a Distinguished life

My life did a complete 180 recently... I went from being unemployed for 10 months to having a full-time/plus overtime job all of a sudden and have worked the past 18 days straight.  I can't really imagine anymore what it was like to not have a job because I have been so busy and not had time for much else other than work and somehow Ben & I are still alive, fed, and have clean clothes on!  

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My incredible new job is as the Alumnae Coordinator with a non-profit organization called Distinguished Young Women (formerly America's Junior Miss).  It's a scholarship program for high school senior girls to go to college and the Final competition takes place here the last weekend of June every year after the 50 girls (1 from each state) spend 2 weeks in town.  So, the past 2 weeks have been the most hectic of my life but so enjoyable.  We had a whole lot of events to plan, attend, drive the girls to and from, etc etc etc.  SO much work from so many volunteers go into making the program a success and I am just so happy to be a part of it.  It's also a joy because one of my coworkers is one of my best friends, Stephanie, and all of my coworkers are absolutely wonderful!

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Here are a few pictures from the past 2 weeks:

The weekend in the middle of the 2 weeks was Father's day where I was glad to take an afternoon break from work and have dinner with my family!  

Emory is getting bigger & older so fast! 

Daddy with his 3 girls!

 Last Saturday was the big Alumnae Reunion that I was in charge of planning!  We had a great turnout, delicious catering, a wonderful home where we hosted it, and I was so happy everything went so smoothly!  These are most of the beautiful alumni of Distinguished Young Women that came back for the event!

Me with Stephanie, one of the hardest workers I know! 

We now have a new National Representative from Tennessee who won the whole competition last Saturday night.  I can't wait to see what this year will bring and am grateful to be a part of this incredible Organization that impacts so many peoples lives in a positive way.  

"God's Country"

Nostalgia sets in and you can think of nothing better.  The places you visited, the food you ate, the town you were in.... it's all so special when it's the memories you have from childhood and what shaped you into who you are today. We both have very fond memories of our childhoods, however after 10 years together I have never been to where Ben "grew up".  North Alabama (namely Athens & Huntsville) are what Ben calls "God's Country" and to him, nothing is better.  

Ben's parents are both from Athens, AL & met there & his grandparents lived there for at least 70 years before moving down to be closer to us.  So it was time I visited as well & when I realized that my friend Kate's wedding is just miles from there (in Decatur) we decided to make a road trip out of it!

Friday we drove the 6 hours North straight to Huntsville.  

 Armed with addresses and the GPS, I navigated Ben through the streets, allowing him to guess what we were approaching before we got there.  Even though he only lived there when he was 3-4, he remembered where everything was!  Their old church...

 their school, preschool, dad's store, and house...

 We then went straight to Greenbrier's Bar-B-Que.  The stories I had heard about this place were not myths.... 

The complimentary hushpuppies...

BBQ pork, chicken, white BBQ sauce, fried catfish, fried okra, strawberry shortcake.... I could go on & on... just look & let your mouth water (& waistline immediately increase)

 We stayed in Decatur and admired how beautiful the Tennessee River was under the sunset.  

 On Saturday, we headed up to visit Athens.  We passed several spots throughout this trip where you could see the path of the tornadoes in April.  The tornado that hit Tuscaloosa was HUGE and probably got the most media attention, but there were at least 100 tornadoes all over the state that day and we saw the destruction from several of them.  

 Trees were snapped in half everywhere & there were fields of debris, no buildings.  This building had the back ripped off it but was still conducting business in the front, trying to recover.  

 

We went straight to Ben's grandparents house  & Ben showed me all the places he rode his bike, played baseball, etc etc etc.  

I mean, where else do you see this except for small southern towns?  We waved :) 

We saw the pond where they fed ducks, a house his mom lived in when she was younger, their old church, all the favorite stores & restaurants.  We shopped in some of the stores around the square downtown.  

Met up with some friends of ours who actually LIVE in Athens (Ben is jealous) for lunch at Dub's Burgers.  A Dub's Burger is definitely like none other that I have ever tasted but pretty much what I expected after Ben's descriptions.  They even are so kind as to rub the bun in the grill's oil for you (wow my arteries are about to explode).  

 The day wouldn't have been complete without some ice cream from Kreme Delite... 

 After picking up 10 pounds of pulled pork from Whitt's BBQ ( another family favorite we are bringing back home for Ben's parents & grandparents), it was time to get ready for the wedding back in Decatur! 

The wedding was beautiful, a great reunion with friends and pledge sisters from Auburn, and some great fun!  I wish Kate & Derek a blessed marriage & happy adventures on their honeymoon & future!   

 with Caroline

 I was delighted to learn that they were serving margaritas at the wedding, my new FAVORITE drink! 

 with the beautiful Bride!

 It was a complete & wonderful weekend.  Ben is so happy that he got to visit "God' Country" and I was happy to finally "see" the memories!  We have a busy next few weeks ahead of us with my new job, so I was glad to get this blog post written in the car on our way home!  Have a wonderful week everyone!  

NOLA

Girls Trip: something the women in my family look forward to the beginning of every summer for the past hmmm... many years.  Last year we oh so rudely didn't include my mom and had a sister's trip to New York, but for many years before that we all got together at different places to go shopping, eating, and enjoying our time together on a girls trip! 

This year we decided on New Orleans, just a 2 hour trip from us, and off we went!

Friday we drove straight to this beautiful lunch place Cafe Amelie and actually sat OUTSIDE despite the 100 degree heat!  

Their sandwiches all sounded delicious, so we each got a different one and rotated them around the table once so that we each got a taste.  Here's my muffaletta (the 1st time I'd ever had one).  

 After lunch we went to the Canal Place Shops and were extremely glad to be the air conditioned mall.  The shopping was fun and successful, but then it was time for dinner.  GW Fins was a wonderful seafood restaurant with a very cool dining room.... where I ate every last bite of my dinner....

 Bourbon Street

 Saturday morning breakfast at Cafe du Monde

 Saturday we spent the whole day shopping Magazine Street.  Tons of antique, furniture, clothing, shoe, & specialty stores. 

 This was my favorite store... it smelled absolutely heavenly and was a combination of beautiful home decor, a flower shop, antiques, and the owner's personal pet parrot/birds.  I wanted so many things in the store for my house and look forward to going back to Dunn & Sonnier.  

 We had lunch at Cafe Rani, a restaurant I had been to years ago with Ben's family, and had yet another delicious meal.  my Cobb Club sandwich...

 After more shopping & exhaustion, we relaxed at the hotel before dinner time.  

We had a place in mind that didn't take reservations, but when we drove by, it seemed a little sketchy.  So, at the last minute we made immediate reservations at the Pelican Club.  Rather than ordering entrees, we ordered 6 different appetizers and a soup and shared them all.  Almost all of the appetizers on the menu sounded delicious & this way we each got to sample more flavors.  It did not disappoint!  

 Sunday morning was time to go home, but not before the long awaited brunch at Stanley's.  I started to love Eggs Benedict when Ben & I went to London last year, so I ordered the Eggs Stanley... basically Eggs Benedict with fried Oysters on top.  WOW....

 We strolled back through the French Quarter to the car to return home.... 

 New Orleans has such wonderful & different food, so it's hard for that not to be the focus of our trip.  We did a lot of shopping but were reasonable when it came to buying.  I always love spending time with my mom & sisters and can't wait for where next year takes us!?!? 

I was looking forward to getting home and seeing my hubby.  All weekend all he told me that he did was yard work and "work."  Much to my surprise, when I got home I realized that he had some surprises up his sleeve.  He had quite a productive weekend doing projects around the house. Most notably, Ben went & purchased and put together the patio furniture dining set that I had picked out a few weeks ago and was wanting!  My parents gifted us with money to buy patio furniture of our choice 2 Christmases ago, but Ben & I saved the money because we thought we would be moving soon.  Here we are at the same house 2 years later, so it was time to fulfill our Christmas gift!  I was very appreciative that Ben surprised me and got this done.  Now we just need to have a party.  :) If it hadn't rained today, we would have eaten dinner out there tonight!  

 After this busy weekend and typing up this overview, I am exhausted and definitely going to bed early! Loads of laundry have been done and to work I'll be going in the morning.  It's taking some time getting used to this new schedule for me, but I'm extremely grateful for it!  Night!  

some additions

If you read in google reader, you may not have noticed yet, but I added a few TABS to the top of my blog.  Right now I just have "Home", "About Me", and "Recipes."  Maybe as the blog/life progresses I will have more tabs, but these were just the only ones that made sense right now.  I had a fun time putting the "About Me" page together and chronicling how we got to where we are today.  Maybe reading it you will learn something new about me!  A friend asked me to make a recipes page after my new cookbook post and in doing so, I realized that I haven't blogged about nearly as many recipes as I thought I had.  I'll get better at it.... starting now.  

This week we made these shrimp (the 2nd time I've used this recipe) and both times we served it over a salad.  It would be great with some sort of black bean/corn salad as well (that's what the original recipe was served with).

Chile Powder Grilled Shrimp

2 tsp sugar

2 tsp chile powder

1 tsp ancho chile powder

1/4 tsp chipotle chile powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 garlic powder

1 lb. shrimp

Mix all spices together & sprinkle over the shrimp.  Grill in grill basket until cooked.

We served over a spring mix salad, with fresh tomatoes from a friend's garden, grilled fresh squash from same friend's garden, other various salad toppings, balsamic vinegar, and delicious Olive Oil from our trip to Spain!  Ben claimed it is the best meal we have had in a long time.  I agreed... ENJOY! 

oh yeah, I have a blog!

Sorry I've been a bit distracted lately & forgot to update the blog....

I GOT A NEW JOB!  

Yes, after almost 10 months of unemployment, I finally got a new job that I am thrilled about.  I decided to move away from the pharmaceutical world (after 2 companies going bankrupt I apparently needed to leave that industry) and started looking for jobs in the Marketing field (my college major).  I am now working as the Alumnae Coordinator for a non-profit organization.  I interviewed for the job on a Thursday, was offered the job the next day, Friday, and I started work last Monday!  It all moved so fast, but after nearly 2 full weeks of work I am so happy to be where I am!  Thank you for all the thoughts, prayers, & support during that bumpy road.

It may be a record, but we were actually home the past 2 weekends with no plans.  Now, with going to work full time, I am trying to find the time to do all the things I need to get done around the house!  Ben & I are in search of a new leather chair for ben's den "man chair" (among many other things to decorate the house) and went to NINE FURNITURE STORES last weekend and still don't have a chair.  I'm getting concerned that we will be stuck with Ben's hideous college chair & ottoman forever!

We have also seen a lot of movies on these weekends.... We have been to see Bridesmaids, Hangover 2, and Pirates 4 and loved them all; date night dinners too of course!  We did, at the last minute, decided to go and spend 2 out of 4 days this Memorial holiday weekend at the beach.  Ben's (our) friend Matt was in town from Washington DC & came to visit for the night.  We also had a fun time in the baby pool and on the boat with Leigh (and Will & Amy of course).

I hope to be back to blogging more regularly, but both being back to working and a lack of much else going on has reduced the creative blogging abilities.  Thanks for sticking around!