Thanks!

Thanks for all the congratulations and well wishes for Dave and me since our engagement! We've had so much fun showing off the ring and talking to people about this exciting time in our lives. And I've also had so much fun with the planning process over the past two weeks. Luckily I really love to plan a party and have had some experience working with caterers and doing cakes. The biggest item on my list that I haven't tackled yet is looking for dress. Ugh!

Besides planning a wedding, I've been cleaning out closets, cabinets, and drawers trying to simplify and purge items that aren't & won't be used. If I keep at it, I may have enough for a yard sale. The problem is that I do a minor sweep every few months and haul the items to Goodwill so I've already cleared out a fair amount of "stuff." I've lived in this house 5 years now and have managed to only put Christmas decorations in the attic and nothing else. This year I'm even going to try to dwindle down the Christmas boxes.

Yesterday we went for a visit with Granny and Grandpa. Dave spent quite a long time down at the pond fishing. I waited to go out until later in the afternoon since it was pretty hot and I didn't have any sunscreen. Later in the afternoon, Grandpa brought Granny down to the pond and set her up with a chair, some bait, and her fishing pole so she could engage in one of her favorite activities - bream fishing. She caught quite a few. With Dave contributing 2 good size bass, me adding one smallish one, and Granny and Grandpa's collection of bream, they had enough for a big meal. Granny was absolutely thrilled to spend her afternoon fishing and spending time with her grandson and future granddaughter-in-law. I had a good laugh when I realized that Dave had worn his hat and his shirt all afternoon in the blazing sun and ended up with quite a tan/burn line on his neck and head. I'll post a pic later. I laughed for a good 5 minutes!

So that's us. Tonight I'm reading through a crock pot cookbook picking out some yummy bean soup recipes to try for easy, healthy meals. I'll share the good ones.

BIG News!

Hopefully most of our friends and family have heard by now....Dave and I got engaged last night!

Dave has been working on designing the ring for a few months now. He was adamant about having it custom-made which took some extra research and planning. We both collaborated on what we liked and talked to the jeweler.

He picked the ring up last week and said it's been burning a hole in his pocket all weekend. I knew he had picked it up because I saw where he'd paid the balance on it :). I kept trying to get some hints out of him. He gave me a few hints and asked what we could do fun this week.

So last night we decided to go to Frankie's Fun Park for some putt putt. We had a great time playing. Dave kept telling me that I was playing for the championship and that if I won I might get a prize. I promptly started losing and I asked if the runner up got a prize, too. I figured if he was going to give it to me he'd make me wait all night through putt putt and dinner.

When we got to the 18th hole, Dave tallied up the score card and told me I'd won. I knew that wasn't true so when he handed me the score card I looked directly at the scores. I said, "I did NOT win!" and handed him back the score card. He gave it back to me and I looked it over again and at the top he'd written, "Will you marry me?" I got teared up and Dave asked me again, "Will you marry me?" Obviously I said yes. Luckily there weren't very many people around so we got to have a special moment. We stayed a little bit longer and took some cheesy photo booth photos to commemorate the occasion and also played a few games.

We spent the rest of the night on the telephone and visiting with Mom, Aunt Penny, and Aunt Linda.

We are both thrilled with how the ring turned out. It is everything we wanted. And we're both very excited about planning a fun and laid-back wedding. I've already made some plans including the band, the caterer, the church, and the reception site. Not bad after only one day of engagement. Too bad I've had fever since last night and don't feel that great. It hasn't dampened my mood, though!

Oops

I almost set the house on fire this morning.

I had been soaking some chick peas and kidney beans and decided to cook them while I was working from home this morning. As I put them on the stove, I said to myself, "Don't forget about these beans." About an hour and a half later, I was taking a break and talking to Dave when he said, "What's that smell?"

I yelled, "Oh @#%*!" and ran for the kitchen suddenly remembering those stupid beans. When I opened the door to the back of the house, it was filled with smoke. I threw the back door open and the dogs charged out for fresh air. Then I jerked the pots of the stove. Pretty sure those two pots are ruined. I had to immediately change all of my clothes including undergarments which smelled like they were in the burning pots with the beans. They still stink even after being soaked and washed.

I spent the rest of the day running the attic fan with all the windows open, spraying the carpet with deodorizer, vacuuming air return filters, washing bed linens, and boiling vinegar water trying to get rid of the stale motel smell. It's not gone yet, but it's a whole lot better. I picked up a new smoke alarm at Lowes tonight and Dave and I will install it this weekend. Now I have to find 2 new favorite sauce pans to replaced the ones I ruined.

Gone Fishin'

The other night we did something we've never done before. We went fishing. Night fishing. In the rain. Earlier in the week, we went fishing early in the morning and Dave's fishing rod snapped in half. That same day he got 2 new ones in its place which needed to be tested as soon as possible. Wednesday night after work and dinner, we got in the car with our rain coats and fishing rods and headed down the road.

We passed through a terrible thunder and lightening storm with torrential downpours. We stopped and visited with Mom for a few minutes which gave the storm time to pass. Then we headed out. I admit I was a bit hesitant about getting in a boat at night in the rain on a pond in the country surrounded by woods and wildlife. It was an interesting experience. Dave really enjoyed it. I was a bit tense with only a flashlight to see our way around the pond, but I was determined to be a good sport. I didn't fish, I just went along for the ride. Dave caught one pretty good-sized fish. We heard several owls, lots and lots of crickets, some bull frogs, and deer snorting (Yes, deer snort). The rain finally stopped and there was delightful cool breeze. But I won't lie. I was relieved to be back in the comfort of my locked, dry, lighted vehicle.

Sidenote

On the issue of buying used instead of new, I made a positive step today. Every few months I clean out closets and take my used items to Goodwill. For a few weeks now I've been carrying around some things in the back of the truck to take to Goodwill for donation. After all the reading lately about reusing, not buying new, and canning your own food, I got to thinking about checking to see if Goodwill had any glass containers for food storage for things like dried beans, nuts, etc. So I loaded up my donation items and drove to the donation drop-off area at the local Goodwill which is less than a mile away. Then I popped inside to check out the housewares section.

And what do you know? They had some great canning jars. I snatched up 7 pint-size Ball jars for $.30 each and 3 quart-size ones for $.5o each! Score! Now when Mom and I put up artichoke relish this year we won't have to buy as many new jars. My goal would be to have enough used jars that we don't have to buy any new ones. I will keep checking back and will check other thrift stores in the course of my travels to see if I can find more. I didn't find the glass containers, but I'll keep my eye out for those, too.

Footprints

Are you tired of reading that post about Grits Pie? Sorry. Not much noteworthy has been happening. Working, housekeeping, grocery shopping, bill paying, and other things of that nature have been filling the time.

I have been reading lots and lots of other people's blogs lately finding out all about what other people spend their time doing such as: living "green" according to the three R's - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, anti-consumerism, eating organic, vegetarianism and veganism, gardening, canning, homemaking. One of the most interesting practices I've read about recently concerns using cloth wipes instead of toilet paper. Don't worry. The cloth wipe deal definitely isn't something I would ever consider. Neither is veganism, but it is intriguing to read about other people living this way. The other topics I have and do consider. I am very interested in learning more about organic foods, home canning, gardening, and recycling.

Now let me say that Dave is already worried that I'm getting too fanatical about the recycle thing and may turn "crunchy" on him, but I don't feel that it's a big deal since we haven't had to drastically change the way we live in order to recycle. They pick up the recycle curbside for goodness sake. There's no reason not to do it. Hopefully one day it will be the law to recycle. In some places in this country certain non-recyclable items have been banned. For example, in the state of Oregon Styrofoam is illegal. And recently in the city of San Francisco plastic grocery bags were banned.

My philosophy is that if there's a more "green" option that is just as easy to incorporate, albeit less mainstream, that makes our footprint smaller, there's no reason not to choose it. We've been hearing so much in the news about global warming, the greenhouse effect, and the like in recent years that my interest has been piqued and my level of awareness has greatly increased. Don't worry about hearing any lectures on these issues, though. I'm not trying to convert anyone. I just want to share my thoughts and what I've read and learned.

I already recycle everything possible, have changed all the light bulbs in the house to compact fluorescent, try to keep the air turned up higher than normal (this is tough sometimes as I'm extremely hot-natured), turn off appliances/lights that aren't in use, run the dishwasher only when full, wash and dry only full loads of clothes, keep the hot water heater turned down lower than normal, and use ceiling fans to help the air conditioning run more efficiently. I believed I was doing okay or at least making up for the fact that I drive a great, big gas-gusseling Chevy Tahoe. In my defense on the vehicle, though, I really don't drive that much since I mostly work at home. Part of this is just being cheap, too, since gas prices are so high.

Now I'm really trying to consider the other 2 R's - Reduce and Reuse. I have become very aware of how much waste we throw away from the packaging on store-bought items and how many plastic bags I accumulate from grocery shopping. I don't throw the bags away, though. They get used for other things like kitty litter waste or as trash bags. Ideally the goal would be to use some type of canvas/cotton bags that can be used for years and years and not to bring anymore of the plastic ones out of the store in the first place.

Another issue is the number of plastic bottles and tin cans we put into the recycle bin. There is so much bad press these days about the possible danger of certain chemicals leaching out of many types of plastic bottles into the drink you're drinking. The jury is still out on this, but if there is the potential for harm then why not go ahead and eliminate the potential hazard? When my friend Dree was being treated for cancer at Mayo Clinic, her oncologist told her that you should NEVER EVER heat or cook food in plastic containers in the microwave because the plastic leaches dangerous, carcinogenic chemicals into your food. Ever since the day she told me that I have only used glass containers in the microwave. The same applies to Styrofoam. I hate to think of all the years I didn't live by this rule but you can't change that. Makes me wonder if it's safe to use plastic food containers at all.

Most tap water (unless you have a well) is the same or better than bottled water anyway. Since bottled water isn't regulated by the Federal government there's no way of knowing where that water is really coming from. But a lot of times it's coming right out of a tap somewhere. And diet sodas (all sodas for that matter) aren't good for you. Just think of all that artificial color, flavor, sweetener, etc. you're ingesting. Our bodies weren't meant to consume all that junk. And on the cheapskate note again, sodas are expensive. I struggle with this one though, because I do still like a good carbonated beverage sometimes. I'm trying to learn to have them only on occasion. As far as the water issue, I'm looking to buy a filter that hooks to the tap so we can drink the water we already pay for. Actually, I already drink it. Some people, I won't mention any names, think the tap water tastes funny, though. When you grow up on sulphur-tasting well water, the city stuff tastes pretty good.

There's so so so much to say on these topics and right now it's all running around in my head. I'm sure you'll be seeing more about these issues as I read and learn more. I'll try to include some links also so you can read things for yourselves. For now, rest assured I'm not turning into a crazy lady. I'm just trying to raise my level of awareness and make small changes that may add up to making a big difference. If you have thoughts on these issues, please share them with me.

Yummy Experiments

A couple of weeks ago Dave's mom ordered me a subscription to Cooking with Paula Deen. I haven't gotten my first copy yet (it's a bi-monthly magazine), but I got curious about what I've been missing. The first issue was published almost two years ago I think. So I went online and ordered some back issues to catch up. Wow! I can't say enough and I have so many new recipes to try! So now I have a second favorite magazine (my first favorite is Southern Living).

Today I made Grits Pie which several people thought might be weird since grits are usually a salty dish. Wrong! It's not weird, it's wonderful! The whole thing has been polished off since mid-afternoon. It's a custard-like delight.

Then tonight I tried Butterscotch Brownies. Dave is still at work so the official verdict is still out, but they look really promising. If they are approved, I'll share the recipe with you.

I can't wait to try more. One I have planned possibly for tomorrow is Beef Strogonoff Casserole. I do love a casserole and there are some very inventive combinations in every issue.

I'm sure you'll here more about my Paula Deen kitchen experiments!