Dear Todd & Stephanie,

~Bystyr University~

You have asked me to be your Doula.

(someone who nutures and guides a birthing mother)

I am honored and so pleased that you asked me.

I want to do my best for you,

so I enrolled in Doula classes.

 Four days of intense learning.

Four days of hands-on activities.

Four days of insight and more understanding.

I meet young nursing students from Twain.

 Our instructors were smart, funny and interesting.

They had a style all their own,

 which made for fun learning.

Lunch time was unbelievable.

The campus is in a beautiful setting.



 Bastyr is a natural health university. 

They grow their own vegetables for their cafeteria,

 here in this garden.

 They also grow flowers.

On this day, the massage class was held outside.

Oh yea... massages outside!

~Certificate~

Well, Todd and Stephanie,

I am ready to help you and Baby Boy

 make his way into this world. 

~July 29, 2012~

It won't be long now.

Opening of the Olympics

We watched from outside the

Olympic Opening Ceremonies

2012

Unreal!

Tom and I sat outside and watched

the opening ceremonies on the

big screen that is inside.

Go USA!

"Velo" Means Bicycle in French

Program

Saturday night I went to watch 

Bicycle Racing at our local Velodrome.

I pack a dinner and chair.

This was my view.

The Start of a Sprint Race

The Velodrome has an 180 degree angle and

 is un-walk-ably steep.

The Bicycles don't have gears or brakes.

Their feet are strapped onto the petals.

The riders use the slopes and flat areas

 (centrifugal force and gravity) to maneuver.

The Sprint Race is usually two or three racers.

It's all about strategy and skill! 

The track has red, blue and black lines
that are markers for the racers.

The racers start out slow then the sprint

to the finish.

 I turned around to watch the Sunset

 This was a race they call  Miss-n-Out.

It's like musical chairs only while racing.

Once around and the last racer over the line has to exit.

Then they go around again, last racer over the line exits, etc.

 They go around the track as many times
as there are racers.

In this case 38 times!

 It was super fast!

I love where we live because this track is only 

a few driving minutes away from our cottage!

Now I'm ready for the Olympics!

My Secret - Cupcakes!

 Do you see it?

 No?

It's on the middle shelf.

 A closer look...

 Stop...right there.

It looks so innocent.

You'd never know what it is.

It's my secret dessert.

 We had guests over for dinner the other night.

For dessert I made these delicious,

quick, fun, interesting Cupcakes!

A perfect way to end the evening with a little something sweet.

And so easy.

Cupcakes

One box of any cake mix (I used spice)

One box of Angel Food cake mix

In a zip lock, type plastic bag, mix both cake mixes together.

Keep in an air tight container

To make a Cupcake:

In a cup...

3 Tablespoons of cake mix

2 Tablespoons water

Mix really well.

Pop into the microwave for one minute.

(this makes one cupcake)

Add whipped cream and berries.

*****

You could come up with endless combinations of toppings.

I usually keep handy,
 frozen whipped cream and berries for those,

 spur of the moment desserts. 

Summer Salad

Susan Branch is one of my favorite illustrators.

This is from her Heart of the Home recipe book.

It's called Pasta Salad.

Simple and soooo delicious.

Lots of fresh vegetables!

Cork screw pasta and cheese tortellini.

Ummmmm good.

Pasta Salad

1 lb. corkscrew pasta

1/2 lb tortellini with cheese

1/2 C. plus 1 Tbs. olive oil

6 cloves garlic minced

1 bunch broccoli, in small flowerettes

2 med. zucchini, sliced & quartered

1 1/2 snow peas (or frozen)

2 sweet red peppers, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

1 6oz. can pitted black olives

4 tomatoes, chopped

1 C. Parmesan cheese, grated

1/2 C. Romaon cheese, grated

freshly ground pepper

Cook the pasta according to package instructions. Drain & put into a large bowl.

Pour oil into saucepan; add garlic & cook slowly till garlic is light brown.

Set aside to cool.

Lightly blanch broccoli, zucchini, and snow peas ~ refresh in cold water & set aside. Toss the pasta with garlic oil~ add rest of ingredients & toss very gently.

Serve

Two things of importance: don't let garlic get dark-colored while cooking in oil AND don't overcook the blanched veggies~ they should be firm in shape, but tender to the bite.

Best served at room temperature.

 

Concert and Back Stage Passes!

Linda and Tom holding our passes

 This is a follow-up to yesterday's post.

While sipping coffee yesterday,

 Linda and I met Al Jardine from the Beach Boys!

He gave us passes to his concert that night.

 We scurried around, packed a picnic and

prepared for any kind of weather.

 We had thunder, lighting and of course rain.

Then the sun came out!

 Perfect evening, in every way.

 When the Beach Boys hit the stage and

strummed their guitars,

the beach balls came flying out.

 They played the oldies but goodies and

some from their new album.

This is their 50th Anniversary!

Their traveling buses

After the concert, we were ushered "back stage" to

a building on the grounds

We were some of the fortunate enough to visit

the band memebers after the show and

waited outside.

 Mike Love

 David Marks

(an orginal member of the band)

 Al Jardine

Tom!

(my rock star)

Just Another Day

Al Jardine, of the legendary 

BEACH BOYS and ME!

Paparazzi swarming Al Jardine

Al was gracious enough to sign some autographs.

My girlfriend and I went for a bike ride today and

stopped to have coffee at my favorite coffee place,

 with now famous, orange couches.

The three of us talked for about 45 minutes.

Tonight's Beach Boys concert is at St. Michelle Winery.

We must of been entertaining because

Al gave us PASSES to the sold out concert!!