Pink Tomato Paradise

As most of you know, I grew up in Warren, which means I have an innate love in my heart for lumberjacks, tall pines, and pink tomatoes. All year long I anxiously await the few short summer weeks when I (and my lucky friends with whom I choose to share) am able to experience the pure joy and exhiliration that comes from biting into what can only be called the BEST tomato in the world. Friday, my waiting was over. I got a box of South Arkansas Vine Ripe Pink Tomatoes, and Taylor and I have been feasting on them since. I have at least one (most the time two or three) a day, and I enjoy every bite. I choose to eat mine with salt, and Taylor likes his with salt and pepper. We've eaten most of them just by themselves, but we did make BLTs on Saturday afternoon that were YUMMY! Some of you may think that my obsession with these fruits (or are they vegetables...or both?) is a little odd. If you've never tasted these tomatoes, of course you wouldn't understand. And if you have tasted them...well, I'm sure you're as obsessed as I am. If you haven't yet had the chance to enjoy these wonderful products of God's creation, be really nice to me this week. I might give you one. :)

On the Road Again

This week has been the week of travel for me. I've been on the road every day except for Monday and today! Whew! Here's what my week looked like:

Monday: stayed in Monticello

Tuesday: went to Pine Bluff with friend; stayed way longer than we
thought; didn't get home till around 8:00

Wednesday: workshop in Monticello till 3:30. Then on to Pine Bluff again to see
Samuel Dean Moss(who, by the way, is adorable!!!)

Thursday: 9:30 a.m. - left for Little Rock - we went to Wild River Country! It was
lots of fun!!!

Friday: in Monticello again

Saturday: going to Little Rock AGAIN for a cousin's birthday party


I love to travel, but four day out of the week is a little much! Maybe next week will be more tame.

Stir-Fry Cook-Off '07

Last night Taylor and I decided to cook supper. Cooking is something both Taylor and I enjoy (although his knack for cooking tends to get more press, you know, he IS a "Pampered Chef" and all...). The problem is that while we both enjoy cooking, we also both enjoy cooking the right way. And if you ask us what the "right way" to cook something is, you'll get a different answer from each of us. This has caused many heated "discussions" in the kitchen, which mostly end in compromise, but sometimes end with me leaving Taylor to cook the way HE wants to, aka the WRONG way. ;)

Last night, we decided on stir-fry. Taylor got a recipe for an Asian dipping sauce from the Pampered Chef website that they said could be used in stir-fry. Yummy, right? We agreed on that. We went to the store to buy some veggies, rice, and eggrolls to go with our meal. The problem began when I started cooking the rice. There was a recipe for stir-fry on the back of the rice box. I've never made stir-fry from scratch before, so I was a little cautious to begin with. Taylor has no fear in the kitchen, whipping up things from thin air all the time - and they're usually really good. I, however, DO have a little fear when cooking something I've never made before. So I like to follow the recipe! You should follow the recipe anyway, right? (I guess that's just the teacher in me...)

This was our dilemma. I wanted to follow the recipe, which called for 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, and Taylor did NOT. We went around and around, bickering about this until finally Taylor said, "Call the Parkers." (The Parkers are experts of all things cooking). So I said, "Fine! I will!" We called and got Suzanne (who thought it was hilarious that we were arguing about corn starch). She gave us the solution - half the veggies and chicken, and add our own sauce to each half. (What would we do without you, Suzanne?) That's what we did. Taylor added only his Asian sauce to his, and I added what the recipe called for - soy sauce, water, and corn starch.

We finished cooking, put everything on our plates, and got ready for the moment of truth. (We had to wait 10 minutes while Taylor took about 20 pictures of each plate, though...) We tasted, and in the end we decided that Taylor's had a better taste (probably because of the seasonings in the Asian sauce), but mine had better consistancy (it wasn't as thin as his because of the corn starch I added.)

So, in the end...I was right. (Are you surprised?) I mean, the whole argument was over whether or not to add corn starch, and we decided that the corn starch was a good idea. I never said that the Asian sauce was a bad idea. How long will it take for Taylor to realize that in every argument, I'm always right? :)

(By the way, you can check out HIS version of the story on his blog. You can choose who to believe...) :)

Here's a picture of the winning stir-fry (mine).

I'm cured!

Okay, maybe it's too soon to say, but since my last post I haven't had any trouble sleeping at night. Isn't that great? I think part of it is because I've been busy every day since then (meaning, I haven't been able to take a nap in the afternoon...could it be that Taylor was right? Nah...). Also, I started working out with a friend. We joined the wellness center at UAM, and yesterday was our first workout. It was a lot of fun, actually. We walked on treadmills and then spent the rest of our time in the circuit room, with all the cool machines. Last night, I slept like a ROCK. And this morning, I can feel the results of my exertions yesterday...my arms are killing me!!! (I have basically no upper body strength, so some of those machines were kinda difficult!) Anyway, I'm excited about this new venture. I'm going with a friend of mine from high school, and it'll be fun to get to spend time with her again.

So...now I'm at home alone. Taylor just left to go back to work after lunch. I've got the whole afternoon ahead of me with nothing to do...wonderful! This is actually one of the first days I've had like this, so I'm going to enjoy it. Maybe I'll even take a nap. (Who cares what Taylor says, right?) ;) Oh, speaking of Taylor, he's blogging again! Go over and check out his new site! (I have it linked in my sidebar.)

Insomnia Blues

Here it is - 1 a.m. on a Saturday night - and I can't sleep. And that stinks. I really hate not being able to sleep. I shouldn't be surprised, though. This happens every summer. My schedule gets all out of whack and I end up sleeping at the strangest times. I'm actually shocked that I can't sleep tonight, though. I've had a pretty eventful week, and I thought for sure I'd have visions of sugar plums (or whatever dances in your sleeping brain in June) dancing in my head about now. So what do I do? I blog.

I mentioned a busy week. It's has been busy, but it's been really enjoyable at the same time. Last Friday was my last day of school (yay!) and on Saturday Taylor, my mom, and I left for Camden, AL to see Rosie and Phillip. We stayed there until Tuesday (and had a GREAT time, by the way!). We got home Tuesday night. Then, on Wednesday I washed clothes, cleaned the house a little, and went to a Watermark concert in Little Rock with Taylor and his dad. That was really fun. I've always loved Watermark, and it was great to see them live. The last song they did was the song Taylor and I had in our wedding, "Captivated". It was pretty great to hear them sing it. Thursday I got to lounge around a little in the morning, and in the afternoon I made the short trip over to Warren to be measured for a bridesmaid's dress. (My college roomie is getting married at the end of this month!) Yesterday, I took Taylor's grandmother to Pine Bluff for a dr.'s appointment and a little shopping. We got home at 5:00, and at 6:00, Taylor and I left for Hot Springs to have dinner with another college friend. We spent the night in my grandparent's old house with my mom and dad. It was really fun to get to spend time with them. We went out to eat this morning and then drove home. (In the pounding rain the whole way UNTIL we turned onto 35. Rough drive!) Whew! What a week! But, hey, it's summer, right? I cannot complain.

Still not tired. Shoot. I guess I'll at least go lay in the bed and try to get to sleep. Maybe I'll try my balloon trick. Counting sheep never worked for me, so this is what I do instead. I've done it since I was a little kid...whenever I'm having trouble sleeping, I imagine a big bundle of balloons. Sometimes they're all one color (red), but most of the time it's a variety. Anyway, I picture this big bundle of balloons drifing up into the sky and floating away with the breeze. It's very strange how it works, but it always seems to help at least just a little. Weird, huh? If that doesn't work, I'll probably just read. With reading, however, it's a coin toss. Sometimes reading puts me out in a matter of minutes, but sometimes, if what I'm reading is really good, I don't want to stop reading so I end up staying up even later! Okay, here's the plan. I'll read for half an hour, THEN turn of the light and try the balloon thing. There. It's always nice to have a plan, right? Here goes...