Middle of nowhere, Arkansas

My family owns a cabin in the middle of no where.  We have only had it for about a year, but it is one of our favorite weekend activities.  We can easily travel there for one night, and its sort of half way between us and my parents, so we meet there a lot.  Its very rustic.  It was once a church, long ago, but since then has been converted. In the past year my family has improved it from camping with a ceiling, to adding running water and a bathroom complete with toilet and shower, along with basic kitchen appliances such as a stove, and coffee maker.  We went last weekend. Here are some pics.

Its hard to see because of the shadows.  Its me, Michael, and my parents.  It is hunting season right now, so better safe than dead with the orange. ( We weren't hunting just going for a walk)

It was a beautiful weekend to go!  This creek is just a short walk away.  Last time we were here we found some bear droppings in this very spot.  Its really in the wilderness.  No cell phone reception either, which is part of the appeal. 

Look at these cuties! my parents new dogs.  They are hunting beagles.  I have a soft spot for beagles, my favorite pet ever was Chip, a miniature Beagle.  

These are some cookies I made for  a Halloween party that we had at our house.  Cute huh?  I probably won't post about the party, I am ready to move on from Halloween to the really good holidays.  If you are curious, look on facebook.  I was a hot air balloon!  It was fun.  

This weekend is exciting!! Its Michael's birthday and Katy is coming to stay with me!! woohoo! AND we bought a new couch, light fixture, and side table today.  Pics to come (when we get them in)

Don't Knock it 'til you try it.

Not that you will be able to try this, because it is all gone.   Coconut Curry Butternut Squash Soup.  Last fall was my first time to try a squash soup of any kind.  And I was skeptical.  It just looks gross.  But, it is good! This one tastes like a curry sauce, so if its too much to eat as a soup, pour it over some rice, or as we did, some quinoa.  I got the recipe here http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/10/coconut-curry-butternut-squash-soup.html but I changed some of it, because the spices she recommends can be expensive.  Instead I used Indian curry paste, sauteed it with the onions, I did use the curry powder and cumin she recommended.  

We had a baby shower at my house for Baby G. coming soon.  It was fall themed.  I made some cookies using the mom-to-be's family sugar cookie recipe.  I'm no artist, but they tasted good, and were fun to make.  

We went to the farmer's market on Saturday.  Michael always buys a bouquet of my choice when we go.   We also bought an Arkansas shaped hand made cutting board.  If you frequent the farmer's market, you know what I am talking about.  

This picture is terrible, this was pretty in real life.  Its baked brie, I didn't photograph it when it was really looking appetizing with rich, delicious, melted cheese pouring out of the buttery crust.  Yum! I got the recipe here : http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/crescent-wrapped-brie/3bc85655-bba2-44ec-88dd-9f2397a8d42b/  I served it with apple slices. 

This weekend: co-hosting another baby shower.  Quite the regular thing around here, I'm helping with 4 showers in 5 weeks.  Whew. 

A first birthday party for (no longer a..) baby B.

A Halloween costume party!  Pics to come.  

First Annual Gaddy Apple-mania

Michael and I have a "date night" every week.  We try to get creative sometimes, and do more than just go to dinner- only sometimes, because we really like going out to eat.  Last week we really lived on the edge and moved our date night from our specified weeknight to Saturday afternoon.  I requested that we go to an apple orchard to pick apples.  I thought it would be a nice change, something to do while enjoying the weather and conversation.  Michael asked if apple season was over now that its fall.  "No way, haven't you noticed that fall decorations always have apples with them?" was my reply.  Well, who do you think had better reasoning skills here?  (Don't answer that, just keep reading).  A friend told me that Battlefield Park in Prairie Grove had an apple orchard open to the public, free of charge.  Saturday we gathered some re-usable grocery bags, and a step stool.  I wanted to outsmart everyone who didn't have access to some height, I wanted the best apples.  On our way out to Prairie Grove we ate lunch at Briar Rose- incredible! And coincidentally we ran into some friends there and ate with them.  A great surprise.  Now this detail is significant in this story because one of these friends mentioned that a little bit further down the road, in Lincoln, was another apple orchard, just in case our plan failed.(Foreshadowing?)
We made it to the Park, found the orchard, which was really small, and this is what we found....

Empty trees.  Thats right, folks, apple harvest is in August- September.  Not at all October.

A bad apple. But it at least confirmed that we were, in fact, in an apple orchard.

This little guy was cute.  I didn't touch him or anything.  Just intrigued by how much he looked like a cartoon character.  But he was real.  

This picture has absolutely no significance.  I accidentally uploaded onto this post, but I'm leaving it here in the spirit of fall. 

So, the orchard #1 was a fail.  We took the advice of our friend at lunch and drove to Lincoln, to a place called Apple World, or something equally encouraging.  We didn't get to pick our own, which was a disappointment, I mean, we had a ladder with us and everything.  But we did buy one peck of apples.  Delicious fresh ones.  Did you know that apples sold in normal grocery stores are sprayed with wax?  It says so right at the apple stands, just look close.  I eat them anyway, but it bothers me.  These apples were wax free.  

One peck= a lot of apples.

After we returned home, victorious with apples in hand, then began the real work.  We sat out on the back porch and I peeled and cored, sliced and diced an entire peck of apples.  Michael kept me company. 

One peck of apples, obliterated.  It took a long time.  

Here is what I created with all those apple pieces....

Apple cake.  Apple-y goodness in every bite.  I made three of them.  We devoured almost an entire one that night (with the help of friends, but we probably could have done it without them).  The other 2 I brought to our class at church the next morning.  It was taken care of there.  

I had to make an apple pie.  I brought the pie to family lunch after church. I forgot to photograph it before.  I'm not good at making pretty crust, but the little leaves on top distract from the ugly edge, right?

Apple butter! Yum. I ate it by the spoonful right when i finished.  Don't worry, apple butter does not actually contain butter, or fat for that matter. 

Coming soon: more fall goodies (but not of the apple persuasion)

Lunchable for grown ups.

In sixth grade I loved the new (at the time) Pizza Lunchables.  I'm not sure why.  The only memory I have of them is cardboard crust, and cold pizza sauce.  Gross.  Well, those of you who know me know that I love to cook new things.  I rarely ever cook the same thing twice, for dinner at least.  However, for lunch I usually eat just leftovers, or microwave a sweet potato.  This week I decided to get a little bit creative, and actually cook lunch.
I made zucchini pizza bites (found here: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/07/zucchini-pizza-bites.html )  They were delicious and healthy!  I keep a mental checklist throughout the day of what I have eaten, I want to make sure I am getting enough of the right things- this delish, low cal (under 350 cals for much more than I could finish), low fat lunch is at least one serving of veggies, dairy, and protein (depending on how much you eat).    And, even though I am home for lunch most days, you could make it in your office if you have a toaster oven, just come with everything pre-sliced, and measured.

Another Year Older, A Reflection

You may not remember it, but you probably wished me a Happy Birthday last week after being prompted by facebook.  I'm another year older, 25.  This birthday, more than most, has been one full of the awareness of the discrepancy between my imagination of this age and its actuality.  I know everyone can relate to this.  At the age of 15, or even 20, I thought of 25 as womanhood.  Now to describe myself as "woman" makes me giggle and feel awkward.  Isn't 25 the age that you are established in a "career" and starting to think about having a family?  I have yet to work in any one place for more than a year.  Its the age when small talk quickly moves from "what's your name?" into "what do you do?" And "do you have kids?" or "When are you going to have kids?"- which, I am finding is more of an intrusive question than I originally thought.  Knowledge comes with age, I suppose.  

Milestones of my life at the age of 24:

My husband started working for a business- before this we were planning on moving over seas- we would still love to, but not yet.  

We moved out of our beloved apartment, and become home owners.

We traveled to Scotland, Ireland, England.

I ran a half marathon

We lost our first child through miscarriage

At the beginning of my 24th year of life, I could not have predicted most of these milestones.

I am excited to see where God will bring us over the next year.  

Birthday date night- on our way to Bonefish. 

That's A Wrap

Here is the last post of our trip.
Hold on to your seats, there will be a lot of pictures.

We traveled to Stirling on our way to the Highlands.
This is a famous castle in Stirling.

This is a view of the William Wallace monument from the top of the castle. You know, William Wallace, as in Brave Heart, yep he was here once.  

We climbed that William Wallace monument, all approx million stairs.  Half way up we got to see his sword.  The real deal.  It was taller than I am.  He was a big guy.   You'd have to be to save Scotland, right?

Once we reached the Highlands (I am Highlander!) we stayed at some B&Bs.  Here is the first.

Highland Beauty.  One of the many "lochs" (lakes) running through the Scottish Highlands.

 Out side our B&B

After 2 nights in Ft. William we traveled via Jacobite Steam train, which happens to be the train from Harry Potter, up to the Isle of Skye. 

Here I am with all my gear.  

Some of these pictures may not be the best quality because they were taken through the train window. I saw the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen.  I love the US, but there is nothing here that looks like Scotland. 

Waiting on our ferry to take us across to the Isle of Skye.

On the Isle of Skye, waiting on a bus.....we had to do more of this than we wanted. 

We took an "eagle watching" boat ride 

This is the last land until the Arctic circle, and it was cold!

 To give some perspective, those little white dots are sheep!

After only one night in Skye, we overnight trained to London. 

London was crowded, like Disney world in the summertime crowded.  We did all the main touristy things: double decker bus tour, Tower of London, London eye, and shop.  

By the time we arrived in London we were so tired that it was a little hard to enjoy going out and about all day.  We LOVED the trip, but we were ready to come home!  Or at least have some rest time.