Monday, September 27, 2010

Fishing & Sunsets

Friday night Jacob and I went fishing when he got home from work. We live right next to 3 little lakes which have some nice bass, crappie, blue gill and catfish....probably some more, but that's all that I can think of right now. Jacob and I have gone out a couple times now, where we'll leave the girls with his parents and we'll stay out till dark (and the girls bedtime) fishing! It's like a date on the lake at sunset! It's been a lot of fun, even when we got rained on a little last time. :) Ok, partly its been because I've been doing pretty well at catching fish! It's my blog so I have the right to brag just a little....ok, it'll probably end up being a lot! :) So, the last time I caught a crappie not long after we started fishing and ended up with 5 fish total; the other 4 being bass....which was the most fish I've ever caught at one time....actually probably the most fish I've ever caught period! I haven't really fished much since having the girls though. Jacob caught 5 bass too, so we were even and, of course, I was pretty happy about having caught the same amount as him seeing how he's been fishing since he was like 3!Then Friday, right off the bat, I caught a bass! It was too little to keep, but it was still a bite (you'll see why that's so important later! ;) ). I had another bite and then I caught 2 more bass that were keepers...only about 11 inches each. Then after a little while longer I caught a 13 1/2 almost 14 inch bass! He was a good looking fish...probably one of my biggest so far! So, yes needless to say I was pretty thrilled! :) I didn't get any more after that, so it was kind of a slow evening of fishing, especially for Jacob who only got one bite the whole evening! I told him it was because the fish like my bright pink fishing pole (Jacob got it for me while he was deployed and it's really really nice) and he's going to want to start using my pole because of all the fish I'm catching! :) I also told him it helps to sweet talk the fish into biting! He laughed about that, but when we were about to be done he gave it a try! To explain the "sweet talking"....when I start fishing I just randomly start talking to the fish and tell them that they want me to catch them and that they love me so they should let me catch them.....and so on and so forth! Sounds crazy I know, but hey, I catch fish so maybe they do like to be talked to sweetly! ;) Btw, so far there hasn't been anyone fishing when we've been out there, so if you were wondering what other people think and if I'm a disturbance, don't worry, as of yet no one but Jacob has had to deal with listening to me talk to the fish! :)The bottom lake where Jacob and I usually go fishing....the water is usually a little calmer too.
Abigail and Bethany watching Daddy and Papa fishing! Abigail kept asking if they were swimming, so I tried to explain that they were sitting in a boat! :)
Jacob and his dad out fishing on the middle lake.
It was a beautiful sunset! Next time I go fishing I'll try to remember to take the camera so I can get pictures of Jacob and I fishing together....of course, they probably won't be as nice as this one since I'll be in the boat....and catching lots of fish I'm sure! :)

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Baking

I figured it was about time I did a post on some of my baking exploits....nothing extraordinary, and I definitely need to take more pictures of what I make because I don't have a lot of pictures and it's simply because I don't think of it till after it's all gone! Then I'm like, why didn't I take a picture of that! Oh well, I can't do everything right and it takes time to remember to take pictures of everything you bake......ok, well for me it does for any of you out there that 'always' remember to take a picture.....I'm jealous, but I will get better! :)Southwest Chocolate Stack-Ups - These were very yummy and very easy to put together if you made everything up before hand. They also look pretty impressive for something so easy to make!
My first attempt at making Coconut Meringue Pie. It needed more meringue........
But it tasted amazing!
Second attempt turned out a lot better and it was still delicious!
Cherry Pie - It turned out pretty good. I was wanting to make a cherry pie that didn't just consist of "cherry pie filling out of a can". So, this was a nice change and it wasn't too sweet like a lot of cherry pies.
Oreo Truffles - So chocolaty and good!
Cake Truffles - These were absolutely amazing and I'm not kidding! Everyone who had one loved them and they are actually really pretty easy to make, so if you're wanting to make something that looks and takes amazing then you should definitely try these out!
Cookie Dough Truffles - These were good and they would probably be better if you didn't serve them with the Cake ones! :)
Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting - These are a very yummy treat and the cream cheese frosting makes them amazing. My husband and his dad like the frosting so much they like me to double it! :)
Homemade Cinnamon Bread (Pioneer Woman's recipe) - I've made this twice now and I love it! I did switch to using whole wheat flour to make it a little healthier and it is so good toasted and buttered!
Bethany's 1st Birthday Cupcakes - Nothing that extraordinary, but adding the mini m&m's was a plus and the girls loved them!
Abigail's 2nd Birthday Bear Cake - This was so fun to make and he turned out sooo cute! Hillary was amazing and helped me decorate him since she is extremely good at that and we had a lot of fun doing it. Kayla was also very helpful in holding him (before we iced him) while I did a little heart surgery due to some problems while baking him! :) It was definitely a fun time! :D

Hopefully you enjoyed looking at all my baking attempts....I will try to keep it up as I try new things out!

Friday, September 17, 2010

The Girls & Me!

So......I'm trying to accomplish some things today......one of them being to post on my blog so if you're reading this then good! It is rather tempting to read while the girls are asleep, but I figured sometimes I can read even when they're awake, but actually posting on my blog while they're awake?! Nope, not happening! They end up crawling all over me trying to reach the laptop and then doing something to it that I can't fix, so it's something I have to do when they are peacefully sleeping and I'm praying they sleep "just a little longer!" Seriously, I don't think anyone really understands the importance of nap-time for kids unless you are a mom and have kids of your own. I mean, it is really necessary for the survival and well-being of a mom....you have got to have that time while they are napping and if it isn't long enough it can drastically change the happiness of your day!

Two days later......I guess they sensed that I was hoping they would sleep longer, and seeing how it is quite impossible for them to be nice to me and sleep longer, I am once again trying to finish this post....while they're awake! I know, I must be crazy! :) It is actually getting close to their nap-time so I will have to pause in writing, but I shall, with as much certainty as I can, finish this today!

Nothing really new is going on around here, other then the fact that the girls are getting bigger and getting into more trouble....if that's possible....and in Bethany's case she just keeps finding more and more ways to get in trouble. Abigail has her phases, but has also discovered the joys of watching movies (Shrek and The Little Mermaid) so she can be entertained easily if I'm needing to get something done. For me, I've started P90X again and this is my second week of doing it. I guess I felt the urge to try and burn a little more fat....hopefully it's working. :) I've been reading that getting enough sleep is really helpful in losing weight. Unfortunately, On most night I can't even get 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep so hopefully that isn't altogether true. Bethany has been getting better, but then she goes through phases that set her back again so we keep having to work through them again....it will be so nice when I can move her into Abigail's room!
You see it, right?! All that orneriness?!
It's so cute when they give each other kisses! :)We were saying 'cheese'.....so, of course, we're going to have cheesy smiles!
Bethany looks so sweet here....it must have been perfect timing on the picture, because I don't remember her being very still while I was trying to take pictures!Even through the girls aren't looking at the camera, I still think they look pretty sweet....and I love black and white pictures!