Christmas Break 2010

This is a very strange time of the year.... its the time that we all look backward and forward at the same time.  We often find ourselves thankful for the good times and bad, yet look forward to new things to come.  2010 was a pretty steady year for us, especially compared to 2009, and for that we are very thankful!  We both pushed forward into our graduate programs, Jesse scored an internship this summer with the National Parks Service, Kelley joined us in Starkvegas, I got a great job recruiting students to the best school in the state, Jesse got a GA position on campus, we moved into a house, got our puppy, Maggie, and I ran a half marathon.  There's really not too much to complain about in 2010.  We are so so very blessed and are so thankful for the Lord's provision on our lives. I am so thankful for Jesse and the love and support he gives me.  I can't believe we are coming up on 2 years of marriage.  Praise to the Lord for He is good and His love endures forever!  

***********WARNING: This is a long post.*************

So, one of my favorite things about my job is the 2 weeks that I get off during the Christmas holidays!  However, during this break, only about 2 1/2 days were spent in Starkville - the rest was spent on the road visiting friends and family.  I wish I had pictures from our time in Madison, but I have lost my camera and we didn't get our new one until the day before we left.  (Thanks Mom and Dad!) We had a great time celebrating my Mom's 60th birthday, Christmas, and spending time with my sisters and their precious families.  Sadly, we left a member of our little family in Madison... Maggie.  She is now with Kristian and George in Chattanooga at obedience training.  We are hoping to get her back sometime mid-January.  We miss her so much!

The pictures pick up on our way to the Gatlinburg area to spend Christmas with Jesse's family.

Leaving the good ole Golden Triangle...

We spent the first day walking around Gatlinburg.  Many memories from Youth for Christ trips came flooding back while walking the streets!  I spent the days after Christmas here 5 years in a row.  Wish I could scan in all the pictures I have in this photo booth!

We ate dinner that night at the Apple Barn.  If you have not been, then GO! 

REALLY excited about family vacay, apparently!

the girls

the parents

While you are visiting the Apple Barn, make sure you eat here!

Christmas Eve was a treat!  We spent it at George Vanderbilt's lovely home, Biltmore (if you can call it that... more like castle).

Christmas morning brought SNOW!  White Christmas!

Our baby christmas tree.  You make do when you are at a condo!  We had a nice morning opening presents and spending time with family.  Jesse's mom is making me a quilt that I am so excited about!  

The next two days were spent spending christmas money at the outlets.  No pictures necessary, I'm sure you can imagine.

The last day of the trip, we drove through beautiful Cades Cove.  I rode my bike around this 11 mile loop as a kid one summer, so it was a treat to see it covered in snow...

... that is until the traffic stopped moving.  At first we thought it was just some people up ahead looking at deer ( I mean, really, come to Mississippi and you will see plenty of deer), but turns out there was an accident about 4 or 5 miles ahead of us.  We were stuck.  6 adults in a Ford F-150 extended cab. Jesse, John, and I in the backseat.  For 6 hours.  6 hours. Talk about quality family time. 

We left the park after sunset, but just before, we snapped one final shot from our trip.  Call me silly, but "purple mountains majesty" came to mind as we looked upon this beautiful place.  God's creation is beautiful.  

After Gatlinburg, we spent New Years with our friends (who are family to us) in Memphis!  I don't really know why we don't have any pictures from this.  I guess we were just having too much fun!  This was our first New Years since we have been together that we spent with friends, so that was a treat.  We ran in the New Year with COWBELLS and a Gator Bowl Victory!  Go DAWGS!

Oh and before I forgot, we have two of Maggie's Christmas presents waiting at home for her return.  We stopped through Mantachie, MS and picked up two kitties! Introducing:

Below is Roobidoo, the crazy one.  He is so playful and fun!

and here is Jack (or Sailor Jack, Happy Jack, Creepy Jack, whatever you want to call him)  When he has things his way he is perched on your shoulder like a parrot.

I put up this picture of Jack next to an average sized throw pillow to show you how SMALL these kitties are!  They are 6 months old... can you believe it?

I think Maggie will have fun when she gets home.  All of our animals are quite the cuddlers, so I'm sure very soon I will have a picture similar to this one below,  just with a yellow lab snuggled in the middle.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

**New Year's Resolution:  BLOG MORE!**

Bucket List Item Checked Off!

Anyone remember this post?  On July 22, I shared that I was planning to run the St. Jude Half Marathon.  It was a big goal to me and at the time I thought I was a crazy person...and that December 4 was really far away.  Some 5 months later, I have found a love for running that I thought I would never have and I have completed my first half marathon!  I followed my training plan from "Smart Coach" offered through runnersworld.com (thanks Becca!).  This plan gave me a great schedule to follow and kept me accountable.  Thanks to everyone who encouraged me in my running and an even bigger thanks to those who ran with me to get me to this point!  I couldn't have done it without you! 

 I was really nervous, anxious, and excited going into race day, but it was a blast!  I couldn't believe how the miles were flying by.  There were definitely my moments of fatigue and hurt, but it was all worth it in the end to run to the finish line in the Redbirds stadium, especially with Mary Renfroe, the newly engaged Elizabeth Butler, and Jill Horton by my side!  I coudn't have done it without these girls.  It meant so much to have Jesse and Kelley there at the finish line to celebrate with me. I'm taking the week off to rest, but I'll be hitting the pavement next week to continue running.  I feel like I have finally gotten to the point that I really love it and need it in my week.  I would like to continue running 6-10 miles a week until I decide what to train for next. 

That night, we celebrated the finish of the race and my 24th birthday at the Doodle Noodle and Beauty Shop in Memphis!  Before leaving Memphis on Sunday, we filled up on Cracker Barrel breakfast then came home to decorate the Christmas tree and bake cookies.  It was a great birthday weekend with a bucket list item checked off!  However, I had to make a trip to the doctor's office today to get some antibiotics to knock out a cold that I think came from the cold weather running... planning on a week of rest this week!

Christmas is a comin'!

Hello blogger world!  I hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving with your loved ones!  Thanksgiving was really special to me this year because I was able to be with my parents, sisters, brother in laws, and neices and nephews. It is rare to be able to have EVERYONE there for holidays. So, we did something extra special this year and hired a photographer to take family photos for my parents as an early Christmas present... also to get christmas card pictures!  I told Jesse that I wanted to do a card every year with a photo of our family since the year we got married.  I'm excited that this year we have an addition to our picture thanks to Mags, our growing lab pup! I think it will be neat to have a collection of cards over the years to see how our family grows.  :)  I have been looking at christmas cards online and my favorite ones that I have found have been at Shutterfly.  Here is the link to all of their holiday cards.  I just think they are adorable! I love all of their options.  And as a plus, they are doing a promotion for bloggers- check it out! http://blog.shutterfly.com/5358/holiday2010-blog-submission-form/


They have Christmas photo cards:  http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-photo-cards
Some favorites:

Personalized holiday thank you cards:  http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/thank-you-cards

Some favorites:

And calendars, too!  http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars (which make great gifts!)

I'm really excited to see the pictures from the photographer... should be getting them back hopefully tomorrow!  Once I pick out the perfect picture, I will be picking out the perfect christmas card from www.shutterfly.com!

As for now, I am sipping on hot apple cider and watching Rudoph the Red-Nosed Reindeer on CBS.  I love the holidays!  

Casey+Laura

So, my work travels today took me to Tupelo where I got to meet up with some dear friends for lunch.  Casey and Laura Zumwalt have been friends of ours for quite some time now, and we love them dearly!  We had lunch at a great place in downtown Tupelo, Cafe 212.  I had the chicken salad BLT and it was devine.  Even better than the food was the company.  Casey and Laura are two of the most creative people I know.  They do photography for weddings/senior portraits, etc, graphic design, and Laura is an amazing cook.  They always amaze me with the new things they have going on.  I got to go upstairs (above Cafe 212) to their studio where they do photography consultations as well as their photo edits.  Way cool.  If you are in the market for a wedding photography, I highly recommend these two.  They shot our engagement photos.  Check out their website: http://lovelyunion.com.

This picture is from my first 5k that I ever ran.  Laura was the reason I ran my first race!

Here's Casey and I the beginning of my sophomore year of college.

I hope they are ok with me posting this, but I'll leave you with one of my favorite engagement photos taken in front of the courthouse in Birmingham, Alabama.

Terrific Turkey Chili

So recently in the food world at the English household, we have been cookin' up some "good eats" as Alton Brown would say.  Recently on the menu: chicken florentine, poppyseed chicken, whole wheat baked ziti, lentil stew with deer sausage, and tonight, "terrific turkey chili."  The name for tonight's dish doesn't do it justice... just sounds silly for such a fresh, full flavored dish!  We tried to think of a better name, but never came up with anything.  Recently, I have been so impressed by the recipes I have been getting off of allrecipes.com.  Some of my favorite new dishes have come from this website. Amazing! I also love the reviews.  Anyways, back to tonight's dinner.... when I first saw this recipe and read zucchini, I was like, zucchini???......in chili???... Hmm, lets give it a try.  Oh my goodness was it good.  Jesse loved the fresh veggies in this chili.  The only change was that we added corn.  Black beans would be a nice touch too, but didn't have those this time.  This chili is far from your average ground beef, tomatoes, beans, and chili seasoning... takes a little bit more time, but ooohh the flavor!  I also made Beagle Bagel chicken salad tonight for lunches this week... yum.  Have I ever shared that recipe? I'll save that for another post.  On the menu next week: tomato basil soup with grilled cheese. Anyone want to join??  

Speaking of all of this eating, yes, I have still been training for the half-marathon.  Did 6 miles last night, which I as so proud of (farthest I have ever run), however, still a long way to go to 13.1!  December 4th is fast approaching, so trying to stay on schedule- 8 miles on Thursday. eek.

I'll leave you with the recipe from tonight, compliments of allrecipes.com.  Hope you enjoy!

Terrific Turkey Chili

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 1 1/2 pounds ground turkey
• 1 (1 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon chili pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can beef broth
• 1 (7 ounce) can salsa
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can crushed tomatoes, or coarsely chopped tomatoes packed in puree
• 1 (7 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 3 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Crumble turkey into the pot, stirring with a wooden spoon to break apart as much as possible. Season with taco seasoning mix, coriander, oregano, chili flakes, and tomato paste, and mix until meat is evenly coated with seasonings. Continue cooking, reducing heat if necessary, until turkey is well browned.
2. Pour in beef broth, and simmer to reduce liquid slightly, about 5 minutes. Add salsa, tomatoes, and green chilies, and continue cooking at a moderate simmer for ten minutes. Adjust the thickness at any time you feel necessary by adding water.
3. While chili is still cooking, heat one tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook onion and green bell pepper, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes, or until onion is translucent and bell pepper is lightly browned. Add onion and bell pepper to the chili, and continue cooking at a very low simmer.
4. In the same skillet, heat the remaining tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat. Add the zucchini, and cook stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until lightly browned. Add the zucchini to the chili, reduce heat, and continue cooking 15 minutes more. Again, adjust the consistency with water as needed.
5. Ladle chili into serving bowls. Top with sour cream, green onion, and cheddar cheese, and serve.