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

Football Is In the Air

Football is a huge deal in our household, so Kraut and I are VERY excited its almost back. Our schools never play each other so we each can cheer for both teams without any conflicts. Go Dawgs! Go Irish!  We have tickets to several games this year and we are getting so excited.  ND opens up against Navy in Dublin, Ireland and we kicked around the prospect of going, but it just didn't work out.  The first game we are going to is the ND vs. Miami game at Soldier Field in Chicago.  Its going to be on October 6 which is 3 days after our 3 year anniversary.  It should be a fun way to celebrate!  I'm also looking forward to taking my new camera and getting some better quality photos to share this year.  Here are some of my shots from last year's games:

Notre Dame vs. Michican State (at ND)

MS State vs Memphis (at Memphis)

Note...picture above is in the 1st quarter and the one below is the beginning of the 4th quarter! Ha!

Memphis vs MS State was the season opener and I didn't take a camera so the only pics I have to share with you are from my iphone so bear with me on the photo quality.  This year I'll do better.  Plus, I've got a new cowbell ready to ring at the MS State games, and I'm really looking forward to using it.  Its one I made for my mom a while back, so it will be like she's there with me cheering on my team!

Today, because I can hear football calling, the Soundtrack of Life is playing Phil Collins "In the Air Tonight"!!!  Now if you will excuse me, I need to go get my maroon gear out and warm up my bell ringing arm!!!  Until next time.......

~Crawfish

Under My Skin

Hi Friends!  The soundtrack of life is playing Frank Sinatra's "I've Got You Under My Skin".  It is my parent's song and yesterday was their 40 year anniversary.  I shared with you last week a little bit about my mother passing away, and my dad wrote the sweetest comment on the post.  I thought that a lot of you may have missed it, so in honor of their 40 years together I want to share this with you.  You may need to grab a tissue first!  (FYI...My mom took the picture of the flowers at the bottom.  My dad picked them for her during their 2 week trip to Jackson Hole, Mount Rushmore, and Yellowstone)

Dearest Jackie,
It’s Saturday afternoon late and I’m alone today for the first time since you left us or God took you last Sunday. I’ve been trying to stay busy- you know me I can’t sit still- cleaning house and going through letters. I sat down and was trying to recall as much as I could of our time together and it’s hard. The last 3 months although precious moments, I had to watch you slowly leave me.  I know it must have been hard as the disease slowly crept into your body and took over, although I can hear you say, “Oh it’s not so bad.”

I just want to reach out and hold your hand. Feel your touch. To hug you and smell the scent that is yours. To have to bend over closer to you to hear your soft voice. To press my lips to yours and kiss you 3 times because once or twice was never enough for you. You know your lips were the softest of anyone I know. I don’t want to forget. You will always be my bestest friend. My ole pal Jackie Dupree. I know I wasn’t perfect but I always tried to be a better husband. You deserved it and more. I guess I’ll always be that work in progress. If I would have just learned those two little words you like sooner, “Yes dear” it would have been so much easier. Right my love. 

I think someday the tears will be less, but for now I can’t seem to stop them as I recall the 40 years we called marriage. I felt like it was more like dating. You were such an easy person to love. I recall so many little things you did to remind me that you loved me.  How great God is to me that He would bring us together when He did. I don’t know what my life would be like without you my sweetheart, but with God’s help I can serve Him and go in the direction He leads. You will always be a part of me “I’ve got you under my skin.” How corny but true. 

Well it has helped to sit down to write this little bit. The tears have subsided and I can recall moments now more clearly. Your smile, your laugh, that awesome sense of humor and wit. You live on my darling in my heart. Thank you so much for our time together in case I didn’t say it enough.
You know you have inspired a lot of people most of all me and our daughters on how to live in the face of adversity. You deserve a medal but I’m sure our Lord will take care of that when He proclaims, “Well done good and faithful servant.” I miss you my love. 

Your Loving Husband,
Tom

A Dinner You Can't Refuse

 Mmmmm.....Eggplant Parmesan is a classic recipe, and one of my new favorites to make.  Kraut and I were watching a Bobby Flay "Throwdown" and we both started drooling while watching. We picked up some good tips and decided to make our own recipe that we believe we have perfected.  I think you will find it to be a real winner, and if you are like Kraut and I then you will probably want to pop the Godfather into your DVD player, open a bottle of Italian red wine, roll up your sleeves, and start cooking!!!


Eggplant Parmesan

1 large eggplant
1 jar of plain tomato sauce (we are going to jazz it up, so just get something plain with low sodium)
2 red peppers
3 on the vine tomatoes or a pint of grape tomatoes
1 large ball of mozzarella (sliced)
8 oz grated parmesan
5 eggs
1 cup flour
1.5 cups bread crumbs
4 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
olive oil/vegetable oil for cooking eggplant

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Take your tomatoes and your red peppers and coat them with some olive oil and put them on a foil lined baking sheet.  When your oven is heated up, put them in the oven and roast them for about 20-30 minutes, or until tomatoes begin to burst and peppers begin to brown a little.  You may need to rotate the peppers a couple times, also be aware they will take longer than the tomatoes if you use grape tomatoes. When they are finished pull out and set aside to cool a bit, (leave the oven on 400).  We will use these for our sauce later.

While your veggies are roasting, peel your eggplant.  Then you will want to finely slice the eggplant lengthwise.  This is one of the key tricks we learned recently.  We have a mandolin that we use to get the eggplant really really thin.  Lightly salt your eggplant and set it aside. The salt will help them sweat a little bit and hopefully they won't soak up as much oil during the cooking process. Now set up your dredging station.  In a small dish or bowl (big enough to dip eggplant in), crack 5 eggs, add a splash of milk and beat the eggs.  In another dish add flour, and to a third dish add breadcrumbs. Now add oil to you pan (about a quarter of an inch high) and heat it up.  While your oil is heating, take you eggplant and coat it in flour, then dip it in egg wash, and then coat in breadcrumbs.  You will repeat with all remaining eggplant slices, and fry in small batches for 2-3 minutes each until all pieces are cooked.  You may need to add more oil to the pan as you go. Set aside cooked eggplant.

Now its time for the sauce.  Pour jar of sauce into a pot and warm on medium heat (don't get it too hot).  Peel and deseed your roasted red peppers then add to the pot.  Also, add roasted tomatoes.  Chop fresh basil, oregano, and thyme and add to the sauce (I grow my own herbs, so I'm not the best at giving estimations on proportions but I say the more the merrier!).  Also press 3 or 4 cloves of garlic into your pot.  When its warm, turn off the heat and grab an immersion blender and use it to puree the roasted red peppers and tomatoes until your sauce has no chunks.  (If you don't have an immersion blender you can puree it in a regular blender, but don't heat the sauce, puree ingredients, and then heat afterwards).

 Finally its the moment we've all been waiting for!  You are in the home stretch!  Take a sip of wine to tide you over, and get ready to assemble.   In a 9x13 baking dish, spread a layer of sauce across the bottom.  Next add a layer of eggplant followed by a layer of mozzarella.  Repeat with a layer of sauce, a layer of eggplant, a layer of mozzrella, a layer of sauce, a layer of eggplant, and top it all off with mozzarella AND a generous layer of parmesan cheese.  Cover and bake for 30-40 minutes, cheese should be nice and bubbly.
Buon appetito!!!!






And now for the song of the day on the soundtrack of life, what else goes with a great Italian meal better than the Godfather theme song? I say nothing! Just beware that you may be humming this all day now that I've got it into your head.

~Crawfish

Knocking on Heaven's Door

For those of you have been faithful followers of my blog, I'd like to apologize for the hiatus.  For those of you who may be tuning in for the first time, I'd like to apologize in advance for the solemn tone of today's post.  Two Sundays ago (July 29) I lost my mother.  During that time I've gone through quite an array of emotions, but mostly I just feel like a piece of me is missing.  My mom's dear friend gave the eulogy at Mom's memorial service and asked my family and I to say a few things.  I would like to tell you that I was petrified at the thought of speaking at her service, but I surprisingly found it to be a joyous celebration of her life with a solemn tone.  I'd like to share my words with you as well as a few pictures:

I was trying to think of a favorite story or memory of my mother, but honestly what comes to mind are a collection of traits that made up the person she was to me.

My mother was sweet and patient.  I remember being only 2 or 3 years old and we would sit with a tape recorder singing "Miss Polly had a Dolly" and other songs together.   She also read countless stories to me, particularly "The Owl and the Pussy Cat" which she told me that she read so many times that she would try to hide the book way in the back where I wouldn't find it. Despite her tactics it was the one I'd pull off the shelf every time.  Even though she was sick of it, she'd read it for the thousandth time to me without complaint.

My mother was beautiful inside and out.  Anyone that met her knows that she never left the house looking anything but her best.  She loved to sparkle and at one point she quite possibly owned half of the jewelry sold on QVC.  But, its important to mention that her interior was just as beautiful. She spent countless hours cooking for her family, taking us to horseback riding lessons, bringing us on trips to the park, helping us with homework, and coming up with fun crafty projects for us to do together (we made a lot of puffy paint tshirts).

My mother was strong and faithful.  She was such an inspiration to me because during the course of her life she was faced with more adversity than some people ever know in a lifetime and she always bounced back and still saw things from a positive light. When she was first going through chemo, there were a couple times where it was just she and I that went to Jackson for her treatments.  After her treatment, you would think she would want to go home and rest, but no.  She'd want me to take her to the mall to shop and she liked to go with me the best.  She said Dad would push her too fast for her to look at anything, and Jacquelyn would get bored too quickly.  I would push her for hours through the mall and she was like an energizer bunny.  The two of us would either shop until the mall closed or I'd get so worn out I'd have to tell her I was tired.

My mother was soft spoken but witty.  I'd call her up to talk to her all the time because she was such a great listener and always knew the right things to say. She was never loud or boisterous, but she was always quick with a joke.  Even during her last days she was making us laugh.  There was a medicine in the hospital that she absolutely didn't want to take because it tasted terrible. One day when one of the nurses asked Mom what she would like to drink, Mom replied "Anything but Lactolose."

My mother was caring and selfless.  She always put her family and friends ahead of herself.  The day she went into the hospital she was lying in a hospital bed in the ER saying to me "Poor Steve, I'm sure this isn't how he planned to spend his Friday night."  And if you asked her how she was doing she would smile and say she was ok and ask about you.

My mother had perseverance. She lost her leg in a car accident and I was always amazed to see how she overcame her disability every day of her life.  Then she fought a 10 year battle with breast cancer.  Some may say she lost the battle, but I would say that she beat the cancer because she fought hard to have as much time with us on Earth, and I know right now she enjoying her perfect Heavenly body and smiling down on us today.

My mother was my best friend and she will be missed.

So, those were the words I got up and read about her, and I'm sure I did not even begin to do her justice because it would take a book to include all of my memories throughout the years.  She and my dad both have been wonderful inspirations to me in so many ways.  Now, you know I usually like to leave you with a song of the day, but today the soundtrack of life is just that, a soundtrack.  I want to share a few of the songs that have made me think of her lately:

Magical Mystery Tour- The Beatles -The reason I picked this song was that she had surgery a few days before she passed and when she came out she told us all about her "Magical Mystery Tour" and how the doctors were surrounded by neon lights.  Also, the day after she passed, my family and I took an impromptu trip about an hour away to go eat dinner, and this song came on.  It was followed up by:
Knockin' on Heaven's Door- Bob Dylan- and when it came on, I burst in to tears because I sincerely don't think it was a coincidence.  I honestly believe she was speaking to us and reminding us that she was still with us in spirit.

If You Want Me To- Ginny Owens- When Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2002 this song really spoke to me.  So much so, that I made a copy of the CD, wrote out the lyrics along with a letter to my mom.  In it, I let her know how much she meant to me, and that we were going to get through this no matter what.

Satisfaction- Rolling Stones- My parents went to a Rolling Stones concert back in 1989 and she still has the tshirt from that concert, which I recently found.  While I was sitting with her not too long ago, I asked her what her favorite Stones song was and she said it had to be Satisfaction.  My mom had good taste!

Maggie May- Rod Stewart-  My mom also had a Rod Stewart tshirt that she has kept forever.  She loved this song enough to name our Springer Spaniel Maggie May!

Hard Days Night- The Beatles- Like every other teenager in the 60s my mom was obsessed with the Beatles.  When I was young, she rented all the Beatles movies and I particularly remember her making me watch Hard Days Night.  I love the Beatles too, just not so sure I fell in love with their filmography the way she did!

Thriller- Michael Jackson- When I was a kid, my mom was watching a TV special on the making of this video and she was afraid I'd be scared but instead I was fascinated.  I think just about everyone loves this song and my parents were no exception.  My parents had this album on record and we listened to it over and over.

Hope you enjoy Jackie's soundtrack of life according to Crawfish!  Miss you and love you Mom!!!!