The National Western Stock Show

A couple of weeks ago, that devilishly handsome man I married, his partner-in-crime Danny, and myself loaded up a couple of bulls and hauled 'em out to the National Western Stock Show in Denver to be on display for a week before getting shipped up to Montana where they'll stand as stud, aka eat all day and get collected (yes, I'm talking about semen, sorry) aka live a cake life.  Our journey out west spanned over 12 hours....

included three states.....

(Guess which one this is.  I'll give you a hint, it's flat and people from Missouri enjoy making jokes about it...sorry Kansas friends! ;) )

-4 degrees.  No big deal.

and got a wee bit chilly a few hours after crossing the Kansas/Colorado border.  Cold weather is NOT my strong suit.  

We rolled into the stock yards after dark, and it only took about five minutes for me to realize that my warm, delightful, amazing, insulated boots were safely back home in Missouri.  Awesome.  I am NOT a Yuppie...promise!

Anyhow, once I'd invested in some cheapo Walmart snow boots and had relatively warmish feet, we settled in for the long haul, trying to stay warm, keeping the bulls fed, happy and clean, and answering questions about their genetics, disposition, etc.  Being from Missouri, the bulls and their  umm..male parts..were a bit offended by the Denver chill at first, but everyone adjusted after a few days!

Despite the long drive and colder than a well-digger's you-know-what temperatures, I always enjoy trips like this.  The abundance of top-notch livestock, both new and familiar faces, and all the different vendors selling their wares...

Like this cute, sassy, feminine pistol case!

make stock shows a source of endless entertainment.  (Not to mention the fact that it's perfectly acceptable and even encouraged to drink like a fish all day.  Hey, Crown is a major source of warmth out on the cold, frozen tundra!  We spent most of our time outside, and although I did not discover the temperature at which a margarita freezes, we did end up with several slushy beers and a frozen solid tube of lip gloss!

On the second day, I ventured up onto the cat walk to snap a few photos for the stockyards.  The historical significance of this area is pretty cool.  The yards are located right next to the train tracks as livestock were once shipped from the yards at a rate of hundreds of thousands of head per year!

Picture a sight like this, only in all four directions, as far as you can see.

 I took this photo while sprinting down the last portion of the cat walk.  It was a good 10 degrees colder up there, I swear!  I'm not entirely sure where this cattle operation was from, but they sure had their stuff together! 

The boys ended up staying with the bulls a solid week in Denver, but I sadly had to leave early to get back home to the daily 8-5 grind....

And this was my rental car on the way back from the airport :)

Check something off your bucket list this week!!

   

Happy New Year!

Well, seeing how it's officially January 20th, I guess it may be time to make some New Year's Resolutions.  Here we go: 

1.  Quit procrastinating so much.  (You can see how well this is working out so far ;) )
2.  Blog at least once per week (Hey, I can't guarantee the content will be anything decent, but maybe if I tell someone, I'll actually do it!)
3.  Run another half marathon  (Who consults their still mending body when writing Resolutions  anyway?!)
4.  Quit obsessing about trying to get 'there' and live in the moment more often.
5.  Take WAY more photos.
6.  Convince hubby that it's a good idea to get some chickens.  

Alright everyone, get out there and kick 2013 in the booty!  (Like I'm sure you've already been doing!)

Cookie Monster!

My kitchen is exhausted, my oven is revolting against me, my baking pans are staging a protest, and my KitchenAid mixer is boycotting.  That's right, December = Almost Christmas = Cookie Exchange time at work! 

I'd asked around a bit and learned there weren't too many people signed up to bring chocolate-type stuff.  I wasn't about to let you-know-what freeze over, so I did a little Google searching.  I stumbled upon a Paula Dean recipe (yes, we are definitely going for healthy here people, bahaha!), was lacking a few ingredients here and there, so I improvised a wee bit.  Give it a shot!

Here's what you're gonna need.

Beat the first four ingredients until creamy.

Add the egg.  

You may or may not notice there's two eggs in this shot.  That's cause I doubled this for the Cookie Exchange.  6 dozen baby!!

Next, add baking mix (which is just a glorified term for homemade Bisquic--2 c. flour, 1 Tbs. baking powder, 1 tsp. salt, 1/2 c. shortening) stir until just blended.

Next, stir in you're chopped up nuts and chocolate chips.  

Spoon the tasty lil boogers onto a greased baking sheet and flatten 'em out.  (It helps to make an indent in the middle of each cookie w/ your thumb...you'll thank me later!)

Bake these at 350 for 10-12 minutes.  

While they're in the oven, combine the vanilla extract and caramel chips and nuke 'em in the microwave (start at 30 seconds and go from there) until nice and melty.

Once the turtle goodness is out of the oven, let 'em cool for about a minute-ish, then spoon the caramel deliciousness over top of the turtle cookies.  Hence the whole thumb indent thing.  I skipped that part on my first batch...caramel was EVERYWHERE!

 

At this point, I'm pretty sure most every surface in my kitchen was covered in cookie.  I'd told myself I was gonna be good, not do a whole lot of "quality assurance" testing (if you know what I mean!) so I warmed up a cup of coffee in the middle of the afternoon (yes, like an old lady), and loaded it down with creamer, sugar, the works.  The intent was to drink the coffee, and not do so much "quality assurance" testing.  Anyway, by the time we got to the cookie covering every surface stage, I'd pretty much chucked the coffee out the window and was thoroughly making sure everything was up to code (bahaha!).

While you're waiting for everything to continue cooling/caramel to harden a bit, melt some chocolate chips and milk in the microwave and when it's all nice and liquidy, drizzle this over the top of the turtles.  It's delicious.  You'll be smacking that devilishly handsome man you married's hand with a spoon the moment he walks in the door! 

Enjoy! : )

 Here's the breakdown:
1/2 c. softened butter
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
2/3 c. peanut butter
1 egg
2 c. baking mix
2/3 c. chopped pecans/nut of choice
2/3 c. chocolate chips
10 oz. caramel chips
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2/3 c. additional chocolate chips.

Beat together the first four ingredients until creamy, add egg baking mix, beat until just combined.  Stir in chopped pecans and chocolate chips.  Spoon the mixture onto a greased baking sheet, flatten with a spoon, and create an indent with your thumb.  Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.  Melt the caramel chips (with a little bit of milk) and vanilla and spoon over cookies.  Melt additional chocolate chips and drizzle over cookies.