Wooo!! It's finally getting warmer out!! And that means I'm more inclined to go outside and do stuff. I hate winter.
Anyway, I wanted to give a heads up for this Saturday. In Woodstock, VA at W.W Robinson Elementary School. It's done through the Woodstock Police Dept. There will be the National Guards 25' climbing wall and Rolling Thunder. They'll be etching VIN numbers onto the kid's bikes, and onto your car windows if you like.
There is going to be so much to do, and it's ALL FREE!!! Donations are accepted though.
Here's the link to the WPD's Facebook page with the info.
https://www.facebook.com/events/355714801209720/
Upcoming places I'll be headed to:
Harpers Ferry, WVA (of coarse, b/c it's my favorite place)
Kayaking the Shenandoah in Front Royal, VA
Color Run Marathon in Roanoke, VA
Gettysburg, PA
Gordonsville, VA for a visit to the Civil War Exchange Museum (again, it's a cool place!)
That's all I know 100% for now. But we pick up and go, so you never know where we'll end up!
-Candi
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Monday, March 18, 2013
Fantasy Land Playground, Front Royal, VA
I hate Winter. Everything but the cold is so limited. I haven't really been anywhere due to Old Man Winter, and I had surgery.
Anyway, so Saturday ended up being a really nice day!! My son and I met up with my best friend of 20 yrs and her kids and husband in Front Royal, VA. We went to Applebees, which wasn't busy at all considering it was noon on a Saturday...Afterwards we went to the Fantasy Land which is next to the Bing Crosby Baseball Stadium. We stayed on the playground side of the park, so this review doesn't cover the baseball side.
Anyway, as soon as we get there my kid hauls butt straight into the woods. We follow, because I'm not letting my kid roam around the woods alone. Plus, we all like wondering around and exploring! We're walking along, we end up finding blankets, pillows in trash bags, candles....a tube of lip gloss. My son, Bailey (12), and my friends middle daughter, Kassie (9), get a little ahead of us. Jennifer is like three months pregnant, and we're dragging little five year old Khloie, and I just had surgery, so we're moving slow. Those kids were fast!
Bailey and Kassie get up to the part of the river that is closest to the park first. They stop, they're yelling at us, and pointing at the ground. We hear, "dirty needle!!!". We're screaming at them to not touch it and get away! We make our way over there, and there it is....an uncapped dirty syringe. Used for God knows what.
After that, we went walking up the grass (out of the woods now) along the river, and to the bridge. There's a fountain there, that doesn't work. It used too! Maybe it's shut off for Winter?
We wandered over to the playground. They have a newer part, that's all medal. It's pretty fun.
The old part is wooden, and is huge, but there are things missing! A lot of the things that are used to climb up onto the towers and platforms (where the slides are), are gone. Some of the swings are gone. And some of the monkey bar type things are gone.
Unfortunately, what was there, were a couple of perverts! Jennifer and I were standing at the top next to the slide, when she pointed it out. I looked over, and this dirty old man (sugar daddy?) had his hand up this younger woman's shirt! I'd say he was around 60, she was in her 30's. There are kids standing there talking to them while he's doing this. Really?????
The funniest part of the whole thing were these kids digging for worms, and daring each other to eat them. Nobody ever took the dare, but it was still funny :)
Now, I lived in Front Royal from ages 14 to 20, so it's not like I'm a stranger coming into town. I spent many days as a teen during the Summer hanging out at this park, and it was awesome. Sadly, things change. My brother comes back fairly often, and his friend takes his kids there still. When I told him (my brother) about what we saw, he said he's not surprised. The homeless population there has grown, they live in the woods. The drug users are worse, they hang out it in the woods. The wooded section of the park is not huge by any means. maybe about 50-75' deep until you hit the river. The other side of the river are houses. Also, there are NO signs posted saying to stay out of there. So we were not breaking any laws by going in.
My advise if you happen to find yourself here:
-Stay out of the woods. Apparently there are homeless people and drug users.....if you want to wander around the woods, go to the other side of town and explore Skyline Drive. They have great hiking up there :)
-When you see perverts, make loud comments that you see what they're doing, they'll get embarrassed and either stop or leave. *awkward*
-They have lots of picnic tables, so bring a picnic!
-Bring mouthwash and Wetwipes, just in case your kid actually takes that dare, and eats the worm.
Happy Travels, Candi
Anyway, so Saturday ended up being a really nice day!! My son and I met up with my best friend of 20 yrs and her kids and husband in Front Royal, VA. We went to Applebees, which wasn't busy at all considering it was noon on a Saturday...Afterwards we went to the Fantasy Land which is next to the Bing Crosby Baseball Stadium. We stayed on the playground side of the park, so this review doesn't cover the baseball side.
Anyway, as soon as we get there my kid hauls butt straight into the woods. We follow, because I'm not letting my kid roam around the woods alone. Plus, we all like wondering around and exploring! We're walking along, we end up finding blankets, pillows in trash bags, candles....a tube of lip gloss. My son, Bailey (12), and my friends middle daughter, Kassie (9), get a little ahead of us. Jennifer is like three months pregnant, and we're dragging little five year old Khloie, and I just had surgery, so we're moving slow. Those kids were fast!
Bailey and Kassie get up to the part of the river that is closest to the park first. They stop, they're yelling at us, and pointing at the ground. We hear, "dirty needle!!!". We're screaming at them to not touch it and get away! We make our way over there, and there it is....an uncapped dirty syringe. Used for God knows what.
After that, we went walking up the grass (out of the woods now) along the river, and to the bridge. There's a fountain there, that doesn't work. It used too! Maybe it's shut off for Winter?
We wandered over to the playground. They have a newer part, that's all medal. It's pretty fun.
The old part is wooden, and is huge, but there are things missing! A lot of the things that are used to climb up onto the towers and platforms (where the slides are), are gone. Some of the swings are gone. And some of the monkey bar type things are gone.
Unfortunately, what was there, were a couple of perverts! Jennifer and I were standing at the top next to the slide, when she pointed it out. I looked over, and this dirty old man (sugar daddy?) had his hand up this younger woman's shirt! I'd say he was around 60, she was in her 30's. There are kids standing there talking to them while he's doing this. Really?????
The funniest part of the whole thing were these kids digging for worms, and daring each other to eat them. Nobody ever took the dare, but it was still funny :)
Now, I lived in Front Royal from ages 14 to 20, so it's not like I'm a stranger coming into town. I spent many days as a teen during the Summer hanging out at this park, and it was awesome. Sadly, things change. My brother comes back fairly often, and his friend takes his kids there still. When I told him (my brother) about what we saw, he said he's not surprised. The homeless population there has grown, they live in the woods. The drug users are worse, they hang out it in the woods. The wooded section of the park is not huge by any means. maybe about 50-75' deep until you hit the river. The other side of the river are houses. Also, there are NO signs posted saying to stay out of there. So we were not breaking any laws by going in.
My advise if you happen to find yourself here:
-Stay out of the woods. Apparently there are homeless people and drug users.....if you want to wander around the woods, go to the other side of town and explore Skyline Drive. They have great hiking up there :)
-When you see perverts, make loud comments that you see what they're doing, they'll get embarrassed and either stop or leave. *awkward*
-They have lots of picnic tables, so bring a picnic!
-Bring mouthwash and Wetwipes, just in case your kid actually takes that dare, and eats the worm.
Happy Travels, Candi
Friday, November 30, 2012
Halloween Fun!
Like 2 months late....sorry 'bout that. I've been working like crazy!
Anyway, so really other than Trick-or-Treating, the only thing we were able to do was our favorite
haunted house attraction, Darkwood Manor in Luray, VA. Every year they have a different theme, and it's always AWESOME. I've been taking Bailey, for the last three years. He loves it. He's 11 now, so I guess as far as being "kid-friendly", it depends on how much your own kid can actually handle. There was another 11 y/o with us, his friend Drew, who was scared to go in, but I pulled him in, and he loved it and wanted to go back in! My friend's 11 y/o went, stood in line, and at the last minute wanted no parts of it, and wouldn't go in...so it all depends on the individual.
So this year while standing in line, we had the good fortune of meeting, BEETLEJUICE! He was awesome, very entertaining. There was also a little (in stature) girl...She was like a doll or zombie or something. She was pretty cool too. They definitely keep you entertained while you're waiting to go in.
They got all hi-tech this year, and had a big projection screen going outside, and a few digital effects inside.
Here are a few pictures:
Beetlejuice, Drew, Bailey, & two of our cousins in the back.
Drew, Bailey, and the zombie doll girl.
This is my good friend Stacey from school and me!
I made this from ONE trashbag lol.
My pumpkin.
These boys are CRAZY lol. We were in Target waiting for everyone to meet up to go to Darkwood Manor.
The next day I took them to the Alamo drafthouse. They do this super cool Saturday morning cartoon thing. This time is was Halloween themed old cartoons!!! Animaniacs, Bugs Bunny, Ghostbusters, Beetlejuice, etc...for 2 hours, and for $4!! And, they have have all you can eat cereal!! :D
After the Alamo, we met up with my mama and grandparents at he Golden Corral. This isn't really a special place, extactly....I just had to put these crazy boys antics on here lol. They had a cotton candy machine and a chocolate fountain. Which they put the two together.
They had this stuff EVERYWHERE. And it wouldn't come off!!! They had my Papa laughing so hard :D
The more Drew wiped, the worse it got lol
Oh, and after that we went to the Halloween store in Manassas....where a Zombie tried to bite me. I kid.... I kid..... It was a fake bahahahahaha
We had such an awesome weekend!! :)
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Coke Zero Brownies & 5 Ingredient Banana Bread
Found the diet coke brownies on Pinterest (freakin' love Pinterest!). The recipe was found on this blog: http://www.eat-yourself-skinny.com/2012/04/diet-coke-brownies.html
Anyway, the recipe calls for Diet Coke, but I used Coke Zero.
Ingredients:
Low-fat Brownie mix
Coke Zero
Directions:
In a bowl, pour coke over brownie mix, stir w/ a fork or whisk. Grease the pan. Pour in the mixture, and bake for about 15-20 (until a knife or toothpick comes out clean when you poke it). The time depends on what type of pan you are using. I used a standard brownie pan (specifically said brownie pan on the label), and a mini-muffin pan. I checked them after 15 minutes. If they're not quite done I let them bake for another 2 minutes at a time....If they're really not done, I'll do 5 minutes at a time.
Anyway, the recipe calls for Diet Coke, but I used Coke Zero.
Ingredients:
Low-fat Brownie mix
Coke Zero
Directions:
In a bowl, pour coke over brownie mix, stir w/ a fork or whisk. Grease the pan. Pour in the mixture, and bake for about 15-20 (until a knife or toothpick comes out clean when you poke it). The time depends on what type of pan you are using. I used a standard brownie pan (specifically said brownie pan on the label), and a mini-muffin pan. I checked them after 15 minutes. If they're not quite done I let them bake for another 2 minutes at a time....If they're really not done, I'll do 5 minutes at a time.
This is the BEST Banana Bread you'll ever eat!
Ingredients:
3 bananas (should be turning brown)
1 box yellow cake mix
walnuts, chopped (like a handful)
chocolate chips (about 1/2 a cup; more or less)
2 eggs
Directions: Pre-Heat oven to 350 degrees
In a large bowl, mash up the bananas (mashed potato masher worked great!). Add in the other ingredients, and mix with a fork. Spray the pan/s with PAM. Pour in the batter. Bake for about 20 min. Do the knife/toothpick trick again like you would for the brownies.
I made four mini loaves out of this mix.
Original recipe found here:
Hopefully, this weekend I'll make it to one of the Valley's Haunted House attractions!!! That post will be coming on Monday! :)
All The Best, Candi
Apple Curry Chicken Chili
Yesterday at work we had a fundraiser lunch. The people had a choice of either a hot dog w/ various sides or a bowl of chili w/ sides. Anyway, I made chili. I didn't want to bring in the same kind of chili as other people...so this is what I came up with. I posted on my Facebook, Apple Curry Chicken Chili, would you eat this? A lot of women said no, it sounded gross...the guys said they would. Well, the first one to knock it before she rocked it, wants the recipe lol. Everybody loved it, and it was the only one to be sold out of. I got the last bowl, but still lol. Also, I made this over night in the crock-pot.
Ingredients:
1.5 cups chopped apples (small cubes)
1/2 cup of (unsweetened) apple sauce
1 lb ground chicken breast
1 tbs minced garlic (I think that equals 1 clove?)
1/2 tbs curry powder
1 small onion
1 big can kidney beans (the double size), drained and rinsed
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can chili beans, with juice
2 cans tex-mex fire roasted diced tomatoes w/ green chiles, with juice
1 can fire roasted tomatoes, with juice
Directions:
Add a little oil to a skillet, and brown the chicken with the garlic. When the chicken is done, remove from the pan (go ahead and put it in the crock pot). Add a little more oil if needed (I actually used bacon grease, b/c I had it sitting there). Saute the onions just little. Once they start to brown a bit, put them in the crock pot.
Now put everything else in the crock pot, stir it all up, and put the lid on. I cooked mine on low/10 hrs... You may need to stir it once or twice, but it's not required. You could also slow cook this in a pot on stove too.
Note: The apples.... I didn't use actual applesauce. I took another apple, and "mushed" it up in my Magic Bullet, then poured it in....Same concept basically as apple sauce.
I topped mine with Guacamole, plain Greek yogurt, and a sprinkle of shredded cheddar.
I do not have a picture of this :( Maybe next time!
Enjoy!
-Candi
Ingredients:
1.5 cups chopped apples (small cubes)
1/2 cup of (unsweetened) apple sauce
1 lb ground chicken breast
1 tbs minced garlic (I think that equals 1 clove?)
1/2 tbs curry powder
1 small onion
1 big can kidney beans (the double size), drained and rinsed
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can chili beans, with juice
2 cans tex-mex fire roasted diced tomatoes w/ green chiles, with juice
1 can fire roasted tomatoes, with juice
Directions:
Add a little oil to a skillet, and brown the chicken with the garlic. When the chicken is done, remove from the pan (go ahead and put it in the crock pot). Add a little more oil if needed (I actually used bacon grease, b/c I had it sitting there). Saute the onions just little. Once they start to brown a bit, put them in the crock pot.
Now put everything else in the crock pot, stir it all up, and put the lid on. I cooked mine on low/10 hrs... You may need to stir it once or twice, but it's not required. You could also slow cook this in a pot on stove too.
Note: The apples.... I didn't use actual applesauce. I took another apple, and "mushed" it up in my Magic Bullet, then poured it in....Same concept basically as apple sauce.
I topped mine with Guacamole, plain Greek yogurt, and a sprinkle of shredded cheddar.
I do not have a picture of this :( Maybe next time!
Enjoy!
-Candi
Monday, October 1, 2012
Marker Miller Orchards
Happy Monday!!! (Yuck)
On Saturday we went to the Marker Miller Orchards in Winchester, Va. We go every year, and is one of my favorite little traditions that Bailey (my kid) and I have. It is BEAUTIFUL there, and everyone is so nice. It is a huge PYO (Pick-Your-Own) farm. Depending on the season, they have blackberries, strawberries, raspberries,like 100 kinds of apples, pumpkins, and a few other things.
They have lots to do and see. Inside of the store, they make their own Apple Cider donuts (and cinnamon buns, apple turnovers, etc). It smells like Heaven. They also have Caramel Apple Cookies, which are so freakin' good. On one side of the market are the baked goods, canned items (stuff in jars for those of you who don't know what canned means lol), an ice cream and fudge parlor, and a little wine tasting area (earned an extra 10pts for that one!).
The other side of the market is the produce. They have various pumpkins, squashes, peppers, apples, gourds, potatoes, and onions. Also, cookbooks, hams, doggy treats, more stuff in jars, and the bathroom is over there too.
Outside they have a few playground structures for the kids, a big pavilion with picnic tables, rocking chairs on the porch, and lots of room to run!
They do have food you can buy also so you can do a picnic type of thing if you want. Saturday in the little cabin looking thing, they had cheeseburgers, hot dogs, Rt11 chips (Valley made!), drinks, and country ham sandwiches. Bailey and I had a cheeseburger, and it was pretty damn good. They're like the ones you get at the fair. And probably like the ones you can buy frozen and patted out already, but they just don't taste as awesome as when you buy them from a vendor and eat it outside :) It's better that way!
Okay, so we went and picked apples (Prices will be listed at the end). Picking apples is fun and relaxing! The fresh air is great!!! They probably used pesticides, but I couldn't help but eat an apple right of the tree....I wiped it off first at least.... :/.... I'm sure the type of apple that was my favorite, but there were only like three of this tree, the apples were pretty small, but they were SO good! I should've grabbed more of those. You can also walk to one of the pumpkin patches with a wagon and pick whichever one (or five) you want.
One of my favorite things there, is the wagon ride! It's so nice... I could be on there all day long. What a great job that guy has to drive the tractor all day! Aside from the wagon, they also have a cow-train! Kids love that thing. It's a barrel train, painted like cows. It's cute, and fun, and pretty popular.
All in all, it was another lovely trip to the Marker Miller Orchards!!! I think I picked like 80 lbs of apples lol.
Here are some pictures, and the prices at the bottom (and the link to the MMO website!)
Stuff in the Market
(Purple peppers, people!!)
Out in the orchards!
On Saturday we went to the Marker Miller Orchards in Winchester, Va. We go every year, and is one of my favorite little traditions that Bailey (my kid) and I have. It is BEAUTIFUL there, and everyone is so nice. It is a huge PYO (Pick-Your-Own) farm. Depending on the season, they have blackberries, strawberries, raspberries,like 100 kinds of apples, pumpkins, and a few other things.
They have lots to do and see. Inside of the store, they make their own Apple Cider donuts (and cinnamon buns, apple turnovers, etc). It smells like Heaven. They also have Caramel Apple Cookies, which are so freakin' good. On one side of the market are the baked goods, canned items (stuff in jars for those of you who don't know what canned means lol), an ice cream and fudge parlor, and a little wine tasting area (earned an extra 10pts for that one!).
The other side of the market is the produce. They have various pumpkins, squashes, peppers, apples, gourds, potatoes, and onions. Also, cookbooks, hams, doggy treats, more stuff in jars, and the bathroom is over there too.
Outside they have a few playground structures for the kids, a big pavilion with picnic tables, rocking chairs on the porch, and lots of room to run!
They do have food you can buy also so you can do a picnic type of thing if you want. Saturday in the little cabin looking thing, they had cheeseburgers, hot dogs, Rt11 chips (Valley made!), drinks, and country ham sandwiches. Bailey and I had a cheeseburger, and it was pretty damn good. They're like the ones you get at the fair. And probably like the ones you can buy frozen and patted out already, but they just don't taste as awesome as when you buy them from a vendor and eat it outside :) It's better that way!
Okay, so we went and picked apples (Prices will be listed at the end). Picking apples is fun and relaxing! The fresh air is great!!! They probably used pesticides, but I couldn't help but eat an apple right of the tree....I wiped it off first at least.... :/.... I'm sure the type of apple that was my favorite, but there were only like three of this tree, the apples were pretty small, but they were SO good! I should've grabbed more of those. You can also walk to one of the pumpkin patches with a wagon and pick whichever one (or five) you want.
One of my favorite things there, is the wagon ride! It's so nice... I could be on there all day long. What a great job that guy has to drive the tractor all day! Aside from the wagon, they also have a cow-train! Kids love that thing. It's a barrel train, painted like cows. It's cute, and fun, and pretty popular.
All in all, it was another lovely trip to the Marker Miller Orchards!!! I think I picked like 80 lbs of apples lol.
Here are some pictures, and the prices at the bottom (and the link to the MMO website!)
Stuff in the Market
(Purple peppers, people!!)
Bailey and Me
Some of the things we saw on the wagon ride
Out in the orchards!
Prices:
Wagon Ride: $2 (4 & under are free)
Cow Train - FREE!
Apples:
1/2 peck - $7
Peck - $10
Bushel - $14
The bushel is your BEST option! The apples are HUGE.
Pumpkins:
.59 Per pound
All The Best, Candi
Friday, September 28, 2012
Stuffed Bell Peppers
Whipped these babies up for dinner the other night :)
Ingredients:
4 BELL PEPPERS (cut of the tops, and hollow them out)
1 lb HAMBURGER (I used Extra Lean)
1 small ONION, diced
1 CELERY stalk, diced
1/4 cp MANGO, diced
1 pkg frozen BROWN RICE (it's the only way I can cook rice lol)
2 cans Campbell's TOMATO SOUP
Shredded PARMESEAN CHEESE
BREADCRUMBS
SLAP YO' MAMA seasoning or simular CAJUN seasoning
KETCHUP
SALT and PEPPER
Directions:
*Pre-heat oven to 350.*
Microwave your rice according to package directions. While that's cooking start the other stuff.
Put a little oil in the pan (I used coconut), and saute the onion and celery. Once the onions start 'sweating', add the hamburger,and season to taste with the cajun seasoning, salt and pepper. Cook until done (the hamburger will be brown).
In a large bowl, stir the cooked mixture, 1 can of soup, mango,a big squirt of ketchup and rice together. Spoon the mixture into the peppers. Stuff 'em full! Now in your baking dish (I used a loaf pan for bread), pour half of the second can of soup in the bottom of the pan. Set the peppers into the pan, they will more than likely fall over which is why I used the loaf pan (they still fell :/). Now pour the rest of the soup over the peppers. Sprinkle the tops with breadcrumbs and parmesean cheese.
Cook in the oven for 45-50 minutes at 350.
Before you eat it, spoon some of what's on the bottom of the pan, over your peppers, and sprinkle a little more cheese on top :)
Ingredients:
4 BELL PEPPERS (cut of the tops, and hollow them out)
1 lb HAMBURGER (I used Extra Lean)
1 small ONION, diced
1 CELERY stalk, diced
1/4 cp MANGO, diced
1 pkg frozen BROWN RICE (it's the only way I can cook rice lol)
2 cans Campbell's TOMATO SOUP
Shredded PARMESEAN CHEESE
BREADCRUMBS
SLAP YO' MAMA seasoning or simular CAJUN seasoning
KETCHUP
SALT and PEPPER
Directions:
*Pre-heat oven to 350.*
Microwave your rice according to package directions. While that's cooking start the other stuff.
Put a little oil in the pan (I used coconut), and saute the onion and celery. Once the onions start 'sweating', add the hamburger,and season to taste with the cajun seasoning, salt and pepper. Cook until done (the hamburger will be brown).
In a large bowl, stir the cooked mixture, 1 can of soup, mango,a big squirt of ketchup and rice together. Spoon the mixture into the peppers. Stuff 'em full! Now in your baking dish (I used a loaf pan for bread), pour half of the second can of soup in the bottom of the pan. Set the peppers into the pan, they will more than likely fall over which is why I used the loaf pan (they still fell :/). Now pour the rest of the soup over the peppers. Sprinkle the tops with breadcrumbs and parmesean cheese.
Cook in the oven for 45-50 minutes at 350.
Before you eat it, spoon some of what's on the bottom of the pan, over your peppers, and sprinkle a little more cheese on top :)
Happy Eating!
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