THE MORNING AFTER...

That's not a snow bank on the bottom right of this photo.  It's one of our cars.

According to WMUR, anywhere from 3 to 25 inches of snow fell in New Hampshire with this storm.    Over 300,000 people are without electricity according to the utility companies. 

We were blessed.   We got a lot of snow; but nothing like other parts of the state.  Our snow event is over here; but it continues to our north.  We are even seeing the sun shine out there right now.

It's really pretty; but it's way too early.  I still have outside things that I want to do. 

It's supposed to warm up this week into the 50's and that's a good thing.

We have plenty of snow to melt. 

Just ask David.

Doesn't he look like he was having fun?

He was so good to get out there and shovel for us and take some photos for me while I stayed inside and drank coffee and decided what to cook today.   This was not his favorite weekend activity, as you can see.

For the record, I was safe. 

There was no way that he was going to throw that snowball at me inside the house.  I was holding the camera and I cook.  

Enjoy your Sunday,

LET IT SNOW...LET IT SNOW....LET IT SNOW!

Winter has arrived in force.

The snow storm on Thursday was just a teaser.  A couple of inches is nothing to compare to what we are getting this weekend.  It is being called "historic" and I believe it.

David said that he doesn't remember when it has ever snowed before Halloween.  I'm sure this isn't the first time; but it's the first that he can remember. 

Fall was just here last week.  I saw it.  There was still some color on some of the trees this afternoon when I took these photos; but at the rate that it's snowing right now, it's safe to say that Fall 2011 is over.

See what a difference a month makes?

It was beautiful while it lasted.

I submitted the Red Barn photo to Yankee Magazine for the 2011 Fall Foliage Contest and they accepted my entry.  There are so many wonderful photos on their website that I know that mine will not be featured in next year's Foliage Edition; but I'm still excited to see my photo on their website.  You can even send it as an E-Card here.  

Hope you are enjoying your weekend!

Brrrrr!

FROSTY FRIDAY...

Thank God it's Friday...

REMEMBER THE BUTTERNUT SQUASH KALE-O-KOPITA?

I couldn't stop until I tried them again.  This time I tried them with roasted sweet potatoes, black beans and Cabot Chipotle Cheddar Cheese.  The photo isn't wonderful; but, trust me....

They were fantastic.  By the way....have you had this?

It's awesome!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
 

PIONEER WOMAN'S SPICY SHREDDED PORK

I have been blessed with the best.

My sweet friend, Glenda, from Louisiana sent a care package to us last month.  Just because...

Inside was the sweetest card, the most fantastic beer bread and Pioneer Woman's Cookbook.  Do you have it?  I'm a cookbook hoarder; but, I didn't have that one.  I was definitely missing out.  There are so many yummy dishes in there.   Thanks so much, Glenda!  I have made a promise to myself that I will not buy another cookbook until I start using the ones that I have and I'm beginning with this one.

The recipe that started it all off for me was the Spicy Pulled Pork.  I found the recipe online here called Spicy Shredded Pork.    The name of the recipe in the book is different; but, the recipe was the same.

So I grabbed a Pork Shoulder at the market...

And an onion, garlic cloves, Spicy Paprika and Chipotle Seasoning, Cumin Seeds, Oregano, Brown Sugar, White Wine Vinegar, Olive Oil, Salt and Pepper...

which I processed all together in my food processor and rubbed on every square inch of that pork...

Pioneer Woman added water to her baking dish; but you know me.....I can't leave well enough alone.  I thought a bottle of Dos Equis would make it even better.  I was right. We had to smell that pork cooking all day long and it smelled amazing.

 

When the pork was done, we spread some corn chips on a baking sheet, covered them with shredded pork, pinto beans, monterey jack cheese and Cabot Jalapeno Cheddar.  We baked them for 10 minutes in a 450 degree oven and when the came out, sprinkled them with chopped cilantro.  Mmmmmmm!

The perfect Sunday night dinner...

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Winning Reflection...

Recently I shared with you here that I entered one of my favorite photos from the summer into a photo contest that Johanna Grace at phos-graphé was hosting.

I won!

I received a beautiful pair of earrings made by Molly at A Bit O'Shine. 

I've worn them a few times already and I love them.

Thanks, Johanna!

Thanks, Molly!

The holidays are getting closer.  Why not check out Molly's shop here for a unique gift for someone you love!  She has so many beautiful creations there. 

Thanks so much for stopping by,

Week - End

To start things off, I want to send a big thank you out to those of you who commented on my last pity party post with love and encouragement and for those who promised prayers.  I have felt them this past week and I appreciate them more than you know.  If you feel it in your heart to continue lifting me up, I would be grateful. 

I really didn't intend for the post to sound the way that it did; but I wrote honestly about my feelings at the time.  I am glad you allowed me to open my heart and share them so openly with you.  It was the good, the bad and the ugly and I just threw it out there and it felt good to release it.  I had let it build up inside until I couldn't hold it any longer.  I like to keep things light and happy around here and most of the time, that is the tone of my life.  Having said that, my life is definitely not perfect and I never intend to portray it that way.   I have ups and downs just like everyone else and from time to time, I have to vent.   I am thankful that I can just write my way through them via this blog.

On a good note, I am settling in somewhat and adjusting to the new job.  I don't love it yet; but I, also, don't hate it.  Nothing that I am doing is rocket science; but, I still have a lot to learn.   I do work with some pretty awesome people.  They are all very sweet and funny and obviously care about one another.  That's huge!  They have gone out of their way to help me get settled in there and make me feel welcome and part of the team.  I am so thankful for that.  They seem to love their jobs so I expect that, at some point when the majority of the learning process is over, I'm going to enjoy what I do, as well. 

I still haven't found too many opportunities to take photos lately except for a few here and there around the house which I'm sharing with you here today.  I did take my camera with me to work several days last week hoping to get some shots of the changing leaves along the way.  I have to tell you that the foliage was absolutely stunning; but there was not a good place to stop along the way to get any shots.  New Hampshire needs more "shoulders" along the roads.  I really wish that I could have gotten some pictures to show you.  Spectacular.  The winds have been blowing like crazy though and what was once beautiful foliage has become "fallage" and the trees, for the most part, are now bare.

With the trees mostly bare now and the ground covered with leaves,  I am reminded of my childhood and the joy that came when this season finally arrived in Louisiana.   Playing outside after school and on the weekends....the rustle of leaves beneath my feet....the joy of jumping in the leaves and building forts and houses with piles of raked up leaves...

And it brings a smile to my face...

Thanks, David, for capturing these fun pics of Monkey this week!

Thanks so much for stopping by,

Yada Yada Yada...

It feels like forever since I have shared anything with you here on the blog.   Summer has gone and Autumn is already on its way out.  It's so hard to believe that we are cruising through October so quickly. 

Life has certainly been interesting for us the last year.  In the midst of the craziness of my life and everything that has been happening lately, I've been reflecting a lot about all that has happened since last October.  This time last year I was summing my life up here with the word "packing".  We were feverishly working on packing up our things and getting ready to move out of our home into a temporary place in anticipation of closing on the sale of our home.  We were not sure what God had in store for us at that time; but, I can tell you on this end of it that it's been quite a ride.

The desire of my husband's heart was to move back home.  I wanted that too....for him...and also for me.  We both longed for change.  We both wanted the opportunity of having all of our kids together in the same place with us.  We longed to get to know our beautiful new granddaughter.  We had no idea how that would ever happen; but God had other plans.  He opened doors in our life that we would have never dreamed possible and did them so quickly that I think our head was spinning for months after it all happened.   When we sold our home and things quickly fell into place for us to relocate to New Hampshire, I really didn't have any idea what this new life up here would be like.   In the last year, all of that and so much more has been accomplished.  We had all of the kids together at Christmas for the first time in a long time, hibernated through the winter and acclimated to this new environment.    We have gotten to know our granddaughter and have been blessed with many opportunities to spend time with her.  Connor got the opportunity to spend the summer with everyone and to get to know his niece.  That would have never been possible had we not relocated.

When we sold our home and things quickly fell into place for us to relocate to New Hampshire, I really didn't have any idea what this new life up here would be like.   I had dreams, of course, but really I had no idea how they would play out. 

Driving away from Louisiana in that moving truck, I remember such a feeling of excitement.  It was quite an adventure to pack up the things we most wanted to keep in our lives and leave everything else behind to start over someplace else.    I really looked forward to having some free time to explore my creative side with photography, cooking and blogging.  For the most part, I have gotten to experience that over the last year.   It has been fun.

Life is changing again though as I have started a new job.   The wind has kind of been taken out of my sails with these new changes as any creativity that I might have had seems to have just disappeared.  I have had no inspiration for cooking.  I have had very little inspiration for photography even with the beautiful changing leaves outside.   Even the leaves do not seem quite as vibrant as I expected them to this year.    In recent days, I have tried to sit down a few times in front of this computer to share something with you.....anything really...without success.  

I am struggling to find balance and peace.  I pray I find it soon.

Commenting Update...

It's fixed!

I came across a blog post here at Elizabeth & Co. yesterday afternoon that had a suggestion on how to fix my commenting issue and it seems to have worked beautifully!   Thanks, Sharon!  

If any of you are experiencing the same problem with commenting that I shared yesterday, this is what I did to fix it.....

In Internet Explorer....

Click on Tools on your toolbar.

Click on Internet Options.

Click on the Privacy Tab.

Click on Sites.

Add "www.blogger.com" and click Allow.

Do the same thing with "www.blogspot.com".

Click  Okay and you should be good to go.

Needless to say,  I am thrilled that this has been resolved.  It is so frustrating when issues arise that prevent me from commenting on your blogs.  I did not want to switch browsers.  It's not that I am completely in love with Internet Explorer; but, I have tried Chrome and Firefox and they each came with their own issues.  Internet Explorer seems to work best for me and now that the commenting issues seem to be resolved, I can rest easily.  

We are off to take my parents to the airport this morning and we are getting to spend the day with Monkey. I think we are going to take her shopping. Oh Boy~!

Have a beautiful Saturday,

A quick update....

Sometimes life is very frustrating and sometimes that frustration is all Google's fault.   Yup.  Google, you are not being nice to me lately.  

 My mom and stepdad have been visiting this week from Houston so I have been enjoying my time with them and I have been trying to take a few minutes here and there to keep up with your blogs.  I am having some serious problems commenting again.  I take the time to post a comment on your blog and it either immediately disappears without posting or I get some sort of error regarding cookies which I haven't been able to figure out.  I've checked my settings and they seem to be fine.  Just so you know, I am reading and trying to comment; but I'm not having much success.  

Despite all of the rainy and cold weather that we've had this week and the one day without electricity that we experienced thanks to a line being down in a remote location in the area, we have managed to see the seacoast...

And have some chowda...

And experience some of the local wild life...

And see some of my favorite places...

And see a little foliage...

And spend some good time together eating, laughing and just being together.  All in all, it has been a good week.  

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you have a fantastic weekend.