Pork in the Park

After layering up because it was surprisingly chilly, we headed 15 minutes down the road to Pork in the Park.  This fair was essentially a carnival, with rides and game booths, along with delicious pork related food, refreshments, and musical entertainment.

We skipped the carnival side and headed straight for the food and drinks.  Before standing in line for food we walked around and picked out the best smelling vendor.  As usual, kettle corn sucked me in and was our first stop.  Yessss!  So.  Good.

Armed with kettle corn and a bottle of wine to keep us company, we waited in line for porky goodness.

The pork sandwich with cole slaw was delicious and of course I don't remember the vendor.  Trust me, it was moist and smokey with creamy/slightly tangy cole on top to cut through the richness.   Right as we ordered our sandwiches we ordered the delightful candied bacon.  You heard me, candied. bacon.  Amazing.  It was sweet and salty with crisp and chewy parts.  I will make this at home, somehow.

Then with another bottle in toe we headed to the concert area to listen to the Marshall Tucker Band.  I have to say, they were rockin' out for their age.  I swear if I were in a band, I would be the tambourine chick.  They have it the best - swing, sing, and jingle it. 

All in all it was a really fun time.  I mean, you can't go wrong with bacon + libations + music.

Love & Hugs.

Old McDonald's Farm

So the other weekend I went and visited my brother, affectionately called Bubba, in MD.  I'm not a big fan of MD but I decided to journey there in the name of brotherly love.

You see, my brother has been living in MD since he graduated in 2011.  Good grief I can't believe it's been that long.  Anyways, he's a farmer (is that even the right term nowadays?) on an organic, sustainable farm.  I was long overdue to visit and see his side of the world.

Bubba's Graduation 2011

I drove up Friday afternoon and was able to stay with Bubba's girlfriend, Marie.  I was greeted with wine and a chick flick, exactly what I wanted.  (P.S. watching P.S. I Love You while PMS-ing is a terrrrrible idea.)

Saturday morning we all threw on work clothes and headed to Marie's farm.  She's a farmer too and her and Bubba used to work on the same farm, Jay's farm.  It was cool to see a glimpse of their daily lives.  Where they spend their days and what they do.  I sit behind a computer all day so farming is way out of the norm for me.

Jay's Farm

For several hours we helped her with some of her work.  Bubba did some watering and I helped with transplanting baby plants.  What Marie and I were doing was pretty relaxing, therapeutic even.  It helped that the farm dogs LOVED me.  :)  I loved them back because it was the right thing to do.

This one sat on my lap for a GOOD part of the morning.  I wanted to steal snuggly Izzy. 

This is Willow.  look at those precious eyes.  

Transplanting

Transplanting 

A few hours later we headed back to Bubba's farm, Ted's Farm, to catch a tour.  It is just amazing what famers do.  They are planners and thinkers, and everything they do has a purpose.

L to R: The yurt, where bubba lives, the farm house, the green houses

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Piggies everywhere

These two little ones really wanted to touch a pig

  

Bubba and Marie deep in conversation with the egg lady

We eventually made it back to the farm for lunch and layering up before heading out to Pork in the Park!

2013 Resolutions

In the past I have made pretty general resolutions.  "Get healthy."  "Run more." "Be a better friend and family member."  blah blah.  This year I am making more concrete resolutions.  Resolutions I can more easily follow and carry out for the year.  This is what I have for 2013.

• Read a book a month
  
• Go to church twice a month
  
• Bring Husband to church once a month
  
• Work out 4 times a week
  
• Do yoga once a week (which counts as one of my four weekly work outs)
  
• Once a week call someone, anyone
  
• Limit pizza to once a pay period (every two weeks)
  
• Don't be so hard on myself

It's the start of week 3 of the new year and so far, it's all going well.  :o) 

I hope the start of 2013 is going well for you.  

Love & Hugs. 

Timing

I strongly believe in timing.  They say timing is everything, and I believe it.  You can't rush the punch line of a joke.  Cakes and cookies have a small window of wiggle room when it comes to baking.  Just like people come into our lives for a reason and things happen when they do for a reason.

I have to believe in "everything happens for a reason" because I feel like my life is proof.  There is a reason why my parents decided to switch where I was going to middle school.  Otherwise I wouldn't have met my husband in 8th grade.  There is a reason why I was awkward and incredibly uncomfortable at middle school because it allows me to sympathize with people and be a good listener. There's a reason why I was friends with toxic people, because it taught me (albeit the hard way) the importance of surrounding yourself with positive people.

People come into our lives for a reason, to teach us something or for us to teach them something.  My neighbors are a great example right now.  Living on our street we have an ER Doctor, the Mechanical Engineer, and the Political Science Ph D Candidate.  For us, being around these incredibly smart people drive us to do our best and to keep striving and keep learning.

Although we all have our rough patches handed to us, in hindsight we grow from those experiences.

This last week a close family friend passed away.  I didn't expect it to hit me as hard as it has but I think it's a valuable reminder that life is short.  We have to live the life we want.  We have to take care of and nurture the relationships in our lives.  Appreciate our blessings and learn from our obstacles.  It puts life into perspective, at least for me.  Stop stressing and start just enjoying the moment.

It's all about timing, and your perspective, and how you decide to react.

Carter Mountain

Probably a month or so ago Husband and I headed to Carter Mountain with the neighbors to pick up some apples.  Since moving to Charlottesville, I have had a lot of people suggest that we visit one of the many orchards near town.  

So one beautiful afternoon we all piled into the Jeep and headed to Carter Mountain Orchard.  I was surprised how close it was.  I think it only took us 20 min or so to get there.  I'm so thankfully that Husband drove because there was a crazy steep, windy, gravel road we had to tackle.  

This post is mainly photos.  :)  



But when we got to the top the views were incredible.  

I really am a mountain girl.  

We didn't get to literally pick apples off the tree but there were barrels of apples available for the picking.  

There was a shop inside the barn that sold all kinds of cute things, like baskets and jams.  

They had "Fruit n Toot VA Traffic Jam."  I thought that was cute especially as a girl who grew up in NoVA traffic

It was a fun afternoon.  We ended up taking home a dozen apples and some apple cider.  It was hard resisting the apple donuts.  

I would love to go back again.  

Yummy

Even though Husband and I were unable to travel on Thanksgiving, I decided to go up and visit my family on Friday solo.  He was still recovering and I really wanted to see my family so I headed up for the day. 

My brother was home from MD and brought with him a 17lb turkey and a bunch of veggies.  When I got there the turkey was already in the oven cookin' away.  There's nothing like walking into your childhood home and smelling yummy turkey. 

It is always good to catch up with family.  We all head our different ways, throwing ourselves into what we're doing and it's the holidays that remind us to take a break.  Remind us to relax and forget about work. 

This year Bubba (brother) and I prepared the side dishes for the fam.  Mom was doing an art thing that afternoon and LSU was on so Dad was indisposed.  :)  So it was up to us to make the sides.  Nothing fancy for us, just good ingredients and simple preparation.  It was delicious. 

I really enjoyed cooking alongside my bro.  He's turned into such a good man.  I'm so proud of him.  I have to say, our parents did a tremendous job with us.  Of course we have our flaws but for the most part we're normal people.  YAY!  When I was little, all I wanted was to be normal, to fit in with everyone.  And now that I'm grown up I do still feel normal but I know I'm also one of a kind (for better or worse).  Just ask my Husband. 

It was good, quality family time together.  As I get older it's the nights with family that I just cherish and adore.

And now, photo time.  All iPhone pics...I forgot the good camera.

Me and Bubba!  You'd never know I'm the older one.  

One of Mom's newest pieces.  I like it!

 

Purple cauliflower from Bubba's farm!  It's so pretty! 

 Yummy organic broccoli

Cooked goodness

Collard greens, because we're Southern.  I can only claim 1/2 Southern Belle. 

Not too shabby for Bubba's first time, right? 

I couldn't resist a little PicStitch

Oh and I have to mention that we had a third turkey day on Sunday with the neighbors.  This time Husband did the cooking and it was incredible.  I believe a couple of the guys said it was the best Thanksgiving meal they have ever had.  That's a big compliment.  

More pics! 

It was SO good

Husband makes the best stuffing.  This one had apricots and walnuts.  Mmm. 

And that's sweet potato casserole in the back.  SO good!

Green bean casserole, the classic. 

Pumpkin pie.  Not my finest work, but still yummy.  

I hope everyone had a very happy Thanksgiving.  I don't know about you all but I am SO ready for this holiday season and Thanksgiving was a perfect kick off. 

Plan B

So you know our plan was to drive up to PA on Thanksgiving, then have a second turkey day with my family on Friday...well unfortunately Thanksgiving morning Husband realized he had food poisoning.  Travel was out of the question.  We were both bummed to miss the big Thanksgiving with his extended family.  Truthfully we look forward to it all year and talk about it numerous times during the year.  With a tinge of sadness we decided to go with a plan B, and have our own Thanksgiving.

I ran to the store and picked up a ham and a few other items.  We already had some appetizers to eat: spinach balls, sweet & spicy meatballs, cheese & crackers.  We had ham and decided to make cheddar chive biscuits for sandwiches.  I remembered a Barefoot Contessa episode where she made cranberry sauce.  So I made that too.  We had all the food we could want and were very thankful for it.

Cooks note - I made the biscuits and with some good direction from Husband they turned out really well! They were light, flaky, and golden brown.  We used one of Alton Brown's recipes from FoodNetwork.   Husband told me the key is to sift the dry ingredients - it gives the biscuit a light, airy texture.  And I read that the less you work the dough, the flakier it will be.  And the cranberry sauce was good too.  It was a bit too sweet, so I think next time I would cut down the sugar to 1 cup, but all in all it was tasty.

On the upside, for the first time in a few years I got to watch the Macy's day parade, which I used to do every year when I was little.  You know, before a Mr. took over my heart and holiday.  :o)  There was a James Bond movie marathon and we had lots in our que for Netflix.  It was a cozy, snuggly day.

Maybe God didn't want us traveling on Thanksgiving.  Instead he wanted us to have our first turkey day together in Charlottesville.  We were/are definitely thankful for the supportive family and friends we have in our lives.  We have so much to be thankful for this year...like the move to Happy Town aka Charlottesville, a good job, an opportunity for Husband to go back to school, a good neighborhood with even better neighbors. The list goes on and on.

Who knows the reason, all I know is that we were happy on Thanksgiving.