Wish You Were Here

Funny story! My bff, Erin, and I were going through some old letters at my parents a while back and we came across several letters that my mom wrote back in the day.  Some were to her father and her brothers while she was a college student visiting Rome, some were to my dad, and then there was a truly hilarious one to her cousin Lynn.  In it she went on all kinds of random tangents, and she even summed it up with 2 jokes for her cousin's enjoyment along with a P.S. reading something along the lines of stay away from the booze! Ha!  My favorite part of the letter was that in the middle she shared some rhymes that she and her step sister wrote to a friend in a late night delirium/giggle fest.  One of them read:

"Frogs are nice

They live in ditches

I think yall are 

A bunch of bitches!"

My mom was always sarcastic and she and I would come up with crazy poems or songs a lot growing up so her being silly wasn't as much of a shock as the content.  Erin and I were rolling on the floor laughing about this, and I looked at Erin and said this letter is proof that there is hope for us yet!!!  Over 40 years later, this letter inspired me to write poems to some of my friends!  Who knew?  Bare with me because they will be as ridiculous as hers! 

Erin is my bestie

Who makes dirty faces

I wish we didn't 

Live in different places

Hang is awesome

She likes to take shots

I miss her living in Memphis 

And I love her lots

Steve's a great hubby

Who always romances

He likes to show off

And do goofy dances

Kara is fun 

She likes to start fires

Out on the dance floor

Her moves will inspire

Beth can get rowdy

When she drinks Firefly

Every time we go out, 

Her spirits are high

When Becky and I were in high school

Many moons ago

Our favorite movie starred Heath Ledger

We'd watch him in slow mo!

Patti was a great roommate

Back in the day

She's an old soul like me

But we still like to par-tay!

JJ is our doggy

He's super hairy

Usually he's sweet

But his bark is real scary

Tom is my dad

Jackie thought he was fine

She loved when he cooked

While she watched and drank wine

Now because I miss all of these people and wish they were with me now, today's song of the day is Wish You Were Here- Pink Floyd!

~Crawfish

Dirty 30

My awesome friend Kara is joining me in the ranks of 30 year olds today!!!  Recently, she asked me to give her my recipe for pesto, so what better day to oblige than on her 30th birthday?!?!  I will be celebrating with her in person tomorrow, but for now this can be an early birthday shout out to my dear friend.

Kara says hi!!!

Kara says she loves you!!!

JJ got jealous cause he loves his Aunt Kara and wants all her attention!

Sorry, I'll try to control myself better. Traditionally pesto includes 5 main ingredients: basil, pine nuts, garlic, olive oil, and parmesan.  Here's the thing I love about it though....if you don't have fresh basil you can always substitute with things like spinach, arugula, or cilantro.  This works out perfectly when you realize you aren't going to be able to eat that last bit of whatever leafy green you may have in your fridge before it goes bad.  If you don't have pine nuts, I've also substituted almonds or walnuts.  Here is my very basic pesto recipe, feel free to jazz it up however you choose!  Add lemon juice, or jalapeño for some kick, go crazy!

Pesto:

*2 cups basil- I grow my own in summer and in winter I sub spinach and/or arugula to save some $

*1/3 cup pine nuts

*4 cloves garlic- more if you like to keep the vampires away, less if you have a crush on Eric Northman from True Blood

*1/2-2/3 cup olive oil

*1/4 cup parmesan cheese (optional)

Puree all ingredients in a food processor.  I recommend you start with 1/2 cup olive oil and blend.  You can always add more if you think its too thick.  

Presto you have Pesto!  You can use it on pasta, on bread as an appetizer, on pizza, or mixed in mayo and then spread on a sandwich.  Make some soon! You won't be sorry!  As for today's song of the day, I have to make it Chamillionaire- Ridin' Dirty because a few years ago this was the ring tone I had set for Kara.  No real reason other than she is just that awesome!  I should also mention that Kara and I like to try on different outfits and make Kraut take pictures of our fashion show.  Its totally his new favorite past time (extreme sarcasm here).  Anyway, here are some of our many pics....

~Crawfish

MS150 Year 4

This past weekend Kraut and I completed our 4th MS150 ride.  For those of you not familiar with this event, its a 150 mile charity bike ride put on by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society to raise money to support people struggling with MS and also to fund MS research.  It is held in lots of locations around the country every year, and each ride takes 2 days to complete.  The event in the Memphis area is held in September and starts at the DeSoto Civic center in Southaven, MS. On day 1 you ride 75 miles to Tunica, MS, spend the night, and get up on day 2 and ride 75 miles back to Southaven.  When Kraut and I started out, it was more of a fitness goal for a good cause, but it very quickly turned into a passion for helping people struggling with this disease as well as a physical challenge for ourselves.  This year we raised a combined total of over $1,500 for our local MS Chapter.  We are so proud to have been a part of this event, and I am especially grateful to everyone who supported us this year and in previous years!!!!  Today I want to share with you some pictures of our ride and also give you an account of what my soundtrack of life was playing this weekend.  I have to give you my disclaimer upfront, this was an odd playlist.

Sammy Kershaw- Vidalia-This first song deserves a little explanation because its a little out of character for me without it.  I was a few miles into the ride on Day 1 when I turned onto Byhalia Road, which in my twisted mind turned into me subbing out Byhalia for Vidalia.  "Byhalia, Byhalia, please won't you tell me why? Sweet Byhalia, you always got to make me cry."  Totally cheese-tastic right? I promise my playlist gets better!

 Salt N Pepa- Push It-  I know, I know, quite an odd jump in genres.  When you think of it though, I was trying to get my corny Byhalia song out of my head and motivate myself to keep going.  This one pops into my head a lot when I'm out biking and I need to "Push it real good."

Phil Collins- In the Air Tonight- I know that this song was just on my last post Football is In the Air, but that is probably why it popped into my head.  While I was riding along singing it in my head, I started thinking about the movie "The Hangover" and the scene where Mike Tyson is singing this song.  One Hangover song led to the next....

Flo Rida- Spin Me Right Round- I can't think of that movie without thinking of this song.  Particularly the end credits where they show the pictures from their crazy night and Ed Helms pulls out his own tooth.  As you can see, I'm good at entertaining myself!

Willie Nelson- On the Road Again- I think you will find the remaining songs make a little more sense.  After a quick stop to refill my water bottle at mile 13, I got back on my bike and on the road again.  'Nuff said.

Matthew Wilder- Nobody's Gonna Break My Stride- Nobody's gonna break my stride, nobody's gonna slow me down!  Oh no!  I got to keep on pedalin'...I mean movin'!!!!

Bon Jovi- Livin' On A Prayer- When I hit the halfway point what else would I possibly sing other than "Oh we're halfway there!!!" or "Take my hand and we'll make it I swear!!!"   This song makes regular appearance on the soundtrack of life.  It just works so well in so many situations!

Creedence Clearwater Revival- Proud Mary- "Big wheel keep on turnin', Proud Mary keep on burnin'.  Rollin', rollin', rollin' on the river."  This song not only mentions wheels turning and rolling, but it mentions Memphis and that river that runs through it.  So, it just kind of seems par for the course that this tune kept me going through a couple of tough hills.

Limp Bizkit-Rollin'- "Keep rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin'!!!"  "Hot mamas, pimp daddies, and all you players rollin' in the Caddies"....lol.  Sorry, I forgot what I was doing there for a sec.  I bet you are starting to feel sorry for my husband right about now.  He has to put up with this on a daily basis because yes, I'm like this all the time!

Cue Chariots of Fire Theme Song.  What else would you expect as I rode through the finish line?  And this was only Day 1!!!  I have to admit, the finish line was pretty anticlimatic (thank goodness I brought my own theme music).  When I rolled through the finish line, the cheering section was so busy trying to keep things from blowing away in what felt like 30 mph winds, that they didn't realize anyone was coming and I got a very belated applause.  Oh well no sweat because I put my bike away, grabbed a sandwich, my luggage, and rushed into the Gold Strike hotel in Tunica so that I could check in and get to my room because the only song that mattered to me at that point was this one....

Mississippi State Fight Song-  My beloved Bulldogs beat Auburn 28-10!  Hail State! And what better note to end on!

I'm in the back on the right of this pic.  Don't you love my expression?  I look so happy to be getting on my bike at 7 am!

Thats better!

Kraut and I are already signed up for next year! Yay!  So if you want to help us get a jump start on fundraising, here is the link where you can donate:  http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR?px=6892133&pg=personal&fr_id=20156. I hope you enjoyed hearing about the ride, let me know how you liked my playlist!!!

~Crawfish