Wednesday, January 30, 2013

The Maiden's Court: Author Interview with B. N. Peacock & Giveaway

The Maiden's Court: Author Interview with B. N. Peacock & Giveaway: Today I would like to introduce you all to debut author, B. N. Peacock.  Her new book, A Tainted Dawn , is the first book in her Great War ...

To read the author interview and enter the giveaway click the link above!!!

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

When would you go?

Over Christmas I was chatting with my parents and my Dad asked me a question that took me awhile to answer. What my Dad had asked me was this: If you could go anywhere in the world at any time, when would you go?

I thought for a little bit, visions of Imperial Rome, Pompeii, ancient Mesoamerica, medieval Italy sweeping through my mind. I couldn't decided on a place and a time and told my Dad so. He gave me a little grief for it :) but then I asked him the same question back. At this point my mom jumped in and mentioned something about this sounding like a Mitch Albom book (For One More Day) about a son who goes back in time to spend one day with his mom who died eight years earlier. We eventually strayed from this line of conversation but it really got me thinking.

I've only really ever known one out of four grandparents. My paternal grandmother died before my parents met and my two grandfathers died the year I turned four. I have numerous other family members who died before I got a chance to meet them and one uncle who passed just four years ago.

So, would I choose to meet one of them? Someone I had never known? That was only connected me via the stories I had heard?

Or, would I choose to witness, first hand, some of the more well-known events of the world's history?

My Dad is a great story-teller. He doesn't really get sidetracked and he, usually, makes it to the end of the story without repeating himself or forgetting where he is in the story. He has this beautiful picture of his mother on his dresser and I remember when I was younger I would ask to hear stories about her, Bonnie.

He would tell me stories about when he and his siblings were younger, about when his parents were still alive, about all their moves, and things he did that were stupid and how he would get in trouble for them. She sounded like such a wonderful, sweet woman and I would imagine what it would be like if she was still alive.

Now that I had though about all that, and had, for so long, wanted to meet this woman, my grandmother, whose grave we go to every time we are in Arkansas, I knew that was when I would go.

I would meet my grandmother and, depending on when I went, I would get to meet my dad and my aunt and uncle when they were children. There is that one drawback, though: knowing you will have to leave and knowing you will have to say goodbye, only having that short amount of time with that person. But still, can you imagine what an experience that would be?

Friday, January 18, 2013

New Recipe!

Last night we didn't really have a dinner set in stone, but I had just gone grocery shopping so we had a lot of options. I got some gnocchi and we had a lot of veggies so I made a vegetarian dish. It was really quick and easy to make, not to mention DELICIOUS! Here's what I did:

What you need:
I package Gnocchi
1 yellow medium onion, chopped
1/2 carton of cherry tomatoes
1 T minced garlic
A HUGE handful of mushrooms (you can use however many you want, actually)
2 C baby spinach
1/4 C feta cheese
2 T oil

What to do:

1. Cook the gnocchi according to the package directions.
2. Saute the garlic and onions in oil in a frying pan
3. Add the cherry tomatoes and mushrooms. Cook until the cherry tomatoes burst and the mushrooms are not quite so crispy.
4. Once everything is cooked to your liking ad the spinach and cook until the spinach is wilted.
5. Add the feta and heat until it's melted.
6. Pour sauce over gnocchi.
Enjoy!!

This was definitely enough for the two of us. If you're cooking for more than two you can double it and have leftovers.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Christmas and New Year's

The past two months seem to have gone by in a blur; I have no idea where the days and months went. It feels like we got married last week and then SHAZAM it's 2013.

Uck, an odd year. And one that ends in "13."

Hope it's a good one!!

Christmas with the Frames:

My parents and brother came up to Richmond for Christmas. It was nice, except that I had to work overnights from Sunday through the night of Christmas. And then they left. So, very little sleep for me, very little time to spend with family. It was also rather crazy at work, but we're not going to go into that.

Trey and I received a lot of wonderful gifts this year! We got a new vacuum cleaner which sent me over the moon! And an electric can opener and a waffle iron that produces delicious, beautiful waffles. A friend of mine said something to effect of "you know you're a boring adult when you're excited to receive an apple slicer." Well, we're both boring adults because we absolutely love our new kitchen gadgets.

We all ate delicious, unhealthy food, so it was back to the gym I went the day after Christmas. Trey doesn't gain any weight but he did take Harley-kins for some runs, I think.

The most interesting gift received was something my dad gave to Trey. I don't remember the technical name for it, but it's the thing you put water and live bait in for fishing. The coolest thing is that it belonged to my dad's maternal grandfather (my paternal great-grandfather).  Hopefully, now, Trey can find a place to fish that he likes.

We've got a couple of family heirlooms now! For a wedding present we received a set of antique silver from Trey's grandmother as well as my grandmother's set of antique china; and now we (or rather Trey) received the antique fishing pail. We have antique things from other peoples' families (bought at antique stores) but it's always nice to get things passed down through your own family.

Aside from having to work, we had a nice Christmas, I think. Also, I didn't get sick! I am hardly ever not sick over Christmas so that was really nice that I didn't have to deal with that.

Though, to make up for the fact that I didn't get sick for Christmas, I was (and still am) sick over New Year's. Trey and I both woke up the morning of the 31st with sore throats and congestion. I stayed in bed most of Tuesday and Wednesday.  Trey refused to stay in past 9am and got up and went about the house and town as if it was business usual. This afternoon he went outside and did woodworking for several hours. He certainly was not acting sick.

I stayed in bed until 1pm, moved to the couch and stayed there until 830pm when I finally mustered the energy to get up, take a shower, and go to work. We obviously don't get or feel sick in the same way.

Ergo, 2013 has not been so great for us thus far. I'm hoping that will change very, very soon. Trey has orientation on the 8th and then starts his classes soon after.
We've already got a couple of trips planned, a big one to the Buffalo River in Arkansas for the Fourth of July with my dad's side of the family. I'm really looking forward to that one!

Here's to 2013!!!