xcXepHhVIS7LVInhwRFBTJQTkc6H0Bd9vVfMmcR7vPSzaQmyJ/s1600/IMG_0526.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-6s6k2n5XuELRj70Zh1nkDFhR9zxX3QNwwnp6aoNb28UzeDuillcUZEoIarg3ych0P5xNznmnEI2lCfHVFR1RMpYtJ82xcXepHhVIS7LVInhwRFBTJQTkc6H0Bd9vVfMmcR7vPSzaQmyJ/s1600/IMG_0526.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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See how Cody wanted to meet him too?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbrrqLBP-rJg27jHOUxZtjJxbG-ZfQ1ht_VVp-QC3cb4fIUxw8eZPEAKjgCcLbXh2QAtc0lN6ucms1Go4EGFNGy7L8hQS5krj_YCnwLBEyJvJdc0j1DJ0Yst7Km1SsCbTM5oKGgH-jpEHd/s1600/IMG_0527.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbrrqLBP-rJg27jHOUxZtjJxbG-ZfQ1ht_VVp-QC3cb4fIUxw8eZPEAKjgCcLbXh2QAtc0lN6ucms1Go4EGFNGy7L8hQS5krj_YCnwLBEyJvJdc0j1DJ0Yst7Km1SsCbTM5oKGgH-jpEHd/s1600/IMG_0527.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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He's so cute and cuddly, I hope she likes it!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbCBOgr75VZk70Bh_4-cmsTR9N2VCsnQwM6hnMcS8lyDGTh5lBRh-He_nT46DitmDsV5erNtgbYdzigJXFyGHDntSbPkPgbO1b9AlvYJ-7iWIKURpWeeqSO01GVKccxBnRPZfWq5srWAbe/s1600/IMG_0529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbCBOgr75VZk70Bh_4-cmsTR9N2VCsnQwM6hnMcS8lyDGTh5lBRh-He_nT46DitmDsV5erNtgbYdzigJXFyGHDntSbPkPgbO1b9AlvYJ-7iWIKURpWeeqSO01GVKccxBnRPZfWq5srWAbe/s1600/IMG_0529.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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He was being so good and handsome, I had to snap a picture of this boy too.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiRBgQbJdVMuoIZT9h6k-yMbmhLJcp4gHZLoecv89NjMFkaaNLlRkcnZwdHqFESKZSsmHUyAlakgDrOVopyGAPugKkoYSgG_CtXUUuSI7GSAFyij1OM6Yrxpjtq_2NdPZm7XkRjljRGxwR/s1600/IMG_0528.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiRBgQbJdVMuoIZT9h6k-yMbmhLJcp4gHZLoecv89NjMFkaaNLlRkcnZwdHqFESKZSsmHUyAlakgDrOVopyGAPugKkoYSgG_CtXUUuSI7GSAFyij1OM6Yrxpjtq_2NdPZm7XkRjljRGxwR/s1600/IMG_0528.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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A week or so ago, Kera was with me at the fabric store and picked out this yarn and said she wanted a slouchy hat with it. She had a special hat day today at school, so I hurried last night and this morning to finish it for her. <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/urban-jungle-crocheted-slouchy-beanie" target="_blank">The pattern</a> was for an adult hat, so I had to tweak it a bit, but it works. It looks pretty cute on my girl.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibT9_xS8IBkIYNWfs108J2VTlCwgjuZkkP8zncsSf3x5k-NPxPwDXaDP508VxPlf0rDu3xnoXGFR0gZ1k0ZNhb7TeO4qezPPTGGi9PoWDnMM5w95TyDjSTbozADXtztmwnD0WeCjgkF9Bp/s1600/IMG_0535.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibT9_xS8IBkIYNWfs108J2VTlCwgjuZkkP8zncsSf3x5k-NPxPwDXaDP508VxPlf0rDu3xnoXGFR0gZ1k0ZNhb7TeO4qezPPTGGi9PoWDnMM5w95TyDjSTbozADXtztmwnD0WeCjgkF9Bp/s1600/IMG_0535.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-lln4IrdBexhqoOeWSkYqNkFg8dylREgIIu4MOZ-712wOKWxTrD2DuWGBTtDtR8lyxoFxfNs-SgbZpmVtoSb_6HMJiekYALSv3GhNGxWvgNvGfI22SoNF0M2T3vk1PT0wcsjG8P3mm7ED/s1600/IMG_0536.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-lln4IrdBexhqoOeWSkYqNkFg8dylREgIIu4MOZ-712wOKWxTrD2DuWGBTtDtR8lyxoFxfNs-SgbZpmVtoSb_6HMJiekYALSv3GhNGxWvgNvGfI22SoNF0M2T3vk1PT0wcsjG8P3mm7ED/s1600/IMG_0536.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a> </div>
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Next up is a <a href="http://www.jjcrochet.com/blog/free-crochet-cowl-pattern/" target="_blank">cute short cowl</a> I made for a good friend of ours at church. I used the rest of the yarn I used a while back on Lindsay's hat. Don't you just love her expression?</div>
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Lastly, is this soft, warm, cuddly purple cowl. <a href="http://www.crochetspot.com/crochet-pattern-chunky-cluster-cowl/" target="_blank">The pattern</a> called for it to be short, but I wanted one that could be long enough to wrap around your neck twice. I also had so much of the purple yarn left from another project, I wanted to use it up. So, I just kept crocheting til it was nearly gone and ended up with this lovely thing. It's a birthday present for a friend and I hope she likes it as much as I do! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj4qRx7x7tLjFP-Rd-IamgHLCAyBezM5cKrVptZ2nS8SdCoIF5Nz0UnlWREll9LZLcFktInx4VsNYW0RFOoKBAxqtZsgC4n_HV74QECk4XhuN78tfX7WST1UkN3g7Qfw1phU71hvOW3FPB/s1600/IMG_0544.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj4qRx7x7tLjFP-Rd-IamgHLCAyBezM5cKrVptZ2nS8SdCoIF5Nz0UnlWREll9LZLcFktInx4VsNYW0RFOoKBAxqtZsgC4n_HV74QECk4XhuN78tfX7WST1UkN3g7Qfw1phU71hvOW3FPB/s1600/IMG_0544.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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<b>Have you crafted anything fun or creative lately? </b></div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54488/195/40936ED69709248907737FEB699552D8.png" style="border: 0px !important;" /></a>Kendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791249950444252618noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2492754224774004975.post-17306474477880850092014-01-25T10:55:00.000-07:002014-01-25T10:55:09.371-07:00My Latest Adventures in Walking the Dog<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Walking the dog nearly every day can bring opportunities for adventure. Here's a couple from this past week:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFhGsfitQwKCoE0uWZrTpoJMvzYjA5w6R7ReAtalB0w-0Zov58NEgBbAMs-ivwaxc5oC_RNA-ghQI2eqg5isq8oxj6FP2dQxUkUUAt0ArI6zFGetbfpl0DjqPWSHy2QA9W5OacfJZWwRfU/s1600/0122140859.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFhGsfitQwKCoE0uWZrTpoJMvzYjA5w6R7ReAtalB0w-0Zov58NEgBbAMs-ivwaxc5oC_RNA-ghQI2eqg5isq8oxj6FP2dQxUkUUAt0ArI6zFGetbfpl0DjqPWSHy2QA9W5OacfJZWwRfU/s1600/0122140859.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Walking Cody at Blue Mountain on Wednesday morning with a friend, we came across something I've <b>never</b> seen up there. Coming down the hill on a path we noticed two very large, dark creatures in the field beyond. I stopped in my tracks and said, "Wait a minute! Are those moose?!". Sure enough, they were. You can't really see them in this picture because my cell phone doesn't zoom very well. They are the large dots in the middle of those trees in the very middle of the picture. We decided even though they were far away that we'd turn and go back to the trail head another way. We thought it looked like either two cows or a cow and a young one, and neither one of those are animals you want to mess with. We didn't want our dogs to notice them and then cause trouble. It was pretty cool, though we watched them as we walked away and they seemed to notice us too. Their heads turned our direction and they finally turned and slowly headed up the hill. I'd heard that there were moose on Blue Mountain, but I'd never seen them til this past week. It was eerily exciting.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqsqeT1D7aZ3YTtUMmsFDAgqdiWwJF34xl3xTkKtQKoAwcxM_ydg2NMzYbRC0myjkD9Ox4Qy2XkF4xfAX93fcEf1qCfgyoNj5X_9mdklfOdpwtGjK3eTU-Fy0JasszFVn3vkP3lncqbFi4/s1600/0125141036.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqsqeT1D7aZ3YTtUMmsFDAgqdiWwJF34xl3xTkKtQKoAwcxM_ydg2NMzYbRC0myjkD9Ox4Qy2XkF4xfAX93fcEf1qCfgyoNj5X_9mdklfOdpwtGjK3eTU-Fy0JasszFVn3vkP3lncqbFi4/s1600/0125141036.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Today Kera and I took a walk in the field behind our house and it was super foggy and frosty. We admired how beautiful the frost could seem at times depending on how it stuck out from or clung to the grasses and bushes. She thought this one was particularly pretty.</div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54488/195/40936ED69709248907737FEB699552D8.png" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px !important;" /></a>Kendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791249950444252618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2492754224774004975.post-1937166212309187572014-01-22T12:08:00.000-07:002014-01-22T12:08:59.247-07:00Let it goI am so grateful to be a mom to two wonderful daughters, but I didn't realize until lately how difficult it can be. I'm sure parenting boys has it's own challenges which I'm blissfully unaware of, but parenting daughters is emotionally draining. Especially as these girls grow up and start to have all those crazy hormones running amok inside them. It seems like lately everything is a big issue that needs to be talked through, cried about or otherwise dealt with. Someday's it's very tiring and it challenges my patience. I know I've been exactly where they are and I remember how it can feel, but having all these years between then and now can skew my perspective.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgOr1oKskVngxWbAJQKGO_qJpfZRj4_1CmMLF2c1gTiE-JLH_ecO5d-l7ueG1YTYjPB4fkJHgD511L0syBQ8GaYTukcx0bbtlb7pTKd6NabGHJXAWFpBBPwRu__RnskIRV5l-htCdjxC1J/s1600/IMG_0518.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgOr1oKskVngxWbAJQKGO_qJpfZRj4_1CmMLF2c1gTiE-JLH_ecO5d-l7ueG1YTYjPB4fkJHgD511L0syBQ8GaYTukcx0bbtlb7pTKd6NabGHJXAWFpBBPwRu__RnskIRV5l-htCdjxC1J/s1600/IMG_0518.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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As I've gotten older I've grown thicker and thicker skin, in that I don't care so much what others think. I mean, I care about others, but I don't stress out (too much) about what people will think of me if I do this or that. I still struggle with insecurity at times, but it use to cause me so much more anxiety. I know whose opinion matters and whose just really doesn't. I know what matters in life and who I am. I know it's something I've learned mainly through the hard knocks of life, and I wish I could just impart that wisdom directly into the tender hearts of my girls. I hate to see them going through the hard stuff in order to learn this.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyGwe6kOIWLi9I-3OK437PwH4oY_BhZUPL_bDRzamQomNu90JF08D-toxbSpx2dCyv44gPRZiPvnEliZEQjQ-W2nJg04yc-QnZ1caaX5vDMbHirIFd9WPtQqvD8zoC0g-G8GXAwqTp4DNK/s1600/IMG_0502.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyGwe6kOIWLi9I-3OK437PwH4oY_BhZUPL_bDRzamQomNu90JF08D-toxbSpx2dCyv44gPRZiPvnEliZEQjQ-W2nJg04yc-QnZ1caaX5vDMbHirIFd9WPtQqvD8zoC0g-G8GXAwqTp4DNK/s1600/IMG_0502.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Unfortunately, that's not the way it goes. And so lately it's come to my attention that both my beautiful girls are struggling with how they look. Kids can be so mean, both have had comments made to them </div>
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at school about it. Now both of them are struggling with what they think of themselves and these particular comments. It seems to bother my eldest daughter more, I've caught her making comments about not liking her hair or that she's ugly. It's heartbreaking when all I see when I look at her is beauty.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2sWPr8kXopFMYOXr_GQ5u1TvMnC5yLCtSSMWVbq6Nl6JbSnYkvy7REuabRTYEshmuj_kR2rEwTJyxsEbJPlkubgVpkhfquueq5y0_q2SEVqsow8plbMW7O8CAYU58aM6dkonBW8NsL98r/s1600/IMG_0516.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2sWPr8kXopFMYOXr_GQ5u1TvMnC5yLCtSSMWVbq6Nl6JbSnYkvy7REuabRTYEshmuj_kR2rEwTJyxsEbJPlkubgVpkhfquueq5y0_q2SEVqsow8plbMW7O8CAYU58aM6dkonBW8NsL98r/s1600/IMG_0516.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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And it doesn't matter how many times I tell her she's beautiful, if some kid at school called her ugly, it must be true. That's her logic and it kills me. I know she's not a minority, most girls at this awkward middle school age are struggling with how they look and how they are changing and they have no control over most of it. She's starting to care how her hair looks, what she's wearing, etc, and how she fits in. Some days it's hard for me to watch her go through this.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnGKGJ56QZ8nmaywVPr3xy1O-J7Iaye6OH8miJSBLteWTOmXg5MqeTzy_Oe3hgjH1FzmrS1op2Ss2T28CYjtYhjVPRYhFAPJfCD2fdDvyU8y1Bwc1gYPudjDx4FjJ9-UJcvDeyJ8dZXNpi/s1600/IMG_0503.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnGKGJ56QZ8nmaywVPr3xy1O-J7Iaye6OH8miJSBLteWTOmXg5MqeTzy_Oe3hgjH1FzmrS1op2Ss2T28CYjtYhjVPRYhFAPJfCD2fdDvyU8y1Bwc1gYPudjDx4FjJ9-UJcvDeyJ8dZXNpi/s1600/IMG_0503.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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I just want them both to believe me when I tell them they are perfect just the way they are. And then I think about the times I've been critical of my own self, of my hair that has no body or super round face. And I wonder if my comment here or there about it has contributed to their views. I need to remind myself what I've been telling my girls lately, and that is this:</div>
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I am perfectly made. </div>
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No, I'm not perfect, but I was made exactly this way. God intended me to have flat hair, to have a round face, to not be able to hold a note. And I like to ask the girls, "Does God make mistakes?". No, of course not, He's perfect. I love this verse:</div>
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<i>For you created my inmost being;</i></div>
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<i>you knit me together in my mother's womb.</i></div>
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<i>I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;</i></div>
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<i>your works are wonderful,</i></div>
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<i>I know that full well.</i></div>
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<i>My frame was not hidden from you</i></div>
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<i>when I was made in the secret place.</i></div>
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<i>When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,</i></div>
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<i>your eyes saw my unformed body.<br />All the days ordained for me were written in your book</i></div>
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<i>before one of them came to be.</i></div>
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<i>Psalm 139:13-16</i></div>
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If God created the whole earth and all it's intricacies like the water cycle and weather and seasons and didn't mess up that, don't you think He could handle us? Yep. He did. He made each and every one of us exactly the way He wanted us to be, and like it says in Genesis 1:31, "God saw all that he had made and it was very good." He didn't scrap us and start over, He wanted us exactly the way we are. That's encouraging and refreshing for me to remember, and I hope I can help instill that truth in my own girls' hearts.<br /><br />Even knowing how God views us, it can be hard to take the mean comments from others or even ourselves. I tried to explain to the girls to just let those mean words go, and not to dwell on them. But I think that's a lesson that's learned the hard way as well. Someone posted this video on Facebook fairly recently and I think it speaks volumes to the whole idea of just letting those things go.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/_8vSuo2ZoEs" width="560"></iframe><br />
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I told the girls about it, but they haven't actually watched it yet. I think I'm going to show them this afternoon, and hopefully it can help them see how important it is to just let it go.<br />
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54488/195/40936ED69709248907737FEB699552D8.png" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px !important;" /></a>Kendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791249950444252618noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2492754224774004975.post-8229494430037591832014-01-14T10:40:00.003-07:002014-01-14T10:40:36.048-07:0084. Get a dog.I seriously cannot believe I haven't updated my goals in so long that I haven't posted this one! I totally forgot that it was even a goal, but obviously it's been met.<br />
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<br />I still have a hard time believing sometimes that we even have a dog.</div>
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<br />He has grown into such a great, sometimes goofy, dog.</div>
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He's so sweet and pretty calm and obedient.</div>
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He LOVES to play.</div>
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And amazingly, he does a pretty good job of staying on the tile.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Vx4v0oOF7JSs0ZKO7mc-JcFul4oRrQAhiJboez5GmWHlhDlD39xUKwE_GuDkksKT0mjhMYDBl0oB_Uho3ybRYlqCiUevAwITaBlVOawgV5emeoiZkMXsk5p0gbps2hHw74G1XIt7D8eD/s1600/IMG_7225.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Vx4v0oOF7JSs0ZKO7mc-JcFul4oRrQAhiJboez5GmWHlhDlD39xUKwE_GuDkksKT0mjhMYDBl0oB_Uho3ybRYlqCiUevAwITaBlVOawgV5emeoiZkMXsk5p0gbps2hHw74G1XIt7D8eD/s400/IMG_7225.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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He was cute as a puppy, but I think he's still pretty cute.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnbR6TBTTUeQC6K_-Q9ROxiaf01e0ZRaIwNId5B5uE1YmO1RflnIoCdEmrVitZfSpuRoO4QRCn3YjL1QkN5l2_tceZIOx8-tJJusocedlbOORsae9lzPzzkBGM6FFp69v0ETsxeNfw3VG_/s1600/IMG_7244.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnbR6TBTTUeQC6K_-Q9ROxiaf01e0ZRaIwNId5B5uE1YmO1RflnIoCdEmrVitZfSpuRoO4QRCn3YjL1QkN5l2_tceZIOx8-tJJusocedlbOORsae9lzPzzkBGM6FFp69v0ETsxeNfw3VG_/s400/IMG_7244.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<br />The girls love him, I love him and I'm pretty sure Erik loves him too. I'm so grateful he came to join our family.</div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54488/195/40936ED69709248907737FEB699552D8.png" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px !important;" /></a>Kendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791249950444252618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2492754224774004975.post-17306760560813551442014-01-14T10:29:00.001-07:002014-01-14T10:32:29.726-07:00Goal #36 and 67 completed<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Goal 36. Get up at 6am for QT consistently for a month M-F. (Weekends I get to sleep in!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Thanks to the cute furry little boy-dog named Cody, this has pretty much happened nearly everyday for the past year and a half because he can only be in his little dog crate for so long. Sometimes Erik gets up first and then I can sleep in a bit, but usually I'm up at 6am to let him out and feed him. Then I make coffee and read a bit. This school year Lindsay catches the bus at 7:26 am, so I have to wake her up at 6:30, which is another reason for me to be up. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggeV97EKlnYrrO02DSZyBryUlSmFlLoWPqnyEfhqy1id_YpFMcX0SeKcY5rsVMwiSkRwdD3eLfdCnOXwAep-5l9qM4bMj8os0CJFSYxlne2_5JQu31hZbnpBlD0CseCRubhi0pYxyDl81j/s1600/1113130850b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggeV97EKlnYrrO02DSZyBryUlSmFlLoWPqnyEfhqy1id_YpFMcX0SeKcY5rsVMwiSkRwdD3eLfdCnOXwAep-5l9qM4bMj8os0CJFSYxlne2_5JQu31hZbnpBlD0CseCRubhi0pYxyDl81j/s400/1113130850b.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Another cool thing about having Mr. Cody, is that not only am I up early to read, but I also get a walk in nearly everyday, and my walks are another opportunity to think, meditate and pray which, to me, is part of my "quiet time". And it's also another goal on my list, #</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">67. Try to take a hike/walk once a week even in the winter!</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54488/195/40936ED69709248907737FEB699552D8.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" /></a>Kendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791249950444252618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2492754224774004975.post-71990608936082739622014-01-14T10:22:00.002-07:002014-01-14T10:22:21.560-07:00Goal #19. Keep my toenails looking nice (trimmed and painted) for one whole summer.Goal #19 -- Keep my toenails looking nice (trimmed and painted) for one whole summer.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1kKsu57cFTDueyVw08zJ_q7CbZBUxAtXQhaaivCVewf52RIX_rybFy0nodFDqSTVK5lzaUpt0w4RefZt-DJPmRJYxjzf7yiL-TmNOaT4CO1STcHSJTV4OK7cOSjQORtRIuX2Lw3bQENvM/s1600/IMG_6844.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1kKsu57cFTDueyVw08zJ_q7CbZBUxAtXQhaaivCVewf52RIX_rybFy0nodFDqSTVK5lzaUpt0w4RefZt-DJPmRJYxjzf7yiL-TmNOaT4CO1STcHSJTV4OK7cOSjQORtRIuX2Lw3bQENvM/s400/IMG_6844.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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I can't believe I didn't post this before now, but I actually accomplished this goal not last summer but the one before that. I think that getting Cody that fall probably distracted me a bit. Oh well! The girls joined me in on this and we bought some of those fun nail stickers which made it even that much more fun. I am so not a good nail painter, so disregard all the mistakes in that picture!</div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54488/195/40936ED69709248907737FEB699552D8.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" /></a>Kendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791249950444252618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2492754224774004975.post-29667054656007476462014-01-14T10:15:00.000-07:002014-01-14T10:15:11.112-07:00Goal #3: Get a new cameraGoal #3 - Get a new camera.<br />
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When I set this goal initially, my thought was that the new camera would be one nicer than the point-and-shoot one I currently had. It worked, but I had thoughts about getting a bigger one with actual lenses and stuff. Turns out that's not exactly what happened.<br />
<br />About a year ago my old faithful Canon died. The shutter stopped working, so I looked it up online to see if it was under warranty. Turns out it wasn't, but I could send it back and get a refurbished one for a good price. So instead of spending big bucks on a super nice camera, I just spent a little bucks on a decent point-and-shoot. I'm still getting the hang of it, and there are some functions my old camera had that this one doesn't which makes me sad, so last year I didn't snap too many shots. The fact that I'm not blogging was probably a huge reason, actually. But this year will change that, I'm determined to capture more of our life moments on camera.<br />
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And so, Goal #3 has been fulfilled, even if it's not in the way I anticipated!<br />
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54488/195/40936ED69709248907737FEB699552D8.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" /></a>Kendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791249950444252618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2492754224774004975.post-2587497542618080292014-01-13T16:42:00.000-07:002014-01-13T16:42:07.927-07:00CrochetingSo I am pretty sure I mentioned the fact that I taught myself how to crochet last fall. I kept seeing all these cool things that a friend was crocheting and I just decided to learn. So I went to Joann's and bought a how-to book, some yarn and a few hooks. I quickly decided that I needed more than a book to learn, so I ended up looking up the specific stitches on Youtube. I've made many, many things since that first dishcloth, and I really enjoy spending my free time working on crochet projects. I have yet to write my own pattern, I'm seriously not that talented, but I've become really good at following other people's patterns! :) Maybe someday I'll make up my own and sell them on Etsy, but for now I crochet for fun and usually for gifts for my friends and family. And now I'll show you some of my more recently finished projects...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie4G_6n9PSjBtlv3CB37KlnnBx3wpofcja_kcO6oIkV6XwiVtSGlkt0ah9c2EcuWHpkpbQs8UA_vnK9QRmlNQLPAGWW0iitueHfAA85PvX6DRmQipCH4NbAkKxrH4JgTp89ixXCCUpSnce/s1600/0110141121.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie4G_6n9PSjBtlv3CB37KlnnBx3wpofcja_kcO6oIkV6XwiVtSGlkt0ah9c2EcuWHpkpbQs8UA_vnK9QRmlNQLPAGWW0iitueHfAA85PvX6DRmQipCH4NbAkKxrH4JgTp89ixXCCUpSnce/s400/0110141121.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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This one is for a friend's birthday. I tried following this pattern last year but wasn't quite up for it and had to frog it. But this time I paid attention to my stitch count and it worked up nicely. Pattern found <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/brain-waves-beanie" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR3ls6abdonSpDUc3iTaQufaQioGbIi08WEKSMDRp6POuTIUp9Ahjig7orflVMteDGOmzyb9uOxWh9J_IdQCAoMDDmbvGm3ZTss9W2sbL2g7O2YNacZMdFvwHhebOF-sqZvf9pKeO42bq2/s1600/0111141203.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR3ls6abdonSpDUc3iTaQufaQioGbIi08WEKSMDRp6POuTIUp9Ahjig7orflVMteDGOmzyb9uOxWh9J_IdQCAoMDDmbvGm3ZTss9W2sbL2g7O2YNacZMdFvwHhebOF-sqZvf9pKeO42bq2/s400/0111141203.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Lindsay isn't too excited about modeling my newest hat, but that's okay. I have the girls model most of my things for pictures because it's hard to do a decent selfie of crocheted items.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr8LF9lS8kmlTadJ_P74-l3kmGFZ8_9LNYMdUHvWmqtPVgQsipDbyP8zBSPHHdvFqBcG_rq4m1AuDzI7qROQbuhFQeCdxyMobuJ6SOatxu6UZ5DGt67vShaorzj2evXFzKfO-vMd7qEUQg/s1600/0111141204.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr8LF9lS8kmlTadJ_P74-l3kmGFZ8_9LNYMdUHvWmqtPVgQsipDbyP8zBSPHHdvFqBcG_rq4m1AuDzI7qROQbuhFQeCdxyMobuJ6SOatxu6UZ5DGt67vShaorzj2evXFzKfO-vMd7qEUQg/s400/0111141204.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<br />I've actually made three hats from this pattern now. The cream one, Lindsay's multicolored one and a pretty green one for Kera. I love how it comes together. Pattern <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/basic-newsboy-hat" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ph3MN3MepmpYi6CG57fyhPfnBokKSK3paq5DGfvzpQuGiardnW7flmLgnZyXwoBCvghWgswwlMzrnsiIFyDhhe75PSAB-YjYRR2yDAsC_DkMEaFjX06GvQ2PRKzVtXT5QGWOJvwE021x/s1600/0111141204a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ph3MN3MepmpYi6CG57fyhPfnBokKSK3paq5DGfvzpQuGiardnW7flmLgnZyXwoBCvghWgswwlMzrnsiIFyDhhe75PSAB-YjYRR2yDAsC_DkMEaFjX06GvQ2PRKzVtXT5QGWOJvwE021x/s400/0111141204a.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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A wonderful sideways pictures.<a href="http://lacycrochet.blogspot.com/2013/08/lacy-infinity-scarf-my-free-crochet.html?m=1" target="_blank"> This </a>was a pretty cowl I made as a gift. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-bHKI0Io0aCA8j-ExIt5hr8Qhzf3_mFPA8D0Hch7vrM2N8rwOFkF2ffMQGGZbfzNdSXzvAAKDJ3tjKXhAFRK4HQYVHVPzoq4gW-umzI2xX4Fi-FjBx28vcH3Pp8vyJr6kviqGeKXvs9YL/s1600/1023131607.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-bHKI0Io0aCA8j-ExIt5hr8Qhzf3_mFPA8D0Hch7vrM2N8rwOFkF2ffMQGGZbfzNdSXzvAAKDJ3tjKXhAFRK4HQYVHVPzoq4gW-umzI2xX4Fi-FjBx28vcH3Pp8vyJr6kviqGeKXvs9YL/s400/1023131607.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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This is my favorite slouchy hat pattern. I've made a couple and they are easy and fun and don't take much yarn. Pattern found<a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/urban-jungle-crocheted-slouchy-beanie" target="_blank"> here</a>.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfFbph6DWKDxUZ8f-tgRtaCC0St4nO58KBsMiJcZbBOoH1uqxB7tUJG6Bi8FYeliz9fSqs5_zfzLfeuoz3t5wGs8dBgBbvDI2KwQAc_mKrvsYmYJs62noWSZmwOllIJZM_vikHa535keqY/s1600/1023131633.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfFbph6DWKDxUZ8f-tgRtaCC0St4nO58KBsMiJcZbBOoH1uqxB7tUJG6Bi8FYeliz9fSqs5_zfzLfeuoz3t5wGs8dBgBbvDI2KwQAc_mKrvsYmYJs62noWSZmwOllIJZM_vikHa535keqY/s400/1023131633.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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Since I'm all into crocheting gifts now, I was pleased when the girls and I figured out we could crochet cowls for their teachers' Christmas gifts this year. After talking with the girls about what colors we should do, we came up with <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/peek-a-boo-infinity-cowl" target="_blank">this cowl.</a> We made one in green and this purple one.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrj1lRjwQ22BUYsTucNUtLq-l6O4cJO1cHco87HQci0k28MYaS0PlWUItcFpphVjl8qx6dqpk8GWNCK20JKl4rgJsIbeDvhAKrqmDhokcCrNKfcxEx96o4efwXTIuNEkxaKBFNhSmQZmOR/s1600/1120131558.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrj1lRjwQ22BUYsTucNUtLq-l6O4cJO1cHco87HQci0k28MYaS0PlWUItcFpphVjl8qx6dqpk8GWNCK20JKl4rgJsIbeDvhAKrqmDhokcCrNKfcxEx96o4efwXTIuNEkxaKBFNhSmQZmOR/s400/1120131558.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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This chunky cowl was going to be for me, but I used the wrong sized hook and it ended up really big. It's still warm and cozy, just too long for me. So I gave it as a gift instead. It should've looked like <a href="http://www.jjcrochet.com/blog/free-crochet-cowl-pattern/">this.</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnD9-YPwR8qxOyNEFYNKOVCCBEhcrr3gVVEPq9S8OXUZYc5ldpjIwgcWE-Y1gSg4kB3x1dwbnRpyUBLikEgirWnjaM33E0M6VkFBxMTKubTwr9qDj1HekyR0CsqitYu_YiwRbjC5raplzH/s1600/1120131600a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnD9-YPwR8qxOyNEFYNKOVCCBEhcrr3gVVEPq9S8OXUZYc5ldpjIwgcWE-Y1gSg4kB3x1dwbnRpyUBLikEgirWnjaM33E0M6VkFBxMTKubTwr9qDj1HekyR0CsqitYu_YiwRbjC5raplzH/s400/1120131600a.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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I whipped up<a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/seed-stitch-circle-scarf"> this cowl</a> for myself even in the midst of all my Christmas gift crocheting. It's silver and not as bulky as other cowls. It's not my favorite, but I like it.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil1EKPCQdkPg0L-6hucUYhOdIPY-fWLChu4hFbQwR6xqsuvVbbehS7LzNAg6d44Y-uLc6Urt4075ohskS-WjNO4-buSHMQWq_hp5Wa2vlCvFc9Dh17weP81kKLXLG98C01zeProwVbeLDe/s1600/1201132046.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil1EKPCQdkPg0L-6hucUYhOdIPY-fWLChu4hFbQwR6xqsuvVbbehS7LzNAg6d44Y-uLc6Urt4075ohskS-WjNO4-buSHMQWq_hp5Wa2vlCvFc9Dh17weP81kKLXLG98C01zeProwVbeLDe/s400/1201132046.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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This is one of my favorite hat patterns. I've made like five of this hat and this is just one I made for myself out of a tanish yarn. Pattern is<a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/chunky-hat-6"> here.</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzXegRlqpHJETBLmSOmQIJSfBdVfdrSwrN25UeML52iqcUO-5XxKkl0LQQnILJAIXmM8TxVFDYhXgp4g32vQNYXBxn4TDAevAMnOvVaOgGnsEaOXi7Nlq_-Ej1gps0Ot7ApMlOf8kXXOu8/s1600/1202131040a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzXegRlqpHJETBLmSOmQIJSfBdVfdrSwrN25UeML52iqcUO-5XxKkl0LQQnILJAIXmM8TxVFDYhXgp4g32vQNYXBxn4TDAevAMnOvVaOgGnsEaOXi7Nlq_-Ej1gps0Ot7ApMlOf8kXXOu8/s400/1202131040a.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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And one I made in black.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSwBPTjQn-gGPOsBHWkBIwEdqPdhd3n5H2hnM5BkPWUc5nnHD3QRZ9pVoNe408ilcU8fopWfPbcZT4wXYY-cMFk5J829cmfavPVRD8PG__fKdywpoq7g8HIatXqSFf3FgyB_fsshxS7wPb/s1600/1226131544a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSwBPTjQn-gGPOsBHWkBIwEdqPdhd3n5H2hnM5BkPWUc5nnHD3QRZ9pVoNe408ilcU8fopWfPbcZT4wXYY-cMFk5J829cmfavPVRD8PG__fKdywpoq7g8HIatXqSFf3FgyB_fsshxS7wPb/s400/1226131544a.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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When I started crocheting and saw all the patterns for cute little stuffed creatures, I didn't think I'd ever make something like that. But then the same friend who crocheting inspired me to start in the first place started posting all these pictures of these cute crocheted monsters and animals. So, I made a little monster and my kids LOVED it. So I made another and another. One of my favorites is this<a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/flavia-the-unicorn"> unicorn</a>. I made one for both my nieces and my nephew for Christmas.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimcl2upIR1tiFDQL68rfmMpcIQk-OcyB-aQGJLpKj4_JMZPVWR0Zu-sQEMGf6xGIelQVbBk6Btl6l3gaIHzVScGYgBEEt_43LBYX5qREPoU8kW_VYyWp3g-1aH0oJKH8AngdcWzvglyTCf/s1600/IMG_0419.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimcl2upIR1tiFDQL68rfmMpcIQk-OcyB-aQGJLpKj4_JMZPVWR0Zu-sQEMGf6xGIelQVbBk6Btl6l3gaIHzVScGYgBEEt_43LBYX5qREPoU8kW_VYyWp3g-1aH0oJKH8AngdcWzvglyTCf/s400/IMG_0419.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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Of all the things I've crocheted in the past year, the <a href="http://crochetincolor.blogspot.com/2011/10/soft-stitch-cowl-pattern.html" target="_blank">Soft Stitch Cowl</a> is by and far my most favorite piece. It took me a few tries to get my starting chain a similar tension to the rest of it, but it's worth the effort. I've made this in various colors for lots of birthday and Christmas gifts. It's just the most perfect sized (and feel if you use nice yarn) cowl.</div>
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<br />This is the color I made my mother-in-law for Christmas</div>
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This next one went to one of my sister-in-laws.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsgO78Xv2VF6JJrft2Ogs-yC6ViGoHes0NjNv1g5MOrm9m2xPRTNtcskHcByygRlMUH6zBQD4_JHD58kic3X969gfSuFdeheEZm1ojK7M7rAOObmkee_yogrkyEENk9pNmgBQpC_Xohsir/s1600/1130131225b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsgO78Xv2VF6JJrft2Ogs-yC6ViGoHes0NjNv1g5MOrm9m2xPRTNtcskHcByygRlMUH6zBQD4_JHD58kic3X969gfSuFdeheEZm1ojK7M7rAOObmkee_yogrkyEENk9pNmgBQpC_Xohsir/s400/1130131225b.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br />Then I recently finished a black one for myself. I wear this thing nearly all the time!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQkX73-LTZbWtru2f5OhjB5h0JqutaZvp6Amb34et8HtM0yu3-YwSUV03ibVoAXN6TX64UAHqTxoH-wSPsCGHlUTwJWLp1gpJmv-bVGikHyCALo-r6617QUxDelkn33AZrR0TNFcU1vPXu/s1600/1221131526.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQkX73-LTZbWtru2f5OhjB5h0JqutaZvp6Amb34et8HtM0yu3-YwSUV03ibVoAXN6TX64UAHqTxoH-wSPsCGHlUTwJWLp1gpJmv-bVGikHyCALo-r6617QUxDelkn33AZrR0TNFcU1vPXu/s400/1221131526.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<br />I've done many, many more projects, but you probably don't want to be bored with pictures of all of them. From here on out I'll try to share pictures of some of the new, fun things I create out of yarn! </div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54488/195/40936ED69709248907737FEB699552D8.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" /></a>Kendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791249950444252618noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2492754224774004975.post-46728508192689345512014-01-08T11:20:00.000-07:002014-01-08T11:20:51.185-07:00Hello Again.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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Hi there, I'm not sure if you remember me, but I'm the blogger who usually hangs out here. Yeah, it's been awhile since I've been around. I didn't really announce it or anything, but I took an unplanned break. Part of it was just because life got busy, but the main part was that I just kinda lost my inspiration. My blogging muse crawled into a cave and wouldn't come out. So, you're probably wondering if she's returned since I decided to show up today. </div>
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I think so. I've missed it, so I'm going to try to come back. But, I think writing is similar to working out, in that it's hard at first to get back into it. So be patient. I might not be super regular, or even very interesting or inspiring at first, but I'm going to try. </div>
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I thought, since it's been so long I'll give a quick update and share a few pictures.</div>
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We were able to take quite a few backpacking trips this past summer, as a family and one with just Erik and I (and the dog). It was a fun, adventure filled summer. We took this on a hike that went nowhere, it was very steep and we were all hot, even the dog!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKRPTKHvKtwYZ3PF3fwGgPMzQ1IoYZjoftbeZHhYG8FhmCtuWSVM6Jv5unk8NVunnqf7UTlJGm01wcRt5DgjmHCkxYn2aDBIXiy7MSIGez5-uxrubmvExpEKzhSg7879e-aEyCBoJvd_Xh/s1600/IMG_0385.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKRPTKHvKtwYZ3PF3fwGgPMzQ1IoYZjoftbeZHhYG8FhmCtuWSVM6Jv5unk8NVunnqf7UTlJGm01wcRt5DgjmHCkxYn2aDBIXiy7MSIGez5-uxrubmvExpEKzhSg7879e-aEyCBoJvd_Xh/s1600/IMG_0385.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Speaking of the dog. Cody is now about a yeah and a half old. He's turned into quite the fun dog. He was a lot of work there for awhile and I wondered what we'd gotten ourselves into! Him and I go for walks almost daily and he likes to find little treasures like other dogs' toys, pine cones, very large sticks and even animal parts. His favorite is deer legs. He's a sweet, good boy.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfhwr0anyT5SFTPap4C4xVVgyyzizX1D3FbYj9wUD82uXAnnN62ULX6xYCEr2TUlio3qqMT8gWlsBoYYsg_V65wCBU20Zy1PKWo5PyYn_2RqgPZ_ALMrTU6-5r7PzT2lO3ZFpqfkU6aLCl/s1600/1231131009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfhwr0anyT5SFTPap4C4xVVgyyzizX1D3FbYj9wUD82uXAnnN62ULX6xYCEr2TUlio3qqMT8gWlsBoYYsg_V65wCBU20Zy1PKWo5PyYn_2RqgPZ_ALMrTU6-5r7PzT2lO3ZFpqfkU6aLCl/s1600/1231131009.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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My kids have grown! Lindsay is nearly as tall as me and in Middle School. Crazy, right!? She's funny, real, smart and loves swimming and reading.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjihKFDlPb4ROHq4F9VWokJ_i4EQD3Rt-Mpp2wXVnJXvwPAbmIUnkMuEQ4bFMNhJD6jTCQuW8n00eQqvhxYoe38tnm9l9E98GEPr-UdCrImBODotGcGjPq8NEQ6zfazN5bw0flzybSKGTYw/s1600/IMG_0400.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjihKFDlPb4ROHq4F9VWokJ_i4EQD3Rt-Mpp2wXVnJXvwPAbmIUnkMuEQ4bFMNhJD6jTCQuW8n00eQqvhxYoe38tnm9l9E98GEPr-UdCrImBODotGcGjPq8NEQ6zfazN5bw0flzybSKGTYw/s1600/IMG_0400.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Kera is in 4th grade and absolutely loves school. She's growing into her own little person and still loves to play piano. She also wants to learn to play the guitar and the flute someday. </div>
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The girls are both wearing some of my crochet projects. I taught myself how to crochet last fall and it's been my favorite hobby since. I make nearly all the birthday gifts out of yarn now. I'm still able to be home, volunteering in the schools and running the girls around. I haven't written as much as I'd like, but am hoping to change that this year. I'm still working on getting healthy, paleo and all that and am looking forward to getting back into lifting weights regularly this year. </div>
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So, that's basically where I'm at in a nutshell. Hopefully I'll see you around here again!</div>
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Kendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791249950444252618noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2492754224774004975.post-12664206366946396222012-10-05T15:08:00.000-06:002012-10-05T15:08:02.630-06:00Taking a Walk<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Last weekend was spent up in the Flathead valley with Erik's folks. We sort of got out of the smoke that had plagued the Missoula valley for weeks and enjoyed a beautiful weekend with family. We decided on Saturday to drive up to Lake Mary Ronan and take a walk/hike around the lake. It was a gorgeous day, perfect for a walk.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI4cLi_Patx4b6hlUO02XP2ishooGFKytksP-hxLzcBt67Hgvzm2S4JfqmfF7WML3tM7qOUiuhZhR44xJ_zGP9lMaSMAz4cZfq_T1tskloE0v2slGVOc0g-qH1jb9M8dSCYU2QgKU2dHrc/s1600/IMG_7198.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI4cLi_Patx4b6hlUO02XP2ishooGFKytksP-hxLzcBt67Hgvzm2S4JfqmfF7WML3tM7qOUiuhZhR44xJ_zGP9lMaSMAz4cZfq_T1tskloE0v2slGVOc0g-qH1jb9M8dSCYU2QgKU2dHrc/s400/IMG_7198.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br />We all went, even Cody, of course. </div>
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Lake Mary Ronan is smaller than Flathead, but it definitely has it's own beauty. We walked through an area with lots of cattails which had some cool fall colors going on.</div>
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It never ceases to amaze me how diverse and beautiful the landscape around Montana is. There's lakes, mountains, cattails, bushes, trees and so much more.</div>
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I'm truly grateful to live in such a beautiful area, and that we can drive just a few hours from our house to find such treasures.</div>
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Our dry summer was pretty obvious in the siltyness of the road at one point and the bushes and trees which were already turning so many fall colors. </div>
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It didn't deter us in our walk however. </div>
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Of course we had to stop a few times. Once to cross a ditch in which we found HUGE crawfish and once or twice to pet the pup. </div>
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We finally got to the actual lake and spent some time chilling out there. Cody waded out in the water just enough to get his feet wet, but not too far.</div>
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While we skipped rocks and explored.</div>
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And, of course, just chilled out.</div>
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Once Cody was done in the water he came over to where Erik and I were perched on a rock and tried to crawl up into my lap. I didn't want a wet dog sitting on me, so I didn't let him.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgasbxXy2FvsL6MZnRNT0UnyJyThjmeS6WtEEyGjYdZYhgn7cKrgdMxW2QVFT7nW5YLWfgXHHepRgheHbKnkcDLw1QvaFasFlyJRj-KvwJl_a71JLe420ysux23QfPDCW7WbMI_2EW2L29w/s1600/IMG_7213.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgasbxXy2FvsL6MZnRNT0UnyJyThjmeS6WtEEyGjYdZYhgn7cKrgdMxW2QVFT7nW5YLWfgXHHepRgheHbKnkcDLw1QvaFasFlyJRj-KvwJl_a71JLe420ysux23QfPDCW7WbMI_2EW2L29w/s400/IMG_7213.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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So then he went over to Erik. Which is funny because he usually chooses me over Erik for some reason, probably because I'm the one home with him most days. Would Erik let the wet puppy, who was kinda cold and wet, sit in his lap?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZTxX9lU8hD7AODOyYwtyBW48zC2AqqEwTLCW8nUMoWTqj13w0S-meWjTC6h__sXN4XgJYtoF3DlhA0GTAfdL9u_fZfqt7eQQdOr8eHxbweuv2CrA2NKW7HCoSdSPbItCkac6APba8LA-B/s1600/IMG_7216.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZTxX9lU8hD7AODOyYwtyBW48zC2AqqEwTLCW8nUMoWTqj13w0S-meWjTC6h__sXN4XgJYtoF3DlhA0GTAfdL9u_fZfqt7eQQdOr8eHxbweuv2CrA2NKW7HCoSdSPbItCkac6APba8LA-B/s400/IMG_7216.JPG" width="300" /></a><br /><br />Well, because under that hard exterior shell, Erik is actually quite the softy so yes, he let the cold, wet puppy cuddle with him until we left.</div>
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Seriously, though, how could you say "no" to that cute face?</div>
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We enjoyed this view of Lake Mary Ronan.</div>
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Papa and Grandma enjoyed hanging out with the kiddos.</div>
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<br />Kiddos enjoyed playing with the puppy.</div>
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<br />And puppy probably enjoyed the whole thing, but especially being able to cuddle with "Daddy".</div>
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And a good time was had by all. :)</div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54488/195/40936ED69709248907737FEB699552D8.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" /></a>Kendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791249950444252618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2492754224774004975.post-84036648934019552682012-09-26T13:14:00.000-06:002012-09-26T13:14:47.387-06:00Kombucha<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
A few months back I bought some kombucha from the grocery store to try after hearing folks rave about it on the forums over at <a href="http://eplifefit.com/dap/a/?a=135" target="_blank">Everyday Paleo Lifestyle and Fitnes</a>s. My kids aren't totally on the sauerkraut bandwagon, and so I figured it was worth a try to see if I could get them some other form of fermented food. I liked the bubblyness of it, but didn't find every flavor that great. Kera really didn't like any of them, and Lindsay fell in love with all of them. So I began buying a bottle or two, mostly for Lindsay, every week. But then I got to thinking about how I like to make my own of almost everything and surely that's cheaper in the long run. I'd seen several blog posts about how to make your own, so I decided to try my hand at homemade kombucha.</div>
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The first thing you need for kombucha is a SCOBY, or a Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast. You can order them online, try to find one locally or grow your own. I don't know anyone locally that makes their own kombucha so I decided to try to grow our own since it was much cheaper than ordering one online. I figured if I couldn't grow one than we'd try ordering. I found <a href="http://www.foodrenegade.com/how-to-grow-a-kombucha-scoby/" target="_blank">this great blog post about how to grow your own SCOBY</a> and followed the directions. I wasn't sure if it would work, but I peeked in on it after a week or two and found a film growing on top just like it was suppose to. After about three weeks I had this beautiful 1/2" SCOBY:</div>
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<br />Once you have a SCOBY, you get to brew your kombucha tea. I used a combination of directions from <a href="http://everydaypaleo.com/2011/11/29/how-to-make-kombucha-by-katie-of-wellness-mama/?utm_campaign=How%20to%20Make%20Kombucha%20by%20Katie%20of%20Wellness%20Mama&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitter" target="_blank">this post</a>, <a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/7BYOzW/wellnessmama.com/2673/how-to-make-kombucha-soda/" target="_blank">this post</a> and <a href="http://www.foodrenegade.com/how-to-brew-kombucha-double-fermentation-method/" target="_blank">this post.</a></div>
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Basically, you make a gallon of tea, either regular or green tea. I used cheap ice tea in the family size bags. Four bags total for a gallon of boiling water.</div>
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Steeped it for 5 minutes and then added 1 cup of sugar. I don't use regular sugar anymore, but the SCOBY has to have something to eat, and there isn't any left after it's fermented, so no worries here.</div>
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Then, once the tea has come to room temperature, or the same temperature that the SCOBY is, you pour the tea into a large glass jar. I found mine at Walmart, I think it was originally a cookie jar but this is a much appropriate use. Carefully place the SCOBY on top with about 1/2 cup of the liquid from the SCOBY jar. My SCOBY actually sank the first time, which is suppose to be fine, <i>but </i>when I checked my kombucha a week or two later I found mold growing on top, so I ditched it all and started from scratch with growing the SCOBY. Now I make very certain my liquids are both at the same temperature before combining because I don't want to kill my SCOBY.</div>
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You cover it with a towel, secured with a rubber band and set aside for a week or two. This summer mine was brewing in 2-3 weeks, but this winter it will probably take longer because we keep our house pretty cool. I just leave mine on the counter completely covered by the towel.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq71PDTd6tlSUslcNauaLpJzzG5ccFrE0_QV7jGkFe6XWtiMH2Rr47ihDPe74pH-L5WMtYUVcU-bU5_iRKMvnV-MfMnWwTAV_wn_81Sjuhaw4kDeKRs-bjgTe8jDYC7iGJ_tvtKh_69-07/s1600/IMG_6964.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq71PDTd6tlSUslcNauaLpJzzG5ccFrE0_QV7jGkFe6XWtiMH2Rr47ihDPe74pH-L5WMtYUVcU-bU5_iRKMvnV-MfMnWwTAV_wn_81Sjuhaw4kDeKRs-bjgTe8jDYC7iGJ_tvtKh_69-07/s400/IMG_6964.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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After it's done brewing, which you can test by slipping a straw into the tea under the SCOBY and tasting it. It should be kinda tart but sweet. The longer it sits the less sweet it will be. Then you can do a second ferment with fruit juice which gives it flavor and makes it bubbly. This is the fun part. I've tried a variety of fruit juices to see what is our favorite. Lindsay loves hers made with grape juice, while Kera likes hers made with this juice called Razzleberry. (I like them all.) I love that I can make it in a way that both kids will drink it! Score one for fermented foods that the kids will eat!</div>
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I followed the directions in those prior links about second fermentation. Unless I give my SCOBY a break, I end up with a constant supply of kombucha in the frig at a fraction of the price of the store-bought stuff, which is great because we drink a little bit everyday, more if it's a flavor everyone likes!</div>
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Have you ever tried kombucha? Do you like it? Have you thought about making your own?</div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54488/195/40936ED69709248907737FEB699552D8.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" /></a>Kendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791249950444252618noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2492754224774004975.post-37371220645283635672012-09-25T21:16:00.002-06:002012-09-25T21:16:48.457-06:00The Story of How Cody Joined Our Family<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgentNy9r0wwH6nYtq6rc7CIcWPvfh1oO0eAjj6wReco5joder7uANBepql5IP9NwIs2uS_cKcZA_gX2xo5DIMfuHSVPmXFPl8yyp_5xEEx17H394TR7DqeYBfM9yHpc1pRuiHZHSLbM1dE/s1600/IMG_7196.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgentNy9r0wwH6nYtq6rc7CIcWPvfh1oO0eAjj6wReco5joder7uANBepql5IP9NwIs2uS_cKcZA_gX2xo5DIMfuHSVPmXFPl8yyp_5xEEx17H394TR7DqeYBfM9yHpc1pRuiHZHSLbM1dE/s400/IMG_7196.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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The day before Cody came to life with us I went to the Farmers Market and the mall with my mother-in-law and the girls. Erik and his dad were floating the river and fishing that day. Us girls decided to take our produce home and eat lunch before heading off to the mall for some clothes shopping for the girls. During that driving around we noticed some folks set up on the grass near Wal-Mart with puppies for sale. We saw the sign that said "Golden Retriever Puppies" and could see the cute, furry little bodies playing around in the grass. We could tell they were adorable even as we drove by, which is exactly why I didn't stop.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibcJVeKkflkCdAYudV5znlvHVTbUOimS0itntALzbQPLRTfDMBcXHGf73sWq8XWyCoKLS8HE9sGtu135bkJIOloav6mviaMrRKinr6M7DZ7nm7CQxsNQbmUCSE8Ac4rp0UT1-ra-TLjOAn/s1600/IMG_7195.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibcJVeKkflkCdAYudV5znlvHVTbUOimS0itntALzbQPLRTfDMBcXHGf73sWq8XWyCoKLS8HE9sGtu135bkJIOloav6mviaMrRKinr6M7DZ7nm7CQxsNQbmUCSE8Ac4rp0UT1-ra-TLjOAn/s400/IMG_7195.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br />I said out loud to both Karen and the girls, "I am not stopping they are so cute, I'm sure we'd fall in love." And so I didn't. Even as we drove past them three times, I never stopped. I just drove on by because I knew it would be trouble if I stopped.</div>
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That night I mentioned to Erik we'd seen them and how cute they were. He said something about I wonder if they'll be there tomorrow, but that was it. The next day we were dinking around the house, doing homework with the girls and getting ready for Monday. I was in the laundry room starting some laundry, Erik was outside, chatting on the phone and said to me through the window, "I'll be right back." He hopped in my car and took off. I had no idea where he was going.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi39x-8QhC7y4I4odz5pu7pFU2kAeGnIU0DDuaSPpyJBV2YAIPVqcTTYBjExebGvO87nTcycHB0lz4g8ZgY3UdK-clg_NgIl_P2L8TWfufsnJBLRIeaOdrFSE4ZjL-YK6Cku0244-VNa30o/s1600/IMG_7194.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi39x-8QhC7y4I4odz5pu7pFU2kAeGnIU0DDuaSPpyJBV2YAIPVqcTTYBjExebGvO87nTcycHB0lz4g8ZgY3UdK-clg_NgIl_P2L8TWfufsnJBLRIeaOdrFSE4ZjL-YK6Cku0244-VNa30o/s400/IMG_7194.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Turns out, he'd driven down to where they were selling the puppies. He talked to the guy and looked at the pups and came home pretty much with his mind decided, but his hands empty. He came in and said, "They have a really cute, calm one down there. What do you think? It'll be a lot of work, so are you ready?" I was sort of surprised to hear those words that day, but not that I heard them. I knew that <i>someday</i> we'd get a dog and after our fiasco with Pedro, we knew that we needed a big, outside dog. We'd recently camped with friends that had Golden Retrievers and we thought that would be a perfect dog. Not to mention it's one of the breeds of dog that Erik has always liked. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOaJbj8dGhhPW8MlWOTjRSrtJZITHVDmwr1lp2KE5labUorH1JUbWsBleoIr4U8AwWPU4ANHd3YZUGk3ewmMN7npLRFbdrsI36-8Zu9wZpUtztQC3l5VlXeDDi7ANQXNcbJaNm9vsYbZ0W/s1600/IMG_7189.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOaJbj8dGhhPW8MlWOTjRSrtJZITHVDmwr1lp2KE5labUorH1JUbWsBleoIr4U8AwWPU4ANHd3YZUGk3ewmMN7npLRFbdrsI36-8Zu9wZpUtztQC3l5VlXeDDi7ANQXNcbJaNm9vsYbZ0W/s400/IMG_7189.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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It seemed like these pups were maybe meant to be. So, I said "Yes. I'm ready for a puppy." (Ha ha, little did I know I had no idea what I was saying.) So Erik took Kera with him down to see if we could get a deal on a pup. A couple hours later he came home with this cute, furry little guy that we'd decide to name Cody.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWuJuwyiF9TZ9YM-V1OpIV0s803BzgATQvbH_2r0bh8U-IFQcKiCbLmQnRK7An0pHGdOW1gNCfFF-BoFegD4bryoCDOOeY_WL7Ue1Kq2VhkK-6_rS3deXoOKi-dsbyStnTPU-HP_DECDuS/s1600/0925121101a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWuJuwyiF9TZ9YM-V1OpIV0s803BzgATQvbH_2r0bh8U-IFQcKiCbLmQnRK7An0pHGdOW1gNCfFF-BoFegD4bryoCDOOeY_WL7Ue1Kq2VhkK-6_rS3deXoOKi-dsbyStnTPU-HP_DECDuS/s400/0925121101a.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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Erik said he picked the lightest colored and calmest of the litter, and I believe him. Cody is so good already at staying put in his "spot" in the house. He's playful like a pup but is pretty chill too. He loves the girls, and me too since I spend every day with him. He's definitely a lover and not a fighter.</div>
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<br />He's a great dog, but he is a puppy and by default that means he takes a little more attention and responsibility. And it's been a bit exhausting and stress-inducing, but each day it gets easier and I'm more confident in our "puppy-rearing" skills. We've had to have a couple talks with the girls about counting the cost of having him and how they are responsible for him as well. They've both stepped up to the plate so wonderfully, taking him out to potty, playing with him, taking him on walks and even *gasp* picking up his poop without complaining!</div>
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Some days I still can't believe he's a part of our family.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC4HZW-zMX-V4L-ZyAj3TDVaiEWRrMOaOmuucHyfMQ8QeBxV7qGgrwcSqUmyBI3y7cyGQ9YOvB4Uye-6FfG-lJ8mlYdaLGb9GnVFdIqLdcuymtjWiI4oyDAvDYk4a3XAWXGtJ2eIYPik81/s1600/0924121549.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC4HZW-zMX-V4L-ZyAj3TDVaiEWRrMOaOmuucHyfMQ8QeBxV7qGgrwcSqUmyBI3y7cyGQ9YOvB4Uye-6FfG-lJ8mlYdaLGb9GnVFdIqLdcuymtjWiI4oyDAvDYk4a3XAWXGtJ2eIYPik81/s400/0924121549.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<br />I'm excited to see what kind of dog he grows into and all the fun we'll be able to have with him like hiking, camping and playing outdoors.</div>
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Kendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791249950444252618noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2492754224774004975.post-61299429227202692912012-09-18T15:07:00.001-06:002012-09-18T15:07:16.841-06:00It's a Puppy Life<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5iHmQC4kFJwWfIdb6xHPpBf7wIOl-mCI2Ym5Q-qKI6FPQlLKFJ5wQ50idIRoLWyh91JKzkpljhfBEzbTeEmKnw9oouekkzHbKl-O23HG3RV0ENrYi1QDOk2ty7Y0f1CVJ0MT5kfHODvJi/s1600/0918121030a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5iHmQC4kFJwWfIdb6xHPpBf7wIOl-mCI2Ym5Q-qKI6FPQlLKFJ5wQ50idIRoLWyh91JKzkpljhfBEzbTeEmKnw9oouekkzHbKl-O23HG3RV0ENrYi1QDOk2ty7Y0f1CVJ0MT5kfHODvJi/s400/0918121030a.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Cody still is stealing quite a bit of my time as of late, especially on top of the time I am trying to give my human family, house and friends. I'm so grateful I'm not working a full-time job, it would be really tough to do that as well. One thing I've realized over the past week is that I don't know much about puppy rearing. I grew up around dogs, but never did any of the puppy training stuff. And so, I have lots of questions, doubts and fears. I know when it all boils down to it, he is <i>just a dog</i>, but I still would like to do this right since he's a part of our family. So I've been googling up a storm and talking to friends who've raised pups, which is interesting because so much of the advice is contradictory.</div>
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<br />I thought it would be interesting to see if any of my blog readers had puppy advice for me/us? I'm all ears....I'm particularly interested in how much should he be eating? crate/kennel training tips, self-administration of puppy shots, leash training, puppy classes, etc.</div>
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Thanks in advance!</div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54488/195/40936ED69709248907737FEB699552D8.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" /></a>Kendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791249950444252618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2492754224774004975.post-46226557138302207092012-09-15T15:59:00.001-06:002012-09-15T15:59:18.538-06:00Puppies are good for....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVn_ynTPwGQL9W2q3KF5RZdNjIbewTmZGa35moZcfft-eVko8WMydpi432xhYqhBZMIJL8Xso3hIucnOOnTklmgcA-QvZ4h6uKpP8D2DlttVLmteq5cIHLjBHufXpHZIiDy4w_150FZpBG/s1600/273056_10151068141958737_844852417_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVn_ynTPwGQL9W2q3KF5RZdNjIbewTmZGa35moZcfft-eVko8WMydpi432xhYqhBZMIJL8Xso3hIucnOOnTklmgcA-QvZ4h6uKpP8D2DlttVLmteq5cIHLjBHufXpHZIiDy4w_150FZpBG/s400/273056_10151068141958737_844852417_o.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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I've learned a few things in the past week of being a "Puppy Mom". Puppies are good for:</div>
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<li><b>Getting you outside</b>. I've spent more time outside playing with him and taking him on mini-walks in the past week than I normally would. </li>
<li><b>Making you laugh</b>. Our puppy has the tendency to be clumsy and it's usually funny at his expense. I've giggled at his silly antics a lot this week.</li>
<li><b>Warming your heart. </b>He's so stinkin' cute and good that I can't help but smile when looking at him or playing tug o' war with him. Total stress relief.</li>
<li><b>Cutting down on technology time.</b> Obviously I haven't been online since I've not been blogging, but my kids have had very little screen time this past week. Instead they've been hanging out with Cody inside or outside. One day they spent all afternoon after school outside except for 30 cumulative minutes spent eating, doing homework and bathing.</li>
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I love our new little member of the family and he's good for a lot. Unfortunately, there's a few things he's <i>not</i> good for.</div>
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<li><b>Sleeping. </b>Okay, so actually this isn't too bad. We haven't had to get up with him in the middle of the night like you would with a human baby, but he is ready to get out of his kennel early in the morning, so there's not really anymore sleeping in around here. </li>
<li><b>Productivity. </b>All that time I'm spending watching him is time I'm not cleaning, cooking, bookworking or doing other such "jobs" that I should be doing. I usually bide my time til the girls get home from school and put them on "puppy patrol" so I can work uninterrupted for a few hours.</li>
<li><b>Sitting down for longer than 30 minutes. </b>He'll snooze during the day but not usually longer than 30 min to an hour, so I'm on my feet a lot, which is good, but exhausting!</li>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54488/195/40936ED69709248907737FEB699552D8.png" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px !important;" /></a>Kendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791249950444252618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2492754224774004975.post-82337764936298049522012-09-12T14:24:00.001-06:002012-09-12T14:24:52.274-06:00My excuse<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
School had started and I was getting into a routine. I finally had some uninterrupted time during the day to do various things like clean, cook, workout and even blog. I was starting to get some ideas for cool things to write about. And then something happened.</div>
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One beautiful Sunday afternoon Erik came home with this soft and cuddly Golden Retriever puppy.</div>
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<br />Whom we named Cody,</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir2HsCdh547VkFtr9H2WVd7noquFR5bc_AdDbZ_XNN36Ds8q3q5tjYboVUHbtyaOcIcLjXR8hUNE3KZntbXyFbi2pZz6q5Jdn7CMQtJM_cgQpgw0G91p5lUb9LVm0zU2Eb4UZ0RRTppULx/s1600/0910121422.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir2HsCdh547VkFtr9H2WVd7noquFR5bc_AdDbZ_XNN36Ds8q3q5tjYboVUHbtyaOcIcLjXR8hUNE3KZntbXyFbi2pZz6q5Jdn7CMQtJM_cgQpgw0G91p5lUb9LVm0zU2Eb4UZ0RRTppULx/s400/0910121422.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br />and have welcomed arms wide open wide into our home and family.</div>
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I've been a little busy being a puppy Mom and haven't been able to blog. But I promise that when we finally settle down into a routine and I have some time I'll tell you the story about how Cody came to us. For now just look at how cute he is!</div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54488/195/40936ED69709248907737FEB699552D8.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" /></a>Kendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791249950444252618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2492754224774004975.post-58036391690825770842012-09-07T16:59:00.002-06:002012-09-07T16:59:59.970-06:0030. Do an overnight pack trip as a family.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
After Erik and I had such a great time backpacking, we wanted to have the kids at least try it this summer. So we spent a couple weeks amassing the supplies to get a family of four into the back country. We bought the girls nice new kid-sized packs. We found another two-person tent online. Erik found himself a new warmer sleeping bag. I invested in dehydrated eggs, peppers and onions. We got the girls some camp utensils and some inexpensive sporty (wicking) clothes.</div>
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Then we made a big ol' mess in the living room as we figured out where to stow everything. The name of the game was lightweight and as minimal as possible. We filled the girls' bags with their sleeping bags, thermarests and clothes, including their life jackets for swimming in the lake. Erik and I carried everything else. Tents, food, fishing poles, etc.</div>
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We got up early and drove down the Bitterroot to Bakers Lake, near Trappers Peak. We'd done the hike on a Saturday the week before to scope out the location. The trail was only a little over a mile, but was mostly uphill. We figured we'd take lots of breaks and take it slow and easy for the girls' sake. Almost immediately Lindsay was complaining about the hike. Kera was pretty miserable too, but she hardly made a peep. We stopped so many times to rest. At first I was patient with Lindsay, encouraging her that she could do it, etc. But about halfway there when she kept saying "I can't do it" I got fed up with being gentle on her and told her to "Buck up" or "Put your big girl panties on and stop whining". I wasn't mean, just firm. I knew she <i>could </i>do it and all her talk about not being able to do it wasn't helping her.</div>
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Well, it took us a good two hours, but we finally made it to the lake. Once there we hiked an additional little ways around the lake to the other side where we'd scoped out the best camp sites.</div>
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Erik and I set up the tents and stuff while the girls chilled out on these big rocks. Lindsay was reading. (Yes, we packed minimally but books are a necessity in this family!)</div>
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It was a beautiful day and the lake is just gorgeous.</div>
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We spent the rest of that day chilling out. We swam a little, which was great, and ate our snacky lunch and cooked our camp dinner (tuna and mashed potatoes, surprisingly tasty!).</div>
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A couple of friends came up with their dogs that night, which was cool. The girls loved playing with the dogs. They had to leave the next day for work, but we decided to hike up to the other two lakes higher up from Bakers.</div>
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<br />The beginning of the hike goes through a really moosey creek area.</div>
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The hike to Middle Lake wasn't too tough and the lake was beautiful. The girls definitely did better hiking without their packs, although we still had to have a couple "talks" about how there shouldn't be any whining.</div>
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Middle Lake</div>
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<br />Once we got to Middle Lake, we decided to tackle the crest up to Gem Lake.</div>
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Scenery on the way</div>
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Gem Lake really does look like a jewel. My camera did not do it justice whatsoever. We sat on the grass and ate our lunch with this incredible view.</div>
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<br />Then Erik did some fishing.</div>
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The water was so clear.</div>
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The wind came up and we got chilly, so out came the sweatshirts. I think Lindsay's hat and gloves are leftover from the night before. We hiked back down to Middle Lake,</div>
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<br />and Erik tried his hand at some more fishing.</div>
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While the girls and I snacked and sang songs together. We played "Bad Singer Idol" and tried to compete to see whose singing was the worst. I totally won.;)</div>
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That night some other friends of ours came up, this time another family of four. The girls had fun playing with the boys, who are pretty near their ages. </div>
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We hiked up to the other lakes again this day. I tried to take a nap at Middle Lake because I was seriously exhausted. The night before the temps up there dipped down below freezing and both Lindsay and I didn't sleep good. Our bags were not warm enough and we hadn't brought enough clothes. I wanted to cry in the middle of the night and really wanted to go home. But, I decided to push through and enjoy the day with our friends. I did learn from that, though. You can never pack too minimalistic to not include long underwear and/or some wool vests or coats <u>and</u> there's nothing like a <b>good </b>sleeping bag.</div>
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We came home and ordered me a warm NorthFace bag so I never have that problem again! There's nothing as miserable as not being able to sleep because you're cold. </div>
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The hike off the hill was pretty easy. We had less stuff since we'd eaten for 3 days, so I took a majority of the girls' extra stuff, leaving them with just their sleeping bags and mats. Then, we were going almost all downhill, so the actual hiking was much easier. Lindsay hiked up ahead with the boys and talked the entire time, not whining once. Kera stayed with me near the rear and only complained of her legs being "trembly" at the end, which mine were too (that darn downhill). </div>
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All in all, it was a fun and good trip. It's definitely not the girls' favorite form of camping, but there were parts they really liked and so I think we'll probably do it with them again. I'm very grateful to be able to mark this one off my goal list! :)</div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54488/195/40936ED69709248907737FEB699552D8.png" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px !important;" /></a>Kendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791249950444252618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2492754224774004975.post-39014331258720023612012-09-06T01:00:00.000-06:002012-09-06T01:00:07.135-06:0027. Let the girls call the shots (within reason) for one whole day.<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://kenedram.blogspot.com/p/101-goals-in-1001-days.html" target="_blank">Goal # 27. Let the girls call the shots (within reason) for one whole day.</a></div>
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One of the last full days of summer vacation became "Kids in Charge Day." Which didn't exactly give the girls the right to do everything that costs money, but more to let them call most of the shots and not hear Mom say "No". Now, for clarification, which I had to point out to them too, it didn't give them clearance to argue, be mean to each other or generally misbehave.<br /><br />So, here's how the day went down:</div>
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They spent the morning watching cartoon episodes on Netflix streaming in their pajamas. </div>
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Then we snacked a bit before going to the movie theater. We watched "The Odd Life of Timothy Green"</div>
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Came home to eat some ice cream sundaes before I prepared dinner. </div>
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After dinner I soaked and massaged their feet and gave them little pedicures. </div>
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I think they probably watched more Netflix at that point.</div>
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It was fun, pretty easy and not too out of control. I think it just might become a summer tradition because Mom liked it as much as the kiddos did. :)</div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54488/195/40936ED69709248907737FEB699552D8.png" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px !important;" /></a>Kendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791249950444252618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2492754224774004975.post-13233407415378066472012-09-05T14:41:00.000-06:002012-09-05T14:41:27.025-06:00What Did You Read This Summer?I had a pretty high pile of books from the library living on the floor next to my bed nearly all summer. I put a whole bunch on hold and then found a pile of other books I wanted to read each time I'd take the girls to switch out books or pick up a hold book. I still have quite a pile, but I still made pretty good progress on it. I think I just kinda switched new books out for old books, so the pile stayed the same height just comprised of different books.<br />
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I haven't blogged about my reading for awhile, so I thought I'd do a quick summary/review and update my <a href="http://kenedram.blogspot.com/p/recipes.html" target="_blank">Bibliophile page</a> too.<br />
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Not in any particular order, the books I've enjoyed this summer:<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1466394579/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1466394579&linkCode=as2&tag=alno00-20"><img border="0" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1466394579&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=alno00-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=alno00-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1466394579" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
<b>Here (On the Otherside #1) by Denise Grover Swank</b><br />
I really enjoyed this book, it's been sitting on my kindle for who knows how long, and I finally got to it this summer when I found myself up at the lake and finished with the library book I'd brought. It's a young adult kind of science fiction/dystopian novel, which I have discovered that I thoroughly enjoy. I gobbled it up in only a day and was glad to see that Denise Swank is working on the sequel.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0061974579/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0061974579&linkCode=as2&tag=alno00-20"><img border="0" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0061974579&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=alno00-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=alno00-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0061974579" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
<b>The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore</b><br />
The sequel to "I am Number Four" (which was also a movie) is action-packed and engaging. Another young adult science fiction/fantasy book. A great read, I enjoy this series.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062024035/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0062024035&linkCode=as2&tag=alno00-20"><img border="0" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0062024035&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=alno00-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=alno00-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0062024035" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
<b>Divergent by Veronica Roth and </b><b>Insurgent by Veronica Roth</b><br />
This book was recommended for me somewhere because I liked the Hunger Games. Yes, another young adult dystopian novel and the main character is a girl that can fight back, so what's not to love? I totally gobbled up this book and then immediately downloaded the sequel onto my kindle to finish the story. I got to the end of that to find that it wasn't the end, there'll be one more book and boy am I looking forward to that!<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0142001805/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0142001805&linkCode=as2&tag=alno00-20"><img border="0" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0142001805&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=alno00-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=alno00-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0142001805" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
<b> The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde</b><br />
This was a bit different than what I typically read, but a dear friend from college (and fellow bibliophile) recommended it, so I gave it a whirl. Her description,which was pretty accurate, was, "<span style="background-color: #edeff4; color: #333333; line-height: 14px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>It's a bit difficult to define. It's part fantasy, part sci-fi, part comedy. It's perfect for English majors. Britain is still waging the Crimean War, you can clone your own dodo for a pet, and nearly all crime revolves around cheese and literature. It's hilarious!"</i></span></span><br />
I enjoyed it and am wanting to read more about Thursday Next.<br />
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<b>The 11th Hour by James Patterson</b><br />
Another thrilling detective thriller featuring Alex Cross, typical James Patterson, which I enjoy for a quick, easy read, which describes the other Patterson ones I read this summer:<br />
<b>I, Michael Bennet by James Patterson</b><br />
<b>Private Games by James Patterson</b><br />
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<b>Red Mist by Patricia Cornwell</b><br />
Kay Scarpetta is on the case again and this time it includes possible bio-terrorism. This one was a pretty slow starter for Cornwell, I'm kinda wondering if she's running out of steam for good ol' Kay. It was pretty good once I slogged through the first chapter or two of introspection.<br />
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<b>A Game of Thrones #1(A Song of Ice and Fire) by George R.R. Martin</b><br />
Yes, I finally jumped on the bandwagon of the Game of Thrones. It was okay, I like the time-setting of the story, but I could honestly do without all the killing and adult themes. I guess I'm much more of a Ranger's Apprentice type of gal.<br />
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<b>Wicked Business by Janet Evanovich</b><br />
Funny, light, entertaining and not very realistic. A good summer read, for sure.<br />
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How about you? Read any good books this summer?<br />
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54488/195/40936ED69709248907737FEB699552D8.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" /></a>Kendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791249950444252618noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2492754224774004975.post-41864562274257137002012-09-05T13:30:00.001-06:002012-09-05T13:30:40.192-06:0092. Go to a Griz or Osprey gameA couple weeks back we were presented with the opportunity to attend an Osprey baseball game. My folks were hosting their company in the covered party deck area. We would be able to eat and then watch the game from the patio and we were invited because I work (very) part-time for them. It was a Friday night that we just happened to be in town, so we decided to take them up on it. I know the girls had been really wanting to see a baseball game, so I figured we'd do it for them, because honestly, I really don't enjoy watching sports. The only reason I even made it a goal to go to a game was because the girls have made some noise about seeing both a baseball and a football game.<br />
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We went early, the dinner was being served about 1.5 hours before the game actually started. We all got Osprey hats and found a table with my brother and sister. My sister actually works for my folks and my brother works for a vendor, so he was invited too. It was kind of weird being there since I don't know really any other employees. But, the dinner was pretty good, and we all ate and then sat in the shade chatting and watching the baseball teams warm up. It was breezy out and wasn't nearly as hot as I thought it would be, I think sitting in the shade helped.</div>
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It was a long wait for the game to start. The girls were getting antsy and kind of bored, but then the game started. Everyone pulled their chairs up to the railing so they could see and the girls were ready for some action. Well, if you've ever been to a baseball game, you'll know that there isn't a ton of action. It moved pretty slowly and Erik and I were ready to go almost as soon as it started. Erik explained the game of baseball to the girls and they watched for a few innings. Then he told them that if we left now (it was right about the 3rd inning at this point) we could get Baskin Robbins. </div>
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Well, they were done. They were done with baseball and ready for ice cream. As we walked away from the ball park Lindsay said something about hoping it would be more action packed next time. I mentioned that maybe sports is more interesting when you know someone playing and that we might have to try a Griz game before completely throwing in the towel on sports viewing, since we know one of the players. So, although I don't think my kids are going to clamor for baseball viewing anytime soon, we might not be completely off the hook. So, we made it about four innings total, but we can still say that we completed <a href="http://kenedram.blogspot.com/p/101-goals-in-1001-days.html" target="_blank">Goal #92. Go to a Griz or Osprey Game!</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54488/195/40936ED69709248907737FEB699552D8.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" /></a>Kendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791249950444252618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2492754224774004975.post-9922055079560530492012-08-09T01:00:00.000-06:002012-08-09T01:00:11.285-06:00Hiking in Glacier: Avalanche Lake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
During our extended weekend away, Erik and I with his sister and her hubby managed to ditch all the kids with the grandparents and get away for a day to do a hike up in Glacier. We decided to do the one to Avalanche Lake since it's near the West entrance and short but scenic. </div>
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In the beginning the trail is paved because it loops up with the Trail of the Cedars, which is handicap accessible.</div>
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But pretty quickly it veers off and you get a view of Avalanche creek almost immediately. The blue color from glacial flour is pretty cool and the way the water has carved the rock over the years is even cooler.</div>
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Erik with his sister and her hubby</div>
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Erik and I in front of the creek</div>
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The hike is shaded about 99% of the time and the forest growth is pretty impressive. </div>
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Something even more impressive was a view of why the lake and hike has it's name. You could see an area on the hillside across a small valley where an avalanche had pushed down all the trees, but even more impressive was the fact that it was clear the avalanche had gone down the far hill, through the valley and up the hill to end right around near the trail. The trees were all plowed down through the whole path. That was some forceful avalanche for sure!</div>
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Erik at Avalanche Lake</div>
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Avalanche Lake</div>
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It was pretty cool to see so many waterfalls, I can't imagine what they look like a month ago with the runoff.</div>
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I asked Erik's sister and her hubby to pose for a picture and this is what they did. They are a couple of jokesters.</div>
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And a normal one!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqdvckaPrqX84H4ykC6UJTXXz2nqfkdSpQrw5N1qhtSExMCOz3L3KklRXvHBOhcoWOtrOFU4BEd14NLqjgejqhkMZ0IZan-c2R7eMiGXpqzNhQMo_tvpO4BZBXnkoqco34TiX53N3x7T-l/s1600/IMG_7102.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqdvckaPrqX84H4ykC6UJTXXz2nqfkdSpQrw5N1qhtSExMCOz3L3KklRXvHBOhcoWOtrOFU4BEd14NLqjgejqhkMZ0IZan-c2R7eMiGXpqzNhQMo_tvpO4BZBXnkoqco34TiX53N3x7T-l/s400/IMG_7102.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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The different colors and layers of rock in the hill were pretty cool</div>
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So it turns out I got to go hiking twice in Glacier this year, I'm a pretty lucky girl! :)</div>
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<br /></div>Kendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791249950444252618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2492754224774004975.post-29850652676924742752012-08-08T16:23:00.002-06:002012-08-08T16:23:45.604-06:00Fun on Flathead Lake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
We recently spent an extended weekend with Erik's folks and his sister's family. Since his folks live within walking distance of Flathead Lake, we typically spend some time on or in the water when we hang out up there, especially this time of the summer when the water is finally warm enough to swim in. One day we took two boats, his father's sailboat and our Smoker-craft fishing boat, and anchored in a calm area off one of the islands. We ate picnic lunches and jumped into the lake. It was a beautiful day and a great way to spend it. </div>
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Lindsay hanging out on the sailboat</div>
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Kera on the sailboat</div>
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Erik's silly father and sister on the sailboat</div>
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Erik and I in the fishing boat</div>
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Flathead Lake</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_0SggTtkBwbF1GWKUmKUhLA4xRZQzJcNIezjGx49xmF9ajjj0KkfP2LqhfhgYwFvVSQcPbd2kPmPE7Q899hv2fUWOirD7zghHYgWsg2fdXdKCUFEskRUTkOLN3-4wwgOmRK6mkmKZH2_N/s1600/IMG_7081.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_0SggTtkBwbF1GWKUmKUhLA4xRZQzJcNIezjGx49xmF9ajjj0KkfP2LqhfhgYwFvVSQcPbd2kPmPE7Q899hv2fUWOirD7zghHYgWsg2fdXdKCUFEskRUTkOLN3-4wwgOmRK6mkmKZH2_N/s400/IMG_7081.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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More Flathead Lake</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT1ooqUlGbxAbZ64ikEO76DJUj32q2nfPAuisiEpYlNJZ2j9DM7qFtzZY1MgiGF6sZoHOzBqIpck6gkHWt_GihRcMnEF7KUva2MMDqovgLVAInSryA1zZYmNArkvLEJW6v6dvYNCBH2L4G/s1600/IMG_7082.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT1ooqUlGbxAbZ64ikEO76DJUj32q2nfPAuisiEpYlNJZ2j9DM7qFtzZY1MgiGF6sZoHOzBqIpck6gkHWt_GihRcMnEF7KUva2MMDqovgLVAInSryA1zZYmNArkvLEJW6v6dvYNCBH2L4G/s400/IMG_7082.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Lindsay swam over to the fishing boat and we hauled her in.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgci-4MrNr_mpwqaozQY3JzjIcktvjydiYB-u6ezkplbZwG1j-BkFCkbAS0ylma1ol31KCFCfz13g5ZfDm1_CsvgvQtT1brTQTouCSoy8Wi0qiLNz0Za_3OQuckKhxZPz5JREO-vP1sOx1C/s1600/IMG_7083.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgci-4MrNr_mpwqaozQY3JzjIcktvjydiYB-u6ezkplbZwG1j-BkFCkbAS0ylma1ol31KCFCfz13g5ZfDm1_CsvgvQtT1brTQTouCSoy8Wi0qiLNz0Za_3OQuckKhxZPz5JREO-vP1sOx1C/s400/IMG_7083.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Erik and his Father "snorkeling"</div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54488/195/40936ED69709248907737FEB699552D8.png" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px !important;" /></a>Kendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791249950444252618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2492754224774004975.post-71495478379762855602012-07-31T01:00:00.000-06:002012-07-31T01:00:06.704-06:00Our Adventures in Back Country Camping, Day 3<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Since it took us forever to get there and since we had time commitments on Sunday, we decided that Saturday would be the day we packed up camp and headed out of the mountains. We'd tossed around the idea of staying at the campground at Lower Miner Lakes that night and heading home on Sunday, but decided to play that one by ear. So, we woke up on Saturday, had our camp coffee and freeze-dried eggs and began the long process of re-packing everything. We wanted to put everything away correctly and as dry as possible, so we spent some time laying things out in the sun, rolling up air mattresses, etc. It was right around 11am by the time we were finally geared up to hit the trail out.</div>
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This is me before heading out</div>
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A view back at what we were leaving</div>
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Me and Erik. He's eating sunseeds which is why he isn't smiling. He was happy, I promise. Well, for awhile at least. His ankles started to hurt and so we decided that when we got to the green bridge (remember, the one we neglected to turn at on our trip in?) we would stop and put our feet in the cold water for a bit. Hiking out was mostly downhill, so the hiking part wasn't hard, I felt like a million dollars. But I think he ended up with more weight in his pack on the way out and his ankles sometimes hurt on hikes, so together that made him kinda sore. Nearly two hours later we made it to the bridge.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bridge you need to turn at to get to Upper Miner Lakes which isn't signed!</td></tr>
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We ate some jerky, gorp and carrots while soaking our feet in the refreshing water. It was pretty cold you couldn't keep them in for more than a couple minutes.</div>
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It was a pretty spot for a breather, though. I dipped my hat as we were leaving and Erik dipped his t shirt and hat. That felt pretty refreshing. The sun was intense on our hike out and it was quite a bit warmer than our hike in. I was grateful we were going mostly downhill, going uphill in that sun would've been not much fun.</div>
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We crossed paths with three groups of hiker and one group of mountain bikers on our way out, which would be the only ones we saw the whole time we'd been there besides the helpful hikers on our way in. We didn't see one person the whole time we were camped back there, it was nice! We made it to our car after another 30-40 minutes after the bridge. It felt so good to take off my boots and put on my chacos and to sit in the comfort of the car. We still had to drive out on that unmaintained road, which took nearly an hour, but hallelujah we made it out without damage to the car and without me having a panic attack. </div>
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Once we'd made that far we decided to just continue on home. The Lower Miner Lake campground was not very pretty compared to where we'd just stayed and it was $7/night. We decided we'd much rather just go home, take showers and rent a movie. So, we stopped in Wisdom for a burger and fries before heading home.</div>
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<br />And you know what we talked about nearly the whole time we hiked and drove home? About what equipment we needed for the girls to join us when we do this again, because we will be doing it again. Although my legs are tired and I had moments of anxiety, this whole trip was just a wonderful experience. I loved camping out in the woods away from everyone and everything. I loved cooking over the camp-stove and fire. I just enjoy being in the beauty of God's creation. I cannot wait to do it again!</div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54488/195/40936ED69709248907737FEB699552D8.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" /></a>Kendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791249950444252618noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2492754224774004975.post-15828946664189250132012-07-30T01:00:00.000-06:002012-07-30T01:00:07.313-06:00Our Adventures in Back Country Camping, Day 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Despite less than stellar sleep the first night, our second day dawned clear and beautiful. We whipped up some coffee and freeze-dried eggs, which were actually pretty tasty, using our awesome single burner dual fuel stove and then got the lay of the land a little bit more.</div>
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Our campfire area. Someone put a ton of work into making this area really cool. The benches are secure and level.</div>
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View towards the far end of the lake from a bench</div>
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Our little home away from home.</div>
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View of the lake and rocky peak from our camp area</div>
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Another view of the peak and lake</div>
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<br />After breakfast and some down time, we loaded up some snacks and fishing gear and hiked down to the end of the lake. Those aren't glaciers, just huge piles of snow that hadn't melted off yet. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8qs-Sq0BWlppD56LQBcjZBMXs-cjOoA5cx5K4C9TCsfTcWXGb0iJoDMhTgTyflswRI88uL4SJWBkwKEeXAYZLS8ptnzrJk7EgToSMSwmIoN4JkUCS5G7gSriwI3krjG8KeGmidPKvKvv-/s1600/IMG_7041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8qs-Sq0BWlppD56LQBcjZBMXs-cjOoA5cx5K4C9TCsfTcWXGb0iJoDMhTgTyflswRI88uL4SJWBkwKEeXAYZLS8ptnzrJk7EgToSMSwmIoN4JkUCS5G7gSriwI3krjG8KeGmidPKvKvv-/s400/IMG_7041.JPG" width="400" /></a><br /><br />The lake was so clear</div>
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And the rocky peaks above just looked super cool. So, once you hike to the end of the lake, you can turn and scramble up this:</div>
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To get to another Upper Miner Lake that's even higher up and supposedly has great fishing. It looked really steep but not super long, so we ventured up. </div>
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Erik is such a great hubby and wore the pack containing our lunch and fish gear.</div>
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We had to stop quite often to rest due to the steepness, and I snapped a few pictures of the lower lake as we ascended. Once we got about halfway I had to stop looking down though, as my fear of heights was making me feel quite anxious. I had to just focus on looking up towards our destination and putting one foot in front of the other.</div>
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We finally made it to the pretty upper lake.</div>
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We had a snack/lunch and Erik set up his fishing pole while I looked around a little.</div>
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But Erik didn't get any fishing in. Just about the time he got done setting up his pole, some dark menacing clouds started rolling in over the peak above us and a pretty chilly breeze came up. We hadn't packed our rain gear (duh!) and didn't want to get stuck in a thunderstorm that high up, so we packed up our gear and headed back down the steep hill. We stopped in some trees for shelter from the rain at one point, and then continued on. The rain made the logs and bear grass slippery, so we had to be even more careful on our way down. I used quite a few trees and clumps of bear grass to grasp as I inched my way down. We finally made it down. I was tired and had had enough of the mosquitoes and it was still kinda raining so I decided to take a nap. It was pretty relaxing just laying in our tent and exactly what I needed after the morning's excitement.</div>
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After my much needed catnap, Erik thought we should jump in the lake. We didn't swim, but just jumped in and out real quick like. It was so refreshing and pretty stinkin' cold. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLHNIK5X8X22f09-h8ISSNOpd0xzrKK1FuzOw64cFJSTmQOCOiStAlzYrwxroYIbb4Pulj9XWDfx4NtrYClp2jh8jp2-49_YO8azc8crgSq42gNVQtm4vbQ9a5qPdeHIvqDV_eF0W51d0k/s1600/IMG_7054.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLHNIK5X8X22f09-h8ISSNOpd0xzrKK1FuzOw64cFJSTmQOCOiStAlzYrwxroYIbb4Pulj9XWDfx4NtrYClp2jh8jp2-49_YO8azc8crgSq42gNVQtm4vbQ9a5qPdeHIvqDV_eF0W51d0k/s400/IMG_7054.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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Once we were dry, we decided it was probably time to do some fishing and catch dinner. Erik set me up with a pole, bobber and Chernobyl ant fly and cast it out for me. Before he'd even got his fly rod set up, I'd caught this nice sized Brook trout. It was beautiful! And it was the only one I caught that night! Erik caught two more smaller brookies and we figured it was enough for dinner. I whipped up some instant mashed garlic potatoes to go with the fish and we had quite the feast. </div>
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I snapped these pictures while Erik was catching the other two fish:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Nj7N9vhHW75mZ1jMTYBrRT7jc2CZ2pNg1sNK_ndL9HBdRzMdqeGrifcasRZeKlDRbx7J04tC_tOd_gg5gbf8p-wjfkNUa00A4LRRpG3dltqYqZhA_w5eYF1fOGD-sjcX2CpHidGrXsBp/s1600/IMG_7055.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Nj7N9vhHW75mZ1jMTYBrRT7jc2CZ2pNg1sNK_ndL9HBdRzMdqeGrifcasRZeKlDRbx7J04tC_tOd_gg5gbf8p-wjfkNUa00A4LRRpG3dltqYqZhA_w5eYF1fOGD-sjcX2CpHidGrXsBp/s400/IMG_7055.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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The beauty of the lake, trees and the rocky crags up above was just jaw dropping, and the pictures just don't do it justice.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg52FccWglFgvRCzNQbPUe3MeXHKehUGab-pTD7UXI3CqN-210fIEikhpnBkZZ-FB6_VZJIfmZwyV8Q1Rctdtl_5g7FPJdkhPjiRk_4jOEfZIlUgbWyXTwJg7OmT-v5g0O5xiCIM2B0tJi6/s1600/IMG_7056.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg52FccWglFgvRCzNQbPUe3MeXHKehUGab-pTD7UXI3CqN-210fIEikhpnBkZZ-FB6_VZJIfmZwyV8Q1Rctdtl_5g7FPJdkhPjiRk_4jOEfZIlUgbWyXTwJg7OmT-v5g0O5xiCIM2B0tJi6/s400/IMG_7056.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimn-QH4Gi9NDk1LYGvBMG6n0VYEprdcLvlagKG3XS9UdJ3j4DqZiCzm8tCbi2YVLaQBYV0J7VDftcBC0anq8036MSM9a2Ez0_p8ATkiNSMMtUWPC9bbLaHKYmD_M9tSzMECgBEQJd-ZFit/s1600/IMG_7057.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimn-QH4Gi9NDk1LYGvBMG6n0VYEprdcLvlagKG3XS9UdJ3j4DqZiCzm8tCbi2YVLaQBYV0J7VDftcBC0anq8036MSM9a2Ez0_p8ATkiNSMMtUWPC9bbLaHKYmD_M9tSzMECgBEQJd-ZFit/s400/IMG_7057.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_1ZjaK3NVrfDYc5GXdZER2QlKDfRXNWtguHbrztPxgEcy5ZyiOMRI-yVTB2hBIBSp7XkevE7BdZ9mFGagpnW07roEJTA149AIu6FFRrYtqeoTJ5ATFbaIc7ylN6QfoMjVfogfo-QtmM7c/s1600/IMG_7058.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_1ZjaK3NVrfDYc5GXdZER2QlKDfRXNWtguHbrztPxgEcy5ZyiOMRI-yVTB2hBIBSp7XkevE7BdZ9mFGagpnW07roEJTA149AIu6FFRrYtqeoTJ5ATFbaIc7ylN6QfoMjVfogfo-QtmM7c/s400/IMG_7058.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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It was gorgeous there. After dinner we cleaned up camp and just sat, looking at the beauty around us as we chatted until nearly dark. It was such a great day spent in an absolutely beautiful place. My legs, especially my calves, were pretty tired yet again and this time my whole body followed suit and I slept like a rock all night.</div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" style="background-color: white;" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54488/195/40936ED69709248907737FEB699552D8.png" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px !important;" /></a>Kendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791249950444252618noreply@blogger.com0