A whole new me?

The bathroom I use at work is fairly dark; it has a small window, but doesn't let tons of light in.  With that lighting, I look a bit ethnic today.  Here's to getting a lot of sun this past weekend!

Savannah

This post is a bit late, but fun nonetheless.  I headed out of the office early last Friday and went down to Savannah.  I stopped by to hang out with my Grammy for a bit.  That included running errands for her, watching Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader? and hanging out while she at supper.  Then I took the short drive over to Marybre Glenn's sister's house where MG's bachelorette weekend was going to commence.

First off, Sebrell has a an amazing home: not too big, everything is decorated incredibly well, it's nice AND comfortable (so hard to pull off!), and drum roll please, every room in their house has a view of the water.

This is where we ate supper Friday night:

Mary Glenn's brother-in-law cooked supper and it was an incredible meal.  First course of fried green tomatoes on a bed of greens with remoulade sauce.  Second course was shrimp and grits, green beans, and a fillet.  The grits cooked for 24 hours, y'all!  The fillet was topped with an incredible sauce: sauteed mushrooms and onions with lots of yummy spices that were pureed.  So good!

After a big meal, we did what every gal wants to do: put on a bathing suit!  We headed to the hot tub for MG's lingerie shower and dessert of fancy cupcakes.  We were also gifted monogrammed beach towels!?   The next morning we ate a light breakfast (ok, I also had a bag of Cheetos) and headed to the marina.  We were picked up by boat and taken to a small island where we could play on the beach all day!  {For Charleston folks, it was basically going to Capers Island.}  We had a cooler full of hurricanes, monogrammed cups (of course!), yummy wrap sandwiches, and Doritos.  It was such a fun day at the beach!

Once back at the house we showered and I fell asleep.  Apparently I was out for quite a while.  I hadn't been getting a lot of sleep the past few nights, and while I'm not really a napper, I napped like it was my job.  Guess your body just knows when you need it.  We ate supper at Pearl's on the water and it was quite good.  I had the crab and shrimp au gratin.  We headed home for an early night.

All in all, it was a super fun weekend and a great way to celebrate Mary Glenn.  So glad I got to be a part of it!

New and Ghetto

I'm loving them.

Wait?

You didn't attend a cocktail attire required, hot dog cooking, martini drinking, Modern Family season finale watching party last night?  Too bad; it was awesome!

Remember when

I was driving home from Savannah and thought it was 65 MPH, yet it was only 55, and I was going 72?  Grrrrr. Thankfully the cop was nice and reduced the ticket to a minimum fine and two points.

Garden first

Last night I used my first home grown item: a jalapeño!

I cooked some whole grain pasta in leftover homemade chicken stock.  Meanwhile, I cooked a few Italian sausage links and the jalapeño in my cast iron frying pan.  When the pasta was done, I drained it and added the zest and juice of one lemon, a bit of olive oil, and diced bell pepper.  When finished cooking, I sliced the sausage and diced the pepper, and added them to the mix.  I have to say it was really good!

Brightness from the lemon, heat from the pepper, crunch from the bell pepper, heartiness from the pasta and I love meat.  Period.  I also think the jalapeño, and entire dish, tasted better because I grew it myself.  :)

Pearl

Mom called Saturday morning while I was in Savannah (more on that to come) to tell me about Pearl, my cousin's newest baby.  My cousin, Susie, her husband, and active two year old headed to St. Simons for the weekend.  Around 2 am Saturday morning, Sue went to the bathroom.  She felt some gas pains and called her husband.  She thought Pearl may be coming and they called EMS.  Her husband caught the baby in the bathroom!  She wasn't breathing; Susie then delivered the placenta.  EMS said that the baby could get oxygen from the placenta for 30-40 minutes and not to cut the cord.  EMS took little Pearl, 29 weeks, to the NICU in Savannah and Susie to the nearest hospital.  Sue was discharged shortly, they gathered some things together, and headed to Savannah.

All things considered, Pearl's doing well, but will likely be in the NICU in Savannah for the next 7 weeks or so.  I was able to see my aunt, uncle, and the crazy cute/wild two year old for a few hours yesterday.  They're hoping to move into The Ronald McDonald House, as they have a long road ahead of them in Savannah -- a good bit from home of Atlanta.  So if you're the praying kind, I'd be thankful for any prayers for Pearl, Susie, and the whole family.

Too early

In order to keep up my end of The Shredding bargain, my alarm went off at 5 this morning.  Yes, you read that correctly.  I eventually got out of bed and began my workout.  Sadly, I phoned it in this morning as I only made it through the first set of exercises.  I blame it on not being a morning person, my vasodepressor syncope, and a bit of laziness.

I showered, shaved, and got ready for the day, finished packing for my weekend, and decided to take a breather in the bed for a spell.  As I lay there, I remembered I was going to make brownies for Mary Glenn.  Ah!  I sprung out of bed, turned on the oven, and whipped up a batch of chocolatey goodness.  The downside is, there wasn't time ice them.  Hopefully, I'll find a way to get that taken care of later today.

I figured after the morning I had, I surely deserved a spicy chicken biscuit from Chick-fil-A.  So yummy!

I'm excited to leave work early, look for tennis shoes, head to Savannah to spend time with Grammy, and then celebrate Mary Glenn at her bachelorette weekend.  Good times to be had all weekend long!

Looks like

I take excellent care of my little Mac Book.  Wahoo!

Hoping for a good report

when I take my computer in for a check up today.  The 'ole Mac Book is getting the once over before Apple Care runs out.  Glad Courtney talked me into the extended warranty after all.  Here's hoping my white stallion of a laptop is in good shape after all these years.

Am I the Person

I'm looking for in marriage?

That is the thesis statement of Andy Stanley's series on marriage.  Thanks to the recommendation of a good friend, I've been listening to these sermons the past few weeks.  Has challenged me and made me think about a few things.  Series can be found here; 3 of 4 are already posted.

http://www.northpoint.org/messages/the-new-rules-for-love-sex-and-dating

Clark W. Griswold

I LOVE Christmas Vacation - I could watch it every day and quote about 95% of it.  This past Sunday morning, I had a real Clark moment.  I was heading to church and cruising over the James Island Connector.  Needing to pass the car in front of me, I glanced over my shoulder, and moved into the left lane.  I looked in the rear view mirror only to realize I totally missed the HUGE truck in the lane and now he was about 2 inches behind me.  Yikes!  I certainly felt like Clark when he was driving his family to select the perfect Christmas tree and ended up getting his station wagon under an 18 wheeler.   Totally something that would happen to me.

Clark: “We’re all right! Thank God we’re all right!”
Ellen: “Clark, we’re stuck under a truck!”
Clark: “Do you honestly think I don’t know that?!”
Ellen: “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. And forgive my husband. He knows not what he does.”
Clark: “Amen!”

A few updates

• I officially have a jalapeño on my plant!  Now I just need to make something spicy.
• My little brother turned 26 yesterday which officially made me feel old.
• Speaking of feeling old, this is hilarious.
• I'm 1/4 done with Atlas Shrugged.  Wahoo.  Only 700+ pages to go. 
• Three weeks from today, I'll be making my way to ATL for the first leg of the trip to Haiti!
• My roommate kept her 10 month old niece this week and it was surprisingly fun to have her around.
• I've moved up to Level 2 of The Shred.
• The Shred provides much entertainment for 10 month olds.

Love it.

I saw a friend last night for the first time in several weeks.  She's pregnant with her 3rd child and is about 18 weeks along...AKA the time when it looks like you're either pregnant or just eating too much Ben & Jerry's.  Brilliantly, she donned a t shirt that said, "YES I AM!"

Double Duty

I didn't make it home until 10:20 Sunday night and was exhausted.  Too late to Shred.  I set my alarm to get up Monday morning, but let's get real: that wasn't happening.  What is a girl to do?  Double the Shred, double the fun?!  Maggie told me I could do it.  I didn't really believe her, but thought it was worth a shot.  Warm up, run through the exercises, start the exercises over again, then cool down is how she told me to do it.

Warmed up, exercised, geared up for more exercising...paused.  I can't do this.  I'm tired and (of course) hungry.  But I thought of Maggie telling me I could do it.  And I did it.  I may have grunted a bit and said a prayer to get through it, but I did it.  Sometimes you just need some encouragement from a friend.  Thanks, Maggie!

Weekend.

This past weekend was a good one, a full one.  Downtown Charleston Art Walk, caught up on DVR'd television, laid out, party for Mary Glenn & Jule in Florence, and mother's day in McClelanville with the rent's and family friends that are more like family than friends.  We fished, we enjoyed the sun, the peace and quiet, took in the beauty of the water, drank cold beer, and ate perfectly cooked ribs, corn on the cob, and the likes.

Sometimes life is so fun and feels easy.  Other times it feels heavy and burdensome.  The pendulum swings back and forth, back and forth.

Today, I was encouraged by this passage for the burdensome feelings:

2 Kings 4

The Widow’s Olive Oil

 ¹ The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the LORD. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.”

 ² Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?”

   “Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a small jar of olive oil.”

 ³ Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. ⁴ Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.”

 ⁵ She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring.⁶ When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.”

   But he replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing.

 ⁷ She went and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.”

Dedication

It's going to be a long day.  In order to keep up my 30 Day Shred obligation, I shredded before work.  Normally, I shower the night before so in the morning I can roll out of bed, get dressed, grab a Diet Coke and hit the road.  This morning: alarm went off WAY too early.  Snoozed.  Debated.  Forced myself out of bed.  Wore PJ pants, Keens, sports bra, and my iPod shuffle.  Keens required less work to put on than tennis shoes and after you Shred a few times, you need good music rather than Jillian's voice and background Muzak.

Maggie told me Shredding in the morning was almost better because you don't fully realize what you're doing.  I think she's right; I know I did it, but the memory is vague.  After Shredding, I showered, took a brief respite, got ready for work.  And now I'm here, having exercised for the day, and donning wet hair.

Engagement Chicken

I may have mentioned it on here before, but I LOVE The Barefoot Contessa.  I would like to move to the Hamptons and be-friend her and eat all of her yummy creations.  I saw her make Engagement Chicken on TV a while back and have been meaning to try it.  Apparently, the girls in her office make it for their boyfriends and the next thing you know, they're engaged OR it happens to be one of the first thing they  make after they get a ring.

Last night was the night to try it, and I tell you what: it was damn good.  I'd have proposed to me after eating it.  Ha.  It was super easy to make, required few ingredients (always a plus) and tasted like heaven in your mouth: homey, yet not too heavy, full of flavor, yet not overwhelming.  The sauce would be heavenly on mashed potatoes or rice as well.

Give it a shot!  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/engagement-roast-chicken-recipe/index.html

Strange and sweet

While driving home from work yesterday, I was behind this truck with a headboard (or footboard to a bed) and a homemade sign that said something like:

Married 60 Years

Wonderful

With my

Sugar Babe

1950 - 2010

A bit bizarre.  Been driving with that on there for over a year.  Yet, pretty sweet, too.

Room to Grow

Guess what?  Tiny green tomatoes have formed!  Here's hoping they get bigger and redder:

Quote

I read this last week and really liked it:

Settle in your mind once and for all that God loves you and wants only the best for you only in going according to His plan will you bear the most fruitful life now and throughout eternity!  We must let nothing hold us back from God's best!  

The Holy Spirit and You by Dennis & Rita Bennett, page 192

Day 1

of the 30 Day Shred and I didn't die.  I made it through the whole thing!  All things considered, I'd say I even did it with minimal cussing...