~~~silverbells~~~

Day 6

2011-01-06T19:19:00.000-05:00

Cold Medicine tastes better with a light saber spoon

Day 5

2011-01-05T19:27:00.002-05:00

New Recipe for dinner - Pierogi Bake

Day 4

2011-01-04T19:41:00.002-05:00

Day 4

Second day of class and doing homework in the lounge at school

Day 3

2011-01-03T18:37:00.003-05:00

Day 3
Enjoyed beautiful sunset on way home from work.
This photo does not do it justice.

Day 2

2011-01-02T16:27:00.005-05:00

Date with hubbie!

Day 1

2011-01-01T12:50:00.004-05:00

Day 1 of Project 365

Starting off the New Year fighting a cold

Project 365

2011-01-01T12:44:00.005-05:00

Project 365:
How to Take a Photo a Day and
See Your Life in a Whole New Way

Ok, for some reason I can't get the hyperlink to work, just copy and paste it into your browser to see more -
http://content.photojojo.com/tutorials/project-365-take-a-photo-a-day/

I'm going to try and participate. What about you?

Food for Thought

2010-10-19T19:46:00.001-04:00

Saw this written about on another blog, they were doing it as a personal challenge, something to think about -

Mother Teresa’s Humility List

1. Speak as little as possible about yourself.
2. Keep busy with your own affairs and not those of others.
3. Avoid curiosity.
4. Do not interfere in the affairs of others.
5. Accept small irritations with good humor.
6. Do not dwell on the faults of others.
7. Accept censures even if unmerited.
8. Give in to the will of others.
9. Accept insults and injuries.
10. Accept contempt, being forgotten and disregarded.
11. Be courteous and delicate even when provoked by someone.
12. Do not seek to be admired and loved.
13. Do no protect yourself behind your own dignity.
14. Give in, in discussions, even when you are right.
15. Choose always the more difficult task.

Lemon Mustard Pork Chops

2010-07-26T18:41:00.002-04:00

Lemon Mustard Pork Chops

I made these a few days ago, it wasn't bad, but it really didn't strike us as amazing. My husband doesn't like pork chops that much so I was hoping fixing them a different way would help them go over better, it didn't. He ate them and didn't complain, but gave me the 'meh' look when I asked him what he thought. Perhaps your family will like them better.

Lemon Mustard Pork Chops
Serves 4
Source: Taste of Home

4 boneless pork loin chops
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp grated lemon peel
1/2 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
1/4 tsp salt
Lemon wedges

Drizzle pork chops with lemon juice. Combine the parsley, mustard, garlic, lemon peel, rosemary, and salt; brush over both sides of chops.

Place pork on a greased broiler pan. Broil 3-4 inches from heat for 4-6 minutes on each side. Serve with lemon wedges.

Of course I adapted this since we don't use our oven. I did ours in a skillet and they came out fine. Paul thought it was too lemony, I thought it didn't have enough lemon, so who knows.

Crockpot Cabbage Rolls

2010-07-19T16:01:00.002-04:00

When I first tried making cabbage rolls I just threw stuff together and it never turned out well, in fact my first attempt was more like cabbage casserole instead of cabbage rolls. So I started searching for a recipe and found this one and it is a hit! We have made this recipe several times and it is always good, the leftovers even freeze well.

I believe the trick to good cabbage rolls is using savoy cabbage, the leaves separate easily from the head and after they are steamed, they still maintain their shape and can easily be filled. Once we made the rolls with ground turkey and the rolls were very moist and tasty, much better than made with ground beef. The best part of the recipe is the sauce, it is what makes the dish perfect.

Cabbage Rolls

12 leaves cabbage - I recommend using savoy cabbage
1 cup cooked white rice
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup minced onion
1 pound extra-lean ground beef or turkey
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Boil cabbage leaves 2 minutes; drain.
In large bowl, combine 1 cup cooked rice, egg, milk, onion, ground beef, salt, and pepper. Place about 1/4 cup of meat mixture in center of each cabbage leaf, and roll up, tucking in ends. Place rolls in slow cooker.
In a small bowl, mix together tomato sauce, brown sugar, lemon juice, and Worcestershire sauce. Pour over cabbage rolls.
Cover, and cook on Low 8 to 9 hours.

Recipe from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cabbage-Rolls-II/Detail.aspx

Cheesy Acorn Squash

2010-07-19T15:46:00.003-04:00

Another new vegetable we've tried recently was acorn squash. While I love squash and zucchini, I've never really tried anything beyond the basic green zucchini and yellow summer squash. So when we received an acorn squash in our food co-op box I was very excited. Hitting allrecipes for inspiration, I came upon Cheesy Acorn Squash.

This was so good, we will be having this dish again tonight for dinner. It was hilarious when I went to the store to purchase more acorn squash, the cashier picked up the squash and asked what it was, I told him and said "oh it's so good too" to which he replied, "oh you eat it? I thought it was a Halloween decoration." On the way home my husband was laughing over this and asking if the cashier really thought we were decorating for Halloween in the middle of July.

Here is my version:

Cheesy Acorn Squash

1 acorn squash, halved and seeded
3 Tbsp butter
1/2 c onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
6 slices bacon, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
1 Tbsp parsley, chopped
1/2 c shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Place squash cut side down in a glass dish. Cook in microwave for 20 minutes on HIGH, until almost tender.
In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and onion and garlic; saute until transparent. Stir in bacon; cook 2 to 3 minutes more or until cooked. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and parsley. Divide mixture in half, spoon into the squash.
Cook 15 minutes in the preheated 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven. Sprinkle with cheese and put back in the oven until the cheese bubbles.

Enjoy!

Adapted from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cheesy-Acorn-Squash/Detail.aspx

Mushrooms in White Wine Sauce

2010-07-19T14:49:00.003-04:00

Since we have signed up for our delivery of local fruits and veggies, we have taken advantage of trying some new vegetables we would normally never purchase at the store. This week we received a huge portabello mushroom in our box. Now, I've never been a huge fan of mushrooms, they always seem rubbery to me, so I set it aside and ignored it for a few days.

Yesterday I knew I had to do something with it or it was going to go bad, so I pulled out some steaks and decided to make the husband sauteed mushrooms and onions to go on his steak. I went to my favorite site allrecipes and searched for a recipe to try. Mushrooms in White wine sauce sounded like a perfect one to try. I tweaked their recipe a little and Paul loved it. He encouraged me to try a bite and WOW, it was so good, I could actually learn to love mushrooms after this meal.

Mushrooms in White Wine Sauce

Olive oil, just enough to coat skillet
1/3 c chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 lb mushrooms, sliced
1/2 c water
1/4 c white wine
1 tsp chicken bouillon granules
1 Tbsp butter
1/4 tsp dried basil
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in onions and garlic, and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in mushrooms, 1/2 cup water, wine, chicken bouillon and butter. Season with basil, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, reduce liquid by half.'

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Mushrooms-in-White-Wine-Sauce/Detail.aspx

A Stop in the Road

2010-07-12T20:46:00.003-04:00

Thinking consumes a lot of my time, I am even more convinced that I am a person that must remain busy, and with a light load of school this summer, it leaves time for thinking, but perhaps that isn't a bad thing. I keep thinking of my past post about passion, and I've come to the conclusion that I don't need something to be passionate about, I need to stop and enjoy. Enjoy my life at this moment, enjoy the bright sunshine, the loud summer storms, snuggling with my husband and sleeping in late on the weekend, enjoy learning to cook new recipes, getting frustrated with my quilting attempts, all the little parts of life. All these things are my passion, life is my passion. I don't need to have one thing, I have hundreds of things. However, another darker side of reality reminds me, we won't always have these good times, there will be periods of sadness and sorrow, but it's all balanced with periods of happiness, contentment and at times a stop in the road to just enjoy.

I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing. ~Agatha Christie

In the Still of the Night

2010-07-04T10:02:00.003-04:00

It was around midnight, I lay in bed wide awake, tired but not sleepy, a summer electrical storm was going on outside, lightening was flashing continuously intermixed with large crashes of thunder. It was fascinating and scary all at the same time. Lightening was striking all around the house, the electric was flickering on and off. Then suddenly the electric went entirely out, the only sound that could be heard was the thunder and the strikes of lightening. I lay there watching the lightening, when my husband rolled over put his arm around me and snuggled up close to me, he was sleeping soundly. In this still of the night his breathing and the storm were the only sounds I could hear, it was deathly silent, the soft breathing of my husband was comforting. I realized how glad I was he was there with me, normally such a storm, no electricity and him far away at work would cause me worry and fear, but tonight was different, I felt safe. Then it hit me, why should I worry, I am never really alone, God is always there with me. I knew that while I lay safe in my husband's arms, God's arms were all around both of us, protecting us, and He would be the one staying up watching the storm and listening to us breathing.

Psalms 91
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most high will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."
Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.
A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.
You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.
If you make the Most High your dwelling - even the Lord, who is my refuge - then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent.
For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
"Because he loves me," says the Lord, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation."

Passion

2010-06-20T13:07:00.003-04:00

Passion, how do you find your passion in life. I need something to be passionate about, something that spices up this life. One would think that working fulltime, having a wonderful husband and embarking on a new career would be enough for anyone, but for some reason it just isn't. I want something that causes me to leap out of bed with excitement, not the normal throw the blanket over my head and sigh. Perhaps it's a dream, perhaps that really doesn't exist and we just need to learn to be satisfied with how our life is or perhaps, I just don't have enough to do at the moment and the idleness leaves my brain time to wander.

Stocking Back Up

2010-06-19T12:19:00.004-04:00

We always try to keep the house stocked with food and basic necessities, however after the crazy last semester of school we were pretty low on everything. Yesterday, I started stocking back up and working on filling up the freezer for the upcoming semester of school. Paul will do all the cooking (and all the other household duties) again in the fall, so I try to make up a bunch of meals that are easy and quick to make.

Friday we put together 3 large containers of homemade vegetable soup. If you aren't making your own vegetable soup, you should start, it's so easy to do and tastes wonderful. We keep a tupperware container in the freezer and after every meal any left over beef (preferably roast) and veggies goes into the container, once the container gets full, it's time to start thinking about making some soup. It worked out perfectly this week that we were going to have company over for dinner so I made a huge pot roast with tons of potatoes and carrots, at the last minute though they had to cancel, so we were left with a huge amount of leftover. We took the leftover pot roast, shredded the beef, took broth, vegetables and the soup bucket containers (we had 2) and dumped them all in the large soup pot. Add a can of tomato juice and in a few hours you have great homemade vegetable soup. Sometimes if I don't have enough vegetables in my soup bucket and I'll add them when I make this soup, like this time I added corn. One of the things I love about this soup is it reminds me of my mother, growing up every weekend usually starting around October she would make a big pot of homemade soup, she rotated between vegetable, chili and potato. I also love the fact that this is a cheap meal, it saves food that otherwise would have been thrown out, every penny saved helps.

My next task this weekend was chicken. Kroger had an amazing sale on split chicken breasts ($1/lb). I didn't end up buying as much as I planned but I brought home about 12 pounds of chicken and Paul and I started de-boning the chicken. We had three piles, one the bones, another for the little pieces of meat that came off the bones and another for the breasts. Some of the pieces of breast were huge and we were able to split them into two servings. After we were done, I threw the bones into a pot, added onion, celery and carrots, filled the pot up with water and salted well and set it on the stove to simmer. While Paul was bagging up the chicken into serving size bags, I took the little pieces of meat and cooked them on the stove in some oil, salt and pepper. After everything was done we ended up with enough chicken for 20 meals and several gallons of delicious chicken broth.

It's wonderful to see the freezer starting to fill back up.

I mean them more today

2010-06-06T19:45:00.002-04:00

I said these two years ago tomorrow and I still hold them close to my heart and my love for you grows each and everyday.

Our Vows:

Sarah, in the presence of God, and before our family and friends, I, Paul, with joy and in love, take you to be my wife, to be the mother of my children, and the companion of my days. I promise to fully share my life with you, through days of happiness or sadness, abundance or want. I pledge to you my unfailing love always.

Paul, in the presence of God, and before our family and friends, I, Sarah, with joy and in love, take you to be my husband, to be the father of my children, and the companion of my days. I promise to fully share my life with you, through days of happiness or sadness, abundance or want. I pledge to you my unfailing love always.

Ring Exchange

As a ring has no end, neither shall my love for you. I choose you to be my wife this day and forevermore. Take this ring, as a sign of my love and commitment.

As a ring has no end, neither shall my love for you. I choose you to be my husband this day and forevermore. Take this ring, as a sign of my love and commitment.

Thinking of Return

2010-06-06T19:41:00.001-04:00

My husband suggested I return to blogging, perhaps I will, a lot has been on my mind lately and this is always a good place to journal and share.

Showing Off

2009-08-09T18:48:00.002-04:00

Paul and his mama showing off his yummy veggie kabobs

Summer Break

2009-08-01T22:18:00.003-04:00

Summer Break is rapidly coming to an end. I did get a lot done this summer

- Read 12 books
- Planted flower and vegetable garden
- Organized Pantry
- Painted kitchen
- Trips with nieces to zoo, easton, and COSI
- Two gaming cons

I did some canning today, the taco sauce and pickled peppers turned out great, but my broth was a disaster. The first batch was chicken broth and one of the jars blew the top off and only a few sealed. The second batch was beef broth and only 2 of the 7 jars sealed. I've never had a problem with seals before. I wonder if I got a bad box of lids.

Overall it's been a wonderful summer break. Back to the grindstone in two weeks. Only taking two classes this fall, Foundations of Nursing and Pathophysiology. Should be fun.

Clippers Game

2009-07-23T21:32:00.001-04:00

4th of July

2009-07-23T21:29:00.005-04:00

We were on our own for July 4th but decided to grill out anyways.

Weirdo

2009-07-23T21:27:00.002-04:00

Exciting Night at the R Household

2009-06-19T21:02:00.003-04:00

New Flower Garden

2009-05-09T18:55:00.004-04:00

My new Favorite Item

2009-04-25T20:16:00.000-04:00

This thing is awesome! I saw the commercial for it last night and had to get one today at the store. It's sweeps up pet hair off furniture easily and quickly. I LOVE IT!!

The loves of my life

2009-04-24T21:48:00.009-04:00

Max and Reese sharing the new ottoman.

Reese (aka reese cup)

Scottie (aka scottie dog, pee pot)

Max (aka Maxer, Maxamillion)

Shiloh (aka the princess)

The biggest love of my life (aka Paul)

p.s. - no pics of Elroy (the parakeet) but he's definitely on the list.

Spring!

2009-04-24T19:41:00.002-04:00

I am grateful today for the beautiful spring day.

photo from dermetnz.org

My mom always called daffodils - daffodowndillys - and I found this great poem today titled Daffodowndilly's which made me smile. Where we grew up there were tons of daffodils in our yard and my brother would always make sure mom had fresh daffodils in the kitchen all spring long.

Daffodowndilly
by A. A. Milne

She wore her yellow sun-bonnet,
She wore her greenest gown;
She turned to the south wind
And curtsied up and down.
She turned to the sunlight
And shook her yellow head,
And whispered to her neighbour;
"Winter is dead."

Birthday Boy!

2009-04-20T19:05:00.006-04:00

I surprised him with a bouquet of cupcakes for the big day, he was very surprised and thought they were real flowers. We spent the day with his family and had dinner together, it was alot of fun. Unfortunately the next day he and I both had food poisoning and were incredibly sick. All is better now.
I'm always excited for birthdays and the promise of another year.

Amazing Space Photos

2009-04-11T14:06:00.005-04:00

(Picture from Fox News)

Click on the photo to read the article.

(Picture from Fox News)

RIP

2009-03-12T17:24:00.006-04:00

Rest in Peace Ernie!

My dad had to put down our family dog today, she had been declining over the last year and the vet told him today she wasn't going to get better and it was time. She's been in the family for many many years, I can't remember exactly but at least 13 or 14 years. My brother picked her out at the pound but she was always my mom's dog. It's always hard when a good dog like Ernie dies, but it just seems even harder cause it feels like we're loosing the last part we had of mom. Rest in Peace Ernie and go chase some balls.

Elroy

2009-03-08T11:17:00.007-04:00

Nothing interesting going on here. We've finally had some sunny warmish days which is a huge boost to our moods. Right now I'm watching a cute kitty cat rolling around and stretching on the floor. It's a good day to be lazy and just enjoy the day.

I got accepted into the summer program at school that allows you to do the entire sophmore year in an accelerated summer program. But we've decided to decline the offer. As nice as it would be to finish up school a year sooner it would mean giving up my job and with the economy the way it is, quitting a good paying job just doesn't make sense. It makes me sad to decline it but it's the best decision.

We've tried alot of good new recipes lately, I will try and put some of them up, some of the best ones that come to mind were crockpot lemon chicken, crockpot oregano chicken, skillet cabbage kielbasa dinner, oh and a great dinner we had was a spur of the moment grilled chicken with lemon and herbs on pita bread with falafel.

The picture above (I couldn't get it too move!) is our newest family member - Elroy. He's so cute, he wasn't hand raised so he's still very skittish about letting us touch him. But everyday he gets more comfortable, jumping around on toys and his swing. He's starting to tweet more and more and absolutely loves shredded carrots! The cats are very intrigued by the bird and are trying their best to figure out a way to get up his cage. We hung the cage from the ceiling away from any shelves the cats could climb on. They like to sit under it I guess hoping the bird will just drop out of the cage. Now the dog, he hates the bird and they have gotten into barking/squawking fights several times this week.

That's about all that's been going on, it was spring break this week for school and I took two days off to work on things. I actually did get alot acomplished, not as much as I had hoped but I had a huge wishful to do list.

Scripture - 2 Timothy

2009-02-23T22:15:00.003-05:00

I have been reading this scripture alot lately and it touches me with hope and anticipation.

⁶For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. ⁷I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. - 2 Timothy 4:6-8

It amazes me how God has opened my eyes to His word this last year. It is a comfort that I've never known before.

It's a Hard Life

2009-02-18T10:36:00.003-05:00

Ice and Snow

2009-02-01T21:59:00.004-05:00

I like how this one really shows the inch of ice we got before we got all the snow.

French Onion Soup - Crockpot

2009-02-01T21:49:00.011-05:00

To participate in the slow cooking Thursday and see more recipes go to -
http://familycorner.blogspot.com/

With school and work, we've been using the crockpot more for meals. Some of them have turned out well, others not so good. The French Onion Soup turned out really well.

5-6 onions, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 stick butter
2 cans beef broth
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
French Bread slices
Swiss Cheese

In large skillet, cook onions and garlic on low heat in hot butter for 20 minutes, stir several times.

Transfer onion mixture to crockpot. Add beef broth, Worcestershire and 1 c water.

Cover and cook 5-8 hours on low heat or 2-4 hours on high.

Before serving, toast bread slices with cheese on top. Place on top of soup. Or place bread on soup with cheese in an ovenproof bowl and place in oven for a few minutes to melt cheese.

The onions cooking.

I used my homemade beef broth. I rarely use the store bought anymore.

When I went shopping about a month ago, I put the bread and cheese in the freezer for when we were ready to make the meal.

The finished product, our oven is broken so we had to microwave it to melt the cheese. It will look more melty if you can use the oven.

This recipe is a keeper for us. The flavors mingled really well and was super easy.

Check out Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for more great crockpot recipes - http://familycorner.blogspot.com/

Coming Soon

2009-01-26T20:01:00.000-05:00

Yes, we are still alive. Just had some computer issues.

Pictures coming soon. Some great crockpot recipes coming soon too.

Getting Ready for Christmas

2008-12-14T18:04:00.011-05:00

School is done for the semester!!! Wahooo Whooo!!!

Here was our turkey for Thanksgiving, we have a tradition in my family that was name the turkey every year. Paul named this guy Sir Arthur Gobblesworth III. It's the third because I stocked up on turkeys during the sales and there are two other turkeys in the freezer.

Thumbs up on a good meal from my brother.

We were slow in getting the tree up, but we did finally put it up. The tree skirt has become the popular hangout for the cats.

We tried to get Max into the holiday spirit but he wasn't too thrilled.

This weekend I have been baking up a storm. So far I've made two batches of fudge, two loafs of zucchini bread and 20 dozen cookies.

These are Mexican Wedding Cookies

Peppermint Snowballs - these were really tasty but the recipe didn't make much and they were a pain to make.

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies - These were Paul's favorite of the whole bunch. The recipe made about 7 dozen.

Ricotta Cheese Cookies with sprinkles - this made a very soft sticky dough. The cookies are good.

Next on the list to do is gingerbread men, more zucchini bread, and chocolate covered pretzels.

Making Pumpkin Puree

2008-11-09T15:38:00.008-05:00

We decorated with so many cute little pumpkins, I decided to try to make pumpkin puree for homemade pumpkin pies and other baked goodies. Here are two of the four pumpkins I used.

Cut them in half and scoop out the insides. I saved all the seeds to roast and use later for snacks.
Bake in the oven for about 1 1/2 hours until tender.

Move to a pan to cool.

Scoop out pumpkin and put in a strainer with cheesecloth to drain for a few hours.

Use immediately or package up to freeze for later use. I put mine into two cup packages for later. I got about 8 cups of pumpkin puree total.

Verdict: For the amount of time and effort this took, the pies had better be the best pumpkin pies the family has ever eaten!

Beggers Night

2008-11-09T15:32:00.005-05:00

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-25T17:53:00.013-04:00

We're off to find our pumpkins!

The first little one we found. The field had been picked over pretty well and there weren't very many big ones left.

Such a cutie!

I look like such a dork in this picture!

We wanted a big one to carve, so we drove to another place and got this guy. He's huge!

Paul and his big pumpkin

I wanted to try and show you how the pumpkin is almost bigger than the dog, but after trying unsuccessfully to get Scottie to sit next to the pumpkin I just gave up and took this picture. You can see Paul laughing at the dog and me.

Another attempt to get Scottie in the picture, he finally sat, but not next to the pumpkin or even looking at the camera, oh well.

Birthday Pics

2008-10-25T12:07:00.008-04:00

Here are the pics from my birthday dinner last night. The family and I went out to eat at a great Italian restuarant in town. The pics look a little funny because I had the flash turned off.

Dad is the middle, John (brother) on the right and dad's girlfriend on the left.
My brother, hates having his picture taken and it's always a fight to get one of him.
Paul and I

My Favorite cake, chocolate with vanilla icing and sprinkles

John and I again, taken after way too much pasta and ice cream.

Reese the Helper

2008-10-11T21:13:00.003-04:00

Reese likes to help us while we're in the kitchen. Here she is checking pears.

I'm not sure exactly how much help she was here, but she assured me that she was helping.

She really likes to help me get ready for work but rubbing all over my nice black pants. Everytime!!

Fall Vacation

2008-10-11T20:51:00.007-04:00

We took a few days off this week from work and I was on fall break from school so we did up some canning. I had been saving all the tomatoes and peppers from the garden in the freezer.

Here is Hot Red Sauce - 5 pints. Everything in this but the vinegar was from our garden.

Friends gave us a bushel of apples and a bushel of pears yesterday and we spent all day processing the apples. We made two apple pies (I forgot to take pics) and put in the freezer for later. Below is 9 pints of apple quarters in a light syrup. These can be used for desserts later or just to eat. My favorite item we made - 12 pints of homemade applesauce!!!! My mom always made us homemade applesauce and now I can't stand the storebought, so I was so happy to make some. It tastes so good and I'm not sharing any of it!! We bought a really cool gadget today which helped make it, an immersion blender, that thing is soooo neat. It really pureed the sauce quickly and easily.

4 pints and 1half pint of taco sauce. This was so easy and cheap to make and tastes exactly the same if not better than the store stuff.

Thursday I cooked up two chickens and made a bunch of chicken broth and took my frozen beef broth out of the freezer to can. I think there is 6 quarts and 12 pints of broth. I highly recommend making your own broth, it's super easy, cheaper and tastes better than the store kind.

Our pantry is officially full. I'm making some caramel apple jam tomorrow with a friend and Paul and I still have to do the bushel of pears, but other than that we are done with canning until next year. It sure will be nice to enjoy the fruits of our labor this winter.

I hope everyone is enjoying the lovely fall colors and cool nights!

More Quotes

2008-09-09T20:45:00.004-04:00

I just love quotes from e.e. cummings, here's another great one -

I carry your heart with me (I carry it in my heart) I am never without it (anywhere I go you go, my dear…) e. e. cummings

I am not what I ought to be; not what I want to be; not what I’m going to be. But I am thankful I’m not what I used to be. – John Wooden

The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit. ~Nelson Henderson

This one reminds me of my mother, who would often tell me, you have to make a mess to clean up a mess -

Life is inherently messy….But out of the messiness comes great things." Margaret Wheatly

Catching Up

2008-08-30T14:22:00.010-04:00

So I'm completely overwhelmed with my life at the moment, but am trying to keep up. Trying to work and go to classes and then study too is defintely testing me. But I did want to catch everyone up on the few things I've been able to accomplish lately (mostly becuase I have a wonderful husband).

We tried our hand at making salsa the other day. The tomatoes and peppers are from our garden and Paul's mom's.

Here are the peppers, there is a total of 6 different types of peppers in this salsa. Way too spicy for me, but Paul is enjoying it.
I had to study, so Paul offered to finish up the processing. It was his first time canning without my help. I'm so proud of him, I just had to take a picture :) He's been absolutely wonderful these first few weeks of school. He's taken to calling himself the house husband. I haven't had to worry about anything but work and study, dinner is ready when I get home, the laundry is done and the house is clean. Thank you Paul!!!

The finished salsa. 7 pints in total, plus a large bowl in the fridge.

I did manage right before school started to volunteer at our Red Cross Ride for the Red fundraiser. It was very neat to see all the motorcyclists out for a great ride and a good cause. As you can see it was a wonderful day for a ride.

And perhaps my favorite pictures. Max (the grey cat) always has to look at the groceries when I bring them home. Then he'll find the potatoes and lick the bag. it's so weird.

I think he's trying to teach Reese how to do it too.

First Garden Bounty

2008-08-08T22:16:00.005-04:00

Our garden is starting to produce and we are so happy. I'm so grateful Paul's mother planted a bunch of veggies for us in her garden. Most of the food above is from her garden. The picture below is our first bell pepper from our garden. It's so pretty and smells so good, I almost don't want to eat it. The tomatoes are starting to turn red, we ate a few little cherry tomatoes this week and the chili peppers are doing awesome. We'll have more than enough little red chilis for several months.

We worked hard all week to get everything put up for winter. So far this week we've done 2 qts and 7 pints of peaches, 3 qts of cherries, froze 12 cups grated zucchini, made 2 cherry pies and froze them, 4 pints of dill pickles and dehydrated a ton of squash and zucchini. The herbs out front are getting huge and I'll probably dry another batch of basil, sage, oregano, thyme and tarragon this weekend. Paul also worked hard to make several batches of his wonderful homemade wheat bread. It's nice to have the bread ready to go in the freezer.
I ruined my dehydrator trying to dry candied cherries. Luckily Paul was able to find me another one at the store. This one is slightly bigger and has a better fan setup, which allows for quicker drying. However, the best gift I got this week was from a friend that loves to go to yardsales, she picked up 100 canning jars for me for only $10!! That's an amazing find. We are set for canning jars for quite awhile.

School started today and life will be very interesting and crazy for awhile. I'm anticipating very little sleep but I am excited to get started.

Busy Busy

2008-07-19T17:27:00.009-04:00

It's been a crazy busy few weeks. We're trying to get alot of projects done before I start school in just a few weeks. In our quest to make more items from homemade and to cut out processed foods, I tried my hand at homemade noodles today. They are brown because I used whole wheat flour.

My other project as usual for summer is my garden. This year, I planted alot of peppers and tomatoes so we can put up enough to last through the winter. Below is the picture from when we planted everything.

Here is the picture from today, not too shabby. Everything has taken off, we have lots of little green tomatoes, chili peppers and bell peppers. I am so excited to see everything doing so well. The tomatoes come up to my chest, that's about 4 feet tall!! Thank goodness Paul's mother gave us a large freezer, now I won't have to rush to can all the veggies.

My other project a few weeks ago was to redo our half bathroom. It was a boring creamy color and in desperate need of help. Here's the mostly finished product. I still need to paint the ceiling and finish the trim around the door. Let me offer one word of advice on painting a bathroom, don't do it unless you absolutely hate the color. Painting this room was a huge pain.

Wedding Pics!!

2008-07-09T19:47:00.006-04:00

Will post more this week!

Wedding Advice

2008-06-25T18:45:00.003-04:00

At my bridal shower the girls had everyone write down some marriage advice in a little book. I loved the gesture and brought it to the wedding for our other guests to share their thoughts as well. Here are a few of my favorites:

- be sure to babysite nieces as much as possible to prepare you for parenting and to give your sister a break :) (from paul's sister)

- Three phrases a husband must learn for a happy marriage 1. yes, dear 2. you're right, dear and 3. it's all my fault (from paul's BIL)

- Remember to take out the trash, work on the honey do list and always say yes dear!! Oh yeah, I taught him everything he knows (from paul's mom)

- take time each day for each other, one little hug or kiss has alot of mileage, as well as the occasional I'm sorry. (from my friends)

- be grateful and loving to your partner and your relationship will be solid (from co-worker)

Our Vows

2008-06-22T11:58:00.003-04:00

I loved our vows so much so I wanted to share them. They are a combination of a few vows I found online.

Vows

Sarah, in the presence of God, and before our family and friends, I, Paul, with joy and in love, take you to be my wife, to be the mother of my children, and the companion of my days. I promise to fully share my life with you, through days of happiness or sadness, abundance or want. I pledge to you my unfailing love always.

Paul, in the presence of God, and before our family and friends, I, Sarah, with joy and in love, take you to be my husband, to be the father of my children, and the companion of my days. I promise to fully share my life with you, through days of happiness or sadness, abundance or want. I pledge to you my unfailing love always.

Ring Exchange

As a ring has no end, neither shall my love for you. I choose you to be my wife this day and forevermore. Take this ring, as a sign of my love and commitment.

As a ring has no end, neither shall my love for you. I choose you to be my husband this day and forevermore. Take this ring, as a sign of my love and commitment.

Condo gardening

2008-06-18T22:21:00.003-04:00

I'm doing my container garden again this year, but I think I might have gone a little crazy. We got the majority of it planted tonight. Paul took a bunch of pictures which I'll try to get posted later. Here's what we have so far.

12 beef steak tomato plants
4 roma tomato plants
4 cherry tomato plants
4 grape tomato plants
Green Onions
Spinach (already pulled, season is over)
10-15 basil plants
2 thyme plants
3 sage plants
3 oregano plants
5 cilantro plants
8 yellow bell peppers plants
4 super chili peppers plants
1 serrano pepper plants
1 tabasco pepper plant

His mom has some squash and zucchini going for us at her garden, since those don't do well in containers. She also planted 4 pepper plants though I'm not sure what kind. I'd love to have a few more things, but I think I'm done because 1. Paul will probably strangle me if I bring home anymore plants or potting soil, 2. The majority of this stuff will be ready just about the 3 week of nursing school, and 3. there is no more free space on the patios!!

Who says you have to have land to have a garden?!!

Gem Mining

2008-06-16T20:34:00.003-04:00

I wanted to go gem mining while we were on vacation, so one night we went over to pigeon forge and stopped at a gem mining stand. You buy a bucket of dirt and they give you a screened box and you get to pan for gems. It was alot of fun and we did get several nice precious stones. One of the gems was a 6 carat ruby, the gem mining stand had a jeweler on hand and we made our ruby into rings for us. Very cool souvenir.

Me with the gem mining black bear.
Paul with the gem mining black bear.

Lodging

2008-06-16T20:21:00.004-04:00

The entrance to the resort. A nice rock waterfall with stone bears.

The initial road went straight up and was lined with stone black bears, these have welcome signs. All the buildings are on the side of the mountain, it was straight up with lots of twists and turns to our room.
This was the view from our balcony. Awesome!!

We're Back

2008-06-15T22:22:00.003-04:00

We're back, the wedding was perfect, the honeymoon was wonderful. Here's a few pics friends have sent us. More pictures to come later.

Announcing Mr & Mrs R.
Us watching toast from best man.

We're Off

2008-06-07T10:52:00.003-04:00

We're off to go get hitched. The weather is not quite what I had hoped but it's not as bad as it could be, it looks like it will be warm, upper 80s, with a 50% chance of rain, right now it's really breezy and cloudy. Rehearsal last night went well, we're both exhausted and hoping we can savor every moment of the wedding today, but if the rehearsal is any indication it's all going to be a blur. In 8 hours, I'll be Mrs. R *~*~*~ Yeah*~*~*~

Weather Forecast

2008-05-30T06:12:00.002-04:00

Whoo hooo!!! The weather forecast for next Saturday the day of the wedding is 86 degrees and 0% chance of rain!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, it's now June 2 and I am now obsessed with checking the weather for Saturday, it's now 80 degrees with a 40% chance of rain. Cooler is much better!!

Nursing School

2008-05-26T22:27:00.002-04:00

Oh, I forgot to share, I got into Nursing School!! I'll be doing the 4 yr BSN program, which will allow me to continue working for awhile. The school is considered one of the best in the area and hard to get into so I'm very pleased.

Instant Oatmeal for Pennies

2008-05-26T19:47:00.008-04:00

Instant oatmeal is a great healthy easy breakfast. You can make your own much cheaper and healthier than the storebought. First you'll need a box of quick cooking oats, baggies and salt.
Powder 1 cup of oats in the food processor. Put in each baggy 1/4 c oats, 2 Tbsp powdered oats and 1/4 tsp salt. Seal baggie and store in a tupperware container. To prepare add 2/3 c milk or water and microwave for 2 minutes. Add more or less milk depending on how you like the consistency of your oatmeal.

You can make your favorite flavors too. Just add 1 Tbsp sugar and 2 Tbsp dried fruit and enjoy. We try to dehydrate our own fruit whenever we can right now we have coconut, strawberries, apples, oranges and bananas.

A box of instant generic/store brand instant oatmeal is $2.00 for a box of 10 servings. We paid today $2.00 for a box of oats, which will make 40 servings. Plus our oatmeal has 4 ingredients oats, salt, sugar and fruit, not the big list of ingredients we can't pronounce that the store bought oatmeal has.

Update - We made used our homemade instant oatmeal for breakfast this morning (me-maple syrup and brown sugar, him-cinnamon and apples) It was delicious!! So much better than the storebought. The only change I'm going to make is to try 1/8 tsp salt instead of the 1/4, it was a little salty tasting to us.

Make money with your purchases

2008-05-22T16:34:00.003-04:00

I've been using a website called Ebates to get discounts and cash back on all my online purchases. It's true, I'm not lying, last week I got my first check for $16.66. There are over 900 merchants on the website, major companies, not places you've never heard of. I don't do alot of online purchases but whenever I do I always go through Ebates. Sometimes I get free shipping, or a discount on the purchases, but more often than not it's a cash back rebate, anywhere from 1%-5% of the purchase. It's free money, very cool!!

If you're interested click here to learn more and sign up - http://www.ebates.com/referral/0508bonusosu.htm?referrerid=FZiZ0Ub8K3sTJWKvP1z4Og%3D%3D

Court Ruling in Texas

2008-05-22T16:16:00.006-04:00

"Court: Texas Had No Right to Keep Polygamy Kids"

"An appeals court ruled today that Texas didn't have the authority to keep dozens of children from a polygamist sect in state custody. The Third Court of Appeals in Austin, in response to motions from at least 50 sect mothers, ruled that Child Protective Services did not present enough evidence at a hearing last month that their children were at risk of abuse to justify keeping them in state custody. "

"The court said that the state had not demonstrated that the children were in immediate danger and that Judge Barbara Walther abused her discretion in failing to return the children to their families. "

See entire article here - http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=4911318&page=1

Whether or not you believe polygamy is right or wrong, NO ONE should be persecuted for their religious beliefs.

Couponing

2008-05-17T15:15:00.004-04:00

We've been getting into using coupons in the last few months. I had never been one to use coupons, I always forgot them and the paper never seemed to have very many. But living up here the local paper has tons of good coupons. Paul sent me this article last night about a woman that by using coupons is feeding her family of 5 for $10 a week. http://www.11alive.com/news/article_news.aspx?storyid=115698 WOW!! I am no where near able to do what she is doing.

But today I did get some great deals by using coupons. I think my best one today was toothpaste, it was 2 for $4 , I had one coupon for $1.50 off and another for $0.50 off, then the stores doubles coupons so I got the toothpaste for free. Toothpaste seems to be one of those easy things to get for free or next to nothing. There are tons of coupons out there for toothpaste and seems like every week the store has one type of toothpaste on sale. I think we have about 5 tubes of toothpaste in the pantry right now and I haven't paid full price for any of them. Stock up, it's not like you won't use it! My other good deal today was shampoo, it was $6.59, I had 3 - $1.00 off coupons, which when doubled I got the shampoo for $0.59. Awesome!! I' m not sure if all stores will let you use more than one coupon for items, but mine will, so multiple coupons along with double the amounts, really adds up.

It does take time to pull this off, I usually take about an hour on sunday to go through the new coupons and the store ads mentally planning what I want to buy. Now I don't do like alot of people do and go to all the different grocery stores in the area. I have 3 stores I will shop at for groceries and toiletries, Kroger, Walgreens and CVS. I actually only go to walmart about once a month now because they don't double coupons and don't have great sales, but a few of the items we need are always cheaper there. I go through the ads and see what is on sale, because we have a well stocked pantry, I only buy things when they are on sale or if my coupons make the item a great price. Then before I go to the store, I check my grocery list, and go through the sales ad again and through the coupons pulling out the coupons I want to use. I tend to go on Saturdays to shop which is working well because we get the Kroger ad for the next week on Saturday and if something is a better price next week than this week, I know to wait and get it then. For example today Pepsi products are on sale but only if you buy $10 worth of other specific items. But starting Monday Pepsi products are on sale for the same prices but without the restriction of purchasing the specific items.

I don't think we'll ever be at $10 a week for groceries, alot of that is because we cook mostly from scratch and use fresh vegetables as much as possible. Lots of coupons seem to be for prepackaged meals and boxed food. But it's definitely a help. Let's face it folks food prices aren't going to go down, gas prices are rising, you've got to save every penny you can.

Verse on growing old

2008-05-17T13:24:00.003-04:00

I was reading a chapter from a book a volunteer shared with me. It's about Spiritual Direction with the Dying, nothing in it was earth shattering, mostly the importance of being there and listening with people as they are going through the dying process. One verse from the Bible they quoted however caught my eye:

John 21:18
"I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go."

There is alot more to the passage than just that and has a deeper meaning than just growing old, but it's something many of us will face as we grow older and can no longer take care of our selves.

Ok, on a happier note, 3 weeks til the wedding!

Organizing

2008-05-01T21:29:00.007-04:00

On Tuesday I decided to drag out all the wedding junk and starting organizing it. There were bags and boxes all over the living room so Reese decided to help me out.

Even though she wasn't much help, the end result was still good. We still need another tote, but we have a very nice organized and labeled pile of wedding day supplies.

More Pics

2008-04-24T21:50:00.007-04:00

This is where we had dinner on our second date. I call it the first real date. It was such a great date too, we saw Gone with the Wind in the old historic theater and then walked in the arena district to the restuarant, it was lovely.

The exposure is off on a couple of these, but I actually really like the effect.

I think this one is my favorite.

Centerpiece Pics

2008-04-23T20:48:00.006-04:00

We are using pictures of us for the table numbers, our friend will be hiding a number somewhere in the picture. Here our a few of the pictures we took last weekend. Hopefully I'll have more to share this week.

Tickling my ear!

I love how we're laughing while kissing.

This is not a real couch, it's a concrete one outside on the sidewalk.

Canning

2008-04-09T22:01:00.003-04:00

I got a pressure canner a few weeks ago and have been busy playing with it. In the 2 weeks we've put up alot of food, so far we have chicken, ham, taco meat, sloppy joe, roast beef, and beef broth, about 14 quarts of food (14 ready to eat meals). Below is the vegetable soup I did tonight. Pressure canning is a great way to preserve food either from your garden or when you find an awesome deal on meat. It's very easy to do and if you follow the directions you won't poison yourself or blow up the canner, so there is no need to be scared of canning.

2008-03-31T18:49:00.001-04:00

"And the rain descended,

and the floods came,

and the winds blew,

and beat upon that house;

and it fell not:

for it was founded upon a rock."

Matthew 7:25

Sneak Peak

2008-03-18T22:17:00.003-04:00

Here's a sneak peek of the invitation. They are going out in the mail this weekend!

Fun ways to pass time

2008-03-08T17:58:00.002-05:00

38%

Blizzard

2008-03-08T15:44:00.006-05:00

We got hit with a major snow storm. It started yesterday morning, and is finally starting to slow down today (it's 3:45pm now). This was our back patio this morning, I measured 10 inches out there. It was drifted up against the fence so bad I couldn't get the door open more than 2 inches.

The snow is drifted up around the cars, in some spots over the tires.
View from the front porch, the hazy look in the air is actually the blizzard.

I just measured again and one spot measured 11 inches and another 13 inches, either way that's alot of snow out there.

The start of the showdown

2008-03-08T15:34:00.004-05:00

This was the start of the fight. The cats just cannot share the window.

Then Max stole the house box. I love the innocent looks they are giving me all the while they are plotting.
The start of the showdown, Shiloh is fed up with Max in her box.

55 degrees and sunny

2008-03-02T12:57:00.004-05:00

This was our view last week. Snow, snow and freezing rain.

Today! 55 degrees, sunny and breezy. The animals are taking advantage of open doors & windows.

The trail of dirt....

2008-02-28T19:46:00.004-05:00

So apparently one of the cats has a grudge against one of the houseplants. 3 times in the past day this poor innocent plant has been viciously attacked and ripped from its pot. And if that torture wasn't enough, it was drug around the house, chewed on, and played with. The plant has been moved into the houseplant relocation program and is trying to recover from it's trauma, but honestly it doesn't look good, it suffered from a broken stem and is looking very yellow. 3 suspects have been identified in the attack - Shiloh, Reese and Max. So far Shiloh has been cleared as she does not like to play in the dirt, we are considering checking the paws of Max and Reese for dirt. Further investigation is planned.

Meat Sale and Preparedness

2008-02-22T11:17:00.005-05:00

Some girls buy shoes, some buy fancy clothes, me, I like to buy meat, especially meat on sale. I don't know why but I always worry we don't have enough food in the house, plus we are trying to create an emergency stockpile in case of a disaster or flu epidemic. So today I hit a great sale, pork ribs $1 a pound, $1 Amazing, shoulder steaks $2.40/lb. Now these did come in family packs, but all that means is I get to play with my seal-a-meal and divide up the meat for the freezer. The ribs will make 2 meals and the steaks I should be able to make into 3 meals (2 pieces were very large, 2 were smaller). So back to my compulsion of buying food, I decided to count out how many meals I could make out of just the food in my freezer. Without considering the potential for leftovers, I can make 16 meals from the items just in my freezer. Considering we only eat about 4 evening meals together a week, I have a month of food just in my freezer. Adding in the pasta, soup, canned goods and leftovers, we probably have 5-6 weeks of food in the kitchen alone. Now my personal long term goal is having a 6 month supply of food, but of course alot of that needs to be dry goods and canned goods. I'm not sure how much we have in the stockpile I just hand the items to Paul and he puts them away but I think we're on a good start. I really need to switch my focus to drygoods and canned goods for the stockpile and kitchen. One way we are doing that is to always have a backup ready, for example, I have a large box of Bisquick in the cupboard and another one put away in the pantry (note for us the pantry and the stockpile are two different things). We've just started this system and only have a few items so far.

How long could you survive without a trip to the grocery store? Are you prepared for the possibility of having to stay in your house for several weeks?

Countdown

2008-02-21T21:27:00.002-05:00

Let the countdown begin !!!!

3 Months and 2 weeks to go!!!!!!!!!

Pose for the camera

2008-02-17T13:03:00.003-05:00

Perfect

2008-02-17T12:56:00.004-05:00

So I tried and tried to get a picture of my Valentine's gift, but my camera just cannot pull off close up pictures of jewelry. It's absolutely beautiful a silver necklace with sapphires, Paul gave it to me to wear on our wedding day. It matches my rings and even though he hasn't seen the dress it's going to match the dress beautifully too. I love that man, not because he buys me gifts but because he is always thoughtful and caring.

Teaser

2008-02-14T21:37:00.001-05:00

Just wait til I show you wait I got for Valentine's Day. I don't have time tonight to get a picture of it, but oh my it's very shiny and very pretty :)

Cake Toppers

2008-01-25T19:06:00.001-05:00

So I've been looking for a topper for our wedding cake for awhile now. Every one I looked at either looked too cutesy or too boring or just weird. Any that I thought might be ok, Paul would just roll his eyes and shake his head no. Then last night I had a thought and did a quick internet search and found these guys. They are perfect for us! About 6 months into our relationship we went on a vacation to Tennesee. This trip was the defining time of our relationship, we knew were in love but that trip solidified it. It was an amazing time. It's a long story (see Nov. 2006 posts about the trip) but the majority of the trip revolved around black bears, so it seemed perfect to have them as our cake topper. They are so cute, I can't wait to get them.

My first Flat

2008-01-23T22:33:00.000-05:00

It's hard to believe but after 14 years of driving I got my first flat tire today. I've had low tires, but a little air they always came back to life, not today. This baby was flat. I had to be rescued by my knight in shining armor :) Thank goodness for cell phones and men with strong muscles :)

It could have been worse, luckily someone caught my attention at a stoplight before I got on the interstate. I did find out that the so called emergency road side service I have with my car insurance is not emergency service, it's a reimbursement system for using road side service. I suggest if you have this on "service" on your policy, double check exactly what they do. Mine is going to be canceled tomorrow and we'll be purchasing good old trusty AAA. As much traveling as I do with work I need to have a back up system to my knight.

The most amusing part of the evening (besides the 20 degree temps and purchasing a new tire) was being hit up for money by a passerby while I was waiting for Paul. I said "ummm sorry I have no cash and I've kind of got my own problem right now to handle" Gotta love the nerve of people.

The favors!

2008-01-08T18:43:00.000-05:00

Our invitations and favors came today. At first I wasn't sure I liked the favors, but after getting them put together they are so cute. BUT they are a huge pain in the butt to get tied, it definetly will not be a quick project. I'm still playing with the ribbon, I had planned on using the gold ribbon but now I'm thinking the blue ribbon looks better, but maybe a little thinner than the one I have on there. The gold one is too pale I think plus I can't really get it to make a nice bow.

Christmas Fun

2007-12-25T11:02:00.000-05:00

Paul giving Scottie his Christmas present.

He played so hard with his toy he pulled a muscle in his neck but that didn't stop him from playing.
Max got a furry mouse to play with.
The other cats got toys too but they weren't in the mood to play or get their pictures taken.

Guitar hero for my sweetie.

Rocking out on the Guitar or trying too.

I got the best present ever, the most beautiful engagement ring ever made. It is incredible. Paul treats me better than I deserve.

I love you Paul and can't wait to marry you!!

New Quilt

2007-12-23T14:18:00.001-05:00

My brother asked me to make him a quilt a few months ago. It took me forever to find the colors I wanted to use. The fabric square that is dark blue with gold, red and silver stars was my inspiration. I wanted the quilt to be masculine.

Here is the finished product. It's just a small size twin quilt.
A view with the backing showing.

A closer view

It took awhile but I think it's nice. My brother liked it alot.

Christmas Time

2007-12-21T14:47:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas!!!!!

Our first Christmas tree. I love glass ornaments and have been collecting them for several years. It was nice to see them all on the tree finally.
Someone is trying to sneak a peek at their stocking. The middle one is the fur children's stocking. Don't tell them but Santa is bringing them some very nice presents.

The front door wreath. We've added some star lights to it. The piano is decorated with my small pink tree that I have had for a million years.

Tomorrow we are going to my brothers house to do Christmas. I'm really feeling happy this holiday season it's so nice to enjoy the holidays with people you love. I've made 4 batches of fudge today and this afternoon we are making cookies. The majority of the presents are wrapped and I am just finishing up my brothers present (I'll post pics soon).

Have a Merry Christmas everyone and make some memories!

Busy week

2007-12-15T12:23:00.000-05:00

It has been a busy week. Last week was insane with work and school, but thankfully it's slowing down. Today is the first weekend in months that I didn't have to work, go to school, talk to people, go shopping, bascially I am totally free to sit on this couch and do nothing!!!!!!! Of course our house needs attention and I have wedding things to finish up and wrap presents, but those are fun things! A storm is hitting us this weekend, it's already put down a nice covering of snow. I am so glad we don't have to leave the house this weekend.

Soooo, I got a wedding dress, I would love to tell you about it or show you a pic but since paul reads this blog, you all will just have to wait til june and be surprised like him. Of course if you can't wait email me and I'll send you a pic and tell you about it. We got the tuxes for the boys ordered, centerpieces figured out, appointments with the florist and pastor scheduled and last night picked the invitations. Next on the list to tackle is favors, bridesmaids dresses, wedding jewelry and rehersal dinner.

Enjoy the weekend all!

I'm dreaming of....

2007-12-07T07:03:00.000-05:00

..............a nice, clear, dry roads, no ice, no snow christmas. Any of you that have known me for more than ummmmm 10 minutes, know that I HATE snow. I truly wouldn't mind if it never snowed again. Since this is my first winter in the big city and farther north than I grew up, I'm not sure what to expect winter wise, but it sure isn't looking great so far. On Wednesday we got about 6 inches of snow with about 2-3 of that being dumped during morning rush hour. And then today we have 2-4 more inches, looks like about 1 1/2 out there now, but it's ontop of the ice from the melted snow yesterday. Plus, my job is in healthcare so you have to report unless the county closes the roads, oh what fun. Yeah, I know I'm a big baby, but I don't care, be prepared for pouting and whining for the next 4 months.

Oh a good note, school is over, these last few weeks of classes just about did me in. AND more importantly, only 6 months til the wedding WOOOHOOOO. I will be going dress shopping next week.

Off to go clean off a snow covered car and crawl my way into the office.

Updates

2007-11-23T10:06:00.000-05:00

We've been working hard on planning the wedding. Actually have been doing a little too much wedding planning and not enough studying, but only another week and half of school left. Classes are rough still, but I have B's in both of them. But onto more fun thinks. This is where we are going to get married. It's a sweet victorian bed and breakfast. Here is the gazebo part of the covered porch where the ceremony will take place.

A better look at the gazebo. The surrounding gardens will be in bloom in June so we won't need much in the way of flowers.
This picture doesn't really do the site justice, but it's the view of the carriage house from the back porch. The reception will be held on the patio there. We'll be doing an evening wedding. That should make is cooler and the sun setting will add a nice touch.

There are still alot of things to plan, we've picked out a color scheme and have been working on flowers, reception table decor and favors. The biggest challenge right now is the DRESS!!! Oh my gosh I have no idea what I want. I'm going dress shopping in a few weeks with his mom and sisters and hopefully my maid of honor, but in February there is a store that has an annual running of the brides sale. They offer designer dresses at amazing prices, Lorri and I are planning to go to it, so unless I find an amazing dress before then, I am leaning towards not buying anything just yet.

We'll I'm off to wake up Paul we need to go do our black friday shopping :)

Wedding Bells

2007-11-16T06:04:00.000-05:00

I'm getting married!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Date is set, site is reserved and we are both so very excited. More details to come!

Trick or Treat

2007-11-04T13:55:00.000-05:00

Birthday Party

2007-10-23T18:00:00.000-04:00

For my birthday I had made a list of wishes, I figured if I had to turn 30 I was going to do it my way. So to start the day I had homemade pancakes with raspberries. Paul is awesome at making pancakes.

Balloons to start the festivities
We decided to drive over to the Longaberger Homestead, this is their corporate office building in Newark on the way to the factory.

The entrance to the Longaberger Homestead in Frazeysburg. I picked up a new purse, tote bag and a retired casserole dish. No baskets, just didn't see any that I couldn't live without. Not alot of pictures, it rained all day.

Some of the buildings at the homestead.

The world's largest basket of apples. It's a real basket.

Back home to continue the fun. My light up tiara and wand.

(please ignore the messy house, classes are taking over our lives)

Paul with his party hat and noisemaker.

One of my wishes was for the animals to be dressed up. Here is scottie getting dressed up, he actually kept the hat on the entire time.

Shiloh getting her decorations, you can't see her necklace.

My ice cream cake complete with candles.

New pajama bottoms

And very cool present a new crockpot!

Paul went out of his way and made it a very special and fun birthday.

Sunday Afternoon Walk

2007-10-21T18:02:00.000-04:00

Autumn

2007-10-19T18:39:00.001-04:00

Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn. - Elizabeth Lawrence

October's poplars are flaming torches lighting the way to winter.- Nova Bair

Looking on the happy Autumn-fields,An thinking of the days that are no more.- Alfred Lord Tennyson

The tints of autumn--a mighty flower garden, blossoming under the spell of the enchanter, Frost. - John Greenleaf Whittier

Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower. - Albert Camus

Weird

2007-10-19T18:31:00.000-04:00

Is it just me or is it weird that a public library has a starbucks in it? It was in one of the 'yuppy' suburbs around here. Very weird and kind of sad really.

Goals

2007-10-15T18:26:00.000-04:00

Next week I'll be 30 (ACK!!) my goal for the last few years was to have some idea of where my life was heading and to have a path in mind by the time I was 30. I've met that goal and then some, I know the path and have my feet on the path, such a wonderful feeling. With one goal met it's time for another or a few more.

I will provide a loving, warm, home for my love.
I will obtain my nursing degree to assist my love in providing for our future family.
I will respect and honor my love and provide for his needs.
I will continue reading the Bible and expanding my relationship with God.
I will eradicate my debt.

My wishes;
a house in the country or at least if in the city a large yard with lots of trees,
kids running around,
a craft room :)
a happy husband who can't wait to come home at night,
being a stay at home mom as much as possible,
being able to homeschool,
have a garden and live more sustainably every year.

Onward and upward, bring on the next 30 years!

Hiatus

2007-09-29T17:46:00.000-04:00

I'll be on blogger hiatus for awhile, school is demanding every bit of my attention, both classes need about 18 hours a week each to do well and since I don't have an extra 30+ hours a week to spare, I have to make practical use of my time. See ya all soon :)

Tamale Casserole

2007-09-28T18:10:00.002-04:00

I've been trying out crockpot cooking. Paul is on a different shift for a few months and leaves before I am home to fix dinner, I've never been too impressed with crockpot cooking, but I've found a few good ones lately. Here's one we liked, I got the recipe off another person's blog (sorry don't remember who) but I changed a few of the ingredients to match things we like. Next time I make it I'll be using shredded beef instead of ground beef. Here's my version:

Tamale Casserole

1 pound ground beef
1 egg
1 1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup cornmeal
1 (15.25 ounce) can hominy, drained
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 jalapeno pepper diced (I used the sliced ones from the jar)
1 (1.25 ounce) package chili seasoning mix
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1. In a skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. In a crockpot, combine the egg, milk and cornmeal until smooth. Add hominy, tomatoes, jalapenos, chili seasoning, seasoned salt and beef. Cover and cook on high for 3 hours and 45 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese; cover and cook 15 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

Death

2007-09-25T19:12:00.000-04:00

Even though I work in hospice I don't really get to spend much time with the patients or to really get to know them. This week I've had the honor to sit with a family while their loved ones' journey in life draws to an end. I've held the dying person's hand, I've held the spouse while they cried, I've listened to wonderful stories about their life...the nurses say it's an honor to do this job and they are right, it's also very very spiritual. The hardest part for me that it forces you to face your own mortality. Sitting next to the person today, I just kept thinking what will be like for Paul and I, who will go first, will we be ill or will it be sudden, will we have lots of kids and grandkids around us, will we be strong enough to sit there and hold the other person's hand, but in the end none of us know, we will all go eventually, we will have no say in how it happens or when, it's all on God's timetable. So let us create lots of memories and enjoy the journey.

Vacation Day

2007-09-18T18:34:00.000-04:00

Since I am on break from school I decided to take a few days off, so yesterday we had a vacation day. Got up early and left the house around 8AM. I took Paul down to Southern Ohio and showed him all the places of my childhood. Here is the start of the hills of Southern Ohio (we're right outside Lancaster), in the distance you can see the early morning fog. The fog in the autumn is one of my favorite parts Southern Ohio.

The 4lanes narrow down to 2 outside of Nelsonville.
Almost to Athens! We stopped and visited my old workplace and got me caught up on all the town gossip. If you've never lived in a small town, you're missing an experience and half. Everyone knows everything about everyone. I hadn't realized how much I missed the town gossip.

My sweety looking sexy in those sunglasses :)

This is Perks, the coffee shop I worked at through college. I spent many hours working and studying there.

The gateway to the campus of Ohio University, our alma mater. Ironically Paul went to OU also and was there for about two of the years I was there. Just took us many years later to meet :)

We had lunch with my wonderful friends. I really miss them.

The football stadium, which is actually where I had the majority of my major classes (there are a few classrooms inside).

I love the old barn that are everywhere down there.

Cow crossing warning sign. I loved this sign! Paul exclaimed "there are cows in the middle of the road?!?" I just laughed, cause there is! The camera was too slow and I missed the caution sign of the guy on a tractor.

Vacation Day Continued

2007-09-18T18:06:00.001-04:00

We stopped at the cemetary where my mom and dads parents are, this is the first road off the highway, its a gravel road which Paul swore was only big enough for 1 car, a few miles up a twisting turning hill we turned onto a smaller gravel road which only have a one lane for cars, it even has grass growing in between the tire tracks.

This is the view of the cemetary from the gate.

Paul debating about using the outhouse

A tombtone at the cemetary.

More cows and country life.

This is the tiny dairyette I worked at through highschool. We stopped and got ice cream cones.

This is the CoolSpot, it's a gas station, convenience store, restuarant in Coolville (the town I grew up in) For some reason everyone around there thinks it's the coolest place ever, I fail to see the wonders of it, but they do have a cute setup.

The other side of the gas canopy.

Me outside the store with the chainsaw carved bear.
From Coolville we went up to Parkersburg, WV to see my brother at work.

View of the Ohio River from the bridge.

My favorite part, spending time with my brother. I love this picture! I still can't believe he's so much taller than me.

It was a long day, we finally got home about 9:30pm, but it was a fun vacation day.

~*~*~silverbells~*~*~