The Uplingers

Things I am Thankful For

2011-11-23T07:00:00.001-08:00

Gratitude is something we should be feeling all the time, not just in November, but Thanksgiving always makes us think just a little bit more about those things we are thankful for. There is so much in my life that I am grateful for, so bear with me as I make my way through the incomplete list of 20 things I'm thankful for in no particular order.

Jesus. That he would come to die in my place, save me, and allow me to live eternally with him and everyone else that believes in him. I could never be thankful enough for God’s grace through Jesus Christ.
Life. How cool is it to know that everyday is a new day and I am alive to enjoy it?!!
My Husband. He's my best friend; from him I get unconditional love and acceptance, and he always makes me feel like I'm special and liked. I'm the luckiest girl in the world.
My Family. I'm thankful to be related to very loving, supportive people. All of my family is special to me. My Mom enabled me to experience many things. She gave me everything she possibly could ... and even some things she probably couldn't. My whole family encouraged me to develop my talents and to embellish my weaknesses.
My Friends. If I named them all individually, from wonderful acquaintances to tried and true friends, I'd have a list a mile long. I truly value my friends and will never have "enough" or too many.
Being a nice person. I'm hardly perfect, but it's good to know in my heart that I'm a kind person. I'd never intentionally hurt anyone. I don't believe in being mean. I hate to see anyone cry and love to see people smile.
My Dog! Diesel is always there to greet me and wags his tail, even when I'm grumpy. I know he won't be with us forever, but I cherish the time we've spent together and the time we still have. There's nothing like the unconditional love of a dog!!
Travel. Thanks to work, good savings and sometimes luck, I have been able to do a lot of traveling in the U.S. , Canada and Mexico.
Accomplishing goals: To one degree or another, I tend to follow through on things. I thrive on having goals to strive for and am happy about the fact I've been able to achieve some of them!!
Growing up in the country. It is a difficult feeling to explain to someone who hasn't grown up with land to freely roam - the experiences I gained, responsibilities I undertook and fun I had are things that shape who I am today.
Being able to laugh. When the going gets tough, I like that I can often smile my way through difficulties and find the bright side.
Being financially secure: We're not rich (whatever that is, monetarily speaking), but we're comfortable and have what we need and then some.
Good health: Knock on wood. :-)
Being an American: Taking nothing away from any other country, I'm just being thankful for my own. It may not be perfect--what place is?--but I love it nonetheless.
Memories: It's fun to reminisce. I enjoy looking at pictures and remembering special moments and events. It's also fun to chat about "old times" with others who were there, too.
Things to look forward to. I have my whole future to look forward to!
All those who've ever served our country. It's an admiral and brave thing to do. Our men and women in uniform, past and present, have, do and will give so much for us all. So do their families.
Free Speech. Every person lucky enough to live in a country that protects free speech ought to give thanks for that good fortune every single day. We should never take that luxury for granted.
For Starbucks. I love their coffee; I love the atmosphere their coffee shops provide.
Seasons and Weather. I am lucky enough to live in the great Pacific Northwest where seasons vary and so does the weather. I wouldn't change it for the world.

Mondays...

2011-11-21T10:05:00.001-08:00

Crockpot Turkey White Bean Pumpkin Chili

2011-11-17T05:55:00.001-08:00

Ingredients:

Cooking spray
2 lb 99% lean ground turkey
1/2 tsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp chili powder, to taste
2 bay leaves
2 tsp cumin
2 (15 oz cans) of white northern or navybeans, rinsed and drained
15 oz can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin piefilling)
4.5 oz canned chopped green chile
2 cups low sodium, fat free chicken broth
fat free sour cream for topping (optional)
chopped cilantro and chives for topping(optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Heat a sauté pan over high heat and lightly spray with oil. Add meat and cook through, about 5 minutes. Add to crock pot.
Add oil to the sauté pan, then onions and garlic, sauté about 3 - 4 minutes; add cumin and sauté another minute. Add to crock pot.
Add beans, pumpkin puree, green chilies, broth, chili powder, and bay leaves to crock pot. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours
Remove bay leaves and adjust seasoning to taste before serving. Enjoy!

Found here.

Think before you speak?

2011-09-14T09:39:00.001-07:00

I've been doing some soul-searching lately while reading the book, “How to Find God: Living Water for Those Who Thirst." One of the big things I need to work on is saying things in anger that I don't necessarily mean.

The problem is, sometimes the things we say can be difficult and even impossible to take back. We have the ability to do irreparable damage to our marriages and friendships with our words. Most women like to put the blame on men for speaking before they think, but truth be told, I think women are very guilty (if not more so) of this as well.

Learning to speak a language of love and respect might possibly be one of the hardest things you ever do, but if you keep in mind the consequence, there is definitely an incentive. Everyone will have disagreements. And, we have to admit that at some time or another our spouse/friend/coworkers have said something we thought was so stupid, so annoying, so rude, so insensitive, so petty, the list goes on and on, that we responded by using hurtful words towards them.

So, that being said I want to share with you something I was reading from this book. It's about refraining from idle speech. Read Matthew 12:35-37. The verse preceding this text says, “For whatever is in your heart determines what you will say.” That right there says it all for me, if what you feel in your heart is what you say, you will always be refraining from insensitive remarks and idle speech.

When I was looking around on google, I found this cool 'rule' to apply before you speak:

THINK
T- Is it true?
H-Is it helpful?
I-Is it inspiring?
N-Is it necessary?
K-Is it kind?

Before and Afters

2011-07-24T17:23:00.001-07:00

Got to work on the retaining wall project, which was started last August! It was costly for us to finish this, but all the bricks finally got installed and now we get to clear out the driveway for gravel or asphalt!

Homemade Ice Cream Recipe

2011-07-24T17:15:00.000-07:00

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• 1/2 cup milk or half & half

• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla

• 6 tablespoons salt (preferably, rock salt - but table salt will do!)

• 2 quart-size plastic food storage bag

• 1 gallon-size plastic food storage bag

• 1/2 tray of Ice cubes

This makes about 1 scoop/1.5 scoops of ice cream - double, quadruple, whatever you need to make the quantity you desire! :)

Mix together: Sugar, half & half, and vanilla in a quart size bag.
Seal, leaving it as air-less as possible. Seal the second quart sized bag around that, with as little air as possible.
Put quart sized bags inside the gallon sized bag, pour ice cubes in and also the salt.
Shake for about 5 minutes or have kids toss the bag back and forth (outside!!)

Before and Afters

2011-06-20T09:19:00.000-07:00

This past week, we decided it was finally time to remove the huge weeping willow tree in front of our house. It is really exciting to see the difference in street view and I can't wait to see what the house will look like as we continue to remodel the exterior. Up next: new roof, new windows, new paint!

Savory Spice-Rubbed Strip Steak

2011-06-08T18:25:00.000-07:00

Made this for dinner tonight, it was beyond words! This recipe is great for summer nights sitting out on your deck with a bottle of Cabernet :)

1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 1/2 lbs. New York Strip or Top Loin Steaks

Preheat the grill to medium-high heat. In a small bowl, combine all of the spices, and sprinkle and rub the mixture over both sides of the steaks.When the grill is hot, cook the steaks for 3 - 5 minutes per side, depending on how well done you like them. Slice the steak into thin strips to serve it. Serve it immediately or refrigerate it for up to 3 days.

Serve this with Grilled Bread (recipe below) and Steamed Brocolli with Lemon Pepper seasoning.

To make the grilled bread, cut a loaf of Italian Bread into 1" thick slices; mix together about 1/4 cup of Olive Oil, 1 tsp. Salt, 1 tsp. Oregano and 1 tsp. Garlic Powder. Using a pastry brush, lightly coat both sides of the slices of bread and place them directly on to the heated grill for 1-2 minutes per side or until they are lightly browned.

Sarah's new business

2011-03-26T15:00:00.000-07:00

Today marks the new adventure of Sarah creating a business to sell her crafty items. The business blog can be found here. On the blog there will be many crafty ideas and tutorials as well as finished projects. :)

Sarah will be posting most of her creations on facebook for immediate sales, but will also be doing meetups and craft fairs with a local Snohomish Handmade group. There will also be an etsy site, which will be located here.

Before and Afters

2011-01-25T06:50:00.001-08:00

Fireplace/Living Room

Entry/Stairs

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-18T14:52:00.000-08:00

May the timeless message of Christmas fill your heart and home with joy today and throughout the coming year.

Southern California Trip

2010-12-14T06:01:00.000-08:00

Stephen was working in Huntington Beach for 2 weeks, so I decided with one day notice to jump on a plane and meet him there on a Friday to spend the weekend together in Southern California. It was the best idea yet!

We got to spend Friday night with our family in Yorba Linda and Saturday in Disneyland and California Adventure! Everything was so decorated for the Holidays. I feel so fortunate to be able to have experienced Disneyland all lit up for Christmas, it was absolutely gorgeous!

Sunday we traveled all over Southern California and went to the Beach!

LAN party weekend 2010

2010-11-10T06:14:00.001-08:00

Lots of fun!
Lots of computer games :)

Retaining Wall Project

2010-08-17T13:26:00.000-07:00

Despite the 90 degree weather we've been getting lately - we got the wall dug out to start on the retaining wall project... More pictures to come as the job progresses!

Formula D Drifting

2010-07-11T20:09:00.000-07:00

It was a warm 79 degrees, with full sun for a full day adventure at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, we went with our friends Mike & Ryan. It was a fun day of visiting vendor booths and collecting "swag" (free posters and promotional materials). The racing and drifts were very intense! Tanner Foust won - he drives a Scion, sponsored by Rockstar Energy Drink.

We were lucky enough to run into Courtney Day, Matt & Steve's 'celebrity crush' since high school!!

1 year anniversary!

2010-06-28T07:04:00.000-07:00

Yesterday marked the date of completion of our first year of marriage. So many things have changed; yet many have remained the same. We've been together for 6 1/2 years now, and have faced quite a few challenges & jubilations down the road.
Our first year of marriage was very exciting: new home ownership, house & yard remodels, weekend trips, new friends, first holidays in our house - all the while continuing to love each other more every day and grow together as a family.

We spent our anniversary hiking and camping all over Moran State Park on Orcas Island. The weather could not have been more gorgeous!! It was Diesel's first camping trip and he did really well.

IEQHA Silver Buckle Circuit

2010-06-06T14:14:00.000-07:00

Class wins in Showmanship & Horsemanship - Reserve circuit champion in Showmanship. Good Show!! Spokane, WA 6/3-6/6

Saltwater Fish Tank

2010-05-03T14:02:00.000-07:00

Finally got the saltwater tank moved into a new 20 gallon tank at our house, very exciting!! 2 Fish - a Clownfish and a Pyschadelic Gobi.

KQHA Classic - Spokane, WA

2010-04-25T19:47:00.001-07:00

First Quarterhorse show (for me)of 2010, April 16-18. It was a blast! Lisa of Lisa Freimark Performance Training (LFPT) is our trainer. This show, it was just Autumn Waite and I. The next show is in Moses Lake mid May.

Sarah & Jamie Khorrami!

2010-02-06T20:29:00.000-08:00

Beautiful wedding tonight at the Antheia Ballroom in Snohomish. Sarah and I have been friends since we were very young - so it was awesome to witness her union to Jamie. I couldn't have asked for a better guy for her! The catering was amazing too by the Cabbage Patch! :)

Wedding Pix

2010-02-05T12:23:00.000-08:00

I am starting to work on my scrapbook of wedding pictures so thought I would upload some of my favorites - there are way, way, way too many to just pick a few - so here's my conscious effort. :)

Lake 22 Hike

2010-01-23T19:55:00.000-08:00

Although the snow is frequently thin at the base of this trail, the route climbs quickly and snowshoes are needed not only for flotation but also for traction on the steep slopes. The workout is extensive, but the rewards are phenomenal. The trail follows a beautiful tumbling creek as it rushes down a narrow gorge. Along the way, the creek drops over no fewer than four pretty waterfalls, with each successive one sporting larger and more intricate ice mantles.

If the snow is thin at this low-elevation trailhead, strap your snowshoes on the back of your pack and hike up the trail until the snow deepens. The trail climbs gradually for 0.25 mile, then turns straight up the creek valley and rolls through a long series of switchbacks. Frequently, even if the snow isn't deep, snowshoes will be required simply because the beefy crampons on their base afford a sure grip on the slick trail.

The first waterfall is passed 0.5 mile up the trail, and then more are seen at 1 mile, 1.2 miles, and 1.5 miles. Just past the third waterfall, the trail levels out (relatively speaking) as it rolls west along the hillside for several hundred yards before turning back toward the creek. It passes through a couple of these longer, more moderate switchbacks before making a long, straight traverse back to the creek at the fourth falls. From there, it's a 0.25-mile climb to the lakeshore.

This trail is steeper and the lake more remote than the nearby Heather Lake route (Route 21), but it is also less visited in winter months. Some of the open slopes above the trail, especially on the upper reaches, are prone to slide in moderate to high avalanche conditions, so use caution.

We went in January - which is usually completely off limits unless you want to snowshoe in. We went with the intentions to snowshoe but there was no snow! We even noticed that the glaciers were smaller in the Winter then they were this past Fall!!

RedHook Brewery Tour

2010-01-18T16:02:00.000-08:00

It was a blast! Only $1 and you get to sample 5 beers and get to keep a souvenir cup!

2010!

2010-01-01T14:49:00.000-08:00

Welcome to 2010! Today marks our 6 year anniversary of being together! We had a blast last night at the Spitfire in Seattle with 4 of our good friends!

Merry Christmas to you and yours.

2009-12-24T10:47:00.000-08:00

Praying for each and every one of you today, and always. Please enjoy this Christmas and savor the things that really matter.

Man Cave Project

2009-12-17T05:58:00.000-08:00

Before the LAN party in October we painted the man cave the turquoise color. This week, our project is to rip up all the carpet and paint the cement floor with Epoxy Shield. That way, it's more like a 'garage'. Steve has to park his motorcycles inside in the winter because we don't have a garage yet, so having a cement floor is a lot easier than carpet. Plus the carpet that was in there was REALLY nasty...

Baseboard trim!

2009-12-13T09:55:00.000-08:00

The trim is finally going up around the house! Ya! :)
You can see in the lower left hand corner a small square of carpet. We've ordered our new stair and downstairs carpet - very exciting!!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

2009-12-13T08:50:00.000-08:00

This was the first time I can ever remember actually going to a tree farm and cutting down a tree. It was so much fun walking around in the pouring rain (and mud) to find the 'perfect' tree!

We went to Reades U Cut Christmas tree farm just about 10 minutes from our house. We found our 'perfect' tree, a Grand Fir. It is a little large for our ceiling height, so no star on top this year!
Searching for the tree...
found it!
all up!

The House

2009-12-11T13:51:00.000-08:00

We bought our house right before the wedding. We knew it would need A LOT of work. It was a bank owned home, and the previous owners (obviously told by the condition of the house) didn't really care much about this place. They smoked inside, their animals soiled the carpets. Things were not updated at ALL. We were very fortunate to get a GREAT deal on the house, and to have wonderful families members who gave gifts of money and gift cards and labor to help us get the house to this point.

Our house was built in 1976 (Kla Ha Ya Village is the neighborhood name) and it is a 4 bedroom, 1.5 bath, split level. We're lucky to have found this gem (in the rough), we back up to woods/greenbelt and have a huge yard!!!

Besides having to paint every square inch of surface in the house (due to the smoker smell) the projects we've completed thus far are:

1. Upstairs Bathroom - completely gutted everything. We had to remove the sheetrock and insulation and start over at the studs. We put in a new window, new tub, all new tile (above the tub to the ceiling), new cabinets, new counter top, new toilet and new floor!

2.Kitchen - painted all cabinets, new counter tops, new cabinet hardware, new flooring, new sink and faucet... everything else DEEP Cleaned!
BEFORE
AFTER

3.Flooring - the carpet was VERY nasty in the living room and the linoleum in the kitchen/dining was ghetto, so we replaced everything (even the hallway) with maple pergo. (and we got a new couch!)

The upcoming projects include (yes we're going to be VERY busy):
1. New chain-link fence around the backyard
2. New carpet downstairs
3. Pergo installed at the landing
4. New roof
5. finish installation of all the baseboard trim and door trim.

Lots of Updates...

2009-12-11T12:59:00.000-08:00

We haven't had a website for quite some time now, but I've finally decided to get a blog going to keep things up-to-date until we've got our 'real' website finished!

Since the wedding, we've been keeping ourselves busy with remodeling our house, working (a lot), and spending time with our friends and family. I'll detail more later on the remodels in another blog with lots of pictures.

We spent 2 lovely weeks in Puerto Vallarta for our honeymoon - I must say, it was probably the funnest vacation I've ever been on. The weather was hot and humid, and since it was off season in Mexico, there were barely any tourists and things were very very inexpensive.

We stayed in the older downtown portion for a week and in the touristy Nuevo Vallarta (New Vallarta) for a week. The resort in Nuevo was very swanky and held any amenity that could possibly be desired (including couples massage with a jacuzzi!). We were very fortunate to stay there (thanks Mom for letting us use your timeshare!!). The beach was beautiful and the water was so warm, it was amazing. I must say though, my favorite part was staying in downtown.

Puerto Vallarta is rich in culture and tradition. Staying in the downtown we got to meet civilians - we were able to communicate with them using our Spanish; the ability to walk to the local markets, eat food at small family owned restaurants, horseback riding, smoking Cuban cigars, and even participate in Tequila tasting! It was a trip that is surely not to be forgotten!

LAN Party Weekend 10/24/2009

2009-11-01T14:27:00.000-08:00

Stephen had his first LAN party (at our new house) the weekend of October 24th. Well, actually it lasted more like 4 or 5 days. It was a great time. Some friends came in from out of town: Glen flew up from Sacremento, CA and Ryan flew up from Huntington Beach, CA. Chris drove down from Maple Ridge, Canada. The rest of the guys drove here from around the state. There was about 10 total, it was surely a full house for those few days!!

Jeremiah, Josh, Glen & Chris in Snohomish on 1st street.

Jeremiah and Cameron bust out some Karaoke at Picadilly's

Mike, Josh, Glen, Chris, Steve and Mike

Sarah and Ryan