Women of Faith

I had an awesome time with amazing women this weekend. We also had quite a nice suite!!

um...yeah this is cool

Neurosonics Audiomedical Labs Inc. from Chris Cairns on Vimeo.

Happy Birthday to Addie!

It's my darling niece's first birthday!!!

Happy Birthday to Cody!!!

It's my nephew's 7th birthday today! I miss him so much!

Free Chic-Fil-A!!!!!!

Are you willing to go camp out in front of Chic-Fil-A for a day?! If so you could be one of 100 lucky people who gets free Chic-Fil-A for a year. That's right free pillows from heaven (as Chris calls their chicken biscuits) for an entire year!!!! All you have to do is be the first 100 customers when they open a new Chic-Fil-A. An you're in luck, there's a new one opening in Elijay, GA on August 13. I can't be there, cause I'm going to Florida for a conference, but maybe one of you can.

Kudzu is edible?

Those of you who are westerners have probably never experienced kudzu. It's all over the place here, and I was shocked to see you can eat it. I've got some growing in the field behind our apartment...hmmm artichoke and kudzu dip? We'll see.

Originally brought to the US from Japan in 1876 to be used as forage food for livestock and to help reduce soil erosion, the plant took a real liking to the warm, humid Southeastern climate and got out of control. There are urban myths about how people have returned from vacations to find their homes and cars covered with kudzu. It does have pretty aggressive growth in the summer, with some reports of it growing a foot a day.

As with any foraged food, make sure the plant has not been sprayed with any chemicals and is not growing anywhere that toxic waste is dumped. Try to avoid plants grown too close to the roadways as they tend to contain too much dust and automotive exhaust. Since the vine patches are thick, wear boots and watch out for critters and insects. Also, kudzu looks very similar to poison ivy - be sure you know how to distinguish between the two plants!

Kudzu grows from Florida to New Jersey, and as far west as West Virginia and East Texas. However, a small patch of it has been found in Clackamas County, Oregon. No one is sure where it came from.

The leaves, vine tips, flowers, and roots are edible; the vines are not. The leaves can be used like spinach and eaten raw, chopped up and baked in quiches, cooked like collards, or deep fried. Young kudzu shoots are tender and taste similar to snow peas.

Kudzu also produces beautiful, purple-colored, grape-smelling blossoms that make delicious jelly, candy, and syrup. Some people have used these to make homemade wine. The large potato-like roots are full of protein, iron, fiber, and other nutrients. They are dried and then ground into a powder which is used to coat foods before frying or to thicken sauces.

Save Derek!!!

So our good friend and pastor Derek was in a very scary accident where he was run over by a truck while he was on his scooter. He is out of surgery now and doing well, painful, but well. Thanks to all of you who have been praying. However, he has had to experience the awful perma-delay that goes with being a patient at Atlanta Medical Center.

Cutest Dog

So of course we think we have the cutest dog in America, but what does the rest of America think? Go here to vote our dog the cutest.

Home

Today was a crazy day at work. I normally leave at 4:30, but today I was still there at 5:30 finishing nursing notes. So when I walked in the door I was greeted by a wonderful thing...chicken broth. I started a batch of chicken broth in the slowcooker last night and had forgotten about it. The smell reminds me of walking into my grandma's house on Thanksgiving. Chris and I are trying to be alot better about spending money. We've tightened our budget, started cutting coupons, and are generally trying to be better stewards of our money. Here's one way that I save hundreds of dollars per year. I never buy boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Generally these run about 2-4 dollars per pound. I buy bone in, skin on chicken breasts when they're .99 a pound. It takes about 5 minutes to butcher them yourself. Then with the leftover bones I put them in a slowcooker, add a few carrots, a left over onion, celery that is probably almost ready for the trash and a few bay leaves. Then fill your slowcooker with water. Turn it on low for 15 or so hours and you now have free chicken broth. Just make sure you strain it. I actually went to the store yesterday and bought $50 worth of groceries for $5 after coupons and incentives...this included about 10 pounds of chicken breasts, and now I have broth for free.

Sam the Sock Dog

I just found this at Etsy tonight...isn't he the cutest thing ever?!! I'm hoping to find a pattern to try this myself.