Card Making Fun...

Today has been a very productive day. This morning Tim & I went to Starbucks & Great Harvest for our usuals. We then headed out to Keizer Station, a new shopping center in Keizer. There we hit The World Market, Lowe's, Target, Staples & Taco Del Mar for lunch. We were able to get all of the errands we had done in one big trip - whew!

This afternoon was filled with playing in the yard with my new purple hose - so cute...& general productivity around the house.

Tonight we went to dinner with Ben & Amanda & then back to our house for several activities. One of those activities included some 'scrap time'. I've been wanting to make some cards to send out just for fun & was able to get 9 cards finished in a little over an hour. I was proud.

Spinach Manicotti

Last night for dinner I made a favorite from my college days. Erin was always our chef during college & made this delightful dish many a times. So...last night I thought I'd give it a whirl. It turned out well if I do say so myself & was very pretty too! It made TONS so Tim & I will be enjoying it for days to come. Here is the recipe if you'd like to try it.

Delish!!

Spinach Manicotti
1 package frozen spinach
16 oz. ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cups mozerella (or 1 C mozerella 1/2 C parmesan)
1 egg
fresh herbs (basil, oregano, thyme)
salt & pepper to taste
2 C homemade spagetti sauce or 1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 package manicotti shells

Thaw & drain spinach. Boil noodles according to package directions. Preheat oven to 350. Mix spinach, cheeses, egg, herbs & spices. In an 11X 13 baking dish spread layer of sauce (I made my own using tomato paste & spices). Stuff shells with spinach cheese mixture. Lay stuffed shells in dish & top with sauce. Sprinkle mozerella or parmesan over top. Bake for 40-45 minutes.

Enjoy!!

What Is Your Favorite?

...afternoon activity? I am now in the world of being at home (minus the kids). I am finding this week that my mornings are filled well - I'm helping with VBS at church & my evenings are very well occupied. But...what shall I do in the afternoons? Some activities have included: napping (gasp!), teaching piano lessons, cleaning, going to Starbucks, running errands, making cards, working out.

What is your favorite afternoon activity?

What I'm Up To...

A couple of years ago, Nicole (aka my biggest blog stalker) gave me a recipe book that you add your own recipes to. I've been collecting recipes & storing them in my 'Where's Mom Now That I Need Her' book that my mom gave me when Andrea & I moved out 12 years ago...yikes! :) Last summer, I began transferring recipes into my book, but never finished. So yesterday, I decided it was time. I organized all of my recipes, got rid of the ones I've kept for years and never done anything with & went for it. I'm not finished yet, but the end is in sight. While I did all of this organization I baked 2 loaves of banana bread & made pizza dough for the homemade pizzas we had last night. Yummm...

The task at hand

Saturday night, Amanda & I played. We had a lovely dinner of garden burgers & salad - then we went shopping. I came away with this adorable cloth purse. I love it. After our successful shopping adventure - we headed to my church for a fireworks show. It was very fun but a little chilly. After the fireworks, we decided to rent 'The Holiday.' If you have not seen it yet, I recommend it. I watched it again last night with Tim & I may watch it one more time before we have to take it back on Thursday. :)

The new cute purse

This week at church is VBS so I'm helping out with that in the mornings. Today was the first day & it was a very fun adventure. I'm looking forward to the rest of the week. Well, I'm off to the gym. I love summer...

Happy 1st Anniversary

Happy first wedding anniversary to our dear friends Shawn & Erin.
We hope your next 50 years are as good as the first!!
Lots of love, Tim & Jessie

June 23rd, 2006

The Power of Four...

I was just going through some old e-mails & found this from my friend Lindsay. I thought I would pass this along & tag anyone who wants to play. Have fun!!

four jobs I've had

Planet Kid - Party person, kid monitor, counter, etc.
Repossessed used cars/In-house accounts
Music Office girl/Choir office guru
Legal assistant

four movies I can watch over and over

An Affair To Remember (My fav.)
You've Got Mail
Devil Wears Prada
Sleepless In Seattle

four places I have lived
Meridian, ID
Boise, ID
Salem, OR
Keizer, OR

four tv shows I love to watch
The Price Is Right
Friends

Greys Anatomy

LOST

four places I have been on holiday

Europe
South Carolina
Florida
Arizona

four of my favorite dishes

Southwest Chicken Salad
Manicotti
Chicken Fajitas
BBQ Chicken wrap from Red Rob Bob

four websites I visit daily
Google.com
My Blog list
Weather.com
MSN.com

four places I'd rather be right now
I'm at home, so I'm pretty good :) otherwise...

Disneyland
South Carolina visiting Nana
Switzerland on Lake Lucerne

Whale of a Time...

Okay, so Saturday we went to the coast for the first time since last August - sad, I know. We went on a whale watching boat which was super fun...however Tim got this photo when we were on shore. How cool is that?! We must have been speaking whale.

Devil's Punchbowl

On the way home we stopped by a fruit stand & got fresh Oregon Strawberries. They are the BEST!! We came home & I made (yes, Andrea, I said made) Strawberry Shortcakes for our fresh fruits. It's hard to see them under the fabulous whipped cream, but I promise, it's there. They were delish. (Notice the cute card Andrea sent me in the background)...

Sunday we officially joined our church. With each membership, they give you a membership verse. This was the first time I've ever gotten such a verse & I thought that was very cool. Here is 'my verse' if you'd like to check it out. We are now official. :)

Busy Days

Why is it that summer vacation has started, yet I can't sleep in!?! It's like my body knows I can sleep if it would let me, so it's not. Ah well - I've been quite a productive girl these last two days, but have also filled my time with lots of play to balance it out.

Tim showed me a new blog this weekend & I like it a lot - here's the link if you want to check it out. Seems fun...

I do have lots to report but it will have to wait. I'll try to post pictures & adventures from the weekend by tomorrow morning.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day Dad! We love you!!

New Found Freedom...

Okay people, my day has finally come. I'm officially on summer vacation (& there was much rejoicing)! Hooray!!

I've been quite productive in my classroom these last two days without children (although I was a little sad to see them go - they really are a joy to work with). My room is clean, tidied, & ready for another year...after a few months of course! I even did my lesson plans for the first 2 weeks of school so I wouldn't have to worry about that when I return. Thank you Susan for teaching me that neat-o, bandit-o trick.

So now on with my summer. I officially began vacation today with a massage. I think I should go back next week for a follow-up appointment. Tim disagrees.

Then I ran a few errands & went home to take a nap. Yes, I said nap. It's the first one of the new summer season. It fits me nicely. Tim called & awakened me from said nap - he even accused me of napping. I informed him it's not called napping when you're on vacation - it's called 'daytime obligation'.

When Tim got home, we were off to 'Red Rob Bob'. Yumm. Then into Target for some coffee pods for our new Senseo. I've got to tell you - this coffee pot is pretty cool. I had my first cup of it tonight...while I wept as I watched The Notebook. Good grief that movie melts my heart.

And now, here I am blogging. How great is that? Hello summer vacation.

Curtains & Random Information...

Well, we're in the final stretch. This is my last week of school. The kids are done on Wednesday & I'm done on Friday afternoon. I have a massage appointment scheduled to make my start to summer official. It's a good thing we are done this week too because the kids are lit up like birthday cakes - it's more like crowd control than teaching this week. Field Day on Wednesday morning will most certainly send them (& maybe us) over the edge. Ah, Field Day.

Today at school Erin-O sent me an e-mail letting me know she was home today because she was sick (I hope you're feeling better now Erin!!) & also letting me know that she did a scrapbook page of us. Erin is a scrapbooker extraordinaire - here is the page she did of us - so sweet, I love it.

I finally replaced the curtains in our living room after months & months of searching and complaining. They aren't exactly what I set out to find, but I like them & I think they look nice in the room. What do you think?

Full view, including topper, far away...

Very near...

Dad's Graduation

This weekend after 25+ years of wanting to accomplish a goal, my dad graduated from college. Tim & I flew to Boise on Friday night but of course our plane was delayed, so we didn't get into town until 12:15 am. Andrea was thrilled. She picked us up anyway and away we went to their house, our home away from home. We stayed up until around 1:30ish getting settled & chatting a little, mostly yawning. Thanks again you guys for letting us stay with you - we greatly appreciate you & your hospitality!!

Saturday morning, we were awakened by a very small boy named EE. He loves to be the alarm clock and came in all bright & shinny ready to roust us out of bed for the day. 'What yous guys doin' here again?' he asked. :) Maybe we're overstaying our welcome...

Mark, Laura, & Mia came to the house to follow us over to the graduation ceremony which was held at BSU in the Jordan Ballroom. When we arrived, my Mom, Nana, cousins, uncle, grandad, & Nellie were waiting to greet us. We settled in for this much anticipated event & had cameras ready. My dad has worked very hard especially over these last few years to complete his degree from George Fox University while working full time, moving several times, building a house, & keeping up with the governor's ranch.

He double majored in Project Management & Management and Organizational Leadership and graduated magna cum laude. We are SO PROUD of you dad - congratulations on this fantastic accomplishment!

After graduation, we spent the afternoon/evening hanging out with our family. It was a wonderful time (although too short) & Tim's parents were able to come join us for that time too. We are very blessed to have such loving caring families, thank you for a very pleasant weekend!

My Proud Dad

Proud daughters with the graduate

My family

Me & My Sis

Guess How Many Days I Have Left of School...

Yep...5.

The Last Week

...for The *fabulous 60 minutes* Price Is Right that is. Bob Barker (yes Erin, I am talking about the 'B' word) is taping his last shows this week. The final one will air on June 15th if anyone cares. Sadly, I still care. I'm pretty sure Shawn never cared & Erin is done caring. Tim only cares to humor me - he's required to do that a little bit...The network still hasn't said who is replacing good 'ol Bob - I just don't think it will work.

Apparently people have been camping out all week - now that's crazy. The article I read said that many of these *crazy* people have a Price Is Right ring on their cell phone. Now that hurt a little because yours truly has a ring tone from Price Is Right - my phone plays the song from 'Cliffhanger' when it rings. Sometimes I purposely wait to answer the phone so I can listen longer - oops, did I just admit that in writing?

Goodbye Bob we'll I'll miss you!!

And The Winners Are...

Kelly -Starbucks Card
Erin - Hershey's kisses
Kim - Flower seeds
My Andrea - scrapbook items

**And the sour patch kids go to a certain blond haired, blue eyed girl
who IS the biggest blog stalker in Corvallis (she shall remain unnamed...for now.)**

Thank you to all who participated! I've really enjoyed reading your comments - maybe I should hold contests more often...I guess you'll just have to keep coming back to find out!! :)

This weekend my friend Cyndee came to town with her husband & their new baby Julius for a quick visit. I hadn't seen Cyndee for several years, so it was such a treat to get to spend time with her, meet her husband, & their adorable baby. We had lunch & visited - so much fun!! Thank you Cyndee for stopping by to see us!!

That is all for now - I'm very tired & my eyes are going to fall out of my head from allergies if I don't close them soon. Silly allergies...

One More Chance...

What a busy day!!! It was suppose to be a day spent at home relaxing. Instead, I played with Amanda. We had a great time shopping & spending $$. When Tim came home early this evening from a day at the Portland races, and we went out again and spend more $$. Needless to say, I haven't had time to process the contest applicants. :)

Since I have not yet been able to sit down to post or even draw names...I will give you one more day to enter into the contest. All rules/disclaimers still apply. You will have an extension until tomorrow (Monday, June 4th) at 7:00 PM PST to post your comment(s). I will be back tomorrow with your results.

Good luck!