Oh the Places You'll Go... The Marriott Grand

This August Mom, Sister, and I took are third annual trip down to the Marriott Grand. This year we had the chance to spoil my Sister with a few days of luxury after she had just spent a month living in the wilderness.

We have made it a tradition to pack a picnic lunch to eat at a rest stop on the way down.

There is so much to do at the Grand. We take advantage of the pool at the hotel as well as the hotel's country club. The country club has a lap pool. Sister and I like to pretend we know how to swim, especially this year after the Olympics. However, Mom- who was a swimmer in high school- clearly has more swimming skills than either of us. Note: I'm no swimmer but I'm better than Sister. So swimming and bowling are the only two sports I'm better at than her.

We played a round of mini golf- I was terrible.

And tried our hand at fishing. Sister, who has a fishing license in the state of Wyoming and has fly fished in the Wyoming wilderness- determined the hooks provided were no good. So, we caught no fish.

We enjoyed working out in the super nice gym. The best discovery of the trip came in the gym. In the gym, there was a door labeled as the accountants office. If you know my sister, who is an accountant, you will know that her dream would to have her office in a gym. Note: I promise the sign on the door says accounting.

Tea time is a tradition at the Grand. This year we went when kids were in school so we did not have to wait in a super long line for our tea and cookies.

 Riding bikes is one of our favorite things to do at the Grand. It is a great way to take in the beauty of the area.

We had such a great time on our trip!

The September 18th Vote.

I never thought I would be one to write a political blog post.  However, this month there is something going on in the world of politics that has brought me here.

We all know there is a huge election in November, but if you live in the state of Alabama are you aware of the voting opportunity you have Tuesday September 18- tomorrow?  I first heard of this voting opportunity in an email sent by the CEO of my place of employment.  This email stated Vote Yes on September 18.  I had heard absolutely nothing of this vote until this email.  The more research I did, the more I learned that most people who do not work in a state run facility or listen to political radio all the time had no idea that there was an election of September 18.

So in case you do not know, on September 18 we will be voting on a bill that will allow the government to take 437 million dollars out of the Alabama Trust Fund in order to fund government programs- Medicaid being the biggest headliner.  Currently, the way things are set up, a large percentage of the taxes obtained from oil & gas revenue go into this trust fund each year. The interest this fund gains each year is placed into the general fund. Currently, only interest is touched, NOT the principle.

Before, I get into what I feel about this topic, I just want to mention that whether you agree or disagree with my opinion, it is so important to vote. So many people are not aware of this vote. Whatever the result of the vote is, it would be a much more reliable result if everyone voted. Most people who are aware of it are only aware because they have been told to vote yes but don't know much about the issues. Please, educate yourself on what you are voting for. Whatever opinion you form, I completely respect it. Just make sure you have formed an opinion by educating yourself instead of just listening to what someone tells you to do without doing any research.

If I were to walk into the voting booth and read the ballot without knowing anything but what I read, I would likely vote yes when reading that a yes vote will "prevent the mass release of prisoners from Alabama prisons, and to protect critical health services to Alabama children, elderly, and mothers." However, I have decided to vote NO in order to prevent the release of prisoners and to protect critical health services.

Wait, how does a NO vote, do these things? By taking money out of the principle of the trust fund, we are putting a bandaid on the problem. In the future (estimated 3 years), we will be right back where we are today.  And then, we won't have as much from the trust fund to pull from.  Plus the interest we will be putting into the general fund will be a LOT less when that account is 437 million less!

However, if I vote NO, the government will be forced to make hard decisions regarding the State's budget.  They WILL continue to fund Medicaid and prisoners will NOT be released.  Just paying state employees via direct deposit instead of via check will get them ~50% of the money needed.  Instead of just placing a bandaid on the problem, something will actually be done about the problem.  Three years down the road there will be no question as to if the critical health services will be in jeopardy.

I'm no political person so I would recommend you reading this article that really says everything I would like to say... but better.

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20120916/OPINION0101/309160031

However, if you do not read the article, at least read this quote and think about what you would do if this was your personal finances.

"Your referendum is more akin to dipping into your 401(k) each month for the next three years to pay your mortgage note without first looking for a smaller house or a better paying job. That is not just fiscally irresponsible; it is reckless."

A Year+ Later

Warning: A lot of words- no pictures. Don't let it intimidate you from reading!

It has been over a year since we handed over the largest chunk of change either of us has ever dealt with in our lives.  July of this year marked the one year anniversary of the purchase of our house.  Thinking back to the house buying process, I remember how overwhelming and fast it was.  Overwhelming because the purchase of house is not only a huge investment but it also requires contact what seemed like a zillion people and making a lot of decisions- especially when purchasing a foreclosed home.  Fast since our house was a foreclosure the asking price was a good deal so there were multiple people making offers.  Therefore, after spending ~ an hour in the house over two visits we had to decide within 24 hours if we would put an offer on the house and if so what the offer would be.  Seeing as I am someone who took a year to decide if I wanted to purchase a $100 pair of shoes, this was like going from 0-60 in one second.

When making such a huge decision in such circumstances, it is sometimes hard to know if you are making the right decision.  Over the past year JP and I have decided that we are, in fact, content with the decision made last Spring/Summer.  Part of the satisfaction comes from the fact that we had thought about purchasing a house and had compiled a mental list of what we wanted in this said house for quite a while.  We feel this house meets those needs we determined to be most important.

Neighborhood
JP and I wanted to live in a neighborhood that was close to our work locations, close to shopping and restaurants, and not too far from friends.  A huge desire was that we wanted to live in an active neighborhood.  Not only a neighborhood that would provide an excellent environment for us to run and walk, but a neighborhood where we would not be the only ones doing this.

We love our neighborhood!  I had been dead set on living in one neighborhood because I knew it had everything I wanted. However, we were able to get much more house for our money- especially with the foreclosure asking price- in this neighborhood.  I was a little nervous but it has everything we wanted.  My commute to work is much better than what it was at our apartment- and that wasn't even bad.  We are approximately 2.5 miles from not only one but two of the main shopping areas in the city and just 4 miles away from my favorite shopping area.

Our neighborhood is perfect for being active.  On the main street there are sidewalks and there are tons of side streets to make for interesting walks.  There is even a public basketball court nearby where we can practice our terrible skills.   The coolest route of all is our easy ability to walk on a long road at the top of a hill that looks out over the entire city.  It is very cool to see the lights of the city at night!  Other people are always out and the Tour de France (what I call it when I see cyclist pass by) occurs almost daily outside our house.  We have even made dog friends in the neighborhood with a boxer we play with on our long route and a little dog on our short route.

Kitchen
We do a lot of cooking and were so ready to be away from our galley kitchen in our apartment.  We wanted a kitchen that was big enough to easily cook, had enough cabinetry for all our cooking supplies, and was a room that people could hang out in as meals were being prepared.  As JP kindly pointed out when we registered for china- "the kitchen is the center of the home."

We love our kitchen! It is the biggest kitchen I think we looked at in a home in our price range.  There is plenty of counter and cabinet space and includes a wonderful island.  We have already cooked meals while friends/family visited with us and there was definitely enough room.

Garage
We looked at a lot of houses without substantial garage space but we determined that we really wanted a place for JP to store his tools.  I guess you feel that way when you spent sometime living with an air compressor in the one bedroom of a tiny apartment.

Our garage is great.  There is plenty of storage and even a tool room.  The garage doors have needed some work but JP has taken care of that himself.

Good Sized Bedrooms
We looked at a lot of homes that had tiny bedrooms and that we wanted to try and avoid.

All of the bedrooms are good sized with good closet space.  Some may prefer a bigger Master but it meets are needs just fine, as does the Master closet space.

Entry Way
This was not high on my list and I would have taken one without it, but I really wanted to have an entry way into my house, not just having the front door open into the living room.

Our house definitely has a traditional entry way.  I have yet to do anything with it, but I will.

Yard
It was pretty important to us to have a decent yard.  We both like spending time outside and preferred a house with what a yard and trees.  JP knew that this would require mowing and he did not mind.

Our yard is big and does have a lot of trees.  It is definitely more up keep then some of the smaller yards we looked at but we don't mind.  JP is great at mowing the yard- one of the few things I refuse to do.  We have done zero landscaping- unless you consider cutting down trees as landscaping.  Hopefully once we get the inside close to how we want it, we will transition more to the outside.  One of the things I love about our outside is the fact that there are trees perfectly placed to hang a hammock- one of my favorite things.

Neighbors
Now this is something we really had no control over.  Growing up I always had great neighbors who were not just neighbors but friends who we saw pretty much daily.  One summer the grass had gotten very flat on the path between our two houses since the path was traveled multiple times a day over the 3 months of summer break.  I would love to have this for my whole life!

All of our neighbors are very friendly, although most of them are older with high school age children.  However, the couple next to us is closer to our age and they have 16 month old boy.  JP- who should probably win the overly friendly neighbor award- has really connected with the guy.  He helps JP with yard projects.  Additionally, they are always on their back deck grilling so we will join them to chat sometimes.  There dog is always in the yard and JP will chase the dog around- it is really quite a site.  When our power was out during the Olympics, we went over to their house- they have a generator- to watch the gymnastics with them.


Now of course one can never expect to get everything on their list of wants.  I feel like we did pretty good but there are two big things I have decided this house does not have that I would like to have.

Porch or Patio
Saying I love to be outside is an understatement.  Growing up my parents house had a huge front porch and we spent/spend SO much time out there.  It was like another room.  I would love to have not only a front porch- I love watching the neighborhood in action- but also a back porch, patio, or deck.

Unfortunately this house has no porch, patio, or deck.  The front of the house consists of a small stoop- which I do sit on sometimes- and really has no potential for adding a porch on.  The back of the house has not deck or patio.  However, there is a high potential for the addition of something.  We will do this eventually.  Until then we make best with what we have.  When we have people over for a grill out we still hang out outside.  And, like I said above, I love the perfect trees for hammocks.

Laundry
I'm not good at laundry.  I know how to do it, but it always seems to take me forever to get it all done.  My Mom has a wonderful laundry room and I think having a place devoted just to laundry would help it not seem like laundry was exploding all over the place.

Our house does have a place for the washer and dryer but it is more of a laundry closet.  It pretty much just holds the washer and dryer.  No room for a drying rack or folding area or anything like that.  I've turned on of the bedrooms into the laundry room, for now.  Honestly I just need to get more organized and efficient at doing laundry.  I would love to have a real laundry room.  However, in this room I will likely never have that as there does not seem to be any easy way to add this on.


So overall, I'm pleased with this house and am very thankful for it.  No buyers remorse.  I can see us living in this house for much longer than five years (the minimum number of years JP has required us to live in a house).  Although I don't seeing us living in it forever, I would be ok if we were.  Although if we are still here in twenty years and don't see us moving anytime soon, I will figure out a way to add a laundry room!

How Much Does That Pack Weigh?

My sister just went on a epic trip.  Where did she go you ask... a tour across Europe, a Mediterranean cruise, Fiji?  The answer is none of the above.  My sister spent the month of July living in the wilderness of  the Wind River Wyoming. When I say living in the wilderness, I mean it.  Living out of a pack.  Horses bringing food every ten days.  No shower.   She went on this trip through a program called NOLS.

This is something that she had been wanting to do, and I'm so glad that she got the time and opportunity to do it.  I am proud of her for doing something that she so wanted to do, even though most people who heard about the trip did not understand why in the world someone would want to take such a trip.  She loved the trip and is so glad she went.  To brag on her, her group called her "the machine" as she was such a good, fast hiker.  She was, however, thankful to get back to the front country for some meat (they mainly ate starches), running water, and of course me :)

With her being in the wilderness for a month, that meant no communication with her.  When her flight returned her to Alabama, I was there to greet her.  I actually skipped and leaped towards her when I saw her approaching us!

Check out her pack. Can you believe she carried this around for a month!

Arroz con Pollo

Growing up my mom made a dish we called Spanish rice.  While scanning through Pinterest one day on my lunch break, I found this recipe that reminded me of the Spanish rice dish... and looked a lot more appetizing then the left over piece of pizza of was eating.

This recipe was surprisingly quick and easy partly made so by the fact that I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts unlike the whole chicken the original chef used.  This was much to the disappointment of my loving husband who informed on this night that he in much prefers chicken legs and wings (really anything with skin) over boneless skinless chicken breast. His tastebuds may feel that way, but his arteries feel the complete opposite.

Also, my reading comprehension when it comes to recipes is terrible. As much as I say I need to read through the entire recipe before I start, I don't.  So I got a third of the way through the recipe and realized I was not prepared to do it the way the recipe called for so I just winged it and did it my own way... which is the way I have below.

Don't be intimidated by the long ingredient list. I promise this is not a time consuming recipe!

Arroz con Pollo
Adapted from Eat Live Run

1/4 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
2-3 chicken breasts
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
2 bell peppers of any color (I like to do different colors!), diced
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 cup canned diced tomatoes
1/3 cup green olives, sliced in half or thirds (I love olives so I might have used more)
1/2 cup green peas (I used frozen that had been thawed)
2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 cups brown rice
3 cups Chicken broth

Start by placing chicken broth in a pot to boil for the rice.  Go ahead and start the next step.  Once the water is boiled at the rice and let it cook (I usually use minute rice).

Combine orange juice, lime juice, 2 minced garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 tablespoon olive oil in skillet.  Heat and add chicken breasts.  Add 1/4 teaspoon cumin & 1/4 teaspoon paprika to each side of chicken breasts (use more if you think you need it).  While the chicken cooks, I use the cooking utensil to cut the chicken into slices.

Add bell peppers, yellow onion, and diced tomatoes.

Add 2 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 bay leaf, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper.

Once chicken is cooked throughout add olives and green peas.

Mix in cooked rice and serve.

Blackberry Lime Bars

Blackberries. Something about them just make me happy. Tart but sweet.  Nature's candy.  This summer I went to the Decatur farmer's market with my mom and sister.  We bought blackberries, and I'm pretty sure I ate most of them before anyone else got a chance.

When I saw this recipe on pinterest I knew I needed to give it a try.  Don't be intimidated by the fact that you have to make your own crust- it is as easy as pie bars.  The result is an incredibly tasty, tart summer treat.  Note: If you pair the tartness of this bar with the sweetness of vanilla ice cream, happiness in your mouth occurs.

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Blackberry Lime Bars

For the crust:
1 stick + 1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt

For the filling:
2 heaping cups of blackberries, pureed-  (you can use frozen or fresh- just thaw if you are using frozen AND pull out that trusty food processor or my favorite kitchen appliance)
1 cup sugar (or 1 1/2  cups if you prefer it to be less tart)
2/3 up lime juice (you can use real limes or the bottled lime juice- I used some of both)
2 tablespoons lime zest
3 egg whites
1 egg
2/3 cup flour
pinch of salt
note: I did not place my blackberries in a sieve to get rid of the seeds so that is why mine look a little different than the ones on the recipe I linked to- but if you want to get rid of the seeds- grab that sieve and go for it! 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper.  I found the most effective way to do this is to take one piece and cut it the appropriate width of the pan cutting it long enough to over hang.  Cut another piece the same size.  Then lay one piece going one direction and overlap the other piece going in the other directon.

To make the crust:
Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer.  Add vanilla.  Add flour until just incorporated.  Place dough in lined baking pan and press with your hands until it evenly cover the bottom of the dish.  Bake for 20-25 minutes until slightly golden.

To make the filling:
Mix blackberry puree, sugar, egg whites, egg, lime juice, lim zest, flour, and salt in bowl and stir to combine. Pour mixture into crust.  Bake 25-30 minutes.

Let cool to room temperature and then place in fridge for 4 hours.
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By the way, did you notice the bowl I place the blackberry lime bar in?  If you didn't scroll back up and check it out as it is my new favorite bowl.  I love Southern Living magazine and when I saw that they now have a line at Ballard Designs, I knew I had to check it out.  These bowls are my favorite size AND shape.  PS. I kinda want everything in this line!

The Summer of Sports.

What have we been up to?  This pretty much sums it up...

We were Olympics obsessed for sure.  Every night we were glued to the tv from 7-11pm.  Days were spent avoiding Twitter and other social media to prevent hearing the outcomes of events.  I truly enjoyed the Olympics this year, and I am sad it is over! However, the fact that it only occurs 2 weeks every 4 years makes it all the more special.

Some of my favorite Olympic moments:

We now have no idea what to do with evening free time.  Not only did the Olympics occupy this time, but this has definitely been the summer of sports.

It kicked off with the NBA Playoffs.

Just a few days after the Heat won the Finals, the Tour de France started.  Last year was the first year I had watched it, and JP and I both get really into it.

Here is winner Bradley Wiggins- whose name I like to say in a British accent- and if you know me then you know that it really doesn't sound like a British accent.

 Then about a week after Bradley won, the Olympics started.  I'm ready for Post Season baseball!