Sunday, July 26, 2009

a twist on the usual ho-hum cookout

We are hoping to have cookout soon...and as I am making my grocery list today, I thought I would try to roughly plan out this cookout. Hamburgers, chicken, salad, etc. Once I got down to the side dishes, I realized I was just sick of the usual baked beans/chips/potato salad that goes along with cookouts. Not that they aren't great, but I want to try something new and unusual and maybe unexpected.

Maybe it is the fact I have an inordinate amount of free time (that is regulated somewhat by the whims of a 3 year old) that is influencing me or perhaps the cover of the recent Southern Living that features watermelons used to keep drinks cool is inspiring...



...but all I know is I'm on the hunt for a new addition to the ho-hum cookout. (Thanks to Mom for sharing your latest Southern Livings with me!) So, let's see what we can find for an affordable, fun, and different cookout!


{suggestions, recipes, etc. are appreciated...}

Friday, July 24, 2009

walk down the aisle

amazing. in case you haven't seen it, you HAVE to see it!
{if you are at work, you are going to need volume}

Wedding Dance VIdeo

Thursday, July 23, 2009

spotted: tacky tennessee yard art




really? i don't even have to say anything else. this speaks for itself.





{thanks allyebug for the drive by photo shoot}

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

nashville

while we are on the subject of cities, yet another stop on my summer travel circuit was the fabulous city of nashville to reunite with precious friends from wake. (the 2 months we had been apart was too much).

first of all, the friends were amazing and wonderful and i love it that we can just start back where we left off.

second of all, i love nashville. like maybe my 2nd favorite city in the southeast (to b'ham, obviously, and with winston in a close 3rd)



what is not to love about a city with a building that looks like batman?

so, let's run a few highlights from this eventful weekend. thanks for the pics, carrie!

we went to a beautiful park, percy warner perhaps? where we hiked, i mean walked, a nice little trail. we looked like the girls in madeline walking in two straight lines.



we saw the parthenon (exact replica, built in 1896, i believe, which blew us all away)


we went to some classy bars like: tootsie's (dance on stage, check), paradise park (mingle with bachelor party of 30 year olds, watch married man in party almost swallow wedding ring, chastise him for said action, then be asked if i am preggo, big check), and finally lonnies (watch funny karaoke, be harassed by bartender to order drinks, and watch twins try to sing rascal flatts butchering it so much that it sounded more nasally and twangy that rascal flatts themselves, ew, check again)




i'm sorry, are you as hung up on what that guy asked me as i was? let me repeat it, "what is going on down there, pointing to my stomach?" this is after i said "i've been married almost 4 years and i have a 3 year old" hoping to shock the guy just a bit.
i indignantly replied nothing and he proceeded to tell me he has a baby due in october (good for you, you should be taking care of her instead of hitting on us at a bar) which i think he was trying to recover with. i didn't let him off the hook, and proceeded to tell him that you NEVER ask a woman that. EVER.

(clause: for those saying, well if he thinks you look like you are pregnant, then maybe you need to suck it in or slim it down, i agree whole-heartedly. i don't want to appear that i don't know why he would ask that...that being said, the issue is in the process of being taken care of thanks to a lack of sweets, chips, and foods that are too many points on WW. :-). i think i will blame it on the delicious meals and desserts at MH Ranch! haha)

dear men- out- there- who- haven't- got- a- clue,

unless it is totally obvious that she is pregnant (as in she is 8 or 9 months and there is no mistaking it), she has told you she is pregnant, or you are at a function celebrating the upcoming birth of the baby she is so obviously carrying, DON'T SAY ANYTHING. if you feel you must, just go ahead and start bringing your foot up towards your mouth. we will let you know if we are pregnant by shouting it on the rooftops, but don't take it on your self to become a sleuth and determine prematurely who has a baby in their belly and who does not. it won't turn out in your favor.

sincerely,
all- women- who- are- not- pregnant- and- don't- want- to- be- told-they- look- like- they-are.


now that my rant is complete. the weekend was unseasonably cool for the south which felt so good. (70's and we are freezing in the south during the summer).

on sunday, we attended christ presbyterian church with maddie and her dad, and we heard some fabulous music and an even better sermon about worry which really hits home with me. (It was on I Peter 5:1-11 "Leading and Living Humbly on the Way to Glory" by Dr. Niel Nielson. Check out the link and you can listen or download!)
Of course, i promptly began worrying and being anxious, oh about 5 minutes after leaving that church, but thankfully, as the song, Before the Throne, says (and that maddie wrote about in her blog):

When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free.
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.


now, there is some encouragement for this worrier and despair-er. thanks be to Him for loving me despite me and thanks be to Him for the most wonderful group of girl friends. amen.

Monday, July 20, 2009

birmingham



I don't need this article to tell me how great the city is that I love! But in case you need some encouragement, or some affirmation like myself, or perhaps even some enlightenment, check out this article from Garden and Gun Magazine.

The Big Heart of Birmingham by Charles Gaines

Sweet Home Alabama.

Amen?

Amen.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

We're going on a bike ride



Yesterday, we ambitiously set out on a bike ride to Jenny Lake. It was 8 miles each way from Dornan's in Moose. I was hauling Wiley behind me in a trailer. Brooke and mom were on their own bikes with dad coming to meet us later in the car. When we approached the first hill (the only big one) I knew we were in trouble. Luckily, Wiley has the BEST aunt and she offered to pull an extra 30 something pounds up the hill. She and I took turns getting there (again, the BEST aunt), and my knee and legs were aching when we FINALLY arrived. We rode right along by the Tetons--a truly magnificent view! Jenny Lake was beautiful and we walked around a bit before going back. We even saw an antelope (we think) on the way back!






The way back was SO much easier (more downhill) that I pulled Wiley the whole time. He had a couple fits, then Brooke and I had a bet that he would fall asleep. Sure enough, by the time we arrived back at Dornan's, he was out like a light. We woke him up for pizza, and came back to the ranch to rest up for dinner (ha!). It was such a fun day, and it just added to an already memorable trip.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Out West

Out west we like to...

Help lead songs at the cookout and play in the band.


See old friends.


Roast marshmallows.


Watch the rain come in over the Tetons.
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps. Proverbs 16:9