Reason #1 why I love my friend Rachel: Despite her injuries in a boating accident 4 years ago, she turns everything negative into a positive. Case and point- cookies for her prothesis doctors for Christmas.


Every year since the accident she has made these "prosthesis cookies" for her doctors and they've become an office favorite. So, yesterday afternoon, I went over to help her make a batch for this year. They are DEFINITELY unconventional to say the least and I can really only imagine someone like Rachel being able to do something like that.

(Sorry if this offends anyone. I actually think it is pretty great.)
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Pheww! So glad to be done with exams and have a break. The day after my final (Tuesday), I helped with the Extreme Makeover house. It POURED the whole time I was there and the front yard was a muddy, soupy mess. But, the house got done. Sorry, no pictures because I wasn't allowed to have a phone or camera with me! I did get to see all three designers that helped with the house (Paige, Michael, and John). While I was there they were shooting a couple of scenes right in front of me, in front of the volunteer tent, so once it airs I will let you know if any of the scenes I saw actually got on screen!

When I got home Tuesday afternoon, my mom had a surprise for me: a really ripe pumpkin. You may not know this about my family, but we like to throw things. Not at each other, or even in the house, but outside. It used to be at a stump outside, then even the side of the house, but we've also got a killer gully and it's a tradition in the family to do a little punkin' chunkin' once the pumpkin starts to go rotten. Don't worry, the other stuff we've handled has always been rotten stuff, like old tomatoes or oranges which are really fun (I know you are jealous).

My mom after the first throw off the deck and it didn't crack. This pumpkin was hard!

Here's a video of my mom taking a crack at it.

After we finally split the thing, Truffles was interested in getting some pumpkin seeds for herself.

Then, the other day we went to Canton to see the lights. We always go every year with my mom's best friend, Vicki, and her daughter.

Even our animals are getting into the Christmas spirit!

Now we're all by the fire watching Rudolf and waiting for our gingerbread to be chilled so we can make gingerbread men!

Parade

Ok, so I WAS going to do a really cool movie montage of some of the floats, etc at the parade yesterday, BUT, being the person that I am, I realized that I shot most of my footage sideways. I know, I know. I've tried to rotate it, but because of my Mac and the fact that my Quicktime is a higher version than my computer software (I'm sure you really want to know all of this), I cannot flip! So... I'll just give you a couple of photographs I happened to take between videos.

Mostly importantly, a picture of this horse:

Only one exam and I'll be done! I've got an exam on Monday and then Tuesday, I'll be working on an Extreme Makeover house they are doing in Hattiesburg (which happens to be four streets down from me). It should be a lot of fun! I'll let you know more about it (I am not allowed to bring a camera, cell phone, etc.) when I get done.

It snowed last night! It really started snowing just before 8 o'clock, when my mom and I were at a Christmas party at the Fairview Inn. As we sat down to dinner, we were near the window and the flurries were actually coming down pretty hard. When we left, I had to scrape/shovel a pretty good bit (maybe 2 inches??) off of my car windows! It didn't really stick to the ground, but I'm actually thankful because we have the Christmas Parade this morning! Should be interested (as always).

More later!

I'm such a lame blogger, eh? I promise this week I will catch up and do a couple posts. It's been so busy lately! Soon enough, this semester will be over and I'll only be a few months from graduation. It's a little scary, but I'm hoping that every thing will be alright.

This past weekend my whole family came down to Hattiesburg to see my cousin and I at our houses. I told my mom and my aunt that I would do the cooking and it would be a surprise.

It ended up turning out really well! The menu was:

Salad

Hot Bruschetta

Olive Cheese Bread

Chicken

Hummus - regular and red pepper

Pita (for hummus or a sandwich)

Apple Dumplings

MG seemed pretty happy about it...

Then my sisters stayed the night with me. We had a blast shopping, going out to eat with Cary, and coming back and watching a movie.

However, the next morning there was a bit of an incident...

Poor Ivy is not used to my "Barbie" fridge (we had to have our awesome fridge replaced because it quit working and now we have a small fridge) and as she was trying to get the orange juice out of the back of the fridge, things fell out of the fridge, she fell backwards hitting her head on the fridge and falling on to the floor. It was QUITE the morning.

In other news.... I did get the intern job at St. Dom. I am really excited about it and I hope I learn a lot. I have really enjoyed meeting the people there and, who knows, I may end up working there after I graduate!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Phewwwwwww! Gosh, it's been a long week. I know it's been a long time since I've posted, so I'll catch you up on a few things that have gone on recently.

One day last week, Deidre and I were sitting in the living room after class. I looked out the window and saw a dog walking in the pouring rain down the street. It came in our yard and we thought it was trying to get to us. Deidre goes outside and the dog is trying to cross the creek in front of our house! When it rains, the creek gets pretty high and moves pretty fast, so we were really worried about it. Deidre gets IN the creek and gets the dog while I go grab towels. We looks at the collar and call Abbie's (the dog's) owner. An older woman came and picked her up, so happy to have her dog back.

Next weekend we went camping in Holmes County. The weather was perfect! (My uncle Tommy making breakfast in the morning. I guess he was pretty excited to get to work and got a little caught up....)

There was a beautiful lake down the hill from our cabin. When we went on this pier, it shook so bad!

We also went on walks on this cool trail along the lake.

This past week has been crazy and I have had bronchitis. Blegh! Next week is going to be an insane week with papers, tests, and an interview on Friday for a intern position in a PR firm.

Fall Break

I've been off the past few days for Fall Break and I have to say, it's been pretty nice. The other day, my mom, MG, and I were in Target and I found the perfect Halloween costume.

On Friday, I went to the fair for lunch to enjoy a chicken-on-a-stick, SO GOOD!! I also got my favorite, the Pineapple Whip ice cream. It was incredibly hot that day, but we trekked down to the other end of the fair to get a biscuit. Except, it WASN'T OPEN! I guess they only serve the biscuits at night...



I'll leave you with this video of our cat, Junior. My mom changed the mantle for Halloween and Junior has been obsessed with the vase that she removed. Just watch...

Along campus and in other cities I've been too, I've seen cars where people have customized them with brand names. Off the top of my head, I can think of Welch's Grape Juice, M&M's, and Skittles. Don't ask me why people do this, because it's the biggest conundrum to me!

Today, I was driving to Lowe's and I found one of the best, no, the best brand decoration on a car yet.

You ready for it??

Ready now?

Ready?

Ok.

Beanie Weanies.

Nice, dude. Just sayin'.

Welcome to.... Caliente?

Ever since Moe's left Madison when I was in high school, I've always been in search of a restaurant that matched it. Part Tex-Mex, part build-your-own plates, Erin and I stumbled on the best thing since... well, Moe's. It's a restaurant right next to campus called Caliente Grill. Holy-moley. So good! It tastes just like Moe's (or better. You can't beat the student discount either!)

We decided to sit out on the patio because the weather the past couple of days has been amazing. It was even a little chilly!

Last night, Kaycie and I went to the opening reception of a conference the English department is putting on about fairy tales. I've driven past this theatre downtown tons of times, but I had never been in it before. The place was so cool! It used to be the old movie theatre and we restored in 2000 to the way it was when it first opened in 1929 (a weird year to be opening a theatre, eh?). When we walked into the theatre part of the building, they had a silent film showing and all kinds of lights, etc. Kaycie and I thought it was actually a little bit creepy!

I'm definitely taking advantage of my house and decorating for fall, too! I found some great vases at Hudson's for $2.50 each and fun pumpkins. I can't believe it's already October!

New Orleans

This past weekend my family had a girl-trip to New Orleans. We had so much fun and ate so much good food.

Waiting for shops on Magazine Street to open, we went to Audubon Park (on St. Charles across from Tulane and Loyola). As we were walking around the park, we noticed this fountain and a dog that refused to get out. We walked over, sat down, and watched. While we were there a few other dogs got into the fountain! I guess they know something we don't, because it was so funny to see all these dogs that seemed to know to get in the fountain!

On Magazine, we walked into one of the coolest shops I've seen (or eaten in) in a long time. It's called Sucre and it's to die for. I got Coconut Basil gelato, while my mom and sister got Malted Milk Chocolate and my aunt and cousin got a really dark chocolate. It was so fun and tasty!

Spider Lilies!

I had just post on my blog, made my bed, turned on Good Morning America, and decided to take out the trash. Walking through the backyard back to the house, I noticed something that literally just popped up- SPIDER LILIES!

My Mamaw, mom, and I have been talking about them since right now is the little window of time that they bloom. There had been these green stalks in the backyard near Erin's room, but I had just assumed it was from this plant that is next to them. But, today I realized I had some Spider Lilies of my own.

Since I had loaded my photos, I'll show you my fabulous dinner from last night!

The original recipe my mom gave me was called "Peanut Chicken Bowl," but I've decided to call it the "Faux Thai Pad Thai" dish. I've got it pending on PW's Tasty Kitchen, so I'll give you guys a link to the recipe when it posts. It's pretty simple with Ramen noodles, snow peas, red bell pepper, chicken, bamboo shoots, and water chestnuts. Even my roommate, Deidre, that doesn't like chicken OR peanut butter (another component in the peanut sauce) liked it!

Downtown Dog

The other day when we were leaving Southbound, I saw the cutest dog staring at us out of the window outside our car.

I had to get a close-up for you guys because I wanted to take him home with me!

How sweet is that??

Yesterday morning, I picked up Kaycie and we made the drive to Petsmart to help with the Adoption Team. BUT, they never showed! Hungry and tired, I suggested we go to one of the places we love, C'est la Vie. Pull into the parking lot and there's a note on the door saying they are going to be gone for two weeks!

So, I suggested Southbound Bagel, a place downtown that I have heard of, but never been too. Ok, I've been to it during Artwalks, but they were only displaying art, so I've never actually had the food.

We walk in to the corner shop and take a menu. Holy-toledo, this place has so much to choose from! I wish I could remember all of the items, but there was bacon cream cheese, all kinds of bagels, omelets, and a funky design I really loved. The place had a greasy diner feel with a counter, swivel stools, and mis-matched chairs and tables that made it really fun. Plus, the place is almost all windows, overlooking all the criss-crossing tracks right next to the train depot.

I ordered the Maestro, an omelet with bacon, swiss, and tomatoes (came with a choice of bagel and I chose onion), while Kaycie ordered the Shrimp Alfredo omelet.

FABULOUS! It was so good and different from anything I've ever had before. I'm definitely going back.

After finishing, we decided to check out Calico Mall, a flea market in an old home right down the street from Southbound.

While we were in one booth tucked away from all the others on the second floor, we found one of the most disturbing things I've ever seen here. Make that, the most disturbing.

It's a wrinkled woman's head!!! It's apparently mechanical. I guess if you but batteries in it, it would work. I don't know anyone that would actually want that thing to work and talk. Creepy!

After that, Kaycie and I decided to go to Petal, because we had always heard people talk about or say they lived there, but we had never been there. Ha! It's quite small and I got so terribly lost TWICE trying to get back home. I finally pulled out my iPhone and I was over ten miles from home. But we got back and all was good!

My friend Maggie (my roommate last year that graduated) came into town yesterday and stayed with me last night. While we were driving around town, Maggie kept asking me about all of the new buildings/restaurants that have popped up since she left in May. One of the places was this little shop close to campus called "Cirque de Sweet Day." I'd heard it had cupcakes and Maggie was determined to have her a cupcake from there.

After getting there in the most torrential downpour ever, we walked into Cirque de Sweet Day. After seeing my friend Kaycie there with Annie and her sister, we went up to get our cupcakes.

"Sorry, we are really low on cupcakes. We didn't make as many as we normally do because we thought the weather would deter people today. I do have some strawberry coming out from the back," the girl said.

We look in the case: two little cupcakes are sitting on clear plates. Low? There's hardly anything! Maggie gives me a look.

She brings out a couple of strawberry cupcakes, which Maggie orders, while I order one of the Reece's Buttercup cupcakes on the shelf.

I've gotta say, Maggie's fresh out of the oven cupcake was one of the best I have ever eaten, mine, however, not so much. However, the place is so amazingly pink and fun, I just might go back and try it again.

The Devil's Beatin' His Wife

We've have some really crazy weather the past couple of days (rain for a few minutes, then suddenly bright sun, rain with bright sun, rain again...), but it also brings about one of my favorite parts of our house: the stream that runs in front of our house.

It's normally pretty low (it's been dry for much of the time we've been here), so the rain has created quite a stream!

So, after class today, I came home and cleaned off the deck and enjoyed it (while it wasn't raining, of course).

More later!

Monkeying Around

Yesterday, I was over at my Mamaw's house for a family get-together. After dinner, we were all in the living room where some were watching the State game and others were playing with cousins Jacob and Parker. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw these monkeys on the mantle. For a second, I thought they were voodoo dolls. I was kind of creeped out by them at first, but now that I've loaded the pictures on my camera, they are kind of cute!

Mommy Puh-leese???

Mommy can I have Jolene? Pleaseeeee?


-- Post From My iPhone

I've got so many stories and I've gotten so behind on my blog, I feel like I should backtrack and tell you all of them!

(EDITOR'S NOTE: If you are squeamish, pregnant, my become pregnant, or unable to handle bathroom humor, this first story isn't for you.)

About a week ago, we had one of our first house mis-haps, but it ended it being one of the funniest things (afterwards, of course) that's happened in our house, thus far.

We have been having a little ant problem and one night after my roommate, Deidre, took a shower, she told us to come into the bathroom and see that there were a few ants on the ceiling. Pointing them out, Deidre decided to stand on the toilet lid to get closer. For whatever reason, the toilet seat collapsed under her (at this point Deidre is still only in a towel), shattering the lid, seat, attachments, and not to mention the fact that her leg up to her mid-calf is in the toilet! Erin, Deidre, and I were all stunned, shriek

ing that the toilet seat had broken, Deidre's in the toilet, and there ants on the ceiling (we can laugh about this now, remember?).

We get Deidre out of the toilet (which I had cleaned that day, thank goodness), cleaned up the broken pieces, and tried to figure out how in the world to figure out what kind of seat we needed.

After changing clothes, measuring the seat and figuring out we needed an "elongated seat" (which brought much laughter in itself), we headed off to WalMart at 9:30 at night (we only have one bathroom so we needed it fast).

On our way there, we started talking about what kind

of seat we wanted to get. Though joking, I suggested a padded seat. Deidre, being completely serious, said, "Oh my gosh, please, let's get one. They are so comfortable I can do my homework on one!" Erin and I fall out with laughter thinking about it, vowing never to let Deidre go near a padded seat.

After buying our enlongated sink, we all came back and assembled our new seat. Crisis averted.

WOW. Okay. In other news...

I got a fabulous Macbook Pro last weekend!

My sister has been asking for a Mac for a while now and with Mac's newest operating system, Snow Leopard coming out, an offer for a free iPod touch, and my educational discount running out when I graduate, my dad came up with this plan. According to my mom, this is how it was supposed to happen:

I was going to come home that weekend so I could go to the Apple store, get Snow Leopard, and update my Macbook. My dad was going to go with me to the store and as we were walking by the Macbook Pros, say, "Hey Sophie, wouldn't you like to have one of these MacBookPros?" Thus, surprising me with a very early graduation gift and also shifting my two year-old MacBook to my sister.

However, in my dad's excitement, he spilled the beans early. I can't say that I blame him. What if I didn't want a new MacBook Pro (Ha, yeah right?)? Then what would happen? So, when my mom had gone to Bunko at a friend's house, he asked me if I would like a new computer, etc. It was still very exciting and fun.

I gotta say, though, this computer is smokin'. Not only does it have the same features as my old MacBook, but it's got an SD card slot for my camera card with makes getting images on this blog SO much easier! I'm really enjoying it. Thanks Mom and Dad!

P.S. Don't forget to check out my Twitter updates on the right-hand side of the page! I update daily (sometimes hourly!), which tends to be more frequent than my longer blog posts which can tide you over until my next posts.

Quiche the Cook

Pheewww! Over the past couple of days, I've actually made a couple of really tasty things. While for the most part my roommates and I end up eating separate meals or semi-seperate meals, I try to make us all dinner at least once a week (since my seasonal work at the bookstore is over, I've got more time to plan, etc. so this will probably happen more often.)

This past weekend I made a quiche that was pretty awesome. My mom had made a loaded one (with spinach, mushrooms, bacon, tomato), but since I have picky-eater roommates (how did this happen???), my quiche had ham, cheese, and green onions.

It's so simple and really turned out easy. Pie shell, 7 medium eggs (could have used less if they we larger), splash of milk, 1.5 green onions, 4 sliced of ham lunch meat (As my mom said, blot excess moisture out of any meat in quiche because it makes it soggy), about half a bag of cheese. It was perfect because there was just enough left over for a slice the next morning!

This weekend, I really was craving some eggplant stacks. This summer when eggplants were in high season, we found this recipe in Southern Sideboards. With few ingredients and such a great flavor, it's pretty amazing. A medium eggplant (washed, peeled, and cut into half inch slices), tomato (washed and sliced), onion (sliced), parmesan cheese, and Italian breadcrumbs.

Though you may not be able to find it, to me, I find that this is absolutely perfect with Great Harvest's Spinach and Feta bread. Ho-ley moly. I pretty much do it bruschetta-style, taking a stack on top of a slice of bread and smash it down a bit on the slice. (Sidenote: We also bought GH's special Labor Day bread "Red, White, and Blueberry." The bread consists of cranberries, white chocolate and blueberries. It's to die for.)

Right in the pan...

Right on a piece of GH bread.

Spike definitely seems to live it too!