Go West Young Woman....

Well, we're about to leave for the long trip to the airport... and then there's a plane ride. I'm pretty excited about everything but having to deal with my ears popping from the change of altitude/air pressure. It's a first time experience, thought. First time is the best time, right?!

Sometimes, when I travel somewhere new... or farther than I've traveled before, I feel like Sam and Frodo when they leave the shire for the first time. Who knows what wonders await? .....but as Bilbo said, "I'm going on an adventure!!!" It doesn't get much more exciting than this!!!

Anyways, hehe......

I'm off on an adventure!!! Just like Bilbo Baggins! Until next time, folks. :)

Ready For Adventure

Well, it's been too long since I last blogged. But life has been busy, so I have a lot of excuses for my lack of blogginess. I've felt something like a chicken with it's head cut off..... and have been able to relate to Prince Humperdinck when he said,"Tyrone, you know how much I love watching you work, but I've got my country's 500th anniversary to plan, my wedding to arrange, my wife to murder and Guilder to frame for it; I'm swamped."

It's been one of those moments where there are a billion things to get done and not enough time to do it all. Needless to say, it hasn't been an unenjoyable period of time. I was able to attend a single ladies retreat in the beginning of February which was edifying, fun and I met so many nice gals!

Then in the later half of February my good friends Hannah and Mike were engaged..... to be married on the 8th of March!!! This past weekend!!! Really it was something like 18 days to plan. And 18 days were quite enough. Everything came together wonderfully.

 Mr. Kubetz gave an excellent message!!

My dad married them!

 Hannah was a beautiful bride and Mike, a very handsome groom.

To make matters even better, my awesome friends Robbie and Courtney came up!! And I just love their spontaneity: On their way up they stopped to go skiing.... and then drove more.... and then stopped at a hotel to go swimming.... and finally made it to my house!!! .....and the next morning, before the wedding, they went out for breakfast at the local Norwegian restaurant, then making it to the wedding just in the nick-of-time, zipping into their seats just before the processional started!! =D If you ever need advice on how to pack the most fun into one trip just ask Courtney and Robbie!!!

To top things off, the cake was awesome... and they decided to use the little clothes-pin bride & groom I'd made for Hannah when I heard she was getting married. I hadn't thought of it being a cake topper when I made it... but it looked so cute next to Mike's toy John Deere tractor! =D

Mike's Aunt Lori (and also the wife of the farmer Hannah's been working for) helped with the organization, orchestration and decoration of the whole event. Literally, the wedding wouldn't have been half as classy and lovely if she hadn't participated. She's quite a talented lady and she made the cake too!!! 

We decided to take a few pictures.... the three of us besties: Courtney, Sandy and I!!  ...and so we made the guys be in a picture too, and this is what happened! Hehe:

They are so funny!!!!

All in all it was a beautiful day, the weather was unusually gorgeous and warm, and everyone had a fun time!!!

Now that the wedding's over I have to pack and prepare like crazy... because on the 12th I'm headed to Colorado with my bros, Isaac and Channing, to visit my aunt & uncle and also my cousin Dustin!!! We're all so excited!!!! 

...oh, and did I mention that during all of this wedding planning and vacation preparing I had a short time to prepare an article for the local newspaper that I'm writing for now (which I'm very excited about)! Wheeew.....

I'm looking forward to taking it easy for two weeks out West.

Anyways, I doubt I'll be posting again until April. BUT.... ya never know. ;)

"Look at all this milk!"

As you know, we sold our dairy cows, but being spoiled and rather used to drinking our pure, unadulterated raw milk, we kept a few cows. At first we were only milking three and since we had calves to feed there was no spare milk to drink. Then our most favorite and highest producing cow freshened and we had a surplus of milk! ....and a few days later our pet cow, Maggie, freshened! So we have milk coming out of our ears! Since it is (sadly) still illegal to market and sell raw milk we have had to think of ways to use up what we've been blessed with.

I haven't minded the extra work as I've been able to experiment in the kitchen with recipes I hadn't been able to try before! =) Butter, butter milk, ice cream, sherbert, panna cotta...
I thought I'd share a few pictures.... so your mouth could drool a little, too. ;)

So first it started by letting the cream rise. Jersey cows are know for their high components (i.e. their milk comes with a lot of cream!) and butter was in order:

 

Our antique butter churn with wooden paddles. It does the trick!!

Well, we can only go through butter so fast, even though my family is known for going through (at least) a pound of butter a day. I decided it would be wise to make ice cream:

Vanilla came first.

...next it was strawberry.

I also made some Lemon Sherbert (not pictured), which didn't look as pretty but tasted incredibly good!

Through a perusal of the milky recipes the internet had to offer I learned of an Italian dessert, maybe similar to flan.... though easier to make, called Panna Cotta. 

The reveiws online were raving about how easy and tasty Panna Cotta was. I simply had to try making it. The results were rewarding... and everybody enjoyed it!

Since I didn't have the little dishes, known as ramekins, I made it in a big pan which worked nicely as well. Of course I had to share all of my baking adventures on Snapchat. My poor Snapchat friends. ;)

I used a cookie cutter to make the experience a bit more delightful, and since Valentines Day is this weekend, a heart was the shape of choice.

This is a recipe worth making!

Yesterday was my brother Channing's 18th birthday so I had to bake a cake. It was supposed to be a Black Forest Cherry cake. 

 

I started following the recipe in the Better Homes and Gardens cook book only to get to the dry ingredient section and realize I was supposed to make something gluten free. I had to call my sister and get a different chocolate cake recipe... and I ended up combining the two (since I'd already made the butter & fudge-like batter supplies). I used ground flax meal and coconut flour instead of all-purpose flour... I added extra eggs (like, 6) and added some extra virgin olive oil. It turned out to be the most delicious and moist cake I've ever made. And I've made a lot of cakes!

I made a "Fluffy White Frosting"... which consisted of egg whites, cream of tartar and a sugar-water syrup. It was so tasty that I had trouble keeping everyone from eating it before I was able to frost the cake!

Well.... I thought I'd finished making the cake. BUT.... adding a little chocolate really made a world of difference!! I think it turned out to be the prettiest cake I've ever made as well. :)

 So when are you coming over to try something sweet?! :)

Better Late Than....

So I had a birthday a few weeks ago. It was extraordinarily fun mostly because of the wonderful people I have in my life, whom I am ever thankful for. I just wanted to share some of the pictures:

I started off the day by milking cows for Tyler... bright and early at 5:45. I guess it was fitting since I was born at 5:25am. Then my friend Sandy took me out to the Norske Nook for breakfast!! =)

Sandy, looking lovely as usual.

Trying to take a "selfie" is harder than you'd think. =P

A few days prior to my birthday my Grammy M., my cousin Julianne and my sister Emily & her two little babes went out to eat at Olive Garden!

Julianne purposefully posing for a "blackmail" photo! She's not afraid to be silly for a picture! Just one of the things I love about her!!! ;)

 My lovely sister, Emily!

And alas... there are no pictures of Grammy. :(

....but Alice and I took one together!! :)

Then at the last minute my mom and I were trying to plan dinner and in order to have artichokes I had to drive 30 minutes to the city to get supplies. I stopped on my way home to snap a picture with my friend Jon, who shares the same birthdate!! =)

I barely made it home in time to milk cows! ...but I had fun with the ladies.... and Sandy told Tyler to make sure to give me a bonus or a beer for my birthday! Haha! My friends are awesome! =) Ty was a bit confused as to why I didn't just take off on my birthday, but I suppose I miss cows and milking is fun..... and you should do fun things on your birthday, right?

 When I arrived home from milking my family had a most delicious meal ready! My favorite: artichokes, pork steaks and sweet potatoes!! ...and my little sister, Janelle, made me the most incredible chocolate cake!!! It was SO MOIST and it was gluten free, too!! Double bonus!

I was given the fun "Happy Birthday" wine glass from my friend Courtney's mom! =D

Over all it was a really fun day. I was able to spend quality time with my family and friends, not to mention the thoughtful birthday calls and a gazillion messages on Facebook. :) I'm a lucky girl.