Sorry Sazio

One of our favorite restaurants, Sazio in 5-Points, closed last week. I had no idea it was closing. In fact, Matt's mom took us there for his birthday just last Monday. At least we got to eat there one last time. The Washington Square Group, which owned Sazio, hasn't even completely taken it off of their website yet.

Matt and I feel like we're cursed. Several months ago, our absolute favorite restaurant, The Welcome Table, closed down. We like places that aren't chains that we can go to for special occasions or date nights, and this was one of them. The food was soooo good, but it was never very crowded whenever we were in there (neither was Sazio), which should have been a red flag. I don't know if these places don't advertise enough, are in bad locations, or what. I hate it when you have a craving for a specific place and then you realize it's gone!

So long, Sazio. It was nice while it lasted.

Sophie Scholl:The Final Days

(Scene from the movie) Sophie on trial in the "People's Court"

A few weeks ago, we were at one heck of a firepit party when Charlie asked us what movies we'd seen recently. We're Netflix converts, and told him the last good movie we saw was "Downfall," about Hitler's final days in Berlin. (It was a good movie).

Anyway, Charlie suggested we see "Sophie Scholl: The Final Days" about a young Christian who was executed for her membership in an anti-Nazi resistance group when she was caught passing out fliers at her university. (Here is his review).

The movie really struck me (I didn't really know the story beforehand). Sophie, her brother, and a friend were caught distributing leaflets at the University of Munich. Four days later they were tried and then executed by guillotine the same afternoon. Can you imagine a death sentence being carried out the same day as the trial in the U.S.?!

Sophie had heard of the horrors of the Nazi gassing of mentally disabled German children, the rumors of Jewish death camps, and watched as police spat in the face of her Jewish school teacher. Through the interrogations and trial, Sophie never gave up her cause. She knew it could lead to her death, but was unwilling to admit wrong and pledge allegiance to the Third Reich. Her resistance group, the White Rose, urged passive resistance and not violence, but they were still condemned to death.

Her last words were, "How can we expect righteousness to prevail when there is hardly anyone willing to give himself up individually to a righteous cause. Such a fine, sunny day, and I have to go. But what does my death matter, if through us thousands of people are awakened and stirred to action?" Sophie was only 21.

After the deaths of Sophie, her brother Hans, and their friend Christoph Probst (a young father of three), a juror smuggled the letters written by the White Rose out of Germany. They made their way to Britain and were dropped by the millions over Germany by the Allied forces' planes.

(Real Life) From Left: Hans Scholl, Sophie Scholl, and Christoph Propst.

I'm so thankful that, no matter how much I may disagree with American politics, there is probably no issue worth dying over. I could argue for lower taxes and smaller government until my voice gives out, but it's definitely not a life and death issue.

Auburn Art

Matt and I have been looking through some prints of Auburn landmarks at auburnart.com recently, trying to find a good graduation present for the engaged couple. (As upcoming Auburn grads and future newly weds, Amy and Ryan will need something Auburn-ish to decorate with!)

My favorite is a watercolor by Auburn grad James Dean (not that James Dean) of Toomer's Drugs. We have one of his watercolors in our living room and I told Matt that this one goes to the top of my birthday wish list. :)

One of my sorority sister's family bought Toomer's Drugs several years ago. It was in jeopardy of being replaced with something else, but they have kept it in business as an Auburn landmark. It's not really a pharmacy anymore, but you can still buy sandwiches and their famous fresh-squeezed lemonade at their old-fashioned soda bar when you stop in to buy a roll of t.p. to roll the giant tree across the street. I don't know if they still own the store or not, but am very glad that it's been preserved.

Auburn is a really neat little town. It's small-town-charm-meets-big-city-suburb. It has a really good mix of old stores and buildings along with a lot of the new and trendy places as well. It's really pretty too - not just the town, but the school as well. The campus is changing and even prettier than when I went to school there just a few years ago. (I wish they'd finished that enormous and gorgeous new engineering building while I was there!)

I miss Auburn!

First Cut Flowers of the Season!

Over the past week, the buds on my climbing roses have been threatening to open. The white one had several flowers open this morning, and is on the verge of exploding into bloom!

I went ahead and cut several stems for the first (of MANY) vase of fresh flowers this year.

Over the weekend, I sweet-talked Matt into helping me till up a grassy spot for sunflower and zinnia seeds, and got those planted along with my new Hydrangea ('Kardinal').


I'd been eying this plant for over a year and ordered one about a week ago from Hydrangeas Plus with some of my plant money from Christmas. It came in as a huge plant (by far the largest I've ever received through the mail) and I can't wait to see it bloom! Above is a photo of what it should look like in acidic soil.

Power of The Cross

This song gets me every time.

I wish we sang it more, and was glad to see it in the bulletin this Sunday. It is a wonderful reminder of the love Christ has for me, a sinner completely unable to save myself. It makes me tear up every time I sing it!

"The Power of the Cross"
Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend
Copyright © 2005 Thankyou Music

Oh, to see the dawn
Of the darkest day:
Christ on the road to Calvary.
Tried by sinful men,
Torn and beaten, then
Nailed to a cross of wood.

CHORUS:
This, the pow'r of the cross:
Christ became sin for us;
Took the blame, bore the wrath—
We stand forgiven at the cross.

Oh, to see the pain
Written on Your face,
Bearing the awesome weight of sin.
Ev'ry bitter thought,
Ev'ry evil deed
Crowning Your bloodstained brow.

Now the daylight flees;
Now the ground beneath
Quakes as its Maker bows His head.
Curtain torn in two,
Dead are raised to life;
"Finished!" the vict'ry cry.

Oh, to see my name
Written in the wounds,
For through Your suffering I am free.
Death is crushed to death;
Life is mine to live,
Won through Your selfless love.

FINAL CHORUS:
This, the pow'r of the cross:
Son of God—slain for us.
What a love! What a cost!
We stand forgiven at the cross.

Ultimate Scrimmage

I went to the ultimate frisbee game last night, which turned out to be a scrimmage. There are more teams than field space this year, so they had a couple of pre-season scrimmages all at the same field location by simply combining a few of the teams. This meant that I still have no idea who is on Matt, Amanda, and Wade's team.

When I walked up, one of the organizers (and their team captain from last year) asked me why I wasn't signed up to play. Honestly, I have absolutely no desire to play ultimate frisbee. That would mean making a commitment that I would actually show up each week, let alone play. No, I prefer sitting on the sidelines in my chair and pretending to know what the heck is going on. In fact, I like that I have three people to come watch each week... it's a good excuse to skip the gym (and drill sergeant Amanda's jazzercise class) for a day.

Watching the games introduced me to a whole different culture last year. They are required to have two girls on the field at all times (the minimum... they never have more than this), and they don't pass to them very often. Also, there is a segment of most of the teams that prefer cold Nattie Lights to Gatorade. (I will never understand this, especially when running around in 95 degree heat!!) After a game last year, instead of high fives, they passed out jello shots.

This all makes for pretty good entertainment. I like going and am completely content to cheer from the sidelines instead of getting in on the action.

Here are a few photos from last night.





This is Matt after a valiant attempt (nose dive) to catch the frisbee in the scoring zone.










As you can see, Wade was very happy that I came to watch him play!














Tyson kept me company while the others were off taking their jello shots. Ace had to stay home because he doesn't know how to "play nice" with other dogs.








Amanda is WIDE OPEN, guys!!

Drudge Report Ad

I am a Drudge addict. I check it every day, usually multiple times a day. I saw this add this morning and thought it was very odd...

Ultimate Starting

Manda, Wade, and Matt are all on the same summer ultimate frisbee team. They played last year with Adam Fleming, and I had a good time watching the games and cheering them on from the sidelines with Jenny.

This year, they're on the navy team and will be playing Thursday nights at 6 (let me know if you'd like to come!). If you'd like to play, it's not too late... they take walk-ons for the rest of the season (Ryan - I'm expecting you to join in a few weeks when you move up here!!)

I got my new camera in the mail yesterday, so I'm hoping to be able to figure out how to take some great action shots tonight so that I can post them later.

So Much for the Quiet BB Gun

So, last night Matt and I sat on the back patio after dinner while he played with his new toy, the Crossman Phantom G1 Xtreme (that does sound extreme!). He finally gets the barrel to break and does the load/single pump thing. Then we decide that he should just take a shot towards the back fence to see how it works.

POW! It was as loud as his 22-caliber rifle. Yikes! We were kind of shocked and sheepishly looked around to see if any of our neighbors were still out in their yards. Just 15 minutes earlier, the people behind us were in their back yard putting (right behind the fence!!). How embarrassing.

We walked to the far back corner of the yard to check out the fence and found the embedded pellet stuck halfway into the almost 3/4 inch thick panel. This is not like the BB gun I played with growing up... those things would bounce right off of you (as I learned from experience).

Now my jokes about Matt shooting the neighbor kids who hang over our fence and harass our dogs didn't seem as funny any more. We can't hide from the den, shooting out of the window without anyone hearing us. Too bad.

So, I told Matt that it wouldn't hurt my feelings if he wanted to trade it in for the multi-pump, but much quieter/less lethal version. Luckily I still had the receipt in my black-hole-of-a-purse in case he decides that's what he wants to do.

Calvin's Thoughts

It seems that occasionally, Matt and I find ourselves in a discussion with others about the balance between enjoying God's generous provision for us and being fiscally conservative with our spending. When it comes to budgets, everyone is different, but I hope we've found a good balance. We'd like to be able to enjoy His gracious gifts to us, but also want to still be able to go above and beyond in our giving (especially to missions!).

My aunt sent me this quote from John Calvin which kind of reminds me that I shouldn't feel that a nice luxury every now and then is sinful:

"If someone begins to doubt whether it is lawful for him to use linen for his sheets or shirts or handkerchiefs… he will go on to become uncertain…about using even canvas. For he will think to himself, “…Do I really need to carry a handkerchief?” If it should occur to a man that some rather pleasant food was unlawful, he will get to the point of not being able to eat black bread or common dishes without an uneasy conscience before God, for it will occur to him that he could nourish his body on food yet more humble. If he is doubtful about a fairly good wine, he will then not be able to drink some rot-gut with a good conscience, and in the end he will dare touch no water that is sweeter and purer than usual. And at last such a man will think it a sin to step over a straw on the path, as they say…” (referenced from T.H.L. Parker’s John Calvin: A Biography)

Happy Birthday, MJ!!!

It's Matt's 29th Birthday today!

This morning, I gave him one of his presents before we left for work. While I didn't quite get him the Red Ryder BB gun that Ralphie wanted, I did get him a nice pellet gun. I don't know all of the specifics, but Wade helped me pick it out and Matt played with it all morning while we got ready for work. :)

Now he can target shoot from the back patio and maybe even scare off those blue jays that dive bomb the dogs in the back yard! Besides, every boy needs a BB gun, right?

Happy Birthday, Matthew John!

Happy Anniversary, Petti!

They made it through their first year of married bliss!

Congratulations you two!!

Momma's Girl

Growing up, I always considered myself a Daddy's Girl. Amanda and I fought over who got to sit next to him at the dinner table every night, and I always tried to be on one side of him during church so I could snuggle against his shoulder during the sermon.

I never loved my mother less; our relationship was just different. I went through a horrible pre-teen stage where I treated my mom very badly in middle school for a couple of years, which I deeply regret now. But, since graduating from college and getting married, our relationship has really grown.

My mom is a wealth of wisdom and always gives good advice and encouragement, especially marriage-related. I remember her telling Amanda and me once that we needed to be nicer to our husbands!

As my dad has gained two sons-in-law in the past several years, he's also gained river and camping buddies who are much more enthusiastic about it than my mom and me - which has left more time for us to spend together.

Although it seemed we both hated shopping while I was growing up, it's become a nice pass time for us recently. On Saturday morning, my mom volunteered to go with me to the Botanical Garden Spring Plant Sale. It was less about buying something than just spending the morning together in the nice weather. (Or maybe she just wanted me to come so I could carry her plants for her...) ;) We topped it off with a nice lunch at a very girly place... Main Street Cafe, and a girly movie, "Enchanted."

Although I regret what a brat I was to my mom growing up, I'm not sure I'd change how close we were then. Our relationship is so much better now, I don't think I'd be able to appreciate it as much if it had always been this way.

Thanks for putting up with me, mom!

Seasons of Life

Last night I finally made it to the WIC book study after missing the last two months. We've been going through Andi Ashworth's book, "Real Love for Real Life", which is about what it means to give care. Susan asked us all what season of life we're each in and who/what we care for.

As I listened to all of the women talk about caring for their children, teaching, anticipating the care for elder parents, I felt a little left out. I don't have any rugrats of my own to care for, just my "boys", and my parents sure seem to have gotten along just fine since they became empty nesters.

Who do I care for?

Really, I care for Matt on a daily basis (not nearly as well as I should/could), and hopefully I'm able to care for others in our family and church as well. I really think that my main caring responsibility right now is to care for and love my husband to the best of my ability. Realizing that was humbling and also the motivation I needed to do better each day.

Who do you care for??

Baseball Strikes Out

To anyone who has said that watching soccer is (gasp) boring, just be glad that you weren't at the Rockie's/Padres game.

It was the longest major league baseball game in 15 years! Twenty-two innings and over six hours later, with 37 strike-outs and only 3 runs scored, they finally called it quits. (Can you imagine watching the whole thing... that's one run for every TWO HOURS!!!)

Now that's a low-scoring game!!

Plant Sale

Anyone wanna go with me??

Huntsville Botanical Garden
April 17-20: Spring Plant Sale
Members Only Sale: April 17, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Public Sale: April 18-19, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; April 20, 1-5 p.m.

A long-established Huntsville rite of spring and the largest in the state, the Spring Plant Sale offers annuals by the flat or pack; ferns, geraniums, a huge selection of herbs, cherished heirloom plants, houseplants, orchids, perennials, old-fashioned roses, vegetable plants, water plants, wildflowers, shrubs, vines, and trees. All varieties have been specially selected to thrive in North Alabama. Master Gardeners will perform soil pH testing. Vendors offer garden accessories.

New Favorite Recipe

If any of you have ever had the pleasure of eating at the Wingards', you know what an incredible cook Lynne is! She graciously shared some of her recipes from their Easter dinner with me a few weeks ago, and I finally got around to making one of them this week.

I'd been dreaming about her green beans since Easter, and they were just as good as I remembered. They're actually really easy to make and are now my favorite veggie dish. Matt loved them too (and he is NOT a vegetable-loving kinda guy), so they're male-friendly as well.

GREEN BEANS W/ANCHO CHILE VINAIGRETTE

1 pound green beans, blanched and refreshed w/cold water
1 pound assorted mushrooms (portobello, cremini, shiitake) coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup toasted pecans
8 ounces American blue cheese

Heat olive oil in a large saute pan over high heat. Add mushrooms and cook until golden brown. Add thyme and season with salt and pepper. Toss green beans with some vinaigrette and season with salt and pepper. Top with mushrooms, blue cheese and toasted pecans. Serve with vinaigrette on the side.

Red Chile Mustard Vinaigrette:
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon ancho chile powder
Salt
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil

Whisk together mustard, ancho powder, salt and vinegar, slowly whisk in oil until emulsified. Season with more salt, to taste.

YUM!!

Cheney at Correspondents Dinner

I like it when politicians can make fun of themselves. This is a little long. The best parts are in the first couple of minutes.

Amanda Attack

Many of you know Amanda has been doing some training to become a jazzercise instructor. (She does look hot in those neon spandex outfits!)

Well, today she's doing her full hour instruction recording for the first time. She has to be video taped instructing the entire class without a break as part of her final certification.

I'm skipping our usual Wed. night study to offer her some moral support... and to kick the lady's butt who always runs into me or stands right in my spot every day.

Good luck, Manda Panda!!

disclaimer: since Amanda will put this as a comment anyway, I'll go ahead and say... Amanda isn't really teaching Jazzercise, but Body Attack, "a sports-inspired cardio fitness program" Take that!

Check Out The Pie

Sure to fulfill your daily dose of nonsense.

http://pettuspie.blogspot.com/

Sirius-ly Annoying

About nine months ago, I succumbed to the temptation that is satellite radio. Honestly, I was just sick of the same 20 song set that they always play on the local FM stations, and became a commercial-free satellite radio junkie during the free "intro" period I got when we bought my car.

My favorite Sirius stations are Left of Center and Alt Nation. These aren't nearly as heavy/screaming/hard core stations as they might sound. Rather, they play more under-the-radar bands which are generally of a mellow but fun nature. I never knew I had so many favorite bands that I'd never heard before. I even considered buying Matt a radio for Christmas so I wouldn't miss out when we rode in one of his cars (plus, there's NO radio in the beamer).

In the last couple a months, it seems like they've begun playing several bands that have obscene names. The attraction to naming your band after a crude slang word for part of the human anatomy or a curse word is lost on me.

The biggest problem with all of this is that the names of the band show up on the radio screen. It's embarrassing when you have a friend riding with you and something like "f-you" lights up on the dash.

What's also odd is that the songs are actually pretty clean. Not even close to the obscenity in what you'd find on the local FM stations. So, what gives?

Can't they just stick with names like Spoon, Modest Mouse, The Shins, Coconut Records?? What's wrong with a band name that you aren't embarrassed to tell your grandmother?

Farmer Ken

My dad is a farmer. Not a full time farmer, but a gentleman farmer. He has a small tree farm in South Alabama, which provides an excellent cover for the purchase of all kinds of neat farm tools/toys (4-wheeler, deck mower, etc.).

Here's a photo of Matt helping him out on the farm last year. He loved getting to drive the tractor around!

Another thing you should know about my dad... his first two cars were Ford Fairlanes. In fact, he still had both of them until about 10 years ago when he finally had to get rid of them. He picked us up from school every day in his maroon Fairlane growing up. I loved that car. (Except for the time my finger got slammed in the door!)

Since getting rid of his first car, he's said he'd like to get another Fairlane, this time a convertible, that he can restore and make fuel-injected. (Matt loves it when I talk like this).

Matt's been on the look out for one with the right specifications. (I think he's hoping he can help out on the project.)

Well, now my dad's priorities have changed. I asked him over the weekend if he'd go ahead and buy a Fairlane if we found one for him. While he still wants the car, right now his focus is on a bulldozer. Every good farmer needs one of these, right?


(photos from sacautoshow and classroomart)

Martha Tours 3M

I'm not normally a big Martha fan (even before she went to jail), but she did a tour of some of the 3M labs recently and will be featuring it on one of her shows.

My mom works for 3M. She's one of those really important people that does really important work, but I have no idea what it is. :) All I know is that she's a Chem-E and manages a bunch of engineers. I know she loves her job (I imagine she'll work long after she is eligible to retire, whereas my dad is ready to retire now) and she's been offered a lot of neat opportunities.

I also know that 3M makes great stuff! They have quarterly employee returned-goods sales where they fill one of the warehouses full of palets of returned 3M products. Each employee can bring one family member, and you get to fill up your paper bags with as much as you can for $10. I love going to these sales with my mom. We use all kinds of things from blue painter's tape to spray adhesive, post-its, and bandages. If you need any Scotch Brite sponges, I have plenty to share!!

The show airs May 12th.

Office Party

My sister, Amanda, throws the best Office Parties. But, it's not during work hours. We don't even work together. Plus, I don't really have office parties - unless you count those mandatory lunches where they either tell us someone is getting fired or that we are doing G-R-E-A-T, parties.

No, no. Amanda throws great Office Parties for one of our favorite shows. The Office. We got hooked last season. I like letting her cook us dinner and then we come over to eat and watch the show together. It's a lot of fun.



My favorite quote from the night:

Michael Scott:	"Whatever I want." It's never whatever I want. When I wanted to see Stomp and you wanted to see Wicked, what did we see?
Jan:	We saw W-W--
Michael Scott:	When I said that I wanted to have kids and you said that you wanted me to have a vasectomy, what did I do? And then, when you said that you might want to have kids and I wasn't so sure? Who had the vasectomy reversed? And then when you said you definitely didn't wanna have kids? Who had is reversed back! Snip snap snip snap snip snap! I did! You have no idea the physical toll that three vasectomies have on a person. And I bought the condo to fill will children!

Chick Car, Shmick Car....

Matt tells me that my car is officially a "Chick Car". We had our suspicions, especially one Sunday when one of the tall, skinny door greeters at church told me my car was "cute" and that it probably works best as my car and not Matt's. ;)

I asked Matt if this means that he doesn't want to drive it anymore. His response: "Not at all."

You Supply the Caption

My mother in law sent me an email with a lot of funny photos in it. This was one of my favorites.

I think I've seen this kid in some of the Sunday School classes.

All I Want for Christmas...

...is a new camera!

Over the years, my sister Amanda has claimed the title of the spawn of my father in the gotta-have-gadget arena. I wasn't really interested in the palm pilots, expensive video or photo cameras, etc. In fact, I only got an iPod when I found one really cheap (and used) at the Unclaimed Baggage store.

But since starting the blog, I've decided that I need a new camera. The one I have is pretty old. I think it's from high school, but I couldn't really tell you. Matt and I almost never take photos, so it wasn't really a big deal before. However, I've since changed my mind.

I want a camera that is small enough that I can take it with me wherever I go, can withstand being dropped... a LOT, takes video clips with sound, and is also preferably waterproof or water resistant.

I love my dad's Olympus Stylus. Like the newer 790/850 versions that I like, it's waterproof (to 10 ft), shock proof (for falls up to 5 ft), and freeze proof (14 deg. F). It's perfect for taking on the river, and is the camera he's used to capture the gang doing kayak rolls and spraying snow on the slopes. You can even get a clear silicone skin to go with it and protect it from scratches. (hint hint)

Maybe I can get it as an early anniversary gift before we go paddle with the old Community gang...

Honey, if you're reading, I like the black one!! :)

Kitty Wigs

Two weird posts in one week - but only at Amanda's request.

I prefer the bashful blonde.

There are some strange people out there. Even I know that my "boys" aren't really human.

Here are the dogs being tortured.

It's Definitely Spring!

I had no sooner complained of my flower fever before the azaleas in my front bed took off. They didn't bloom at all last year due to the late freeze and severe drought, even though they're "encore azaleas" and are supposed to repeat bloom several times a year. Three out of the four in the front bed are just covered with blooms.

Once the hydgrangeas are in bloom, I'm going to have to invite myself over to the Adams' house. They have a newly-landscaped yard that is going to be just gorgeous in bloom!

The downside to this time of year is allergies. That and having to wash the daily green coating of pollen on our cars!

I tried to take a photo of how green my normally white car is, but it didn't really show up in the pictures. Here's a shot of some of the pollen on my windshield.

Fallout

Boy am I glad that the school board and church leaders had the foresight to close on the sale of the property ASAP. The fallout over the rescue mission's move is just beginning. This could turn into a very sticky situation.

Matt and I began to worry because it was all over the news last night, and now it's on the front page of the Huntsville Times. See the whole story here.


UPDATE: Looks like the city councilmen were simply paying lip service. The sales were final a week ago - which they all knew when they told a group of people at St. Luke's that they'd try to find another location or rescind the sale. See full story here. Looks like you may want to reconsider re-electing some of these guys if you're in their district!!

Puppy Love

Recently, the Adams and Shipman families expanded their broods.

Meet Otis My Man, a 6 week old English Bulldog. You may remember Otis as the lead singer (shouter) from Otis Day and the Knights. He prefers pink tulips, toga parties, and long naps on the couch.




Maddie Madkins is one sassy little lady. She's a 4 month old red dapple dachshund and loves her tennis ball and bossing all of the big dogs around!

Sweet Home Alabama

This is weird.

Soviets singing about Alabama is not too common.

The Leningrad Cowboys & the Red Army Choir, compliments of Ken and Scooter. Enjoy! :)

Wade Has Lowest Rating

I love watching the You Tube videos my dad puts up of the group kayaking. After our ski trip in December, he posted several new videos. My favorite is of Wade showing off his madd skillz, but apparently some other You Tube viewers didn't enjoy it quite as much... they gave him the lowest rating possible. To be fair, a few other videos of the group were also rated one star.

Wade, I still think you have madd skillz, and I think the video is hilarious!

What Would You Do?

I've already asked some of my dog-loving friends, and I think we'd all do this (probably before we had time to think about it!). I know it's pretty gross, but I'm very attached to my dogs!

What would you do??

Minnesota Woman Bites Pit Bull to Save Her Dog

Thursday, April 03, 2008

MINNEAPOLIS — Amy Rice feared for her dog's life when a pit bull jumped over a fence into her yard and attacked her pooch. So she took matters into her own mouth.

Rice says she bit the pit bull on the nose Friday after trying to pull the dog's jaws off her Labrador retriever, Ella. The dog had jumped a fence to get into Rice's northeast Minneapolis yard, and Rice says she feared the pit bull would kill Ella.

"I didn't plan it, that's what happened. I broke the skin and had pit bull blood in my mouth," said Rice, 38. "I knew what happened, and I knew that it wasn't good."

The pit bull was quarantined Wednesday by Minneapolis Animal Control officers while rabies tests are being completed. Rice's doctor will determine whether she needs shots for rabies.

"I was sure that my dog was dying in my arms; it was horrible," Rice said.

Ella is recovering with staples and stitches to her head and a crushed ear canal, but she is afraid to go for walks, Rice said.

Customer Service Bugging Customer

About a year ago, we bought our first new car (my dream car), a hard top convertible. Right after we bought it, the corporate office hounded us with surveys on our satisfaction - which was understandable and moderately appreciated considering it was such a big decision/purchase.

Last weekend, we took my car into the dealer to have a software patch installed. There's a problem with the way the radio works where when it receives signals it thinks are noisy, it goes through an incorrect conversion algorithm that results in the bass boosting.

Now I know that having a ghetto fabulous pimp-ride sound system is supposed to be cool, but I HATE IT when it does that. I get so embarrassed when I'm at a stop light and the bass starts rocking the car.

Since the bass boost was a known problem (plus my car is still under warranty), the fix was free. We just dropped it off at the dealer while we ran errands and then picked it up a little later. It was literally no big deal.

But here's the annoying part... the car manufacturer's corporate office and the dealer both called Matt (on his cell phone) to make sure we were happy with our service, and then they email me today again bugging me about the service. I know another survey is coming in the mail too. And on top of that, if you don't give the dealer the highest possible rating, they call you again asking what they can do to make it better. (What's wrong with "good" anyway?)

It was a 10-minute fix, what's the big deal? Maybe everyone else likes being harassed to rate their service experiences, but I don't. If there was a problem, rest assured, they'd know about it. Since they haven't heard from me, they should consider the service satisfactory and leave me alone.

Flower Fever

Okay, so yesterday I made it sound like Matt only talks about cars. This isn't really true (I might've exaggerated just a little bit), so today I figured I'd bore you all with what I talk to him about the most.

Lately I've been really anxious. I can't say I've been feeling Spring Fever since it's already Spring. Maybe it's later-spring fever, or even summer fever. Let's just call it what it really is... Flower Fever.

Since the first hard frost back around Novemeber, I have been flower-less. Back when we bought our house almost three years ago, Matt helped me (well, I helped him) put in my first real flower bed. Since then, we've added 4 more beds and about 8 trees to the yard. It's been a learning experience, and I've killed many things in the process (Ace has killed the most though). Anyway, I love having flowers in the yard and also having a selection that I can cut and bring inside as well. I've had to live without fresh flowers for the last several months and am itching for the weather to warm up so it can all start again.

Here are a few of the things I've already bought and added to my collection this year...

We have two climbing roses on a pergola over our back patio. One red climbing rose and one white. I researched and found two clematis (flowering vines) that should have long bloom periods and go well with the roses. The white clematis goes with the red rose, and vice versa.

I bought some begonias, dahlias, and oxalis from Brent & Becky's Bulbs to put together in the 3 large pots on the back patio. Hopefully I can keep reusing these every year instead of buying new annuals every spring.

I had also been thinking about starting a small rose collection. After almost killing my white Climbing Iceberg rose last summer, I finally figured out (with the help of the Nicols) how to take care of it. I now felt confident enough to buy a few more roses... especially since they're all disease resistant and supposed to be easy-care cultivars. Two of them are AARS winners (All American Rose Society), which rates roses for performing well with little-to-no care.

The first two are Jackson & Perkin roses that I found at Costco. ("Dream Come True" and "Mardi Gras") The third is a David Austen English Rose ("Tamora") that I ordered from Park's.

The plant I'm most excited about (wow, am I really excited over a plant?!) is the pink "ever-blooming" daylily, "Rosy Returns", that I ordered several of last fall from Bloomin' Designs. I'm ready to have another color besides the orange Stella d'Oros. (I've added several more types as well, but they just don't bloom as often).

Oh, and last weekend, Matt took me to Lowe's and let me buy three new cultivars of Calla Lilies to add to the back bed. (He really is patient with me!)

My parents joke that my favorite stores are Lowe's and Bennett's Nursery (and probably Costco too). It's true though; I could spend hours walking through Bennett's, sipping on their glass bottle Cokes, or find something new in Lowe's that I just have to have every time I go. Matt jokes that he doesn't know any other girl who would WANT to buy cow manure for her birthday present.

To anyone who couldn't care less about plants, I'm sure this is quite a boring post. (Matt, thanks for listening!) However, I'd be happy to share some fresh flowers with you once they all start blooming!

Car Talk

About three weeks ago, Matt and I went to Atlanta for the weekend. He went for an HPDE (High Performance Drivers Education) at Road Atlanta, and I went to see my old roommates from college to have a girls weekend of shopping and hanging out.

Back in September, Matt got his "play car", and I spent a lot of time complaining about being a car widow while he spent all of his time getting it running and upgrading several things on it. (I have to admit, though, it really is a cool toy)

He's always been into cars. In college, his friends even started their own AU-sanctioned car club. So, I knew what I was getting into.

The Wednesday before we went to Atlanta, the car broke down on the way home from Wed. night Bible study. Thankfully, we were in separate cars, so I went home to get the 4Runner and towed Matt's broken best friend home. Then he had to spend the rest of the time before our trip replacing the alternator and I watched our Netflix movies alone.

Here he is driving it on the track in Atlanta:

I told him that after the weekend, I needed a week that was car-speak-free. Then the other night, on the way home from dinner, he stopped mid-story to say, "Oh wait, that's car related, nevermind, I'm not allowed to talk about it." I felt horrible.

I don't want him to feel like he can't talk to me about what's on his mind (which, unfortunately for me, is 99% car-related), but sometimes I do need a break from it. I don't understand what he's talking about most of the time anyway, and it's hard to stay interested in the conversation. This is probably how he feels when I go off about planning my flower beds, but he's always very patient with me.

So, I apologize and try to make a compromise. When we only talk about cars, we're not talking about me (here lies the root of the problem). Sometimes I get tired of talking about the car because I like to feel more important. (boy, do I sound selfish!) Matt tells me that we can spend more time talking about planning trips and other things we can do together, and I tell him that we (he) can talk cars.

Of course, I would never ask him to cut back on listening to "Car Talk". I love that radio show, and enjoy listening to it with him on Saturday mornings. The best part is watching him try to figure out the problem before they say it. He's so smart!

Vacation Envy

Matt's dad and his wife are in Japan this week. They're getting to do an organized tour that stretches from Tokyo to Osaka. I am SO JEALOUS!

When I was in high school, my mom's job sent her to Japan for a year. My dad took a leave of absence and brought the three of us with him to meet her after she got settled in. We went to an international school for the rest of the school year and despite my heavy resistance to the move, I loved it. I wish I could go back.

We've often talked of taking a vacation in Japan and bringing my mother as our translator (I've lost the little Japanese I learned from the years of lessons she dragged us to while we were little and the semester of Japanese I took at Osaka International School). I never made it to Mt. Fuji, and I'd also like to visit Hiroshima, plus take a few days to visit our old home and school.

We had some great times in Japan. Like when our cousin, PJ, got attacked by the wild monkeys in Minoh, or when the three of us girls were flashed on our walk home from church....wait, did I say great times? The Post Office ladies all loved my dad - he always wrote in his travel logs that it was because he was so handsome! (and blonde/blue-eyed) He made a great Mr. Mom for 9 months, riding home from the store on his pink bike with a big set of t.p. in the basket every week. :)

I'm trying to plan a vacation for the Harnation to take this year. We'd been talking about going to D.C. or Savannah - two very different places - for our anniversary, and to see Matt's dad in California around Christmas time. Now I think we'll try to do Savannah in the fall because we've already got some stuff planned around our anniversary. I'd like to do D.C. next spring, partly because it takes longer to see and also because I need more time to save up/plan in order to do it properly. We stayed in a B&B last year in Asheville, and will probably try to do that again (or in a historic inn) when we go to Savannah. If you have any suggestions on where to stay or what to see, let me know!!

Let's Get on the River!!

Okay, so the whole extended family started back when my parents were in college...

They all basically met through the UAH Baptist Student Union. Scooter worked there and he and Tom were roommates. Tom married Ellise, Scooter dated and later married Angie. Angie's sister, Frances, married Ken... and they all had beautiful babies!

The Adams boys are close in age to us Shipman girls, and the Johnson boys are the cute little cousins we kissed and harassed growing up. We've had our Sunday lunch traditions going back for as long as I can remember and have shared our joy and sadness with each other over the years. (And especially lots of laughter and great stories).

This summer, it's time for another group trip! We're trying to figure out the logistics of getting everyone together, possibly for a weekend in the mountains for some river time. This time, we know to bring our ear plugs to avoid those campground bears (snoring Ken and Tom)!

Here's a picture of (almost) everyone from the Pettus wedding last spring. I need a new group photo with Holly and Ryan!!


Update: Here's Amanda's "even better" photo: