Vacation

Summer is here! Last week, we went to Atlanta to spend a few much-needed vacation days. It worked out perfectly for a myriad of reasons, but one of them was that my mom and Larry were going to be in Mississippi for the first part of the weekend attending my stepbrother's high school graduation, so we were able to house/dog sit for them and have the entire house (and pool) to ourselves for three days!

We left Jackson after work last Thursday. As always, it seems like there was a rush out the door, hurriedly throwing things into suitcases. Someday we're going to pack for a trip at least a day in advance :-) We drove into Atlanta that night, with a stop in Murfreesboro where we ate dinner with Arica, Adam, Ailidh and Dylan at Cracker Barrel. It was so good to hang out with them! After fighting through an hour long traffic jam (at midnight!) in Chattanooga, we made it into Atlanta in the early hours of the morning.

Friday and Saturday we had the house completely to ourselves and we just relaxed. We hung out in and by the pool (although Donna Maye kept trying to save us!), watched movies, played pool and ate some awesome food! Saturday night we treated ourselves to a wonderful dinner at One Midtown Kitchen in downtown Atlanta. The restaurant is located on the edge of Piedmont Park (where the Atlanta Jazz Festival was happening!) and is very classy and modern. The menu changes every day and the food is unbelievable! Interestingly, my first time at One was right before my senior prom- haha! So, of course, I wanted to go back with Austin for a romantic dinner, which it was :-) We began our meal with calamari with sweet and sour sauce and artisan bread. For the main course, Austin had the special for the evening, the duck, and I had Monkfish! So delicious! For dessert we ordered a heavenly chocolate dish! Here are some photos (yes, we're nerds and took pictures of our food!):

Austin's delicious duck

Elizabeth's marvelous monkfish

Part of the interior of One

Sunday we went to Six Flags over Georgia! Neither of us had been in years, or even gone to an amusement park together, so it was fun to enjoy that experience! We paid extra to get the Gold Flash Pass (we justified it since we didn't have to pay for lodging) which meant that we would "make a reservation" for a ride, then (at most) 15 minutes later, we could walk up the exit ramp to the rides and get right on! We certainly felt like VIPs. This also enabled us to enjoy more rides. We arrived at the park about 11 a.m. and left about 7:30 p.m. In that time span we rode: the Georgia Scorcher, the Log Jamboree, Goliath (twice), Antique Cars, Monster Mansion, Dahlonega Mine Train, Superman, Great American Scream Machine, Thunder River, Batman, Mindbender (only Austin went on that one), the Sky Buckets,  and the Six Flags Railroad. We also ate Dippin' Dots and split a hamburger and fries. It was such a wonderful day! 

Monday, of course, was Memorial Day, and Mom and Larry had returned from Mississippi on Sunday evening. We just hung out with them and then had an early dinner/cookout by the pool with some friends and family. We finished off the evening with watching "The Bachelorette"! We couldn't miss it just because we were on vacation!

Tuesday, Mom decided she wanted to spoil me and so we had a girl's afternoon. We had a delicious lunch at a family run Italian restaurant called Ippolitos, I got a summer haircut and Mom bought me two new dresses and two pairs of shoes! We hadn't really spent time like that together in a long time. 

Wednesday, Austin and I slept in a little bit, ate lunch with Mom and Larry and then headed home! We had one brief stop in Nashville for Tazikis, but we made it home in the early evening. We enjoyed our Atlanta vacation, but it is so nice to be home!

From one servantless cook to another...

This weekend, I watched the movie, "Julie and Julia" for the first time in years. It is so charming that I must conclude that it is one of my new favorite movies. The movie's message about perseverance despite life's many challenges is inspiring. It's also fun to examine how each couple's marriage is portrayed. I found myself laughing when I saw a scenario that closely resembled a situation Austin and I have been through. In particular, the scene where Julie (Amy Adams) drops her stuffed chicken on the floor, and she cries like a "small, emotionally disturbed child" cracked me up! 


Now, not only do I want "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" for Christmas, but I am more inspired to cook delicious food for Austin and me on a regular basis. Ever since we got married, I have struggled with making dinner at night. It pains me to admit it, but I have, on more than one occasion, bought a bunch of groceries with the intention of cooking and then ended up going out. Then, of course, the food from the grocery is no longer fresh so it goes to waste. I could spend lots of time feeling guilty about this, but instead I am choosing to recognize that I now know what is realistic to expect. 


Like many Southern women with super-moms and grandmothers, I thought that when I got married I would: get up at the same time every day, make breakfast, go to work, exercise, come home and cook dinner (promptly ready at 6 'clock), get some chores done, spend time with my husband, then go to bed. It took me a while to realize that this was an unrealistic expectation of myself! I'm not saying this kind of routine is impossible, but it is definitely unrealistic for me right now! Instead, I: get up at the last possible minute, arrive to work just in time, maybe eat breakfast, work, skip exercising (who has energy for that?!), maybe cook something simple (or go pick up something from Chick-fil-A), throw a load of laundry in the washer or dryer, watch a movie with Austin, fall asleep on the couch, drag myself up the stairs, have an unexpected burst of energy, then go to bed much later than I would prefer. Haha! Some of that is an exaggeration, but the point is that instead of holding ourselves to a really high standard (perfected over the course of 20 years by our moms!)  we should focus on one thing at a time, one day at a time, and extend ourselves plenty of grace! In striving for perfection, we miss precious things in life. Besides, having a gourmet meal on the table and an immaculate house is not our purpose in life! Glorifying God with our lives is the most important thing- glorifying him in our relationships, our attitudes, our activities, etc. For me, this very practically means that I choose to spend time hanging out with Austin instead of attacking my house in a cleaning frenzy as often as I would like! 


Now that I've realized what is realistic, this weekend I discovered, once again, how much I enjoy cooking! Thanks to Pinterest, I've been trying out some wonderful new recipes! I really want to share the meal that I made for Austin, Mary and me on Saturday night. 


Menu: Homemade pasta with Pastor Ryan's Bolognese Sauce (from Pioneer Woman) with fresh steamed broccoli and Homemade Braided Bread with sparkling red grape juice to drink. It was delicious!


Here are the recipes:


Pastor Ryan's Bolognese Sauce 







Ingredients: 

• 1/2 cup Olive Oil
• 1-1/2 cup Grated Carrots
• 1 whole Large Red Onion, Diced
• 2 pounds Ground Beef
• 2 Tablespoons Dried Oregano
• 2 Tablespoons Dried Basil Flakes
• 1 can (6 Ounce) Tomato Paste
• 5 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1 cup (to 2 Cups) Red Wine
• 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire
• 2 cans (28 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes
• 1 cup Milk
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• Fresh Parmesan Cheese

Preparation Instructions: 

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or skillet over medium heat. Add grated carrots and onions and cook for a few minutes. Make a well in the center of the mixture, and then add in the ground beef. Cook for a few minutes until brown, gradually stirring it into the carrot mixture.

Throw in oregano and basil. Use fresh if you have it; if you don’t, it’s fine. When the meat is browned and combined with other ingredients, make another well. Add tomato paste and let it heat. Add garlic and stir to combine.

Make a well in the center of the mixture and add red wine. Stir together. Add Worcestershire and stir. Add canned tomatoes. Finally, pour in milk, stir, and let simmer for 30 minutes to 2 hours—however long you need.

Serve with pasta and a generous sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.

Homemade Pasta

Ingredients: 

• 6 whole Eggs
• 3 cups All-purpose Flour

Preparation Instructions: 

Rule of thumb: Two eggs per one cup of flour

Make a well in the center of your pile of flour and crack in your eggs. Slowly mix together with your hands. Turn it out onto a floured surface and knead (roll, punch, push, etc.) by hand until dough becomes smooth and pliable, adding flour to the board as necessary.

Let the dough rest for a little while before rolling it out. You can sort of figure on one egg per person to determine how much dough to make. Example: Two eggs and one cup of flour would make enough pasta dough for a dinner for two.

When you’re ready, roll it out on a floured surface as thinly as it’ll go. The noodles will plump up quite a bit when they boil in the water, so the thinner you can roll it, the better. Cut the noodles really thin. You can use a sharp knife (if you can keep it in a straight line), a pizza wheel, or a long pizza/bread cutter.

To cook the noodles, just boil them in salted water (very important!) for probably two minutes. They cook lightning fast, so don’t let ‘em go too long.

Braided Bread

Makes 2 loaves

1/4 cup warm water
2 ½ tsp yeast (or one yeast packet)
1 Tbl sugar
1 cup hot water
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbl butter

2 ½ cups flour
1 egg
1 ¾-2 cups more flour

In a drinking glass or bowl, stir together the warm water, yeast and sugar. Set it aside for about 10 min to rise.

In your mixer, combine the hot water, salt, sugar and butter and mix. Once the yeast has risen, add 2 ½ cups flour, 1 egg and the yeast. Mix all together (using your mixing paddle arm.)

Add 1 ¾ cups more flour and mix until a ball forms. If the dough is still too soft, add more flour until the dough feels like squishy play-dough. Take the paddle arm off your mixer and put the hook arm on. Turn mixer on to the number “2” setting (if you have a Kitchen Aid Mixer) and let machine knead the dough for 7 minutes. OR knead the dough by hand for 5-6 minutes on a hard surface.

Spray a large clean bowl with cooking spray. Put the dough in the bowl and cover with a cloth to keep from drying out. Place the bowl in a warm place (like the oven with just the light turned on). A good trick my mom taught me is to turn on your oven for just 10 seconds to let it warm up. Then turn it off and put your dough in there to rise. Don’t let the oven heat for too long though, or it will bake your dough (rather than rising it). Just a few seconds is all you need to get it warm in there.

Let the dough rise for a couple hours.

Punch the dough down and let it rest for 10 minutes. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray.

Using a knife, divide the dough in half. Starting with the first ball of dough, divide it into three pieces. Roll each piece into a rope about 14 inches long.

Pinch the 3 ropes together at the top, braid the ropes, and pinch the ropes together at the end:

Squish the braid together slightly and place the braid onto the prepared cookie sheet, sideways. Repeat with the other ball of dough and place on the same sheet

Cover cookie sheet with a cloth and let rise for about an hour.

Using a fork, whisk together one egg and 1 T. water until well combined (also known as anEgg Wash). Dip a crumpled paper towel into the mixture or use a paint brush and paint the egg wash over the tops and sides of the braids. Be careful as you brush that you don’t press too hard or you may deflate the loaves.

Heat the oven to 350º (remove the rising braids before heating the oven!).

Bake for 14-18 minutes or just till they start turning golden brown. Let the bread sit for 5-10 minutes before cutting. Serve with butter and fresh jam. Enjoy!

Note: If you would like illustrated step by step instructions, these recipes are on my Pinterest "Recipes" Board and they will take you to the original blogs. 

The appropriate conclusion to this post must be, in the famous words of Julia Child, "Bon Apetit!"

Graduation!

On Saturday, May 12th, Austin graduated with his Masters in Professional Counseling from Freed-Hardeman University! Austin began the program at Freed in the fall of 2009 following his graduation from Union with a double major in Christian Studies and Psychology. Knowing the value in getting finished with his degree as quickly as possible, Austin pushed through and completed the program in three years! Despite a setback of a semester due to needing Practicum hours, he did it! We couldn't be more thankful and excited! 

I feel like we've been saying this a lot, but this really marks the beginning of a new chapter in life for us! Austin will continue his work with Health Connect America and enjoy not having to go to class! We're praying through what is next for us and are excited to see what doors the Lord will open! 

We were so blessed to be joined by family and close friends to celebrate this wonderful event on Saturday.  We appreciate the effort that everyone made to be there! 

Following the ceremony in Henderson (complete with awesome piano music!), we enjoyed food and fellowship at our house. A special thanks to our next door neighbor, Dan, for doing a great job grilling hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken, tilapia and asparagus! We couldn't have done it without him. It was the first time that both sides of our family were together since our wedding. We talked, played the piano and guitar and sang together! It was wonderful.

Here are some pictures from the graduation and the party! Enjoy!

Austin receiving his graduate hood

Austin and his parents

Austin and his grandparents, Al and Nancy Zamora

Austin and his grandparents, Richard and Nancy Ward

Us with Elizabeth's Dad, Claude Rhea

Us with Elizabeth's Mom and Stepfather, Larry and Carolyn Nichols 

Wonderful friends! (L to R): Casey, Dustin, Austin, me, Jessie

The cake (made by Carolyn Nichols)- it was delicious!

Food

The guests arrive!

The tent! We were thankful that there was no rain!