Seal Rescue

There was a harbor seal on the beach in Kill Devil Hills last weekend, so Ben and I went to save it! We showed up and it was the cutest thing in the world (not as cute as Maverick, but almost!) It was doing its usual "banana" position, where his head and tail are off of the ground. This usually means that its healthy, but it was really weezing, so we sent it to rehab, just in case.

To get this baby seal to the Virginia Beach Aquarium required a handful of people to literally push it into a dog carrier. Seals have sharp teeth and nasty claws, so this is done with pieces of plywood with handles and you sort of just nudge it closer to the open door and then eventually they will go in. If they do not, you have to throw a towel over its head and jump on its back, but I was very glad we didn't have to do that! If a person (or dog) is bitten by a seal, they must go through the entire rabies series and the seal must be euthanized.

Once our seal got to VA Beach, he spent the night and then they transported him to the Baltimore Aquarium for further rehab. Unfortunately, we just got a call today that he died suddenly. Its very sad to hear but maybe we can all learn something from his necrospy so that we can save more seals in the future!

Sprouting Our Own Greens!

Not only did we replant the Aerogarden with mixed salad greens... but I've also started growing sprouts! These little guys are quite tasty on salads, sandwiches, and in stir fry, and SO EASY to grow. All you do it put the seeds in the tray, and rinse with water in the morning and at night. Here is a picture of my mung beans after just two days!

They will go nicely atop my fresh jalapeno and cheddar bread that I just baked. Only three weeks until Aerogarden is ready for harvest, too :)

Lack of Grocery Options

Everytime I go to the grocery store, I am amazed at how little they carry in the winter! According to census data, Corolla does have 400 year-round residents. Apparently everyone has their own Aerogarden because the produce is pretty much non-existent at the store. Take a look at the selection of fruit: three shelves of limes, lemons, oranges, apples, 2 packs of strawberries (I bought both), 2 boxes of blueberries (for an outrageous price!), 1 box of raspberries (that were moldy), 8 bags of grapes, and two boxes of clementines. Isn't it festive how they fill in the empty rows with croutons and empty boxes?

The next photo depicts the lack of veggies: only a handful of bagged lettuce and no spinach anywhere in the store. You are SOL if you want things like potatoes, garlic, onions, peppers, celery, carrots, you know, real luxury items! In case you can't see in the picture, those are cases of bottled water on the shelves where the produce used to be. Apparently we're expecting a hurricane in Corolla?

And just because he's so darned cute, I had Ben pose , so you all can see just how empty our little Food Lion is this time of year :(

Pumpkin Cranberry Bread

Best pumpkin bread recipe ever: Ben and I devoured the whole loaf!

Pumpkin Cranberry Bread

(recipe makes 2 loaves)

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tbsp pumpkin pie spice

2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp salt

3 cups granulated sugar

1 15oz can of pumpkin

4 large eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup orange juice

1 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 and grease and flour two loaf pans. Mix flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt in large bowl. Separately, mix sugar, pumpkin, eggs, veggie oil, and OJ with mixer. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and blend in cranberries. Bake about 60-65 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Eat one entire loaf before your spouse discovers how delicious it is :)

Puppy Birthday Party

Hadley invited us over to celebrate her yellow-lab, Lula Belle's 3rd bday! It was really fun, there were lots of doggies there and Maverick had a lovely time. Hadley even baked birthday cupcakes, topped with bacon and cheese for the four-leggers. We took over a bottle of wine and a red hooded-sweatshirt for Lula, since Maverick thinks of her as his girlfriend. They were such a cute match in their Crips and Bloods gang sweatshirts! Then we worked very hard to get a group shot of all of the puppies, which was interesting. The wine and beer were flowing to keep the adults having a good time while the doggies played and played. Maverick is already in bed for the night and its only 9pm! And it was good for me to get out of the house- three days home from work with the flu makes one restless!

Back from Florida

We split the drive into two days on our way back, and stopped in to visit Kimmie and fam! I haven't been to Myrtle Beach in years. We had a scrumptous dinner and a great night's sleep. Maverick lounged in front of the fireplace because it was so cold outside... we even saw SNOW! It was exciting at first, since its so rare in SC, but the novelty wore off as we drove through a blizzard for the next 8 hours! Check out the view from the passenger seat (I know this is all too familiar to you guys in PA!) We're all safe and sound back at the beach, not to worry!

The Party!

Joe threw a combination "Sarah & Ben are back in town" and "its Joe's birthday" party which was awesome! He invited Patrick, from the English Pub, to play live music at his house and we had a big BBQ of burgers, dogs, and veggies. It was so good to hang out and see everyone.

Even Maverick had a good time jammin' on the lanai! He loved playing with Payton all week and hunting lizards in the palmetto bushes. He even has tiny scratches on his nose from digging so much!

Thank you guys for your hospitality! I had a blast going out to lunch and running errands all over town- I miss those luxuries here on an island! It was really great to see all of my Florida friends, and I can't wait until my next trip to meet little Sage and Addie; keep me posted mommies-to-be!

Good times everyone- I really REALLY miss Florida! I'll always be back to visit though... most likely in January when its freezing cold in the Outer Banks!