Whitney Houston - A True Icon

I was so shocked to hear of the passing of Whitney Houston on February 11, 2012, initially thinking it was some kind of Internet hoax. A true talent was taken from us much too soon. Thoughts and prayers go out to her family, friends, and the millions of fans who she never met but had such an amazing impact on.

Although she went through some rough times, like so many do, it was unfortunate that it was splattered all over the media. I'll always remember her at her best. And will always remember her beautiful, flawless, angelic voice. One that will likely never have a comparison.

When I hear her music, I immediately think back to my childhood and the meaning that each of her songs has had in my life. Here are some of my favorites from the great Whitney Houston for your reminiscing pleasure.


I Have Nothing @ the 1993 Billboard Awards

I Wanna Dance With Somebody - Music Video

One Moment In Time @ the Grammy's

I Will Always Love You @ the 1994 World Music Awards

National Anthem @ 1991 Super Bowl




Whitney, we will always love you!

4 Reasons You Will LOVE Campfire Beans (recipe included)

I tried this dish while home for a holiday a couple years ago. It was just so delicious I had to snag the recipe. Since then, I've made it a couple times and thought it was worth sharing along with 4 reasons why you will absolutely love it.

1. The way I make this is by tossing everything into a crock pot. By the end of the day, it's filled the house with a mouth watering, comforting smell and all that's left to do is scoop up a bowl and enjoy.
2. With all the beans and meat in this dish, it's bound to give you a kick of protein and fiber like you've never known. Unfortunately, I'm not nutritiously savvy enough to count up the serving size stats, but when just one can of beans alone packs 14g of protein per serving, you know you're in for a muscle building treat!
3. This large sized recipe makes quite a lot of servings, even if you're feeding hungry football players. So it's great for parties or if you don't want to cook for a week.
4. There's bacon in here. And let's be real, who doesn't love bacon??

Campfire Beans

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup Ketchup

1 teaspoon dry mustard (I never have this so have never put it in)

1/2 cup BBQ sauce

1/3 cup sugar (granulated)

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 lb ground beef - brown & drain

1/2 lb cooked, crumbled bacon

1/2 lb cooked bratwurst (although, I don't like this so I either don't put it in or replace with mini hotdogs or some other kind of goodie I have in the kitchen)

1 - 15 oz can Kidney Beans, rinse & drain

1 - 16 oz can Pork & Beans

1 - 15 oz can Chili Pinto Beans in sauce

1 - 16 oz can Green Lima Beans - rinse & drain

In a large mixing bowl, combine first eight ingredients; mix well. Add cooked beef, bacon, and bratwurst. Stir in all of the beans. Pour into a 2-quart casserole. Bake at 350 degrees, uncovered, for 1 hour or until heated through. *Alternative: I always pour into a crock pot and let simmer all day. Much easier. :)

Serving ideas: I love serving this up with grated cheese on top. Also good with crushed saltine crackers.

Enjoy!

7 Reasons Why The Hunger Games Is A Must-Read

The Hunger Games Trilogy

After hearing all the rave reviews for the Hunger Games trilogy, it's no wonder it was my very first purchase on the new Kindle I got over the holidays. Just a couple pages into the first chapter, I found myself instantly hooked and unable to put it down. That is, only until my eyelids grew heavy in the wee hours of the morning.

Admittedly, I finished all three books in the matter of a week or so and am now currently going through some serious Hunger Games withdrawals! For those of you who have read the Hunger Games, you know what I'm taking about -- constant mental references to characters in the book, sporadic impulses to reach for the book, shaking, etc. For those of you who have not read this trilogy, here are 7 Reasons Why The Hunger Games Is A Must-Read.

Note: I've done my best to eliminate any spoilers from this for those of you who have yet to enjoy this written treat!

1. Reality. The Hunger Games represents the disconnect between entertainment and real life. Take reality shows Survivor and The Real World, mix it with the ancient Roman Coliseum and add a healthy dose of forced violence and death, and you've got the Hunger Games. Today, you see producers get sucked into the ratings and what makes good TV, but we all somehow seem to forget these are real people and real lives. Hunger Games just amplifies this actual reality to show how sad it is that we've been sucked in so far to not see how desensitized we've become.
2. Politics. The book highlights the corrupt workings of government and political leaders for the benefit of their own. I guess there's always got to be a villain but it sure makes you see red when the selfish, cutthroat, and very ruthless leader does anything he can (bribe, poison, murder) to stay ahead. So many reflections back to evil dictators of our own, current reality.
3. Love. Who can't resist a sweet love story and the uncertainty that is tangled in a love triangle? This is really one of the pieces that keep you tied to the book, page after page. I won't say much more here so that I'm not spoiling anything! But it's good. :)
4. Characters. This was the first book I've ever read by Suzanne Collins, but I do have to say it's obvious she's a pro at character development. Each character came to life with her detailed descriptions and had me attached from the start - laughing, shedding some SMALL tears, on the edge of my seat with curiocity throughout all three books - wondering what would happen next to the characters you grow so attached to.
5. Survival. Okay, living in the concrete jungle that most of us live in, we don't necessarily have expertise in survival techniques. While reading the stories of their survival in the Hunger Games, it made me realize how worthless I would be in any legit survival circumstance. Make sure to grab a pen and paper to take notes of edible plants, fire starting techniques, and hunting and trapping tips.... Lord help us when the apocalypse comes.
6. Eye-Opener. After having traveled to underprivileged countries myself and seeing the kind of poverty some people only read about, The Hunger Games draws a lot of similarities. Families starving, hunting for food, government restrictions on food and supplies. It makes you appreciate what you have. I walked down the home goods isle of Marshall's the other day. It was filled with vases, figurines, carvings, wall hangings, all things that have used precious resources to create. And here we are spending our money on them so they can sit on shelves in our homes and get dusty when people around the world are barely scrapping by to feed their family. I feel ashamed to admit that I have done the same. I do pledge that I'll use this story and all the experiences I've seen firsthand to change that.
7. Future. What if we continued to fight each other in wars? Continued to pollute the atmosphere with our cars and factories? Fill our water with waste and debris? This story takes place in the future after the human race has nearly extinct ourselves through hate and war, people living amongst cumbled cities. The foundation of this book portrays a very possible future world if our human race continues with violence. In the Hunger Games, the world as we know it has come full circle from a life of extravagance to a very basic way of living.  

Bravo, Suzanne Collins! Bravo!

2012: The Year of Running!

If it's on "The List" (conveniently located to the right column of this blog), then it must be done. And, yes, that includes a full marathon. After today, I'm signed up for three half marathons and my very first FULL MARATHON -- not including the many other runs ranging up to 20 miles in order to train for this beast.

This makes 2012 is the Year of Running! Part of me thinks I've lost my mind and I did slightly begin to hyperventilate as I signed up for my third half marathon of the day... but I think this will be a good thing.... right? :) It will definitely be an interesting ride and I look forward to pushing myself to the limit to see how far I can go -- physically, yes, but metnally as well.

As the great Arnold Schwarzenegger once said...

"The mind is the limit. As long as the mind can envision the fact that you can do something, you can do it, as long as you really believe 100 percent."

Here's the line up so far of official races in addition to the training schedule I will torture myself with - who's joining me?!?1

April 15 - My dad and many good friends will be joining me back home in Corvallis. Thanks for inspiring me to do this, Ali!

Website: www.corvallishalfmarathon.com

May 6 - Venturing up north to Canada for what looks to be an incredible route! Get ready to rock Vancouver, Erik!

Website: www.bmovanmarathon.ca/ 

May 20 - Headed down to PDX to spend some quality running time with my friends Brittany, Dave, Erik, and who else?!?!

Website: http://runrocknroll.competitor.com/portland

June 23 - The big day.... the FULL MARATHON. One way or another, with all of you as my witnesses, I WILL finish this.

Website: http://runrocknroll.competitor.com/seattle

Who's with me to see what you can really do when you don't let your mind stop you??

I won't give up on us...

Love this song....

500 Travel Gems - The Future List

Tis the season! I got this as a gift over the holidays and felt the urge to blog. I have a feeling this is the source of many future travel blogs and a LOT of travel dreaming. Lord help my savings account!
Check out National Geographic's Secret Journeys of a Lifetime - 500 of the World's Best Hidden Travel Gems. I'm loving the colorful and vivid photos, the location history and details, and lots of travel tips. Some locations you might expect in a book like this but some truly are hidden gems.

I'll leave you with a sneak peek at some of the awesome photos - plenty of photography inspiration!

Flying High Over Seattle

In the heat of a Seattle summer, one of my favorite people celebrated his birthday. To make it extra special, I booked a flight lesson to see Seattle from a very different angle than we're used to. Surprisingly enough, the weather gods were on our side as the cloud parted, the wind died and the sunny skies illuminated the city beautifully. 

After a thorough check of the plane and quite interesting lesson on how airplanes fly, we were off into the sky! Here are some pictures from our flight adventure over the Seattle/Bellevue metro area.

The control panel of our Cessna 172

The spacious cabin.... or not. :)

 West Seattle is the BEST Seattle! View of Alki.

The pilots

Does this make me a Backseat... Flyer?

View across the beautiful Puget Sound. 

Green Lake, north of Downtown Seattle.

View of all the sail boats on Lake Union shadowed by downtown Seattle...

 

Downtown Bellevue...

Hello, Microsoft!

Looking north over Kirkland...

View of Lake Union, Space Needle, Key Arena and the rest of Seattle...

Gotta love this city (when it's sunny)...

Downtown Seattle in all its glory...

The stadiums, home of the Seahawks and Mariners...

We survived the maiden voyage! Nice flying skillz, Michael!

If you're now so tempted that you, yourself, need to get up in the air to fly your very own Cessna 172... I highly recommend Wings Aloft. Awesome place. And if you get a guy with a thick southern accent - you're especially in luck!