Bordem + Baking = Delicious Dish

I like to bake. And the good thing, maybe the only good thing, about having a little extra time on your hands is extra time to bake. With all this extra time I probably could have done something a little more ambitious and complicated, but lets be honest, I just really wanted some good 'ol fashioned chocolate chip cookies. Its not like it was a craving or anything. Ok, maybe it was. Just a little. Anyway, I know chocolate chip cookies aren't anything fancy but they are still pretty awesome if you ask me. Annnnd in case you are wondering I happen to be the blue ribbon winner of chocolate chip cookies at the Twin Falls County Fair for three years in a row. (Applause!! "Thank you! Thank you!") It may have been in 1996, but hey, that's when I learned my awesome skills. The recipe I used today is no secret and I must confess it isn't the famous blue ribbon recipe. Its better! Thanks Martha Stewart. *Recipe below. 

Just a little preview to get you hooked. 

The goods: butter and sugar 

A little flava-flave. AKA vanilla 

Mix it good! 

Mmmm look at that! 

I added some chopped walnuts for good measure, and because MountainMan loves them and I'm nuts about him. ;)  

Like my awesome kitchen towel? Me too. 

Ah. Pure perfection. 

This is my newest life motto. 

Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Thanksgiving adventures...and then some.

Wooo--eee! It has been a while since I have delightfully wasted time on this silly thing. I'll use the busy holidays as my excuse. Thanksgiving used to be one of my favorite holidays (among most of the other holidays being my favorite, too). It still ranks up there but it has certainly changed. We have decided to make a family Thanksgiving tradition every year. The Mister thinks that this includes celebrating Thanksgiving but really it involves a lot of hunting. I mean, a lot. As in every day from dawn 'til dusk. But don't get me started on that just yet. I am totally OK with this tradition that we have started but I decided I needed to rename it to make myself feel a little better about the reality of the situation. My first idea was to call it "Thanks-hunting" because then its kinda like Scott telling me "Thanks for hunting with me". The second idea I had was "Hunts-giving" because Scott would say that the "hunts give us food for the family". Get it? That is his not-so-sneaky excuse for hunting: it feeds the family. Either way, this "Thanksgiving" trip is really just an excuse to hunt. This year we went with some dear friends of ours that made the trip lots of fun. I think I started to go cross-eyed almost every day looking for deer, and I am convinced that I came much to close to my second encounter with frostbite (dont' ask). OK fine, maybe that is a little bit of an exaggeration, but still! It was a bit freezing but I will admit that the snow was absolutely breathtaking. Coming home to a cabin in the woods with a wood stove burning wasn't so bad either. I was not successful this year on filling my tag but I did help MountainMan pack out his deer. He had a perfect shot, but maybe next time he can shoot one that we don't have to drag 250 yards uphill. (I only know it was that far because he told me). Overall, we had a great trip and our tradition is a couple years underway. 

Here are some pictures I snapped along the way... 

This was a somewhat strange little cabin we found while driving along. 

May 2015 be a year of growth, joy, and abundant blessing to you! 

Preserving food and memories...one can at a time

So this event took place quite sometime ago, but other silly things in life have kept me from sharing it until now. MoutnainMan and I decided that we really wanted to can so we gave it a shot. Thankfully we already had most of what we needed to get started so it was just a matter of pick what we wanted to preserve. We stopped at a local fruit stand in Fruitland, Idaho. (No really, that's its name.) We got tons of peaches and ingredients to make salsa. We also picked up some apples from the grocery store to can our homemade applesauce recipe that we love. Ok, ok. Its Pioneer Woman's recipe. But now its MY favorite. Anyway, here are some pictures of the fun we had. The peaches are absolutely delicious! We also got to can a couple weeks later with MoutnainMan's sister who is a far more accomplished canner. Mostly she canned and we pretended to help, and the crew came up with mincemeat pie (an Orthel family favorite) and baked beans. Our pantry is fully stalked and we are itching to do it again.

S'more fun camping!

Finally! Finally we got to go camping this summer. I don't like that it took all summer before we had time to go, but the good news is...we made it happen. Our friends Jared and Dani met us half way and we had a great time talking, laughing, and putting up with our lovely, ornery Jackson. Can't wait for our elk huntin' trip in a few weeks! We really love hanging out with these great friends of ours. 

The Carpenter

THE CARPENTER

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house-building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended family. He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire. They could get by. The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. 

It was an unfortunate way to end his career. When the carpenter finished his work and the builder came to inspect the house, the contractor handed the front door key to the carpenter. "This is your house," he said, "my gift to you." 

What a shock! What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently. Now he had to live in the home he had built none too well. So it is with us. We build out lives in a distracted way, reacting rather than acting, willing to put up less than the best. At important points we do not give the job our best effort. Then with a shock we look at the situation we have created and find that we are now living in the house we have built. If we had realized that we would have done it differently. 

Think of yourself as the carpenter. Thank about your house. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. Build wisely. 

It is the only life you will ever build. Even if you live it for only one more day, that day deserves to be lived graciously and with dignity. 

The plaque on the wall says, "life is a do-it-yourself project." Who could say it more clearly? Your life today is the result of your attitudes and the choices you make today. 

Author Unknown

My favorite line in this story is "build wisely." It is short and simple, and full of life. At least that is how I see it. I found this story encouraging when someone older and wiser shared it with me, and although I may not be older or wiser, I hope it finds you well. 

Its a sign!

I finally put those pallets that were laying around to use. I asked MountainMan to get me a pallet from work and it took him somewhere around two months later to finally get one. And then, I think to make up for lost time, he brought FIVE instead of just one. I'm not complaining...I just have lots of project possibilities now. Inspired by the inspiration of this blog I decided to make the sign "It moose be love" for our house. I moose be crazy. But it moose certainly was fun!! :) 

Before....

Almost there....

Home sweet Home. 

Home Improvements

Its not our dream house but we are making it a home. Our yard may be small but its the best looking one on the block. [It helps to be married to the fertilizer slash weed-killer-man.] Per my request we went yard selling and found an old rusty wheel barrel that I just could not resist....and only for $10! Of course, MountainMan tried to haggle with the poor old man and get it for $8 but the nice old man knew he already had it sold to me. We planed flowers, tomatoes and strawberries and added a Pinterest inspired project. I'm slowing working on getting a green thumb.