Looking Forward To…

Hiking in the Smokies

Decorating Christmas trees at work

Thanksgiving potluck at work

Thanksgiving with Andy’s fam

Playing with our 5 nieces and nephews

Thanksgiving with my fam

Playing with my two cute cousins

Turkey, dressing, cranberry salad and all the fixins

Extra time off work

Volunteer afternoon with all my coworkers

Telling people’s giving stories at daveramsey.com

Dave Ramsey’s Christmas party

Watching Christmas movies at home every night

Watching a Christmas movie at the Franklin theatre

Weekly community group

Hosting community group in a few weeks

Shopping for gifts

Wrapping gifts

Sending and receiving Christmas cards

…And that’s all within the next few weeks. I think I’m going to explode from excitement.

The Real Dealio – Occupy Wall Street Alternatives

Today I wrote a post over at The Real Dealio titled “Occupy Wall Street Alternatives.”

What is this all about?

Well, The Real Dealio is started a week ago with my friend Branden as a creative way to tell stories. The awesome twist to these stories is that they have to include mention of a handful of the Nashville daily deals we all receive in our inboxes. From Groupon to LivingSocial, from laser hair treatments to sushi, anything’s fair game. A different person has written the post each day this week, so there’s already a mixture of creative writing styles.

Head on over to The Real Dealio and check out the week’s posts. You won’t be disappointed!

How to Makeover a Cabinet

This thing of beauty was sitting in our shed when we starting renting our place.

I knew it had potential, but I didn’t exactly know what I wanted to do with it until this summer. Browsing photos on Pinterest sparked my craftiness, and I kicked it into gear this summer.

I sanded the entire cabinet and painted it with a coat (or two?) of white paint with primer in it. That combo paint is awesome and saved so much time! (Though I’ve heard it doesn’t work so well with darker color paint.) This is the kind I used:

Then I distressed it. Not as glamorous as it sounds or as beautiful as the pieces you’ll get from professionals and pay hundreds for, but hey, who cares, right? I just used some sandpaper to rough all the edges and scrape some areas around the cabinet to make it a little less perfect. Sandpaper sucks, by the way. It totally tore up my hands.

I was on the hunt for awhile trying to find exactly what I wanted to cover the inside with. I didn’t just want to paint it white; it needed some pattern and pizzaz. I was going to use scrapbook paper – glad I didn’t go that route. It would have been too frustrating and expensive. I saw on Pinterest where someone used wrapping paper – genius. With one trip to the Hallmark store, I scored some beautiful paper and got more than enough so I didn’t freak out about running out of materials.

It took me a couple of nights of measuring, cutting, and Mod Podging the paper as perfectly as possible into each area. It’s been a long time since I’ve worked with Mod Podge, so I got a little frustrated. Once I laid the paper and painted over it to seal it on, parts of the paper crinkled. However, they dried flat. Yay! I also cut more than needed for each section and then used a really sharp box cutter to cut around the edges.

Here’s the final product. I am so happy with the way it turned out!

For the most part, this was an easy project. The key is to score a great piece to work with and fixing it up to make it your own and giving it a new life. This project cost me a total of about $15!

That’s a hill of beans

Forty servings of chili calls for a lot of beans. Good thing Andy and I won’t be eating it all!

I did indeed make that much chili this weekend. And I meant to. I’ve never made that much of a dish at one time, so I felt quite accomplished. I made it all in preparation for a meal swap I have coming up with four other women. One of them is pregnant and wanted to stock her freezer with some easy-to-prepare meals, so the rest of us were happy to try out this swap and save ourselves some time with cooking for a couple of weeks. Once we swap, we will each get two 4-serving dishes of each entrée.

This is the view of the kitchen counters when it struck me what an organized mess I had going on throughout Sunday and I had already made 8 servings. Now that I look at it more, it doesn’t seem like a big mess, just a lot of cans. And meatloaf that I was in the process of making. But is was definitely a little overwhelming in person.

So are meal swaps worth the upfront investment of time and money? Is it worth it to put your dinner options in someone else’s hands? What do you think? Stay tuned for my answer in a few weeks.

Reading Rainbow

Back in January or February, I set a goal to finish reading the entire Harry Potter series in time to watch the final movie in the theatre in July. (I started with book 5. I think I subconsciously took a sabbatical from the series when it was all the craze.) For many people, that goal could be accomplished in less than a month … but have you seen how many pages those books are?! A total of gazillion pages actually for books 5-8. Along with all the other stuff going on in my life, I figured that was a reasonable goal since I’m not a speed reader and have slacked on my book-reading for a while.

Well, I finished the series a couple of weeks early and did indeed watch the final movie in the theatre with my Potter-loving friend Jenny. Definitely a nerd fest that evening, but we don’t care! We just appreciate brilliantly written stories!

Jenny and I after watching Harry Potter 7.2.

I didn’t intend for this post to be a tribute to Harry Potter – though it is definitely worthy. J.K. Rowling definitely has a gift of storytelling and has inspired millions of people around the world to read more, including myself.

Since finishing the series, I have definitely been on a reading kick. Nothing can take the place of picking up a tangible book and winding down at the end of a busy day in my comfy chair or bed. Or sitting outside taking a break from daily office life and going to a different world with a few words printed on paper. Or sitting on the beach under an umbrella and falling asleep with a book in hand and the crashing of waves ringing in my ears.

Perfect view at Seagrove Beach, FL

Some books I’ve finished recently include:

• A Walk Across America and The Walk West – Peter Jenkins
• Blowing My Cover: My Life as a CIA Agent – Lindsey Moran
• Heaven is for Real - Todd Burpo
• The Traveler’s Gift and The Final Summit – Andy Andrews
• The Big Book of Food and Nutrition - Mike Zimmerman (of the Men’s/Women’s Health magazine gang)

I still have a long list of books I want to read, so I should probably get off the computer and start reading them, huh? I might report on a few of them (but of course not your standard boring 4^th grade book report) because I enjoyed them so much. So stay tuned. But don’t hold your breath. This blog may or may not have a track record of being sporadic.

If you really love books and appreciate good writing, you should check out my co-worker Robert’s blog, 101 Books. He is in the process of reading Time’s 100 greatest books of all time (plus Ulysses) and he’s about 25% of the way to his goal. He’s writing entertaining version of Cliff Notes on many of these big and boring books that I plan to never read, while providing interesting fill-in posts between summary reports. Hey, the guy even read Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret – HA!

What book are you reading right now? What recommendations do you have for me?

Enjoying time at a local bookstore in Rosemary Beach, FL.

Continuing with the Habitat Women’s Build

This weekend I am participating in the local Habitat for Humanity Women’s Build again. A few Saturdays ago, I put my “expert” painting skills to use and painted siding all. day. long. Thankfully, I didn’t have to tackle the entire house by myself; that would have been a silly disaster. I met some great people and had some fun conversations, which I’m sure will happen again this weekend, though the siding is all painted now. Maybe they’ll put me in charge of indoor electrical or plumbing work!

If all goes as planned, next weekend is the final weekend of this build and the landscaping and finishing touches will be the focus. I’m looking forward to being a part of finishing the house for a young mom and her kids in Fairview.

Here are some photos from the day of painting:

Cheryl and I at the end of the workday.

I stood on scaffolding for a good part of the day ... and didn't fall. A huge feat for a klutz like me!

How much info is too much?

For someone like me who enjoys consuming a lot of information about a variety of interests, living in the Information Age is awesome. I can’t even fathom how much information is available at my fingertips 24/7. Not even counting the crappy spam sites out there.

And new info is updated constantly. New sites are created constantly. New social media tools are developed constantly. It becomes a never-ending battle if you must stay up-to-date on everything in the news, technology, people’s lives, tweets, texts, the latest auctions, and anything else you can think of.

Call me old-fashioned, but I do not understand how people stay up-to-date at all times. And why would you want to anyway? I am getting overwhelmed just thinking about it.

That’s why it’s important to have boundaries so you don’t go crazy. There’s gotta be a time when you say I’ve had enough. There’s no point to add something else to my life to suck up my time.

Some boundaries I’ve set for myself:

• Facebook is my central online hub. Becoming more selective about “friend” requests. Hiding the “noise” I don’t care to know about other people. Seriously, I don’t need or even want to know everything. Thumbs up for customization.
• Only check Twitter occasionally at work. I mainly only follow work-related stuff there anyway. If someone wants to follow me on Twitter, joke’s on them.
• No smart phone. I’m connected enough already.
• No texting. Just call or email or Facebook or IM at work or come see me in person.
• And please, if we do actually see each other, unglue your face and fingers from your phone and let’s talk face to face. What’s the point of being together if you’re so focused on your online world? You have no clue how much this habit irks me!

What are some of your personal technology and information boundaries?

For the love of pizza

photo credit

Old-school Thursday nights. The Simpsons. Homemade pizza.

Chicago. The Cubs. Deep-dish pizza. (see photo and drool)

Rome. Café near the Colesseum. Margarita pizza.

First date with Andy. Mellow Mushroom. Groovy pizza.

Favorite movie. Home Alone. Little Nero’s Pizza.

Love love love me some pizza. It’s really in every part of life.

There’s no wrong way to make it. There’s an infinite number of toppings. It’s a crowd pleaser. It can be cheap or gourmet. I want to eat some right now, especially after talking with my coworkers about the best pizza we’ve ever had. One of my coworkers who has a highly refined taste buds said his favorite pizza ever is a thin crust pepperoni pie from Dominos. REALLY?! I agree that sometimes you just gotta have a cheap and tasty meal from Dominos, but give me a break. (Break me off a piece of that … Fancy Feast!)

My favorite pizza is any kind of deep dish from Giordanos in Chicago. Maybe that’s because I haven’t had it in so long and have just idolized it even more in my head since then. But besides that, I gotta go with our homemade varieties. I make a whole-wheat thin crust and then top it with whatever I’ve got in the fridge and pantry – usually green peppers, onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, spinach, black olives, feta cheese, and usually some kind of meat like ground Italian sausage. See, pizza can definitely be healthy!

And I like to drink cold milk with my pizzas at home.

It’s true. Everyone thinks I’m weird. I blame it on my parents for making me drink milk with dinner all the time when I was little.

Andy and I both love Mellow Mushroom. Even though it’s a chain restaurant, there’s no denying that they make some amazing pizza that keeps us coming back for more (though we actually go there once or twice a year). Andy loves the Mighty Meaty (extra mighty) and my fave is the Mega Veggie with a few substitutions. See menu here. On our first date, he actually compromised his love for meat for potential real-life love; we split a pizza with just a few toppings. Now that we’re locked in for life, we’ll be ordering our own fave pizzas when we go from now on – no compromise!

After I wrote this, I realized this is my second post fully devoted to pizza in less than a year. What is wrong with me?! Here’s the previous one with a link to the whole-wheat crust recipe.

What is the best pizza you’ve ever tasted?

A Child of the King

Our speaker at this week’s company devotional time ended by reading the copy below. He read it with passion and excitement, but not in a cheesy way. I encourage you to do the same.

I AM A CHILD OF THE KING

Because of who Jesus Christ is, and because He is my Savior and my Lord:

I am a child of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, seated with Christ in the heavenly realm. I am chosen, accepted, and included – a citizen of heaven and a member of God’s household.

I am loved by God unconditionally and without reservation.

I belong to Him, having been bought by Him with the precious blood of Jesus. I have eternal life and will be saved from all of God’s wrath to come – guaranteed!

I am a Christian. I am not just different in what I do. My identity has changed. Who I am has changed. Everything has become brand new.

I am a dwelling place in which God lives by His Spirit. I have access to Him anytime, anywhere, for any reason.

I am God’s creation – His workmanship. I was created by Him and for Him, so who I am and what I do matters. I am spiritually alive. I have been set free from the fear of death and have been given life to live and enjoy to the full.

I am forgiven – completely, totally, and absolutely.

I have been rescued from the dominion of darkness and brought into the Kingdom of light – the Kingdom of the Son.

I have been freed from the penalty of sin and the power of sin.

I am an enemy of Satan and at war with spiritual forces of evil, but greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world.

If God is for me, it doesn’t matter who or what stands against me, because nothing and no one can separate me from the love of Christ -not hurt, pain, loss, problem, or brokenness; not persecution, trouble, difficulty, or danger; not abandonment, abuse, addictions, or appetites; not desires, food, sexuality, or relationships; not life or death, angels or demons; not my past, the present, or the future; no power, no person, no place, not anything in all creation; not even Satan himself shall prevail.

I am in the hands of Jesus, in the hands of God, and nothing and no one can snatch me out of God’s hands.

I will fear no evil because God is with me, and He has promised to never leave me nor forsake me.

God’s presence is with me everywhere I go -to the heights of heaven, through the valley of the shadow, to the ends of the earth – forever and always.

I Am a Child of the King and choose this day to live as one.

(by Dr. Ed Laymance)

Man vs. Food Nation: Nashville

Photo from travelchannel.com

Now that it’s prime football season once again, Andy and I have upgraded our cable TV package, and so far we are enjoying every minute of it! I’ll probably be saying I can’t wait until we get rid of all this TV! come November, but for now, we’re catching up on some shows we like in addition to college football.

One of the shows we really like is Man vs. Food / Man vs. Food Nation. If you’re unfamiliar with the show, here’s a brief catch-up: The host, Adam Richan, travels the country and goes to about three local restaurants in each town. He takes viewers back to the kitchens to see how a particular dish at each establishment is made. Then we watch him eat it and drool on ourselves because we wish that was us. The climax of the show is when he (and now others) take on a ridiculous, legendary food challenge. Some dishes are extremely hot beyond words and others are enormous amounts of food that have to be eaten within a certain amount of time – none of which I will ever attempt.

This is probably old news to most of you Nashville-area readers, but within the past few months, he came to Nashville. In the episode, a country group called the LoCash Cowboys scored a good PR hit by being talked up on this show and attempting the challenge of a 72 oz. steak + all the extra fixings at Rooster’s BBQ. Ok, so being from the Nashville area, we should know who this country duo is, right? Well, we had no clue. I seriously bet no one else does either. I would have loved to see Keith and Nicole or the Paisleys take down that food challenge! At least someone we all know and love named Vince Gill showed up and redeemed the famous-people-sighting on MvF:Nashville to show that we actually do have well-known celebrity neighbors!

Besides all that, we thought the show represented Nashville pretty well, showing off our awesome skyline, the hyperactive lights and activity along Broadway, and the Grand Ole Opry. Oh, and the eateries, too, which was the main reason for visiting! Well, we had never heard of the aforementioned Rooster’s, but we will definitely be going there soon. The first place Adam went was Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack. I will definitely not be eating there because I like fried chicken non-hot so I can actually enjoy it. I’m sure Andy will make a trip there, though. He also went to Pancake Pantry in HillsboroVillage– how can you not love that place? They have 23 kinds of pancakes there, so since we’ve been there together once, we have to go back at least 22 more times. Anyone want to join?

It’s fun to see our little part of the world featured on fun shows like this. I’m always curious to know how all these food and travel shows pick the places they profile. I know a lot of it is PR and marketing stuff, but there’s gotta be more to it. Do fans bombard the host/producers with suggestions? If so, I will lobby for them to visit Franklin and Bell Buckle!

Where do you suggest the Man vs. Food Nation crew stop at on their next visit to Nashville? My picks off the top of my head are Mickey Roo’s BBQ, Oscar’s Taco Shop and Pied Piper Creamery.