A perk ...

...of having a lot of free time is getting to try recipes that I've always wanted to try.  I LOVE Bakerella's blog - and her red velvet cake balls are something that I've wanted to try.  (I really would like to make her cake pops but I know myself well enough to know that I don't have a knack for being that detailed).  I had the day off on Tuesday and I thought that it'd be the perfect opportunity to try them out!

So on Wednesday I brought them in to work and they were gone in less than 3 hours (and the recipe makes 50!!).  People were coming out of the woodwork to try one of these.  SOO good!

You can really use any combination of cake mix/frosting and these would still be a winner - I'm thinking that carrot cake with cream cheese cake balls dipped in white chocolate would be divine!  AND I'm also trying to think of a way to make them with the mint/chocolate combination...which is totally my fave.



**This is the only picture I have.  Randy has the camera so my iPhone is all I've got.  But you get the point** 

On pierogies

You might call me a late bloomer.  It was only about a year ago that I had my first pierogie.  Randy's mom makes them quite frequently as a side dish - sauteed with onions and butter.  Lots and lots of butter.  It was love at first bite.

Since having them for the first time, I've made them probably 2 times a month.  Of course, I've used only the frozen kind and dressed them up and they've gotten the job done.

But then I went to J. Betsky's.  It's a German restaurant in Raleigh that makes everything - from sausage to spetzle - from scratch.  The added perk is that they use all locally-grown ingredients too, so it's super fresh.  The fresh pierogies were out of this world.  Seriously, heaven on a plate.

So I've added pierogies to the list of foods that I want to make homemade.  My mother-in-law, speaking from experience, says that they are an ordeal to make, but I think the effort will be worth it.  Maybe it will be a food that I will just make once in my life.  But I can make one half as good as J. Betsky's, I may need to work pierogie making into my schedule.

And I'm planning on making these sometime this month.  So I'll report back on that.  (Hopefully I don't get butter on my keyboard. That can't be good.)

Oktoberfest

I will be celebrating Oktoberfest on my blog.  Not with schnitzel, lagers, or pierogies.  But I've made a goal to be a blogging fiend in October and to be better about documenting the things I'm doing. 

So consider this your teaser...the goodness starts in one week.

From the fly on the wall

Today's posting is brought to you by a fly on the wall in our household...

Beth: Randy, if you were building a football team and had to put me in a position, what would it be?

Randy: [without hesitation] Waterboy.

under the weather

I've been feeling under the weather since Sunday - and now I've gone & got the hubby sick...

I'll resume blogging activities after I am recuperated.

The back yard

One of the aspects about buying a house that worried us a bit was the back yard.  Admittedly, we were a bit starry-eyed when selecting our home lot, and the sales office "only had 2 lots available" for us to choose from at the time.  We really wanted to make sure that we could take advantage of the tax credit (this was before the credit was extended) - so we chose the lot that didn't have a lot premium tacked on.  What this means is that we got a lot that wasn't completely flat, it actually is backed up on a steep hill.  Of course, since then other lots have become available...but that is neither here nor there.  We, in our innocence, didn't think that having a hill for a back yard would be a big deal.  And honestly, it hasn't been an issue yet.

The builder did a good job of adding a retaining wall and drainage system to make sure that our back yard isn't a giant puddle.  We are happy with that work.  That being said, the landscapers planted a fescue that we were told did not require any maintenance.  He said that the grass would grow about knee-high, and that it could just be left without doing any mowing or trimming.  Boy was he wrong.

We got a notice from the homeowners association that our back yard was "too unkept", and we were asked to maintain the hill.  It is a steep grade, and there is no way we'd be able to mow the hill.  And the grass is too thick to go at it with a weed whacker (we learned that the hard way).  So the only remaining option was to go up with hedge clippers and trim the grass.  Especially around the retaining wall, where it was looking sloppy and overgrown.

When the spring comes, we are planning on getting rid of the pesky fescue and putting in some landscaping.  Something that literally requires little maintenance.  But until then, we'll have to keep trimming and pulling weeds.  And we don't have to worry about the rest of the yard yet, the hot Carolina summer killed what little grass we did have in the back yard!

The back yard, when the house was still under construction (aka the point in time when we were worried about how things would turn out)

Me, trimming and pulling weeds along the retaining wall.  Looks like the perfect way to spend your weekend, right?

We do have a nice little backyard area - a covered patio that gives you the right amount of shade, a grill, and a nice place to hang out.  We have plans to improve the back yard, but for now, our little piece of earth is perfect. :)

The list

It started out quite simple, really.  I was 12, away for a month at church camp.  Our counselor gave us a pen, a piece of paper, and a mission: to think about the man that we would marry one day.  The counselor told us to write down any details about our future husbands - and to focus on the characteristics that we thought were the most important.  I closed my eyes and tried to picture him - and wrote down a list of 30 things that the 12-year-old me valued. 

After church camp ended, I tucked the list away and forgot about it. 15 years later, my mom somehow happened to find the folded up piece of paper and sent it to me shortly after Randy & I got married.  Looking over my list, I saw there are some things that, in my childish innocence, just don't matter today.  I'd love Randy if he had crooked teeth or had stinky breath (and he doesn't have dimples by the way).  But most of the things on my list came true - I married an honest, smart, and handsome man who has a firm set of beliefs and moral fiber.  And I love him very much.

I've been his wife for six months now, and nearly every day I could add things to the list about things that I love about him.  I love that he makes up silly songs or limericks out of nowhere and the look that he gives me when I tell a joke that isn't funny.  I see how he cares for me when I'm sick, hugs me when I'm sad, and sees right through me when I'm trying to hide my true feelings.  And I have seen his devotion and ability to remain firm in his beliefs regardless of the consequences. 

I am a very blessed and fortunate woman to have met Randy.  And although he doesn't meet every criteria that the 12-year-old-me set forth on paper so many years ago, I have to say that my life with him is better than I could have imagined.