1.31.2014

100 Happy Days - What a better way to celebrate Fridays!!!

“Action expresses priorities.”


― Mahatma Gandhi

One of my New Year's goals was to practice gratitude MORE. Last night I came across a website:  http://100happydays.com/ I think my goal fits in perfectly with this challenge. We all take so many happy moments for granted and sometimes even focus on all the negative going on in life. I have noticed myself doing it at times and have to snap myself out of it and reflect on all the good stuff going on. Well, this is going to pretty much force me to label one happy moment each day. I usually post many happy moments, but I do so, and I have to admit that I sometimes don't realize how special those little moments are and what impact that teeny moment had on my day.. This is that little push I needed to actually make me be more grateful for those moments!
It is a challenge that seems rather simple - for 100 days in a row, you take a picture of something that made you happy and post it to your Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, OR you can participate privately and just have these moments for yourself! We all have cellphones with cameras, so the convenience of capturing the most random happy moment seems soooooo easy, right? Well, 71% of people tried to complete this challenge, but failed quoting lack of time as the main reason. These people simply did not have time to be happy. Do you? Here are a couple of positive side effects from people who successfully took the challenge:
I signed up last night and think that it can't take more than a minute (literally) to snap a picture with my phone and immediately upload to Instagram, so even on my worst day, if I am searching for that happy moment, that is sure to shoo away those dark clouds of a bad day, right? Supposedly the site keeps up with your posting, so you can't play 'catch up' if you missed or forgot yesterday - you have to actually do this DAILY...

Each Friday, I am going to share here on the blog what my moments for my 'happy days' were for the week. Since I just started last night, I will share my very first one now: 
I took this on my lunch break yesterday at the farm - it is snow on a cypress tree. We didn't get very much, and the sun was rapidly melting away all traces, but this side of the tree had been in the shade most of the morning and was clinging on to the last bit of snow and the ground in its shadow was still mostly white in this area. 
You are welcome to follow my Instagram HERE, all of my challenge pics will be hashtagged #100happydays - I sometimes upload multiple pics a day, so to avoid seeing EVERYTHING I post on IG, you can just check the blog every Friday for the challenge pics! 
If you have decided that you might want to participate, you can sign up HERE 
Happy posting, y'all!! 99 more happy days ahead for me (hopefully)!!



1.30.2014

want/need/hear/read

want:  
Hot Chocolate Magic Mix + Vanilla Bean Marshmallows in a Jar from QUIN out of Portland, OR. (FYI, if you order by Feb. 10, it can get here in time for Valentine's Day)

need:
to make this ginger detox bath & body scrub from the blog over at Henry Happened
hear: this week's pick from Christian....
From the album Ghettoville - you can purchase the album HERE  

read: Fäviken by Magnus Nilsson - you can purchase your very own copy HERE.

"Fäviken is the first major cookbook by Magnus Nilsson, the 28-year old chef whose restaurant is located on a 20,000 acre farm and hunting estate in Northern Sweden. It has recently been called "the most daring restaurant in the world" by Bon Appetit. In Faviken, Nilsson writes about how he only cooks with ingredients that are raised, farmed and hunted in the immediate vicinity of his remote restaurant. The food served at Fäviken - from the dairy to the meat to the vegetables - is harvested, butchered and preserved by hand using the most natural and primitive methods possible, and Nilsson is in factor of simple cooking methods such as roasting over open coals. This approach results in the highly creative food and intense flavors of which, far from seeming traditional, are remarkable."

1.29.2014

Midweek Mixtape ..... and we got SNOW!!!!!


Snowpocolypse 2014. I had hoped it would have been more. I can be happy with what we got. I am grateful that the roads were not bad at all on my route to the farm - I was amazed at how well the intersections and bridges were salted and sanded in Athens. Pretty impressive for a city that doesn't get too many snow days!!  I am still hopeful that before winter is through, we will see a few more inches of this beautiful white stuff. This was the very first time my animals have seen the snow. I could not wait to go out and see how they acted...

I had to take advantage of an old school love letter to Christian in one of the garden beds... 

Day one at the farm.... it was still snowing on this trip out....
 The babies (three years old and still my babies) were hesitant at first to step out into this sea of white... they stayed in the areas that were protected from snowfall by overhangs. They watched Christian and Baby run and play in it...


 Misty found a safe place behind me and watched....
 Ellen was a bit more adventurous and was the first of the three to venture out into the field....
 "Hey you guys, it's cool - see, I'm like totally safe on the white stuff".
 Nom nom nom nom..... Eli is always hungry...

 It was brutally cold and windy... after my fingers went numb, it was time to go... see you tomorrow, babies!
Day two: It snowed up until about 1am and the view out our kitchen window was lovely this morning....
 I didn't have to work because of the possibility of icy roads, so I made a big Saturday style breakfast: bacon, grits, and buttered toast...
 I have been trying my best to stick to gluten free foods due to a sensitivity I have recently identified and I have had the hardest time with it when it comes to breads and being GF. I have posted in the last month or so about finding the perfect GF flour for biscuit making and the day before this 'blizzard' I went to Trader Joes for some soups. I stumbled across this Udi's white sandwich bread and bought it. It is surprisingly good. The toast tasted great and the texture was on point with good old fashioned white bread as well! Yay!!
 After breakfast, we piled into the car to have some more snow fun with Baby and the farm crew...
 It did not seem quite as cold today and the sun was even trying to peek through!
Forest was looking mighty confidant in his winter coat...
 Milly was quick to get out into the field today - she seemed to feel great!
 Sweet Baby had a rough morning.... on our way out to the car, a neighbors two golden retrievers were loose and ran over to greet Baby... who was on a leash. I cannot stress more to people who allow this type of behavior from their dogs.... Just like people, some dogs are not social - some have a crippling anxiety when faced with meeting a stranger dog. Baby is that way. She has to be introduced to new dogs in a very controlled environment... The lady let them run over to Baby, Baby got defensive (I mean they ran up to her - both of them - and here she is restrained on a leash without the ability to run away) and Baby snapped at one and the other one jumped in... before her son came out to get the dogs, it got ugly. Baby ended up with a bite mark on her little nose and I am pretty sure I saw her bite one of the dogs on the face. Christian and Baby got in the car and I walked over to check on the dogs. I can be angry that people don't have respect (or common courtesy) for other people's animals, but I do love all animals and wanted to make sure their dogs were ok. All seemed to be alright and we went on our way... Needless to say Baby was a little sad for the first little bit at the farm until her daddy got her mind off those silly dogs and got her interested in her tennis ball.... then it was all fun times until we left!
 Misty was enjoying watching Baby run and eat and sniff and snort all the snow she could handle.....






 Bye sweet babies!! Enjoy the snow!! You were bred for this weather, ya know?!?
 All that time in the field and I needed something to warm me up! Spicy tomato soup with a grilled cheddar cheese sammie! Again I used the Udi's bread - this is now going to be my 'go-to' GF bread - it's the best sandwich bread I've had that is GF!!!
 When we went back out to play with the animals, the sun was really starting to make a better attempt to break through the clouds, but it never fully did... All the animals were so sweet and calm in this weather... I think they really were starting to enjoy the snow...Eli's fluff was extra fluffy today....
 Forest came in for an extra close up shot...
 Milly's sweet smile makes me happy. I can never get enough of this one....
 Eli convinced me he needed a massage because his old bones were achin' in this cold.....
 ...so did Ellie....
 I'm always so glad to have the extra time to spend with my animals. Yay for snow days!! They are not used to getting this much attention in the middle of the week! Eli was soaking it up too...
 When I opened the coop to give the chickens fresh water and food, Pancha begged to have a look-see at the snow...Eli realized Christian was taking my pic and felt the need to smile for the camera as well. They are all hams. These animals LOVE the camera. No joke.
 Here is the really fun part. You see normally the chickens don't stay in the coop, but with this cold and snow, I just felt they would be safer if they were forced to huddle up together and stay warm. Well, when I open the coop door, the chickens are trying to get out and Eli and Ellie are trying to get in. Do NOT try this at home - I am a skilled expert on this, folks.... ;)
 Eli got all mad because I wouldn't let him in the coop to see his chicken friends. This is how he tells me he is upset...
 Then he realizes none of that attitude is gonna work with me and decides the sweet approach might at least get him some extra alfalfa this eve. It did... My snow day is coming to an end.. wah.. back to the grind of the regular work day tomorrow....

1.26.2014

Sunday (Part 2): Sandi's Sweet Stuff Sunday!!!!


Not a lot to be said in this post except for HOT DAMN! That was a delicious cake!! My very first ever chocolate cake made completely from scratch. It was devilishly delicious and super moist! Oh, and tomorrow is National Chocolate Cake Day!! What better way to celebrate than with this bad boy!?!?!?

Ingredients:
  • 2 cups Cup 4 Cup
  • 2 cups sugar
  • ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1½ teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup milk
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 cup very strong brewed, piping hot coffee



  • Preheat oven to 350º F. Prepare three  9-inch cake pans by buttering.
  • Add Cup 4 Cup, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir through mixture until combined well.
  • Add milk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla to dry mixture and mix together on medium speed until well combined. Reduce speed and carefully add piping hot coffee to the cake batter. Beat on high speed for about 1 minute to add air to the batter.
  • Distribute cake batter evenly between the three prepared cake pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
  • Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 30 minutes, remove from the pan and then add icing. 

  • Christian never eats all the icing from the outer side of the cake, so I opted to just make enough for the layers... I would suggest refrigerating for about an hour after the cake is frosted, but we couldn't wait and devoured a piece right away....
    For the icing I used a stick of butter and half a package of cream cheese softened and added about two cups of powdered sugar and mixed until smooth. A caramel, buttercream, or chocolate icing would also be delish on this super moist cake.