what's in the middle... the white stuff (o-oreo, o-oreo)

Okay this is GROSS. I stumbled across it on another friend's blog. Wow.

lotsoffriedfood

Luckily it was more amusing than a reality check for me (and most people I think. Seriously, who really eats that stuff more than once?) I have to admit... I would TOTALLY try a deep fried Oreo with sprinkles... Just one.

I LOVE oreos. Mostly the Oreo creme. One time in high school my good friends Mariya and Ariyl (who were in home ec. class) had to make a pie, and they chose an Oreo crust. Now this was before the days of premade Oreo crusts. So they took two packages of Oreos, and scraped the cream filling out of ALL OF THEM in order to obtain a cookie crumble. And then they proceeded to give me a container filled with all that white goodness at break. YUM. Well that's what I thought then because I love the cream so much. Looking back it was maybe not so good for me... but when you only weigh 98 lbs you don't worry about it I guess :) And I only made it through about a third before throwing it away... It is a good memory though. Thanks girls.

Let me just leave you with these photos of my husband. Think I should submit it to the website?

olaf, trygve, ingrid... little vikings

This weekend the Sorensens came from Seattle to offer their help and support in our building project. Haakon spent ALL DAY Sunday (AND some of Saturday night) helping Steve sand in the house, while Jenny and I caught up over coffee while wrangling the 3 kiddos in the camper. (no small feat if you consider its size + their energy).

I LOVED watching the cousins interact and play. I see best buddies in the making (hopeful). I hope to soon have the rest of the crew of cousins here to play!


Could there be cuter kids? All three are blue eyed blondies... think they perhaps have some Swedish and Norweigan heritage? I think so.

Thanks Jenny Sue and Haakon for taking your entire weekend to help us out and spend time with us. I had a lovely time chatting with you both and seeing your beautiful kiddos! Glad you made it home safe during the crazy March blizzard.

choosing solitude

Some people think that we are a little bit nutty to want to live so far away from, well, everything. There's only one little grocery store/gas stop, and one hardware store here in Plain. My commute is 45 minutes to Wenatchee in summer and up to 1 1/2 hours in winter if it's snowing. No movies, malls, or restaurants, gyms, bars, daycares, and no Target. Just good people, family and friends, our Church, and our own little piece of solitude.

Last weekend we started walking in our back yard and ended up here.

Worth it? I think so.

oh no pull up the cords!

olaf is crawling... aaaahh, time to babyproof! at least the 5th wheel already has very hard to open drawers and cupboards due to it's being mobile and all. but there is enough other stuff that we need to pick up now to still be a pain... ah well :) exciting moments in our little boy's life! Enjoy this video of our chunk-a-monk as he learns to motor around.

That's grandma Cathi talking in the background to Oly in case you are wondering. I am currently borrowing her internet connection to post this since mine is slower that dial up at home right now (hence the no blog posts in a awhile. I have a few written but no pictures will upload!)

blogger is annoying me

I am trying to post a bunch of pictures with my most recent ramblings... but I can't get blogger to upload the corresponding pictures! I am annoyed! I have been trying since yesterday morning! I am not quite sure how to solve my problem, usually iPhoto and blogger work seamlessly... could be my verizon wireless internet connection, but I don't know why. So for anyone reading I apologize for this bland post about nothing... someday perhaps I'll get the darn pics to load!

The sewing gene skipped me? or was it just hiding...

I have a lot of very talented friends and family.
Oly and I recieved SO many creative gifts from people before he was born - a LOT of sweet handmade blankets and quilts. Here are some of them...

From Cassie Miller... a dino quilt!

From Heather McMaster... a cars and trucks quilt!

From Grandma Cathi... a blue blanky afghan!

From Jenny Sue... a paisley receiving blanket!

From Grammy Sue... a crazy amazing Noah's ark quilt!

They were ALL very inspiring to me - I kept thinking I CAN MAKE THAT TOO. But I don't have sewing machine, and I always tell people that the "sewing/crochet/knitting" gene skipped me in the family, since my mom and sisters are all great seamstresses and I am not. (Though I admit I was always more excited to play outside to learn to sew...).

But recently I have had two good friends who got pregnant with baby girls and I really wanted to do something special for them. So with the help of my mom (and her sewing machine) I made my first quilt for Shannon, which I gave to her in December (sorry no pics of it - I finished it the night before the baby shower). And I JUST completed my second quilt for Leighla! Sent it off in the mail Saturday. I don't think she checks this blog too often, so I am safe posting a picture since she'll get it soon. (Sorry Leighla if I ruin the surprise - but I hope you like it!) Without further ado -- here is my second sewing project ever.


The interesting thing about sewing (and most things in life actually) is that my mind understands how it is supposed to work and understands, but my body has trouble executing the function (a good example is playing pool... I understand angles and the physics... but I really can't hit the cue ball correctly to save my life). I also lose patience easily with things I am not very good at it... So I am hoping that as I continue to sew, I get better at it and can start matching up the squares better :) But regardless, I always enjoy creating something that will hopefully bring joy to someone else, whether a quilt, a meal, a card, or a pot of flowers. So to all those busy moms, wives and friends, here's to finding (making) the time to be creative.

weekend

We were so happy to have Steven home for the weekend! We drank coffee (me and Steve, not Olaf), talked about cast iron woodstoves and pendant lights, ate a home-cooked meal, saw our good friends the Cohens, and went for a walk together with the dogs.

Olaf got some quality daddy time in too. It was fantastic and needed, as always. Apparently after this 7th straight week of work in Tri-Cities, Steve will be home for at least a week, yay! My "honey do" list has begun...