I’ve got a couple fun pics of things i have found out and about!
Merry Christmas!
Just plain old fun…
Just something a little bizarre!
Archive for the ‘ Ramblings ’ Category
400 feet up in a balloon!
Author: nwilkerNov 4
Every time i would return to Orange County to visit my friend Kim she talked about the Orange Balloon. I was never too excited to, cause i never really understood what it was all about!
Saturday we had a little time before hanging with our friend sunshine and before “the wedding”!
I looked up the Great Park of Orange County. and it looked like something that could be done in an hour or 2.
The balloon is a giant balloon that carries a circular base that can hold up to 30 people, and floats up 400 feet, with a view of the old El Toro air base!
Views were spectacular, but DAMN is it scary to start. I was gripping the sides for deal life, wishing i hadn’t decided to do this, ignoring the hubby when he pointed straight down and said wow, look at that! Eventually I calmed down and enjoyed the view and the fun to be had!
One of the other things there to do was to ride a carousel!
The first thing we did was the time line which was very interesting and weird! It listed from prior to 1930, thru the creation of El Toro, included the bombing of Pearl Harbor and other historical and war related information.
It was a really fun time and i would recommend it to anyone else cruising “the oc”
Anniversary Trip
Author: nwilkerSep 26
The hubby and I celebrated our 6th year out in Colorado Wine Country!
It was our first trip to a hotel with the pups! Not sure they enjoyed being in a weird place, even with their toys and their bed, but they did seem to have a good time!
We stayed downtown Grand Junction so we could walk to numerous places for dinner, enjoy the possibility of extreme midget wrestling, see a hot rod show and pop by a chocolate shop!
Saturday – We managed to get to a number of the wineries – probably a bit more that we – ok maybe just I should have enjoyed! But they were all great and we came home with quite the stash!
It was a pretty relaxing weekend – except for worrying about the dogs waiting in the car when we enjoyed wine, and worrying about them in the hotel room when we went to dinner, and worrying about them when we were in the room and hoping they didn’t pee and poop!
But we did get some quality time and were happy to spend another year together!
Cheers to more years!
Camping with the Pups
Author: nwilkerAug 23
The other weekend i needed some cool breezes and to be able to see water – so i snuck out of work early and packed the pups and hubby in the car and headed to our favorite “close to civilization” camp site for an overnight relaxation!
Definitely pretty sad that when i have to make a run to the Walmart down the road that the hubby can text me the status of our campsite or that we need bug spray!
But hey, you can’t beat the view
It just bring me inner peace, or maybe it’s fresh air or lack of oxygen to my brain at 9K feet??
This camping trip we remembered the boys clothes, their bed, and extra blankets – so we were ready for high altitude! (40-50 degree nights)
The boys started shivering before the sun even went down. So i had to hold Winston and swaddle him all up.
The hubby says I baby them. I say, whatever. He was cold!
Paco was being a tough man and sitting as far as his little dog run would take him from us, shivering, but still being cool.
The hubby has some adorable pictures of him in all white flowers. Very manly and super cute!
They did pretty good over night and with the camp fire and with the 2 dog runs. They only tied themselves up a bit. Yeah!
The next morning the boys woke us up, and i did the first outing to the rest room – mostly for me, but Paco ponied up too. Then we got back in the room and they were super restless so dad took them back out and started the fire while I went back to sleep (super weird – the only place i can sleep in – is when we camp… not sure what it is, but i love it and can sleep forever)
After breakfast and enjoying the view we decided to do a hike (a 7 mile death march) and then head home!
The boys did mostly ok. About a mile from the top Winston gave us the f-u and laid down, I carried him for a bit, and then i think he felt embarrassed by all the other dogs so he finished on his own 4 feet!
The alpine lake at the top was fabulous – Mohawk Lake.
It was wonderful day – camping, hiking, eating on the fire!
Fire Alarms and Batteries
Author: nwilkerAug 18
I remember way back when, when fire alarms were just that. One 9-volt battery that when it went, the alarm chirped and you wither changed it or it eventually went dead. So be it.
Now, houses are wired up with power back ups etc and ceilings taller than any ladder known to man so you can’t even change the batteries if you wanted to.
The other week, I arrive home to find the pups a little freaked out. One is hiding the other is bouncing around like no-bodies business. Then i hear it, the chirp. Darn it. Now i have it in my calendar to change the batteries once a year, how did i miss it? Damn it!
I have to head back out with the boys and promptly forget about. It is after all a boy job…
We arrive home after 9pm. Hubby gets the ladder and i go get the batteries. Oh holy mother of 9-volt batteries… we are out. OUT? How can that be – we shop at Costco? Which of course is now closed…
So we stand around the house trying to determine the culprit.
Stand and listen… waiting… waiting… waiting…
CHIRP
We think we find the offender, and hubby takes it down. And then… CHIRP
ARG
We end up taking down all the fire alarms and removing all the batteries. But still the CHIRP….
We are confounded, confused and just want to go to bed. Sigh.
We lock all the downed fire alarms in the garage and close the bedroom door. Ah, ear plugs.
Hubby is tasked with heading to Costco the minute they open and replenishing our 9-volt supply.
Around 8pm that night i get home and as i enter the house i still hear the CHRIP. I’m like – wtf honey?
Then i see he is about to loose his mind.. Apparently the search for the offending fire alarm has not gone well. We wonder if there is one hiding in the ceiling or what…
As we are standing under one of the holes of a downed fire alarm, hubby looks down and goes… hmmm let’s take the batteries out of this Carbon Monoxide Detector that we could never get to work to make sure it’s not this thing…
Well, as you can guess – the CHIRP was from that thing..
Sigh.
It’s kinda funny, but kinda stupid.
Elephant Graffiti
Author: nwilkerJul 25
Been seeing these around town and I love them!
I’m on a hunt to find them all!
House Projects
Author: nwilkerJul 23
We have a roof top deck – last year i stained it all by my lonesome – and bummer – it already needs to be re-done – no thanks to the winter weather and the pups running and diggin on it.
But the best part is enjoying the weather and the view up there!
We cook the majority of our dinners up there during the summer. So to support this endeavor we scoured craig’s list a couple summers ago and obtained a microwave and then a co-worker had an extra baby-fridge that i am “storing” till he needs it.
For all that time we have a book case to store our “crap” with the baby fridge in front of it, with the microwave on it, so we were always kneeling down to deal with whatever. Finally we have earned enough home depot gift cards to do something about it!
We got a nice base cabinet, with plans of also getting a matching top cabinet eventually. We did have to do some “work” to fit the microwave in the base cabinet though. We had to cut some of the back out so the bump on the back would fit and the plug would pass through too! Sure is nice to feel like a grownup with real furniture!
Next thing i really want up there is:
That would be the best – to have a little baby dishwasher up there, so nothing has to come down to be washed! Oh how self sufficient and awesome would that be!
The next big project is re-doing the deck with trex or trex like material! Maybe next summer!
Filed under: Ramblings
Moonlight Classic 2011
Author: nwilkerJul 21
One of my favorite charity events in Denver is the Moonlight Classic!
The basic premise – midnight in Denver, 10 mile course, roads closed, 4000 of your closest friends!
I love it! When else do you have the opportunity to bike around your city in the dark with no cars! So great!
Some of my favorite time is seeing all the little red backup lights of all the other bikes, hearing the woosh of the air, so fun!
This year we got our friend Daniela to come with us in the dark! Yeah!
Filed under: Ramblings
Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad
Author: nwilkerJul 14
This day, just a few years ago, 2 people married and created a family, a fun, wonderful family!
They have some fabulous years under their belts together and I’m cheering them on for many more!
Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!
My Tastebook
Author: nwilkerJul 9
I’ve have my own “personal” cookbook pretty much since I left home. I started with my sister writing down all the family favs in a spiral notebook so i wouldn’t starve in my very own first apartment a mere 30 min from mom and her.
It’s grown and expanded, been re-written to index card, input into different online cookbooks etc… i save recipes from everywhere, fitness magazines, the sunday paper, cooking light of course, my neighbors Real Simple’s, online blogs, there is paper everywhere!
One day I decided to make a book – first version was basically a word document I printed as Kinkos – in black and white since i wanted to make sure it made sence and i didn’t have photos of everything yet. (still an issue – a common phrase after i finish my last bite is – damnit – to which hubby replies – forgot a picture?)
Then i found – Tastebook – oh yeah!
I love this book cause i an re-print my recipes – ya’know when i finally take a picture or figure out I fat fingered something wrong or decided to “make it better” (or splash soy sauce on the page…)
Only recipes that the hubby and I have voted in as a “once a week” or “once every other week” make the book”. Simple cause there are just too many other recipes in the world that I want to try! Why stick to something that is not AWESOME?
So my book has little pieces of paper stuck in certain chapters waiting to become a permanent part of the book. And that was what i am doing this morning when I came across my Tabbouleh recipe. Nothing fancy, but I have lost it 2 times now so figured, I’d get it into every one of my publications so it doesn’t go missing again! (last time was when we mistakenly grew parsley instead of cilantro – my very own parsley in my very own salad – yeah!)
Wilker Tabbouleh
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked barley
- 1-2 diced cucumber
- 1 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 cup diced tomato
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
Preparation
- Combine all
- Chill and Serve!
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