Taking Care

I've always said, "Take care of your family, and take care of those who take care of your family".  Jacob's uncle has been in the hospital for a few weeks now and so we took a trip to see him last Thursday and then again on Sunday.  Of course, as any good southern woman does-- I took food!  Cookies, to be exact.  I figured they're easy to eat, no utensils required, and yummy.

Both recipes I used are from one of my favorite cooking blogs, The Girl Who Ate Everything.  Each time we went I took some cookies for the family, but I also took some cookies for the "ones who take care of my family" (the doctors and nurses).

I made S'mores Cookies that were fabulous (especially right out of the oven)!

The original idea for the sign was from here, but none of the designs really fit the bill so I tweaked it a little!  It says, "Thank you for your hard work and dedication to the medical profession.  We appreciate you. We need S'more people like you!"  The nurses loved the cookies and were so excited!

The second time we went I made Ooey Gooey Chocolate Cookies and they were fabulous as well.  I mean, it's a Paula Deen recipe....how could you go wrong?  I found the recipe for this cookie here.  I put these cookies in ziplock bags and attached these signs:

Here is a more clear picture of the signs.  You can also click on the picture to be taken to the site where you can download the template!

So you can take away two lessons:

1. Make these cookies.  You won't regret it.
2. Show others you care!  You won't regret it, either.

Front Yard Makeover

Not too long ago I fell on a plan to redo our front landscaping.  I had no clue what I wanted and no clue how to do it.  Not a good start to a project!  So, my Mom agreed to come down and help me buy plants, put them in the ground, and mulch!

Before even thinking about plants, I decided to ditch the cookie cutter builder bed (a ~3 ft. wide rectangle along the front and halfway down the side) and redo the actual design of the bed.  I wanted it curvy so Jacob and I spray painted the layout and he got to work cutting out the sod.  I helped by rolling it up into little logs :-)  Jacob did such a good job of cutting out the sod that he was getting the original sod netting up.

Since the bed was right in front of the house, I wanted it to look presentable year-round and be relatively low maintenance.  Having that said, we looked for plants that are evergreen and perennials.  Don't get confused-- perennial means the plants come back year after year.  Annual means the plant needs to replanted every year.

We did a tiered layout so that when the plants are fully developed, the larger plants will be in the back and the low growers in the front.  Here are some of the plants that we used:

Kaleidoscope Abelia

Fire Power Nandina (red in the fall/winter, green in the spring/summer)

Pink and Coral Drift Rose

Low growing sunrise Lantana

Frosted Violet Heuchera

Christa Heuchera

Zinnias (one of the only annuals)

Hydrangeas (we're thinking our blooms will remain blue-- it depends on the pH of the soil)

Acoma Crape Myrtle (dwarf and has white blooms)

Low growing Gardenias (the BEST smell in the world)

Queen Mum Agapanthus

Since the plants are not full-grown the bed doesn't look as full as it eventually will.  But, I must say.....it looks pretty amazing!  I love driving up to the house now to see our beautiful flowers and shrubs!  Here is a before and after:

And here are some close ups of the plants:





We bought all of our plants from Pinecone Perennials in New Bern and I LOVE THAT PLACE!!!!  They have gorgeous plants and very reasonable prices.  I also love the fact that when I went back (and back, and back--- haha) the owner knew my name, greeted me, and was "at my service".  I love a supporting small, local businesses........ especially when they have amazing service.  You can't put a price on that.

And after discovering my new favorite nursery, I also discovered another favorite.....HANGING BASKETS!!!!  I am officially obsessed with hanging baskets.  PP had amazing prices on their hanging baskets and were they ever gorgeous.  So, here is an upclose of my "baby".

This is a portulaca and the blooms are variegated.  Another cool tip- at night the blooms close up. Then when the sun comes up they bloom all over again.  Now how cool is that?!

My next project is to work on our back bed next to our screened in porch.  So, I will update you as that project comes along :-)

Until then......
Be productive!

Our Desperate Housewives Journey Comes to an End

Most of you know that Jacob and I do not have cable.  It is just not on our priority list.  Therefore, all of the shows that most people watch, we don't.  Well, that is until I discovered www.cucirca.com.  This website has a majority of the popular TV series online.  But, me being the OCD person that I am- cannot watch a TV show starting in the middle.  I have to start back from Season 1, Episode 1: The Pilot.  So about a year and a half ago Jacob and I started watching Desperate Housewives from the beginning.  At first, I thought it was kind of lame-- but then it just PULLS YOU IN like crack and you get addicted...haha!

So we've followed Lynnette, Susan, Bree, and Gabby through it all (even if it was a little later than most).
Season 1
   Season 2
  Season 3
  Season 4
  Season 5
  Season 6
  Season 7
  Season 8

Last night we finished the series......and I LOVED how they brought everyone back from across all 8 seasons.  But, I must say the ending left me hanging.  Maybe there will be a spinoff show?!  One can hope, right?  So until then, Jacob and I will find another show, start watching it from The Pilot, and a few years later be in the same position we are now :)

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 :)