Visiting Grandpa Pharr and Grandma Jean

September 27, 2010

We went to visit Grandpa Pharr and Grandma Jean in Cabot. We sat outside and watched the birds and had dinner at Dixie Cafe. Fried corn-on-the-cob is my new favorite! It was a lovely day. :)

This was taken on our way to DC. You can see my forehead in the rear-view mirror, so it's a picture of the three of us! Isn't he cute in his hat?

Rooting It

The parsnips don't look as pale in this picture.

I sauteed the onions in butter for 10 and then cooked them on low for another 20...and finally simmered them in the broth for at least two hours...and they're STILL crispy!

September 26, 2010

Today I used my new (and free!) cookbook by Brenda Roscher for cooking for IBD's (Irritable Bowel Diseases: Crohn's and Colitis), and made homemade French onion soup and roasted root vegetables. I found it a little odd that so many onion recipes were in the cookbook because, well, you know.

I still don't know how the onions are STILL crispy after simmering for hours...and I did probably put a touch too much of wine...but the soup was delish.

But the vegetables were truly the best part! I could go on and on about my love for roasted potatoes and carrots--especially when they are sprinkled with rosemary. (I really need to mix up some herbes de Provence to make it really special.) These were wonderful, and I discovered a new vegetable I enjoy: parsnips.

They're a relative of the carrot, appearing just like your average carrot with a much paler skin. I think they have a stronger carrot flavor, though I read they sometimes taste like a mixture of carrots and sweet potatoes. Either way, they were yummy in this dish of carrots, potatoes, and celery! (I omitted the onion as I pretty much used all the onion in the state for the soup. ;)

I regret I didn't have the nerve to try a bite of the parsnips raw...
Thank goodness I chose these over the rutabagas!

Closing books shuts out ideas.

[photo courtesy http://thebooksmugglers.com/2009/09/banned-books-week-2009.html]

September 25, 2010

Banned Books Week has started!
Go read something that someone thinks you shouldn't. ; )
I think I'm going to finally read Nabokov's Lolita. : )

~*~Hope~*~

September 24, 2010

First of all, I found this beautiful marriage prayer during my daily devotional here (http://lysaterkeurst.com/2010/09/the-wedding-prayer/?#comment-101493) and decided to insert our names:

Father in Heaven, thank you for this husband Zach, and wife, Ashley, and their commitment to Christian marriage. As we look ahead, we pray that their future will never lack the convictions that make a marriage strong.

Bless this husband, Zach. Bless him as provider and protector. Sustain him in all the pressures that come with the task of stewarding a family. May his strength be his wife’s boast and pride, and may he so live that his wife may find in him the haven for which the heart of a woman truly longs.

Bless this wife, Ashley. Give her a tenderness that makes her great, a deep sense of understanding, and a strong faith in You. Give her that inner beauty of soul that never fades, that eternal youth that is found in holding fast to the things that never age. May she so live that her husband may be pleased to reverence her in the shrine of his heart.

Teach them that marriage is not living for each other. It is two people uniting and joining hands to serve You. Give them a great spiritual purpose in life. May they seek first Your kingdom and Your righteousness, knowing that You will sustain them through all of life’s challenges.

May they minimize each other’s weaknesses and be swift to praise and magnify each other’s strengths so that they might view each other through a lover’s kind and patient eyes. Help them every day to be kind and gentle, more like Thee. Give them a little something to forgive each day, that their love might learn to be long-suffering.

Bless them and develop their characters as they walk together with You. Give them enough hurts to keep them humane, enough failures to keep their hands clenched tightly in Yours, and enough of success to make them sure they walk with You throughout all of their life.

May they never take each other’s love for granted but always experience that breathless wonder that exclaims. “Out of all this world, you have chosen me.” Then, when life is done and the sun is setting, may they be found then as now, still hand in hand, still very proud, still thanking You for each other.

May they travel together as friends and lovers, brother and sister, husband and wife, father and mother, and as servants of Christ until He shall return or until that day when one shall lay the other into the arms of God. This we ask through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, the great lover of our souls. Amen.

I leave you with this:

[photo courtesy http://cdn.pitchfork.com/media/9043-begin-to-hope.jpg]

"This is how it works:

you're young until you're not;
you love until you don't;
you try until you can't;
you laugh until you cry;
you cry until you laugh,
and everyone must breathe until their dying breath.

No, this is how it works:

you peer inside yourself,
you take the things you like
and try to love the things you took,
and then you take that love you made,
and stick it into some, someone else's heart,
pumping someone else's blood,
and walking arm in arm,
you hope it don't get harmed,
but even if it does,
you'll just do it all again..."

-"On the Radio"

Gryffindor Scarf

September 23, 2010

At least something is going right...
so far...

Happy First Day of Autumn!

pictures above are from my first year of grad school
(I didn't get any pictures during my undergraduate years. Even in grad school, my phone still stunk.)
pictures below are from my second year of grad school

September 22, 2010

I sure miss seeing the magic tree outside of Irby...*
I am more than ready for cooler weather, crispy mornings, sweaters, boots, scarves, hats, gloves, pumpkins, scarecrows, golden leaves, and fall foods like the butternut squash we had last night.

*It's "magic" because it's leaves always changed days and weeks before all the other trees. That's how you could tell fall was actually coming. : )

Brick by Brick

September 21, 2010

I finally finished destroying this skyscraper.
Lego sorting really is back-breaking work unless you are under the age of 12. ; )
The dust collected on the bricks didn't help either...
...but it's D-O-N-E!

Pineapple...I get the pine, but where's the apple?

[photo courtesy http://gomestic.com/cooking/cutting-a-fresh-pineapple/]

September 20, 2010

There is nothing like eating a fresh pineapple you picked...out. :)

Our First Wedding Anniversary

September 19, 2010

Happy anniversary...to us!
We have been together for exactly two years and have been married for exactly half of that.
(In case you didn't know, we met on September 19, 2008 and married exactly one year later. : )

We celebrated atop West Mountain with a sunset picnic paired with a bottle of (VERY strong) [cran]Berry Christmas wine from our reception. At home, we squirmed while watching our wedding video (It's just awkward seeing yourself on tape!), and we listened to all the things Alan said that we didn't hear the first time. *lol* We also laughed over our funny wedding pictures and ate a piece of our reception cake--chocolate with cherries, a variation on the very first cake we ever made together.

I cannot wait to use my personalized stationery, and I know Zach liked his Brick Journal book because he already poured over it last night!

Here's to many, many more times together... : )

This is where we had our reception: a former magic theatre turned glow-in-the-dark T-Rex mini golf!

getting ready to open my present: personalized stationery, wax seal set, and Lego rose in a memory box

Zach flipping through his Brick Journal Compendium

We walked along Bathhouse Row...

...and stopped for refreshments in The Arlington, which I first visited when I met Zach's parents in December '08.

the view from West Mountain

our favorite

our wedding cake nine months old...as old as the wine

"Happy birthday, Bobby" cake

September 18-19, 2010

I made my favorite father-in-law a birthday cake yesterday, which we surprised him with today after a birthday lunch at Cajun Boilers. If he happened to see it, we were going to say it was an anniversary cake for us, and I waited to ice "Happy Birthday" on it this morning after he went to church. I accidentally gave him my phone to look at some pictures after I had taken pictures of the finished cake! Oh no! But I said I needed it back because it had a picture Zach didn't need to see. *lol* "Anniversary" makes a great cover, even though he said he knew something was up. ; )

It was a really yummy cake, and I just love the icing tricks I've learned! Keeping the spatula moist definitely helps to get a smooth surface.

Happy (late) birthday, Bobby! We love you!!

Cake Decorating and County Fair

September 17, 2010

Beverly showed me some more cake decorating tips and techniques today.

stars, lines, zigzags:

writing:

shells:

leaves, vines, star flowers, twisted flowers:

sweet peas (which weren't so attractive), rosebuds (which were):

chrysanthemums, and the beginning of roses:

We also did clowns, as you can see, and it is super easy to make them!

At night we went to the Garland County Fair with Erin and Josh, and, oh, boy, was the demolition derby fun! Josh was nice to treat us. We found the second heat the most interesting when a station wagon got stuck on top of another car, one flipped, and several were smoking.

But you certainly saw some interesting people there...

We also enjoyed cotton candy and corn dogs and dill pickles, and we looked at the lights and animals. Carnival food is the best! I can't wait until the State Fair so we can see the bunnies this time. :)

Sneak Preview

September 16, 2010

After gelato with Anne, I headed to Michael's, where I discovered the jewelry-making section. Oh my goodness! So many goodies to be found! I wanna make necklaces STAT!

This is a pin I found, just a preview of what is to come...

Jazzy

September 15, 2010

Tonight Zach and I attended a performance at Quapaw Baths as part of Hot Springs' annual JazzFest. We arrived late--thankfully not as late as some others--so we had to scramble for seats and hor d'oeuvres.

As you can see, we were definitely the youngest people there. ; )
(We're really 60 inside!)
But I did see an older lady in a Wilco shirt and was rather confused by it. *tehe*

The ensemble played "Moon River."
(Cue me swooning.)

Happy birthday, Aunt Jeannie!

September 14, 2010

Last night Aunt Jeannie stayed with us because she is working at Lake Hamilton today, and we celebrated her birthday with French vanilla cake topped by my now "[facebook] world famous" poached fruit. It was yummy. :) Happy birthday!

We also learned that Trenton Lee Stewart, author of The Mysterious Benedict Society, attended high school at Lake Hamilton, as did a Playboy Centerfold. We couldn't believe they put THAT on their website.

Poached Peaches and Apples

September 13, 2010

Tonight I made scrambled eggs and French toast with poached fruit for dinner.

I have always wanted to try poached pears--I'm not a big fan of pears, so I think that poaching them would improve them for my palate. :)

Well...we had two fresh peaches left from a roadside stand we passed in Conway on Saturday. There were several Granny Smith apples.

So I put some Merlot, brown sugar, water, and dashes of cinnamon and ground cloves on. I cored and peeled the apples and added them. When they were halfway done, I added the peaches, peeled.

Once they were done, I removed the fruit and cut it up while the sauce simmered down. Then I added them back in, and we served them atop the French toast.

SOOO GOOD!!!
I forgot to take a picture at the beginning of the meal, especially as I was running behind and we were trying to watch the season premiere of House. As you can see, not much was left.
Oh, I could just drink the sauce with a straw!

Ham and Beans with Cornbread

[photo courtesy http://eattolivelivetorun.wordpress.com/2009/12/18/a-little-overboard/]

September 12, 2010
Zach is schooling me in the art of bean-loving.
Ah, the things you do when in love...
*tehe*

In my defense, I already like chili, certain bean soups, bean salsa, and bean dip including hummus!

Byrds of a feather flock together

September 11, 2010

The annual Powell Family reunion took place at Woolly "Holler" State Park with family, food, and festivity. Here, when the McGinty side of the family play together, is the most entertaining part of the show...other than the interesting stories we tell of each other!

We were moving last year and missed the reunion. :(

I love my mama!!

Lake Bennett was really low...

...and snakey!!

Zach finally got to meet my sister Linda Diane!

Seal Ice...Ice Seal

Everyone is always sneaking off... *lol*

Nick-Nick stole my camera.

We had so much trouble getting a "girl cousins" picture!

girl cousins and their mamas

Aunt Lura and I looked angelic.

sisters-in-law

Lord knows what Uncle Ronnie was saying...

...because Aunt Lura was having such hard time keeping a straight face!