Life on the High Plains

March is a very important month for birthdays. March 1st....Mr. Beans March 2nd....My favorite MIL (mother-in-law)! Dr. Seuss also celebrates a birthday today! Happy birthday Mom!   I hope everyone treats you like a queen today! Who is behind that mask? Whose birthday will be next?

What do you get when you mix these yummy ingredients.... with presents.... And a sweet little boy (excuse me, I meant young man)?  You get a birthday boy who... loves dirt cake! Happy Birthday, Mr. Beans! Have a great 11th birthday! (And by the way, why are you sitting on the floor in the middle of a game?)

Last week my brother had a post about FOOD on his blog.  Isn't it amazing how life revolves around food? Irv and I love to eat and we probably eat out way more often than we should...but it's so much easier now that it's just the two of us.  Lately, we have been getting better at eating at home more often though. Saturday we tried a new Mexican place--thanks to Jillian and Brian.  Jillian mentioned that they had been wanting to try a new Mexican restaurant in town, Carlos Miguels.  Well, Irv and I decided to give it a try (sorry we didn't call and invite you guys, Jillian and Brian). You can always tell how good a Mexican place is going to be by the quality of their salsa.  This salsa was quite good and the margarita wasn't too bad either. Then the entrees arrived. Irv had the chicken chimichanga. I had the Enchiladas Rancheras with cheese enchiladas.  One thing you may not know about me is that I LOVE cheese enchiladas.  N...

What do you blog about when you have nothing to blog about?  My daughters, Dana and Jillian, have their own blogs, but they rarely update them.  The other day I asked Jillian why she never updated her blog.  She said her life was too boring and there was nothing to blog about. I tried to explain that a blog entry doesn't have to be exciting, it can just be about every day life. For example, what did you have for dinner this week? Sunday night I made my first ever prime rib roast.  Google provided lots of ideas for how to prepare it. I started with a rub made of kosher salt, course black pepper, lemon pepper, and garlic.  To cook it evenly, it had to sit at room temperature for a couple hours before going into the oven. I placed it in a heavy weight baking pan, fat side up and baked it for 20 minutes at 450 degrees followed by 1 1/2 hours at 325 degrees (for medium rare). It sure looked pretty. I served it up with a baked potato, asparagus, and a gl...

Irv was home from work one day this week and noticed some commotion in the pasture. Apparently, this flock of birds of prey was enjoying a prairie dog lunch. Irv walked out to take a closer look, but only this guy hung around. Then he took off.  Not because he was afraid of Irv.... ...he knew there was an even bigger and more majestic guy who wanted to share the meal. Can you believe it?  A bald eagle right out in our pasture! It's kind of hard to see, but after he flew away he perched on a fence post on the other end of the pasture. I sure wish I had been home to see this.  I hope he'll come back and enjoy a few more prairie dogs!

from HGTV.com Tomorrow is the final day to register for the HGTV Dream Home giveaway. I'm pretty sure I'm going to win so I'll be packing up and moving to Park City next week.  I'm sure there's room for a barn there somewhere. I love Colorado, but I'm pretty sure I can learn to love Park City too.  We've vacationed there a few times and it's beautiful. Wish me luck!

For Christmas Brian and Jillian got me tickets to the Four Continents Figure Skating Championship.  Last night Jillian and I had a girl's night out and went to dinner then the World Arena to watch the Ladies Free Skate. We had really great seats with an up close and personal view of the skaters. Even though we had close seats, my pictures didn't turn out very good.  I could kick myself for not bringing my zoom lens. The ladies were from Thailand, the Philippines, Korea, China, Chinese-Taipei, Australia, Puerto Rico, South Africa, Japan, Canada, and the United States. Apparently the Europeans and Russians aren't invited. This is Ashley Wagner, the American who ended up winning.  What a beautiful young woman and a very talented skater. Mao Asada from Japan was there, she was the skater I was the most familliar with.  She just floats over the ice and her jumps look effortless. She came in second place. Next time, I nee...