Kentucky Trip

Tyler and I had a nice little trip to Kentucky during his break from school. We were able to escape VA right as the snow started. It snowed the whole way through WV and things got a little tricky but we made it! This ice/snow driving is no fun! While in KY we were able to hit on a few highlights of the state. Basketball is a HUGE deal! We enjoyed a basketball game at the Rupp Arena because Ole Miss happened to be playing Kentucky while we were visiting. Although Ole Miss lost, the game was fun and the experience of the Rupp was really neat!
Another biggie in KY is horse racing. We drove through the famous Keeneland tracks but there was not much action this time of year. The track was bigger than we expected! Maybe one day we can take a trip during the Derby =)

Lastly KY is known for the "Bourbon Trail". One afternoon we drove to the Maker's Mark Distillery and took a tour. It was really neat to see how the whiskey is made. It's quite a science! I think my favorite part was watching them dip the bottles in the trademark red wax.

We were glad to get away for a few days and escape being snowed in during the big winter storm. We have TONS of snow on the ground and actually had to come home a day late because the roads were so bad. We are really glad to be back home with our Doc. We sure do miss him when we travel without him!

January Happenings

This month has gone by sooo fast and we have just been trucking right along. At the beginning of the month I reached the 25 year mark...not really sure how I feel about this! Old man weather has not been kind to us this month. The snow from Christmas week JUST melted this week (finally!). We have had several days and nights of ice and snow. This is lovingly refer to this as a "wintry mix" and is never a phrase I like to hear on the news. As I type this it is snowing again. I actually went shopping today in the snow and didn't think twice about it...does this make me a Yankee? If I was in Mississippi I would have been locked in my house with a weeks supply of water =). Doc of course welcomes any and all snow that comes our way...ha!
Yesterday was a big day for the 2nd year VCOMers because they found out where they would be doing their rotations when 3rd year begins. Some people will even be moving out of the state! We are sad (but excited) for our friends that will be leaving. We are thankful we get to stay here since I love my job and we own our house. It is so hard to believe that med school is half way over! HOORAY! Next week Tyler has the week off so we are going to Kentucky for a few days to get away. We are also going to be able to catch an Ole Miss Basketball game at UK and Tyler is going to meet with the Director of Admissions for the Anesthesia program at UK. This is one of the programs Tyler is looking at for residency so we are just going to check it out. They are also opening up a NEW hospital this year and it's awesome! We have heard it is beautiful there so I'm excited!
In other news....THE SAINTS ARE GOING TO THE SUPERBOWL!!!!!!!!!!! We don't get to catch many Saints games up here in Virginia but we were excited to get to watch them win this big game and move on to the Super Bowl...can't wait!

Until next time...STAY WARM!

A CUTE video and an EASY recipe =)

I got this link in an email and thought I'd share with all of the dog lovers out there...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H17edn_RZoY

CROCKPOT RANCH STEW:

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb ground beef

1 onion (chopped)

1 can Rotel

1 can corn

1 can Ranch beans

DIRECTIONS:

Brown meat and onions together. Combine meat and all other ingredients in crock pot. Cook for 8 hours on low. Serve with shredded cheese and sour cream.

Christmas week

Christmas week was a crazy one in the Crisp house. I worked 6 nights in a row in order to be off for several days around Christmas. During my work stretch we got 24 inches of snow in Christiansburg!!!!!! I loved seeing all of the snow BUT I actually had to hike out of my neighborhood to get to work then got stuck at the hospital! It was an adventure for sure and something I will never forget. Doc LOVED the snow as always and felt it was his personal early Christmas present =). Since I was stuck at the hospital I was not able to take many pictures but here are a few provided by my husband...

On Tuesday we headed south to Mississippi for Christmas with our families. We literally experience a 50+ degree warm up. We left Christiansburg with snow on the ground and had the AC on by the time we hit Natchez....definitely a shock to our system! We unfortunately did not take many pictures with our camera but we had a wonderful time! Doc got lots of attention and we were blessed with way too many presents. Tyler and I were so good in fact that we had to rent a uhaul to bring back all of our loot =)

We would like to wish everyone a HAPPY NEW YEAR and look forward to what 2010 holds!

Nutcrackers and BBQ

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas season! It seems to have come so FAST this year! Tyler is wrapping up exams this week and I am getting ready to work for a few nights before we make the long journey to Mississippi for Christmas! While Tyler and I have been busy these past few weeks Doc has been fulfilling his duty as guard dog. Instead of guarding against the "bad guys" coming into our house Doc feels that we have already let some "unwelcome visitors" in. These so call "unwanted visitors" happen to be my nutcrackers =). My mom was actually Clara in the Nutcracker Ballet when she was a little girl and has collected nutcrackers ever since. When Tyler and I got married I started collecting them too. I love them BUT little did I know my big German Shepherd would not. This has been the scene in our house for the past few weeks of Doc "guarding" the nutcrackers. If he is not sitting and looking at them he glances their way when he walks though the room to make sure they are in their spot being "good". We have laughed so much at him!

In other news here is a BBQ Beef recipe (another slow cooker) I tried out this week and it was SO good!

INGREDIENTS:

1 (3lb) boneless chuck roast

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

salt/pepper to taste

1 (18 ounce) bottle BBQ sauce

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place roast into slow cooker. Sprinkle with garlic powder and onion powder, and season with salt and pepper. Pour BBQ sauce over meat. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

2. Remove meat from slow cooker, shred, and return to slow cooker. Cook for 1 more hour. Serve hot.

The first snow...and an easy slow cooker recipe

Today we had our first good snow of winter and it was beautiful! Doc man LOVES the snow and would play out in it all day if we let him =). Personally, I think it's more fun to sit by your Christmas tree when there is snow falling! Here are a few pictures...

I have been trying out a few new recipes and here is an easy slow cooker cranberry roast. Slow cooker recipes are great for us 1. because we have such crazy schedules and 2. it makes your house smell wonderful!

INGREDIENTS:

1 (1 ounce) envelope dry onion soup mix

1 (3 lb) beef chuck roast

1 (16 oz) can jellied cranberry sauce

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place onion soup mix in bottom of slow cooker. Place roast in the slow cooker, and top with cranberry sauce.

2. Cover, and cook 8 hours on low.

3. Remove roast, and set aside. Set slow cooker to high. Whisk together butter and flour, and slowly mix into the liquid remaining in the slow cooker to create a thick gravy. Serve with the roast.

It was oh so easy and delicious! See?!

Happy Thanksgiving!

TWAS THE NIGHT OF THANKSGIVING,BUT I JUST COULDN'T SLEEP.
I TRIED COUNTING BACKWARDS,I TRIED COUNTING SHEEP.
THE LEFTOVERS BECKONED -THE DARK MEAT AND WHITE,
BUT I FOUGHT THE TEMPTATIONWITH ALL OF MY MIGHT.
TOSSING AND TURNING WITH ANTICIPATION,
THE THOUGHT OF A SNACK BECAME INFATUATION.
SO, I RACED TO THE KITCHEN, FLUNG OPEN THE DOOR,
AND GAZED AT THE FRIDGE, FULL OF GOODIES GALORE.
GOBBLED UP TURKEY AND BUTTERED POTATOES,
PICKLES AND CARROTS, BEANS AND TOMATOES.
I FELT MYSELF SWELLING SO PLUMP AND SO ROUND,
'TIL ALL OF A SUDDEN, I ROSE OFF THE GROUND.
I CRASHED THROUGH THE CEILING, FLOATING INTO THE SKY,
WITH A MOUTHFUL OF PUDDING AND A HANDFUL OF PIE.
BUT, I MANAGED TO YELL AS I SOARED PAST THE TREES....
HAPPY EATING TO ALL - PASS THE CRANBERRIES, PLEASE.


MAY YOUR STUFFING BE TASTY,MAY YOUR TURKEY BE PLUMP.
MAY YOUR POTATOES 'N GRAVY HAVE NARY A LUMP.
MAY YOUR YAMS BE DELICIOUS.MAY YOUR PIES TAKE THE PRIZE,
MAY YOUR THANKSGIVING DINNER STAY OFF OF YOUR THIGHS!!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL