back when

So, 5 years ago tomorrow I got married.

It came as a shock to many, including myself. 

It was such a shock, in fact, that family and friends came from across the country to witness the 20-minute ceremony.  Some crossed state lines for the first time in their lives.  Some bought dresses for the first time in their lives.  Some wore matching socks for the first time in their lives. 

It was a very special occasion.

Curt is very much my compliment… very, ah, stoic and logical and black/white.  I tend to lean towards passionate and creative and improvisational.  This combination has led to some knock-down, drag-out fights… but also to a whole new world of understanding.  We have this farm because I am quick to make decisions and very convincing in the ‘it will be good!’ category.  We have a working budget because The Boy understands numbers and can see the future.  We go together.  It’s the rule. 

I like you, Curt.  Thank you for meeting me at the altar.

November

Yo.  October nearly killed me, Folks.  I am so excited that month with all its random appointments and parties and fundraisers and almost-hayrides is finito.  Now, on to my favorite month with my favorite holiday: Thanksgiving.  And Ry’s birthday.  And soup.  I love soup.

This is my necklace.  I wear it every day… the only jewelry save my wedding bands and Aggie ring. The necklace, crafted by James Avery, was given to me by a friend… just because.  Because she loves me.  Because it’s simple and beautiful.

The necklace reminds me of lots of things.  It reminds me that monograms put your last name in the MIDDLE.  I never knew that.  I reminds me of who I started life as: Mary Kathryn Sebeck.  It reminds me that I am loved, even in my grand  imperfection.  And, it reminds me that however introverted I may be, I was built to live in community.  I was made to have relationships that are deep and wide.  I was created to grow with strong, wise, beautiful people surrounding me.  Laughing with me.  Crying with me. Cooking with me.  Doing nothing with me.  I cannot, no matter how hard I try, live this life alone.

I am thankful for my friends. 

I’m still here.

• There were no flights to the Bahamas.  It was a very sad day.  BUT, my car is running.  BUT, the hayride and bonfire portion of the 3rd Annual TexasNorth Hayride is about 2 shakes away from being cancelled due to expected frightful weather.  BUT, I have enough mac-n-cheese, hot dogs, and lemonade to survive the Rapture. 

I say that a lot.  ‘Wow!  You’ve got enough socks here to survive the Rapture!”  “We’ve got enough tomatoes here to feed the Rapture!”  It’s prolly inappropriate.  I’m sorry.  [Incidentally, I theologically disagree with the premise of the Left Behind series.  Sorry, Mister LaHaye.]

• Henny Penny finally made it to the side of the coop.  I sure do think she looks cute up there sittin’ on her nest  Her comb and tail need a little work yet and some polka dots will grace her belly soon enough.  But for now, she is up and we love her.

 

• The recipe swap:  I’m calling it the Best. Week. Ever. recipe swap because folks are contributing their home’s 5 best menus to the book.  Wait ’til y’all see these!  They’re sooo good!  So far, 19 people are in.  Technically, you have until November 1st (Sunday) to get your menus to me… but I’m gonna cut you some slack and make it November 4th (Wednesday).  You can still play!  Your official ticket is to email me 5 menus: katiemulder AT gmail DOT com

• Hey!  I picked up the TexasNorth hoodies last night and they. are. fabulous.  Oh my word.  I’ll be wrapping them up this weekend and head to the post office Monday morning.  Only paid-for sweatshirts will be mailed/delivered: HELLO, BROTHER OF MINE. Hint. Hint.

• For you folks reading this in Google Reader or Bloglines, there’s a new Fall header up on the blog.  Yes, those are my feet.

• There was another fabulous Children’s Bible mentioned in the comments of Monday’s post.  Both Julie and Lauren (strangers to each other) recommend this one: The Jesus Storybook Bible. 

Happy weekend, Folks!  We love you here at TexasNorth!

um…

I don’t think we’ve quite got the grasp of potty-training.  I dunno.  You tell me.  Truthfully, it’s been the last thing on our minds this Fall, but we are gearing up for some Intentional Attempting soon.  Please begin praying immediately.

We had a fantastic weekend which included building a hayloft and then having 25 Young Lifers come and camp out at the farm.  But now my car won’t start, I have a dentist appointment Wednesday, and the weather looks groooooss for the Hayride Friday night.  Also, the fridge is empty and Curt is leaving for a business trip that will bring him back the morning of the Hayride.  I smell disaster.  I’m having a little trouble coping at the moment.  I am considering leaving for the Bahamas (by taxi) and not telling anyone.

So let’s focus on three fantastic things before the tears runneth, eh?

1.  The recipe swap is ON!  Way to respond, Peeps.  If you’d like to participate, read this post, and then email me your best week of 5 menus by November 1st.  katiemulder AT gmail DOT com

2. This pattern has restored my desire to k-nit again.  Maybe it’s the weather, maybe it’s the quick gratification of a small item of clothing, but either way this pattern is a winner.  It works great over Ry’s jean dresses but should be a tad longer when worn just with pants.  Those are just notes to myself for next time:  I’m working on another one to give away here on the blog.  Woo-hoo!  I tried to get an action shot for you this morning, but my child is wicked-fast these days.

3.  This book: The Lion Day-By-Day Bible.  Books and reading tend to fall under my umbrella in this house, but the Boy pulled a switcheroo on me last week and I couldn’t be more pleased.  We’ve been looking for a children’s story Bible for some time now, though admittedly half-heartedly and with little inspiration.  The art is often cheesy, the stories are too long, the application a bit too blah… I’m a literal snob, I confess.  I was nervous to try this out… but it has been amazing.  Every day at the end of dinner we pull it down off the top of the refrigerator (the only place in the house Ry has not figured out how to ransack) and read the story that corresponds to the calendar day.  The stories are accurate and concise.  An entire reading takes less than 3 minutes.  The language is full of action (perfect for our non-verbal child) and reads very much like a younger Message version.  The illustrations are non-cartoon-ish.  I truly am so impressed.  It will certainly be applicable long after she is a toddler and well into middle school years.  So, it’s great.  If you’re in the market, check it out.  And if you’re over for dinner, be prepared for Ry to sign BOOOOOOOK about 70 times when she’s down to her last two bites.

And now to check on Air Bahamian flights…

But, what about…

• Let’s clear a few things off the ‘what about’ list, shall we? •

What about Bonnie, the prize longhorn that didn’t get pregnant this summer?  Well, after returning to the dating pasture for an extra month, she came home last night with a positive pregnancy test.  Releasing her from milking her calf really helped.  All four mammas are now back home and with-calf.  They are starting to get furry-er for Winter.

What about Winter?  Many of you have asked what will happen to our girls when the snow flies.  I love you.  God made longhorns able to survive in some really wicked conditions- low feed, brutal weather, family members with horns.  They take Winter up here in stride, with no barn necessary.  All they need are some tall trees for a break from the wind and food.  We lose our grass up here in Michigan around November, which puts a damper on the whole ‘grazing’ thing.  So, they feed on alfalfa grass that’s been baled into huge rolls.  The rolls are set in the field in a round-bale feeder, like the red one below.  Because of a longhorn’s horns, we had two feeders made special for our cows.  Our version allows the bale to be contained (so they don’t pull it all out and lay in it) while still allowing them to stick their heads and horns inside to eat.  There’s your farming lesson for the day, Folks.  Walk tall and proud.

The feeders also make fantastic playpens.  Rylie and Kendall were smitten for a good half hour,  pretending and running and climbing and laughing.  Perhaps we should have bought an extra. [aside: Is it me, or is Scooter the Kitten always in the 'acidentally' in the shot?]

What’s our next game?  Here are my thoughts.  I am trying to be a better woman.  I have no trouble admitting that I need your help.  Winter is approaching for most of us, and meal planning will be changing.  I’d love to do a re-mix of the Keeper’s Recipe Swap.  Lots of readers have come and gone since November 2007, so I think we’d get a great new mix.  It would go like this:

• Players would comment or email that they’d like to play.
• Players would come up with 5 main entrees they serve regularly. Recipes should be varied, ie: you can’t contribute 5 chicken dishes.  Ideally, I’d like to be able to open this booklet on a Sunday night and say, “Ok.  I’m cooking Becky’s menu this week.  What do I need to buy?”  All planned, all there, low level of brain stress.
• Players would email me those meals and recipes. If you want to include sides and desserts for each entree, that’s your call but PS you’re awesome. 
• I would compile the emails and make another e-booklet of the recipes.
• I would pair up each player with a partner.  Partners would swap a magnet and an oven mitt, just for fun.  Any kind of magnet and oven mitt you want… they’re prolly on the same aisle in the grocery store, and they’ll both easily fit in a small envelope.  Easy, right?
• Once players have received their gifts, I would email the e-booklet with menus galore.  If your partner doesn’t receive the magnet/oven mitt combo, you don’t get your recipes.  Mwa-ha-haaaaa!  [That's evil I-figured-out-a-way-to-make-you-play-nice laughter.]
• For example: If three of us play, our e-booklet would contain three weeks of menus, or 15 recipes.  At noon:  we’re already up to 10 folks playing!  At least weeks of menus coming!

Yes?  Minimal effort, major help in the meal-planning department, and we all become better people.  Yes.  How ’bout, lemme know by November 1st by simply emailing me your recipes.  That’s your EMAIL RECIPES TO ME deadline: November 1st.  I’ll get your swap partner to you November 2nd.  Your MAIL YOUR SWAP GIFT deadline will be December 1st.  Recipes can be tried and true from magazines, websites, etc… just be sure to credit the source.  Gracias!

Help with a name for this round, please and thank you?

Z is for…

‘z’ is for zoo… and the San Diego Zoo is my favorite thus far. 

‘z’ is for zany… which describes my child.  I do not understand where she gets this.

‘z’ is for Zack… as in Morris, who shaped my views of high school in Saved by the Bell. 

‘z’ is for zebras… which are, believe it or not, black with white stripes.  Mystery solved.

‘z’ is for Zoe… (also a Morris but did not marry Zack… she married Erik like we all knew she would) one of the most beautiful girls I know.

And, thus ends the Encyclopedia of Katie.  I wish it all ended with more of a bang, but I do not control the order of the alphabet.  Thanks for following along these past 6 months.  Hokey Toot, that’s a long time!  You deserve a medal.  I’m getting us all medals. 

I think it’s time for another contest… or group-participation game like the cookbook.  Any ideas?  Please submit them in writing with your name and homeroom teacher printed neatly in the upper right-hand corner of your paper.  Thank you.

See you Thursday

homemade chicken pot pies

Oooooooooh, People.  It’s been awhile since we’ve had a recipe here, eh?  Let the wait be over!  I dub today Chicken Pot Pie Day!  Hurray for Fall!  We’re big fans of pot pies, but really… the store-bought are So. Bad. for you.  So much sodium.  So many unknown ingredients.  This recipe will give you a chance to be a bit more in control of your dinner.  There are always a million ways to cheat, which is nice.  I like options.  I’m an option kind of gal.

These can be made ahead of time and frozen.  Hello, blustery winter nights with a fire and movie.

Need:

• 4 foil pie dishes, ramekins, oven-proof mugs -OR- 1 large pie plate
• 2 chicken breastsIhatethatword, cooked and then shredded or cubed
• 1 can of cream of chicken soup, undiluted -OR- make your own
• 1 bunch of celery hearts (or frozen veggies)
• 1 small bunch of carrots (or frozen veggies)
• 1 onion
• 2 medium potatoes (or frozen veggies)
• 3 tablespoons of butter 
• 1 premade pie crust -OR- 1 homemade pie crust -OR- 2 crusts, if you want it to be on the top and bottom of the pie
• 1 egg, slightly beaten, to brush over the crusts
• chicken broth, milk, or water to thin out mixture if you want
• salt & pepper to taste

Make:

Ok.  With the ingredients above, I filled 2 (24oz.) ramekins and 2 (7oz.) ramekins.  Ramkekins are just those fancy little individula serving dishes.  So. Cute.  They were on sale at the store and I thought, “These are so fun.  I need them. Come home with me.”  You can also make one large pot pie… whatever floats your boat.  Sometimes, I need pretty things to motivate me.

Preheat your oven to 400°.  Get your pie crust(s) out of the freezer to thaw -OR- make your  own.  Note: you cannot thaw pie crusts in the microwave.  Trust me.

Grab your potatoes, chop them up small, and throw them into a skillet with the butter.  While they start jammin’, chop up your onion (and throw it in the skillet), chop up your carrots (IN), chop up your celery (IN).  Everything should be in the skillet mingling.  Let everyone hang out until the onions are clear in color and the potatoes are getting soft.  Note: if you’re using a bag of frozen veggies, I’d do the skillet step with them as well.  Let them warm up in a little butter for a bit.  Butter never hurt anyone.

Turn your heat off on the skillet.  Add your can of cream of chicken soup as well as your cooked chicken.  Mix thoroughly.  Now decide it that’s what you want the insides of your pies to look like.  If it’s too thick, add a little bit of broth or milk to thin it out.  A little bit… like a splash.  You can always add more.

Now, taste it.  Add your salt and pepper to even things out.  Pepper makes this dish lovely, so don’t be afraid to be liberal. 

Alright, the insides are all set, so let’s just put it together.  If you want a crust on the bottom, lay that down first.  Add your insides, and then place a top on it.  Cut a couple slits in the top for ventilation and you are good to go!  If you’re using the individual sizes, you can skip the inside crust and just use a topper.  Note: I used a small cookie cutter as my vent.  It may have been on sale right next to the ramekins.  Crimp down the edges of your crust with a fork and then brush your crust with a little egg.  This will turn the crust a nice golden brown while cooking.

Cook for 45 minutes in your oven.  Individual pies can all be placed on a cookie sheet so they can go in and come out together.  If you’re freezing these for later, you do not have to cook them ahead of time.  Just wrap well, label, and stock.

BIG HIT in our house.  Yum.  Simple.  Cute.  Love it.

Curt says to me, “Mmmmm.  These are awesome.”

[pause]

“You know what would make these even better… like perfect?”

“Um, more perfect than the individual cafe servings and an ELEPHANT CUT OUT OF YOUR CRUST OH MY GOSH ARE YOU KIDDING ME?”

“Well, I just really like the crust… so maybe one on top AND bottom for me.  That’s all.  But, it’s really awesome.”

Noted.

um…

Hi, Folks! I’m a little out of sorts today (Wednesday)… my side of the computer is ‘corrupt’ and I cannot get into my Outlook files. In the grand scheme of life, MINOR SETBACK. But still, a pain.  Your orders are in my Windows Outlook folder labeled HOODIES. On the other side of untouchable cyberpace. Fortunately, I already sent over the artwork and everything, so we are good to go for ordering in the morning.

 

If you would be so kind as to re-send me your order (heads or tails, S M L XL XXL). Honestly, I remember most of them and we’ll be ordering extra, but it will help me get your contact info into the generic Gmail account on the internet as opposed to my Outlook system.  Plus, I need a lot of your physical mailing addresses.

The price is $25, $30 if you need me to ship it to you. Please include your shipping address. 

You may snail-mail me a check:

email me at katiemulder AT gmail DOT com for my physical address

-OR-
You may paypal me your $$ if you have an account. Just click SEND MONEY to katiemulder AT gmail DOT com 

 

IF OUR PRICE ENDS UP BEING SIGNIFICANTLY LESS, I shall refunded each and everyone of you the difference. Absolutely promise. I just want to get this out here now while I still have a functioning computer.

We’re paying for these out-of-pocket, so you paying for yours up front will keep the Feds off my back   So sorry for the annoying email problems. Y’all did so good emailing me and ordering. I love you for it!

Y is for…

‘y’ is for yelling… which is what I did for a good 7 minutes before I was rescued from the chicken coop last week.  I am prone to Incidents of Random-ness.  Most, fortunately, are humorous.  Last Saturday, my husband woke up sad and cranky from a restless night’s sleep.  I offered to make him some farm-fresh scrambled eggs.  I got myself up, I got Rylie up, I fed the two year-old, I made the eggs… all with love.  Personally, I wanted dippy eggs (which mean sunny-side-up here?), and only had 1 egg left.  I announce, “Family,  I am going to the coop to get an egg.”  I receive affirmative nods and grunts of understanding. 

Usually when I grab eggs, I prop the door open.  This time I just ran in, grabbed an egg, and ran… into a closed door.  The red bar had slammed down behind me.  So… I thought for a moment.  And, then I laughed.  And, then I started yelling.  But, nothing.  I mean, the coop is 50 feet away from our back door.  Hello.  The girls inside were clucking at me… grumbling about me ruining their morning.  I kept yelling and yelling… but nothing.  I took a break.  I sat down on a feed barrel.  I swept the floor.  I considered popping out the wire window screen.  I started yelling again.  FINALLY, a head peeked out of the door.  “What?”  it yelled back.  Are you freaking kidding me?  “Come let me out!  I’m stuck in the coop!”  “Oh,” he said.  Oh.  That’s all I got.  Oh.  I noticed as I re-entered the house that everyone’s plate was scraped clean and my family was sufficiently full.  Go ahead.  Take your time.  Enjoy yourself.  I’M JUST STUCK IN CHICKEN POO, is all.  *sigh*

‘y’ is for yellow… which is the color Cousin Ellie was in charge of on the Day of Painting.  The plan here is to paint a large piece of plywood and then cut out flowers and a chicken to decorate the side of the coop.  Unfortunately, it’s been raining for 15 days straight, so there has been little progress save the painting and the fencing.  I have high hopes for this week. The girls like their fencing, though.  They feel fancy. I can tell.

‘y’ is for more yelling… which I what I did for a good 1/2 hour last Sunday.  The Boy was gone (of course), and Ry and I were headed to church.  I went to lock the back door and noticed that Skeeter, Joey, and Scout were munching on the leftovers from the garden.  “So cute,” I thought.  And then I yelled.  I yelled like Doc did in Back to the Future when the car rolled off the model and caught the pile of rags on fire.  The cows had broken out of their fence.  The cows were not contained.  I was alone with a two year-old in a white church coat.  Awesome.  I may have cussed.  Knowing everyone else on my street had headed to early-church like the good country folk that they are, I realized I would have zero help.  Awesome. 

I tricked the youngest with some feed, but the two bigger boys knew they were up to something good and gave me a good fight.  At one point, I thought the Subaru was going to need a new windshield as Skeeter went full-blast at the car.  He veered, thank goodness.  He’s tricky. Ry did her best to keep up, running back and forth… generally making things worse, but what can you do?  I can’t explain how it happened, but I chased/waved/yelled/walked all three boys back into their pasture.  I locked the gates and double checked them. I gave them a stern warning. 

Then I grabbed Rylie and we went to the bakery for donuts.  You just never know what’s going to happen out here, Folks.  I’m just as surprised as you are half the time

Talk to you Thursday.

PS: You have until Wednesday night to order a sweatshirt… I’ll be calling in the numbers first thing Thursday morning.  Designs will be on the front only, and our price is $25.  Pick heads or tails.  If you’ve already contacted me, thank you!  I’ll be emailing you as soon as I have our final price.  I demand that all of you take pictures in your hoodies… we’ll make a flickr photo gallery.  AND, we’ll be awesome.   

the time has come

[edited at 4pm: We're going with the light(er)-weight version.  That makes it, at most, $25 each. Gildan pre-shrinks everything, so your size should ring true after washing.]

Hey, so guess what?! I stopped by the lovely folks at Icon Signs yesterday after I got Rylie a flu shot.  It was a hard day for me. *sigh* That child has a ‘pain & betrayal’ look that can send a mother to counseling. 

Where was I?  Right.  Icon.  Laura and Josh sent me there and I LOVE THEM.  My computer leaves much to be desired in the color category, but use your imagination.  This is what the negative effect looks like as opposed to the dark cow/light background you’ve seen before. Like a chalk-print, right?  Cool. Picture dark brown Gildan hoodies (sizes S, M, L, XL, XXL) with antique white print.  There were no awesome cream/rust options.  Boo.  I do have some plans for Spring are certain to shake your gate.  Lose ye not hope for the rust-colored cow. She’ll have her day!

The poll last week was so fabulous… I think we have enough interest to print BOTH options.  I KNOW!  [insert clapping and jumping here] And, they’ll be ready in TWO WEEKS!  In time for the hayride!  Exclamation points!  For us Aggies, we can get the body shot.  For the symmetrically fussy, we can get the head shot.   I do so love the body shot.  No one in the industry has a full longhorn in their logo.  Alan is so great.  I’m a fan of the head shot, too, and I’m not afraid to wear it.  I think it differs enough from the tu logo that I’m not crossing any of my die-hard lines.  FYI, the logo is drawn from Eclipse… my favorite mamma in our herd.

It appears that the heavy-duty sweatshirts will cost me $30.  I’ll have specifics once I have numbers from you, but that price can only go down.  If you’re local, obviously, there’s no shipping.  If you’re in Texas or PA, there’s the good possibility of no shipping.  If you’re ‘OTHER’, there’s shipping.  I’ll figure out exactly what it would cost for me to mail a sweatshirt- I’m guessing $6.  This is a no-shrink, heavy-duty (9.5 oz), cotton sweatshirt. 

***Now, there IS a lighter version (7.5 oz) that also comes in youth sizes… I’m assuming this would be cheaper.  I’m waiting for a price as we speak.*** 

If it ends up that there aren’t enough of the body-shot folks to make a run, then it will be all head-shots.  Supporters of the inaugural TexasNorth hoodie (as in, ‘I can paypal or mail you a check next Thursday’), I need from you:  logo preference, size, and quantity to katiemulder[at]gmail[dot]com.  Like this:

I want 1 (XL) body shot.  Or, a headshot is fine. 

-OR-

I want 1 (M) body shot.  If the body shot print fails, then I’m OUT. Forget you.

I’d love to order next THURSDAY!

We’re gonna be so cute!

I’ve talked enough for today, but I can promise you Monday’s ramblings will include the Great Cow Escape from Sunday and the Chicken Coop Lock-in low-down.  Hopefully, this weekend will not add any more excitement to the list.  I don’t think I can handle it.

Talk to you soon!  Have a great weekend.  We love you here at TexasNorth.