All About Cards

First off you have to check out this hilarious birthday card Kari got this week from a co-worker.
Inside it says that 'anything worth doing is worth over-doing'. Comedy!

I made another birthday card this evening. I have two co-workers with birthdays on Thursday. I bought them each a Chico bag. Sustainable gifts from the Sustainability Coordinator, right?
I'll knock out the other one tomorrow night.

We're watching Man vs. Wild with Bear Grylls right now. He's got Will Ferrell with him in the arctic tundras of Sweden. It's pretty funny.

Alright, that's it. I just wanted you to see my new card.

BBQ-ing for Jesus

For Pentecost Sunday we had one big service and a bbq afterwards in our front yard at church as a fundraiser for the summer youth camp. It was also t-shirt Sunday, but I couldn't bring myself to wear a t-shirt at church so it sat in the car.
Eldon and Joe, who sit in front of me at first service, bbq-ing hot dogs and hamburgers. I sing with Eldon's wife, Rose.
The loooong line of salads and desserts. I found a couple of tasty pasta salads and the most wonderful dessert. It was some sort of cherry crunch. Cherry pie filling topped with a crunchy topping made out of crushed pecans (?) and coconut. It was so stinkin' delicious.
There were more people than seats, but it worked out that the first ones to eat were done by the time the end-of-the-liners were coming through. I hung out long enough to watch the last scoop of my salad be taken, then I packed it up and came home.

Mr. A and Chris are tinkering in the garage working on manly engine things. I better put my thinking cap on because I know as soon as the Canadian comes in he'll be hungry. He hasn't eaten since 8:00 am. Hmmm....top ramen perhaps?

Working at the car wash, yeah

Today was car wash day up in P-town at noon. I had enough time this morning to make blueberry pancakes and bust over the to farmer's market for any last minute things I couldn't live without. I walked away with a bag of snap peas and a basket of blackberries. When I got up to the Boys and Girls club they were in a car washing lull, but soon cars started pouring back in. I brilliantly left my camera at home, but my co-worker Amy was taking pictures. I did that until 2:00 pm and then I had to boogy to the Pampered Chef party. I bought some replacement spices and three new cookbooks. I showed real restraint because there were lots of new bamboo serving platters that I absolutely loved, but would have had to shell out about $170 for the whole set. Ugh. When I got home at around 3:30, I got a good look at the sweet "tan" I got today at the car wash.
The only other plan I had for the day was to make my broccoli salad for our church potluck tomorrow. I ran over to the dollar tree and picked up a plastic bowl because I've lost too many bowls/platters at potlucks to use my own anymore. The salad is done and in the fridge stewing in all the awesome flavors.
Now we're just enjoying some sweet Lawrence Welk on PBS. A trio of men are playing music and singing in blah light tan suits that exactly match their skin tones and perfectly coifed fluffy hair. Wait a second! This next lady is totally lip synching! Lawrence Welk, have you no shame?! Don't clap for her, audience of idiots, this is a total sham! Must find something else respectable, pronto.

Composting Toilets

Chris and I went to a graywater reuse and composting toilet workshop in Oroville on Thursday at Gold Country Casino. It was fabulous because a.) we got to sleep in since it didn't start until 9:30, b.) they served us lunch, and c.) we got out of the office and got to hang out together all day.
Afterwards we went to dinner at Nash's on Esplanade. I ran in to a co-worker there (the gal who replaced me in sanitation) who I knew had the day off, but had told people at work it was to take her daughter to the doctor in Sacramento. In reality, she's dating the owner of Nash's and it was his birthday so she was there celebrating. Plus, her daughter goes to college in the midwest. Oops!

Today was back to work, but there was only four of us so it was quiet and it went fast. I got my grocery shopping done, too. I picked up a roasted chicken at Safeway, apparently they're only $5 on Fridays, and made enchiladas for dinner. It's a recipe I've used a couple of times out of one of my Pampered Chef cookbooks.
The filling is a mixture of chicken, sour cream, green chilies and shredded cheese. I threw in a little taco seasoning this time, too. Yum, yum, yum, yum.

Speaking of Pampered Chef, I'm going to a party tomorrow at the house of one of the gals who works at the garbage company. I'm going to be up in P-town already for our Relay for Life carwash fundraiser at the Boys and Girls Club on Skyway. If I've got to be outside tomorrow at least it's going to be in the water.

Poke Cake Grandmaster

I made my first Jello poke cake tonight for bible study and it was freaking delicious. If you haven't made one yet what are you waiting for?? Wilson, listen up; you make a white cake mix in a 9x13, let it cool, make a 3 oz box of strawberry jello to the directions (I made it while the cake was baking so it wasn't super boiling hot when I poured it over the cake), poke 6-8 holes along the top of the cake (all the way through) and pour over the jello mix. Stick it in the fridge at least 3-4 hours, or overnight. When completely cool and all liquid absorbed, top with a layer of cool whip. I also cut up a package of strawberries, sprinkled with sugar, and let them stew in their juices overnight to top each slice with. Mamma Mia!!
I ate two pieces it was that good (shhh...don't tell Chris, he doesn't know). Chris was taking refuge at the 'rents during b.s., but now he's back and I'm shoving cake down his face, too.

I actually finished one of my scrapbook projects yesterday. That in itself is a miracle, but it was a gift project so I really didn't have a choice. I was making a cocktail book for Kari's birthday and I've got a little gift basket started that has a bunch of little mini bar size bottles of booze for all the recipes.
Granted, as you can see, it's not the biggest craft project ever but that doesn't seem to stop me from quitting half way through. She'll love it, I'm sure. I printed the recipes on transparency paper at work and then painted the back with vanilla craft paint so you could see the printing over the patterned paper. Most of the recipes are out of a cookbook of mine which we've already road tested and can verify that they are in-fact delicious.

Chris and I have a graywater reuse workshop at Gold County Casino in Oroville tomorrow. It's one of those rare times we get to do work related stuff together. Afterwards we're going out to dinner, too. Either to the new brewery in Oroville at the Depot, or to Nash's on the Esplanade (where we took Mum for Mother's Day brunch). That's about as big a decision as I plan on making tomorrow!

Memorial Day BBQ

Mum invited us over for a Memorial Day bbq today at their casa. It was a lunch affair so we headed over around 12:30 and got Chris busy on the grill with the meat.
She had plain steaks and some sort of feta and spinach stuffed steaks. She'd also made broccoli salad, fruit salad, potato salad and buttery bread.
Yes, I ate it all and then some.
It was a perfect day for a bbq, only high 70s. After lunch we retired inside and caught up with Mr. A who's been in Oregon for the last week working on his new electric SAAB Sonett. While Mr. A was gone Mum painted some of the living room walls and re-decorated.

No big plans for the rest of the afternoon, just doing some spring cleaning. Wednesday night is my night to host bible study so I need to do a little sweeping and vacuuming. When that's done maybe I'll sit down and spend a little more quality time with my new Gooseberry Patch book, "Ready, Set, Eat!". Mmmm....so many delicious new recipes!

Garden Boy

While out running some errands this morning, Chris stopped and picked up some annuals to plant in planters around our new fence. We inherited three wine barrel style planters from Mum, so Chris filled them with a tasty mix of manures and soil and planted a variety of red, orange and yellow flowers.


He also took some flowers and planted them in the planter along the side of the garage. Everything came together nicely because of my excellent supervising skills. That, and having somebody who doesn't mind putting their bare hands in dirt. Ugh.