Beach time and sun screen!

This is the very first of a series of photos taken every summer with the three little darlings. Anno 2003 :)

And this one is about the imaginary animals my DD used to tell everyone she owned at age three -- a horse, a dog and a chicken named Skipp :)
Today has been all about keeping cool and applying enough sun screen. Love summer time :)

Book editing and iced coffee!

First off, a few new pages:

This first one is called something like: Brimming with personality. And I don't know whether that should be spelled with one or two M's, but you can figure it out, right ;)

This one is just a pretty face ;)

And here, we are showing off the body aswell....

Book editing and iced coffee, that is what I am up to today. This editing-bit takes forever and a half (and that is an under-statement!!!) and I need to pick up speed, but at the same time, I could propaly roll around in the words from chapter 1 for another 3 months LOL.

Off to have coffee with my girl Caroline in two hours, so need to get cracking.

Single mom for a week!

DH is away for 7 days, so I make all the calls (and pay the bills that follow LOL).

Baked bread today -- and assisted in the baking of Moon Rocks (which incidently taste a lot better than they sound :). DD is so happy. With her cookies, that is. Other than that, she is pretty upset -- with her little brother in particular, and stuff in general ;). Might be an age thing. Might be that her little brother is very defenitely driving her bananas!

The page below it to celebrate the awsome shampoo and conditioner my dear sis gave me for my birthday! Lucky me! Wonderful sister!! :)

DS at 3, seemingly ready for ballet-class. Not so much so, after we actually went. She would only dance the last 5 minutes, and if she looked at me, she started crying. We went three times and then I took her word for it "I'm just not mature enough yet, mom!". (And I LOVE the stickers I got from (I think) Shop 66 on Etsy.

This page is for the Scrapping the Music challenge (Norwegian version). I know it is totally not x-massy, but ODS is actually decorating gingerbread figures in December in the picture. The title reads something like "You are so clever".

So much sports -- so little time :)

My kids love sports (... well maybe not so much the oldest one -- he might be more into fame and fortune rather than the actual activity LOL). And all this sporting activity yields tons of photos to scrap. Here are a couple of pages to remember all the fun!

This one is from an all girls hockey day at the ice rink. My DD is hooked :)

And then, of course, there is soccer -- every day and as much of it as possible! This is my 6 y old at a tournament in May.

And this one is just about hanging out LOL. 11 years ago -- now, how did that happen!

I do scrapbook -- I just don't blog much :)

Just a few new pages :). More to follow -- I have tons of new stuff done, but with the new computer and new programs, I kind of dread getting it done....

Put away all winter clothing today and forced the kids to try on clothes from last summer that I hoped would still fit them. Also bribed them with McD and shaved ice...

Rain is in the air.

Love the week end, but not so much my job. SHould be doing something about it.

Not now!

Love my kids! They drive me nuts!!

This was gonna read: I'M GOING DOWN TO BIRMINGHAM TO DO NOTHING

But, of course, I never posted before I went, so now I have been, have done quite a lot while there, actually, and now I'm back... (And I know it is supposed to be Liverpool LOL). Ate at the Warehouse -- such a super-nice vegetarian/vegan restaurant!! Loved it.

And loved even better the Itihaas -- voted best Indian restaurant in the UK for several years. LOVE, love, LOVE!!! The Bullring is such a nice shopping centre, Birmingham has starbucks, and they have pretty good bookstores. And of course beer :)



Bought new books -- always the best of treats, together with chocolate of course! This one is just perfect for when you want to just lay like broccoli on the couch: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Vintage-T-shirts-Over-Authentic-Tees/dp/1844424049/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1244056174&sr=1-1

And this is the most beautiful cook book I have seen in years: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Miss-Dahls-Voluptuous-Delights-Sophie/dp/0007261179/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1244056500&sr=1-1

a proper salad :)

Last post was a bit too far over on the quick and easy side.....

This one appear in Raising the Salad Bar by Catherine Walthers.

Arugula and Avocado Salad with Shaved Parmesan
Serves 4
This is a simple, classic combination of arugula and shaved Parmesan cheese with a lemony dressing. With such a simple salad, it's nice to use the more flavorful imported aged Parmigiano Reggiano. You can vary this salad with sliced cucumber or tomato wedges, homemade croutons, sliced endive or radicchio.

2 bunches arugula, washed and dried (about 6 cups)
1 avocado, peeled and sliced
Shaved Parmigiano Reggiano, to taste

Lemon Dressing

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 medium clove garlic, finely minced
4 to 5 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and ground pepper

1. To make the dressing, in a small bowl, combine the lemon juice and garlic. Slowly whisk in olive oil until the mixture is creamy. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Place arugula in a serving bowl and add dressing to taste. Mix well. Top with avocado slices, drizzle a bit more dressing over them and season with a pinch of salt. Using a vegetable peeler, shave slivers of Parmesan over the top.

Something easy!!

Yesterday was the national holiday here in Norway, so today is the day for throwing left overs on the bbq. To keep it simple, just make a side salad from ruccula (arugula), nuts and seeds (salatnøtter -- du får det til og med på Rema) and a quick vinagrette. Dinner is served :)

Home make over -- semi extreme

Dh went away for two weeks, and I did tons around the house -- I mean painting and all that kind of stuff :). And I made pillows for the living room -- here are four of them. So happy with how they turned out!!! It feels so nice to actually DO something instead of thinking about it or talking about it. Go aheat -- give it a try!

A scrapbook page or two and a celebration!

This one is for Category Stories -- challenge was to scrap something unexpected. This meal in what looked like an old garage was just that. Absolutely fantastic and unexpected! I loved Atlanta :)

This is for the callenge over at scrappiness.no -- to get to their blog you must go via the link to the right in the shop.

We celebrated our 13 years of being oh so happily married today :). Turkish food and Spanish wine. That's all it takes.

Oh happy day!!!

(And never mind my intentions of getting some Norwegian bloggin' done LOL)

I re-signed up for Studio Calico today! yeah!! And I found yellow and white gingham converse sneakers at half off. (Like I had the money.... Oh well, went ahead and got them anyways. Figure DH or someone can always give them to me for my birthday in April ;)

So, things to be grateful for today (shallow and all):
New shoes
New eye shadows (smashed my old fav. last month)
A whole day to myself (which means 9 - 2.30 LOL)
Sunshine
Melting snow
Love
Freshly painted kitchen
Plans to paint seriously ugly kitchen tiles
Going to the library tonight (I know, pathetic...)
Quiet -- so I can hear the clock ticking and my lap top humming
Good hand lotion

Off to be productive with my time before the wild ones re-enters my space!!

Til knærne i snø og to gin & tonic!

Jeg er offisielt helt over det med snøen!!! Det er alt jeg har å si.....

Her er litt scrapping:

Denne er til scrapping.no sin Mesterscrappen forrige uke

Denne er bare fordi jeg fant disse bildene da jeg lette etter noe annet, og kom på hvor herlig snuppa var å holde på -- så da ble det en side om det. Bildene er 9 år gamle!

Denne er til Scrapping the Music -- herlig sang der nå. Og det er spennende utfordringer på den norske siden også :) Og her er enda en, så jeg kan få brukt alle de herlige trærne jeg skar ut av AC arket som kom i et Sweet Spuds kit. Dessverre har de gitt seg -- Sweet Spuds, altså...

Ungene syntes jeg var verdens beste mamma i går -- og ikke bare for at vi dro og så Bolt (utrolig morsom) men fordi de fikk lov til å spise middag på rommet til gutta i 2. etg. Endelig lekte de litt oppe -- jeg hadde i alle fall ikke tenkt å rope alle ned når jeg for en eneste gangs skyld denne vinterferien hadde stua for meg selv LOL.

UKAS VEGGIS:

1/3 glass indisk curry paste (Patkas mild curry f.eks)

1 løk (eller en halv eller to eller hva du har og føler for)

Litt olje

1/2 blomkål, 1 bx kikerter, bokstomater eller en hakket tomat eller to og litt vann (2 dl)

Hva ellers du har i hus som du tror kan smake (sist slang jeg oppi litt broccoli -- dette er enkle greier!)

Slik gjør du:

Mykne løken i oljen (dvs. prøv å unngå at den blir brun) ha oppi curry paste og la det surre ett par minutter. Ha i resten og la det stå 15 - 20 min på svak varme.

Og for de som ikke vet det -- potetmos funker supert til indisk! Og det er slett ikke så u-autentisk som man skulle tro: Jeg har fått indisk pannekake fylt med potetmos på The Indian Club i London (mmmmm.... drømmer meg bort....)

Ha en fortreffelig søndag!

Ukas Veggis!!

Hei igjen -- lover jeg skal prøve å være litt mindre grinete enn forrige avslutning LOL. Og jeg har bestemt at jeg trenger å skrive på norsk, så nå blir det morsmålet en stund utover.

Har virkelig lyst til å holde liv i denne greie, og trenger litt temaer for å ha noe å skrive om. Så nå skal jeg se om jeg ikke kan klare å holde det gående med en ny oppskrift hver torsdag.... Vi får se.

Denne er i alle fall hva jeg har tenkt å prøve meg med til helgen:


Black Bean Cakes
Servings: 6


Ingredients:
·
2 (15 ounce) cans black beans
·
6 tablespoons salsa
·
6 tablespoons onions, finely diced
·
3/4 cup red bell peppers, finely diced
·
3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
·
1 1/2 cups plain dry breadcrumbs
·
1 tablespoon jalapeno, diced
·
1 large clove of garlic, minced
·
2 teaspoons chipotle sauce (or 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce)
·
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
·
salt and pepper, to taste


Tortilla Chip Breading:
·
1 1/2 cups Tortilla Chips, crushed (baked variety works well)
·
1 teaspoon ground cumin


Preparation:
Place beans in a colander and rinse in cold water. Drain well, for at least 10 minutes. Add drained beans and all the other ingredients except for tortilla chip breading into a mixing bowl. Blend well, mashing some of the beans to form a thick mixture. Form into 6 patties and roll in tortilla breading. At this point you can cover and refrigerate until ready to heat. Heat skillet, sauté in just enough oil to brown cakes and heat through. Serve with fresh tomato salsa.

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Skulle selvfølgelig har oversatt alt, men! Den er rappa fra Fresh Market sin hjemmeside. Skal prøve å få rapportert tilbake hva jeg synes om den :)

Ellers sitter jeg og spiser wokka grønsaker og er pinlig klar over at jeg burde hatt et bilde i denne postingen. Men det er lunsjtid på jobben, og ikke sulling rundt hjemme, så bilde får vente.

Så får jeg se om jeg ikke skal ha ukas prosjekt en av dagene, også....

Mer å være takknemmelig for:

- papirlommetørklær når man virkelig trenger det

- god bok på toget

- to ting strøket på "to do" lista mi

- ingen nye punkter på ovennevnte liste siden i morres!

- bursdagskake som allerede er bakt og pynta!

- Edward Cullen -- på bryllupsreise -- for annen gang *fnis*

Things to be grateful for!!

Always surrounded by things that should make me grateful! Not always so good with the noticing LOL. I read about this project to name 365 things throughout the year -- and I even made several attempts to put their blinkie on my web.... Phew! The master mind of technical sollution LOL.

Anyways, thought I'd get started -- already 40 items behind :)

1. Pouring all the pancake batter in a pan and bake it all at the same time
2. Wool socks
3. A new haircut on my beautiful ODS
4. Ideas for a new novel -- fun ones at that
5. New songs on my mp3 player
6. Pay day tomorrow
7. Going to pick my two younges up from a dress up party :)

... which is what I'm about to do right now!

List was a bit more boring than I hoped. Guess Disney Channel in the back ground isn't as inspirering as I was hoping.

30 minutes later:

Actually -- the picking up of kiddos from the party was no fun at all, and absolutely nothing to be grateful for. On the other hand -- had I not had to do that, now that would have been something to be all happy about! Oh well -- life with the little people!

Thought I'd give this another shot!

Wanted to join in the fun over at Scrapping the Music på norsk. Here is my Englefjes :) (Face of an Angel LOL).

Totally does not go well with their all Norwegian philosophy that my blog is in English, tho! Sorry, girls!