August Blog Spotlight - Life in the Slow Lane

I can’t even remember when I started following Carrie’s blog, Life in the Slow Lane, but it’s been a long long while and I’ve never missed a post.  We bonded over our love for our dogs and our shared experience of losing one.  Her “farm life” amazes me (especially since I don’t even understand about 90% of what she does there), while her photography makes me wish I lived on the farm (that is the only time I wish that).  While you’re there, check out her adorable new pup, Molly (we all know my weakness for dogs, don’t we?)

So let’s talk about Carrie.

Who are you?
First I just have to say I am so honored that Kat has chosen me as the August Featured blogger. I found Kat through Marriage Confessions and I am so happy I did. The first post I read was about the Swine and I was hooked. Growing up on a farm I know the smells that pigs give off and I can only imagine the disappointment Kat felt that Swine were actually these smelly, ugly and noisy pigs and not a beautiful swan!

I'm a 31-year-old, country living, farm wife of three years to my hubby, TNT. I'm a mommy to a furry cat named Tails and a rambunctious puppy named Molly Sue. TNT and I live on his grandparent’s farm and we are slowly buying more farmland so we can both quit our day jobs and be able to farm full time. My sister is my very best friend and I have the best parents. My beautiful mother is a 7 year breast cancer survivor and every day I’m reminded just how courageous she was to look cancer in the eye and beat it.


Why did you start blogging?
I had been reading blogs for quite awhile and decided I had something to talk about too. That was 810 posts ago. I am so happy that I did start this blog because I have made wonderful friends. It really amazes me that people I’ve never met in real life can become such great friends. To be honest all the blogs I read except Living like the Kings and Marriage Confessions are agricultural related and written by farms wives like me. I am so happy that I came across both of these blogs because I’m learning about the way people who reside in town or the city live too. I’m always amazed at how Kat grows her garden in such a tiny space. My garden is 15’x150’ with everything having its own space.
During my slow times here at work I’ll go back and reread my posts. Some posts I had completely forgotten about so it’s fun to go back. For me blogging is such a great way to document my everyday life. But the best thing about blogging is before I started, my scrapbooks hardly had any pictures of me in it. Then I started doing a link up on Thursday’s where you post a picture of yourself. Now my scrapbooks actually have pictures of me!


What is your favorite summer activity?
I am a summer loving girl. I will take the 100+ degree days we’ve been having this past month over the cold days of 30 degrees and lower anytime. There is so much about summer that I love; flower & veggie gardens, wheat harvest, co-ed softball, IMCA dirt track racing, mowing the farm, going to the cabin at the lake, riding my bike, and of course getting a nice dark tan! But my favorite thing about summer is after a long day of working on the farm to sit on the front porch after my shower and enjoy a glass of wine. I love taking in all the sounds and smells and know that my farm looks so pretty because of all the hard work I’ve done.

Taking Pictures
I made my photography business Facebook Official on June 1^st of this year. I mostly take portraits of people for the business, but my original love was landscape. Then I had clients asking me for specific photos for them to decorate their houses. Talk about an honor to have someone want to put your work on their walls. One client wants to decorate her massage therapy office with Earth, Fire, Wind and Water. I have three of them but Earth is kicking my butt. You would think with us farming 20,000 acres of land I could easily come up with some dirt pictures. My problem seems to be while I’m out searching for the right photo I get sidetracked by people’s junk. That old saying one person’s junk is another’s treasure. Well that is so very true when it comes to photography. The following items were out in my in-laws pasture rusting away for decades.
I fell in love with this old Studebaker.



The only thing left of this old Mercury is the dash board. I asked the mother-in-law if she thought it would start up anyway. If you look close you can see one of the keys is broken off.



Dash boards don’t look like this anymore.



My father-in-law has a bed of an old pickup sitting in the pasture that he throws all his old chains and sprockets in. If you look close you can see the spider webs.



As I was heading home from my in-laws (4 miles to our farm) a good ole Kansas thunderstorm was brewing behind me. I took this through the side mirror on the pickup.

July Blog Spotlight - Running to the Kitchen

Hiya crew.  We're doing the July blog spotlight a little early so that you have time to try out this muffin recipe that Gina included along with her post.


On that note, say "hi" to Gina from Running to the Kitchen.  I met Gina about 6.5 years ago when she, along with another employee, interviewed me and Jon.  We've all worked together ever since.


She is one of the most energetic, straight-forward (read: blunt), fun people I know.  When Gina sent me an e-mail at work saying that she was thinking about starting a blog, I was ecstatic!  I couldn't wait to read about her workouts (she is an exercise fiend!), steal her delicious recipes (Gina should really be a professional cook), get updated pictures of her adorable puppy (Ginger is a Weimaraner with a personality and a half), and just keep up with her day-to-day (what? this isn't how you keep up with your friends?).  Needless to say, her blog is now one of my all-time favorites and when I only have 5-10 minutes to catch up on blog readings, it is among the first ones I pull up.


I have no doubt you'll love her too!




Who are you?
I’m Gina. I’m 29 and as much as I’d like to ignore the fact that I’m only 10 months from 30, the multiplying gray hairs keep reminding me. I work full time in the business world by day and moonlight as a food and running blogger. I’m a total food fanatic. I like to eat it. I like to cook it. And, I like to bake it. So, I kind of need a way to balance that out so I run.

Why did you start blogging?
I like to talk. Period. No, honestly? I spent waaaay too much time reading other people’s blogs and figured maybe I should channel some of that time and energy into my own! Food and running are my passions. Blogging is a way to share them with people and makes me hate life a little less too since I can’t really figure out how to make eating and running a career that pays well. It’s the perfect outlet.

If you could eat only one thing for the rest of my life, what would it be?
Wow, the million dollar question. I hate questions like this. I’m too indecisive to answer these. I mean, who can really answer this question and feel confident they picked the absolute best option? I’d probably go with pizza. Veggie pizza with sausage. Pizza is a good bang for your buck. You get bread, cheese, and in my case, veggies and meat all in one!

4th of July Muffins

What do you think of when you hear 4th of July? For me, it’s Mrs. Miller’s 1st grade class.

We had a classroom with a divider wall that opened to the 4th grade class next door which had a piano. Every morning after the pledge of allegiance we combined classes and a student of the day got to pick between My Country, ‘Tis of Thee or The Star Spangled Banner. The 4th grade teacher would play it on the piano and the “special” student would sing whichever song he or she picked. Out loud. Alone. We sang the song twice and on the second turn the rest of the class would join in. It was like a mix between American Idol and chorus gone elementary school. Also known as hell for those of us less vocally inclined (I was first chair clarinet later in school, I didn’t even make 2nd grade chorus that’s how bad my voice was. I didn’t even know they cut 2nd graders!)

It was bound to happen even though I tried to avoid it, eventually it was my turn to pick and therefore, sing. My Country, ‘Tis of Thee, for those of you who aren’t so lucky to have those lyrics ingrained in your head, is a simple, basic song. I should’ve stuck with simple. Simple is good. But no, I wanted to be different because 95% of the students picked My Country, ‘Tis of Thee.

I wanted to stand out.

4th grade teacher: “Gina, which song would you like for your special day?”

Me: “The Star Spangled Banner please.”

And so, the music starts. I actually got 3 lines in to “perilous fight” (not even knowing what perilous meant I’m sure) and then went all Christina Aguilera on everyone and skipped to “And the rockets’ red glare..” Ramparts? What ramparts? What the heck are ramparts? Instead of moving on and pretending nothing happened 4th grade teacher stopped the music and called me out! That b$%&^! And, then forced me to start all over again “until I got it right”. “This is our nation’s anthem, you know”. Really? Gee, I wasn’t aware of that. Thank you kind teacher.

This would’ve been bad enough in front of my own class, but can you imagine how uncool I now was in front of the 4th graders? I mean they were like so old and so cool.

I stood out alright.

And so now every time I hear The Star Spangled Banner or think of the 4th of July, that is what I think about. My pathetic 6 year old self trying to stand out. I’ve never once missed the rampart section since.

But, after The Star Spangled Banner, the thing I most associate the 4th of July with is BBQ’ing and I’d place a bet that’s what 90% of you would say too. That’s why I’m not going to talk about BBQ, it’s played out.

Muffins though, I bet that’s not even on your top 25 list.

They will be now, and you’ll be the hero for bringing something sweet to the BBQ besides the ubiquitous watermelon.

These are about as festive as they come with the red (raspberries), white (coconut & macadamia nuts), and blue (blueberries). If you like creamy coconut, you will love these. The addition of coconut milk makes them sweet, creamy and smooth, while the fruit gives them a little tangy kick. Topped with shredded coconut and macadamia nuts that give it a crunchy textured top.

      

Make them now, thank me later.  

4th of July Muffins 
  (Blueberry, Raspberry, Coconut, Macadamia Nut Muffins) Makes 15 muffins

• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup unbleached AP flour
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
• 1/2 cup whole macadamia nuts, chopped
• 2 tbsp. melted coconut oil
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup light coconut milk
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen raspberries

Topping:

• chopped macadamia nuts
• shredded unsweetened coconut

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tin with muffin wrappers or grease well. Mix dry ingredients (first 9) together in a large bowl. Mix wet ingredients (next 6) together in a medium bowl. Pour wet into dry and mix only until combined. Gently fold in blueberries and raspberries so as not to break the fruit. Once combined, spoon mixture into muffin tins. Top with shredded coconut and chopped macadamia nuts and bake for approximately 20 minutes.

June Blog Spotlight - Life of a Doctor's Wife

I'm not going to spend too much time introducing Mrs. D because you're going to want to just jump right into this post here.  I'll just say that aside from being absolutely hilarious and honest, the air of mystery makes Mrs. D incredibly enticing.  So once you're done laughing your little butts off at this post, visit her blog at Life of a Doctor's Wife

Who are you?
I go by Life of a Doctor's Wife and occasionally Mrs. D (as in Mrs. Doctor) (I know, SO original and clever!). These days, I am 30. But for some reason I always initially click "31" when I'm keying in my age on the elliptical machine at the gym. Before hurriedly correcting myself, of course! And if I'm being completely honest with you – and I'd like to start out on the best foot possible, seeing as Kat so kindly loaned me this space for today – I don't go to the gym nearly as often as I should. Hmm… Other things about me… My husband and I have been married two and a half years, but we've been dating for almost a whole decade. I am shy in person, long-winded in print. I love grammar, cats, guacamole, and skiing. And, well, let's stop there.

Why did you start blogging?
When I was planning my wedding – which took over TWO YEARS OMG – I read thousands of wedding blogs. That was my first introduction to the blogosphere. Through the wedding blogs, I found other bloggers – some were newly engaged or newly married, others were moms. And I fell in love with reading about others' lives. I'd compose blog posts in my head, or experience something and think, "Man, I wish I had a blog on which to record this!"

Then my husband started his medical residency. We moved to a new city in a new state. He was gone all the time. And I started a blog to stave off the loneliness. It worked, and today I feel so lucky to be part of a little community of strong women who are also beautiful writers.

What's your favorite summer-time activity?
Is drinking margaritas an appropriate answer? Hmm, probably not, as I am wont to do that any time of year.

I guess my real answer would be going to the lake by my parents' cabin. Since my parents live thousands of miles west of me, that doesn't happen very often. But I have decades of memories to rely on. Lying on the sun-baked dock surrounded by mountains is one of my favorite things in the world.




The Hibbety Jibbety

Thanks in large part to bloggers like Mrs. King and their Internet brood of adorable chubby cheeked children… I have recently begun thinking that maybe I, a lifelong baby-hater (and by "baby-hater" I don't mean "kicks babies in the street," I mean more "thinks babies are NOT for me, ever, not in a gajillion years" – but really, those babies shouldn't be in the street), might want a baby for myself at some point.

You can imagine, dear reader, just how momentous that decision was.

It was as if the ground beneath me had tilted ninety degrees, turning me and all my comfortable notions of baby-hatery all askew!

But now that Having Babies is pretty much all I think about, I have come across something horrifying.

No, not the thought of labor. (Although man alive, that sounds pretty terrible.)

No, not the knowledge that my husband and I would be responsible – until our deaths – for the life of another human. (YIKES. I can barely keep my plants alive, y'all.)

No, not… Okay, I better stop there lest I talk myself out of this Baby Thing completely.

Anyway, the real horrorshow lies in two words: We're trying.

Because when you say, "We're trying." what you really mean is, "We do the hibbety jibbety a lot. On purpose."

And I don't know about you, dear reader, but I do not particularly care to share my hibbety jibbety habits with the rest of the world.

Least of all my parents.

Let's talk about them for a second.

My parents are wonderful, loving, supportive folks. My whole life, I'd say things like, "I'll never have kids!" and they nodded along, agreeing that that was a fine choice. They never pressured me. They never said things like, "Just you wait." or "You'll change your mind, mark my words." or really ever "Mark my words" because who says that?

So when my husband and I felt that Having Babies might be in our future (FUTURE, dear reader – no "we're trying" here!), I felt that I should probably warn my parents.

Believe me, I'd just as well show up at their house one Christmas with a baby and say, "Oh by the way…"

But I don't think that's quite how things work. Also, I can barely keep it together as is, so it would be lovely to have my parents around to answer questions and pitch in with housework and other Things Parents Do When Their Kids Have Kids type of activities.

The other thing I want to avoid is my parents thinking we had a baby by accident. If I call them up to say, "I'm pregnant!" I'd want them to be fully delighted… not 99% delighted and 1% afraid that I was knocked up with a kid I don't want.

But oh how I dread the idea of saying things like "We're trying." to my parents.

If anyone in the world should be shielded from the hibbety jibbety, it is one's parents.

I would rather that hibbety jibbety thoughts never even cross their minds… let alone in relation to me and my husband.

My current plan is to let them know well in advance that we are considering Having Babies. This is not a Now thing, by the way. This is a Future, Possibly 2013 sort of thing. So I think giving them ample warning will a) prepare them and b) put them at an acceptable distance from hibbety jibbety thoughts.

But what I really need is an acceptable euphemism.

Jenna from That Wife coined the phrase "expecting to expect." I think that's adorable. And it sounds wonderfully passive to me. My husband and I aren't doing anything – we're just sitting around expecting things.

But I'd like to come up with something even more removed from the hibbety jibbety.

The only one I can come up with is "waiting for the stork." But it's imperfect. Mainly because I'd worry that people would think "The Stork" was a nickname for my husband's junk.

So, dear reader, what would you say in lieu of "we're trying"?

May Blog Feature - How Sweet It Is

I "met" Jessica from How Sweet It Is a year ago when I stumbled on to her blog for a couple of amazing recipes.  And then stayed for the shoes.  If you love bacon, healthy recipes, fun alternatives to your dinner with some simple ingredients, you'd love Jessica's blog.  However, if you do not enjoy drool on your keyboard or the possibility of gaining hundreds of pounds because you can't seem to stop craving chocolate cake (thanks a lot Jessica), I would recommend that you be very careful about how much time you spend on her site.

Moving on.  Here is a little about Jessica:

Who are you?
I'm Jessica, the writer behind the blog How Sweet It Is. I'm 28, a full-time writer, blogger and recipe developer, live in Pittsburgh with my husband, and could survive on bacon alone for days.

Why did you start blogging?
I was stuck in a dead end job that made me pretty miserable, so I started blogging about the things I would cook and bake on the weekend. Blogging gave me something to look forward to and something to work towards since there wasn't much for me to do in my job. It reignited my passion for writing and helped me get much more creative in the kitchen. It was easily the best decision I ever made!

If you knew you were going to be stranded on an island for the next year, what 5 things would you bring with you?
Oooh... how can I choose? I'm going to say a notebook, a pen, the Bible, lip gloss and a Vosges chocolate bacon bar. It would do me good to be without technology for 365 days.

It’s only been recently that I’ve jumped on the frittata bandwagon. While I’ve always loved eggs, I preferred them scrambled or fried to a thickly sliced triangle. Even stuffed with bacon, a frittata just wasn’t my breakfast of choice – often too large to layer on a slice of toast.

Since I have the sweetest teeth known to man, I wondered what it would be like to throw a bit of fruit into a frittata. I’ve already made fruit-stuffed omelets before that were a hit, so I figured I couldn’t go wrong with a fruit frittata. And if there is anything I love more than bacon, it’s a sweet and savory combo. That’s my favorite part of this frittata – you can serve it with additional sweetness in the form of maple syrup, or you can grate a big pile of cheddar cheese on top for a savory tang.

It has easily become one of our favorite breakfasts. And I’m no longer a frittata hater! It’s simple, it’s quick, it’s easily customizable – you can’t go wrong!

Apple Berry Frittata

Serves 2-3

6 whole eggs

1 tablespoon milk

½ apple, sliced

4 large strawberries, sliced

¼ cup blackberries

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon butter

Heat an over-proof skillet (anywhere from 4-6 inch, depending on desired thickness) on medium heat and add butter. Add apples and berries to the skillet and sauté until soft, about 3-4 minutes. In a large bowl, combine eggs with salt, cinnamon and milk. Beat with a fork lightly, then pour on top of the fruit. Mix with a spatula for a minute or two and then let sit until the frittata sets, about 5 more minutes.

Heat the broiler in your oven and place the skillet directly underneath. Cook for 2-3 more minutes or until frittata is golden brown on top and fluffy. Serve with maple syrup or freshly grated cheddar cheese. Add fresh mint as a garnish if desired.

April Blog Feature - The Greens

Our April Blog Feature is Jennifer from Growing with the Greens.  I honestly don't even remember how I stumbled on to Jennifer's blog but I sure am glad that I did!  Jennifer's baby girl is almost one and I've been following her every move since she was born (does that sound creepy?  I don't mean to be creepy.  I guess I'm a little creepy...).  By now I feel like I know their family like they're my best friends.  It helps that Jennifer reminds me of...well...me.  Between her need to have everything just right to the way she loves to dress her little girl in cutie outfits and bows to how many photos she takes each day to many other similarities.  I guess I'll just let her speak for herself and you'll see.


Who are you? I'm Jennifer, wife to a wonderful husband Allen and mom to a precious baby girl, Braylen Kate. We have one spoiled shi-poo, Coco. I am OCD to a fault, a chronic list-maker, (former) kindergarten teacher, lover of all things beautiful, on a constant search for the next great pair of shoes and always up for a cup of coffee.

Why did you start blogging? I started blogging while I was pregnant with Braylen. My pregnancy was flying by and I started to realize that maybe time does go a little faster than I'd like it to, blogging became my way of documenting our life. Writing is definitely an outlet for me and blogging has turned into a great hobby.

How did you and your hubby meet? This is so funny. Allen and I actually met when I was a junior in high school. There's a huge camping place on the lake about an hour and a half from our house. My parents had this crazy idea to buy a camper when I was in high school and then they had an even crazier idea that I would go camping with them. So after much whining and complaining and 17-year-old-drama, I talked my friend into going with me, and we went "camping." Allen was there with some friends of his, camping and fishing, turns out he lived close by, I gave him my number never really expecting to talk to him again. He, on the other hand, had different plans and we talked every. single. night. What can I say? He's a charmer and the rest is well... history.

I wasn't sure what I would write about for this post. Not because I couldn't think of anything, actually it was quite the opposite. You see blogging is my way of fulfilling my need to talk all the time. Seriously, I could talk all day long, just ask my husband. After perusing the list of possible topics in my head, I decided to write about something that is at the forefront of my thoughts here lately. Our sweet baby girl, Braylen Kate will turn one in just a few short weeks.

I'm not sure how we got here. I mean I was just a huge pregnant person counting down the days until our little would make her grand appearance, daydreaming about what it would be like to hold her and play with her and hear her sweet voice. Right? It was a world wind after she was born, she had to be hospitalized at 12 days because of a respiratory infection. Which doesn't seem huge, but when you can't see your newborn except for certain "visiting times" it starts to wear on you. She got better and we came home and it seems like our life has been in fast forward since then.

All of the sudden she's smiling....

And sitting up....

And crawling...

And standing up...

And now turning one. I suppose next you're going to tell me that she's starting school. I mean I hate to be dramatic but this year has certainly flown by. Is it true that as you get older time seems to go faster? I don't like that one bit and I'd like to change that if I could.

I know that as strong-willed as she can be on some days, that this is all just a season. One day, I'll look back and think "I wish I had a baby pulling things off of shelves and refusing to take a nap." Not with regret, not at all, because if there's one thing this year has taught me its this: Treasure every moment, take more pictures than you know what to do with, hold her as long as you want to, rock her to sleep if you want to and never, ever take one second for granted.

March Blog Feature - The Morris Family

I am so excited about this month's Blog Feature!  I found Betty's blog through The Marriage Confessions and have been following it since Betty was pregnant.  At that point I was still day dreaming of the day that I would get to be pregnant.  Then Levi was born and I became even more addicted to her blog than I was before.  Her insights on marriage, raising their first baby, and just getting through life are so truthful that you can't help but be hooked.  You can check out The Morris Family for yourself!

I really didn't know what I was going to write about, when Kat asked me to guest blog. See, I'm more of a jack of all trades (wife, mom, pharmacist, etc), but master/expert of none. Matt and I have been married 3 1/2 years, I've been a pharmacist for 1 1/2 years, and Levi is 6 months old. So I am still in the "new" stages of all my "trades."

All weekend long I have been thinking and brain-storming about what I could possible put here, and then yesterday, Levi gave me all the ammunition I need. He began to crawl (cue horror music). He turns 6 months old on March 6, so we really haven't been thinking much about baby-proofing or, you know, vacuuming more than once a week, or anything like that. I mean, yes, he's been getting up on all fours and rocking back and forth, but that's just for us to look at and coo over, right?

No. Apparently not. Now all of a sudden things I put out of his reach aren't out of his reach anymore. And when I lay him down, I have to *gasp* stay in the same room as him all the time!

But I'm not going to lie, Matt and I are thrilled. As much as I miss him being so small and tiny (and still) as a newborn, I have loved every stage he's gone through. And it is so exciting to see him learn and do new things! Now, when we lay him down in his bed at night, he can crane his head real high and you see his eyes peak over the railing and he watches us walk out. On one hand, it's so sad/heart-wrenching as he watches us leave him, and on the other, it's so neat that he is aware of us now.

 

 

So, the moral of the story (or so I'm learning) is to enjoy it. I am trying to enjoy every stage that Levi goes through, because the older I get, the faster time flies. And I know that 10 years from now, I'll miss this cute little wriggly ball of energy he is now and wonder where it all went!

February Blog Feature: Katy's Neverending Story

Like many of my favorite blogs, I found Katy's blog from a couple of comments she left.  Katy's funny and entertaining to say the least.  But I'll let her speak for herself.

Who are you:  Katy, aka semi-new Newlywed, aka Southern transplant to NYC.  I've been married 8 months to Mr. A, who works in television production.  

Why did you start blogging:  Originally, I was in the process of trying to lose weight, so blogging became a great accountability tool.  Later, getting engaged, married and moving to a new state turned the blog into more of a daily account of our lives.  I really always thought only my mom was reading this, but it turns out blogging has made me some wonderful internet buddies!

Describe your perfect Valentines Day: Wow.  I guess I should be all "NYC cosmopolitan" and say that dinner at some swanky place followed by a night out at some hot new club would be great, but in reality, the thought of a quiet dinner at home really gets me excited!  I'm such a homebody!!!

And the guest post: 

My Valentine’s Day Dog (and why I need another one)

This will be the first Valentine’s Day as a married couple, and let me tell you, I have high expectations.  Mr. A is an excellent holiday celebrator.

Take for instance, our first V-Day together.  We had only been dating maybe a month so we were in that awkward “I don’t want to get you something really nice because we’ve only been dating a month, but I feel like I do need to do something special for you because even though we’ve only been dating for a month, I really like you a lot” phase.  I completely freaked out with my gift (I often do when faced with pressure of what to get people- I really am not a good gift giver, but that’s a story for another blog).  I got him some red pajama pants with hearts on them.  So cliché, but I couldn’t handle the pressure.

Mr. A, on the other hand, got me the perfect gift:

Yes, he got me a DOG!  A cute rescue dog who was quiet, easygoing…. And who ran away 3 weeks later in the middle of a huge thunderstorm.  We searched everywhere, put up fliers, but our first baby was never to be seen again.

Sad story, right?  Yes it was, and lamenting over my lost dog is definitely a story for another blog, but for now, I’m keeping with the Valentine’s theme.

A dog was a perfect gift for me.  Sweet and loving, without wasting $$ on flowers that will just die in a week, I loved Mr. Bak (that was the dog’s name).  And now, that’s why, I think (4 years later), ahem, hint hint, that this should be the year of another dog for Valentine’s.

It’s our first Valentine’s as newlyweds, so the significance of giving the same gift that he gave when we were dating is just sweetly sentimental to me.  Also, it will give me someone to love on when Mr. A endures his extra-long hours at work.  Finally, it’s a dog.  Seriously, what could be more perfect?!?!

Someone like this:

Or this:

Or maybe even a larger version, like this:

Oh wait, did I forget to mention that we live in a 4^th floor walkup- not exactly pet friendly.  Oh yeah, and didn’t our lease say something about no pets?

So maybe this isn’t exactly the same as that first Valentine’s.  But a stuffed dog is better than no dog at all, right?

Check out Katy's blog at Katy's Neverending Story.

January Blog Feature - Silber & Gold

We all know that I absolutely love puppies and dogs and will one day have a farm with dozens of different dogs like Cesar Millan.  In the meantime, I settle for having my two overgrown hamsters and reading other people's puppy blogs.  A few months ago I had a comment from a reader that led me to check out her blog, Silber & Gold.  And then I got stuck.  For an hour or so.  Melissa is funny, entertaining, and posts about a gazillion pictures of her awesome dogs.  I was thrilled when Melissa wanted to do a guest blog post.


First, a little about Melissa and her blog:

Who are you?

My name is Melissa, I live in Burlington, Ontario (Canada) with my husband Kevin and our two golden retrievers.  I'm 26.

Why did you start blogging?

I started blogging over a year ago because I wanted some place to put all of the thousands of pictures I take whenever I am out and about.  (We have over 37,000 pictures on our hard drive currently)  My mom actually prints each blog post out for me and keeps them for my kids one day.  She's filled quite a few binders now!  I'll have to have a really close look at them before they get passed on to my children - as I don't have much of a filter.  Much to my mom's dismay of course! 

Since it’s the New Year, what is one of your New Year’s resolutions?

My new years resolution is to work as hard and as long as I can before completely burning out.  I have so much on the go right now, it can be pretty overwhelming.  I guess I need to remember to take it one day at a time. 

Oh, and with my crazy life right now, a resolution I have is to make sure I keep up with my blog despite the craziness!  :)
And here it is, Melissa's guest post:

When I eagerly volunteered to be a guest blogger, I didn't realize how hard it would be to decide what to say.  

Do I just introduce myself and give a short bio of my life??  Try to be funny?  I was thinking and thinking, and then just decided to do a post like I normally would on my own blog.  

Because really, it’s all I know how to do.  

Since it is so bitterly cold out these days, I thought I would share some pictures from my cottage this year. 

I’m Canadian, and have found that many people who are not Canadian do not really realize that we have other weather besides cold and snow.   If I took a picture of outside right now, I wouldn’t be proving anything.  

But we do have hot summers, beautiful autumn, and yucky rainy spring.  

My cottage is not winterized, so our cottage season ends in early October.  The summer season for the nearby camp ground ends around Labor Day.  

So when we found ourselves there for a long weekend in September, we realized we were going to need some wood if we wanted to have a campfire.

Kevin and I went on a mission.

We drove to where you would normally buy wood, and found that every store in the area was closed.

How did we get that wood you might wonder?

Well, we just took it.

I am now realizing that I am using my one chance to showcase myself as a guest blogger to talk about being a thief.  Perhaps this isn’t the best first impression.  

But I will proceed.

We actually aren’t as hardcore as you might think.  We found some piles of wood along the side of the road.  

As we were filling the car up, we couldn’t help but feel like we were criminals getting away with a massive heist.  

The street value of this wood would be over $100.

Our dog Burgundy just could not believe we would do such a thing.

Check out Melissa blog, Silber & Gold.

December Blog Feature - Monster Proof

This month's guest blogger is Katy from Monster Proof.  Do you ever read someone's blog and feel that you know them?  That's how it was with Katy since I started blogging.  I found her while reading a comment on another blog and it enticed me to check out her blog.  The next thing I know, Katy and I were exchanging e-mails and daily IM's.  Reading someone's blog just makes you feel like you are invited to share a part of their lives.  So here's a little sneak peak into Katy's.


I don’t want a mini-me

I’m a few months behind Kat on this whole pregnancy thing (I’m only 15 weeks), but I relate in one very important way…I’m going to be in major trouble if the kid turns out to be the baby/toddler I was. My mother claims she was appreciative of the hyper-intelligent hyper-activity because it showed that I was both smart and coordinated, but I got in quite a lot of trouble.

Plotting my first move...

Here is a top 5 list of examples why I don’t want the Lion to be like myself:

5) Babies in my family are HUGE. All my cousins except for a pair of 6 pound twins and myself weighed in at almost 10 pounds or more. I look deceptively small. I was 8 pounds at a week early when my mother had been severely ill with the flu for some time…and still measured 21 ½ inches.

4) I was crawling by 6 months. And could worm across the room at 3. On the back of this Christmas card it says, “Jimmy is now crawling & pulling himself up to stand at age of 6 months – I didn’t think a baby could go faster than Katy did!”

3) At 18 months I became a chef. At 2 am, I climbed out of my crib, opened the door, went down to the kitchen, and went to work, dragging a chair behind me. I got out a pot, filled it with water, put it on the stove, got hot dogs out of the freezer, put them in water, and as I was lighting the stove, my mother came into the room to check out the commotion. She said the only thing I did wrong was fail to take the hot dogs out of the wrapper. At this point, they put a lock on my door.

2) I tried to kill my brother. Frequently. I was more than a little jealous. Because of this, my parents had to wear him in a pouch continuously for many months. Just look at the fear in his eyes:

"Mom...MOM? Somebody gonna help me here?"

 

1) I was an escape artist. Once when dropping me off at a gymnastics class for toddlers, my mother warned the teacher, “You’ve GOT to keep an eye on this one, she’ll run.” The teacher, thinking she was a paranoid parent, assured her she’d done it for a long time, and I’d be fine. Little did she realize that 20 minutes later, my mother would turn around in the kitchen and discover I had walked ½ a mile down a highway to come home by myself. This is one of many times my mother had to go confront a crying teacher.

Maybe I wouldn’t mind smart and coordinated, but I have MANY other stories I could tell… At least a mini-me means in about 5 months there will be PLENTY to read about on my blog!

November Blog Feature - The Culinary Couple

Like I mentioned here, I'll be doing a blog feature every month.  More details at the end.

In the meantime, this month's blog feature is the Culinary Couple.  I found Emily's blog a few months ago while surfing the blog world and was immediately drawn by her website and then stuck around for the next hour or two because of the recipes.  Once I've finished drooling over the existing recipes and catching up on her posts, I immediately added her to my Google Reader.  There was no way I was missing anything in the future!

But enough about me.  I'll let Emily do the talking, so-to-speak.


Thank you, Kat, for inviting me to post on Living like the Kings! Let me introduce myself to your readers.


I’m Emily, a central Pennsylvania native who met the love of my life in a science lab. On 08.28.09 we stood in a garden on the banks of a river and promised to honor and cherish each other in sunshine and in rain.

Pic by Robert Winton

I’m a writer. I love summer strawberries, bitter dark chocolate, and my red KitchenAid stand mixer. I scribble notes in cookbooks and organize my grocery list according to the layout of the store.
Nick is a scientist. He loves pistachios, microbrews, and his red Le Creuset Dutch oven. He bakes bread, he can’t resist the combination of chocolate and peanut butter, and he makes a mean German meal.

Together we are The Culinary Couple.

We began to chronicle our kitchen adventures together in 2007. At first, we tried to impress one another with sweet potato soup and lasagna. We woke up to baked French toast and strong hazelnut coffee. We shared brie with cranberries and almonds and sips of pumpkin ale. We told stories over glasses of Pinot or Chianti while simmering, sautéing, and stirring.

Now we make it a priority to eat locally grown produce and locally raised meat when possible, and to harvest what we can from our humble front porch garden. (Heirloom tomatoes and fresh basil leaves make pesto pizza taste so much better.) We’re proud to live in Pennsylvania – home to hardworking farmers, railroads and covered bridges, and changing seasons.

In the fall, we curl up together on the couch with bowls of hot soup flavored with onions, zucchini, carrots, and sweet potatoes. And during the summer, we can’t get enough cherries, plums, peaches, and sweet corn.

To us, cooking isn’t just about preparing delectable dishes; it’s about laughter and gratification. It’s about making memories in bites bursting with flavor, taking pleasure in other cultures, and raising our glasses to another day together.

I’m so fortunate to have found a mate who can match my love for food!

I hope you try this recipe for our favorite hearty lasagna because there’s nothing more satisfying than the sweet and spicy aroma of simmering meat sauce. The recipe calls for two kinds of meat, three types of tomatoes, and three varieties of cheese. It’s time consuming to prepare, but it’s well worth the wait. It’s easily consumed in its entirety by a full family, or it can be divided between two 9x9 foil baking dishes and stored in the freezer.

If you take the freezer route, assemble the layers, cover tightly, freeze, and then bake an additional 15 minutes. Enjoy!

Ingredients
• 1 pound sweet Italian sausage
• 3/4 pound lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup minced onion
• 2 cloves crushed garlic
• 1 – 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
• 2 – 6 oz. cans tomato paste
• 2 – 6.5 oz cans canned tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• Fresh basil
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 12 lasagna noodles
• 16 oz. ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 pound sliced mozzarella cheese
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. In a large pot, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. (As always, the longer it simmers, the better!)

2. In a separate large pot, bring lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water.

3. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

5. To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil. (To prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.)

6. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.



Here's some info if you want to be featured:
Each month I will pick a blogger to answer some questions and include a sample post about a topic of their choice. In addition to the feature post, I will include your button on my blog for a month (I can do a picture of your choice if you don't have a button) with a link to your blog and the feature post.
To enter you have to be a loyal follower and let me know that you're interested (contact info here).