Oh....by the Way...

I chopped my hair off. 11 inches. I haven't had hair this short since I was 8, and my Dad put a bowl on my hair and cut around it. (Yes, he actually did that).

I donated the hair to Locks of Love. It was definitely an experience. I'm not sure if I like it or not. It is different. Very different. There are bangs. No ponytails - not enough hair. Comments I've heard include: "you look like a little girl" "you look younger" "I didn't know you were a lesbian" (HUH!?!) and "you look more sophisticated".

What do YOU think??

Zucchini Yumminess

Ever hear of Zucchini Pancakes? So good.
Zucchini Pancakes
2 cups zucchini; finely shredded (about two 8-inch zucchinis)
4 large eggs; beaten
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3 Tbsp vegetable or extra virgin olive oil
4 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup butter or margarine; melted

In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs then add zucchini and mix. Add flour, sugar, salt and oil. Mix. Finally, add baking powder and mix well. Preheat grill. Spoon batter on hot grill; about 2 tablespoons for each pancake. Cook until bubbles almost stop, about 1 1/2 minutes. Flip pancakes over and cook for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes longer or until pancakes are done. These are very tasty with sour cream or yogurt and your choice of jams or syrups.
Extra zucchini? Bag it. I now have about 20 bags like this in my freezer - 2 Cups each.

Dinner with a Friend

Last Friday, I had a friend over for dinner. I made the most scrumptious (and EASY) dinner. The recipe will follow. I haven't been able to spend any time with her in quite a while, so we had a wonderful evening with food and wine and good conversation.

Her first priority that evening was reading to Joseph. He was VERY excited about her coming over for dinner and a sleepover. He was even nice enough to share his racecar bed with her when it was time for her to sleep. Too funny!

Moving on...the table, all set and ready for us. Thanks to my aunt Pat for the awesome wine chiller you see on the table. She gave it to me when we were up in TRF a few weeks ago. I love it.
And here is dinner - preparing to cook: Grilled Flank Steak with a Lemon Oregano Butter

1 Flank steak - marinate in:

3 T lemon juice

2 cloves of garlic - minced

S&P

2 T olive oil

Mean while, soften a stick of butter, and mix in:

1 T lemon zest

2 T lemon juice

S&P

2 T fresh minced oregano

1 clove garlic - minced

you could make this butter ahead of time, so the flavors can marry.

Aunt Barb and Little Joe - spending some quality time together.
Remanants of the evening...It is always nice enjoying a glass of wine with a friend, and not having to worry about going to work the next day or anything. sheesh.
This was the wine that we had with Dessert - It. Was. Amazing. We picked up this wine WAY back in 2000, when we were visiting my Grandparents in Oregon. I've been holding onto it for a good dessert occasion, and I didn't want to just share it with anyone. It was SO worth the wait. If you have never tried a muscat (muscati if you are Italian...) do it now.
And dessert - so simple. a hunk of goat cheese, drizzled with honey and pisatchios. Put it in the oven for a few minutes. Toss some bluebarries on when you remove it from the oven - and enjoy. This was so wonderful.

Ice Cream

So, the other day, Joseph wanted me to get a box of Blue Moon Ice Cream. I obliged. But, then I started pondering about what I was feeding my child. Blue Moon. Exactly what is Blue Moon?

What exactly is "Blue Flavor"? Note, this doesn't say "Blue Raspberry"...am I a good mom, by feeding my child Blue flavored food? Does this count as a fruit? Maybe? I hope?

Does it really matter? I'm getting him to eat...and sometimes that is all that matters. (As long as I put the FROZEN ice cream in the microwave to make ice cream soup!)

overcome with vegetables

Returning from vacation, we found more tomatoes than we knew what to do with....So...I canned.

Canning...so much fun...so easy!!

Aand I got 4 jars. that's all. And I burned my hand to boot. But, don't they look pretty?

At least the onions and shallots are awesome! :) Those are the red onions that I got from Uncle Luke's in Troy. They turned out GREAT!!!

Wisconsin Dells and the Great Wolf Lodge

If you haven't been to a indoor waterpark like this...you need to do this. It is seriously out of control. We all were going nonstop. There are even crazy-fun rides for the adults. We all had a great time!

Hanging on Lake Minnetonka

More pics from the vacation. On the way home, we stayed a night at my aunt's house just outside of Minneapolis. Joseph enjoyed tubing and swimming with "the girls".

Stress

Joseph is starting Kindergarten in 6 days. And I am freaking out about the details. How will he get there? Who will make sure that he gets there? What will he do afterwards? Where will he go? We are trying to work out latchkey and childcare, and our own work schedules. Seriously, I am so stressed out, and I shouldn’t be. It’s the natural progression of things. It is life. Children go to school. Dogs pee on hydrants. Scramstads spill. It is what it is.

On another front – I am excited about tomorrow night. I have a friend coming over for dinner. She is my best friend, we have been friends since we were, like, 5. I have a yummy menu planned. I’ll post it after we eat, pictures included. She reads this blog, and I don’t want to ruin the surprise! Hee!!

Otherwise…life is OK. I moved the furniture in our bedroom around last night. Why. Because I thought it was a fantastic idea. No, seriously…I wanted to use the mirror that came with my dresser. It has been relegated to the basement for the past 7 years, and I thought it deserved another chance. So, I set to moving around furniture, trying not to scratch the floors. I only broke one thing, and that was a heavy glass that fell on my head first. So, not only did I break something, I also hurt myself in the process. (No, it didn’t break ON my head, it shattered on the floor).

For those of you looking for the rest of the vacation pictures…they are coming tonight. Blogger has been really screwy lately, and not allowing me to upload pics very easily. Stupid computer.

On the vegetable front…I have tomatoes coming out of my ears. More than I know what to do with. I canned a few already, but I need a bigger canning pot. I could only can 4 jars at a time, and that ain’t very fun. I’m making sun (oven) - dried tomatoes this week, then some “bruschetta in a jar”, which is heavenly…and then who knows what else.

All for now – I’m trying to catch up on a week’s worth of blogging, and still keep things up-to-date. If I have emailed you back, or responded to you – please be patient with me.

See? Chinese Food.

My cousin and her daughter rolling egg rolls from scratch...so yummy.




Sitting around after dinner...my grandma used to always take a picture of the dinner table. Her pictures were usually beforehand though.

The Pontoon

Joe even got to drive the pontoon boat. This completely made his day. My Uncle David is teaching him how to er....steer.

Thief River Falls - Visiting Family

When we arrived in TRF, there was a PARTY going on...a Scramstad party! Whoo-hoo! People even came by plane to the party. So cool. There was a band and everything .




This is my cousin's son Wade...just adorable!!

We had a great time in TRF, and spent time with family. Man, I miss family. I don't really have any around here, so this trip was really important to me so I could reconnect with the Scramstads.

I got a great recipe for carmel rolls from my cousin. I'm quite excited to make that soon. So yummy! We did a little bit of shopping around town, nothing major, then hung out mostly. There was one night of Chinese food too. Yes, Norwegians in Northern Minnesota cooking Chinese Food. And you thought that the world was coming to an end or something. Actually - my family can majorly throw down some AWESOME chinese cooking. Seriously - it's like this family thing.

Little Joe had a great time running around with the cousins - the kids are all around the same age, and they had a blast on the farm, riding horses, playing in the dirt, riding on the pontoon boat, all the good stuff that cousins do.

I really hope that we get up there again soon.

Video of us playing in Lake Superior

OK - So...we didn't fall in - but we had a good time trying to not get wet. Too funny!

Camping on Lake Superior

This is our campsite...ON the Lake Superior Shoreline. This spot was amazing.

The pics are of us playing in the Lake, even though it waas COLD...and watching the goegeous sunset. If you are ever lookng for a place to really appreciate Michigan...you have got to check this place out.

Pictured Rocks....by boat.

Then, we drove accross the UP to Munising, and took the Pictured Rocks Boat Tour. All I can say....wow.