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Southern Hospitality

I only have one set of grandparents still living and their home is deep in the heart of rural Mississippi. They used to travel across the country every year to visit their grandkids here in Utah; it was a much anticipated reunion. Unfortunately, my sweet grandpa suffered a stroke last summer so driving thousands of miles isn’t in the cards for him right now. Since they couldn’t come to us, and we hadn’t been down to Mississippi for four or five years, we decided it was definitely time we paid them a visit.

It was so nice outside that we decided to relocate our card game to the backyard. After moths of relentless Utah winter I couldn’t get enough of that sweet southern sunshine.

We didn’t “do” much while we were in the South. We spent most of our vacation chatting, going on walks, playing cards, watching movies, and eating. But doing “nothing” with my grandparents was a pleasure, especially with a warm sun shining overhead. The weather was extremely pleasant the whole time we were down there, even by Mississippi standards. I couldn’t resist wearing shorts even though my legs are currently a shade so pale they almost look lavender.

Part of my grandparents’ 5 acres is covered by a dense forest. It takes some persistent efforts on their part to keep that wilderness at bay.

Those of you who haven’t visited the Deep South may not fully appreciate just how different the culture is there. Complete strangers wave at you as you drive by them or stop for a chat as they drive by you, trailer houses are almost as common as non-portable homes, time seems nonexistent because no one pays attention to it, English sounds very foreign and sometimes it’s undecipherable, practically everything is fried, even the tiniest of towns seem to contain innumerable churches, and everyone’s enormous yards look like they are in constant danger of being reclaimed by the dense woods bordering them.

My grandparent’s took us to their favorite restaurant: The Pickle Barrel. There we ate a variety of fried fare including my favorites: catfish and hushpuppies.

It’s a unique place with a flavor and heritage all its own. Speaking of flavor…the South is all that when it comes to catfish, hushpuppies, cornbread, or carrot cake topped with fresh pecans from the yard. Those southerners know how to cook and I know how to eat so we get along alright.

It was an overdue visit and I’m so glad we finally made it down. Mississippi may not the center of sophistication but it’s home to some pretty fantastic grandparents and some pretty fantastic catfish.

Rachel March 3, 2011 No Comments

Haters Beware

Valentine’s Day: is any holiday as simultaneously loved and hated? I think not. Valentine’s Day makes some giddy with anticipation and others overcome with dread. Its advocates love the gushing cheesiness and cliché romance it embodies. Its loathers despise all of thee above or they despise that their partner expects all of thee above from them on this day even if they are content with far less the rest of the time.

Jason brought these beautiful flowers to my work on Valentine's Day. All my coworkers were jealous that they didn't have a Jason to spoil them.

This year, instead of going on my usual tirade about how I hate Valentine’s Day haters, I am going to simply write about, in a very drawn-out manner, what made my valentine’s as spectacular as it always is. This will be as good of an explanation for why I am no hater as any. Because, although my holiday may have been stuffed with more cheese than a block of Velveeta, it was fun, it was romantic, it was full of expected surprises. It was everything Valentine’s Day should be.

I wrapped Jason's presents in the cutest wrapping paper. I'm not entirely sure he properly appreciated their cuteness.

It was Jason’s turn to plan out Valentine’s Day celebration this year. He isn’t the party organizing machine I am but he does alright for himself. He came up with a three-pronged plan for our festivities. The first part of the plan involved going out to dinner with our friends the Rowleys and the Ashleys to a new place in Salt Lake City called The Copper Onion. This restaurant’s niche is locally sourced food that is turned into made from scratch deliciousness. I very much enjoyed the beef stroganoff I ordered. How can you go wrong with fresh made noodles? And surprisingly, The Copper Onion was very economical. Dinner and deserts for both me and Jason only set us back $50.

Pago was scrumptious but I still can't figure out what the name refers to.

Part deux of Jason’s Valentine’s Day strategy had a very similar plot to part one. Another new restaurant specializing in local offerings was involved but this time the dinning was at a place called Pago and no friends were invited. V-Day dinner numbero dos was also yummy, pricier, but still yummy and spending some one-on-one time with my muy fantastico hubby was grand.

The adorable dress I wore to the dance came from my shopping spree in New York City. Good thing I decided to spend way to much money out there.

The last of our Valentine’s Day partying actually happened on the actual holiday. We went with our friends Dan and Raquel, and some of their acquaintances, to a dinner dance at Thanksgiving Point. I am a sucka for the dance floor so I was stoked about getting a chance to boogie. The food at the dance was decent but not noteworthy. However, the live band was terrific and the setting was lovely. I would recommend this event to anyone wanting to do something romantic on Valentine’s Day without having to fight the restaurant crowds; it always sells out though so make sure you plan ahead.

I gave Jason a new snowboard for Valentine's Day. He was totally shocked and so excited about it that he couldn't fall asleep that night.

Jason and I had another great love day but that’s not surprising; the two of us have a blast doing pretty much anything together. And those of you under the impression that I did all of the V-Day receiving and none of the giving are mistaken. I made sure Jason was bombarded by random flashy deliveries at work, a cookie bouquet and chocolate covered strawberries, because everyone needs some Valentine’s Day spousal embarrassment. His love was also effectively bought with lots of presents, including a new snowboard. So all you haters can ram that cheese right down your throats!

Rachel February 26, 2011 No Comments

Freezin’ for a Reason

On New Year’s Day I did the stupid; I jumped into a freezing pond when the temperature outside was only a mere 12 degrees. It was fun. (Yes, I did just say it was fun.) Thanks to this ill-conceived dip my picture ended up in the newspaper and a clip of me showed up on TV. I was famous.

Unwilling to relinquish my newfound glory, I decided to participate in another frigid affair, a plunge to benefit the Special Olympics. This time the plunge was at a slightly larger pond: Utah Lake.

The Ice Queens needed crowns so I attached elastic strings to various cheesy tiaras for us to wear. That way the only jewels our team would have to worry about losing in the lake were the ones in their pants.

I assembled a team consisting of the brave and foolish to join me: Jason, Lauren, Jacob, and Jeremy Rowley. No need to point out which are the brave and which are the foolish. We named our team the Ice Queens and, because Lauren and I made some significant fundraising efforts, we managed to collect $600 for the Special Olympics and finish as one of the top 5 teams. (The boys were next to useless when it came to fundraising.) Thanks to everyone that gave generously to our group; you made my freezing hinny feel better about its lot in life.

As you stand at the edge of that icy precipice staring at the frosty water you are about to bound into you can't help but wonder why exactly you are doing this.

Jason’s brother Jeremy was also an event participant but not an Ice Queen. He didn’t want to be in our group because he thought he would be able to gather his own posse. Too bad all his friends are flakes or cowards. Out of all of the big talkers only one guy showed up to jump in with him. At least he had a swim buddy even if he totally missed out on his chance to be plunging royalty.

Here we are swimming to shore. That look on my face says it all. There's a lot of cursing lurking beneath that cringe.

The day of the plunge was really quite pleasant for the middle of February; it was just a few degrees below freezing. The ice in the Pelican Bay marina, where the plunge took place, still had to be hacked away though to make a spot for the jumpers to get into the water. Since there were 180 participants it was impossible for everyone to plunge in at once. Groups of up to six were allowed out onto the dock one at a time. From the dock they tottered over the frozen lake to the spot where the ice had been chipped away for them. After those on the brink had mustered the courage to hop into the water the next group was led out.

Looks like a nice day at the beach...or not.

By the time it was our team’s turn to dive in the ice had sunk a few inches near the dock from the heavy traffic so concerned officials decreased the number of plungers allowed on the ice at a time from six to four. This made it necessary for our 5 member team to jump in two shifts. Bummer.

Jason may look tough here but I think he was crying like a little girl inside.

Since our squad had to be split up just Lauren, Jason, and I plunged together. We grasped each other’s hands and leaped into the frigid lake before we had time to reconsider. Brr! Hitting that water took my breath away. The worst part about it all was that you couldn’t just jump back out after you realized what you had gotten yourself into; you had to swim to shore. It probably only took me a minute to reach the water’s edge but man, it felt like I was kicking my way through that glacial bay forever. On the plus side, the temperature of the air was only refrigerator cold, not freezer cold, so getting out of the lake wasn’t as miserable as being in it. Also, a hot tub had been set up near the shore for post-plungers to warm themselves in and it felt mighty good. I only put my feet in for a minute but amazingly that brief immersion defrosted me quite a bit.

This plunge was a great experience and it was all for a great cause. Sure, it was also a bit miserable but misery and fun make great companions. You are likely to find the Ice Queens out on the lake again next year ready for another frigid dip.

Rachel February 16, 2011 2 Comments
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