Hump Day!

Recipe Time

Cinnamon Chip Scones 
      These are famous with my friends and family...not your average dry, crusty scone...They're moist and    delicious...and perfect to share after a little morning romp in the hay.

Ingredients

• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter
• 1 egg
• 1 cup Hershey's Cinnamon Chips 

Directions

1. In a small bowl, blend the sour cream and baking soda, and set aside.  This is crucial for moist scones! 
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a large baking sheet.
3. In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, cream of tartar, and salt. Cut in the butter. Stir the sour cream mixture and egg into the flour mixture until just moistened. 
4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead briefly. Roll or pat dough into a 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick rectangle. Sprinkle the cinnamon chips evenly over dough.  Roll or fold up.  Roll out again then cut into 12 wedges (or use a round biscuit cutter for smaller scones), and place them 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.  
5. Bake 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown on the bottom.  Size determines if you add or subtract to the baking time.  Just watch closely as they brown on bottom.  

             Enjoy!

Tattoo Tuesdays

Sunday Supper

Just finished making dinner and having a beer to go along with it.  I had a few minutes while my dinner was in the oven, so I whipped up a batch of Cinnamon Chip Scones.  That's right...I'm a gay who can bake...I know, breaking all the stereotypes!  These aren't your average hard, dry, over baked ones either.  I use a secret of sour cream and baking soda to keep them soft and almost like the best part of the muffin...the Top!

My boys are sleepy tonight...two good walks, and a run with my younger one.  The old guy has to stay behind and rest. They're boxer boys and are always up for a walk, but my older one is getting to that point where R & R is much more valuable!

I'm hoping for a smooth week with work and life.  I feel like the next month or so is going to be a whirlwind and a little break will be a good respite.

Here's  a few hotties to keep the weekend going.

I'm Back!

After a long week of lots of ups, downs, and in betweens I made it to the weekend.  Travel to the West Coast was good for my soul and I was able to get my head back in line and focused on a new start.  Full steam ahead and resumes blazing out the door.  I want my CA residency back.  :-)  It's amazing the power of friends and support networks...new and old.  I have found a lot of comfort in my friends' words and feel it's a good time to get back to where they all are and have their support in my journey.  Plus, there are a lot more hot guys to drool over in socal than nova.  A Lot!

Back to the pictures!

                 

                             

Hump Day!

Catching up

It's been a lot of ups and downs this week.  Trying to stay positive in stressful times is exhausting!  As the last few weeks took me from being in a committed 8 year relationship with someone I gave a lot up for to being left alone, broken, and empty I came to some clarity and put it all out on the table.  Despite a lot happening in a few short weeks, you'd think I wouldn't be able to look past that and try to regain and regrow our relationship...but I offered my thoughts on the situation.  Where things went wrong...where we missed the signs that we were losing touch with each other in our efforts to keep our own lives going.  I always thought that if we could get the routine down and just keep plugging though, we would be fine...but what we were missing were those moments where getting out of our routine would have brought us together and strengthened us even more.

We are different people...but our differences have always kept us together and we've always been able to use that to our advantage.  In looking back...we put ourselves in situations that highlighted the differences and left us wondering what was keeping us together.  My partner found friends that didn't ever have the chance to see our strengths, so of course sharing with them what we were going through wouldn't necessarily get him the balanced advice that would have been helpful.  I worked in a different way and tried to process everything on my own...without the support of friends and family...leaving me exhausted and unable to share with him how I was coping.  It just was not set up to succeed.  We tried counseling...I was committed...as for him I'm still not sure if he went just to say we tried...or if he was there in a true effort to bring us back together.  I can't help but think "What if we had found a better counselor that helped us tap into our strengths rather than highlight how different we are."  But as many "What Ifs" I come up with...nothing can get that time back.  In reflecting on all of this I created a list of things that...if we do move on in this relationship, and get past the last few weeks...we can do to ensure we not only reconnect, but we get stronger and stronger as a couple.

I am prepared for either answer that he brings back to me.  He needs time and I understand that.  He has found a refreshing freedom in the last few weeks...while I had been caught in a lonely tunnel.  If that freedom that he found was from the joy of change...and we choose to change together...than we will.  If that freedom was because I was not a part of his life...than we will move on.  I believe in myself either way.  I have found strength in friends near and far and know that there are brighter days...even when I struggle to visualize them.  And I take some comfort in knowing that if I don't use the tools I've found would help this relationship...I am confident that I this experience was needed to make my next relationship even stronger.

Now back to some pictures of hot guys!   I can't believe I missed Tattoo Tuesdays!
-Rin

Waterways

I think it's time for a day on the water with this guy!  

West Bound...for a brief visit at least!

Well, things are rolling faster than I can even grasp.  I've been invited for a final interview for a position that would take me back to cali, cali!  At least I get a free flight out of it and a chance to meet up with some great friends that I've missed a lot.  Lots of mixed emotions over the proposition of such a quick end to this chapter.  I'm wondering if it's too much too fast.  Seeing the end of an 8 year relationship and moving to the opposite coast in the matter of a month or two is a lot of major life stressors all coming together.  In times like this I just wanna curl up with a bowl of premium coffee ice cream with rainbow sprinkles and watch whatever tivo has been storing up.  Good thing I have some ice cream on hand!

I think I get a bit overwhelmed trying to prepare myself for everyone's emotions with my life changes...my family, my dogs, my coworkers, etc.  It's as if I could actually have an answer to everything they're going to say, or even be able to know all the answers to their questions.  With all that swirling around, I can barely figure out what i'm feeling about the entire situation.

I think i'm handling the situation with my partner pretty well.  He doesn't want the responsibility of a relationship, dogs, a house, etc...not great that it took him 8 years, but really glad it didn't take another 10.  He wants to go out, party with a bunch of guys, and not feel guilty not coming home....so why should I feel guilty if my doors are flying open with opportunities to move on and not get caught in the emotional BS?
I think it's time I figure out what will make it all work for me and my bois, and just run with it.  It'll be a crazy road, but I'll be sure to take my gps!  At least I get a quick vacation and some sun out of it...maybe enough sun to survive the rest of the winter?  I'm already planning what flip flops to take.  :-)

Tattoo Tuesdays

It may be cold and icy tonight, but all you need is a hot man in your bed covered in tattoos and you'll be cozy, warm, and busy!  Can I get an Amen...ok'rrr!