Day 91

Well, today was a very good day. A quick trip up and back to Spokane.

Rob and I went with Billie and Keith up to Spokane to have lunch and a quick visit with Jenn, and because neither Rob or Keith had ever been there. We stopped at the casino for lunch with Jenn, then headed out to Post Falls to the Cabela's. On our way back into town we stopped at The Nut Factory, which was kind of interesting...and chalked full of sweet treats. We made one last stop, and then headed home.

With all those activities...a day spent with friends, visiting a casino, stores and factories - do you think I took even one picture? And I SWORE I was going to. Nothing. I really can't even say I forgot - nothing seemed like a Kodak moment I guess...although I know later I will regret thinking that way.

However, here we are at the close of month...so not to worry, I do have a photo. The March calendar!!

I've officially made it three months...woo hoo...100 days, here we I come!

Day 90

Once again, it is the end of the day, and I'm struggling because I haven't taken one photo.

I took a look at the handy little prompt from Fat Mum Slim's Photo A Day Challenge. Today's was just Toy. So I asked Rob if he had any ideas on what I could photograph; I mean what toy do we have around the house besides the dogs' toys??

Then he reminded me about Walnut. Technically I guess he's a toy. He was a Valentine's Day gift this year from Rob...my cute little cuddly stuffed bear, Walnut.

Day 89

Tonight I had dinner out with the girls. And it was good!

It seems that all of us girls just don't get together much anymore...everyone going in different directions these days. We keep talking about the fact that we need to get together more often, maybe even have a standing date of dinner and drinks one night each month.

But for now, just Billie, Kim and I got together and had a bite at the new(ish) Twigs Bistro. Kim had never been there and wanted to try it out, and I had actually only been there one other time. So we met right after work, had a good round of catching up and some really great food to boot!

Next time I hope it's a whole table full of my favorite ladies!!

Day 88

This is Lucy, enjoying the new bed that her Grammy bought her. She looks so cozy and comfy in it, and seems to just love this thing.

On Friday afternoon, Mom and I went out to a couple stores and did a little shopping. At Bed, Bath & Beyond we saw this cute little bed set, just the right size for Lucy. And since Lu didn't have her very own bed at Mom's, she just couldn't pass up the deal...this bed with a matching blanket and dog-bone shaped pillow.

It's a bed fit for a queen, and she is one happy little pup in it. I don't think she's ever had it quite so good!

Day 87

In the midst of our drizzly, dreary day, here is a little splash of color.

I was leaving for work this morning, thinking how gray the world looked...except for the little plum tree in our front yard. It finally started blooming over the weekend, and today it is a splash of pink against a backdrop of gray sky all around.

C'mon Spring...show us what you've got!

Day 86

It's that time of year again...Girl Scout Cookie Time!

I did my part to support a local troop...I bought three boxes. They were delivered on Friday...and we hit them hard over the weekend. Today, this is all that remains...the shortbreads. To be honest, and to tattle on Rob and I, this is not even a full box - you will find just one row inside.

Wow...they go so fast. Can't wait until next year!

Day 85

Here's Baylee, tipping her head again...she's just wondering if she heard me correctly. If she had a speech bubble above her head, it would say something like, 'so let me see if I understand, what you're telling me is that I CAN'T get up on the couch with you?'.

I tried to get a photo of this very forlorn pup just seconds earlier when she wedged her snout in the crack of the couch between the cushion and the arm. It was as if waiting to get up on the couch was so much effort, she couldn't even hold her own head up. But before I could grab Rob's phone and snap a photo, she moved. So this was the 'after' photo, of her trying to understand the word No...obviously not her favorite thing to hear.

But who would want to say No to this face very often? Most of the time she just ignores it and does what she wants anyway!

Day 84

It's Saturday. It's another quiet (a.k.a lame) weekend at our house.

What in the world do you take a picture of when you don't DO anything? Don't get me wrong, we got some things done today, but nothing you would want to take a picture of....I mean who wants to see a picture of me doing laundry, or Rob picking up the lawn furniture strewn about the backyard, yet again? Or even a laughable photo of the two of us trying to work as a team to clip Lucy's toenails?? B-O-R-I-N-G!

So, here's another of my little Easter favorites. It's a mint green tin bucket of sorts, with six pastel painted wooden Easter eggs lying on a bed of paper grass filling. Currently, my coffee table centerpiece.

Only two weeks until Easter!

Day 83

Today was my Friday off, and although I had every intention of going into work for at least a couple hours, I decided to just take the whole day off. Enjoy a little me time. When Rob got up and left for work, I put a blanket down on the bed and let the pups up to have a snuggle. I grabbed the remote and got caught up on a couple of my favorite shows...didn't even get out of bed until the afternoon.

Once I did get up and moving, I decided a little more me time was in order and I painted the ol' fingers and toes. These toes have been naked all winter long! For Christmas, Mom bought Billie and I both these crazy flip flops that are made for painting your toes...you can see, they have those little toe dividers built right in.

So today, I gave them a try, and they actually work pretty well. You can put them on, paint your toes, and then still walk around without worrying about messing them up until they dry.

Pretty handy little invention...why didn't I think of that??

Day 82

Sooooo....today is March 22nd, the third day of Spring, and we woke up to snow!?! I couldn't believe it. Around midnight last night I let Lucy out, and there was a rain/snow mix with quarter-sized snowflakes. I certainly didn't think it would stick though. And not a lot did. Just enough to make you go ugh.

I have to admit, the day did sort of come around though, with some sunshine and warmerish temps. So after work I decided to go for a walk down on the bike trail again...now that we have all this daylight, I'm trying to take advantage of it. I couldn't help but notice as the sun was setting the hills were pretty again, but this time with such contrast...snow on Joe Butte, and sun peeking through all around, highlighting the windmills that appear like little sticks, poking up out of the hillside.

All I had on me while walking this time was my phone though...so I took a pic and ran it through Instagram again. I'm really starting to like that app.

Day 81

I will? Spend many years in comfort and material wealth? I wonder when those years will be, and exactly how many is many?? Oh well, the surprise of life I guess.

Tonight Mom, Billie and I went out for some Chinese food, and this was my fortune. I snapped a photo of it on our table before we left the restaurant, just so I could text it to Rob.

But...I ended up taking no other photos today, so I guess this will just have to do for my 365 photo.

Day 80

Vernal Equinox; the time at which the sun crosses the plane of the equator towards the relevant hemisphere, making day and night of equal length.

Yay...Spring has sprung! I'm not sure where all the sunshine has gone or and why the wind is blowing yet again, but I'm ignoring it all because today is the first day of Spring! And as the definition states, that means the day and night are equal...and the days, they just keep getting longer!

I love this tree at my office, especially this time of year. I started watching it last week and saw that little pink buds were starting to emerge. Then yesterday, more and more buds became flowers as the day went along. Today it is nearly in full bloom, I think to celebrate Spring along with us. It's hard to believe that almost exactly two months ago, this little guy was buried in snow (see Day 18).

I'm glad I got a few photos...because these pretty pink flowers will be gone before we know it, making room for the leaves of summer.

Day 79

Sweet and Spicy Chicken...Trish Style!

I had not yet photographed anything today, so when dinner time rolled around, I decided to snap a few pictures of what was for dinner...a dish I invented one night, that has stuck with me. I went a little crazy and ended up taking step-by-step photos, like all of the blogs and websites I see on Pinterest. I know it's kind of weird, but just humor me...like I humor myself!

This was originally Sweet and Spicy Pork Chops, but works well with chicken too. The best part is all you need are a few ingredients, ones that are usually on hand.

Start by chopping a medium apple and a medium red pepper, then throw them into a pan with a little olive oil. Cook down for few minutes, until apples start to become translucent, and peppers soften.

Then add your meat right on top. I would recommend 2 to 3 large chicken breasts (cut into pieces) or 3 to 4 pork chops/loins. Season any way you like. I used ground pepper, seasoning salt, and a little garlic powder. Next, sprinkle with red pepper flakes...as many or as few as you like...I personally like a little heat.

Once your meat has cooked on the first side, turn over. Add 2 to 3 tbls of apricot-pineapple preserves. Again, you can add as much as little as you like, and you can substitute with orange marmalade, or some other jam or preserve to your liking. You really will not taste the distinct flavor. It cooks down along with the apple, and becomes the 'sweet' in your Sweet and Spicy.

When your meat is nearly done, remove from the pan and set aside in order to mash your sauce. I usually just take a potato masher, or a large serving fork to break down any remaining chunky ingredients, into a chutney-like consistency.

Add your meat back into the sauce, and simmer for a few more minutes until sauce thickens and meat is cooked through.

Dish and serve!

Day 78

Here comes Peter Cottontail,
Hoppin' down the bunny trail,
Hippity, hoppity,
Easter's on its way! Yay!!

Even though yesterday was St. Patrick's Day, I gathered up all of the decorations...not that there were much of them to gather. None the less, it had to be done. There is little time to waste, Easter is only a couple weeks away.

So, today the Spring tote came out, the St. Patrick's Day stuff was put away, and out came the pretty pastels of Easter. The house looks so cute, with little bunnies and eggs all around. It makes me happy to stand back and see everything looking so fresh.

On my ladder shelf are two of my favorite things...things I'm pretty sure I picked up just last year...a dozen pastel speckled eggs, and a ceramic momma and baby bunny.

I'm sure this won't be the last of me sharing my Easter decor. On a day when I can't think of a thing to photograph, I'll shoot another one of my favorites.

Day 77

Yep...it's another photo of my scrap space. It's not exactly what I promised my next photo would be...a neatly organized, highly functional space. BUT...in my defense...that's only because I forgot to take a 'before' photo.

Last night I went to dinner with Mom, and afterwards we stopped by Target. I got quite a find...a two-shelf organizer unit for only $10 bucks! I knew it was just what I needed to help get my space in order.

So, after Baylee woke me up at a very early 6:15 this morning, I thought I was headed back to bed to get some more sleep. But that room, that space, that shelf...it kept calling to me. So I gave up, got out of bed and started organizing.

I got it just the way I wanted, only to start a project just a few hours later, and have it end up looking like this! Oh well, it was fun to get organized, and fun to reacquaint myself with all of my stuff. It was like putting the training wheels back on again...I had to get familiar with my Gypsy and my Cricut again, and take a look at all my stashes of stuff, all of my stamps, and not to mention the new stuff I had purchased and never put away...which left me feeling a little overwhelmed, but I'm certain I'm on the right track now.

The next photos will not of the space, but of the creative things made here!