I am Emily...

New Site

2011-06-27T15:09:00.000-04:00

Please visit our new website at:

Awestruck Wonder

Fun stuff

2011-02-04T20:54:00.000-05:00

If I won the lottery, some of these things would end up in my house...

Clock

Hook (coat, etc)

Sea Horse Mobile

Circus Wall Decals (for kids)

Rocker (for kids)

Pendant lamp

All found at Design Public

I took a big, long break

2011-01-15T19:23:00.000-05:00

There has been so much going on the past two months. I don't even know where to start. So for now, I will start right here, right now.

We're in Jersey, right outside of NYC. We're here visiting Joe's family, seeing some of his old friends, and going into the city.

We made it here in 7 hours, which is pretty good. I think Joe feels "at home" ... at least on the roads ;)

I may right more while we're here.

But I'm coming back to my blog, promise!

Get your pom-poms out

2010-12-13T19:39:00.000-05:00

Because I'm going to be a cheerleading coach starting in January.

I had thought about doing it but told Joe I wanted to wait until next year. Apparently God had other plans.

Running behind

2010-12-07T19:43:00.000-05:00

I'm so behind in posting. So much has been going on since before Thanksgiving. I'm trying to get so much accomplished in so little time! Joe had surgery, we went out of town, I've been working on Christmas gifts (which I am STOKED about!), etc etc etc.

Gift ideas via Pinterest

2010-11-23T19:32:00.000-05:00

Einstein- the man, not my dog

2010-11-22T16:29:00.001-05:00

Here's your sign...

2010-11-21T15:13:00.001-05:00

AWESOME!

My life

2010-11-20T22:36:00.002-05:00

More pretty things

2010-11-19T09:29:00.001-05:00

Still loving pinterest. Here are some awesome staircases for you today

Love Pinterest

2010-11-18T16:14:00.000-05:00

Yum o Yum!

2010-11-13T12:28:00.001-05:00

I'm making salted caramels.

'Tis the season

2010-11-11T19:41:00.001-05:00

and Joe is playing Christmas music on the piano!

Hip Hip Hooray!

What next?

2010-11-09T16:12:00.000-05:00

Now that I've completed the reorganization of my sewing and crafts room, I need a new project to tackle!!!

I've decided the next project in line for an organizational challenge is our guest bedroom. 90% of the time this room is clean, because quite frankly we don't utilize the space that often. Its times that its not being used that I decide to use it as a "dumping ground." Currently it houses the odds and ends I brought out of my sewing & craft room. But room was cleared out from the closet and off the bed...this room was the home of a lot of my fabric before moving everything into one room.

This room will definitely take much less time to organize, no doubt about it. Over the next few days, I will try to post a few "before/during" pictures, because I've already moved stuff out of the room.

3rd 5th time is a charm

2010-11-08T15:55:00.000-05:00

Between brainstorming ideas on things to take for Sunday school breakfast, baking, experimenting, and cleaning up after myself, I've painted a little section of wall for the fifth time. I can't seem to find a good color that I want to paint our living room.

But this time, I think I've got it!

The Great Reveal

2010-11-08T08:22:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago, I decided I had enough of my cluttered, chaotic sewing & craft room. My things spanned two rooms, there was no system, and quite honestly, I didn't remember half the stuff I had. As I'm trying to sew more and spend less money, I knew I needed to get things cleaned up. The first two pictures are "before" shots, but should quite honestly be labelled "during" shots. I had started to pull things out about 45 minutes before I thought to myself "take a picture". So, without further adieu...

And for the great results...

Very pleased

2010-11-05T16:49:00.000-04:00

I'm very happy with the way my sewing & crafts room is starting to look. I've still got some work to do on it, but it really is moving along very well. I even managed to come up with a creative idea this afternoon, despite the fact I am mentally exhausted.

I decided on this shelving unit for my fabric, except its white

I would like some wall art at some point to go over my desk, but thats a long ways down the road.

The only things standing in my way of being finished are:

-Finish ironing the last few bits of fabric
-Purchase two bins for under my sewing table to store batting/interface and heavy weight fabrics
-Label containers
-Clean off my desk
-Figure out what to do with the little odds and ends
-Work on the upper shelves in my closet
-Dust & vaccum
-Take an "after" picture

Now I'm off to a women's conference at our church!

Savings from Harris Teeter Super Doubles

2010-11-04T16:58:00.000-04:00

Here are a few of the deals I got yesterday (and today) at Harris Teeter using VIC sales and Super Double Coupons...

Things I got for free:
6 boxes of Barilla Plus pasta- Regular price $2.25 a box, Sale 5/$3
   (I had three $1/2 coupons from the Sunday paper a few weeks ago. When the three coupons doubled, I theoretically saved $6/6, but HT calculates it so I got them for free and didn't "earn" money on the deal)

Colgate Toothbrush- regular price $2.89, sale $1.99
   (I used a coupon for $1/1 from Coupons.com)

Poise pads- I had a catalina coupon for a free product up to $4.00 (I plan on giving these to someone I know who volunteers in a nursing home)

Things I got for $1.00 or less:
Febreeze Air Effects- regular price $3.49, sale $2.49
   (I used a $1/1 coupon in this past Sunday's PG circular, making it $0.49)

Parchment Paper- Regular price $3.49, sale $2.99
   (I used a $1/1 coupon that I picked up on a display in HT a few weeks ago. Total cost = $0.99)

Ziplock containers - Regular price $3.49, sale 2/$5
   (I used a catlina coupon for $1/1, making it $0.50)

Reach toothbrush- Regular price $3.79, clearance price $2.39
   (I used $1/1 coupon I have saved from the paper about 3 months ago, making the total price $0.39)

Harris Teeter eggs- Regular price $1.39, sale price $0.77

Other good deals I made:
Tide Detergent- Regular price $14.99, sale price $10.99
   (I used a $1/1 coupon from last Sunday's PG circular, making a large bottle $8.99)

Chips Ahoy- Regular price $3.99 (or 2/$7.98), sale price 2/$5.98
   (I used a $1.00/2 coupon from coupons.com, total price 2/$3.98....and since we rarely have cookies in our house, I sprung for these)

Campell's Cream of Chicken soup- Regular price for 4 cans- $5.12, sale price $3.00
(I used a $0.25/4 coupon, making it $2.50/4)

Just call me Alexander

2010-11-03T09:59:00.000-04:00

because I'm having one of those days...

I'm working second shift today (Lord help me), and the next two Wednesdays. So I got up early with Joe, saw Harris Teeter is having super double coupons, and got to work right away. I didn't clip coupons this past weekend, so I did that first thing this morning.

I managed to get really good deals, including 6 boxes of pasta for free, Febreeze Air Effects for $0.49 a can, Downy fabric softener for about $2 a bottle, and a few other great deals. I will, hopefully if I take a break tonight, sit down and review my receipt. Overall, I save $80

When I was bringing the groceries in, I tripped, grabbed onto my table to avoid busting my face into the floor, apparently hit something which tipped over, knocking one of my candlesticks over and it rolled off the table and shattered when it hit the floor. This was one of the candlesticks we got for our wedding. *sigh*

Back to it

2010-11-01T16:54:00.000-04:00

I stopped running a few years ago for various reasons. The top reason was...well, laziness. Plus it was winter time and too cold to run. One day led to one week, which led to one month, and ultimately led to four years. Yikes. I just now realized its been FOUR years since I last "ran" (and by running, I mean running more than three miles at a time).

Here are pictures of my last major runs...

Baltimore Half Marathon- my eyes are partially closed

VA Beach Rock & Roll Half Marathon

I miss it. I miss the high. I miss the ability to use it as an emotional dumping ground.

Here lately, I feel like I really need that emotional dumping ground again. I can't stress about things anymore. The more I've tried to ask "God, why?" or "God, why not?" the more stressed I feel like I've become.

I think I've hit my wall. The same wall I hit at the beginning of 2006. But this time, something much different is in front of me.

Crazy person

2010-10-31T08:11:00.000-04:00

I feel like a crazy, emotional person. Meds do that to me. And just to think, I'm getting ready to start another one this week on top of what I already have. Yippee.

(Morbidly Hysterical) Pumpkin Carving

2010-10-29T14:12:00.008-04:00

At work we have a lab wide pumpkin carving contest every year. Each area within each department is given a pumpkin to carve and then it is entered and judged by the lab director. Today was the day for the contest, and as of yesterday, most of the pumpkins still were not complete. However some people brought out the big guns and got things done. I only saw a few outside of my department. This year was monumental. I only took pictures of one pumpkin outside of my department, because I genuinely thought it rocked. However, neither my department, nor this pumpkin won the contest. In fact, I think the judging was rigged in some way. I should also not that my department is made up of a few areas, so our pumpkins made more of a pumpkin scene than just a carved pumpkin.

I am going to put a page break in, because the the pictures are a little morbid (and you may need to shield the eyes of little ones first), but funny if you can have a sense of humor about it. Mind you, I work in a hospital. I also work in an area that deals with body parts each day. And others in my department make a living testing for STD's. Many props to my friend Michelle for her pumpkin carving skills. With that being said, click to see the pictures...

The micro department made an awesome pumpkin!

Now.... the scene that is morbid, but kind of funny... The Pregnant Pumpkin Carving

Pumpkin giving birth

Baby Daddy Pumpkin

Grandma pumpkin had a lot of issue...

You always have to have a doctor pumpkin there for delivery.

Right where He wants me to be

2010-10-28T19:36:00.000-04:00

Sometimes I wonder if I'm where God wants me to be. Sometimes I struggle feeling certain that I'm hearing Him correctly.

Today, I genuinely felt that I'm right where He wants me to be, especially when it comes to church. Joe and I spent a few months trying to see where God wanted us to serve. One thing I prayed for was a friend to understand me, someone to understand where I'm at in life. Someone, preferably who has walked the path I'm walking, who understands the struggles I face because she too has faced them.

God showed me today that I'm right where he wants me. And I'm thankful I'm there.

Still here, still organizing.

2010-10-27T19:27:00.000-04:00

I'm still here, still organizing my sewing room. Sadly, only a little has been accomplished in the past two days. I've had other things going on, and needed to pay attention to other areas of my house. The floors downstairs were D-I-R-T-Y so I've been sweeping, and mopping. Oh what fun!

I'm trying to come up with some solutions to storing my fabric. I am trying to consolidate all of my sewing and crafts into one room. If you're thinking "How much DO you have?" The answer is: Plenty. In our guest bedroom, we have a big cabinet in the closet that Joe's grandfather built him when he was a kid (to house his Transformers). Currently it holds a bunch of fabric. I also stored my dress form in my guest bedroom. The goal is to minimize and/or organize everything to fit in my sewing/craft room, and not utilize that cabinet (I don't want to move it out of that room right now).

So... storage for fabric. I have enough room in the closet to house a small shelving system if I wanted. But I would need something as deep as it is wide. Here are a few thoughts of things I could do...

(This is a 3 shelf white bookcase, if its difficult to tell)


(Maybe two of these)


Or just a wire shelf.

I did purchase this pencil cup for my sewing area, as well as a larger one (can't find it on the website) for other sewing necessities, like my scissors, rotary cutter, pinking shears, etc:

I'm really not certain what I'm going to do yet. I'm not in a hurry to get this room finished...yet. I still have a few Christmas presents I will be needing to crank out, but I won't need to get those started for at least another two or three weeks.

My Iron is Getting a Workout

2010-10-25T16:21:00.000-04:00

I don't recall a time when my iron has ever been worked as hard as its being worked today. Since I'm still feeling a little "blah" and since the weather has been a bit nasty, I figured it was time to jump back into organizing my sewing room (I took yesterday off).

So now I'm ironing and ironing and ironing away. I'm organizing fabric by color. And I promise, I will not be buying (much) fabric for quite a while.

Ready! Set! Organize!

2010-10-22T16:43:00.000-04:00

I don't know if I should admit this publicly or not, but since The Container Store opened six days ago, I've been there three times. I haven't purchased much on each trip, but its addictive just going in and getting ideas. In fact, all I have really purchased are these little containers. They're cheap. They're REALLY useful.

My organization started off in my sewing & crafts room and has escalated to the majority of our upstairs. I want to move some furniture (bookshelves) around. I also emptied a few storage containers, and plan on putting them in the attic, with some currently unused clothing for this season of life.

I'm really excited about getting everything much more organized, however, I realize that its not going to happen over night. This is definitely a project that is going to take a few weeks.

Does Organization Equal Success?

2010-10-21T16:33:00.002-04:00

Are organized individuals more successful than non organized people? Can non organized people be successful? I guess its a matter of opinion to what success equals.

For me, I feel my mind has been so cluttered in the past 9-12 months that some days I cannot function like I normally would. And the clutter in my mind has turned into clutter in my house. And finally its driving me crazy. I've had the weight of one major issue on my mind for so long, that I feel like its taken over everything. I've not been motivated to clean on a daily basis (lets be real, a decent sized house takes cleaning things daily to keep it up), to keep my sewing/crafts room organized (let alone make things on a regular basis), to exercise and keep in shape, to cook healthy, and the list could keep going.

[And then there is my relationship with God. Sure, I pray daily. And I praise daily. But I have a hard time letting go of issues. I read something recently that said that its hard to let God be in control when you don't let him walk in front of you. I feel like I trust God with things, even big things, but sometimes I get so exhausted. And then it hits me right in the face. I'm exhausted because I'm trying to be in control. My heart is weary because I'm genuinely not 100% secure in knowing that God has a reason for the things in my life, and those things being the way they are]

Now that I realize how apathetic I've been lately, I will be a little more motivated to get my act together. My house is more disorderly than I would like it to be. (I have a long ways to go before I can be on the show Hoarders, so don't think its that bad) I need every "thing" to have a home and to be in its home.

I want to be more organized it my fitness life as well. I want to re-experience and enjoy the adrenaline rush I used to get from running.

And even more importantly, I want to be more concerned with my relationship with the Lord. Its more than praying and doing. So much more. And I think if I can do all of these things, I will no longer be so apathetic (especially about certain things), I will be able to re-organize my life/myself, and can truly feel like I am succeeding.

Thai dinner, Lets Get Ready to Rumble!

2010-10-20T18:46:00.002-04:00

So my quest to cook an international (or almost international) menu this week took a little detour last night. I was sick, stuffy head, runny nose, groggy feeling. So we had pizza. And then I doped myself up on Benedryl and took myself to bed...after NCIS of course.

Tonight we jumped back on the international menu train with a Thai dinner, or at least thats what it says on Epicurious. The recipe is HERE

I used ground turkey instead of ground pork, trying to save some calories. I also decided to make it into a wrap and subbed iceberg lettuce for the cabbage. The meal was "so-so". I regret not looking at the comments section of the recipe to see what other people had done. A lot of thumbs up on the recipe, but that was with changes other people had made. I honestly felt like there were a lot of competing flavors between the mint, lime juice, and cilantro. Maybe it would have been better with the pork. If I were to try it again, I would definitely make changes.

In non dinner news, I'm really making an attempt to overhaul my sewing and craft room. It has gotten out of hand, and I really want to get it under control, as well as change it up a little. There are a lot of projects I want to do in the near future. But before I tackle the fun things, I really feel I would be less overwhelmed if I cleaned up/organized/re-did the space. So now, its time to get down and dirty with the cleaning and organizing. When I find my desk again, I will upload pictures and show you a semi- before shot of the room.

I feel like death

2010-10-20T06:50:00.000-04:00

I hate getting sick. I hate when my nose gets all stuffy, the medicine makes everything dry up, and yet my nose still runs. If it wasn't incredibly weird, I could seriously walk around with tissues hanging out of my nose.

I wish it weren't true

2010-10-19T13:51:00.000-04:00

But I think it is.

I'm getting sick.

Sad day.

But on a good note, The Container Store opened up this past weekend. I didn't feel like spending money, or else I would have gone wild when I went in there earlier. I did buy two clear, plastic containers for storage of a few craft items. I have found though, that Organize.com is cheaper. But if you want the instant gratification and not have to wait on it to ship, The Container Store is a fun place.

Speaking of craft items, it is well past time that I did a complete overhaul of my sewing/craft room. I want to get started this afternoon. I just need to find my ~~second~~first wind.

Italian-eqsue dinner

2010-10-18T20:26:00.000-04:00

Tonight I tried my hand at a Italian-esque dinner. I didn't follow the recipe fully, because I have my own sauce and didn't want to make sauce just for this dish.

I also scrolled through the comments people left, and decided basil was the way to go instead of sage, even though I love sage. Well, just so happens that the few places I can get fresh basil were out, or were out of my way. So I used freeze dried (came back to life when it was moist) basil.

The recipe is HERE

Now, I get the great pleasure of listening to Joe play the piano. LOVE IT

Great evening

2010-10-17T08:28:00.001-04:00

Last night we had a picnic dinner out with our Sunday school class. We met at the seminary near our house and set up chairs/blankets and had a picnic. Not knowing what to take, I made the hard(er) choice and cooked dinner, something that would be easy to eat there. Except it wasn't easy to prepare at home. I left a (HUGE) mess to clean up afterward. The recipes are below. If you watch Food Network, you're probably familiar with the newest star, Aarti. These are two of her dishes. She needs to put a disclaimer at the top of her recipes indicating what type of cleanup is required-light, medium, and "oh my gosh, I think I used every dish in my house."

Both were very good. I've made the samosas before, but we have to leave out the mango because of food allergies. The first time I made them, I included the chicken. This time I substituted peas in place of the chicken. I also have had a hard time finding chipotle sauce so I substituted Thai chile sauce. Joe didn't care so much for the mint chutney. I would say it isn't something you have to make to enjoy the dish.

As for the tacos, they were very good. I ended up using more of a stew meat, because it was on sale and I didn't need 2-3lbs of beef. I also think the 28oz can of tomato puree is a bit much. Even with 1lb of meat, we didn't use but an 1/6 -1/8th of the sauce.

But believe me, the flavor of both were great! They are definite keepers! (Sorry I don't have pictures. I was running way behind)

Baked Samosas

Indian Spiced Tacos

Menu planning - stuck in a rut

2010-10-15T16:41:00.000-04:00

I've been stuck in a cooking rut for a while and am in great need of new recipes to challenge myself with. I've been scouring the web for the past two hours trying to come up with new things to cook for dinner. And now I have it figured out, well at least for the next week.

I am going to take us on a culinary tour. Each night for the next week (with the exception of Sunday, when there is no time to cook a meal) I am going to try to make something from a different country/part of the world. I hope to make something Chinese, Thai, African, Italian, French, Mexican, and Indian. And maybe shortly after, a little something Caribbean inspired.

I will try to write about each of them as I prepare the food!

Merry Christmas to Joe

2010-10-14T15:36:00.000-04:00

I am particular about the way I fold shirts. Blame it on the fact my second job was for Old Navy and I had to fold clothes all the time, and fold them properly. So, now that I'm married, I fold my husbands t-shirts and since I am particular about the way they are folded (so they fit properly in the drawer) he won't touch them during laundry time.

One night we were watching The Big Bang Theory when we saw this:

And I found one HERE.

I have joked for a long time that I am going to buy Joe one for Christmas.

And now I have found something better, something if I had the proper tools, I would consider making for my husband for Christmas... (its hard to see the full image on my blog for some reason)

Can't get enough of it

2010-10-13T19:09:00.001-04:00

And by "it" I am referring to the Revelation Song. I've needed this song a lot this past week or so. It constantly reminds me to praise the Lord for everything, even when I feel like I have nothing left in me to praise.

Charleston Trip & Review (part 4)

2010-10-10T20:43:00.000-04:00

Well, this is it. My last day of vacation to review. I'm thankful that I have a new vacation to plan for as I'm writing this. We're going up to NJ/NYC this winter to visit Joe's family for a few days. But back to Charleston. I only had Saturday halfway planned. This left us room to do anything we wanted to do. When we don't have plans, coming up with something can sometimes be a challenge. But Joe figured things out for us! Go Joe!

First thing Saturday morning, we went back to Toast! (where we had dinner the night before) for breakfast. We went there on our previous trip, and the breakfast was good, so we figured we might as well go again. I can honestly say that I have no clue what I ate for breakfast that day. I forgot to write it down. I'm thinking it was the french toast.

Joe decided that since we needed to be in a certain area for our Harbor Tour at 1:30, we could try to go to the SC Aquarium first. I was a little hesitant, I won't lie. To me, an aquarium is an aquarium, and when you've been to a few of them, they all start to be very much alike. (The Maui Ocean Center has been my favorite so far, in case you were wondering). I've not been to the new one in NC. Anyways, I agreed to go because it was something for us to do. And I was pleasantly surprised.

The aquarium has more than fish. They have coastal birds, snakes, turtles, and other reptiles and mammals that live around water. They have an albino alligator, penguins, and a 385,000 gallon tank that is a few stories high. Its definitely worth the trip. Here are pictures:

The SC Aquarium from the harbor

Albino Alligator- he wouldn't turn and look at me

The glass was really dirty for this exhibit.

We had a while to spare before we had to board the boat for our Harbor Tour, so we decided to drive around and find some lunch. We found East Bay Deli pretty easily and decided to give it a try. If you're in the wharf/aquarium area, its definitely worth it to stop in for a quick sandwich. I had the french dip and it was good. I can't remember what Joe had (clearly, I can't remember much).

We drove back to the Harbor Tour loading dock, where we waited for a while. Eventually we boarded and took a 90 minute boat ride/tour of the Harbor. It was pretty nice, and very relaxing...if you don't count for the blazing heat. We sat on the top deck the majority of the time, but eventually went down below because the sun was really hot and we didn't have much sun screen on. The captain asked a few trivia questions throughout the the trip, and if you were the first to answer, you got a free drink or snack. The first question was about the pirates who captured many affluent Charlestonians and held them captive. The captain wanted to know what the pirates wanted as a ransom in exchange for the people. The answer??? Medicine! I was sitting about three steps from the captain, so I got up, peeked my head in, and told him. YAY! I won! The guy at the bar asked what beer I wanted to drink- the kind that comes in the form of water or soda.

Here are a few pictures from the Harbor Tour:

Patriots Point

Cruise ship getting ready to leave

After the tour, we decided we wanted to go to Kaminsky's one last time. We were determined to get a slice of the peanut butter pie we had been trying to get while we were there. Sadly, they didn't have it this day either. We did try a slice of their Oreo mousse pie, which was good too. Their white chocolate raspberry martini and the keylime martini were both good as well.

We spent the rest of the afternoon/early evening relaxing in our room, and then enduring the really obnoxious thunderstorm that rolled in around dinner time. We had planned on getting to Hyman's for dinner before it got too crowded. However, that didn't happen as planned. We ended up having to wait half an hour to get a table. And since they don't take reservations, I couldn't plan that one ahead.

Eventually we got a table, right next to the window where the joggling board was. So our view for the evening was people's behinds. It clearly didn't make that big of a difference considering I just thought about that fact. One of the many things I love about Hyman's seafood is the fact that there is always someone from the Hyman family in the restaurant, and they always come by your table to talk. The place is huge, but they always make sure to come by and thank you for being there and sometimes just to talk. The second great thing is the fact that they have spectacular calamari. Joe loves their crab cakes and had those for dinner, while I had their shrimp and grits. I usually get Cajun chicken fettuccine, but decided I needed to stop ordering the same thing every time I go there.

The third thing about Hyman's Seafood that I love, is the fact you can restock your tshirt collection for cheap. And by cheap, I mean, they sale a ton of different types of their shirts for $5. Cheap for customers, big way to advertise for them. I was wearing one in Savannah, and people were asking me if Hyman's was really all its hyped up to be. Yep. It is.

By the time we were finished dinner, it was pretty late, and we decided to call it a night.

Sunday morning, we got up, had breakfast over at Toast! and then came back to our room to pack up. I was glad the nice lady was at the desk to check us out.

Our trip home was uneventful, which is just the way I prefer it.

Now...time to plan for NJ/NYC

Interrupting my reviews

2010-10-10T15:39:00.000-04:00

For this important message:

Salted caramel is insanely addictive. I had one a week ago now, on our day of spontaneity, and I cannot get it out of my head. I have been working over the past few days to make my own. I didn't get the temp high enough on my caramel, but I've been working with what I have to finish it testing it out. So far, OH MY GOODNESS! I really can't wait to get it just right. And yes daddy, I will find a way to mail you and Michelle (because I know she'll ask too) some when I get it figured out.

The other evening, Joe and I had the opportunity to go see Jeff Dunham. Lots of fun! But it was really sad to hear that he too has become a divorce statistic. And it was a little awkward to have that woven into his comedy routine. But I guess one way he can deal with it is to weave it into his routine. Guitar guy opened up for him. This guy is hilarious. Jeff has a book coming out soon, and I'm pretty sure Guitar Guy's album comes out this coming week.

Tonight I have my IDG at church, which stands for Independent Disciple-making Group. Its a small group setting and we meet every Sunday night to discuss the sermon and how we can apply the message to our lives and go out an use what we've learned. We had a guest speaker today because our pastor is currently on the mission field. So tonight, we'll have a short discussion and then, as all good Southern Baptists do, we'll eat. I just finished making peanut butter cups to take. (And my dearest sister, I may make some more of these to mail to you too)

For lunch yesterday I tried my hand at making bruschetta. I used fresh mozzarella, fresh basil leaves, and tomatoes on Italian bread, drizzled with a little olive oil. I know there are a million different ways you can make it, but this was really good.

Today is 10/10/10, did you realize that? My 10 year reunion is today, which clearly I am not attending. While it would be nice to catch up with some people, I can't justify us taking a three hour trip, spending $30 on gas, another $40 to eat bbq, and then another $70 to go drinking last night (not that we would even do that), not to mention any other expenses we would have had to pay. I have talked with a few old friends recently and look forward to having our own mini reunion in the future.

Strawberry soup dusted with chocolate

2010-10-09T20:51:00.000-04:00

Charleston Trip & Review (part 3)

2010-10-09T20:46:00.000-04:00

Oh Friday Friday! (I wish it were currently Friday, and I wish I were still on vacation) Friday in Charleston, our third day there, was definitely our busiest day. We went in without a tons of plans for the day, but easily made it very busy, and a lot of fun.
On our first day in the city, Joe started looking at maps, brochures, etc and coming up with a few things he wanted to do. He also came up with the brilliant idea to use public transportation to do it all, since some of the things we wanted to do were on opposite ends of the city, or at least when you're walking, it feels that way.

Because our breakfast was pretty mediocre at our hotel (remember, we had been spoiled in Savannah), we decided to go out for breakfast Thursday morning. Plus, it worked well into our plans. We received a few local suggestions (mostly thanks to my friend Michael's girlfriend) on where to go, and Joseph's was amongst those. It was only block or so away from where we were staying, so it worked out well. I tried their beignets, and while they were very tasty, they still weren't Cafe du Monde.

After breakfast, we went to the bus stop across the street and waited for the CARTA. They have a downtown/historic district shuttle/trolley that operates three different loops. For $5, you can ride all day, any of the loops. This was such a great investment for us, considering how much walking we were already going to do, and the fact we needed to be on opposite ends of the world throughout the day.

We hopped on the trolley/bus and rode down to White Point Gardens/the Battery, where we disembarked, and walked over to the Edmonston-Alston House. The first thing I enjoyed about this place was the fact that they had a side porch to sit on while we were waiting (in the blazing heat). Thankfully it provided a little shelter and a little cooler air. The house is pretty cool, has some really neat things in it, and has a beautiful view of the Charleston Harbor. They also have a joggling board. And one day, when we have a front porch or deck big enough, I want a joggling board.

Next we walked over to the Calhoun Mansion, which I think should change its name to the WOW-houn Mansion. Seriously, this house/museum is ridiculous. The current owner of the house (and yes, he lives there) is an antique ~~collector~~ hoarder. Seriously, this guy has stuff floor to ceiling throughout the house. And while, you could think that its a bit gaudy, it more amazing than anything. You could get lost in one room for a month, learning about each piece. There are supposedly museums throughout the world that want things he has. He has tapestries from the Ming Dynasty (I think thats where they are from). When the guy moved in, apparently he had ~8 tractor trailers pull up with his antiques. I thought things in the Mercer Williams House in Savannah were amazing. This house is just as mind blowing. I'm tempted to one day buy the book. The dining room was definitely my favorite room though!

After our tour of the crazy amazing mansion, we hopped back on the bus and went to the visitors center to change to another line. Before we knew it, we were on our way to lunch. Lunch was hands down, excellent. I found this place, sort of on accident, when I was playing on Google Earth. And its actually listed as a grocery store. Bull Street Gourmet was absolutely fabulous! Hands down, a must try in Charleston. Its nestled away in a little corner, amongst the streets that surround the College of Charleston. Giada DeLaurentis featured this place as a must eat on her show "Giada's Weekend Getaways". Joe had the Italian and I had the Mozz, which was out of my comfort zone a little. Now it is a permanent resident of my comfort zone.

So, since I'm a sugar & chocoholic, and since I disagree with Duff Goldman, cupcakes can be really awesome. They're awesome in the sense that you can get a lot of yumminess in a little bite. Portion control is the way I see it. And since our experience in Savannah wasn't absolutely mind-blowing, we decided to check out Cupcake in Charleston. I had to make it up to my taste buds, so I tried Cupcake's Chocolate Peanut Butter cupcake. Much much better. The cake was just the perfect moistness and the icing was mouthwatering, not "I need something to wash this down." The flavor was exactly what I wanted to stay in my my mouth for a while.

After Cupcake, we went back to our room and crashed for a while. Our hotel had wine & cheese hour, but honestly, it was just as the breakfast was...disappointing. The wines were mediocre, the food was about the same. We had already eaten enough, but wanted to try Bin152 while we were there, so we figured this was a good time, and since it was only two blocks or so away, it wasn't that big of hassle to get there. We had a little wine, and little cheese, and a little charcuterie. Very nice staff, very good wine.

Afterward, we decided to browse through a few antique stores. I want a new light in our foyer (if you can call it that), and I'm trying to get ideas on what kind of light to hang there. I don't plan on changing it for the next year or so, but I'd like to get an idea of what kinds of lights there are (both new and old). I wouldn't purchase something from the antique store (nor could I afford to), but its neat to look in. In one store, we saw an oil and vinegar set that cost $1400. In another store, there was a chandelier that cost $250,000. Yeah, like I said, its fun to look. But I definitely don't touch.

Later that evening we had dinner at Toast!. Joe had the pork chops and I had the shrimp and grits. The shrimp and grits were "ok", but nothing exciting. I really prefer the shrimp and grits at Shuckers Oyster Bar. However, we sat in the bar area and the bartender happened to be our server. I believe his name was Eric, and he was a really good waiter. The funniest part about dinner was the sign that was behind where I was seated. This is the sign:

Joe asked Eric if the sign was stolen from IHOP. When Eric got the joke, he too thought it was really funny, and told Joe no one had ever pointed that out and that he'd definitely have to share it. I still laugh when I think about it. I mean, seriously, where did her leg go?

We ended the night with a haunted Dungeon Tour through Bull Dog Tours. The last time we were in Charleston, we toured the jail and really enjoyed it, minus the fact that we toured with a bunch of high school girls who were REALLY annoying (to the point the tour guide ended the tour a little early). We decided to tour the dungeon this time. Our tour guide was absolutely excellent, and the people on our tour were incredibly respectful. This time, our tour guide enjoyed us (the people in our group) so much that she actually held us over the time to tell us extra stories. We definitely had a lot of fun on this tour.

One more day in Charleston...one more day to review

Charleston Trip & Review (part 2)

2010-10-05T19:19:00.000-04:00

A few posts back, I left you with the details of our first day in Charleston...the day we prayed wouldn't set precedence for the rest of our time there. And it didn't. The second day we were in Charleston, we decided to get out of the historic district for a while...

We headed up to the Mount Pleasant area and spent the day touring Boone Hall Plantation. You probably recognize the oak lined drive and property from movies such as The Notebook or the mini series North and South. I think the show Army Wives films there too.

The house is not the original house on the property, however, there are the original slave quarters/dwellings still standing. They are pretty cool to go through and learn the history of these particular buildings.

When we arrived, we checked in, got our house tour time, and decided to ride the little "trolley" (though not really a trolley), through the property. Our guide was very informed and we both learned a lot. Joe especially enjoyed this part.

After our property tour, we toured the house. I really loved one of the rooms and some of the china. The house tour really isn't that exciting, partially because you're only able to take a tour of a few of the ground floor rooms. The family that owns the property still uses the upper floors. I really regret not getting a picture of the oak tree that is over 600 years old and sits behind the house. This thing is impressively massive.

After the house tour, we had some time to spare, so we went to their cafe to get something to drink. They have a restaurant, but it has been located off the property for some time now. They were renovating the old cotton gin located on the property, but because of economic struggles, the project is still on hold. After wasting some time, we decided to walk through the old slave street dwellings and read a lot of the history of the slaves in the area. We also waited around for a little longer and listened to a educational lesson from the Gullah history and way of life. You can read more here or view the video I found on YouTube

After Boone Hall, we headed back into Charleston, rested for a bit, and then had a later "lunch" at Kaminksy's. See our lunch:

Later that evening went to dinner at FIG, which stands for Food Is Good. Dinner at FIG was going to be our really nice dinner out for Charleston. We expected a lot coming from this restaurant. The show has been featured on Food Network's The Best Thing I Ever Ate and their chef, Mike Lata, is a James Beard Award recipient.

(In my opinion) For a restaurant to plan its menu around what is in season, what is available from the local markets, and to constantly changes its menu so that you're getting the freshest, most local food possible, says a lot about the chef and his culinary abilities.

We went in, had a seat right away (we had reservations), and our waitress came right over. We ordered our drinks and let her tell us more about the menu items. We decided to go with the Tomato Tarte Tatin for an appetizer. What we weren't expecting, and what I feel our waitress neglected to tell us, that for the $$ we were spending on an appetizer, it was tiny. It was amazingly delicious, don't get me wrong. But the portion size and the cost didn't add up to what I was expecting. I was expecting at least two to be on that plate, not one small one, enough for Joe and I to each have one bite.

We placed our order for our entree- Joe ordered the Hanger Steak, which was what was feature on The Best Thing I Ever Ate, and I ordered the Chicken Schnitzel. We asked our waitress for wine suggestions, and she helped us pair them with some of their wines. The food was absolutely phenomenal. I cannot say enough about it. I can fully understand why the chef is a James Beard award recipient and why the restaurant has been featured on tv, and probably more places than I realize.

Here's my problem with our experience with FIG... while the food was amazing, our service was lacking to some degree. On multiple occasions our waitress was never to be found. She just disappeared. The place isn't that big, so we could tell she wasn't helping other tables. We waited, and I kid you not, 20+ minutes on two different occasions for her. Once was before we got our entree, the second one was after. She brought us the dessert/drink menu for us to look at, after she finally remembered we were there. It took her at least another 10 minutes to come back and see if we wanted anything (only the check).

So honestly, what could have been the most amazing meal I/we had eaten in a long time, was spoiled by a waitress who blew us off. We left, pretty disappointed.

And then we went back to Kaminsky's Most Excellent Cafe :) Joe had a brownie sundae for dessert, and I had a thin mint martini.

Being Spontaneous

2010-10-03T08:24:00.000-04:00

Joe and I are both serious planners. We typically make plans, stick to them. Often times this results in our inability to be spontaneous. And when we don't have plans, we both look at each other and ask "what do you want to do?" And the resulting answer????

"I don't know/care. What do you want to do?"

I've gone so far as making a list of spontaneous things we can do for those few times when we don't have something going on. Does that mean its not really spontaneous if I have it on a list?

Yesterday we both had decided on things we needed to get accomplished. We did the first thing, and on our way to stop #2, I happened to mention a (completely) random thing I wanted all of the sudden. Funny thing is, Joe had been thinking the same exact thing that morning. So, we immediately decided to drop our plans, head down to the area I used to live, and do a bunch of things we both thought would be fun.

Granted, crazy drivers made it a little stressful, but I was proud of us for our ability to be spontaneous.

We never did finish our original plans.

Charleston Trip & Review (part 1)

2010-10-01T16:51:00.001-04:00

It has taken me more than a few days to get things up from our trip to Charleston, SC. We spent a lot of last weekend trying to get a few things accomplished, get a little rest, and of course, we went to church Sunday morning and evening. The rest of this week has been busy as well, and I've been working closer to full time hours this week as well, so very little time to write and publish.

But now I'm back and here we go...
While I was checking out of the Kehoe House in Savannah, Joe busied himself with plugging in our next stop into the GPS. When I came out, he gave me three options as for routes, most direct, shortest, and scenic. Being that we had no deadline to get to Charleston, I chose the scenic route, just because it wasn't something we would normally take. Of course, this route was also the lengthiest...or so it said.

In a matter of two hours, we made it from Savannah to Charleston, and had the highest mpg consumption my Prius has had on a trip... 58 mpg! I wish I could keep it at that on a regular basis.

So we made it in to Charleston and decided to settle into our room before going anywhere. We checked in at The Fulton Lane Inn to a very pleasant receptionist (I believe her name was Sara), got our keys, loaded up the luggage cart with our stuff, and headed up to our room. We had a room on the top floor (there are only two levels of rooms), so the ceilings were very high, and the room was nice...nothing compared to the Kehoe House, but still nice. Of the room selections we were able to chose from, we chose the one with the jet tub, thinking we could/would use it. (Note to self, don't bother ever thinking that again. You will never use the tub in a hotel for yourself). We realized when we booked the room, that the jet tub had shutters/blinds that opened up directly into the bedroom. What they don't tell you, is therefore the entire bathroom opens up into the bedroom. There are some activities in a bathroom that you would like to be a little more private, so keep that in mind if you ever think to book somewhere like this.

Overall, I wasn't incredibly impressed with The Fulton Lane Inn. Maybe its because we had just spent the same amount of money on a room in Savannah that was five times nicer. In the end, I would probably give the place 2.5 stars out of 5.

Here are a few of my dislikes about FLI-
~There was mildew in and around the shower. That should never happen in an Inn. Cheap motel, sure. Inn, not so much.
~The pillows were perfect sized for munchkins. Seriously, I thought I was sleeping on marshmallows. Even though we had 4 pillows for the two of us, I never felt like I had a good pillow to sleep on. See for yourself- Its not much bigger than my magazine:

~The sheets/pillowcases were mismatched and stained with ink, and one was dirty.
~I also found a random hair on my "fresh sheets"
~I was VERY unimpressed with the attitude of the receptionist/concierge our first night there. She was very very rude. Every time we mentioned we were going somewhere, she turned up her nose and put the place down. Our favorite place to eat there, Hyman's seafood, she trashed it. We were going to eat at Swamp Fox that night, which is a restaurant in a hotel, she trashed it and said that restaurants in hotels are horrible. We mentioned a few places we wanted to visit, put those down. We mentioned that we had just visited Savannah, she stopped short of putting us down for going there.

Joe and I both agreed that we'd probably never stay there again.

Our first day had another bump in the road, and I was beginning to think we'd made a mistake going to Charleston, even though we love it so much there.

We needed to find a light lunch after we had settled in. We found Sweetwater Cafe. Oh my goodness, I would never suggest this place for anyone. It is really disgusting on the inside. It doesn't look as though its ever been cleaned. Black walls and ceiling, not the paint color, but from the grime. It was very filthy inside, but sadly, we didn't realize how filthy until we sat there for a few minutes.

After we ran from this place, we decided to walk around the market area and look for a wine store we had gone to previously, but we got sidetracked before we made it there. We stopped at Kimenski's Most Excellent Cafe. And believe you me, it was the most excellent cafe I've been to. Here's a picture from their website:

We "settled" on ordering the Double Espresso Chocolate Milkshakes. They were AMAZING. When we left out of there, we promised ourselves that wouldn't be the only time we went there while we were in town. (And it wasn't)

We did eventually go by the wine store, but didn't stay to taste. Having just had a milkshake, wine wouldn't have worked. Instead, we stopped in at A Charleston Christmas (no website) right by the market. The lady that worked their was so kind. We told her about our experience in Savannah at the Christmas store there, and she told us that her store has a location on River Street in Savannah (which we didn't make it to that end apparently), and if there was an ornament I wanted from there, I could call her, she would call them to order it, and have it shipped to me. So nice of her! I did go ahead and get my Charleston ornament first thing so I didn't have to wait until later in the trip.

We happened to be in Charleston during Charleston Restaurant Week. I had found this out, sort of on accident, before we left for vacation. It worked out well because I was able to search through tons of menus to pick places to eat before we even left. High end restaurants were participating and you could get meals for 3 courses/$30 or 2/$20. The first night we opted to try Swamp Fox, which is located in the Francis Marion Hotel. I'll be honest, I was expecting smaller portions because of restaurant week, but I was very wrong in that assumption. They were full portions of everything. I felt bad because there was no way I could eat all the food.

They bring you out pimento cheese and crostini to start. I don't like pimento cheese, and neither does Joe. However, we chose to try it and it was really good! Maybe I'll have to start eating it? Joe had the she crab soup and loved it! I had the onion rings. Before I met Joe, I didn't like onion rings. In fact, I hated them. He changed that. And these onion rings were really really good. They weren't greasy, which really was amazing. In fact, they were pretty light/airy, yet still very crunchy. Joe decided on the brisket, while I chose the chicken and dumplings. He really loved his brisket (it was very tender), and my chicken and dumplings were very good. However, it reminded me more of a chicken pot pie. We ended with the caramel apple tart, which was very good as well. Two thumbs up for this place! They really should have bigger crowds there. Their food is very good.

Stomach in knots

2010-10-01T16:00:00.000-04:00

Wednesday and Thursday were absolutely horrible rainy days, and if you live on the East coast, you know exactly what I'm talking about. HORRIBLE rainy, windy days. Floods, etc. We didn't exactly have to get out our canoe (not that we have one), but we did suffer a little more than I was anticipating.

And by suffering, I'm talking about coming home to find pooling water around our second story bathroom window...on the inside. Our window is a little something like this


Image from here

Apparently the intense wind and rain caused the seal to no longer seal, thus water was able to leak in. Needless to say, when I saw the water running from the window in the the bathtub, I was a little sick.

On cleaning...

2010-09-27T18:59:00.000-04:00

Lets be honest, I'm not Danny Tanner. I don't get my kicks from scrubbing, scouring, dusting, mopping, or any other cleaning thing you can come up with. In fact, I really dislike it. But it has to be done. And it has to be done on a semi regular basis.

*sigh*

In an effort to keep myself a little more organized, I came up with a daily "chore" list, though that makes me feel like I'm a kid and being punished. But seriously, I can easily get behind in things. Having a list of what cleaning activity gets done on what day is hopefully going to do the trick.

So since its Monday and I've already spent a great deal of time in the kitchen, I guess I should go vacuum the stairs and hallway

Quick update

2010-09-26T08:28:00.002-04:00

I will be posting things from the other half of our vacation, which was spent in Charleston, sometime over the next few days. We needed this weekend to relax a little and get some things done.

Savannah Trip & Review (part 4)

2010-09-23T16:21:00.001-04:00

Tuesday, our last full day in Savannah! There was so much we still had left to do, and so much we weren't going to get to do.

(click to read more)
We walked over to the Juliette Gordon Low House/Birthplace first thing Tuesday morning and wanted to catch the first tour they had. The house is beautiful and contains a lot of beautiful pieces of artwork that Juliette did herself. If you do not know who Juliette Gordon Low is, she was the founder of the girl scouts. I wasn't a girl scout, but my sister was. Thankfully, because we went early in the morning, we were able to get a pretty quiet tour with other adults.

Here are a few pictures (you can click on the pictures to make them larger):

After touring the house, we hopped on the trolley and headed down towards Mrs. Wilkes Boarding House. A lot of people think of Paula Deen when they go to Savannah. While her recipes may be great, I've not heard a lot of great things about her restaurant The Lady and Sons. We had, however, heard incredible things about Mrs. Wilkes Boarding House. We were told to get there early and prepare to stand in line. We did both. Thankfully the line moved fairly quickly, as the restaurant has a great system in place for feeding large quantities of people. This place is only opened M-F and only from 11-2. But believe me, they serve plenty of people during that time. There are 20+ dishes they bring out to your table, and you eat family style. We were sitting with people from Georgia, Texas, and California. It was a lot of fun. But you have about 30 minutes to eat before they're helping you move out the door. The food was amazing- good southern vegetables, fried chicken, and great sweet tea. Some pictures for you:

We did manage to roll ourselves out the door, down the road and over to the Andrew Low House. Juliette Gordon Low was married to Andrew Low for a short period of time. When he died, he was living in Europe, and because their divorce wasn't final, Juliette was awarded all of his belongings here in the US (his girlfriend in Europe was awarded everything there). Juliette started the girl scouts in the carriage house of this property, thus it being a very important part of history. The neatest thing for me in this house wasn't all of the antiques, but the crib that sat in one room. Apparently, if you can prove that you are part of the Gordon, Low, or one other last name family heritage, you may at anytime borrow this crib for when you have a child and return it once you are finished. It was sort of mind boggling that they would allow this piece of history, this very very old antique to be passed around, since so many people are so antsy when it comes to their antiques. Of course, I don't have a picture of the crib since its inside the house.

Once we were done touring the house, we decided we'd take the trolley back to where we were staying, rest a while, and then think about going to dinner. First I wanted to take a picture of this house:

I know you can't see it very well since there are many trees covering it, but can you guess what is significant about this house? I will tell you at the bottom of the post.

While we were waiting for the Trolley the ladies standing next to us told us we really should go tour the church we were standing in front of (Cathedral of St. John the Baptiste). So we did. It was beautiful on the inside. But its not how beautiful a church building is that matters...

(pipe organ)

The difference between Catholics and Protestants:

Since we missed the trolley while we were inside, we had to wait for another one, with about 100 other people. And believe me, some of this people were VERY rude. One guy pretty much pushed me out of the way so he could get on before me. I bit my tongue and didn't say anything to him.

We finally made it back to our room and rested a good while before heading out dinner at The Olde Pink House. One of the partners for Joe's practice had suggested we try this place out. So we did. My pictures are dark because I took them after the sun set, and there wasn't much lighting around. We sat upstairs, to the right. This was a very private, romantic setting. Unfortunately the girl behind us wouldn't shut up and we had to hear all about her life. The funny thing is, she came to this really upscale restaurant and order two sides of mashed potatoes and one other vegetable. Thats it.

Anyways, back to our experience at The Old Pink House. Absolutely wonderful. Our waitress reminded me 100% of my old college suite mate Emma. Joe ordered the BBQ chicken cheerwine sliders and I had the southern sushi to start with. (And by the way, when did appetizers become one person portions?) Remember I used this trip as a reason to try different types of food I normally would never eat. Yeah, the southern sushi was definitely one of those things. It wasn't your normal sushi. I hate normal sushi. It was all cooked, no seaweed was involved. It was pretty good. Definitely different. Joe ended up getting the pork tenderloin and I had the pecan crusted chicken.

Afterwards, we strolled to our home away from home for our last evening in Savannah and watched America's Got Talent finale performance.

Wednesday we got up, took our time, had breakfast, and packed our bags for our adventures up in Charleston...

Some other notes about experiences in Savannah...
The Christmas Shop on Bull Street is the poorest excuse of a Christmas shop. Every time we go somewhere on vacation, I try to buy a Christmas ornament for our tree. I try to get something that has the city written on it, as well as the year (if not, I can write it in, no big deal). When you walked in this place, you were knocked out with the stench of cigarette smoke. Christmas reminds me of pine, cinnamon, etc, not of a chain smoker. It wasn't only the air that stunk, but also their quality of ornaments. So little to choose from, and what there was, really looked cheap and crappy. I ended up getting my ornament at a little touristy store in the Market.

Leopold's Ice Cream- AMAZING. We went there for dessert after our semi-disappointing dinner at Broughton & Bull. Flavor choices were awesome. I played it safe with a scoop of peanut butter, and then played it a little daring with a scoop of rum bisque on top. Joe played it really safe with a chocolate sundae. The shop belongs to Stratton Leopold, a Hollywood Producer. There are all sorts of Hollywood movie and tv things in there from sets he's worked on. Pretty neat place and great ice cream!

Lulu's Chocolate Bar- I'm incredibly addicted to chocolate in all ways imaginable. I just wish it wasn't so fattening. Anyways, I really wanted to try this place out. Sadly, the day we made it over there, they were closed. Apparently they didn't open until later (unlike a place we found in Charleston, which I will write more about later).

*The significance in the picture of the house is that apparently Walt Disney visited this house and loved it so much that he obtained the blue prints from the owners and went back and designed The Haunted Mansion in Disney World after it.

Savannah Trip & Review (part 3)

2010-09-23T15:22:00.000-04:00

Today at work had to be the best news I've had in a long time from that place. We've done so well at conserving, that we're actually getting a bonus check tomorrow. And early next year we'll get a raise. Considering we've not gotten one in a long time (we got to keep our jobs instead), it will be a nice thing. We also offered one of our two vacant positions to someone, and they approved our other vacant position.

Back to vacation stuff and pretty pictures from our trip to Savannah. Its a long post again, so click to read more...

When we arrived at the Kehoe House, we went ahead and arranged a few tours through the concierge. Joe really wanted to do an architectural tour, so we decided to do that on Monday.

First thing Monday morning we met up with Jonathan from Architectural Tours of Savannah . Jonathan went to SCAD and stayed around Savannah and now gives really awesome architectural tours of the city. You don't only learn about the buildings, but you also learn a lot of history as you tour the city (by foot). I'll include a few pictures from our walk below. If anyone ever goes to Savannah and has time for his tour, I highly recommend it. Just wear comfortable shoes, and don't forget your bottle of water!

Here are a few pictures from our tour:

Does this church steeple ring a bell in your mind? I'll give you a hint: "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." This was the church steeple from the movie Forest Gump. The feather floated down from here and then Forest was sitting on a bench in the neighboring square. The bench is now in a museum.

The Christian Camphor Cottage is the oldest house standing in Savannah. If you take away the porch, and remove the brick first level, you're left with one of the original cottages from early Savannah. You can see the plaque in the first picture showing how old the house is, and then when it was raised to form a two story home.

Historic home for sale.

Doors to the Lutheran Church. Note where the doorknob is. This door is HUGE!

After a few hours on the walking tour, we headed down to the river front and had lunch at Boars Head Grille and Tavern. I'll be honest, it wasn't what I was expecting. But thats neither a good thing or a bad thing. Its just a thing. There weren't a lot of people in there at lunch time, but it was also a Monday, and I'm not familiar with how busy places get or don't get. Joe had a burger and said it was good. I had the Hot Georgia Brown. I made a goal to try many new things on this vacation, things I normally wouldn't order. I am trying to get out of ordering the same thing everywhere. So the Hot Georgia Brown was something I typically wouldn't have ordered. It was good. It wasn't knock my socks off amazing, but I would eat it again.

Joe really wanted to tour the Owens-Thomas House after passing it (it was one block away from the Kehoe house, and we passed it every time we left and had to walk somewhere) and hearing other people talk about it. Jonathan (from our architectural tour) used to work there and talked about the house quite a bit on our tour. I will say that this house is very interesting. Probably one of the three most interesting houses we visited on vacation. The dining room is oval shaped on one side (or maybe it was a complete oval?) and there are doors in the curved part of the room- the doors are curved too. It was insanely amazing to me. But even more than that, the upstairs had a bridge that led from one side of the second floor to the other. It was one of the weirdest, yet coolest things. Because they had scaffolding up around the house, cleaning the exterior, I didn't get a picture of the house. And of course, you can't take pictures inside. So ones from Google images will have to do.

(picture credit: http://savannah.locale.com/)

After taking a short siesta, we decided to walk over to Cupcake Emporium, and have dessert before dinner. The shop was cute/neat, but the cupcake was only so-so. Joe and I both had the chocolate peanut butter cupcake. We both agreed that my peanut butter icing is way better than what we had there. So I would only give the place one thumb up instead of two.

For dinner we went to Moon River Brewing Company (again, I made reservations through Open Table and scored 1000 points for this place). I also purchased a gift certificate from Restaurant.com before we went for dirt cheap. Moon River was a pleasant surprise. Joe tried a few of their specialty beers and thought they were good. We started with the sweet potato fries and OH MY GOODNESS. These things were spectacular. Definitely one of the best things I had on the trip. Hands down amazing. For dinner, Joe built his own quesadilla with chicken, bacon, and bbq sauce. I had the crab stuffed chicken (again, not something I would normally order). We both enjoyed our entrees and loved Moon River Brewing Co. Apparently they have a haunted history too and doors will open and shut on their own. The manager has a brick that holds his office door open when he's in it. Sometimes the brick will move out of the way and the door will shut, all on its own. Interesting. But the building does have a lot of history, which you can read about on their website.

So, since Savannah is the most haunted city in America, we thought we would partake in a little ghost tour. While I'm not sold on ghosts, its a fun way to learn about the city and hear stories you wouldn't necessarily hear otherwise. I am pretty sure we went with the company Savannah Walks. Honestly, I can't remember. But it was a lot of fun. Our guide was awesome. She told us lots of stories, including ones of Little Gracie Watson and also a story about things that took place during the recent filming of The Conspirator (which I want to see when it comes out!).

That was all on Monday. Tuesday we had another packed day full of fun to be had! I will post that in part 4 of our trip!

Savannah Trip & Review (part 2)

2010-09-21T15:27:00.001-04:00

So yesterday I basically told you all about the house we stayed in while in Savannah. Today will be a little more about our adventures, places we saw, things we did, places we ate, and reviews of a lot of those. Once again I am going to include a page break since there will be a lot, so click Read More to continue!

I did want to mention, for my own record keeping about our trip down. It was almost a nightmare. The majority of I-95 through NC was spent in traffic. There was a wide load machine taking up BOTH lanes all the way down I-95. You couldn't pass it, since it occupied the entire road. For hours, we had to deal with this. Eventually we got off the road, grabbed some lunch, and let this thing get off the road. Then, in the latter part of SC and into GA, we had to deal with the storm of the century. Everyone who decided to stay on the road had to use their hazard lights, but most people got off the road. You could not see at all.

When we arrived on Saturday, the major storm had just blown through and we got there right at the tail end of it (we drove through a lot of it). The power had been knocked out to the Kehoe House and they were waiting to get it back on. Thankfully it didn't take long. We settled in and then set out to have dinner. I had planned everything in advance, made lots of reservations through Open Table. Getting an Open Table account is free, and you can earn points that you can cash in. Not all restaurants participate, and not all that do participate will give you points.

For dinner, we headed out to Jazz'd Tapas Bar. Neither of us had been to a tapas bar before, and we thought this would be a good way to start vacation. Nice, easy food in a relaxing setting with some live jazz music. I was both impressed and disappointed. The website stated the music would begin at 7pm, and I'm certain of this because I checked no fewer than five times while I was planning. We got there before 7 to make sure to get a seat and still be there when music started playing. Apparently the music began at 9pm. For that I was a little disappointed. The ambiance was nice, but there were TONS of girl parties going on. At one point Joe asked if there were any other men in there. There were, but not many.

The nice part about dinner was being able to relax and have good food and good drinks. I had a Windmill Martini, while Joe tried the Raspberry Martini. We ordered Bruschetta to share, Joe had the sesame tuna, and I had the chorizo empanadas. We ended the night with a Double Espresso Cream and Dreamsicle. The food and drinks were magnificent. Even though there was the music mishap, I would definitely recommend this place to others. Its underground, underneath The Gap. If I didn't know where to go from finding directions early on, I would have never found it.

After dinner, it was still a little early, so we took advantage of this and walked to River Street and checked out a few of the shops. I also managed to rub the back of my heel off because I was wearing my Sperry's. In all the times I've worn them, this has never happened. Thankfully when we got back, we were able to get a few Band-aids.

So that was our Saturday evening adventures...until my toe got pinched!

Sunday I had lots planned for us. There were a few things open, so we wanted to take advantage of those while we could. I had purchased a two day trolley ticket through Old Town Trolley for us to use. We knew there would be a ton of walking, so we wanted to utilize a little transportation where we could. The trolleys provided us with that option, as well as giving us history tours. We had thought about the public transportation, but that option was a little more limited to where it would go. The trolley option covered more area.

Sunday morning we waited...and waited for a trolley. We finally got on one and made our way down to the Mercer-Williams House. But since we were early, we had to figure out what to do for lunch. This is where I failed in my planning. I totally forgot to figure out where to have lunch this day. BUT, it all worked out. We had a little morning/afternoon of "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" (which I'm not promoting the book or movie, its a little strange to me. The history is more interesting than anything else.) Since the Mercer-Williams House is only a few blocks from Clary's (they don't have a website), we trekked over there for lunch. We had to wait for less than five minutes, but it was worth every minute. This place was awesome! If you've read the book or watched the movie, this is where Luther Driggers had breakfast everyday. So Clary's... I had the stuffed french toast (since I don't eat french toast very often, I took advantage of it on this trip). Hands down, this was the best french toast I've ever had. Joe had a BBQ sandwich and said it was really good as well. The staff was incredibly friendly as well.

(Sorry for the shadow & lack of picture editing)

The Mercer-Williams House, despite the fact people have died in it, was out of this world mind blowing. Jim Williams sister actually still owns the residence and lives there at certain times. When they were trying to get get the details ironed our for the the movie, Clint Eastwood's people went back to him and told him there was no way they could afford to insure the contents of the house to shoot the movie. The house is full of that many rare pieces of history and amazing antiques. Some of these pieces are seriously breath taking. So, if you do see the movie, know that the majority of the pieces are reproductions because they had to package the real things up and move them out of the house to film. If you ever decide to go, please be aware that they don't play when it comes to asking questions about what happened/didn't happen in the house. They won't entertain it whatsoever. You can ask about the house, history of it, or the antiques. Thats it. And of course, with most homes, you can't take pictures inside.

We were staying next door to the Davenport House, so we rode the trolley back there to take a tour. The Davenport House is a major player in the historical preservation of Savannah. It also boasts one amazing staircase. This thing doesn't squeak or make any noise when you walk on it. Even when 10 people are walking up it. The door in the background looks small, and is.

Sunday evening we ended the night with dinner at Broughton & Bull. Honestly, this was my biggest disappointment in Savannah. We were under the impression that things with the Sunday Price Fix were going to be a little different than they were. There were two different options to choose from, both of which weren't on the menu, and quite honestly didn't sound that great, or Joe couldn't eat them because of his allergies. We tried a little carpaccio to begin with, and it was pretty good. I ended up getting an appetizer for dinner. It was "ok", but I doubt I'll put it on my list of places to return to. Plus our waiter was too busy chatting with another table the majority of the time we were there. That annoys me. And they didn't give me credit on my Open Table account, which I'm not happy about either.

So thats all for now. I still have two more days to account for in Savannah, but my fingers are tired :)

Savannah Trip & Review (part 1)

2010-09-20T20:39:00.003-04:00

Going back to work today was really tough! I miss vacation. However, I'm very glad I was out the past week and a half. A lot of drama took place the few days before we left for vacation/when I was in class. I'm glad I wasn't around for it. I don't like drama. Anyways, lets get started on posting my memories from vacation. (I'm inserting a page break because this may end up being a long post...so click to continue!)

When we were looking for accommodations in Savannah, we were using many criteria- location, cost, amenities, parking, the normal kind of things. We didn't want to be too far out from everything because we planned to walk, but we didn't want to be in a noisy part of town. We finally decided on the Kehoe House. Its a B&B mansion, but we were more focused on the cost and location. The price was reasonable in comparison to the hotel rooms in the area, and it was close enough, but just far enough away...if that makes any sense. Little did we know when we booked, the place has a haunted history.

The original owners back in the late 1800's (the Kehoe family) had twin boys who would, when they were little, scale the inside of the chimney from the first to the second floor, slide down the banisters, and do it again. They continued to do this even as they got a little bigger. One day, however, the boys got stuck and couldn't get out. By the time their mom realized what had happened, it was too late to save them. Later the house went on to become a funeral home. In the 1950's, the funeral home wanted to demolish a neighboring home to make a parking lot. This effort resulted in the Savannah historical society being formed, and what has since, saved many properties from being destroyed.

Here are a few, unedited pictures of the Kehoe house

(Our room was on the second floor, bay window (right side of the building, just above the tree line)

Now for pictures of our room

Each night we were given a menu (same menu each day) and allowed to select what we would like for breakfast the next morning. Each morning we would sit in the dining room (still referred to as the viewing room...from when it the house was a funeral home) and be served breakfast. My favorite meal was the Bananas Foster french toast. Yum!

In the afternoons, there would be wine, cheese, and light finger foods. At bed time, they would turn down your bedding, and instead of mints, they would put mint chocolate chip cookies. If you ever needed anything, they would provide. They saw us walk in hot one day (it was HOT), and ran and brought us two bottles of cold water. I cut my heel on my Sperry's, and they gave me a few band aids.

My haunted experience- The first night we were there, we had gone to bed and I was trying to fall asleep when I felt something pinch between my toes, REALLY hard. I yelped, Joe asked what was wrong, and I told him. I proceeded to use the light from my cell phone to make sure there wasn't anything in the bed. The next evening the concierge told Joe some of the things people claim to have happen. And without her knowing what had happened the night before, she told him that a lot of people claim to have their feet pinched, presumably by the Kehoe kids. We also had a light that would randomly flicker, cut off, and on. And then, after I tried to tell Joe the bulb was probably dying and explain why I didn't really believe anything of it, the cold water knob started shaking in the weirdest way. It didn't happen anymore after that.

Thats all for now :)

We're baaack!

2010-09-19T18:55:00.002-04:00

Joe and I are finally home from OUR vacation. We've not had a vacation with just the two of us since early 2009. The past two vacations were spent with either family or friends-which we love being able to do, but we needed some alone time, away from the stresses of every day life that work brings, etc.

We had initially planned on saving our money and going on a Mediterranean cruise, but we unexpectedly ended up needing to buy a new car for Joe. On our spring/summer vacation down to Disney World, we passed the signs for Savannah, and after discussing it a little, thought that would be a good way to go since neither of us had visited there before. We ended up staying in Savannah for a few days and then came back up towards Charleston for a few days. Hopefully over the next week I will be able to recount a lot of our trip (I took notes and pictures!) through posts on here. I do have other things going on some this week, so give me a few days to sort through it all. There will probably be a lot of food reviews too. Because, lets be honest, we walked, we toured, we ate, we walked, we toured, we ate, we slept...repeat.

I will get started later tonight (laundry does call since we've been away for eight days) or tomorrow with lots of stories, pictures, and reviews!

So much to share!

2010-09-18T20:55:00.001-04:00

I have a whole lot to share but I need to gather my thoughts first,
maybe do some laundry, and then I will post lots of things!

A few curtain pictures to hold you over

2010-09-10T13:16:00.000-04:00

Here are a few pictures of the curtains I made my mom. Pardon the need to iron the stripped one.

(The polka dots and straps are brown, even though they look black in this picture)

TGIF! And thank goodness for a nice relaxing weekend ahead!

So much going on

2010-09-09T19:16:00.000-04:00

I've been in class for the past two days, which means I've not been around very much. I found out my coworker got the boot, which was totally totally unexpected. This probably means I'm going to have to switch my schedule again.

I'm trying to plan some of our vacation as time permits.

I have a feeling there won't be a lot of posting over the next few days. So much is going on.

Diners Drive-Ins' and Dives

2010-09-04T15:29:00.000-04:00

Its Labor Day weekend, so Joe and I are visiting my family. Before coming into town, we decided to do a little Food Network research and see what was in the area that had been featured on some of the shows. There happens to be a little place about 20 minutes from my mom's house called Jake's Good Eats, which had been featured on Diners Drive-Ins' and Dives with Guy Fieri. So we picked up my mom and took her to lunch there.

We tried the Venison quesadilla with Jalapeno jelly, which is what I believe Guy went there for. Definitely a great choice. Joe loved his friend bologna sandwich, and we all agreed that it was the thickest slice of bologna we had ever seen on a sandwich. My BBQ sandwich was great, and my mom enjoyed her fish sandwich. Definitely a great place to stop if you're in the area. However, they don't have a ton of seating, the place is quaint and fills up fast. Get there early or be prepared to wait for a few minutes.

When we got back, I decided to do a little overdue housekeeping, and clean out my filing cabinet I had back in college. WHAT MEMORIES! I found tons of old tests, papers, notes, etc. I found cards, letters, and other bits of encouraging things. I also found bad things like organic chemistry lab books.

I'm also hanging two sets of curtains while I'm here. I didn't get the third set finished. My wrist has been killing me, so I've tried to take things a little easier over the past few days.

Another set finished!

2010-09-02T14:20:00.000-04:00

I finished another set of curtains for my mom's house. I love the way they turned out and if I had spare money, I would totally make some for myself. I'm just hoping they look good hanging up

it IS possible

2010-09-01T19:28:00.001-04:00

to forget about a computer and the online world. I'm shocked.

I went through the majority of the day not even thinking about the computer, facebook, email, blog, etc.

It was shockingly nice.

Store full of clueless people and kids with hammers

2010-08-28T12:25:00.000-04:00

I went to Lowes this morning to pick up materials to make curtains for my mom. I needed a few boards cut. Well, turns out they don't make dowel rods as long as I need one. Seven inches is a big difference. So as I'm talking with the guy who is helping me get the wood down and cut, his typical teenage boy reply is "uh, yeah" and "uh, no" and "I don't know". Come on child, learn some customer service! Never use "uh" or "I don't know.

BANG. HEAD. AGAINST. WALL.

So now I'm going to have to improvise on the dowel rod. I'm thinking. But I can't think. Too many kids in Lowes with hammers. BANG. Can. BANG. Not. BANG. Think. BANG. While I want to take my kids to workshops like this, because I think they are fun and give kids hands on experience using useful tools they may need in life, I could not think with 50 little kids banging hammers.

*DING*DING*DING* I've got it! PVC pipe! Instead of stapling the material, I will have to velcro or glue it, but I can make it work!

As I wander around the aisles looking at piping, a little old gentleman walks up to me. I ask him about getting pipe cut. "We don't cut pipe."

Uh, sir...turn around and look at the sign a few inches from your back. Why yes, you do cut pipe. After reading this sign, slowly, and telling me where to go get keys cut, he finally realizes what I am trying to say, and calls someone on the phone.

So someone comes to help me and wants to cut my 8ft long curtain rod, but I try to explain to him that I don't want that cut. I need a piece of pipe cut. Galvanized pipe, sure thing. NOOOOO. I want PVC.

Finally, I have my pipe, boards, curtain necessities, and I'm ready and on my way.

I get home and spill my drink in my car as I'm trying to pick up a piece of the board that has sap on it.

Now... its time to get this stuff made!

Lots of stuff

2010-08-27T15:12:00.000-04:00

Lots of stuff going on in the world of sewing and home decorating. This time its not for me, but for others. I'll be pretty busy getting things accomplished over the next week.

I love projects like this!

Huh? What? Where am I?

2010-08-26T15:56:00.000-04:00

Ever have that feeling when you're fast asleep and get startled awake?

My friend Katy called and wanted to drop by to borrow a dvd, so I said sure. She said she'd be over in about 30 minutes. I figured I would just lie there, in bed, for a few minutes and then get up before she got there.

Next think I know its 35 minutes later and the phone rings.Not Katy, but husband. I'm sure I don't know about half the things he said. I couldn't wrap my mind around anything. I couldn't figure out what had happened. Apparently I am THAT TIRED.

Before I had time to realize what was going on, Katy was here and I was a mess. Thankfully, she doesn't care :) And she likes my bathroom, so that makes me happy.

Trying again

2010-08-25T18:14:00.000-04:00

I bought more paint today. This time I'm trying to decide on a color to paint the remainder of my downstairs. I want something more neutral b/c it will span into my upstairs as well. After looking at dozens of paint samples, I decided to go with a lighter tan, that had, what I thought to have a little tint of green. I purchased a sample can and painted the arch between my kitchen and living room. The only thing I can think of every time I look at it is split pea soup. And I'm not sure if thats even the color of split pea soup.

*sigh*

Back to the color samples I go

If I had a month

2010-08-25T12:06:00.000-04:00

If I had a full month of vacation time and no where to go, there is so much I could do.

~I would be able to keep up with the regular household duties, that a lot of times I feel like I fail on

~I would paint the rest of my house (except the part that has to be professionally painted...b/c there is no way I can reach)

~I would try a few new recipes

~I would bake

~I would read books that I have stacked around and waiting to be read

~I would finish a ton of sewing projects that I keep eying

~I would reorganize all of my fabric, and move all of my extra craft stuff out of my spare bedroom, and into the office/craft/sewing room

~I would sort through and clean out all the random boxes around our house

~I would make Christmas gifts

And I'm sure I could come up with a lot more things.

Before and After

2010-08-24T14:54:00.000-04:00

I've still got to repaint the baseboards and door/frame, but I wanted to post a few pictures now that I've pretty much completed the bathroom. I still feel like something is missing. I just don't know what...

Before:

After: (pardon the paint cans in the picture, and the dirty floor)

Very pleased!

2010-08-23T21:42:00.000-04:00

I pretty much finished painting the bathroom today. I still have a few spots to touch up, as well as paint the baseboards and the door frame, both of which really need to be touched up.

I hung my curtain and the picture I bought, which sort of started the whole thing. I think I am going to paint the bracket on the curtain though, since you can see it, and I don't like the metal showing. I also purchased a new trash can and soap dispenser. I am super happy with the way things have turned out- minus the fact that the room is Tarheel Blue. (I'm seriously debating on hanging a little sign on the back of the door as a disclaimer that I do not, under any circumstances, like UNC. My heart will always be an NC State girl)

This painting endeavor has really made me want to paint more downstairs. Only problem is, the downstairs is like two giant rooms, one which leads into the foyer/two story high walls. I can't quite do that.

I will post pictures tomorrow or Wednesday, once everything has been finished and cleaned up!

Stinky

2010-08-22T15:32:00.000-04:00

My sister invited Joe and I down to Charlotte to see the Panthers play last night against the Jets. And since it was her birthday, there was no way I could refuse. (Not that I would want to). We had a great time hanging out with her and her husband. It was nice to do something with adults only (sorry girls... we still love you).

But can I just state that, if the Carolina Panthers don't play a little better than they played last night, its going to be a VERY long season for them. I swear, I've never in my life seen an NFL game where there was so much disorder, so many turnovers, so few first downs, so little scoring, so many refs without a clue (they could never remember what down it was), and an announcer that was just as lost as the crowd. Honestly, it was a bit of a disgrace to the NFL.

Now, we're back, and we have a lot to accomplish over the next few weeks! I have to finish painting over the next few days, I need to reorganize my entire house, I want to try a few new recipes, I've got curtains and bags to make, and lots more going on! The busyness will be good though.

Happier

2010-08-21T06:49:00.000-04:00

I am happy that one stressful thing is partially out of the way, though I still slept poorly last night. My mind just keeps racing with things. UGH.

I took time yesterday afternoon to paint some more of the bathroom. I am really looking forward for the final product! Can't wait to show it to you sometime next week!

Now, off to get my crazy weekend started!

So much is going on

2010-08-19T17:28:00.001-04:00

I've got a lot of other things on my mind. A lot of which I am not going to spill out on this kind of forum. If you're close enough to me, you know these things already.

But I do have things I will share publicly. I am halfway continuing my bathroom redecorating project. I've finished the curtain. During my study break today, I decided I would do a little of the tedious painting around the trim and in the corners in the bathroom. And now I need to pray...

Dear God,

Please forgive me, for I have sinned. I have painted my bathroom what appears to be Tarheel Blue. My heart still belongs to you, and to the NC State Wolfpack. But Wolfpack red, does not go along with the beachy/tropical/relaxing feel of the rest of my house. I promise to do better from here on out.

Amen.

Hopefully I can paint around the higher portions of corners/trim/ceiling. And then the rest will be a little easier. I do think I will repaint the trim when I finish the walls. Something about a freshly painted room (walls and trim), makes me more at ease. After all of that, I can hang my curtain, hang the picture I bought in Florida, and one downstairs room will finally be complete!

I need a dinner fairy. I've not been in the mood to cook lately, which is reeking havoc on me.

Teresa's bag

2010-08-19T08:56:00.000-04:00

Produce, coupons, and projects

2010-08-16T15:55:00.001-04:00

I love fruit. I love some veggies. The fresher I can get these, the happier I am. When possible, I like to get things more local. They always seem better, plus I feel liking I'm helping local farmers.

At work we get a daily email with birthdays across the hospital, a quote of the day, and other news. Today they announced they were partnering with The Produce Box to bring this service to us at work.

I find myself really interested in this opportunity. They will deliver it to us at work, or we can have it delivered to our homes.

I tried to use up all my $1.00+ coupons at Harris Teeter. I managed to get 4 huge boxes of Cheerios for $6.00. I feel like that is probably too much to spend on them, but when they're usually ~$5 each, I suppose thats not too bad of a deal. I also bought two packs of pens for $0.38 each, and sticky notes for ~$0.89 each. Shaving cream was only $0.98 too.

I finished my curtain yesterday for my downstairs bathroom. I'm very excited about redoing this bathroom. I bought a can of paint in Little Boy Blue, plus I have a picture I bought at Disney that I'm going to hang up. I would like to get a white hand towel with a monogrammed letter L in a specific shade of green to hang up. Good luck to me. I will post pictures when I get the bathroom painted.

Here is a sample of some of the things I'm using...

Really thankful

2010-08-15T20:13:00.001-04:00

I'm really thankful for a new church home and family. I'm meeting tons of new people and really enjoying the fellowship that comes along with it. Tonight we had a picnic of sorts (indoors...they provided hamburgers, everyone else provided sides and desserts). It was wonderful.

I'm also thankful for being in a place with a pastor who has a lot of wisdom, who preaches more about the Bible and less about himself.

Here are the cupcakes I took...

Getting excited

2010-08-13T15:39:00.000-04:00

~For an upcoming vacation to Charleston and Savannah

~For a few days back home with my family

~Maybe going to the Panthers game next weekend for my sisters birthday

~My certification exam to be over with...even if I fail it (I'm praying I don't)

~I'm finally embarking on my curtain making expedition for my bathroom

~Seeing Jeff Dunham

Its FRIDAY! TGIF!

This. Is. Awesome.

2010-08-10T19:50:00.001-04:00

Go here to read a pretty funny story

Watch It!

2010-08-09T17:05:00.002-04:00

One Minute Sermon by Tamara Lowe

Newest bag

2010-08-07T15:04:00.000-04:00

This one doesn't quite have a home yet.

I can't wait to show you

2010-08-05T15:34:00.000-04:00

I just finished packaging up a bag for Teresa of My Friend Teresa Photography

I can't wait to show you pictures! I'm very pleased with the end product...minus the fact when I was packaging it up I cut my hand open...again. (There was no blood near the bag or box). I think I need to stay away from sharp objects. Anyways, once I mail it off and I've heard that she's gotten it, I will post pictures.

Its 6:15

2010-08-03T06:18:00.000-04:00

and I've been awake since 2:20 am.

I have to leave for work in less than an hour, but I'm thankful that I only have to be there for 4 hours. But I know those 4 hours are going to be painfully chaotic.

I had insomnia thanks to the mucinex I took last night. I knew I had the choice of being able to breathe and sleep for a few hours, or being up all night sick. I choose the first.

I caught up on about 15 blogs I've neglected over the past 6 months or so. I figured playing on the computer was quite enough not to wake Joe. He's been sick too and needed a good nights rest.

This afternoon = nap

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly with Harris Teeter

2010-08-02T17:09:00.000-04:00

I knew my order was going to be a hassle when I went into Harris Teeter today. Little did I know I was going to go bananas trying to deal with my order.

First, last week they had coke 12 packs on sale Buy 2, Get 3. When I went in, the shelves were completely bare. Thank goodness they offer rain checks. And thank goodness my two free pack coupons FINALLY came in the mail. So last week, when they were giving me a rain check, I had them make it out for 2 deals (buy 4, get 6). Today I purchased 10 cases of coke (Coke Zero & Sprite Zero...it will last a little while!). I give the cashier my rain check, and my two coupons for free cases, and she automatically accuses me of trying to pass counterfeit coupons! UGH! The audacity of this lady. My coupons are LEGIT. I explained to her that I got these things directly from Coke, using my Coke reward points. She had to verify them with management before she would accept them. When it was all said and done, I got 10 cases of coke for $8.

But...I just checked my receipt to make sure I got all of my B1G1 deals. Nope. So back we go tomorrow.

Usually I love HT, but today...not so much.

Ready to go

2010-08-01T13:25:00.000-04:00

I've caught the ick that Joe had last week. Thats the one bad thing (for him) about being around sick kids all day-he is exposed to a lot of funk. Since I'm staying in today, I figured I could at least iron some fabric for a few bags I'm working on.

This bag is ready and waiting to be sewn:

This fabric is so beautiful that I think I'm going to order tons of it and cover everything in my house in it...well, maybe not EVERYTHING. I do plan on making a bag with this, and possibly ordering some more and making a new ironing board cover with it.

Dear Teresa

2010-07-31T15:06:00.000-04:00

So sleepy!

2010-07-30T13:54:00.001-04:00

I've gotten up early the past two days, even though I've been off. Joe hasn't had the two days off and has had to go to work (insert sad face here). So I've pretty much been getting up with him- forcing me to get things accomplished. Now, however, I am tired!

All day today I've been working on a top secret super organization project, all benefiting Joe. I really hope he likes what I've done. I'll report back later what it is!

I've also been repainting the second of the two kids chairs I purchased. They were originally blue. I sanded them first. Yesterday's chair I painted blue, so I didn't have to worry to much about covering up any old blue paint. Today, however, I had to paint this chair white, to give it a good base coat over the blue, before attempting to paint it yellow. So its taken a bit longer.

I'm working on m to do list I created online. I really cannot wait to get a lot of that stuff knocked out! The painting of the chairs and organization project have both been on there. I also knocked out trimming the hedges today. Why spend $15 extra a month when I can do it myself?

Out of curiosity, does any one else have a problem with their email boxes getting WAY out of control? I feel like I get emails from every company on the planet, and having two email accounts only makes it more of a hassle. So today I went through both accounts, cleaned all the unread messages out, and unsubscribed from about 30 different emails I get regularly. Goodness, it is such a relief!

Now to finish up this organization project and finish painting this chair before getting the weekend started!

Its H-O-T, and I'm in love...again

2010-07-29T15:56:00.000-04:00

I don't know where you live, but in NC it is H-O-T HOT! I am sweating just walking around my house.

I have today and tomorrow off. I've been checking off things on my to do list, left and right. Last winter I purchased two little kid chairs from an antiques store that was "going out of business" (or changing owners). I sanded them down a last week or the week before. Today I finally had a little time and got one of them painted. I'm doing one in bright blue, one in yellow. I didn't realize this until I just started typing, but those happen to be colors of two of our bedrooms. Funny. I didn't intend to do that, but I guess it just works out that way! I will take pictures once I finish painting them. I also want to do a little drawing/stencil work on them. We'll see how well that works!

I also bought a little fabric today. I am MADLY in love with Pillow and Maxfield's Pretty Bird line. I love it as much as I love their Whimsy line. I want more of it! I'm in the process of working on four bags. Two are accounted for, one I may have accounted for, and the other I will probably try to sell. The hardest part for one is matching up colors/styles.

Time to go check on my chair. Goodness, I don't want to be outside!

Bags all around!

2010-07-27T14:08:00.000-04:00

I made my niece a bag and then made the same style for me. Now my mom and two other nieces want a bag (for Christmas). My friend Teresa wants a bag. And two other friends from high school have asked about bags!

YAY for bag making!

For my mama

2010-07-26T15:19:00.000-04:00

(For the rest of the world, this post is for my mom. I'm trying to help her pick out fabric to make her curtains.)

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A post with lists

2010-07-25T07:17:00.019-04:00

~I'm listing my post because I'm obsessed with lists.

~Be sure to scroll down to the last post to see all the pictures I added!

~Friday afternoon I mailed birthday presents to my nieces who are having their 16th and 14th birthdays this coming week. They got them Saturday morning. Way to go US Postal Service!

~For Megan, the one turning 16, I made this bag:

~Ashley, the one turning 14,we sent money. She is hoping to get enough money to buy an iPod touch.

~Friday evening I decided to sit down and make my own bag. I loved the one I made for Megan so much that I wanted one. Except I elected to use a slightly different fabric.

~I tried to put in a few button holes Friday night, and then my sewing machine decided to flip out on me. Three times to be exact. At least the insides of my sewing machine are now cleaned and oiled. And it has the third new needle in a very short period of time.

~Saturday, after a lot more fighting, I finally "won" and the bag was made. Only with a few technical glitches. Which I of course hid by sewing a few extra stitches. Lets just hope they hold. That'll teach me to sew when I'm stressed.

~Now my mom and youngest niece want bags. BAGS all around!

~I'm looking forward to my three day work week this coming week. I've got A LOT to do around my house. My "to do" list is very long.

~I also have a doctors appointment/consultation this week. I'm praying it goes well.

~I want to paint my downstairs half bath.

~I'm torn on the shade of blue I would choose.

~I probably won't paint for another few months at least.

~I also want to make curtains for said bathroom.

~Curtains will probably be made long before the bathroom is painted.

~My mom is commissioning me to make curtains for her house.

~That is something I am excited about.

~I should shower.

~I need to iron my clothes for church

~I also need to decide where I am taking my MIL out to eat for lunch!

~Apparently the background image I have been using for my blog has been deleted. *sigh* This is going to cause me to spend countless time trying to decide what to replace it with.

~I should build my own website. Really. I can figure it out with a little time and help. I just don't want to spend money doing so.

Lots of baking

2010-07-19T17:19:00.003-04:00

I've been in a baking mood lately. Sadly, its been more baking and less cooking. In fact, I've not wanted to cook for the past week. I have been a tad bit worried b/c my cherry pies (the last three of them) did not turn out at all :( The first one was my fault. I had the oven on 400 instead of 450. The second two, I still cannot figure it out. I was really worried we were going to have to sacrifice part of vacation in order to get a new stove. Thankfully, it doesn't seem to be the case.

Last week I really wanted to try to make cannolis. So I made my dough for the shells, and the filling. For my first try at them, I don't think I did too bad of a job. They are no way near perfect. The shells are very hard to make. Or at least, I found them to be tough.

I also have been wanting to try to make fresh blueberry muffins. I found a recipe for blueberry sour cream muffins. However, the recipe called for an outrageous amount of sour cream. I added only a small fraction of what it called for, and substituted milk for the rest of it. I didn't care for them right after they came out of the oven, but the next morning, when they were cooler, they were pretty good. You could sort of taste the sour cream, but I can't imagine how strong it would have been if I would have added the full amount in.

I also have been wanting to try a few cupcakes out. This go around I made cookies and cream cupcakes. I played around with the recipe. While they were good, I think instead of doing an Oreo based cake, it would be even better with a chocolate cake. I also learned that buttercream icing made mostly from butter tastes WAY different than that made mostly with shortening.

Playing around baking is a lot of fun. I'm learning how different flours can change the texture of cakes and different types of sugar can really change the taste. There are at least 30 different types of cupcakes I want to make at some point, and a few other types of pies and breads. One day...

Busy start for the week

2010-07-12T13:52:00.004-04:00

Its early Monday afternoon and I NEEEEEEED a nap! Not that I just want one, but I NEEEEEED one.

I had all intentions of sleeping at least until 6:30 this morning, but at 5:45, before the alarm went off for my husband, I woke up to searing pain running from my neck down the left side of my back and my left arm. That ended all hopes of sleeping in.

I have decided to keep an ongoing "to do" list online. You can create one too HERE. I am loving that I can add to it as I remember something else I need to do, and check things off as I do them. One of the best things I've accomplished today is making reservations for our vacation this fall. We'll be visiting Savannah and Charleston, and I wanted to go ahead and book our stays.

In Savannah, I'm looking forward to staying at the Kehoe house

Apparently this is a haunted house, but I'm really not to worried about that. We didn't even know the haunted reputation before we decided to stay here. The rooms look magnificent. I was very pleased with their service when I called to talk with the receptionist today. I wanted one of two specific rooms and online, I cannot request that. But typically calling a hotel to make reservations is actually more expensive than reserving it online. The receptionist was very kind and gave me the internet pricing, while allowing me to book a certain room over the phone.

Last time we visited Charleston, we loved the Elliott House Inn. However, they are currently undergoing reservations, so we will not be able to stay there. Because we wanted to stay in the heart of Charleston, and somewhat close to where we were last time, we ended up choosing the Fulton Lane Inn. The rooms look wonderful and the reviews aren't bad. I'm hoping we've picked somewhere great!

Other than reserving hotel rooms, I've purchased and cut the remaining fabric for a handbag. I will work on sewing it throughout the next week or two.

After Joe left for work this morning, I cleaned out & reorganized our freezer, taking stock of what we have left. We're working on eating from our pantry/freezer/fridge. I have enough to get us through this week, and probably some next week. However, I will reassess that come this weekend. I think I will only have to buy fresh bread, produce, and milk at some point this week. So freezer is clean & reorganized and a menu is planned! YES!

While I was at it, I also cleaned out and reorganized our pantry. I had a number of things in there ready to be tossed. This allowed me the opportunity to utilize an entire shelf for storage of bulk paper & plastic items.

Last fall I bought two chairs for kids at an antiques shop that was going out of business/changing owners. They are wooden chairs with the rafia woven type seats (I don't know what the material is called!). The chairs were rough looking and have been sitting on our back porch since I bought them. Finally this morning I sanded them down. The wind is blowing and there is a chance for some rain later on. If it weren't for that, I'd go ahead and paint them today.

I've also managed a few dishes and some vacuuming today as well. Lots left to do. I'm now trying to decide if a nap would be better or if I should go ahead and go to the gym. I've completely failed to lose weight lately, so I should go work out. I have been going to the gym off and on, but not as much as I want/need. I think the stress of a few things is causing me to not get anywhere.

In other, non today news, my ovens thermostat is really driving me crazy. The last three pies I made all failed. F.A.I.L.E.D. I am REALLY upset about this too. I am praying that we don't have to buy a new oven right now. Its seriously not the time to do so. It would be nice if we could wait and get one for Christmas. I bought a thermometer for the oven, and before and after I cleaned it, checked the temperatures ranging from 250-450, in different spots throughout the oven. Every place was different. The temps were reading anywhere from 10-50 degrees higher.

I am thinking about moving my blog one of these days in the future. We'll see what happens!

And last, but certainly not least, please continue to pray for Chase Mann and the entire Mann family as they are now in Atlanta receiving care at Shepherd Center.

no beuno

2010-07-05T14:29:00.001-04:00

Nothing like spending your day off feeling sick.

I am, however, trying to get a few things accomplished. I have a large stack of magazines I'm trying to weed through. I'm tearing out anything I want to try (recipes) and then getting rid of the rest. Magazines take up A LOT of space. I'm really trying to clean out my house and make things a little more simple.

Speaking of making things a little more simple, I'm really working on cooking from what we have here, and only buying the necessary produce, milk, lunch meat that we need each week. It was nice to finish off a few items yesterday. There is a feeling of accomplishment when I create more space in my kitchen. Now we're finished with the brown rice, a can of pineapple (usually I buy fresh pineapple, but I'm trying to use ingredients I have), red pepper, and some pork. Tonight I'll use another thing of beef I have from the freezer, as well as some buns.

Here's a website for you to look at. Joe and I really enjoyed a message from church a few weeks back regarding adoption. We have (and still are) talked about adoption and/or fostering kids. There are SO many children out there without a forever home. This website introduces you to children in the US that are in the foster care system. Be in prayer for these children!!! And pray for people to be willing to open their hearts, and open their homes for these kids.

Calling all list makers!

2010-07-04T16:05:00.000-04:00

If you are an insane list maker like I am, go here for a website to help you keep track of your list! I have lists for everything. And I'm one that will add to my list things I wasn't planning on doing, just so I can mark things off. There is something about that feeling of accomplishment.

The neat thing about this, is that basically you can have your own page and keep coming back to it. I usually write my lists out on paper, and then by the end of the day/week, they start looking a mess. This is a neat way to keep it all organized, you can check it off, add to it, and choose to print it out or not.

This may help me keep my clutter down a little and keep a little more organized.

Happy 4th

2010-07-04T09:47:00.000-04:00

And to all those who are serving or who have served, THANK YOU for fighting for our freedom

Yum Yum

2010-06-28T20:50:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I broke out my binder with copies of my grandma's old recipes (my dad copied made copies for us many years ago, before my grandma passed away). And much to my delight there was one for her peach cobbler.

So I set out to make one yesterday but ended up slicing my hand open in the process (way to go!). Tonight I finished what I had started...the cobbler that is. So so tasty! And I don't have a picture to show :(

Pray for Chase

2010-06-26T07:03:00.000-04:00

Please be in prayer for Chase Mann. Joe works with/for Chase's parents. This past Tuesday, while serving on a church mission trip in the Bahamas, Chase dove off a dock and ended up fracturing his neck/spine. He was flown to Miami where he is being treated by the worlds best spinal team. It will probably be a few weeks before anything is known about the severity/permanence of his injury.

Please pray for Chase, Larry, Debbie, and their daughter (I'm sorry, I don't know her name), and the rest of the Mann family. Pray that if it is God's will, that Chase will be healed of all injuries.

Pray for the team of doctors, nurses, specialists, researchers and other members who are a part of Chase's care.

Pray for the team from Edenton Street UMC who remained in the Bahamas on their missions trip, serving that area for Christ.

For more information you can check out the Pray for Chase Facebook page HERE

or you can view his Caringbridge page HERE (this requires an email address, but seriously, it only takes a few seconds to sign up for it)

I'm a day late

2010-06-21T12:48:00.002-04:00

I had intended on posting this weekend, but of course, I didn't. SHOCKING!

I was preoccupied with celebrating our anniversary, pretending I know what I'm doing making a quilt, celebrating Father's Day, joining a new church, etc etc.

But nevertheless, I'm here...posting. This will be a long post....really long post to be honest. I've got quite a bit of catching up to do!

Lets back track a few weeks and go on a photographic journey.

My pretty irises bloomed...well, two of the four plants. I'm a little worried about the other two. Maybe next year??? I forgot to take pictures of the purple ones, so I present to you two pictures of the yellow

Next up we have my "garden" statues, which are really my door greeters. The funny thing is, sometimes here lately I feel the girl duck is sporting a necessary accessory. It has rained a lot at certain times, and I've worried that she may drown :) Well, not really considering she is a few steps up.

Next up on our little journey is food... I've been trying to experiment a lot more, as I've previously said. Here are a few pictures to show you my results

Homemade salsa: (recipe is a few posts down)

Cherry pie, which I have to say (and I'm not trying to brag by any means) is the best cherry pie I've ever had. Joe's parents, especially his dad, loved it too.

It bled out a little on the left, and the lattice work really isn't all that grand. I was just playing around

The day I made these, I also roasted garlic and made homemade sauce for pasta, and sausages. I didn't feel like making meatballs, which probably saddened my husband. I took the roasted garlic and made fresh garlic butter for the bread. The pasta in the picture is cheese tortellini. It isn't homemade :( I didn't feel like going that far. Its in the fresh pasta area along outside aisles of the grocery stores.

Other things I've been up to lately include, but aren't limited to: housework, work, sleeping or trying to, cleaning, couponing, sewing etc.

A month ago now we went on vacation to Disney World with our friends the Haggerty's. Their oldest child is graduating high school this year, so this was essentially his senior trip. He brought along two friends with him. Joe and I used this as our vacation/anniversary trip. Joe had never been to Disney, so it was a lot of fun for him. We also enjoyed trying to find as many hidden Mickey's as we could. Another enjoyable thing was testing my sister's Disney knowledge. I would take incredibly random pictures of random things and text them to her and she would have to guess where I was. Over the course of five days and dozens of random pictures, she only missed like two.

About three weeks ago we traveled to Siler City to visit our dear friends the Harrison's. I really miss them being around. We grilled out with them and spent the entire day fellowshipping with them and their kids. Joe was even invited to play the piano for their evening services.

A week ago today we celebrated our second anniversary! YAY! We didn't get each other the same gift this year :) Year two- cotton or china. On one of our early dates, Joe built me a bear. So for our anniversary, he went to Build A Bear and built the bride and groom. Funny thing is, I almost went into the store to look at them. There were a lot of people in there that day and I had a splitting headache, so I didn't. Good thing too! He didn't get cotton or china from me. Instead we ordered him a wireless network adapter thingy for his XBOX. I'll be honest, I was struggling to figure out what to get him.

For our anniversary dinner, we went to a new Italian restaurant in the area. Il Bacio. I wouldn't recommend it. We were both pretty disappointed. The calamari was chewy, Joe's veal was chewy, the bread wasn't all that fabulous, and they forgot the meat in my dish. So we did an anniversary dinner redo at Brio Tuscan Grille. We had wanted to go here first, but Joe was sick, so we postponed it. Much more fabulous!

Now we're planning our next vacation. This fall we're going to Savannah and Charleston for a week. This vacation will be just the two of us. We need some alone time! Well, alone together time.

Lets see... I've been sewing. I made pillowcases...

They're just for fun, not for any particular reason or place.

I'm also working on a quilt top. I've got oodles of pieces cut out, now I'm stitching as I have time. I'm also looking to try out a few kids items. My friend Lacey's three year old daughter is going to be my test subject! And over the next month or so I plan to make at least one bag, if not two.

Yesterday we joined the church we've been visiting most of this year. We're both very excited to see what God has in store for us there! We missed a few messages over the past few weeks (being out of town, Joe being sick, Joe working, etc). One message that we missed, we ended up listening to online. The topic was adoption. This message was awesome. It really touched my heart...which in turn led me to days and days of researching adoption and fostering- both of which Joe and I are open to doing at some point. There are so many kids in foster care that need to be adopted. What an example of Christ it would be for Christians who are able to adopt these kids.

I've got a lot left to do today. I've already accomplished so much. The youth from our previous church have to raise money in order to go to camp. They have to help people out in order to earn the money. One of them came over this morning and helped me pull a few weeds/grass that had come up on the bushes, and then spread some mulch. With her help, we knocked it out in less than an hour.

Now its time to menu plan, grocery shop, and spend a little time at the gym. Maybe next time I won't wait so long to post...then I'll have less to say, and less for you to read!

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*Edited....yes, already* I want to note that I've decided to clean out our pantry, freezer, and fridge before buying much more. An Eat From the Pantry Challenge like Money Saving Mom did earlier this year. I've briefly checked out my food stock and have planned out dinners for the next two and a half weeks. I only have to purchase 7 small items (like fresh produce) over the course of the next two weeks. Plus I'll have to pickup things for everyday lunches, milk for breakfast, etc. Hopefully by the end of three weeks I'll have much less in my pantry and freezer.

Coming soon

2010-06-18T16:33:00.000-04:00

Coming soon to my blog will be lots of pictures, and more posts. I've done pretty well on keeping off the computer as much- which was one of my goals for the year. But because of it, I've not been posting much. I check my facebook page, my email, and thats about the extent of it.

I'm working on a quilt top in my "spare" time, as well as trying to get back to the gym. I've also tried to get some things accomplished around here, and spend more time expanding my recipe collection. In fact, tonight we're having black and blue quesadillas. Roast beef, blue cheese, balsamic glaze....

My goal is tomorrow to spend time in my sewing room, which includes posting pictures and stuff here on the ole bloggity blog.

There are days...

2010-06-10T15:19:00.001-04:00

I feel like banging my head upside a wall.

People blow my mind with their disrespect, hatefulness, their lack of humility, rudeness, self absorbed ways. These are people who get paid to do work they don't do.

Dear God...I need your strength!

Interesting

2010-06-07T15:57:00.000-04:00

Country music star Trace Adkins is going to be the commencement speaker at my old high school. I'm sure this will be the one of the few things ever remembered there.

Here's an article...

Back...with food stuff

2010-06-06T10:22:00.004-04:00

I've been anti blog lately, simply because I've tried to utilize my time a little more wisely. And over the next two to three months, I'm going to have to really focus on getting my schedule down to accomplish the most I can. I'm working a little more because one of my coworkers decided she didn't want to work with us anymore and transferred out. Usually it takes 30 days, but this time it took more like 30 minutes. So we didn't have much forewarning.

But anyways, onto more fun things. Yesterday I decided it was time to play in the kitchen some. I've been on a quest lately to learn to make new foods that I normally wouldn't make. I made doughnuts a few weeks back and they turned out really well. I made a ginger cream to go with them. Even though it was good, I may try a little different version should I decide to make it again.

Then a few days ago I was flipping through my copy of The Pioneer Woman Cooks and then scouring her website. I decided I really wanted to try to make salsa. Now typically I would by fresh salsa at the grocery store (not the jarred kind, but the kind in the deli). I read really great reviews of her salsa recipe, but I didn't have/want all the ingredients she put in hers (such as Rotel). I promised myself only 100% fresh ingredients. So after searching a number of other recipe sights (including a new favorite Chow.com) I decided to try my hand at making my own version, incorporating things I had found. The result: Fabulous! Recipe is at the bottom of the page!

Salsa was the "snack" yesterday. I also made fresh sauce for pasta. For anyone that does this, its best to cook it low and slow. I started late morning and it was finished around 6pm. For dinner last night we had whole wheat cheese tortellini, with sauce, and Italian sausage. I roasted garlic and made fresh garlic butter for the rolls we had. If you want to know how to roast garlic, check out Food Network's website. Type "roasted garlic" in the search bar, and look for Giada's video clip. Its less than a minute long. I also made a fresh cherry pie that I'm taking with us for lunch today- we're eating at Joe's parents. I pitted all the cherries yesterday morning. Depending on the taste I may add the recipe here later.

Once I plug my computer up again, I will post pictures I took of things! Today I'm making ribs, and maybe garlic mashed potatoes.

Here's the salsa recipe I came up with:

6 Roma tomatoes, cut in half and cored (take all the seeds/juice out)
1 Jalapeno pepper (seeds and ribs removed- unless you like it spicy, and then I'm sure you can leave them in)
1 small clove of garlic
1/4 to 1/3 cup of yellow (or white) onion
A handful of fresh cilantro (leaves only)
1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cumin
juice from 1/2 of lime

On a pan/cookie sheet lined with tin foil, place all tomato halves skin side up. Set your broiler to low and place tomatoes in the oven until lightly charred. (This took me 5-10 minutes. I was doing other things, so I lost track of the amount of time.)

In the mean time, roughly dice your onion, jalapeno, and garlic. (Actually, I diced up my jalapeno and garlic into really small pieces, b/c I didn't want the food processor to leave big chunks of these by mistake, but thats just me).

Roughly chop up your cilantro as well (inhale the smell while you're at it. It is AMAZING. Cilantro ranks as my favorite fresh herb)

Once your tomatoes have finished, take them out of the oven and give them a rough chop.

Place all of your tomatoes in a food processor, and give it a whirl. Don't over process it! Add in your sugar, salt, cumin, cilantro, onions, garlic, and pepper. Close the lid, and give it a few more whirls until it is the consistency of your liking. Pour into a bowl, squeeze a little lime juice on top, and stir everything together.

Viola! Tasty salsa. If you want a little more kick to it, you can keep the seeds/ribs in the jalapeno, or even add another one in the mix. I have a thing about tomato and pepper seeds. They weird me out.

Also, this only makes a small amount (think cereal bowl size). So if you're preparing this for a bigger group, I'd at least double the recipe.

On Menu planning

2010-05-23T16:01:00.000-04:00

Last week was fairly difficult in staying on top of my menu planning. We'd just returned from vacation in Florida, I was exhausted, and quite frankly, I didn't want to put a lot of effort into cooking. While we were gone, I received a new cookbook from Cooking Light that they are previewing to select (though I'm not sure how "select") subscribers. Being that I'm a fan of Cooking Light, and a cookbookaholic, I didn't turn down the opportunity to try it free before purchasing or returning. I definitely think I'm going to have to send them my money, because I've already tried three (tonight will be #4) recipes that are definitely keepers for us. And the best part about it, the recipes are super simple and have not taken too long to prepare. My longest meal this week was because the pork chops I purchased were twice as think as the recipe suggested. My favorite though was the french dip sandwiches, which were SO simple.

I'm trying to do a lot of cooking of new recipes here lately. I will of course throw some of our "standbys" in during the week. I'm learning to get out of my comfort zone and try new foods. While we were on vacation, I tried a lemon aioli. Granted, I don't like any mayo typically, but this was very good. I ordered it on the side, and put a small amount on my dish. I'm glad I did it that way, so it wasn't too much for me to deal with.

I really have the urge to cook calamari at some point. I don't know why, but I really want to. And I want to make cannolis as well.

My wish for another vacation

2010-05-20T17:21:00.001-04:00

Not that I didn't enjoy going to Disney World last week, because I did, I just feel the need for a few days/week off from life. I want to go somewhere where I can relax and enjoy myself, with no one other than my husband. I want to sit and do nothing. And a massage would be nice. I long for my honeymoon again.

I'm trying to deal with a few things going on in life. Things that have me frustrated and mentally/emotionally exhausted. I know God has a reason for things, but sometimes trusting that He really does can be the challenge. I don't know why exactly, but it is.

Work is work.

I've enjoyed cooking and trying new foods lately. I've got 3 new cookbooks that really seem to be clicking with me. I made French Dip sandwiches last night. Simple and tasty. I'm wanting to experiment with seafood too. And more vegetables. Tonight I'm making quinoa for the first time. I've heard rave reviews. Hopefully it lives up to it.

Joe is on call. I'm tired and already want to go to bed. We have a leaky outdoor faucet, that I've determined can wait at least until tomorrow or Saturday before making an attempt to fix it/have it fixed. Its a very slow leak. Our neighborhood fell victim to crime the night before last. Apparently people had their cars and garages "broken" into, though it was people who left their cars out of their garage and unlocked, and people who left their garages open. We were not one of those. We park inside our garage and close it. I saw police at a number of houses yesterday. Today we got an email notifying us that the criminals had been apprehended. Good to know.

This past week we also received a letter from our Compassion child in the DR. I love his letters. So sweet, and he also includes a picture that he takes the time to draw for us. This time was a rainbow. I hope some time we can meet him.

I guess I should go get ready to make dinner.

I hate it when...

2010-04-28T10:40:00.002-04:00

A great workout gets interrupted by the need to get to an appointment.

Just in case you didn't know this...

2010-04-27T16:18:00.000-04:00

Goat cheese + pears + toasted french bread = yum

I've been playing around a lot lately with different foods, experimenting, trying to come up with new things. I've mostly been playing around with fruits. I bought some raspberries today, but haven't decided what I'm going to make yet.

I'm still alive

2010-04-27T09:19:00.000-04:00

I've gotten into a long rut of not posting here. I still don't know why other than I've found plenty to do to occupy my time.

Recently I really started going to the gym to try to get back in shape. I try to spend most of my afternoons there if I'm not running errands. By the time I get home and try to get dinner on the stove, I don't have a lot of spare time to post in the afternoons. I'm really trying to lose this weight, and the prospect of winning $200 isn't bad either. If I win, I think I may know what I want to do with the money, but still haven't 100% decided on that.

We're going to Florida in a few weeks for vacation. Its not really hit me yet. I need to buy some summer clothes. I live in scrubs and have a few pair of jeans. I don't spend much time in shorts, but Florida weather is a bit hotter than here.

I've decided I need a maid. But quite frankly it boils down to the fact I need to be less lazy and pick up after myself better. Easier said than done.

Some of the flowers I planted a few weeks ago are starting to bloom. Hopefully a few more blooms will pop up in the next few days and I can post pictures.

Joe finally got his new car last week and is loving it. 2011 Camry. I can post pictures soon too. Maybe I'll do a big picture post one day :)

Here is a recent cookbook we purchased (I'm currently addicted to cookbooks). We've tried a few things from there and really have enjoyed them. I highly recommend making this cookbook a part of your collection.

Thats all for now. I'm off today and tomorrow and really want to get a number of things accomplished, including two great workouts.