COMING HOME...

Homecoming means coming home

to what is in your heart. 

~Author Unknown

FRIDAY: our 4.5 family drove to ABILENE

for our last trip there 'til after baby arrives.

we were excited for FAMILY time and FRIENDS time too.

one of the perks of going to college in the town you grew up in

is getting to do both in the same place.

it was ACU HOMECOMING and my 10 year college REUNION.

that night we all ventured up to campus for the CARNIVAL and FIREWORKS.

the kids loved the inflatables and the adults loved the photo props.

Homecoming means football, festivities,

floats, friendship and fun.

~Author Unknown

SATURDAY MORNING: began bright and early for me.

getting up before 6am is not my norm,
but was worth it for SIGGIE BREAKFAST.

i loved seeing half of our PLEDGE CLASS together again,

as well as sponsor GRANDMA BOBBIE,

squig ASHLEY (who i have known since she was born),

roommate MADDIE, and sara kate's friend/my new friend AIMEE.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON:  we quickly got ready to go down the street to the PARADE.

it was so fun to wave to friends on the coming home court,

see the creative FLOATS, and dine on a buffet of CANDY.

next we toured SARA KATE'S cute COLLEGE HOUSE,

ate TACO BUENO for lunch (of course),

and the guys went to the FOOTBALL GAME

while some of us stayed home and napped.

SATURDAY NIGHT: hannah vickers gave mom the sweetest teacher thank you gift,

and came over to take FAMILY PICTURES of us all.

then evan and i went to my class REUNION DINNER at T&P event center

and had a great time catching up with lots of old friends.

adelaide and graham spent the night with grammy and poppa

and got to TRICK-OR-TREAT a little bit early in abilene.

since we didn't have a curfew and didn't want the night to end

we went on a fun date to STARBUCKS.

when we came home we got to watch more football and play NERTZ.

SUNDAY: we went to CHURCH to worship together,

came back to mom and dad's for BRUNCH with more family

(and an incredible spread of fall breakfast foods and drinks),

PACKED, watched more FOOTBALL,

until it eventually came time we had to leave.

Home is a place you grow up wanting to leave,

and grow old wanting to get back to.

~John Ed Pearce

PIZZA, PIZZA...

eight years ago today i was trying prawn pizza for the first time.

as monumental as tasting a shrimpy pizza topping is,

something even more exciting happened on this day in history.

eight years ago i met evan for the first time.

at a pizza hut buffet in oxford, england (full story here).

my pizza sharing friend turned husband,

sent me a link awhile ago to "our pizza hut."

i was shocked to read a review about it that said,

"i really dislike the decor,

there is no natural light due to it being downstairs,

the food was so-so,

salad bar was only half full,

the toilets were rather dirty,

and the staff was not as attentive as needed."

i seem to disagree.

i have nothing but fond memories of this place.

maybe that's because we were so jet-lagged i couldn't see straight,

and so hungry cardboard would have tasted gourmet.

but i'm going to choose to think it's because love was already in the air.

i'm thankful neither of us got hung up on the lack of natural light and so-so food.

and i'm thankful i met the love of my life that day.

just maybe we will order some pizza tonight

to celebrate this special day in our history.

(photo taken a couple months after that great pizza hut day in history,

while stuck in a train station after a james taylor concert which was another great day in history)

SING, SING A SONG...

where can you be silverware (a spoon to be exact), a chili pepper, a postal worker, annie oakley, a disco dancer, a mermaid (who turns into a human complete with legs), AND a blind mouse? SING SONG of course. (what is sing song you ask? click here for a quick summary)




i loved EACH and EVERY performance i got to be apart of during my time at a.c.u. i EAGERLY performed all four years in the class division and all three years i could in the club division. my senior year in addition to being in the class and club acts, i also GLADLY took on the responsibility of corralling freshman ushers (along with abbe, jennifer, and jon) and hoping those students would develop a love for sing song too. i guess you could say i was officially a SING SONG ADDICT.
but let me back up a bit, my love for sing song didn't start when i was in college, i think i might have just been BORN loving it. it's always felt special to me that it occurs annually in february, my birthday month. going to the show is like an early PRESENT each year. as long as i can remember i've gone to this performance. the only years i can remember missing were '85, '86, and '03.
in '85 and '86 we lived in oregon and believe it or not we didn't fly home to abilene for the show. i did have two cassette tapes of those year's performances though. my uncle mark was the director of a winning act and made sure that i was able to hear it. although i couldn't actually watch the motions, i could imagine them in my 5-year-old head. each night that year i fell asleep to my sing song cassettes playing that wonderful MUSIC to my ears.
in '87 we were back in abilene and i was right back in the cozy seats of moody coliseum where i belonged, watching with WIDE eyes. each year i couldn't wait to see signs advertising the overall theme for the show and eagerly waited for the hosts and hostesses names to be REVEALED. i looked forward to hearing what themes the different clubs would be performing. i was THRILLED when my dad would bring home copies of the optimist (the campus newspaper) leading up to the event. i would read each article, then reread them again in anticipation of the BIG show.
in '03 i was in oxford falling in love with evan and making other fun MEMORIES too. although i was enjoying that adventure of being abroad, at the end-of-february i still found myself wishing i was seated in that familiar abilene coliseum CHEERING for fabulous acts and CRITIQUING their hard work. i found myself wishing i had programs from shows gone by so i could thumb throw them and read each and every name as i had done so many times.
and now that my performing days at sing song are done, i am happy to return to being an audience member. although, at the top of my "bucket list" is to someday be a sing song JUDGE, so hopefully that will be another sing song role i get to experience. after all, i feel i have spent a lifetime preparing my background knowledge for that. i know what sharp motions are supposed to look like, i understand the full meaning of "sing song face," i know an original, well-developed theme when i see one, and i know when that good ol' harmony is right on pitch (and when it isn't).
so since this was the 3rd weekend in february, you can probably guess where we were... ABILENE. last february we traveled there with a 1 month old. she was going to come to the show with us, but at the last minute we decided leaving the newborn at home with family babysitting would actually allow us to enjoy the acts much more. i went back and forth many times about that decision, worrying that she might be scarred someday because i made her miss a sing song performance (even if she was too young to even know) but in the end i chose selfishly and was able to watch the show without interruptions.
this year there were no excuses, it was high time for adelaide to be exposed to the GREATNESS known as sing song. and so we went. and i couldn't be PROUDER to report, my first-born who gets jumpy at each and every buzzer, did not get startled by the bright lights and loud melodic noises of sing song. of course she didn't. she sat PERFECTLY still in my lap for almost three hours with wide-eyes taking it all in as if it was the coolest thing she had ever seen. on days where i wonder if i'm teaching her all she needs to know, i will REMEMBER this. i must be doing something right. after all, i've already instilled a love and RESPECT for sing song. i'd say she's off to a good start in life!


the week before sing song we went to the mall play area for the first time. i think it was the perfect place for adelaide to practice her sing song arm movements and perfect her expressive sing song face (see above). then the night before her first show her grandma and aunt fed her a fudgesicle. they obviously knew she would needed to store up extra sugar to last through the next day's show.

and finally it was 8pm on saturday night and the show was about to start. here's a glimpse of adelaide enjoying her first of many shows. next to that you can see me with my favorite sister, the one that could possibly be in sing song herself in just 2 short years.
(also you should check out my aunt cheri's blog for a glance at some retro sing song pictures from the 80's!)

and in other exciting news, february holds some other special birthdays too. here are two of the birthday kids we have been able to celebrate so far, grandbud and chloe-girl. and on sunday i started my birth week off right with birthday dessert. please notice the 7 1/4 candles (instead of 29, my leap year age seems to fit better on a brownie). it's obviously a very BIG year for me!

DO YOU SEE WHAT I SEE?

i came across some pictures from elementary school at my parents' house.

seriously,
how
many
bloggers
could the first photo hold?!


my 7 year old birthday party was penguin themed. we borrowed those costumes from siggies who had worn them in sing song earlier that year (the first time they were penguins my aunt betsy was the director).

and as for you blogger friends from middle school. you are lucky i don't know where those photo albums are right now. your day is coming!

LITTLE MAMA'S APPLE PIE...

i am the oldest in my family. my mom and dad are the oldest in their families. 3 of my 4 grandparents are the oldest in their families. when i was born not only were all my grandparents and great-grandparents alive, i had 2 great-great-grandmothers living too. i am so thankful for the blessing of meeting these women who were a part of my heritage. one of these special women was lura anna woods, better known as "little mama." the anna part of my name came from her. thank goodness i am not littlelee or mamalee. i'm glad my parents decided to honor her by using her given name and calling me annalee instead.

here we are at little mama's birthday party in 1984
little mama (90 years old) and me (4 years old)

not only did little mama have a great name, she had great recipes too. this one has been passed down through the generations since little mama made it in the 1900's. it is the first pie recipe i ever attempted and still the only pie recipe i have ever made. it is a thanksgiving staple and smells so good coming out of the oven. i recommend it topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, although evan's grandbud eats it with a slice of american cheese on top!






for the CRUST you can save a LOT of time and buy a pre-made crust in the freezer section of the grocery store. but if you have the time and want to be extra betty crockerish i recommed giving this delicious flaky dough a try...
CRUST

ingredients:
(MAKES TWO 8-9 INCH CRUSTS)
2C FLOUR
1t SALT
2/3 C PLUS 2T SHORTENING (do NOT skimp on the shortening, if anything add a little extra)
4-5 T COLD WATER

directions:
1) MIX FLOUR AND SALT AND WATER.
2) FOLD IN SHORTENING AND CUT WITH A FORK UNTIL DOUGH CONSISTENCY.
3) KNEED DOUGH JUST UNTIL ALL INGREDIENTS ARE BLENDED (don't overwork).
4) DIVIDE THE DOUGH INTO TWO BALLS.
5) ROLL OUT ONE BALL WITH A ROLLING PIN.
6) GENTLY PLACE IN PIE PAN (i usually very loosely fold the flattened dough into half, then half again to transfer it to the pan, then once it is in the pan i unfold it).
7) PRESS THE DOUGH AROUND THE SIDES OF THE PAN WITH YOUR THUMB.
8) TRIM EXCESS EDGES.


the FILLING of little mama's apple pie is different than many other apple desserts because there is no cinnamon. ordinarily i am a big fan of cinnamon, but trust me this recipe doesn't need it. it already has the perfect blend of pure flavors, mmm.
FILLING

ingredients:
5-6 GRANNY SMITH APPLES
EQUAL PARTS FLOUR AND SUGAR
A STICK OF BUTTER
VANILLA FLAVORING

directions:
1) PEEL, CORE, AND THINLY SLICE ALL THE APPLES. (if you have access to a apple peeler/corer/slicer, use it! otherwise a good old fashioned knife works just fine too).
2) MIX TOGETHER ABOUT 1/2 C FLOUR AND 1/2 C SUGAR.
3) PUT A LAYER OF APPLE SLICES IN THE BOTTOM OF THE PIE PAN.
4) SLICE THIN PIECES OF BUTTER AND SPREAD ON TOP OF THE APPLES.
5) SPRINKLE GENEROUSLY WITH THE FLOUR AND SUGAR MIXTURE.
6) PUT YOUR THUMB OVER THE TOP OF THE VANILLA BOTTLE AND POUR DOLLOPS OF VANILLA OVER IT ALL.
7) REPEAT STEP 3, 4, 5, AND 6 SEVERAL TIMES UNTIL THE PAN IS FILLED. (this is pictured above)
8) ROLL OUT THE REMAINING CRUST.
9) PUT TOP CRUST ON PIE. (you can place the whole crust on top of the pan then trim the excess like you did for the bottom crust, just add small slits around the pie with a knife for air vents. you can cut small cookie cutter shapes out of dough scraps and place them on top of the top crust for decoration. or you can roll the dough out then use a knife to cut it into strips and lay them across the top like a lattice pattern).
10) BAKE UNCOVERED (you can cover the pie towards the end if the crust starts to get brown before the pie is thoroughly cooked) AT 350 DEGREES FOR 1 HOUR, OR UNTIL GOLDEN BROWN.

"CAN I GET A SAMPLE?"

i wish i would have counted how many times i was asked for a sample during my 7 years as a cajun cones employee. i also wonder how many hundreds of times i have asked someone else to try a sample of something. but for now here's a sampling of what's been going on with us:

adelaide got sick for the first time. it ended up being just a cold, but it was still absolutely pathetic to watch her feel puny. seeing her little eyes water and the constant run of her nose broke my heart. when she started throwing up drainage i almost got sick myself.

don't worry, she felt well enough to join jim, austan, evan, and me for her first astros game. we loved the first baseline dugout seats. it was crazy to be so close and be able to see the player's faces and proof that they really do sweat out there.

ev finished the bar. he won't find out the results for 3 months, but at least the test part is done. he survived it all and i'm so proud of him. we couldn't be happier that he is on this side of it.

berkeley went to the vet and was diagnosed with incontinence. she is only a couple of years old but when dogs get spayed it can lead to this problem. for the past 2 years our otherwise perfectly trained dog has wet the bed almost every night. i have often wondered how she can go all day inside without an accident but can't make it through a single night. we had tried everything with no positive results. now this is where it gets good, our dog now takes estrogen pills which have finally help her not wet the bed.

on our daily walks adelaide has been sitting pretty in her stroller in the shade. she loves coming along and jabbering back at all the birds she hears. berk begs to come along too. she does really well the first 3 miles. after that she ends up catching a ride in the basket underneath adelaide's stroller. i've decided our dog just might be spoiled- she takes hormone replacement pills and rides in a stroller.

i have started the 16 week training plan as i prepare to do the susan g. comen 3-day walk in november. i am very excited to get to be a part of this. but one thing is for sure, i'm not as good at long walks as i was once upon a time. but that's what the training is for.

after a week of driving in houston i discovered austin drivers are generally more friendly than houston ones. i am that driver who doesn't know what lane i'm supposed to be in until it's too late. in austin you can still get over. if you are in houston just go ahead, miss your turn, and do a u-turn later. it's really not worth the dirty looks.

evan paid me quite the compliment. he said i have become somewhat of a "laundry expert." for someone who never did a single load of laundry until age 19 that meant a lot (in defense of myself i did fold, hang, and put up countless loads of clothes before that). our grandmas are wonders at getting stains out of things so i have always depended on them to help out with this area. now with baby food stains you gotta tackle them immediately if there is even a hope. i am learning the power i possess with a bottle of zout in my hand.









we watched penelope and loved it. it was a fun movie, had a great storyline, and good message for everyone. i don't remember the last time we sat relaxing on the couch relaxing watching a movie but thanks to netflix i'm sure it will happen again soon.









this past weekend was my high school reunion. what better way for evan to celebrate being done with the bar than to mingle for two days with people he didn't know, haha. he was a good sport and we had fun. and since it only happens every 10 years i'll post more than one picture from it:

class of '98 was the first class in abilene high history to have the same officers all 4 years of high school. so it was not only our class reunion, it was also an officer reunion for the 6 of us to get to plan something together again. (ahmad, me, michelle, leneica, stephanie, craig, and ms. roper)







friday night we had a "toast to conversation" at the warehouse, saturday there was a mid-day "golf and gab" at playfaire park,
and that evening was "dinner and dancing" at perini's steakhouse.
(friends since franklin middle school- adelaide and me, rylie and deanna, blake and meredith, olivia and irma saturday afternoon)








my family was also eating dinner at perini's saturday night. they were inside while we were at our event outside but of course we met in the middle for a photo opp.









since it was an abilene high function there had to be some dancing involved. i am choosing to post a stillshot picture of us doing the electric slide instead of the video ev decided to take.








overall i was suprised how easy-going and enjoyable the weekend was. i loved being able to catch up with people from back in the day and i'm glad i got to be there for it. i wouldn't wish to go back to high school again, but i did really enjoy spending some time remembering those days and being together again. (some of the GNO gang at perini's- me, sara, natalie, mary catherine, meredith)