Our Anniversary

My poor husband. He never traveled anywhere before he met me. Unless you count the time he went to Florida with his high school band and never set foot near the ocean. We try to go somewhere every year for our anniversary even if it's only a day trip. We couldn't decide where we wanted to go this year. Every time I made a suggestion he kind of poo pooed it. So I decided I was going to decide and not ask him. So on the day of our anniversary I told him we were going to Old Man's Cave in Hocking Hills. Of course he had never been there and I haven't been there since I was like 5 or 6 years old. It's only about a two and half hour trip and I knew it would be beautiful this time of year. Grudgingly he agreed. I tried to explain to him what it was but you have to actually go there to understand.

Old Man's Cave

The most popular of all the Hocking areas is Old Man's Cave, located on State Route 664. Here at the Upper Falls, the Grandma Gatewood Trail begins its six-mile course connecting three of the park's areas: Old Man's Cave to Cedar Falls to Ash Cave. This same trail has been designated as part of Ohio's Buckeye Trail as well as part of two national systems - the North Country Scenic Trail and America's Discovery Trail.

Old Man's Cave derives its name from the hermit Richard Rowe who lived in the large recess cave of the gorge. His family moved to the Ohio River Valley around 1796 from the Cumberland Mountains of Tennessee to establish a trading post. He and his two dogs traveled through Ohio along the Scioto River in search of game. On one side trip up Salt Creek, he found the Hocking Region. Rowe lived out his life in the area and is buried beneath the ledge of the main recess cave. Earlier residents of the cave were two brothers, Nathaniel and Pat Rayon, who came to the area in 1795. They built a permanent cabin 30 feet north of the cave entrance. Both brothers are buried in or near the cave. Their cabin was later dismantled and relocated on the nearby Iles farm to be used as a tobacco drying house.

The Old Man's Cave area can be divided into five principal sections found along the valley of Old Man's Creek. In order, they are: Upper Falls, Upper Gorge, Middle Falls, Lower Falls and Lower Gorge. Along the length of the trail the magnificent gorge cuts through the entire 150-foot thickness of the Blackhand sandstone. Carved by the creek, the gorge serves as an avenue for visitors to peer into the earth's subsurface. The full distance of the gorge is approximately one half mile. (http://www.hockinghills.com/parks/p_omc.htm)

I hope I cited that correctly.

This is called Sphinx Head.















Lower Falls















Upper Falls














Devil's Bathtub. According to local legend, the Indians used to push their enemies into this small pool. Nature shaped it so that nobody could ever escape from it.















Jason wanted to hike to Cedar Falls which was another 3 miles out and 3 miles back. By this time we had already hiked over 2 miles and I knew my poor legs would be sore the next day so we ended up driving. We didn't get to see Ash Cave or any other sites but now that we've been there Jason wants to go back and see the rest. I love that I get to show him new places. Hawaii is coming up fast. I'm starting to track air fares and look for houses to rent. We still aren't sure how many are going. Can't wait! As for my legs, OMG I'm glad I had two more days of vacation!

Confession

I'm one of "those" people. I make cakes out a box, and use Hamburger Helper. It's not something I do on a weekly basis, but sometimes I just don't feel like cooking. Yesterday I was craving mac and cheese. What does that have to do with this post? I used Cheez Whiz (gasp)! And it was soooooo good! Sorry I don't have pictures but my husband hid the camera and I couldn't find the darn thing.

Michelle's Mac and Cheese

1 16oz box of medium shells
1 jar of Cheez Whiz
1 cup milk ( I use skim)
1 big heaping tablespoon margarine or butter
2 cups grated cheese of your choice ( I usually use colby/monterey jack but once I put in some garlic cheese I bought on a trip to Amish country http://www.heinis.com/. OMG the best!)

Cook shells in boiling water for 12 minutes. Drain but don't rinse. Mix shells with Cheez Whiz, milk, butter and grated cheese. Top with more grated cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 325 for an hour and a half. Uncover and bake for another 15 minutes. Remove from oven and stir.

Enjoy!

Sad

Please read this story

http://threecheersforbabies.blogspot.com/

My new favorite meal

Ever since my brother introduced me to Thai food a few months ago I have been looking for good ( and easy) recipes. I love a good stir fry so I when I ran across this recipe on http://macaroniandcheesecake.blogspot.com I had to try it. I don't have any pictures because everyone always eats it up so fast I don't have time. I've modified it just a little. I grow my own Thai chili peppers and I find it adds a nice kick of spice. Plus I add chicken for some added protein.

Thai Pineapple Rice

Source: A Taste of Home Cooking

Ingredients:
2 large boneless chicken breasts, cut into small cubes
2 Cups Basmati rice, cooked according to package directions
1 large white onion, cut into large dice
1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper
2 Thai chili peppers , (seeds included) diced fine
1 large can pineapple tidbits drained
Soy Sauce (2-3 tbsp.)
Chopped cilantro to taste (1/4 cup or so)

Directions:
Heat a tbsp. olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, Thai chilies, and crushed red pepper and cook until softened and opaque. Remove from oil. Add chicken to oil and brown lightly. Add cooked rice, onions, and pineapple, stir to heat through. Add the soy and cilantro to taste. Serve & enjoy!

I don't add much cilantro because I think it overpowers the dish. But thanks to Stephanie over at macaroniandcheesecake! LOVE IT!

New stuff to love

I've been on the hunt for something new to clean my toilets with and haven't been very successful. KABOOM quit making the toilet bowl cleaner that I have used for years and it pissed me off. NOTHING(and I mean NOTHING) that I bought has worked. I don't use the kid's bathroom and very seldom go in there but J was in our bathroom one morning and I had to go so I used theirs. And all I have to say is NASTY! I make them clean it but you know how teenagers are. They half-ass everything. The toilet looked like it belonged in an outhouse. So I happened to see a commercial for a new product that Comet put out and decided to give it a try. I'm not a religious person but all I can say is Hallelujah!

I was cruising through WallyWorld one day last week and happened to pass by these yummies. J and I ate the whole bag while watching Big Brother. I bought more today and hid them from the kids.

Since winter is on it's way and I'm always on the lookout for something to take care of my alligator skin I tried this. One of the girls at work recommended it and I love it! No smell and you don't feel like a french fry after you use it. Thumbs up!

Bath and Body Works is having a great sale so I decided to go and see what they had out for fall. Nothing new yet but I did score some of these. It's hard to find body fragrance that fits in your purse but these are perfect and they are roll-on. Right now they are buy 2 get one free or buy 3 get two free. I bought this fragrance, Japanese Cherry Blossom and Butterfly Flower. I gave the cherry blossom to B. Pretty dang handy!

Up in the Air

That's where I am concerning this blog. I think I'm pretty boring and don't have a lot to say sometimes. Maybe because it's summer and I'm pretty busy doing outside stuff. So I guess the big question is do I continue the way it already is or do I start focusing on one specific subject? Then I guess the next big question is what specific subject? Probably would be recipes, decorating and shopping bargains. Since we aren't doing any big decorating projects until sometime this winter the best bet would be the recipe thing. We gotta eat right?

grrrrrrrrrrrr

I'm back over here for a while. Wordpress is being an asshat and won't let me log in for some reason. Every time I try a new password it's either invalid or it won't even email me back. I'm starting to get really frustrated with the whole thing.
I'm on vacation! Whooooopie!!! Not that we are going to be doing a whole lot. J has never been to Amish country so we decided to do a day trip to Berlin on Monday. Tuesday it taken up with air conditioner issues. Wednesday I'm getting my hair done. I think we are going to the Columbus Zoo on Thursday. After that I think we are done. I don't think we are doing anything for the 4th. We already did the fireworks thing last night at the AFB. Free Aaron Tippen concert, tons of greasy fair food and awesome fireworks. Gotta love that! I didn't take my camera (dumb ass).
I think I'm going to go and convince J to take me out for breakfast. Later!