Vegas, Baby!

Off I go again!  To Las Vegas for Ashley's bachelorette today through Sunday.  I'll post pictures on Monday or Tuesday.  Be great this weekend!  xoxo

Farmers' Market!

Went to the new farmers' market Saturday on my lunch and I'm so glad I did!  $14 later I had 3 bunches of beets, turnips, broccoli, kohlrabi, dill, cilantro, cherry tomatoes, red char, carrots, celery, leeks, and a parsnip.  Made some delicious (though not pretty) roasted veggies, steamed the greens, and added the red char to my lentils.  Also, Emmy and I skype-cooked for the first time, which was a blast.  The sushi bowl we made in our respective kitchens was really tasty, though we agreed less OJ and a bit more soy next time.

 Bag o'freshness--the veggies were all picked Friday!

 Pregame....I ended up making 4 cookie sheets of veggies.  I'll eat all week!

 Made Erin's lentils again.  Love how colorful and tasty they are!

All those greens cooked down into one soup bowl!  I'm excited to try such a big variety.

Four days of work, then to Vegas for Ashley's party.  Woo hoo!

Sunny Florida!

Didn't want to pay for internet at the hotel, so pictures had to wait until now. Not too many pics because we were really busy! Got some good information, ate really well, and generally enjoyed being with good friends.

 At the restaurant in the hotel the first night....weird fake animals all over.  The bottoms of the manatees were painted to look like water!

Note that the frog is about 3x bigger than the bird above him!

 I love Ashley-she was unpacked and relaxing when I got there.  Love, love, love that girl

Can you guess where my feet were?

 Peer leaders!

Obesity suits are used for sensitivity and handling training.  This one is $1200!!!

 Got my hair cut...straight (and short!)

 The real reason for the trip-our poster and getting some good info!  WE thought ours was the best!

I am so thankful that I am returning to someplace warm and sunny now!

A Great (though chilly) Day!

Baked cookies...went to church...went on a new hike with new friends...ate really good Mexican...got a pedicure...did laundry...packed....and thanked God the entire time!

 I'm convinced that I have to sacrifice the first tray of cookies before I can have good ones.

Today we went to Muggins Canyon.  Pretty cool!  Some neat slot canyons and tiny caves.  Was about a 3 hour hike, which was fun.  Got to know my boss Eric, his girlfriend Deana, their friend Bill, my coworker Adina, and Eric's daughter Eva. 

So fun!

Eric, Eva, and Deana. Have new respect for Benjamin and Lia hiking with Steven and Aya!

 Adina, Bill, and Roscoe (Adina's wonderful shepherd mix)

 Firmly planted near some neat rock formations!

The "M" for Muggins Canyon.  Note all of the clouds!

 Two views of sunshine!

Relaxing at the end of a great day.  Note the much prettier toes!

Off to Florida tomorrow-fun pictures of sunshine and green to follow!

Sleepless in Yuma

Woke up at 3:46 this morning....on my first day off.  Shoot!  Thankfully Emma was up to txt with.  Got an invitation to hike Telegraph while Robert was trying to stay away for his night shift tonight.  Super-beautiful.  It might rain today and tomorrow, so the flowers may be coming!  Got a little preview today...

First light

 Love walking into the sunrise.  It is pretty incredible

 Dessert flowers look so out of place in the rocky, grey-brown landscape.  Little hints of pretty!

My feet...and bedhead.  Carried a weight in my backpack today, which was a challenge from a girl at work who said I should be "doing Telegraph, no problem".  It changed the dynamics, that's for sure!

Have a great Saturday!

Baking in Yuma vol. 6

Decided to celebrate hearing from the title agency that the sale of the house is going through by being domestic.  Baked 2 batches of banana bars, dyed my dress, and made cauliflower hummus.  Great night!  xoxo

 Made Erin's delish lentil dish, which is why I didn't have a mixing bowl...again

Forgot that I had left my 9x13 in the oven to dry.  It was so hot in my apartment that I had to put it outside to cool off before baking the bars!

 Decided to bite the bullet and attempt re-dying my vintage sundress.  It began a light pink with faded spots.  Stay tuned for what color it ends up!  Next up is my banana-bleached black skirt (who knew!)

Another non-chickpea hummus attempt, this time with cauliflower.  Not too bad, though I still prefer the edamame.

One more day of work until I get 6 days off!  Relaxing here this weekend, then to Florida to see Ashley at the Safe Patient Handling Conference.  Should be a good time!