There's cold and then there's...

Here's some pictures from my unfathomably cold trip to the North Slope:

-48 was the lowest while I was there, with windchill it was -77!!!!

So. cold. 

There's the breath...

Suiting up.

My room.

Do they make smaller TV's?

Cruise'in around with Jessie.

Jessie needs to get some sun :)

Milne camp cafeteria. Buffet.

Yep, All day and all night.

My personal favorite. Soft serve on demand. With full topping bar. Rainbow sprinkles please!

Dining room.

Milne Camp.

So we don't have an airport at Milne, so you get bused to either Deadhorse (Prudhoe) or to ConocoPhillips Kuparuk camp. Kuparuk is waaaay closer and also has waaaay better food, including this...

Amazing. I didn't even know this existed. The ice cream mix-ins come out in the soft serve ice cream. Mint chocolate chip, no problem. There's a full serve topping bar here also. Whew. Watch your waistline!!! Dangerous.

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Thai Beef Salad

Question: What do you do when you want to EAT dinner, but you don't want to COOK dinner?

Answer: You find recipes like these (and hope that hubby is feeling nice)

Bobby Flay's Thai Beef Salad- from "Grill It!"

Grilled Spicy Filet Mignon Salad with Ginger-Lime Dressing


Courtesy of Bobby Flay



Ingredients

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon chili paste with garlic (Sambal Oleck)

1 tablespoon peanut oil

2 (12-ounce) filet mignons

Freshly ground pepper



Directions

Whisk soy sauce, lime juice, chile paste, and peanut oil together in a small baking dish. Add the steaks, turn to coat, cover, and let marinate for 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Remove from the refrigerator 15 minutes before grilling. While steak is marinating, make:



Ginger-Lime Dressing:

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1 tablespoon finely diced shallot

1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger

2 teaspoons sugar

2 tablespoons peanut oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper



Whisk ingredients together in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Let sit 10 minutes before using.



Then make:



Salad:

1 head Bibb lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces

3 cups mizuna leaves, torn into bite-size pieces
(We just used mixed greens)
1/4 cup chiffonade Thai basil or regular basil, optional

1/2 English cucumber, halved and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch thick slices

2 carrots, julienned

5 radishes, thinly sliced

8 each yellow and red cherry tomatoes, halved

Ginger Lime Dressing, recipe follows

Salt and ground black pepper



Combine all salad ingredients in a large bowl.



Heat grill to high. Remove steaks from marinade and pat dry. Season both sides with pepper and grill for 3 minutes per side or until slightly charred and cooked to medium-rare doneness. Remove from the grill, let rest 5 minutes, and slice into 1/4-inch thick slices.



Toss salad with half of the dressing and season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a platter, top with the steak, and drizzle the remaining dressing over the top.

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Packing Heat

Ross and I went to the gun range on Saturday. It was "Operation Get Liz More Comfortable with Guns" and it was mission successful.  We had a safety debriefing and gun mechanics course at the house before we went to the range because it's so LOUD and COLD there. They did have overhead heat lamps you could turn on, which helped. I shot 2 pistols and a revolver. Ross took his new rifle (a really cool wife must have given him that one...) and shot it for the first time. He still needs to sight in the scope, but it's gonna be a winner.

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Surprise!!!

We had a little shindig at the house on Friday... Kaity and Hunter's Surprise Engagement Party!

Hiding out behind the front door. It's getting ready to rain- cash?

We were going to do a Vegas theme, but in the end we didn't have the stock of Vegas themed items we thought and we were out of time, so it was quite funny when we threw cash at Kaity and Hunter when they walked in. All the more funny... Here's a series of pictures from the grand entrance:

Surprise!! Love it.

Baby Owen, just sitting on a pile of cash. No big deal.

And the food:

Caprese Skewers

Bruschetta.

Grasshopper Brownies.

Baked Brie.

Halibut Ceviche.

Pork with Satay dipping sauce, finished with a cold onion/cucumber salad

Food followed by an intense "Newlywed" type game...

Congratulations Kaity and Hunter!!

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BackFlops

Here's why I had trouble moving my neck on Monday and Tuesday...

At the top, with great views.

Starting the decent!

Ross was teaching me how to make S-shaped zig-zags down the mountain.  So much easier said than done. I didn't see a bump in the snow and I went airborne. I didn't land gracefully like Shaun White. No no. I did a back/neck flop. Good thing Coach Ross is patient!

I also had some 16 year boys tell me that I had "sweet graphics" on my snow board. Which totally made my day :)

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Weeknight Treat!

So I may not have gotten flowers on V-day* (for me, the price gouging really takes away from the floral aromas), but I do get occasional "random day" gifts instead. These are my most most favorite! 

*I do need to add the disclaimer that we celebrated V-day early with a nice meal: homemade surf and turf. MMmm. Ross also got me a card and a dark chocolate bar on Vday. I specifically told him that I didn't want anything on Vday. I would not advice this, unless you are given confirmation.

I mentioned to Ross that I wanted some weight lifting gloves because my hands have been getting torn up from pumping so much iron .. :) I found some I liked and added 'em to my Amazon cart, but didn't order because I don't like paying for shipping (which is quite a challenge living in Alaska). Anyhow, Ross remembered the brand and ordered them for me!!!!!!!

Take 1: Kisses

Ok, let's try that again...

Take 2

Yes, Swarovski-accented pink camo gloves are totally necessary.

If you're jealous you too can get your very own pair here.

I love random presents!! It's right up there with snail mail :)

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Material Girl

Strike a pose.

 Vogue. Vogue.


What's your favorite??

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