My world for some Butter.

As you already know, i'm not a health nut. I believe in being healthy, I run two miles a night now, but there are days where the experimentation in food requires a tab of butter. And of those are joyous days! The Art of French Cooking was my companion last night as I made the most moist, unbelievably amazing chicken ever! Before you mistake me for being vain about my cooking, that above statement was my husbands quote of the evening. Up until the second year of our marriage I would mention chicken or fish and he was a little less than pleased with dinner. So chicken in our household is now a favorite, thank you Julia (and Light Cooking)! In the movie 'Julie and Julia' Amy Adam's Julie said that if there were only days left on earth she would spend it eating butter! Jillian Michaels would kick my butt for praising this fatty, yellow, yummy goodness, but I'm gushing today, sorry!!

The road ahead.

6 drafts left unfinished later, I am determined to finish this post and actually post it! Perhaps this is just a simple case of writers block or perhaps it could just be the business of being a Mama and Wifey! If I have the lee-way to use both as an excuse, will you forgive me for using them! While i've been gone, there have been SO many things that have been going on! According to my calculations we have had two to three weekends this summer to ourselves and our little family.  We have had family and friends running in and out all summer long, and it has sure made it fly by.  Not to mention the drama on the animal front! Four of my chickens got eaten this summer, followed by two more hens sitting on a total of about 34 eggs between them. Out of those, I have gotten one chick and he is living in a box in my back room.  His Mama decided that she didn't want to be a mama after all, so she is no longer a part of the brood. Forgive me, but I don't tolerate animals who don't take care of their babies (not mention she ate half the eggs she sat on). We narrowly missed the boat on Mollie and Sadie being bred. Thank God! People and letting their dogs loose I swear! I think that may be all the drama... Looking at it written down, it really wasn't all that much. Don't sweat the small stuff I guess.

I have to admit I have been taking about an hour to myself for the last month or so and i've never felt more conent with myself or life. With those 60 precious minutes I have been donning Adidas, Nike, UnderArmour, and New Balance (I feel like the flagship for what's on sale at Ross) and running. 3 years (and two babies ago) I used to be able to run 3 miles straight. Now, and two babies later, it has taken a month to get a mile and a half down to a decent time. Which brings me to a very important point. Every Mommy needs an outlet! Mine is running and leatherwork, but what is yours? What do you take time out to keep yourself sane? When your youngest explodes while in Subway and mommy forgot a extra change of clothes, or your oldest pukes while on a 3 hour road trip (again without a change of clothes) it's so good to have a release! Not to mention the extra boost in energy! For the last three years I managed to convince myself that being self sacrificing and not taking any time out for myself was the way to go. But it's so hard to focus on others when you are constantly drained!

So on an ending note, life is a beautiful hectic mess and whatever you do, don't blink! Always focus on the road ahead, company this weekend!

No crying, Mama!

I would have to think that the words I say my oldest would get repeated to me at some point. She spilled three cups of milk yesterday, after the second I decided to mop the floor, and so I did! Hands, Knees and a scrub brush! The third cup was devastating. Anyone who has ever spilled milk knows when it dries it's a sticky mess, and you can never get all of it. It was the last straw, this Mama started to ball. Yes, I cried over spilled milk. Only a mother would understand this frustration. While muttering to myself about how it's not fair, i'm not these people's slave, and why did it have to be milk (yes, I reverted back to about 4th grade on that one) my two year old comes up and stands next to me. I look up at her and she says in a loving yet firm voice, 'Mama, no crying!' A phrase I tell her quite often due to the fact that we have a bit of a drama queen over here! 'Help clean up, I lovers you!'. As I got even more teary due to the fact that this girl is so aggravating, yet wonderful, she put her hands on my shoulders and says 'Mama, come here, help clean the bathroom.'

You guessed it, it wasn't just milk I cleaned up yesterday.

Some women want diamonds... I am ecstatic for a new stove!

Anyone read The Egg and I? If you haven't you need to! The best and funniest book ever! The 1940's movie was pretty hilarious though too.

If you haven't read the book or watched the movie,  one of the main characters is Stove. Yes, that literally means Stove. Stove had a temperment to match that of a cantankerous woman. Unpredictable and cranky, Stove was. I have my version of Stove. And she's getting replaced TODAY. Brand new electric stove with a convectioners oven! You may think me absolutely insane but i'm ecstatic! No more saggy cakes, no more burnt chicken in the back, underdone in the front, no more sparking elements, or pots set to boil and 20 minutes later the element never even turned on. Yay!!!

Alright, children. Most days it's one, but today it's both. Chalotte is cutting teeth so she is cranky cranky cranky, and Sarah is pushing every button I have today. From soaping the entire bathroom, to locking her sister in her room, to pulling a chunk out of my freshly made bread... This mama is exasperated, and exhausted. Nobody ever tells you that having children is 90% work and aggravation rewarded by a mere 10% of love and kisses! Can't say I don't love parenting though, and wouldn't miss the aggravation. I'm such a mother... No woman in her right mind would ever say such a thing!

Time? What? Where?

There is not enough time in the day. I know i'm not the first person in the world to realize this but I certainly feel like i'm the only one that can't seem to find enough! We have had company basically non-stop all summer, a bittersweet business! I love having our friends and family over, since most haven't met Miss Charlotte yet, but my goodness! It has made the summer fly by! We are in August, wait what? You can't be serious! So many crazy things have happened since I was able to get on last! Summer brandings are almost over, the ranch is looking at getting more colts for Bryce, I have two hens sitting on about 27 eggs total, both of our puppy dogs are pregnant, the lambs are HUGE, Char is walking and starting to talk, and Sarah is getting so big!

A few new things on the leather front, got a couple new tools for my birthday, and got a chance to make a good friend of mine a bracelet! Next project is for Christmas so better not let the secret out!

Cooking wise, it's been plain and simple lately. Hungarian Goulosh and rice are simmering on the stove (which is a miracle due to the fact an hour ago I had no clue what exactly was for dinner!), but other than that there is only one recipe I can think of that was out of the ordinary lately. So here goes, again (as with all of my recipes) tweak to your heart's content! I made this up on a 'I have nothing in the cupboards except for this' night!

Mexican bean and tortilla casserole

Cut 20 corn tortillas into strips and fry on a griddle or in a skillet
1# ground beef seasoned with one packet of taco seasoning
2 cans of condensed tomato soup
1 can kidney beans
1-2 cups grated cheese (I used cheddar but a mexican blend would be fine!)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix everything into one 9x13 casserole dish. Bake until cheese is melted and edges are bubbly.

Like I said, simple yet yummy! Lots of protein!

Hope everyone in blog land is having a great Monday!

Where-for-art-thou Bambii!

Remember Bambii as a child? Oh the thrill of running through the meadow, the newness of being a baby in a wide world? My eldest, Miss Sarah, recieved this wonderful Disney classic for Easter this year and it's already almost worn out. Living on a ranch kind of put some new perspective on some things. First off, anybody know whether or not Bambii's daddy is White Tail, Mule deer, or part Elk? Those antlers throw me off every time! Secondly, looking at those antlers, i'm seeing $80 or so. The perks of working on the ranch is that when the elk and deer shed in the winter and spring, it's finder's keepers around here! We spend pretty much every nice saturday all piled on the 4-wheeler going shed hunting. And there is nothing more satisfying as the nice man (he's like an adult Santa Claus) that comes around Labor Day weekend and buys them all for $8 a pound. To put it in perspective, most elk sheds weight between 8-10lbs a piece! Christmas in May (it might as well be, too due to the amount of snow we got in May!)! Back to Bambii though, Sarah gets very very upset when Bambii's mom dies and i'm not going to lie, it makes me a little mad too! It is very irresponsible hunting seeing a doe with a fawn and shooting her anyway. That's just plain not right! Overall a great kids movie, and from an adult and foody point of view... Venison is so yummy!!!

Onto life in general! How is everyone out there in blog land? We are creeping in on Summer and the warmer weather is definately agreeing with my little family! We all are getting sun tans, and fun new clothes, and babies all around the ranch. On our latest trip to town me and the girls got to see our first baby fawn of the year. He was all wet and slippery and trying to get up for the first time, he was unbelievably precious! Then there are the baby antelope, complete mini-me's of their mamas fluffy butts and all! Then there are the calves all up and down our road running and playing. The biggest excitement baby wise around here is an orphan that in his short week long lifetime has had three mothers! His real mama prolapsed and that took up all her energy so she went bone dry on him, so we brought in a heifer that had lost her calf hoping that she would claim him and she would rather have kicked him in the head (which she did quite a bit). Now he is with another mama who lost her calf to a bear and they are going splendidly. So something good finally came out of something bad! Little tyke was so hungry he just sat under the heifer milk streaming off his little black face.

Food: Huge announcement in this area! I got a pasta maker. I know this may not be a huge development to some people but it is to me! There is nothing in the world like fresh pasta and now I get to make it myself! My husband sat down to homemade raviolis and sauce and said that he will eat anything as long as I am the one making it! Ego boost and 10 points for this wifey! We made homemade fettucini last night with homemade alfredo and again, so yummy! So for whomever may be reading, do you have a favorite pasta recipe? I used to get a garlic and tomato pasta where I used to work but can't find a recipe that comes close! Real quick though, here is the alfredo recipe (You know you want to try it!) It may be a little high in fat but you have to live a little bit right?

2 cups chopped and cooked chicken breasts
2 8oz packages Cream cheese
1 1/2 C Heavy whipping cream (more or less depending on your desire for thick sauce)
1 1/2 Tablespoons minced garlic (I use garlic salt if I don't happen to have any fresh garlic handy)

Melt the cream cheese into the whipping cream over low to medium heat in a skillet of your choice. Add Garlic. When all Cream cheese is melted and your sauce is smooth go ahead and add the chicken. Cook until you have a low simmer (don't forget to stir the sauce frequently so the milk products don't burn to the bottom of your pan). Remove from heat and pour over pasta of your choice! Yum!

My hubby loves this recipe, as do I and with fresh pasta it can only get better! The mountains of laundry and hungry children are calling my name... Have a great Wednesday!!

For the love of the Cowboy!

A trip to town today! Thank goodness because I was honestly getting tired of the dreary, cloudy, not knowing whether it was going to rain or not, ranch life! Today, however, was not a day of pure bliss (as anyone with a hyperactive two year old would know!), it had a purpose. Get Bryce (Hubby) outfitted for the summer. As a loyal patron of Grizzly saddlery, our local saddle maker has been working long and hard to find Bryce a saddle that will fit all of his horses. This is something that I was completely new to when we moved up here. A saddle is not just a saddle! There are SO many measurements that go into one it will almost drive one mad! Not only that, but there are only so many combinations of measurements that will result in a saddle that fits most horses. After our long hard search we found a saddle that was perfect, so today we payed for it. Handing over a rather large wad of cash can be hard for anyone (unless of course you're a millionaire! :) ), but after the exhaustion of bring home what felt like 20,000,000 different saddles with only one working, I was overjoyed to hand it over and be done with it! Long story short, Bryce has a new saddle! Our next stop was boots. Yet another thing I had yet to realize was the difference between how men and women wear out boots. I have had my pair of Ariats for almost four years and have never had to have them re-soled. Bryce, however, has gone through maybe 5... 7... pairs of boots.... and we're off to see the boot store, the wonderful wizards of boots! We finally found a pair just to find out that they were out of size 13. Bryce's shoe size seems to be just like my 7, no one ever seems to have it!! The salesmen that was helping us was superman, so they are ordered and will be here this coming week. Yay! Cowboying may be expensive, and some may wonder if all the money is worth it, but to make sure my hubby is happy in his job... That's priceless!