Finally, time to breath!

After a nice long break which included, graduation, vacation, family gatherings, wedding and birthday's I'm finally back.  Honestly, the idea of writing has become very overwhelming because I feel like I have a lot to catch up on.  So much fun stuff has happened since the goat farm!

The biggest celebration was the Bell-Gurley wedding.  Although there were some tears and elevated voices during the year leading up to it, the weekend itself was wonderful.  All the wedding weekend celebrations where just what they should have been, relaxing and fun.  All leading up to this moment...

After the wedding they took off on their honeymoon and the rest of us got back to life as normal, for me that was school, mostly.  Another fun wedding was right around the corner!  Our friends Lindsey and Stephen were married about a month later in Winston-Salem.  Being in Meredith's wedding of course made the wedding weekend very fun for me, but I don't know that any reception will EVER be able to top Lindsey and Stephen's.  This comment is due to the fact that the bride and best man had a worm off.  Seeing as how the bride did the worm in her dress, she of course was the victor!

Following the Ritter-Chan wedding was First Sunday in May.  Only my favorite family get-together of the year.  We all meet at Black River for worship (some of us are better at getting to church than others) and fellowship, and then head back to Aunt Pug's for more food with the family.  This time we had a few new additions to the family, and as much as mom would love for these additions to be grandchildren they were the next best thing... PUPPIES!

The following week I wrapped up all my classes, exams and presentations so I headed back to the eastern part of the state for a little R&R at the beach house.  Although Bennett had to miss out on First Sunday (three dogs would be a bit much at Aunt Pugs) I was not about to let her miss out on her first beach experience!  I knew she wasn't a water dog, so I wasn't expecting much, but boy did she LOVE her walks.  Mom and I could tell she liked the new sights, sounds and of course smells!  Unfortunately, we learned that at no point could she be off her leash.  I made the mistake of letting her run free one time and she shot right over the sand dunes to a dead seagull that she found earlier.

After this I was ready for the next step... GRADUATION!  Finally, after taking a class a semester for about 5 years I was getting my Masters...

however, the celebration didn't last long because after the ceremony and meeting mom and Meemaw for lunch I had to rush off to a wedding in Statesville where Jeffery was the best man.  That Monday was mom and dad's 30th anniversary, Kacie had her baby, Tuesday was our nephew Davis's birthday, Wednesday was Brad's birthday and Sunday was my birthday.  The week was clearly very busy, but we topped it off with a wonderful family birthday celebration at Maggiano's Little Italy.  At this point, that's about it, weddings, birthdays, graduations, celebrations and new family members. It's been quite the spring.  I'm looking forward to some rest and to continue the blog now that I have more free time.

Farms are Fun

After a few weeks off I'm back.  Life has been a bit crazy with bachelorette weekends, doing taxes, class, writing papers, and studying for mid-terms.  However, Bennett and Leia are great at keeping me company while I have to do homework. This past weekend was the first time I was home over the weekend in two weeks, well kind of; I certainly didn't stay put long.

Saturday afternoon I rode with Meredith to Pinehurst to help her with her wedding portraits.  We couldn't have asked for better weather and of course Meredith looked beautiful!  It ended up being quite the family affair with me working on her makeup, dad bringing the dress and veil, and mom of course was there because that's just what mom's do.  As much as I would love to post pictures, unfortunatly Meredith has deemed them off limits for anyone to see until after the wedding!

However, I can share our pictures of Sunday's adventure!  As many of you know I'm taking a class on French Gastronomy.  We have to write a paper on a topic of our choosing about a French gastronomic experience.  After looking over the menus of French restaurants Jeffery and I decided that we needed to look for a more economical option.  What did I choose?  Celebrity Goat farm in Siler City, NC!  When we first arrived we found that they raise their own free-range chickens.  Apparently I'm quite the chicken whisperer.  That's right, all those chickens ran up to the fence from their chicken coop.  Like I said, chicken whisperer!  After chatting it up with the chickens Jeffery and I decided it was time to find what we came for, goats.  Seeing as how it was a goat farm that wasn't too difficult.  We headed back around the Inn and found goats everywhere! The baby goat that I'm holding below was actually less than a week old.  Apparently they take them from their momma around two or three days. The goat farmer we met said that was easier on the mommas that way. 

This goat farmer was "playing" with the baby goats; most of them only about a month old. Really they were just chewing on his fingers and trying to eat his shirt. They kind of reminded me of puppies, only not quite as cute and the sound they make, sounds like a baby crying. After further snooping we found a adult goat pen in the back of the farm.  This goat was climbing the fence to eat twigs off a tree.  I made Jeffery stand near him for the picture... you can see how excited he is about that.  After getting our fill of goats we headed back to the inn to buy some goodies from the farm.  I purchased a delicious goat cheese with onion flakes, parsley, basil and chives along with some eggs from my new chicken friends.  Jeffery picked up some persimmon pudding, a fried apple pie and some kind of jelly perserve mixture.  Most of you know I stay away from any kind of cooked fruit, but Jeffery seemed to think all of his treasures were good. 

After returning home, and a short nap, we wrapped up the day with one of Bennetts favorite outtings, a trip to the dog park!  Since we couldn't take her to play with goats it was the least I could do. :)  This is her playing frisbee with her new friend Stella (a five month old puppy).  Bassett friend Melody and Jack Russell friend Pixie can be seen in the background.  All in all I think we'd agree that we had a wonderful weekend!

I'm gonna make you a cupcake you can't refuse.

As all good things must come to an end, then I guess Valentine's weekend must as well.  Growing up I hated Valentine's Day.  Mainly because I was one of the only people walking around the halls of my high school with no roses, mylar balloon, oversized card, stuffed bear... you get the idea.  However, Jeffery has always managed to make it great no matter what we're doing.

This year we decided to "keep it small."  Jeffery was so proud of himself; instead of roses he went for a baby rose bush... get it?  "Keep it small." ha!  He also picked up a box of Whitman's Sampler, there is a bite missing from all of them, and since Food Lion had red velvet cake and icing on sale I grabbed that coming home from work one night.  Snow rolled in on Friday evening and Saturday morning Bennett had a winter wonderland to play in.  Jeffery's parents were in town for the day so we went to buy our couch, a gift from the Hunters, and then on to have hot wings for lunch for Jeffery's belated birthday lunch.  After hanging out at the house and watching the miserable UNC vs. NCSU basketball game they headed home and I headed back up to my room for more school work (blah).

We've finished off the weekend with Japanese Steak House for lunch, watching gangster movies (Goodfellas & The Godfather) all day (while I read applications) and our evening activity... CUPCAKES!  Jeffery of course jumped into help when he could break the eggs and use the blender and then came back to decorate.  He even let Bennett get in on the action!

Over all, it's been a great weekend and was exactly what Valentines is supposed to be about, spending time with the people you love... and the food you love!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Winds-day

Gopher: If I was you, I'd think about skedaddlin' out of here.
Winnie the Pooh: Why?
Gopher: 'Cause it's "Winds-day."
~Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day


After two days of rain, wind and ridiculously cold weather I decided I needed some down home comfort. I of course knew that talking mom into traveling to Raleigh to make me her homemade vegetable soup would not be an option, so I womaned up and made it myself!

Now lets get something straight, I'm not talking about opening a can of Campbell's finest. I made good ol', made from scratch, vegetable beef soup. This may sound simple to some, but this was the first time I've ever made something that didn't start out as a powder or from a can. Now, to tell the truth I didn't chop up tomatoes (those did come from a can), but the broth was homemade. So, for those who are interested...
1. Boil a soup bone (I cooked one and Bennett had one), some celery stalks, and two bullion cubes in about 6 cups of water. Cook until "goo" falls off the bone.
2. Strain liquid into a bowl or crock pot.
3. Add one can of tomato soup, 24 oz can of crushed tomatoes and all the veggies you want. In addition you can throw in left over steak, hamburger meat, etc.
4. Cook for several hours, add salt, pepper, spices to taste and enjoy

Like I said, I know this sounds simple, but there is something special about being able to make a meal from scratch like your mother or grandmother. To be able to create a meal by simply throwing some things together. Sure, there are some recipes that mom has shared over the years, but those are easy and no different than reading them from a cookbook. No, there is definitely a grown up feel that comes from making a meal just like your mom with no real recipe involved. So bring it on "Winds-days," bring on your wind and sub-zero temperatures. I'll be ready for you next time and looking forward to a nice hot bowl of mom's vegetable soup!

Hello World

After quite a long hiatus I feel like it's time to get back in the saddle and start bloggin' again. Not that I have any time to blog between work, school, research and trying to manage a marriage, house, dog and everything else that life throws our way. However, I figure I miss sharing a part of myself with the world, regardless if no one reads it :)

Updates over the past year... My husband and I got a dog, who is now my pride and joy, but early on was about to bring on a nervous break down! My middle sister Meredith met a guy, got engaged with in 6 months and will be tying the knot in March. We have two other couples we're friends with who are getting ready to marry in April and May, and two of my best friends are expecting their first children. Those have probably been the biggest changes, so lets recap:
Dog (pictured below), engagement, wedding 1, wedding 2, baby 1 (expected in May), wedding 3, baby 2 (expected in August). Oh, and I completely left out my expected graduate school graduation that will take place on the same day as wedding 3. Whew!!! I'm exhausted already.

I know this is a short wrap up, but there will be more to come. Lots more I'm sure as the next several months are going to be nuts!

Moving on Up (To the West Side... of Cary!)

Well Jeffery and I did it, we took the big step and bought a house! I said several times, "if we had done this before we got married I may have thought twice about walking down that isle," but after all the squabbling, it was totally worth it. It's a sweet two-story house with a great deck and backyard. We couldn't be more excited!

Of course with a new house come all the small things you don't think about before becoming a homeowner. Tonight I had my first encounter with the neighborhood nature, a.k.a. a bat!!! I was walking in my front door around 9:00 pm or so and I heard something that sounded like flapping, and I thought, "Birds aren't out now." I looked over my right shoulder and there was a bat!!! And because I'm a nerd and watch Animal Cops (on Animal Planet), I know that bats can carry rabies. Of course I freak out and run inside and about every 10 minutes or so look out the door to see if it's gone. I'm not sure, but it's about 10:30 now and I think it's still out there waiting to strike!

As much as I began to dislike the house hunting, the packing and unpacking, going back and forth with the sellers, at the end of the day Jeffery and I bought a house! We couldn't be more excited!

I'm Leavin' on a Jet Plane

So I'm doing a little bit of traveling this week and I feel it's important to go over some overlooked, yet important rules of etiquet when flying.

1. Please wear close-toed shoes. Although your sandals or flip-flops maybe the most comfortable thing you own, no one else wants to looks at your gross feet! Most people are not foot models which means your feet are probably going to be ugly, your pedicure (if you have one) is probably chipped, or you forgot to shave the hair on your toes (way gross!). Basically, it's better for all involved it you can wait to get home or to your hotel room to make your feet comfortable.

2. Try to dine before getting on the plane. I understand some people can't help it, and the aroma of a Philly Cheese Steak sandwich can be a nice addition to an otherwise stuffy smell of the plane. However, if you are eating something that is going to leave your fingers greasy or your breath smelly please try to wait to eat your delicious treat. Case in point... a women I was sitting beside today brought her Popeye's friend chicken on the plane! She was slurping down drumetts while I was dodging elbows (she wasn't good at keeping to her side of the seat). Then her fingers were greasy and I was over all disgusted. Please, please, please, if you can help it, spare the people you are sitting next to an avoid dinning on the aircraft!

3. Lastly, please remember personal space. The person sitting beside you paid just as much for their ticket as you did for yours. Just think of the armrest between the seats, not so much as an armrest, but more of a divider. Both parties should keep to their side of the seat. Once again, chicken lady was a good two inches over the armrest. Granted she was a bit bigger, but if she wanted that extra spaces she should have paid for it. Just because she has chubby arms and elbows that can't fit into her seat is no reason for her to invade my space!

If you have any questions or concerns on the suggestions, please refer to an Emily Post etiquette book... I'm sure she'll back me up.