Sweet Tea

I have mastered the art of Sweet Tea- pouring it, that is. Scott was always telling me that Southerners loved a lot of ice, but I never experienced it first hand until a couple weeks ago. Before I get into the story I must explain some things first:

• Stephanie is my boss (she's just positively amazing...and probably reading this! tee hee)
• Brent is her husband- he takes all of the stores/sites pictures (As you can see, he's great at what he does)
• Shooting pictures for the site is a NEVER ENDING process, but unlike others, I find it fun
• We have "photo shoot" nights about once a week. We start with dinner when the store closes at 6 and finish shooting sometime between 9 and 11. By finish, I mean just for the night.
• We get dinner on photo shoot nights and eat it at the counter, I am the designated food picker uper 
• Stephanie always has diet coke, I waver between diet coke, rootbeer and diet dr. pepper and Brent rotates between diet coke and Sweet Tea sweetened with Splenda.

Alright, you are up to speed. Back to my story.

A couple weeks ago we ate Newks for dinner. I'ts my favorite "slow fast food" here. They have amazing sandwiches, salads, pizzas etc. and conveniently enough, in the same parking lot of the store. Well Brent decides it's a Sweet Tea night so I add to our order and head out to pick it up. (My mouth is watering at this point, I'm surprised I have not stopped on my way back to the store, across the parking lot remember, and devoured my meal. It's that good.) I go to fill up Bren't tea. I figure it's supposed to be cold, so I add ice to the cup, but only the standard amount. I then proceed to fill up the tea. I notice it's hot and melting all the ice. I figure that's just how it should be. Looks gross to me, but hey, to each their own. (I did not ask for tea filling instructions- I didn't know there was a catch).

So at this point I'm back at the store. We stand around the counter to eat, I mention that the ice probably melted but I'm not really sure what's up with the whole tea process. He takes a drink. Bless his heart he probably wanted to gag, or at the very least spit it out. He says "It's okay, just a little warm". (He's very polite and would not tell me at that point it was disgusting, although I know).

Well I redeemed myself. Last night we had Newks again (did I mention it's my favorite!?) and he was probably nervous, but he dared to ask for Sweet Tea again. I was smarter this time and asked for clarification  on the ice to tea ratio. Here are the instructions:

1. Fill the glass at least half full. In this case, it's better to air on the side of caution and have more rather than less.
2. Fill with the hot tea. (Why they keep it hot I have no clue. Seems pretty useless to me. I'm still working on that)

It's as easy as that. He didn't cringe this time. I was proud. I still have my job!

My Inner Martha

I have been reading Martha's magazines lately (thanks to Cyndie) and have been getting Martha's daily craft emails, so I was inspired to be crafty this V-day.

Here is what Scott got...

He Liked it...(which he should because he has been asking for black bottom cupcakes sine we made them over a year ago!)

Hope everyone had a good day too.

Rival Restaurants

There is a restaurant here we LOVE. Their slogan is "So Good Yu'll Slap Yo Mama". They have the BEST homemade BBQ chips and pulled pork smothered in their amazing BBQ sauce. It's called The Commissary. It's a "hole in the wall" restaurant, as you can see.

Inside it's crowded, tables are so close together you always end up having dinner conversations with your neighbours (notice the tables towards the back) and somewhat dirty. That last part is kind of a low point to the restaurant, but all part of the experience. Or so I keep telling myself.

This past Friday night we were in Bartlett to go to the Temple. We decided to have our "valentine's day" dinner at a restaurant close to the Temple. It's been recommended to us by many. It's called...Fat Larry's. The owner is Larry, and he is fat.

(The man pictured is not Larry. I don't know who he is. Just goes to show you never know who sees the pictures you post on the internet!)

The food here was really good- could knock Commissary out of first place. It's not quite as eclectic as Commissary and does not have the same "cool" atmosphere, but was clean and you weren't sitting on your neighbours lap. I took pictures of our food and the waitress laughed at me. We then explained how we just moved here...works every time!

Side note- one of the ladies working there heard we were from Canada/Idaho and it turns out she went to BYU-Idaho when it was Ricks, had roommates from Edmonton and served her mission in Winnipeg and went to high school in Alabama (from now on known as "Bama") with another good friend of ours in Collierville. It is rare to come across a member of the church here, especially one who also has connections to Edmonton.

Back to the food: Here are the Sweet Potato Fries, dusted with powdered sugar- a nice touch!

I took a picture of our ribs, but thanks to great technology it is not saved on Scott's phone :( But believe me when I say that our "slab for 2" was AT LEAST 18" LONG. Ten bucks a person, with beans (which I hate) and slaw (what they call coleslaw here...) for two.We had our ribs "Muddy" which means there is a dry rub and their BBQ sauce on them, you can also get they "dry" or "wet". 

SO....I have to go to Commissary now and try the ribs. If the ribs are better there, then they win. But no matter what the BBQ chips will keep me loyal to Commissary. Come visit and we'll let you decide for yourself!

Temple Night Revamped

Friday night we ventured out to Bartlett (about 30 mins.away) to take in a temple session.The temple here is small, just like Edmonton. I must explain the Temple situation here as it is unlike anything we are used to. Changes are...

1. We have to plan: It is only open Wed. nights, Friday nights and Saturdays- We are used to Rexburg where it is open Tuesday-Saturday, 6 am to 10 pm.
2. Traffic Sucks: We can no longer drive up the hill and be there in 3 mins, passing only a handful of cars. Now, since it's only open at night, we have to leave during rush hour. It's only 30 miles or so, but takes AN HOUR to get there...that means we have to leave a good hour and a half before the session starts. (We know this because we have been late both times...which leads to the next change)
3. So few people attend: Because of this, they actually wait for you when you are late, otherwise they might not have enough people to start. This is actually nice because then we don't have to wait for the next session.

Now, I understand it could be worse. We could live in say, Little Rock, and have to drive 2+ hours, or live in a European country and have to travel 2+ days. I'm not saying our situation is bad, it just takes some getting used to.

Update...What?!

Oh yeah, these things don't write themselves....

Well, to update, we are happily "settled" in Collierville! I say "settled" because apartment life never really feels settled, just so temporary. Everything feels borrowed and used (which it is!). I'm sure it will get better as we start to get our own furniture and pass on all of the donated items we have. Don't get me wrong, we are very grateful for them and they have served us well for the past 2 or so years, but I am so anxious to get my own and in my own style/colors etc.

Our ward is great and we have had great opportunities to socialize with couples and families that we met over the summer. It's nice to move somewhere and already have friends! We have been called to teach Sunday School- 14 & 15 year olds. It is hard. I wish I was back in Primary. (Or just sliding under the radar....)

We have been enjoying the warmer weather, even though everyone keeps saying how cold it is! The night we arrived and signed into our lease the leasing agent was wearing a full length down jacket, while we were enjoying ourselves in our long sleeved t-shirts! We witnessed our first ice storm that, besides the damage it caused for a lot of people, is quite pretty. The ice is so thick on the trees that it looks like a winter wonderland scene from a movie. They say February is the coldest month of the year, and so far I would say the temperature has dropped, but it is still NOTHING like we are used to! I know that I am getting used to it quickly when I call home and tell mum "how cold it was today". She reminds me that it is all relative and it is 30 below at home!!

Scott had a great interview at Morgan Keegan last Friday and we are crossing our fingers and sending up prayers that all will go well in the next couple weeks. It would be a great opportunity for him, and just great overall for him to be back working. He is getting bored and anxious! I have to keep reminding myself that most people are out of jobs for months, not just weeks. Hopefully I don't have know what that feels like...

I am an awful at remembering my camera, so as I get better at this blogging thing, I'll start reminding my self about pictures. Start small.

I will now leave you and attend to my Martha magazine which has magically appeared at my door, with my name on it! I'm pretty sure I know who the secret giver is, she is probably reading this, and I am very grateful! My mind is already filled with great project ideas...