Straw Saga

Dear Asheville,

We really enjoyed our stay and our trip to your huge house, Biltmore. However, we have but one complaint. Your straws. Yes, I said your straws.

Our first experience, while super eco-friendly and environmentally practical, left a lot to be desired. You see, these were PAPER straws that we got to use. And while we appreciate your efforts to preserve the earth God created, the paper feeling was quite strange.
Then at another little stop we ate at, we encountered another type of straw. This was a straw, but not REALLY a straw. We're talking the fourth of the size of a real straw, a tiny, barely able to suck up any drink, straw. This straw was even less functional than the biodegradable one. Thanks, but no thanks, for the tiny straw.

(It's a little hard to see--that could either be due to bad lighting, or the sheer lack of straw. We've seen coffee stirrers bigger than this!)

All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed our stay. We'll check back on the straws...

Sincerely,
The Palmers

A Day at Biltmore

The day after Thanksgiving, Jason and I had the privilege of going to Asheville, NC to visit the Biltmore house. It was exciting and beautiful, to say the least. We had a really good time walking around, touring the house, visiting the gardens, playing with our new camera, and spending time together ;)

Here's a glimpse at our trip. First stop, the tour of the house (can't take pictures inside..but I sure wish you could have!)

Second stop, LUNCH! Take a look at that amazing pretzel. And that huge hot dog.



Then a hike up a hill to take a look at the views of the house/estate...



After the wowing views from the hilltop, we headed down to the gardens. This was probably my favorite part. I got into taking pictures of the flowers, and Jas tried his hand too...



When we finished our garden tour, we made a final stop at some shops on the estate.

All in all, it was a great trip. Thanks mom/pop for the trip for our birthdays! Maybe one day we'll be able to go back as this sweet couple...

And the winner is...

After a week of posting (2 for Jas and 2 for me) the tally is in and the WINNER is about to be declared.

Here is the final collection of comments added up:
Jason--7 total comments
Charity--9 total comments

So who's the winner?
CHARITY E. PALMER..that's right! Guess who gets to choose her favorite restaurant? And guess who gets to post a picture of her husband in one of her dresses? ME!!!

Without further adieu...here's Jason beginning to decorate our Christmas tree in a dress. But don't worry, we decked him out with a little Christmas cheer (aka hat):

Here I would like to quote Jason: "never again..." But I do want to remind him that HE chose the consequences and that's what he gets for thinking he was going to win ;)

So thanks to those of you who helped me win! I have chosen to go to OLIVE GARDEN for dinner..and I am very much looking forward to the salad and breadsticks. Thanks again, friends!

Giving you the Deep Fried Bird for Thanksgiving

Every year I have an insatiable craving for deep fried turkey and no better day to satisfy this unquenchable desire than Thanksgiving day! So with my beautiful bride and a homemade offering of baked brie we set off on the journey of finding this long, elusive deep fried bird. After traveling 5 minutes down the road we came to a house with 5 others in search of the same thing. Here we found the deep fried turkey savior- My dad! Thanks dad, for risking your life to place this rather large bird into the hot cauldron of boiling peanut oil. Thanks mom for purchasing the bird that would be the Thanksgiving sacrifice. Thanks grandma for eating the gizzards, liver, and neck and letting no part of the bird go unscathed. Thanks Marianne and Nathan for the homemade apple pie. And thanks Charity for marrying me so we could spend our first Thanksgiving together today. I love you Sweetie!

I hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving! Comment for me so can I win this competition too!

Which fixin' for you?

The competition is tied! And with Thanksgiving right around the corner (literally, tomorrow it's here!) I've got Thanksgiving foods on the brain.

Apparently my students had Thanksgiving foods on the brain also. After their tests yesterday I told them they could draw, read, or work on homework quietly while others finished up. Well, when class was over I received three Thanksgiving cards.

This one made me laugh:


That's a turkey BEFORE and AFTER--ready to eat :)

Adorable! As you can see, he's ready for turkey. Just like me! This year we are having deep fried turkey--I've never had it, so I'm stoked to try it tomorrow.

What are YOU excited about eating tomorrow? What fixin' will fix your hunger? Let's talk FOOD! :)

Signing out,
Mrs. Palmer