New me!

Yesterday I drove to Douglas to see my favorite hair stylist! She asked me what kind of style I was going for so I showed her a couple of pictures and told her to do whatever because I was having major attitude. She just laughed and said, "Just today? Isn't that always?" Okay, so she's right...I usually have attitude, but yesterday it was MAJOR attitude. I had the "my ex is a lying piece of shit and he and his two-timing, selfish, lying, married girlfriend can kiss my f*%$ing ass" attitude. Yeah, yeah, I still let him get to me. What can I say? That's what happens when you fall head-over-heels in love and then get your heart broken into a million pieces. So my goal is to prove to myself (and him, but mostly me) that I am way better off without him.

I'm going to work hard at turning myself into a new person. Starting with a new sassy haircut (I think this is the shortest my hair has been since I was little). Up next is training for a Triathlon. I know I want to do one next summer and I just got a treadmill so I'm going to start working hard at getting myself in shape. Something else that might be new is a job. I'm sending in an application for a job and I'm hoping I get it. So...new do, working on a new body, applying for a new job...hopefully I'll gain a whole new attitude from all this!





"The basic thing is that everyone wants happiness, no one wants suffering. And happiness mainly comes from our own attitude, rather than from external factors. If your own mental attitude is correct, even if you remain in a hostile atmosphere, you feel happy." ~ The Dalai Lama

Another Apple Creation

So I had my mom pick some more apples for me because I really wanted to try an apple pie recipe I had found. Glad I had her go to that trouble because the pie turned out DELICIOUS! :) It was easy to make too...no lattice work for the top crust or anything! The only problem I had with it was the fact that I "baked" it for 30 minutes before realizing my oven had died on me (both a good thing and a bad thing...that oven is so old and I hate it, but it wasn't a good time for it to meet its end). Just my luck. I ended up running the pie over to my sister's apartment to bake and, my luck again, I had grabbed the wrong key to get in. She was on her way to my house so she swung by her place to let me in. What a hassle! It was totally worth it though and I suggest you all try this pie at least once!

My dad just called to tell me he thought this pie was one of the best he's ever had (I sent a piece with Raine for him). So, there you go...try this recipe!

Yummy Crunchy Caramel Apple Pie

For Pie:

Pastry for single crust pie (I use this recipe for all my pies)
1/2 cup sugar
3 Tbsp flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
6 cups thinly sliced, peeled apples (I used my dad's apples, but I would think any would work)

Crumb Topping:

1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
1/2 cup butter

Final Topping:

1/2 cup chopped pecans (I left this out as I'm not a big fan of nuts in baked goods)
1/4 cup caramel ice cream topping (or as much as you think is necessary)

Prepare pastry for single-crust pie, being careful not to stretch the dough too much. Place in pie plate, trim and crimp edges (I'm not good at this part). In a large mixing bowl, stir together sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt. Add apple slices and gently toss until they are coated well. Transfer mixture to pie.

For the crumb topping: Stir together brown sugar, flour, and oats. Using a pastry blender, cut in the butter until topping resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over apple mixture.

Cover edge of pie with foil. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake 25-30 minutes more, or until top is golden. Remove from oven and drizzle top with caramel topping, then sprinkle with pecans. Cool on wire rack and serve!

"My tongue is smiling." ~ Abigail Trillin

My Little Diver!

This past weekend my mom and I took Pacen to Casper so he could participate in Bubblemaker's, an introduction to scuba diving class. I've been diving for about a year and half and I really want Pacen to have an adventurous and fun life so I thought it would be great to get him involved too. Pacen was super excited about Bubblemaker's and was pretty much bouncing off the walls with excitement. He had to watch a short video and then he got to do about an hour of pool time. He did really well and only had problems with a couple of things...the main problem being his "perma grin". He couldn't quit smiling so his mask kept flooding and his Instructor was afraid he was going to spit his regulator out and breathe in some water. Luckily he was able to keep his regulator in his mouth and he learned to clear his mask (a skill that you need to be able to do to pass the Open Water Diver course). The other problem he had was that he couldn't quite get used to being neutrally buoyant. His Instructor would get him neutral and he would be okay for a second and then realize he was just floating there and then he'd start flailing about. I think pretty much everyone goes through that at first...it's hard to get used to swimming with huge fins on your feet and trying not to use your arms.

Next year Pacen will be old enough to become a certified Open Water Diver. I hope to get him certified and then take him to Kids Sea Camp (they have them in The Bahamas, Grand Cayman, Bonaire, Belize, Fiji, The Galapagos, Costa Rica, Palau, and Silver Bank). I think it would be an experience of a lifetime and something he'd never forget. I also think more parents should introduce their kids to exciting and adventurous hobbies (scuba, rock climbing, etc.). These kinds of hobbies can open up a whole new world of opportunities.





"As a diver you are weightless and can move in all directions. You approach the freedom of a bird as you move in three dimensions in a fluid environment." ~ Dennis Graver

Fall Harvest

There is only one thing to do when your dad's apple trees go wild and produce hundreds of apples! Bake, bake, and bake some more! Quinn has been baking apple pies, apple crisp, cinnamon apple slices, etc. It has all been very delicious! Dad's apples have the best combination of sweet and tart flavors! Perfect for baking!

I picked two plastic grocery bags of apples and looked up many recipes. I finally decided to make some apple butter. I haven't had it in years and I thought Pacen would enjoy it. It turned out pretty good if I do say so myself. :) I have a caramel apple pie recipe I want to try, but I'll have to wait until I am able to pick more apples (I better hurry because it will be freezing soon).

APPLE BUTTER

Apples (enough to overfill a 4 quart crock pot)
1/2 cup vinegar
3 cups white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves

Peel, core, and slice the apples. Add vinegar and cook on low for 18 hours (10 hours on high if your crock pot cooks fast). Stir occasionally. Add white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and cloves. Stir thoroughly. Put into blender and blend until smooth. Put back in crock pot and cook four more hours. Seal in jars. Makes almost 6 pint jars.

This was just about half of the apples I used. Yeah, they look kind of rough but that's from a hail storm.

See the apples on the side? That's what the whole batch looked like before blending it. I was nervous for a while that it was ruined.

"Almost all wild apples are handsome. They cannot be too gnarly and crabbed and rusty to look at. The gnarliest will have some redeeming traits even to the eye." ~Henry David Thoreau

My Little Hunter!

Last week Pacen took the Hunter Safety course. He hasn't taken the test yet. Thursday night is the defining moment. Anyway, yesterday was field day and all the kids went out to the gun club to practice firearm safety. I think they all had fun. They started out with the compound bow. Pacen hit the bear a couple of times.

They they shot clay pigeons with a shotgun. I was taking pictures like crazy (yeah, I'm one of those moms) and I finally thought "I think I've taken enough pictures of Pace shooting the shot gun". Just after I turned my camera off he hit a clay pigeon! He turned around to look at me and had the most excited expression on his face! I can't believe I missed that "Kodak moment"! His expression was priceless! I guess I'll be more on the ball next time!

My little hunter! Doesn't he look cute in camo? :)

He is still small enough that Dick had to kind of catch him as he shot the shotgun.

Next on the agenda was rifles and pistols. The kids had to practice shooting in the four positions (prone, standing, sitting, and kneeling) with the rifle and then they got to shoot a pistol. Pacen did alright. He hit the target a couple of times. It was great to see him get excited about something. I just wish he had an experienced person to take him hunting.


It turned out to be a pretty good day. Well, except for the weather. It was so windy and cold that I could've swore winter was moving in! I was proven wrong today though, as it was nice out. Wyoming. *sigh* When we got home in the afternoon I turned the heat on and made some hot tea. I couldn't feel my hands! Pacen, on the other hand, was hot. He ran around the house in his underwear. Go figure!

Oh, and I participated in field day too! Yup, I shot more than just my camera. I shot everything except the shotgun. I don't like how they kick. I must say I think I did pretty well with the rifle and pistol, especially considering how bad the wind was blowing.

"A child educated only at school is an uneducated child." ~ George Santayana

Home Improvement Projects

Everyone is always giving me grief because I have started many home improvement projects, but I haven't finished all of them. Sometimes I get motivated and I'll start a project and then half-way through I'll lose that motivation, or I'll run out of material, or I'll find that I need help, and the project is left to be finished at another time. Unfortunately a few of those projects have been waiting to be completed for a year or more. What can I say? I'm not the best at asking for help. I like to be independent and prove to myself that I am capable of doing things on my own. I also find it hard to go back to a project that was started when I have decided there is a more "fun" project that needs to be done! :) It's never ending.

Well, during Labor Day weekend I decided to complete a project that I started about a month ago. The sidewalk in my backyard ends just past the garage door and beyond that is 10' or so of dirt covered in weeds, leading to the back gate (leading out to the alley). When I moved into my house that area was a jungle of bushes and trees, which I had removed the year after. I decided it would be nice to have a rock path to the back gate so when Pacen or I take the trash out we don't have to trudge through nasty weeds or mud. So, about a month ago I started digging the area out (about 10'x3' or so). I dug down 4" and tried to make it as level as possible. Luckily as I was digging I found many flat rocks. Apparently there was a path there before the trees and bushes took over. When I was done digging I laid some landscaping fabric down (so the weeds wouldn't come back) and covered it in sand (2-3" deep). I then beat the bejesus out of the sand with the flat side of a snow shovel, trying to pack it down (while relieving some stress). After I made sure it was packed down pretty well I laid the flat rocks out the way I liked. I then spread red rock
(five 5-gallon buckets full) around and swept it into the areas between the big rocks.

That's it! I finished a project! Yahoo! Maybe now I should finish a project that is half-way done. I think I'll finish the guest room so my sister can sleep there when she comes twice a week to work at the hospital! :)

Do you see how I screwed up here? I forgot to lay the landscaping fabric down first! *big sigh*

I fixed that problem! :)

"Little by little does the trick." ~ Aesop

Road Trip

A couple of weeks ago I decided to take a road trip. I knew there were still some fawn around with spots, and I also knew they would be outgrowing those spots very soon! I wanted to try to get pictures of them before they completely outgrew those cute spots! I also just needed to be by myself for a while. I needed to get out of town and just drive where the roads would take me. I do some of my best thinking in my car with the music blaring. I feel very at home in my car. Driving relaxes me, and sometimes I just need to get in my car, drive, listen to music, and sing at the top of my lungs! So, I drove in a big circle on some country roads around Lusk. It took me a couple of hours and it was exactly what I needed. I saw a few fawn who still had some spots, an owl, and lots of great countryside! It was even nice enough for me to drive with my windows down, so I got some fresh air and I got to take in all the wonderful smells of the country (okay, all the smells are wonderful except for the smell of cow manure!). I think I might take a road trip at least once a month. Head in a different direction each time. Maybe even make it a weekend road trip...get out the state or head to a different part of Wyoming to see some new scenery. I know a perfect country road near Cody, WY that has been calling my name for over a year!

The leaves looked so pretty as they blew in the wind while the sun shone on them.

This owl was just sitting in the road.

There are still so many sunflowers along the roads. So pretty!