Jalapeno Hands

We enjoy trying new recipes from our cookbook collection. A couple weeks ago we made yummy chicken enchiladas complete with fresh jalapeno in the sauce. Little did I know that I should have been wearing gloves when cutting the jalapeno. Luckily it was only one jalapeno and the feeling of my fingers being on fire was only in a couple of them. The pain came and went and naive as I was I thought it was over with and flossed my teeth. My mouth was on fire. Michael, having had a similar experience with habanero peppers, suggested milk. It helped my mouth so I sat at the coffee table with my hands in milk while I watched Cast Away on TBS. Relief was temporary. Apparently you just have to wait it out. My advice to you: wear gloves.

Being Tourists in Virginia

Myriam visited this past weekend. We went to the Drumheller Orchard Apple Festival on Saturday. Unfortunately it had been rainy and the corn maze and hay ride were canceled. The good news is that the apple slingshot was still going strong. The cows migrated over to the barrels and while we were not aiming for the cows (unlike other fair-goers) we did manage to hit a few. Myriam got two with one shot and I hit one in the forehead.















Here are the unsuspecting cows. People were looking at us like we were from the city since we were taking photos of the cows.

We bought some apple butter which is pretty tasty and drank some hot cider. This man who looks like Tommy Lee Jones explained to us what apple butter was. His accent was pretty thick and I was distracted by his strange resemblance to the star.















On Sunday we went to Michie Tavern (pronounced like Mickey). It's about a mile down the road from Monticello. We had our "midday fare" at The Ordinary and ate on metal plates. The weather was nice and the tour was fun. We learned a traditional dance and played Shut the Box.

Here, Myriam enjoys her meal.















In front of the tavern.

I just realized we didn't get a picture at Monticello. The tour was really interesting and the house is incredible. If you go you should check out the fruit snacks at the museum gift shop. They are phenomenal.

It was wonderful to have such a special visitor. :)

Michael and I are now looking forward to traveling to Fredricksburg to pick out Theo this weekend. We'll be bringing him home on the 17th!

Blueberry Muffins from scratch!

Thanks to Myriam's fabulous wedding present (500 Cupcakes) we have enjoyed these scrumptious muffins a couple times. I made them with fresh blueberries. Yum!

Damage from Gustav

Here are a couple pictures of my parents' house after Gustav.

We're Expecting!

We'll be bringing home Theodore "Theo" Bastian Perry in 6 weeks! Which should give us plenty time to baby proof and read lots about puppies. Theo is a West Highland White Terrier commonly known as the Westie. He is from Fredricksburg, VA.

We drove up the Constitution Route and saw some beautiful countryside. Passing through the battlefields is pretty neat too. We stopped for a quick lunch at the biggest mess of restaurants, big box retailers, superstores, among clothing retailers and an ice skating rink. We stopped at DSW on the way home. :)

Labor Day Hiking

We went hiking with some friends for Labor Day in the Shenandoah National Park. We managed to lose the boys and were seriously thinking about calling search and rescue. Fortunately we have a little faith in them and we waited at the entrance to the trail. Free chik-fil-a strips were enjoyed by all after a very long day.

I am still trying to figure this blog thing out so I don't have the vertical pictures on here yet. I'm also hurrying because we're hungry and I want to show you our exciting news! :)

DC Trip

Here are some photos from our trip to DC while Mom, Dad, and Roger were here.

Apparently Nagin didn't get the memo that "Chocolate City" was already taken.

Pictures of family members from the WWII memorial.