Confessions Of A Country Girl

I'm Blogging again!

2011-01-29T04:53:00.001-06:00

I am personal blogging again! I can be found at my new home Sheepless in the City. I've imported the blog posts from here as well as the ones from my other attempt at personal blogging....plus there is new content as well. I hope that you'll drop by and say hi.

Jamie

Frozen Lace

2010-02-07T12:56:00.002-06:00

Looking at the ice along the creek bank, you can almost see what looks like frothy lace on the bottom of a fancy dress. Really pretty.

Black Earth Creek

2010-02-07T12:38:00.002-06:00

This is a pic of the Black Earth Creek near Black Earth, Wisconsin. One of the best trout streams in the state. Still enough snow to make the trek along the creek bank a little bit of work. But worth it! The two weather stations I listened to this morning have really widely different forcasts for the next few days. Interesting how 2 well educated professionals with the same data can't decide if it's a dusting of snow or 6 inches.

Winter Looks Pretty

2010-01-12T05:41:00.003-06:00

I've been out with the camera. This is Hyde Mill near Ridgeway, Wisconsin. The weather guru is thinking that we should get to above 30 degrees today. Whahoo! That means I only need two layers when I'm outside. And I won't be visiting with Mr. Shovel today!

Look What You Can See When The Leaves Are Gone

2010-01-10T05:30:00.000-06:00

One nice thing about winter… no leaves on the trees. You can see the folks who usually are hidden from view. I spotted this owl along the road on my way home from work. He did not seem the least bit bothered by all the cars whizzing by.

Ok...Back To Winter

2010-01-09T13:01:00.002-06:00

I don’t know if you can see how amazingly huge this ice wall is, but it’s HUGE. We went to Governor Dodge State Park, near Dodgeville, Wisconsin to do a little hiking. This is Stephan Falls. In all the visits I’ve made to the park I had never been to the falls. I hate to admit I really hadn’t paid a lot of attention to the fact they were even there. Boy did I make a mistake! We hiked over to the falls, which was a really easy hike on the packed snow. And then wandered along the valley trail until we reached another cross trail. If your close by swing by the park and take a look. Even though the temperature was only +5 we were not really cold, because we were down in the valley so there was no wind to contend with.

For a little perspective, you can see my Mom standing in front of a wall of ice facing Stephen Falls. She’s 5 foot 8 inches tall.

A Break From Snow

2010-01-08T05:15:00.001-06:00

I thought it might be a nice time to look at summer!

Christmas Went To The Dogs

2009-12-26T17:22:00.002-06:00

Both Lacy and Gus must have been really good dogs this past year! Santa brought 2 really big bones for the girls.

Nothing funnier than a 8 pound dog dragging and protecting a bone nearly as big as her!

Lacy is sampling the sauce the bone is basted in. Sort of a Juila/Martha special treat.

The Longest Night

2009-12-23T08:32:00.004-06:00

For the longest night of the year we attended the service at Middlebury Chapel near Barneveld, Wisconsin. Wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but it was awesome. I don’t think any cathedral service had music as moving as this simple service.

PW's Dinner Rolls

2009-12-03T04:42:00.002-06:00

I am sooo making these to go along with the other tasty goodness that I am making for dinner courtesy of PW.

Dinner Rolls

Prep Time 4 Hours

Cook Time 20 Minutes

Ingredients:
* 4 cups Milk
* 1 cup Sugar
* 1 cup Vegetable Oil
* 9 cups Flour
* 2 packages (4 1/2 Tsp.) Active Dry Yeast
* 1 teaspoon (heaping) Baking Powder
* 1 teaspoon (scant) Baking Soda
* 2 Tablespoons Salt

Directions:

Pour 4 cups of milk into a stock pot or Dutch oven. Add one cup of sugar and 1 cup of vegetable oil. Stir to combine. Now, turn the burner on medium to medium-low and “scald” the mixture/lukewarm (between 90 and 110 degrees).

When the mixture is the right temperature add in 4 cups of flour and 2 packages of (4-1/2 teaspoons) of active dry yeast. After the yeast and flour are nicely incorporated, add another 4 cups of flour. Stir together and allow to sit, covered with a tea towel or lid, for an hour. After about an hour it should have almost doubled in size. If it hasn’t changed much, put it in a warm (but turned off ) oven for 45 minutes or so. When it had risen sufficiently add 1 more cup of flour, 1 heaping teaspoon of baking powder, 1 scant teaspoon of baking soda and about 2 tablespoons of salt. Stir (or knead just a bit) until combined.

Butter 1 or 2 muffin pans. Form the rolls by pinching off a walnut sized piece of dough and rolling it into a little ball. Repeat and tuck three balls of dough into each buttered muffin cup. Continue until pan is full. Cover and allow to rise for about 1 to 2 hours.

Bake in a 400-degree oven until golden brown, about 17 to 20 minutes.

The Blind Side

2009-11-10T07:42:00.002-06:00

I can hardly WAIT to see this movie, totally based on a true story. It seems like it will be a good one...from the trailer's at least. I'm off to pick up the book, The Blind Side in a little bit.

In desperate need of CHOCOLATE!

2009-11-03T11:15:00.002-06:00

I AM IN DESPERATE NEED OF CHOCOLATE! With the week at work I just had a truckload ought to do it.

I'm back!

2009-10-25T08:19:00.002-05:00

How have y'all been?! Been a crappy week here....It rained all week up until yesterday afternoon so I haven't been out walking as much as I'd like and my scale is a liar...I'm actually up 2 pounds. Not much more to say on the subject.

Bloggest Loser part 4

2009-10-18T00:31:00.000-05:00

So this week has not been the greatest of weeks for me. I haven't been Wii Fitting like I would like but I have been getting out walking the girls more....Our Cocker is getting a little bit on the "round" side so we're (the three of us) are in the process of loseing some weight. I've basically taken some time off from good behavior and in the process still managed to lose 1 1/2 pounds. Don't know how I managed that one but I'll take it.

So I am without a computer the rest of this week. I just wanted to let you all know. I'll be a week behind on my blogging but I will be back around to visit.

Shiver

2009-10-14T01:49:00.003-05:00

This will soooo be on my bookshelf within the next couple of days! I am super excited...I've heard about it all over the place in "book blog" land and now I'm getting my own copy! Oh, if you'd like to learn more about the book just click on the image or if your looking for something to read hop on over to my new book blog (sorry about the shameless plug) Confessions of a Book Junkie.

Bloggest Loser part 3

2009-10-11T02:02:00.000-05:00

So this week on Bloggest Loser......

I cracked and had my first soda in almost 2 weeks....The upside is that it didn't taste "right" so I didn't even finish it. My back hasn't been bothering me near as bad as was last week so I was able to get in more workouts this week than I did last week. I've been kind of slacking on the getting out and walking with the girls...It's been cold and dreary here in WI. According to the powers that be I'm supposed to be closer to 132 pounds...which is fine but I'll be even happier to be somewhere between 140 and 132.

According to my Wii Fit I'm down 5.25 pounds! My scale is waging war on me....so I think I'll just stick with having myself weighed on my Wii Fit.

Awards!

2009-10-09T01:29:00.003-05:00

Over the past couple of days I've received a couple of awards, plus the one from last week also. So without further ado my awards:

This one is from Angela at Angela's Soliloquy

And this one is from Heather over at Red Apron

Now each of these awards comes with it's own set of rules...I am bad with rules so I've decided that I am going to give these awards to EVERYONE. Enjoy!

According to the powers that be....

2009-10-08T01:42:00.001-05:00

Instead of being around 140 pounds according to the powers that be I should be at or close to 132 pounds. Still a very acheiveable goal. Just need to get my mind right about the whole process....Apparently, it's not completely ok with my plan. GET RIGHT WITH THE PLAN BRAIN!

Apparently, my scale is also plotting against me. Since I do most of my work outs on my Wii Fit now I'll be using the body test function to figure my weight. It seems to be much more accurate than my regular scale....which has been known to give me 3 or 4 completely different weights in the span of maybe 2 minutes (testing it's accuracy.)

Water Under The Bridge

2009-10-07T00:13:00.003-05:00

My Blog Groups

2009-10-06T23:30:00.003-05:00

Visit The Bloggest Loser

Visit Operation Fat Blaster

Visit bookieboo

I cracked...

2009-10-06T13:38:00.003-05:00

I gave in and had my first soda in almost 2 weeks. Bad me. This too shall pass.

Just Checking In

2009-10-06T09:02:00.002-05:00

Just checking in to let everyone know that I haven't dropped off the face of the planet. I'm still here just trying to keep busy. Doing a lot of reading and Wii Fitting! Will be having some interesting reviews coming up on my book blog shortly. I'll be out later this evening (after my nap) to visit everyone. Have a great day!

Bloggest Loser part 2

2009-10-04T01:00:00.001-05:00

So I've put in my first official week on Bloggest Loser....YEAH ME! Seriously....I've usually lost interest about 2 or 3 days in. So let's go over the goals that I set for myself in my last Bloggest Loser post:

1. Do NOT give in to the caffeine headaches that I know I'm due for as a result of giving up soda....NO MORE SODA! I'm 7 days without any caffeine and 6 days without any soda at all. Wednesday my mom sent me out after soda for her and I was soooo tempted but I did not give in!

2. Get in 3-4 good work outs. I only got in 1 really good work out this week. My back has been bothering me and I don't want to aggervate it anymore than it already is.

3. Take the Girls for at least 1 walk a day (more if possible on my days off.) Since last Sunday we've been on 9 walks!

4. Try to find as many "Healthy" recipes as possible (if you know of any blogs, webpages, etc let me know please). I've found a few sites to check out.

5. Try to lose 1-2 pounds. I am down (and holding) 3.5 pounds!

Quite Frankly My Dear.....part 2

2009-10-03T00:30:00.000-05:00

So as I've posted before I have been reading Gone With The Wind for a little bit now. I've even posted part 1 of this multi-part review. I keep learning all sorts of things about the characters in this book. In the last review I left off with Rhett almost starting a fight at the Wilkes' BBQ and Scarlett being the belle of the ball. Moving on....The war has started and both Melly and Scarlett's husbands (oh yeah I said it) go off to war. Only for Scarlett to become a widow only a couple of months into her marriage. There's more to that part of the story too but I don't want to give away tooooo much.

Scarlett ends up visiting Melly and her Aunt PittyPat (who does have a real name but you'll have to read the book to find out what it is) in Atlanta. The mourning process in that time period was sooo "hardcore" to say the least let's put it that way. Before Scarlett even makes it PittyPat's house she's volunteered to help numerous hospital committee's that are in the community.

Get this Rhett is now called Captain Butler and is a Blockade runner!

Still NOT liking how the slaves dialogue is written!

An Award for me....More to come

2009-10-01T23:56:00.003-05:00

My bloggy pal Chef Eureka over at Two Peas in a Pie awarded me with this award. I am sooo bad at awards sometimes...I just don't know who to award them to. So I'm going to think on it for a little while and come up with my 6 winners and the answers to all the questions too, there will be a part 2 post later. Thank you for the award!

The Road to Now Where

2009-09-30T00:55:00.000-05:00

My New Blog for my "New" Addiction....Books

2009-09-29T09:35:00.002-05:00

I decided that since I've been doing a LOT of reading lately....Some of which I have yet to post about....I would give them (the books, that is) there own space in the blogosphere. I've been working on getting the reviews that I've already posted here up there and I'll be working on a couple more over the next couple of days. I hope to see you there! I can hardly wait to meet new bloggy friends who enjoy books as much as I do!

J

Confessions of a Book Junkie

Soda....Bad

2009-09-29T01:23:00.003-05:00

So I'm 3 days without any soda and 4 days without any caffeinated soda (we had free soda one night at work for a co-worker's B-day).....Yeah for me! Been taking in a crap ton of water over the past few days. So far only 1 bad headache....but I'm not giving in. Off to catch a little cat nap then I'm off to plug in the Wii Fit!

Plus, there's a group out there on the net called the WiiMommies. I so joined that group as well because most of the people in the group are using Wii's and Wii Fit's in their routine's. That and I need a SUPER HUGE cheerleading section to keep me motivated. Even if you don't have a Wii there's a LOT helpful information, recipes, etc there too.

LET'S WIPE IT OUT!

2009-09-28T07:45:00.004-05:00

So for the last couple of days I've blogged about the Blog for a Cure party that's going on over at Who Knew? Reviews. If you would like to participate (here) or learn more about the party you can click here. I hope that you'll join us....It's a pretty cool way to make new bloggy friends, win some pretty cool prizes and get rid of a pretty horrible disease all at the same time!

If you click on the image above you can also learn more about the blog party too. Hope to see you there!

Bloggest Loser part 1

2009-09-27T00:02:00.001-05:00

So I'm a few days into Bloggest Loser. So armed with my "fitness" magazines, a world wide web full of resources, my Wii and Wii Fit and my VERY demanding dogs I am ready to get things rolling. In April when I talked to my doctor about things that I could do to lose weight she told me that I need to keep a regular sleep schedule, eat regularly and try to cut out as much soda and carbonated beverages as possible. So far I am failing pretty badly at all of that....though I am in the process of giving up soda....so I don't really know how well that's going to go because I'm only a couple days into that as well.

Last year when we adopted our Cocker Spaniel, Laci, and with the way I am constantly moving around at my job I was able to go from a size 14 pair of jeans down to a 7/8 pair of jeans. Seriously, that was a pretty big highlight for me....and all of that with just WALKING. Now things have taken a downward spiral and I'm headed back towards my 14's again...ok well, I'm closer to a 13 right now. But then we move a little higher up the body and get to my tummy.....NOT loving it at all. Many years of incorrect eating and basically treating myself like crappy crap crap have caught up with me.

So I'm going to give myself little tiny goals to try to achieve during the week and we'll see how well I do by Sunday....This weeks goals:

1. Do NOT give in to the caffeine headaches that I know I'm due for as a result of giving up soda....NO MORE SODA!

2. Get in 3-4 good work outs.

3. Take the Girls for at least 1 walk a day (more if possible on my days off.)

4. Try to find as many "Healthy" recipes as possible (if you know of any blogs, webpages, etc let me know please).

5. Try to lose 1-2 pounds.

Wish me luck, I'm going to need it!

Blog for a Cure!

2009-09-26T01:44:00.000-05:00

I blogged about this on Thursday as well, but I really wanted to get the information out there for ya'll. One of my new followers Who Knew? Reviews is holding a Blog for a Cure party to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I am SO in on this...I hope that you too will join us in trying to find a cure for these terrible diseases. Here is the link to the post with all the information you will need in it.

Or even better yet......

Here is the information.....Copied from the blog post about the party.....

Three questions:

Do you want to gain new followers for your blog?

Do you want to help eradicate cancer?

Can you spare $1.00?

If so, then read on.

On Monday, Sept 28- Friday, Oct 2, 2009, Who Knew? Reviews will be hosting the first Annual Blog For A Cure, which is a new way to use social media to raise funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, while making new connections and broadening our social media network.Blood cancers are an aggressive and stealthy enemy. They can and will strike people of all ages, health status, ethnicity, and sex unless we rally together and support the research that is needed to treat and prevent them. I have organized this campaign in honor of a dear family member and fellow young mom who has recently been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin Lymphoma and is now fighting for her life. I am sure that each and every one of us can say we know someone who has been affected by these devastating, indiscriminate diseases. Together, we can use our most accessible resource, the internet, to help fight the battle.

It’s pretty simple:

- On September 28th, head over to Who Knew? Reviews, and click on the button to donate $1.00 to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. If you can donate more, please do so, but the minimum to participate is $1.00.

- Then, sign in to Mr. Linky which will be active on the blog at midnight, Sept. 25th. Cruise the list of other participants, visiting a minimum of 5 blogs.

- Click “follow” when you get to those blogs. For each new blog follower that you get, return the “follow”. Feel free to visit and follow each and every other participant that signs in to Mr. Linky- think how many new followers you will receive!

- Feel free to check back all week long to meet new bloggers, and gain new followers!

- On September 28th, post something about the Blog For A Cure Blog Party on your own blog, including the link: www.whoknewreviews.blogspot.com. Feel free to copy and paste this text, and encourage all of your blog readers to do the same.

- If you do not care to gain followers for your blog, you can still will prizes by donating a dollar, and commenting on the prize posts that you want to win.

- If you do not want to donate, you can still help by blogging, tweeting, and posting on Facebook about this event, to help us spread the word and raise as much money as possible. Just imagine what a difference we could all make, if we all just donated ONE dollar. Just think about it.

And of course, there will be prizes!

Every hour throughout the day on September 28th, I will post a new giveaway on Who Knew? Reviews. Winners will receive prizes from Kolcraft, StephieMc Designs, La Plates, Orglamix mineral makeup, Krizzy Designs, and Boojiboo as well as a few other prizes TBA. There will also be a prize for the person who refers the most participants. When you get to the main link-up post, leave a comment on the with the name of the blogger who told you about the blog party. The blogger who refers the most participants will receive a special, personalized gift from Stephie Mc Designs. If you are interested in sponsoring a prize, please contact me at lanik58@yahoo.com.

Open Letter to my Hair

2009-09-25T00:29:00.002-05:00

This photo is several months old...My hair is actually shoulder length now.

Dear Hair,

I have been in the process of growing you out for almost 2 years now and as much as I love the progress we have made together, I really wish you would grow a little faster. I really would love to be able to do something fun, styling wise with you but right now we are back in that "icky" stage where there just aren't all that many styling options, even though I am totally stoked that you are now long enough that I can put you in a pony tail.

We've come a long ways and I am not going to give up just yet, but I would soooo love it if I were actually able to style you in some way when I finally get enough dough saved up to go see my Cowboys again. I hope I haven't upset you tooooo much with my "express myself with a new hair color" stage.....that would be really upsetting to me. Even though I'm not a real big fan of my natural hair color.....Dishwater blond is kinda blah in my opinion. I've even given that up until you get a little longer.....I hope you don't mind?

Well, I guess now that I've made my wishes known I'll keep taking my vitamins and experiment and see if I can't find a couple of different ways to style you until you get a little bit longer. So GROW, GROW like the wind!

P.S. Bangs same goes for you....Your driving me NUTS!

Jamie

Quite Frankly My Dear.....Review ~ Gone With The Wind part 1

2009-09-24T02:53:00.003-05:00

To view my three other posts from this morning please click here (I'm a Secret Santa...How about you?), here (Bloggest Loser) and here (Blog for a Cure Party)

NOTE: This will be a multi-part review due to the length of the book.

So I recently started reading Gone With The Wind, a VERY American classic. I read this quite a few years ago.....while I was still in High School and really liked it. Now I have my own personal copy of ALL 63 chapters of Scarlett and Rhett's story all to myself. I did learn something while I was reading the preface of this book...That there are 2 authorized sequels to Gone With The Wind. See you learn something new everyday!

Alright, so I'm about 126 pages into the book and the only real "complaint" that I have is that I'm not particularly thrilled with the way that the "slaves" dialogue is written. It's a little bit too difficult for my ADD brain to follow/translate sometimes. Scarlett is being...well...Scarlett. So far, she's played one Tarleton twin against the other (one of which she stole from Ashley Wilkes' sister India), learned of Ashley's engagement to Miss Melanie and has been in trouble with Mammy already. The men (especially Scarlett's father Gerald) are talking war....Fort Sumter has been fired on....and Miss Scarlett is none to happy with all this war/secession talk because it isn't her favorite subject, which is....Herself.

Scarlett's mother Ellen is considerably younger (she's 32 and he's 60) than her husband. I also learned while reading, all about how Gerald O'Hara and Ellen met and a little bit about their lives before they became a couple. Scarlett is entirely way toooo much like her father. Scarlett has two younger sisters (Carreen and Suellen) as well as three little brothers who are buried in the family plot. Scarlett is still convinced that Ashley is going to marry her instead of Melanie. She even devises a plan to let him know that she loves while she's at the BBQ/Ball that the Wilkes' family is holding.

We've met Rhett Butler at the Wilkes' BBQ. Apparently, he's got a not so good history and is NOT a man "recieved." Something about a girl, a wrecked carriage and the horse running away....To top it off he refused to marry the girl! He almost started a fight at the Wilkes' BBQ also while trying to convince the rest of the men at the party to not underestimate the Yankee's! Scarlett is the "Belle of the ball" and has pretty much all of the young men veying for her attention.

My Thoughts: Like I said in the beginning not really happy with the "slaves" dialogue...tad difficult to translate/understand in my brain. I'm really happy with the follow of the book...It reads real easy like. You feel like you are there at the Wilkes' BBQ, etc. So far I'm really happy with the book.

The Bloggest Loser

2009-09-24T02:50:00.000-05:00

For many years I have struggled to lose just a "few" of my unwanted pounds. A couple of days ago I came across a bloggy group that I am confident will be able to help me attain my goal for myself. That group is called the Bloggest Loser.

My goal for myself is actually a birthday gift to myself (my birthday is actually until February but why wait right?) is to lose about 30 pounds (I probably won't lose it all in that time but some is better than none) and to start living a healthier lifestyle.

Blog for a Cure Party

2009-09-24T02:32:00.003-05:00

One of my new followers Who Knew? Reviews is holding a Blog for a Cure party to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I am SO in on this...I hope that you too will join us in trying to find a cure for these terrible diseases. Here is the link to the post with all the information you will need in it.

Or even better yet......

Here is the information.....Copied from the blog post about the party.....

Three questions:

Do you want to gain new followers for your blog?
Do you want to help eradicate cancer?
Can you spare $1.00?

If so, then read on.

On Monday, Sept 28- Friday, Oct 2, 2009, Who Knew? Reviews will be hosting the first Annual Blog For A Cure, which is a new way to use social media to raise funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, while making new connections and broadening our social media network.Blood cancers are an aggressive and stealthy enemy. They can and will strike people of all ages, health status, ethnicity, and sex unless we rally together and support the research that is needed to treat and prevent them. I have organized this campaign in honor of a dear family member and fellow young mom who has recently been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin Lymphoma and is now fighting for her life. I am sure that each and every one of us can say we know someone who has been affected by these devastating, indiscriminate diseases. Together, we can use our most accessible resource, the internet, to help fight the battle.

It’s pretty simple:

- On September 28th, head over to Who Knew? Reviews, and click on the button to donate $1.00 to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. If you can donate more, please do so, but the minimum to participate is $1.00.

- Then, sign in to Mr. Linky which will be active on the blog at midnight, Sept. 25th. Cruise the list of other participants, visiting a minimum of 5 blogs.

- Click “follow” when you get to those blogs. For each new blog follower that you get, return the “follow”. Feel free to visit and follow each and every other participant that signs in to Mr. Linky- think how many new followers you will receive!

- Feel free to check back all week long to meet new bloggers, and gain new followers!

- On September 28th, post something about the Blog For A Cure Blog Party on your own blog, including the link: www.whoknewreviews.blogspot.com. Feel free to copy and paste this text, and encourage all of your blog readers to do the same.

- If you do not care to gain followers for your blog, you can still will prizes by donating a dollar, and commenting on the prize posts that you want to win.

- If you do not want to donate, you can still help by blogging, tweeting, and posting on Facebook about this event, to help us spread the word and raise as much money as possible. Just imagine what a difference we could all make, if we all just donated ONE dollar. Just think about it.

And of course, there will be prizes!

Every hour throughout the day on September 28th, I will post a new giveaway on Who Knew? Reviews. Winners will receive prizes from Kolcraft, StephieMc Designs, La Plates, Orglamix mineral makeup, Krizzy Designs, and Boojiboo as well as a few other prizes TBA. There will also be a prize for the person who refers the most participants. When you get to the main link-up post, leave a comment on the with the name of the blogger who told you about the blog party. The blogger who refers the most participants will receive a special, personalized gift from Stephie Mc Designs. If you are interested in sponsoring a prize, please contact me at lanik58@yahoo.com.

I'm a Secret Santa....How about you?

2009-09-24T02:07:00.002-05:00

I was out and about checking out my new followers blogs this morning when I came across a link to a Secret Santa "swap" that is being held over at this blog. If you click on the word "this" or the graphic below it will take you to the post with all the directions and 411 you will need to participate.

UGH part duex and "Wordless" Wednesday

2009-09-23T00:10:00.000-05:00

I don't know what Blogger's problem is but now I can see who my followers are. I know I've acquired 3 new followers and now I can't see who they are or visit there blogs. If your a follower would you please leave me a comment so that I can go and visit your blog and follow you too?

Book Review ~ Michael Perry's Truck: A Love Story

2009-09-22T03:16:00.002-05:00

Note: This was orginally posted on June 30 on my old wordpress blog.

For the past week and a 1/2 I have been reading Michael Perry’s book….Truck a Love Story. I only now have found this Wisconsin author and so far I am loving his writing. I am going to keep this review short and sweet because I don’t want to give away too much. Truck is about Michael’s “mission” to get his 1951 International Harvestor truck running and operational by Deer Season (a “holiday” that we take VERY seriously here in Wisconsin). Along the way readers will learn why “seed catalogs are responsible for more unfulfilled fantasies than Enron and Penthouse combined,” why squirrels are evil, a little bit about Mike’s dating life and a little bit about his interesting neighbors.

I really enjoyed this book. Plus the author lives only a few hours north of where I live! I enjoyed this book so much that I can hardly wait to start reading his new book Coop. I’ve heard great things about it. I giggled most of the way through this book because Mike paints such vivid pictures with his words that you can imagine yourself there with him. I hope that you will check this book out!

If you want to visit Mike’s webpage/blog the address is: http://sneezingcow.com/

Confessions of a Country Girl part 6

2009-09-21T04:20:00.001-05:00

NOTE: I've added a "UPCOMING EVENTS" spot in my sidebar so that you all can see what's coming up in the future here at Confessions of a Country Girl.

I'm in a work related funk lately. Without going into to many details, I just feel that I right now I'm sort of being singled out and I'm not particularly happy about it. It's not that I don't like my job...I do. It's not a hard job (though there are those who like to make it harder than it has to be) and quite frankly it's basically "busy" work. All of these unhappy feelings are making it hard for me to get out of bed and actually go to work. I hate feeling like this.

Well, let's just say that today I as well as a few other of our team members were sent home early because we were pretty much done with all of our work for the day. We did all the "extra projects" that they had for us yesterday when we got done early with our work load, so there was really nothing left for us to do. I realize that it's up to my manager to decide that sort of stuff but sending me home early is surely NOT helping me get myself out of debt any sooner either.

UGH!

UGH!

2009-09-21T03:07:00.002-05:00

MY ENTIRE LIST OF BLOGS IS GONE! If you were in my list of blogs that I check out leave me a comment and I'll add you back in.

Bath and Body Works True Blue Spa Zero Tolerance SPF 45 for Face (Fragrance Free)

2009-09-21T03:06:00.000-05:00

NOTE: This was orginally posted on June 4 on my old wordpress blog.

Note: The photo in this post is of the sunscreen for your body….They didn’t have a photo of the sunscreen for your face available on the webpage.

I purchased this sunscreen because I had a cyst removed from my right leg a couple days before Valentine’s day and had 3 stitches in my leg. The doctor reccommended that I put sunscreen on it this summer or I stood the risk of skin discoloration. I’ve already got that from my 3rd degree rope burn that I got my Junior year of high school so I thought I would skip it all together.

I am totally in lust with this sunscreen! It is sooooo worth the $12 I paid for it. It doesn’t leave my skin oily, like some of the other sunscreen’s I’ve used in the past and it’s fragrance free for those of us who get really bad headaches or migraines. Plus, it protects UVA and UVB rays….Which helps keep skin looking great!

I’ve been using it for several weeks now and I’m very happy with the results that I’ve seen so far. Plus, if your headed to Bath and Body Works they are having a super huge sale! I was just there this morning and I got a couple of things and paid what I would have paid for 1 item on the item’s that I purchased….and as an added bonus I got a coupon for 20% off my total purchase starting July 6!

Bath and Body Works True Blue Naked Cotton Dress Light Shea Butter Lotion

2009-09-20T03:01:00.001-05:00

NOTE: This was originally posted on May 22 on my old wordpress blog.

The other day when I was out doing a little bit of shopping for myself I hit Bath and Body Works….A store that I absolutely LOVE but sometimes just doesn’t love me back (crazy scents give me migraines). Initially, I was just going to go in the store and look around but then the sales associate came and started talking to me. She asked me if I was looking for anything special and I said “not really, just trying to look for a lotion in a fun scent that won’t give me a migraine.” This sent the sales associate into an “ah ha” moment and told me all about this product.

At first I’ll be honest, I was a little bit skeptical…This winter has been really hard on my skin, leaving it really dry and leaving me in a rather pissy mood sometimes because I hate having really dry skin. But I did purchase a bottle of this lotion and I LOVE it.

The scent isn’t terribly strong….Which is good for me….I hate migraines and they hate me right back. It’s a nice and light lotion, not real “goopy” and thick like some of the other products I have tried out there. The Shea Butter is leaving my skin nice and soft too. It’s a little bit on the pricey ($15) side but it is so worth every penny that I spent on it.

If your looking for a light and “fluffy” lotion this summer to keep your skin hydrated and super soft I highly recommend this lotion. You won’t be sorry, especially if your not a big fan of “overpowering” scents.

Book Review ~ Fool by Christopher Moore

2009-09-19T02:50:00.000-05:00

NOTE: This was orginally posted on June 4 over at my old wordpress blog.

I’m a big time reader and I just recently finished this book. Fool is a Christopher Moore’s own “wicked” poke at William Shakespeare’s King Lear. Now this book is NOT for the faint of heart. There is even a warning at the front of the book that reads: “This is a bawdy tale. Herein you will find gratuitous shagging, murder, spanking, maiming, treason, and heretofore unexplored heights of vulgarity and profanity, as well as non-traditional grammar, split infinitives, and the odd wank. If that sort of thing bothers you then gentle reader pass by, for we endeavor only to entertain, not to offend. That said, if that’s the sort of thing you think you might enjoy, then you happened upon the perfect story!” In the beginning the language was a little bit hard to interpret but as the story went along it was easier to the language became much easier to follow. This story was VERY engaging…At least for me it was. I hope that you check this book out!

The main character is Pocket, who has been Lear’s much cherished fool for many years. Being so trusted Pocket is at his master’s side when Lear demands that his three daughters swear to him their undying love and absolute devotion. Naturally, the snakes, Goneril and Regan are only too happy to tell daddy exactly what he wants to hear. But Lear’s third daughter Cordelia believes that her father’s request is to be blunt…kind of stupid and her blunt honesty gets banished and she also forfits her share of Lear’s kingdom as well.

Now the shit has really hit the fan. And the only person who can make it right? Pocket. Now he’s going to have to use some pretty fancy “foot work” (casting a few spells, start a war or two…the usual basic stuff) to get Cordelia back into Lear’s good graces, derail the evil power plays of Cordelia’s evil sisters and shag every single shaggable women who’s agreeable along the way.

Now Pocket may be a fool . . . but he’s definitely not an idiot. Especially when you come to the end and learn a little bit more about our dear friend Pocket.

Book Review ~ Forgiven (Sisters of the Heart)

2009-09-18T01:45:00.003-05:00

NOTE: Over the next few days I have review's scheduled that I'm bringing over from my old wordpress blog. PLUS, I'm in the process of reading Gone With The Wind and working on a review as I go along...Ought to right interesting!

This is the story of John Lundy's (one of the characters from Wanted) little sister, Winnie. Winnie is injured in a barn fire and while Winnie is in the hospital she must rely on Amish -turned - English Sam Miller. While Winnie is dealing with her feelings for Sam, her brother John is dealing with his own dilemma. I was so very sad when I came to the end of this book. The series as a whole was excellent in my opinion and I didn't want to see it come to an end. I really like this author too. But being as I'm terrible with words when it comes to these sorts of blog posts so as usual I'm going to let Barnes and Noble tell you about this book.

Tragedy strikes—a brother and sister find themselves facing a situation that will shape the rest of their lives.
When a fire destroys the Lundys' barn, Winnie is injured trying to get the animals to safety. Confined to a hospital for weeks, out of touch with her loved ones who live too far away to visit by buggy, she must depend on Englisher Samuel Miller to keep her company. Though his family is part of Winnie's tight-knit Amish community, Samuel left years earlier to pursue a university education. Through conversations, and Samuel's dedication to her recovery, a friendship forms. But despite their growing attraction, Winnie knows it can never develop into something more as long as Samuel chooses to remain in the outside world.
When Winnie returns home, she finds her brother, Jonathan, struggling with his own dilemma. Cigarette butts were discovered in the debris of the barn and Jonathan is determined to find out who is responsible for destroying his property and putting his family at risk. But in a community founded on grace and forgiveness, will his unwillingness to move on eat away at the trust that is the foundation of their lives?

Book Review ~ Wanted (Sisters of the Heart)

2009-09-17T03:45:00.001-05:00

This is book 2 in the Sisters of the Heart series that I just got done reading. This book is about Anna's (the main character from Hidden) Amish friend Katie Brennemen. I really enjoyed this book as well. Let's just say that Katie isn't afraid to speak her mind even if it means ticking off some people. But she's also a little bit afraid that her past is going to haunt her forever. Again, I am not so good with words when it comes to describing books and all that fun stuff so I'm going to again let Barnes and Noble tell you about Wanted.

For a split second, Katie feels certain she's about to receive everything she's ever wanted. . .
Twenty-year-old Katie Brenneman has always quietly fancied Jonathan Lundy. So when the brokenhearted widower asks her to help him take care of his two young girls, Katie knows it will be a trying time—yet she cannot pass up a golden opportunity to get to know this man better.
Just as she's settling into her new life, a message arrives from Katie's past, threatening to expose her darkest secrets. During her Rumspringa, her running-around years, she experimented with activities forbidden in the Amish way of life. Frightened by how far she'd strayed from her values, Katie ran back home, vowing to cut all ties with the outside world. Now her transgressions are coming back to haunt her, just as Jonathan seems willing to welcome her into his heart.
Will the past destroy Katie's chances for love? Or will Katie allow herself to accept God's love, forgive her past, and receive everything she's ever wanted?

Read the review for Hidden.

And this is what happens when I window shop....

2009-09-16T04:15:00.000-05:00

NOTE: I posted TWICE today....Just wanted to put that out there for y'all.

You get a little "taste" of what I like....which in some cases could be considered "scary." Let's start with Old Navy shall we?! If you click on the images it will take you directly to the page for that product.

Women's Sateen Roll-Sleeve Camp Shirts - $24.50 comes in an assortment of colors

Women's The Diva Distressed Flared-Leg Jeans - $34.50 comes in 2 washes

Let's move on to Sheplers....I LOVE me some western wear!

Montana Silversmiths barbed wire watch - $130.00

Farm Girl Stud Whisperer screen print tee - $24.00

East West double pocket leather handbag - $60 (I'm not usually a pink kind of girl but I really like this bag!)

Silver jeans - Frances - $74.00 (I am in LUST with Silver Brand Jeans!)Tough Enough to Wear Pink cap - regularly $21.99 on sale for $18.99

Book Review ~ Hidden (Sisters of the Heart)

2009-09-16T04:09:00.002-05:00

A coworker of mine told me about this book and lent it to me to read last week. At first I was a little bit skeptical.....An "english" girl runs away from an abusive relationship to a Bed and Breakfast run by her friend and her family....Kicker they're Amish. But the more of the book that I read the more I understood the reason behind my coworker telling me about this book. It ended up being a very good book and I could hardly wait to read the other 2 books in the series. I'll be honest I have a really hard time coming up with the right words, etc. to describe books, movies, music, and all that fun stuff....so I'm going to let Barnes and Noble tell you about this book.

When Anna decides it's time to leave her abusive boyfriend, she doesn't know where to turn. Rob has completely won over her parents, and the entire community, with his good looks and smooth charm. Only Anna has seen his dark side.
Desperate, she runs to the only place she's ever felt completely safe—the Amish Brenneman Bed and Breakfast, where Anna met life-long friend Katie Brenneman. The family welcomes her in, and with few questions asked allows her to stay, dressed in Plain clothing, and help around the inn.
Katie's older brother Henry is the only one who doesn't take too kindly to the intrusion. He tries to ignore Anna, knowing no good would ever come from caring for an Englisher like her. But as he gets to know Anna, he discovers her good heart and is surprised with her readiness to accept their lifestyle.
The more time Anna spends with the Amish, the more she feels she's found a true home. But how can she deny the life she left behind? And will her chance for happiness be stolen away by the man from her past?

Happy Naked Hugh Jackman Day!

2009-09-15T03:57:00.003-05:00

Today is THE DAY! X-Men Origins: Wolverine is out on DVD today! So to pay homage to Wolverine....I give you a little Hugh Jackman!

I can HARDLY WAIT to watch the bonus features for this movie! Oh and there will be a giveaway on SUNDAY too!

Make it a great one!

2009-09-15T03:23:00.000-05:00

If you can start the day without caffeine,

If you can always be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,

If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles,

If you can eat the same food everyday and be grateful for it,

If you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time,(this is a tough one)

If you can take criticism and blame without resentment,

If you can conquer tension without medical help,

If you can relax without adult beverages,

If you can sleep without the aid of drugs...

. .then you are probably The Family Dog!

Just Like a Dog

2009-09-14T04:48:00.002-05:00

Handle every situation like a dog....

If you can't Eat it or Screw it,

Piss on it and Walk Away.

Tasty Kitchen

2009-09-14T01:18:00.002-05:00

I don't know if anyone else out there follows PW's blog. If you do she's totally AWESOME don't you think?! Anyway moving on....PW has a new little venture going on. It's called Tasty Kitchen, it's a place where the members can share their favorite recipes with the rest of the board, PLUS you can see what's going on in Ree's kitchen as well. I've found a whole bunch of really AWESOME recipes on this board that I can hardly wait to try!

Plus, as another added bonus....Ree's cookbook comes out on October 27th! I know that I will be purchasing a copy for myself...I can hardly wait!

Just a little update

2009-09-09T04:53:00.003-05:00

Well today is grandma's funeral. Kind of a downer day. But she lived a great life and that will be celebrated that's one thing that I know for sure.

My mom and I did really well with our photography at the fair. My mom won the Special Merit Award in the class for the second year in a row. Between the both of us we only had a couple of photographs that did not place at all.

My cousin's showed pigs for the first time this year at the fair. Before this year I've never actually seen how pigs are shown but it was very interesting and the boys did VERY well for their first year....Second and Third place respectively in their classes. I've got a bunch of pictures from the showing that I'll be blogging about within the next couple of days.

Have a great day everyone!

We got the call....

2009-09-03T03:33:00.002-05:00

We got the yesterday evening that great grandma has passed. I'll be completely honest here...I'm kind of glad that she's gone. She suffered for a week before it finally became to much for her. We're not quite sure when the wake and the funeral are for sure. So I might be absent from blogging for a couple of days.

I can hardly wait until regular season starts

2009-09-01T00:02:00.000-05:00

My 8X10 entry's for the fair

2009-08-31T04:13:00.000-05:00

Here are the photo's that I've decided to use as my 8X10 entries for the fair this coming week. I hope you enjoy them. Let me know what you think.

This one is my Landscape entry

This is my Any Subject Black and White

This one is my Any Other entry...I think I'm going to title this one "Water Under The Bridge."

This one is my Animals entry

Tip Junkie's Trade Secret Swap

2009-08-30T02:35:00.002-05:00

I trolling about the blogsphere this morning and I came across this swap being put on by Tip Junkie. It's called Tip Junkie's Trade Secret Swap. If you would like to participate the sign up goes until October 1 and you will recieve your partner's information shortly after that.

A quick thank you

2009-08-29T20:27:00.002-05:00

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who left me messages about my great grandma. So far she's still with us but nobody really thinks it will go on much longer. All of the arrangements are made from what my grandma has told me all done to what my great grandma had written down. So I'm staying home from work tonight...going to work on my entries for the fair that's coming up next week....should things take yet another turn.

J

Payton Manning Commerical

2009-08-29T09:07:00.000-05:00

It's a waiting game....

2009-08-28T08:22:00.002-05:00

Wednesday night we received a phone call from my aunt telling us that my great grandma was in the hospital and had a stroke. The kicker in this whole thing is that the next morning when I talked to my grandma everyone had lead her to believe that everything is okie dokie....that great grandma was "talking" and able to move about. Basically lying through their teeth to her. Come to find out that this "no big deal" has turned into a HUGE deal....We're actually sitting here waiting on my great grandma to pass away. I feel a little bit comforted by the fact that the hospital has made great grandma as comfortable as possible and that Hospice will be taking over her care for her until she does pass.

Confessions of a Country Girl part 5

2009-08-28T04:54:00.000-05:00

I’ve posted numerous times that I have am trying to better with my money. Well to be honest, so far I have been failing pretty miserably. Every time I think I’m headed in the right direction and I take 2 steps forward…something comes along to knock me off course so I end up taking at least 1 step back. My major problem has been “plastic shopping”….I’ve come to realize that credit cards are more trouble than they are worth. Let me break it down for you…On 4 credit cards I have racked up roughly $3634.24 in debt. That doesn’t even include what I still owe on my car and what I still owe my dad for the money he lent me to get my car fixed last December.

My second major problem is that I currently have the mindset that “I have money…I must spend it.” Unfortunately, I don’t always spend it on the things that I actually need and spend it mostly on things that I really could live without. I am working on changing my mindset but old habits do die hard sometimes.

I have taken steps to try and correct my behavior though. I have recently taken to studying various money saving webpages and blogs on the net, I’ve also started cutting coupons, I’m a BIG TIME reader so I’ve joined paperbackswap.com to get some of the books that I really want to read (it costs me nothing to request books, but if someone requests one of mine all it costs me is postage), I will be starting to utilize my local library more as well. I’ve got more idea’s to but this could be a SUPER long paragraph if I share it all with you.

What I’m asking from you is for you to be my support system I guess. I could really use some “cheerleaders” right now because when I do ALL the math the number just makes me want to vomit. So to keep me honest I will be occasionally issuing myself challenges and I’ll be posting tickers of ALL my debt. Please feel free to share idea’s, suggestions, etc. with me…I’m literally all ears at this point.

Confessions of a Country Girl part 4

2009-08-28T04:52:00.000-05:00

On Mother’s day we brought home our new “furbaby” Augusta or “Gus” as we like to call her. We didn’t formally adopt her until to 20th of May, just to make sure that she would be a good fit for our family and that her and Laci did indeed get along, we did a 10 day foster period. When I went out to the shelter the day that we formally adopted her in our “mountain” of paperwork that I got was a coupon for a free wellness exam at the local veterinary service in town. When I got home from doing all the paperwork and such I called and set up the appointment. Fast forward to the next Wednesday….We go to our appointment and everything is going well until the vet starts feeling around. And finds not 1, not 2, but 5 mammary tumors on Gus.

When we adopted Gus we were told that she had been given a complete wellness exam and everything was great…All she was missing was her rabies shot and her heartworm test. So it came as quite a shock to find out that our cute little furbaby had 5 mammary tumors. We’ve been all over the place emotionally with this one. Gus is officially adopted in my name so this has really hurt me alot. I feel taken advantage of and cheated. My parents are just flat out pissed and feel that the shelter we adopted her from did basically NOTHING for her while she was there other than take her outside, feed her, water her and get her spayed.

Now we are faced with the decision to have a really expensive surgery done on Gus to have the tumors removed or don’t. We’ve been here before. Last November we had our 19 year old Black Lab/Cocker mix put down and we were almost 100% sure that she did have cancer. She had tumor on the top of her head and a couple along her back as well. But because of her age the vet wouldn’t do surgery. This sort of thing takes it’s toll on you emotionally and PHYSICALLY also. I’ve cried a bunch over this and I have a feeling I’m not done crying over it either.

……To be continued

Confessions of a Country Girl part 3

2009-08-28T04:48:00.000-05:00

I feel sort of out of place here in the blogging world. A lot of the blogs that I visit or have visited via my comment support group SITS seem to be more “mommy” blogs. Sometimes I feel that when I comment on a “mommy” blog that when they come to visit my blog and find out that my blog isn’t a “mommy” blog they don’t leave comments. I’m not knocking “mommy” bloggers….Hey that’s totally AWESOME to blog about your kiddo’s….I just feel left out, cause I’m not a mommy.

Have I mentioned that I hate feeling like it’s me against the world? If I haven’t I do….A LOT. Right now….It seems that the world is winning instead of me…I hate that even more.

Have I mentioned that I’m jealous of my mom’s new DSLR camera? I want one too…Just can’t afford it.

Have I mentioned that I love blogging about my “problems?” It’s definately cheaper than therapy.

to be continued…..

Confessions of a Country Girl part 2

2009-08-28T04:46:00.000-05:00

I pretty much feel like I’m a prisoner to Ms. Laci. When we adopted her she pretty much decided that I was her person and she’s bonded with me pretty tightly (if she could go everywhere…and I mean EVERYWHERE…with me she would) to the point that if I leave to go anywhere there are days that she will sit at the front door and howl until I return.

I’ve been trying to lose some weight on and off for a long time now. Since my Dr. appointment on April 1 where my dr. gave me some really great advice on things I can do to aid in my weight loss I’m down 5.8 pounds. I’ve decided that my goal weight is 140….I started at 161.3 pounds so I’m well on my way.

I took Ms. Laci to the vet to get her shots updated and our vet has officially put her on a diet. In the almost 2 months since her last visit to the vet she’s gained almost another 2 pounds….putting her close to 28 pounds. Our vet says she could stand to lose at least 4 pounds. So Ms. Laci and I are both dieting right now.

As kind of a stress reliever I’ve been doing a lot of reading, walking and I just recently took up knitting again. I had kind of taken a little bit of a breather from knitting to work on some other projects to but the opportunity arose to try a new knitting challenge….A baby Afghan. One of my co-workers found out that she’s having a baby in November and I thought I’d knit her and her husband an afghan.

to be continued….

I have 2 problems

2009-08-27T09:07:00.003-05:00

It's a dreary, rainy, extremely BLAH day here is South West Wisconsin today and I have 2 problems.

This is Laci...She's problem number 1.

This is Gus...She is problem number 2.

It does appear that both of our dogs suffer from a VERY dibilitating condition called cantgetmypawswetitis. Which is going to make "outside time" for the next couple of days very interesting considering it is supposed to rain here on and off clear through until next monday.

Importing Posts

2009-08-27T04:29:00.003-05:00

I've been in the process of importing some of my posts from my wordpress blog. So far I've imported all of my recipe posts and I've started on the Confessions. There are a couple of new posts at the very beginning of this blog...a little joke and a post about a possessed gourd plant.

Tomorrow morning I have the remainder of my Confessions posts scheduled to post. Just wanted to put that out there for y'all.

Confessions of a Country Girl part 1

2009-08-27T04:28:00.001-05:00

It’s been a week since the liquor cabinet was calling me. I wish the liquor cabinet wouldn’t call to me….Alcohol is so NOT the answer to my problems. Alcohol just seems to cover up the problem’s for a little while and make’s you feel a little less like the “machine” that you and your life currently has become. I don’t need to cover up my problem’s…I need to figure out exactly what they are and deal with them. So far I’ve been pretty bad at figuring out what my problem’s are and dealing with them.

You ever just have “one of THOSE” days? Recently, it seems that I’ve been having them on a pretty regular basis when it comes to my place of employment. I’m basically sitting around waiting for my supervisors to come up with something new and exciting to get on my case about. After basically being told that I’m the problem, I have developed a little bit of an attitude towards my supervisors. I pretty much show up do my job, go home and only talk to my supervisors when they talk to me. Now I’m not in a position where I can leave my job…..The job market where I’m at is pretty dismal…..So I’m pretty much sucking it up and being a gluton for punishment.

On top of all of my work related issues, I’ve had a pretty crappy beginning to 2009 also. Well, pretty much from the end of November until now (so far anyway) has been pretty dismal on good things happening to me. Which if you want the highlights you can find them in this post.

Currently, I feel like I’m nothing more than a machine. There really aren’t enough changes to my daily routine right now to NOT consider myself a machine. 4 days a week I go to bed between 9 and 10 in the morning, get up between 6:30 and 7 that night, get ready for work, leave between 8:20 and 8:30, show up at work around 9, work for 10 hours and go home and do it all over again. On my days off, it get’s mixed up a little bit more but not much. The last couple of days it’s been raining so Ms. Laci and I haven’t been going out for walks, because she doesn’t “do” rain or inclimate weather real well.

to be continued…..

Bread Machine Pizza Dough

2009-08-27T04:26:00.000-05:00

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons active dry yeast
3 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup water

Directions:

1. Add ingredients in the order recommended for your bread machine and set to dough cycle.
2. After it’s finished, transfer dough to lightly oiled pan.
3. For a thick crust, cover and allow to rise for about 20 minutes; for thin, bake right away.
4. Heap with toppings of your choice and bake in 450 degree oven for about 20 minutes.
5. Enjoy

Sticky Chicken

2009-08-27T04:25:00.000-05:00

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon fresh spices (rosemary, oregano, etc.) – 1 teaspoon of each
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 large roasting chicken
1 cup chopped onion

Directions:

In a small bowl, thoroughly combine all of your spices. Remove giblets from chicken, clean the cavity well and pat dry with paper towels. Chop onion. Rub the spice mixture into the chicken, both inside and out, making sure that it is evenly coated and down deep into the skin. Add some onion to the bottom of the crock pot….add remaining onion to the inside of the bird. When ready to cook the chicken place it in the slow cooker BUT DO NOT ADD ANY LIQUID. As the cooking process goes along it will produce it’s own juices. Cook on LOW for 8 to 10 hours and it will be falling off the bone tender.

Crock Pot Roast with Potatos and Carrots

2009-08-27T04:23:00.001-05:00

Ingredients:

3-4 pound Roast
1/2 cup Jalapeno Jelly (or any type of jelly)
1 Packet Onion Soup mix
4-5 potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 bag baby carrots

Directions:

Take roast, frozen or thawed, and place it into the crock pot. Pour 1/2 cup of Jalapeno jelly (or any other jelly) on top of the roast. Next pour on top the Onion Soup packet, rub into jelly and all over the roast. Peel and cube potatoes, place on top of 2 large sheets of aluminum foil, then pour on top 1/2 bag of baby carrots, salt and pepper to taste. Seal up foil and place on top of the roast. Turn crock pot on HIGH for 4-6 hours or LOW for 6-8 hours. Remove from crock pot and pour some of the roast drippings onto the potatoes and carrots. Enjoy.

borrowed from The Newlyweds!

Zesty Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken

2009-08-27T04:22:00.000-05:00

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 4 hours
Ready In: 4 hours 10 minutes
Serves: 6

Ingredients:

6 frozen skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 (12 oz) bottle barbeque sauce (to add variety to the flavor try different types of BBQ sauce)
1/2 cup Italian salad dressing
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tablespoons Worchestershire sauce

Directions:
1. Place chicken in a slow cooker. In a bowl, mix the barbeque sauce, Italian dressing, brown sugar, and Worchestershire sauce. Pour over chicken.
2. Cover, and cook 3 to 4 hours on HIGH or 6 to 8 hours on LOW.

Depression Era Homemade Bread

2009-08-27T04:21:00.000-05:00

This recipe calls for a whole 5 lb. bag of flour. At our house we don’t have a bowl big enough for that much flour so I had to 1/2 the recipe into 2 bowls. Below are the ingredients and directions that I followed.

Ingredients:

2.5 pounds of flour (in each bowl)
3 Tbs yeast (in each bowl)
3 tps salt (in each bowl)
3 cups warm water (in each bowl)

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together in the bowls….Use your hands it will be much easier. After you have mixed everything together, take dough out of the bowls, clean up the bowls (make sure to dry them) and spray with cooking spray (the spray will make taken the dough out of the bowls easier after it has risen). Cover and leave in a warm place to rise. After the dough has risen for desired amount of time, take dough out of the bowls and knead on a clean counter surface to get all the air bubbles out. Separate dough into pieces and place into sprayed bread pans. Cover and allow to rise. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes (mine needed more than 30 minutes though).

Snickerdoodles

2009-08-27T04:18:00.001-05:00

INGREDIENTS:

1 Tablespoon Sugar
1 Tablespoon Ground Cinnamon
1 Cup Shortening
1 1/2 cups Sugar
2 Eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
2 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt
2 Teaspoons Cream of Tartar

INSTRUCTIONS:

In a bowl combine 1 Tablespoon sugar and cinnamon; set aside. In a second bowl, cream shortening; gradually add 1 1/2 cups sugar, beating well. Add eggs; beat well. Stir in Vanilla.
In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt and cream of tartar. Add sifted ingredients to creamed mixture; stir until well blended (I acutally had to get in there and kneed with my hands). Shape dough into 1-inch balls and roll in cinnamon/sugar mixture.
Place snickerdoodles 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Bake cookies at 400 degrees for approximately 6 minutes (mine needed a couple minutes longer) or until lightly browned. Remove from baking sheet to wire racks for cooling.

Warm and Comfy Chicken Pot Pie

2009-08-27T04:17:00.001-05:00

Ingredients:

3 cups cooked, diced chicken
10 oz. frozen mixed veggies
1 can cream of celery soup
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 tsp pepper
1 cup Bisquick
3/4 cup milk
1 cup melted butter

Directions:

Pour cooked, diced chicken in a 13X9″ pan sprayed with oil. Pour frozen veggies over chicken. Blend together in a bowl, celery soup, chicken broth and pepper until smooth and pour over chicken and veggies. In another bowl stir together Bisquick, milk and melted butter. When blended smooth, pour over the ingredients in the pan. Bake 45-50 minutes at 400 degrees. Cool 10 minutes before serving.

Crock Pot Fabulous 4-Bean Hotdish

2009-08-27T04:15:00.000-05:00

Ingredients:

8 oz. bacon, cut up
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 – 16 oz. can pork and beans
1 – 16 oz. can green beans, drained
1 – 15 1/2 oz. can butter beans, drained
1 – 15 1/2 oz. can kidney beans
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 – 1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. prepared mustard
1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:

Brown bacon and onion together; add to crock-pot. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours.

Impossibly Easy Cheesburger Pie

2009-08-27T04:14:00.001-05:00

Ingredients:

1 lb. Ground Beef
1 Large onion, Chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup Bisquick
1 cup milk
2 eggs

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Spray the bottom of your baking pan. Brown your ground beef and add onion; drain. Stir in salt. Spread mixture into your baking pan and sprinkle with cheese. In a mixing bowl, mix together the remaining ingredients, pour into pan. Bake for 25 minutes.

Serves: 6

Potatoe Sticks

2009-08-27T04:12:00.000-05:00

4 Medium Potatoes (peeled)
2 1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
1/4 cup butter

In a 9″ glass dish make 2 layers of potatoes, seasoning, cheese and butter. Sprinkle with paprika, microwave covered for about 16-18 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes….Then enjoy!

Bread Machine Cinnabons

2009-08-27T04:11:00.000-05:00

Cinnabons

Ingredients:

4 T. melted butter
4 T. water
1/3 cup instant vanilla pudding
1 cup milk
1 egg
1 T. sugar
4 cups bread flour
2 1/2 tsp. yeast

Directions:

Place ingredients into bread machine in order listed. Set for dough cycle. After cycle is complete, roll into 17 X 10 inch rectangle. Butter the dough rectangle. Sprinkle the dough with a mixture of 1 cup brown sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon. Roll tightly, pinch edges closed and slice into 1/2 inch slices. Place into greased 13X9″ pan and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. While still warm spread with frosting.

Frosting Ingredients:

4 oz. cream cheese
1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp milk

Luscious Slush Punch

2009-08-27T04:08:00.001-05:00

PREP TIME
15 Min

COOK TIME
5 Min

READY IN
8 Hrs 20 Min

Serves: 50

INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 cups white sugar
6 cups water
2 (3 ounce) packages strawberry flavored gelatin mix
1 (46 fluid ounce) can pineapple juice
2/3 cup lemon juice
1 quart orange juice
2 (2 liter) bottles lemon-lime flavored carbonated beverage

DIRECTIONS

In a large saucepan, combine sugar, water, and strawberry flavored gelatin. Boil for 3 minutes. Stir in pineapple juice, lemon juice, and orange juice. Divide mixture in half, and freeze in 2 separate containers.

When ready to serve, place the frozen contents of one container in a punch bowl, and stir in 1 bottle of lemon-lime soda until slushy.

Pastor Ryan's Bolognese Sauce

2009-08-27T04:02:00.003-05:00

The photo I borrowed from PW’s webpage. Her photography is soooo much better than my not-so-good photography.

Ryan’s Bolognese

1 1/2 cups grated carrots
1 large red onion, diced
1/2 cup olive oil
2 pounds ground beef
2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes CORRECTED: OREGANO flakes
2 tablespoons dried basil flakes
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 to 2 cups red wine
2 tablespoons Worcestershire
salt
pepper
2 28-ounce cans whole tomatoes
1 cup milk
Fresh Parmesan cheese

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or skillet over medium heat. Add grated carrots and onions and cook for a few minutes.

Make a well in the center of the mixture, then add in the ground beef. Cook for a few minutes until brown, gradually stirring it into the carrot mixture.

Throw in oregano and basil. Use fresh if you have it; if you don’t, it’s fine. When the meat is browned and combined with other ingredients, make another well. Add tomato paste and let it heat.

Add garlic and stir to combine.

Make a well in the center of the mixture and add red wine. Stir together.

Add Worcestershire and stir.

Add canned tomatoes.

Finally, pour in milk, stir, and let simmer for 30 minutes to 2 hours—however long you need.

Serve with pasta and a generous sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.

Scrumptious!

Doughnut Recipe

2009-08-27T03:59:00.000-05:00

I LOVE doughnuts but sometimes it’s just not convenient to just run out and get a couple plus the cost adds up quick. I found this recipe for bread machine doughnuts (I’m sure that they can be made without a bread machine also) last week and I made two batches of this recipe and it makes a whole bunch of doughnuts. We had 2 1/2 freezer bags left over from what we didn’t eat.

3/4 cup milk or water
2 large eggs
4 Tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup sugar
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons active dry yeast
Vegetable oil (for frying)

1. Place ingredients in bread machine according to manufacturer and set to dough setting. When cycle is complete, remove dough, punch down and let rest for 10 minutes.

2. On lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/2-inch thick. Cut with floured doughnut cutter. Place on lightly greased baking sheet and let rise for about 1 hour or until very light.

3. Fry in preheated 375 degree oil, a few at a time, about 1 minute, each side. Drain on paper towl. Glaze or dust with powdered sugar, as desired.

Makes about 24 doughnuts

Glaze:
3 cups powdered sugar
1 Tablespoon butter, softened (optional)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Milk or water

1. Combine the powdered sugar, butter and vanilla in a mixing bowl. Mix well and add just enough milk or water until glaze is the consistency you desire. (A thinner consistency will produce a thin glaze on the doughnuts or a thicker consistency will be more like a frosting.)

Attack of the Gourd Plant

2009-08-27T02:46:00.000-05:00

This spring when we planted our garden we decided that we were going to keep it simple. We pretty much planted a bunch of bulbs and a gourd plant....as well as some petunia's and marigolds to add a little color until the bulbs came up. Well look what happens when you plant 1 gourd plant, that according to the information on the stick that came stuck in the pot is only supposed to grow about 5 feet around.

Basically, this gourd plant has taken over our garden and is in the process of killing everything else in it. It is also trying to infiltrate our neighbors yard as well. I'm thinking this gourd plant is either pocessed or possibly on 'roids.

A well planned retirement

2009-08-27T01:43:00.000-05:00

From the London Times

Outside the Bristol Zoo, in England , there is a parking lot for 150 cars and 8 coaches, or buses. It was manned by a very pleasant attendant with a ticket machine charging cars $1.40 and coaches $7.00.

This parking attendant worked there solid for all of 25 years. Then, one day, he just didn't turn up for work."Well", said Bristol Zoo Management, "we'd better phone City Council and get them to send a new parking attendant."

"Aahhh...no", said the Council, "that parking lot is your responsibility."

"No", said Bristol Zoo Management, "the attendant was employed by the City Council. Wasn't he?"

"NO!" insisted the Council. "We thought he was your employee all of these years."

Sitting in his villa somewhere on the coast of Spain or on a white sandy beach somewhere, is a bloke who had been taking the parking lot fees, estimated at about $560 per day at the Bristol Zoo for the last 25 years. Assuming 7 days a week, this amounts to just over $7 million!And no one even knows his name.

Golden. Simply golden.