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Brody Stories: Snow Lovin’

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HI!

Hiya hide Ho Guys!

It’s been a while since I’ve visited Mom’s blog, so I thought I’d give you an update on the puppy life.

Since it has gotten cold mom has stopped running outside with me, but I don’t mind so much, because no I get to go to Day Care once a week right near here work. It’s great; I absolutely love Miss Shawna and all my friends I get to play with them all day! Sometimes afterward I’m so tired I don’t even eat my dinner and I just get in bed when I get home. It’s THAT MUCH FUN!

Another thing that’s a lot of fun is snow. I wasn’t sure about it at first but now I love it. I love to run and jump in it and make it fly all up in the air. I like to attack it while mom and dad are shoveling, so I end up with it all over my face. I really like to run in it, I feel like a little bunny jumping through it all.

The thing I don’t get is snow balls. Dad makes them and throws them for me to get but right after he throws them I either loose them, or if I try to bite them they disappear. It’s crazy!

Know what else is crazy. My mom. She’s been really into cuddling lately. She’s always trying to pull me under the covers on the couch and snuggle her. Sometimes I really like it because it’s really warm and I get sleepy, but other times I have to be like “mom, no. I’ve got to be able to roam free and bark at the wind when it makes the house creak. It’s kinda my job ya know?” She doesn’t get it, but they never do do they?

Well I’ve got to get going for now. Hope you all have a great weekend!
 

Jade and Oak

Brody Stories No. 3

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HI GUYS! Hi hi hi HAI!!

I thought I would stop by and see what’s going on.

In case you haven’t heard (which I’m sure you have because my mom is telling everyone) my parents are getting married. This means we will be a real family and I am so excited about that.

Except my mom has kind of been acting like a crazy person lately.
Can you get nesting syndrome from getting engaged? That must be the case because she has it. Suddenly nothing in this house is good enough, and there’s all these new rules. Like how she’s making dad remember to take the garbage out on time, so the pile of recyclables by the door that I like to play with is never there anymore.
She’s redecorating again! So now there’s gonna be new pillows I can’t chew on and she’s trying to talk dad into getting rid of my favorite chair to jump on. It’s like I’m getting demoted from being first priority around here.

It’s ok though while she is running around trying to clean the house I make sure to follow her around and stand right in her way so that she doesn’t forget about me.

We’ve also been go go going, all the darn time. Every. Single. Weekend. We go here or there and do this or that, there is all this family stuff to do now, and people that want to see us. Plus I think moms whole blogging thing is working out because now she has all these side projects that I’m not sure she is keeping up with.

I hope things calm down soon because the holidays are coming and from what I’m hearing those are crazy enough. I want to slow down and enjoy the fall! I really like it, it’s nice and cool like it was in the spring when I was born, but there’s apples everywhere! And I LOVE apples.

They are one of the few treats I’m allowed to share with my parents, they don’t usually let me do that, but I guess apples are good for me so they let me eat them.

Welp, there a raw hide waitin for me behind the couch, thanks for chatting with me! I hope you have a great Friday!

Guest Post: Homemade Tortillas

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Hey guys! As you know I am in the very hectic process of starting a new job and moving so Tiffany from The Dwelling Tree is here to lend me a hand.

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Hey everyone! I am super excited JC asked me to share a recipe with all you Sweet Love and Ginger followers. She is a talented gal, and cooks up awesome meals.

My name is Tiffany and I blog over at The Dwelling Tree. My husband and I are big foodies, and love to host dinner parties. The only problem: we are also frugal. Behold! There are plenty of ways to host dinner for friends on a dime (not really a dime, but you get the point).

Dining with friends and family is one of life’s greatest joys. I think the best meal times are full of laughter, jokes, and stories. I come from a large Hispanic family. My favorite tradition was when we had tamales for Christmas. Many families have a plated, sit down dinner, then clean up and move on. Not our family! The tamales, beans, rice, and margaritas flowed ALL night! No feeling embarrassed by getting into the leftovers and re-heating it.  The food was the centerpiece of our night, and joy and festivity danced around it. While this may not have been good for my waistline, it was good for my soul and taught me an important lesson- food should be fun,  not serious. Gathering around a meal means memories and belly laughs! Or perhaps a good game of Texas Hold’em. 

I want to share with you all a delicious and time-tested recipe that all of our guests have loved. We make our own home made tortillas. There is nothing like them. They are soft and doughy and have a crisp in certain parts. Once I eat a home made tortilla, it is so hard to eat store bought! These are easy to make- you probably already have the ingredients in your pantry. Plus, you can make them anytime. Last night we cooked up some refried beans, ground chicken, and topped them off with salsa and avocado and we had last minute tacos. Muy Bien! 

Hand Made Tortillas
2 and 3/4 cup flour
1/3 cup lard or vegetable shortening chilled
3/4 cup warm water
3/4 tsp kosher salt

Place flour into food processor. Add lard or vegetable shortening and pulse 10-12 times in food processor with flour. Dissolve salt into warm water. Pour into flour and lard mixture. Pulse 10-12 more times until it creates a dough ball. Place dough on counter. Form into 10-12 dough balls. Let sit 30 minutes. Dust flour onto workspace and using a rolling pin, roll out dough forming a flat circle, dusting flour onto dough as needed. Heat skillet to medium or medium high and place dough directly onto skillet. Wait for bubbles to appear on tortilla, then flip. 

Enjoy! 

In My Head: Messy Mess

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The last few weeks have been a doosey.
I blame february. It’s always been ba weird month for me.

The first week of the month I had a stomach bug so I couldn’t eat a thing for days! It was miserable.
The following week after snowboarding I got a pinched nerve or a kink or something in my back that made turning my head or moving my left arm complete agony. That put a huge crap in boot camp, but I still went.
Until the final week.
I am so mad about this.
Work took over my whole life for a few weeks.
I’m talking at work by 6 leaving around 9 and weekends. Not to mention the sleeplessness, and wierd work dreams.

I actually dreamed that I was using a software and got all this work done only to get to the office in the morning and realize it was a dream.

I know some people work like this all the time, and that’s fine if it works for them, but it doesn’t work for me.
I was an emotional wreck, easily frustrated, wicked grumpy, and over tired.

I completly failed at the FabAB challange. I mean I tried really hard to keep up, even doing it on my lunch break at work, until there was no break to be had. I just did whatever workout was on that date, even if I missed the others. Honestly, though I think I missed more than I completed. I will probably try to do this again next month.

And I missed the last week of boot camp. I AM SO MAD.

I paid for the whole darn class!
I learned a lot from it, and I can do a lot of it at home, but I really enjoyed the way that our coach pushed us. I had a blast at that class.
What else happened this month?
Oh yeah Chuck and I decided to get a dog.
Then I was offered a new job.
Then we decided we are moving.

I turned 25.

My head is a complete mess right now.
There is so much going on. I haven’t been able to do laundry in forever, or dishes, or cook a real meal.
Though I have come up with about a million new crock pot recipes, and chuck has been a huge help.
He has learned to cook so much lately; it’s very impressive, especially since he’s been feeling under the weather for a few weeks as well.
I don’t think things will settle down for a while, but here’s to hoping!
I promise to try my hardest to keep up on the blogosphere, though there are no guarantees.

I will be posting some guest posts for the next week or two until we are moved and settled and what not.

I do have some changes planned so hold tight.
Much love!

Christmas Decorations: Minimalist Style

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I am a huge fan of minimalist decorations, especially around Christmas. One could go crazy with all the decorations that are available. Being a renter we don’t always have the storage for piles of Christmas decorations, or the room to display them all. Personally I find minimalist decorations to be more suited for our lifestyle. Things like pine boughs and strings of cranberries add cheer, while making our home smell wonderful, and at the end of the season they can simply be thrown into the compost pile. No cleaning, repacking or storing. It’s so much easier, and still fairly cheap!

Popcorn and cranberries cost roughly $5, while the string and sewing needle I used to string them were basically free. The paper snowflakes are made from scraps of paper in the recycling bin at work. The adorable set of jars I found in the cupboard and filled with leftover cranberries, and some tea lights. The front door is adorned with simple cedar boughs, pine needles, and pine cones, all wrapped up with hemp. See simple and easy.