Crawfish Boil!

Friend, co-worker, and Louisianan, Sheri invited me and several girlfriends to a crawfish boil at Marti's Bayou Cafe in Spring Hill, TN. Having never taken part in a crawfish boil, this was a new and exciting experience. I'll let the photos tell the story...

The Crispy Critters, BEFORE:

After paying up, you are presented with 2 pounds of crawfish, dumped on a tray with some boiled corn and potatoes.

This may have been the first time I have ever been able to look my dinner in the eye. After removing their heads from their little bodies, it is customary to suck the little critters heads, which contain flavorful deliciousness...



One of these things is not like the other...


The Crispy Carcasses, AFTER:

Over the mountain of crawfish carcasses, all of us agreed: this was a lot of spicy, delicious fun with good friends!

Mardi Gras Birthday

Well, I haven't exactly been faithful about updating the old blog, have I? I finally got around to downloading the point & shoot camera, so I thought I would share some snapshots here.

This set is from my birthday, which happened to fall on Mardi Gras this year. Several great friends met up at Bosco's for some birthday/Fat Tuesday fun.


All the girls who met up at Bosco's for a birthday dinner. (L to R: Sheri, Lindsey, Lara, Myself, Melody, Atika) Thanks, Jeff, for taking the photo!

Love that Lasts Forever

Ah, Valentine's Day - affectionately known to many of us as Singles' Awareness Day (whose tragic initials happen to be S.A.D.). In light of the impending holiday, the lyrics from an old favorite song called "Healer" by Ten Shekel Shirt have been running through my head....

Healer
(from the album Much)
Healer heal me
Savior save me
Maker change me
Lover love me
Cuz I'm so tired of living for
The kind of love
That only lasts for a while
The pain, the shame
Tear me up inside

Chorus:
So I fall on my knees
To get back on my feet again
And I cry out for You
Would You please speak to me

Healer heal me
Savior save me
Maker change me
Lover love me
Cuz I'm so tired of living for
The kind of love
That only comes and goes
But Your love
Your love lasts forever

So I fall on my knees
To get back on my feet again
And I cry out for You
To hear you speak to me

Yes I fall on my knees
To get back on my feet again
And I run hard for You
To enter Your rest

So, this Valentine's Day, I will attempt shift my focus from the pursuit of a love that only comes and goes, to a Love that is eternal. This seems like an obvious choice but actually doing it is no easy task, let me tell you.

"Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine." Isaiah 43:1

Too Cool for School

Last night I was glued to the news as numerous surrounding counties, including my home county of Davidson canceled school due to unusually cold temperatures. As I began to lose hope that Williamson county would ever come through and prepared myself for the workday ahead, I FINALLY got the call. School was canceled for Friday, and I would have the opportunity to catch up on some much needed sleep. And boy, did it feel good to shut off that alarm last night and sleep in this morning! So, I had a free day today, to get some errands done and generally be a bum. A wonderful thing. The only downfall has been that one of my pipes has apparently frozen and the hot water is not working in the shower, of all places. It works in the kitchen, and even the bathroom sink, but not the shower. Go figure. So, my bathroom is currently like a sauna, as a heater is running in there on high in hopes of thawing the pipes.

In other news, I was delighted this week to pay $495 to repair my car at Ultimate Tire & Car Care. Why was I delighted about spending this much money? Because the estimate I had been given for the SAME repairs at the local Volkswagen dealer was around $1700!!! If you are in Nashville and are ever in need of tires or repairs to your vehicle, I very highly recommend the guys at Ultimate Tire & Car Care. They are friendly and they do an excellent job while not robbing you blind for repairs. Three cheers for honest, locally owned businesses!

Yip Yip Yip Yip Yip Yip

Thank you Misty, for reminding me of the Yip Yips on a day when I very much needed a laugh! Watch the videos....they WILL make you smile!

Yip Yips and Computer


Yip Yips meet the Telephone


Old McDonald had a Spaceship
This one's a bit long, but starts to get funny around 2:30...


Funny stuff, right?

Going (un)Green

I am quite delighted to say that I am going (un)green. Now, before you panic, thinking I've thrown environmental responsibility under the proverbial bus, I must clarify. Thanks to the Christmas generosity of my lovely mum, I have been endowed with a fancy new replacement for my very old, green-tinted television. Now, instead of the unwieldy monstrosity that was my old television, which forever had a swamp-thing-esque tint in spite of numerous adjustments to color settings, I have a wonderful flat screen set, complete with the full-spectrum of colors. Yay! Thanks mom, for this flippin' sweet Christmas present, and for the fact that I no longer have to wonder if my vision is failing me. Now, any takers for the ol' Zenith?

Puppy Pity Party

Well, here goes. My first contribution to the "blogosphere." I am writing at the conclusion of my first full day back in Nashville after an almost two-week stay at home in Bakersfield, CA.

Today, I picked up my dog Talula from A Bark Above, a wonderful doggie daycare where she stayed and received excellent care while I was away. (Sadly, she couldn't go with me due to a misunderstanding with the airline.) At any rate, I was quite excited about picking up my dear dog today. And, while she was excited initially to see me, upon arriving home, she found a comfortable spot, laid herself down, and stayed there for the duration of the day. No, this didn't just appear to be your average napping. Rather, she appeared to be brooding - moping even! I wished I could get inside her tiny brain (sorry Talula). I wished I could hear the thoughts going through her mind. Now I am no doggie psychologist, but surely she was thinking something along the lines of: "How dare she just pick me up from that place and expect things to be hunky dory? I've been wronged. I've been deserted - left alone. And I am NOT over it!!!"


As I went through the day observing this doggie pity party, I came to a stark realization. Talula's demeanor quite aptly resembled my own. You see, of late, I've been experiencing a time of darkness that's been quite difficult to shake. If I am actually completely honest, at times I haven't even wanted to shake it! Like Talula, I've felt somewhat entitled to a good bit of wallowing in my own self-pity. Of course, for Talula, a $0.99 McDonald's hamburger (hold the ketchup) was the cure for the common heartache. For us in the human world, things are not quite so simple. I am having to force myself to search for the ray of light breaking through the darkness.

Over the past few days, the lyrics to a song called "40," as performed by a little known band called U2 have been meandering through my thoughts. It goes like this:

I waited patiently for the Lord
He inclined and heard my cry
He lifted me up out of the pit
Out of the miry clay

I will sing, sing a new song
I will sing, sing a new song

How long to sing this song
How long to sing this song
How long, how long, how long
How long to sing this song

He set my feet upon a rock
And made my footsteps firm
Many will see
Many will see and fear

I will sing, sing a new song
I will sing, sing a new song
I will sing, sing a new song
I will sing, sing a new song

How long to sing this song
How long to sing this song
How long, how long, how long
How long to sing this song

The lyrics are adapted from Psalm 40:1-3, and are a reminder to me that even when I'm in a pit of mire and clay, I should wait patiently on the Lord, and continue chasing light...Even when I don't wanna!