A Pennsylvanian Thanksgiving

On Wednesday of last week we made a wild dash to rearrange our Thanksgiving plans.  We made a last minute decision to travel to Pennsylvania to visit Jesse's grandfather.  He recently had a stroke at the ripe age of 95.  Jesse had not seen his Grandpa is ~8 years! (Can you believe that?!  Having all my family so close makes this a little unbelievable to me.  But it just hasn't worked out for him to be able to go through the past years.)  This also means that I had never met Grandpa!  So we decided to load up and make the trek northward in case anything happened.
Grandpa was so excited to see Jesse when we got there.  It was too sweet.  He greatly appreciated us coming so far just for him.  Grandpa amazes me.  Until this point he still lived by himself (in a retirement-like home) and got around pretty well.  (Although he made sure we knew that having his driver's license taken away was a very sad day for him.)  Anyway, he has black lung from years of working in the coal mines and clogged up arteries, but he keeps on ticking, and with a good memory too!  He recognized Jesse even waking him up from his rest when we arrived, and asked Jesse about his job and remembered that I was in school.  He was tickled that there will be a Dr. B one day.  He laughed and said, "Boy, we sure have come a long way!"  He slept for most of our visit, but by Saturday he had perked up and talked with us for nearly 45 minutes before we left.  It was a great ending to our trip!
There's not a whole lot to see near Girardville, PA except rows of row houses...

This one was the prettiest:

...but we did pull off and inspect a coal power plant that was located on an old strip mine:

We also went to the nearby town of Centralia, which literally caught on fire back in the 60's from a boot-leg coal mine.  The entire town was burning underground because of all the coal.  It was evacuated, except for the few stubborn people who refused to move and endure the coal fumes and risk of the ground caving in.  There is still underground burning today, and you can see smoke coming up in places. Pretty cool!

One highlight of the trip was our late night outing for hot hamburgers from Tony's.  I've heard about these hamburgers, known as Screamers, since Jesse and I started dating... 9 years ago!  Tony's is a local place that has been serving up hamburgers and hotdogs covered in spicy sauce for many, many years.  I found this online review and loved the guys description:

"Screamers are a legendary hamburger with Tony's hot sauce and onions with a buttered bun, just as described.  They are hot, no question about it.... The other Tony's staple is the Growler, which is a hot dog prepared in the same fashion.... The typical happy meal at Tony's is 2 Screamers chased by a guers Iced Tea or a Chocolate Milk. The milk seem to cool the bite of the hot sauce a little better than the tea.  The place is open from about 8:30 PM til about 2:30 or 3 AM. Despite the name Tony's Lunch, it is not open for lunch.... The sauce cannot be purchased to take home. The recipe is more secret than launch codes."

Obviously a local favorite- people line up down the street for these hot hamburgers, so we had to get one while we were in town.  Since Jesse or his parents were last there, they added marshmallow fluff to the burgers. Now, I know this sounds weird, but it was surprisingly good, and I couldn't have made it through the spiciness without it!

I got to meet more of his dad's side of the family, and we had a wonderful Thanksgiving meal with them.  They had a few things unfamiliar dishes in their spread, like Mashed Potato Filling and Jewish Apple Cake. The filling is their version of stuffing, which as most of you know is really called dressing. :)  And the apple cake was incredibly moist! I need to get these recipes and share them with you fellow southerners because we are missing out!

Jesse's great grandfather owned a store front on the front side of their house many years ago, and it has their (our) last name across the front in beautiful stained glass.  So of course, we had to stop and take pictures!

Oh, and we had pizza at another local stop.  It was too delicious not to mention. (We are food people. In case you haven't noticed.)

High Five for Friday!

1.  We tested the effects of some ocular drugs (drops that would either dilate or constrict the pupil) on accommodation (which allows you to change your focus from distance to near objects) in physiology lab this week.  Erika was a trooper with her Pilocarpine, then could barely see to read the lensometer in the following optics lab. :)

2.  A much awaited package arrived at our door this week.  Halo 4.  Much awaited by Jesse, less so by yours truly.

3.  I snagged some AWESOME deals at Hobby Lobby this week on fall decor.  80% off before Thanksgiving has even passed!  I guess the 12 aisles of Christmas stuff they put out in July is not enough room.

4.  I read a post on a blog I recently started following, written by an awesome woman about her journey through this life God has given her and how He has helped their family through hard times- adultery and special needs children.  She's very inspiring and I love her writing.  Her post made me smile, you should read it here.

5.  We started a very eye-opening/encouraging/humbling video in our community group this week on discipleship and sharing Jesus- why we don't and why we should.  We've only made it through 1/3 of it (because it's 3 hours long), but I'm looking forward to the rest.  You can check it out here.

Christmas Card List Printable

From time to time I get really inspired and crafty, and I stir up my inner "graphic designer" and decide to create printable documents for various needs or occasions. Some of you have seen my "work" first hand through a few invitations I've created along the way (including my own wedding invitations).  I would like to start sharing those that could benefit others (making them good enough to share gives me practice at these creations).  I often get ideas from printables I find on Pinterest (see my whole board dedicated to printable things here), but they are not always specific to my needs, so I make my own!

And, since it is time to start thinking of sending all those merry wishes, I thought some of you may like a copy of my latest "printable" - the Christmas Card List!  I decided to make this to house not only addresses, but to check off who I sent one to, and who I received one from.  (Now, this is not to keep tabs on you all who don't send us a Christmas card.  I thought it would be interesting to see who does send one our way, and I can add to our list if we receive an unexpected card.)

(click here to download the PDF)

It is a 4-page document that goes up to #66 because that was what would fit on 4 pages, which I thought was plenty.  If you find that you have more than 66 loved ones you would like to wish a Merry Christmas, please let me know and I can email you a document with additional pages!

Enjoy!

High Five for Friday

Wooo hoooo!  It's Friday!   Some weeks Fridays are worth celebrating more than others, and for me, this week is one of those weeks.  Not because we have any big plans for the weekend, in fact the lack of plans is what has me celebrating.  School overload has occurred this week, and I'm just ready to relax!

1.  This past Saturday we had Thanksgiving with Jesse's side of the family.  I know, it was early, but it was really nice!  Those that cooked didn't have to fight the grocery crowds and we went shopping afterward without chaos.  We all loaded up and went to the Peanut Festival in the evening.  It was my first Peanut Festival and was directed to all the right vendors to get the best food from:  corn dogs from the corn dog man, roasted corn from the roasted corn man, kettle corn from the kettle corn man, and funnel cakes from the local band boosters.  The festival was complete with an exotic petting zoo and a sea lion show which was pretty impressive!

2.  We moved our voter registration not too long after we moved here, and finally got to really vote (in comparison to absentee voting).  Although the election didn't go quite like we hoped, we were still able to express our voice.

3.  More fall food inspiration: squash!  Spaghetti squash and butternut squash!  The spaghetti squash made it onto our plates last night, but I'm not sure yet where the butternut will wind up.  So many wonderful ways to cook it.

4.  On the way back home from our "holiday" weekend we were able to swing by and visit with a few friends along the way:  good ole Chase (and his critters), and the newly weds Jarrod and Jennifer who were even kind enough to prepare a lunch feast for us. :)

5.  Not such a great highlight, but Jesse was able to repair a couple of things on my car after having it serviced, which saved a lot of $$$ and now my dash is no longer flashing at me.  (He's so handy... when he wants to be.)

A Happy Birthday

Today is Jesse's birthday!  I'm sure we will go out for dinner tonight, but we actually did most of our celebrating a few weekends ago while I was on fall break.  We took an early birthday trip to Chattanooga to Ruby Falls and their Zipline Adventure Course.  It was actually a surprise trip - so much so that he didn't know where we were going until we pulled up at our final destination!  I tried to pick something unexpected and geared more towards something he would choose to do instead of me, because he deserves a fun little getaway.  He does so much around the house, without complaint, so that I can study.  I am so blessed with his love and support, so I wanted to (partially) return the favor.

Saturday morning we loaded up bright and early with no clues as to where we were headed.

I had wanted to take him back to the zipline course when we saw it on our last trip to Chattanooga, but turns out that he didn't even remember there being a zipline course!  So he still didn't know my plan until we arrived!  (I was a little proud of myself for keeping the secret so long!)

Due to the long wait when we arrived we decided to go inside Ruby Falls first.  It was neat to see the different rock formations.  (Was reminded of the terms stalagmite and stalactite from, you know... 4th grade.)

And the original passageway to the falls was so tiny! 

(the tiny gap behind the sign)

The grand finale of the cave of course is the falls:

Then we had lunch at their cafe, gaining strength for our big adventure!

And went to the lookout tower:

We headed back to the zipline course and barely had to wait before we were strapping our gear on.  Now, I won't lie.  I was a bit nervous.  I've never done anything like this before, and it wasn't just a simple zipline.  It was a whole obstacle course where you went from platform to platform in the treetops walking across rope bridges, planks, or tight ropes! (check out their website here for pictures) Unfortunately they don't allow cameras on the course, so I had to resort to posting pictures of pictures they took of us going down the zipline.

This was SO much fun, and Jesse was proud of my surprise.  :)

Let's Catch Up

Hello there.

I know it seems like I forgot about you all.  I'm behind on my blog posting (and reading the other blogs I follow), which is funny because life actually slowed down a little bit around here.  It's been good taking a little time to actually relax.

But let's recap what's went on around here in the past week or so:

The past two weekends I have finally given in to the Yard Sale signs that are always lurking on Saturday mornings.  Best thing ever!  I should have been yard sale hopping all summer long!  Yard sales usually mean junk sales, and while you do have to weed through a bit of junk, most of the sales I've been to have been full of pretty nice stuff.  Between the two weekends we've picked up the following for super cheap:  a magazine rack, a metal floor/standing fan, a basket for the kitchen counter, K-cups (at a weird estate sale I happened upon), cute metal Christmas tree candle holders, and a purse.  Plus, it's fun to browse around people stuff and chat with them - you can learn a lot about a person in such a short time that way.

I made a batch of pumpkin muffins.  One of my favorite things about fall is pumpkin.  Pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin coffee, pumpkin Poptarts (yes, this is real), pumpkin bagels (I've only heard rumor of these, but I've got to try them).  I've had my can of pumpkin in the pantry since last fall, but you can't just whip out of a can of pumpkin anytime of year.  It's just not right.

I introduced a few of my friends to Steel City Pops last week.  Just spreadin' the goodness.  I'm so glad they enjoyed it- so much so that where planning to go back before we left!  It might just become the new stress relief place after long days of studying.

Now this, my friends, is BREAKING NEWS!  I have been begging kindly asking my dearest husband to build a mantel shelf to go over our fireplace for months a while.  And this weekend my dreams came true! (Well...they are on their way of coming true.)  We got up Saturday morning and headed straight to Home Depot to get the supplies.  Due to my impatience of not wanting to wait until the next time we go home to Luverne to use dad's saw that can make all the nice cuts for us, we were going to buy a miter box and had prepped ourselves with youtube tutorials on how to make this work the hard way.  But, every time we go to Home Depot, we always run into the same employee to ask for help, and he is one of the most helpful and most giving people I've ever met.  He was going to let us (who he doesn't really know) borrow his big (read: expensive) saw to make our mantel, but then he remembered that the store has one.  Now, I don't know if he should have been using it to help us or not, but he did.  Which allowed us to leave the store with perfectly cut pieces, ready to be assembled! It's not complete yet - a little priming and painting to go - you will know when it's ready, believe me!  I have so many ideas of how I want to decorate it (thank you, Pinterest).
Side note that is worth mentioning:  It's so nice when people go above and beyond to help others.  Unfortunately, that's rare in today's world, which is a shame.  We are so busy and fast paced that we don't take the time to notice people and their needs, or are too afraid to inconvenience people or be inconvenienced.  Some people are just made with a spirit of giving, but if we all tried to be a little more like our Home Depot friend here, the world would be a much better place.

Tonight we were invited for a little impromptu pumpkin carving party.  We chose to carve an owl this year, which turned out pretty good!  Equally as impressive was the eek! pumpkin, the pumpkin within a pumpkin, and the family of candles pumpkin.  And it was complete with apple crisp.  I almost let studying stand in the way of having a great time with friends (and pumpkins), but I'm so glad I didn't. :)

What are you doing to enjoy this fall season?

High Five for Friday

Good morning and Happy Friday!!  It almost doesn't feel like Friday to me because I had a "short week" this week.  But I will take another weekend with no complaints!

1.  This past weekend we celebrated Jesse's birthday early with a trip to Chattanooga.  I surprised him by taking him to the Ruby Falls Zipline Adventure course!  We also went through Ruby Falls since we were already there.  More pictures and a post to come about this!

2.  Matthew and Heidi came to visit again on Saturday/Sunday, and we got to introduce Heidi to Steel City Pops.  They are now creating fall flavors like pumpkin and buttermilk which are fabulously delicious! While there, we brainstormed all the flavors they should make for Christmas.  (Can you tell we are a bit addicted to these popsicles?!)

3.  Monday and Tuesday was my Fall Break!  I spent it studying for my Ocular Anatomy midterm for Wednesday, but it did allow me to spend Saturday and Sunday having fun and not thinking about school! (A much needed mini-break!)

4.  Our little Maggie got sick again this week with her sensitive stomach issues, but thankfully we have a wonderful, really sweet vet office just around the corner that takes excellent care of her.  They were willing to take her in bright and early yesterday morning and keep her to monitor her during the day instead of sending her home with meds for us to figure out how to manage.

5.  Jesse brought me a cupcake home from the tailgate-themed Boss Appreciation Day they had at work this week.  He knows how to make me happy: chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting.  :)  It was also a nod to quote "what I do all the time" (which is evident by the background on the photo).

Have a lovely weekend!