Catchin' Some Zzzz's

It must be sooo rough being only 2. You can't drive mom's car. You have to eat your lunch. Potty training. Falling asleep WHEREVER you want! Did Mention potty training? LOL. :-)

Life Is A Picnic

Monday, March 26, 2012
We've had the littles over a lot lately! SD&T had A picnic outside with Harry & Gizmo. We had a rousing game of freeze tag afterwards. Nothing like freeze tag on a full tummy!! I learned why 40 yr old ladies choose NOT to play freeze tag..... I prefer being a benchwarmer these days! LOL

I HARLEY Know What To Say - I'm Having So Much Fun!!!

Sorry I took a few days off, folks!  Christine and MrAZ took a bit of time this afternoon to take some of the Hog apart and put it back together with a new backrest & luggage rack to make riding a bit more comfy for her!  (It also makes it easier for MrAZ to strap his equipment onto when he goes to work.....that 'cycle is a LOT cheaper on gas @ 40 mpg than the spacious 4-door granny sedan!)  Anyway, after a few glitches (and the kind assistance of their neighbor - and fellow Harley man - Alan) everything went on where it needed to be.  A sweet test drive later and everyone was back in business!  MrAZ told me that the only way I could ride to work with him is if I could wear the helmet....I think it fits pretty good!  Plenty of room for me to move around - don't you think?!  Lookin' good if I do say so myself!
~HH

Ctrl-Alt-Del

It was quite the interesting day!  MrAZ's laptop crashed and refused to re-boot.  Their early diagnosis was the power jack (where the cord plugs into the unit) because it's been loose since shortly after they got it 3 years ago.  So Christine got busy doing some quick research, then on the the lab (kitchen table) for a complete autopsy!  Well, I guess the jack "was" loose, but still secure and everything in it's place.  Lucky laptop got a complete dust cleaning at the same time....boy there was a lot of stuff stuck under those keys!!  She got all the screws back where they belonged and off to the guys at TheWrightPC.com down on Alma School & Warner there in Chandler!  They are the bomb!  They even thought that the power jack was the culprit, so I guess Christine felt pretty good about it!  The REAL culprit, however, was the converter box (the black box in the middle of the power cord.)  $43 later and it works good as new!  While Christine was taking care of business at TheWrightPC.com, MrAZ slipped across the street to surprise her with takeout from their favorite Japanese restaurant!  All in a days work, folks!

~HH

Slip-Slidin'

SD&T came to visit for most of the day, so we've been busy!  We baked Peanutbutter-Oatmeal Cookies this morning.  We watched The Mighty Ducks while they baked!  (We didn't realize that TMD is TWENTY years old!!)  They LOVED it!!  Now Christine is trying to locate the D2 & D3 movies somewhere to buy (or be gifted.)  Later on, Christine took us to the park where we got to play in the fresh air and sun.  The kids buried me in the sand - the pictures weren't very flattering so we won't be sharing THOSE!  I also tried out the slide.  It was nice, but not really made for someone of my stature, so I'll leave that to SD&T!  They had a great time chasing each other up and down that contraption!  I didn't even bother with the monkey gym that's shaped like a big spider!!  After that we had a late lunch and rested/napped before their mom came to pick them up.  Wonder what we'll be doing Wednesday?!  Well, I'm whipped, so I'm signing off...see you tomorrow folks!

~HH

Just Hangin' Out With My Biggest "Fan"

I found the only safe place in the house today.  Christine was scouring both bathrooms and steam cleaning the carpets so Gizmo found the only safe corner and I found this!  Good thing I had all that strength training at the best weight-room available in college football - I don't wanna brag, but the UNL weight room even rivals many Pro-Team training rooms!   Our weight room in Nebraska is widely considered the birthplace of modern-day strength and conditioning!  (ESPN)
WHY was she doing all that, you ask?!  That's an excellent question!  Apparently there was an "issue" (as Christine tells it) in the main sewer line yesterday that made ALL the toilets in their apartment building back up.  Yes, all of them...all SIXTEEN of them!  I'll spare you the nasty details.  Suffice it to say that EVERYTHING needed a good washing and sterilizing and one pair of tennis shoes became a casualty of the war.  Only in Arizona can you steam clean the carpets while it's raining all day and STILL have dry carpets by the time you go to bed!  Everything is now spic and span for the littles that are coming to visit for a few hours tomorrow!
~HH

Mouths-o-Green

We went to see our friends Mike & Melissa tonight....had a little bit of BBQ and BBS.  BBQ chicken, potato salad, coleslaw, & wine coolers!  Of course, there was cake with GREEN frosting for dessert!   Dominic and little sister Taylor were too darn cute with frosting smeared over their faces!  I have a hunch that Dom smeared a bit of extra frosting on when he saw Aunt Christine's camera come out!  :-0  I accidentally left Harry home (poor guy--missed out on some good BBQ) so I had to improvise. Remember when he jacked my new iPhone a couple weeks ago?  Well, I still had him in there!  Take a look!

After the littles were cleaned up and settled in we were able to chat and share a bit of what the Better Body System has done for us.  Welcome to the team M&M!  :-)  We're building Better Bodies everywhere!

www.Your30DayBBS.com

~Christine

Spring Cleaning for Passover

Well folks....Harry's just helpin' get things cleaned for Passover!  For those not familiar with preparing for Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, de-leavening the home involves a THOUROUGH cleaning job with hot soap and water in EVERY nook and cranny of the home....if you have a big home (like my mother did with nine children!) you best start early and have a game plan!  When cleaning, every item that is or has leavening agents is to be put in a sealed container outside the home (garage/storage room/etc) where it can't be seen or opened during the Festival or thrown/given away.  This has been an annual celebration and ritual commanded by G-d since the Israelite's were freed from Pharaoh's slavery and led out of Egypt by Him in 1445 BC.  This, my friends, is where we get the term we use today, Spring Cleaning.  

Want to know more?  Okay!  We are commanded to clean leaven out for a couple reasons.  First is because when Israel was told to flee Egypt, they didn't have time to let their bread rise before baking....they had to bake it as it was, and it was flat, cracker-like, but edible.  We remember their hasty flight to freedom with this flat bread (matzoh) that we eat during that week.  Secondly is the symbolism that leavening has in our lives.  It only takes a tiny bit of yeast to leaven a whole loaf of bread-it spreads and spreads and takes over the entire mass of dough.  Sin has the same relationship in our lives--it only takes allowing a tiny bit of sin in before it takes over your life and you take G-d out of the equation.  :-(  Going through the home and removing EVERY crumb symbolizes what we are to be doing within our bodies, going through our soul, our mind, and our heart and tearing out every bit of sin we can find and asking forgiveness for it.  Spring Cleaning - A fresh start for your home and your heart!  <3  Betcha didn't think you were getting a Bible lesson today, huh?!
~Christine

Going Postal

Headin' to the Post Office to mail some Yoli Better Body System Samples to a good friend of Christine's back in my home-state!    I can't believe that she was so lazy that she didn't want to drive this to Nebraska, so I have to take it!   I know they both begin with "C", but I'm a COWBOY, not a CARRIER PIGEON!!
~HH

PS - If you are interested in finding out more about how we've lost over 30 pounds in one month with NO exercise and a crazy schedule, it's the Better Body System by Yoli and you can see more at www.Your30DayBBS.com   ~Christine

Who's Walking Who?

Well, I took the dog for a walk this afternoon....well, one of us got taken for a walk, but I'm not saying who!  I'm just wondering who had the wonderful idea for ME to walk Gizmo?  I think paybacks might be in order...

~HH

It's A Wash

Tuesday, March 13, 2012 - Christine remembered to bring me along today while she ran errands for MrAZ.  One of the places we stopped was his favorite car wash, Francis & Son's, on Baseline & Alma School in Mesa. We went inside to wait while they cleaned the car all spic & span!  I even got to check out their rockin' custom stained glass window while we were there (Christine likes stained glass windows!)  This is my best "Vanna White" pose....what do you think?  She told me I needed to use both pictures today because you can't see how "pretty" the window is with the flash on....

~HH

Monday, March 12, 2012 - Well, we gave my dog, Gizmo, a bath today.  He'd been rolling around the dirty truck yard with MrAZ too much lately, so he was black and grey instead of black and white!  He doesn't like the bath, but he loves to lay in the sunshine on the grass when it's all over while he dries out!  Look how fuzzy he gets!  I figured I'd kick back and get some Arizona sunshine while I was out here watching him!  Even though he's only 6 pounds, he's a LOT bigger than I am!  Good thing he's well-behaved and never runs off!  I don't think I could catch him!

~HH

Harry's Lonely Night

Two-for-one special today!  

     Saturday, March 10, 2012 - Shabbat Shalom!  They kept me up pretty late last night.  MrAZ and Christine decided to go to their friend Kim's house last night and forgot to bring me along...yep, she left me sitting here by the computer and didn't even leave it turned on for me.  Apparently, while they were there, ANOTHER friend, Dee, showed up with her 9 month old boy and you know where THAT led....you got it...she played with that baby ALL NIGHT!  I guess he was pretty cute, though; she's still talking about how happy he is and how adorable his eyes are (she never talks about ME that way....but that's another story).  They took their newest toys with them (guess that explains why I  got left behind....) and there was quite the iPad/iPhone convention going on.  The elder Master "K" (8 going on 18) was able to teach everyone a few tricks, new applications were downloaded all around, and they all had themselves a rousing great time, I guess.  Again, I wasn't there, I was stuck here watching the clock till them came rolling in late and happy as can be!  

     So-o-o after all that, she went and got me up at the crack of dawn this morning (it's my story, I'll tell it the way I want!) just so she could enjoy the day off!  See that pot of coffee?  It's mine.  All mine.  No, I'm not sharing.  Get your own!  

~HH

     Friday, March 9, 2012 - We had a pretty busy day of running errands and MrAZ finally got tired of having issues with his new Droid3 already (4wks old.)  The first thing that we had noticed was that there were issues with the email accounts.  Then a couple of the core apps weren't working as smoothly as they did on his original Droid.  To top it off, the battery had about 1/4 the lifespan of the other Droid.  Not.good.  :-/   A quick call to Verizon verified things and we found ourselves at the local Verizon store exchanging his 4 week old Droid3 in on a sleek black iPhone4S.  He's MUCH, MUCH, MUCH happier.  Did I mention that he's a LOT happier with this phone than the Droid3?  

     About an hour after getting home from running all those errands there was a knock at the door.  It was my friendly FedEx man....he say's "What'd they do?  Forget to send a battery with it?"  :-D  Yep, it was the replacement battery for his Droid-I had been on the phone a few times with customer service trying to get the thing to behave right!  LOL  I'll be returning the battery to the Verizon store Monday.  I'm sure someone ELSE will be needing a battery for their new Droid! :-)  In the meantime, Harry is going to keep track of the box so it doesn't get misplaced in all my rearranging of Paul's office!  My final answer:  We LOVE Verizon's customer service.  They have always done right by us and whenever we call it's answered by someone here in the USofA!  :-)

~Christine

Matzo Making

Pesach is just around the corner!  We practiced our matzo-making skills today with a SUPER-SIMPLE recipe!  The key to making kosher matzo is to let no more than 18 minutes lapse from the time you mix the liquid and flour until the time you put it in the oven or on the griddle.  We don't want there to be any chance of fermentation!  :-)  


Ingredients:
2 c Flour (Kosher for Passover - no self-rising flour)
1 c Water
Salt to taste (optional)
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 475*F or griddle to 400*F.  Remember that you have to mix and cook within 18 minutes, so make sure the preheating is done BEFORE you mix anything together!!
Mix well, knead slightly if necessary.  Dough will be somewhat thick.  Break it into 2 sections and use a rolling pin to get the thickness you desire.  Cut it into the size of squares/rectangles that you prefer and transfer to the griddle/oven immediately.  
For an oven:  Prick with fork after putting on baking sheets/stone.  Bake for 6-8 minutes.  
For the griddle:  Cook until each side is slightly browned.

These end up having a soft composition like a tortilla instead of being hard and cracker-like.  It works great for wraps, matzo pizza, dipping...anything you can think of!  We tested this batch warm with a touch of butter and my homemade Spiced Manischewitz Apple Jam (yes, I used wine in making jam.....and it is GOOOOOOD!!)

I remember the matzo PBJ sandwiches we took to school during Passover week when I was younger!  We thought it was fun being different that week.  Back in those days Wheat Thins and Triscuit were both made with no leavening, so they were a treat we could have that week, too.  These days they are not kosher for Passover anymore.  :-(  

Have a wonderful evening....and remember....only 4 cleaning weeks till Passover!  

~Christine

iPhone Adventures

Well, it seems that Harry's been having a bit of fun with my electronics the last couple days...yesterday it was my computer, today it's the new iPhone4S (as my beautiful Palm Pre Plus was dying a slow death that HP's customer service really wasn't too hip to do anything about since they have let the Palm series fizzle away).  I was still working on figuring things out myself on this thing and I set it down for JUST a FEW minutes - and look what I came back to!!  He really must be going stir crazy in all this sand!

I *think* he was trying to find a Husker Football app in there, but it's pretty late right now, so I'll help him look for one tomorrow.   G'night all.....don't let the bedbugs bite!


~Christine
ps.....if you know of a good app for Husker Football on the iPhone, leave me a note about it!  :-)  Thanks!

Checkin' Out My New Website!

Shhhh!!  Don't tell Christine, but....  While she was folding the laundry today I thought I'd come over here and check out the website her mom, Rae, made for me!  I heard her telling MrAZ about it and wanted to see for myself.  The grass and dandelions sure do make me think of home, but I don't miss those COLD winters!  Wonder what this is over here on the right....OH!  There's Rae!  Hi Rae!!  Thank you!  I made new friends, Little Smart, Lee, and HuskerGurl (Shucks! That's Christine....uh oh....I bet she'll see this and know I was here...)   I have a Thumbs Up, too...oh, that's that facebook thing I heard her talking about; I guess you can "share" me with your friends.  That sounds fun!  Oh Neat!!  I even have a counter here at the bottom where I can see how many people have checked me out!  Well, I better get off her computer...have a good one!

~HH

A Visit From the UPS Man!

The UPS man stopped by this evening with a small surprise for MrAZ.  It was taped pretty securely, so I needed to help Christine get it open (good thing MrAZ left a sharp pocket knife home for us!)  Christine said that the humidor was getting a little low, so she ordered him a couple packages of some new Dominican cigars he's been wanting...he'll be excited when he gets home and finds his present!  Christine told me that Cousin Jason is a UPS man, too--wouldn't it have been funny if Jason had shown up with that box?!

~HH

Sunday, March 4, 2012 - IHOP

Morning folks!  WOOHOO!!!  It's FREE MEAL DAY (on that new-fangled healthy eating plan they have) so we went to IHOP for breakfast (Christine had a coupon, of course...)  Oh Yea!!  They have pancakes made with cheesecake (Christine ordered those) or you can have chicken fried steak for breakfast like MrAZ did.  They sure chowed down...then had the nerve to put me in the saddlebag while they rode around on the Harley....can you believe that?!  I'm INSISTING on sitting up on top NEXT time....do you know how HOT it gets down there near that muffler?  I DO!!

 

 ~HH

Saturday, March 3, 2012 - Blessing Israel's Children (The 12 Tribes)

Shabbat Shalom!  We did a lot of learning today....studied Genesis 48-49 and learning about the different blessings that were handed down to each of the 12 Tribes of Israel.

~HH

Friday, March 2, 2012 - Water Wagon

Christine went to get water from the Reverse Osmosis machine today, so I decided to hitch a ride and get some fresh air.  She was pretty excited because she got almost 2 free gallons this time!  I don't know where that girl learned how to drive (oh, yea, Nebraska...I remember!) but I'm sure she thought this was a 4-wheeler instead of a wagon the way she was dragging us up and down, over curbs, through rocks, over speedbumps.  Boy-Oh-Boy...I sure could use that hot tub she bounced us by earlier...

~HH

Thursday March 1, 2012 - Better Body System

Christine and MrAZ are working on loosing weight and getting fit! The core part of their plan is the Better Body System from a new company called Yoli. I already think I'm in pretty good shape, but Christine says I'm getting older and it wouldn't hurt me to pay attention to MY health, too, so she's feeding me Yoli Essential Shakes and lots of protein like steak, roast, chicken, eggs, and cheese. It's not bad, though....she makes the shakes in her Magic Bullet with ice and the chocolate one is actually like a Wendy's Frosty! All these years I've been told that protein shakes taste like my cornfield dirt. Sooner Schooner, Mr. Wolverine, Mr. Hawkeye, and Mr. Jayhawk all warned me to run if she decided to slim me down, but this is FUN and she's in a MUCH better mood now that she and MrAZ are loosing weight and getting more energy! If you are interested in joining them, you can check out the Better Body System at http://www.your30daybbs.com/

~HH

Welcome!

Welcome to my Project 365 featuring Harry Husker! Project 365 is simply taking a picture a day for one year. I chose to use a mascot because, well...because I wanted to! :-) My 365 started March 1, 2012.

I'm a Nebraska Girl - born and raised around the cornfields! A few years ago I remarried and was transplanted from my cornfields and river bluffs to the mountains and sand of Arizona. It's beautiful country here and I've learned that Phoenix has a HUGE HUSKER following in it's transplants! :-) I'm also OLD SCHOOL Nebraska and I still call him HARRY, not Herbie! LOL Harry (aka Herbie) will be making the journey with me as I learn to take (hopefully exciting) pictures of my daily life! Usually he'll be front and center, but sometimes you may need to look for him--we'll see what kind of mischief he might find himself in here in Arizona and anywhere else we might be finding ourselves! Come along and laugh with me - or at me - as my life is pretty mundane through my own eyes! Maybe Harry will see things differently! Hope you enjoy the journey!

For now, I have this ornament that is made by Bert Anderson, a Nebraska native! He's about 3 1/2" tall and cute as could be, however, I "really" would like to find another one to use, also, that is bendable or more manipulative, so let me know if you have an idea that I might like! You can purchase this and many other of Bert's unique creations directly through his website: http://www.bertandersoncollection.com/. He also sells them through Grow Nebraska. If you've never been to their store, check them out online: https://www.shopgrownebraska.org/. As of the time I'm posting this, Bert happens to have one of their featured products! :-)

My next post will actually contain my first few days of pictures that were originally posted on my fb page. After this there "should" be daily postings of pictures....unless I'm REALLY busy that day! :-) Keep checking back or subscribe to see the latest adventures!

♥ Christine