A Huntin' & A Eatin'

Chris's View-

Yeah, I have been huntin' the past couple days, and I don't have no stinkin' license!

For the past couple weeks, we have been hearing some scratching & such in our walls.  Being all gimped up (STILL!!!) I had Maria pick up a few mouse traps the other day at the BX.  I slapped some peanut butter on them & had Maria crawl up in the attic to place the traps last night.  She sent me an email this morning that said she heard something that sounded like a rat crawling across the attic floor with a trap connected to it.  Ummm... not sure if I want to get up there!  I'm worried that I may have caught a baby fox or something now!  LOL!  That'd be my luck right there.  Hopefully it will just be that we got the mouse that has been scaring Gracie as she tries to go to bed at night.

I have also tried my hand at baking the past week.  I made a Honey Bourbon Pecan Pie for Thanksgiving.  You know, it was OK, but it wasn't the flavor I was looking for.  It wasn't that good, rich, Southern flavor that instantly transports me back to my childhood on my grandparents farm.  I think it's awesome when you can find something like that, a smell or a flavor that makes the memories flood back.  I had that last Christmas when we were back home.  My Aunt Ruby fixed us Christmas dinner and the corn, that they put up fresh every year, was a shock to the taste buds!  It was a flavor that I had not tasted in so many years!  Probably 1996 or 1997-ish.  So, my pie was good, but not great... definitely NOT great.  In fact, the only reason I chose that specific pie is because Maria & I have been watching Duck Dynasty lately, like a lot!  They talked about it on there, so I tried it.  Oh well...

Today, I am making what AllRecipes.com calls the BEST chocolate chip cookie recipe.  It has over 5000 ratings and it's still 5 stars, which is hard to find.  So, Gracie & I whipped up the batter & I just threw them in the oven.  The recipe says that I was supposed to make 1/4 cup cookies & cook for 17 minutes... uh, not in my oven!  After 17 minutes, they were still raw.  They are going on 30 minutes right now.  Don't get me wrong, they look amazing, and I can't wait to eat one with a glass of milk, but over 30 minutes for some cookies!  That's insane!

For the past week, I have been berated by foods that I want.  Everywhere I turn, it's something that I have been craving.  On Duck Dynasty they were eating hot donuts, fresh from the glazer.  I instantly wanted Shipley's or Tatonut... there are NO better donuts than those two, in that very order!  I saw an online advertisement for Cattleman's Steak House.  If you know about Cattleman's, you know exactly why I instantly wanted that!  It is THE epitome of what steak should be, with the ambiance to go along with it.  I guess that's what I get for trying to read news from California.  I also saw an ad for the Nugget grocery store, which reminded me of their Ciabatta sandwiches with Havarti cheese... yummo!  I went to get Gracie from church after I got off work & saw a new Mexican restaurant opened.  I was reminded of going to Saltios in Ocean Springs after church.  But the next one took the cake.  This morning, Maria's BFF Shana, decided to tag me in a couple pictures of her to-go box from the Shed in Ocean Springs.  If you haven't been "Fed at the Shed", you do not know what you are missing.  It's simply, good, old-fashioned, sloppy as all get out, Mississippi Barbeque.  Oh how I miss it.  It's one of the few places that I can eat everything on the menu, and not get tired of it.  Plus, anytime bees swarm around the sweet tea dispenser during the Summer, you know that's some good stuff!

Shana may have got to have the Shed, but I get her BFF, and I'm sure she'd trade every meal she could afford from the Shed for 1/100th of the time I get to spend with my beautiful wife!  :)  Gotcha Shana!  :)

See ya'll later!

UPDATE- So...this is Maria.  I just crawled back up into the attic and every trap has been licked clean and they are still set.  Hubby is super gluing pecans to the traps now!  LOL.  I hope these really are mice that we are dealing with!