Tomorrow we are headed to the Oregon Coast for two nights then Portland & Seattle to visit family and go to a wedding. We're looking forward to our five day weekend.
Here are some pictures of our pumpkin carving adventures:
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Happy Halloween!
Happy Halloween everyone. While I don't celebrate all this holiday entails I do like carving pumpkins, roasting the seeds and going to harvest parties with friends. Well we're doing two out of the three this year.
Tomorrow we are headed to the Oregon Coast for two nights then Portland & Seattle to visit family and go to a wedding. We're looking forward to our five day weekend.
Here are some pictures of our pumpkin carving adventures:
Tomorrow we are headed to the Oregon Coast for two nights then Portland & Seattle to visit family and go to a wedding. We're looking forward to our five day weekend.
Here are some pictures of our pumpkin carving adventures:
Monday, October 26, 2009
You Must Make This!
Unless you don't eat pork - you must make this recipe. So easy and delicious, almost better then Famous Dave's! Richer flavor I think. I believe the secret is in the BBQ sauce. I used Bull's Eye Hicory Smoke - thanks for the guy & his mom who helped me pick it out in Winco. Very random but they pick a great sauce.
Sorry there are no pictures to go along with it - it's good and we ate it all! Next time I'll buy a bigger pork roast.
Slow Cooker Texas Pulled Pork - adapted from Allrecipes.com:
1 tsp vegetable oil (or canola oil)
1 4lb pork shoulder roast (mine was 2lb, just half the recipe)
1 cup BBQ sauce
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 large onion, chopped (I omitted this because we didn't have one)
2 large garlic cloves, crushed
1 1/2 tsps dried thyme
Buns of your choice for serving. I used this recipe and used all white flour since I didn't have wheat. They tasted great although mine didn't rise - I think I killed the yeast. Oops!
Directions:
1. Pour the vegetable oil into the bottom of a slow cooker. Place the pork roast into the slow cooker; pour in the barbecue sauce, apple cider vinegar, and chicken broth. Stir in the brown sugar, yellow mustard, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, onion, garlic, and thyme. Cover and cook on High until the roast shreds easily with a fork, 5 to 6 hours.
*I also opened the lid up every once and a while and basted the roast. This helped the sauce not to burn to the sides of the crockpot and made the meat even more moist I think
2.Remove the roast from the slow cooker, and shred the meat using two forks. Return the shredded pork to the slow cooker, and stir the meat into the juices.
3. Serve on a toasted bun.
YUM-O.
Sorry there are no pictures to go along with it - it's good and we ate it all! Next time I'll buy a bigger pork roast.
Slow Cooker Texas Pulled Pork - adapted from Allrecipes.com:
1 tsp vegetable oil (or canola oil)
1 4lb pork shoulder roast (mine was 2lb, just half the recipe)
1 cup BBQ sauce
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 large onion, chopped (I omitted this because we didn't have one)
2 large garlic cloves, crushed
1 1/2 tsps dried thyme
Buns of your choice for serving. I used this recipe and used all white flour since I didn't have wheat. They tasted great although mine didn't rise - I think I killed the yeast. Oops!
Directions:
1. Pour the vegetable oil into the bottom of a slow cooker. Place the pork roast into the slow cooker; pour in the barbecue sauce, apple cider vinegar, and chicken broth. Stir in the brown sugar, yellow mustard, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, onion, garlic, and thyme. Cover and cook on High until the roast shreds easily with a fork, 5 to 6 hours.
*I also opened the lid up every once and a while and basted the roast. This helped the sauce not to burn to the sides of the crockpot and made the meat even more moist I think
2.Remove the roast from the slow cooker, and shred the meat using two forks. Return the shredded pork to the slow cooker, and stir the meat into the juices.
3. Serve on a toasted bun.
YUM-O.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Fun Marriage Facts
I stole this from another blogger - SnoWhite - it looked like fun and I needed a mid-week blog post. :) Enjoy
♥ What are your middle names?
Mine is Marie & Chris' is Gregg
♥How long have you been together?
Well we dated for almost 5 years before getting married and we just celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary this past August. So 7 years total this January.
♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating?
Let's see - we met in high school - so we knew each other a year and a half I think before dating.
♥ Who asked who out?
Chris asked me out, although we had been hanging out "as friends" for quite a while before.
♥ Who made the first move?
Hard to say. We had mutual friends and chatted on MSN Messenger for awhile before we started dating - but I think it was Chris because he asked me out.
♥ How old are each of you?
I'm the oldest at 27. And Chris is 24 until December. So from August to December I feel really old!
♥ Did you go to the same school?
Yes, good ol' PHS.
♥ Are you from the same home town?
Yes, good ol' P-town. But technically Chris grew up on the west side of the state. He moved to P-town before middle school.
♥ Who is the smartest?
I think we're both pretty smart but Chris can keep tons of random knowledge in his brain about sports, airplanes, the military, TV shows and just about anything. That gives him an advantage.
♥ Who majored in what?
I majored in Hospitality Business Management and Chris majored in Horticulture. He's closer to using his degree then I am.
♥ Who is the most sensitive?
Probably me.
♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple?
I don't know if we have one place - we don't eat out a lot because we aren't home at the same times and we're trying to save money. But Chris recently discovered he likes Subway so we've gone there for Sunday lunch several times in the past month. :)
♥ Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
Minneapolis where we went to visit our lovely friends and their new son.
♥ Who has the worst temper?
We don't really have bad tempers but I can be more mean then Chris if I'm angry.
♥ How many children do you want?
2-4
♥ Who does the cooking?
Mostly me. Since I work in the evenings I cook a big lunch and leave leftovers for Chris to eat for dinner and take to work. He's an excellent breakfast cook when he's not working on the weekends.
♥ Who is more social?
We are both pretty shy but I think I am the more social one of both of us.
♥ Who is the neat-freak?
Definitely ME! Sometimes it drives me crazy but I'm learning to be patient.
♥ Who is the most stubborn?
We are probably in a tie for that one.
♥ Who wakes up earlier?
Chris gets up earlier during the week because he works during the day and since I work until 11pm, I sleep in a little longer. But he's the king of sleeping in when he can.
♥ Where was your first date?
We went and saw "A Beautiful Mind" in the theater.
♥ Who has the bigger family?
We each grew up only children. Chris has an older half-sister and I have an older half-sister and half-brother. But we both have about the same number of aunts & uncles.
♥ Do you get flowers often?
No, sometimes I want more but most of the time I'm ok with it.
♥ How do you spend the holidays?
Well since we're both from the same town the past few years we have spent the holidays with both of our families. The only confusing part is Christmas morning where we go back and forth between houses and eat Christmas dinner all together. Since I work in a hotel, I do not get all holidays off so sometimes we improvise.
♥ Who is more jealous?
Neither of us are really jealous.
♥ How long did it take to get serious?
A couple years, we had a long distance relationship and so we probably got more serious after Chris joined me at college and we were able to spend more time together.
♥ Who eats more?
Chris is a big guy but I can eat more then him unless we're eating pizza or pasta - his favorites.
♥ What do you do for a living?
I work at a hotel - trying to branch out into event planning.
Chris currently works for a seed company and is looking for new job - he wants to be a field man for an agricultural company.
♥ Who does the laundry?
That would be me but if I do it when we're both home, Chris will help me fold it. And he does his own if his work clothes get too dirty.
♥ Who’s better with the computer?
Chris knows way more then me but I know all I need to for what I want to do.
♥ Who drives when you are together?
Usually Chris but we switch off on long trips. He loves to drive which is great with me.
♥ What is "your" song?
We don't really have one. Chris used to sing me an Elvis song when we were dating and we both love Casting Crowns "Your Love is Extravagant" which we played at our wedding.
♥ What are your middle names?
Mine is Marie & Chris' is Gregg
♥How long have you been together?
Well we dated for almost 5 years before getting married and we just celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary this past August. So 7 years total this January.
♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating?
Let's see - we met in high school - so we knew each other a year and a half I think before dating.
♥ Who asked who out?
Chris asked me out, although we had been hanging out "as friends" for quite a while before.
♥ Who made the first move?
Hard to say. We had mutual friends and chatted on MSN Messenger for awhile before we started dating - but I think it was Chris because he asked me out.
♥ How old are each of you?
I'm the oldest at 27. And Chris is 24 until December. So from August to December I feel really old!
♥ Did you go to the same school?
Yes, good ol' PHS.
♥ Are you from the same home town?
Yes, good ol' P-town. But technically Chris grew up on the west side of the state. He moved to P-town before middle school.
♥ Who is the smartest?
I think we're both pretty smart but Chris can keep tons of random knowledge in his brain about sports, airplanes, the military, TV shows and just about anything. That gives him an advantage.
♥ Who majored in what?
I majored in Hospitality Business Management and Chris majored in Horticulture. He's closer to using his degree then I am.
♥ Who is the most sensitive?
Probably me.
♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple?
I don't know if we have one place - we don't eat out a lot because we aren't home at the same times and we're trying to save money. But Chris recently discovered he likes Subway so we've gone there for Sunday lunch several times in the past month. :)
♥ Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
Minneapolis where we went to visit our lovely friends and their new son.
♥ Who has the worst temper?
We don't really have bad tempers but I can be more mean then Chris if I'm angry.
♥ How many children do you want?
2-4
♥ Who does the cooking?
Mostly me. Since I work in the evenings I cook a big lunch and leave leftovers for Chris to eat for dinner and take to work. He's an excellent breakfast cook when he's not working on the weekends.
♥ Who is more social?
We are both pretty shy but I think I am the more social one of both of us.
♥ Who is the neat-freak?
Definitely ME! Sometimes it drives me crazy but I'm learning to be patient.
♥ Who is the most stubborn?
We are probably in a tie for that one.
♥ Who wakes up earlier?
Chris gets up earlier during the week because he works during the day and since I work until 11pm, I sleep in a little longer. But he's the king of sleeping in when he can.
♥ Where was your first date?
We went and saw "A Beautiful Mind" in the theater.
♥ Who has the bigger family?
We each grew up only children. Chris has an older half-sister and I have an older half-sister and half-brother. But we both have about the same number of aunts & uncles.
♥ Do you get flowers often?
No, sometimes I want more but most of the time I'm ok with it.
♥ How do you spend the holidays?
Well since we're both from the same town the past few years we have spent the holidays with both of our families. The only confusing part is Christmas morning where we go back and forth between houses and eat Christmas dinner all together. Since I work in a hotel, I do not get all holidays off so sometimes we improvise.
♥ Who is more jealous?
Neither of us are really jealous.
♥ How long did it take to get serious?
A couple years, we had a long distance relationship and so we probably got more serious after Chris joined me at college and we were able to spend more time together.
♥ Who eats more?
Chris is a big guy but I can eat more then him unless we're eating pizza or pasta - his favorites.
♥ What do you do for a living?
I work at a hotel - trying to branch out into event planning.
Chris currently works for a seed company and is looking for new job - he wants to be a field man for an agricultural company.
♥ Who does the laundry?
That would be me but if I do it when we're both home, Chris will help me fold it. And he does his own if his work clothes get too dirty.
♥ Who’s better with the computer?
Chris knows way more then me but I know all I need to for what I want to do.
♥ Who drives when you are together?
Usually Chris but we switch off on long trips. He loves to drive which is great with me.
♥ What is "your" song?
We don't really have one. Chris used to sing me an Elvis song when we were dating and we both love Casting Crowns "Your Love is Extravagant" which we played at our wedding.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Greenbluff Photos
Here are some highlights of our trip to Greenbluff. More can be seen on Facebook too.
Seasons of Life
While I wait for Picasa to upload photos of Greenbluff on here I decided that I needed to write a life update. My posts of late have been more about what we are doing instead of how we are doing.
The seasons are changing, not only in the weather but also in our lives as well. Of course a big part of our lives are our jobs. And of course Chris' job has been a huge factor as to why things might be changing.
Basically, this job is not what he thought it would be. Disregarding harvest and all of it's crazy hours and stresses, he still is not happy being inside all day doing monotonous work. This is just not joyful for him. However, another opportunity has presented itself and he has a phone interview this Friday. It would be a smaller scale operation so hopefully he would have more hands-on interaction and be outside more which he loves.
As for me, I realize that I am content in my job. This is not a bad thing - my attitude is not one that I wish every day would be my last working here but I think it's time to step outside of my comfort zone.
This is scary for me, I enjoy comfort very much and a routine but my spirit is just not satisfied with settling into this job. I think the financial provision of it is what keeps me there and for right now we need that provision.
But I keep having thoughts of what I love to do and how I can incorporate that into my job. So I am looking into new options which is scary and exciting too. I really love photography and want to figure out how I could earn money taking pictures. But no, I do not want to be a wedding photographer! Ha! So right now, I'm still trying to figure all that out.
It's so hard sometimes to find a balance of doing what you love and loving what you do. How much to do sacrifice for your job? On a daily basis, I see people traveling for work away from their families 4-5 days a week. Do they really love it or do they feel they have to do it? It's hard to tell sometimes but I think everyone struggles with that.
Pray for us as we enter this new season of our life together. We are hoping to get away for a few days at the end of this month and just pray together and seek God for the next step.
The seasons are changing, not only in the weather but also in our lives as well. Of course a big part of our lives are our jobs. And of course Chris' job has been a huge factor as to why things might be changing.
Basically, this job is not what he thought it would be. Disregarding harvest and all of it's crazy hours and stresses, he still is not happy being inside all day doing monotonous work. This is just not joyful for him. However, another opportunity has presented itself and he has a phone interview this Friday. It would be a smaller scale operation so hopefully he would have more hands-on interaction and be outside more which he loves.
As for me, I realize that I am content in my job. This is not a bad thing - my attitude is not one that I wish every day would be my last working here but I think it's time to step outside of my comfort zone.
This is scary for me, I enjoy comfort very much and a routine but my spirit is just not satisfied with settling into this job. I think the financial provision of it is what keeps me there and for right now we need that provision.
But I keep having thoughts of what I love to do and how I can incorporate that into my job. So I am looking into new options which is scary and exciting too. I really love photography and want to figure out how I could earn money taking pictures. But no, I do not want to be a wedding photographer! Ha! So right now, I'm still trying to figure all that out.
It's so hard sometimes to find a balance of doing what you love and loving what you do. How much to do sacrifice for your job? On a daily basis, I see people traveling for work away from their families 4-5 days a week. Do they really love it or do they feel they have to do it? It's hard to tell sometimes but I think everyone struggles with that.
Pray for us as we enter this new season of our life together. We are hoping to get away for a few days at the end of this month and just pray together and seek God for the next step.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Greenbluff!
We took our second annual trip to Greenbluff this Sunday. We had a great time and did a few different things.
Of course we started off by enjoying a delicious apple dumpling at the Greenbluff Community Center. Then we walked across the street to shop for crafts and other treats. This year I tried the pumpkin donuts which are amazing! They are so delicious especially served hot with cinnamon-sugar topping. I could probably eat a dozen by myself.
We headed over to the corn maze next and Mindy still beat us all to the castle this year. She's an expert! We wandered around a while after we finally finished the maze before heading out to get some lunch.
After lunch it was time for the hayride and pumpkin picking. Thankfully this year the pumpkins were orange and not so green like last year. We found great pumpkins and they were so cheap. 23 pounds of pumpkins for under $6!
We had a great time at Greenbluff and managed to survive the extreme cold - which was a lot different then last year. Pictures to come soon, I just need to get them loaded.
Of course we started off by enjoying a delicious apple dumpling at the Greenbluff Community Center. Then we walked across the street to shop for crafts and other treats. This year I tried the pumpkin donuts which are amazing! They are so delicious especially served hot with cinnamon-sugar topping. I could probably eat a dozen by myself.
We headed over to the corn maze next and Mindy still beat us all to the castle this year. She's an expert! We wandered around a while after we finally finished the maze before heading out to get some lunch.
After lunch it was time for the hayride and pumpkin picking. Thankfully this year the pumpkins were orange and not so green like last year. We found great pumpkins and they were so cheap. 23 pounds of pumpkins for under $6!
We had a great time at Greenbluff and managed to survive the extreme cold - which was a lot different then last year. Pictures to come soon, I just need to get them loaded.
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
Friday, October 02, 2009
Traveling Blog
Today I am headed to the other P-town to celebrate a family wedding. It should be a great time and I am looking forward to spending time in the Palouse as well! :) It always makes me happy when I crest the hill and see campus for the first time amidst the wheat fields. Ah, happy memories.
The only thing missing will be my hubby. Unfortunately, his company did not think a family wedding was big enough to be granted time off for even though he has known about it for several months.
Keep on praying for him, he's hopefully on the downhill slope of harvest which means that in a few weeks he'll have (hopefully) shorter hours and not have to work weekends anymore. It's been a long 5 weeks for sure.
Have a great weekend everyone.
The only thing missing will be my hubby. Unfortunately, his company did not think a family wedding was big enough to be granted time off for even though he has known about it for several months.
Keep on praying for him, he's hopefully on the downhill slope of harvest which means that in a few weeks he'll have (hopefully) shorter hours and not have to work weekends anymore. It's been a long 5 weeks for sure.
Have a great weekend everyone.
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