Same Old Same Old

So, while I do not have any anything very interesting to talk about, I figure I better blog about something or I will just procrastinate and never blog about anything.

After having Logan home for a couple of weeks, and getting to spend some quality time together and get somethings done around the house, he has been gone again for the last week. He had to do some work in Utah and Montana and pick up a new company car from a co-worker who drove it out from the office in Missouri. His co-worker then drove his old car back to Missouri while Logan drove the new one back out to California. Unfortunately, I spent my long Easter weekend ALONE while Logan was on the road. So I watched General Conference Saturday and Sunday and cleaned some house. I guess it was a nice enough weekend. It was peaceful at any rate.

Last Friday, I got to play hookie from work but it was anything but pleasant. I took a sick day so I could have a broken molar ripped out of my mouth. It has been traumatic. Luckily Logan was home to nurse me back to health and to make fun of me for being a toothless hillbilly. Don't worry, I will be replacing the tooth with a bridge in a couple of weeks. Can't wait!

We did some things to the yard a while ago. I planted a flowerbed in our front yard and we also planted some trees in our backyard this weekend. They call the trees "fruit salad" trees. One of them will grow nectarines and apricots, while the other is going to give us peaches and plums. We already have mini fruit growing on them, but I am sure it won't be an impressive production year since they are still small. But, next June through August we should get a variety of good fruit!

This is my new flower bed. Not that impressive, I know.

This is Reno before he got yelled at for running through the new flower bed.

This is Reno before he got yelled at for getting into the garbage can. He really would be one of those, "my dog ate my homework" kind of dogs.

This is Reno trying to keep Logan from leaving.

Work has been hectic for both of us, to say the least. I a have a never-ending pile of projects at work and Logan has been taking on some new responsibilities at work that have kept him on the go, as if he needed more of that!

That is about all I have to say about our lives today! I will try to come back again soon!

Spring is in the Air!

Sacramento is beautiful this time of year. Blossoming trees are everywhere! I love it. In three months it will be miserably hot, but for now, we are pretty content. These are not great photos. I just quickly snapped them on my way home from work yesterday. This is the street outside our subdivision, the trees on both sides of the street are solid white for a good mile, which makes me really happy:)

This past weekend I did some engagement photos for a girl I work with and her fiance, I have not had time to do much editing on them before they are finished, but these are a couple that I liked. There is a lot I can do with them, so I look forward to spending sometime in Photoshop. It is fun to take pictures of people you have something in common with. Plus it is a good chance to get outside. I don't do much of that these days.

On The Road Again, Just Can't Wait To Get On The Road Again.

Well, for me, it is a boring Saturday evening. Not even Reno wants to cuddle. He is upstairs sleeping under the bed and Logan is out of town, so I guess I have nothing better to do than update my blog. Since my last post, we have been traveling agin. More Logan than me. Last week, I got off work on Tuesday, and we hopped in the truck to go to Utah. I hung out with my family for a couple of days and Logan got to drive onto St. George, Utah to work a bull sale last Saturday and then we drove back to California. Pretty lame week. I got to see a lot of asphalt. Not my favorite scenery, but I got a hair cut and some color thanks to my sister and I got to see all of my parents and grandparents, which is a feat in itself.

This is me and Logan on a freezing morning looking at bulls in Levan, Utah.  9 degrees above freezing is something I haven't felt for quite some time.

After we got home from our quick trip home, I played a long game of catch up at work. Logan had a couple of days to get some office stuff done before he had to get back on the road. He left Friday (yesterday) morning and drove to Smithfield, UT for a bull sale today. As soon as the sale was over, he headed back west to get to a Sunday 9 a.m. bull sale in Winnemucca, NV and as soon as it is over, he has to be at a 1 p.m. sale in Gardnerville, NV. All of the sale crew in Winnemucca and Gardnerville is the same, so it remains to be seen whether that sale starts on time or not. It will be a close call.

Here are a few other pictures from this week. 

Since he was a baby, Reno has been notorious for giving hugs. If you get near him, he will drop whatever he is doing to hug you. Logan laid on the floor for me to pop his back and as soon as he rolled over. Reno dropped his rawhide toy on Logan's chest and gave him a hug. What a goober.

Reno got a hold of an ice cream container and it got stuck on his face. Too funny not to get a picture. I don't think he will ever learn. Cylinders are not his friend.

For those of you who haven't witnessed the dog dish incident, I have provided a picture below. After we realized it would keep happening when he ran out of food, we started buying him a regular dog dish that won't kill him one day.

What an idiot. I love him.

No Recipe for Success

Success #1

So, obviously, growing up in a restaurant, I learned to cook at a young age. Something I learned from watching my mom cook is that recipes really never need to be followed. General ingredients should be included, but adding a little of this or a little of that is usually okay. And, even when you are following a recipe, it is okay to add in a touch of your own taste to make it your own recipe. These lessons from my mom weren't really taught out loud, instead, I guess my mom was more of a teach-by-example kind of person.

Well, since leaving the nest, I have learned that I can't follow a recipe even if I try. I get impatient or think the recipe is missing something. Sometimes, based on my input, recipes turn out better than expected and sometimes not. Usually, I just combine a few ingredients that I think will work together and dinner usually comes out pretty well.

My mom always made all of her own dinner rolls, carrot cake, scones and cinnamon rolls at the cafe, so these are the types of recipes that I can just make from memory. But lately, while trying to save some moola, I have decided I will make -- rather than buy -- my own bread. I am not sure if the elevation is just too different in Sacramento or what but my mom's bread "recipe" comes out awfully heavy and takes forever to rise. So, I have been experimenting with some other recipes, making my own adjustments and have finally succeeding in making great homemade bread.

Bread needs six basic ingredients -- flour, liquid, fat, yeast, salt and sugar. Here is the "recipe" for my bread. Try it yourself. Feel free to make any of your own adjustments and see if you can come up with your own "recipe."

You will need:

1 1/2 cups warm water -- not HOT, just real warm

1/2 cup warm milk

1 1/2 Tablespoon yeast

1 stick melted butter 

1/3 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon salt

unbleached flour (about 4 cups)

Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water in a medium-sized mixing bowl and add a pinch of sugar to the yeast water. Allow to dissolve for about 5 minutes until a little foamy. 

Add the warm milk, butter, sugar and salt. Stir gently until combined.

Add and stir in flour one cup at a time until the ball of dough pulls from the sides of the bowl. I have a kitchen aid, but to cut down on cleaning, I just use a spoon and the same mixing bowl throughout.

After you have a ball of dough, knead it on a floured surface for about 5 minutes until you have a smooth, elastic ball of dough that feels like damp, smooth skin. You can add a little flour while kneading if your dough is ultra sticky.

Put kneaded ball of dough in a buttered mixing bowl (turn ball over to coat both sides). Then lightly cover with plastic wrap and a dish towel. Put it in a draft-free area for at least an hour (up to 2.5 hours). I put mine in my cool oven to rise, since no air can draft in or out. 

After dough has at least doubled in size, punch once to deflate and then dump in back on the floured surface and knead for another  5 minutes. Then divide into loaves or rolls. This recipe makes two small loaves, one small loaf and 15 rolls, or 30 rolls. 

To divide. I just make a nice round ball and cut it in half with a knife. There you have two loaves.  If making rolls, then just cut the halves by making 2 cuts in one direction and 4 cuts in the other direction and you will have 15 rolls per half batch of dough. I just rolled the dough between my hands to make balls of dough.

Place your rolls or dough in buttered baking dishes and again, cover lightly with plastic wrap and a dishtowel. I just let these rise on the stovetop before I turn the oven on and while the oven is preheating. Let dough rise about an hour, or until doubled in size and you are ready to bake. 

Bake the loaves on 400 degrees for about 20 minutes and the rolls for about 16 minutes. When they are golden brown they are done, or when you knock on them, they sound a little hollow.

To store, I just wrap the loaves in tin foil and leave out for up to two days, or refrigerate.

As far as nutrition facts, I even went the extra mile to calculate them and was somewhat impressed. The recipe makes 25 servings (one roll, or one-tenth of a loaf) 

For one roll, there are: 96 calories, 3 g fat, 14 g carbohydrate, and 2 g protein

For a slice of bread, you are looking at: 110 calories, 4 grams of fat, 16 g carbs and 3 g protein

Success #2

 

I often have cravings for unhealthy sugary snacks and baked goods, yesterday, after my triumph over the bread, I decided we needed a dessert for dinner too. I made a semi-healthy apple crisp using my stepmother's A-mazing apple pie filling (not sure what is in it) and a healthy-er-ish crust. Though, I am sure it is not exactly low-calorie, it was probably lower than apple crisp would normally be. Next time, I will try something different with the filling, perhaps fresh fruit with no sugar added. 

For the crust, I used:

1/2 cup white flour

1/2 cup wheat flour

1/2 cup Splenda white sugar blend

1/8 cup Splenda brown sugar blend

1/2 stick butter (or lower calorie margarine equivalent -- any fake reduced calorie butter will do)

1/2 quick oats.

I just stirred these until they make a dry dough-like blob, and then evenly spread the mixture over the top of the pie filling. I just baked it at 350 degrees for 30 minutes uncovered. It was outstanding, though I am sure it still had a significant calorie content, especially when you add the ice cream. But, even a small serving curbs a persistent craving. But, this was a good example of how making up recipes can work out surprisingly well.

Asphalt Cowboy

So, this week has been a busy one -- more for Logan than for me. I got a small taste of what his travel regimen is like and I could never handle a schedule like his. 

On Friday, we left after I got off work. We drove north to Klamath Falls, Oregon, where we arrived at about 11 p.m. and got on the road again at 6 a.m. to make it to a noon bull sale in Madras, Oregon. After the bull sale, we went to Ankony Farms outside of Redmond, Oregon to look through their bulls and consignment bulls that are being sold at their sale today (Monday). We made it back to Klamath Falls that night and spent the majority of Valentine's Day driving back to Elk Grove. I had planned to travel with Logan to Bakersfield on Monday, but he was unsure if he would make it back Monday night, so I decided to stay home so I could make it to work on time Tuesday. 

He got on the road at 6 a.m. today (Monday) to make it to some cattlemen's meetings in Visalia and Bakersfield, where he had to give a presentation. While it remains to be seen if he will make it home  tonight or not, the rest of his week doesn't slow down.

Tuesday, he will speak at a meeting in the small town of Vinton, California; Wednesday, he is speaking in Alturas, California; Thursday, he gives the same presentation in Winnemucca, Nevada at a meeting and then Saturday he has to work ring at a bull sale in Fallon, Nevada, after which he gets to drive back home to Elk Grove. Did you get all that? Me neither. I am not sure how he keeps his head on straight. 

If I have calculated correctly, he will have driven just under 2,500 miles in that one week -- and that is just with the scheduled stops, he usually makes a few herd visits during these long trips. With just the scheduled driving, he will be on the road more than 40 hours. Below is an image, courtesy of Mapquest that outlines his travels this week. Point J is our house which is the starting and stopping point. It is also point A, C and E.

As for my President's Day vacation, I am doing laundry and whatever else I can to make the rest of Logan's week a little easier. He usually does all of his own laundry (I know, what a keeper), but this week, I have a feeling he probably won't get to it. 

Since we have had so much rain, the weeds around the perimeter of our back yard have grown out of control. So, I hope to get out there and eliminate part of the jungle this afternoon. I would provide a picture to show how bad it really is, but I left my camera in Logan's car.

All in all, we didn't have a very adventurous or romantic Valentine's Day weekend, but we did get to spend the entire day together, which is more than I can say for many other holidays.

After Logan gets home this weekend, we will turn around next Tuesday and head to Central Utah for a few days. Driving of course.

27.

Twenty. Seven.

20 and 7

27.

That's right, I am 27.

Ughhh. I think if Logan were older than me, I wouldn't always dread getting older. I don't know, maybe that is just silly, because he is obviously keeping up. It's not like he is getting younger or anything. I think I just hate hitting these milestones first. I guess I had better get used to it.

Despite my terrible attitude, I did have a good birthday. All of my friends and family remembered me and that is always nice. I love getting cards in the mail and I LOVED getting flowers delivered to work. It also made Logan look really good in the minds of my co-workers. They didn't ask, they just assumed they were from him. They were really from my cute sister Ashlee.

My co-workers made a nice lunch for me as well. My good friend Annie made homemade lasagna and Megan brought a "better than sex" cake. It was better than any previous "better than sex" cake I have had. Making it a close competition between a cake named after intercourse and the real thing. Just kidding. That may have crossed a line. or two.

When I got home from work, I found these on the dining room table:

As Logan was busily cooking a wonderful dinner of chicken cordon bleu, scalloped potatoes, asparagus and homemade rolls, I told him the flowers were lovely. He agreed. Turns out they were from my mom. Thanks mom:) 

Logan's stepmom, Becky got me a new set of salt and pepper shakers, which will actually come in really handy because we only had one set so we were constantly getting up during dinner to get the s & p off the other table (we have two dinner tables).

Before dinner, I lost patience and opened Logan's gifts. He got me a couple of workout medicine balls that I had asked for. But, I really love it when he gets me things that he puts thought into. In addition to the new workout equipment, I got TWO packages of tall dress socks. I guess he was finally tired of finding his tall dress socks in my hamper. I figured he would get the clue sooner or later. He also got me the autobiography of Walter Cronkite. I love learning about journalists who didn't have the luxury of the Internet, cell phones and other modern-day conveniences that make reporting so much lazier than it could have ever originally been. I like to think I have a strong work ethic, but it is probably nothing compared to people like Cronkite that really had to work for their stories.

Thanks everyone who helped me to have a great day!

Red Bluff

So, last weekend, Logan and I went to the Red Bluff Bull and Gelding Sale for work and despite it being a terribly long weekend and both of us picking up an awesome head cold, it was nice to catch up with some of the locals I used to know when we lived in Tehama County. I really enjoy it there, it is much more similar to home than other parts of California. Red Bluff is larger than where either Logan or I grew up, but the pace of living is so much slower than it is in Sacramento.

My work had a booth in the Tradeshow and Logan was there to work ring at the numerous sales. I was also taking pictures for the magazine. Here are a few of my favorites:

I also loved this dog that got a bit distracted after performing. There was a big mud puddle at the front gate that most of the dogs took at dip in after their runs. But this dog didn't want to leave.

These are my favorite horses of the week. Many of the champions were gray. As always, there was a nice selection of horses!

This pretty boy was the cow cutting champion and went for a mere $12,000 -- which was probably a steal!

This was the confirmation champion and one that I am certain my friend Kristan would love. He was big and tall. He was also much more affordable than the horse pictured above. I think Kristan should come find Macy Jo a big gray gelding next year at the horse sale!

And finally, I tried to get a couple of shots of my favorite ringman, but turns out he gets easily annoyed by the camera. These are of him taking phone bids at the dog sale and working ring at the horse sale.

Next weekend we are taking a trip to a sale in Madras, Oregon. I don't really like long road trips, but I do like Logan and I don't like spending Valentine's Day weekend alone, so I will try to get some good pictures and update on how the trip goes.