Pecans – Easy Pickin’, Not So Easy Crackin’

My next-door neighbors (not the mean ones) have a large pecan tree in their yard. I honestly didn’t know it was a pecan tree because I am not good with gardening and trees and such and never in the past has it produced any pecans. Apparently this year was a good year for pecans though and I have found a plentiful supply in my front yard. I have picked up a lot of them and they are mine for the keeping since 1) they were in my yard and 2) no one lives in the house next door. Yes – that’s right no one lives in either of the houses beside me. Not sure what that says about me. I didn’t have a nutcracker and so I went out and bought one and started cracking away and the pecans I gathered from my front yard.

There must be some sort of secret way to crack open pecans that I am not familiar with because every time I go to crack open a pecan it turns into a pile of cracked shell and tiny pieces of edible pecan. I have a friend, Margaret, who is in her eighties and she can crack open pecans with perfection. I am going to have to get her to show me how to crack these babies open, because so far, I’m not too good at it as this was never a feat I needed to accomplish in the past. I typically just buy pecans already shelled when I need them.

Speaking of Margaret, she has a large pecan tree on her property, which is how I know that she can crack open pecans with perfection. Back in the fall I made her some cornbread dressing and she returned the favor by baking me some cookies and bringing me pecans from her pecan tree. Margaret’s tree produced a lot of pecans this year as well. She had some pecan thieves come onto her property and steal pecans from her. She got tired of these vandals coming on to her property, which was clearly marked no trespassing and so she started driving over to the pecan thieves and chasing them off of her property – a woman in her eighties! I hope I have that much spunk when I am her age!

You know what’s better than a bowl of pecans? A bowl of Reese’s Cups! Umm… good!

Slumdog Millionaire: A Review

Sometimes movies that are nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture can be, well, let’s face it, can be a little weird. It takes a particular type of movie watcher to sometimes agree that the Best Picture winner was indeed the year’s best picture. Slumdog Millionaire is not one of those movies. It is really fantastic. Tony and I went to see this movie on Saturday night and I think I can speak for both of us when I say it was great. Two friends of mine recommended the movie to me and upon their suggestion, we decided to watch it. I found it to be captivating right from the start. It’s more than a rags to riches story and the in-depth content of the movie will likely surprise you. I found that I have been thinking about the movie quite often since seeing it. The actors do a fantastic job of enveloping their characters, and the story line is simply amazing. It is a definite must-see!

Tony's take: pretty good

The Case of the Stolen Buttercups

The people who own the house next door to me are mean. That’s the nice way of putting it. I’ll spare you the details for now. Recently, we had some unseasonably warm weather where I live, which apparently made some of the flowers around town think it was spring. There were two or three large groups of buttercups that blossomed at the house next door to me. Now, keep in mind no one lives there. These people bought the house over two years ago and have been doing some sporadic work on it, but have yet to move in. I’m praying they never will. So, Tuesday I had the day off work and some of my friends were coming over to watch American Idol later that evening. In an effort to spruce things up around the house, I decided I would go and cut some of the buttercups from the mean people’s house. I ran over with my scissors and snipped away. As I was walking back home with my loot, my neighbor from across the street, Jeff, came out to put some mail in his mailbox. I started laughing and yelled over at him that he caught me! He also thought it was funny as he is well aware of the meanness of the homeowners next to me. So, that is the story of the stolen buttercups. But they are quite lovely, don’t you think?

Wes and Amy -Name The Baby!

My friends Wes and Amy are having a baby girl in April. The middle name of the baby will be Elizabeth and their last name is Bryan. The proud parents-to-be have narrowed the first name down to six choices. Be sure to check out this week's poll to vote for your favorite first name for Baby Bryan!

Deal of the Week

First of all let me apologize for not posting as frequently as my one reader would probably like. I was really excited when I first started this blog, but the newness wore off after a week. Go figure. Not to mention the fact that nothing exciting has been going on lately. So, maybe in the next few weeks something exciting will happen. If I have some time later today I may review a movie I saw recently. So, stay tuned.

This week’s deal of the week comes from TGI Fridays. Most of the world has probably gotten this coupon through email, but in case you haven’t, here is the link: http://www.tgifridays.com/promos/bogo_2009_02.aspx?fromsearch&gclid=CM38h5zG4ZgCFQRkswodojvjcQ

It’s a coupon for buy one entrée get one free. A guy I work with has gone about four times already. It’s definitely a good deal if you’re trying to be frugal. So, go on out there and pump up the TGI Friday’s economical outlook by eating there for dinner. Happy Eating!

Deal of the Week

Have you ever tried Rachel’s yogurt? No? Me either; but, this week’s deal of the week is buy one get one free yogurt from Rachel’s. They have lots of interesting flavors and I’m sure you will find one to satisfy your taste buds. Just fill out some information and voila – you get a coupon. Here’s the site: http://www.rachelsdairy.com/community-offers.php Happy Shopping!

Skydiving: Not for the Faint of Heart

Today I’m going to tell you a story of adventure! For my 30th birthday back in 2007, I decided to jump out of an airplane – with a parachute. Most people think it is crazy to jump out of a perfectly good airplane, but I am always up for a little excitement and thrill seeking and I had always wanted to try it. My brother had gone skydiving the year before and I wasn’t going to let him be the only fool in our family. So, when the weather got warmer and I had a little money saved up, I set off to accomplish my crazy goal. My best friend Jackie went along with me so she could gather up my remains when they splattered across Cullman County, AL.

Here I am driving to my next adventure.

Here's Jackie putting on a brave face in the passenger seat.

The date was set – May 19 – and we rose early in the morning to head out on my adventure. This took place so long ago that I honestly can’t remember what time my jump was scheduled for. I think 10:00, and we arrived about an hour before. When we got there, I went up to the counter to pay my fees and sign my life away. After all, these people don’t want to be held responsible for me trying to kill myself.

Here I am signing my life away.

After all the paperwork was filled out, we had to sit around and wait. And wait. And wait. It seems that waiting and watching other people jump out of airplanes is the thing to do when you’re at the air strip. We eventually had to go get lawn chairs out of the trunk of the car because we were waiting so long. It was interesting to see all those other people jumping out of an airplane, but when you’re about to do it yourself, you’re ready to get the show on the road, if you know what I mean. Finally after much waiting, it was time to gear up.

Here I am getting geared up for the jump.

I did a tandem jump – after all I’m not completely crazy! And my tandem partner was Jeremy. And finally after waiting four hours – that part I do remember – it was time to load the plane.

Here Jeremy and I are walking to the plane. Don't those jump suits make a gal look sexy? If you look closely you can see Jackie in the background snapping a photo.

How many people can you load onto a small aircraft? That was the game we played when loading up the plane. The inside of the plane was so teeny I could only imagine just a handful of people in there, but before it was all over with, there were about 15 people on our plane. Jeremy asked me if I was okay and told me that I was the calmest person he had ever jumped with. And I’ll be honest with you, I was not scared or nervous or even excited. I think I was just numb – well, numb and hungry. After all, I did have to wait four hours –with no food – before the jump.

Finally after a long wait and years of wanting to know what it would feel like to jump out of an airplane, it was time for the jump!

We jumped from 16,000 feet and the free fall lasted for one minute. It was amazing. You know that feeling you have in the pit of your stomach when you’re on a roller coaster? Well, that doesn’t happen when you skydive. You literally feel like your flying. There was no sensation of a free fall and I suppose that’s because you are falling so fast and the wind is so strong.

If you are concerned about face distortion – then do not jump out of an airplane.

Jeremy grabbed the pull string after the one minute of free falling and the chute deployed. And we drifted back down to the earth. This part was much less fun than the actual free falling. I guess the euphoria had worn off and I thought I was going to vomit. Not to mention the fact that the harness was so tight I thought my legs were going to be cut off. I had huge bruises on my thighs for about a week.

Sailing back to the earth.

So, I arrived back on the earth in one piece having accomplished one the more adventurous items on my “to do” list. It was definitely worth the money and the time – even the four hour wait. Would I do it again? Probably not, but then again, you never know.

So sexy!