of apples and birthdays

OK, as i mentioned, i have about 20 lbs of apples. i want to make the same cookies they have at carter's mountain - not sure what kind of cookies they are, but i want to make them. i know they have apple chunks and i think butterscotch chips? so i found a couple recipes (below) that i am going to meld together in an attempt to get these cookies. i want the cookie itself to taste almost like apple pie, but still be a cookies, not puffy like the first recipe describes. so here we go. anyone that wants to taste test - i should be making them saturday.

Spiced Apple Cookies

1/2 c. shortening*
1 1/3 c. dark brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 c. whole milk
2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 t. baking soda
1 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. ground cloves
1/2 t. ground nutmeg
1/2 t. salt
1 c. chopped walnuts
1 c. unpeeled apple, finely chopped (I use a juicy, sweet variety like McIntosh)
*Note: I use trans-fat free shortening only when baking

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Beat together shortening and brown sugar until full combined. Add egg and milk and mix ingredients well.
3. In a separate bowl combine flour, soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and salt. With the mixer on low, slowly add dry ingredients, scraping down the sides as necessary, until everything is fully combined.
4. Stir chopped apple and walnuts into the batter with a wooden spoon.
5. Drop cookies by rounded teaspoonfuls about 2-inches apart on a cookie sheet lined with Silpat or parchment paper. Press the tops of the cookie down with your top two fingers so they are slightly flattened.
6. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until cookies hold their shape and are slightly browned on the edges.

Apple and Spice Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 1/3 cups packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup apple juice
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 cup chopped apples
• 1 cup raisins

Directions

1. Cream together shortening and brown sugar. Stir in flour, baking soda, salt and spices until dampened. Stir until smooth. Mixture will be very thick.
2. Stir in nuts, apples and raisins.
3. Drop by tablespoon 2 inches apart on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes in a 400 degree F (205 degrees C) oven. Let cool slightly, remove from cookie sheet.

These cupcakes looked good too - if i had the energy to make that icing mmmm....

And apple chips sound like a good idea - although eight hours in the oven is a bit crazy.

The other thing i plan to do this weekend is catch up on my TV watching. it's odd that i keep missing shows, considering i'm home most nites (although baby and i are usually asleep by 9:30/10). but thursday nite is a bitch b/c i have three or four things i want to see all on at the same time. my current list of favs is:

1. flash forward - i'm missing a few recent episodes so i'm trying to watch them online. this show is my new lost

2. bones - i would love to get old seasons on dvd. this show is funny and nerdy and i love angel!

3. castle - i usually fall asleep halfway through, but i love me some Mal (firefly anyone??). this show is pretty funny too.

4. the middle - like malcolm in the middle, the youngest kid cracks me up (whispering to myself "cracks me up")

5. ties - i like them all - modern family, 30 rock, the office, parks and rec, community

6. desperate housewives - i am like a season behind but i def want to see the plane hit wisteria lane

7. 90210 and melrose - i didn't like 90210 right away, but it seems to be getting better, and melrose is pretty good. espec. now that amanda is back, jo is back and we get to find out why asslee killed sydney (and she's leaving!)

i haven't been keeping up with a lot of the shows i usually watch - ANTM (although i read about it on four four, so thats good enough for me), project runway, top chef. Jack and i were watching hell's kitchen - i love me some gordon ramsey although my mom says he cheats on his wife which is why she doesn't like him. thank goodness i don't have cable or i'd be a tv watching foolio. plus i already need a dvr just for those shows above that i miss on basic cable!

and shows i've missed that I'll have to wait for on dvd:

1. true blood

2. nip/tuck (last season!)

3. dexter

i'd like to watch united states of tara....i think there are a couple other series on hbo/showtime that i like that i can't think of at the moment.

i also have been so busy i've almost not spent enough time reminding people that my birthday is next week!!!!30th birthday at that. i'm hoping to see new moon, perhaps get out without the baby for some dinner and drinking. get some sweet presents: anything related to nursing (as in new bras and nursing cover as that is now the new focus of my life) and crafting - particularly embroidery (i love what sew amy has been doing, but prob need a start-up kit like the one from sublime stitching) and quilting (palettes please!). enough hints?! needless to say, i'm hoping with this new job i will have time in the evenings/weekends to do some crafting, which might mean everyone will now be getting embroidered tea towels or something from me for presents, but hey, it'll be made with love!

and...off to ikea sunday. if anyone wants me to pick something up - send me requests and money now. i will be without baby and ready to shop.

some halloween pics....

the goldfish costume was NOT a hit. but the fishbowl stroller turned out pretty well, even if we didn't take it anywhere.

last weekend we went up to carters mountain to pick apples. being as this is something everyone in va does, we had to climb up another mountain to get to the apple trees that still had apples. but damn were there a lot of apples. i think we ended up with 24lbs of apples. so so far i have made applesauce (and gave some to milkie), and plan on making these delicious looking mini-gingerbread upside-down cakes. eventually i'll make apple pie, more applesauce, applesauce cake...any other ideas? maybe apple dumplings? and carters mountain makes these incredible apple caramel cookies with chunks of apple and caramel chips that i may try to make. mmm. so thats this weekend. i also plan on making soup. mmmm. i'm hungry.

and in other news - i put in my two weeks. i've been hired at a company doing contract research work. i can't freaking wait. no more academia bullshit. i can actually leave work and not have to think about it. i can do things in my free time! i can take knitting classes and make quilts and embroider! and i'm getting quite the raise which is super super helpful. so i start that the week of Thanksgiving.

and speaking of Thanksgiving, jack and i will be cooking thanksgiving dinner this year for our families. so we'll see how that goes.

and merit is getting big - a big marshmallow face. too cute. her new thing is screaming. she's not much of a cryer but now when she wants to, she screams at the top of her lungs. who knew she even had it in her, she's been so quiet up until now? and she stares at the TV and computer. i think she needs some toys...

1 year

Jack and I went up to King Family Vineyards for our anniversary this past weekend. The weather was just as it was on our wedding day - pouring rain in c'ville, but as we approached crozet the clouds parted and it was a gorgeous day! so strange! we took baby and did a little wine tasting (the roseland is yummy!), had some fan-freaking-tastic pate, bread and goat cheese and sat on the patio. we also visited my aunt, uncle and cousins up in waynesboro so they could meet the baby. and on sunday we had champagne (also from the vineyard and also really good surprisingly) and year old cake (which was surprisingly still really good too). we had people write all over the champagne bottle at the wedding, our favorite was from blair and chip "have a baby". done and done.

so i've gotten into the swing of things at work, but looking for maybe something else.....everyone keep their fingers crossed for me! i do like this job but i'd like a more managerial (ahem higher paying) position with more structured hours. something i dont have to bring home. but if i dont get it, i'm ok where i am - i do like this lab a lot.
the trees have started to change, the weather is fantastic and i can't wait for saturday - halloween!!! we've got a hilarious gold fish costume for Poppy. i'm now trying to figure out an easy way to make her stroller look like a fishbowl (suggestions??). i figure if we take her out with her cousins and her costume is cute enough we could def. score some candy! and i really want some halloween candy. i'm already planning on buying up a bunch of stuff the day after, when it all goes on sale.
i'm trying to use my weeknds for cooking, so this weekend i plan on making corn chowder and baking some of those pumpkin chocolate chip things, pumpkin pancakes (or waffles), i'd also like to make some beef stew. i'm craving beef stew. i'd like to use those days to make stuff i can freeze, or use for my lunch for the next week. on the lookout for more recipes....
and i'm thinking about taking up knitting (ha!). but maybe sticking with embroidery. i'd really like to start doing some embroidery (i guess i have to learn how to do that first before i can stick with it). man my thirty years is starting to look like 60. not like i have tme to do any of this stuff.

pumpkins boo - yah!

We went to the pumpkin patch today. momma and baby like to make the same faces.

I realized that i never posted pictures of the finished nursery. mainly b/c it took us so long to put the crib together that i just never got around to making it look 100% presentable where i wanted to post. but here we are:


I've started my new job. I like it so far - I have no idea what they study (Stat5? Mast cells? Immuno-wha???) but they seem to have lots of confidence in me which is nice, at least my boss does and he likes to call me Dr. D. which is always nice to hear. I'm slowly learning m y way around the lab - once I get that down, I'll feel much better about it. So far I'm way busy and I'm trying to finish up my revisions for my dissertation, so I have tons to do. plus i try to do nothing but have baby time when i get home so I stay super busy at work. I'm also trying to adjust to the pumping thing. At first I was pumping twice a day. now I think i've got it down to once midday and i'm good until I get home. Its just a matter of not being too full that I start hurting and leaking and having a free 20 minutes to go do it. It is kind of a nice break though. Plus anytime I dont feel like being in the lab i just go pump. its a nice excuse to get away. Dad and baby seem to have adjusted well. Its nice that he now understands that even though you're home all day, you don't necessarily get anything done. But he has become Mr. Mom in the span of a week. he's already learned how to cook (east african braised chicken and pork chops with balsamic reduction!). I do miss cooking though, so i try to get some in on the weekends (i made harvest soup, pesto pasta salad, and cookies today). well, i cheated with the cookies - the dough was premade.

the other nice thing about jack being home - he can go get me cupcakes from the cupcake store before they run out. AND there is another one out by trader joes that actually makes the same flavors we had for our wedding - lemon raspberry, pumpkin spice, and chocolate raspberry. I'm thinking I'll order some to celebrate our anniversary with. we're trying to decide whether to go back to the vineyard for our anniversary or go visit chincoteague for the day. I'm kind of leaning towards the vineyard, plus my aunt offered to babysit and we can probably score free dinner out of her too! and they're fun to hang out with. I can't believe we've not even been married for a year and we already have this incredible baby. crazy year.

I can't get over the weather richmond has been having - freaking gorgeous! thats another plus (sort of) with pumping is i get to go outside to go to the lactation room. i can't wait for the leaves to start to change. plus this weather brings my favorite things: apple picking, cider,apple cider doughnuts, gludvine, pumpkin pie, halloween costumes.....
our weekends are hella busy for the rest of the month: chrissy's wedding, apple picking in c'ville, halloween, zombie walk, anniversary. not in that order. but so fun! and more merit firsts. love it!

one more day?!

the past two months have flown by. i can't believe i have to go back to work tomorrow and leave my little one home (with daddy-lucky lucky man)! i have mixed feelings about this - i know i want to go back to work and will get stir crazy eventually. but everyone knows how nice it is to wake up (late) and have absolutely nothing you have to do. and i'm not particularly stoked about pumping at work, finding a parking spot, being completely out of my element in a brand new job, leaving my baby! i feel extremely unprepared BUT i'm also excited to start something new.

the past couple of days the baby has been spitting up a little more than normal, so she's not agreeing with something i've been eating. i thought it was shellfish (i made a great paella with mussels). but now i'm thinking its beer. i haven't had beer since i got pregnant and i've been drinking it the past few nites and...BARF. so i guess no more beer for awhile. at least its not wine.

and after months and months of talking - i finally finished her pillow! i didn't use any kind of pattern or instructions, hence the corners are all a little wonky. i tried to do a "quilted"-esq look with the different fabrics i had. i pretty much love it and its soo soft!
and i have some fabric left over to use for something else. i've now decided i want to make her a nice blanket b/c she doesn't have one that is really "HERS" - everything we have are hand-me downs. with the exception of the blanket made by the nuns that we won't talk about here.
did i mention my baby has finger toes?

the mummas and i went to see lady gaga Monday nite - no pictures b/c i rely on Shawn for pics and his camera died. it was at the landmark -general admission, so we were very worried about getting decent seats. we got there relatively early and were able to have fantastic front row upper balcony seats and the show was amazing! short (she was only on for an hour) but seriously entertaining. plus she sang live which is always a plus. and the people there were ridonkulous - no one should wear leotards after age 7. seriously.

and i freaking love this weather! we're already planning apple picking, halloween, one year anniversary! i love fall. i love october. and october means november which means thanksgiving and my birthday (big 3-0!). i want these for my baby for the cold weather: baby leggings

link list

things i am excited about:
-cupcakes in carytown - although they'll only be open as long as they have cupcakes, i won't have to keep trying to make it out to short pumps' two sweet.
-green day the musical
-raspberry ice cream cake
-Halloween around the corner: richmond zombie walk and blood lake!
-chocolate cake recipes
-science and food (explanations) = my heaven
-TMBG Here comes the science - i found this searching for kids music for merit - LOVES!
-who knew? 75 things you can compost

I made a cake for merit's one month birthday/grandparents day and we celebrated last nite - good excuse for that cake! she and i ventured out to the grocery store yesterday and it was certainly not as bad as i imagined, now i feel ready to take her anywhere! she's getting so big i can't believe it - i miss her tiny newborn self but i love how much more interactive she is - eye contact, smiles, cute little dinosaur noises.
i have been completely inspired by shawn to make that pillow (i mean, if he can do it so can i!) and found a couple of quilt/pillow patterns to stitch together (harhar). i realized today, in talking to a friend, that i waste so much of my time, just being lazy. i try to make excuses (the baby won't let me put her down!) but really its just me, so i am determined to get stuff done - i have so many books to read, things to sew, clothes to go through, work/writing to do. and so many things i want to do - no more putting stuff off. but then again, maybe its the coffee talking. i do miss the feeling of accomplishment. so thats my goal for the next two weeks before work starts - and from then on!
and check out the amazingly cute hat helen got my little blueberry:

baby face

i know it gets kind of silly and redundant, but i love that everything we're doing now consists of merit's "firsts" - first soccer game (yea kickers - league champs!!), first mall trip (very important), first bath (yea at three weeks she stunk), first birthday party for her first friend (happy 1 year millie!), first trip to the farmers market...its fun to categorize. and she and mom are getting pretty good at going out. not quite ready to tackle much by ourselves - i'm still very apprehensive about the grocery store. i'm having issues with the slings i have. i feel like they're too small but i think i'm just not wearing them correctly. help? but i have the amazing (and amazingly comfortable) mei tai carrier that jenny made me and i love. i just need to practice getting her in it by myself, b/c so far jack has had to help me.what i've realized is i'll never be able to do anything quickly again. car seat, sling, stroller, back in the car seat - no more "running in" to do anything. it's kind of nice though. she has forced me to slow down.

i also realized now how creative/untalented i am when i finally got her name painted on the birth tub, along with what is supposed to be a poppy. i didn't even bother to take a picture b/c its pretty bad. but at least its done and returned for the next lucky girl.

i feel a little lost and unproductive, but at the same time more relaxed than ever. this was the best way to end grad school, with a nice quiet two months. well, two months filled with nursing and trying to write in between nursing. and lots of buffy. TONS of buffy. already through the fourth season! i've also started reading the sookie books aka the true blood books. easy reading and a good break from all the baby books. i have such nice friends to lend me these things and keep me occupied!

i am starting to get antsy to do something. some sewing, baking, cooking. its hard to get the time in between her naps and i usually waste the precious time she does allow me just sitting, staring at her. or trying to take a shower. so my new to do list includes:
-making personal peach/raspberry cobblers in ramkins so i don't overdo the sweets
-getting that gd pillow made
-going through maternity clothes, putting them away and finding jeans that fit again
-oh and finishing all work for graduation. that should be number one.
but with this fall-like weather that i absolutely love all i want to do is hang out outside, go apple picking, and get ready for halloween.

and the best baby face: