Bookworm

Soooooo... Hello again loves! I sincerely apologize for my absence but you know how life is! In the past however long, I have been busy busy busy! Mostly wedding planning, we moved, and I have lost almost 15 pounds!

So anyway, the reason for my return is this: I signed up for a service today that is basically like Netflix for books and I really wanted to tell you about it! At first I was thinking it would just be a facebook post but it just kept getting longer and longer!

I have always been a reader. In high school I took a class called Great Books, and actually passed it with OVER 100. I love reading. Lately though, life has gotten in the way. I have read some books here and there that I was really interested in, but not nearly as much reading as I've wanted to. But with summer coming up and not as much good TV in the summer, I went out and bought Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.

I have wanted to read it for a while, and heard it was good, it being all over the internet and everything. I am not done with it yet but mannnnn it is getting good!!! I definitely recommend it. (By the way I hear there is a big twist, and if you ruin it for me, so help me!!!) Please don't. No spoilers here!

So since I am planning on getting back into reading full throttle, I have been thinking about how to go about this without A) buying every book I want to read and going broke, and B) having to leave my house (GASP!) and scour the library for a book I want to read, and have to worry about when it needs to be returned.

Please note: I do not have an e-reader. I just like to hold a real-life book in my hands, and turn a real-life page, and mark it with a real-life bookmark. It's a nostalgia thing I think. The only thing Carrie Bradshaw and I have in common. Ha.

I did some google-ing and found Booksfree.com. It is Netflix for books. They have actual books, as well as audiobooks. You can choose a plan depending on how many books you want at a time, and create a queue of all the books you want to read.

I can tell this is going to be dangerous because just in the last few hours I have accumulated a queue of 48 books!! I seriously can't wait to get started. Warm weather, sitting on the new screen porch with a cold drink and a good book.... perfection! 

Here is a screen shot of my queue, with the first two books I will receive up at the top. 

My first 2 books should arrive just in time for me to finish up Gone Girl. I can't wait for these two either.

The Shack by William P. Young I have heard crazy good things about.

And seriously who doesn't love Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery? I was given the first 4 in a set when I was like 10 or 12 maybe. I remember loving them and have been wanting to reread the series. I loved these stories about the quirky red headed girl with the big imagination. Summer is the perfect time to start them again!

I am so excited! I for sure know what I will be doing when I get home today, sorry chores!

Really, Dude?!

Yesterday I stumbled upon this Buzzfeed on facebook, 27 Painfully Awkward Things That Never Stop Being Awkward. It's pretty funny you should check it out. And then, today at the gym, #21 happened to me.

Except with treadmills. 

Really, dude?!?

Isn't it just some kind of common courtesy, when there are 30 other empty treadmills! It was 2:30pm on a Monday afternoon, not like it was 5:30 and the place was packed. He was weird too. He ran the whole time holding onto the top of the treadmill, and he was short so it put him in a weird reclined position. 

I purposely picked a treadmill next to one that was out of order on one side of me. Maybe I will start bringing my own out of order signs. Ha. That's actually a great idea I think...

A Nickal Family Recipe

If you were to ask me to think about a recipe that has been passed down in our family, I would have to think pretty hard because there aren't many, but our family's favorite is probably this one. My family came to America from Germany, through Ellis Island. Out of that heritage, and the need to feed a large family during the depression era, this recipe was born. 

Can you tell this thing has been around a while?
I transferred the recipe to a recipe card last weekend.

We all love this recipe but it can be labor intensive, so we only have it once or twice a year. It's so yummy though that I had to share.

Cabbage Bread
Ingredients
1 lg. head cabbage
2 lbs. ground beef
2 lg. onions, chopped
1 lb. carrots

2 boxes hot roll mix -or- 3 loaves of frozen bread dough

First saute the ground beef. Then add the onion and cabbage. Saute until soft, stirring often.

Add the carrots, saute another 10 minutes or so, until soft.

The original recipe did not call for carrots, but they add more flavor and nutrients to the dish.

Here is another place that we deviate with the recipe. I'm sure the original original called for a homemade bread dough. In the recipe that was handed down from my Aunt, she uses 2 boxes of Pillsbury hot roll mix, that still has to be mixed up, left to rise, punched down and then left to rise a few more times until it is ready. 

My mom used a ready made frozen bread dough this time around to see how it would come out. It was so much easier and just as delicious! She used 3 loaves. She took it out of the freezer the night before, and let it thaw in the fridge overnight. The next morning she took them out of the fridge and set them in the sun, covered in plastic wrap, so they could rise. You will want to make sure the plastic wrap is pressed right down on the dough or else it will get a crust on it, which we don't want because we are going to split up the dough. The dough will about double in size.

Once we were ready to make the rolls, my mom took each risen loaf and rolled it out to about 3/4" thick. Then cut the dough into 6 equal squares.

In each square she placed about 2 big spoons on filling,

Then bring opposite corners together, and make sure to pinch the seams tight!

The cabbage breads were then placed seam side down on greased cookie sheets. Make sure you leave a bit of room here because they have to rise again.

I sprayed the top of the loaves with cooking spray, then covered with plastic wrap and a towel to allow to rise. Once they were about double in size they were ready for the oven. 

These go into a preheated oven @ 375. Bake for about 20-30 minutes until golden.

Then eat! We like them with ketchup, I don't know if that's weird or not? :)

Our Autumn Tradition

I first talked about our kinda weird fall tradition in this Sunday Social post, and last weekend we made our annual trip. We were about a week later than we usually go so the action wasn't top notch, but it's still always fun to go. Here are our pics from the day.

Once the baby salmon are big enough, they are released here in CNY, as well as all over the US. The salmon will always remember where they were released, and they will go back to that location every single year of their life to breed!

We always go through town to see the fly fishermen. It is fun to see them fight with a big fish.
Sometimes the fish win, sometimes they lose.

Last year we learned about a waterfall that is nearby, and this yeah we decided to visit. It was so cool to see!

Pics from the trail

 Views from the top

We witnessed a crayfish standoff.
Riveting I know...

a panorama I took of the top of the waterfall, from one side to the other

Ruby got a new bed that day too! Jeffry was impulse purchasing... But it's pretty and it matches our bedroom!

sweet girl!

Phew those pics have been a long time coming! Sorry I have been so MIA! I have been wasting my time pinning wedding things. But I'll try and be better I promise! xoxo

We Interrupt Your Previously Scheduled Content....

For an engagement announcement!!!! I couldn't be more happy to share with you guys that Jeffry and I got engaged over the weekend!

photo cred goes to my bestie /MOH, she was all like "you'll thank me later!"
Thanks Bestie :)

Here's how it all went down...

You kind of have to know Jeffry, but he is a bit of a treasure hunter. He always has his eye out for things, he's always finding things, and he loves shows like Gold Rush and Diggers. I know I don't get it either. But when he told me about a week ago that he was getting a metal detector from his cousin, I didn't think twice. We live in a pretty old house with a good sized yard, and he has found really old coins before without even trying. So I thought nothing of it.

So Saturday morning, while I'm lounging with my coffee, he tells me he is going to go metal detect the yard. Ok, great, have a good time. After maybe 40 minutes (really no idea on time but it was a little while) He comes inside and calls for me to come see what he found. (This is where I'm like uhhhh can't you just come show me on the couch?? lol) So I get up and go into the kitchen, where he has a lunch pail, with what I assume is a bunch of old stuff in it.

The lunch pail is zipped up so I can't see what's in it. Jeffry is kneeling on the floor and I am standing, and one by one he pulls out an old spark plug (whoopie!) an old window latch (hooray) and a rusty old screwdriver (crazy, I know). And then he pulls out the ring. I say "OMG shut up!", he says "will you marry me?", I say "is that real?", he says yes, I say yes! and then we hugged it out. So romantic right?! Lol.  Neither one of us really have a romantic bone in our bodies, but I love the way he did it because it was so him, ya know?

Oh yeah, did I mention I was in my pajamas? And unwashed hair? Oh well!

And of course I love the ring! It's a 6-prong solitaire with a skinny band, just like I wanted :)

I am so excited to start planning, and so excited to be marrying this man. I love you babe :)

Fall, Locally

It is finally starting to feel like fall here in CNY, and the weather has been gorgeous! Here are some pics from a walk we took on Sunday.

Starting our walk. This was out first time walking the new-ish creek walk in Chittenango, my hometown.
Note the "yellow brick road"

Such a gorgeous sunny day!

You know our girl likes to swim!

There's no filter on any of these pics. I could have stayed out here all day!

All the sticks that Ruby "saved" She likes to pull them out of the water and deposit them on shore. She saved a leaf too.

After our walk we stopped over at my parents. Another one of Ruby's favorite places.
Here she is about to jump for her toy!

Oh my goodness I love these two!!

Watch out daddy here she comes!! 

Where were you?

It was 12 years ago today, and I remember it almost like yesterday. And I'll never forget it.

I was in 10th grade. It was the beginning of 3rd period, we had all just settled into our seats in chorus. The chorus director came out of his office, a man respected by all who would attend Chittenango High School during his time there, a man we all called 'C'. One look at his face and there was instant silence, even in a room built for the acoustics. It was then that he broke the news.

Being only 15, it was something hard for us to wrap our heads around. Being New Yorkers, even from upstate, we knew what the Towers were, and some of us had family in the city. We felt the shock, sadness, fear and anger along with everyone else.

The rest of the day passed like a dream. I remember it almost like I was watching it happen from above. Little work was accomplished. Any teacher who had a TV or a radio had it on. 

The mood was somber when I got home. To say the least. My dad was home, I don't remember why. But he was glued to the television. By that time, the towers had both collapsed, with hundreds of civilians and first responders inside. Being a firefighter himself, he deeply felt every loss. I feel like that sentence doesn't do justice to the pain he was feeling. He was also still dealing with the loss of his good friend and partner in a house fire, just that past March.

It's hard to stomach someone losing their life, and even harder to fathom someone losing their life trying to save others. But being a fire fighter takes a special breed. Obviously not anyone can run into a burning building while others are running out. And if you know a firefighter you know they love what they do. It's almost a strange love, to an outsider. You're not just a firefighter from 9 to 5, but 24/7. My parents got their first microwave, because my father was always having to run out in the middle of dinner, to go help someone else.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention all those first responder spouses here as well. It takes a strong person to stand behind a firefighter, always with that voice in the back of your mind when you kiss goodbye in the morning, wondering if it would be the last. My mother did it for over 25 years before my father retired, and I ask myself sometimes if I really could do the same. I'm not sure that I could.

Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia

Custer National Cemetery, Crow Agency, Montana

Woodlawn National Cemetery, Elmira, New York

Fallen Firefighters Memorial, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Today I am thinking about everyone who lost their life that day, as well as everyone who lost a loved one. I am thankful for the men and women who have fought for our freedom in the years that have followed. I will never forget the sacrifices made that day, and all the days since. 

God Bless America.