Author: Crystle

Maker, doer, and nomad.

Carpe Diem, Yango

~ Crystle ~ 6 Comments

Yango was delighted to receive homemade doggie muffins all the way from Oklahoma today. My mother-in-law made several dozen of these for a “Pupnic” event and we got some of the extras. I’m going to be totally honest here; I really want to eat one. They look so tasty! But I’ll be a grown-up and refrain, at least until my husband gets home. Then we can dare each other to eat one! So silly.

On a serious note, we did receive some bad news from the vet a few weeks ago. My twelve year old beagle has a malignant tumor that affecting his digestive tract. I won’t get into the details, but he’s ultimately only got a few more months to live. He’s still in high spirits and doesn’t seem affected by his ailing health, although I would expect as much from such a happy dog. Yango has been enjoying himself at the dog park lately, and will soon be on a home cooked diet.

Looks like he aims to integrate some Yoga into the week as well. Maybe not. 😉

From here on out we’re working on making sure he’s comfortable and happy until the end. With such a sweet pup, it shouldn’t be too difficult. 

A Yea Yea Pueblo Facelift

~ Crystle ~ 8 Comments

So, I’ve been playing around with different blogger templates lately. I’ve grown tired of the old layout, and without wanting to enter the extremely detailed world of CSS and other intense coding, I decided to give the Dynamic view a try for a few weeks. I’ll re-evaluate whether or not I want to keep it, or revert to another format, or code my own template entirely at that time.

I really like the looks around Danielle’s Blog, but I still really enjoy the clean looks of the old template like at Kendra’s Blog. There are so many possibilities.

What do you think? Is it much more difficult to navigate? What, if anything, do you miss? What don’t you like?

Be honest! If you don’t like the layout, you won’t come back. That’s no fun!

I would greatly appreciate any feedback. In the meantime, I’ll be looking up tutorials to customize the dynamic view (it’s quite rigid with the layout editing).

Thanks, ladies!

Breakfasts, Waterfalls and Cross Country Running

~ Crystle ~ 10 Comments
This is the fourth weekend in a row that we’ve had unadulterated sunshine. The state of Washington can go ahead and thank me now for bringing that California and Oklahoma sunshine this way.
You’re welcome, constituents. Brace yourself for some earthquakes and tornados.
Well, yesterday I cooked up some of my delicious Huevos Rancheros in tortilla cups. Wonderfully delicious. And they’re truly so easy to make.
 At the request of Lauren and Jordan, I’m including the recipe here.
Huevos Rancheros, the Crystle way:
1. Take taco sized soft flour tortillas and thinly coat both sides with melted butter.
2. Tuck tortillas into muffin pan, folding opposite sides to fit the mold.
3. Fill bottom layer of tortilla cup with cooked black beans. I used lime cilantro black beans; leftovers from our taco dinner the night before. You can use what you have around the house. Pinto beans work just as well.
4. Layer on your favorite salsa, or chopped onions/tomatoes mixture.
5. Crack open an egg on top of the mixture.
6. Bake at 375 F for roughly 8-10 minutes, monitor closely.
7. When the white of the eggs have set and the edges of the tortilla have turned brown, pull the muffin tray from the oven.
8. Sprinkle pepper jack cheese (I used monterey) on top of the egg and cover very loosely with foil. Return the tray to the oven for roughly 2-4 more minutes, monitoring closely.
9. Your huevos rancheros are done when you’ve melted the cheese to your liking!
NOTE:
-Feel free to change up the portions of the layers, or the ingredients included. I am definitely not rigid with ingredients or portioning, ever.
-Garnish with hot sauce, cilantro or fresh jalapeño.
After feasting down on a delicious breakfast, we day trekked out to Snoqualmie Falls, WA. I was immersed with the falls, and the gift shop. We picked up some wild huckleberry jam that I’m dying to throw on some toast.
Aaaand a few more images of late:
 
Who would want to hike the “Poo Poo Trail”. Maybe it means something else that I’m not privy to. Probably not.
And I finally got the Sorel snow boots I’ve been coveting all winter. Too bad it’s now spring.
We’ve also been running a lot more lately. We topped our longest distance on Friday with an 8 mile run (marathoners can shut it). I’m pretty sure I’m dead and writing this from the afterlife (which is pretty awesome; there are lots of Red Vines and ample internet access). We’re also awaiting our gold metals and invitations to the white house for that run.
No word from Barry yet…
Alright, we’re headed to Fort Steilacoom Park to soak up some more sunshine.
Happy Earth Day, Earthlings!