Now Offering: FREE Piggy Back Rides!

Literally!!! And GET YOUR MINDS OUT OF THE GUTTER! Ethel wasn't being crude, she was just chillin' out like this :-) BFFs for life <3

As Happy as a Pig in a Mud Puddle

It was a GORGEOUS day outside today, so Jacob and I decided to spend most of the day outdoors. To start off the day, we visited with our piggie girls. I made a blueberry cobbler last night and saved the leftover blueberry juice (equal parts water and sugar + cooked down blueberry pulp) for the girls. June used to love it- so I figured Lucy and Ethel would too.

In fact, they loved the juice so much that they ended up getting in a "squeal" over it :-)

Just in case you didn't know....pigs are a lot like dogs! They love human interaction, they enjoy getting a belly rub/petted, and can even be trained like a dog. Jacob used to make June sit before she got her food! Here are Lucy and Ethel getting a little attention from their Momma ;)

When we left the large ladies to go weed our flower beds, they were chillaxin' in their mud puddle....just as happy as could be!

So, until next time- I hope that YOU are as happy as a pig in a mud puddle!!

A New Kind of Redneck

March 19 was Jacob's 27th birthday so, of course, we had an evening full of celebrations. I asked Jacob to get off work early because I had planned a little "surprise" for him! We met at home around 3:45 and then struck out for the first event of the evening.

A little background... Last October, Jacob went hunting in Raleigh and shot a really good size buck. So, after some encouragement, he decided to have it mounted. When we got back home, we took it to Gene (our local taxidermist). About a month and a half ago, I started talking to Gene to see if he could have the mount done in time for Jacob's birthday. Thankfully, Gene didn't let me down and had the deer ready.

I drove Jacob to Nature's Art Taxidermy and as soon as we pulled up, he knew what was going on! We talked to Gene, got some instructions, and then left with Jacob's newest, most prized possession!

After picking up the deer mount, we went home and hung it. Jacob wanted it to be in the living room by the fireplace, so being the considerate and loving wife that I am, I agreed.

So, in honor of our semi-new lifestyle-- a little redneck joke....

A redneck goes into a bar in Arkansas and orders a white wine. Everybody sitting around the bar looks up in surprise. Meanwhile, the bartender comes up and asks, "You ain't from around here, are you........where are you from, boy?"

The rednecks says, "I'm from Iowa."

The bartender asks, "What the hell do you do in Iowa?"

The redneck responds, "I'm a taxidermist."

The bartender asks, "A taxidermist.....now just what the hell is a taxidermist?"

The redneck answers, "I mount animals."

The bartender grins and shouts out, "It's OK boys; he's one of us!"

A Temporary Stay

This past Tuesday, Jacob and I went to a small hog operation in Lenoir County to offer two little pigs a home! Although I did not want to go on a weeknight because of the drive, we didn't really have any other choice. The farmer was planning on taking all of his piglets that were under show size to a feeder pig sale for slaughter.

After our first hog growing experience (with June), we knew that we wanted to give it another go. The day we took June to be slaughtered I was a MESS. No, really. I cried off and on all day and said we were never doing that again. Well, like they say...time heals all pain. I would also like to add that, in this case, so did the taste of some seriously delicious pork! This was our last family picture with June on the day that she was taken to the slaughter house.

From start to finish, it cost us about $430 to raise June and we got back over 150 pounds of meat. It averaged out to be about $2.92/lb. Not only is that a great deal, but we also knew exactly what she ate and got back some very high quality meat. So with those things in mind, we set out on our journey to get our TWO new piggies.

The place we found in Lenoir County was SO COOL! There were TONS of pigs at every stage of the game from a few weeks old all the way up to sows and one ginormous boar. They were kept in open-air hog houses (of a sort) that were indoor/outdoor. The facilities were really nice and well kept. The pigs also looked very happy and healthy.

We picked the two pigs we liked the best, paid up, and headed for home with the little ladies in the dog box :-) After a brief stop by Bojangles for dinner, in which the pigs were rocking the truck back and forth, we arrived at home with our new guests. We built their pig pen the weekend before out of hog panels and T-posts so it was all ready to go for them.

So now, I am pleased to introduce you to the newest members of the Morgan family: Lucille and Ethel!

The pink pig is Lucy and the black and white pig is Ethel. They are BFF's-- they eat together, run around together, and snuggle up with each other at night.

Here are some pictures of their setup---

They have an automatic feeder and waterer. We also have a solar powered electric fence run around the bottom of the pen so the little girls won't escape. For the time being, we plan on giving Lucy and Ethel a fabulous home with lots of FLC (food, love and care)! Then, come June (the month, not the pig) their stay will end and they will join their sister that came before them......at freezer camp :)

My First Sushi Making Experience

I have always really liked sushi rolls...

...and when one of my Mom's Japanese friends brought sushi to our Thanksgiving lunch, it inspired me to learn how to make it!! So today was my day. I made one of my favs, a California roll. I used Alton Brown's recipe and dove right in. First, Jacob and I went to Wal-Mart after church to purchase the ingredients. The ingredients were about $15, but several of the items (sushi rice, rice vinegar, bamboo rolling mat, seaweed wraps) can be used multiple times.

First thing I made was the rice, which is VERY sticky. I had to prepare this much earlier because the rice has to cool completely, to room temperature.

Next, I prepared the "innards"- cucumber, avocado, and crab sticks and put them each in bowls.

Then, the sushi roll assembly line began. I was actually quite surprised how easy it was. The recipe made 8 total rolls and as I went, my sushi rolls got tighter. So, I've learned for next time :)

When I finished, I had 8 sushi rolls cut into sixths! I was quite impressed with myself.

Moral of this story: If you like sushi, try making it yourself! It was easy, relatively inexpensive, and DELICIOUS!!!

"Ringing" in the New Year with a Trip Down Memory Lane

As Jacob and I were taking down our Christmas decorations today, I took some time to look at our Christmas cards again. I usually keep all the cards I get, but they get so scattered. So I took a second, to organize our Christmas cards from this year.......which also led to the organization of last year's Christmas cards. All I did was order the cards from shortest to tallest. Then I hole punched the cards and put them on rings. Here is what the final product looked like:

I'll eventually go back and make a "header sheet" for each set so I know what year they are from!

As I was digging out last year's Christmas cards, I also fell on a plan to eventually organize all of my greeting cards from over the years (thank you notes, birthday cards, engagement/wedding cards, etc.) by the year they were given. In the mean time, I stumbled across some sweet and funny cards that took me on a little trip down memory lane.

A sweet card from right before my Grandad passed away.

A birthday card from one of my best friends.

A birthday card from my parents for my 19th birthday.

A card from Jacob which is HILARIOUS! I don't know if you can see his quote in the writing, but in the card he wrote, "Being married to you is like breathing: Sometimes I get choked up and think its going to kill me but then most of the time its completely natural!" LOL.....and he was so proud of that....

This is actually one of Jacob's birthday cards from his brother, Parker. But we definitely got a kick out of it while we were looking back through our collection.

So, for all of the people out there who don't want to spend a dollar or two (or seven now-a-days) on a card, just know that there are people out there who keep them and enjoy looking back at them! Now, you should go "ring" in your new year by organizing your Christmas cards. You never know....it just may take you on a sweet journey as well!

She's Country

Well, it has been over 2 years since my last blog post. I had just gotten married and was living blissfully unaware of what my future would hold! And now, as it seems, my life has done a complete 360 and I may be what you would call a "Country Girl"! I changed the name of the blog to a line from one of my very favorite songs- She's Country by Jason Aldean.

So, on that note, here are the top ten things (and that's narrowed down) that may qualify me as such. You know you're a country girl when...

1. You raise a pig in your backyard, name the pig, and then slaughter it!
2. You spend WAY too much money on a chicken coop.
3. You can shoot your guns right out of your back door, and do so.
4. You own a Deere!
5. There is a coon dog in your back yard.
6. Cowboy boots are a staple in your wardrobe.
7. You go to town only on the weekends.
8. You drive a pickup truck to work (with a dog box in the back).
9. You sincerely don't like city taxes and would never move back just to avoid them.
10. You put all of your farm animals on your family Christmas card!

All in all, I love my life and wouldn't change a single thing! I have learned so much over the past three years. And for these reasons, I officially understand the saying, "You can take a girl outta the country, but you can't take the country outta the girl".