Memorial Day Weekend 2010

So I did something today that I have been wanting to do for some time. It wasn't some great feat of skill or brawn. I didn't scale Mt. Everest, or run a marathon. I made hummus...

I have loved hummus for several years; probably would have loved it before, only I had never tried it until three years or so ago. In these years since I first discovered this healthy little dip, I have said that I wanted to make my own instead of buying it ready made. The trouble came when I went in search of tahini.

What is tahini exactly? Well tahini is a lot like peanut butter only made with sesame seeds. It middle eastern in origin, and there they eat it as it is or use it to make hummus and a few other things.

When I tried to find tahini, I originally didn't have much luck. Then when I did it was only sold in larger containers...What would I really do with a large jar of tahini. I would only make hummus a time or two a month and the recipe doesn't call for a large amount. Not to mention, I am the only one in my household that even eats hummus. So I just never would buy any.

So today, I am looking for something to snack on and I had a bag of baked bar-b-que Lays potato chips; the only chips I eat other than Stacy's Pita Chips. But I wanted something to go with them...hmmm...I opened the fridge to find some chick peas left over from the day I made the Cobb salad for supper. So I decided why not try my hand at some hummus. Instead of tahini, since, well I didn't have any, I used peanut butter. I must say, other than the fact that I didn't use roasted garlic and all I had was garlic powder, I think it turned out fairly well for my first try.

If you want the recipe, go to the recipes page listed on the side bar of the blog.

Let's backtrack a couple of days. Friday we left around 1:00 heading to Blacksburg, Virginia for Andrew's nephew, Christopher's graduation. He was graduating from Med school and will be heading to Michigan for his residency. The trip was somewhat stressful and took us a bit longer than expected.

Saturday morning we woke later than we had planned and rushed around trying to get ready to be at Virginia Tech by 9:20 for the graduation at 10:00. Fortunately, Andrew's brother saved us seats. The auditorium was packed and the air conditioning wasn't sufficient to cool it off. To say it got a bit warm is an understatement. The graduation lasted for close to three hours and little man lost patience with sitting still for that long. Andrew had to get up and go out with him for a while.

By 2:00 we had changed our clothes, (parked behind a Walmart, next to a bed from a semi truck), eaten, (our second Subway sandwich of the trip), topped our gas tank off and were on the road back to North Carolina. We were all glad to be back home Saturday evening.

Sunday we heard an awesome message from Pastor Mitchell. I am always thankful to be reminded that God is all I need, and all I have to do is call on the name of Jesus. His scripture text came from Exodus 3:11-15. Verse 14 being the key text. "And God said unto Moses, I AM That I AM."

There was no service Sunday night, so we just spent the afternoon and evening relaxing and enjoying the fact that Monday was a holiday.

Today started with Andrew putting Cornish game hens in the smoker along with some potatoes. I grilled some steak and my first zucchini from the garden. Andrew made brownies and I baked a blueberry bread pudding since I don't eat brownies.

The afternoon ended with Andrew and I sitting on the front porch watching the rain, listening to Chris Botti and watching the humming birds fly in and out, jockeying for position at the feeders we have on the front of the house. I would have included photo's of that but those little hummers move rather quickly. All I could get with my camera was a blur.

I had planned to plant my peas today, however, the rain had other plans. I suppose I could have gone out earlier in the day, but I was busy around with other activities and didn't make it out there. Looks like there may be rain most of the week. I will have to be on lookout for the right time to catch it when it isn't raining and try to get them in the ground.

Bed time for Little Man is drawing near, so I will wrap this up with a couple pictures from the weekend.

Dr. Christopher Thomason and his dad, Mark and uncle Andrew


Blue berry bread pudding


Flag flying on the front porch in honor of those who sacraficed it all for our country and our freedom.

The first zucchini from our garden.

Yummy on the grill with a little sea salt and cracked pepper

As of lately...

News from the home front:

Lauren is home from her two week stay in Charlotte. Taking a much needed couple of days of R and R before starting to work on Thursday.

Andrew had a golf filled weekend in Myrtle Beach and is home with a little sunburn and sore from all the golfing.

Megan did a wonderful job on the church Mother's Day photo's. She was thrilled this week to discover that her camera wasn't actually missing the mirrored lens after all. So we didn't have to send it off for repair. She is happily snapping photo's again with her own camera. She is also watching for the Fed Ex truck everyday for the last couple of days looking for her birthday present. She is getting an iPhone. She is very excited about that!

Noah and I have have been doing some planting and working in our little garden.

We have been having lots of rain the last few days. And according to the weather reports looks like more is on the way throughout the week.

For some of you who have read my facebook page you know I have been on a search for some time to find some Lady Pea seeds to plant in the garden. Sometimes they are called Lady Cream Peas. We use to grow them when I was young. My granny use to buy the seeds in DeRidder and give some to us to grow. They are a small pea, with a delicate flavor. Mixed with cornbread, they were Divine. So recently I have become obsessed with finding some. I searched the Internet when I was unable to find them locally. Apparently they are a regional crop, not grown or known of except in the far south; such as Louisiana, East Texas, Arkansas and Mississippi. The rest of the world just doesn't know what they are missing out on as far as I am concerned.

Finally I found some on eBay. Someone in Texas was selling them. I jumped on it immediately. When a couple of weeks went by and I still had not received my peas, I contacted the seller. To make a long story short, although I had changed my primary shipping address on my eBay account, my old address was still on the account somewhere, and that is the address that the seller chose to send my peas. Well, after several emails back and forth, he told me I would have to take up the matter with eBay. So I did. At first they ruled against me and decided not to refund me for the purchase. I chose to appeal the decision and after a little sarcasm on my part, they changed the ruling and refunded the full amount of the purchase. I was thrilled, although it was only six dollars and some change, for me it was the principle of the matter.

With my refund in my pay pal account, I set out to find more lady peas. Much to my chagrin, no one else seemed to have any. Well in the meantime, a wonderful friend of mine in Louisiana took it upon herself to hunt down these illusive peas. She checked several places in the DeRidder area, and although many of the "ole timers" knew what she was talking about, no one had them. She finally visited the Mennonite Nursery and there she found them! I think she was a thrilled as I was to have scored them. Yesterday I received a 1/2 pound of Elite Cream Lady Pea seeds. I am so excited. I can't wait for this rain to pass so we can get another bed made for the peas. If all grows well, I am going to get those wonderful peas of my childhood and my kids are going to get to experience the thrill of sitting around and shelling peas. So everyone wins in the deal! I don't know that my children would agree, but one day they will look back on it and be glad for the experience, I am sure of it...Thanks Dana, I owe you!

In other gardening news:

As of now, we have two and a half raised beds built and mostly planted. I have one bed designated for later season crops. Right now it has Yukon gold potatoes and sweet potatoes in it. I have two rows left to fill with something. Maybe some beans of some sort. If I can find some speckled butter beans, I think I will plant those there.

The other bed is filled with tomatoes of different varieties. Mostly Roma since we use those more often. Several types of peppers, zucchini and yellow squash, eggplant, cucumbers, lettuce, spinach and basil. I still have some room for a few other items, maybe okra and broccoli. This bed is already showing quite well. I have been pinching blooms from my tomatoes everyday in order for the plants to get established and put more energy into the roots and growth before they start to put on fruit. Apparently I wasn't as diligent as I thought, some managed to get by me. I now have several tiny little tomatoes growing underneath and tucked away behind leaves on the underside where they escaped my sight. I also have beautiful squash blooms that open so graciously every morning. I have discovered a couple of finger sized zucchini growing as well. I have already harvested and dried some basil, so this bed seems to be doing quite well.

The third, or half bed is filled with leeks, carrots, and green onion. I have space in the middle of the bed to plant more herbs like chives, cilantro, oregano and thyme.

The final bed will be filled with those wonderful Lady peas.

I do have garden photo's to post, I just haven't managed to get them downloaded onto the computer yet. I will have them posted soon.

On Books:
I just got this book in the mail yesterday. I can't wait to get started on it.

I have a couple more on order that I want to read. Other than online research and magazine reading, I haven't been doing much reading lately. I do have to say that since I got my iPhone last week, I am really enjoying the KJV Bible app. It is so convenient to read your bible anywhere you are with that.

Exercise and fitness:
It has been four weeks today since I injured my ankle. I have done very little in the way of exercising during that four week period. I did try to continue with strength training, but not as regularly as before the injury. I just got a bit discouraged that I couldn't do more. Starting today, I can begin slowly to work my way back into my routine. I have been watching what I have been eating and have stuck to my eating goals for the most part. I haven't weighed lately because I just didn't want to know I suppose. I suspect I have stayed right at the same weight through it all. Next month will be my one year mark with Curves and I had hoped to be at or near my original weight loss goal by then. With this set back and the fact that my weight loss just stopped several months ago, I don't think I will be there by that time. As of the last time I weighed, I was sixteen pounds away from my original goal. With the set back of the ankle and four weeks until the one year mark, I don't think there is any way I will get more than maybe five pounds off between now and then. If I can manage that much.

My running plan is to slowly work my way back to where I was before the injury. By doing mostly walking and very little running in the beginning. I have to admit that I am a little nervous getting back to the cardio exercise that I was doing, I am fearful of re injuring my ankle. I didn't enjoy being injured, as I am sure most people feel the same way. It was more the feeling of limitation than the actual pain. I don't like feeling that I am limited by anything other than my own desires. I think that is what this journey is about for me. Taking away the limits that I have allowed to control me for so many years. Taking back the power of choice. I understand there are limits with everything...there are things that are beyond our control and ability, but many things are in our hands to either make happen or keep from happening. So as I approach a turning point in my life, I don't want my physical body or my mind to put limits on the things I can do anymore. I want to be able to enjoy a much better life without physical limitations of illness as I get older. I know again, that things will happen, but if I do my part I am hoping to lessen the probabilities of certain preventable illnesses.

I have decided however, through this time of injury to celebrate the progress that I have made. Not to just focus on the goal but to also enjoy where I am today and realize that this is a journey, not just a goal out there to reach and then be satisfied. This is something that will continue on and on. I have allowed myself to be happy with what I have accomplished. To look at myself and be happy with now and what I have done up to this point. Before I was just so focused on the goal that I couldn't allow myself any reward for how far I have already come. But now, I am able to see my sucesses and be glad in them. No, I am not where I want to be, but neither am I where I was, physically or mentally. I am stronger, wiser and more determined to make this happen, to make the necessary lifestyle changes to be the person I want to become.

So as the saying goes; it is time to get back on the horse and continue on this journey.

Today's Quotes

Serendipity: Look for something; find something else, and realize that what you've found is more suited to your needs than what you thought you were looking for

~Lawrence Block~

Desire is the starting point of all achievment, not a hope, not a wish, but a keen pulsating desire which transcends everything

~Napoleon Hill~

Burning desire to be or do something gives us staying power- a reason to get up every morning or to pick ourselves back up and start in again after a disappointment

~Marsha Sinetar~

Cameron Antiques Day

So I had been looking forward to the Cameron Antiques Fair for some time. I kept thinking, Oh it's in October, so it should be cooler...wrong! It was hot, I was sweaty and nasty by the end of the day. I was also very tired. Again, I took Noah with me, because Andrew had something else going on...seems like that always happens when I find something I really want to do... just saying.

Anyway, so Megan, Noah and I got up early and headed to Cameron. First of all, Noah woke up on the wrong side of the bed and was in a very grouchy mood...so the day got off to a bad start. The weather gave a chance of rain, so I thought, maybe it would be cloudy...wrong again! It was sunny and very warm. So I pushed and struggled with a 75 pound stroller over the roots and sand...not to mention trying to maneuver a rather large stroller through tables that were to close together and people who don't seem to understand that you can't go between them without running over their feet. There were those who looked at me with disgust for bringing my child in a stroller. But it beats having to pack around a 45 pound child after he got tired of walking around so much. After all he is only four years old...and yes, I had to bring him along...

Maybe I was just in a bad mood from all of those things, but I really didn't enjoy it like I had hoped. I only bought a couple small things and was so exhausted when we left. But I did get a few photo's to enjoy.

Love the stars and the red watering can

Like the welcome gate, would look great in a garden

Really liked the wooden baskets, would like to have a couple, but not for the price

Lots of booths

This is where I got my star last year

Like the green chair

Noah got a Batman and Spider man...reminds me so much of my brother.

He use to have tons of these "little men" they were his favorite toys. Had to buy them for Noah.

I just like the look of this

There were all kinds of things, but the prices were a bit high. I guess I am just a bargain hunter and am pretty picky about what I spend my money on. I am not an impulsive buyer. I usually over think even the smallest of purchases. But really there wasn't anything there that I needed. I did buy a couple of turquoise blue bowls, because I love the color. I bought a handful of magazines, because I am a magazine hound and can never have enough magazines. Besides, they were only .50 cents each...couldn't pass that up.

All and all, the day was ok...I would say it was a four on a scale from 1 to 10...

On the way home we stopped in Aberdeen and ate at the Fried Green Tomatoes restaurant.
I met the owners wife while visiting a church there in Aberdeen. She told me about her husband's restaurant and I have been wanting to try it ever since.

She is a very sweet lady and I plan to go back over to the church there to visit from time to time because everyone there was just so welcoming and it felt like we had known each other forever.

We enjoyed the food and the atmosphere at the Fried Green Tomato. Looking at the menu, can you guess what I got? Okay, so I will tell you. I got a cup of Lobster and shrimp bisque and the Oyster Po' girl...surprise, surprise...when given the choice, I'll take seafood every time!

Philippe Brainos, the chef and owner asked Noah if he wanted to see the kitchen. So he took him in the kitchen to look around and meet the other cooks. Noah got a real kick out of that.

So, if your ever in Aberdeen, North Carolina be sure and give it a try. The food is good and the price is right. The fried green tomatoes are delicious!

Boats

I have always had a fasination with boats and anything nautical. I especially love to see boats lined up in a row like these. The colors and the repeating pattern of the boats are just beautiful to me.

Just thought I'd share what I was thinking about today.

Antique Fair

Just a quick post and a photo of today's events. I actually did go to the Antiques Fair in Cameron. It was something. Wow! Not enough time or money, but we had a great time. Noah did get tired and fussy, so we cut the day short.

Saw some great things, and got some wonderful ideas. If I can just remember them all.

Here is a photo of Noah holding one of our great finds today. It is a metal star that was made by the Amish in Pennsylvania. I am going to hang it on the porch.

I actually forgot I had my camera with me until just before we started to leave. These are just some quick shots of what was nearby when we started to leave. By this time, Noah was trying to climb out of the stroller. I was hot, sweaty, and dirty from walking through dirt and sandy areas. I just snapped a couple quick shots to have something to put on the blog.

This was so amazing. It is bamboo! It was like a forest of bamboo. It was big around and tall as the pine trees nearby. I have never seen bamboo this big in my life. We had some growing behind our house in Little Rock, but nothing like this. It was awesome. The photo really doesn't do it justice.

I found a few more items but I will save those for later. I am working on how to put it all together to make the front porch of my dreams, or at least something that will be inviting and cozy.

They have another Antiques Fair there the first Saturday in October. You better believe I will be there again. Hopefully then the weather will be cooler and this time, I am going prepared! I have already told Andrew to get ready, he will be babysitting that day, so I can go and really take it all in. It was hard pushing that stroller around all the booths and into the stores that were set up. But come October, I'm gonna get serious!!!

Fond Food Memories

Today we ventured out into town to see what was happening there. We were going to go to a flea market, but got side tracked at the mall. Did I ever mention how much I despise the mall? Any mall, they are all the same, and I hate them...

By the time we got out of there the kids were tired and cranky.., or was that me? Anyway, we headed on home.

I am cooking supper. On the menu tonight is: (if anyone is interested)

Chipotle Pepper Chicken breast

Scalloped potatoes

Whole baby carrots

But after browsing around the web, and one of my favorite food sites,

http://www.nolacuisine.com/2009/04/05/live-louisiana-crawfish/

I wish I was having this:

I am originally from Louisiana and this is one thing I really miss about living there. Some things not so much, like the hot humid weather, and the mosquitoes...I am sure given a little time, I could come up with a few more things...

But one really great thing about living in Louisiana...Crawfish...yes, they are ugly creatures, and if you have never tasted them, you are missing out on an incredible taste delight...Ask any true Louisianan. Nothing better than sitting around outside, swatting mosquitoes and pinchin' tails and sucking on those crawfish heads. Enjoying the spicy potatoes and corn, with the juices running down your arm, mmm...good stuff!

And when you finish you are full, happy, and if they are cooked right, you fingers are burning from the seasoning soaking into your skin...Well that is just my experience anyway.

With that image and my mouth watering, I will go check on my meal that is cooking in the oven. Not quite the delight of boiled crawfish, but I suppose it will have to do. Maybe this weekend we will get some crab and shrimp and have a boil out back on the deck and invite a few people over. Not exactly the crawfish boil of my memories, but I am sure that I can "suffer" through it...