Hammond's Candy

Today, while Kimmy looked for a place for us to live in Oregon, Hubby and I enjoyed a candy factory here in Colorado.

Hubby and I have been trying to figure out what things we absolutely still have to see before we leave this beautiful state. Hammond's candy was top on the list since the last time we went the power was out and we didn't get a tour.

Walking into the factory, the smell alone told us they were up and running. It smelled wonderful! Like Christmas. :) The tour consisted of getting to watch the whole process from start to finish. They do all the parts by hand from mixing the ingredients to forming the candy canes and lolly pops. It was amazing to learn about the different processes.

My favorite part was learning that they recycle candy. When candy is broken and won't sell they send it through a chopper so that it is basically candy dust. It's sorted by fruit and peppermint flavors into containers. When the hot, fresh candy liquid is poured onto the cooling platforms the chef will collect a bucket of the recycled candy and add it to the new batch. It then melts in and becomes part of new pieces of candy.

After the tour we wandered around the candy store. They are all decorated for Valentine's day, with heart shaped lolly pops even. It turned into a "sweet" day. :)

Exciting news on the homefront

Well most of you have already read it on our facebook pages or in an e-mail, but here it is again. Hubby and I are moving! We decided to head back to Oregon, McMinnville to be exact. We would like to persue being missionaries with American Missionary Fellowship on the Linfield College campus. Until we have finished the application process, raised support and are full time in ministry both hubby and I have found full time jobs. Hubby will be a full time team lead at Petco and I will be back at TCV, not as receptionist but as the Activities Assistant for the Rehab/Skilled Nursing. I'm so excited to go back to that GREAT company and work with my friends again, while learning new skills.

We will miss my family but not their basement. :) I will miss the snow (Hubby will NOT) though it seems to have been snowing more in Oregon than it has here this winter. I will miss the sun, but will get my fill of vitamin D through the tanning bed. I will miss the mountains, but have the ocean an hour away. It will be nice to be near most of our friends again.

So, on to the next adventure in our life.

Fun in the Sun

My nephew is 8 1/2 months old. I have become his babysitter in the last two weeks since his dad now has a full time job as well as his mommy. Last week it was in the 60s and 70s most of the week, perfect weather to be outside. So hubby and I decided to take Camden to the park for some fun.

It was his first time in the swings. He wasn't so sure about that swinging thing.

He was more entertained by his elephant pretty much the whole time.

We started with the small slide and moved up from there.

It was fun to be outside when it's been so cold and to be there for Camden's first park experience.

Betty Crocker strikes again...

Last Monday hubby's work had their holiday party (yes, in January). It was a potluck party so I decided to make a cake. I've also gotten very interested in cake decorating and have gotten a book and watched quite a few shows on the cooking channel. I decided I could handle making a bowling alley cake. :)

I made two cakes, a chocolate and a butter cream, then just set them end to end and frosted.

I made the bowling pins and bowling ball out of fondant.

I rolled out fondant to cover the two cakes and make the floor for the bowling lane.

I had to finish the decorations at the bowling alley, but when it was all done everyone loved it.

Where God talks to me

I have realized over my 26 years that it's when I'm really alone in nature that I tend to listen to God better and hear his voice a little clearer. Today I realized that I needed that more than anything. So at 4 o'clock I headed out to Cherry Creek Reservoir. It's an oasis in the middle of the city. I was able to just sit, in God's creation and really listen. And I heard God's still small voice.

Psalm 4:1 "Answer me when I call,

O God who declares me innocent.

Take away my distress.

Have mercy on me and hear my prayer."

Psalm 6:4&6 "Return, O Lord, and rescue me.

Save me because of your unfailing love.

I am worn out from sobbing.

Every night tears drench my bed;

my pillow is wet from weeping."

Psalm 5:11 "But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;

let them sing joyful praises forever.

Protect them,

so all who love your name may be filled with joy."

Psalm 5:12 "For you bless the godly, O Lord,

surrounding them with your shield of love."

Psalm 4:8 "I will lie down in peace and sleep,

for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe."

Celestial Seasonings

While coffee is probably my favorite drink, tea comes in close second. Growing up we only ever had the plain-old-no-flavor tea. I didn't like it. I continued to not like it until I was married. For some reason after I was married I decided to give it a second chance. At Winco I found a Chocolate Hazelnut tea. I added a little sugar and milk and was hooked! Who knew tea could be so good. About that same time I also met A who does not drink coffee but loves tea. She encouraged this new love of mine. I had so many different tea boxes in my cupboard before we moved I told Hubby I needed a tea rack.

Upon moving to Colorado I have heard my mom talking about the Celestial Seasonings Tea factory in Boulder. I have been wanting to go, but it's about an hour drive, so I haven't really made the effort. Today however, Hubby had off, so after some research we decided to make the trek...and boy was it worth is.

Celestial Seasonings is located on Sleepytime Drive. As you turn the corner you are welcomed by the Celestial Bear.

We signed up for the 3 o'clock tour and were welcomed into the Taste Testing area - where you can sample any one of their 100 teas. Hubby and I tried about 4 or 5 together (Hubby - 1, Me - 3 or 4).

We also learned that all the artwork on the boxes of tea are pictures made just for that tea. The original works of art hang through out the Testing area.

As the clock tolled 3, we were ushered into a theater where we were introduced to our tour guide and watched about a 5 minute movie with the history of Celestial Seasonings, which is celebrating their 40th birthday this summer. We were also informed there was to be NO photography on the tour.   :(   The tour consisted of seeing the different stages of the tea making process. My favorite parts included:

• To clean the ingredients they are first passed through carbon monoxide to kill all living bugs, then placed on a cushion of air where the heavy twigs and leaves fall through to the bottom and the feathers and dust float to the top.
• Going into the Mint Room, where they keep spearmint, peppermint, and oddly enough catnip. Catnip belongs to the same family as the other two and has the opposite effect on humans that it has on cats which is why they include it in some of their teas.
• For the decaf green tea, they place the tea leaves in a chamber with carbon dioxide and put that all under a massive amount of pressure. The carbon dioxide grabs onto the caffeine without effecting the taste or antioxidants of the tea leaf. That caffeine is then added to another tea - Fast Lane - to make it way more caffeinated than a cup of coffee (I bought a box).

The end of the tour brought us to the Tea Shoppe where was all of the teas plus different accessories. I left with three different teas.

The drive back took a little longer since it has reached 4:30 upon our departure. The trip home was spent dreaming of who we can take with us next time to Tea Heaven.

Most relaxing day ever?

Or at least most relaxing in a long, LONG time. I visited Mom in the hospital for a couple of hours (where she is doing GREAT), visited the library and left with 9 books + 2 movies, and then went and sat at Starbucks for 2 hours.

In college I learned the comfort of coffee shops. We would go to relax at the campus coffee shop after studying for hours, after major tests, or just because. Kim, Judy and I often frequented the Governors Cup in downtown Salem for a relaxing atmosphere. And I don't know how many friends I met over the years at the Lancaster Mall Starbucks. The coffee smell, the groovy music, the comfy chairs and the scrumptious drink and snack all equals comfort to me. I feel my soul sing and my muscles relax just entering a coffee shop. It doesn't matter what shop or where it is. I LOVE to sit in a coffee shop with a steaming drink (or an icy one in the summer) sitting on the table and a good read in my hands. I find coffee shops so relaxing I've taken to decorating my home in a coffee house theme. I even have found a candle that emits the constant fragrance of fresh brewed hazelnut cafe.

All that being said, when I left Starbucks at 5 this evening, even the traffic couldn't undo my content state of mind. The gorgeous sunset only boosted it.

Snow and Surgery

Yesterday morning we woke up with a phantom snow storm. When I got a call from the Temp agency to work and they said to be there whenever I could because of the snow, I was so confused. It wasn't suppose to snow. The news has been saying no snow for at least another one if not two weeks. We have snow on the ground??? And sure enough, when I emerged from the dungeon basement and looked out the window, we had 5" of snow!!! That made for quite an exciting morning trying to get to a job. Luckily Ile was a steady and sure car. We swerved and almost spun out a couple of times, but I made it to the site in 45 minutes! And by the time I left four hours later the main roads were clear and it only took my 20 minutes to get home. :)

Also yesterday, Mom had another surgery. Her incision was infected, so when she went in to see the Dr, he sent her into surgery. They opened her back up and cleaned her all out. She is in the hospital again till tomorrow I think. Before she leaves they are putting her on a wound vac. The wound vac will keep her incision totally closed off to air, but pumps all the gunk out and will help her heal faster. Thank you for all your prayers for her. My whole family feels so loved and we appreciate all the concern.

The things people do to babies...

So, I just about died laughing a few minutes ago. My sister and her fiance were trying to get their 8 month old to do one of those hand print mold things. First they broke the hinge on part of it trying to print his foot. Then Shelisa had to reprint his hand so many times because he kept grabbing handfuls of clay instead of leaving a print or his fingers would not print or his finger was under his hand. Finally she tore out all the clay and started all over again. Shelisa kept threatening to just cut off his hand to get the perfect print. And when I commented on him being mad, she said she didn't care "we're creating memories dang it!!!"

The things people do to babies... :)

Year in Review

As I have seen a couple of friends with their year in review I decided to follow suit. I liked A's so much I decided to copy it...picture style.

January

This month was my trouble month. Apparently I took NO pictures in the month of January...none, zip, zilch, nada.

February

My first and only quilt!

March

In the cold and dreary Portland weather we decided to hit a local coffee shop for studying and relaxing.

April

This month brought the annual Tulip Festival, pictures were had by all.

May

AHHHHH...finally free from the bonds of "Sugar Mama"

June

The International Rose Test Garden.

July

4th of July was spent with friends at the river front.

July also brought mine and Hubby's first trip to New England.

August

Symphony in the park anyone?

September

The end of the month brought the end of our lives in Portland. Hubby and I bid adieu to Portland, the friends...and Smokes.

October

Living in Colorado brought living with the parents, a sister, and a nephew.

November

26 Years Old!!!

December

The beauty of Christmas lights seen through the season.

As a new year begins my resolutions are to

• keep my camera by my side (no more months with no pictures)
• live each day to the fullest, remembering that time with family and friends is limited to a season
• keep remembering that though it may seem dark right now, God will bring the morning and the lessons learned now are blessings for future reference.

What a week and a half...

Since Christmas, life has been a whirl wind.

Friday morning - the day after Christmas - I was awakened at 6 am by my father yelling for my help. As I ran up the stairs I found my mom on the couch looking like she was going to die. I soon found out my dad had called the ambulance because she was in so much pain. Upon arriving at the ER and dealing with an idiot DR it was discovered that her colon had ruptured and she needed emergency surgery. 2 hours later the surgeon found us huddled in the waiting room, she had come through surgery just fine.

Soon after hearing that news I was home to clean and make room for my brother Ben, his girlfriend Callie and his daughter Bella's arrival. I picked up my dad on the way to the airport from the hospital where he had been kicked out of ICU.

The days that followed included trips to the hopspital to visit Mom and trying to entertain a 2 1/2 year old in the ICU waiting room.

A second Christmas

A trip to zoo lights with siblings, significant others, a niece, a nephew, Dad, and two cousins.

A surprise birthday dinner for Dad.

An intense late night of Wii.

A trip to the candy factory only to discover their power was out and all tours were canceled.

A trip to the Invesco at Mile High Stadium.

An unforgettable night at Casa Bonita.

And many, many games of Settlers of Catan. So many in fact that my brother is now an addict to the computer game. And Callie is needing to buy it to play with her family.

On New Years eve it was back to the airport for the family. I was sad to see them go, but I think the dog was excited to not have a little girl chasing her all over the house.

New Years eve night brought Shelisa, Brandon and the baby back for home made pizza, Settlers and Pizooki! Lots of laughter was had by all.

I woke up New Years day with a cold thanks to Ben and spent the day curled up on the couch not moving and watched a lot of football with Dad.

Mom finally came home late Friday night. She's still in pain but doing a little better each day.

Saturday was a day to relax. I spent most of the day cleaning our basement and just hanging out. I watched a couple episodes of Friends and played some card games with Hubby once he was home.

Today is more of the same. Thank goodness I survived this holiday season. ;)