Camping Delight

Sounds like a dessert that you would cook over the campfire, eh? Actually, it was the entire experience of my husband's and my campout this past weekend! We went to Warren, PA, to visit both Chapman State Forest and Hearts Content recreation area in the Allegheny National Forest. I want to say some fireworks oohs and aahs because the trees were absolutely gorgeous! The trees went on seemingly forever, too; I was so in love!! We planned the best food ever for the trip, too. Everything was perfect, well, of course, almost! I'll throw some pics at you first, and then tell you about our stinky campground neighbors. ;) [I apologize for the pics!! I just can't figure out why they are so blurry!]

We hiked Tom's Run in Hearts Content; I think it was the best hike I've ever had! 

There were beautiful rocks and mossy boulders and such along Tom's Run. I loved absolutely every minute of it!

I don't know how far we could see, probably to heaven, but the trees were so many outstanding colors: from burgandy to mustard to pumpkin! I swear I've never seen such colors on trees!

Here I am! Happy times with the husband and dogs!!!

Matt and Ruby, jeez she is getting big!

Matt and his boy, Chief! Ever seen anyone happier?

So I told you I'd tell you about those rotten neighbors of ours, right? Ok. We have barky dogs, there's no denying that Ruby likes to announce the presence of any person, leaf, and breeze that passes through camp. We know it's annoying, and do our best to keep her quiet. But she is just a year old and still pretty immature. And, the worst part is we just don't know how to stop the barking. We think the neighbors across the "street" from us at the campground were annoyed with her. We went to bed early the first night as we were tired from driving and hiking. Not such a big deal, right? But a few hours after we had gone to sleep, I heard footsteps around the tent and somebody running their finger (or stick, maybe) along the side of the tent. The person walked around the tent three times, I counted, and was frozen with fear in my sleeping bag and couldn't even wake up Matt! When I heard the person walking down the drive, I woke up Matt and then our Jeep alarm went off! Weird, right? And then we heard the neighbors laughing and saying something about the alarm. Ugh. I was so freaked out I barely slept the rest of the night! So poo on stinky neighbors!

Regardless, our trip was fabulous! We left in the middle of the night on Saturday night/Sunday morning because it got down into the twenties and our bags weren't warm enough nor were the dogs warm enough! It was a fun ride home in the middle of the night and we were relieved to get home! Every camping trip is my favorite, but this one tops them all with the scenery, great trails and hiking, food, and beautiful weather (despite the cold nighttime temps)! 

Inspiration Comes Knocking Again!

I was at work today, busy doing my thing: folding clothes, when a lovely woman came in. We began talking about the logo on her fleece, some super athlete food company, and once again I gained inspiration from a customer! I thought for certain that she was in her early twenties, she looked so fit and healthy and young! We talked for some time, of course about clothes, but mostly about how she stayed in shape by riding her bike all of the time. She cross trains, walks, hikes, does it all. Then she told me she was 36 years old. . . only two years younger than me! Boy, did I feel like a lump! I am so out of shape and have really let myself go, ugh. I like to blame it on my meds, but for certain my almost complete lack of physical activity is the culprit. I want so badly to step it up and get in shape for the rest of my life. Not just for the marvelous hikes and adventures I want to take, but I want to make a real life change. It is so hard to do, and I can think of a million reasons why I would rather eat m&ms and drink soda all day. But it's time I made a change, or lots of changes for the better.
My first change, I've already decided, is not to go all gung ho (I'm not sure if that is even a word!) and starve myself and run ten miles every day (I don't think I'll ever be able to do that!). Instead I am going to make small changes; maybe one or two a week, and see what happens. I want to make life changes, not go on a diet that when I reach my goal I stop and gradually fall back into my old lazy bum ways. Ugh to that!
So how fabulous does all of that sound? I'm pretty excited myself!
Day one of the rest of my life starts tomorrow!!!!

Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head

Or, well, at least I am getting a strong feeling that our campout in two weeks will be a wet one! It is "supposed" to rain a few days before we go and rain is also in the forecast for when we're camping and hiking. So here is my quote for what I'm going to do about it:
The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I am going to try really hard and just go with it. We'll pack our extra tarp and dry clothes, too, of course, and lots of games to play inside the tent, which we don't think has any leaks. (fingers crossed on that one, kids!) Earlier this summer when we were camping, it poured and we ended up coming home early. I definitely don't want to do that this time, especially since the kids won't be along and I would be the only complaining, you'd never catch my husband complaining about something like rain! I don't want to waste what could be a fabulous trip with a little sogginess!
I'm asking for some adventure before I turn forty next year, and if it comes in the shape of mud and rain, well, so be it! I'm trying really hard to build up a positive attitude that lasts through the campout. I'll say my prayers and keep all fingers and toes crossed.

I feel like the fortune I got last night with our Chinese puts into words exactly what I've been trying to do with this new focus in my life! Not that I don't want to plan for tomorrow, because I definitely want us to be secure, but I do want to live how I've dreamed of living - now, not tomorrow or ten years down the road. I went to be an adventurer now. I want to love and live in the outdoors as much as I can now. I want to spend time in the wilderness with my family now.
My husband and son are going on a scouting campout this weekend and then next weekend it is my turn!!! I don't care if it is going to be wet, we'll have a great time loving the rain and weather and nature and Fall beauty! So I'm going to do it, now, not later and not never!

Quick Inspiration for the Morning!

Came across this quote this morning. I don't know who Osho is, maybe he's wonderful, maybe he's a bs-er, I just don't know. But I like this quote. It encourages me to do and be something other than my day to day mundane.

Fabulous Fall Hike in Vermilion, OH

The beautiful hint of Fall on the little tree welcoming us to our hike!

Fall is beginning to sneak out on the trees here in northeast Ohio! And I'm absolutely loving it! It means cooler temps are coming, gorgeous trees will be everywhere, and most importantly: my birthday is coming! (I'm an October baby.) My sweet husband and I have hiking and camping fever so we strapped on our hiking boots, leashed up the dogs, and went on a three and a half mile hike today. It was unbelievable and did everything we could have desired to invigorate our souls.

Chief (L) and Ruby (R) ready to hit the trail!

We got a new harness, just like Chief's, for Ruby this week. She is terrible on the leash, pulls like a sled dog, and we're doing our best to train her on the short leash to heel and walk nicely. But on a hike, we like for the dogs to have free reign and be able to run and sniff. I think they get as rejuvenated on our hikes as we do!

These are my two favorite nature-y things that we saw on the hike (we didn't really see anything un-nature-y, though!). I lovelovelove purple asters (at least that's what I call them, who knows what they are really called!). I looked for them the entire hike and finally saw them in the field! Both Matt and I thought the fungus was really cool. It doesn't show in the picture, but it was super bright white.

The river was clean and beautiful! Perfect for the dogs to take a quick dip!

Chief loves the water, Ruby is just learning to appreciate it. Chief wades right in and waddles around to get cooled off. Ruby is still a bit hesitant, but with time and watching her big brother, I'm sure she'll love it, too!

Ruby debating just how fast she wants to run across this boardwalk!

All in all, the hike was magnificent. We spent quality time together and with our beloved dogs. The kids, who were pooped from a busy weekend, got to relax at home. We'd love for them to come join us on our adventures, but hopefully with time it will happen and the desire will grow. I'm not so sure as a 13yo and 8yo I would have wanted to hike three plus miles in the bug infested woods either! 

We have officially started our endeavor to get ourselves and the dogs in better shape for longer backpacking trips. (O! BTW, I found a pack that I love and fits me superbly, too! I'll tell you about it soon!) We also decided that we won't be taking the dogs on our mountain climbing trip next year to the Presidential Traverse. But, we will be taking them on our overnight backpacking trips! Hopefully the kids, too!

Official Camping Menu

I have made the final copy of the menu for my husband's and my campout coming up in a couple of weeks! (so excited, you know!!) It didn't take me long as I took most of my ideas from that fabulous blog of Jesseca's I mentioned in my last post. Her recipes are simple and delicious and freeze so well so I can prep ahead of time. I love to have little to do at the campsite but pop some foil wrapped goodies in the fire and wait for yumminess! I still have to make the corn bread muffins, peanut butter cookies, and the peach cobbler. I want to wait to the last minute to do those so I don't have to freeze them and they can be as fresh as possible. It will just depend on my work schedule at Eddie Bauer as to when I actually make them.
We've never actually cooked rice on a campout, either, but I don't see why we can't over the little propane stove! I'm not looking forward to washing that pot, but adventure is what it is all about, right!? (pretty lame adventure, but I've got to live it up any way I can!)
We'll be able to eat off our new enamelware dishes that I got for Matt. He really only needed the mug, but I the set was cheaper than buying just one mug! So, taadaa! We have new camping dishes!
So, finally the menu. . .

Columbus Day Weekend Camping Trip Menu

Saturday Lunch

PB&J Sandwiches

Chips

Cookies (peanut butter)

Saturday Dinner

Turkey Black Bean Chili

Corn Bread Muffins

Peach Cobbler Bars

Sunday Breakfast

Sausage Gravy with Biscuits

Oatmeal

Coffee

OJ

Sunday Lunch

Roast Beef and Cheese Sandwiches

Chips

Peach Cobbler Bars

Sunday Dinner

Hawaiian Chicken Kabobs

Rice

S’mores or Banana Boats

Monday Breakfast

Breakfast Burritos

Oatmeal

Coffee

OJ

Favorite Camp Meal: Breakfast!

Most definitely!! I love waking up in my warm sleeping bag to hear my husband rustling around at the firepit, getting it ready for me to make breakfast for the family! On our next campout I am trying some new recipes. We've tried waffles and pancakes and eggs, and I would love to expand our camping recipe box!
Both of the recipes I'm trying come from this fabulous blog called One Sweet Appetite, written by a lovely lady in Utah named Jesseca. I actually just went through her blog the other day and bookmarked almost a dozen recipes that I want to try! Yummy!
Matt, my husband, along with our two dogs, are going camping in October in Pennsylvania together. One of the first places we camped before we were married was at a beautiful spot called Heart's Content, so cute, right? That site was all booked for the weekend we're going, so we're camping at Chapman State Park, right next door! We plan to hike at Heart's Content the morning we arrive at camp, before we can check in. Hopefully we'll bring back some good memories!
We always wake up with coffee (for Matt) and OJ (for me) and then some instant oatmeal. Then we move on to the main course, which I prefer to prepare ahead of time; makes it so much easier! The first morning we're at camp we'll have sausage gravy with biscuits - makes me think of my dad eating at Bob Evans! I used turkey sausage, it is so much cheaper than anything else right now and I love that is kind of good for you!! Here's the recipe at Jesseca's site. By the way, the pic is Jesseca's, too! I totally forgot to take any when I was cooking ahead of time. I've frozen the gravy and will make the biscuits the day before we leave. Thank you, Jesseca!

The next morning Matt and I will be eating these super yummy breakfast burritos that Jesseca dreamed up. I made so many but my family gobbled them down immediately so I'll have to make another batch before we go! They are super easy to make and even my kids loved them, (btw, I have super picky eaters!) I'll freeze the rest after I make them, but all you have to do to reheat them is pop them in the microwave or stick them in the coals of your fire to heat up. Here's the recipe!
So our gratitude goes out to Jesseca at One Sweet Appetite! We're looking forward to some hearty breakfasts thanks to her love for cooking and sharing!

Back in the game. . . and with a goal this time, too!

So we put our house on the market this summer, after we fixed and painted and did a ton of yard work.

But nothing happened, I guess it just wasn't meant to be at this point in time, so we took if off the market until March or so. We're going to hopefully (my fingers are crossed that we follow through with this one) finish the basement over the winter.

Unfortunately, hiking and camping didn't happen as often as I had hoped this summer because of the house being for sale. But now that we are "back to normal" I'm hoping to get a good couple of hikes in each week. I am working at an adventure-y type clothing store right now, and having a ball doing it, and I am so inspired by many of my customers! They show me pics of their adventures and tell me their tales and all I want to do is get out there and do it myself! My new goal, or number one on my bucket list, which I've never had before, is to climb a mountain in the eastern U.S.

We can easily drive to Mount Washington in a day, camp there and then hike the mountain the next day. The not so easy part is getting in myself and my husband and the dogs in shape to do that type of exercise! We have, as my husband says, "gotten a bit soft". Yeah, no kidding on that one! Our puppy is the fittest one of us all; she can go all day. But our cattle dog needs a lot more exercise, just like Matt and I do. Maybe with this grand goal in mind I'll spend the winter walking and hiking with the dogs so when Spring comes I'll be ready to go!

Matt, the dogs, and I are going camping over Columbus Day weekend. That's supposed to read: WE'RE GOING CAMPING!!!!!!! I am so excited and have already done most of the prep cooking for the trip. We're not taking the huge tent since it will just be the four of us. We'll take the six man and we've already decided to take the kids' old sleeping bags for the dogs to ensure that they stay warm at night. Chief, the cattle dog, has a hard time sleeping in a tent, so I may pack an extra pad for him so he is more comfortable. 

I'm hoping Matt orders the backpacks for the dogs before the trip so we can start getting them used to carrying gear and having a job. I think it is really important for a dog to feel important and giving him a job, such as carrying gear, is just the way to do it! 

I'm off to get ready for work tomorrow, pack lunches and iron. So I guess if I were to preach a lesson today it would be to dream big! (though I'm not much of a preacher, so just dream, I think that is definitely good enough!!)

~Beth

I'm Ready! Time to Fix Up the House!

I am so inspired by my clean house that I've decided that it is time for me to prep the house for sale.

I have wanted to move for some time; new homes are coming on the market every day and if I don't hurry, it'll be Fall before I know it! I want to get the house on the market this summer, hopefully in a month or maybe six weeks (yeah, I know I have big dreams!), and then all my prayers will be answered when somebody offers us more than it is worth within two days of putting it on the market! Ha! Always thinking positively, right!?
The first thing I am starting with, tomorrow morning, by the way, is

painting the ceiling in the family room. I have to patch a spot before I paint, but after I patch it, I'll have a chance to prep it and maybe start with the edging. These projects will give me something to do between camping trips!!

I want to paint the ceilings in our living room, kitchen and Noah's bedroom, too. I'll be doing a lot of painting as the kitchen and Abbey's closet need to be painted. Maybe I'll do Abbey's closet before we put the air conditioning units go in the windows (ugh, I hate not having central air!) and we can keep the windows open for awhile.

A cute idea I saw on Pinterest is painting a ceiling fan. My dear, sweet husband taped pennies to the ceiling fan blades in the family room to try to balance it. But the doll (note the sarcasm dripping here) taped them to the bottom of the blades! So when I finally got around to moving them to the top of the blades where they couldn't be seen the strips of tape peeled off the lovely finish on the blades and now they have stripes on the ends of several of the fan blades! Totally weird and definitely hard to explain! I think I will paint the blades the same color as the trim in our room: a dark chocolate brown.

Along with the painting, I have other jobs to accomplish, like finish tiling the bathtub. Don't ask me about it; I hate it and don't want to talk about it. . . at least not just yet! It's a pain in the rear and I hate taking a shower in that tub! I also need to replace some woodwork in the bathroom. There are other jobs that need to be done, but I think they might require a man's touch, ahem, Maaa-aaaatt! I'm hoping that I will inspire him to complete his jobs if I do mine in a timely fashion! I know I have a lot to do, and maybe, just maybe, after I fix up the house I won't want to move anymore! Wish me luck, one way or the other!

Spring Cleaning. . . We'll See About That!

Wow! Nothing like having friends over to inspire me to clean the house!

One thing I love about camping is the dirt, it's there and nobody balks at it. When the dirt is in your house, that's another story. Spider webs out in the woods are cool, but cobwebs in the corner are gross and creepy. Luckily my friends are quality and don't mind my dirt! But the dust bunnies were getting so big we were tripping over them! I guess that'll happen with two kids, two dogs and two cats in one little house! All I have left to do tomorrow before they get here is a little quick clean up in the kitchen after dinner tonight! (Somehow dishes often get left until the next morning! I must eat so much at dinnertime that I become comatose and am unable to wash them!) Plus, Abbey has a band concert tonight and we won't have much time to do those nasty dishes until tomorrow anyway.
I love cleaning that toy room, too, because I am able to purge so many old and mismatched toys.

I donate what I can, of course, but filling a garbage bag or two with junk always warms the cockles of my heart! I think after the friends leave tomorrow, I'll continue with my own pitiful version of spring cleaning! It won't be the scrub everything with bleach or vinegar kind of clean that other women do, but at least we'll be off to a good start for the summer.

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Seriously! I've had enough of rainy camp outs! I'm all for an adventure, but 30degree temps and pouring rain are just a bit too much for this pantywaist! We had to cut short our first outing of the season but instead of dwelling on the horrible weather, I will choose to remember the trip by the laughter and good times that we shared.

Playing Risk in the new tent!

Matt and the kids played Risk, a favorite camping game, while I blissfully napped! The dogs were happy to be out of the rain for awhile and slept, too. The new tent is fab-u-lous! A room for Matt and me, a room for the kids and then a third room for the dogs and our gear! Unbelievable. 

Geocaching with the dogs!

We tricked the kids into going for two hikes! Ha! Terrible parents, right? The worst is yet to come. . . We went Geocaching for the first time but I spoiled the fun and found the first cache in a tree. The kids didn't know what a film can was and I was so excited and found it first! You should have seen the disappointment on their faces! Like I said: bad mom, eh!? Our second search was a bust as the river had washed away the bank where the cache had been hidden. But the good part is that the kids are looking forward to Geocaching (ie: hiking) again!

The dough boys were stinky, too. We put too much biscuit dough at the end of the stick and should have stretched it out along the stick instead. Also, you need to roll the cooked biscuit in melted butter before the cinnamon sugar. Oh, well, lesson learned!

Campfire fun!

We had a lot of fun around the campfire that I started all by myself!! We're not great fire experts so decided to bring the grate from our old Weber grill and put it in the bottom of the cleaned out fire pit. It worked wonders bringing in the right amount of air to feed the flames. Such a thrill! Matt helped Abbey study her Spanish notes for her final and had a great time butchering the language. It was hilarious!

 Our breakfast was unbelievable awesome with our campfire waffles! Even though I forgot the sausage, the perfectly cooked waffles made up for it. These are so easy to make, everybody should have a waffle iron! They will definitely show up at every camp out from here on out!

So, despite the rain and cold and mud, we had a great time on our first camp out of the season. We learned some lessons that will carry on, but nobody cried or fought or went home in a bad mood! We have fond memories of West Branch 2014!

Campfire Grub!

Last season when we went camping, we ate hot dogs, and more hot dogs, and I swear, more hot dogs. Ugh. So this year I've done a bit of campfire recipe research. After setting up camp on Friday night, we'll have nachos. I've precooked the meat so we'll just have to reheat it over the fire or the cookstove. We will make dough boys over the fire for dessert: canned biscuits rolled in cinnamon sugar. Thanks to momsminivan.com for the recipe! Saturday morning's breakfast will be waffles made with our new waffle iron, sausage, coffee and oatmeal.

I bought it from Bed, Bath & Beyond. It comes with some wax residue on it and I tried to melt it off in the oven but the kitchen got all smokey and the smoke alarms went off! Ay yi yi!

For lunch on Saturday we are going to Kent, OH, to the local A&W drive thru. The kids love the food so it'll be a treat, and a nice getaway from the campsite, too. Dinner that night is burgers for the kids and foil wrapped sausage, potatoes, and peppers for Matt and me. We'll have baked apples for dessert. Sunday morning breakfast is canned cinnamon rolls baked over the fire on a cookie sheet and covered with foil,and also sausage and oatmeal. Matt'll have coffee but the kids and I will probably drink hot cocoa each morning because it's supposed to be a bit chilly!

We bought a pie iron, too, but won't be taking it on this trip. I have so much garbage, I mean supplies, packed that I don't think I could squeeze it in! So the secret is out, I splurged and bought a ton of camping supplies to satisfy. . . ME! Matt and the kids were happy with the basics, but I wanted camping to be better, more organized, and easier, somehow. I'm hoping with the new tent, the new camping pillows, waffle iron, and everything else I bought we'll be destined to have a fabulous time. Hmmm to that idea. We shall see, won't we?

Packing too much??

When I was little we had this children's book called Simple Pictures are Best.

The story was about a couple that wanted to have their portrait taken but kept adding more and more props to the scene. First it was hats, and then it progressed to pets and gourds and anything and everything they could grab. The picture was gawd awful and finally the photographer hinted to them that simple pictures are best and all they needed was themselves. So that brings me to the question at hand:
How am I supposed to know how much is too much to pack? I guess it might be too much when I think that all that I am packing, including two kids, a husband, and two dogs, won't fit in our Jeep and Rogue. I will pack the Rogue up with things we don't need to set up camp on Friday night like dry goods, games, and clothing. Matt will bring those in my car after he leaves work. I will bring everything else in the Jeep with the kids and dogs after the kids get out of school on Friday. Abbey and I will set up our new tent (!!!).

 It's huge! It's 16'X16' and sleeps twelve!! We decided to go all out because the dogs have a tendency not to want to sleep near each other at all. Chief often wakes us up by growling at Ruby and then we have to end up separating the two so nothing ill fated occurs. No big deal, we just want to give them enough room to settle in and get a good night sleep. Also, we think it'll be fun to have a "living room"! There are three rooms to the tent which means we'll have two bedrooms and the living room. There is also an awning so we'll be able to relax out of the elements. Fun times!
So back to packing too much, because I most certainly am! I swear we will need it all, but I guess I'll have to have the experienced camper husband look over my meticulously made lists tonight. Wish me luck that he doesn't nix anything!!
~Beth

I swear I love my kids more than the dogs!

I talked about our dogs in my first post, but failed to mention the loves of my life: Matt, Abbey and Noah!!! Matt is my husband, my soul mate, my biggest fan and in return, I am his.

I met Matt back in '99 when a friend of ours dumped me and I went crying to him. I think I have never left his side since then, the poor guy! I fell in love super quickly and he, well, it took a little longer, but I wore him down! He is fabulously supportive and I am so lucky to have him as my husband.
Abbey is our daughter. She is 12 years old and in the seventh grade.

Abbey is a black belt in Tae Kwon Do; this is a pic of her testing for the black belt. She's wonderful. . . You know how everybody tells you that the teenage years stink for girls? Well, I know Abbey is only 12, but I have yet to see the awfulness! She's still my wonderful girl! How soon till I eat my words?

Noah is our 8 year old son. He's a great kid with so much imagination and life in him! He loves anything that has to do with Scouts, being outside, playing rough, and of course. . . video games!!

 I love my family, the good, the bad, and everything in between. I'm pretty sure they love me, too, because I just had the best Mother's Day anybody could ever imagine. Matt is as excited about camping as I am, though not so thrilled about all that I want to pack. And, Noah is looking forward to being outdoors, getting dirty, and not having to take a shower. But then, Abbey. Well, she is bringing her makeup along and isn't thrilled about not getting to wear perfume and scented lotion. Also, she hates the bugs. It's been pouring rain here the past few days and I'm afraid the bugs will be up and running! Lots of bug spray, I guess!
We'll hope for the best and everybody will make it what they want to. I, myself, am hoping for lots of good food, togetherness, and relaxation!
~Beth

Happy Day!

Hey! Hey! Camping season starts in three days for the Jaffe family and I can't wait! After years of camping abstinence, my husband finally convinced me that we should go adventuring with the family; and boyohboy am I glad he did! I am hooked and it's all I can think about!

I have been prepping for this trip for a month now and have so many supplies piled up in the basement that I'm not sure if they will fit in our two cars. . . ugh! Of course we have Ruby,

our puppy, to bring along on this excursion, and I can only hope she sleeps as well in a tent as our Australian Cattle Dog, Chief, does.

After camping several times last spring and summer with him, he is an old pro. Ruby is a bit more of a barker and I am worried that she will disturb the surrounding campers. I'll let you know next week how it goes!
Over the next few days I will blog about the final preparations for this outing. I will also refresh my memory as to how to blog as it's been several years since I've done this!
So, happy Camping Season and get inspired to get out there and have an adventure!
~Beth