Hurricane Update

Earlier this week I lived through my first earthquake.  I had been sitting on the couch, actually trying to make a phone call and all of the sudden I feel a shudder and my windchimes start making some noise, but the cat isn't hitting the curtain they are attached to. The the shudders get stronger and I yell to my husband, who yells back and me and pulls me into the stairway...we BOTH then yell for our cleaning lady who is in our bathroom upstairs.  She was pretty shaken up.  Husband didn't want us to go upstairs for awhile until we were sure we would have another aftershock.  The other night I felt one, but it was nothing compared to the first.

We picked up my inlaws on Thursday--it was an adventure for another blog.

Now...a hurricane. My mom cancelled her trip here, since she would have arrived about six hours ago by train, and wasn't even sure if Amtrak would be running at this point. I think we could have made it there and back safely, but she didn't want to be stressed out the entire time. I completely understand.  Now my inlaws and I are just chilling and watching CNN.  We are more or less waiting for the lights to go out but fortunately we haven't yet. It's been raining hard for more than six hours with almost sideways rain and this is the light part of the storm.

I'm worried if we lose our electricity that the sump pump will go out and our basement will flood. I'm not sure they've ever gotten this much rain.  Updates...will be forthcoming.

Countdown to Operation Full House

The real countdown starts today--one week until my wonderful in-laws will be here! One will until we meet them at the airport, instead of us having to go out there.  I don't think there is a better feeling than walking off of a plane, through the doors and seeing people that love you standing there waiting for you.  Oh it warms my heart to think about it!!  They always do it for us, and I can't wait to do it for them.  Plus, they'll feel like it is much earlier so we can keep them up late.

The guest bed is almost ready.  We picked up a box spring last night, tied it to the top of the SUV and drove the two miles home...slowly.  My husband tied all the doors shut (with me in) and then did a HILARIOUS contortionist act to get in.  Crap, he's going to cause me grievous injury me for mentioning this. (love you baby!!) Hubs was trying his hardest to get the slats made, but mother nature decided that hail was more important than my guest bed.  It will get done, along with a shower curtain and then we will be a go.  My husband might be slow to get stuff done, but since I started stressing about having the guest room done a month ago, he has been great at getting stuff done.

My mom comes in on Saturday.  If it seems that I'm not as excited about seeing her, it is because she isn't too far away and I get to see her frequently whereas I get to see my in-laws 1-2 times per year.  I am excited at seeing her, and while my in-laws go visit some other friends for a couple of days I hope to take her to the zoo. I have been promising for far too long and it's time I go back!  I'm also really psyched that my dad will get to come spend some time out here, as he still hasn't seen our house and I think the last time he saw Newton he was a teeny widdle kitten.  The day we got Newton we left the house where we picked him up, and went to meet my dad to direct him to our new house.  Newton purred the entire time, like he knew he was going to a good home.  Of course, the next time the poor thing was in the cat carrier he umm..had his manly bits removed, so he isn't exactly fond of it anymore. How did I get from dad to kitten?  Anyways, I'm excited to have all these awesome people coming to share my abode...plus now instead of just me wanting to cook there will be 4 people wanting to cook (my dad is an amazing BBQ'ing god). Food...yum.

This weekend is also going to be awesome since our friends from WV decided to come out to visit.  They only gave me 48 hrs notice, so I don't have enough time (or inclination) to stress about it.  They won't care if my house is a little messy, as long as the toddler can't pull something down and conk himself on the head.  Actually I'm pretty sure he will do this at least once, but as long as we watch, he should escape too much injury.  If he tries riding my cat though, all bets are off.  I have to go to orientation for school on Saturday morning, but hopefully we can get some fun stuff in this weekend and my husband can get some video games in with his friend.

Oh food porn--I made spiced quinoa for dinner but I made a few changes to my own past recipe. First, I went back to Roni's original recipe and added a pear instead of apple. I realized that if you get the pear before it is overripe, they aren't gritty. I can dig that.  It was a little harder than perhaps optimal, but it was still sweet and the texture was like a firm apple.  I also added some raspberries that I picked up today.  Delish. I needed to up my fruit intake and I think that this dinner did it.  I think I ate it all...well...whatever didn't burn to the bottom of the pot because I opened the lid of the quinoa and that always makes it overcook.  Note to readers: when cooking quinoa, don't open the lid...no joke, it makes it burn to the bottom. I think I might want to cut the time from 12 to 11 minutes, but I'm pretty convinced that opening the lid to check on it damned me.  If you check the link up there out, you'll see that I said this same thing months ago when I wrote the original post.  I shall never learn.

I'm sure I will be back soon with lots of pictures of adorable drooling children. I anticipate lots of snuggles, and mess.  I also anticipate Henry hiding under our bed looking terrified (which is how he normally looks).

Blog Swap #9, Meet Michele from Stories at my fingertips

Welcome to this year's 20 something bloggers blog swap! I can't wait to share Michele's entry with you. To read about my summer, hop on over:

http://www.storiesatmyfingertips.com/

Hello everyone! I'm Michele from Stories at my fingertips. I'm so excited to blog swap with Eileen here and also very excited to "meet" all of you as well! My Summer this year has really been the best one as of yet. I did so many new as well as exciting things and would like to share my Summer with you.

The first thing that I would like to start off with about my Summer is the weather! I live in Birmingham, AL and let me just talk a bit about how incredibly HOT & humid it gets down here. Though I do love living in the south with the lovely joys of sweet iced tea, fire fly catching at night in the mountain air, and fishing at yours, mine, and our neighbors...I wish the days were much kinder[read: COOLER!] Some days I don't even want to step outside during the hottest time of the day. This is also the time of year that I appreciate air conditioning and ceiling fans the most! Now, I hate to start off talking about my Summer negatively, but all in all...despite the humidity and hot sun, Summers here are still my favorite and as you read on, you'll understand why. :)

The first part of my Summer I actually spent traveling, which is one of my favorite things to do! Z[my boyfriend] and I went to visit my Aunt and her family in Denver, CO. Back to the weather talk, can I just say that I am in loooooove with Colorado weather?! I promise it seemed as if the weather was p-e-r-f-e-c-t everyday while we were there. Also while in CO, Z and I were able to embrace the Rocky Mountains, see part of my beautiful family, and we even went to the Coors Factory! Definitely one of the highlights of my Summer.

As I mentioned earlier, I also went fishing at a close friend's large pond. Our view was breathtaking! Right behind the pond were colossal mountains that just made me want to stand there and stare dreamingly at them until the sun went down. Well, to be quite honest...we were out there until the sun set because it was just a delight to be out there. We were literally almost in the middle of no where. There was no sound other than the water rippling, laughter from our company, and the whisper of the soft breeze. It was an extremely peaceful moment to go fishing out there and I hope to go again soon!

Back to traveling, I'm am originally from upstate South Carolina and this Summer I went to visit my family a few times, which is not much different from any month actually. The drive of 5-6 hours is not that bad after it's your 50th or so trip[minus the Atlanta traffic!]. Also, it is always definitely worth the because being with my family is such a joy. We always have great food, sweet company, and endless laughter. I love seeing my little sisters and meeting up with old friends. South Carolina will always have my heart.

This Summer, my boyfriend and I have also become more cautious about our exercise and health. I really love that we're working out and supporting each other during this new found goal in our lives. We currently use the Lose It app on our iPhones to distantly keep track of each other's progress. It's so much fun! I love being able to text him and be excited that I lost 2lbs or that I didn't eat any carbs that day. It might sound silly, but wanting to be heatlhy together and actually taking the initaitive to do so has definitely brought him and I closer together.

Who doesn't love a good yard sale? Well, luckily this year we were able to attend the World's Longest Yard Sale! It actually starts in Gadsden, AL and runs all the way to Michigan! Can you say, "WOW!" It was definitely an interesting experience. When I first heard of it, I didn't expect beautiful vintage toys and priceless cameras...but it looked as if everyone had hidden treasures. I know that next year, I will definitely bring more cash so that I can bring more goodies home.

I will have to admit that a lot of my Summer weekends were spent in Gadsden, AL. This is the city where my boyfriend is originally from. It is a quaint and charming little town about an hour or less from where I currently live. Neat fact, this is also where parts of Failure to Launch was filmed too! Yes....Matthew Mcconaughey & Sarah Jessica Parker where there! Back to my subject..haha, Birmingham can get so crowded sometimes with bundles of people going out and about on the weekends, so I really enjoy going to Gadsden on the weekends as a get away.

Well, that's my Summer guys! A lot of running around, enjoying the present, and discovering new adventures. Though I can say that this has been a really busy & fun Summer for me, I am really excited for Fall weather! Who's with me?!? Thank you all so much for reading about my Summer and also getting to know a little bit about me. I hope my mini novel did not hurt your eyes.

Please do come by www.storiesatmyfingertips.com and say HELLO! I would love to get to know you as well.

Thanks Michelle! This was great!

I cheat...do you?

This game called 'Words with Friends' seems to have swept the facebook and smart phone wielding world. I hated scrabble growing up. I'm not sure if it was because I watched my parents play it so well as a child or if it was because all I saw when I looked at a random grouping of words was cat, dog, and other infantile 3 letter words.  Like drawing, scrabble playing wasn't a skill I inherited, so when people started asking me to play with them I was a little leery. Leery as in, I had no expectations of being able to form a single word, and resisted even trying to play for months. I'm not sure why I gave in, but I think it was because my friend and her sister were competing over who could use the most made up sounding words and still get them to play.  I said "whatever" and gave it a try.  Now it turns out that I am not quite as bad at scrabble as I thought I was, but I'm pretty awful...so I cheat.

I admit it. I cheat by using scrabble finder to help me figure out words when I'm stumped or when I've forgotten the word that I was intending to use because I have to wait days for my opponent to make a move. Please don't stop playing with me, because I am actually getting...better.  I am seeing more words and figuring out how to make them fit for maximum pointage.  Me cheating certainly didn't guarantee that I wouldn't lose to my friend by around 150 points (I did).  It means that now I know words like umiaq, and can use it in the future.  I don't care if I win--I don't think I have yet and no one is keeping track (are you Juli?!) but I do like the idea that I am actually learning something out of this experience.

So when is cheating okay? Obviously in a fun game, when my friends joke about it, it's alright. In the real world; at your job, school etc, not so okay.  I am shockingly learning how to play scrabble better, but am still not up for playing the real game with real people unless I can cheat off my husband.  I'm glad, however I play the game, that I learning a better appreciation for something that I thought that I had written off years ago.


This all begs the question--do you cheat at games when no on is looking? Do you think it kills the point of the scrabble if someone is looking up words, even if they don't care if you win? Opinions?

Wire-work Jewelry

Lately I've been trying to get back into making jewelry. I had been pretty lazy for awhile, and now that my studio is set up and I've unpacked all my beads I wanted to get crafting!  I was really interested in trying to crochet wire. I have a crochet beaded necklace I bought in Annapolis years ago, and I thought...I can do that! After a couple of tries, I think I have the technique down.

Fluorite beaded necklace ($30)

Amethyst Beaded Necklace ($25)

I have so far made 3 necklaces; 2 fluorite and one amethyst.  Next I moved onto earrings. I really wanted to make these beautiful wire flowers that I had seen. It turns out that crocheting with wire is really hard on your fingers--who would have thought.  I guessed it wouldn't be fun, but it's pretty difficult because the wire doesn't slide at all like yarn and you can't really...start over. I struggled with these flowers, but I think they turned out pretty well in the end.

Chainmaille earrings--so much fun to make! ($12)

wire flowers ($10)

If you are interested in buying any of these--email me. I am planning on taking more pictures in the near future when I'm near my camera.

Does your cat do this?

I have an awesome cat. No, seriously, he is really awesome...when he isn't dropping toys on my face at 2am and not covering his poop (although the other cat might be the chief poop offender).  My husband was in the basement doing some work when Newton...being his normal curious self decided to investigate what was in the tool box.  The hubby decided to make him a toy by taking a zip tie, closing it and the cutting the 'tail' off. Newton is OBSESSED with this thing (he has 3 now) and they are bright orange, although my husband thinks they are pink (he's colorblind).  I finally got video of him fetching but this cat has been doing this since we got him more than two years ago.  His best trick is dropping his toys from the top landing of our stairs through the banister, then rushing downstairs to get it, and back up again.  This is why he is named Sir. Isaac Fig Newton Ward.

He was being really good and actually bringing me to, instead of dropping right out of my reach and then staring at me to get up and get it.

Family Traditions

Growing up we had a lot of awesome traditions in my Dad's family.  Some of them were around food--like the gingersnaps we all gobbled up, or the pecan rolls someone would make every year for Thanksgiving.  Other traditions, such as meeting up on Boxing Day instead of Christmas were made up out of convenience so that people weren't rushing and travelling on Christmas Day.  I do remember some raucous Christmas parties when I was little at some relatives house that involved my grandmother lighting a rum soaked figgy pudding on fire.

One tradition as a child that I loved and will always remember fondly were the plays that we would make up every year and put on. These weren't exactly elaborate plays, since most of us, at the time, were 10 and under but they were fun! We would generally steal fairy tales and rename the characters with the names of our parents.  My Dad has six siblings, so we had ample names to choose from.  I think my brother and I actually inadvertently started this tradition when I was about 4 with a stunning rendition of the Frog Prince. Actually I have no recollection of the actual play, but I assume that since someone took a picture, I was stunning.  Memories...

We haven't done plays in a awhile as 'the cousins,' as we are referred to, have grown up. We moved away when I was 10, and missed most family gatherings over the next decade since it wasn't quite as easy to keep in touch then as it is now.  I've only been able to participate in a handful of family events, mostly since I moved back to the east coast, but one tradition I always loved was the Christmas rotation.  Every year the family would sign up, and they would draw names to find out who you had for Christmas.  With seven kids and their families, the list is long, and you would get one or two people to buy presents for each year.  It worked for many years, with some awesome presents coming my way as a kid, and I happily joined in the rotation a couple of years ago. Every year at Christmas, even when we were hundreds of miles away, I would get so excited to see those packages arrive in the mail, and know that my family had thought of us.  To a kid far away from her family...it meant the world to me.

I was really saddened to find out that this year they are stopping the Christmas rotation.  I had contacted a family member in England asking if I could help with some of the cooking, since she sent out gingersnaps to everyone every year, only to find out that since the rotation wasn't going to happen...she wasn't going to make them.   Like our plays, another  family tradition that helped shape my life has ended.  It seems like a little thing, but there were years when either I didn't get any presents at all, or very few and those packages from family made my holiday.  Ever have a Christmas with no presents? It really sucks. It seems like a little thing...but those little things tell people that you care. So this year...I want to make those gingersnaps that have been lovingly made and sent out, even when they were made in October to get from England to the States by Christmas. I want to send out Holiday cards when I never cared about them before.  Maybe I can start a Christmas rotation with my cousins...the sky is the limit. I want to make my own traditions.

What are some family traditions from your childhood? Do they live on, or have they died out as you've gotten older?

Finding a Community

I first heard about the Baha'i faith in college when a girl I went to school mentioned that her parents were Baha'is and attempted to give me a little background on the faith...it didn't stick.  Years later I was married, living in WV and working as a nanny for a family that, it turned out, was Baha'i.  I still knew nothing about the faith but if you read this blog at all, you know that I LOOOOVE studying religion, and if people are willing to teach, I'm willing to learn.

For the purpose of this blog--which isn't to teach about the faith, although I'm including a little intro, I really just wanted to talk about how people live their faith.  The thing about Baha'is is that they don't proselytize. Instead they are taught to live a life of service, and in that life of service teach others about the faith through their actions and words. The Baha'i faith teaches about the concept of  'independent investigation of truth' where people are obligated to seek knowledge through their own eyes.  All Baha'is, even those born into the Baha'i faith have to decide to become Baha'is. There is no clergy, although there is a very strong administrative body.  There is no obligation on anyone to become a Baha'i, or live as a Baha'i unless they want to, and there is no condemnation of people who aren't of the Baha'i faith.

Here is a short blurb on the background and goals of the Baha'i faith from info.bahai.org:

The Bahá'í Faith is the youngest of the world's independent religions. Its founder, Bahá'u'lláh (1817-1892), is regarded by Bahá'ís as the most recent in the line of Messengers of God that stretches back beyond recorded time and that includes Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Krishna, Zoroaster, Christ and Muhammad.

The central theme of Bahá'u'lláh's message is that humanity is one single race and that the day has come for its unification in one global society. God, Bahá'u'lláh said, has set in motion historical forces that are breaking down traditional barriers of race, class, creed, and nation and that will, in time, give birth to a universal civilization. The principal challenge facing the peoples of the earth is to accept the fact of their oneness and to assist the processes of unification.

One of the purposes of the Bahá'í Faith is to help make this possible. A worldwide community of some five million Bahá'ís, representative of most of the nations, races and cultures on earth, is working to give Bahá'u'lláh's teachings practical effect. Their experience will be a source of encouragement to all who share their vision of humanity as one global family and the earth as one homeland.

Baha'is are very passionate about their faith and willing to talk at extent about how they came to the Baha'i faith, and what it means to them, and in today's world...if you ask.  For example, today we were at a BBQ with some Baha'i friends and we talked about cats, and where we lived and then my husband got in a conversation with another guest about something or other and suddenly the other man was teaching my husband about the Baha'i faith.  While I know a good deal about the faith, my husband doesn't since it is hard to teach one's spouse about anything that you are passionate about, and in my case may not know terribly well.  Having someone else there to do it was exactly what I'd been waiting for, and he seemed to really enjoy the conversations that he has had with Baha'is thus far.  I'm encouraged that he isn't immediately writing them off as that 'evil organized religion,' but my hubs loves to learn as much as I do, and is willing to gather as much information as possible if for no other reason than to have knowledge.  

Today I was struck again, about how Baha'is truly live out their faith.  They are deeply faithful, but it isn't as external as I've found in Christian and Muslim faiths.  The externalities are the greeting of "Allah-u-Abha" (God is most Glorious) as Muslim say "Salaam Aleykum" (be be unto you), wearing of religious jewelry, and religious pictures.  It is about the internal, the spiritual, living your faith in your every day life that I find so beautiful, and appealing.  No clergy, no one telling you what to do--if you don't want to be involved the in the community, no one is forcing you.  However, if you wish to be involved, if you wish to learn, the door is always open. 

I have lately longed for the friends that we left behind in West Virginia.  These friends we made soon after we were married, and  with the expectation of staying in West Virginia for years.  They are kind, honest and open people with no agenda.  My husband pointed out that the Baha'is that he  had met so far seem to fall into those categories, which made me again examine what it was about the Baha'i community that appealled to me so much.  I realized it was because they live out the morals and ethics that I had always found important and lived by, but didn't have a means to describe.  All this made me realize that I think I've found the community that I have longed for.  I can live, learn and maybe fall in love with the faith, but never be pushed, or made to feel uncomfortable or out of place.  Here is hoping for the best and learning to be a better, more faithful and patient person along the way.

Let's Dish with Millions of Peaches!

Sitting here looking back on this past weekend I wonder again how I managed to get my usually introverted husband out of the house to do so much with me! I hope he had a good time, because I had a wonderful weekend and I'd love to share some of it with you.  First, I was invited to a friend's house for a devotional meeting on Friday night (which the hubs didn't attend). Our topic was love.  Here is one of my favorite quotes from The

Hidden Words:
4. O SON OF MAN! 
I loved thy creation, hence I created thee. Wherefore, do thou love Me, that I may name thy name and fill thy soul with the spirit of life. 
http://www.bahai.com/Bahaullah/hiddenwords.htm

The Hidden Words are so incredibly beautiful, but are short enough that you can pick one or a couple of meditate on.

On my way to devotions, I picked up my friend K along the way. I met her at DaySpring this year, and love her crazy quirky spirit.  She is a love. We were early so we decided to hang out on the swings, and I took pictures of her being so silly.  I'm not sure why it it so small, but I managed to capture her in element.

Our first Let's Dish meal

On Saturday morning my hubby and I headed over for a Meetup event at a place called Let's Dish.  At Let's Dish you prepare meals in bags so all you have to do when you get home is cook them. You can take them home and freeze them (for up to three months). I really enjoyed it. While I like to cook, I have problems deciding what to do cook and I tend to fall back on the same things over and over again.  I hoped that this would extend my repitoire a little, and give me some ideas, plus since you prepare everything at their store, there is any waste.  There are 6 servings to an item, so we split them all, so that we could have a dinner and then someone would have a lunch the next day. Once again, no waste!

We had so much fun! The 80's music that was playing made the hubby happy, and the snacks didn't hurt.  Here are Christy and I. I took the apron off before I remembered we were taking pictures. The next day we made our first meal (Balsamic chicken roasted red pepper sandwiches.  They were delicious!

I'd like to put in a shout-out to my friend Juli, and her hubby and adorable ball of chub baby for coming to hang out with us on Saturday afternoon. We had fun, and it will be repeated. I think next time we need to play some board/card games.

Since the weekend wasn't quite over yet, I somehow managed to convince my anti-social husband to go peach picking with me first thing in the morning on Sunday.  First thing in the morning works better if you don't sleep until 10, and not leave the house until 11:30, but we rocked it! We didn't need many, so it didn't take too long, which was fortunate for us because it was pretty darn hot out there. At the barn, I picked up a couple of ears of corn and we hung out drinking our perquisite bottled root beer (I think the hubs got sasparilla).  They have a garden where you can pick flowers as well, but I decided instead of buying some now, that'd I'd wait until my in-laws came into town (22 days and counting!!) and take to pick flowers with which to decorate the house (and most likely feed the cat that won't stop eating anything he's not supposed to!

My dessert the last two nights

I've been going to a lot of Baha'i events since discovering how large the community in this area is, and I've really enjoyed myself!  I decided to give myself a free pass to show up to one event sans food, or drink but after that I have to bring something.  Do you have a standby food/drink to take to events?  Maybe this will be my way to getting rid of all the stuff that I love to bake.  Hmmmm... This Friday, where ever I decide to go is probably getting some sliced peaches.  Yum!!

Sunday Afternoon I stopped in for what was supposed to be a short baby devotion (think community, prayers and fellowship) for a couple pregnant members of the Baha'i community here. It was great to meet some new people, and hang with old.  After oh, about 4 hours (everyone about the 7 of us adults and kids had left) the group decided to move to another friend's house (who happen to be my neighbors) to hang out in their basement theater and watch...The Princess Bride (20th Anniversary Edition). It was HILARIOUS since all the adults had most of it memorized and we kept trying to get the kids to say 'inconceivable!' which came out as 'inspicable' (I have a sneaking suspicion that they've seen Despicable Me and knew that word).  My husband finally got to meet some of my friends and we finished out a long, wonderful weekend with a great movie, Maiwand Kabob (the best!) and some great friends.  Did I mention the hugs on demand? Having little kids around has some serious perks.