Cheese Curds, Sweet Bliss Wine, and a Contract Renewal

Good Morning Everyone!  How are ya'll doing?

Have you ever had Cheese Curds, raise your hand??  Okay, then you know what kinda love I am talking about.  These little lumps of fresh cheddary goodness squeak when you chomp on them.  They are slightly salty, go great with almost anything you would use regular cheese on, but the taste...OMG, the taste is stunning.  Now, they are exceptionally expensive, especially in the South of the United States because fresh Cheese Curds need to be eaten within a few days of being made.  The fresher the better...and true cheese curds usually come from places that have lots of milking cow operations and cheese production plants.

We have pig farms and ham processing plants down here, not cows and cheese.  I seriously wish we did though.  If we did, then I would have more creamy wonderful love around me...like butter and heavy whipping cream.

My favorite Wine and Cheese shop, Angry Adams, is currently featuring Squeaky Bee Fresh Cheese Curds, made by Beehive Cheese Company in Utah and as soon as I had heard the news of their arrival, I got all kinds of excited!!!  I beat tracks to get down there to try some.  Those little bad boys did not disappoint either.  Creamy, squeaky, salty, and pure yumminess greeted me.  I took some home and proceeded to make this, Ground Sirloin Burgers with sliced tomato and chopped cheese curds melted on top...

and this, Real Canadian Comfort Food, Poutine, which is french fries, brown gravy, and melted cheese curds...

Disclaimer:  These two meals were not consumed at the same time.  The poutine is a meal in itself.

While we were in Angry Adams Wine and Cheese Spot, we sampled a taste of these lovely libations, Sweet Bliss by Cascade Creek Winery in Washington State.  Yes, I am a fan of sweet wine and with Valentine's Day approaching either of these wines would fit the starring role.  (They are also carrying my full line of Wine Cozie Dresses and are available for sale.)

Both wines had me at hello.  I preferred the Caramel Apple over the Chocolate Covered Cherry, but that changed when Adam offered me a brownie bite as a pairing with the sweet red wine.  There are really not enough words to describe the total decadence of either of these wines.  They are both definitely going to be on my table to be served with a side of romance for Valentine's Day or my birthday, the following week.

And speaking of romance, Russia and I are celebrating our one year anniversary today.  We sat down last night and discussed the pros and cons of renewing our relationship contract for another year and the consensus was that we are staying together!!  I think it's important to review things between two people and to honestly say whether it's working or it's not.

For us, it works...and that makes me more giddy than wine and cheese curds.

This is Home Girl and I wish you a blessed Sunday.

Shooting Kids But Not With Firearms

Disclaimer:  No children were harmed in the process of capturing these shots.  The person shooting "said shots" may have been though.  Like being a grandmother, which I know absolutely nothing about, I knew that I would be able to "give these little boogers back" after a while.  That was the thought that fueled my existence during my "Adventures in Babysitting" episode of,  Life With Home Girl.

I am sure it would have been much easier to take better pictures had I (a) not had so many small children around me at once and (b) had a baby helper, but I was nothing but pleased with the results.

I know this shot is a tad bit on the blurry side, but I still love it anyway.  This little man is such a sweet love.  He is all boy, but has this wonderfully caring soul.  Here he was with his rendition of, "Cheese!!"...and it doesn't get cheesier than this.

Well, maybe it can get cheesier...this is my God daughter and Little man.  When you combine these two little ones, you are sure to laugh.  They kept me in stitches the whole time.  Three year old  children are my favorite age group...they are just so candid, full of their emerging humor, and completely unguarded.  You never know what to expect when you are in a room with three year old monsters...

that goes for a two year old, as well.  My God daughter's younger (Irish Twin) brother is his Mama's boy.  He is a paradox of emotions.  I just love his sweet smile and angelic eyes.  He gives great big, tight holding hugs...and he loves to eat.  I just wanted to hold him and kiss his cheeks the whole time I was there, but two year old boys don't like all that mushy gushy, baby love crap and wanted nothing more than to play with his array of cars and trucks.

It was a great day spending time with all these wonderful faces.  I had a blast taking photos of them and getting to practice using certain techniques.  My dear best friend, who had to have the Gastric GES study performed, heard back from her doctor yesterday that she has been diagnosed with Scleroderma and Gastroparesis.  Neither of us know a lot about this disease yet, but in doing research I hope to be able to help her walk through the process of finding solutions.  One thing is for sure...I will never stop being there for her.

She can use all the prayers that she can get if you are a prayer and if not, then please just send up a good vibe or thought for her.  She is the mother of four young children and was just beginning the process of leaving an abusive marriage.  I will be praying endlessly for her.  Nothing has ever broken our bond in the past 15 years and we aren't about to let it happen through this.

She is more than my best friend...she is the sister of my heart.  I love her unconditionally with an unabiding spirit.  That is the way it is suppose to be with sisters.

This is Home Girl.  Deuces.

It's In a Female's Genes

 Yesterday, I courageously volunteered to babysit for a dear friend who needed to have a medical procedure performed, called a Gastric GES study.  She runs an in-home day care and the time away from her business would have caused numerous problems for many, so being a champ I accepted her plea.

Plus, she greeted me with a whole pot of coffee with designer creamer at the crack of dawn and before I left, she gifted me with many wonderful pieces of quilting fabric.  I need a shirt that says, "Will Work For  Fabric".

I figured it wouldn't be "that" bad and it was only for a few hours.  I brought my camera so that I could practice taking baby face photos.  I did get some awesome pictures from the 200 plus pictures I shot.

Did I mention there were 7 children, all four years of age and under???  Oh, she may have forgotten to tell me this information as well when I agreed to the gig, but it ended up being a wonderul experience.  I had a lot of fun.

We sang songs, we played with toys, we watched Dora the Explorer and Sponge Bob, we even played "Home Girl is a Jungle Gym"...it was a great day.

Yes, we all survived unscathed.

When I was editing the photos last night, before I fell into bed from exhaustion...I giggled when I got to these particular shots.  I think it is so typical of females.  We want "what we want"...and we will get "what we want", no matter the costs.






























or at least we try...

This is Home Girl and I'm still exhausted, but I thoroughly enjoyed my day!!