Memorial Day Weekend.

Happy Tuesday to ya!

Hope you had a nice long weekend. Since we have some very exciting travel plans in the near future (more on that later), we decided to stay home and just chillax (as my brother would say).

Highlights included:

*Bridesmaids (4 word summary: Often inappropriate. Always hilarious.) Speaking of weddings...Congrats are in order for my blog friends Stevie and Syndal who both recently became engaged! Yahoo!

*Some lazy time on the couch.


*A sunny bike ride with Fiona. I am loving that bike!

*A walk around the raging Spokane river.

*Bananagrams and a bbq at our house with friends.

*Homemade fresh spring rolls and strawberry shortcake.



Not so shabby of a weekend if I do say so myself. What did you do?

Love,
Betty

Chilly Day Chili.

I'm not sure what Mother Nature's deal is, but she's been throwing everyone for a loop lately. Fortunately, we're not dealing with any tornadoes, but we do have some wacky weather. Nothing says summer like 50 degrees and rain.

At least I can make my belly warmer with some of my favorite chili. I found this recipe in my Women's Health magazine several years ago. You can access the original HERE. It's super easy, cheap, and good for ya.

Here's what you need:
*1tbsp. olive oil
* 1 small onion, chopped
*1 lb. lean ground turkey or chicken
* 1 can diced tomatoes with jalapenos
*1 can each of chickpeas, black beans, & kidney beans
* 1 can chicken broth
*1/4 tsp of salt & cumin
* 1/8 tsp cinnamon & cayenne pepper

And here's how you make it:

Step 1: Heat the oil on medium-low heat, and then add the onion and saute' until soft.


Step 2: Add the turkey or chicken and brown it.


Step 3: Rinse the beans.


Step 4: Add everything else to the pot. Stir and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat, and simmer for 20 mins.


Step 5: Enjoy with your favorite cornbread (we're partial to Jiffy) and some shredded cheese.


And that's that. Have a fabulous Memorial Day weekend!

Love,
Betty

The little (BIG) tulip that could...

You may recall the monster tulip that was growing in our backyard last week. Well, she finally bloomed, and boy howdy...she's not joking around.

May I please present Ms. Big & Bad Tulip 2011:




How about you? Any big, bad, or just plain strange plants growing in your garden?

Love,
Betty

Thank You.

First of all, thank you so much for the kind words, thoughts, and prayers.

Also, a big thank you to my friends in town. You let me cry when I needed to, and then distracted me with home cooked meals, long walks, and games like Bananagrams.

I am so grateful.

Love,
Betty

Saying Goodbye.

This past weekend was a tough one. I spent it saying goodbye to my precious grandmother. Although her death has in some ways been a long time coming, it made it no easier to say a final goodbye.

In a way, I consider myself fortunate and honored. Fortunate that I had the time and resources to fly down to Denver at the last minute. And honored that I was able to witness my own mother say goodbye to her mother.

So many tears were shed on this trip, and I am emotionally and physically exhausted. I'd like to remember those tears with this quote:

“There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are messengers of overwhelming grief...and unspeakable love.” ~Washington Irving.

And I'd like to remember my Grandmother as she once was…so strong, confident, and beautiful:



I love you Grandma. You will be missed.

Love,
Betty

Meet Fiona.

Blog world, meet Fiona:



This little number is my graduation present courtesy of my parents, Cowboy's parents, and Cowboy. THANK YOU! I'm a lucky gal.

I'm looking forward to a summer of cruising around the neighborhood.

Have a great weekend!

Love,
Betty

Philadelphia.

Whew! Another whirlwind weekend…this time it was in the city of brotherly love for my sister's graduation from the UPenn. Her actual graduation ceremony wasn't until Monday evening, so we had some time to be tourists in Philly.

We decided to see most of the city by foot, and here are just a smattering of the cool things we saw:






And since a trip to Philly wouldn't be complete without a run up the Rocky steps (aka the steps to the Art Museum), we gladly obliged.


After all of that, it was my sister's turn to shine at her graduation. Congrats sis! You are a social work rockstar!

{Me and my siblings...yes, I am the runt of the family}.

Love,
Betty

Funny Friday.

Happy Friday! There are a few things that are making me laugh and smile today. Allow me to share...

1. You may have seen this gem that is floating around the internet. Pure genius.

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2. Check out this HUGE tulip we have growing in our back yard! Pretty soon it will be taller than our house.


3. We are in the process of putting our winter clothes away and getting our spring & summer items out again. This also means that we are weeding out things we no longer wear...

Some things were a little too big and a little too '90s. Seriously. We've had these jackets forever.


Some things were gloriously rediscovered...like this Audrey Heburnish dress. (Pardon my unphotogenic face).


Cowboy was reunited with one of his favorite hats. And I've gotta say, that hat sure brings out the handsome in him.


4. Dudley's teeth make me giggle. For being such a big dog, he has the most adorable crooked little chompers.


5. And finally, I keep getting images of these two guys in my head:

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I think it's because we are heading to Philly tomorrow for my sister's graduation! Yahoo!

And with that, I'll end my very random Friday post. Happy Weekend!

Love,
Betty

Vegging Out.

Now that I'm on a little break from work (and forever done with school), I've been doing some serious vegging out.

And when I say vegging, I am mainly referring to major relaxing. But I am also talking about vegetables. After a weekend full of rich and not-so-healthy foods, I've been craving me some veggies.

Here's what I threw together this evening:



I like to call it the When Cowboy's Away Salad (mainly because this is what I like to eat when he's at work).

It changes a little bit every time I make it, but there is always some sort of protein, grain, and loads of veggies. This time around I used quinoa, garbanzo beans, tomatoes, carrots, snap peas, broccoli, and spinach with a splash of rice-wine vinegar.

Easy, tasty, and good for ya. How do you like to veg out?

Love,
Betty

Graduation & Celebration.

Yowza. What a fun and crazy weekend! Lots of emotions and even more celebrating.

The actual ceremony was pretty long and boring. Isn't there a way they could make these things more exciting? However, things did perk up a bit when I received the 2011 Clinical Excellence Award. It's nice getting a little extra recognition after a tough 3 years.

I felt blessed and honored that my family took time out of their busy schedules to watch me graduate. I know the only reason I made it was because of their love and support. I love you all!



After the ceremony, we hosted quite the graduation bash at our house. The girls that I have grown extremely close with over the past two years came, along with their families and friends. It was a rockin' (although somewhat chilly) good time.






And with that, the graduate school chapter is officially closed. Can't wait to see what comes next!

Love,
Betty

P.S. Hope all you Mamas (especially my awesome Mama) out there had a fantastic Mother's Day! I

Pomp & Circumstance.

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Tomorrow you can go ahead and call me Master Betty. Kidding. Sort of.

But seriously, tomorrow I will be receiving my master's degree in speech-language pathology. Wahoo!

The next few days will be jam packed with parties, family, friends, and of course that darned graduation ceremony (here's hoping that it's short and sweet).

I promise a full recap...but not for a couple of days. I've got some celebrating to do!

Happy Weekend...and to my fellow graduates...CONGRATS!

Love,
Betty

A tale of two Dudleys.

Sometimes I feel like we have two dogs.

There is this dog:



And then there is this dog:



It's amazing what a little (more like major) dog grooming can do. Dudley spent about 3.5 hours at the dog spa yesterday getting the works. Thank goodness there are talented people out there that can do this. I'm not sure Cowboy or I would be up to the task.

And since he was such a good boy, he got to pick out a new toy. Meet Billy the goat.





Long hair or short hair we sure love our Dudley (although I have to admit I kind of miss his dreads).

Happy Tuesday!

Love,
Betty

Bloomsday.

The first Sunday of May in our town is a pretty big deal.

Every year thousands of people from all around the world come to participate in one of the world's largest foot races. The Bloomsday Run is a 12K race (7.46 miles), and people are welcome to run or walk.

Here's what it looks like at the beginning:

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...and midway (Doomsday hill at mile 4...it's a beast!):

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...and at the finish...it's all downhill baby.

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I have to admit I wasn't very excited about Bloomsday this year. I didn't feel very prepared or as in shape as I wanted to be. But thanks to a fabulous running buddy and beautiful sunny weather, I actually beat my time from last year!

Oh and every year, the finishers, (aka Bloomies) get the prized t-shirt. I plan on wearing mine with pride.


What a perfect way to begin the month of May! How was your weekend?

Love,
Betty