Super Super Simple Enchiladas

I needed a super simple meal for dinner tonight. I just used a bunch of items I already had on hand. Enchiladas are a favorite around here so it was perfect.


Ingredients


Coat the pan(I used 11x7) with cooking spray. Then lay a layer of baby corn tortillas down.


Add the shredded cheese and shredded beef.[You could add other items such as onions, tomatoes, peppers- but I decided I didn't want to cut all that up].


Pour 3/4 of the 28 oz. can of enchiladas sauce over the top. Cover with foil and bake at 375 for 30 mins. When done remove foil and top with cheese-bake another 5 mins.


When its fully cooked you can garnish it with shredded lettuce and sour cream.
Enjoy!

Park Butte

Remember two weeks ago when we went up Railroad Grade? I wrote about it here. It was foggy and Jonelle, who had never been there before, had absolutely no view of beautiful Mt. Baker that you see here, although I told her what she was missing. Now she knows. I'm not sure why they call it "Railroad Grade," because it has nothing to do with a railroad but looks like it could be one from Park Butte, where we went today.

Today's hike starts out from Shreiber's Meadow, the same as two weeks ago, but today we all went up to the Park Butte overlook. This old lookout cabin is open to overnighters on a first come, first serve basis. Because of the spectacular 360-degree views, many people head up there (like we twelve Senior Trailblazers today) for a nice place to have lunch.

See the lookout? We headed up there on a trail which I suspect is clear of any snow for just a few more weeks. Although it's a steep climb, once you get there and take a look around, it's simply stunning. Here you see Diane pointing out a peak while Peggy and Jonelle dangle their feet over the edge.

I was up here once before, but it was cloudy and the view was obscured. Today I got to see why people drive more than 60 miles from Bellingham to spend the day in this part of the Cascades. We could see Mt. Baker and myriad other peaks from here that just took my breath away. Here's the view from inside the cabin, where some of us had lunch.

What a place this would be to spend the night! Several of the Trailblazers have already done that, but there are a few little problems with this idyllic picture: one, how to take a quick pee in the middle of the night? I guess if you are a guy, it's not so much of a problem. However, it made me think of getting up in a wind- or snowstorm and making my way down the steps of this lovely cabin to find a place. Nope, I'm finally too old for that. However, in daytime, knowing that I'm going to hike back down before the sun goes down, it was just wonderful.

This view of the Black Buttes, with fresh snow against the brilliant blue sky, it is just too good not to share. But there were so many wonderful views that I just can't post them all here. If you want to see more, go to the sidebar and click on my link to "Trailblazers Fall 2011." We covered seven miles and 2,400 feet of elevation today. Once we got back to the cars, our de facto social secretary Amy had made a cake (in the guise of cupcakes) to celebrate Diane's birthday, which is today. A candle in the middle of her fudge cupcakes was blown out, the requisite song was sung, we imbibed, and we headed home. It was simply a wonderful day!

Amy on left, Diane blowing out the candle

And I do want to give a heartfelt thank you to all who commented on my post asking for feedback about my blog and its direction. I have tried to keep my posts short enough to keep your interest, which seems to be working, but I will try to add a little more of my internal process. I'm so happy to see that most of you who commented are happy to let me follow my heart and won't leave me unawares. Life is good!
:-)

Helpful Beading Tools

I was helping my friend Cristi get ready for our craft day at church. She brought up this tip, so I had to share.


Since she hasn't made the investment yet on this bead tray{which in my book is a must have}.


She mentioned that felt fabric would help the beads not roll around everywhere.


The thought then came to my mind that you could use a piece of molding as the bead tray. The groove is where you would place the beads before stringing them.

Thanks Cristi for the tip!

Tune wedgy

A little dab'll do ya

I've got an earworm! I'm not sure where I first heard this term, maybe when I read Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks. I even thought I had written a post about it, but apparently not. The search engine didn't find it, anyway.

If you look at the Wikipedia link in the previous paragraph, you'll find that there are several terms for a song that gets stuck in your head, and the one that made me laugh the most is "tune wedgy." But the "official" term is an earworm. It is derived from a German word, Ohrwurm, a portion of a song that continues to repeat compulsively within one's mind.

The hideous song that has been going through my own head since last night (did I dream it?) is the catchy tune that I must have heard a hundred or more times long, long ago. I haven't actually heard it again for such a long time, and it amazes me that I STILL know all the words:

Brylcreem, a little dab'll do ya
Brylcreem, you'll look so debonair.
Brylcreem, the gals will all pursue ya,
Simply rub a little in your hair!

The link also gives some tips as to how one might get rid of an earworm, which I find to be a bit dubious. I thought maybe writing about my dilemma would help; but they suggest the following:

The best way to eliminate an unwanted earworm is to simply play a different song. Supposedly, some songs are better for this purpose than others, such as the theme song to 'Gilligan's Island' or 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight'.

Yeah, right. Now look what I've done: I've probably caused dozens of tune wedgies in the minds of my followers. But... it's working! Now I'm hearing something else... which is being crowded out by the Brylcreem ad. A heavy conflict is going on in my brain, and I'm not sure which will win out. Why couldn't I find something else to replace it with? Ah, I've got it: I've found the ultimate tune wedgy:

It's a small world after all
It's a small world after all
It's a small world after all
It's a small small world

That did it! Everything else is gone now, just the repetition of that phrase, over and over and over...
:-)

Remembering the Leftovers

I've had too many moldy Leftovers because I can't remember when I put them in the frig. Since were in the restaurant business we have to put dates on everything. I realized I needed to do this quick tip at home.


I just use these plain white circle labels to put the item name & date of when it was cooked & then its ready to be organized in the frig. Before I wash the container I just take the circle sticker off.

Being Prepared for Conference

I found this informative Blog that had some great Ideas to help be prepared for our up coming General Conference.

President Uchtdorf also had some great insights.

I'm so excited to hear inspiring Words of Wisdom from our Church Leaders.

Flu shots and a question

Yesterday I got my annual flu shot at Rite-Aid, using my Medicare Advantage card. Didn't cost me anything, except for one thing: I've had many flu shots and rarely remember any discomfort at the injection site, maybe a little soreness for a day or two in the general vicinity. But yesterday, it stung and itched for several minutes after the shot, as well as swelling up like I had a grape sitting under the skin. The pharmacist who injected me was obviously not happy, either. He wouldn't let me leave for fifteen minutes and got on the phone and called somebody, I don't know who. He was explaining my reaction to someone on the phone. I suspect he was wondering if I would suddenly fall on the floor with anaphylactic shock or something. But within those few minutes, the injection site returned to something resembling normal, and today all I have is a pretty spectacular bruise but normal discomfort.

Today in the swim class, we spent the entire time doing drills that we learned last week, and before the hour was over, my legs felt weak and truly spent, so I quit and have noticed how tired they seem now. Could it have been the flu shot? Or the fact that I usually swim and don't do an hour's worth of drills, or a combination of the two? Do you get a flu shot?

But that's not my question. I realized with a bit of a start the other day that my blog has become an EXERCISE and HIKING blog without me noticing. I remember asking my brother awhile back if he had read a certain post, and he gently told me he just "skims" the hiking posts. This got me to thinking about the stuff I used to write about, and what has become more prevalent.

Blogger gives me the opportunity to see what posts are the most visited in and where the visitor arrived from. This is a very interesting exercise, and I discovered that my all-time most viewed post was a movie review about Toy Story 3. This surprised me, but I learned that NONE of my hiking posts are visited much after the hike itself. They probably show up in the reader's sidebar or Google Reader if they use it, they look at the pictures and move on.

But you know, that is just what I do with most posts that are about an event in the blogger's life: I look at the pictures, read the story, and move on. I don't go back to visit that particular post again. Why would I, unless I was maybe thinking about hiking (or visiting) there myself and wanting to learn what to expect. I might think about getting some tips on Kay's 13-day-long Alaska cruise if I were going to take it myself.

This leave me with a question (the one I've been leading up to). What posts are most interesting to my readers? I find I have several posts about hiking (duh!), some about my new home town, a few contemplative ones (but I usually do that on my Eye on the Edge post on Sunday mornings), and a few movie or book reviews. Anybody willing to give me some direction? Or are you happy with the way things are?
:-)

Kids Craft Closet

I am one of the art moms in my daughters 4th grade class. As I was looking in the supply closet it felt so peaceful I think because it was organized! I knew I had to do something with the kids' craft closet at home. I was inspired!


This is the Kids' Craft Closet(just an entertainment center).


What a Mess!


In the process. . . did that all really fit??


I labeled everything. The containers on the right were from the dollar store(DollarTree).


All Done!

I was wrong about Skyline

Uh-oh. I awoke this morning to the sound of rain drumming on the roof again. And it's Thursday, our Senior Trailblazers hiking day! I think many of our members heard the same thing and turned over and went back to sleep, because when I arrived, rain gear already on, only Al and Mike showed up. At the last minute, Marjan and Frank came to see if we might decide to go somewhere local and skip the drive before spending the day hiking in the rain. But I really wanted to go anyway, whereas Mike and Al were dubious. I said that the weather forecast said the rain would change to occasional showers and then it would be MUCH more fun than a local hike. I was wrong, as you can see from the summit shot of Al this morning. Marjan and Frank went home instead of joining us on Skyline Divide in the rain.

The flowers were as abundant as we have seen on our previous hikes this year, but we didn't get a chance to enjoy them all that much. The rain that I was SO SURE would let up was still going strong on the summit when we had the added enjoyment of high winds. Great: wind AND rain.

After conferring with my two other cohorts, we decided to get down out of the wind and have a quick lunch and then go exploring. Al had downloaded a couple of GPS coordinates to find an old abandoned mine in the neighborhood, so we headed down to the car and set out to find the old road that would take us to the Great Excelsior Mine. And guess what! We found it!

By this time the rain had pretty much stopped, and the day was much more exciting when we found this old abandoned gold mine after some bushwhacking for a mile off the road. We inspected it as much as we felt comfortable doing. As you can see, it's boarded up right inside those old uprights, and it's got warning signs to stay away and all that. We did go look through the holes to see if we could see anything, but instead we found that there is a strong breeze coming through those holes, and the air is at least 10 to 15 degrees colder than the outside air.

See the holes with the chains? Those are the ones that had the air coming through so strongly. Mike is looking inside his pack to see if he has a flashlight to see what we might see, but no luck. It was an exciting find, and it made the day well worth the drive up to Skyline Divide and a little bit of discovery to add to the day's enjoyment. On the way back down the road to the highway, we stopped to take a picture of Dead Horse Creek running into the Nooksack. It's the first major rain in a while, and I was amazed at how the white water of the creek ran into the coffee-colored Nooksack.

Our hike was a wet one, but I'm used to it by now. And I am so glad we went exploring and played in the liquid sunshine again today. That said, I am now ready for a little blue sky mixed with fluffy white clouds. The sun didn't shine anywhere near us today, but I am hopeful that tomorrow will bring a bit different weather. I had a great day, and I hope you did, too!
:-)

Car Hair Kit

It never fails, whenever we get half way to where we're going, one of our girls will ask for a hair thing. I hope this will remedy the problem.


I found these compact containers at the Dollar store. They are so perfect. And the q-tips are a bonus! I used this tip to get the label off the top lid.


Fill it with the neccessities!

Multi-Use Container

Our kids drink juice like water running out of a faucet. So I like to keep some on hand all the time. [Although with all the cavities that the Dentist found, they have to brush right afterwards].
I like using the drink power found at Walmart to mix with my real fruit juice that I can during the summer months. It helps things go further but also is more healthy.


This is Walmart's NEW Drink Powder Container. I am lovin' it.


It unwraps easily & can be used for many things. I put some markers in there. They fit perfectly!

Wonderful Mt. Dickerman

Today on our next-to-last extra Monday hike of the season, the Core Four (Al, Fred, Mike and me) set out to climb up Mt. Dickerman, one of the most popular hikes in the North Cascades, and because of its long distance from Bellingham, a new one for all of us. The event was open to every Trailblazer, but we were the only ones who made it. Two others had intended to come but weren't able to at the last minute. The hike started out in fog and mist, as it had rained very hard yesterday in the entire area. We knew that the clouds would begin to lift by noon, or that was the forecast, at least. We walked through several miles of old growth forest, seen above.

The hike ascended upwards via seventy switchbacks, which actually sounds hard but gave us a fairly moderate uphill climb through dense forest. This was our first view of the summit of Mt. Dickerman, seen here through the mist. We were about 1,000 feet below it. As we continued our climb to the summit, we passed through amazing fields of wildflowers and incredibly dense blueberry bushes, although none of them are anywhere near ripe. We also saw the incredible mountains we hoped would reveal themselves to us when we arrived at the summit, but they came and went, hiding behind the clouds, all day.

You can see the massive structure on the right known as Big Four, with hints of other mountains behind the clouds. There's nothing to be done about it, we are just going to have to return next year to get the full view of these wonderful mountains. I can't say we were at all unhappy with these dramatic scenes, though.

When we reached the summit (in the middle of the picture with lots of people standing on it), we decided to walk a short distance away to the next hill, hoping for a view of Glacier Peak, and others that were hidden behind the clouds. Instead, we were treated to another amazing view: seven mountain goats, all sunning themselves on the next hill! I used my telephoto to bring them closer, but if you enlarge the picture you will notice that at least two of them are smaller and probably babies.

This is the first wildlife we have seen this season, and it was such really exciting for us. If we had stayed with the rest of the hikers on the summit, we would have missed them. I was just pulling out my lunch when Fred jumped up and pointed at them. Suddenly we were all snapping pictures right and left, and trying to stay quiet and calm so they wouldn't go running off. Aren't they beautiful?

I asked Fred to take my picture, and you can see behind me that the clouds never cleared away completely, but they made for some wonderful and dramatic photographs. We stayed for almost an hour on the top before heading back down, hoping for more clearing. It didn't happen, so we descended on those seventy switchbacks in mostly full sunlight, tempered by the dense forest.

The fog and mist of the morning had gone away, and we were glad for the cool temperatures and filtered sunlight as we made our way back to the car. We had covered almost 4,000 feet of elevation gain and loss in just shy of nine miles. It's a beautiful place, and I can see why it's such a popular hike. I'll be back, not just to see the rest of the mountains, but because it was a magical and delightful place to be. What a day!
:-)

The Green Smoothie Girl... Have YOU Heard the Buzzz?

Have you heard of the GREEN SMOOTHIE GIRL??? I've been hearing a lot of buzz on Facebook and from friends about this, and I am completely intrigued! If you live in my town, there is a FREE class and demo THIS Thursday evening at the Nampa Civic Center at 7pm. I'm going for sure! Click HERE for details, and I'll see you there!

First swimming lesson

This picture was taken by Amber last week. I didn't get to do THIS at all today, but instead we did drills, in my very first swimming lesson ever! It was fun, and I learned a lot, which I'll share with you. In the picture, I'm pleased to see that my right shoulder is out of the water, because it's supposed to be. It's one of the only things that I taught myself properly. The first thing Amber did is have us put on flippers. Wow! What a kick (heh) you get with those babies! And then she had us swim to the other side of the pool and back five times, using a paddle board with our heads out of the water. I felt so powerful with flippers, I felt invincible!

But then she had us swim to the other side of the pool with our heads in the water, coming up to breathe on either side, with our arms pinned to our sides!! I learned two things right off: I'm MUCH more comfortable breathing on the right side, and I stop kicking when I am breathing.  Needless to say, I took on more water than I was supposed to. This took several lengths to get fairly good at. Then she had us put one arm out straight, breathing on that side, other arm pinned to my side.

What I am learning is that the crawl (or Australian crawl), which I have been doing, is the fastest way to swim, if you do it right. But I have to disconnect my head turn from my body's actions. Since I forget to kick when I breathe, it's important to return to the basics. Once I learn to kick continuously, I'll be a lot stronger. If you look at that link, there are three animations of someone doing the crawl, and I learned a lot from them, too. In short, my first lesson was very exciting, and I'll practice these techniques next time I'm in the pool.

After the swim, I went to the Farmers' Market to get some greens, and I had lunch at this new place: 22Greens. I had the Bitchen Salad, which was simply wonderful! Now I'm home and writing this post before settling down to finish my latest novel, which isn't great but I have to know what happens.
:-)

My New Old Rags

My grandpa taught me a great trick to get the most wear out of a piece of clothing. When that clothing item is either too small, ripped or stained use it as a Paint Rag.


Before I gave some of the girls' clothes to the second hand store, I went through them to see if there was any I could keep. I found a great pile.

This sure beats spending more money on new ones{plus they have style}!

Foggy Railroad Grade

Fourteen Senior Trailblazers drove the 65 miles from Bellingham to Schreiber's Meadow trailhead in a light, gentle mist to hike the Railroad Grade trail. No sign of the sun. We hoped that we would be hiking in something other than a downpour, and in that sense we were very lucky. It was only a light sprinkle when we started out, and as you can see from our clothing, it was not warm, either.

Once we reached Morovitz Meadow (seen here), we had donned our rain gear. You can see Mikey Poppins in the back with his bumbershoot, a sure sign of precipitation. We were also aware that unless something miraculous happened to clear the skies, we would not see the wonderful views that awaited us. However, I saw that if the sun had been out, the wildflowers that have only recently escaped from the snow that covered them would have been glorious. As it was, they were only moderately magnificent.

This is the trail leading to Railroad Grade, which is an interesting formation and has nothing to do with railroads. This trail leads the hiker up to a view that reveals a sheer drop-off on the other side from the retreat of the Easton Glacier many years ago. Since on this side of the meadow it is also somewhat steep, the trail goes upwards along a very narrow path. Last year we had incredible views, which you can see here. The second picture on last year's post is taken from almost the same place as this view I took today.

Even though you cannot see what is on the left side, it's very impressive. The first clue you have that something is different is the sound of Rocky Creek roaring a thousand feet below. We turned left and started to follow the trail. This is what it looked like below us today.

The fog closed in not long after I took this picture, but I started up the Grade heading up towards what is left of the once-massive glacier. However, realizing that since I had done this last year and the payoff of more incredible views had kept me going then, no such enticement was available to make me go today. Four of our intrepid group did keep going upwards, however, while the rest of us retreated to find a nice warm place out of the rain to have lunch. I got this shot of those four heading back down to join us. I don't think they went very far, either.

That's Al in front, with Mary (our newest Trailblazer on her first hike today), Frank, and Fred behind him. By the time I had finished my lunch, I realized that being damp and cold made me glad I had brought my (a) gloves, (b) fleece, and (c) raincoat. I got them all on and managed to warm up quite a lot. It took several of us by surprise, since last week it was really hot and sunny with lots of bugs, and this week it was rainy, cold, and almost bug-free.

I was almost the last person back to the cars because of these! The blueberries are beginning to ripen, and some of us stopped to pick and eat them on the way back down the trail. In a week or so, there will be so many ripe ones that some people might find it hard to continue to their destination. They were definitely the tastiest I've had this year. Some people call these huckleberries; I don't really know the difference. (Too bad it's so far to this trailhead.) We managed to hike six miles and ascend 1,700 feet of elevation. Given the hard hikes I've done the last few weeks, I realize that I don't even feel a teeny bit sore right now. Monday's hike is supposed to be one of the hardest this year, so I guess I'm as ready as I will ever be. I'm looking forward to it.
:-)