A Memorial Post

This post is completely and entirely dedicated to a very special person that abruptly passed away one year ago.  His name is Tom Foster, and he was my boss.  I worked with him as his assistant for 11 years before he died, and as a result of knowing him, working with him and losing him, my life has been changed. 

Tom taught me and many others a great deal about being caring, having passion, and doing the right thing.  He's the only person I have ever worked for that gave out reading assignments ("Getting to Yes", and I still know what it means to have a BATNA!).  If you messed up and apologized for it, he would say, without hesitation, "I'm glad you're sorry."  (That one always threw me for a loop, and those he said it to still laugh about it to this day.)  He ate largely vegetarian, although I've seen him inhale a pulled pork sandwich and fries without flinching.  He used some of the most interesting analogies that I've ever heard, but they were often memorable, which I guess is the point. 

I miss him. 

And I still can't believe he's gone.  Some days, it just doesn't feel real. 

At work, I now sit in the office that would have been his.  I make decisions that, if he were here, I would ask his advice on.  Things are so different now. 

And although the loss of Tom is so glaring because of my daily interactions that I had with him for so many years, there are many things that I have to be very grateful for, for certain.  I can't put value on the relationship that I've developed with his wife, Lyn, and how much it means to me to work beside her and Roxy every day.  I have amazing co-workers that continue to be dedicated and loyal to Tom's vision and the company (yes, he definitely had that effect on people!).  And, of course, I have my friends and family and my beloved pets.  The list, really, is endless. 

So, without getting overly emotional and swept away (because it could happen, and still might), I'll wrap this up with a few "Tomisms" - and those that know him, if you read this, will hopefully get a smile out of the short list I've come up with:

"You haven't done that yet?  Ok.  That's your albatross." 
"Good, better, best..."
"I'm doing good enough."  (I didn't particularly like this one, but he did say it!)
"I'm glad you're sorry."  (Usually followed by, "Because it means you'll try hard to not do it again.")
"Fate smiles on the prepared person."
"Writing maketh an exact man."
"I like the cut of his jib."  (He said this after he first met Tommy.)
"I thought you might like to read this."  (As he hands you an article he cut out of the newspaper.)
"All ships rise with the tide." 

This is Karla (one of my uber-fabulous co-workers and friends), Tom, Roxy, Me, and Bender at the March of Dimes walk back in 2009. 

I'll leave it at this, at least for now.

Darlin' I Love You But Give Me Park Avenue

Fall is definitely here!  And Tommy and I were headed to Costco to stock up on coffee, coffee and more coffee!  Preparations for buckling down, sipping some java, and cozying up with some football are being made!

As part of the drive to Costco, we realized that a local farm, BiZi Farms,  known for a variety of fun, farmy type activities was along the way, so despite the fact that we were wearing shorts and flip-flops, off to the farm we went! 

The corn maze was incredible.  The corn was tall, the maze was huge, and the path was a little on the wet side.  While there were some people that showed up prepared in their mud boots and jeans, Tommy and I muddled through just fine with our flip-flops.  Kinda.  We learned that they do splatter mud up the back side of your legs which is just lovely. 

The pumpkin launch was pretty cool.  Huge slingshots, really. 

And the pumpkin patch.  A tractor and hay ride out to the patch allows you to pick out your own pumpkins, any shape or size, wheelbarrows provided.  And then a tractor with a hay trailer comes back and picks you up to haul you and your new treasure back to the farm. 

We had a good time, although hindsight helped us to realize that we should have gone to Costco first.  It was impossible to get all the mud off our legs, feet and shoes, so after doing the best de-mudding jobs we could, we still had to go shopping. 

So, in the past couple of months, I've been trying to find or develop a cake recipe that I liked that has a real super duper lemon flavor to it.  Again, at the mentioning of a friend, I'm on a mission.  She said that she would love a lemon recipe that doesn't taste like a yellow cake with a little lemon flavor and lemon frosting added.  She wants mega lemon.  As I was purusing Southern Living's Holiday Edition of their magazine, I stumbled across what appeared to be exactly what I had been looking for.  These cakes are pure sweet, lemony goodness.   They are Mini Lemon Poppy Seed Bundt Cakes and they are just fresh and delightful!

This picture is pre-glaze, so they're not all glossy and sticky yet.  I think the perfect thing to go with these little lovelies just might be... coffee!  Good thing we are stocked up! 

Enjoy!

"With the right combination of passion, fearlessness and butter, anything is possible."- Julia Child

Quick Fixes for Parties and Potlucks

The season for parties, get-togethers and potlucks is upon us.  With Halloween around the corner, I'm here to help you with the easy part of the celebrating by offering a couple of simple options to make and take with you.  As for costume decisions, you are totally and completely on your own.  If it weren't for the whole requirement of picking out a costume, Halloween would be so much more enjoyable!  I'm not sure what we will be doing this Halloween, but these little snacks will hold you over for party-going from now through the Super Bowl. 

First, I'd like to introduce what has been referred to by some as "meat wrapped in meat."  My husband has actually asked me to make this for dinner in the past.  Ok, so while I like them, I don't like them quite enough to have them for a meal.  And here you have it, Bacon Wrapped Lil' Smokies

Three ingredients makes this super easy - Lil' Smokies, bacon, and brown sugar.  Big score! (And a big thank you to Aunt Kim!)

Another easy party idea is Nutter Butter Bon Bons .  We're still going for easy, simple crowd pleasers, and this fits the bill.  A four-ingredient fix, these are a success with anyone who enjoys the delightfulness of peanut butter and chocolate combinations.  Oh, you would like a picture?  Here ya go!

I hope these quick recipes have been helpful.  I remain stumped for a Halloween costume and am not feeling particularly optimistic that I'll come to a resolution in time for the festivities, but I'm okay with that as long as Tommy dresses up in something silly (like the Beer Keg costume that we bought at an after-Halloween sale last year!) so that I can get a good chuckle out of it!

Enjoy!

"With the right combination of passion, fearlessness and butter, anything is possible."- Julia Child

May the Force Be With You

It is the small things in life that make it fun, right?  I was in the car a  while back with my husband and our two nieces, Tailer and Jordan, driving home just after going out to dinner when this amazing sight caught my eye, sitting in a parking lot, so unassuming and interesting. 

Pretty sure no one else was paying attention enough to see what I had seen, I whipped the car into the parking area of the store, confusing everyone amidst questions of, "What are we doing?" "Why did you pull in here?" 

And then they saw it, too.  And cue the  "Ahhhhhh" sound reel. 

As you can see, we had a mini-photo shoot in the parking lot.  What a funny, geeky, awesome find!!

Baths and Bundts

It's been a lovely last few weeks in many ways.  Although it's still warm, the summer is already showing signs of wearing down and letting fall start taking the stage.  We've been lucky to not have to run the air conditioning hardly at all this summer. 

We also just returned from a business trip in Vegas, Baby!  We went a little early and took advantage of being there, having a great time.  Tommy and I signed up for a zip line tour that was phenomenal!  We were both a little nervous, but ended up having such a great time.  Tommy was feeling pretty impressed with himself after making it across one of the lines:

What's funny is that he doesn't look so macho tough when you look at this view:

Bawhahahaha!  This picture makes me laugh every single time I look at it!  Poor Tommy. 

Anyhow, we both had a great time and are glad we did it.  The guides were great and the view was spectacular.  We also visited the Hoover Dam, which is also well worth seeing if you have the time to do it. 

As I post this, it just seems like I should mention that today is the 10-year anniversary of the 9/11 events.  There are many TV specials that have been on all week.  The stories are just so sad, but so touching, amazing and heroic, too, on many fronts.  I finally watched the movie "Flight 93."  I didn't watch it sooner, just knowing that it would be an emotionally difficult movie to watch.  That's an understatement.  To me, that movie demonstrated both the worst and best that people have the potential to be.  It is an amazing story, for sure.  If you haven't seen it yet, you should. 

Here on the homefront, we've been motivated to get a few things done here.  Mostly just regular ol' chores that lack glitz and glam.  When the weather is nice, Bender gets more frequent baths, much to his absolute horror.  I don't fully understand his disdain for them, since he displays such an enthusiastic interest in water and mud when it is outside.  He can look pretty pitiful, though, when he puts his mind to it.

 

So while Tommy was on dog wash duty, I was busy doing what I do best... Baking!   I have a dear friend that mentioned to me how much she loves, loves, loves apricots.  I don't know about other people, but when I hear someone say something along those lines, I instantly see it as a challenge of how to make something that particular person will just love.  Well, there I went, looking online for recipe ideas.  I stumbled across a recipe that sounded fabulous on about.com and thought I'd give it a try.  Blame it on being distracted or just flat out not paying attention, but I pulled a total rookie move and messed up the recipe significantly by putting the glaze ingredients into the cake mix!  The good news is, it turned out GREAT! 

 I am pretty sure that my errors ended up making the cake even more moist and flavorful than it would have otherwise been. Too bad it was accidental and not the result of intended brilliance on my part! Duh'oh! If you're interested in this beautiful, mouth-watering cake, here's the link:  Apricot Bundt Cake  And my friend, along with the rest of my co-workers, loved the cake.  It was declared her new favorite!  Yay for the occasional succesful oops! 

Also, you may have noticed by now that my recipe links zip you over to the Just A Pinch site.  It is one of my favorite recipe sites out there, so I hope that while you're visiting my recipe links, you'll poke around and check things out. 

Enjoy!

"With the right combination of passion, fearlessness and butter, anything is possible."- Julia Child

I think I've figured this out... maybe!

Two years ago this month, my PaPa (my Mom's Dad) passed away.  I miss and think about him often.  He was such an influence on me, and him and my MaMa both have done so much to help me be who I am today.  My PaPa was someone that walked into a room and demanded attention - he was larger than life in so many ways.  I have a great family - and I don't say it often enough out loud how much each and every one of my family members mean to me.  I don't want to get all crazy emotional, though, so onward we go!

It's been another day of baking, baking, baking!  I made several treats today with the full intent of taking them all to the local Ronald McDonald House.  I'm a volunteer there, although I have to admit that since I experienced a life change last November (future blog topic!), my ability to physically go volunteer at the House on a regular basis has been difficult because of work demands.  So I bake a load of good stuff and take it in every so often.  Sometimes I take a car load; sometimes I just go in with a couple of batches of cookies.  Either way, it's something I love doing.  And they never tell me to stop, unlike some of my poor co-workers, one of who blames me for her only having one pair of jeans that now fit.  Drats. 

So, here's a picture of the car load (this time) of goodies that I took in today:

There's Banana Peanut Butter Bars with Chocolate Frosting in the bottom corner, Oatmeal Raisin Cookies in the center, some Zucchini Nut Bread in the upper right hand corner, and next to that, some Vanilla Cherry Bars.  At this point, you may be asking yourself, "Prey tell, Traci! What is that glorious thing in the upper left hand corner?"  Oh, oh, oh...  you will be so glad you asked!  That, my friends, is the Chocolate Bliss Bundt Cake.  Here, let me give you a close up!

This beauty is LOADED.  It has chocolate pudding, chocolate chips, chocolate ganache, some caramel sauce, and just to make it over-the-top, a chopped up Snickers bar on top!!  A friend of mine at work (lovingly) calls it "The Diabetic Coma Cake."  Ya wanna know how to make this decadent creation?  Here's the link!
Chocolate Bliss Bundt Cake

This recipe originated from Betty Crocker, but originally used a cake mix.  I modified the recipe to be a from-scratch cake because I just don't keep cake mixes around, but I always have all the makings for an improptu bake-off. 

As I wrap this up, I do have a horrible confession to make.  My Weight Watchers effort has not been so successful.  I'm not giving up...but, my initial enthusiasm seems to have left my being.  Double Drats.  Oh, and as a sidenote, I have made the Chocolate Bliss Bundt Cake several times, but have never tasted it even once; I'm diabetic and I at least try to be careful about the sweet treats that I taste.  I've steered clear of this one so far, out of pure and unadulterated fear that I will cave and it will live up to it's nickname that my co-worker has coined for it!  I felt like I should add that little bit in, as it seems kinda funny that I'm showing such an insane recipe followed by my woeful cries of WW failure.

Ok.  Enough of that.  Back to the good stuff!  I also planted a garden for the first time in forever and have been getting a few lovely zucchini squash from it.  Isn't it just amazing how things always just taste better when they come straight from your own labors?  Once long ago, I remember having zucchini boats, and I thought they were fabulous - so I was adequately motivated to go get some ideas on making my own delicious concoction.  The husband doesn't like squash, so I'm on my own with this one.  Who would have thought that his dislike for squash would be stronger than his love for bacon?  I, for one, am shocked. 

I personally think that the bacon and the onions are key to the flavor, but the bacon could be left out for a nice vegetarian meal.   And for anyone wanting the link, here it is:  Cheesy Bacon Zucchini Boats

Enjoy!

"With the right combination of passion, fearlessness and butter, anything is possible."- Julia Child

Summer's here, finally. Kinda. I think.

Summer has been a long time coming for those of us in the Pacific Northwest.  While I'm hearing reports of crazy heat in other areas of the U.S., we're still having very nice, mild, and sometimes even chilly weather.  Today, though, we were in the mid-80's and it meant a day outside for the whole family!  Tommy mowed the yard, I messed around in my little bitty garden, the cats sunbathed, and Bender had a pool party! 

Oh yeah, we live the high life here!  This pup loves his pool and is very content to lay in the frigid waters from the hose with his tennis ball floating nearby.  And, this is the new hard shell pool that we bought for him after his pool from last year sprung a leak.  Oh, and after we returned that monstrosity that the husband purchased a couple of weeks ago. 

With it being oh, so warm today, I opted for the simple dinner dish of taco soup. 

Tommy (aka "The Husband) was quite uncertain about this, thinking that taco in soup form sounded not so appetizing.  After giving it a taste, he has given it his own personal seal of approval.  I know a lot of times taco soups are served with tortilla chips and a dollup of sour cream, maybe cheese.  This had such good flavor that I went with a sprinkle of cheese and called it good!  If you'd like the recipe, you can find it here:  Fiesta Taco Soup

Enjoy!

"With the right combination of passion, fearlessness and butter, anything is possible."- Julia Child