Crock Pot

So a while back I heard about this blog called 365 Days of Crock Pot and thought I should check it out. The woman cooked crock pot recipes each day for a whole year and did a post on them each day. She did it for several reasons: 1. To make good, healthy food for her family to eat daily and 2. To make some moolah on the side. At any rate, since we are often lacking in the home-cooked meal department, I decided that I would start cooking more by utilizing my crock pot. And since I have a plethora of cook books, many of them crock pot-related in nature, I started out just using them to make tasty concoctions for hubby and me to enjoy. And then I thought, "heck why not!?" and decided to make one her recipes. I picked her chicken and dumpling soup recipe since it was on the first page that day and I am lazy. And boy was it good! You top it with biscuits (yum) instead of making dumplings and it just comes out nice and perfect and we each ate waaayy too much in one sitting. Since then, I haven't really cooked. Hehehe. Well, that's not true. I've cooked, just not with the slow cooker. But at any rate, today when I was checking out her blog for some more tasty ideas I came across a post of her saying that if you linked to her blog you'd win a chance to get a free copy of her cook book. And since that recipe was sooooo good, I just had to enter. Not that I need any more cook books, mind you. I think I have close to 40 at this point...but one can never have too many cook books (especially ones that are delicious and easy), right?

Here's hoping for a win. Check out the post here for your chance to win, too! :)

Didn't win? Pick up your own copy by heading here:














Edit: When I orginally wrote this post, I was talking about this blog: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/ not the one I actually wrote about. At any rate, I've tried stuff off of the other blog and her book is the one I linked to on amazon, not the other. Oh well. You can find the other book here: 365 Days of Slow Cooking

Pumpkins Already?

I have to admit, even though fall is my favorite season, I am not emotionally ready for it to be fall yet. I blame it on the fact that this year we never really had a spring and our summer seems to have lasted for-ev-er. But, a few days ago I noticed the leaves were changing color already and that my toes we cold and that my usually joyous trip on the scooter to church had left me shivering and seriously wishing for warmer layers.

Side note: Is it just me, or has this year both seemed to last forever and taken no time at all? A few months ago we were 3rd years and it was a hot, sticky summer. And then the farmer showed up in August with a pumpkin and we have somehow finished all but our last 5 weeks of rotations for the year 2010. Seriously, where did the time go and why won't it go any faster when I want it to??

But I digress...again, as usual. Despite fall being my favorite season and totally not being ready for it, I am enjoying with greater anticipation than years past the Christmas holiday. Perhaps it's because we will be visiting my folks this year or perhaps it's just because for the first time in a long time I've been playing Christmas music before Thanksgiving (but only on Sundays when the congregation is exiting because I don't think they are really listening to me and I want to see if anyone says something). But some how, despite that anticipation, despite the fact that I've broken out the needles and re-declared my love of all things woolly, and despite the fact that my coworker has turned the office into a veritable fall festival, I am still not ready for pumpkins, falling leaves, cool nights, and jackets--my most favorite of clothing accessories. At any rate, I guess (along with everyone else), it's finally time to say "Welcome, fall!"

Sheep and Wool

This past weekend was the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival out near Madison. I had planned to go all day Saturday and even toyed with the idea of taking off work Friday and skipping church Sunday to be there, but settled on just one day to take in the wonders of wool, woolly critters, and wool-working workshops. Unfortunately, I caught the office cold that's going around and was only able to make it to the Saturday afternoon session. However, I had a good time attending my class on finishing knitted garments, petting the sheep, and shopping. In fact, it's official: I want my own sheep. The sheep I petted was especially affectionate and loved being scratched behind the ears. Sheep also are the creators of my second love: yarn. Ergo, I want a sheep. And the knowledge and skills on how to get from sheep to yarn. That way, the credit card bill won't look so fat after I visit a Wool Festival. Or yarn shop. Or the State Fair booth where they are selling yarn. Baaaaa.

PS: Meant to get a picture, but forgot to bring the camera. It was just that kind of day. Plus, I don't really take pictures.

Bad Wife

Tonight my husband is on call. Ordinarily, this does not make me a bad wife. But tonight it does. You see, ordinarily, I am on top of things and actually know that he is on call and won't be sleeping here tonight. Ordinarily I don't forget simple things like that. Ordinarily I would try calling him sooner than 7pm to find out where he is (he is usually home this month by 5-ish). But I guess I'm just out of it today. Maybe it's this darn cold I have, but typically one should know where their husbands are sleeping. Haha. I guess I need more sleep. And to check the calendar more frequently. :)

Application

Spencer submitted his application to apply for residency last night. It's not quite done since he still needs to add his letters of recommendation (they are being written), transcript, and the next set of board scores. But, overall the beast is finally in and we should start getting calls about interviews soon! We picked about 20 schools spread across the country, but mostly focused out west. That means that next year we could be living anywhere from Virginia to California and it is now up to the gods of medical education and the infamous match system to decide our fate.

As far as where we want to end up, it's difficult to say. I feel like my answer changes depending on who I'm talking to and how the rest of my life is going. We really like it here and so it would be nice to stay. I have a good job, we like our place, and we can generally survive without a second car (with the addition of our awesome scooter, of course!). The prospect of instant doubling our income next July is especially tempting since if we stay here I keep working and Spencer starts getting paid. However, I am having an especially adverse reaction to the cooler weather right now since I know that it is the messenger of a potentially brutal and chilly winter. That makes me wish for the sunny coasts of California, or the warm clime of such places like Arizona or New Mexico. But then I think about knitting and how there would be very little use for my large collection of wool if we lived in those place and I begin to entreat thought of family in Utah or Virginia or even Oregon. Whatever the outcome though, I'm looking forward to just finding out. When I stop to just think about how far we've come and how little time it's really taken I'm amazed. But when you're living it day to day, it just seems to drag on forever. Here's hoping that we will get through this next stage of life quickly but also be able to take everything in and enjoy!!

10 Thing You May Not Know About Me

10. My fingernails turn blue when I got cold. So blue, in fact, that people think I'm sporting an awesome shade of nail polish. I'm not. I'm just cold. A lot.

9. I love all animals, but I hate snakes. I generally ascribe to the notion that I can't care for things without legs. My tomato plant will corroberate that for you if you'd like.

8. I'm an over-doer. I like lots and lots of different things. I love writing, reading, dancing, running, Pilate's, yoga, knitting, going to movies, baking, walking, mountain biking, camping, hiking, traveling, drawing, painting, organizing, making lists....should I go on? This may be why I sometime feel like I get nothing done.

7. I hate feet. I may sell some pretty awesome pedicure products, but don't expect me to put them on your feet because I refuse to touch them. It's even worse if you touch me with your feet anywhere above my ankels. I don't care that you just took a shower.

6. I probably should have been a teacher. I distincly remember teaching one of my sisters how to jump rope. Recently, I taught my friend's 4 year old the same skill. In college, I really enjoyed toutoring trig and calculous, and my favorite part of my new job so far was the day I got to give a presentation. Note I said got to. Not had to.

5. "Dangerous" things scare me, but I usually like to do them anyway. I'll admit it, I'm a little nervous every time I go mountain biking, rock climbing, scootering, or driving in rainy/snowy/icy weather. But I do it anyway. And I'm better for it.

4. I read nonfiction. For fun. In fact, I think I've read more nonfictional works than fictional works in the last year and not all of them were forced upon me by school. Don't get me wrong, I love a good story. But I absolutely adore all the knowledge I get out of my nonfictional exploits.

3. I love cake. The only two things I really cared about for my wedding (aside from Spencer) were that I have a rockin cake and an awesome dress. I ended up with a gorgeous handmade dress from my mom and 2 different wedding cakes. We ate the middle tier of the first one on our honeymoon. That may be why I gained weight when I got married. heh.

2. I didn't really get into music until after high school. Now, I'm a music junkie. I don't know tons about music, but I do generally know what's going on in the current music scene. I credit that trend with the aquisition of a car with a stereo.

1. I love cars. I don't know much about them from a technical standpoint, but I love driving them, shopping for them online, and checking them out when they drive by. My parents like to joke about the fact that when I about 2.5 I pointed out the Mercedes to them while at Baskin Robbins, much to the amazement of another patron.

Hello September

Well, it's the first of the month again which means it's time for my obligatory first-of-the-month post. This month Spencer starts his rotation on family medicine at St Joe's Hospital. After 4 months in scrubs, I think he's going to have a hard time wearing work clothes again. And I'm going to start having to do more laundry. Boo. Plus, he's "away" this month which also means I don't have free reign on the car anymore. Double boo.

On a more positive note, August ended with several positives. I started my last class for my master's program, which means come December 21st I will offically be done! Another plus, Spencer and I spent an entire Saturday cleaning and our house looks great! I also completed my second 5k this past month coming in around the 37 minute mark and then promptly took most of the rest of the month "off" from running, instead focusing on doing more classes at the Y and riding my exercise bike.

Well, that's all for now. Time to get back to work!