011 Bar-B-Party

My brother is becoming famous (from my mother's perspective maybe infamous) for his prowess when it comes to barbecue.

And why shouldn't he? After all he lives in Kansas City!

When word got out that I would be in town this week he arranged for a dinner party, Kansas City style, complete with his home smoked meat and sauce made by Brother's partner in culinary crime, Clayton. They even have a name for their "company": KC Royale.

Here's what was on the menu:

• Smoked Brisket
• Smoked Pork
• Bacon Wrapped-Cream Cheese Stuffed Jalapeños
• Home Cut French Fries
• Corn Casserole (my contribution)

Kyle started smoking the meat this morning and managed to keep up with everything with the help of Jeremy and Clayton.

Listening to the guys in the kitchen all day was quite entertaining. Topics ranged from Clayton's (some may say "weird") fascination with Michael Jackson to how to get the perfect smoke ring on a piece of meat. My favorite conversation was when they reminisced over Clayton's "Men Only, No Women Invited, No Food, No Movie Dark Knight Dance Party."

In between all the fake bickering (and believe me that was aplenty!) they pulled together a fantastic BBQ! Feast (no pun intended) your eyes on what happens with nine adults and one toddler cram into my parents eat-in kitchen/dining room:

For What It's Worth, My Thoughts on a New Year

I remember ringing in 2010. I was so excited to embrace a new year. There was not an ounce of apprehension, fear, or questioning in my bones. In fact, I knew from the start that 2010 was going to be a great year. And you know what? It really was. From the beginning 2010 was like a kindred spirit who I meshed with immediately.

I cannot say that I have the same sort of well-wishing optimism about 2011. I'm coming into this new year (and in fact new decade!) with a lot on my mind.

I have something in my life that is broken and in desperate need of supernatural repair.
I've got a sense of my calling but no framework to see how it can be put into practical, day to day use.
Dusty and I have bills to pay and very little money to pay them with.
I'm burnt out with the whole church scene; more burnt out than I've ever been before.
This is the year that one of mine and Dusty's deepest desires can be fulfilled, but there's the ever-looming question of, "will it?"

For me 2011 is like a new acquaintance: I'm not too sure how we will get along. I'd rather have my old friend 2010 back. She was so pleasant and easy.

At any rate, I feel the Lord has directly spoken to me out of Philippians 4 today and given instructions for how to deal with the unfriendly terms I've found myself on with 2011:

"Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life." (from The Message)

I don't think I could ask anything more from the Lord this year than to experience his wholeness. If that's all 2011 were to bring me I will find myself very full indeed.

Opening the Vault

I'm not really sure why she's doing it.

Maybe she feels the need to de-clutter her closets.

Perhaps she gets melancholy when looking at old pictures.

Whatever her reasoning, my grandma recently gave me a sackful of old photos from when I was a kid. And I love looking at these old photos. There's so much history behind each shot-- back when us kids were young and my dad had a rockin' mustache. Here are some of my favorites:

This is a shot of my momma and Baby Me. I love the look of new motherhood all about her. So sweet.

And who couldn't love this little bundle of joy?! I was a cute baby!

This is a picture of me and my dad that I've never seen before today. Dig the 'stache?

This is my all-time favorite picture of me from my childhood. It just speaks volumes...

This picture is my mother's all-time favorite shot of her two kiddos. In her words, she took it because she felt is just gave such an accurate portrayal of an ordinary day in the Hamlin household. I don't know what I'm wearing on my head, but apparently it was crucial for being able to eat my Spaghetti-o's!

And finally, perhaps one of the dorkiest pictures of me, ever. I'm rockin' the bangs and my Reebok Classics.

Back from the 'Burg

We rolled into town today from our 5 day trip with Dusty's family to Sevier County, TN. I'm simply exhausted from the trip so will post more pictures later.

However, I'd really like to make a big deal out of the WHITE CHRISTMAS we had up on Rocky Top Estates. Because we were so high up (and believe me, I have a video documenting our treacherous climbs and descents in which I am making all kinds of terrified, animated sounds that I might post later) we got over a foot of snow and it stayed that way for two days. Not that I'm complaining: I could be a recluse if I let myself and was perfectly content to sit by the fire and read my book!

This is a shot I took when we first got to the cabin on Christmas Eve:

This was taken sometime on December 26th, a mere not-even-two-full-days later:

Looking at the pictures side by side I cannot believe how much of a difference there is! Our cabin was named "A Dream's View" and while it's a little cheesy, one can definitely see why.

Currently Reading

I'm really diggin' this book.

It took me a while to get into it, but it was well worth the fifty cents I paid.

(On another note, I love scouring flea markets for good deals on books that are already on my list to read.)

25

Today I turn 25.

Bully for me.

I will be spending my birthday going to church then singing in a Christmas program. Not my ideal way to celebrate.

In fact, I'm pretty melancholy about this whole stupid

birthday.

25 sounds so old but I'll be wishing I was only turning 25 when I turn 50--that in and of itself is also a pretty depressing thought.

So here's to my 25th year. I have a lot of things I'd like to happen this year. Maybe I will have a more eventful post to write when I turn (gulp) 26.

Preparation

Well the ice is still coming and this time I'll be ready! Here is my to-do list for the day:

1.) Charge all electronic devices, i.e. iPad, iPods, cell phones, etc. That way we can still have some entertainment if the power goes out.

2.) Finish laundry: during the ice storm of 2009 the power went out while we had a load that was in the rinse cycle. Two days later I dragged a trash bag full of sopping wet clothes to my cousin's house (who had the fortune of getting electricity back fairly quickly) and the clothes were mid-rinse cycle when AGAIN the power went out! I'm not willing to let that happen again.

3.) Find all flashlights in the house and put them in living room.

4.) Make sure board games are accessible. We've really been diggin' Scrabble on the iPad but that's not very battery efficient. See #1.

5.) Make Dusty go to Wal-Mart to get Rudy his cat food. Wal-Mart is the only place that has the special food Rudy needs for his, erm... "condition."

6.) Wash sheets in guest room/ prepare guest room. This is just in case we need to house anyone whose power is still out. Rumor has it that during the last ice storm our little house (which we did not live in yet) didn't lose power at all! I find this hard to believe since just using my hair dryer causes a breaker to flip, but what do I know?

7.) Make Dusty fudge. I would do that anyway today because he said he wanted some but it would also be nice to snack on while sitting in a dark, cold house that's been encapsulated in ice.

So, ok maybe some of these actions are a little over the top. I just don't want to get caught with my proverbial pants down. And maybe since I'm going through all the hassle of of battening down the hatches, just maybe, we will hardly get any weather at all.