Cebollas

Spanish food lesson number one: "las cebollas" means onions.

Photo dowloaded from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pieceoflace/

Onions have been on my mind since yesterday evening mainly because I can still smell them underneath my fingernails. YUCK! Can anybody relate?!

While I love the taste of onions, I absolute dread having to prepare them to cook. I was in the mood for a simple, yummy dish that I absolutely love for dinner last night (it's basically a concoction of sausage, potatoes, spices, and yes, you guessed it, ONION), but the experience turned into tears, sniffles, odor and more tears! Even when I avoid eye contact with them, they make me cry like a baby! And even worse, I feel like I carry the smell of onions with me for the next couple of days like they're embedded in my skin or clothing or something. I've tried everything BUT wearing rubber gloves - running water over them while I peel and chop them, looking behind my back (which leaves my fingertips pretty vulnerable), washing my hands repeatedly after I'm finished...nothing works. I think garlic ranks right up there with onions.

Do any of you "Martha's" out there have any suggestions for making onions my "amigas"?

"Amigos(as)" means friends.

It's been bothering me all day (and it bothered Shawn all night...poor thing!).

The Great Outdoors

Okay...brace yourself...are you ready for this?!

Alisha Louise Stratton went camping!

**gasp** Catch your breath...I still am.

Shawn and I went on the 2nd Annual Stratton family Camping Trip last weekend in Helen, GA (I wanted to capitalize it to make it more official). While I was up and ready for the challenge, many people just couldn't believe that I of all people would go camping in the great outdoors. As one person put it, "You look like you belong on the East Side of Manhattan." Thanks, I guess? Well peeps, I proved you all wrong! We had a great time in Unicoi State Park for a couple of days. We slept in a tent (with an air mattress no doubt), we biked through the mountains (they were more like hills, but my thighs and butt are calling them mountains), we walked through the "German" streets of Helen (more like Confederate flag country...scary!), we cooked and ate outdoors (except for the meal we bought and brought...fried chicken & sides...mmmmm) and we most importantly spent quality time with the Stratton family (dominos, cards, Putt-Putt, etc.). Oh...and I'm not sure if you're familiar with the Old Time Photo shops, but we got one of those pictures taken, too! It was so much fun getting dressed up and posing on an old-fashioned bar, and we figured it would be a nice addition to the family photos we have at the house (Shawn as a "wanted killer" and me as a "town..."), well you know what. It started off pretty inexpensive, until they suckered me in with the "old-fashioned" matte and the "old-fashioned" picture frame...which I fell for...but it looks great!!

The most exciting events of the weekend for me were my hunting and shooting workshops. Yes, I shot some guns and hunted (dummy animals, of course) with a bow and arrow. I know my family is reading in disbelieve, so these events can only be proven by pictures. Take a look!

**Disclaimer: I do not hunt, nor do I believe in violence or the torture of animals**

Alisha skeet shooting: 2 for 5, which is not bad for my first time ever.

Shawn taking aim at the skeets, with much better results.

Alisha target shooting. Not only did I slaughter Shawn's score, but I also beat some of the teachers!

As one woman put it, never make her angry. Yay me!

Shawn's bow & arrow results. Let's just say that the wolf is dead.

And yes, Shawn slaughtered my score in the bow & arrow competition.

Can we say...competitive?!

We had a great time last weekend, and we look forward to the 3rd Annual Camping trip.

We love you, Stratton family! Thanks for everything!

Dad Stratton, me & Shawn at Ruby Falls

Me, Jack (nephew) and Shawn taking a breather on the hike back from Ruby Falls.

Me and Shawn make it to the falls and stop for a quick pose.

Surrounded by leaves (and warning signs for rattlers).

**pssst...Hill family, when is our camping trip?!** YIPES! LOL!

First Day of Fall!

Happy Autumn! Happy Fall! Call it what you want!

We love this time of year!

• Not too hot
• Not too cold
• Beautiful colors: oranges, yellows, browns and greens
• Fresh, leafy scents
• Leaf piles and the smiles they bring
• Thanksgiving = Good food + Family/Friends
• Football season
• Halloween: corn mazes, haunted houses, laughing kids
• Birthdays: Shawn - Oct. Alisha - Nov.
• Goodbye A/C
• Hello fresh air and opened windows
• Crisp Breezes

Ahhhhhhhh!

It's a great time of year, and we couldn't be happier.

Enjoy the season!

Toothpicks please?!

So I'm not sure if you're familiar with that great episode of the Flintstones when Fred was super tired, and he was so determined to stay awake that he turned to toothpicks to keep his eyelids open...which almost immediately led to the toothpicks snapping in half because his lids were too heavy! That episode always had me laughing when I was a kid, but now in "serious" adulthood it is a sad reminder of the "hot mess" Droopy bags under my eyes from sleep deprivation!

Look familiar?!?!

So enough of the background cartoons. I simply wanted to blog about my newest, yet sad, revelation...

the week "extension."

I don't know why people call the weekend a week "end." At least in my crazy life, it feels like the weekend is simply the week's way of giving me two additional days to do finish the work I didn't finish during the week. Hence the new expression: week extension. I feel like I can never get enough rest! The things that I don't have time to do during the week are put off until the weekend, and these "put-off things" are the important things in life like laundry, basic cleaning, grocery shopping...urgh! And while Sunday is the "day of rest," I am still "working" to get to wake up, shower, get to church on time, feed the dog, practice the hymns, (sometimes) teach, cook, etc. I am truly spent by time Saturday gets here!! Even date nights seem to end early because we are BOTH so exhausted.

So what to do? Am I the only one struggling to make it through the day...and weekend?

For those "super energetic" ones out there, what's your remedy?

Takin' It Back to the 90's

Does anyone remember this MTV series?

I was OBSESSED with this show back when I had huge bangs, called anybody "cool" my role-model, and had ZERO fashion sense (tight roll anyone?).

This series gave me something to look forward to as a young, impressionable middle schooler (what was I thinking?). It was the time in my life when I wanted to dye my hair red (until my mom's enraged face popped into mind). Needless to say, I loved and still do love the show, and I just found the complete series on DVD!!

Although Shawn doesn't share my passion, he will be sitting next to me on the couch as we watch and take a stroll down memory lane with a big smile on his face...or else! No, I'm totally kidding.

Please share your memories about the show...or maybe I'll find out that I was its only fan!

Not at all Laborous

Okay, so I'm not sure if laborous is a word, but it sounded pretty good, so let's go with it!

Shawn and I wanted to share some fun moments that happened over Labor Day Weekend with my...our...mommy. It's still hard to say that things are "ours" and not "mine" or "his", but we're working on it.

Mom arrived last Thursday and stayed with us in Atlanta through Monday. So before I begin, let's just say my parents spoiled me as a kid...just a little?...but I account that to being the youngest...and the only girl...but all that aside! I asked my mom to work her magic on our garden (or lack there of) and she was super excited to help. My mom and dad have such amazing talents when it comes to landscaping and growing things - one thing that they DEFINITELY did not pass on to me. I struggle to keep plants alive, so my mom was glad to pass on a few tips. So, while Shawn and I were at school working, mom took the car out and went to Lowe's to buy a "few small things" for the garden. Little did we know that mom had basically purchased a small nursery of plants...and garden decs!! And if that wasn't enough, when I got home from work, she insisted on going BACK to Lowe's to buy more "filler" plants, except that I insisted on paying for those...whew! No complaints here, but I knew that I wasn't going to get out of gardening like I did when I was younger. I will seriously play any card to get out of getting my nails dirty. Hence...dead plants and gardens. But, Mom and I worked for hours on Friday to "perfect" the pathetic area we called a garden. It is absolutely beautiful now! We never imagined we could pull off a garden in Hotlanta, but it was...and is...possible.

****pics of the new and improved garden to come (any day now Mom!...j/k)****

The night before, we went to the Braves game. This was my mom's first time, and she was super lucky to come with us the day that we had extraordinary tickets. We were probably about 8 rows behind the 3rd base dugout. I mean, you know you're close when you can see the players' sweat! Okay, so maybe we couldn't see their sweat, but we were definitely close. The exciting thing was the mom and I both caught baseballs during batting practice (Shawn came up with a big fat goose egg...ZERO!), and she also had a great time doing the tomahawk chop.

We spent Saturday in Atlantic Station...another first for my mom...and for the shoppers we are, it was divine! We found a few deals at H&M (check it out if you haven't gone yet), and then we were stopped by someone promoting a show. In all seriousness, it was one of the most touching experiences of OUR lives! It's call "Dialogue in the Darkness," and it's basically an indoor "journey" through the city of Atlanta (obviously it was a simulation) in complete darkness for about an hour to understand what it's like to be visually impaired or completely blind. WOW! It's the only word I can use to describe it. They give you a cane (that used by those who are visually impaired), the tour guides are also visually impaired (which makes it even more beautiful), and you walk through different rooms in TOTAL darkness which are set up as city sites. PLEASE do this with your family and friends. You will NEVER see the world the same again. Following our memorable Atlantic Station experience, we went home and spent the evening with Yulia Manor and Christian. We absolutely LOVE that family.

Mom spent the first meeting at Church with us on Sunday, and then we watched a great movie called "Where the Heart Is"...exceptional movie! Our last day on Monday, we ate breakfast at this VERY country diner (which are the best places for breakfast), did some IKEA shopping (another great store), and headed to the airport for the sad goodbye.

Mom, we had such an awesome time, and we are so very appreciative for all that you did for us last weekend. We'll never forget our experiences with you. Also, we apologize again for the "blown tire" mishap...long story...so we'll just leave it at that.

¡TE AMO MAMÁ!

Fresh Start

I don't know about you, but I absolutely LOVE 3-day weekends...and they always come at the best times...when you need them most. I can only speak for myself, but I feel like I'm off to a fresher start on this Tuesday "feels like Monday" morning.

Just a couple of "happy, fresh, rejuved" pictures of Shawn and I...just as motivation for us to make it to our next school holiday/vacation. Remember those smiles!!

We hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend!

We spent a lovely weekend with my mom, so fun tales to follow!!