NONPROFITARIAN.COM

making a change

2010-02-15T18:01:00Z

Hello!

I will no longer be posting on nonprofitarian.com - if you would like to continue reading blogs by me, visit http://epistolarycarrie.blogspot.com/2010/02/my-blogs-title.html

I don't necessary enjoy the service I use right now, my feminist self does not like the advertising route this company has taken, and I shall say no more

So, it's just a change of address. www.epistolarycarrie.blogspot.com and sometimes when people move, people send gifts. So, please feel free to send gifts to the new address! Comments are great gifts!

Love,

Carrie

10 Ways to celebrate a green Valentine's Day

2010-01-20T02:24:00Z

The holiday is approaching so I thought I would write about Valentine's Day because to me, it seems so very commercialized.

I decided I would come up with a list of ten ways for couples and single folks alike to celebrate a day that is supposed to be about loving one another, not about buying stuff for one another and eating out at some expensive restaurant. So, here is to a green valentine's day this year.

On Valentine's Day:

1. Call a relative that you love and don't often make the time to talk to.The time you spend waiting in line at a restaurant could be used talking to your grandma. My grandma lost the love of her life a year and a half ago and I know she will appreciate an “I love you.”

2. This one is easy and simple enough- pamper yourself. During these cold winter months, our skin tends to dry up, so take the time to moisturize and think about each part of your body and how blessed you are to have such a beautiful and unique self.

3. Drink lots of water. If you are in a relationship, challenge your partner to get in their full 32 to 64 ounces of water. We need to keep hydrated and by doing so, you are loving yourself and will feel good for drinking all that healthy h20.

4. Meditate. This is something that can be done alone in a quiet room or with a partner. Listen to your own breathing and get in tune with yourself or listen to your partner's breathing and become more tuned in with each other.

5. Eat your favorite meal. Take the time to cook something healthy and yummy that makes your belly happy. I like to chop vegetables because I find it to be methodical and easy - I don't have to think about anything else but the job at hand and it is stress relieving.

6. Write yourself, lover, or best friend a love note. You can think about all the things you love about yourself and write it down - it would be a great self esteem boost. Or, give a friend or lover a list of all the things that you love about them, let them know why they are important in your life all year long - not just on Valentine's Day.

7. Take a nap. Sleep is so good for the body and soul. If you've been extra busy lately, this might just be the perfect thing to make your day. Isn't napping a lot better than spending hours at a busy restaurant? Don't get me wrong, I don't mind dining out sometimes, but a yummy homemade meal followed by a nap sure sounds nice.

8. Go outside. Take the time to enjoy the beauty of the outdoors even if it is cold outside. If you live in a city, try to find your way to the park or if you live in the country (like me) take a few minutes to hike or just step outside and reflect.

9. Read your favorite book. Chances are, you already own your favorite book so you don't have to buy anything and you get some great time to relax and be happy. If you feel like you have to give someone a gift, give away books from your library that you enjoyed and held on to.

10. Laugh. Laughter is one of the best forms of love and the more the better. I've never been tired of laughing, I've hurt from laughing so hard, but I've never been tired of it.

honey-ginger chicken with peppers and pineapple

2010-01-18T15:22:00Z

My boy and I made a delicious meal the other day and lucky you, I am about to share it. Actually, if you subscribe to Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazine, then you already have it because it was in "The Light Issue." However, we made a couple changes to the recipe that made it all the better.

It's kind of difficult (and expensive) to shop local in WV during the off season. So, we try to at least buy organic as often as we can and I think we are going to start ordering meat from Monroe Farms (I think that's what it is called) or Sandy Creek Farms (they deliver!) - do any of you order meat from local farmers? We would like it to be local and grass fed, free range, all that good stuff. We don't mind paying a little extra and after reading the article in TIME magazine last week on the differences between grain fed and grass fed cattle's impact on the environment, I think that if we are going to continue eating meat, we need to be aware of where are meet comes from, how it is treated, killed, and the impact it has on the environment and our bellies. I already knew about the impact that feed lots have on the environment, but it was a nice refresher.

So anyway, for this recipe we bought hormone free chicken at the grocery store and I find that it has a better taste than the other stuff. Here is the recipe plus our changes.

Honey Ginger Chicken with Peppers (And Pineapple - our addition)

1/4 cup honey

2 tbs. rice vinegar

2 tbs. soy sauce (I'd say we used 2 and a half)

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into 1/4 inch strips (we used two small chicken breasts and found that it was more than enough meat for the two of us plus leftovers)

1/4 cup minced peeled fresh ginger (yum!)

2 garlic cloves, minced (we used 3, we LOVE garlic)

3 red, orange or yellow bell peppers (ribs and seeds removed) thinly sliced (we mixed up all three colors)

cooked rice, for serving (we made whole grain rice and actually added it into the mix when finished so that it could soak up some of the moisture)

fresh cilantro leaves, for serving (we didn't do this)

1 cup fresh pineapple cut into little chunks, or whatever size you want. (we added this ingredient)

1/2 of a package of fresh sliced mushrooms, you can add more depending on how much you like (we love them so this was our add too!)

2 or 3 tablespoons of Soy Vay Veri Yeri Teriyaki (it is a delicious tasting Teriyaki marinade that has a blue and white label on a glass bottle)

In a small bowl, stir together honey, vinegar and soy sauce. Heat a large skillet over high heat until hot. Add 1 tbs oil (we used olive oil), and swirl it around in the skillet to make sure it is coated. Add chicken and stir until opaque but not cooked through, this takes 3 or 4 minutes; transfer to a plate. Now, add another tbs of oil, the ginger, and the garlic to the skillet and stir until fragrant and yummy smelling. Add peppers and stir for a few minutes. Add soy mixture and bring to a boil. Return the chicken to the skillet and toss it around until you have a nice thicker sauce and the chicken is cooked all the way through. The magazine says to serve over rice, but we just mixed the already cooked rice (forgot to mention that you should cook your rice while doing everything else) in with everything else. Enjoy! YUM!

Maybe it is the yellow plate, or maybe the cilantro leaves would have really jazzed it up, because this isn't the best looking dish in the whole world, but it is super yummy and reasonably healthy, especially if you use low sodium soy and lay off on the teriyaki! Really, if you like ginger, I highly suggest you try it out.

Mountain Stage Photos

2010-01-12T21:08:00Z

One of my favorite things about living in Charleston, WV is Mountain Stage. For approximately $15 dollars a ticket and a short 10 minute drive, I can enjoy awesome artists from all over the world. Most shows I go to have someone scheduled that I already know of and like and by the time I leave the show, I've learned several new artists and have had the opportunity to meet them and buy a CD. I usually only buy the CD at the event if I am REALLY into the artist, otherwise, I look up my favorites on itunes and buy a few choice songs.

A couple summers ago I lost both of my granpas and spent most of my mourning time listening to music and searching for some kind of answer. Of those artistis, the top two were Karine Polwart and Antje Duvekot. Karine is awesome and I suggest you check her out - she is a Scottish songwriter who is more talented than I can describe. You can buy her songs on itunes or check her website out at http://www.karinepolwart.com/ where she has a couple songs you can download for free. I actually emailed Karen on MySpace to tell her how inspirational and helpful her music has been to me and she wrote me back! I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to see her play on Mountain Stage.

Even though Karine has yet to play here in Appalachia, I was so very excited when I heard Antje Duvekot would be playing with a few other singer songwriters that I also enjoy on their Winterbloom Tour. I felt like a big dork because I was all nervous when talking to Antje, Meg Hutchinson, Natalia Zukerman and Anne Heaton after the show, but they were all really nice. They are all so talented and I already listened to them individually, so it was pretty cool to find out that they are all actually friends and make music together. Needless to say, the whole show was amazing and I especially loved the songs from the Winterbloom album. I've been meaning to write about the show and turn my RAW images into JPG images for some time now - the show was December 18th. I bought their CD and they all signed it and even though Antje only put one R in my name, I am still happy to have had the chance to see them all play together. I actually saw Antje play once in Indiana and she remembered me, so that was pretty nice too.

Thanks Mountain Stage. I already have my (awesome) tickets for the Ani Difranco show and Erin McKeown is going to be there too!

If you live in WV and even have to drive a couple hours to make it, Mountain Stage is definitely a live show you don't want to miss.

Antje!

Me being a dork with Antje.

Hidden Valley

2010-01-10T22:34:00Z

My sweetie and I went to the Hidden Valley Ski Resort in PA yesterday - he snowboards and was dying to "hit the slopes." I tried snowboarding last year and wasn't very successful, so I stick to skis. However, I repeatedly fell while getting off of the ski lift at this place! Last year, I did fine, this year, I was on my ass every time. I feel comfortable enough on my skis and remembered most of what I was taught during an alpine ski lesson I took last year, but I have decided that this girl does not have a "need for speed." I know the more experienced I become, the more stable I will feel on my skis and perhaps the better I will feel about flying down hill standing up - not anxiously awaiting my fall and thinking about a ski flying off and whizzing by my head or worse, gashing into my head. After a couple runs, I decided to hang out at the bunny hill and take it easy, but the ski patrol told me "you've skied before" and made me feel like I shouldn't be poking around with the beginners. So anyway, I did fine skiing all the green trails but fell off all of the lifts. My boy on the other hand, had what he called the best snowboarding day of his life and loved it. The park wasn't over crowded, there was a ton of fresh powder (not the pressed down hard icy stuff that makes you fall on your bumbum) and the facilities were really nice. So anyway, it was only 1 and a half hours from Wheeling and we had fun.

Today, I am sore, but happy to be home...I love my little house! We still haven't taken down our tree and everything is still covered in snow, will winter ever end? It's just the beginning of the winter season and I can't stop thinking about warm weather. Well, at least I like to xcountry ski and that will be our next outdoor excursion.

We also had a really fun visit with Gram and Pap and as usual, a really nice visit out to the farm.

Better get the house cleaned up and get ready for the work week - I don't think we'll be getting any snow days at the office this week.

snow flakes keep falling

2010-01-09T00:34:40Z

It has been nonstop snow in West Virginia for the last few weeks. It was reported that this year would be snowy and cold, but I didn't want to believe it. I do love to xcountry ski and the snow is so pretty, but getting bundled up and getting my pants/shoes covered in snow every time I go outside, can get kind of old. Plus, all this cold weather is a recipe for over eating and with the holiday season coming and going, I feel like I have put on a few pounds.

I got a wii and wii fit plus for Christmas and according to it, I am overweight. Is it wrong that after a month of over eating I was just happy that it didn't classify me as obese? haha Nonetheless, I am trying to cut down on what I eat, eat more organic and whole foods, and stop the snacking! My boy's mama made peanut butter fudge and many other yummies and sent them home with us after our trip to Florida for NYE....my paws can't seem to quit sneaking into that damn fudge.

Enough complaining though, the holidays were WONDERFUL and I fully enjoyed Christmas and NYE. My mama's house is always so "Christmasy" and warm and homey and all of those wonderful things we like to feel during the holidays. In fact, I think they had something like 5 trees at their house and a ton of snowmen, santas, etc. that made everything nice. Plus, my family must have been on santa's good list this year, because I would say that we all had a pretty nice Christmas and it was one of the best ones I've had for a while, not that I have ever had a bad one....well maybe one that wasn't AWESOME.

After the holidays and gorging on crab legs, cheese balls and Minard's meatballs, my boy and I headed down to Florida to spend the week after Christmas with his family. Florida was amazing! We were planning to go to Disney and then decided that just wasn't "us" and we knew we wouldn't miss all the long lines,the expensive tickets, or all of the pavement...too much walking around or waiting in line standing on pavement really hurts my feet and back and I am not a happy girl. So, instead, we went canoeing on the Silver River and it was AMAZING. We went early in the morning and the mist was still rising from the water (which is a constant 72 degrees bc of the springs) and the animals were all very active. While canoeing we saw Rhesus monkeys, alligators and a ton of birds and fish - the water was so clear and bright blue you could see all the way down. My favorite part of the trip was the canoeing, but we also had fun going to the beach at stump pass state park, staying with my boy's aunt in ft. myers, visiting the homosassa state park, eating many yummy meals, and we played two games of disc golf - yep, we packed the week with as much stuff as possible and spent some time with the fam on top of that!

After coming back to snowy WV I had two snow days at work! Today, my boy had some work in Wheeling to take care of so I came with him and we are going skiing tomorrow (well, he will snowboard).

What have you all been up to? I know I have some readers out there, I just never hear from you!

Christmas is tomorrow!

2009-12-23T15:20:00Z

I feel like I was just sitting at a bar dressed as a fairy on Halloween and now Christmas has already arrived. I have decided that this year I am going to start making Christmas gifts immediately following the new year. I wanted to give everyone pottery this year, but I only finished a few pieces because I spent a lot of time on one particular piece. So anyway, I hope everyone likes what I bought and hopefully next year I won't have the pressure of finding thoughtful gifts for everyone I love because I will have already MADE them thoughtful gifts. Plus, I feel better giving handmade stuff because it is better for the environment and each person is getting a one of a kind present.

Because it is the end of the year, I thought I would do a little year in review photo style. 2009 was a great and healing year for me after 2008, which was a very sad year for me. Also, I think I'll break it down by month like my friend Annie did in her blog's year end review:

January 2009:

We started the new year off right with a yummy breakfast (pork for good luck!) and a full day of disc golf - it must have been warmer out then!
At the end of the month, my boy celebrate his birthday and I spent the day skiing, he snowboarded, at Timberline.

We also started cross country skiing at White Grass in the Canaan Valley area and we love it! I can't wait to xcountry ski this winter.

February 2009:

We found our house! It's a small rental and we have to share a bathroom, but we love it! We couldn't have asked for more kinder people to rent from either. Also, I can't find the photos but my family and boy went ice skating on Valentine's Day and had a wonderful time! More skiing was done in February and I am sure there were a couple visits to my family's house and his.

March 2009:

We moved into our house! Even though it was only March, we were ready for spring and bought a grill! We also started making plans for our garden and then on March 12th, this happened:

But luckily, it melted quickly and this started happening:

This photo was seriously taken 7 days after that snow photo was taken! I LOVE LOVE LOVE spring! I especially loved the many hikes we took in the spring with the brightly colored baby ferns uncurling and all of the little flower buds reaching up towards the sky. There is no better way to describe the vibrant new green leaves in the forest than "spring green." After a winter of gray skies and bare trees, the color of spring green makes my eyes feel like they are waking up and coming out of hibernation. I love it! March also brought the beginning of our garden and we planted onions, brussel sprouts, cabbage, and other vegetables that didn't do quite so well. March also brought my cousin Jen's baby shower and a visit from my boy's parents who live in Florida.

April 2009:

In April, my friend Rachel came over and we made Easter eggs, which I had to post again because they turned out so pretty. I still don't know what they are putting in the egg dye these days, but they were bright! I got the curtains in my kitchen finally made (thanks Gram!), went to Wheeling for Gram's 80th Surprise Birthday Party, went home to my family's house for Easter, road bikes along the Greenbrier River and turned 26!

May 2009:

May brought a lot of rain. Rain Rain Rain - and basement flooding. But, we survived! And, my now sister-in-law had a beautiful bridal shower. I also started taking pottery classes in May and I still am and I love it!

June 2009:

The garden started growing! With this came a lot of grilling out and evenings spent with my boy hanging out on the back porch.

July 2009:

We spent the 4th of July weekend in Wheeling with my boy's family. We saw fireworks at Oglebay, and then went back to the farm and had smores and drinks around a big bonfire - we also had sparklers! We also spent the day at Gram and Pap's eating typical 4th of July food and Gram made the best apple pie I have ever had - so good, I had to make sure it made it into my year in review! haha

By this time, everything was in full bloom and I spent a lot of time taking photos of flowers. Again, like spring, it was a pretty rainy summer and we didn't have many days that topped 90 degrees. My boy and I hiked 3 to 4 times a week in the evenings when I would get home from work and I don't have many photos from that because we usually just take his little point and shoot camera on hikes (if we remember it!)

August 2009:

August started out amazing. We left for California on July 30th and spent the first week of August traveling around Northern California, which I blogged about extensively, so I won't do it again here. We loved our trip and I can't wait to go back again. But, we are thinking maybe Colorado for our next vacation. We finished our California Vacation with a PHISH show at the Shoreline Amplitheatre and it was awesome! I don't have any photos from it though - no cameras allowed.

September 2009:

I was in a friend's wedding and went to her bridal shower. Otherwise, the month was pretty calm and filled with evenings of disc golf, hiking and spending time with the boy.

October 2009:

Yep, I am getting tired of this year in review thing.

We carved pumpkins, had a great Halloween (I was a woodland fairy and boy was a pile of leaves!).

November 2009: Yep, Thanksgiving was awesome and we had dinner with my family.

December 2009: Yep, now it is December and this year has gone by so fast. I am very thankful that this year was so calm and filled with hiking, gardening, pottery, making ear*dings, spending time with my family and boy. I am truly thankful for everyone in my life, my job, my awesome boyfriend. I hope 2010 is even better and our garden doesn't get blite this year, yeah, I left a few things out! haha

37 days

2009-12-18T19:07:00Z

That's how many days it has been since I last blogged. So, I plan on spending a lot less time on Farmville and more time blogging. I hope, the more blogging I do, the more feedback I will get. Really, I love getting comments and knowing that someone is actually reading this stuff I put out there - especially if they are enjoying it. I've always been a pretty open book and I think this blog has a lot of potential.

I'm off to Wheeling this weekend and I hope, if we do get the snow in WV that is predicted, you all are careful on the roads and stay home if you can!

Much love,

Moi

feeling accomplished

2009-11-12T01:16:00Z

I had the day off of work today for Veteran's Day and I am pleased with how much I got accomplished. I washed my car and cleaned out the inside, mowed our entire lawn, cleaned out and organized the basement and attic, washed a load of laundry, picked up around the house and now I am sitting on the couch watching the Colber Report and I am beat!

While my boy and I were outside cleaning our cars, a couple little beggars came along and they were so much fun. After 3 pieces of bread and 3 waffles, they still acted like they hadn't eaten in months. Honestly, after the food was gone, they scared me a little because they were so aggressive and that white one pecked at my shoe.

We think these ducks must stay around every winter and beg for food along the creek...maybe this means we shouldn't have fed them? 30 minutes after we finished serving bread and waffles I went outside to check the mail and they came dashing out of the creek, running up the bank and took a shortcut through the garden (which was a mistake because the leaves overtook them) and then finally made it to our door...the white one had a great exaggerated waddle.

So overall, it was a great day home from work, which was really needed after working all weekend. I can't wait for Thanksgiving and a few more days off of work! What do you all have planned for Thanksgiving? I know my grandma's hot rolls will be a part of my feast! mmmmmm

Happy Veteran's Day!

2009-11-11T03:01:00Z

I really need to do my part tomorrow to thank our Veteran's for all they have done for our country. I think it's great that we recognize this day and I also think it is great that my workplace does so as well. I worked all weekend at a table fair in a mall talking to folks about adoption and I really need a day off. While the fair was really successful and I am happy I was there, it was beautiful outside all weekend and I was rotting away in a stinking mall. On top of that, I spent $15 on a new pair of shoes for winter that I just had to have because 1. they are Rocket Dogs, which I love 2. the inside of the sole seems pretty sturdy and I somehow seem to ruin the inside of shoes and 3. I was sitting in the mall all weekend. I also managed to buy a purple sweater at JCPenny for $20 and new nose rings for another $20 and a book at Borders on clearance for $4. So, overall, I spent around $60 and didn't even realize it until Monday morning at work when I looked at my BB&T statement online. Oh well, I really needed the nose rings because my crystal fell out of my old one and I was wearing a temporary gold ball one that my director let me know looks like I have a "cliffy" when I wear it because the wire slightly hangs out of my nose from the inside! haha good to know! Have you all heard that term before? A "cliffy?" its a boog that's just hangin' out like on the edge of a cliff just waiting to be noticed.

I've been incredibly lazy this evening and didn't do my workout video. I've been doing Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred Level 1 video with my boy lately and I've been pretty good about doing it every day. The workout overall only takes around 25 minutes and it is a great workout that really gets you sweating. I've taken some before and after photos of myself and even though I haven't lost weight, I can definitely see and feel a difference - and NO, I will not be posting those photos on the internet!

Night.

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-30T19:49:00Z

Where will you be on the night of Halloween? My boy and I are going to The Purple Fiddle in Thomas, WV and I am going to dress as a woodland fairy - here is hoping for good times! Much love!

Blog change

2009-10-28T17:25:00Z

I can't seem to find a blog template that I really like and I haven't had the time to design one of my own. So, I will keep changing it until I really like one. Until then, please just hit refresh a few times on your browser and changes will apply themselves.

I thought I would post another jack-0-lantern photo that showed off just how cute these things are in the dark. I love the one with the smiley face and of course the scary face is cute too.

Last weekend, we played disc golf twice. On Saturday, we went out to Rotary Park in Huntington and just threw nine holes out of the 18 hole course. Saturday was cloudy, but the sun would shine through the trees from time to time. I love being outside with my boy. On Sunday, we threw discs around in a big field at Kanawha State Forest - no one was around but the two of us in what felt like the middle of the forest - the quiet was so peaceful and I really enjoyed it. I was taking pictures of leaves when we were at KSF and I loved the quiet that filled the space between us. I would take a few shots and then look up and watch my boy throw, much much farther than I could hope to. Fall is the best time of year and even though we've had a very rainy fall, it hasn't stopped us from enjoying it.

Jack-O-Lanterns!

2009-10-28T02:10:00Z

We carved pumpkins yesterday evening, can you guess which one I did and which one my boy did?! ha ha ha

I didn't get to carve pumpkins last year, so I am glad we took the time to do so this year - it just doesn't feel like Halloween to me if I haven't carved a jack-o-lantern and wasted a pumpkin by carving a face into it.

Thank goodness our carving kit came with gloves! I thought these were too cute! I've always wanted to dress up as a skeleton for Halloween, but have never done it. As a kid, my brother was once a skeleton and I think he wore black sweat pants and a sweatshirt with white tape on them in the shape of bones. This year, I am going to be a woodland elf/fairy with a pretty green dress, wings and little leaf halo thing for my head. I originally wanted to be like Arwen from The Lord of the Rings, but I haven't had much luck finding elven ear tips that look right.

Okay, my boy came into the room and he is being chatty and I can't think. I'll write again soon, I hope! Night everyone!

PS - what are you going to dress up as this year?!

A little of this and that

2009-10-14T01:55:00Z

My boy's Uncle has a pretty big organic garden in Wheeling and this year he had a huge garlic crop. We cook with garlic pretty often and I enjoy using my pampered chef garlic press. But, for easy cooking, Dave's gram and pap keep a jar of garlic in olive oil in the fridge and it is really handy. For example, she was showing me how to make hummus and when it was time for garlic she just popped a couple of cloves out of the jar and she was finished. We've been keeping our garlic in a hanging basket in the kitchen and it works out pretty well, but tonight I peeled about half of it and put it into one of my "new" blue canning jars that my boy's Aunt Nancy gave me. Now, not only do I have convenient garlic in my fridge basking in olive oil, it looks good too.

I am excited to use my pretty garlic cloves now and we plan on making pesto tomorrow so I am sure it will come in handy. Plus, organic garlic is a little more pricey and now we've got it for free!

In other news, I thought I would share a little of my pottery. I have decided that I am going to master making mugs before I try to move much beyond that. I've made several pretty mugs but really need to figure the whole glazing thing out because I think my stuff could be a lot prettier if I did a better job glazing.

This bowl was meant to be a mug that I made WAY TOO BIG and so, it turned into a bowl - and I might add it is a great sized bowl and will be a handy addition to my mismatched kitchen collection I seem to be working on.

I also made this mug and I think it would be more appropriate for tea because it is kind of small. I am not so sure I like how the glaze ran together at the top but I do like the bottom half.

Lastly, I do wish this photo was better because this mug really is quite adorable in my own humble opinion. It has trees that I carved out along the sides and the color is vibrant - I am calling it my Harry Potter Mug because I think Hagrid might give me tea in a mug like that if I wear to visit his hut. I know, I'm a dork.

Well, it has been a long night full of exercise (we are doing the 30 Day Shred and it's a killer), grocery shopping, and garlic peeling....I think I hear my new Body & Soul Magazine calling my name.

Baby it's cold outside

2009-10-08T17:21:00Z

So wow, fall is here and I am enjoying it. I started dating my boy this time last year so we have hit the big one year mark - we have now shared every holiday together. I'm not sure what we'll do to celebrate but I would like to ride bikes on the Greenbrier River Trail and then go to the Irish Pub for dinner - that was our second date this time a year ago. I can remember being at the Irish pub and walking back towards our table after going to the bathroom - I was watching him as he was watching the local Irish musicians and thinking to myself how handsome he looked and realizing that I wanted to give things a chance with this one. As for my boy, he realized that he might "have a thing" for me when he drove from Charleston to Milton so that he could repair my flat bike tire from the Greenbrier River Trail trip. Yep, on our second date we had just turned around after riding 15 miles and 1 mile into the way back my tire went flat and we were not prepared to fix it. So, for 14 miles we took turns sharing the good bike while the other rode the flat, but mostly, we walked. Even though I would hate for that to happen again, walking was nice and I don't think we stopped talking much the entire time and then the Irish pub with their awesome food and good collection of beer made it a great evening.

Since last fall, we've had tons of fun and I feel pretty happy with life right now. Of course I dream about living in Colorado or Northern California, but West Virginia is treating us pretty well. Here, we can mountain bike, hike, ski, etc. and those are our favorite things to do together. I can wait for snow and freezing temperatures, but I am pretty excited to head out to White Grass again this winter and go cross country skiing.

Last year, we soaked up the fall season pretty well and I think we are doing a good job so far this October. Last weekend we went to Oktoberfest at OgleBay in Wheeling and we had a great time. This weekend I am going to be in a friend's wedding and I hope I don't freeze to death! Next weekend is Bridge day and we have a campsite reserved for two nights - again, I hope I don't freeze to death! I don't know when we will get the chance to go to Lewisburg and relive one of our first dates, but I am sure we will before all of the leaves have fallen.

Disc Golfing in West Virginia

2009-09-30T20:14:00Z

My boyfriend introduced me to disc golf last fall and we've decided that the fall season is the best time of year to play. In the spring we had nothing but rain, the summer can be a bit hot and sticky, but the cool crisp air, the beautiful red, gold and orange leaves on the trees and the dry crunchy leaves covering the ground make for a great time to play disc golf (so long as your disc doesn't get lost under all of those nice crunchy leaves). Disc golf is becoming more and more popular and I can see why. I'm not great at this game (yet!) but I have so much fun and actually feel the stress leave my body when I chuck a disc through the woods. So far, we've been playing at the Rotary Disc Golf Course in Huntington, WV and my boy said there is a really nice course in Fairmont, WV and now there is a nice new course available at Little Creek Park in South Charleston, which is only a few minutes from my house! There are other courses in the state we haven't played yet, but it is nice to know that West Virginia offers several courses throughout the state. I actually found a website that lists the disc golf courses in West Virginia: WV Disc Golf Courses. The picture above was taken at Rotary Park near some pretty yellow mums someone planted.

I like this action shot of my boy who just threw the disc much further than I am capable. We've decided we want to practice and participate in a couples tournament. He is great at getting in the distance and I am on my way to becoming a pretty decent putter.

There I am, probably watching my disc roll down the side of the hill and out of bounds. But anyway, the point isn't if you are good or not, it is about getting outside, being active, and enjoying the game. I bought two new discs this week and I am very excited to use them, though I can't tonight because I have pottery. Speaking of pottery, I have been LOVING my pottery classes.

I made these mugs for Nina and her fiance Stephen. They are getting married on October 11th and I am a bridesmaid. I am excited for her because she seems very in love. I wrote their names and the wedding date on the bottom of the mugs. They are getting married in Wheeling at Oglebay and my boy and I are actually going there this weekend as well for Oktoberfest.

5 things

2009-09-19T01:45:00Z

That I am happy about right now at this exact moment:

1. My boy is home from Wheeling after being gone for a couple nights and we have spent the entire evening hanging pictures, doing laundry, cooking tomato sauce, etc. and it is SO nice to spend an evening at home.

2. I heard a beautiful song by Erica Wheeler on "Sidetracks" on NPR - WV Public Broadcasting and I loved it and love learning about new artists like her.

3. My tongue is starting to feel less burnt. I am one of those people who can't wait for food to cool down before I take a taste and I don't think that trait would fall into the category of "good traits." Are any of you like that? I don't know what my problem is...give me a STEAMING hot bowl of soup or a mug of hot tea and I am sure to take a big burning gulp.

4. It's Friday! I get to sleep in tomorrow morning in my own bed. We travel almost every weekend to visit family or go camping and I NEVER get to sleep in while in my own bed with the softest sheets ever made.

5. I have a bottle of wine chilling in the fridge...who knows when I will get to it...but it is nice knowing it is there.

The wedding

2009-09-09T17:40:00Z

So this update is a few weeks late but I thought I would announce that my big brother is now married and his wife is expecting a baby! She said she wanted to have babies right off and she wasn't kidding. The wedding was absolutely beautiful and Kelly Thompson did a great job with the photography...this is one of my favorite photos from the wedding.

I haven't been much in the mood for writing lately but I think I am coming back around. Blogging is interesting because it is a personal part of you and at the same time published online so that anyone in the world can see it. I enjoy sharing my life with my family and friends and I hope other people enjoy reading my blog too, but sometimes I have thoughts like "I haven't blogged in 9 days - I better blog" and it stresses me out and then I don't blog. So anyway, here is to blogging for me when I have the time while also hoping that you all keep reading and keep in touch - comments are nice and they keep me writing (wink wink).

My watermelons are still alive, well two of them, but they seem to be stunted. We have a lot of peppers still and our corn is finally starting to look like more than tall weedy grass.

I had a wonderful Labor Day weekend at home with the fam...we rode bikes at Ohiopyle PA, at dinner at the famous Mindard's, had some fun at a pig roast, cooked out, etc. etc. I probably gained some chub over the weekend.

So anyway, things are good for now and I am really happy for my brother and his new wife. I am especially excited to be an aunt!

Missing Grandpa

2009-08-26T23:14:00Z

I haven't been in the mood to write much for some reason. I've been enjoying life lately and taking things a day at a time. I think our tomato blight really knocked down my gardening aspirations, but I am starting to come back around.

This time last year I wrote a poem about my grandpa who untimely passed away during the previous spring...the summer was long and sad and with each new season I felt like I only missed him more. I still miss my grandpa very much and I have days or weeks where I think about him more than usual. I think with each change in season, with each new holiday approaching, I think about him and miss him and know how much he loved his family. So, here is a not so well constructed poem I wrote last fall.

If I had a coin to throw
I'd wish for a well
and then I would
SHOUT
for you
to come back to me and
hold my hand
make me feel whole again.

I was new when you met me and
didn't understand
all that we go through in life
the growing we must do
the love I would feel
the pain that would shoot
through me.

How can I still be here when there is no you?

My coin would hit the water
ripples would make ripples
and I'm just standing there
watching it sink
with wishes making wishes
that wishes can come true.

Knowing deep inside me that
wishing for a wish
is the very most I can do.

When I held your hand last
it was just me holding on
impossible to let you go
pretending now that
you are just waiting
for me
in another room
with all of your favorite things and people -
a place where time doesn't exist.

So to you
I am just in another room
and you will see me soon
but where I live
where every clock has a minute hand
the wait is too long
and
I miss you now.

It feels good to eat local

2009-08-19T23:29:00Z

Over the weekend, my boy and I went to the Capitol Market and bought a bunch of vegetables, peaches, and nectarines and it has all been so very delicious. I know some of the stuff at the Market comes from farms a few hours away, but it sure beats knowing that your food has traveled 3,000 miles to get to your plate. And of course, we could do better, the chicken was from Kroger I think - we need to look into signing up for the co-op so we can get local meats too. I took a "how many planets would it take to sustain your lifestyle" kind of quiz and even though I live in a small house, carpool, and get great gas mileage...my impact was still HUGE. Actually, I was most disgusted by how much energy it takes for meat to grow, be processed, delivered, and make it to my plate and into my mouth.

So anyway, there are a lot of great vegetables at the market right now and the flavor can't be beat. On a side note, did you notice the adorable teapot in the background? We got that at Marshalls for $7 bucks - score!

Also, because we have included so many vegetables in our life, we have been composting ever since we moved to Charleston. I was using a bucket that would get all gross, so I bought a pretty red counter top compost bucket the other week.

Composting cuts down on your garbage significantly - we usually only have one bag of garbage, sometimes two, on garbage day. So, if you don't compost already, I ask that it's a habit you start because it cuts down on garbage, goes back into the earth, and makes a world of difference - plus it is handy for gardeners!