Chairs & Cheese Balls

Don'tcha love my title alliteration?

At first, the title of this post was gonna be "Adirondack Chairs & Sausage Cheese Balls" until it dawned upon me the awesomeness of what my title could be :]

I'm weird, I know this...so, moving on...

My skilled and talented co-worker, George, made this ultra-comfy Adirondack chair for my birthday! I got it a couple of weeks ago unpainted, and decided on hunter green. (1)Because it's one of my favorite shades of green, and (2) because the Adirondack chairs up at the Word of Life Family Campground are the same color :] For those of you who don't know, since 2003 I've worked there every summer. It's practically my 2nd home during the summer, and I have nothing but awesome memories there. But now, whenever I sit in my hunter green chair, I'll be reminded of that amazing camp! Yes, I am a sentimental girl :]

If you or your family is interested in checking out Word of Life Family Campground this summer, you can check out their website >>>here<<<

The chair still needs another coat of paint, I just haven't been able to finish it with all the rain we've been having. Still, it looks pretty sweet! That picture doesn't do it justice, though, so I'll be sure to take another, better picture once I get the last coat on.

Sausage Cheese Balls

Two weeks ago I made these for a breakfast get together at work (which I never went to because I was sick that day...boo), and apparently, everyone loved them! Yay! That makes me happy :] The cool thing is that I learned about them from my older sister, who learned about them from her college friend's family who made them when my sister spent Thanksgiving with them one year. So, it's a good thing she didn't come home for Thanksgiving that year or else I never would've known about the epicness known as sausage cheese balls!

here's the recipe(I tweaked it a little):

What you need:

- 3 cups of Original Bisquick mix

- 1 pound of pork sausage (I buy a pound of italian sweet sausage patties and break apart into small pieces when mixing everything together)

-2&1/2-3 cups of shredded cheddar cheese (original recipe called for 4 cups but it felt too cheesy to me)

-1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

-1/2 cup of milk

-1/2 tsp. dried rosemary leaves, crushed

(optional) 1&1/2 tsp. chopped fresh parsley or 1/2 tsp parsley flakes

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit. Cover baking sheet with two strips of non-stick aluminum foil.

2. Combined ingredients with hands until well mixed. Shape into 1-inch balls

3. Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes.

4.  Leave them out until fully cooled or enjoy right away. (I drizzle maple syrup on mine for breakfast. Some recipe have you serve them with a barbeque sauce.)

It's so easy! It's a little messy to make because you use your hands to mix everything together, but it's totally worth it :]

Here's some of the sausage cheese balls I made two weeks ago. So good! You have not lived until you've had a sausage cheese ball. Like, for reals :]

Song of the day: Bango by Rascal Flatts

[Chorus]"You gotta go deep
Way on back
Cross a few creeks
And a couple little shacks
You gotta get lost
Way on out
Crickets and frogs
Yeah you’re gettin’ close now
And you kick it into four wheel drive when you run out of road
And you go, and you go and you go-go-go
‘Til you hear a banjo."

Currently reading: A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

ERW

Categories: currently reading, Food, furniture, recipes, song of the day, Word of Life

Adrianne

It's a somber day for all those who knew and loved Adrianne Twombly. She went home to be with the Lord on Friday, April 20th, but today is the funeral service where friends and family can go to pay their respects.

I met Adrianne in 2007 at my graduation from Oakwood. Such a sweet-heart, gentle, and kind lady. I didn't know her that well, but whenever I saw her (especially during the times with the cancer) she always had a smile and hug to offer. Her husband, Jason went with my senior class on a mission trip to Ukraine, and I knew their daughters and son from school. I used to be prayer pals with Victoria's 2nd grade class. They are such a sweet family, always involved in the school and church...it's just that their wife and mother was taken from them too soon.

But they cool part....they are completely relying on God and trusting Him in this difficult time. On their facebook pages, especially on Jason's, you can see all the Scripture verses and quotes he's been posting, and on the Victoria and Christina's facebooks, they said that, yeah life sucks right now, but we know this happened for a reason, and we will continue to trust God, and they know that their mother is now completely healed and dancing, singing, and praising her Father.

We'll all be reunited with her in Heaven someday, and that's the plus. The best we can do now is honor her memory and remember the good times we all had with her here on earth.

This was the obituary in one of the local newspapers:

Adrianne TwomblySCHAGHTICOKE - Adrianne Michelle Twombly, 37, of Schaghticoke went home to be with The Lord on Friday, April 20, 2012, following a lengthy battle with cancer.
Born in Gainesville, Fla., she is the daughter of Michael and Susan Belice of Schaghticoke.
She was raised and educated in Staten Island, N.Y., graduating from Bible Baptist Christian Academy, followed by her first couple of years in high school.
In 1990, her family moved to Latham where she graduated from Shaker High School, after which she earned her associates degree in Liberal Arts from Hudson Valley Community College.
In 1997, Adrianne married Jason Twombly, and they began their family the following year.
Adrianne was a wonderful homemaker, pastor's wife and a daughter; and, in addition, had a house-cleaning busines, which she ran until about a year after the illness began.
She was currently a member of Terra Nova Church in Troy, and was formerly a very active member of Oakwood Bible Church.
In addition to her parents and husband, Adrianne is survived by two daughters; Victoria Amber and Christina Grace Twombly; and a son, David Michael Twombly, all of Schaghticoke; two brothers, Mark and Philip Belice of Saugerties, N.Y.; a sister, Marnie Santos of Columbus, Ga.; grandparents, aunts and uncles and a niece and three nephews.
A funeral service will be held 7 p.m. Monday, April 23, 2012 at the Loudonville Community Church, 374 Loudon Road (RT-9 and Crumitie Road), Loudonville, NY 12211 with The Rev. Edward Marcelle, Pastor of Terra Nova Church, officiating.
Friends are invited and may call at the church 6 p.m., immediately preceding the service.
The interment will be private, at the convenience of the family.
Contributions in memory of Adrianne may be made to Loudonville Christian School, 374 Loudon Rd., Loudonville, NY 12211.
Published in the The Record from April 22 to April 23, 2012



So please, continue to pray for the Twombly family. They could use every one of them.

ERW

song of the day - Words Left Unsaid by Disciple

Categories: death, prayer request, song of the day, Youtube videos

Found My Heart at Heartland

Many of you who read this may or may not know that I am a Heartlander.

Not as in the "I-live-in-the-heartland-of-America/Canada" Heartlander, but as in "I-am-a-big-time-fan-of-CBC's-TV-show-Heartland" Heartlander! :]

Why do I love it?

1. Horses

Ever since I was little, I was always into horses. Even though I don't own a horse (hopefully one day!) or ride as much as I want to, I feel so passionate about these beautiful, majestic creatures, and Heartland puts horses front and center.

This show is about an Alberta, Canada family coping with a death in the family and struggling to make ends meet on their sprawling horse ranch where Amy Fleming AKA "The Horse Whisperer" or "Miracle Girl", as she's known in her community, works with problem/injured/traumatized horses by using her connection with horses and the theraputic techniques she learned from her Mom.

Helping her is her grandfather, Jack Bartlett, the rock of Heartland, her older sister Lou Fleming, the brains on the business side of things, her close-friend-practically-sister Mallory Wells, and their bad boy stable hand Ty Borden.

I seriously believe this show was made for ME. And if GMC (Gospel Music Channel) didn't air it, I probably would be like you, thinking, "How good can a show about horses be?"

Well, the great thing about this show is that not only does it showcase a certain type of problem/injured/traumatized horse, but it also centers alot around the importance of family, sticking together through the hard times, and pursing your dreams no matter how far-fetched they may seem. AND, if you watch it on GMC, they edit out all of the cuss words that sometimes pop up in an episode, so it's very family-friendly :]

2. Cast



(left to right front row: Shaun Johnston as Jack Bartlett, Amber Marshall as Amy Fleming, Graham Wardle as Ty Borden, Michelle Morgan as Lou Fleming, Kerry James as Caleb Odell left to right back row: Jessica Amlee as Mallory Wells, Chris Potter as Tim Fleming, Nathaniel Arcand as Scott Cardinal)

This show would not have taken off and been a hit like it has without this cast. You can tell they all truly love their job and portraying their respective characters, and their love for horses is evident too! Especially with Amber (Amy)! I've found out that she grew up riding and already loved horses before being approached to be in this show. Every scene she has with a horse (and there are a lot of them!) where she "acts" and has to comfort the horse or praises the horse on a job well done, she doesn't look like she's acting. It's just so natural for her! Which makes her very convincing as Amy Fleming on Heartland.

3. Location

photo credit: CBC

Yes, I am an American. Yes, I love my country. Yes, I know our national anthem....

but I love Canada too! I have lots of friends in Canada believe it or not that I met at Word of Life and there's always my Canadian friends who's blogs I follow on Tumblr (shoutout to y'all! <3) :] It is so beautiful where they shoot this show. I've only been to Canada once --to go see Niagara Falls (because everybody knows the better viewing side is on the Canadian side ;]) but one of these days I'm gonna get out to High River, Alberta where they shoot the town scenes for the show and just roam around looking for all that awesome Canadian Rockies beauty! Maybe I'll see some Heartland stars! It would be awesome to meet Graham and Amber, but honestly if I had to choose, I would pick Amber :] Anyway, I love the mountains! Grew up close enough to them that every summer, I'd spend it there working at a camp and going to a rodeo every week. When I saw the first episode and saw the location, I was like, "Yup, I already know I'm gonna like this show."

4. Inspiration

photo credit: Shawn Turner

When I started watching Heartland, I was still thinking about what to go back to school for. After watching Amber's character, Amy, take care of so many injured and abused horses, I knew that I want to do something like that. A couple months ago, I signed up for online classes to study to be a VA (Vet Assistant). It's been going great so far, and I feel like this is the path I'm supposed to be taking. Heartland further inspired me to seriously consider taking courses in Equine Studies after I finish up with the VA course. Then instead of working in an animal clinic, I could work with a mobile veterinary clinic who travel mostly to farms to take care of livestock and horses since it's easier for the farmer, and most importantly, the animal.

So............this has been a super long post and it's okay if you didn't read it, especially if you're someone who's never watched Heartland. But if you haven't, I hoped this post put the bug in your ear and you'll try it out. I instantly loved it because I firmly believe I am half country girl even though we don't live on a farm. Must've been because my Dad lived on a dairy farm growing up, so me and my siblings grew up like he did, just without all the cows :p

We have a cat though. A great big, fat, black cat called Kitty Barkley. :]

One of these days......I WILL own  or maybe even adopt a horse.

I already have a name picked out: Charlemagne.

:]

Until my next insanely long post,

ERW

Song of the day: White Horses by Jenn Grant

Categories: animals, country life, Heartland, horses, photography, song of the day, TV

The Looooong Weekend

Not a long weekend as in, I've got an extra day off...

but as in, I have a cold and threw up all night Friday into the wee hours Saturday morning and felt like crap all day Saturday.

Yeah...

Friday the 13th was not nice to me.

I'm not really superstitous about that type of thing, but it is coincidental.

I'm pretty sure I have those lovely kiddos in the nursery to thank for the cold (maybe the stomach bug) and my niece to thank for the stomach bug (she had it a couple days before I got it). Or my body was was just so out of it that it just wanted the junk all out asap. And I guess in it's thinking, asap means having me throw up twice an hour from 9:30 Friday night to 4:30 Saturday morning.

Longest night of my life. I wanted to sleep so bad but my body kept waking me up to empty itself. (I sure am being gross in this post aren't I) I was practically falling asleep in the bathroom. Maybe it would've been easier to stay in there now that I think about it.

Saturday I obviously didn't go to work but stayed home drinking ginger ale and eating crackers and toast and sleeping on and off. My Dad wasn't feeling good either so us sickies stayed home while my Mom and bro went to a hockey game. We watched this show about the Holocaust and I was instantly thankful that at least I get to get better from my illness in a comfy setting. All of those Jews who were in the concentration camps who got sick most likely died because of poor conditions and the Nazis working them constantly.

Okay, anyway....

Lots of my Mom's flowers have bloomed already. :) 

Here's some shots I took:

So this post started off as disgusting but ended beautiful :)

Hope y'all have a great week! Enjoy the weather...as for us in the Wallace house, we will start thinking about what to put in our garden. so excited!

Song of the Day: A Million Skies by Kensington Prairie

ERW

Categories: creation, flowers, health, outdoors, sickness, song of the day

Happy Resurrection Day!

Happy Easter, everyone! Hope you enjoyed Resurrection Day with your churches and loved ones :) I sure did!

How cute is my niece?! Dontcha just love the poofy skirt?! :]

Song of the day: "Stronger" by Hillsong

"You are stronger,

You are stronger,

Sin is broken,

You have saved me.

It is written,

Christ is risen!

Jesus, You are Lord of all!"

-Hillsong

PRAYER REQUESTS:

1. My Uncle Vince is in the hospital from a mild stroke. much of the left side is paralyzed, though he has feeling. Doctors anticipate him making a full recovery, but now its up to how long physical therapy will take.

2. Adrienne Twombly is not doing well at all health-wise. Doctors have done all they can, but can't find any more treatments for her. This family covets your prayers and is hoping for a miracle that she would get better and not leave her husband and 3 children.

Categories: Easter, family, Hillsong, holidays, prayer request, song of the day

Party Animal

Hey! Happy Bir--

Oh, sorry, it's just that I've said "Happy Birthday" so much over the past 3 days that sometimes I say it to people it doesn't even apply to. haha

These past few days have been, for lack of a better word, INSANE!

  

 

My niece, Elise, turned 1 on the 29th of March :) We had a small family party for her on her actual birthday and then a big blowout on Saturday with all of her friends she doesn't even know she's friends with yet. :p Of course, nowadays we all know that you're not really friends with someone until you're friends on facebook ;)

 

On Friday night, my family celebrated my 2nd cousin, Madeline's birthday. She turned 3! She seriously needs to stop eating Miracle Gro! She was absolutely adorable when opening her gifts! She was excited about everything she got, even the clothes. You can tell, she's a girl if she's excited about clothes. When her brothers get clothes on their birthday, they just toss them aside. hehe

And to end the weekend, my brother-in-law and his cousins particpated in the Anything That Floats competition. It's part of this kayaking derby my town holds every year.

And they actually won 1st place! what an epic end to a crazy fun weekend :)

Oh, and Happy April Fool's Day! I never do anything for this, but it's funny seeing other people do stuff. I had a friend who did the popular fake engagement with a picture of her hand with an "engagement" ring on it. Can't believe people actually fell for it! haha

Song of the Day: We Are the Champions by Queen

ERW

Categories: April Fool's Day, birthday, Elise, family, outdoor activities, party, song of the day