The Queen of Salsa

Okay, okay, okay Ben may be the King of Salsa.... but I am the Queen!! I just made the best salsa!! I got the recipe from Rachael Ray here it is. (You'll never eat store bought salsa again!)

Fresh Tomato Salsa:
3 medium tomatoes, roughly chopped
1/2 to 1 jalapeno, stemmed and minced with seeds (I do w/out seeds)
1/2 medium red onion, grated (I do finely chopped)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 clove garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, leaves and stems

Toss the tomatoes with the jalapeno, onion, and the 1/2 teaspoon salt. Smash the garlic clove, sprinkle with the remaining salt, and with the flat side of a large knife, mash and smear the mixture to a coarse paste. Stir the paste into the salsa with the olive oil and 1/4 cup of cilantro.

And if you are feeling really sassy...
Season a couple chicken breasts with chili powder and salt and fry in a pan with EVOO and when finished top with your salsa! Oh so good!!

I have found a new specialty of mine. I love to cook!! I'll post more good recipes when I find them. I can't wait to hear what you think!!

Pumpkin Cheese Bread

Here is the recipe for the Pumpkin Cheese Bread I talked about in my celebrating fall post.

2-1/2 cups sugar
1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese
1/2 cup margarine
4 eggs
1 (16oz) can pumpkin
3-1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1 cup chopped nuts

Combine sugar, softened cream cheese and margarine mixing until well blended. Add eggs (one at a time), mixing well after each addition. Blend in pumpkin. Add combined dry ingredients, mixing until moistened. Fold in nuts. Pour into 2 greased and floured 9 x 5 inch loaf pans. Bake @ 350 degrees for one hour and 10 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool ten minutes and remove from pans. Cool on cooling rack.

Let me know if you try this and what you think!!

Celebrating Fall

This past Saturday we spent it celebrating all the great things about fall with our friends, Ben and Katie. We had perfect weather! Jesse and Ben went golfing at the King City Golf Course. Katie and I did a little painting on my window and then went to Als Garden Center!! Before we went to Als we made a pit stop at Starbucks for some coffee.... but it was too hot for a "hot" coffee so we got frappuccino instead. Yum!

As we pulled in the parking lot to Als we drove by the front window and Katie gave out a loud gasp!! (I thought I was about to run someone over!) They had Christmas stuff out!!!!! And it was a happy gasp for her! She loves Christmas time!! They had so much Christmas stuff... they had lots of trees in all different colors all decorated!! So cute!! After drooling all over the Christmas stuff we had to remember why we came here... we headed outside to the fall things! We loaded up our cart with 2 oat bales, 2 bundles of corn stalks, 2 pumpkins, a mum, a purple grass thing, and some other really cool plant! Our cart was heaping!! Then, we had to push our cart around with these big 'ol corn stalks sticking out!! It was a bit of a challenge and people stared and smiled at us. Probably because we were practically skipping around the building we were so excited and proud of our gigantic cart full of fall goodies!!
We loaded up the truck with our stuff and just giggled because we felt like farm girls loading our bales of oat and corn stalks!!
We went back to my apartment first and decorated my front door with an oat bale, corn stalks, a pumpkin, and the purple grass thing. So cute!! We left a trail of oats from the truck, down the side walk, up the stairs, and to our door!!!! The other night I was getting in the truck and I looked over and our neighbor's parking spot is full of oats.... wonder where they came from?
We grabbed our chicken noodle soup that I made for supper and went to Katie's!! We decorated her door - so cute!!
Made some pumpkin cheese bread!! Amazing!! We ate the best batch of chicken noodle soup I have ever made!! Oh, and Ben made some homemade salsa - yum!! So good! I think we all gained 5 pounds!!

Katie and I painted the cutest picture on her window while the guys did guy things!

Happy Fall!!!

Fall is here!! The rain has started! And this picture is perfect!! My mom e-mailed me this picture this morning... it was taken in her garden. Don't you just love fall colors!! My friend Katie, has totally made me a fall girl!! So many fun things to do in the fall!! This weekend we are heading to Starbucks for a Pumpkin Latte and then to Al's Garden center for some hay, cornstalks, mums, and a pumpkin to decorate her front her door with!! Then we are going to eat chicken noodle soup and paint fall pictures on her window!!

I am in the process of painting a scarecrow in my window. I'll post a picture when I am finished.

Happy Fall!!!

Ice Skating Lessons

Last night around 5:45 p.m. we had a little knock at the door. Jesse was on the telephone so I answered it. There was a little girl (maybe a second grader) with her Dad. She had a pink purse and she was carrying a rubbermaid full of pencils and pens. She said that she was selling pretty pencils and pens to raise money for ice skating lessons. You could buy a mechanical pencil for $1.00 and the rest of the pencil and pens were $.50.

Jesse rounded up $3.00 in change and we bought pens... we seem to loose them no matter how many we have. We started talking to them and she said that ice skating lessons were $90!!! Her Dad said that they had her already signed up at the YMCA and now she wanted ice skating lessons. He told her that she needed to raise the money for lessons. She was the cutest thing and Jesse thought it was so cool for this Dad to be taking his daughter around teaching her that things just don't grow on trees!!

When we were done she said, "Thanks for doing business with me." And she shook our hands!!

West Coast Cycle

Jesse and I have been spending many weekends designing and creating a website for his business. This past weekend we made it e-commerce!!!

The company I work for asked me last winter if I would re-design their website... I said yes. They bought the web design program and I learned it.... I watched one introduction video and learned the rest on my own!!!! Here is the site that I did for my company www.performancepropumps.com

Jesse was jealous and wanted a site for his company and wanted me to create him one... but he wanted his customers to be able to purchase from the site! Remember no training!!

I am proud to say that I did it!!! Sorry, if I am bragging... but right now I am so proud!! But, I can not take all the credit. We did hire Jim from ThotComm who built us two templates. From those two templates we created our website!!

Please go and check out our site and maybe even buy a few things!!! (wink, wink)

www.wcc-tech.com

Tour of Oregon

We just got back from the coolest vacation!! I kept a journal of our trip so I could come back and blog it. I hope you all enjoy it!!

Wednesday, August 23rd. Odometer reading = 1996 miles
5:50 p.m. Left the apartment. Headed for Newberg for supper!! We are starving!
6:11 p.m. Jesse gets Taco Bell
6:20 p.m. Lynn gets Burgerville. For all you chocolate shake lovers they have the best!!!
7:20 p.m. We are having trouble staying awake. Our supper is making us sleepy. We decided to go to Roseburg and spend the night. In the morning we will go to the Wildlife Safari.
8:27 p.m. Lynn forgot the curling iron!!! Grrr!!!
9:00 p.m. Stopped in Roseburg to spend nite. Sleep Inn = $92.64

Thursday, August 24th. Odometer reading = 2152 miles
10:08 a.m. Left the hotel and headed for the safari. We are not sure if they will let us take the jeep. On their website it said no convertibles. I hope they let us go!!

11:46 a.m. We just went through the Wildlife Safari. We couldn't go through the bears, lions, or tigers section because of our soft top on the Jeep. Jesse's favorite animal was the camel and mine was the giraffe. ($31.50) This Safari was so cool! We were able to drive around a 600 acre park where animals just can run around free. There was a giraffe crossing the path as we were driving by and they are so big!!! We felt so tiny next to it!!

11:56 a.m. Loves Gastation. 15.204 gallons @ $2.999 = $45.60

2:33 p.m. Just ate @ Mac's Diner. We just took the top down!! While we were eating we realized that we missed a site on our list. Colliding Rivers. Which was back in Roseburg and we are in Medford. Darn it!! So, the Colliding Rivers are two rivers that run into each other at 45 degree angle. I guess water splashes up! We will never know... but that is what we have heard!!

4:38 p.m. Still driving. We have had some drama. Something came in the Jeep and landed on the inside of my left pinky finger. It felt like fire. So, I was waving my hand trying to get it off. It wouldn't come off so I had to pull it off and it left a little piece in me. Looked like a stinger but I don't think it was a bee. I pull the stinger out and my finger is still burning. It swelled up a little bit but now it is fine. My finger is much better now. It swelled up big enough that I could wear my wedding ring on it!! It started itching a few days later!! I do have a little pink spot where the stinger was but I don't feel anything in there. I am sure it is fine! Oh, and when I was packing to leave on Wednesday I, like any girl, grabbed my tweezers!! Jesse asked me why I needed that!! I told him that he should call my cousin Megan she could explain!! You just never know when you are going to get one of those stray eyebrows that you need to take care of right away!!! And, I almost needed that tweezers to get that thing out of my finger!!

We also noticed that we missed another site! We wanted to go to Brown Mountain Lava Fields. Which according to our map was to be on Hwy 140. Which we are on!! We never saw a sign!!

I know why I forgot the curling iron... when you ride in a jeep your hair blows everywhere!! I tried putting a hat on but that almost blew off too!! I am going to need a haircut when I get back!!

5:16 p.m. Lynn has not slept in the car yet!! I slept all the way out to Mississippi on our honeymoon and when we drove out to Oregon!! But not this time!! Um yeah, pretty sure I took a 30 minute nap after I wrote this!! I spoke too soon!! But, I am proud to say that this was my only nap the entire trip!!

6:19 p.m. Lakeview, Oregon. Chevron. 15.049 gallons @ $3.21 = $48.44

6:32 p.m. We are going to spend the nite in Lakeview. Lakeview is a small town - one off those where everyone knows everyone! We went to go get supper at a restaurant that a gas station attendant told us to go to "The Dinner Bell" we get there and we see people eating inside but we can't get the door open! The family inside eating just looks at us!! We don't see a sign that says "CLOSED" and plus it is only 8!! We yell through the window to the family and ask if they are closed and they just shrug their shoulders at us. We finally see a sign and it says they close at 8!!!

7:58 p.m. We went to see the only Geyser in Oregon.... not working!! The water table is so low right now that it is not blowing out water! Ate at Jerry's restaurant for supper. They do not mark things very well out here!! We drove around and around looking for this Geyser. We ended up seeing a beautiful sunset while looking for it! Anyway we think we find it... we see an area full of water and we both just stare at it because we don't want to miss it if it blows. In our literature it says that it goes every 30 seconds... nothing is happening... are we at the right spot? There is a very run down hotel in the background so we decided to go there and maybe ask them where it is. Oh, there is also suppose to be hot springs here too!! Turns out we were looking in the right spot it just isn't working right now!! How this Geyser works is the cool water falls down and gets close to something (I can't remember) which heats the water and builds up pressure that it all of suddens blows the water out creating a Geyser!! But, the water table is down so low that it just wasn't working. We also asked them about the hot springs he said they are out there but he wouldn't let us go by them because there are some hot patches that are so hot that it would take your skin off the bone!!!

Lakeview, Oregon. Fremont Inn $81.84



Friday, August 25th. Odometer reading = 2422 miles
9:37 a.m. Left the hotel.

10:21 a.m. Albert Rim/ Albert Lake. Albert Rim is huge!! And the lake is so pretty! We found a little jeep trail that we took to get closer to the water.











11:41 a.m. We thought we seen some steam coming from a hot spring. We found a dirt road so we took it to get closer to the steam. We are driving along with our windows rolled down and we notice that the inside of the jeep is filling up with mosquitoes!! We roll our windows up and start killing them. Right now Jesse has two dead mosquitoes squished on his window!! Come to find out what we were seeing is what I call a little dust tornado!!

12:06 p.m. Summer Lake, Oregon. Summer Lake Store. 7.1 gallons @ $3.25 = $23.00

2:00 p.m. Crack in the Ground. I was driving so Jesse made this entry and I guess he isn't much of a writer... Here is another site that isn't marked! We seen it on our map and we came across a road that was called 'Crack in the Ground Road' (or something like that). It is another rough, washed out dirt road! I am driving remember, so I am going slow because I feel like the car is going to rattle apart... Jesse tells me if I go fast it will feel smoother!!! Pretty sure it just made it worse!! Anyway, we take this road and we drive and drive and drive!! We are not seeing any signs nor anybody else on this road! There are lots of free roaming cattle out here so every once in awhile we will see a cow or two but that is it!! Finally we see an outhouse and a sign!!! We made it!! I am not sure why this crack is here - there wasn't a sign explaining it. Just a sign that said not to vandalize the toilet, which had two bullet holes in the window!! You could walk through the crack but I was wearing flip flops and it was very rocky and sandy which made it slippery, so we just went a little way. The part we saw was pretty impressive!!

2:52 p.m. Talked to Mark the fire lookout guy. While we were in the lookout we asked him what the haze in the air was from. It is from the wildfires burning on Mt. Hood!! We think he said that the Mt Hood fires have burned over 26 thousand acres and it is still burning!! Jesse thinks we are about 200 miles from Mt. Hood (as the crow flies.) These poor lookout guys are in these towers in the middle of no where for multiple days, up to 6 days at a time!!! The only human contact they have is if someone just happens drive by, like us! No electricity, no water, no restrooms, no heat!!! You have to bring everything you will need for the days that you are there! Mark was just a fill-in so he will only be there for a couple of days! He is a hunter so he had his bow so he could target practice and he also said that he produces hunting videos. (He had his video camera too.) You can rent these lookouts in the off season, we have been looking into it but they are so booked up!! The earliest we could get one would be in spring time!! (Our friends have a book that lists every lookout tower in Oregon.) Some of these towers you have to hike into because in the winter time there is snow and you can't get a vehicle up to it!! That means you hike in all your food and supplies for the time your there!! Some towers have fire places and have fire wood for you - but this one did not. If you wanted heat you would have to bring it yourself!! It was very interesting talking to Mark and after we drove away I wanted to go back and get our picture taken with him but we didn't want to turn around!

4:21 p.m. Hole in the Ground. Another un-marked site!! My goodness!! We almost didn't find this one! Our fire lookout friend, Mark, told us we might have a hard time finding this. Not much to say about this one - just hole in the ground!! And, I accidentally deleted the picture! Oops! (The hole is behind us.)

6:00 p.m. Econo Lodge: We booked this hotel site unseen and when we got here we went to our room which was an outside entrance and separate from the main building. Our room smelled so bad!! I can't really explain the smell it was just yucky!! When we walked in we didn't even put any of our stuff down... we circled the room and looked at each other. Neither of us could stay there!! We went back and asked for our money back and went to find something a little better! The only reason we booked this room is because it was $59 on a Friday nite!! What a great deal we thought and they had breakfast!!! Everything else was $109/nite!!! How could we pass it up - we should have known. We tried to be cheap and it just bit us in the butt!!

6:10 p.m. Bend, Oregon. Hampton Inn @ $108.90 They could have told us it was going to be $250 and we would have paid it!! We were so excited to have a nice room that smelled clean!! We ate supper at Pizza Hut and sat in the hot tub.

Saturday, August 26th. Odometer reading = 2652 miles
9:38 a.m. Left hotel. I finally got to see Rachael Ray cook!! I make all kinds of her meals but never seen her show!!

9:58 a.m. Redmond, Oregon. Plum Fierce. 9.82 gallons @ $3.059 = $30.05

10:32 a.m. TASTEE TREAT!! We only thought tastee treat was back home!! Ice cream tastes just like ours did!! Prineville, Oregon.

11:19 a.m. Stiens Pillars.

12:15 p.m. We just came off the coolest road or should I say trail. It was just a path thru the woods. And the coolest part is it was on our GPS!!

2:18 p.m. Painted Hills

4:33 p.m. Heppner, Oregon. Shell. 10.971 gallons @ $3.099 = $34.00
Jeep got a quick bath. They had a water hose so we asked if you could use it and we got to get some of the dust off!! We can now see out our back window again!!

5:02 p.m. HOT!! It is so hot out!! In Heppner the bank sign said 85 but it feels much hotter. No A/C in the jeep - I am melting! Right now we are driving threw fields after fields. The fields are so big that sometimes you can't see the end. No trees! Everything is a golden yellow color. There are mountains/hills in the background - but no trees on them and they are also that golden color and look fuzzy and soft.

5:56 p.m. Oregon Trail. I was a little cranky right about here so I didn't write much... I'll fill you in now. Jesse really wanted to see the old Oregon Trail... I didn't really care. So we went and it was 1-1/2 mile hike to see the wagon tracks! I couldn't believe that we were really going to see the wheel marks - how could they still be there. I was hot and cranky. Jesse pleaded and I gave in. I must say the hike was so easy! A blacktop path that did not feel like a 1-1/2 miles! We didn't see actual wagon marks we just seen a grove in the ground.

6:26 p.m. Pendleton, Oregon. Best Western = $78.48

8:07 p.m. Cimmiyotti's!!! We just had our last meal of our trip and it was amazing!! We both had prime rib and it was just perfect!! Okay, if you ever find yourself in Pendleton, Oregon you must go here and eat!! It was so good!! We found it in our AAA book and went!! (It was the only restaurant they had for Pendelton.)

Sunday, August 27th. Odometer reading = 2902 miles
9:31 a.m. Left hotel. We are headed back to Portland today. We are driving the same road as we did when we moved out here. The memory card is full and the batteries are dead on our camera.

10:30 a.m. We have entered the Gorge and lost our radio station that had the Crook & Chase countdown. Grrr! We found Crook & Chase again!! We don't have any sites to see today so you get to hear about our radio station dilemmas.

11:01 a.m. Rufus!! We just passed the first city we stopped at when we moved out here.

11:25 a.m. The Dalles, Oregon. 76. 13.729 gallons @ $3.059 = $42.00

1:03 p.m. HOME!! Now the Jeep needs some major TLC!! We had a great time. Odometer reading = 3100 miles!

I can't believe our trip is over already!! We had so much fun and want to do it again!