Reflecting on the election

I started out the evening with what I'm deeming to be a pretty positive note. On Facebook I wrote:

"Here are my 2 cents on election day: don't let your enthusiasm die today. Do more than vote. Become an active participant in your community. Be a leader, or be the support role. Be something. Do something. Make a difference every day, not just during an election. We are just as important as any elected official on the left or the right."

So now that the evening has come to a close, and the results are in, I find myself coming back to my own words. I need to remind myself, that this isn't about one man or one woman. It's about all of us doing what we can to better our lives.

I'm not going to pretend that I was a total workhorse or anything, but I invested a good chunk of time, energy and passion into my first ever stint with local politics. I stepped out of my comfort zone (I mean really outside) and campaigned for Mark Post for District Attorney. I first met Mark when he spoke to my sexual assault volunteer group about our concerns (I have now been a victim advocate in my hometown for over a year). I saw something in him that I knew I wanted to know more about. Later on, I was invited to a meeting to learn more about him running for DA.

In the past several months I've really come to love Mark and his wife Donna, and several of the other volunteers, particularly Brad and Carleen. I am so honored to have served on this campaign because I got to stand for something. I got to say hey, I want my survivors to have a bulldawg (ha, UGA joke) fighting for them. I also learned a lot about working with others who are different than me. Even though politically I'm not a conservative, I worked alongside some pretty strong conservatives. The great lesson there is that if you pay enough attention to what people have to say, we all want the same things.

Coming back to the original thought with this post, I'm not going to let this discourage me (even though I've shed a few tears). I'm going to use this to motivate myself to be the absolute best I can be for my community. Because it really isn't about the one person elected in charge. It's about you, me and everyone in between and how we work to build up our community to be its absolute best.

I love Columbus: Trains!

I used to swear that I would never return to my hometown, but here I am and I love it. So perhaps I'll try to work that into this blog too. Just little things that I love here. I thought I'd start with this from today:

Just a cool sight today. I literally stuck my camera out the window and got these on my Nikon Cool Pix and them slapped on a filter in Picasa. :)

It's not every day you wake up to know your friend's mom is a hero

If you are my facebook friend I know you've seen me blowing up my facebook feed with news clips. If you aren't my facebook friend, here is what I'm talking about:

Local man receives kidney donation from nurse - WTVM-TV: News, Weather and Sports for Columbus, GA

The nurse in the story happens to be our friend's mom. The young man is someone local. It was just a touching story- something that you'd almost expect to find in a Grey's Anatomy episode. Except this is real. It's real life. It's a real human being, caring about another human being.

It really has me thinking, what more can I do to help those around me?

Month of Thanks- An Eye Opening Experience

This year at work I have the honor of serving on the United Way Committee at work. I've always liked to think I possess a giving heart, but today I realized there is always something more that can be done.

Today, I'm thankful for two things in particular: the home I live in and our warm running water that allows me to shower.

As part of our United Way campaign at work we had a field trip Friday. Several of us were able to board a van and travel to a few sites in the bi-city area and see where all of our money goes. And let me tell you, it's going to MANY good causes.

We went to the Open Door Community House, Homeless Resource Network and the Child Advocacy Center. It wasn't like I was naive and didn't know these conditions existed (especially the last one because it deals with a similar subject to my personal volunteer work). I've been on mission trips before, I've volunteered locally, but I guess the saying "out of sight out of mind" is very true. Today was a wake up call though.

All of these places have amazing programs. One of the most amazing is the shower program. Open Door has a building that looks like maybe a double wide trailer? Not 100% sure, but its a place with a number of showers where the homeless can come take a shower. How many of us shower daily (yeah, I thought so)- some of us may even shower twice a day. What would you do if you had no water to bathe yourself on a regular basis?

A block away there is the Homeless Resource Network which had a lot of programs also. One program they showed us was their storage. During business hours, homeless can store their possessions in a secure room. Note: if you are local they can ALWAYS use backpacks, suitcases, etc. This is incredibly helpful for someone who is homeless who is trying to get a job. If they go to a job interview with all their possessions, it's pretty much a dead giveaway. Also, it helps give some security back to those who have lost everything.

And that is what I liked MOST about both of these organizations. They aren't just curing the symptoms, they are trying to remedy the causes. They don't just give handouts, they teach people to become self-sufficient, give them skills and tools for bettering themselves.

Today I became recharged; motivated and excited. I thought about the shower project and how they appreciate a shower, something we expect to do daily. I thought about my new hobby of couponing. I want to start thinking about those coupons I don't plan on using and seeing what could I use them for? Maybe I don't use Dove soap, but I sure bet the shower program could. I may not use Gain or ALL detergent, but they could. Each Sunday I want to make a conscious effort to look for supplies that may be low-cost to me, but high impact on someone else.

It's easy to brush off donating because we see one or two "bad examples" of mismanagement so we write off the whole process together. But, truly, these organizations are making a difference. We are all having a hard time in this economy, but there is always someone else who has it worse and could use a little lifting up. Someone mentioned today, that even if we don't have the money to give, we also have the gift of time. I want to make sure I'm using both to do what I can. All of the little efforts add up.

Restaurant Review: Koreana

It has been a while but this month we did try a new place in town. We went to Koreana. It is fairly new in town; before it was an amazing Japanese restaurant called Tokyo. Side note: my sister-in-law is half Japanese so she always gave us the 411 on which "Japanese" restaurants in town were the closest to the real thing. She liked Tokyo best.

Anyways, I had never had Korean food before so it was a totally new experience for me. We went with our new friends Johnson and his wife Crystal (I absolutely LOVE them by the way) and it was very nice. We all ordered off the menu a big feast of a special they had so we literally got to try a bit of everything they had to offer. Everything comes out on tiny little plates and you share a lot of what they bring out. It made eating a community experience and I enjoyed the quiet setting. If you want to try something new and different, I highly recommend it.

Restaurant Review: Wood Stone Restaurant

For a while, my dad and I have wanted to try Wood Stone. A long time ago, in Columbus, there was a place called Mediterranean Cafe and our family looooooved it dearly. Unfortunately, sometime while I was away in either college or grad school or wherever, it closed. Seems like we both had heard that there was a connection though between the old Med Cafe and this newer place. Dad's work recently had catering from Wood Stone and he loved it. (Come to think of it, maybe it was dad who had heard then that the two restaurants were related...)

Anyways, to get back on track- we all piled in to my parents new (well used, but recently acquired) grandkid-mobile (minivan), and headed to Wood Stone. We got there right before 7 p.m. which I think was probably a good idea. We were seated right away and our waiter came and greeted us. At first, he was very quick with everything, but then I think he slowed down some because traffic picked up- tables started filling fast. He was very polite and as attentive as he could be. I just wish he had brought the check with the to-go box because that added on an extra 10 - 15 minutes of waiting (which hey, I'm looking out for the restaurant), I'm sure they wanted to clear our table and sit some more folks!

As far as taste goes, I am in love. You get bread as an appetizer. It's a good balance of crunch and softness. It's dusted with Parmesan cheese and served cut into strips with a little bowl of what I think was oil, garlic and pepper. I inhaled 2.5 pieces... so not WW friendly I'm sure...

My parents were trying to get back that taste of Mediterranean Cafe Pizza, so they "built their own" using what they remembered was on the sort of "house pizza" from back then. I couldn't decide on getting a pasta dish, big salad, or pizza. Tim and I ended up splitting a "Meat Pizza" without the prosciutto (also not very WW friendly). I also ordered a Caesar salad with balsamic vinaigrette instead of Caesar dressing.

My salad was fresh, yum, and a good size. Our pizza was fabulous. My only comment about it was that it seemed like all the toppings were in the center of the pizza and not evenly dispersed. It felt like after the first few bites it became a cheese pizza. But, nonetheless, it was very, very tasty. I look forward to having leftover for lunch tomorrow. I even specially told Tim, that half of our leftovers were mine and not to eat them tonight as a snack.

Overall, I give this place a double thumbs up. It's close to our home in North Columbus, cute on the inside, quiet, pretty artwork for sale in the front area, obviously great food, and pretty good service. I would recommend this to anyone for either a date night or a family dinner. I really want to try this place for lunch sometimes. Unfortunately, it isn't close to work so it would have to be a Friday or Saturday lunch if I've read their hours correctly.

Give it a try if you haven't!

Eleven in 11: Evaluating March

I don't want to jinx it this early in the game, but 2011 is GREAT! As usual, I want to be accountable to my Eleven in 11 goals.

The breakdown:
1. Volunteer opportunity- This month I attended a YP meeting for servant leadership and I think there are a few opportunities for me to do some volunteer work. Also, at work this week I put my name in to be part of Relay for Life. 
2. The weight loss one- I have lost 14 pounds since January, which means I'm right on track with my goal. Overall, I've lost 31 since October. I've never been so proud of myself. I feel great, my knees are so thankful.
3. Plan and take honeymoon- New plan: Amelia Island in May. I'm so excited!
4. Trying four new recipes- We did four new ones, but I think I left one off the blog because it was only so-so:

• Tortilla Pie/Fiesta Lasagna
• Creamy Basil Chicken
• Baked Onion Rings
• and the one I didn't post, but you can find online- Blondies with Chocolate Chips 

5. Blog three times a week- We've picked right back up and I'm always trying to think of new and somewhat useful or entertaining content. Feel free to make suggestions!

6. Student loan- Check :)

7. Savings!- Check check :)

8. Read 52 books- I'm failing. I did buy the new J.R. Ward book two nights ago. I will finished that one over the weekend!

9. Facebook birthdays- Doing well :)

10. Visit 12 new restaurants- LOVED Old Siam!!! I think we're going to try Woodstone in April- anyone been?

11. Etsy- Def. falling behind, but now that its getting pretty out, and soon I'll have Fridays off, I think I'll get back into this.

Hope your March was eventful and fun! Here's to April!

Restaurant Review: Old Siam

I realize that I haven't reviewed this place yet, but we did enjoy trying it out this month. We went to Old Siam before a hockey game this month. I had NEVER had Thai food before in my life. I always hear "it's spicy, really spicy" when people describe it. But, I also know it similar to Chinese food, and I like spicy Chinese food...so why not try it out?

First of all, this place has AMAZING SERVICE. Props to our young gal server who was extremely kind and accommodating. She asked if it was our first time and we said yes, and she even asked if it was our first time eating Thai and we said yes. She asked us questions about what we like and don't like and her recommendations were perfect.

Tim had the Spicy Basil Chicken and I had Red Curry Pineapple Chicken. Both were delicious, but I was more of a fan of Tim's dish.

All in all, it was a great evening. The service was good, the setting is cute, the food is great and we tried something new- and liked it!

Date Night: Toast of the Town

My wine glass and guide/notebook.

Tim and I got to do something we've never done before. We attended the Toast of the Town in Columbus, Ga. I decided to really take advantage of all the different wine and food tasting opportunities. I've really cut down on the amount of alcohol I consume for two reasons (1- it has too many points, and 2- my parents aren't drinkers so it is kind of weird to bring it in the house). However, when I do drink I'm mostly a Chardonnay, White Zin or Pinot Grigio gal.

Tonight, in following my theme of being brave and trying new things I thought I would try a few red wines (ok so I only ended up trying one- but I really liked it). I tried Te Kairanga, Estate, Pinot Noir. It was fruity but not like a fruit punch fruity. Light and tasty. I also tried a Pinot Grigio and the newer Kendall Jackson Avant Chardonnay. I think I like it better than the regular one they have at most restaurants. 


On to the food.


We circulated around the many food displays. From Ben's Chophouse, Tim tried the Seared Scallop with Fresh Apple and Celery Salad tossed in Champagne Vinaigrette. We both had brownies from Buford's Brownies (OH MY STARS! I wanted to eat them all...I had to keep walking). From C'Sons/Mare Sol we both had Handmade Chicken and Gorgonzola Tortellini (WAY YUM). I hope to try this place out if we catch a softball game of Katie's up in LaGrange. From Green Island Country Club, Tim tried the Smoked Trout Mousse in a Savory tart Shell with Trout Roe. But, we both had the AMAZING Trifle of Milk Chocolate Panna Cotta and Raspberry Mousse with Chocolate Genoise. From the Rivermill, Tim had the Chilled Sweet Three Onion Soup with Truffle Foam (and it was much sweeter than he expected). From the Cantina Bar and Grill, Tim really went out on a limb and tried the Ceviche- Citrus Marinated Sea Bass tossed with Fresh Tomoatoes, Onions and Cilantro. I don't think he normally would have tried it, but we bumped into a coworker who was raving on and on about it. From the Chattahoochee River Club, we tried Chocolate Truffles, Pistachio Checker Board Cookies, and Profiterole. I think Tim tried to sneak a few extra Checker Board cookies...


Finally...our favorite hands down of the evening: Vintage 222's Slow Roasted Filet Mignon Topped with Jumbo Lump Crab Encroute Drizzled with Sherry Cream. I want to eat this for the rest of my life. I've never had crab, I actually turn my nose up at seafood all the time. But, I thought it looked cute and appetizing so I just opened my mouth and took a bite. Hopefully, some day soon Tim and I will make it over to Vintage 222. I know they recently catered the other event we went to for YP and we really liked it. Maybe it will be our April new place.


All in all, it was a fun evening.   

Restaurant Review: The Black Cow

The Black Cow storefront. It is pretty cute.

So, as part of our/my Eleven in 11 we tried a new place out last night. We went out for a date night with our good friends Mel and Chris to a restaurant in downtown (Uptown- whichever) Columbus. The Black Cow is, to my knowledge, a fairly new place. Maybe under a year or right at a year old. Anywho, I hate to be a Negative Nancy, but I don't think it lived up to some of the fanfare I had heard about.

I had heard from a friend on facebook that it was really famous for the Pressed Turkey Sandwich. A turkey sandwich that uses goat cheese and fig preserve. This of course interested me because back in Auburn there was a place that had an amazing turkey wrap that I loved. Needless to say, I've wanted to try this place for a while. Mel and Chris got interested when they had a mailer from The Black Cow, so we all decided to find a time to go.

We decided to go last night on a double date night to The Black Cow and to see a movie. I'm notorious for looking up menu items online so I can try and decide before I get to the restaurant what I want (or in some cases I look up the nutrition information so I can calculate WW point combinations so I don't feel as bad for eating out).

I was a little troubled when I found some of the reviews for The Black Cow on websites. I know that rating sites are generally frequented by people who A- have a really really good experience or B- a really really bad experience. And that is what we found- a mix of great experiences and bad experiences. I was even more disturbed by the ones on facebook. Somewhat tangent note: If you have a facebook page, you need to monitor it. If you have bad feedback- address it. Bottom line.

Basically, we had similar issues to the negative feedback posters. Tim and I arrived first, put our names in and were told we would have a ten minute wait- no big deal there. We waited and got our seat pretty quick, but then that is when the wait began. Mel and Chris arrived only a minute or so after we were seated. The four of us waited at least 10 minutes to even be greeted by our server. Now, I recognize that it was a Saturday and that is a busy night. However, why would you seat people and not even greet them and say 'hey, its a busy night I'll be back...blah blah blah whatever." Or at least grab the drinks. If you get young adults (or really any drinking adult) started on beer and wine they are more likely to drink more during their long wait (hey, that's an idea!). When he finally came by (which I think he only showed up because Mel channeled him with her awesome nonverbal skills) we went ahead and ordered our drinks and food.

Mel ordered the chicken and grits, Tim ordered a burger, and Chris & I both dared to try the Pressed Turkey Sandwich. I think Mel's dish was ok, but her first bite did burn her mouth pretty badly from the reaction she had. Tim said it was pretty hard to mess up a burger and that he enjoyed his. I think Chris liked the sandwich. I thought it was pretty good. I did not think I would like the fig preserve because I am not a jelly or jam kind of gal. But in the end I think the sweet preserve complimented the salty goat cheese. It did seem like the bread was a bit greasy, and my second sandwich half fell apart while eating it. Oh I forgot: Mel and I both had salads. If you do not like what my dad calls "weed" salad, then don't order the side salad. I can take the different kinds you find in a spring mix- so long as it is green. When it's that dark purple stuff I can't handle it. I feel like I'm eating a flowerbed. On the plus, I loved their balsamic vinaigrette. Very yum.

With all that said, the final summation is this: I probably won't ever go there again unless it is with someone who really wants to go. Or, if it is possible to call in an order to pick up. I may or may not crave the turkey sandwich. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't as memorable for me.

Pressed Turkey Sandwich and Smashed Red Potatoes.

Tim's burger and fries.

Remembering Linda

I just wanted to post a short entry devoted to one of our family friends who recently passed away. I mostly knew Ms. Linda because she worked with my dad growing up. She and her husband would hang out with my parents and I would play/hangout with/baby sit their youngest son Kyle. I can remember trying to "bake" all different kinds of "goodies" with Kyle by using only sugar and flour and random items found in the kitchen. It has been years since I've seen him and most of their family. I did have the absolute honor of having Ms. Linda play at my wedding three years ago this month. Anyone who knew her, knew her great passion for playing piano and making music. She was so very talented. It shocks me to know that she is no longer with us in the physical world. It cheers me up though to know that she is probably playing the piano, and making beautiful music for her Lord. My thoughts and prayers are with her family.

Restaurant Review: Johnny's Pizza

Tonight was our last chance at squeezing in a "new" place as part of my Eleven in 11. I'll be honest, we tried to go somewhere else tonight in Columbus and it was closed....so needless to say, Mom, Tim and I were in a hunger jam.

We had passed by the Johnny's pizza place and I couldn't remember if it was the same one that is in Auburn (though I'm pretty sure it's Johnny Buscos)...however, upon getting inside and checking out the menu...I'm almost positive I've been to one of these in Carrollton. So, I didn't want to cheat. I wanted to make the geniune effort to try something new. And I did. I opted for the Hawaiian. It always sounds like it could be tasty, but I always grab a calzone. Well, since starting WW, calzones are not really an option. I ordered the slice and a small salad with reduced fat dressing.

All in all it wasn't that bad. It was certainly different. But, not bad. It hasn't become my new favorite, but I'm sure I'd eat it again if we stopped by. I'm very excited that their website contains nutrition facts. ALWAYS a huge plus for me since I'm constantly calculating things. Between the slice, the salad, and the dressing my whole meal was 16 points. Not bad for someone who saves the majority of her points for dinners anyways, and certainly not bad for eating out. (Maybe one day I'll blog about the tragedy that is Applebee's lunch menu- SCARY POINTS!).

If you like the crusty thin pizza, you'll love the place.