Inspirational People...Day 17

There are SO many people who inspire me. But for now, I'm going to stick with two.
First of all, my Mom. She inspires me because she is a kind person who truly cares about other people, and is always wanting to help others. Plus, she knows so much about so many different subjects: plants, crafts, cooking, and being thrifty to name a few. She inspires me to learn more about these subjects and others, to stand up for myself, and to always be ready to help someone else.

Secondly, my beau inspires me. He works so hard. Right now he is taking care of his parent's farm and cows (and not expecting anything in return), his own farm, taking care of himself and doing his own housework, being there for me, and working full time plus overtime. He works so hard, and even though he almost expects too much of himself, his work ethic is impressive. He inspires me to work harder. He will selflessly give to the people he loves, one of the many things I love about him.

It just so happens that my niece is in both of these photos. I guess I have my camera out more when she's around! Also..it was hard to just name two inspirational people! 

Catching Up

TV Show Addictions: 
I have several shows I have become addicted to because of Netflix. One of those being Pretty Little Liars. I started watching it last summer when I moved into the apartment. It was a show about high schoolers, but it was intriguing because it was a mystery, drama, romantic comedy all in one. I couldn't stop watching it because I wanted to know what happened next.
I also became addicted to Once Upon a Time, which is a show I've already given you my review of on the blog. I love all the fairy-tale stories all mixed into one modern-day tale. If you like Disney fairy-tales, you will probably really enjoy this show.
Lastly, I enjoy Jane the Virgin. There is only one season of the show on Netflix, and the second season just finished up on regular TV. It's a romantic-comedy of a Hispanic twenty-something and her family. It's based around her becoming pregnant and having a baby, but it's much more than that. It's quite funny and includes many cliff-hangers as well.

What You're Wearing:
On Saturday I went to a yard sale and a peddler's mall with some fellow Twenty-Somethings, worked a 5.5 hour shift, and saw my beau. It was a really great day because I was finally free from school work for the semester! I could do whatever I wanted and not have homework hanging over my head. Yay! Needless to say, my first homework-free Saturday was really nice.

After work (this is what I wore)...
I went to Chuy's with my beau..we LOVE eating there

Fave Thing to Do on a Sunday:
I love going to church every Sunday. Singing and praising God, "fellowship" with others and learning to think more like Christ are all is something I really enjoy. I also really love spending time with my beau on Sundays. The first day of the week is a great day to kick back and relax, visit with family and eat good food. Oftentimes I spend Sundays in my beau's neck of the woods. This past Sunday we were able to buy some flowers at a local greenhouse (and put some hanging baskets up on his porch), visit his sister and her family and visit with his parents too. We got to play with his little niece and be entertained by her for a couple of hours. I think there will be some baby-sitting in my future this summer. I adore little kids.

See one of the baskets in the background? :)

FUN: 
Yesterday I was invited over to my bff from high school's house for dinner and a visit. She wanted us to make a recipe out of a cook book I had given her. It was a Whoopie Pie cook book. So, we went to make the traditional chocolate pies with a marshmallow buttercream filling. This was our "double-boiler" method of melting the marshmallows (photo below). It was interesting. haha It did finally melt the mallows though. I didn't get a photo of the pies themselves, but you can kind of see them in the background of the photo. She is a sweets addict, more so than me even, so she didn't think the chocolate "pies" were sweet enough..so she sent them home with me and I am going to crumble them up and make cake pops. It was fun reconnecting with an old friend.

I'll try to keep better caught up after this! 

May Day...Day 1

First of all..I really can't believe it is May. It seems like it should still be February or something. Time is just going by so quickly. Only two more weeks of class! Craziness. But, I digress. I'm supposed to be posting a "May Day" photo. I guess anything really goes today since everything in May is technically a May day..haha So I am actually posting two photos. After church, I spent most of the day riding around with my beau going to various car dealerships to check out cars. None of them were open today so we were just walking around the lots looking at the cars he was interested in. It was raining on and off the whole day. We walked up to one lot to look around (a little ways from the car), it was sprinkling when we got out of the truck, not long after we got up the hill to the lot and had looked at one vehicle, it started pouring. We took cover under a tiny little awning on the building where we were still feeling the slanting rain somewhat and we had to wait it out. They were thunderstorms too, lightening and wind. I was happy when the bigger part of the storm passed by (about 10-15 minutes later..). So I snapped a quick photo of us waiting for the rain to pass.

Secondly, we stopped at Aldi while we were out and MAY DAY-- did I get a deal! I got a ton of produce (mostly fruits) for $10. What tempted me to go in there originally was their 25 cent avocados (I ended up getting 8, because come on, that's soooo super cheap!!) They keep for a while in the fridge so I got several. I came out with oranges, a cantaloupe, 3 mangoes, a pineapple, and bananas. I am super excited about all the fresh fruit! Don't worry, I'll probably end up sharing some with my beau, so I won't overdue it on my own. ha I can see several smoothies and maybe some banana bread in my near future!

See ya tomorrow! 

The Farmer's Daughter

Days 18 & 20: Happenstance

Just earlier this afternoon I was wondering where in the world I might find a snowman to take a photo of! I went to a Christmas dinner with my beau (on his side of the family), and one of his younger cousins had made everyone little snowmen! It's funny how these things have a nice way of showing up when I need to see them. I tried to get my beau's kitty, Sissy, to get in the photo of the snowman. It didn't work perfectly so I included a closeup of just the snowman too. 

Also, as promised, I finally hung the stockings I purchased not long ago from my workplace and got a phot of them. I thought they were too cute and when they went on sale I really couldn't resist. After the sale and my employee discount I think they ended up costing about $5 each. Plus, since my beau is into wildlife I thought he'd like them too. That's his mantle I hung them over (he really needed some Christmas decorations!) 

A Day in the Life

Recently, Granny Eyre tried out a new blogging technique by choosing a blog post idea and running with it. I was curious about the ideas in the links she attached in said blog post, so I looked them over. One that stood out to me, because of the photographer in me, was to take a picture every hour of one day and make a blog post from the photos. Martha S. also made an interesting post about her daily schedule, so mine may be similar to hers, in photo form.

I forgot to begin the day with photos, so I began around 2:30 on Tuesday afternoon and continued it until about 7:30 that night. I also didn't take them exactly on the half hour every hour, but I did my best. I hope to try this again, beginning the photos not long after I wake up and continuing until I go to bed!

Thrift store shopping in Spg!

Yum! Hazelnut iced coffee! 

Mom shopping in the garden shop!

Examining my finds from the thrift store..I found several
books with pretty covers, they were 10 cents each! 

Met up with my beau; he needed a car battery

Had some Mexican food, he ordered an interesting stone bowl meal

Wednesday was a pretty good day! Gosh, I sure love summertime! I hope you enjoyed my day in photos! I'll try to do another day like this again! The Farmer's Daughter

Sweet Summertime

I'm really enjoying this whole not-having-homework part of being off school, but I'm not really enjoying the substitute teaching EVERY day part. It's my choice to work, and I want to as much as I can before school is out, but being a substitute is sort of stressful. I just don't like not knowing what the situation in each classroom will be like until I get into the room for the day. Most days the students I get are not bad. This job is definitely  helping me to exercise my willingness to be flexible and be able to practice my judgement to react to various situations quickly. It's valuable job experience, much more so than working at a grocery, restaurant, or department store. I'm thankful for this job, but it can be stressful. Speaking of which, I am trying to decide exactly what my summer job plans are...

I plan on working with my father on barn repair, but he likes to just work in the mornings (when it is cool) so we can both have the second half of the day to do other things. He needs the help and I'm available, so I will be doing this with him for about 4-5 hours each day. I am also wondering if I should take another job. My mother was talking to someone she knows who is a manager at Cracker Barrel. They are hiring servers, cashiers and other positions. I'm trying to decide if I should also apply to work somewhere else (like Cracker Barrel). What do you all think? The thing about working at Clare's Barn Repair is I will only be working part-time and there will be at least two weeks when I will not be working (Mom & Dad will be going on a summer vacation and Dad will be cutting hay). I could also decide to try to sell some handmade things or try to book some photography sessions this summer which would help me make some more money but not tie me up as much as working somewhere like Cracker Barrel. The question is, should I be some-what lazy and just work part-time or take another part-time job and possibly be very busy because I have two part time jobs? I'm almost leaning toward the lazy-summer option, but we'll see.

I have accomplished a little bit in my week of being homework and class-free. One of the first things I needed to get done was groom Nova. Her hair has been cut and she got a bath..I think she looks better and probably feels much better too! She was beginning to look like a homeless puppy. I meant to get good before & after pictures but she wasn't cooperating with me taking her picture. I've worked 5 days in a row as a substitute and I'm still going strong. This past weekend I was able to meet up with Captain Something Fun and Granny Eyre in B-town and go for a hike. It was great!

I got to try the smores frappucino
(& it was happy hour!) Delicious! 

I also got to go to my first drive-in movie last weekend. I was really excited about going, but it wasn't quite what I expected. We didn't have the best parking spot and it was a warm night. We were too far away from the screen...there were just several problems. Next time we will probably bring chairs and bug spray and sit up closer to the screen. Several people in trucks fixed up the bed of their truck to be comfortable and watched the movie from there. The truck beside us had what looked like a blow-up swimming pool in the bed of the truck and lots of pillows and blankets in it and they watched the movie from there. It looked cozy! We saw The Avengers and The Longest Ride was coming on second, but it was 11:30 by the time the first movie was over, so we didn't wait for the second one. I really wanted to see The Longest Ride though!

My summer photo-challenge is going pretty well. I've already skipped one day accidentally, but I haven't given up yet. It's much harder than I thought!

This girl is looking forward to more time celebrating summertime! 

The Farmer's Daughter

Fun Tidbits

Just a couple random updates with photos...

Substitute Teaching

      First of all, don't get too excited about me switching my pursuit of a career, but being a teacher isn't too bad. I have really grown in my understanding of how to discipline and keep kids in line much more effectively than when I first started. (But I could really only go up from where I started...because I had no experience!) But I feel much more comfortable in front of a classroom and I have learned enough about kids to give me better judgement about handling various situations. I have especially become used to working with special needs children which is perfect, since Occupational Therapists usually work with this group of children (especially in the school system). Over the past couple of weeks I have gotten to be an unofficial OT, by using sensory boxes with children and even going into the OT's office in one of the schools and letting an autistic youngster jump in the ball pit to rid him of some excess energy. 

      Also, last Friday (the day before the Kentucky Derby), was a big day at the school where I substituted. First of all, it was a field trip day. One thing I have learned about substitute teaching is, you never really know what you are getting into. I wasn't aware there would be a field trip I would be going on, until I got to the school and one of the regular teachers informed me! It was DARE graduation day and the students were going to the high school for the "graduation" then going to the park for a cookout celebration afterwards. The speaker, Retro Bill, was entertaining while also educating them about bullying, drugs, and other subjects. The park was also fairly nice. I was working as a teacher's aide that day, so I basically just had to follow one special needs child around and make sure he was safe and he didn't get in a fight with any of the other children. I even got a free lunch that day--a freshly grilled hamburger, chips and cookies...it was nice! When we got back from the park the children at the school had their own Derby. Kids from each grade raced around a track-like driveway in the back of the school with horses made from pool noodles. It was pretty cute. The kids could also wear decorated Derby hats. I thought this boy had a particularly cool hat. He said his mom cut out the horse from cardboard and then decorated it. I thought it was a really cool hat, so I snapped a picture of it. 

Poppy

  It was also a very exciting weekend at my house because, my niece, this adorable little ball of energy was here to visit. Unfortunately she was feeling ill throughout the visit, but most of the time she still had so much energy and happiness that you couldn't tell she wasn't feeling well. We took her down to Gwyn's and we all rode (the beau, me, Gwyn and Poppy) out through the woods and down to his pond where Poppy got to feed the fish. It was a nice adventure and I think Poppy had a good time.

Catching up with "Nofa" when she first got to the house. She really likes "Nofa"

Graduation
     Sunday was also an awesome day because I got to see the last of the Twenty-Somethings graduate from Berea College. I was very excited for her and I wish her the very best in life after Berea! I am glad that we should all be in and around Madison County next year so we can have more fun together. Also, Naomi Judd was a very good graduation speaker. She was funny, wise and had a short and sweet message for the graduates.

You probably can't tell, but Naomi Judd is on stage in this picture

A picture of my dinner after Amanda's
graduation, because it was really tasty.
It's a burrito with pineapple, chicken, onions
& mushrooms with rice & beans! 

That's all for now Folks,

The Farmer's Daughter

Old Photographs

     Sometimes I don't realize how quickly time disappears until an event or milestone comes up that marks an event which I have already completed and I think about how much time has passed. My good friend, Captain Something Fun, is graduating in a little over a month. I cannot believe it has been a whole year since I was in her shoes! I miss Berea so much and I think she is cherishing her last moments there (as much as possible with final papers, exams and other deadlines looming). I would love to go back, even for a week, to be in that moment and live in it just for a short time. Don't get me wrong, I don't think of myself as someone who lives in the past. I know that time in my life is over and I am very happy that it happened (and that I gained some very good friends, acquaintances, and my beau!). But I still miss it and love looking back at old memories. The looking back on it may be the best part of all- just being able to reminisce and think about the fun that happened, without having to think about the stress of Berea--and all the homework that was due at the time.
     Looking back is fun, but so is looking forward. And most important, is living in the present. I am at an in-between stage in my life. Sort of like those pesky years as a tween. I'm done with my bachelor's degree, but I'm not in graduate school yet. I'm a part-time student and I have a part-time job, and I am crossing my fingers I get into graduate school this year! I am looking forward to what is to come and hoping it works out this time around, but I'm trying to cherish the moments in the present. Sometimes I really enjoy living at home, (there are many perks!), and I enjoy getting to see my parents and my brother regularly. Sometimes it can be trying, and in many ways, I am ready to be living on my own. I am trying to enjoy the present and when I'm not feeling so thankful, all I need to do is remind myself that I will miss this one day.
     I have obviously been feeling reflective. I was looking through old photos the other day when I was putting Captain Something Fun's birthday gift together. Looking at photos can be very emotional- they take you back to a certain place and time. I was looking at photos from Berea days and of my niece. Even though my little niece is just two years old, it's amazing how she has changed. I hardly see the resemblance between her now and her baby photos. Anyway..I was looking at these photos, and then my beau and I were visiting with my best friend from high school and her husband, after watching the new Cinderella movie. Eating icecream after the movie, we were talking about our nieces and nephews, what we'd been up to, and college. One of us said, "when I was in college..." and I felt old.
     Between this encounter with old friends, looking back at old photos, and thinking about our friend C.S.F. graduating in May, I have been feeling reflective. I hope I haven't rambled on too much, but if you don't take anything else from this post, remember this: "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift of God, which is why we call it the present." (-Bil Keane) Look back and reflect, and then look forward and think about what may come; but don't spend too much time doing either of these because the most important time is now. Enjoy your day! 

Signing off,
The Farmer's Daughter

Snow Day...and other news!

Today has been a long day. I have been somewhat productive..but it's been unusual because of all the snow and my mother has been in the house too because of course, she was off school. As I was thinking of making some coffee this morning shortly after getting up, I was also considering making some scones. I really enjoy scones and I think they're especially good with coffee. I have some raspberries I froze a couple months ago and I was thinking of making some more raspberry scones. I found a new recipe from Martha Stewart (the original Martha, not to be confused with our very own Martha S. on the blog) that looked pretty tasty so I decided to try it. I think they turned out nicely, but I don't know that I would use the exact same recipe again. The only reason I say that is that the raspberries were supposed to be kneaded into the dough, I think I would have preferred to mix them in or fold them in because by kneading them in, I had a couple of the scones with layers of berry on the bottom. The individual scones didn't want to stick together as well this way and didn't bake as nicely. I didn't actually end up eating any of them for breakfast because by the time they got out of the oven I was done with breakfast! But they'll be there for tomorrow...and hopefully the next day. Yum, scones!

Before they went onto the oven..I made them rectangular instead of triangular

I also tried to take a walk today...Ever since I can remember, I don't have any recollection of the snow being so high that I couldn't take a walk. Today I went outside with plenty of layers on and I wore my rain-boots since the snow was so high. I have snow boots which are more insulted but I thought the snow too deep for my shorter insulated boots (as opposed to my tall, cold rain-boots). Although I didn't get any snow inside my boots with the rain-boots, the rubber easily transferred all the cold from the snow onto my legs and feet. Nova also tried to come out in the snow and of course, she couldn't walk very easily. From her vantage point it was probably like trying to walk straight through the side of a mountain with every step she took. Unfortunately my walk was very short. I was also hoping to get the toboggan out and sled down the hill a few times, but I was discouraged with how deep the snow was and went back inside. I needed some friendly encouragement and camaraderie to get me going...but since I was by myself I couldn't seem to encourage myself enough. Since the temperatures aren't supposed to get any warmer, I should have another chance to go sledding tomorrow or even the next day. I'm planning on it!

Like Martha S., I also worked on catching up on some homework today. I finished some math home work that needed to be done and I have also been working on editing more of the wedding photos for the Ramsay's. Perhaps I can motivate myself to study a bit on my time off tomorrow. I'm not sure about you all...but my school has been called off for tomorrow too! It's a good thing...because I wouldn't be able to make it out if they did have class. I've heard prediction that the public K-12 schools in the area may be closed all week. Of course that means no work for me either...but we shall see what happens, they may go back Thursday or Friday.

In other news:

• I attended my first tractor/truck pull on Saturday. It was unlike anything I'd ever experienced before. Even though they tried to control it, there were alot of fumes in that building. It was also REALLY loud. The beau and I wore earplugs the whole time. It was quite an experience. I think I would prefer to watch my next tractor/truck pull outside! We also went to the National Farm Machinery Show to look around, before the pull.  
  
• The weekend before last I tried The B.O.M.B. at Sonny's barbecue. I read an article on Facebook that Miss Ellaneous' sister had shared about a man from Richmond creating a sandwich for the Annual Pitmaster Showdown. The sandwich has a patty of macaroni & cheese, brisket, onion straws and sweet barbecue sauce, all on a bun. It was an unusual sandwich, but it was very tasty!  



You can't see it very well here, but this is the only photo I took

• I'm sorta getting the hang of the whole substitute teaching routine. I've now substituted for two kindergarten classrooms (once as the regular classroom teacher and once as the teacher's aid), one middle school special education teacher and one elementary school special education teacher. Each day presents new challenges, but I haven't been too overwhelmed with any of the classrooms yet. 
• It's Girl Scout cookie season!!

I know these as Samoas...they're my favorite!  

Adios for now!
The Farmer's Daughter

Life

It sounds like there are a billion fat ants, running across the tin roof above my head. The snow is what is making all the noise...while I'm sitting in my room I'm just listening to the snow on the roof. It must be really wet snow, because it actually sounds more like a light rain. I'd really like to take a walk soon--oh how I love walks in the snow, and when it's snowing! Okay, this was really just a distracting way to start out my blog post, but I really love snow and wanted to share that bit.

This is probably going to be a broad-topic post because I don't have any one specific event or thought to write on today. But I really thought it was time for me to write. Just so that there's some organization, I'd like to make a list of a few things that are on my mind:

• My Beau's Birthday
• My Obsession with Netflix
• Adventures Shooting a Wedding

My Beau's Birthday: 

As you probably all know, this past Wednesday was his birthday. We met up for lunch and I gave him his gift, but we hope to celebrate more this weekend. It's kind of funny, he was wanting to see American Sniper and I kind of passed it off as a guy movie I probably wouldn't like that well but I would see with him anyway. But I noticed all the good press it was getting and I decided to listen to what everyone was saying about it. Now I'm pretty pumped to see it. It sounds like it's a good movie, although it does look sort of depressing. (Hopefully we can do something happy after watching it). So I think we'll see "his" movie and get dinner to continue the celebrating this weekend..and we'll eat lunch with his family on Sunday. By the way...he now has an adorable little niece. Nieces are the best! 

We don't really see movies that often, but we've seen several recently. Last weekend we got to see "my movie". It was The Wedding Ringer. It was pretty crude, but I must say it had me laughing most of the time. Has anyone else seen it? 

I love collages..I wanted to share the birthday collage I made.

My Obsession with Netflix:

One of my Christmas presents from the beau was this awesome little device called Amazon Fire TV stick. It works similarly to Roku or Chromecast. It's a little stick that plugs into the HDMI input in your TV and it connects to Wifi and streams various applications onto your TV..like Netflix, Pandora, Crackle, (of course Amazon Prime shows & movies), and many more. I really love it..and I think I probably get a little too much use out of it. So I've been watching my fair share of Netflix in my room through my TV. I mostly watch shows, but occasionally I watch movies. I know most of you, if not all of you TwentySomethings have Netflix and I'd love to hear your recommendations. Here's a few shows I have been enjoying: 

1. Once Upon a Time. I absolutely love this show! If you know me, you know how much I love fairy-tale characters. It includes most of the fairy-tales we grew up hearing and it meshes them all into one big saga. I've slowed down watching it because there are only 3 seasons and I don't want to watch them all and have to wait until they put season 4 on Netflix. 
2. Gossip Girl. I kind of can't believe I've started watching this show, but I have watched a couple episodes so far. It's like a teenage soap opera but I find it pretty entertaining. 
3. Breaking Bad. I've heard so many people talk about this show and never really knew what it was about. The beau and I watched the first episode a couple weeks ago to try it out. The main character is a middle age man who is struggling to pay the bills with his wife and son so he decides to start cooking meth. He isn't the law-breaking, drug-dealing type, which is what makes the show so interesting- he's just a high-school teacher who is really good at chemistry and needs money. I'm pretty sure the beau likes it more than I do, but I think it's an intriguing show. 
4. Frasier. I think it's my brothers' fault I like this show. It's about a quirky, middle-aged radio psychiatrist and his family. It always makes me laugh, plus I understand most of the psychological references they make which I enjoy. 
5. Switch. The beau and I watched this movie a couple weeks ago and I thought it was a cute romantic-comedy. Jennifer Aniston plays the lead role and I think she's a good actress. Plus, the little boy in this movie is AdoRable! 

You might be getting tired of my Netflix list, so I'm going to stop now. But like I said earlier, I'm interested in hearing what you all enjoy watching on Netflix! 

The Wedding. 

Last Saturday I photographed the Ramsay's wedding. It was my first hired wedding shoot and it was nerve-racking! But it was also great getting some experience with something different than the usual portraits I like to do. Plus..I had help from a very lovely assistant, Martha S. I was so glad she was there to talk to, get advice from and have an extra photographer during the ceremony. It was a fairly traditional catholic wedding and at the reception they had a pig roast with potluck side dishes. Yummy! Anyway...I need to start editing the images so the lovely couple can see them!

Martha S., Photographer

Until Next Time,

The Farmer's Daughter

These are a few of my favorite things...

Looking down our blog, I realize almost all of us have made lists in our posts lately...I think lists are really easy to read and it makes the post look so organized. So, I'm going to cave to peer pressure and follow the trend. I'm not sure why I have the urge to make this post, but I've been wanting to make a post of some of my favorite things. In a way it's sort of a spin-off on the 'thankful' posts like Martha S. and Captain Something Fun made...because of course, I'm very thankful for my favorite things. Here goes:

1. Fru fru coffee/ espresso drinks (and coffee shops)...as the other Twenty-Somethings know, I love the comfort, low-lighting and of course the specialty drinks of coffee shops. Anyone want to meet up at one sometime soon? :) Also, I recently bought a carton of Starbuck's Peppermint Mocha iced coffee drink at the grocery..it was a splurge, but it's pretty good!

2. Pinterest. I could spend hours on there and still not get enough. I have been getting alot of good gift ideas off of there lately...and ideas for Christmas crafts too!

3. Baking. This is especially a favorite around the holidays. It's so much fun trying new recipes and sharing the goods with other people. Buddy the Elf said "the best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear."...I think the best way to spread Christmas cheer is actually baked goods. ;)

4. Christmas movies (and music)! Oh, I need to get to re-watching my old favorites and remembering to turn on the Christmas music, because they both make me happy!

5. Crafting...I absolutely love being able to make things for myself and the people I care about. As I mentioned in my last post, I've been knitting alot and I find making things to be a great stress-reliever. If you're looking for another reason to start knitting or crocheting, check this out, it's a craft that's good for your health!

6. My family's pets. Speaking of stress-relievers..it's so nice to live with and around so many animals. They're a good excuse to get outside and take a walk, plus they're always around to hug and love on whenever you need it. And...they always greet me with a wagging tail when I come home late and my parents are asleep.

7. Taking Pictures! Since getting a smart-phone I don't take nearly as many high-quality photos as I have in the past. But, high-quality or not, I love taking photos. Right now I'm participating in a December photo challenge and I'm posting a photo everyday to Instagram. Most of the photos have something to do with the Christmas season and I think it's kind of a fun way to get into the spirit of the holidays. Plus, I always love looking back at my old photos.

8. Jason. Last, but certainly not least. I love this boy to death. He isn't a thing, but he is my favorite.

Of course, this is only a few of my favorite things. Time to wrap it up though and get back to being productive! I hope you're all having a lovely start to the Christmas season!

The Farmer's Daughter

Knitting My First Baby Blanket

As I mentioned in a previous post, I've been getting back into knitting. I've been knitting since I was 10 or 11, but it hasn't been a steady hobby since that age. I've made scarves mainly and have never gone too far beyond them. So..when my Mom suggested I make a baby blanket for my beau's sister, I was excited to get back into this hobby and make something sweet for my beau's future niece. I went to the shower last weekend and his sister and their family all loved it, which was very rewarding after spending so much time working on it. If you're interested in the pattern for this cute and easy blanket, go here! It's super simple: all knitting and it includes a cute border around the edge. So...here it the blanket!

Making handmade items and using them for yourself is always a nice feeling, but it's even nicer to see someone else being able to use and appreciate something you've made. So, I've also been trying to start making more knitted items (especially with Christmas right around the corner), but I have yet to start on anything else. When I can get some help from the master knitter, my momma, I will be able to start on some new items..which I hope to keep you posted on! :) 

-The Farmer's Daughter

Trial & Error, & Random

The Trial & Error

We had some very ripe bananas at the house this morning so I decided to make some pancakes that I'd seen on Pinterest with only three ingredients...egg, banana and some cinnamon. The "recipe" I followed didn't come with any instruction, so I just mixed 1 banana, 1 egg, & some cinnamon together and put it in the skillet. It may have been cook-error, but I wasn't very pleased with their consistency. The flavor wasn't bad, I just kept thinking about how they reminded me of scrambled eggs with banana and cinnamon in them. I just wanted to share this recent Pinterest semi-fail to say, if I were you, I wouldn't try making pancakes without flour.

I'm really excited...I've been making a baby blanket for my beau's sister. The baby shower is next weekend so I've been working extra hard on getting it done and this morning I basically finished knitting the rows, I just haven't bound off the stitches yet. This has been somewhat of a trial-and-error project because I've never knit a baby blanket before and I wasn't sure if I was going to have enough yarn to finish. Luckily enough, I do! I'll post pictures of the finished product soon! 

Other Events

1. This weekend...I grabbed a really good deal at Meyer's. I'm putting this out there in case anyone else is interested. Meyer's in Lexington had their raspberries on sale for 2/$1 for their 6 oz. cartons...which is a steal! I'm not sure, but I think other Meyer's may be having the same sale. Needless to say, I bought several packages and next on my list of things to do today is freeze most of those berries. 

I paid $3.50 for $27 worth of raspberries

2. The beau, Captain Something Fun, Granny Eyre and I played Rook before going to the Homecoming Block Party on Friday. It's always nice to play some Rook. 

 3. The fall colors are slowly fading, but my beau got this photo of Nova and I before all the leaves were gone! 

4. We got a cute photo yesterday with the new bunny. Just wanted to share it :) 

Well that's all she wrote, folks,

The Farmer's Daughter

Mom's Birthday...and all the food!

As most of you know, my mother had a birthday yesterday! I had a bunch of fun fixing her a birthday dinner and an edible gift. My beau and I decided to fix the dinner...we had a sweet, garlicky chicken, green beans from the garden, baked apples from our apple tree, and kale salad with blueberries and strawberries (kale from the garden, blueberries from our bushes, and strawberries from a friend's garden!) And because it was a birthday, and you can't forget dessert, we made a chocolate pie with homemade whipped cream. It was all REALLY good. My beau and I aren't really used to fixing dinner, but it turned out to be quite tasty, and we were proud. Just thinking about the yummy food makes me mouth water. I thought I'd share the pictures and recipes from some of the dishes we made since it all tasted so delicious. You can find the pie recipe here...this recipe was fairly easy and it tasted very good! You can find the chicken recipe here. I would recommend the chicken recipe for it's simplicity and for the ability to alter it slightly to your taste with added herbs or spices that you like.

As for Mom's gift..I had seen a recipe on Pinterest about making homemade turtles. Since this is probably her favorite candy, I decided to try to make them for her birthday. They were fairly simple to put together and turned out really tasty. The only issue I had was with the caramel rolling over the pecans and then sticking to the wax paper (and then causing the turtles to stick together once they were in the container together). I'm not sure how to avoid this, except maybe to make a thicker layer of pecans on the bottom and not use as much caramel on each one. Even with this problem, I would recommend the turtle recipe.

Mom actually made the salad, she also put roasted almonds in it...SO good!

The baked apples were good..but I think we can do better next time!

I had to sample her turtles...and they are yummy!

That's all for now!
The Farmer's Daughter

Cincinnati

In between studying for my test on Thursday I'm going to update you on the eventful weekend I had...
My beau and I had been thinking about taking a trip to Cincinnati for a couple of months now and we finally were able to go! So..we made it a three day weekend, and stayed with my Aunt & Uncle who live in the country near Cincinnati.

Day 1: We visited the quaint and very hilly city of Mt. Adams on Friday afternoon. We'd already eaten lunch, so we just walked around the city and up the well-known stairs at Holy-Cross Immaculata Church. We walked down through the main part of this area where there was a strip of bars, restaurants and a coffee shop. We ended up in one of the them, playing a game of pool before we took off for dinner with my Aunt & Uncle.

Day 2: We made Saturday a big day..first stop was Belterra Casino. Neither one of us had ever been in a casino..we were amazed at the age group of basically all the gamblers. We were, by far, the youngest people in the place. It was sad to watch the gamblers at the machine..little old ladies, not even hesitating to press the button. We played at a couple of the machines just to see what it was like. Overall we lost (of course), but only a couple of dollars. We ate lunch in the casino at their buffet. It was amazing! It was a really nice restaurant, with a large variety of food: basic American fare, Asian, a special Oktoberfest (German) food area, salad bar and delicious fresh bakery dessert items! It was all a good meal but I was probably most excited about the dessert because they even had a case of about 10 flavors of gelato. Mmmmm....mmmm!!
After lunch, we went outside the casino to the horse racing. We enjoyed placing some small bets on a couple of the horse races and we won and lost some again. Now I want to go to Keenland sometime! We traveled downtown after this and checked out Oktoberfest. The crowds were so large, we couldn't enjoy it. People were really packed in like sardines. We did get a pretzel though and a drink, but then we got out of there. Lastly, since it was only about 6:30, and we didn't want to go back to the house yet, we drove to Kenwood Mall to walk around and shop. Overall, a fun and tiring day!

Day 3: On Sunday, after going to church with my aunt, we drove to Bass Pro Shops and Jungle Jim's and enjoyed some Mexican food for lunch. We had a fun afternoon, shopping and walking around and got some good deals.
We had a really great trip!

At Bass Pro Shops

On a separate note, I'd love to see my friends again soon!!
The Farmer's Daughter 

Country Concert & Fall

Yes..I know, it's not fall yet (7 days!) And yes, I am trying to contain my excitement and enjoy the last couple days of summer. But, I am very excited for pumpkin picking, corn maze exploring, sweater-wearing, beautiful leaves falling, bonfire sitting, caramel apple eating, flannel wearing, pumpkin spice everything...and of course-- birthday...season. I am super excited for all of these things, which has gotten me in the mood to pin countless pumpkin and apple recipes.
Last week I made pumpkin chocolate muffins/cupcakes. For the muffins I just left off the icing. They were pretty good, but I think I must have covered them too soon, which made them slightly wet. Here is where I found the recipe if anyone is interested. And if you're interested in seeing my hours of pinning about Halloween and fall and getting as pumped for the season as I am, you should just check out my fall Pinterest board.

The weekend was very exciting for me..the beau took me to the Burning It Down concert, with Jason Aldean (& Florida Georgia Line)! It had been a long while since I had been to a big concert and we both really enjoyed it. Jason Aldean and FGL both sounded very good in concert, I was impressed. Something I had forgotten about concerts was how loud they are. It's probably for the best that I don't go to many concerts, for my ears sake. (haha)

Well, that's all for my update.
Until next time,
The Farmer's Daughter