Headwaters of the Green River

Today before we drove home we decided to take a drive up to a beautiful lake at the headwaters of the Green River. Originally we were going to hike to the other lakes there too. But it decided to snow and so we didn't dare hike out to the rest of them - it was pretty sloshy around there. This one was close just a very short hike down and beautiful. I little cold but beautiful. I'm grateful for nature it's so pretty.

Framed Arrow for Sale

Quite some time ago I asked Jeff to make this for me. He made several and wanted to sell them. Ummm that never happened. But, we have had a lot of nice comments on it when people see it hanging in the house. I decided to try again.  I'm planning on listing these babies on KSL and see what happens.

The thought of selling them makes me smile Ü

It's Apple Day

Today I was very thankful for Jeffrey as I sat and listened to him talk with his Grandma. That man of mine is continually teaching me how to be thoughtful. Do you know that's a real super power to me. Thoughtfulness - that's Jeff's super power - what's yours?

He helped pick apples at her house today. Then he chatted and chatted and chatted with her and gpa too. JEff remembered to bring them some salsa. Which gma very politely called back to let him know that she LOVED it!!  He is so thoughtful and I'm so thankful for him.

These were the apples they picked. We have one of these at home too. I'm excited for some apple cider and apple sauce. Just not sure if I'm ready for the work yet Ü

Oogie Boogie!!

Oogie Boogie!!

Emalee announced that she had a really, really great idea for a Halloween costume this year and needed some help. She asked her mom and Jeffrey if they would please help her. The day was set and the work  began. Paula helped with the design and style of the costume. She sewed up the body and put binding around the neck to make it more comfortable to wear. Jeffrey helped with the design too and he was also in charge of all the stitching. Amazing!! I think it turned out awesome!! Don’t you think so?

Emalee will make a great oogie boogie this year! She'll be the talk of the neighborhood. This is getting me in the Halloween spirit. I love Halloween it's become one of my favorite holidays!!  Great work you two!! Happy spooking Emalee!! ;)

Salsa

I'm very happy that Jeffrey has the motivation to do some canning. Without him our shelves would only have store bought items on them and I love so much having homemade things in our food storage!!

Today when I came home for lunch, Jeff had everything set up ready to make salsa. Yum-O!!  I love Jeff's homemade salsa. He makes the best! He knows how to mix flavors and make it taste so good. He makes up his own recipes. I have no idea where the last one went, I'm even questioning whether or not he wrote it down. He did not make that mistake again. He wrote out all the ingredients he used to make this batch and I'm glad he did, it turned out FABULOSO!! I did have a little bit of  time to help a little bit during my lunch break. But I  was only able to cut up some onions and peel the garlic - wooohooo!! pathetic ;)

Thanks hon!! Having this on our shelves for food storage makes me very happy!!

Amaretti Cookies :)

I came home to these yummy little cookies. I was lucky to have one - most of them were gone or given away. Jeffrey made these delicious little cookies. They are made with almond & nectarine kernels ground into a paste and made into a cookie batter. Then they are rolled in sugar! Oh man they are so yummy!  


Did you know that apricots are an amazing fruit?  The kernel of the apricot is high in vitamin B-17. 


So, what is B-17 good for?

Well, if a person has enough B-17 they will never get cancer. So eat 7 to 10 apricot kernels every day.

Jeff's Paddle

Okay so Jeff was telling me that he always wanted one of those paddles that we kept seeing at the swap meet in Hawaii. Regrettably, I could not remember what he was talking about. But I went along with it. He said he never got one because he couldn't figure out how he was going to get it home. So. . . . his dad had some scrap wood sitting in his garage and apparently burning a hold in Jeff's creative pocket. And Jeff snagged it up and made himself a paddle.

Cool School!!

It's Finished! It's Gorgeous!

Today Jeff finished the final touches on the woven hammock he created. It turned out beautiful! When he had it done two days ago, he went to sit in it and his butt fell right through. All the strips separated apart and he just went right through it. He realized he was going to have to sew every other square together to keep it together. So, he went back to the sewing machine and did just that.

What a lot of work! I kept telling him it was a labor of love. He kept saying - it's a pain in the bum :)

But I think it was well worth it! (Of course I didn't sew it together) I love it!

Fabric Shopping

I didn't know fabric shopping was going to be so pretty. While we were looking at rows and rows of fabric I thought it was so pretty and had to take a picture.

Jeff has turned making the hammock stand into another project and that is making hammocks. He has been working so hard and taking such time to make beautiful hammocks. So, I went shopping with him over at Hobby Lobby to look for fabric for a hammock. It was fun to see all the beautiful fabric they have and try to imagine it as a hammock.

Fajitas

For a long time now whenever we have fajitas, Jeff makes them. I would watch him cut the peppers up super thin. He took care to make sure and cut them from the side down to make sure they stay in a curve and look pretty. I also noticed how he didn't let the chicken defrost all the way. He said that allows you to cut it super thin.

Well, tonights menu was fajitas. Jeffrey, however, was busy putting the finishing touches on his woven hammock and couldn't pull himself away to make dinner. So it was my job to make the fajitas. I was nervous, but I had watched the pro in the past many times.

So. . . I did it. I followed his example and I did it :)

New Hammock

Okay, I know, you've for sure had enough of these posts, but I'm so impressed with Jeffrey. He made a new hammock today. A blue banana hammock and I love it! He did this all TODAY! The other hammock got put to the side. It's turning out to be a pain in the rump! But look forward to a post about it when it's done :)

For now here's the new one. With me and Hayden in it.

Happiness Boost

Need a happiness boost?  Get yourself a hammock. It brings instant happiness - just look at these "boys" feeling the hammock happiness.  (I know you're probably sick of seeing posts about the hammocks but I love it!!)  The Peterson's came by for a visit and to get some shelves for their garage (yay! yay! yay!) When they came in to talk for a minute, they couldn't resist and had to hop in. Don't they look like little boys just laying there chatting with each other. Smiles, everyone!  Smiles!

Idea~to~Reality

Lookee, lookee, Jeffrey figured it out. The hammock is almost done. Remember the post about how dad can bend wood. Jeffrey did it and he figured it out all by himself. I don't think he realizes how cool that is. I would have no idea how to make something like this. Jeff, on the other hand, sets his mind to do something and he figures it out. He never ceases to amaze me with the talent he has in his hands and his abilities.

Now, with the first one done, he wants to make at least two more and then he'll see. He is amazing! Couldn't wait to show you the finished product. It's so close now. All he has left to do is sand it and put on a UV protection.

Isn't is beautiful!! I think it looks like a piece of art.

It's so cool that his idea can become a reality. Awesome!

April 25 - Strawberry Starts

Today Jeff's dad brought us some strawberry starts - over 100 of them! That was really lucky - huh?! when I got home from work today, Jeffrey was out on a walk, but he had started preparing the front  flower bed to plant them. That scene was very motivating. So I went inside, changed my clothes and got to town. Ripping out our dead mums and those crazy hyacinth's that seem to have babies each year even thought we ripped them out last year, they keep coming back.  It was looking so good when he got back from his walk.

He began helping me to form the flower bed and get it ready to plant all those starts. As I was planting the starts he continued working on the rest of our flower beds. Weeding and raking. He made them look so great. Love my Jeffrey!  Love it when he helps me, love that synergy that happens when we work together. Makes me wanna bust out in song "When we're helping we're happy and we sing as we go!"

April 21 - Doctored Up

Bless Jeffrey's heart he's so sick. I have been trying to come up with things to make him feel better. We've given him a bath with peppermint oil in it. He's done the sinus busters. I rubbed grapefruit oil down his spine. Anything to help him get over this cold/flu. He even took Claritin D last night. Wow, last time he took it he went on and on about how great it was. When I was sick though it didn't do diddly! This time when he took it. . . same thing (didn't do diddly for him)  :(  boo.

Tonight he made up some mullein tea (which "naturally" acts as an expectorant, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antihistaminic and is also calming) and added honey and lemon (which is a natural suppressant). He was hoping that he could break up all the gunk in his lungs then quiet his cough so he could sleep.  I also got him some NyQuil hoping that this herbal and medicinal combination would do the trick to let him sleep a bit better tonight. Here's hoping that being all doctored up today will do the trick. Then we can both feel a little bit happier.

April 20 - Dad Can Bend Wood!

Jeffrey is amazing with his hands. He can do anything he puts his mind to. So. . . when he was telling me about a hammock stand that he saw and wants to try and make I knew he'd figure it out. He kept talking about how he'd need to build a jig to bend the wood. I couldn't understand what he was talking about. I am not great at envisioning his visions in my head. Once he gets an idea in his head, he can't let it go until he figures it out. This is what I came home to tonight. He figured it out. He never ceases to amaze me with his talents.

As soon as Hayden saw it, he ran right into his brothers and yelled. "Hey you guys, Dad can bend wood!"

April 14 - Hammock Happiness

This is where I found Jeffrey today when I came home for lunch.

Doesn't he look comfy?  It made me happy. I had to snap a picture.  I don't get many opportunities for picture taking. He hates having his picture taken. Thank goodness for facebook. He has to update his picture from time to time ;)

He loves this hammock. Remember how I was saying I know that "things" don't make you happy. Well this is one "thing" that really, really brings us happiness.  I've seen each one of us and friends too, just be in the hammock and see how it changes their moods instantly and it doesn't seem so fleeting. It seems to last a while.

I think a hammock brings happiness.

April 11 - 40 is Fabulous!!

Today is Jeffrey's Birthday. He is turning 40! I think he's decided that 40 is Fabulous!!

This particular birthday has been a hard one for him. So. . . he decided he wanted to celebrate in a big way by going out to eat at Market Street Grill!  Oh ya, love that the birthday boy gets to choose the place that he wants to eat at for dinner. What a great choice, eh?!!

He ordered the PRIME New York Strip and One King Crab Leg. It was so much fun watching him eat the Crab Leg. He shared with me and I must say they were both delicioso!!

Here's to hoping 40 will bring big changes. Good changes. Changes he's been looking forward to. I love him so much and I'm glad to have him in my life.

I think that turning Forty for Jeff really did turn out to be FABulous!!

April 5 - Fancy Feet

Jeffrey found himself some fancy new shoes. He probably wouldn't like me calling them that. . . . . . but seriously that's exactly what they are!!  F - A - N - C - Y ! ! !  Don't you think so?

Say hello to Jeffrey's new Men's Salomon SpeedCross 2 Trail Running Shoe

He got them for hiking on our trip. He's so excited. He has to break them in. I like them a lot, maybe have to find the "female" version and get me some too :D

March 17 - My Lucky Green!

This was my favorite green thing today!  Ephreda, Mormon Tea Plant or Brigham Tea Plant!  Whatever you call it, I call it FaBuLoSo!!!  I'm so glad Jeffrey thought of it and made it into a tea for me!!  It was my saving grace tonight.

I have had a cough and stuffy nose this past week. It hasn't been an extremely bad cold; no sore throat, not much of a headache and I'm not stuffy during the day. But at night, I get lots of pressure and am extremely stuffy. I also have a dry, non productive cough. I feel like I am trying to cough up my toes (through my stomach!) None of which make for a great nights sleep.  I feel like I haven't slept all week long! I tried sleeping on the couch the past two nights, but it didn't really help and ended up making my back and neck hurt.

So. . .tonight Jeffrey was trying to help me think of things to do and he thought of ephedra, our mormon tea plant.  He went out in the dark and cut some of the plant up for me and he made it into a tea.  It worked great!!

It helped me breath better and in turn get more sleep. 

So. . .today my favorite green was ephedra (mormon tea plant). 

It made me feel pretty lucky ;)