Hometown Heroes

My hometown of Nashville, TN recently experienced a horrible flood..and unfortunately, didn't really receive much press due to other big headlines.  But Nashville is strong.  They have worked together to set up funds for flood victims and those who didn't have damage went to help their neighbors who did.  The damage to the Middle Tennessee community is beyond fathomable.  Houses were literally swept away, landmarks were hit, and the roads will take lots of man hours to repair.  You can see a brief slideshow on the Tennessean website.

Tons of merchandise was created to raise money for relief, with 100% of the proceeds going to the cause. A group of local (Nashville) artists and designers got together and created t-shirts to show support.  Here are a few of my favorite:

Jars of Clay is selling 5 different versions of their song "Flood" all for a total of $1..all proceeds going to flood relief.  

Go to www.jarsofclay.com to download and donate.

And the most recent news, the country music community is joining forces to do a benefit concert in June called "Nashville Rising: A Benefit Concert for Flood Recovery."  You can read more here.

There are also some really awesome posters through Lift Up Nashville.  Again, 100% of the proceeds goes directly back into the community.  So incredibly awesome that all of the artists are offering their products to benefit their community.  Here are a few of the posters:

I am proud of my city...and I'm proud to call myself a Nashvillian.  Though I'm far from home..I hold Nashville close to my heart and am doing as much as I can to support from afar.

If you would like to make a contribution on it's own, you can donate through The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.

Love to cook

I love to cook.  I love to dive into my large array of cookbooks and find something delicious to make for dinner.  I love mixing everything together..and the fragrances that waft from the pot...mm, absolutely wonderful!  Today I took a trip to the farmer's market to stock up on some delicious fruits and veggies.  I picked up strawberries, zucchini, yellow squash, some greens, and tomatoes...all of which I purchased for a total of $15...a good deal in my books.  So I've planned a couple of fantastic meals and I'll have to blog about them as they arise because they are all pretty fantastic sounding.

Tonight I made Angel Hair Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Goat Cheese and I got the recipe from Giada de Laurentiis' Everyday Pasta.  It is an easy, absolutely exquisite recipe.  See directions below.  I don't have a picture of this one because I took dinner to Joshua at the library.

Ingredients

• 1 (10-ounce) jar sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, chopped (oil reserved)
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 2/3 cup dry white wine
• 8 ounces angel hair pasta
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 ounces soft fresh goat cheese, coarsely crumbled
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves

Directions

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the wine and sun-dried tomatoes and simmer until the liquid reduces by half, about 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of cooking liquid. Add the pasta to the tomato mixture and toss to coat, adding some reserved cooking liquid to moisten. Season the pasta, to taste, with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with the goat cheese and parsley and stir. Mound the pasta into bowls and serve.

The side was asparagus...a request from Joshua.  I'll put my next dishes up later in the week.

Amazing Saturday

Though it's only 2 pm, today has been a wonderfully perfect day.  Joshua and I got up early, as he needed to head to work at AMS and I wanted to get up and enjoy some time with him before he left.  I also had mentioned that I would make my delicious blueberry muffins for the guys at the shop.  Well, I was lacking a few ingredients so I headed up to the grocery story, and let me tell you, I will be shopping early Saturday mornings from now on because the place was empty...unlike last week's Sunday afternoon experience of jam-packed aisles.


So after whipping up a double batch of muffins and taking them down to the guys I decided to go for a run.  I've been very diligent about working out, but I haven't been running and I want to get going again.  One quick side note, I have to thank my co-worker, Shannon, for being a wonderful workout pal...we've now worked out every week day for the past 2 weeks!  So I headed out on my run.

View from the corner, where I start my runs

My goal was to run for 30 minutes and I almost made it.  I ended up cutting my run short by 5 minutes because the loop I took brought me back to my house faster than I thought and the slight hill I had to run at the end about killed me.  I was, however, pretty proud that I ran 2.89 miles in 25 minutes...that's not to far off from 3 miles OR 30 minutes!  The thing I love most about running the the peacefulness of it.  Yes, I get tired and am ready to quit most of the time...but I love putting my music on and hitting the pavement.  Everything else going on just melts away and I am at total peace.


After my run I went out in the backyard to soak up some sun and read some more of Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist by Michael J. Fox.  I have been reading this book for quite a while..but just haven't quite finished it.  This isn't because it's a bad or a hard read...but simply because I have other stuff going on. While outside, I discovered that our rose bush has bloomed!  Joshua and I didn't even know there was a rose bush in our yard until this sprint and now there are several beautiful deep pink flowers.

The long vine.  We had to wrap it behind our fence post
because it was obstructing the use of our sidewalk.

Close up of the beauties.

A single shot, SO pretty!

I'm tempted to cut a few off and bring them inside to add some beauty to our house...but they're just so pretty all clustered together.


Now I'm off to enjoy the rest of my afternoon!  Have a wonderful weekend.

A Green Pug

My friend Ashley sent me this video today...in honor of Earth Day.  This pug knows all about being green...and is very well trained.  Enjoy a bit of Earth Day fun!

Fort Worth trip

I never got to post about our trip to Fort Worth while my family was in town.  We went over early to go to the Art Festival downtown on Main Street, which had some really cool stuff.  Joshua founda guy who made all sorts of little people out of spark plugs.  He had figures for pretty much every profession and hobby...and of course Joshua loved that he had motorcycle riders.  Here's an example of Dick Cooley's work with his website below.

www.sparkplugguy.com

There were some AMAZING wind veins on display.  Unfortunately, I don't remember the artist but here is an example of the extremely intricate sculptures.

They had tons of moving parts and were just really fun to watch.  this is one of the largest ones on display but there were all just as intricate.

I also found an artist I absolutely love.  Dolan Geiman produces mixed media works and describes his work as "contemporary art with a southern accent."  I love the antique quality and the diluted colors that are used.  You can find examples of his works online:  Dolan Geiman.  Here are few that I absolutely love.

Queen's Garden Collection (Zinnia

Made in the Shade Guitar (Medium) Collection

After the art show we headed to down to the Stockyards to see the cattle drive that they do TWICE daily.  I was actually really excited because I thought it would be really cool to see the longhorns...but honestly, I was a little disappointed.  I was expecting at least 100 steer, but really..there were only about 20.  We did get some fun pictures though!

Stopped and got a beer at the Bull Ring.  Interesting fact, you can carry an open container within the Stockyards!

Railroad Crossing.  This was right where we sat for the cattle drive.

Dad and Mom waiting for the cattle drive.

Me and Joshua on Exchange Street

The cowboys and the cattle.

It was quite a fun day in For Worth!  Great way to spend the day with family...and the weather was absolutely perfect.