We are moving!!!

(to a new webpage that is)

This morning, I set up a wordpress.com account and blog. I have imported all of our blogger posts, so you won't lose anything by visiting our new page. Please update our new webpage on your blog (if applicable) and on your computer (Steph's mom and Alyson) Thanks for continuing to read our blog as we continue to keep you updated on our lives. We love you!!

The new address is: http://travisandstephanie.wordpress.com/

Happy Independence Day!

 

I took the above picture tonight at the Dueling Barges fireworks show. Two barges were in the Mississippi River at the French Quarter and were shooting fireworks. I kinda lucked out with my picture though, we arrived kind of late and by the time Travis and I found a spot that I could set up my tripod, the "grand finale" was firing. I took one shot, tried to get the video camera that we borrowed from my parents out only to find that I photographed the last firework of the night. Oh well...however, when we got home I was excited to see that my one shot turned out GREAT! Therefore, the night kind of redeemed itself. Anyway, I just thought I would share my picture. Happy 4th of July!!

Ms. Edna, the world's best cook

 

The picture above was saved off of a college friend's facebook page. Obviously, the friend is the beautiful bride in the picture, Ashley. The elderly lady with her is a woman who has made an impact on untold hundreds of students' lives at the University of South Alabama. Her name is Ms. Edna and she was the cook at the Baptist Campus Ministries center on campus at USA. I learned from another college friend, that she passed away recently. She was such a godly lady. I have decided to share 6 things Ms. Edna taught me about life and love.
1. Home is wherever good cooking can be found. She made the BCM home to me with various lunches and dinners every week. That place ALWAYS smelled of Ms. Edna's good cookin'. My freshman year, my parents were 10 hours away. Ms. Edna helped keep me busy and keep "my belly full" to keep my mind off of my homesickness.

2. Friendships made in the kitchen are vital to a persons development into a mature adult. I got to know her while washing dishes, sweeping and mopping, and sometimes helping to fix a meal. She shared a lot about God and her life and the counsel she received from her mother and grandmother.

3. A true servant's heart never stops desiring to serve God. Her husband died my freshman year of college. He was the love of her life and I didn't think she would return after that. However, the next week, she was back making chicken noodle soup and sandwiches for us. She knew that just because her husband died, she was still called to minister to us college students.

4. A grandma's love is unfailing. She wasn't even my blood-relative but she loved me and countless others.

5. The man a girl is supposed to marry is the one who will stand beside them in the kitchen and help prepare meals. She told me this as a reminder that the woman isn't the one who is supposed to do all the cooking. Her husband was always at hte BCM helping her with meals. She felt that a husband and wife should share as much duties as possible. Thanks, Travis, for cooking with me.

6. A good recipe is hard to find and once acquired, difficult to try. She made 2 meals that have been the most phenomenal meals I have ever put in my mouth- chicken spaghetti and her chicken pot pie. Before I graduated, she gave me those two recipes as a "graduation gift." I have yet to try them. I look at the cards (posted on our fridge) and remember all of my fond memories of Ms. Edna and think about trying to make the meals. However, I am scared to because I KNOW what they are supposed to taste like and if they don't taste just right I will probably be close to devastated.

I love Ms. Edna and miss her but I guess God was needing the world's best cook so He called her home. I bet she and her husband are up there now cooking away together, side-by-side. (Ok, theologically, I know that is not true but it is a fun happy thought to keep me from crying.)

Grand Isle, LA Scrapbook Show

Click to play | Make your own Smilebox

Houmas House with the Bakers

The above slideshow is from last Thursday when Travis and I toured Houmas House (pronounced "Home" "ahs") with some good friends of ours, Shane and Astasha. Our "children" are best friends so we left them in our apartment to romp and play. Houmas House is a plantation that is located on the Mississippi River about an hour south of New Orleans. Travis and I agree that this is the best one we have gone to yet. The house is pretty cool but the gardens are gorgeous!! If the slideshow doesn't work for you, click here to go to the actual album and you can look and download pictures if you like.

Once we arrived back in N'awlins Thursday night, Travis and I drove to Montgomery, AL to spend the night. We went to NC for Travis' best friend's wedding and had to be up there in time for the rehearsal since Travis was the "preacher." I will probably upload some pictures in the near future, until then...enjoy Houmas House!

Bubble Tea

Ok, so you may be wondering what the picture of the milkshakes on the right are doing on our blog. Well, Travis and I were introduced to something called Bubble Tea by our dear friend Martha tonight. I think we are hooked- it is MUCH cheaper than Smoothie King and is made with real fruit, so it is good for you too. Plus it has a fun HUGE straw for you to drink through. The straw is so big because it allows for the tapioca balls to travel through the straw as you drink it. Yes, you read that right...tapioca balls. In the picture those dark balls in the bottom of the drink are tapioca. I, Stephanie, do NOT like tapioca pudding or anything else with tapioca in it. However, I felt like I should give this a shot. After all Martha told us it was good. It didn't taste like tapioca at all. It tasted like gummi bears! My drink was banana flavored and Travis' was strawberry kiwi. They were delicious! We will be going back for some more fruity, gummi chewy goodness again!!! If you get the opportunity to try it, you should! Just remember to chew up the tapioca- we've been told it makes your stomach hurt if you swallow them whole. We love bubble tea!!

Here is the information I found on www.bubbleteasupply.com about the origins of Bubble Tea and why it is so good:

Bubble Tea originated in Taiwan in the early 1980's at a small tea stand.

Elementary school children would look forward to buying a cup of refreshing tea after a long, hard day of work and play. Tea stands were set up in front of the schools and would compete for business with the best selling tea. One concession owner became popular with her tea when she started adding different fruit flavoring to her tea. Because of the sweet and cool taste, children loved the taste. Soon, other concessions heard about the "unique" and popular tea, so they started to add flavoring to their teas. When adding flavor, the tea and flavoring needed to be shaken well for a good all around taste. This formed bubbles in the drink, which came to be known as "Bubble Tea."

In 1983 Liu Han-Chieh introduced Taiwan to tapioca pearls. The new fad was to add tapioca pearls into a favorite drink. Most of the time tapioca pearls were served in cold infused tea. After the tea and flavor were shaken well, it topped tapioca pearls that were sitting on the bottom of a clear cup. The tapioca pearls also looked like bubbles, thus also became to known as "Bubble Tea." Bubbles floated on the top your drink and bottom of your drink.
Bubble tea is also known as boba drink, pearl tea drink, boba ice tea, boba, boba nai cha, zhen zhou nai cha, pearl milk tea, pearl ice tea, black pearl tea, tapioca ball drink, BBT, PT, pearl shake, QQ (which means chewy in Chinese) and possible many others.

Bubble drinks are usually cool, refreshing, and a sweet drink with tapioca pearls sitting on the bottom of a clear cup. Sometimes the drink is made with fresh fruits, milk, and crushed ice to create a healthy milk shake. You can also find drinks that are made of powdered flavoring, creamer, water, and crushed ice. And if you like it like the Asians do, the cool drink usually includes a healthy tea, infused by a flavoring.

Tapioca pearls are black, but can sometimes be found to be white or transparent. Depending on the ingredients of the pearl, the color varies. I've been told that the white and translucent pearls are made of caramel, starch and chamomile root extract. The black pearl includes sweet potato, cassava root and brown sugar, which add the black color.

The consistency of tapioca pearls are somewhere between jell-o and chewing gum. They are the size of a marble. They are also known as the "boba" drink in Western China because it is described as to having the same texture as the female breasts.

A clear cup with black balls on the bottom can easily identify bubble Tea drinks. Another obvious trait is a huge fat straw. The fat straw is needed so that the tapioca pearls can be sucked up with the drink and eaten. Bubble Tea's appearance definitely makes it unique.

One thing is for certain. Bubble Tea is not a fad. It's a trend. This drink is addictive. If you've had a good one before then you know what we're talking about.

Mama's 90th Birthday Scrapbook

Above is a slideshow of the scrapbook pages I completed last night of my grandmother's 90th Birthday party. They are pretty simplistic because I am trying to learn the ins and outs of Adobe Photoshop. This is the first whole album I have completed. I had done random pages before but never sat down and finished an album. I am only missing on page in the slideshow- I forgot to copy the Family section header page. I have found a highly affordable place online (www.sbtoshare.com) and will be sending off the files to have them printed out for me. If the slideshow doesn't work for you, click on the picture below to go to my album.

Mama'a 90th Bday Scrapbook

Peeper needs YOUR help!

Help! My mom has entered me in a photo contest to be in a PetCo calendar in 2008. I have to get a lot of votes in order to make the "top 12." The calendar theme is about pets who have made an impact with their lives. Everyone who knows me knows how much I helped my mommy and daddy deal with Hurricane Katrina and all the aftermath. Therefore, I am VERY deserving to be a calendar pup! Who knows, maybe they will put me in November- my birthday month! Please click on the link below and vote for me. Thanks for your help!!!!

Click here to vote for Peeper!

Memorial Day Weekend

Mama's 90th Birthday

Memorial Day Weekend

The above pictures take you to our newest photo albums. This past weekend, I went to South Carolina with my parents for my grandmother's 90th birthday. It was a whirlwind weekend but it was worth it. I was able to see family that I haven't seen since Travis and I got married over 4 years ago and I met some family I didn't know I had. It was kind of a mini family reunion I guess you could say. I wish it could've been longer but alas, the seminary doesn't close for Memorial Day. How crazy is that? We get Fat Tuesday off but we don't get the day that has been set aside as a national holiday to honor soldiers who have died for our freedom...a bit backwards if you ask me. But then again, the administration didn't ask me when they decided upon the schedule. Oh well...