Quick update...

The above picture is showcasing two items- my new "sophisticated" glasses (HA!) and the pillar candle holder I made this afternoon. Travis and I went over to Dr. England's house today to do some "wood working." Travis is making steps for Peeper to use to get into our bed. We are donating our big floral chair to a church fundraising yard sale and after it gets picked up, Peeper won't have a way to get into our TALL bed. Thus the need for the steps. Anyway, while he was working on those steps, Dr. England taught me how to use a wood laith (I have NO IDEA if I spelled that correctly.) I LOVE IT! I had so much fun using it. I used a reciprocating saw and cut me a piece of wood for my candle holder. Then I shaped it using various wood turning tools. It was so much! I don't know what I like more- the making of the cool designs or the wood chips flying through the air! HA! Anyway, I want to make some more things. I have now learned that my dad, Travis' dad, and another relative all have laithes. Therefore, I have plenty of locations for making other cool wooden objects. Perhaps making my own basket bases is in my future- I now know how it is done!!

In other news, Travis hurt his shoulder last week. Actually, I hurt Travis' shoulder and I feel horrible about it. We were asleep Wednesday night when a bag with breakables fell and the contents broke. It was a loud noise and scared me. I screamed, jumped and flipped in the bed and landed hard on Travis' shoulder. His arm was under my pillow when I started my mid-air somersault. All of this happened in a nano-second, so there wasn't anything I could do to avoid it. I have a tomahawk hanging from the bed to protect me from burglars (don't ask- LONG STORY and I am sure I can't use the tomahawk effectively anyway!) so I don't know why I didn't just grab it. Instead, I apparently felt the need to hurt my husband's shoulder. We went to the doctor this past Friday and he said that nothing was broke or dislocated. PRAISE THE LORD! However, he did sprain his AC joint. Travis is supposed to keep it iced and rest it and keep pain killers in his system. I am supposed to stop landing on his shoulder. He goes back to the doc next Thursday to see how he is doing and to find out if he needs to come back for any more visits. Needles to say, it is never dull in the Wright house.

Roasted Tomato Pasta

Ok, most of you know how "unskilled" I am in the kitchen. I have been diligently working on that problem and have been improving significantly. I have been making almost any recipe I can get my hands on and have been loving it. Today, I repeated a recipe that has quickly become a favorite in the Wright household- roasted tomato pasta. I saw Rachel Ray make it on her show and it looked "stupid-proof" so I thought I would give it a try.

Here are the ingredients you will need: 2 pints of small tomatoes (cherry or grape, preferably), 1 lb. of thick pasta (think- spirals, shells, pinwheels, etc.), 2 teaspoons of minced garlic, extra virgin olive oil, basil (fresh or dry), salt n' pepa. :)

Start your oven preheating to 425 degrees. Then start your pot of water boiling for the pasta. While you are waiting on the water to boil and the oven to heat up, wash off your tomatoes and lay them on a baking pan (you will want one with a lip to keep them from rolling off.) Sprinkle the garlic over the tomatoes and then drizzle the extra virgin olive oil all over the tomatoes too. Next sprinkle some salt (I use Kosher) and pepper on them. If you are as slow as me doing all of this, your water is probably boiling now. Put in your pasta and some salt to keep them from sticking. Once your oven heats up, pop in the tomatoes for 10-15 minutes. I seem to time it so that the tomatoes are done approximately the same time the pasta is. Once your pasta is cooked and your tomatoes have burst, you are almost done. Scoop out 1/2 cup of water from your pasta and then drain that pot. Pour your tomatoes into a large bowl and add the pasta-water into that bowl. Take your potato masher and mash up the tomatoes. Once you get them mashed up well, add the pasta and stir to mix it all up. Add your basil until your heart is content (we use a lot, but we like basil) and stir to mix. Your supper is complete! Dish it out and top with some parmesan cheese, if you would like- it is good regardless. This recipe supposedly makes 4 servings but I think that would be 4 "Jolly Green Giant" servings and not "normal human size" servings. Below is a picture of the finished product. If yours doesn't look like this, that is OK. I love whole wheat pasta and so that is what I cook when we have pasta. If you make it, click on the word "comment" under the below picture and let me know what you think. Enjoy!

Our "new" living room

Travis and I were the recipients of a free entertainment center. A couple in our church moved to Birmingham and, for some reason, couldn't take their entertainment center. Long story short- we ended up with it. We love it! I also FINALLY installed the software that came with my camera. It has the capability of "stitching" photos together. I can take multiple pictures and it will make it look like one picture. Therefore, I experimented and took pictures of our newly rearranged living room. I took a total of 7 pictures and then stitched them into 2 pictures. I tried to do a 360 degree picture but it never looked right. Hope ya like!

Campus Crawfish Boil

To those not allergic...it was a sight for sore eyes. A pirogue (PEE-ROW) full of spiced corn, red potatoes, and CRAWFISH! Tonight was our campus crawfish boil and the crawfish were everywhere! Travis enjoyed his little critters tremendously. They were spiced just right for him, a rarity in these parts. I, on the other hand, enjoyed my supper too- a 6 pc. chicken mcnugget kid's meal from the neighborhood McD's. Argh...annoying iodine allergy. Maybe I will grow out of it one day. If I do, I will eat double my weight in those delectable "baby lobsters" on that day. Enjoy the pic...eat a crawfish for me.