it's official

My computer is deadsville.  It's gone.  But my ever-productive and on the ball husband found a new one for me (it was pink!) and his dad even had to go to Knoxville to pick it up (it wasn't available in stores around here) and they brought it all the way up here for their fall visit!  How about that for a family effort!  Sadly it did not pick up wifi very well unless you were 5 feet from the server.  That's not going to work, so he had to return it (I mourned yet another computer in just a few days...and it was pink!  Did I mention that?!).  So we're back to square one.  I'm stealing away some time on John's computer while he's asleep to make sure all my followers don't think I've fallen off the face of the earth.  It will still be a little while longer until I can regularly post, thanks for your patience. :)

However, John's parents did come visit and we had a wonderful time with them!  Thank y'all for making the trek up here!  John has come down with something and I think it's starting to creep it's way toward me.  So we'll be hunkering down, eating potato soup and doing nothing while this cold rainy weather takes over Pittsburgh.  Hope y'all are doing well and staying safe with Sandy on her way!

wild and wonderful

That's right, this weekend we went to wild and wonderful West Virginia!  Never thought I'd be excited to be going to WV but it was really fun!  We stayed at Black Bear Resort and were able to have our own cabin (that was dog friendly, yay Dixie!).  There was a wood burning fireplace (which we used both nights) and everything was so comfy and cozy.  During the days we went hiking and one night we checked out a local restaurant while the other night we stayed in by the fire with some yummy chili.  It was a great Fall trip and it was so nice to spend some time away from everyday life with John (and Dixie).  The area we visited in WV is Canaan Valley and I highly recommend it if you want to get away for a long weekend or even a week (it would be beautiful any time of the year).

With that said, my computer is still messing up and deciding when it does and does not want to work soooo I probably won't be posting often :(  We're working on maybe getting me a new computer...that's exciting and kinda crazy but here we go.  Hope y'all are all doing well!

it's been awhile

Just wanted to let y'all know that my computer has been broken for the past week and that's why I haven't posted.  It was interesting, at first I was having the DT's from not having a computer but then I began to really enjoy the freedom.  I wasn't trolling blogs or facebook and I actually went to bed earlier.  It was nice.  I'm going to try and keep to that, having minimal computer time.  We'll see how it actually goes.  Also, a big shout out to my husband who fixed my computer.  It was a $15 fix (some part on something that was broken, blah blah blah) but I'll tell you what; if he wasn't in my life I probably would've bought another computer.  So thankful he's in my life :)  Here's what I've been up to lately:

I saw this movie earlier tonight and it was pretty much amazing.  I read the book a few years ago and I was very impressed with how closely the movie followed the book.  If you're interested in seeing it you should know that it's an intense story, not a lighthearted one.  It was great though.

And I'm currently reading this book right now and enjoying it :)

crock pot jambalaya

photo belongs to plain chicken

Y'all, this jambalaya is delicious!  It's easy, healthy and tasty...and you should try it immediately!  Here's the link to the recipe.

your daily (fall) quote

found here

your daily quote

found here

haha, y'all

found here

your daily quote

Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.

C.S. Lewis

book review: travelers rest by ann tatlock

Note: I received a free copy of Travelers Rest from Bethany House Publisher.

Travelers Rest is a sweet book about a young woman whose fiance comes back from war and is paralyzed from the neck down. Her fiance is placed in a VA hospital in Asheville, NC where she visits him almost daily. During her visits she meets and becomes friends with a retired doctor (and veteran) who lives in the community wing of the hospital. As you continue to read you see the relationship with her fiance play out as well as the friendship with the doctor and another new friend acquired at the VA, a blind lawyer who volunteers there.

The book is sweet and heartfelt and was a delightful read. It touches on some tough topics such as war and the aftermath on individual soldiers as well as their families, segregation in the South, loss and addiction. I recommend this book, it's just deep enough to feel like you are really connecting with the characters but not so deep that you are overly affected by their stories. I truly enjoyed it.