Momma T's Sour Dough Bread

This Christmas I really got into making my grandmothers sour dough bread. Jon needed 20 gifts for his office staff so I decided to make the bread for them and I am pretty sure it was a hit. I have been asked by a lot of people if I use a bread machine so I thought I would give a step by step demonstration of how the "wonderful" bread is made....and NO there is not a bread machine involved!

Step #1: Lots of flour goes into a mixing bowl

My lovely starter that I feed every 3 days

I add salt, warm water, oil, sugar and 1 cup of the starter to the mixing bowl of flour

Mix it all together

Place into a large mixing bowl to rise for 12 hours

Dough in mixing bowl...rising!

After the bread rises I put them into individual pans to rise more

24 hours later the bread is made!

For Christmas they were placed in small bags with my homemade labels

I made 20 of these cute little guys!

 I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! This year was our "First" Christmas together after being married and it was a blast. We headed down to Daphne last wednesday morning and came back monday night so we had a long time to hang out with my family. My parents cooked some amazing food, we exchanged wonderful gifts, got to hang out with Jon's brother Chris and his fiance Kelly, Jon shot 2 deer at one time on Sunday night, took a boat ride up to the camp to see all the hard work my dad has done to make the new kitchen and got to see some old Bayside friends. I love the holidays and I am sad they are over but we have some great memories to carry us through the year. I hope everyone has a fun and safe New Years!

Winter Weather Alert!

The temperatures are FREEZING around here so make sure to bundle up and stay warm my friends!!

Thanksgiving week

This past week has been full of fun happenings. Jon and I had a short work week due to Thanksgiving which was much needed. This year Thanksgiving was with Jon's family so on wednesday night we headed to Mount Cheaha to visit with his family. We stayed at Jon's parents lakehouse with Jon's brother Chris and his fiance Kelly who drove up from Daphne which was so much fun. Mrs. Sandy and Mr. Hughey also were there so we all had a fun relaxing time together. Thanksgiving dinner was sooo yummy! I think I am still full from all the food. Check out some pictures we took over the holiday:

Chris and Nana

Granddaddy with Cat, Jon, Chris and Kelly

Our little Lilly

Mrs. Sandy and Mr. Hughey

Lilly playing at the lake with her duck

Football was another BIG happening over the holiday weekend. I was pretty disappointed in the game but my husband sure was excited! I think he still has a huge smile on his face. Earlier in the season Jon and I made a bet about the Iron Bowl. We said that whichever team wins the game that Lilly would sport that teams t-shirt. Here is the outcome:

War Eagle

Jon and I drove back to Huntsville on saturday night so we could decorate our aparment on sunday for Christams. This is one of my favorite times of the year and this is our "first" Christmas together so it was extra special. We decided this year that we would find a local Christmas Tree Farm and cut down our own tree. It was so much fun! We went to Valley Christmas Tree Plantation about 20 minutes from our home.They gave us a long measuring pole and a hand saw and sent us on our way. The farm was huge and had lots of different types of trees to choose from so we walked around. We liked the Colorodo Blue Spruce the best. Jon cut down the tree and we headed home with a 9 foot tree to decorate. Once we got it into our apartment we noticed that it almost reached the ceiling so I am happy we did not get anything taller. We had gone to Lowes earlier to purchase some lights so we had plenty to decorate our tree and porch with. Jon was set on having colored lights this year so we got LED lights for the tree. We had no idea how bright they were until we put them on the tree and plugged them in. WOW we pretty much need glasses to look at our tree and I think you can see our tree from space....hahahh you might not want to put LED lights in your home (just a tip)! Our tree is pretty BLING! The lights are so bright that there is no use in adding ornaments because you cannot see them......hahah our tree is decked out in bright lights and gold pinecones.....we are having a tacky Christmas this year. To add to our colorful apartment, Jon and one of his friends decorated our porch with lots of lights. They really went all out! Along with the Christmas decorating madness, we or I thought it would be festive to get our fireplace going. Well that turned out to be a horrible idea because about an hour into it being lit the weather outside got really windy and so the smoke decided not to go up the chimney but to blow into our apartment. Our poor little dog was sound asleep next to the fireplace when the smoke started to come in and the smoke alarm went off. Needless to say, she was really scared and for a while we could not find her. We finally found her deep in Jon's hunting clothes in our room. Well I decided to vacuum up all the needles that had fallen off the tree which was yet again another terrible idea. I clogged the vacuum so Jon spent about 20 minutes "de-needeling it" so about 9pm last night we finally settled down. It was a Christmas decorating day that I will never forget! I guess you live and learn....hahha it was a pretty funny day! Check out the pictures:

My camera had a hard time focusing with all the bling!

Happy decorating!!

My New Camera!

Last week we purchased a new camera and it is AWESOME! I cannot tell you how much we enjoy taking pictures! I think Jon thinks I am crazy because I constantly take pictures of Lilly our puppy. She actually likes to pose for the pics! Anyway, Jon and I thought it would be fun to take some good nature shots up at Monte Sano State Park, which is only seconds away from our home. Check out the scenery:

This is at the "Lookout" that looks out over the city.

This is a little cabin that you can rent! So cute!!

This is the road that takes you to the State Park...beautiful this time of year!

Happy Fall!!

Lilly Is Growing Up

   Our little 8 pound pup is growing up so fast! This is her at 4 months old and she gets more and more cute everyday. Recently Jon and I have been finding little surprises around the house. Now I know what you are thinking.....poop, right?? WRONG! This is what we have been finding all over the house:

Her Teeth!

    One night Lilly was in her bed and she was doing something really funny with her mouth. At first I thought she was choking on something and all of a sudden..out pops a tooth! We were both shocked!! We did not know that she was old enough to be losing teeth. Later that week Jon and I were playing backgamon on the floor of our apartment and I looked down near my foot and there was another tooth. Tonight she lost a tooth on the bathroom floor....this is getting crazy!!
    Last friday I took Lilly to the vet to get her rabies shot and asked the vet if it was normal for her to be losing teeth like this. He told me that it was perfectly normal and that most people don't see their puppies lose their teeth because the dog stays outside. So, we have a healthy normal pup!! Chow for now!!

Our Spook-tacular Halloween!

This past weekend was full of good friends, cool places and creative costumes. Saturday night Jon and I went to a costume party at an old friends house. We had a blast! Take a look:

The French Maid and the Monster

Spider Lilly had a blast

Our great family

Kevin as homeless Santa with the Monster

Party Boy Robert, always having a good time!

The crew

I hope everyone had as much fun this weekend as we did!

Happy Halloween!

Fall is such a fun time of year. The leaves are changing colors, the weather is getting cooler, people are decorating for Halloween (which happens to be one of my favorite holidays) and it is football season. This year Jon and I have gotten into the Halloween spirit by carving some pumpkins.

 Jon surprised me with his creativity and carved both of these fabulous pumpkins. He is just so good! Lilly has been getting into the Halloween spirit too! Check out her costumes:

The Ghost Sweater

"Spider Lilly"

 I am sure there will be more to come after this weekend. Happy Halloween!

Momma T

        This past week I had the privlage to go home to be with my wonderful grandmother for 6 days.  A few weeks earlier she broke her ankle then got a bladder infection that turned into Sepsis (a severe illness in which the bloodstream is overwhelmed by bacteria) that lead to diverticulitus which lead to a colonoscopy this past sunday. She was 85 years old and  her body was so weak that she could not recover from the surgery.
        She was always the life of the party and had such a positive attitude. She will be greatly missed. Love you Momma T!

Lilly Reynolds

This weekend we added a third Reynolds to our apartment. Her name is Lilly and she is a 9 week old beagle.  She weighs only 7 pounds so she is really small.

She is laying on Jon's arm.

We got her from the Huntsville Humane Society on Saturday and she has been such a sweet little puppy. She loves to lay in her bed....

Loves to hang out with Jon and I....

 And enjoys exploring outside in the grass....         

                                                                             

The curb is almost taller than she is!

                                 

We LOVE our new addition!