Our Apartment Haunted?????

So I'm sure many of you are wondering what in the world my title is talking about.  I had to share this with everyone.  This evening Scott and I were sitting in the living room watching TV (and Lily was chilling on the balcony), when all of a sudden we heard the bedroom door make this really eerie creak sound and then slam shut.  So it got our attention (Lily's too!).  We had the patio door open since it's in the 60s outside... and Scott had also opened the bedroom window (He likes it to be FREEZING when he goes to sleep).  Well with the gusts that were coming in, it was opening and closing the bedroom door.  That door doesn't latch unless you pull up on the door knob.  So we kept hearing it.  I took a video to share... it was such a perfect time to happen since Halloween is 2 days away, so I thought I would post it!  It's about 3 minutes long... several seconds at a time are boring b/c it doesn't do anything.  But then it does it over and over.  I forgot that if you tilt your camera, the video comes out sideways, so sorry about that.  Just turn your head for the same effect.  I am so glad this didn't happen while I was home alone... it really would have freaked me out!!!  Would you have been freaked?  Leave a comment!  Let me know if you think your house is haunted too!!?  Have a spooky day:)

Pork Loin Recipe - Delicious!

I really love to cook.  I don't know if I'm all that good of a cook, but Scott likes it, so that's all that matters.  I think I want to make part of this blog about the recipes that I make.  I want to share them with everyone!

I have 3 requirements for cooking meals... #1 - the prep time can't be all that long b/c I don't like to spend hours in the kitchen.  #2 - Simple ingredients.  While I don't mind learning about new ingredients... if there are 4-5 things that I'm not familiar with, I'm not going to try to make it.  #3 - Easy on the bank.  Scott and I are trying to save money to buy a house sometime in the future.  Since we are newlyweds, we are pretty much starting from scratch with saving.

The first recipe that I would like to share is a Pork Loin Recipe that I made last night.  It was so good and actually quite easy!  Here is the recipe and pictures below (I will make notes on things I did a little different as I go):

Prep time:  25 Minutes
Cook time:  2 Hours and 45 Minutes
Ready in:  3 Hours and 10 Minutes
Servings:  8

Ingredients:
1 (5 pound) bone in pork loin Roast (**I used boneless and about a 3.5 lb)
3 cloves of garlic, sliced
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1/4 Teaspoon Paprika
1/4 Teaspoon Pepper
1/8 Teaspoon Dried Thyme
6 Medium Potatoes, peeled (**I used Gold Potatoes and I left the skins on)

ONION MUSHROOM GRAVY
1 Cup Water
1 Cup Beef Broth
2 Medium Onions, sliced (** I used 1 large)
1 1/4 Cups Chopped Fresh Mushrooms
1 Tablespoon Butter
1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil
1/4 Cup All-Purpose Flour
2 Tablespoons Minced Fresh Parsley (** I had every intention of using this... even chopped it up, but forgot!)
1/4 Teaspoon Pepper

DIRECTIONS:
1.  Cut slits in top of roast; insert garlic slices.  Combine the oil, paprika, pepper and thyme; Rub over roast.  Place in large resealable bag; Seal and refridgerate overnight.

2.  Transfer roast to a shallow roasting pan.  Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 1-3/4 hours. (**I did 1 1/2 hours since I had a smaller roast without the bone.)  Meanwhile, place potatoes and salt in a saucepan and cover with water.  Bring to boil.  reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes or until almost tender.  Drain; cool slightly.  Cut potatoes into quarters and arrange around roast.  (**I quartered the potatoes before boiling them.)

3.  Bake 45 minutes longer or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees F and potatoes are tender, basting potatoes with drippings occasionally.  Remove potatoes; keep warm.  Cover roast and let stand 15 minutes before carving. (**Since I used a boneless pork loin, I didn't have to "carve".  I left the potatoes and cut what we needed when we were ready to eat.)

4.  For gravy, pour drippings and loosened browned bits into a measuring cup.  Skim fat reserving 2 tablespoons drippings.  Add water and broth to reserved drippings; set aside.  In a large saucepan, saute oinions and mushrooms in butter and oil until tender.

5.  Stir in flour until blended.  Gradually stir in broth mixture.  Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.  Stir in parsley and pepper.  Serve with roast and potatoes.

**I served this with green beans also
**Some great wine to serve with it is Sauvignon Blanc  Here is a picture of the one we had.

This wine went great with the pork!  Many people don't really know how to pair wines with meals.  After getting married at a winery, I have learned a lot about wines and will try to pair them with recipes I put on here.

I hope you all like this recipe!  If you do decide to try it, post a comment and let me know how you liked it and if you did anything different!  I would love to hear from you!

Lots to Post About! Birthdays, Babies, Friends

So it's been a few weeks since I last posted.  An update on Bella and Buddy -- They are both being fixed today and have had some inquiries on adoption, but no permanant bites yet!

So last Tuesday was my birthday!  I hit the big 2-5!!!  It's weird to be 25... it feels like yesterday I was graduating high school and moving into the dorm to start my freshman year at A&M.  What a great year it has been for me so far... I finished my first year of teaching, I got married, and have been able to spend quality time with a lot of friends and family!

So to start with the updating... let's talk about my birthday present from Scott.  The week before, Scott told me that he had decided on a gift for me and that we were going to celebrate it on Saturday.  I was really excited!  I had no idea what it was b/c the way he was talking it was going to be an all day thing.  Well it was!!!  He took me to Six Flags in Arlington!!!  

 That is one of the best birthday presents anyone has ever gotten me.  I had told him back in the summer, that after we moved to Mansfield, I wanted to try to go... but with our busy travel weekends we never were able to.  So Saturday, October 17th, we got up, got dressed and ready and got their shortly after they opened at 10.  I love roller coasters... I'm pretty much not afraid of any of them.  Since we got there so early it wasn't real crowded and we went straight to Scott's favorite ride, the Titan.  I was 2 the last time I came here so I had no idea what any of the rides were.  The Titan is awesome!  We were able to ride in the very front... it takes you 25 1/2 stories up (the tallest ride at the park) and then drops straight down where you get up to 85 miles an hour.  It was the most thrilling, stomach tickling ride I have ever been on... SO awesome.  Below are some pictures I took...

You can see the top of the first drop...

From there we rode all of the big rides... Superman, Texas Giant, Shockwave, Batman, Mr. Freeze, Runaway Mine Train, Runaway Mountain.

Superman (left) is just like Dungeon Drop at Astroworld.  It takes you up high and you just drop straight down and go back up multiple times.  Scott made sure to remind me that that was the kind of ride that that girl had her foot cut off by a cable when she rode it.  Such a loving, sweet husband!  

The Texas Giant is a wooden roller coaster (right).  It was fun, but I have to say a little rough for me.  I never thought I would say that b/c I loved the Cyclone at Astroworld, but I kind of hurt after riding that one.  We didn't do that one again, but were glad we rode it.

The shockwave was awesome.  To the right and below is us waiting in line... One with both and one with Scott pouting that we didn't walk right up to the ride... We rode in front on that one several times... you do 2 loops in a row, makes you a little dizzy and light headed!  What a rush you get!  

Batman your feet hang and it's a big roller coaster... it was fun.  We only rode it once, but after we went home thought, 'dang, we should have done that one again!'  That's the ride to the right.

Mr. Freeze was short but awesome.  You start inside this tunnel.  You go 0 to 70 in 3.8 seconds I think.  You go into the tunnel and outside.  There's all of these twists and turns and loops and then it ends with you going straight up... you see the end of the track and think you are going to fly off of the end... then the ride slows and falls backward.  You do the whole thing backwards now where you can't see where you are going only to end back at the start again.  That was awesome and we would have done it again, but it had a longer wait time just because it was so popular.  If you look in the batman picture you can see the top of the Mr. Freeze ride.   And while we waited I took a picture of Mr. Freeze "operating" the ride. :)

So the next morning we drove to College Station.  On the way, we stopped to meet a special newborn.  The weekend before Amelia Wegwert was born!  Scott's sister, Kelli, was a proud new mama!  Scott and I are not at all experienced with babies, so it took some getting used to... she is so tiny!  Below are some pictures...

The first is myself with Amelia and Aunt Robin next to me.  The 2 below that is Uncle Scott getting to know her and even Lily was interested in her!

We got back into Mansfield on my birthday:)  Scott had to work, but we got in around 10.  When he got home, he cooked me a steak dinner and baked me a cake... Such a sweetheart...

The last part of my post is about the great friends that Scott and I have met since we have been here.  We have 2 neighbors, Tracy and Lynn who are so fun to hang out with!  At the beginning of October when Scott was in Canada, I went out with Tracy and Lynn.  Well, this past weekend we did the same.  We went out in the Stockyards in Fort Worth and I thought I would share some pictures we took...

The group out on Karoke Night

Myself with Lynn and Tracy

Me and Lynn

Me and Scott out in the Stockyards

Bella and Buddy - An Amazing Story

I think this post is a must read for everyone.  It is long, but please read to the very end.  This is a subject that I am extremely passionate about and I think everyone will learn something by reading this.

2 weeks ago Scott and I went to my parents lakehouse on Lake Livingston.  When we got there, we saw 2 precious puppies that were extremely emaciated wandering around.  Someone had dumped them!  Lily and Richie so graciously shared their large breed dog food with these small pups.  They ate as if they had never eaten before.  It was so sad.  They tummies were bloated from being starved and they were extremely skiddish at first.  When they realized that the 3 big monsters weren't mean, and us humans were full of hugs and pets, they came around and soon we all were friends.  We fed them all weekend.  We didn't know names so we were calling them Little Girl and Little Boy.  The little girl had a tick in her ear that we removed.  Both were just infested with fleas.  It was so sad.  Jennifer and I sat out on the porch and just picked them off, but as fast as we were killing them, more were coming to the surface.  By that Sunday, their protruding bellies had strunk to a more normal size, and they each got a bath and flea preventative put on them.  The fleas were disappearing.  All weekend we were trying to find a no kill shelter or rescue that would take them.  The problem is, all of these rescues are full and just can not accept any other dogs.  Jennifer actively volunteers for Golden Beginnings Golden Retriever Rescue, where we rescued both Lily and Richie.  Because of her connections, she was put in touch with several rescues who were working with her to put these two precious pups in a shelter to be adopted out.  CAPS of Houston is not a no kill shelter, but they do keep dogs longer than most before euthanizing them.  A lady with a rescue in Lufkin put Jennifer in touch with them, and they agreed to take them.  So it was all settled, on Monday, my mom and Jen were going to take Little Girl and Little Boy to CAPS to then be placed in a forever home.

Puppies sleeping

Little Boy with a Toy

Little Girl with a Ball

Monday came and went and I didn't hear anything.  I figured that was a good thing.  I was really attached to Little Girl and really wanted to take her home with me.  So I thought that my sister was sparing me the heartache of telling me that they were taken to the shelter.  Tuesday came around and I got an email from Jen.  Turns out, they took both of the pups to the shelter but Jennifer didn't want to sign the euthanization form.  This just states that they reserve the right to euthanize the dog if they feel necessary.  Jennifer made the guy promise that if that was to be an option, they would call before they put them to sleep.  After all, they were puppies and shouldn't have any trouble finding a forever home.   The problem was that Little Girl had a sore on her front leg.  The vet at the shelter looked at it and thought it was a fungus... a very contagious fungus that while easily treatable, the shelters just don't have the time to deal with that when there are other puppies that need nothing done to them as far as treatments.  They were going to put her down.  The guy that Jennifer had talked to called her and told her what their plan was.  She started crying and she and my mom went back there the very same day and took both of them home.  We were not going to let these sweet babies be euthanized.

So, long story somewhat shortened, we are fostering the pups until we can find forever homes.  We decided to come up with a more suitable name and they are now Bella and Buddy.  The fungus is treated very easily by bathing and dipping her once a week for 4 weeks.  We are into the 3rd week of taking care of these precious babies and what a simple treatment.  It stinks, but her sore is better and Bella and Buddy are growing fast.

Buddy on the Left and Bella on the Right

Buddy Left & Bella Right sleeping after playing super hard

I know that many think that they have to get a pure breed and they pay lots of money to do so.  But please, for everyone out there, please look into rescuing a dog.  All 3 of our dogs are pure breeds and 2 were rescued.  Lily was an owner turn in and Richie was left tied up in a back yard after the family moved.  Just because they came from a rescue doesn't make them any less of a wonderful pet.  AND PLEASE, don't buy from puppy stores without doing research.  Many pet stores get their dogs from puppy mills which is absolutely awful.  They are mass breeding facilities that are in awful condition.  For those who don't know what goes on at puppy mills read below from The Humane Society (stoppuppymills.org)

"...dogs who live their entire lives in cages and are continually bred for years, without human companionship and with little hope of ever becoming part of a family. These dogs receive little or no veterinary care and never see a bed, a treat or a toy. After their fertility wanes, breeding animals are commonly killed, abandoned or sold to another mill. The annual result of all this breeding is hundreds of thousands of puppies, many with behavior and/or health problems. "

Please watch the following video from Oprah's show last year on Puppy Mills... scroll to start at 4:00 if you just want to see the portion on puppy mills... it's all good, but that's the most important part.

Source:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Km1_h7eGiKU

Here is an example of what Puppy Mills look like:

http://www.monroehumane.org/news/article.php?id=251

If you do go through a breeder, make sure they know what they are doing.  A professional breeder will work to breed out hip displaysia and other known problems associated with dogs.  Some people think that it is just fun to breed animals... there is such an over population of dogs that we do not need to breed animals just because.  Also inbreeding is a huge problem.  Dixie, one of our dogs was inbred...  we of course didn't know it until after we got her paperwork, but she has skin problems, ear problems among others that had the breeder we used been licensed, they wouldn't not have allowed that.  We wouldn't trade Dixie for anything, but people are allowing things like this to happen when they could easily be prevented.

There is way too much information out there for people to allow all of this to continue.  Please help in doing something about it.  Before you consider just breeding to make some money, consider those animals that are being euthanized every day because there is such an overpopulation of animals.

Below are some Dog Rescues in Texas: 

• www.austinrescue.com/
• www.bluedogrescue.com/
• www.dogpack.com/directory/txnokill.htm
• www.operationkindness.org/
• www.goldenretrievers.org/
• www.gbgrr.org/testweb/index.htm  -- This is where we adopted Richie and Lily from

There are so many more.  I literally just typed Dog Rescue Texas. If you are interested in a certain breed, just type the dog breed + Rescue + where you are.  So easy.  Please help these innocent creatures by giving them a good home.  Let's help to stop irresponsible breeding and stop the Puppy Mills!

I know that this post is sad, but for so many dogs it can have a very happy ending.   Please take this to heart and consider saving an animal!

Happy Halloween!!!!

I LOVE October!!!  2 reasons... #1, it's my Birthday:)  and #2, Halloween!  We don't really do a lot for Halloween, but it's fun seeing all of the decorations.  I can't wait to start my collection to put out during this wonderful month.  I don't have much to update today... just changed the look of my blog.  Hope y'all like it!