Catching Up!

So, it's been a while, and I'm sorry for those of you who have complained (ahem, Becca, Beth and Mrs. Harrison! haha) So we are making the big move next Saturday and needless to say this is a very bitter-sweet time for me and I don't really know how to feel all of these emotions at once!
I am very sad to be leaving the people that we love in Murfreesboro and our sweet church and RUF. While we have been out of RUF for a good bit of time now, it has still been fun to get to hang out with and get to know the group since we were friends with some of the people who are now upperclassmen when they were freshmen.
It is strange leaving our college town and our first home and our close friends, but it is also so exciting to be going home. Since I started college five years ago I have wanted to move home and it has only been a year or two since I really started to consider the 'Boro home. I love my family so much, even though we're all a little crazy (as some of you know!) and I am excited to get to know my Josh's family even better. So in that aspect it is very easy for us to move to Memphis! Anyway, enough of the "emotional turmoil" blogging. Here's what has been going on:

On April 25, we had A Night at the Oscars as a fund raiser for our youth group. The idea is that the students make movies and sell tickets and concessions to raise money for RYM Conference (Reformed Youth Ministries- www.rymonline.org). It was lots of funa nd we even dressed like movie stars and wore sunglasses, it was a great night and we raised over $600, which almost pays for both chaperones , of which I am one!
















On that same night we went to Club 527 to see Stephen Gordon and the Regulars (our good friend's band www.myspace.com/stephengordon -for a sampling, they're really fun to listen to) It was their last show as an original group, some are moving, others are too busy, but Stephen is getting some new "Regulars" and will continue to make beautiful music!!






These are some of our good friends Mike (the drummer) and Meagan (top-to be married Sept. 20th) and Chris (the bass player) and Kandis (bottom right, they live in our apartment complex and went to high school with Josh)

The Next Day (after the Night at the Oscars and the Concert) was graduation, so Brad, Robert, Mike, Scott and Chris had a crawfish boil at the Davis's. It was lots of fun and also fun to meet and hang out with everyone's families!

Well, after that we went to the Jazz Festival on the square in the Boro, but it was windy and cold so we went bowling!















I suppose the next thing of note in our lives after that weekend was when Josh and I went to Memphis to find a place to live and found the duplex we will be living in:














It is in the High Point Terrace area and is only a mile from our church, Independent Presbyterian Church.



After the "Finding a place to live/Mother's Day" weekend and mother's day activities, Josh took my car back to the Boro, since he had to be back at work, and I went with Mom to Birmingham on Monday to spend time with Granddad while Betty was on a trip and she was going to take me back to Murfreesboro that Friday. Well, while we were there, mom got several calls from Dad saying that Allen's (my 14 year old brother) stomach was hurting. Well, eventually, you guessed it, it was his appendix. So, we rushed back to Memphis where Allen had had emergency surgery on Tuesday night and ended up having to stay in the hospital for 3 nights! I had my first hospital stays with him, poor little guy! My mom said, "He has been so much more problematic than you girls were!" and it's the truth! The worst thing for either of us girls was a tonsilectomy! Allen has: had 3-4 sets of ear tubes, broken his arm, broken the growth plate in his foot (resulting in titanium screws, etc.), and now as had his appendix out! Boys are just rougher I guess! I really did enjoy the time in the hospital with him though, we watched Disney movies and really enjoyed being together. We took laps around the floor together with his I.V. pole and even had my friend Molly, who works at the hospital, come and visit! Oh and since I had no way to get home, I rode the Greyhound to Nashville!

After the Appendix Catastrophe, Josh got to go to the concert of his life in Atlanta: Radiohead (they only tour the U.S. when they have a new album, which is not very often and this could very well be their last album). The new album is called IN/RAINBOWS, so I made IN/RAINBOWS cookies!:

(I have tried everything I can think of to get this picture to turn around!!)

Josh said the concert was amazing! (I couldn't go because there were not enough seats in the cars and we didn't want to pay for gas for two) They didn't get back from ATL until 3 AM. , needless to say he was exausted but so excited!

After the Radiohead Concert, I suppose the next thing was our family trip to the beach where we stayed at Aunt Cathy and Uncle Buddy's beautiful beach house. It was so sweet of them to invite us and we had a great time! We even went to Waterville!!(Where Allen, the problematic child, fainted while we were in line because he was so excited!) Sally and Allen bought gigantic jawbreakers, as you can see! Wednesday, Mom, Josh, Allen and I went out on the boat with Uncle Dan and went to Perdido Key for lunch at the Oyster Bar, yummm! That night we celebrated my 23rd birthday at The Hangout with everyone, including Uncle Dan , Daphne and sweet little Taylor- which was really fun and Aunt Cathy even got me a Penguin Beach birthday cake!!!

After the beach trip , I went to Memphis on Monday for an interview at New Hope Chrsitian Academy, where I hope to be working in the Fall. I still haven't heard back from them, but hopefully I will soon!
Another exciting event which took place was a going-away party held by Jen and Jeff at their house on the 7th. It was so much fun, even though it was extremely hot, and it was so nice to see everyone and Jen made me a beautiful signature-picture-thing (what a wonderful description!-see picture) . Very unlike my usual self, I did not take any pictures!! I am regretting this greatly now!Sorry it has taken me so long to get this stuff up here and that it seems choppy sometimes, it's kind of hard to maneuver the pictures to the right spot on the page. if anyone can herlp me with this let me know! I will try to be more vigilant about updating this thing now that we are actually leaving home.

HE IS RISEN!! Easter 2008

This is our first year to spend Easter away from home. While we were missing being with our families, we still had a pretty good time! The festivities began on Saturday night with Easter Egg dying, followed by church this morning and a "family dinner" (minus Becca and Kellen and Brad and Beth-sad) for lunch. The menu consisted of smoked pork tenderloin, Jen's grandmother's potato salad, Chris's mom's green bean casserole, my cranberry congealed salad, two yummy loaves of bread baked by Jen, and a Southern Living banana pudding pie for dessert. Needless to say, we ate well! Here are some of the easter eggs we dyed:
The first step we took with this one was to cut out the silk from a tie and wrap it around a raw egg .(the tie has to be silk and the egg doesn't have to be raw, it just doesn't have to be boiled like most easter eggs) Next, we put cheese cloth around the outside of the "tied egg". Then we put the egg in a pot of water with enough water to cover the eggs, added 3 tablespoons vinegar and let the eggs come to a soft boil for about 20 minutes.
Then we took the eggs out let them cool- let them cool all the way, it won't work otherwise. Then we the wrappings off and squealed with delight!



































Next we did "marbleized" easter eggs. We dyed the eggs one light color first and then added olive oil to a darker color in a pyrex with about 1/2 inch liquid(Water, dye and olive oil). Then we swirled the oil around with a fork to create a "marbled" pattern of dye on the eggs.










The eggs come out looking like this:









Another helpful tip for egg dying: To make the eggs shiny, cover them with a light coat of olive oil!

Scallop, Shrimp and Vegetable Stir Fry (a.k.a. Our dinner for tonight!)

Here's how I made it:
2 tsp. olive oil
1/2 lb Raw Shrimp
1/2 lb Raw Sea Scallops
1 tsp Asian (Dark) Sesame Oil (Oriental section at Kroger)
1 bag of frozen stir-fry veggies (I like the kind with snow peas!)
1 Tbsp minced, peeled fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 Tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce

1. Heat a large nonstick skillet or wok over medium heat until a drop of water sizzles on it. Add the canola oil and swirl it to coat the pan. Add the scallops and shrimp and stir-fry just until opaque in the center, about 3 minutes on each side. Transfer to a plate.

2. Heat the sesame oil in the skillet. Add the vegetables and stir-fry until tender, about 1 minute. Add the ginger and garlic; stir fry just until fragrant, about one minute. Stir in the scallops, shrimp and soy sauce; cook uncovered, stirring frequently, until heated through, about 30 seconds. Serve immediately.

I served it with a side of edamame.(soy beans with a light coating of salt, you buy them frozen and then thaw them out to eat them- don't eat the shells, just the little beans inside!)

This recipe is out of the Weight Watchers "Shortcuts" cookbook. The nutrition facts are Per serving (about 1 cup): 164 Cal, 5g fat, 1g sat. fat, 0g Trans fat, 45mg Chol, 432 mg Sod, 8g carb, 2g fiber, 22g prot, 126mg calc. Points Value: 3

I loved cooking this dish! It was so much fun to peel and crate the ginger root, I have never bought ginger root or sesame oil before, they smelled so good! I think I will buy more seafood from now on, it's not as expensive as I thought. Watch out sea creatures!

New Hope Christian Academy

This is the website for the school where I want to work: http://www.newhopememphis.org I would love to teach there. Over spring break I went and had a tour of the school with the lower school headmaster. It was amazing!The school is comprised inner city Memphis kids, 80% of whom qualify for free or reduced lunch. Each family pays about $25 dollars a month for their child to go there and the rest is paid for by a private foundation. It is amazing that a Christian private school would be able to provide such overwhelming financial support for children who would not have had such a good, Christian education otherwise! I am really praying that a position will be open for the fall!

Tiny Reader

This is amazing! I would love to hear what the experts have to say about this little girl!

I am currently sitting in Dr. Campbell's (one of the prof.'s I work for) thinking about what a procrasitnator I am! I have all of these things due soon and I haven't even started on some of them. I know I will get them all finished, but it is hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Today, we are sending in our application for the apartments we want to live in in Midtown, Memphis. (http://www.apartments.com/summary.aspx?partner=hellom&page=summary&property=102399.11) We have to get on a waiting list to get in, but Clover, the girl who has been helping us (yes, her name is actually Clover) said that we shouldn't have a problem getting in in late June/early July. I am really excited about living somewhere with character, not just a white box!
Cleaning night went well, we have one more load of laundry to do. I feel so much better waking up in clean sheets and stepping onto a clean floor, seeing an empty laundry basket in the corner, taking a shower in a clean tub and drying off with clean towels that smell "Spring Fresh"! Oh and I also forgot my umbrella this morning. As I pulled into campus the bottom dropped out and I am soaked for the rest of the day! At least it's not cold out. The one good thing about the rain is that it means summer is coming!! As mom always said, "March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb."

Well, Beth found out that I have a blog, but I haven't written anything since the first post in January! Josh had his fantasy baseball draft tonight, he seemed pretty happy with his prospects. I am going to fill out my first ever March Madness bracket tonight and who knows, maybe I will win by picking the teams with the best colors! Tonight is "cleaning night, so we shall see how that goes! I bought some new organizing baskets at the new World Market that just opened and my bathroom is looking cleaner already! Yay! Well, I need to cook dinner- flank steak with balsamic vinegar sauce (Josh's loves this), corn and baby spinach salad! Yummy!

I decided to start a blog since we will soon be moving away from our home here in Murfreesboro, or "The 'Boro" as some lovingly call it, but these posts will not concern this subject for some time since we are hopefully not leaving until late-May or early-June. Mostly I will share writings about and pictures of things that are going on in our daily lives as we finish out or time in the 'Boro. Hopefully this will be help us keep in touch with friends whom we no longer have the pleasure of being with in person.