Year: 2014

Love It: La Crosse Wireless Weather Station

Anna Blankenheim Product Reviews , ,

Just a heads up, I’m totally about to geek out on you. A few months back I purchased the  La Crosse Wireless Weather Station. I’ve had several different rainfall/temperature taking type machines, but they’ve always failed. I gave up on the digital rain measurement and now go the old fashioned way of a little glass beaker mounted on the deck. I still wanted something that would help out with the temperature and found this guy on Amazon:

LaCrosse Weather Station
LaCrosse Weather Station

I love that it shows both indoor and outdoor temperature and humidity, but I also love that it shows pressure. I sometimes get headaches when the weather changes and this will definitely be a help! If you’re looking for something fun, colorful, and that works well (clearly this post is late as the date in the picture is September 19th), this is the weather station for you! This definitely goes into the love it category!

Showtime!

Anna Blankenheim Equestrian , , ,

I’ve been doing a ton of riding over the past few months and have decided to enter my first show! It will be on Sunday, November 9th and to be honest, I’m terrified. Sue and I have made great progress in our partnership, but we’re far from perfect. This show is a schooling show, so it’s meant for folks of my experience and ability. Those of you who know me know that I get competitive and super nervous… so even though there’s not anything on the line, I’d like to do well!

This past weekend we practiced a lot… everything from going to a new arena (Sue’s thoughts: “scary”) to working an obstacle course (Sue’s thoughts: “cool!”). He really had a blast with the trail work – pulling a log, weaving through cones, walking across poles. We might need to do some more of that! The new arena had cows… Sue has yet to decide if he’s scared of them or really, really excited about them. He’s cowhorse-bred, so it’s in his blood to be a little bit of both. One of these days we’ll get out and work with some cows!

Here’s to another week of practice before the big show!!!

New Hampshire

Anna Blankenheim Vacation , , , ,

Stop number two on this year’s anniversary trip was New Hampshire. I know, probably not the top of everyone’s list, but I did some Googling and found this cool place called “Moose Alley“. There’s a stretch of Route 3 that runs from New Hampshire into Canada that is famous for it’s moose – they literally wander around on the roads.

We pulled into a little store on the side of the road to chat it up with the locals. When I asked where to go to see moose, the shopkeeper very kindly informed me that it was moose season and we wouldn’t be seeing any moose. Now, I don’t know if anyone else’s brain works the way mine does, but that became a challenge for me to actually find one. We cruised up and down the highway a little more and then headed in to find a place to stay for the night.

Watch Out For Moose!
Watch Out For Moose!

We stumbled across this great little resort called Ramblewood. They’re a combination of cabins and campgrounds located right on First Connecticut Lake. We spent the night in a three bedroom cabin overlooking the lake for a whopping $80.

Our Cabin
Our Cabin

The owner of Ramblewood confirmed that we would probably not see moose this trip… but was kind enough to humor me and gave us a few logging roads to scope out. We spent the next two or three hours bouncing round logging roads with our eyes peeled for moose. No luck. We headed back out on the highway to go to the cabin and BAM:

Moose!
Moose!

We also saw a pair of moose walking together, but by that point it was getting a little dark and my photography skills were not up to par. I could not believe how big they are… they’re the size of my horse! Unfortunately, we didn’t see any males (would have been neat to see the antlers!) but I was super excited to see these ones!

New Hampshire was beautiful… we were about a week or two late for the fall colors, but still got to see beautiful scenery!

First Connecticut Lake
First Connecticut Lake

Maine

Anna Blankenheim Vacation , , , , ,

Well, it’s been over a month since I last posted… things have definitely been busy! Last week Mike and I celebrated our third wedding anniversary. When we got married we decided that we would not get each other gifts for our anniversary, but would instead road trip somewhere together. I love it… since October is our anniversary, it falls just after fire season – a time that I see very little of my husband. It’s always a blast to get away, spend time with each other, and see new places!

First Anniversary: Northern California/Southern Oregon Coast

Second Anniversary: Mid-East Coast (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, Washington DC, North Carolina, and South Carolina)

Third Anniversary: Northern East Coast (Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and New York)

Our first stop in Maine was the Portland Head lighthouse. It was already cold and windy (as was much of the first part of our trip), but it was absolutely beautiful. One thing that I noticed was that the lighthouse itself was not as tall as I had expected.

Portland Head Light
Portland Head Light

We spent the second day in Maine touring breweries… some very delicious ones, I might add. First on the list was Shipyard Brewery. We tasted seven or eight different beers there… and their blueberry soda (so yummy!). Stop number two was Sebago Brewery. To be honest, I didn’t have beer here since I had so much at Shipyard. Instead I had a chocolate lava cake. Because that’s how I roll. That stop was followed by a trek back to the hotel for a nap. We then headed out to In’finiti Fermentation & Distillation where I proceeded to taste their distillery sampler (vodka, rum, and whiskey). I am definitely not normally a hard alcohol drinker, but when in Rome… at least it was a nice walk that evening:

Portland at Night
Portland at Night

That was pretty much it for Maine. We had beautiful weather and really enjoyed it. Next up… New Hampshire!

Enchilada Pasta Casserole

Anna Blankenheim Cooking, Recipes , ,

Last night I tried a new recipe. It sounds a bit weird, but was actually pretty tasty! I had it again tonight and I would argue that it was almost better as leftovers than as the original dish! My one alteration I would make is to add a little bit more cream cheese and sour cream – the dish has a little kick to it, but felt a little dry. Enjoy!

Enchilada Pasta Casserole
Enchilada Pasta Casserole

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef

½ tsp. chili powder

¼ tsp. cumin

¼ tsp. cayenne pepper

5 ounces cream cheese

¼ cup light sour cream

1 can (10 oz.) enchilada sauce

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided

1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese, divided

1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed

1 can (4 oz.) diced green chiles

12 ounces egg noodles

Salt & pepper, to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large pot, bring water to boil and cook egg noodles according to package instructions.In the meantime, in a very large skillet, brown your ground beef then drain the fat. Then add the chili powder, cumin, and cayenne pepper. Stir to combine. Add in the cream cheese until melted and combined.

In a large bowl, combine sour cream, enchilada sauce, half the cheddar cheese, half the monterey jack cheese, corn kernels, and diced green chiles. Stir to combine. Pour mixture over the beef and let simmer for 2-3 minutes. In the meantime, drain your pasta. After you’ve drained it, add the pasta to the beef mixture. Make sure everything is coated in the sauce.

In a large casserole dish, pour in the pasta mixture and top with the remaining cheese.Bake for 15 minutes or until cheese has completely melted.

Source: Table for Two

Penne with Roasted Asparagus and Balsamic Butter

Anna Blankenheim Cooking, Recipes , ,

I like to try to share new recipes as often as I’m motivated… today’s recipe is one I had to try when Mike was not home for dinner. You see, we share an aversion to stinky cheeses (discovered after the horrific Gruyère on french onion soup experience several years back). However, Parmesan cheese falls into this category for him, while it’s on my yummy list. That and he doesn’t like asparagus, which is a staple in this dish. About halfway through cooking (the part where you simmer the balsamic vinegar) I got a bit skeptical, but this turned out very nicely. It’s a fairly quick and easy meal (took me about 30 minutes, which you could trim down to about 20) and tasted delicious!

Penne with Roasted Asparagus and Balsamic Butter
Penne with Roasted Asparagus and Balsamic Butter

Ingredients

1 pound asparagus

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/2 teaspoon brown sugar

1 pound penne

1/4 pound butter, cut into pieces

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

Directions

Heat the oven to 400°. Snap the tough ends off the asparagus and discard them. Cut the spears into 1-inch pieces. Put the asparagus on a baking sheet and toss with the oil and 1/4 teaspoon each of the salt and pepper. Roast until tender, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, put the vinegar in a small saucepan. Simmer until 3 tablespoons remain. Stir in the brown sugar and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Remove from the heat.

Cook the penne in a large pot of boiling, salted water until just done, about 13 minutes. Drain the pasta and toss with the butter, vinegar, asparagus, Parmesan, and the remaining 1 3/4 teaspoons salt. Serve with additional Parmesan.

I Couldn’t Forget If I Tried

Anna Blankenheim Tragedies ,

September 11th 2001 should have been like any other day. Actually, I take that back – it should have been harder. I had just seen my boyfriend, Troy, off the night before to an overseas deployment with the Marines. I had cried my eyes out all night and was exhausted. Sometime just after 6am, the phone rang in the apartment that I shared with three friends from college. I’m not gonna lie, I was mad, asking myself who would be calling this early in the morning. I remember laying in bed for a few minutes longer and then storming out to the living room to yell at whoever it was. It was then that I saw my roommate sitting in shock on the sofa in front of the TV. Her family had called from New Jersey to let her know they were ok. For the next few hours we sat in front of the TV watching the devastation unfold. At just twenty years old, I couldn’t believe that sort of evil existed in the world. My previous experiences had only been with natural disasters (the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake) – never had I been exposed to this level of hate.

Why, you ask, is she rambling about her experience, which in comparison to so many others is completely benign?

Without a doubt, September 11th had a profound impact on who I am today. I think it’s no great coincidence that I’ve surrounded myself with firefighters and first responders. Or that my volunteer work is centered completely around educating the public about disaster preparedness and helping others.

In the days that followed September 11th, I watched America band together. I finally understood what my Grandpa had told me growing up – that this country is amazing and that it’s worth fighting for. I learned what it means to honor those who died by pressing on. I learned how proud I am to be American. The “Star Spangled Banner” means more to me, as does our beautiful flag.

Every year I dedicate my sole Facebook update for the day to some sort of memory – this year is a picture of the three firefighters raising the flag, made even more poignant now that I’m married to a firefighter. And there’s always the requisite “never forget” – I couldn’t forget if I tried. I will continue to dedicate my life to helping others, regardless of race, color, religion, or creed. That’s how I won’t forget.

Birds of Prey

Anna Blankenheim Critters, Family

A while back my mom and I took advantage of a Groupon to take a falconry lesson. We had a blast and for my parents’ birthday, my mom decided to take my dad. I wanted to go again, but due to our crazy busy lives, we didn’t get around to it until this weekend. 

Falconry (for those of you wondering) is hunting with a trained bird of prey. It dates way back to 2000 BC and was super popular in medieval Europe. 

We headed out to West Coast Falconry, in Marysville, bright an early. As with the first lesson we took, it was a blast. Jana and Shawna were our instructors and provide just the right mix of educational information and fun. They taught us the basics and then everyone had the opportunity to call and send the bird. 

Dad Calling Diego
Dad Calling Diego
Don Diego Alejandro Santiago Saragossa Inigo Montoya Del Gato
Don Diego Alejandro Santiago Saragossa Inigo Montoya Del Gato

After that, they taught us a little more about how you actually train a bird of prey… after all, if I took my cute little budgies outside right now, I doubt I’d ever see them again. There’s definitely a lot that goes into training, including focusing on the birds natural instinct and prey drive. The whole process really is fascinating, and at the end we got to pose with the birds:

Me & Diego
Me & Diego

If you’re at all interested in learning more about falconry or taking your family out for a fun event (the basic class is only about an hour long), I definitely recommend West Coast Falconry! 

Obesessed

Anna Blankenheim Equestrian , ,

I have a confession: I’m officially obsessed with my horse. Over the past few weeks we’ve been making big progress in our lessons, but due to a busy schedule, I haven’t been able to make it out to the trail and when we do too many lessons in the arena, Sue gets bored. In addition to that, we had a “bad” (honestly, no bad rides with him, but relatively speaking) lesson a few days ago where I didn’t feel well and he didn’t want to run. 

Today I finally made it out and was not disappointed – the weather was gorgeous, the people were awesome, and it was a very mellow, relaxing ride. Sue definitely seemed to enjoy himself… I only asked him to lope a couple times and we basically just meandered around the lake.

Yesterday I took the day off work and turned him out in one of the larger pastures. It’s always fun to watch him romp around and this time was no exception. I took my camera and got some great pictures. He even ventured over to meet some new friends (Cowboy and Poco) before romping around some more. His personality has come out over the past few months – he’s ridiculously inquisitive, loves to run, and is always thinking.

I seriously love this horse! 

My Handsome Boy
My Handsome Boy

 

Full Gallop
Full Gallop

 

Book Review: Wild

Anna Blankenheim Reading , , ,

I know, it’s officially been forever since my last post. Life has been busy (lots of work, lots of riding, lots of concerts). 

My friend Megan recommended the book Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, by Cheryl Strayed.

Synopsis from Amazon.com:

At twenty-two, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother’s death, her family scattered and her own marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life. With no experience or training, driven only by blind will, she would hike more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State—and she would do it alone. Told with suspense and style, sparkling with warmth and humor, Wild powerfully captures the terrors and pleasures of one young woman forging ahead against all odds on a journey that maddened, strengthened, and ultimately healed her.

This was a really good book and I highly recommend it. Cheryl Strayed has a way of writing that made me want to go out and hike the trail (well, for about 2 seconds, then I decided it was a bad idea). I can’t even imagine how amazing, yet terrifying her journey must have been, and how wonderful it must have been to complete. 

In reading through Cheryl’s Wikipedia page, I discovered that a movie is being made about her journey, starring Reese Witherspoon. It looks like it’s due out in December of this year… I can’t wait to see it!