Recently we met up with a couple from Tennessee that I have known for what seems like forever. They are great friends of ours and travel buddies (we've gone all the way to Maine together!). They were taking a spur-of-the moment road trip, gave us a call, and we were off!
We met up with them in Gettysburg, for a great dinner, filled with chatting, good food and of course no dinner outing is complete without: ice cream!
We met up for dinner at the lovely Dobbin House. It is a local tradition, dating back to our nation's beginnings: 1776, which of course lands this eatery on the Nation Register of Historic Places. It is known as Gettysburg's oldest home, founded by Reverend Alexander Dobbin. We dinned in the Alexander Dobbin Dinning Rooms and were seated in an upstairs, former bedroom area. One of the tables (not ours!!) even came with a canopy from a bed (??!?) Nicole wanted to move to that table- I think Yogi put the kibosh on that one before we got there! ;)
The fare at Dobbin House is period Colonial. Many of the recipes, I noticed as I perused the menu, are original Dobbin family recipes. Dinner was delicious- their crab cakes and smoked salmon are both superb (according to those at our table). All of the items we ordered were prepared with an attention to detail. Dinner even came with a couple doses of Isabella squeels. Bahahaha!! She scared the little lady and man at the table beside us (too bad I didn't have their instinctive head whips on video when she squealed...), then she just turned, smiled, princess waved, and said "Hi!" to them. Hearts. Melted. Around.
After dinner we walked a block or so to the Sunset Ice Cream Parlor on Steinwehr Ave. Their peanut butter sundae is to.die.for. Very good, and very reasonably priced- pleasantly surprising for a very touristy town during the summer months!
We sat at the parlor (they have great, colorful picnic benches to sit outside at) for a long time, talking old times, traveling, family, teaching, the future, and of course photography! It was great to meet up with our friends from out-of-town, and we had a lovely evening!
**Post will be edited to include a group picture at a later date! ;)
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Isabella's New Talent
I have been itching to share this since July 28th, however, I refused to do so until everyone had the chance to see her do this in person first! Now that everyone in our immediate family has witnessed this first hand (who wants to see it via the internet before real life??) I am happy to share Isabella's new talent!!!
On her 385th day of life, she did it up right!
Enjoy!!!
:D <---- proud Mum and Dad smile!
Way To Go Isabella!! You are well on your way to being the most fabulous baby ever.
Who needs to take the first one or two steps, when you can rock it out Belle style with 11 steps? She is definitely her daddy's girl!
We love you!
P.S. Sorry the video quality isn't prime, but I am SO thankful for the IPhone...otherwise we wouldn't be able to share this awesomeness with you great folks! :)
Be Blessed.
On her 385th day of life, she did it up right!
Enjoy!!!
:D <---- proud Mum and Dad smile!
Way To Go Isabella!! You are well on your way to being the most fabulous baby ever.
Who needs to take the first one or two steps, when you can rock it out Belle style with 11 steps? She is definitely her daddy's girl!
We love you!
P.S. Sorry the video quality isn't prime, but I am SO thankful for the IPhone...otherwise we wouldn't be able to share this awesomeness with you great folks! :)
Be Blessed.
Friday, August 5, 2011
20 Minute Fish Wrap Meal
10 steps to the easiest fish dish you have ever added to your family's dinner schedule! I promise this is a super quick, easy dish and is a great way to add fish into your family's diet. This fabulous recipe I found somewhere (I have no idea now, I have been making it by memory for so long). I tried to Google it, but couldn't find it any more- boo. So anonymous props to the chef that came up with this!
Dinner consists of the following:
Quinoa
Asparagus
Carrots
Tilapia
Edamame
Beverage of your choice
Pretty sure this hits the "health-o-meter" Xs 100.
Prepare Edamame and Quinoa as directed by your particular packaging. Both are incredibly easy to eat (kid friendly if you are worried about that) and super healthy for your family. If you haven't tried either, this is the meal to start- you will be hooked!
What you need for the fish wrap:
4- 2.5 oz Tilapia filets
1 Orange (sliced, halved)
8 Carrots (quartered, length wise)
16 Asparagus stalks (bases trimmed)
Mrs. Dash Garlic/herb seasoning (I use this because we don't use salt)
Parchment paper
Olive Oil (please, for the love of all things Italian, get the good stuff!)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
1. Tear your parchment paper into 12 inch squares. Fold in half length wise. (Basically, you are making a pouch for each filet to bake in.)
2. Lay filet inside folded flap.
3. Add 4 Asparagus and 4 carrots on top of the filet
4. Sprinkle Mrs. Dash over all ingredients
5. Drizzle Olive Oil on top- not too much
6. Place 2 halves of Orange on top
7. Close parchment and double fold sides, then fold top down. This is in essence closing your pouch of food.
8. Lay on baking pan
9. Bake in oven for about 12 minutes (until fish is white and flaky and veggies are crisp).
10. Remove from oven, open pouch and use spatula to place food on top of quinoa dish. Add Edamame as a side dish and VOILA! You are finished! :)
Now all you need to do is pick your beverage of choice (no suggestions from me on this one)!
Next time you are trying to incorporate more fish into your family's diet, try this; it is super easy, doesn't have a "fishy" taste and I promise you will love it!
Be Blessed.
Dinner consists of the following:
Quinoa
Asparagus
Carrots
Tilapia
Edamame
Beverage of your choice
Pretty sure this hits the "health-o-meter" Xs 100.
Prepare Edamame and Quinoa as directed by your particular packaging. Both are incredibly easy to eat (kid friendly if you are worried about that) and super healthy for your family. If you haven't tried either, this is the meal to start- you will be hooked!
What you need for the fish wrap:
4- 2.5 oz Tilapia filets
1 Orange (sliced, halved)
8 Carrots (quartered, length wise)
16 Asparagus stalks (bases trimmed)
Mrs. Dash Garlic/herb seasoning (I use this because we don't use salt)
Parchment paper
Olive Oil (please, for the love of all things Italian, get the good stuff!)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
 |
| Final prep before folding |
2. Lay filet inside folded flap.
3. Add 4 Asparagus and 4 carrots on top of the filet
4. Sprinkle Mrs. Dash over all ingredients
5. Drizzle Olive Oil on top- not too much
6. Place 2 halves of Orange on top
7. Close parchment and double fold sides, then fold top down. This is in essence closing your pouch of food.
 |
| Parchment Pockets |
9. Bake in oven for about 12 minutes (until fish is white and flaky and veggies are crisp).
10. Remove from oven, open pouch and use spatula to place food on top of quinoa dish. Add Edamame as a side dish and VOILA! You are finished! :)
Now all you need to do is pick your beverage of choice (no suggestions from me on this one)!
 |
| Yummy goodness! |
Next time you are trying to incorporate more fish into your family's diet, try this; it is super easy, doesn't have a "fishy" taste and I promise you will love it!
Be Blessed.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
30 Things to do Before I Turn 30, Part 5
So, in thinking about the 30 things I want to do, I realized that my list has a lot of travel items, so I figured I should probably share those goals I have that are not travel related.
21. Finish our basement. Okay, so I realize this post isn't going up before you know that we have accomplished this, but it was still a goal for this year, for many reasons, so there it is. :)
22. Do something for someone that can never repay you, just because. I know this sounds vague, but I know what it means to me and those of you that have known me long enough know that it has been around since my college days (I believe the saying was even put on a t-shirt at one time). Once accomplished, I will just let you know I have done it- I do not plan on sharing what it was I did. I am sure you understand why.
23. Take my husband out to dinner at his favorite restaurant, just because. A lot of times people go to eateries to celebrate, but not necessarily "just because." I want to take him there, just because. The food is good, the company is great, and just because.
24. Pamper my Dogs, alone. So many times when a couple has a new addition (or two) to their family, the dogs are put to the side. I have heard of so many acquaintances lately that mention giving up their family pet, for various reasons (size, money, time, etc etc etc). This makes me really sad. Paisley and Pugsley were our first babies, and they were (and still are) fabulous. Well, since Belle has arrived, for obvious reasons, life is sorta all about her, in some way shape or form. I want to make a special day just about my doggies. We love them, Belle REALLY loves them and they need to know they are still important, and not just another "mess maker to clean up after."
25. Share a new project that I completed. I purposefully left this vague so that I could use it however I felt was the most meaningful. I do have a couple ideas in mind though!
Check back soon for the last (finally) installment of my 30 before I turn 30 series. Then comes the "How's that list going?" blogs. :)
Be Blessed.
21. Finish our basement. Okay, so I realize this post isn't going up before you know that we have accomplished this, but it was still a goal for this year, for many reasons, so there it is. :)
22. Do something for someone that can never repay you, just because. I know this sounds vague, but I know what it means to me and those of you that have known me long enough know that it has been around since my college days (I believe the saying was even put on a t-shirt at one time). Once accomplished, I will just let you know I have done it- I do not plan on sharing what it was I did. I am sure you understand why.
23. Take my husband out to dinner at his favorite restaurant, just because. A lot of times people go to eateries to celebrate, but not necessarily "just because." I want to take him there, just because. The food is good, the company is great, and just because.
24. Pamper my Dogs, alone. So many times when a couple has a new addition (or two) to their family, the dogs are put to the side. I have heard of so many acquaintances lately that mention giving up their family pet, for various reasons (size, money, time, etc etc etc). This makes me really sad. Paisley and Pugsley were our first babies, and they were (and still are) fabulous. Well, since Belle has arrived, for obvious reasons, life is sorta all about her, in some way shape or form. I want to make a special day just about my doggies. We love them, Belle REALLY loves them and they need to know they are still important, and not just another "mess maker to clean up after."
25. Share a new project that I completed. I purposefully left this vague so that I could use it however I felt was the most meaningful. I do have a couple ideas in mind though!
Check back soon for the last (finally) installment of my 30 before I turn 30 series. Then comes the "How's that list going?" blogs. :)
Be Blessed.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Susquehanna Exploration, Dressler Style
July 23, 2011.
Happy 6 Year Anniversary to Matt and Sarah!! :)
I can't believe I have been married to a wonderful man (my soul mate) for 6 years! We decided to be adventurous this year. We threw around the idea of kayaking the Susquehanna, but really wanted to make it a bit more romantic- hey, what can I say, I love the man! So, we decided to canoe instead, so that we could ride in the same vessel.
Now, as for Matt's reasoning behind the canoe, I can imagine it went something like this: in his mind: "I don't want to hear her whine about how tired she is from paddling alone, so I better ride with her." to me: "Well, why don't we do a canoe instead so we can ride together, it is our anniversary and I do want to spend it with you."
Gosh, he is just loverly. :D Okay, so he really probably wasn't thinking that, I just like to tease him about what it would have been like had we kayaked instead (probably no different).
Anyhow, sweet Auntie Meggie watched Belle for the day while we went canoeing the river. Big thanks Meg! :)
There are two main Susquehanna River Outfitters: Susquehanna Outfitters, based on City Island. There is another: Blue Mountain Outfitters that is further up the river in Marysville, but we wanted to see the city line from the river, so we chose Susquehanna Outfitters. Both are comparably priced (between $44-60) depending on your vessel of choice. For our trip we chose the half day excursion (3 hours) on a canoe, which was $44. For those that are curious, a whole day is 6 hours with drop-off at Fort Hunter Park.
We caught the 12 o'clock drop off group, from City Island. There is plenty of parking in front of the facility, which is off to the west side of the island. It doesn't take long to check in and get situated, so I would suggest getting there about 15 minutes before departure. However, if you are running a tad late, I wouldn't stress too much. The folks running the excursion are awesome, knowledgeable, laid back and really nice.
We had a young girl do our safety talk, which basically gave us river levels, how to paddle, what to do if you fall out/capsize (stand up- yep, the river is that low right now). I requested a map, so we could see the different islands as we canoe down stream and she gave me a nice waterproof version. Cool.
Next we were required to get our paddles, life vests and board a mini bus straight out of a 60s time warp. No joke. Matt and I were seated near the front- who am I kidding- we were all near the front on a mini bus with 5 rows of seats... I digress.
While riding the quick 10 minute commute to our drop off point, we were busy pointing out all of the different stickers from various rivers across the country (the group travels to kayak!). So, guess where they had a sticker from? The Ocoee River! Yes, the famed 5 mile stretch, class IV rapids on the first go, bust up your heel, bleeding everywhere, tour guide falling out (a taboo) kind of white water rafting river. Read more about it HERE. For those unfamiliar with the Ocoee it is a great whitewater rafting river located in the even greater state of Tennessee. :) Small world, huh? Cool, again.
We quickly arrived at our put-in location: West Fairview. Even cooler. Matt's grandfather on his mother's side owned the Inn in West Fairview. The put in is located down next to the river, directly off the same street (Market Street) that the Inn is located on. Very cool. Dottie would have loved it. It was a nice surprise to us as we were riding along, talking about all of the different places the SO had traveled to kayak and, BOOM, there is The Inn. We knew it was going to be a good day. The put-in is about 3 miles upstream from City Island. It is at the mouth of the Conodoguinet Creek (Cono-gwin-et), located on the corner of South Street and Front Street in West Fairview.
We all unloaded our gear, lotioned ourselves up (no burning here!), and got the quick "easy way to paddle" run down from our guide. They loaded a few kayak folks, then the lone canoers (the coolest) were ready to shove off!!
First we headed up the Conodoguinet Creek, under 11/15 and a ways farther. It was a nice tester to paddling upstream. Not hard, I would definitely say a novice could accomplish this without incident. The only trouble for us was that for the past 3-4 days it had been 100+ temperatures and the creek bed was really low, thus we could only go so far until we were stuck. No biggie. We turned around, drifted back down stream to the Susquehanna and paddled right out to the middle of the river.
While paddling out to the middle of the river, we saw a man fishing, and as we were exploring around, I looked back (to try and avoid where he was- you don't, under any circumstances, disturb a fisherman's fishing waters), he was at least 100 yards further out into the river! This is what caused me to look down and really pay attention to the river- it was only probably 2 1/2- 3 1/2 feet all around us. I easily could have gotten out of the canoe and stood in the river. Cool, again. I like to see the bottom.
We paddled around, saw a bunch of birds and fish, and meandered through the islands along the river. At one point, when we went up a cove between two islands, we saw the largest Great Blue Heron either of us had encountered. It was very large, and surprisingly, it sat still until we got incredibly close. I wouldn't have even needed my zoom lens (had I actually had it with me). After inspecting this awesome big bird, I looked down and saw a clam. A real, freshwater clam that was alive and functioning. Usually I just see the broken open shells. Yay. A first, no matter how big or small, it was still pretty fun. I scooped him up with my paddle and Matt plucked him off. I had to take a quick picture of him before we tossed him back into his lovely, shallow, warm-watered habitat.
On to that thing about cameras, river photography, etc. For this trip, I did not want to accidentally loose my camera to the watery behemoth otherwise known as the Susquehanna. It is my lifeline. It is my business; it is my passion. I would be very sad. So, having factored this into the equation we decided not to take it. Instead, I took my watertight box (highly recommend this!) and my IPhone. I figured that if I happened to drop it, then I have one saving grace replacement from Apple, so it wouldn't be the end of the world. So, about this dropping business, now that I have experienced the river, I feel as though I can rightfully comment on the subject. Basically, if you are in a canoe, you would have to throw your belongings into the river for it to get wet, or else be trying to capsize your vessel for giggles. Neither of which I plan on partaking in, so maybe the next time we go, I will take the camera along.
We continued riding along the river, sweeping left and right to inspect coves, islands, beautiful flower, anything that caught our fancy. We floated for about an hour and a half and decided to moor ourselves up on this tiny little secluded island for lunch. It was outdoor fabulous. Matt took a funny video that I will spare you, but it suffices to say that we just had a fabulous time and even though we were in a group of 12 or so riders, we didn't see them at all after we all dispersed on the river. This is a good thing.
After lunch we jumped back in, floated around, plus saw the largest white crane breeding islands (who knew?)- there were at least 50-60 birds just hanging out on these little rocky islands along the river. We chatted it up with a few passing boaters- all very friendly by the way! We paddled under the Harvey Taylor Bridge- WAY bigger than it feels/looks from the shore. Right as we were ready to paddle under the bridge, we look up and a large plane (HIA is not that far away) is going directly over our head, as if it were in slow motion. We stopped, back paddled a little, then just took it all in. Not too make people can say they have sat in a canoe, on the Susquehanna and watched a big jet, in slow motion directly over head. It was all very surreal and 100% Dressler Style.
After this experience, we were not far from City Island, so we floated closer to the Bath House shore and let the canoe float us past some seagulls. Once of these gulls was a whopper. He was definitely the king daddy. We tried to paddle over closer to him, but he flew over to another little rocky spot after we got within about 6-8 feet of him. Of course, as he few away, he kicked three other smaller gulls off their perch. Oops. Lesson learned. Leave nature alone and just chill.
We floated back towards City Island, bobbing through some jet ski wake. I determined after digesting the excursion that this was my least favorite part of the trip. The end, the deepest water (I could no longer see the bottom- boo!), and loud jet skis interrupting the peacefulness of the river. I also determined that if these three things were my least favorite, then I would take it. At every end, there is a new beginning (a good thing). For every fear, there is the will to over come (I will learn to not fear those less visible) and there is a good marriage between nature and mechanical- or we wouldn't be where we are today.
Our trip took us right at 3 hours, with our island explorations and lunch. It was a very loverly way to spend our anniversary that is unique to us (who needs dinner at a restaurant when you can have dinner on an island?). I would recommend it to anyone interested in doing something new, spicing up your upper body workout, or just out to have a great time with a bunch of friends.
Two Thumbs Up on this adventure!
Be Blessed.
Happy 6 Year Anniversary to Matt and Sarah!! :)
I can't believe I have been married to a wonderful man (my soul mate) for 6 years! We decided to be adventurous this year. We threw around the idea of kayaking the Susquehanna, but really wanted to make it a bit more romantic- hey, what can I say, I love the man! So, we decided to canoe instead, so that we could ride in the same vessel.
Now, as for Matt's reasoning behind the canoe, I can imagine it went something like this: in his mind: "I don't want to hear her whine about how tired she is from paddling alone, so I better ride with her." to me: "Well, why don't we do a canoe instead so we can ride together, it is our anniversary and I do want to spend it with you."
Gosh, he is just loverly. :D Okay, so he really probably wasn't thinking that, I just like to tease him about what it would have been like had we kayaked instead (probably no different).
Anyhow, sweet Auntie Meggie watched Belle for the day while we went canoeing the river. Big thanks Meg! :)
There are two main Susquehanna River Outfitters: Susquehanna Outfitters, based on City Island. There is another: Blue Mountain Outfitters that is further up the river in Marysville, but we wanted to see the city line from the river, so we chose Susquehanna Outfitters. Both are comparably priced (between $44-60) depending on your vessel of choice. For our trip we chose the half day excursion (3 hours) on a canoe, which was $44. For those that are curious, a whole day is 6 hours with drop-off at Fort Hunter Park.
We caught the 12 o'clock drop off group, from City Island. There is plenty of parking in front of the facility, which is off to the west side of the island. It doesn't take long to check in and get situated, so I would suggest getting there about 15 minutes before departure. However, if you are running a tad late, I wouldn't stress too much. The folks running the excursion are awesome, knowledgeable, laid back and really nice.
We had a young girl do our safety talk, which basically gave us river levels, how to paddle, what to do if you fall out/capsize (stand up- yep, the river is that low right now). I requested a map, so we could see the different islands as we canoe down stream and she gave me a nice waterproof version. Cool.
Next we were required to get our paddles, life vests and board a mini bus straight out of a 60s time warp. No joke. Matt and I were seated near the front- who am I kidding- we were all near the front on a mini bus with 5 rows of seats... I digress.
 |
| Susquehanna Outfitters Big Neon Green Mini Bus |
We quickly arrived at our put-in location: West Fairview. Even cooler. Matt's grandfather on his mother's side owned the Inn in West Fairview. The put in is located down next to the river, directly off the same street (Market Street) that the Inn is located on. Very cool. Dottie would have loved it. It was a nice surprise to us as we were riding along, talking about all of the different places the SO had traveled to kayak and, BOOM, there is The Inn. We knew it was going to be a good day. The put-in is about 3 miles upstream from City Island. It is at the mouth of the Conodoguinet Creek (Cono-gwin-et), located on the corner of South Street and Front Street in West Fairview.
 |
| 1 man and tandem kayaks, plus our loverly canoe! |
First we headed up the Conodoguinet Creek, under 11/15 and a ways farther. It was a nice tester to paddling upstream. Not hard, I would definitely say a novice could accomplish this without incident. The only trouble for us was that for the past 3-4 days it had been 100+ temperatures and the creek bed was really low, thus we could only go so far until we were stuck. No biggie. We turned around, drifted back down stream to the Susquehanna and paddled right out to the middle of the river.
While paddling out to the middle of the river, we saw a man fishing, and as we were exploring around, I looked back (to try and avoid where he was- you don't, under any circumstances, disturb a fisherman's fishing waters), he was at least 100 yards further out into the river! This is what caused me to look down and really pay attention to the river- it was only probably 2 1/2- 3 1/2 feet all around us. I easily could have gotten out of the canoe and stood in the river. Cool, again. I like to see the bottom.
 |
| Hello little freshwater clammy! |
On to that thing about cameras, river photography, etc. For this trip, I did not want to accidentally loose my camera to the watery behemoth otherwise known as the Susquehanna. It is my lifeline. It is my business; it is my passion. I would be very sad. So, having factored this into the equation we decided not to take it. Instead, I took my watertight box (highly recommend this!) and my IPhone. I figured that if I happened to drop it, then I have one saving grace replacement from Apple, so it wouldn't be the end of the world. So, about this dropping business, now that I have experienced the river, I feel as though I can rightfully comment on the subject. Basically, if you are in a canoe, you would have to throw your belongings into the river for it to get wet, or else be trying to capsize your vessel for giggles. Neither of which I plan on partaking in, so maybe the next time we go, I will take the camera along.
After lunch we jumped back in, floated around, plus saw the largest white crane breeding islands (who knew?)- there were at least 50-60 birds just hanging out on these little rocky islands along the river. We chatted it up with a few passing boaters- all very friendly by the way! We paddled under the Harvey Taylor Bridge- WAY bigger than it feels/looks from the shore. Right as we were ready to paddle under the bridge, we look up and a large plane (HIA is not that far away) is going directly over our head, as if it were in slow motion. We stopped, back paddled a little, then just took it all in. Not too make people can say they have sat in a canoe, on the Susquehanna and watched a big jet, in slow motion directly over head. It was all very surreal and 100% Dressler Style.
We floated back towards City Island, bobbing through some jet ski wake. I determined after digesting the excursion that this was my least favorite part of the trip. The end, the deepest water (I could no longer see the bottom- boo!), and loud jet skis interrupting the peacefulness of the river. I also determined that if these three things were my least favorite, then I would take it. At every end, there is a new beginning (a good thing). For every fear, there is the will to over come (I will learn to not fear those less visible) and there is a good marriage between nature and mechanical- or we wouldn't be where we are today.
Our trip took us right at 3 hours, with our island explorations and lunch. It was a very loverly way to spend our anniversary that is unique to us (who needs dinner at a restaurant when you can have dinner on an island?). I would recommend it to anyone interested in doing something new, spicing up your upper body workout, or just out to have a great time with a bunch of friends.
Two Thumbs Up on this adventure!
Be Blessed.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Designing a Country Birthday Pool Party for 60.
Lord help me.
I knew I wanted a big family get together at the farm for Belle's birthday, but I honestly had no idea so many people would be able to come to the party! Belle is so blessed with a wonderful family. That is all there is to it. I am blessed to have a daughter in such a wonderful family.
I already posted about Isabella's party HERE. Now comes the "How did you do that?" Q&A.
Okay, so here comes the designing part: Theme: Country Birthday Pool Party. Colors: Orange, Blue, Yellow, Purple.
I have a lot of Ball Mason Jars for canning, so I just swiped a couple packs of them from storage and they became my flower vases- fits the country theme. I found fabric remnants at a local craft store that fit the color theme I was using, so I swiped those for next to nothing.
I tied each fabric strip around the jars to jazz them up a little bit The jars were going in several different places- each with a different piece of fabric (not all matching, remember, no stuffy parties here!).
WALKWAY SHEPPARD'S HOOK FLOWERS::
I picked up some Sheppard's hook flower hangers for the walkway to the pool, as well as around the pool.
I tied the ribbon around the jar and replaced the rib to make it look a little more complete.
I then tied some country twine (I found it in the tool barn, but you can find it at any local craft store) around the base and then made a short loop at the top and tied it in a knot. I tested the length for the jar to dangle and secured the knot.
All I had to do was put water and flowers in the vase and voila! It was complete!!
BALL JAR TABLE DECORATIONS::
To carry the Ball Jar idea to the guest tables, I again tied the ribbon around the neck of the jar and secured the rim back on the jar. Each ribbon was different, but matched the color scheme. I placed some large, oatmeal colored pool rocks in the bottom of the jar (oatmeal is definitely a country color!).
The vegetation for the table decorations is the kicker, but I will totally let you in on it!! :)
I walked about 30 feet to the corn field and cut 40 leaves off the corn stalks- 4 for each jar. Yep, that's right.
I didn't pay a darn thing to decorate the guest tables. I already had the ball jars, the pool has hundreds of the rocks I used, and the corn shucks were free.
Score. :)
FABRIC LINE PICTURE DISPLAY::
This was the hit of the party. It was so easy to make and I just loved it. It was unique and fit the country theme.
I had this vision of my Mamaw drying her laundry on the line and I just felt like that was 'country', you know? I knew I wanted to some how incorporate that into the party decorations.
I knew I also wanted to display pictures of Isabella from birth to 12 months.
I had originally thought of making different picture frames for the pictures, but I just felt like that was too 'stuffy'.
One day I was working on the fabric line and I thought, "Why can't I just hang the pictures from the line and incorporate both ideas?" Well, Sarah, you can, and it worked out great!
I purchased some light orange (creamsicle colored- yum!) ribbon to match Isabella's dress (more on that in a minute) so I used the same ribbon (Hey! It has to match right? bahaha) to tie the line from a couple of trees in front of the food tables.
It was perfect. The guests could browse the pictures and see how Belle has grown while they are grabbing a drink or a bite to eat.
I am most proud of this decoration (along with the hanging flower vases) because while at the party a couple different family members said (yes, with a tear or two- Kleenex anyone?) that Dottie would have been so proud of the decorations and she would have done it up right, just the same way. That made me feel so special and that I had done right by Dottie. I really didn't want to disappoint her and the great legacy of country parties she left behind.
HOMEMADE PILLOWCASE DRESS::
So, once an idea is in my mind, all kinds of thoughts start flooding in. I was walking through JoAnn fabric with Matt and I looked at him and said, "She needs a pillowcase dress, that's country, right??" He just laughed and headed towards the fabric section where I get different fabrics to make cutsies for Belle.
He, yes folks, daddy picked the fabric and it was just perfect. It said, country, party, birthday girl, and and most importantly Belle.
I made it while she took a nap that day and it turned out just right. I sorta just eyeballed the size (I ended up with a 1/2 yard of fabric) I thought I would need and went with it. I didn't use a pattern, just thought about what it would need (loop for the straps, arm holes- just wing it-, and finished edges) and went with it.
It turned out great, matched her party and I got a lot of nice feedback on Facebook about it. So, if you are thinking about making a little dress for your girlie- do it- even if you aren't sure, Google a pattern (if you need specifics), YouTube a tutorial on how to make them, etc etc etc. There are so many ways to do cute little things that don't cost much at all and you know it was made with love. :)
If you have questions, please don't hesitate to post in comments and ask.
Be Blessed.
I knew I wanted a big family get together at the farm for Belle's birthday, but I honestly had no idea so many people would be able to come to the party! Belle is so blessed with a wonderful family. That is all there is to it. I am blessed to have a daughter in such a wonderful family.
I already posted about Isabella's party HERE. Now comes the "How did you do that?" Q&A.
Okay, so here comes the designing part: Theme: Country Birthday Pool Party. Colors: Orange, Blue, Yellow, Purple.
I have a lot of Ball Mason Jars for canning, so I just swiped a couple packs of them from storage and they became my flower vases- fits the country theme. I found fabric remnants at a local craft store that fit the color theme I was using, so I swiped those for next to nothing.
I tied each fabric strip around the jars to jazz them up a little bit The jars were going in several different places- each with a different piece of fabric (not all matching, remember, no stuffy parties here!).
I picked up some Sheppard's hook flower hangers for the walkway to the pool, as well as around the pool.
I tied the ribbon around the jar and replaced the rib to make it look a little more complete.
I then tied some country twine (I found it in the tool barn, but you can find it at any local craft store) around the base and then made a short loop at the top and tied it in a knot. I tested the length for the jar to dangle and secured the knot.
All I had to do was put water and flowers in the vase and voila! It was complete!!
BALL JAR TABLE DECORATIONS::
The vegetation for the table decorations is the kicker, but I will totally let you in on it!! :)
I walked about 30 feet to the corn field and cut 40 leaves off the corn stalks- 4 for each jar. Yep, that's right.
I didn't pay a darn thing to decorate the guest tables. I already had the ball jars, the pool has hundreds of the rocks I used, and the corn shucks were free.
Score. :)
FABRIC LINE PICTURE DISPLAY::
This was the hit of the party. It was so easy to make and I just loved it. It was unique and fit the country theme.
I knew I also wanted to display pictures of Isabella from birth to 12 months.
I had originally thought of making different picture frames for the pictures, but I just felt like that was too 'stuffy'.
One day I was working on the fabric line and I thought, "Why can't I just hang the pictures from the line and incorporate both ideas?" Well, Sarah, you can, and it worked out great!
It was perfect. The guests could browse the pictures and see how Belle has grown while they are grabbing a drink or a bite to eat.
I am most proud of this decoration (along with the hanging flower vases) because while at the party a couple different family members said (yes, with a tear or two- Kleenex anyone?) that Dottie would have been so proud of the decorations and she would have done it up right, just the same way. That made me feel so special and that I had done right by Dottie. I really didn't want to disappoint her and the great legacy of country parties she left behind.
HOMEMADE PILLOWCASE DRESS::
So, once an idea is in my mind, all kinds of thoughts start flooding in. I was walking through JoAnn fabric with Matt and I looked at him and said, "She needs a pillowcase dress, that's country, right??" He just laughed and headed towards the fabric section where I get different fabrics to make cutsies for Belle.
I made it while she took a nap that day and it turned out just right. I sorta just eyeballed the size (I ended up with a 1/2 yard of fabric) I thought I would need and went with it. I didn't use a pattern, just thought about what it would need (loop for the straps, arm holes- just wing it-, and finished edges) and went with it.
It turned out great, matched her party and I got a lot of nice feedback on Facebook about it. So, if you are thinking about making a little dress for your girlie- do it- even if you aren't sure, Google a pattern (if you need specifics), YouTube a tutorial on how to make them, etc etc etc. There are so many ways to do cute little things that don't cost much at all and you know it was made with love. :)
If you have questions, please don't hesitate to post in comments and ask.
Be Blessed.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
30 Things to do Before I'm 30, Pt. 4
Quick refresher on PART 1, PART 2, & PART 3.
And here is part 4...
Focusing on enhancing my personal reading goals!
16. Read The Legend of Sleepy Hollow all over again, just because. Visit Sleepy Hollow in October after I have read the book, just because it is beautiful.
17. Start reading with a book club, again. Re-prioritizing what is important (ok, I could have read 15 pages while I was reading mindless Facebook updates).
18. Read 12 books (one per month of the year). Be sure they are from different genres, branch out sister!
19. Share the books I read throughout the year on the blog and with friends. What better to do than to share one of your life's passions?
20. Read to Isabella every day. Even if she likes reading different genres, I want her to understand why reading is so important.
And here is part 4...
Focusing on enhancing my personal reading goals!
16. Read The Legend of Sleepy Hollow all over again, just because. Visit Sleepy Hollow in October after I have read the book, just because it is beautiful.
17. Start reading with a book club, again. Re-prioritizing what is important (ok, I could have read 15 pages while I was reading mindless Facebook updates).
18. Read 12 books (one per month of the year). Be sure they are from different genres, branch out sister!
19. Share the books I read throughout the year on the blog and with friends. What better to do than to share one of your life's passions?
20. Read to Isabella every day. Even if she likes reading different genres, I want her to understand why reading is so important.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Big Girl Birthday Pool Party!!!
July 16, 2011
This is a bitter-sweet post, so some of the readers might need a Kleenex box. Fair warning.
Poppy was so excited when Matt suggested we have Isabella's big birthday party at the farm, we never thought twice about changing it.
Let me back up a little bit and give some history (perhaps those Kleenex's will come out sooner rather than later??). Dottie was always known for her parties- birthday, pool, cookout, holiday- you name it, she had a party for it. She did her parties up right, you know what I mean? None of this unoriginal party planning blah blah, she was so methodical and creative (I can only hope to some day come up with some of the ideas she did!).
We haven't had a party of the Dottie caliber since she passed away (yeah, it is coming up on 2 years soon- so hard to believe it has been that long). Bill really wanted to work on the pool, landscaping and have the party there, and I thought it would just be perfect (quick pause for a Kleenex fetch).
Bill worked incredibly hard, along with his business partner Kris, they did more landscaping, flower pot designing and cleaning up than I ever thought possible!! All of this, while we are trying to plant our huge garden!! Insanity! And totally worth it!!
You are probably wondering why we had it on a different day than her birthday. Well, the kids (meaning Sha, Kate and TJ) were at the beach and they would miss it. We couldn't have Belle's favorite cousins missing the biggest party in a long time, so it was solved: July 16th it is!
Big thanks to a special cousin- Kate- for playing with Belle while we set up the last minute decorations for the party! She had a blast playing with Belle and Isabella just loved hanging out with her (her little face lit up every time Kate walked into the room!).
The party started at 1 with food being served around 2.
Everyone arrived, had a fabulous time hanging out with Isabella, eating, swimming and just generally chillin' out.
We had a lot of good cookout grub- the usual, plus some specialty local and family dishes. Everyone scarfed down the food, so I feel safe in saying that it was good! :) Andy was our Grill Master, flipping, grilling a lean, mean beefy/swiney spread (I took everyone's word on this!). Thanks to Andy, it was great!!!
Then, again, comes my favorite part: The Cake!
ERRRRRRT! Stop, halt, wait just a minute! We can't progress forward with the eating of the cake until we do the dressing of the babe. Okay, so basically, I had a crazy number of outfits (go big or go home, right?) for Isabella. She started off with her regular dress- see hanging out with Kate pic, then she had the dress I made to match the party, then she had her tanktop/tutu outfit to wear while she ate her cake, plus she had the bathing suit as well as clothes for afterwards. A girl's gotta have options, right? Bahahahaha
Okay, now that she has her fabulous tutu on, I can continue.
Once we walked out of the house in her new outfit (tutu ensemble), I felt, for just a brief moment, like a celebrity bodyguard. Nope, not kidding, there was a line of people taking her picture (and there I was, toting the "celeb" while the paparazzi snap their million dollar photos). I gladly handed her to the proud host: Poppy!
Isabella again had her own smash cake, this time it was white butter cream with a big orange "1" on it.
The Dessert Spread: We had large sheet cakes (from Costco- YUMMMM!) for everyone else to dig in to. We also had chocolate sprinkle covered strawberries (feel free to ask me what time we were making these!! ;) haha) watermelon, and icecream sandwiches of a variety of flavors from the Creme Stop! Yum!!!
So, here is the fun details from Isabella's second go around at a 1st birthday cake! Of course we have the regular tiny touch, while looking around to make sure it is okay. Then we have more touching, along with wild arm waving, a few pieces of cake flying into the grass. A few bites of the icing, more smooshing of the cake, followed by oodles of fun! She was even so dainty as to eat her cake with a fork!
Clothes Update: She did get a little icing on her tutu (maybe 5 dots) and a little on her shoulder (don't ask me how). She had two flecks in her hair (I laughed at this) and the usual icing ring around her mouth and a load on her hand.
Matt and I had a great time encouraging and helping her eat the yummy cake again! :)
After food, guess what is next. Yep, you got it: a dip in the pool!
The plan was to let Aunt Meggie and Kate take Belle into the pool, with Matt and I watching and cheering from the side, however, Isabella had other plans. She whimpered a little as Kate took her in and just squeeled once she got her toes in the water. Not good. Mum and Dad had to get their suits quick and hop in- outcome: Happy Isabella. She smiled and giggled as soon as I got her (I am usually the one holding her in the pool- her comfort zone I guess!)
She played around with Olivia in the pool for a while and splashed, having a good time. A bunch of the others were in and out all afternoon- it was perfect weather for a swim and a nap (just ask Zack!). :)
After she finished taking a dip with Olivia, it was time to open presents. Isabella was sweet and told Olivia to come and sit with her (Olivia is a little over 2 years old). They had a blast, opening presents, playing with the toys, then Olivia was very into reading all the cards- TOO CUTE!
Isabella was very blessed with some super cool toys (she loves them all- most of the time she bounces from toy to toy, equally playing with them- like she can't quite decide on a favorite), good books to read- I am very excited about this-, along with a children's book from Spain and her fun red beret from Pamplona, Spain (Thanks Linn!!!). Notice she is wearing the hat?? She wore it the whole time she opened presents. Cool. Did I mention this is my fashionable child?? ;)
Isabella was a doll. She spent time with each of her new gifts. Inspecting, looking over, pushing buttons. I liked that she was thoughtful with each toy, rather than throwing it to the side and ripping on to the next one. She gave most of the toys to Olivia as soon as she was finished looking at them, so that they both could play with their new found goodies! :)
After she finished opening her presents, everyone just relaxed, playing horseshoes (a heated game ensued for most of the day!), making s'mores, and just enjoying the time with friends and family. As for the horseshoe came, I believe Bill and TJ came out on top, but Kate, Ryan and Dennis sure gave them a run for their money a couple of times!!
Folks started packing up their things and saying their goodbyes (you have to start this about 30 minutes before you want to really leave with our family- it's big!) around 7.
Shortly before this (maybe 5:30ish) Isabella could hold on no longer. Yep, that's right folks, she went without a nap (bless her heart, it wasn't without many people trying to get her to take a nap!) until 5:30 in the afternoon. She finally crashed while Aunt Meggie was holding her (and chatting with everyone). It was the sweetest thing! If you look close, you can see a drool blob on Meggie's shirt! bahahaha love her!
I am still in shock that we had so many people (60- yikes!) to the farm for Isabella's party- we are so blessed. I am thankful Isabella had such a great time with everyone and that they enjoyed her bubbly company. I am also thankful that she was able to brighten up a bitter-sweet day. :)
Thank you Isabella for making your own party such a joy- and thank you everyone that attended the party- you made it unforgettable for us all!
Here's to new beginnings.
Be Blessed.
This is a bitter-sweet post, so some of the readers might need a Kleenex box. Fair warning.
Poppy was so excited when Matt suggested we have Isabella's big birthday party at the farm, we never thought twice about changing it.
Let me back up a little bit and give some history (perhaps those Kleenex's will come out sooner rather than later??). Dottie was always known for her parties- birthday, pool, cookout, holiday- you name it, she had a party for it. She did her parties up right, you know what I mean? None of this unoriginal party planning blah blah, she was so methodical and creative (I can only hope to some day come up with some of the ideas she did!).
We haven't had a party of the Dottie caliber since she passed away (yeah, it is coming up on 2 years soon- so hard to believe it has been that long). Bill really wanted to work on the pool, landscaping and have the party there, and I thought it would just be perfect (quick pause for a Kleenex fetch).
 |
| Pool Party Time! |
You are probably wondering why we had it on a different day than her birthday. Well, the kids (meaning Sha, Kate and TJ) were at the beach and they would miss it. We couldn't have Belle's favorite cousins missing the biggest party in a long time, so it was solved: July 16th it is!
 |
| Katers & Belle. She loves cousin Kate! |
The party started at 1 with food being served around 2.
Everyone arrived, had a fabulous time hanging out with Isabella, eating, swimming and just generally chillin' out.
 |
| Grill Master Flash (Andy) |
Then, again, comes my favorite part: The Cake!
ERRRRRRT! Stop, halt, wait just a minute! We can't progress forward with the eating of the cake until we do the dressing of the babe. Okay, so basically, I had a crazy number of outfits (go big or go home, right?) for Isabella. She started off with her regular dress- see hanging out with Kate pic, then she had the dress I made to match the party, then she had her tanktop/tutu outfit to wear while she ate her cake, plus she had the bathing suit as well as clothes for afterwards. A girl's gotta have options, right? Bahahahaha
 |
| Sweet Baby Birthday Girl and Mum. |
Okay, now that she has her fabulous tutu on, I can continue.
 |
| about 1/3 the line of people taking pictures |
Isabella again had her own smash cake, this time it was white butter cream with a big orange "1" on it.
 |
| The Dessert Spread! |
 |
| Big Orange 1 Cake! |
 |
| big bite of sugary goodness. |
 |
| fork eating. |
Matt and I had a great time encouraging and helping her eat the yummy cake again! :)
After food, guess what is next. Yep, you got it: a dip in the pool!
 |
| This is one of my favorites. <3 |
She played around with Olivia in the pool for a while and splashed, having a good time. A bunch of the others were in and out all afternoon- it was perfect weather for a swim and a nap (just ask Zack!). :)
After she finished taking a dip with Olivia, it was time to open presents. Isabella was sweet and told Olivia to come and sit with her (Olivia is a little over 2 years old). They had a blast, opening presents, playing with the toys, then Olivia was very into reading all the cards- TOO CUTE!
 |
| Excited about a present! |
 |
| She likes eating cake, so she eats the fake cake. |
 |
| Bill, Ryan, TJ and Bill. Playing Serious Horsehoes. |
After she finished opening her presents, everyone just relaxed, playing horseshoes (a heated game ensued for most of the day!), making s'mores, and just enjoying the time with friends and family. As for the horseshoe came, I believe Bill and TJ came out on top, but Kate, Ryan and Dennis sure gave them a run for their money a couple of times!!
Folks started packing up their things and saying their goodbyes (you have to start this about 30 minutes before you want to really leave with our family- it's big!) around 7.
 |
| <3 her. |
I am still in shock that we had so many people (60- yikes!) to the farm for Isabella's party- we are so blessed. I am thankful Isabella had such a great time with everyone and that they enjoyed her bubbly company. I am also thankful that she was able to brighten up a bitter-sweet day. :)
Thank you Isabella for making your own party such a joy- and thank you everyone that attended the party- you made it unforgettable for us all!
Here's to new beginnings.
Be Blessed.
The Big Cuke Dip.
July 21- 24, 2011
Our first adventure with canning this year: Pickles and Banana Peppers.
This story is not complete without starting it off with the quick run to the Wal-Mart (boo hiss). I am sure you can only image what comes of a quick, after 6pm run to this fine establishment (wipe the sarcasm from your screen now).
Well, let me give you a quick run down on what went down at Wal-Mart. Found some Ball canning jars in various sizes, no problem. Hopes arise. Wander aimlessly throughout toys, sporting goods, and hardware looking for ONE Wal-Mart employee to check about a bucket (we needed another one). No luck. Dashed hopes and dreams that Wal-Mart MIGHT not be that bad. Continue walking on to Electronics and find a manager- only to have him continue to walk away, sending a team member over to help instead. What a winner. Outcome after 15 minutes...no buckets, even though they had 10 on-hand. We were told "they are probably in a bin in the back, not scanned." Such an honorable answer.
Stopped at Home Depot: bucket and lid found without issue. Home Depot saved my retail beliefs.
By this time it is ridiculously past Isabella's bedtime- Thanks Wal-Mart. We feed her a little more and off to bed she goes.
Breath.
Spread out all of the loot from the garden today (pickin' in the 100+ heat is for the birds. Heck, the aforementioned birds weren't even around). Decide to get started at 10, guess it is better than 11, right?
35 minutes later, Matt and I are finished cutting the cucumbers. Splish, splash, they are taking a Lime Bath!
We are letting the cukes bask in the lime glory all night, then rinse them off 3 times (yep, the recipe says 3) and will begin working up the recipe from the back Mrs. Wages Pickling Lime (hey, it's worth a shot, right? We have plenty more in the garden if this doesn't taste good!)
July 22, 2011
Okay, now the Cukes are taking a spicey bath. Yum. They smell like fall, oddly enough. I like the smell of fall.
They can soak in this bath from 5 hours to overnight. I am doing overnight- all that spicey goodness needs to be soaked up by those lovely Cukes.
July 23-24, 2011
Okay, so I am kinda over the long process. I like results, and yes, I will admit two things here: 1. The pickling process is easy and 2. I can see results each time I open the bucket.
Now comes the fun part. Cooking the pickles in their spicey bath and really canning them (in the boiling water canner). Hopefully this will prove to be free entertainment for both Matt and me.
I have determined, as I freakishly organize all of my pots and pans that I need BIGGER pots to accomplish this in a much more time efficient way. Note: insert catchy phrase, such as GO BIG OR GO HOME. Yep, with canning I have figured you need to go big or go home with your cooking pots. I already have the big boiling water canner and the pressure cooker. I am talking the prep pots.
You need a pot for the flat lids, and the food you are cooking, and the "heat the jars" pot, and the canner itself, and the blah, blah blah blah,....okay you get the point. All stove eyes are accounted for in a process like this.
The other thing about canning with smaller pots is how many times you have to do the same process. For instance, on the pickles, I will have to do the same process 5 times to can up the 5 gallon bucket of pickles we made.
Here is what the process looks like for the pickles we made:
Cook pickles in syrup for 35 minutes
While cooking pickles, warm the jars-- only problem: I can only fit 4 pint jars in a pot (not a lot when you think about a 5 gallon bucket...)
Pack each jar with the pickles, seal and set next to canner
Accumulate 3 jars (all my particular canning basket holds) and put in canner. Process for 10 minutes and remove.
So you see....as this process continues, each round averages about an hour, by the time you cook the pickles, pack the jars, warm more jars, can the jars, blah, blah, blah....this is about the time my attention span says, "Ciao, dahlin" and I am ready to go do something else.
I rest my case. Everyone thinking about canning should have big pots to do this process with, or please, for the love of all things canned, share your small pot secret with me so I don't have to repeatedly gouge my eyes out with Isabella's baby spoon while waiting on the process to start over again.
Okay, yeah, that was harsh. Sorry folks, sometimes things get a little funny around our house- we had quite the chuckle at the thought of someone actually doing that to themselves, all over canning pickles. bahahaha okay, laughing again. Maybe it is the fact we are still canning at 2:45 in the morning? I don't know, you decide.
Once we finished the pickles, we did a batch of banana peppers. yum.
The banana pepper batch yielded 10 jars.
The pickle batch yielded 22 jars.
We will officially be eating pickles until our bodies shrivel up like a pickle. If, by chance, World War III were to erupt, have no fear, we have plenty of rations for friends and family. We will survive by golly.
Okay, funnies aside, here is our end result. Not bad for one round from the fruits of our labor! :)
If you need free entertainment, just come to our house and watch us can- loads of laughs, guaranteed.
Be Blessed.
Our first adventure with canning this year: Pickles and Banana Peppers.
This story is not complete without starting it off with the quick run to the Wal-Mart (boo hiss). I am sure you can only image what comes of a quick, after 6pm run to this fine establishment (wipe the sarcasm from your screen now).
Well, let me give you a quick run down on what went down at Wal-Mart. Found some Ball canning jars in various sizes, no problem. Hopes arise. Wander aimlessly throughout toys, sporting goods, and hardware looking for ONE Wal-Mart employee to check about a bucket (we needed another one). No luck. Dashed hopes and dreams that Wal-Mart MIGHT not be that bad. Continue walking on to Electronics and find a manager- only to have him continue to walk away, sending a team member over to help instead. What a winner. Outcome after 15 minutes...no buckets, even though they had 10 on-hand. We were told "they are probably in a bin in the back, not scanned." Such an honorable answer.
Stopped at Home Depot: bucket and lid found without issue. Home Depot saved my retail beliefs.
By this time it is ridiculously past Isabella's bedtime- Thanks Wal-Mart. We feed her a little more and off to bed she goes.
Breath.
 |
| Can you tell he is excited? |
 |
| Cuke Lime Bath |
We are letting the cukes bask in the lime glory all night, then rinse them off 3 times (yep, the recipe says 3) and will begin working up the recipe from the back Mrs. Wages Pickling Lime (hey, it's worth a shot, right? We have plenty more in the garden if this doesn't taste good!)
 |
| Not opaque, as one would expect. |
July 22, 2011
Okay, now the Cukes are taking a spicey bath. Yum. They smell like fall, oddly enough. I like the smell of fall.
They can soak in this bath from 5 hours to overnight. I am doing overnight- all that spicey goodness needs to be soaked up by those lovely Cukes.
July 23-24, 2011
 |
| Makin' Progress. |
Now comes the fun part. Cooking the pickles in their spicey bath and really canning them (in the boiling water canner). Hopefully this will prove to be free entertainment for both Matt and me.
I have determined, as I freakishly organize all of my pots and pans that I need BIGGER pots to accomplish this in a much more time efficient way. Note: insert catchy phrase, such as GO BIG OR GO HOME. Yep, with canning I have figured you need to go big or go home with your cooking pots. I already have the big boiling water canner and the pressure cooker. I am talking the prep pots.
You need a pot for the flat lids, and the food you are cooking, and the "heat the jars" pot, and the canner itself, and the blah, blah blah blah,....okay you get the point. All stove eyes are accounted for in a process like this.
The other thing about canning with smaller pots is how many times you have to do the same process. For instance, on the pickles, I will have to do the same process 5 times to can up the 5 gallon bucket of pickles we made.
Here is what the process looks like for the pickles we made:
Cook pickles in syrup for 35 minutes
While cooking pickles, warm the jars-- only problem: I can only fit 4 pint jars in a pot (not a lot when you think about a 5 gallon bucket...)
Pack each jar with the pickles, seal and set next to canner
Accumulate 3 jars (all my particular canning basket holds) and put in canner. Process for 10 minutes and remove.
So you see....as this process continues, each round averages about an hour, by the time you cook the pickles, pack the jars, warm more jars, can the jars, blah, blah, blah....this is about the time my attention span says, "Ciao, dahlin" and I am ready to go do something else.
I rest my case. Everyone thinking about canning should have big pots to do this process with, or please, for the love of all things canned, share your small pot secret with me so I don't have to repeatedly gouge my eyes out with Isabella's baby spoon while waiting on the process to start over again.
Okay, yeah, that was harsh. Sorry folks, sometimes things get a little funny around our house- we had quite the chuckle at the thought of someone actually doing that to themselves, all over canning pickles. bahahaha okay, laughing again. Maybe it is the fact we are still canning at 2:45 in the morning? I don't know, you decide.
 |
| Little Banana Pepper Batch |
The banana pepper batch yielded 10 jars.
The pickle batch yielded 22 jars.
We will officially be eating pickles until our bodies shrivel up like a pickle. If, by chance, World War III were to erupt, have no fear, we have plenty of rations for friends and family. We will survive by golly.
Okay, funnies aside, here is our end result. Not bad for one round from the fruits of our labor! :)
 |
| Jars, Jars and more Jars |
If you need free entertainment, just come to our house and watch us can- loads of laughs, guaranteed.
Be Blessed.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
A Year of Belle
Now that Isabella is a year old and all the parties are over, here is a sneak at the photograph decoration I made to show her growth over the last year. You can see a full picture of it on the post about her big party (coming up soon). These are the pictures I used, month-by-month.
Enjoy.
Enjoy.
30 Things to do Before I'm 30, pt.3
You have already seen part 1 and 2, if not, go HERE and HERE and read 'em!
Here is part three.
These are all local to my home. I purposefully chose these to prove that where I live IS enough. :)
11. Visit Gettysburg, again. Not to just see the sites, or to be able to say, "Ive been there", but to feel the spirit of our Nation and what makes this such a special place. I also want to view it from a woman's perspective (hopefully I can find a historical piece of writing to sustain this!).
12. Visit Zoo America. The zoo is next to Hershey Park, thus living in the shadow of the giant. I was here once before with Matt, but it was kinda chilly then and we didn't spend a lot of time there. I would like to learn more about the species housed at the Zoo.
13. Visit the Capital. President Theodore Roosevelt called the capital "The most handsomest build I ever saw!" and for good reason. Take it all in, from the "handsomest" perspective.
14. Attend a Harrisburg Senators' game. They are a minor league team that is pretty darn good- the likes of Strasburg & Bryce Harper.
15. Shakespeare in the Park. A free festival, celebrating the obvious, including free showings of the year's play. This year it is: All's Well That Ends Well.
Here is part three.
These are all local to my home. I purposefully chose these to prove that where I live IS enough. :)
11. Visit Gettysburg, again. Not to just see the sites, or to be able to say, "Ive been there", but to feel the spirit of our Nation and what makes this such a special place. I also want to view it from a woman's perspective (hopefully I can find a historical piece of writing to sustain this!).
12. Visit Zoo America. The zoo is next to Hershey Park, thus living in the shadow of the giant. I was here once before with Matt, but it was kinda chilly then and we didn't spend a lot of time there. I would like to learn more about the species housed at the Zoo.
13. Visit the Capital. President Theodore Roosevelt called the capital "The most handsomest build I ever saw!" and for good reason. Take it all in, from the "handsomest" perspective.
14. Attend a Harrisburg Senators' game. They are a minor league team that is pretty darn good- the likes of Strasburg & Bryce Harper.
15. Shakespeare in the Park. A free festival, celebrating the obvious, including free showings of the year's play. This year it is: All's Well That Ends Well.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Happy Birthday Isabella!
July 8, 2011
On Isabella's birthday we had some family over for a nice cookout at our house and to reveal our completed basement (yes, there were scissors and ribbon involved). Here are a few pictures from her birthday.
Aunt Meggie, Uncle Billy Bob, Poppy and cousins Kate, Sha and TJ came over to celebrate Belle's birthday.
Our neighbors: Cameron, Dylan and Ben came over and brought what they considered "the perfect present for Isabella." Little did we know how right they were, lesson learned. Kids know best.
The boys brought her a balloon. Their thought? They would bring her a balloon for every year she is old on her birthday (1 for 1, 2 for 2, etc). How thoughtful is that??
For the rest of the night that balloon was attached to her. She never let it go. Crawled all over the house, dragging the best birthday present around with her.
The sweet little guys were 100% right. :)
After munching away on burgers, hotdogs, veggie burgers, and salad, it was time for....yep, you guessed it: cake.
Now, I will pause and say how excited I was about this point- the cakes were from Schenk's on N. Mountain Rd...and, yes, they had strawberries and butter cream icing. Squeee! I actually thought about skipping the real food and heading right to the cake, but I held myself back.
Isabella wasn't sure what to think about all of these lovely folks singing happy birthday to her (notice I didn't say singing on key), I believe it was a little overwhelming. She did reach for us to sit it down by the end of the song (insert thoughts of which name did we sing to, heck we sang them all, which made it even funnier - Belle, Bella, Izzy, and Isabella). I am convinced she thought we were crazy- yes, Isabella, your family is crazy and loves you tons and tons. Don't worry, you will have plenty more embarrassing moments as you grow up with us!! We are not quiet, shy folks.
She had her own smash cake to do whatever her little heart pleased, while the rest of us munched on our own strawberry cake! I highly recommend doing it this way.
She very carefully touched the top of the cake, looked at Mum, looked at Dad, looked at the cake, and touched it again, very carefully.
This continued for 3 or 4 more times, then Aunt Meggie walks by and what does Belle do? She throws her arm at Meg and grunt, grunt, grunts. We quickly realized that she wanted Meg to wash her hand off- please GET that icing OFF! bahaha
Of course Meggie did exactly as Belle directed her and once again she was off to touch the cake again, now that she had a clean hand. This continued a couple times, Matt and I stepped in and fed her a few bites so she could taste it, and by the end she was just tired of playing in cake.
Cothes report: Not a drop of icing on her dress anywhere, including the black from the polka dots. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we have a princess on our hands! :)
Now that she is super hyped-up on a sugar high, we moved on to presents. She wanted to tear the paper off the presents, but the balloon (remember that perfect present??) was a hindrance. She still surged on like a trooper, bouncing up and down, crawling around and squealing, while Aunt Meggie helped open the presents. :)
She was blessed with an awesome porch swing from Poppy, some adorable clothes from Baby Gap (guess who these are from!!), a bouncy ball, Mrs. Potato Head, and an awesome musical card from Poppy.
Notice, Poppy went all out! :) He is a good Poppy to Belle.
She had a lot of fun opening her presents, but did get a little bored with opening them (it took too long to get the present out of the package), so off she went to play with Paisley and her balloon while Aunt Meggie worked extra hard getting the presents out of their packages!
I guess Belle is collecting her "people" to do things for her, just like her Poppy! ;)
She played and played until she wore herself out. Not too tired to Skype with her Nana though!! I asked her if she wanted to talk to Nana and she instantly perked up.
She had a quick Skype session with Nana, to wish her happy birthday, but by then the sugar high was turning to to a sugar crash and burn. She couldn't talk to Nana for rubbing her eyes, so we signed off.
She crashed about 5 minutes (just long enough to change a diaper and put on some jams) later.
Isabella had a fabulous birthday and enjoyed hanging out with her family!!
Coming soon: a post about her big birthday party.
Be Blessed.
On Isabella's birthday we had some family over for a nice cookout at our house and to reveal our completed basement (yes, there were scissors and ribbon involved). Here are a few pictures from her birthday.
Our neighbors: Cameron, Dylan and Ben came over and brought what they considered "the perfect present for Isabella." Little did we know how right they were, lesson learned. Kids know best.
The boys brought her a balloon. Their thought? They would bring her a balloon for every year she is old on her birthday (1 for 1, 2 for 2, etc). How thoughtful is that??
For the rest of the night that balloon was attached to her. She never let it go. Crawled all over the house, dragging the best birthday present around with her.
The sweet little guys were 100% right. :)
After munching away on burgers, hotdogs, veggie burgers, and salad, it was time for....yep, you guessed it: cake.
Now, I will pause and say how excited I was about this point- the cakes were from Schenk's on N. Mountain Rd...and, yes, they had strawberries and butter cream icing. Squeee! I actually thought about skipping the real food and heading right to the cake, but I held myself back.
She had her own smash cake to do whatever her little heart pleased, while the rest of us munched on our own strawberry cake! I highly recommend doing it this way.
She very carefully touched the top of the cake, looked at Mum, looked at Dad, looked at the cake, and touched it again, very carefully.
This continued for 3 or 4 more times, then Aunt Meggie walks by and what does Belle do? She throws her arm at Meg and grunt, grunt, grunts. We quickly realized that she wanted Meg to wash her hand off- please GET that icing OFF! bahaha
Of course Meggie did exactly as Belle directed her and once again she was off to touch the cake again, now that she had a clean hand. This continued a couple times, Matt and I stepped in and fed her a few bites so she could taste it, and by the end she was just tired of playing in cake.
 |
| Just in case you weren't convinced we were crazy... |
Now that she is super hyped-up on a sugar high, we moved on to presents. She wanted to tear the paper off the presents, but the balloon (remember that perfect present??) was a hindrance. She still surged on like a trooper, bouncing up and down, crawling around and squealing, while Aunt Meggie helped open the presents. :)
She was blessed with an awesome porch swing from Poppy, some adorable clothes from Baby Gap (guess who these are from!!), a bouncy ball, Mrs. Potato Head, and an awesome musical card from Poppy.
Notice, Poppy went all out! :) He is a good Poppy to Belle.
She had a lot of fun opening her presents, but did get a little bored with opening them (it took too long to get the present out of the package), so off she went to play with Paisley and her balloon while Aunt Meggie worked extra hard getting the presents out of their packages!
I guess Belle is collecting her "people" to do things for her, just like her Poppy! ;)
She played and played until she wore herself out. Not too tired to Skype with her Nana though!! I asked her if she wanted to talk to Nana and she instantly perked up.
She had a quick Skype session with Nana, to wish her happy birthday, but by then the sugar high was turning to to a sugar crash and burn. She couldn't talk to Nana for rubbing her eyes, so we signed off.
She crashed about 5 minutes (just long enough to change a diaper and put on some jams) later.
Isabella had a fabulous birthday and enjoyed hanging out with her family!!
Coming soon: a post about her big birthday party.
Be Blessed.
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