My husband went to the ballet.

Last Friday, JP and I went to the ballet.  Now, if you know JP, you know he is very openly NOT into the ballet or other similar things.  So, I never in a million years thought that I would ever say that I went to the ballet with him.

One of my friends I have made in grad school works for a firm that was sponsoring the opening night of George Balanchine’s Nutcracker (which is the original version of the Nutcracker).  As a result they were giving free tickets to their clients.  My friend offered me some of the tickets.  I told him I really wasn't sure but what let him know.


Now, I really had no desire to go to the ballet.  However, I did say to JP, "Do you want to go to the Nutcracker? I have free tickets."  I really just asked to see how he would respond.  I totally expected a disgusted "NO" but I got, "Yeah I'll go."  I made sure several times that he was actually ok with going and made it clear that in no way was I forcing him to go.


So, that is how we ended up at the ballet.


We knew JP was not going to love the show.  This was my first ballet since my 5 year old ballet recital, and I've decided I'm not a ballet fan either.  Don't get me wrong, I am in awe of the things they do and kept thinking 1) I wish I could do that and 2) I wish my legs looked like that.  They did a very good job.  However, I got somewhat bored during the show, especially during the first act.  This is not surprising as I frequently get bored during movies as well.  Another thing, I was quite thankful for the written description in our program of what was going on because otherwise there were somethings I don't think I would have gotten.  I must say though that I did enjoy hearing the familiar Nutcracker songs.


So, two things we learned from this event.
1. JP got lucky.  He has a girl that would much rather sit and watch a baseball, basketball, football, or even curling game than ballet.  
2. JP and I both mentioned several times during the show and afterwards that we really hope we don't have children that want to hard core pursue the ballet.  Although, I'm sure watching your children would be different.

pictures from here

Chili 3-peat... sorta.

My husband can cook.  So, of course he always is eager to enter our church's third annual chili competition.  The first year he won the competition.  The second year, last year, he didn't win best overall but he won best hot chili.  Well, this year he won again!  And when I say he, I seriously mean he.  I played no role in the cooking process, just moral support.

Here is the Best Overall Chili of 2010!

Again, JP did not write down his recipe.  He seriously just makes it up as he goes.  This one did have tequila in it, but as we all know the alcohol cooks off.  There was also some orange juice in it.  I think the fact that the orange juice was calcium fortified was what put the chili over the top :)

A Christmas Celebration

Before JP and I got married, one of our initial concerns was what church we would go to.  We both had a church in Birmingham, but we wanted one of our own so it didn't feel like I was going to his or vice versa.  Sometimes it feels like it takes forever to find the perfect thing, but not in this category.  In a funny (to me at least) event, God led us to Redeemer Community Church for our very first "church shopping trip," and we have been there ever since.

One of the things JP and I love so much about our church is the community we have.  We have grown very close to our home group the past few years.  This year a few of the other home group girls and I decided that we wanted to have a Christmas party where everyone dresses up plus we wanted to send out real invitations and provide a real meal.

We got our invitations from tinyprints. They say, in case you can't read the pictures,

A Christmas Celebration

Come celebrate the Christmas Season

With our home group and church leaders

Wear you best dress or tie

For dinner, dessert, and wine

We hosted it at one of the girl's houses.  For appetizer we had deviled eggs and pigs in a blanket.  The main course was pork tenderloin, mashed potatoes, green beans, and rolls.  For dessert we had oreo balls.

I was in charge of the pork tenderloin and the oreo balls.  I bought three pork tenderloins from Sam's Club.  Let me tell you, these are a great idea if you are ever having to serve meat at an event.  They come pre-marinated in 4 different flavors so all you have to do is take them out of the package and stick them in the oven for 1.5-2 hours.  They are so juicy and tender! Everyone kept saying how excellent they were.  One girl said she didn't even like pork but thought they were great.

I did get assistance from JP when it came from cutting the meat.  I am terrified of knifes so pass this duty off to him whenever possible.  And yes, he is using the electric knife he gave me when we were dating.  And yes, we do own two electric knifes, the one he bought for me and the one he had before we got married.

I was a little nervous about having the meat done at the right time, but it all worked out great.  Plus, it provided me with a reason to buy a new serving piece from TJ Maxx. 

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of the oreo balls or of us dressed up.  But, Sarah came over the night before the party and helped me make three batches of oreo balls.  Thanks sister!

Peanut Butter Pie Extreme

JP's brother Matt, who lives in NYC, had a piece of pie that he loved in NYC and wanted to see if it could be homemade.  It can... and it was so good!

I don't have the exact recipe but basically it is...

Graham cracker crust (we used the store bought to save time) with melted chocolate spread in the bottom.  Then a layer of sliced bananas followed by the peanut butter pie filling (8oz cream cheese, 1 cup peanut butter, 1.5 cups powder sugar, 8oz. tub cool whip).  Top it with whipped cream (homemade is best) and a banana slice to give it the gourmet look.

I love peanut butter pie, and this just takes it to the next level. Now, I think I need to make a trip to NYC to compare the two pies.

Icing on the Cookie

Do you Groupon? I do, and I definitely recommend you sign up to get notified of their daily deals.  I love trying new places, so I love the fact that Groupon makes me aware of new places or even established places I've never heard of.

In April I purchased a Groupon to Icing on the Cookie in Homewood.  The Groupon expired early in December, so I decided to use it to purchase cookies for JP's family to give to them the night we arrived. Icing on the Cookie has SO many different cute cookie shapes.  I decided to get a different cookie shape for each family member.  

For my brother-in-law Matt... The Pirate.

For my brother-in-law, Michael... The Catfish

For JP... The Rooster

For JP's Mom... The Palm Tree

For JP's Grandmother... The Ice Cream

For JP's Dad... The Sombrero

For JP's Grandfather (who is a diabetic)... The Apple (which means it was ok for him to eat, right?)

And for me... The Penguin

Thankfully the box made the flight from Birmingham to Phoenix without any tragic breaks.

The Mother of Sir Charles

When JP and I were taking our seats on our 6:15am flight to Phoenix for Thanksgiving, we heard this conversation about the Iron Bowl between the 50ish year old man and the 63 year old woman behind us:

Man:  Yeah I'm excited about the Iron Bowl.  War Eagle! Who are you cheering for?
Woman: Well, my son played basketball at Auburn for three years until he went pro, so War Eagle!
Man: Who is your son?
Woman: Charles Barkley
Followed was some overreacting by the man and who we think was his college aged daughter.

So yes, JP and I sat in front of the mother of Charles Barkley. If you aren't into sports, Charles played basketball for Auburn and then the NBA for 13 seasons. He was an All Star 11 times, MVP in 1993, and was ranked in the top 50 NBA players ever in 1996. Now you can find him on TNT as a commentator.

It was so interesting to listen to her conversations with the man over our 4 hour flight. From these conversations, I discovered that Charles' mom is a very humble woman who has not taken her sons fame to her head.  She seemed just as proud of her son who coaches middle school basketball as she does Charles.

The man sitting next to her spent the entire 4 hours trying to impress her and trying to act cool.  For example, "Yeah doesn't Charles play golf?  I'm a member of this really nice country club. You need to have him call me the next time he is in town and we can play." Here is my favorite conversation between the two of them:

Man: Yeah, I just bought my mid-life crisis car.  A porsche. Yeah I love that car.
Charles' mom: Yeah Charles tried to buy me a new car, but I told him I didn't need a new car.  My 2004 Honda was running just fine.

I'm pretty sure that she was not impressed with the man.

In case, you were wondering how we knew this lady was really his mom and not just making it up:
1. The lady next to me, who is a hand therapist, knows Charles' mom because she treats her so she could verify.
2. She had several pictures of Charles in her wallet.  She showed JP one of Charles when he was in college.
3. When we got our luggage, she was definitely being picked up by a driver... no not Charles like we hoped.

Thanksgiving 2010

JP and I traveled to Phoenix to spend Thanksgiving with his family.

We enjoyed eating here...

and here...




and climbing this mountain...

photo from here

but most of all, we enjoyed hanging out with these people...







ps. Michael took our Christmas card pictures...
This is the most normal picture we got of the two of us at any point in time during our trip. Our Christmas card will not be serious...