Thursday, December 31, 2009

This New Years, I Resolve....

To Do 10 Family Hikes
To be better at skin care
To try and send one snail mail " just because" letter a month
To do something outside my comfort zone (aka snowshoeing, belly dancing, etc.)
To scrapbook more moments
To Try and find a job or volunteer position that I love
To Love My Family and Friends

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Budding Viedo Taker

Connor's new camera from Grandma Sandy takes Video...here is one for you all.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Astoria, OR

The Astoria Bridge


The kids loved the Maritime Museum!

Connor on huge Anchor


Astoria Column





Shipwreck on the beach

Our family traveled to Astoria OR on a bright sunny day in early December. We really enjoyed the museum, the Astoria Column, Fort Clatsop, and Fort Stevens.

San Diego - Girls Weekend


I had a fablous time in San Diego with my mom and sister for a girls weekend 2009. The weather was nice and the sights were beautiful. Brunch at "The Del" was really nice. Here is the scrapbook page I made of the trip.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Yummy Giveway by April

April Barker over at dot...dot...dot is hosting AMAZING giveways for Christmas. Head over there to try and win great things like this


Handmades By Hands God Made is the motto for Herb'n Development Handmades. Soaps, body butters, scrubs and more, premium ingredients go into their products! The scents sound amazing - Lemon Butter, Green Tea and Cucumber, Creole Coconut, and N'awlins Pecan Candy are among the many!


This giveaway is for a set you are sure to love ... the Warm Sugar Cookie and Oats Body Scrub and Warm Sugar Cookie Bath Bar .... YUM!!!

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Connor

Template - Digital Designs by Lisa
Brush - Colby17
Pictures - Rosemary Wagner Photography

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Scotland

Ryan and I have to go to England for a wedding, so we are considering a walking tour in Scotland. Anyone been there? Know anything about the area?

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

The Hurey Boys


Template #2 by Digital Designs by Lisa
Paper: Neutral Pack - Digital Designs by Lisa
Elements - 100% Boy Kit - Digital Designs by Lisa
Photos by Rosemary Wagner Photography

Saturday, October 24, 2009

New Vanity


Say hello to our new vanity. Isn't it pretty? After finding one on Costco.com and then going to order it only to be told that they didn't have any more, we searched again. This one was found on Samsclub.com...good thing my parents are members and we were able to order it under their number. It says it could take up to 4 weeks to get here, I am hoping for less because we need to know the color of the granite and the pulls to get the tile and the faucets and the shower hardware before we can install the vanity. Then comes the paint color, mirrors, and lights. We are off and running.


All the tile is off the walls and two walls have had the dry wall stripped. We didn't find any mold (thank god), but did find electrical and lots of 2x4 blocking, so we will have to remove that and then see the plumbing lines and such....oh what fun

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Three Seasons


There are three seasons in the Hurey house, skiing, hiking and projects. Since the weather has turned rainy, we have moved from hiking into projects. The kids and I have successfully removed the carpet from the master bathroom and torn down 1 1/2 walls of tile from the shower. We will be working on the remaining walls this week and weekend. Ryan has promised to get Wyatt's closet nailed together this weekend and maybe we can start to stain that....so stay tuned for some pictures in the coming weeks.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Beautiful Mom


Photos by Rosemary Wagner Photography
Template: Digital Designs by Lisa
Paper: Digital Designs by Lisa
Font: Porcelain by dafont.com

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Tis the Season...

...for colds and I have one. I have no voice and Connor told me today "Mommy, please don't talk, just use thumbs up for yes and thumbs down for no". On the plus side, he seems to be paying closer attention to me when I try to talk.

Friday, October 9, 2009

Would Anyone Visit Me?


If I moved here for a year?




Sunday, October 4, 2009

My Boys - Photos By Rosemary Wagner













The link above is to her facebook site which has more pictures, if you can not get to it, let me know. I also have a link to her website down at the bottom of the blog.



Pear Ginger Maple Cobbler




I made this today more as a cobbler after reading the reviews on it. I didn't have candied ginger, so I used ground ginger. My house smells divine!!! It is very liquidy still and I am hoping that it will thicken up, next time I would use more corn starch or tapioca if the pears are very ripe. If it doesn't thicken up, we can use as a topping for ice cream.

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Dear Sukie


This all started because my brother wants a Christmas list...now I used to have all my shopping done by the start of Nov. That was before kids. Now, it is Internet shopping baby. I love Etsy and all the unique things you can get on there. Anyway, I was looking for a new wallet because mine is getting rather old and yucky and I came across Dear Sukie. These are the cutest wallets I have seen in a long time. Now, she has no idea who I am, but I want to tell you all to go check them out...$8 for a ID/Card holder and less than $3 shipping. She is definitely going on my list to my brother.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

ToweLocs


My friend Cindy started her own business and she is up for a huge award:


ToweLocs is in the semi-finals for “Newpreneur of the Year” contest. When you get a chance please check out my bio: http://www.inc.com/newpreneur/semi.html#self

There’s a total of 30 semi-finalist nationwide. I am one of the 5 in the Seattle Region.


Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Photo Editing Class


Here is the latest from my photo editing class



Two page layout I made using paper from Digital Designs by Lisa of our trip to Mt. Rainier.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Mt. Rainier


We awoke to the sound of pouring rain on Saturday morning. Good thing we had thought to take this picture on the way down on Friday when it was sunny, it might be the only good one we get. After bacon and eggs we started off to the park. Little did we know that not a mile down the road was the entrance. We are staying in the most perfect place. This cabin was a really good find. There is a 1st floor master with a king bed and a two person jetted tub. Upstairs in a loft like area are two queens and 1 double bed. The stairs are a little steep, but manageable. Anyway, I digress...since it was raining we decided to just play it by ear and tried to find a little waterfall off the beaten path...we drove right by it, but found it on the way back.

After listening to Connor complain, and poor weather, we decided to head straight to Paradise. We did take a little view turn out and it was so cool, we were racing the clouds rolling in and obscuring the view across the canyon. When we reached the top, I think we were there when the only few seconds the mountain was visible today. We enjoyed the visitors center, the Inn, and hiking to Myrtle Falls.

Coming back down the mountain we stopped at another falls where the boys decided not to hike down, but I am hoping that Ryan got some awesome pictures once we stitch it all together. Then we tried to hike Comet Falls, but alas the parking area was full. (It is first on our list for tomorrow.) So we decided to drive and see what we could find. What we found was Carter Falls. A short little 1.1 mile hike...ha...2.5 miles later we reached the falls and then still had to come back and cross the "log bridge". I think some ice cream was earned for that! Thank goodness the "General Store" (and I use that term loosely) in Longmire had something to fit the bill.


Back safe and sound in our cabin we watched Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade while eating grilled pork chops, noddles, and salad. Now it its bedtime and both boys are fighting it. I am going to finish my glass of wine and hit the sack myself.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Changes

There have been some big things going on here lately.

Wyatt is sleeping in a Big Boy Bed!!!

Connor has lost two teeth and the tooth fairy has visited!!!

We are going to Mt. Rainier this weekend with my parents. Hopefully the weather cooperates.

Look for lots of scrapbook pages next week.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Crockpot


Vegetable Potato Beef Soup
1 1/2 cups sliced carrots
1 1/2 cups cubed potatoes
1 cup sliced celery
1/2 cup chopped onions
2 cups water
1 1/4 lbs ground beef, browned and drained
2 tsp salt
4-5 cups tomato juice
1 TBS brown sugar


Combine veggies and water in microwave-safe container. Cover and micro on High 18-20 minutes. DO NOT DRAIN. Place veggies in slow cooker.


Combine all ingredients in slow cooker


Cover and cook on Low 6-8 hours. or until veggies are done.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

New Cookbook


Most everyone who knows me, knows that I LOVE to cook. I am SUPER excited for this cookbook to come out. It is by one of my favorite bloggers. She isn't taking her book signing tour out here, but she is coming to Chicago Nov 19th...maybe some nice family member who lives there will go get one signed for me. It would make an awful nice Christmas gift...hint, hint. Hmmm..

Seriously, I will probably be buying this for all my friends and relatives whom I draw for Christmas. And as much as I love my BIL who works at Borders...it is $16.50 on Amazon vs. $27 at Boarders...sorry Paul, Amazon it will be.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Sept 11th



MY BROTHER



MY FLAG



WE WILL NEVER FORGET!!!






Thursday, September 10, 2009

Cooking

MENU
Chanterelle Mushroom Salad
Guinness Battered Fish and Chips
Braised Veal Shoulder with Fresh Pasta
Pork Belly Sliders with Bourbon Apple Cider Sauce and Red Cabbage


Does the above menu sound good? Then why not consider taking a cooking class with me. I am taking it a Sur La Table

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Texture

The boys on one of our many hikes

English Rose - England

Tree Lined Street in the middle of Poland
Water Lily in pond in Poland




Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Learning Clipping Masks


Buttefly from the Butterfly House on Mackinac Island

1st Day of Kindergarten


Sunday, September 6, 2009

Parish Picnic


Digital Designs By Lisa
Template #6
Neutral Paper #1
100% Boy Kit

Saturday, September 5, 2009

For Your Information

This is Salal and it has these little black berries. They apparently are good to eat. At least my 2 year old thought they were. It is a native to Washington plant.
According to King County: The single best ground cover for northwest gardens, salal is a do it all plant. Long recognised as one of the best foliage plants for flower arranging, it is also one of the most adaptable in the native repertoir. It can be grown short, if pruned back, hedged into wave like drifts, allowed to grow rampant and irregular to five feet or more. It will also grow where almost nothing else will, in deep understory forest groves, moist or dry soils, in full sun or deep shade. It does have a harder time in full sun, but if well watered or near the coast, it can survive. It does not transplant well, but it is generally available at garden centers.
It is edible: Its dark blue "berries" (actually swollen sepals[1]) and young leaves are both edible and are efficient appetite suppressants, both with a unique flavor. Salal berries were a significant food resource for native people, who both ate them fresh and dried them into cakes. They were also used as a sweetener, and the Haida used them to thicken salmon eggs. The leaves of the plant were also sometimes used to flavor fish soup.[1]
More recently, salal berries are used locally in jams, preserves and pies.[1][3] They are often combined with Oregon-grape because the tartness of the latter makes up for the mild sweetness of salal.

My Fall Wishlist







Coldwater Creek $24.99





Coldwater Creek $49.99
with shell $24.99

Friday, September 4, 2009

Frustration

I am trying to plan at least one night, preferably a whole weekend away without kids or husbands....where does a single person go? I can't find anyone to go with me or meet me someplace relatively inexpensive. So, now I am looking for someplace to go by myself. Where to go...I probably won't do anything by myself other than sit and read...maybe I need to find a state park that rents cabins and just go there...at least I would be away.


Maybe I should go to Cama Beach State Park - it is only $62 per night + tax...hmmm


Deluxe Cabins - There are seven deluxe cabins. Each is 14'x28' in size with a living room and kitchen area, bedroom and small bathroom with shower, toilet and sink. Deluxe cabins have one double bed and two twin-size beds and sleep 4 to 5 people. Cabin amenities are electric heat and lights, refrigerator, microwave and sink. The cabins are set above the beach, with a view of the water. Linen service is not currently available. Guests need to take along their own bedding, pillows, towels, cookware, dishes and utensils.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Photo Shoot


My friend Rose over at Rosemary Wagner Photography took my boys pictures today. If anyone knows anything about my boys it is that they never both cooperate at the same time. The weather was iffy, so we opted for an inside photo session at her studio on First Hill. We arrived and she had brought her kids with so they immediately started playing, putting my boys at ease in the space while Rose and I set up. (For those that don't remember, I also work seasonally for Dorian Studio with the schools for homecomings and PROM and I work with Rose (who moonlights), which is how I know her.) We then got the boys together in a little radio flyer wagon I had brought (Thanks Tina!!!). I can't wait to see how the pictures turned out...the boys were dressed in blue jeans, white shirts, and bare feet. Couldn't have been cuter, except for the second outfit I brought...Wyatt a blue/red airplane shirt and Connor a plain red shirt. We got the boys individually and then together without the wagon and then with a desk. Can you tell, I am super excited about this...I can't wait to see them....alas, it will be up to a month because Rose is so super busy mom and photographer with a growing business. Which is actually quite standard....so in the meantime I will just wait and recommend her to anyone wanting some high quality photos of their family. Check out her website to see some of her work...tell her I sent ya!!!