Northern Moon

2014-05-19T19:22:00.001-07:00

I became a mother and our whole world changed. Cliché? Maybe, maybe just honest. When I was pregnant with our first child, we talked about how things would change when he was born, but I had no idea that our world would be flipped completely upside down upon his arrival.

Our son was born healthy and howling 5 ½ weeks early. We were not prepared at that point, mentally or materially, for his arrival. We figured it out fast. He spent ten days in the NICU and we brought him home at 36 weeks gestation. Before we even left the hospital I had begun to worry about going back to work.

I like my job. It pays well, I enjoy the people I work with, and it is interesting. I’m not sure what more I could ask for as an employee. There are things that are not so great, but I’m guessing that’s the case everywhere. I was able to use 6 weeks of sick leave post birth and 4 weeks of accrued vacation leave. I took the remaining 2 weeks unpaid. I broke up my leave as 8 weeks full time and 10 weeks part time. For us, looking back, it was a good decision. My husband went back to work after two weeks and then took part time leave when I started back. All and all we were able to hold off on needing childcare until he was almost five months old.

That brings us to right now. I am back to work full time. I am successful, I have a rewarding job and a happy baby. On the surface I would like to think that we look like we have adjusted well to this parenting thing. The reality is I am consumed with guilt over both taking him to a babysitter every day from now until he hits kindergarten and guilt over the fact that I want to quit my job. I want to work substantially less and spend more time with him. I want to raise my child myself. How can I quit my hard earned well paid job that allows my family to have extras and save money to put us in a much tighter financial situation? Is that selfish? Why should I get the opportunity and not my husband? Will I ever get back into my field? Make the same amount of money? Not likely.

How does one weigh the pros and cons of this when the pro is so much more important and positive than any con, but the cons will stick around and eat at you forever. I don’t think you can put a price tag on the time spent with your child when they are growing up and everyday I think about the fact that it is one more day I am missing with him. I can’t ever get them back.

How can we as parents expect to raise good children if we only see them for two hours each night and an hour each morning? I can see now why parents have a hard time saying no to their kids. When you only see them a couple hours each day, you don’t want to deal with cranky, angry children. It’s easier to pacify them with what they want so you can continue to like each other and not feel like you spend all your time together arguing. I don’t want that for my son.

Conclusion: we as a family know what we would like to see happen in our lives. Both of us would like to work less and spend more time guiding and raising our son. We would like to maintain our incomes if possible, if not, we need to supplement somehow. The problem lies in that we just don’t know how to get from here, successful, educated career professionals, to parents. At present, it’s a vicious cycle of talk and not act. Eventually, hopefully sooner rather than later, we are going to need to make the tough decisions. By putting our son first, I’m hoping that we can make the right decisions for our family.

My Pinterest Obsession

2013-03-07T14:00:00.000-08:00

I am at the point in the house building process where I just want to start packing up my current house. Anything that we don’t use everyday, I have the urge to box it up and get it out. My husband has pointed out to me more than once when I have brought this up, that we don’t even know that we will for sure be building this spring. Phsshhh…details.

I am stalled out creatively at this point because I don’t want to make any updates to our current house, knowing that we are leaving at some point in the near future. So, what have I done about this? I’ve turned to many blogs and Pinterest for many ideas for the new house. So many ideas, that I am going to need to go back and organize my pinboards or I won’t even know what I have.

So, if you know of anyone who has great pinboards for new home construction, or just fun boards you like to follow, let me know. I’d love to check them out. And if you would like a window into my style, go ahead and follow one of my boards…I’ve linked to them below.

Hope you are having a great week so far, happy pinning!

http://pinterest.com/eenge198/inspiration-for-the-next-habitat/

http://pinterest.com/eenge198/creativity/

(pins from shanty2chic and centsationalgirl)

Monday Morning Mission

2013-03-04T09:00:00.000-08:00

Monday, Monday….Is it one of those days?

Not for me. Not today. I am so ready for sunshine and warmer weather. Although, I must say, this has been one of my favorite Wisconsin winters. I love snow and we have had it in abundance.

Anyway, today my project is to head over to one of our local flooring outlets, Macco’s, and get a bid on flooring for our new place. I am so torn over flooring.

Doug and I both agree on one thing, no carpeting. Between his boots and the dogs, we are not carpet people. That leaves us with several options. So far, from everything I have researched, I have narrowed it down to this:

- Tile through the whole house

- High end wood laminate in the main living areas and master bedroom, tile in the bathrooms and mud room.

- Laminate tile (I checked this out at Macco’s and there were some pieces that I really liked)

- Bamboo or hardwood ( I am trying to stay away from these as we are hard on floors and the upkeep on these might be pretty ridiculous)

- Cork ( I believe that cork is too soft for our household)

I would love to hear some opinions/horror stories/suggestions on this. Anyone put in all tile and later hated it? Is hardwood worth the upkeep? I’ve sanded and redone a floor once, I don’t know that I ever want to do that again…..

Puppy Love

2013-03-02T09:00:00.000-08:00

My poor puppy. He cut his foot on some serious ice two weeks ago and it is still not healed enough for him to be able to play outside. He’s going a little stir crazy.

We got rain two weeks ago on top of the snow and it made a thick crust. Doug took both dogs out to cut firewood with him and somehow in the course of the day Griffin, our shorthair, cut his foot. It was bad, like, you could see inside it bad. But, it was also very clean and being that it was a Saturday night, I decided to clean it up and bandage it at home. I used antibacterial ointment and gauze and wrapped him up. Thankfully, he is has not chewed on it or tried to remove the bandage.

Also thankfully, it has remained infection free and so we have not had to take him in to our vet. It is healing so slowly and he is going absolutely stir crazy. I have never had to play doctor to a deep cut like this before and it makes me nervous, but I’ve been changing the bandage every night and making sure it isn’t swollen or hot, so I think he’ll be okay. Has anyone else ever dealt with this? Anyone else have dogs that they worry so much about?

Other than that, this is a busy weekend, I get to go up to see my sisters and my nieces and nephew and Doug gets to go fishing. It’s March 1^st people, here in the northwoods we are on the downhill slide to spring!

2013-03-01T12:06:00.003-08:00

First of all, let me apologize. I disappeared. I’m sorry. It happens. Good news is, I’m back! J

For how long, I don’t know, we’ll see.

Life, as I know it, is crazy right now. Currently, my husband and I are waiting to see if our house sells. We have a unique situation going on here right now. When we bought our house in 2009, we bought it quickly, with the specific purposes of

1. Getting the homebuyer’s tax credit, and

2. Living here until and making enough improvements to resell it when we are ready to build.

Good news, we are ready to build!

Bad news, the house must sell for us to be able to build this year. If not, we’ll have to wait another year to do it.

Good news, we have a potential buyer.

Bad news, the buyer is our neighbor, who owns a butcher shop and wants to put up a store front. The tricky part is, he has to present a business plan to his bank for the purchase of the house (and the lot, which is what he really wants) and the construction of the business. Translation, we are all in a waiting game.

So, where are we in the construction process?

Well, we spent all fall developing a plan that we both really love. It’s very non traditional, but for our style of living, it’s extremely functional. Now that we have a finalized blueprint, I am so antsy to get started on it.

Even though we have a finalized plan, there are still plenty of things we need to figure out, and plenty of things that we disagree on. For example, I would prefer the house be set further off the driveway, Doug, on the other hand, thinks he wants to keep it closer to the driveway. This is just one of the many disagreements we have, don’t worry, I’ll keep you posted as we go.

If, theoretically, everything come together here in the next month, we will start digging sometime in May. Because of the lay of the land, we will be digging a pond so that we have enough fill. I am excited about the pond for many reasons, I can’t wait to see how it turns out.

I am also excited to keep you guys in the loop through the blog. I’m looking forward to many updates in the coming months and I am so glad I can get your opinions on things. Stop by and check out our progress and any other goings on that we may have.

Have a great Monday!

Erin

Random Photo of the Week, 2

2012-02-23T13:37:00.000-08:00

Another random animal photo.

Observations:

1. Obviously, Griffin,the German Shorthair, is just being nice to Cat (yes, his name is Cat). Perhaps Cat was having a bad day.

2. Cat is loving this extra attention. Although I don’t think he could get away if he wanted to.

3. That blanket was probably crocheted in 1990. Thanks Grandma, Griffin loves it.

What to do tonight ? Make Apple Dumplings of Course....

2012-02-21T17:41:00.000-08:00

I like to experiment. With recipes. I will try just about anything I have at least half the ingredients for. Tonight I had a bag of apples sitting on my counter....meant to bait a porcupine, but that is another story for another time. If you ever have a snoring porcupine take up residence under your hunting shack, just email me, I've already done the research for you.

Anyway...Tonight I made Apple Dumplings from a random recipe I found. It required the peeling and coring of 6 medium apples,

Then I made a basic pastry crust, wrapped the apples, and put them in a too big pan. Note: if you are going to attempt to recreate these, you must must must must must use an 9x9 pan. Not a 9x13. The smaller pan will keep the juice juicy. Or something.

Don't be scared of the pastry dough either...it was very easy. Some good parchment paper will help as well. This was the finished product after 35 minutes in the oven at 400*. In the future, I will cover these for the first 20 minutes. Also, I will cook them in a smaller pan to enable the juice to remain juicy. Juicy enough or not, they were awesome and even better with ice cream.

Here is the recipe, complete with my after cooking experience modifications.

Ingredients:

Dough:
2 cups flour
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup milk

Cut together in a mixing bowl until it forms a soft ball. Place 1/2 the ball on a large square of parchment paper, roll out flat, cut each half of the dough into three equal sized squares.

Peel and core 6 medium apples. Wrap in dough, pinch dough together at the top. Place apples in 9x9 pan. Preheat oven to 450*.

Topping:
3/4 cup honey
3 TBSP butter
1 TBSP shortening
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 cup brown sugar

Mix all ingredients in a glass bowl. Melt in microwave, stir well. Pour over top of apples. Cover apple pan in tinfoil, do not seal edges of foil. Bake for 20 minutes. Uncover. Bake remaining 15 minutes. Devour.

Linked with : A Bowl Full of Lemons,

Griffin is 5...

2012-02-19T17:17:00.000-08:00

Our baby is 5. Let's take a quick trip down memory lane.

We purchased Griffin in the Spring of 2007. Doug had wanted a German Shorthair pup forever and ever. I had only ever had labs. Doug won, because of how unbelieveably freakin' cute pictures of German Shorthair puppies were. We did some research, decided that Shorthairs were family friendly, trainable, and smart, and called a few numbers. Then we waited. Waited. and Waited. Until he was finally seven and a half weeks old, at which point, we drove three hours and picked him up. And proceeded to fall in love.

He was so adorable.

Just look at that face.

And that bottom.

He was just so clumsy and adorable.

Then he started to get bigger...

And just as cute.

Then he GREW....

And she grew : )

And now he is just our 5 year old old old man. Who likes to nap. Alot.

Now this post makes me want another German Shorthair. He was just so cute. Happy Birth-month Griffin!

My Clothes Have Never Been Washed in Tide.

2012-02-18T08:22:00.000-08:00

I apologize for the complete randomness of this post. I just watched a Tide commercial and it got me thinking. My clothes have never been washed in Tide. Ever.
Growing up, I was the oldest of four girls. My dad was a teacher and my mom worked odd jobs at random shifts. We were got by. As we got a little older, my mom got a regular job and things got a little easier for my family. As we got older however, we just got more expensive. When I went to college, I couldn’t afford Tide. I opted to spend my money on other things, things that don’t really belong in this post.

Now that I’m married and it’s just my husband and I, I could probably afford Tide. I could probably afford new furniture. Thanks to my wonderful upbringing, I have never even thought about buying Tide, though I frequently think about buying new furniture. Thank you, parents for instilling in me a stinginess that I will never outgrow. Thank you for teaching me to save money and for the difference between need and want.

I have nothing against people who use Tide. This is not a Tide-bashing post. It is simply an observation. Take it for what it’s worth :) .

Random Photo of the Week

2012-02-16T17:36:00.000-08:00

I love this picture. I think I took it last Spring.

Random Photo Observations:

1. Our cat (truly it’s Doug’s cat) really believes in the depths of his soul that he is a dog.

2. Our dogs tolerate our cat because he is legit.

3. This is the scene on our porch any given morning. They wake up, they do their business, they come back and watch the world go by for awhile.

4. This is their best behavior.

5. Our lawn needs (needed) help.

6. I really believe that our cat was the inspiration for the movie Puss N’ Boots. Just ask my sister.

Oh the joy of pets.

Bad Blogger, Good Bread

2012-02-09T11:05:00.000-08:00

Bad blogger. Busy blogger is more like it, but whatever.

No excuses, however, can I just mention how extremely excited I am that I will be done with school in August. Done. Over. Completed. CAN’T. WAIT.

Anyway, I’ve been busy. That is no excuse, because there are no excuses here. However, I need to get back into a rhythm. A routine, so to speak. I have heard that those exist.

What have I been doing lately. Anyone out there who can remind me? Seriously, the month of January was a whirlwind. Truly. Madly. Deeply. As you can see it ran by so fast that I lost my mind. Not really. I lost a few other things though. A button off of my favorite pea coat, the flashlight that is always by the front door, and my phone charger. Minor compared to my mind, but still.

So, what to do when you don’t have time to think? Bake. Obviously. Yesterday I made our favorite zucchini bread recipe and it turned out fabulously, as it does every single time. I’m not kidding, it is like impossible to screw this up. I modified this recipe from one I found in my Grandmother's old stash. This recipe, as with most I make, was fairly basic and fairly easy. I used shredded zucchini that I had frozen last summer.

Here is the recipe:

2 C. sugar 1 tsp salt

1 C. Canola Oil 1 tsp baking soda

3 eggs ¼ tsp baking powder

2 tsp. vanilla extract 1 tsp cinnamon

3 C. flour 2 C. shredded zucchini

Optional: Apples, nuts, cranberries, chocolate chips…whatever you want to throw in.

Pre heat oven to 350*

Beat oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla until blended. Combine flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon into sugar mixture until moist. Stir in zucchini and optionals. Transfer batter to two greased bread pans. Bake at 350* for 55 minutes.

I'm linking with these great parties... What's Up Wednesdays, Share the Wealth Wednesdays,Wow Me Wednesday, Show and Share, Crafty Sasse Wednesday, Take A Look Tuesdays, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Ta-Da Tuesdays, Party Time, Craft-O-Maniac Monday, More the Merrier Monday,

Merry Late Christmas to Me!

2012-01-26T12:01:00.000-08:00

We have been thinking about getting a tablet for quite awhile. I had narrowed down my choice to a Toshiba Thrive about a month ago. Lucky me, Amazon knew I was looking for one and notified me about two weeks ago that they had refurbished models available for about 2/3 the cost of a brand new model. I was all over that.

Actually, I was too busy at work to be all over that, so Doug had to do the ordering. Same difference. It came in the mail today and I have been obsessing over it for the past three hours or so. So many cool features. I can't wait to figure it all out.

Here is what I ordered...

(I am part of the Amazon Affiliates program, all opinions are my own and I was not paid or perked to order this tablet).

Observation of the Week

2012-01-24T13:00:00.001-08:00

Observations for the day:

1. Grab your jacket when the fire alarm goes off at work.

2. Eat breakfast, in case you are stuck outside without a jacket when the fire alarm goes off.

3. Wear good shoes, even if you don’t expect to be stuck outside when the fire alarm goes off.

It’s a bit chilly to be weathering the elements in regular clothing and slip on shoes :) Hope you are all having a great week!

Shelf Love

2012-01-16T14:47:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I have the best ideas. Frequently, actually. Although that’s my own opinion only. Anyway, sometimes I have these great ideas. Usually, I forget about them shortly after they materialize. Sometimes, however, I remember to discuss them with my husband.

Speaking of my husband, I have to thank him for this one, my idea would never have come to life without him, not to mention turn out so great. Come to think of it, let's review what this would have looked like without him, had I remembered that I wanted to do it in the first place.

1. The shelf would not have been square. On top of that, it probably would have been nailed together with painters nails instead of grooved and glued together with the appropriate wood glue.

2. The paint would not have been so nice and even. There is a good chance that it would have been globby and drippy and gross, because after two coats, I would have been bored or gotten distracted by a load of laundry. On top of that, I would have never even thought to sand the shelf before painting it.

3. It would not be hanging on the wall right now, because I would be too afraid to put holes in the dry wall right next to my front door where everyone walks. Why be afraid, you ask? Prior experience. Sometimes it takes me several holes to get it right.

I never claimed to be a carpenter, a wood working expert, and definelty not a perfectionist. I married one instead :) But, back to the project at hand...

Quite awhile ago, I was reading Ana White’s blog and saw this great shelf that she made. She makes it sound so simple, I thought it would be a great idea. Of course, I had some modifications in mind, but I envisioned it hanging nicely next to our front door. Cue the husband. I explained it to Doug, emailed him the link, and drew a picture of my modified shelf.

Six weeks later….ta da… Doug created a solid oak shelf ready to be finished and hung.

First we coated it with a spray primer….

Then several thin coats of Rustoleum Painters Touch Ultra Cover 2x spray paint in Dark Walnut. I love this stuff. To the untrained eye, this paint looks no different than a nice walnut stain, with half the work and none of the clean up.

Finally, we added some cheap hooks from Menards. Doug hung the shelf tonight and I am so happy with it. I think it looks fantastic and it is already very functional. With our house lacking an entry way, any type of storage space at the door is a plus.

I think it turned out great. I am so happy to have more functional space by the front door.

Now that this is finished, I need to get busy and think of something else for him to do. Winter doesn't last forever.

Linked: Polish the Starts, Craft-O-Maniac, DIY link party, Motivate Me Monday, Make Something Monday, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Debbiedoo's Newbie Party, SewWoodsy, Wicked Awesome Wednesday, Share the Wealth, Lil Luna, Someday Crafts, Somewhat Simple, Creative Share, Show Off Your Stuff, What I Whipped Up Wednesday,

Phabulous Pheasants

2012-01-15T16:12:00.000-08:00

Today we adventured out in the cold for a fun afternoon pheasant hunt. We have a great game farm near our house and it is always fun to get out and get some exercise in the winter. And it's a nice change from fishing through a hole in the ice.

We took Griffin, our shorthair, Maisie, our black lab, and Wader, my sister Olivia's black lab. The dogs had a blast. Anytime they can get out and streeetcchh their legs during the winter is a bonus.

Wader and his bird.

There is a great old farm on the Game Farm property. I thought it looked so neat all snow covered.

Overall, we had a successful afternoon!

My Memories Suite

2012-01-13T17:22:00.000-08:00

I recently won a free download of My Memories Suite through a giveaway done by Gail at My Repurposed Life. I was so excited. I have never tried digital scrapbooking but I was really hoping that this would help me to be more organized and motivated.

So far, I have done several pages in My Memories and I am loving it. It makes it super easy to organize photos, import them into the predesigned pages, and update pages to your liking. I'm really happy with the results. I have to say, I haven't printed anything yet, but thus far....I love this!

There are tons of great designs available in the download and a whole online catalog of additional designs. On top of that, the website has great information and support. I have only one downfall to note, it slows my computer down, ALOT. However, this totally could be because we just have way to much stuff going on on the computer at one time.

Best thing yet..I have a coupon code for you! Yes, my very first coupon code. If you download My Memories, use this code and get $10 off!! Go ahead, get to work!

STMMMS3829

If you use the coupon code, I do receive a perk, however...all opinions here are completely my own!

Warm and Cozy Potato Soup

2012-01-12T15:30:00.000-08:00

In case you haven’t gotten the hint yet, we like to eat. Don’t take that the wrong way, we don’t like to stuff our faces at McDonald’s (not often anyway) or even general restaurant food very often, but we do get enjoyment from the food that we cook. Both myself and my husband like to cook and we share the duties frequently. That doesn’t mean we always have an idea on what to make for dinner. There is nothing that irritates me more (okay maybe there are some things, but very few) than when Doug asks me what I want for dinner, I answer, and he responds “oh, no I don’t want that, how about…..” . WHY DIDN’T YOU JUST SAY THAT IN THE FIRST PLACE! J

Vent session over.

Last night was not this situation, we both agreed that potato soup would be a great way to bring in the impending snow storm (yes, you heard correctly, it is January 12^th and we are getting our very first Wisconsin snowstorm). I have to admit, I make some awesome potato soup. I promise, it’s easy (pretty much everything I cook is easy….I leave the tough stuff to Doug).

So, here is my potato soup recipe. Disclaimer: This soup does start with a rue…..no, don’t stop reading now. I promise, from someone who was absolutely terrified of making one for a really long time, it’s not hard. To begin, melt 4 TBSP butter in a soup pot. When butter is melted, add flour, one tablespoon at a time and whisk. Add flour until soft ball forms in the middle. Once it has formed, continue stirring frequently while it cooks for 2-3 minutes. Then add 2 cups of milk while whisking. When this is well blended, add two additional cups of milk. Cook on low for 5 minutes or so. Add 2-4 cups of water, depending on the consistency you prefer. Add garlic salt to taste andAlpine Spice. Then add 2 cups chopped carrots, 2 cups cubed potatoes, and 1 cup cubed ham or small amount of crumbled bacon to taste. Then the secret ingredient goes in, I add approximately 1 ½” of Velveeta cheese cubed. Stir well, cover, and simmer on low for about an hour. When carrots and potatoes are cooked, soup is ready.

Enjoy !

Linked: Friday Free for All ,Think Pink Sundays, Nifty Thrifty Sunday, Sister Sundays, Sundae Scoop,

Review of Mockingjay

2012-01-10T09:27:00.000-08:00

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins was a total disappointment in my eyes. I was so excited for this book. Even after feeling that Catching Fire was only lukewarm compared to The Hunger Games, I was hoping for this book to be the exciting, well written grand finale that every trilogy should have. I was so disappointed.

This book contained so many odd, almost mushy plot lines, unfinished characters, and random twists that it was hard to make myself read every page. The urge to skip over seemingly unimportant scenes or long rambles was hard to resist.

The Katniss that we met in the first book no longer existed in the final one. The characteristics that made me love her, her ability to think on her feet, make decisions, hold her head high, and prioritize were a few of the things that were totally lacking in book three.

I felt that the plot was so blurry in book three that I couldn’t get a grasp on what exactly we as the readers were supposed to be focusing on. The introduction of many new characters with little to no explanation didn’t help the focus either.

I don’t mean to rant on this, but I was really frustrated because I was looking forward to an amazing ending to this story and I was so disappointed. Did anyone else feel like this?

Finally, I just have to add that I feel like book three was so rushed in the writing/publishing aspect. I found so many errors that should have been caught before the book went to print and that just added to my disappointment with the book.

I am now having the feeling of unfinished business which comes when finishing a book that doesn’t tie up all of it’s loose ends. The only way to correct this, in my opinion, is to find another book to read. I’m off to the library to find something else to occupy my imagination.

I still loved the trilogy as a whole, despite the disappointing ending. The whole trilogy is available on Amazon.

Check it out, get your own and let me know what you think. (I am a member of the Amazon Affiliates program).

Chicken Provolone

2012-01-08T13:51:00.000-08:00

MMMMmmmm…..this is one of my favorite recipes. It is my fallback when I need something delicious but easy. The ingredients are very basic, I usually have them on hand anyway. Prep time can be a little longer for this recipe, about a ½ hour plus 40 minutes in the oven, but it is so worth it.

To begin with, I take a package of boneless skinless chicken breasts and beat them with a meat hammer until they are double their original size.

I then cut them in half. Each piece is breaded in a flour, cracker, and breadcrumb mixture that is well seasoned with Alpine Spice. Each piece is then dunked in an eggwash (one egg beat into ½ cup of milk) and re-breaded. I then brown them lightly in a pan and place them in a glass baking dish ( I usually use a 9x13, but it totally depends on how much chicken you have).

Over the breasts I layer mozzarella or provolone cheese, shredded or sliced, basically whatever I have on hand or was on sale. Over that I pour a large container of regular spaghetti sauce, and dust with a little additional cheese. I cover the pan with tinfoil and bake for 40 minutes at 350*. I serve this over linguine noodles with a side salad. Yum.

I'm linking up!

Think Pink Sundays, Making Monday Marvelous, Weekend Wrap Up, TGIF, Pity Party, Weekend Soiree, Show and Tell, Craftastic,

Alpine Spice

2012-01-08T09:34:00.000-08:00

I need to start this out by saying, beware. Once you try this stuff, you will never be able to cook without it, and you will become like me....ordering it in 12 pound shipments so that you do not ever run the risk of running out! My husband introduced me to Alpine Spice seasoning when we were dating. He never cooked without it. I, in turn, became hooked. It is an amazing seasoning made in Montana, he picked it up on a trip out there and has been ordering it ever since. We use this on everything and it generally eliminates the need for salt and pepper, garlic salt, and really any other normal spices. It enhances beef, venison, fish, pork and chicken. I use it on mashed potatoes, in spaghetti sauce, and over steamed veggies. Alpine Spice is a blend of garlic salt, onion salt, pepper, and some other yummy ingredients that make just about everything taste better.

The people at Alpine Spice are great too. They are very willing to answer questions, provide advice, and make sure your order ships at the lowest shipping price possible. Personal customer service is a rarity these days, which makes it even nicer to shop with them. Go ahead, try it out. I do not think you will be disappointed.

P.S. The people at Alpine Spice have absolutely no idea who I am, or even that I love this stuff as much as I do.....I was not paid or perked to write about them, I just LOVE this stuff!!

Review of Catching Fire

2012-01-07T09:27:00.000-08:00

I finished Suzanne Collins’ Catching Fire, the second book of The Hunger Games trilogy. I thought that it was a good follow up to the first book, however, the ending felt very rushed. There was not enough of a rebel sub plot in this book to build up to the ending, in my opinion. Also, the relationships between the characters and the why and how were not fleshed out as well as in the first book. Overall, I would say it was good, but the quality of the first book did not transfer to the second.

I’m now into the third book, Mockingjay, and I am having a hard time finishing it. Any other opinions on this? Anyone who loved it and thinks I must be crazy? I don’t know, I just think that after the first book was so phenomenal, the second should have been just as good or better and it was a bit of a let down for me.

Hungry for More - Book Review

2011-12-29T15:26:00.000-08:00

I just finished the first book in The Hunger Games trilogy. How did I not know that I should have been reading this a long time ago?! Seriously. It took me 4 hours to finish the book. There were several things that made this a page turner for me. The concept was totally new. It’s not vampire or spell bound or historical fiction, it’s simply a new idea that truly intrigued me. I loved it. I went on Barnesand Noble’s site last night and ordered the whole trilogy. Nerd, I know.

I can’t wait to get my hands on the next two books. I have already warned my husband that I will be unavailable for conversation for a few days once they come. Possibly unavailable for laundry and meals as well. He’ll deal with it, he knew what he was getting when he married me. But in all seriousness, did anyone else love this book as much as I did? Anyone else wish that it had been longer and contained more details (not blood and gore details, just more information)? Anyone else fall head over heels in love with a book and read it front to back until you are done?

Maybe I am just an oddball. Probably, actually. Anyway, I loved it. Go. Read it. Come back and tell me all about it.

A Day on the Ice

2011-12-28T15:52:00.000-08:00

We went on our first ice fishing excursion of the year yesterday. It was an absolutely beautiful day to be out on the lake. A little windy, but a high of about 41 degrees. We love to fish and we go whenever possible. There is already over eight inches of ice on most lakes, for those of you concerned about our safety. Yes, mom, that means you.

Ice fishing can be an exciting activity for just about anyone. Sometimes it is nice to go alone or bring the whole family. This time it was myself, my husband, my father, and my sister and her boyfriend. And of course, we never go anywhere in this family without at least one dog so my sister had her black lab puppy with us as well. We had a great day on the ice. We set 8 tip ups and caught one bass and one northern. We also jigged and caught several bluegills and a few crappies. Successful day for sure.

I love to be on the ice. Being outdoors in the winter is always so peaceful. The lake that we fished on was very secluded, no drive in access and no homes or buildings on it. These types of lakes are my favorite lakes. We saw a ton of wildlife and of course, I left my camera in the truck. Since it was a llloooonnnnnggg walk back I decided not to retrieve it. However, I will tell you that we did see a family of otter’s playing in the open water where the river emptied into the lake, a bald eagle, and a turkey.

I managed to get a few pictures of the river as we were driving out. So beautiful. I wish I could spend every day out here.

I owe you otters. Hope everyone is having a happy holiday season and getting in some family time.

Last Minute Gift Basket

2011-12-23T14:18:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays! Here is a quick gift idea for any of you procrastinators out there!

I created this very simple and cute gift basket for my sister in law and her husband. They love to ski and often go on weekend long ski trips. I thought something to help them warm up from the cold was in order!

I apologize for the not so great photos, we are not operating with a whole lot of day light right now!

I picked up all kinds of fun stuff for this basket. I got the tub at the dollar store and added two mugs also from Dollartree. I threw in some Vanilla Vodka Whipped Cream and a bottle of Cappucino Cream Vodka. I added popcorn, hot chocolate, peppermint marshmallows, Twizzlers and a Pot of Gold. Easy Peasy.

Total Cost: $35.00

But all that yummy goodness would not be complete without cute wrapping. I added a couple snowflake ornaments and a gift tag to a basket bag (also from Dollartree). Super cute, super easy.

That's all for today. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

Christmas Cut Outs

2011-12-19T05:59:00.000-08:00

I love to bake. I wouldn't say that I am a great baker by any means, but I enjoy it. Every year I find myself looking for the perfect cut out cookie recipe. I dislike puffy cut out cookies, I don't like overly soft ones, I prefer them to not be thin and crunchy. I have tried recipes that use sour cream, no eggs, powdered sugar, and a multitude of other odd ball ingredients. Every year I try something new. Until next year.

I finally found a recipe I love and I will never ever ever ever make any other sugar cookies again. Ever. Swear. I got this recipe from here, thank you Pioneer woman. I modified it somewhat by removing the citrus zest. I did not make the glaze for these, but rather opted for a different glaze recipe that I basically made up on my own. I'll fill you in below. Did I mention how amazing these are? I don't even like sugar cookies as a rule and I ate a whole bunch of these. Even better, this recipe makes about 1 dozen, which is perfect since there are just two of us.

Creamed the shortening, sugar and vanilla....

Add milk...

Add dry ingredients and mix well....

Ball the dough and wrap it in wax paper...

Pop in the freezer, watch a half hour of Chopped, take out and roll.......

Then comes the fun part...use your cookie cutters (I have over 100 thanks to my sister, great gift ;))...

Bake.

While your cookies are cooling, make frosting. I wanted to try something new this year so I made an icing, which I have never really done before. Here is the recipe I used,

1 cup of powdered sugar, 2 TBSP of milk, 2 TBSP of corn syrup, 1/2 tsp almond extract. I mixed the powdered sugar and milk together, then added the corn syrup and almost. Finally, I divided it into separate bowls and added food coloring.

Two things with the food coloring. First, I did not realize how much less food coloring would be necessary for icing vs. frosting. I always dislike the washed out colors that you get when you color frosting, so I added a lot of color to the icing. As you will see, it was plenty. My blue is blue. Like, navy blue. So, be aware. Second, I got to the red and realized I had only like four drops of red. I even cut the bottle open and squeezed every last little bitty fleck of red out, but my icing was just a dull pink. Yuck. Mixing all my beautiful bright colors with a pepto-pink red frosting would not have been good.

Time for a brainstorm. Brace yourselves people. After scrounging through my baking cabinet I decided to use red kool aid for color. It worked magically. Ten points for me. I added about half the packet of cherry flavored kool aid to the icing and mixed it in. I got a great red color. The catch, as you may have guessed, is that my red frosting has a distinct tart cherry flavor to it. Oh well, the price we pay for beauty.

I think they look super. Even better, they taste super. Like I said, I will not be experimenting with a cookie recipe any more. These were as close to perfect as I could have asked for. Maybe I will play around with the frosting/icing next year instead.

I'm so glad my cookie baking is almost over. I'll be back again this week with one more recipe for holiday baking.

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