Thank you!

Words cannot ever begin to express the gratitude we feel towards each and every person who has reached out to us since Tripp has been born.  It goes without saying that we were in a pretty trying, terrifying situation filled with all sorts of emotions.  I never knew it was possible to feel happier and more in love than I ever have at the same time I was feeling a fear I never knew existed.

There was no amount of planning, preparing, reading, or discussion that could have possibly prepared us for the adventure of parenthood.  We were completely blind to the fact that things may not go perfectly smooth.  We certainly didn't expect an emergency c-section at 32 weeks due to severe preeclamsia. Parenthood has taught us many lessons we never thought we would be learning.  It's amazing how an event so huge, that you think you will learn so much from, does end up teaching you the biggest life lessons but lessons totally different than you anticipated. Of course we were instantly overwhelmed by the love we felt for Tripp.  It was and still is the greatest feeling we've ever had in life.  We've learned to survive on two hours of sleep for months on end.  We're experts at diaper changes.  However, we were also blessed to learn a few life lessons we didn't plan on.

Here are a few of the unexpected lessons we've learned so far.

1.  PLAN?? That's funny! 
We have learned this year that no matter how much you plan or prepare you will always be trumped by Gods plan.  Thank goodness because His plan always ends up being the best plan.  I'm sure it goes without saying that Brian and I are planners... almost to a fault.  I truly feel like our adventure with a premature baby and life in the NICU was a HUGE lesson in patience and faith.  The growth we have experienced by living God's plan has been absolutely amazing.  Far greater than we could have imagined.  We learned that it's ok to have a plan with the understanding that things may change and we have learned the being flexible is essential.  It's sad that it took a premie baby to teach us this lesson... but alas we have learned!  I've decided from now on in life I will try to be more of a preparer and less of a planner.

2.  PATIENCE.  
Having Tripp has been the most humbling experience of our lives.  The emotions of having our 2 pound 14 ounce baby laying helplessly in an isolette and knowing there wasn't a single thing we could do for him was unbelievably humbling and also unbelievable frustrating.  We kept asking the neonatologist what we could do to help and kept receiving the same answer.

DON'T RUSH HIM. GIVE HIM TIME. BE PATIENT.  

Ha!  Patience is not something that either of us were blessed with.  I always say that the hours in the NICU were so long but the days seemed to fly by.  We found ourselves wanting him to gain weight, eat from a bottle, wear real clothes, and sleep in a crib instead of an isolette NOW... we were being selfish.  We learned that he had to do these things on his time and when he was ready.  It was best for him to go at HIS pace not ours.  We learned that being patient made those milestones that much sweeter knowing he was ready and thriving.  We learned that rushing him led to set backs for him which was even more heartbreaking.  We learned very quickly that his needs came before our wants.  We would ask the neonatologist frequently what his "current goal" was and we were repeatedly given the same answer. 

TO EAT, GROW, AND LIVE.

This answer instantly brought us back to the reality of his situation and the fragility of his tiny life and body.

We quickly learned to be patient.

So patient that on his day of discharge, when we were being sent home with a 4lb 14oz baby, we were asking if they were sure he was ready!   They assured us that he was... I'm not totally sure that we were convinced WE were ready :-)  Talk about intimidating!

3.  ASK FOR HELP... IT'S OK!
I've always been the type to do everything on my  own. I refused to ask for help because I never wanted to inconvenience people.  This experience put me in a position that I was physically unable to do everything on my own.  I learned through this experience that it's ok to rely on other people and it's even ok to ASK for help sometimes.  I've finally realized that if people branch out and offer to help it's because they truly want to.  This was huge for me!  I was in a position that left me pretty helpless and forced me to depend on others.  Honestly, this was good for me.  I needed to learn that in life there are times I  need to depend on others.  I've learned that people don't help or volunteer things that they aren't happy to do!  One of my big fears in life is inconveniencing people so in turn I try to do everything on my own.  I've learned people truly enjoy helping.  I guess had I turned the situation around a long time ago I would have realized that when I help others its because I truly want to... I'm not sure why it took me so long to realize this but I'm so glad I did.  I learned that it's ok to admit that I can't do it all and that it isn't a sign of weakness.  I've also learned that sometimes it shows more strength to admit that you need help.

4.  REACH OUT TO OTHERS
I can't tell you how many times in life I've seen people in difficult situations, going through hard times, or just not acting their normal selves and I've watched from the sidelines.  It has never been because I didn't care but rather that I didn't want to make them feel uncomfortable and truth be told it was probably because I was a little bit uncomfortable myself.  Maybe because I didn't know them that well or maybe because I didn't know what to say or do.  I didn't want to overstep my boundaries.  I felt that if they wanted to talk about it they would reach out.  I felt like if they needed help they would ask and I would obviously be more than happy and willing to do whatever they needed!  Again, it was never due to the fact that I didn't care but because I didn't know if reaching out was the right thing to do.

I'll never watch from the sidelines again.  I've learned that it's always so great to know people care!  I received texts, calls, and visits from people I barely knew.  Now they are great friends.  People dropped off baskets with drinks and snacks.  There were lots of days that all I had time to eat was a granola bar and gatorade from those baskets.  I had days that the walls of my hospitality room felt like they were caving in and then I would get a text from a friend that just said "thinking about you" and all of a sudden I realized that I wasn't alone, our situation was temporary, and we were SO blessed to have a baby that was living, breathing, and thriving.  I received Facebook messages from people that I had no idea even knew what was going on in our lives.  I would look through comments on Facebook and realize how many people were behind us and how many people cared. That was so uplifting.

So from now on I'll send that text.  People don't have to respond if it's a bad time.  If they're sleeping I've learned first hand that they're so exhausted either it won't wake them or they'll go right back to sleep.  I'll be dropping of little necessities.  The last thing I was thinking about was running out to grab snacks, drinks, gum, or a hot meal.  Those little things were game changers and often totally turned our day around.  If someone says they don't need help I'm doing it anyway!  I understand that there are times when people don't want visitors... I've been there.  I can truly say though there was never a time when people stopped by that they left and I wasn't in a better mood and better emotional place.  There were several times people offered help, I declined, and they showed up anyway and I was SO glad!  We had meals dropped off on our porch with notes that read "Didn't want to bother you but here's dinner."  I can guarantee you that was the BEST meal we had in days.  People sent premie clothes... I'm sure they didn't realize that we had been holding our breath and waiting for the day they told us he could put an outfit on but of course ordering clothes online was the last thing on our mind and going out to a store was totally out of the question.  When we received those clothes in the mail that was truly the first outfits we had to dress him in!  There were numerous times people would drop off notes while I was in with Tripp and I would find them when I got back to the room.  The tiniest piece of encouragement changed the entire day!

So I learned that from now on to just do it!  If someone says no... do it anyway.  It's easier to ask for forgiveness later than permission now :-) Just to know someone is thinking of you can change your entire attitude.

5. POWER OF PRAYER AND FAITH
What did we do when we had a baby at 32 weeks, he couldn't eat on his own, he couldn't breath on his own, he was sleeping in an isollete because he couldn't maintain his temperature on his own, and we had this new, amazing responsibility as a parents but realized there wasn't a single thing we could do for our new baby.  We PRAYED!  We asked everyone we knew, everyone our parents knew, our friends and everyone they knew to do the same thing!  It's so hard for me to imagine how people who don't have faith get through these kinds of situations... because prayer was our only hope and only source of peace. I remember driving to the doctors office the day Tripp was delivered and praying the hardest, most gut wrenching prayer I have in my entire life.  He was born forty five minutes later at 2lb 14oz because it was safer for him to be here in this world than in my belly.  He is now thriving at 10lb 3oz.  We had people praying for this little boy all across the country and those prayers were certainly felt.  It was a completely humbling experience to realize that we had no control.  We could pray and we could have faith but ultimately Tripp was in God's hands.  It was pretty powerful and extremely tough lesson to learn.  However, this lesson has definitely been the most important of all.

6. WE HAVE A NEW RESPECT FOR OUR PARENTS!
There are so many times that we look at Tripp and think..."WOW... this is how our parents feel and have felt about us for years!"  We had no idea and I don't think there is any way to comprehend those emotions until you go through it.  The nights of no sleep, nonstop crying, and trial and error to figure out what is making Tripp so upset... they went through all of that with us!  Don't even get me started on how excited we get about poop around here.  We are only three months in to this journey and we are already so blown away to think that our parents did all of this for us.  The love we feel for Tripp is indescribable and to think this is how they've been feeling for years.  The fear we have that something may happen to him is a fear they've felt for over 30 years.  I'll never forget talking to my Dad on the phone while Tripp was in the NICU.  I told him that I felt guilty because I wasn't being 100% optimistic even though he had overcome every single hurdle and met every goal sooner than the neonatologist hoped and expected.  I told him I felt 90% encouraged and optimistic but 10% fearful that something was going to go wrong.  I felt like I had a pit in the bottom of my stomach 24/7 because I was terrified of something going wrong.  I was terrified that something bad was going to happen to him.  His words will stay with me forever.

"I'm sure a small part of that is his situation but don't get your hopes up that that feeling will go away.  It isn't because he's in the NICU.  That is how it feels to be a parent."

When we called to tell them we were having a c-section they were there immediately.  They dropped everything to come to Tennessee and now we can completely understand why they wouldn't have it any other way.  We're their babies after all and when your babies and their baby is in trouble you don't blink an eye- YOU JUST GO.  

We just had no idea.

7. IT'S OK TO NOT BE OK.

Brian and I both have a problem showing weakness.  We try not to complain and we try to see the positive side of things.  We put on a smile even when we don't feel like it sometimes.  Don't get me wrong... life is truly great about 98% of the time and we're generally very happy people but everyone has that 2% that they want to just say they're having a crappy day.

This experience has taught us that it's ok to not be ok because sometimes things in life really aren't ok.  I struggled admitting that this situation was so difficult because I felt like I was being ungrateful.  Here I was with a beautiful little baby, alive, slowly gaining weight... I should have been so thankful and I WAS absolutely so thankful!  I finally realized that even though I knew we were incredibly blessed that it's also ok to admit that this experience was hard.  I cried A LOT!  There were days that I sat for hours reading articles on the internet and scaring myself to a point of being nearly inconsolable.  I remember walking down the hall to the NICU seeing mothers being transported from labor and delivery with their husbands pushing a crib behind them filled with an 8lb baby and nearly bursting in to tears.  We were scared, frustrated, and at times discouraged.  There were days that just plain sucked.  I learned quickly that sometimes in life things aren't totally ok... and that it's ok to admit that.  Sometimes you need to admit that in order to receive the support you need.  Sometimes admitting things are hard, admitting that things kind of suck, or admitting you're scared can be so liberating.  It's human.  Plus most of the time people can see straight through the "It's OK" coming from someone whose eyes are welled up with tears, bright red, puffy, and it looks like they haven't slept in days. Come on now :-) 

People who care enough to inquire deserve for you to shoot it to them straight.  "I know I'm so blessed and I'm so thankful for how far we've come... but today kind of stinks." It's OK. 

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As of December 30th we're back on the farm.  We just had the most incredible holiday season.  Brian's family was here for Thanksgiving and mine for Christmas.  It was just so special.  It's amazing how much a little guy can totally rock your world.

We have learned so much through this experience.  We've grown individually, grown in our marriage, and grown in our relationship with God.  We've developed new friendships.  We have a new appreciation for each other, our family, and our friends. We've learned to really lean on each other in times of hardship.  We have always tried to cherish every day and be present in life but recognize the importance of doing so much more now than ever.

There is no way Brian and I could ever truly express how thankful we are to have such amazing friends and family.  If you called, texted, sent a Facebook message, sent clothes or cards, dropped off food... THANK YOU!!  I want you to know that it truly did make our day!  We have been absolutely blown away by everyones generosity and thoughtfulness.   We've said numerous times throughout this experience that we couldn't imagine how people do it without a support system.  I'm trying really, really hard to work on Thank You cards... it isn't happening as quickly as I was hoping.  Babies require lots of time and energy :-) I promise they're coming!

More importantly, thank you to everyone who has kept Tripp and our family in your prayers.  It is truly the very best and most powerful gift you could ever give someone.  We have felt all of those prayers and the power of prayer is truly evident in our little man!  I'm posting this on our blog because I realize prayer is often silent. If you have been praying for us silently- Thank you!

We're looking forward to welcoming 2016 with full hearts and a chubby baby.  Tripp weighed 10lb 3 oz this morning and has stepped on to the full term baby growth curve.  He is rocking several leg rolls and several chins.  He is interactive and looking around.  He is noticing things, grabbing full fists of hair, and making tons of new noises.   He has started smiling when he hears our voices which makes the late nights, early morning, and all nighters totally worth every second.  He gave my Dad his first little baby giggle.  He has completely changed our lives and we are so thankful.  We have been totally humbled and we don't take a single blessing for granted.

Thank you all again for all of your love.  There are no words that could ever express our gratitude.

Now... I'm off to play with our sweet baby!

XO
Taryn

Good Morning

I have a problem of feeling like I need to be doing something productive at all times.  I hate to admit this but I've had frustrating mornings of running errands because I get there so early the stores aren't open yet. Life in the past was so busy I felt like I had to utilize every single second to get everything done.

Since moving to Tennessee, I have made a real effort to slow down. I have to say that life is SO much better this way.  I may still be up at 6:00am every morning but instead of popping out of bed and running wild until it is time to go back to bed that night I've been taking the mornings for me.  Taking them slow. Relaxing.  I've found that my days are much better, I'm happier, and I get to have some "me time" before anything else gets accomplished.  As a woman, at least for me, "me time" is the first thing I sacrifice to keep things running smoothly.

Things I've learned:
1.  Coffee tastes better from a real ceramic mug instead of a travel mug
2.  Mens t-shirts are, for some reason, much more comfortable than any women's t-shirt
3.  Reading is so much more productive when you don't have Monday night football blaring in the back ground
4.  And most importantly-  Taking time for ME makes me much better at my relationships I have with others.

So stay in your robe, drink coffee, look around on Pinterest, read your book, check your email, do a little online shopping, flip through your favorite magazine, plan your day, and THEN go be productive!

Happy Tuesday!
xoxo

Life in Tennessee

Brian and I have officially relocated to middle Tennessee and have found what we consider to be "home".  We had several years of unknown, with Brian going through the match process, selling houses, buying houses, packing, moving, and then waiting to hear where we would be going next.

This time was very different. There wasn't a match process and for the first time in a very long time we were able to choose where we wanted to settle down.  We knew we wanted a city within close proximity but that we wanted to live out in the country and have some land.  This proved to be more challenging than we expected since Brian has to be fairly close to the hospital to take call.  Brian knew exactly what he was looking for professionally. Finding a perfect combination of these things things in one place was not an easy venture.

I'll spare you all of the details but after multiple interviews, trips, and house hunting adventures we finally found a town that seemed to meet all of our needs and more importantly fulfill all of our wishes for our new home and community!

Brian joined Mid South Surgeons in August and is currently practicing as a vascular surgeon.  It's a pretty crazy experience when you wake up one day and all of the training is over.  Finished.  It seems, for years, like it will never actually be over and then one day you wake up and it is.  He is loving his job and feels blessed to work with such an amazing group of colleagues.

I took a job working full time in the Maury Regional Emergency Department. It is so great to walk into the doctors lounge for lunch and be able to see my sweet husbands face, if only for long enough to say hello!  Though I'm working full time, I really feel like I work half as much as I did in Pennsylvania which is truly a blessing!  Thank goodness for working longer hours and fewer days. The people that I work with are amazing and I have, once again, been blessed with a group of amazing people.

We ended up finding a home that was just exactly what we were looking for. Brian really wanted to be somewhere without neighbors and I, after renovating our home in Pennsylvania, was really looking forward to finding a home that didn't require us to sleep on an air mattress for months.  God was really with us and blessed us with the perfect piece of property with a home that needed no work.  Such an answered prayer!  I'm a firm believer in having that mindset of "do what you have to do" but lets just say that we are REALLY glad we didn't have to renovate!

Over the past few months we have been settling in to what we consider to be "real life" in our new home.  We spend the weekends working outside, going on hikes around the property, fishing in the pond, making great dinners, reading, hanging out with friends, entertaining house guests, and occasionally venturing up to Franklin and Nashville.  We've become Titans fans (when in Rome!) and are learning the concept of being fans even when the team isn't doing so hot. :-)  Brian has become the master of tractor work. I've been able to get back to doing things I love... reading, cooking, running, and, finally, blogging again!  We're slowly starting to meet new friends and also cherishing time with old friends. Brian is finally able to embrace all of his manly hobbies and it makes me so happy to see him finally able to enjoy his free time again!  Now that he finally has some. :-)

We feel truly blessed for this life and are more than ready for house guests!  I can promise that the sheets will be clean, the wine glasses will be full, the Great Danes will be here to welcome you, and the table with be loaded with great food. Come visit us at the farm!

Date Night On Tuesday? Definitely.

I can't wait to see my sweet husband tonight!!  He has been in Wilkes-Barre doing an away rotation for the past two months and we are officially on the downhill slide.  He has six more days of apartment, bachelor living until he is home.for.good!  I try not to complain about him being away because, well, what would that help?  Let me just tell you though... I will be one happy chick to be living under the same roof again.  The best part is that after the end of this month there will be no more away rotations. Ever.

Residency and fellowship is all about flexibility and accepting whatever comes your way...  and to be very honest with you we have LOVED it.  Sure, there have been frustrating times, sleepless nights of nonstop pages, holidays spent away from family and even away from each other, and many plans that have had to be changed or cancelled last minute and unexpectedly... but ya know, at least we have been in it together.  This will be a phase and time in our lives that we will hold very close to our hearts.  I have LOVED this time.  We have been forced to learn to depend 100% on each other, to be flexible and understanding, and to appreciate every singe second we get to spend together, every date night, and every weekend off.  

As I decorate our home for Christmas, I've realized that this is pretty much it for our journey through residency and fellowship.  We're putting our home on the market next month and trying to plan for our next step of life.  Brian officially finishes fellowship in June... WOW time flies!  We're so thankful and so blessed to have had such an amazing journey so far.

Now... I'm off to shower and get all dolled up for date night :-)  I am amazed every day by my husband.  He works so ridiculously hard without complaints, does extra work because he wants to make sure things are fair, and really has one of the coolest and scariest jobs I could ever imagine.  However, somehow he still comes home and asks what he can do to help, has no fear of apologizing when he's wrong, makes me want to be a better person, makes me laugh until I can't breath, and makes me feel like the most important thing in the entire world.   His investment to our home life is twice that of his investment to work... which is a lot!   

All things that EVERY woman deserves!  

I'll definitely toast a margarita to that... and I plan to this evening!!

I stumbled upon this quote today and I think it's pretty amazing.  

“He’s not perfect. You aren’t either, and the two of you will never be perfect. But if he can make you laugh at least once, causes you to think twice, and if he admits to being human and making mistakes, hold onto him and give him the most you can. He isn’t going to quote poetry, he’s not thinking about you every moment, but he will give you a part of him that he knows you could break. Don’t hurt him, don’t change him, and don’t expect for more than he can give. Don’t analyze. Smile when he makes you happy, yell when he makes you mad, and miss him when he’s not there. Love hard when there is love to be had. Because perfect guys don’t exist, but there’s always one guy that is perfect for you.” – Bob Marley

Foodie Friday: Camping Edition!

First and foremost, let me just set the record straight.  There are no calories when camping!  There are also no calories on date weekend, date night, girls night, Saturday mornings, or at Sunday dinner.  With that being said, let me introduce you to Foodie Friday: Camping Edition!

While I do LOVE a nice hotdog or sausage cooked over the open fire that is lightly charred with chopped onion and spicy brown mustard, it is also so fun to change things up a little bit.  One of the most beautiful things about camping is that there is just NO rush.  There is nowhere to be, no DVR to catch up on, no cell phone service and that my friends is glorious.  So why not prepare some gourmet food to go with your gourmet views?

We tried several new things this weekend... most of which were super easy!  The prep work is all done in your home, before you leave for the weekend, while you're surrounded by your modern day kitchen amenities.  When you get to the camp site your main job is to sit back, relax, and smell the delicious food cooking over an open fire.

See information at the end of the post for help with the basics of cooking with a dutch oven and grilling with charcoal.  It's really pretty simple once you get the hang of it :-)

In addition to what you see below, Brian also made a beef stew and paired with his Mom's cast iron cornbread that was so amazing I can't even think of an adjective to do it justice.  He and I shared a large bowl, dumped the cornbread in, and topped it with the stew.  I'm so glad no one else was around to watch us devour it... it was pretty embarrassing.  It was a continuous spoon, bowl, mouth motion barely allowing time to breath.  More on Brian's awesome meal later.  It really does warrant it's own post!

Enjoy!

xoxo

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Onion Bombs On The Grill

Sorry veg friends... you may have to pass on this one.  One of my guilty pleasures and all time favorite foods is meatloaf.  This awesome dish is made with large white onions, meatloaf, and topped with a special sauce.  The concept is so easy!

Take a large white onion. Cut it in half removing the center of the onion to create an open ball/hollow area in the center. Prepare a meatloaf with whatever recipe you choose.  Make a large ball of meatloaf and place in the center hole of the onion repositioning the second half of the onion so that it looks whole again.  Wrap twice in foil and throw it in your cooler.  Mix up your sauce and place in quart size ziplock.

When you get to the campsite, simply throw the foil balls onto the grill (direct heat), turning every 10-15 minutes, and cooking for one hour.  Remove foil and you're DONE!  Top with sauce.

The sauce is so easy.  Make a small foil boat and heat only the grill for 2-3 minutes until warm. Pour over onion bombs.  

We served this with asparagus that we tossed in olive oil, salt, pepper, 1 tbs lemon juice, and parmesan and romano cheese. We grilled this in a foil boat until tender.

While the photos may not make the onion bombs look super appealing (it's hard to get great food photos in the woods!) trust me when I tell you they are to DIE FOR!  

Onion Bombs

4 large white onions

Meatloaf recipe made with 1lb ground beef

Foil

Sauce

1/4 cup Sweet and Spicy Sweet Baby Rays BBQ Sauce

1/4 cup ketchup

4 cloves minced garlic

1 tbs brown sugar

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Dutch Oven Cinnamon Rolls

(recipe from livewellnetwork.com)

This recipe is also made 100% at home, frozen, and then brought to your campsite ready to be cut and placed in the dutch oven.  This makes for an easy, stress free morning that allows you to have coffee and watch the sunrise while breakfast is cooking away!  This is slightly labor intensive at home just as any homemade bread can be... but it is SO worth it!

Cinnamon Rolls

Dough

1 pkg active dry yeast

2 tbs honey

1 1/4 cups warm milk

4 tbs melted and cooled butter

2 large eggs

1 1/2 tsp salt

5 1/3 cups flour

Filling

1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar

1 tbs cinnamon

1 cup raisins

1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

6 tbs softened butter

Icing

1 cup powdered sugar

3 tbs honey

1 tbs prepared coffee

1. Prepare your dough.  In stand mixer or bowl comping yeast with 1/4 cup warm water and honey. Stir together. Let sit for approximately five minutes until it starts to bubble. Add milk, melted butter, eggs, and salt. Mix together.  Using a dough hook, slowly add flour one cup at a time mixing on medium low speed until smooth and elastic. This takes about 10 minutes.  Place dough in an oiled mixing bowl, cover with damp towel, and let it rise until the size has doubled. This will take about an hour.

After dough has risen, punch it down to release some of the air, lightly flour your work space, and roll dough into 12" by 24" rectangle.

2. Prepare your filling.  Spread 6 tbs of butter over rolled out dough.  Mix all other filling ingredients and spread equally over dough.

3.  Once dough is rolled out and filling is spread evenly begin rolling the dough towards you.  You want to roll it from the longer side so that you have a roll that is 24" long. Pinch ends.  Cut into two pieces.  Lightly oil a gallon size ziplock, toss it (carefully!) into the ziplock and put into the freezer until the morning you leave.  It needs to be frozen for at least 6 hours and can be stored for up to 1 month.

4. Mix icing ingredients in small bowl and pour into a ziplock.  Make sure you use coffee that has been prepared and not grounds.

Ready to camp??

Simply get your logs out of the ziplock, slice into 1.5" to 2" rolls.  Grease dutch oven with peanut oil (remember to get the sides). Arrange cinnamon rolls so they're touching.  Let them stand for about 30 minutes in the sun to warm up a bit.  Bake in dutch oven at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.  

Pour icing on top and enjoy!

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Breakfast Burritos

These are also made 100% at home and simply tossed on the grill!  

1 lb chorizo sausae

6 hot/medium hot peppers

1 large white onion

2 cloves garlic

6 large eggs

2 cups of cheese (I used Mexican blend)
1 pkg medium tortilla shells

Sautee chorizo sausage separate from onions, peppers, and garlic.  Prepare scrambled eggs as 

you normally would.  Fill tortillas with a layer of scrambled egg, chorizo, peppers, onions, and cheese.  Fold and wrap in saran wrap individually.  Place 3-4 in a ziplock and freeze the night before you leave.

The morning of simply get them out of the cooler and throw them on the grill using INDIRECT heat.  See photo below for our first attempt when we tried using direct heat... epic failure!!  Grill slowly until golden brown and warm to touch.  

Top with salsa and sour cream.

Indirect heat using direct heat just to brown at end.

Direct heat disaster!

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TennTucky Cobbler

(recipe from everydaydutchoven.com)

1 cup sugar

1 cup self rising flour

1 cup milk

1/2 cup melted butter

2 cups fresh or frozen berries

1/2 tsp cinnamon + 1/4 cup sugar (for topping)

This cobbler is so easy and so delicious!! 

Lightly oil dutch oven.  You can even premix all of your ingredients at home (leave out the berries and cinnamon). Pour batter into dutch oven, sprinkle berries on top of batter, top with sugar and cinnamon.  Brian prefers tart deserts and isn't big on sugar so he recommended leaving the sugar off the top!  The beauty is that you can use any fruit that you choose.  We used a mixture of blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

There are no photos of our fabulous cobbler because we literally made it under a tarp, at 10:00pm, in the pouring rain!  

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I'm a firm believer in knowing the how and why of what you're doing before doing it.  Below are the very basics of dutch oven cooking and grilling with charcoal.

Basics Of Dutch Oven Cooking

I did quite a bit of research on this cooking method before we left for fear that we would be in the middle of the woods with burnt food... and I don't do well when I'm hungry :)

Dutch ovens are meant to cook food with even heat distribution with relatively low heat.  Make sure for camping that you get a dutch oven with legs and an inset lid.  Also, make sure it is well seasoned! Having a well seasoned piece of cast iron can make or break you success!  There are tons of methods and articles on how to do this.  Take the time and make sure you do it!  

Here are the need-to-know basics.

1. The oven works by putting coals below the dutch oven and also on the lid.

2.  There is a formula to use to calculate how many coals to use.  For 350 degrees use this easy +2/-2 formula.

Find the diameter of your dutch oven (There is a number printed on the lid... ours is 10")

Coals on top is diameter +2 (12 for us)

Coals on bottom is diameter -2 (8 for us)

3.  Arrange the coals below the dutch oven in a circle so that there is no heat directly below the cooking surface. This helps avoid burning the bottom of your food.

4. Arrange to coals on the lid in a circle and also with coals in the middle. 2/3 around the perimeter and 1/3 in the center.  We lined 8 coals around the edge and 4 in the middle.

5. To increase by 100 degrees add 4 coals to the top and one to the bottom.

Basics Of Grilling With Charcoal

1. Weber makes small briquettes to start charcoal. Use them!  Place one under your charcoal chimney.

2. Fill chimney with charcoal and light briquettes with long lighter.

3. Let charcoal heat and burn until the charcoal on top is white with red embers.

4. Pour into grill.

5. Decide on direct vs. indirect cooking

Direct cooking means all charcoal is evenly dispersed throughout the grill and your food is being cooked directly above the charcoal.

Indirect is when the charcoal heats the food indirectly by being placed on one side of the grill while the food is on the other.

GOOD LUCK!!

Be Present. Do Date Weekend!

It's so easy to get caught up in everyday life.  It's easy to become consumed with all that you have to do, how many hours you have to put in at work, all of the chores you have to take care of, bills and mail that need to be sorted, dogs that need to go to the vet, laundry that needs to be done, and the list goes on and on... AND ON.

I challenge you to take a moment and just STOP.  Make an effort to "be present" in your life.

Life will go on if the laundry isn't done right this minute (or even within the next few days) and the world will keep spinning if the house isn't perfectly clean.  Are the little odd jobs of life really what's important to you?  HECK NO!!  God has blessed you with one special life and I challenge you to get out there and live it.

There are a few things in life that you cannot create more of.  One of those very precious things is time.  Unfortunately, the clock keeps ticking and every minute that passes is another minute that you cannot get back.  Take every opportunity to live life, enjoy the simple things, and be present in the things you are doing.  Leave the laundry and go have date weekend.  Spend your time actually spending time together.  When you're talking to your spouse, boyfriend, girlfriends, or family make an effort to put down the iPhone, put away the iPad, turn down the TV and focus 100% on what they're saying.

One of the most amazing things in life, in my opinion, is having DATE WEEKENDS!  Take the time to get away together and enjoy each others company.  Catching up on life and actually having more than five minutes to plan for your future is priceless.  It is amazing how refreshing it is to spend the entire weekend with the one you love.  Pure bliss if you ask me.  Now... Do date weekends have to be fancy and lavish?  Absolutely not!  In fact, I've found that simpler is often times better.

My love.

This past weekend Brian and I had an amazing date weekend!  I've actually named it as one of my top five memories with Brian... EVER!  We headed north to Seneca Lake.  Since we've lived in Pennsylvania we've talked numerous times about going to the Finger Lakes for wine tastings.  We opted for camping instead of getting a hotel and found an amazing camp site right on the lake.  We woke up each morning and watched the sunrise while having fresh coffee made over hot coals.  We made delicious meals with the dutch oven and spent Saturday night huddled under a tarp in the pouring rain drinking wine and throwing together a homemade cobbler.  I learned that my husband is the worlds greatest rock skipper. It was perfection.

We spent the days traveling the countryside and stopping at several wineries.  The weather was perfect, the leaves were turning, and it was a perfect representation of fall in the northeast.  It was hoodie and scarf weather with no jacket required during the day!  I was with my sweet hubs and had my Canon over my shoulder. We picked some grapes off of one of the vines and then headed back to our campsite to get bundled up and make dinner.  It was my definition of paradise.

Making friends.

What if this was your "work" everyday?

For an entire weekend we were both "present" and spent all of our time together just enjoying and loving every minute of this precious life.  We slept outside, didn't have a bathroom, and wore the same clothes two nights in a row and I'm here to tell you it beat the socks off of any Marriott we could have found.

My one and only complaint is that it had to end.  I try to avoid the Monday blues but this Monday was a bit tough!  Yesterday I had to make the choice to go to work and "be present".

Please, please, please do yourself a favor and DO DATE WEEKEND!  If you feel like you don't have time... make time!  We had the most amazing weekend and truly probably spent less on food, gas, and lodging than we would have just by going out for one nice dinner.  Date weekend doesn't have to be fancy and it doesn't have to cost you a ton of money.  The only thing required is that you're there, "being present", together!  One thing I can promise you is that we will never regret spending a weekend away.

It's a brand new day.

Heaven let your light shine down.

Stay tuned for Foodie Friday: Camping Edition!  We made several amazing dishes that were ridiculously easy and equally delicious!!

Here are some of my favorite photos from this weekend.  You know I had my Canon strapped to my body the entire time :-)

If you're from this area and interested in a Seneca Lake date weekend with camping and wine tasting send me an email (tbandricks@gmail.com) and I'll send you a list of all of our favorite places with information on the campsite.

My advice for the day... if you have the chance ALWAYS get up in time to watch the sunrise.

xoxo

Fall colors.

For any woman who wonders why their husbands want to go fishing in the early morning.

Pat... this one's for you! Mushroom pic!

Middle Fork Rapid Transit... on the life to-do list!

Campsite.

The days plans.

I'll never get tired of seeing a ring on that finger!

Rise & Shine.

Quiet time.

Vino to go!  Thanks for the awesome wedding favor, Car!