A Fool-Proof Way to Feel Rich and Powerful

So I thought I'd let you know about the best snack ever. I first had this snack at the salon where I get my hair cut. There's this chick there that periodically walks around the place holding a tray full of nut cups and frozen grapes to offer to the 'clients' as snacks to go with their cucumber water (hate flavored water by the way).

Anyway, I always look forward to getting my hair done so I can have my little cup of frozen grapes. It wasn't until the last time I went in that I thought "Hey! I could make these!" So I did! All you gotta do is get some grapes (I use the red grapes), wash them, pull them off the stems and throw them all into a zip lock bag and freeze for a couple hours!

They taste so good and they're healthy and they are awesome on hot summer days. Plus because they're frozen it forces you to eat them slowly and enjoy them one by one. I like to put mine in a fancy stemmed glass when I eat them. It makes me feel rich and powerful, even when I'm sitting in my loungy pants watching tv.

Backpacking Across Europe... or the Uintas

Last weekend Seth and I went on a three day backpacking trip with his sister, Collette and her husband Marty. It was Collette and Marty's first backpacking experience and the only one I'd been on for about 20 years. This naturally made Seth our guide. He'd been on several backpacking trips and is an avid map reader, so he picked out a good spot for us up in the Uintas.

So I made this fancy map of where we hiked, but apparently I drew it wrong. We actually started at Crystal Lake and went between Lily Lakes. I think I got the rest of it right though.

Marty and Collette

Anyway, the first day we ended up hiking about 3 miles to Twin Lakes where we set up camp. The trail still had patches of snow which made things a bit soggy, but we still able to hike pretty well. About a mile into the hike we came to Wall Lake. This is where most of the people we saw were staying. Since we weren't sure how far we'd be able to hike, this was the deciding point of whether we would camp or continue on to one of the upper lakes. We were all feeling good at this point so we kept going. The trail was a little steeper for the next two miles, but it was a nice challenge.

Wall Lake

About the time we got to Twin Lakes, the weather turned on us and we got a little rain and wind. We were all pretty tired so Seth went on ahead for a ways to see if he could find a good place to camp. He came back about a half hour later and said that the spot we were in was the best so we ended up just staying there! I put a little arrow on the map above of where we actually camped. It was really beautiful! We were camped right on the Twin Lakes and could see Wall Lake down below us. It was a wonderful spot.

Collette and Marty by our campsite at Twin Lakes

Luckily the weather calmed down that evening while we set up our tents and such. Seth and I even got in some fishing. I didn't catch anything, but Seth caught at least one Cutthroat.

Seth with his first catch of the trip... but definitely not the last!

That night the weather was kind of crazy so we went to bed early. Come to find out none of us slept a wink. The wind and rain beating against the tents combined with our thin foam pads and mummy bags made for a long terrible night.

When we got up in the morning I was informed by Seth that our tent was full of cold water. Apparently the rain had been running off the rain fly on the tent and falling onto the tarp beneath us. This probably wouldn't have been an issue normally, but there happened to be a small hole in the bottom of the tent floor. Plus water soaked through the walls of the tent too, so we were pretty much hosed. I hadn't noticed the water because I like to sleep by the tent door to protect Seth from bears, and ended up being on a slight incline to where he was. So all the water pooled onto Seth's side of the tent. I guess he found out about the water in the middle of the night when he got up to go "look for springs." As he climbed out of his sleeping bag, he put his hand down into a puddle of ice water. Sweet.

Lucky for us that was the last rain of the trip. It was all blue skies from there on out. We dried out all our stuff the next morning and relocated our tent to a more level, rain-resistant area.

Drying out the tent after a stormy night

On day two we left our camp and hiked a couple miles up past several lakes. First we came to Clyde Lake which was a huge lake teaming with fish. As we walked along the bank we could see tons of fish swimming around and we were really tempted to stop. But, at that point we had our hearts set on Hidden Lake. We'd heard it had a lot of bigger fish because it was further away and not many people went there. So we kept going... past Peter, James and John Lakes... past Three Divide Lakes. So many lakes... so many temptations. But we resisted them all and finally made it to Hidden Lake.

As I stood at the edge of the lake getting my fly rod all rigged up, I saw something swimming in the water. At first I thought it was a small fish, but something looked a little odd. I stared at it for a moment and realized this thing had legs... and a tail. It was a salamander!

After hiking all that way to Hidden Lake, all we saw were salamanders. Hoards of them. They sure were creepy little buggers. And some of them were huge! We never did see any fish. We stayed at Hidden Lake just long enough to have a snack and rename the place. We dubbed it Salamander Lake. Seth called it Mild Disappointment Lake. We cut our losses, slid down a snow bank and hiked about a mile or so back to Clyde Lake where we all managed to catch a few Brook trout. We took them back to camp, wrapped them in tin foil and cooked them on the coals. Delicious! (especially with freeze dried lasagna and chili mac).

Marty receiving messages (or just a nap) on what we dubbed as "Zen Point"

On the morning of day three we packed up our stuff, took some final pictures and headed back home. By the time we got back to the car we were all pretty tired and ready for a shower. Seth and I had a really great time and it was so fun to get to hang out with Collette and Marty. We hope we get to do it again soon!

Group shot overlooking Wall Lake

Today's Special: June 21-25th

This is going to be a short week. You can still make what we'll be eating on Friday and Saturday, but I'm not sure that you'll want to eat dehydrated camping meals.

Sunday: Mom made dinner for Father's Day and Annie and I brought stuff. This is what we had:
BBQ Babyback Ribs with Baked Potatoes, Creamy Baked Corn, Relish Tray & Rolls and Banana Cream Pie for dessert.

Monday: Bean and Cheese Enchiladas

Tuesday: Garlic Soup with Fresh Bread

Wednesday: Tuna Patties with Rice Pilaf and Peas

Thursday: Linguine with Pesto Sauce

Friday: Beef Stroganoff

Saturday: Lasagna with Meat Sauce and Chili Mac with Beef

I Can Vouch for That: Part 2

A few months ago I did a post about products and things I liked. Seems you people like that sort of thing so I'm gonna do it again! I don't think I got quite as crazy as I did last time, but this is all real good stuff. You need all of it. Here goes....

Selected Sonatinas Arranged By Keith Snell: I bought this book awhile back and hadn't played out of it much. I just barely rediscovered it and really like it. It's challenging but not too hard and the songs sound pretty good. It's also extremely fun to play. If you like Sonatinas.

Spitz Dill Pickle Sunflower Seeds: These have become a staple for me and Seth when we go out fishing. They are addictive.

Windex Multi-Surface Vinegar Cleaner: I like this because I can use it for just about everything. I COULD make my own cleaner using vinegar and such, but it stinks... so I buy this! It's reasonably priced.

Bottled minced/ground garlic and ginger: I love this stuff. Yes, I do have a garlic press but sometimes I'm just too lazy to peel ten million cloves of garlic. The ginger is a real time saver too. I've only bought fresh ginger once and it was the last time. I don't think the flavor is noticeably compromised, it's way better than dried stuff, and it's just as fast to use!

Dyson DC14 Vacuum: I've had this for several years and it is a great vacuum. I can't believe how much stuff it picks up in just one use (although... it probably wouldn't pick up as much if I vacuumed more than once a month...). The attachments are easy to use and if you've read all my earlier posts, it's also good at killing spiders. I really like that I can take off the canister and empty it in the trash. And the filter is washable so you don't have to buy anything! I've torn this vacuum apart several times for cleaning/maintenance and it was very user friendly.

Pampered Chef Bag Clips: My mom bought me a bag of clips from the Pampered Chef a few years ago and I love them. I always wished I had more, but for some reason never actually bought any. Recently my mom went to another Pampered Chef party and bought me some more! Yeah! I think they came in a bag of 10 or so in varying sizes. I thought I was set for life. But, I found that I kept grabbing them out of the drawer all the time to use on yet another open bag and what do you know? I ran out AGAIN! I could have 100 of these and use them all up! Anyway, they are very secure so I like them better than regular chip clips, and I haven't had any of them break on me.


Starkist Lunch-to-Go Tuna Salad Kits: I haven't ever brought these for lunch at work, but these things are AWESOME for hiking and camping. They come with a packet of tuna and mayo and relish packets, which you can dump out into the packaging and mix using the miniature spoon it comes with. It comes with 6 crackers too, but I've always just packed along a couple slices of bread so I could make a sandwich. It is a good amount of food and it tastes great. Plus, you don't have to worry about keeping it refrigerated!

Extreme Optiks Polarized Sunglasses: I have never been able to tolerate wearing sunglasses til I got these babies. I picked them up basically at random at Sportsman's Warehouse one day when we were going out fishing because I needed some polarized glasses. These were fairly cheap ($30-$40) and are really comfortable to wear. They stay on and don't constantly fall off my face like every other pair of sunglasses I've ever owned. I can even wear them running! I also like these because the tint is just right... not too dark, but dark enough to keep me from squinting and getting a headache. They may not be the sexiest or trendiest sunglasses in the world, but they're good enough for me!



Leatherman Juice Pocket Tool: This picture is actually of Seth's knife. His is the CS4 which has a couple more tools on it than mine. Seth carries his with him on a regular basis, and I use mine mainly for fishing. The straight edge blade is the best knife I have for gutting fish, and that includes all my fancy chef's knives. Both the knives fold out into a pair of pliers and have scissors, a straight edge knife, and flat head & Phillips screwdriver tools. Seth's has a couple extra things like a saw blade and a cork screw. What I like most about these knives are the colors. As you can see, Seth's is a beautiful royal blue and mine is a bright orange. Pretty cool.

Frozen Chopped Onions: Holy crap, these are my most favorite. Frozen chopped onions? Hello! Awesome. They taste as good as fresh and all the prep work is already done! It saves time and my eyes don't hurt for hours from chopping onions. I think they're around $2 a bag which to me is worth it.
Now, as an addition to the things I like, I'm going to add a few things that I tried and DIDN'T like. See? Aren't I so generous by saving you all from wasting money on crappy stuff?

The Big Red X List

X Silicone Bread Pan: I love silicone stuff. I have a silicone basting brush and spatulas. However, silicone bread pans really suck. I bought this bread pan a few years ago and it's the worst kitchen related item I think I've ever had. The silicone thing was what drew me in... who wouldn't want their bread to come out of the pan easier? While I'm sure other silicone pans work fine, the one for bread does not. The material isn't strong enough to hold its shape for bread. The sides bulge out and make the loaf look really dumb. Plus, I don't think the bread baked as well as is does in a regular bread pan.

X Blistex Lip Ointment: I'm not saying this stuff doesn't work on chapped lips. I just didn't like it because it doesn't seem to stay on my lips as long as other stuff. Plus it comes out white so if you put a lot on, you look ridiculous. Won't be buying this again.

X Organix Hydrating Tea Tree Mint Conditioner: Looks fancy doesn't it? That's what I thought. Plus I love the smell of Tea Tree. At $6.50 for 13 fl. oz., I expected this stuff to be amazing. It was the WORST conditioner I've bought for a long time. I have to use like 2 gallons of the stuff to fully condition my hair and even then it disappoints. My hair was constantly staticky when I used this. I was actually glad that the bottle was small so I could use it up faster. It reminded me of the really crappy super cheap $1 a bottle conditioner. There were 2 good things about this conditioner though. It did smell good... had a chocolate mint smell. Also, it came with a mail-in rebate that covered the full cost. I got my rebate. It's a good thing, otherwise, I'd be pissed.

X MAX Factor Lash Perfection Mascara: So, I usually get Loreal mascara. But, because I wasn't super impressed with my last Loreal purchase (see below) I branched out and got another brand. Now, this mascara wasn't all bad. I REALLY liked the brush actually. It was one of those fancy plasticy bristled brushes. The mascara doesn't clump and goes on really evenly. Probably one of the best brushes I've used. While it's not terrible, the mascara flakes off a lot more than the Loreal formulas I'm used to. Because of that, I won't be buying this again.

X Loreal Carbon Black Telescopic Mascara: This was the first mascara I ever bought that had the new style plasticy bristled brush. I was really hoping I'd like it. I LOVED the formula. Looked very dramatic and stayed on without flaking and didn't clump. The brush sucked. The bristles were very short, which I actually liked, but there were only 4 straight rows of bristles, so there were large gaps in between the rows. This made it so the mascara went on way too thick. Going over it again with the brush just made it worse. I wish I could use the brush from the MAX Factor mascara with this formula. I think I'll stick with Loreal from now on, I'll just be more careful to make sure the brush has lots of evenly spaced bristles.

Early Morning Ironing

This morning I realized the jeans I wanted to wear were still in the dryer from two days ago when I did laundry. I thought about just wearing them wrinkly, but changed my mind after thinking better of it. Wrinkly clothes aren't very professional, after all. So I turned the iron on and quickly ironed my pants. I was so proud of myself. I'm a grown-up!

After I got to work I went into the restroom. While I was in there, I looked down and noticed only my right leg had a nice crease down the front (they're "trouser" jeans, not regular jeans- so I'm not a weirdo for ironing them that way). As a totally random side note, I remember hearing a comedian doing a bit about men and women using the bathroom. He said women always look like they're sitting there waiting for a bus. I think of that all the time now and it always makes me laugh.

Back to the task at hand. So I come out of the bathroom stall and look in the full length mirror. Sure enough, only one pant leg has a perfectly ironed crease down the front. The other side, although not terrible looking, is definitely not finely pressed. Somehow I managed to iron the same pant leg twice. Go me.

One Fry Short of a Happy Meal

So I was sitting here today trying to think of all my weird quirks and habits. I'm sure I've missed some, but these are the ones I came up with...

1. I bite my lips and the insides of my cheeks all the time. I'm sure I look like an idiot.

2. I sigh. It sounds like I'm upset. But I'm not. I don't even notice I'm doing it most of the time.

3. I don't drink any beverages with my meals. I usually have one, but I just don't drink it til I'm done with my food. Where this came from or why I do it is a mystery.

4. Whenever I'm listening to a radio station that gets dull (i.e. war talk on NPR) I loudly say "BOR-RING!" and change the channel. Even when I'm alone.

5. I have to have my hair cut by the same person every time. It's very stressful for me to switch hair stylists.

6. I don't like the "free samples" people in grocery stores. I don't think I've taken a free sample for a long time. It's really awkward. You stand there and eat whatever product they give you while they stare. Then you have to come up with something to say like, "huh, interesting" then find a way to leave without buying said product. It makes me feel piggish and guilty. So, whenever I walk by them, I look the other way like I'm staring down the isle looking for something and didn't see them there.

7. I NEVER answer my phone when I don't recognize the phone number. EVER.

8. I NEVER answer the door when I'm not aware of anyone coming over. Though, I'm usually curious enough to look through the peep hole. I don't care if they know I'm home or not. I continue to play the piano or watch TV at normal levels as if the person isn't there. So don't stop by without calling first!

9. I'm constantly checking to make sure the fly on my pants is closed. Even on pants that have no fly. Along those same lines, I'm also very paranoid about having stuff in my teeth, boogers flying out of my nose and bad breath. I constantly check the mirror in my purse (or the shiny part on my phone) to make sure I don't have any embarrassing wayward particles on my face and I always have gum with me.

10. Somehow, I am unable to finish the laundry. Whatever gets washed last does not get completely put away until the next time I do laundry.

So those are the things I can remember right now. Do you have any weird quirks or habits?

It's Hard to Say Goodbye

So after much deliberation, I've decided to nix my Hopper Dropper blog. Not that I don't like it, or that I didn't have any outdoorsy stories, it's just too much work to try and keep up 2 blogs. The Hopper Dropper has become more of a guilt producer because every time I see it I feel bad for not having posted on it for a while. So, for those of you who hate fishing stories, too bad. They're coming back. For those of you who actually read The Hopper Dropper blog, I hope you'll forgive me and keep reading my stories here. All of the old Hopper Dropper posts have been moved to this blog (because I know you go back and read them all the time).

This really is for you, my fans... I mean, now you only have to check one blog instead of 2! See? Win- win! I'm so thoughtful and unselfish huh!