This past weekend we went to Hazel Green, AL for the day to visit with Daniel's grandparents. We had not had a chance to go visit in quite a few months and they wanted to see us, and to give us our Christmas gifts. We took both the dogs with us because we were only going to stay for the day. The Lovell's have a huge yard that we thought the puppies would enjoy. It was pretty cold down there so we made the dogs wear their winter coats, which are stinkin cute as can be. Cooper had a blast running around the yard exploring. He ran around non-stop for about 30 minutes chasing birds, squirrels, and whatever leaves were blowing. He went all the way around the property and found the man-made pond. Luckily Daniel and I were standing right there with him because he decided to jump in the freezing cold pond with his coat on!! It was so scary and Daniel was quick to run over and grab him out. Once we made sure he was ok, we both burst out laughing. How often does your 10 pound doxie decide to do a polar plunge when its barely 40 degrees outside? We made sure to get him nice and warm and cuddled him for a while. He was traumatized.
The weekend with the grandparents and Aunt Becky was very nice despite that drama. We received some really nice gifts. Two of the gifts were cooking gizmos "As seen on TV", and I LOVE them! I love anything that goes into the kitchen, especially if it helps me make cooking easier. The first one was the Pasta Boat. Its a bowl that you can cook your pasta in the microwave. I love pasta so I was excited about this one. We tried it out last night when I made a homemade lasagna. It worked great and made my life a little easier....which is always nice.
The second one was the Perfect Brownie Pan. This is the one that allows you to make 18 perfectly square brownies simply and have a convenient way to display them. I tried this one out on Sunday night when I made a new recipe...Sour Cream Apple Crisp bars. They were very yummy!! And the pan worked just like it said it would. I was pleased.
Overall, it was a very successful baking & cooking weekend. Sunday night we started preparing for the snow that was to come in overnight. Daniel and I decided we were in the mood for soup, so we made a big pot of homemade veggie soup. It may be the best veggie soup I have ever had!! It was very simple too.
Monday we woke up to about 3 inches of snow on the ground with more coming down. I didnt go to work because we couldnt get out of our neighborhood. It was very fun to see how Cooper and Sophie responded to the snow. Cooper loved it. He is so adventurous! Sophie didnt really like it because she doesnt like her feet to get wet or cold. She eventually went out and played in it when she saw the other dogs having fun.
The snow allowed me to have one more cooking adventure...one I havent had since childhood. I made Snow Cream! Daniel had never experienced snow cream and I was so happy to be able to share it with him. We made two big batches and we froze most of it so we can enjoy it for a long time. Daniel also went out and made a snow man. He was so happy :).
Overall, this weekend has been a great one. The simple things in life that we so often overlook...cooking, adventure, family, and fun. I cant wait to experience it even more in the year to come.
