Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving in Mereta this year. Normally we spend Thanksgiving in Water Valley with my dad's side of the family. It has been a long standing tradition that we load up and head to the ranch in Water Valley every Thanksgiving. When I was a kid all the guys would go out way early in the morning and hunt until lunch and then go out again that evening. In between hunts we'd eat and watch the Cowboys. It was on this ranch years ago that I shot my first deer. My dad and his brothers grew up hunting on this same ranch with their dad. There are a lot of good Thanksgiving memories and some pretty good stories that have come from our Thanksgivings together at the ranch.

My dad's mom was the oldest living member of that side of the family and she seemed to hold everyone and thing together. So as long as she was living we followed tradition and went to the ranch. However, my grandmother (Dad's mom) died a few months ago. All of her kids have kids and grand kids of their own now. They, like us, like to spend the holidays with their children and grandchildren. So this year we decided to start our own tradition and have Thanksgiving at my parents home in Mereta. My grandmother on my mom's side came over, my brother came in from College Station, my sister and her husband and daughter came in from Granbury, and Ronnie and I came up from Sonora. It was nice to spend the day at "home" with just my immediate family, eating, watching the Aggies play, playing football, watching Lily (my niece) ride a horse for the first time, enjoying being home with my family, and being thankful for all the blessings we have received and continue to receive.

Out of the horse's mouth.

At 25 I am still a college student. Not full time, just taking the classes that I need and don't really like. After moving to North Carolina then to Texas, school was one of the last things on my mind. Then came a full time job with Girlstown, and I just didn't see the point of going back. But my boss and a few friends convinced me otherwise. Now, almost two full years later I am taking my last "catch up" class. (A good deal of my NY credits didn't transfer or didn't match up to what the school offered.) My last class that I am currently enrolled in is...Government...!!!...I saved, or put this class off till last just because...well, just because its government! I would much rather get a shot then have to read the pages that seem to drag and drag and drag, AND I hate getting shots! I freak as soon as the nurse walks in with just a clip board.
So this week I dragged my book out from under a pile of dirty clothes, jumped up and down on it, murmured something about how much I loathed it under my breath, and finally sat down to read it. The title of this weeks chapter, Mass Media: Setting the Political Agenda. Wonderful! I get to learn about how TV and newspapers shape our thoughts and only report what "they" want. For the most part that was true, just a bit more detailed. However, in my reading yesterday I stumbled upon something I found to be incredibly interesting. I even got a little excited about it and gleefully told Colin about it!
Some of you might be aware of the current accusations being strung about concerning Fox News. What I read yesterday will tie in beautifully with that. Here is what started it all, "The political values of the media are decidedly liberal and reformist." Also in the same paragraph was this, "Most Americans agree that media new coverage is biased and the bias is in a liberal direction." !!!!! Ok, that whole section was titled "Liberalism in the Newsroom". The next section went on to say that more then 60% of Hollywood describe themselves as liberal, and that "Hollywood is a major source of Democratic Party campaign funds.". However in the same text it also states that this figure does not mirror the American public. As a whole America is outnumbered by self-described conservatives, but because of the control that Hollywood has over most of our airwaves what we see and hear is generally being pushed in a liberal direction.
So now I am interested. I turn the page and see these two headlines: "Are the Media Biased?" and "Fox News: Fair and Balanced?". Hmmm...Lets see what this book has to say about the media being biased. "Nearly three out of four Americans (thats 74%) see a "fair amount" or "a great deal" of media bias in news coverage." Ok, interesting. Now the next sentence said that of those who see it as being biased, over twice as many see it being a liberal bias rather then a conservative bias. Even the liberals see a liberal bias in the media.
Now on to Fox News. The Fox News network was created by a man (Rupert Murdoch) who isn't even considered a conservative in his own views, but saw an unfilled market for conservative views on American TV. Thus Fox News was created. "We report, you decide." is the network's slogan. They feel that if their reporting appears to be conservative it is because "the country has become so accustomed to left-leaning media that a truly balanced network just seems conservative.". Oh how true... The last paragraph of this conflicting view over Fox News said this. "The bottom line, financially as well as politically, is that Fox News is now the most watched cable news network, even surpassing CNN. Whatever its flaws, Fox News has added diversity of views to American television.".
So is it any wonder why it has come under such attack lately? It could be that old saying, truth hurts.

The next chapter in my government book it titled "Political Parties: Organizing Politics". I wonder what goodies are in there??!!

My book is Politics in America, 7th edition, by Thomas Dye.

Back home...

Well, we made it home from an almost two week long vacation and boy did we have a good time! I think we must have put close to 1,000 miles on my grandfather's car driving around upstate New York. But I had so much to show Colin, seeing that it was his first real time there.
We started our trip in Austin at the Song of Solomon's Conference, and that was amazing! We were both given many new tools to put under our belt. I got the DVD set of it and that comes with an audio CD, so if anyone wants a copy of the CD that just let Colin or I know. While in Austin we also got to see some good friends and got the grand tour of their new home! It was very exciting!!
From Austin we headed to North Carolina to see my Mom, Dad, sister Cassie and my nephew Josh. It was a great few days spent with them. Colin got to see the great city of Raleigh and some of the NC back county, only because I got lost going to see my dad and Cassie...We almost were in VA!!!
We got to New York just in time. The leaves were absolutely perfect. It was a little colder then we both thought, thus the reason for putting so many miles on the car. Neither one of us really wanted to get out and stroll around. We were never dressed for it!
We (Colin) did take lots of pictures, and because there are so many, I just thought a few of my favorites would do.

Colin and me at 13th Lake
Just some of the colors...I love how the leaves reflect off the water. Perfect!

Colin's first time ever picking apples!

He said they were the best tasting apples he had ever had, only because he had picked them.

Growing up, it was sort of a family thing to go over to VT and see the snow geese, then go apple picking, then go to the old fort ruins at Crown Point and have lunch. We did go and see the geese (although they were hard to see due to the corn that was still standing in the field) and we did drive by the old fort and we did go apple picking.

Macintosh apples...35+ pounds for only $21.00!!

A view of the Adirondack Mts. from the Vermont side. (Colin's first time in VT)

This is Brant Lake, and the Brant Lake Church. These buildings have been on many post cards when the leaves look like this. My grandma use to go to this church, as did my mom and as did my sister and I when we were little. My grandfather (Poppy) still goes every Sunday. Lots of great memories there.

We had a great time and I loved showing Colin all around where I grew up. He was able to meet the rest of my family and of course they all loved him! We have already been asked to come back up this winter so Colin can experience his first snowmobile ride...Maybe next time we go back to NY it will be in the winter but it might not be this year.

The anticipation is building!

Oh boy!!! I am so stinkin' excited I can hardly stand it!!...!!!...!!! Colin and I are getting ready to head to North Carolina and New York to see family. It has been two year since I have been home to the east coast. Colin has only been one other time and that was last year and it was only to New York City, and to me that does not count. So this year he is not only going to the Raleigh area of North Carolina, but he is also heading to the beautiful Adirondack mountains of New York! (During the fall too!) He doesn't even know what a treat he is in for.

Our first stop is NC and as I look back and think, the last time I saw my little nephew Josh, he was just turned a year old...now he is about to turn three! I am overcome with eagerness because I get to see and play with him.

(Me and Josh Christmas 2007)

Then the last time I saw my family (Dad, Mom and Cassie) was at our wedding. That will be almost ten months ago now. Man time has flown!

(Tony, Cassie, Ronnie and Kathy December 27, 2008)

I hope hope hope that we are able to catch the leaves in the Adirondacks when they look like these!! My friend told me just the other day that "fall in the Adirondacks is like a drug.". Well, Kiely, you are right! Poor Colin, he just has no concept of what "Fall in the ADK's" is all about. I hope that when we come home from our trip north he has a much better understanding of my love for that country during this time of the year.

(Some random back road in the ADK's, but look at the beautiful leaves!!!)

Near where I grew up was the northern part of the Hudson river. Yep, the same one that flows down to NYC. It runs right next to the town of North Creek and from there you can take a "historic" train ride down along the river.

We are flying out on Saturday and will be back on the 14th of October. I am going to overload my camera with tons of pictures and will have them posted when we get back. Did I mention I was super stoked about this trip???...

Best Pork Chops EVER!!!

Driving home yesterday I was already thinking about what I was going to cook for supper tonight. A light came one and this is what I did.


I had pulled out some boneless pork chops earlier this week and they were all thawed in the frig.
I also had some HEB jalapeno bacon, cut in half, that I needed to use.

So I marinaded the pork chops for a few hour with a little olive oil, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Dipped the bacon in some flour (which you can add some seasoning to...) and put them on a cookie sheet and place in the frig for an hour or so. After the pork chops had a chance to marinade I dipped them in flour as well. Then I pre heated the oven to about 350* and wrapped three or four slices around each pork chop and place in a glass pan with just a little bit of olive oil on the bottom. Then I cut the whole jalapenos in half and de-seeded them and place them on top. Cooked them for about an hour and a half.

It was delicious!!

Here are some before and after shots.

Before:

After: !!!!!!!

This whole meal was super easy! So easy, I even blogged about it!

Ronnie

Time for some R&R

Did we really even have a summer?? Last time I checked, summer was time for rest and relaxing...HA! Not so much this summer. Colin and I were so busy this summer that I barely had any time to respond to emails. (So if you emailed me and I have not sent one back, don't worry, you're not the only one.) So what kept us gone all the time, well, work! At the start of the year Colin and I set some goals for ourselves. One of the goals was to get out of debt. Well, so far we have paid off all of my stuff, one of Colin's personal loans and because God is so good, we are about to pay off his truck! Once that is done, we will only have his student loans left. But there is more...Colin had planned on the burn we finished in Brady to be the last one for the year. However, God had different plans for us. We finished the Brady burn and now we have at least three to four burns still to go! It is so cool for me to sit down and look at all the money that we have coming in, and then look at all the money that we have going out and still have money left over. That in itself is just a God thing. It is amazing that if you let Him, he will even work in your finances! I read somewhere in someone's blog that they got to a point where they stopped asking where did all our money go, and started telling there money where to go! I liked that. So now, we tell our money where it is going to go and it has made for a better relationship all around!
There are lots of things that the Lord is doing in our lives at the moment, and freeing up our finances is just one of many. Doors are being swung open while those little windows we were trying to climb through are getting shut. God has blessed us and because he is so great he keeps on giving!
I know how great it makes me feel to let people know what God has done in my life (and I give Him praise for all of it) and Colin and I would love to hear what he has done in yours! So please feel free to leave us with any thoughts or comments or questions!
"And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8

Sunday drive

Ronnie and I decided to take a Sunday drive to a place on the Devil's River and go swimming over the weekend. The weather on Sunday was kind of cloudy and rainy so we decided rather than to head back home we'd just keep going on down the road. This blog is about our drive and everything we saw. Ronnie has never been to or seen Mexico, so we went to see Mexico! At least what we could see from the Texas side of the Rio Grande. On our drive the first stop we made was at the Pecos River high bridge. The Pecos River high bridge is about 18 miles east of Langrty, TX. The bridge is about 300 feet above the river and spans about 1400 feet across.


After we ate lunch at the bridge we decided to go the 18 miles west to the town of Langtry where infamous characters like Judge Roy Bean used to live. We drove around the little town for awhile and then drove down to the river to the site of the famous Maher-Fitzsimmons prize fight in February 1896. The boxing match was staged by Judge Roy Bean in defiance of U.S., Mexico and Texas Ranger authority, and a law banning prize fighting in the U.S. Below are a fw pictures taken from the town of Langtry and the Rio Grande just south of town.



After leaving Langrty, we decided to follow the border down to Del Rio. We drove passed by Seminole Canyon and crossed over the bridge at Lake Amistad. Since this was Ronnie's first trip to a border town we drove around Del Rio for a little while and took in some of the culture. By take in some of the culture, I mean we drove around and talked about how different a place Del Rio is from what we are used to. The town is only an hour south of where we live and yet it feels like another country all together. Once we had had enough of Del Rio we headed north to the experiment station and home. We had a wonderful day even though we weren't able to spend the day swimming. The trip was fun and we got to spend time together and see a part of Texas we rarely see.