friday candy

The Candy: By Your Side by Tenth Avenue North
Why this is sweet: I have been wearing this song out on my iPod lately. Tenth Avenue North doesn't have an official video for this song yet. But I came across this bootleggy style video.

UPDATED - oscar poll: best picture

Please take part in the poll above by choosing which Academy Award Best Picture Nominee was your favorite. I'll post more Oscar polls in the coming days.


THE OUTCOME
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - 3 votes
Frost/Nixon - 0 votes
Milk - 1 vote
The Reader - 0 votes
Slumdog Millionaire - 1 vote

Thanks to everyone who voted. I'll post another poll soon.

week end last

Friday…
Laura and I went to the movies and finally caught Slumdog Millionaire.

Saturday…
My new (yet to be named) car and I took our first road trip (that did not involve Nashville). My parents, Uncle Wayne, and I headed to Louisville to Uncle Kenneth’s house. We have a lot of family birthdays in February – so it was a good excuse to get together for some broccoli casserole and birthday cake!We went through some old family photos that had belonged to my grandfather. I’m setting out on a project to scan them all and put them on discs so that we all have copies. I love photographs. And I saw a lot of photos that I had never seen before. My dad and uncles were such cute little boys! I also love seeing photos of my grandparents from their courtship and early married days.Sunday…
(LYLASarah's birthday) After church I made a batch of The World’s Perfect Brownies (thank you Ina Garten). Then I headed to Nashville for some love and Oscar viewing with these fine people…

My cousin Eric, his wife, and son.

I'm getting back to the swing of things with work. Some days I'm really tired at the end it all - like today. But it is good to be back in a normal routine and eating lunch with LYLASarah again!

ten on tuesday: 10 Favorite Ethnic Foods

1. (Japanese) Sushi
2. (Kentucky) Cucumber Benedictine (does Kentucky fall under “ethnic”?)
3. (Indian) Palak Paneer (w/nan)
4. Pad Thai
5. (Chinese) General Tso’s Chicken
6. (Middle Eastern/Mediterranean) Falafel
7. (Greek) Souvlaki
8. (Italian) Risotto
9. (French) Croissants/Pain au Chocolat
10. (Mexican) Tacos Al Pastor or fish tacos (The later of which I’m not sure are really Mexican.)

Visit the Ten on Tuesday Website

friday candy

The Candy: True Faith by New Order
Why this is sweet: This is one of my all-time favorite videos. As a teen I nearly had it memorized. While you sat in your high school English class listening to the teacher talk about that mysterious roux the cook prepared in the Canterbury Tales I was the girl sitting across the classroom yawning because I had stayed up too late the night before watching Mtv's Post Modern.

yep

I am thinking I will definately take out a few rows of this hat so it fits more snuggly on my noggin'.

slip slidin' clo-che...

Here’s a look at the finished Side Slip Cloche. I’ve been hoping for a few more days of weather that warrants its wearing. I'm considering ripping back to a few rows before the decreases began so that the body is shorter and it sits on my head without totally covering my ears. I think it’ll be more flattering and work better with my hairstyle. I think that will also make the adorable ruffle pop-up more.

Overall I really really love this hat. And when I get it more to my liking it’s going to be fantastic. I’m also very happy with the yarn I chose from my stash – one hank of Berroco Ultra Alpaca in Rose Spice. It feels so soft and luxurious. This hat would be a great gift project and I think I’ll want to knit more for myself in varying yarns and colors.

If I had any complaints about this project they would be about the pattern (from the book Boutique Knits). While overall it’s pretty simple, it’s a little vague in some areas and totally lacked information in others. There is a “diagram” in the book that is supposed to illustrate where to join the band at the ruffle. But it’s pretty unclear. It turns out I was not the only knitter to think so. When I began searching for help on Raverly I found several others who shared my frustrations were guessing at what the pattern meant. After much trial and error (and a few frustrated, near tearful emails to my Bestie), I got it figured it out. I will probably post my own drawing of where to join the band on Raverly, along with a few other helpful tips – like when to switch to double-points and modifying the length to customize the body of the hat. You can find me on Raverly under the name iheartloucon.

10 on tuesday: 10 songs that describe you/your life

Let’s see, how many Over the Rhine songs do you think I can list?

1. Cruel and Pretty – Over the Rhine
2. Little Blue River/In The Garden – Over the Rhine
3. Etcetera Whatever – Over the Rhine
4. Drunkard’s Prayer – Over the Rhine
5. All I Need is Everything – Over the Rhine
6. Jack’s Valentine – Over the Rhine
7. Jesus in New Orleans – Over the Rhine
8. The World Can Wait – Over the Rhine
9. I’m On a Roll – Over the Rhine
10. My Love Is a Fever– Over the Rhine

Visit the Ten on Tuesday Website

2,000 high fives

One of my favorite stories in the Bible is the story of Jesus healing the leper. And one of my favorite aspects of this story is that, when he healed the leper, Jesus touched the man. Jesus totally could have looked at the man, not said a word, and healed him. He could have turned, walked away, and healed him for a thousand paces with this back turned. It wasn’t about Jesus’ capability to heal his body – although that was hugely important. But Jesus reached out and physically touched this man who was deemed unclean, unwanted, and untouchable in his culture. Jesus wanted to heal his heart. Heal his soul. I wonder how long it had been since this man with lepersy had felt human touch? His outward needs were obvious. Jesus knew this man’s emotional need of physical touch.

I wonder who I’ve been in contact with today who needed my touch?



I'm stealing this video from TwinCousin Eric.

happy valentine's day

Me.

Valentine's Day 1976.
Cecilia, Kentucky

friday candy

The Candy: Let's Dance In My Sunglasses At Night
Why this is sweet: I've been digging on this mash-up of Bowie's "Let's Dance" and Cory Hart's "I Wear My Sunglasses At Night" (with a few extras thrown in) by my cousin's band, KNAPSACKHEROES!. Here is a video of K! performing live in Nashville.

sixty-five

I'd like to wish my daddy and Uncle Harold a very very happy birthday.

Uncle Harold, Dad, Uncle Kenneth, Uncle Wayne - Mid 1950's

Uncle Wayne, Uncle Kenneth, Dad, and Uncle Harold - 2009

parnelli belle 2?

After months of being car-less I have new wheels and couldn’t be more excited about it! Being on medical leave gave me the luxury of being able to take my time. Which sounded great first. But it wasn’t really helping me find anything new within my price range and preferences. Basically, no matter how I sliced it I was coming up about $3000 short of where I needed to be if I was going to get the comfortable, reliable, back friendly vehicle I was looking for. And I did not want to take out a bank loan.

I just kept praying…

I had filed a claim with Aflac following my car accident hoping for some extra car fundage. But that only produced a few hundred dollars. Knowing that I also have hospital, surgeon, and anesthesiologist bills and doctor visit co-pays I knew I had to leave a little something in my bank accounts.

I just kept praying…

Then one day the mail came, my mom opened an envelope, and we all heard her say, “HOLY COW!” An insurance policy my parents previously held had been shut-down and they were sent a refund check. It was for way more than they had expected. Mom double checked everything and the amount was, indeed, correct.

Now, if there is any doubt of how caring and generous my parents are here is but another example. My dad’s response upon learning of this refund was not, “Let’s book a cruise!” or “That’s a lot of book money to spend with my best friends, Barnes and Noble!” Instead it was, “I have been praying for Jennifer to have some more car money. “ Wow. How blessed am I?

And how awesome is God?

So I borrowed a good portion of this refund money from them. With that extra (loaned) cash I was able to buy a really wonderful, very very comfortable, reliable, snazzy, and super back friendly 2002 Honda CRV that I just love love love. Each time I get behind the wheel I am grateful, thankful, appreciative, blessed, and oh so comfy.My last car, my beloved Honda Civic, was named Parnelli Belle. That name was part family lore and part Indy 500 trivia. This new “Mojave Mist Metallic” Honda has yet to be named. The only car driven in the Indy 500 of a similar color was Danny Sullivan’s old Miller High Life car from the 1980’s. He may be from Louisville, but I didn’t really have in mind calling my new Honda “Danny”. One day a moniker will come to me, I'm sure. But I’m also entertaining suggestions…I cannot say enough good things about Grant McCullum at Gary Force Honda here in Bowling Green. From the moment I met him I wanted to do business with him. He was caring and straight forward. There is a reason he is one of the top sales persons at Gary Force. It turns out we’re neighbors and he lives around the corner from us. After we shook on the deal and all breathed a sigh of relief that we’d reached an amount we could both live with my mom got a little emotional. It was then that we let Grant in on some of the things I had been through in the last several months. I recapped from my accident to the back surgery to the drop foot and the fractured ankle. I began to get a little teary eyed and my voice cracked a bit. Then I looked at Grant and saw that his eyes were filled with tears. And I could not be more grateful that I was buying my new vehicle from him. If you are ever in the market for a new/used car please go see Grant.

oh. yippie.