Belated Adventures OUT of the North Pole

Somehow I keep thinking that I have nothing to write about, but I continue to have things or experiences that I pass up writing on because I think it's "too late."  As in, Jared and I spent a weekend in Chicago in late March and had a blast, followed by a week in Las Vegas spent languishing in the sun after we thought we'd never see it again.  I took tons of great pictures in both places, and then nothing.  I get to doing other things, put off writing (although I love it) and then several months pass and I think I've missed the opportunity.  Well, too bad if this is random and way past any relevance it may have had, but...I do what I want. (and Jared is out of town for three weeks, so I'm bored and can only watch Netflix so much with the dog)

So, a few months back, back when the snow hadn't let up and I thought I would never be warm again, Jared and I decided to book a trip during the school's spring break. Somewhere warm. We researched online, and found a great deal through Allegiant Air out of Appleton (a town about an hour away) and compulsively made the purchase.  Five days in Las Vegas, where sunshine and warmth exist in abundance. (Can you tell us weenie southerners aren't cut out for northern winters? ugh.)

Anyway, around that time one of Jared's former classmates and good friend Drew invited us to Chicago to see a show he was in, so we rolled it all in to one awesome trip, starting with Chicago the first weekend of spring break.  We ate tons of good food (tapas, swedish-style breakfast, classic Chicago-style pizza, etc) walked through Millennium Park (yes dear, I told you the "bean" was a real thing) went through The Art Institute, as well as the Lincoln Park Zoo.  And of course, we saw 25 Saints, the fantastic show that Drew was in.  We had such a blast, and can't wait for another opportunity to go back! Awesome town.

That Sunday afternoon, we drove almost all the way back home, and made it to Appleton for our flight out that evening to Vegas.  We were completely exhausted, and unbelievably exhausted by the time we actually got to Vegas and checked into our room at The Mirage.  We slept off our travel fatigue, and spent the next almost week eating awesome food (have you figured out the way to our hearts yet?) saw Ka and Love by Cirque du Soleil, went to the Hoover Dam with our friends the OBriens, and generally enjoyed sunshine and...not working. ha. We had such a good week. If only sunshine, enjoyment, good food and relaxing didn't have to be so directly tied to how much money you spend...we'd do this more often.

So, that's how we saved our sanity from the crazy long and cold winter up north. Although random and way after the fact, it was write-worthy (although admittedly my writing on this particular post is pretty sub par) but, be grateful I didn't go back and do a post on last summer's family vacation to Colorado (although the pictures were awesome, so you're missing out.)

Greetings from the North Pole

When I logged in to write this, I saw the picture in my last post of our house in the late summer, with nice green grass, flowers, and sunshine. As a phrase that keeps occurring to me goes, I forgot "that was a thing".   For these two transplanted southerners, our first northern winter has so far been an entirely new experience.  So, I thought I'd share some of the things we've learned so far, and what things I've come to appreciate at the "north pole".

So, here are some things I've learned:

• Don't go two weeks without turning your car on.  I found out (the hard way) that if you do that and then think you're going to drive yourself to work, well, you're wrong.  I was attempting to drive myself to a conference in Milwaukee one morning, only to find that my car battery had died due to what I'm assuming was the cold and not turning it on for an "extended" period of time.  But, I didn't realize "that was a thing" until after I frantically called my dad (in Kentucky) and mimicked the noise the car was making.  "So I turn the key, and it just goes eee eeee eee! and I don't know what it means!" Or something to that effect.  Sigh. This does not happen (due to cold weather) where I come from.
• Don't procrastinate shoveling, or your front steps may turn into what looks like a slide too.  Ok, really we didn't procrastinate that time, but I'm still in awe of how much snow can accumulate in a short amount of time up here.  Our neighbor had kindly used his snow blower on our driveway that afternoon, but when we got home at 5 we still  had to shovel again due to accumulation.  Is it spring yet? Lame.

• And lastly, I've learned that your snot can literally freeze in your nose when you walk across a parking lot when it is -8 plus windchill.  And your'e welcome for that image.

And here are some things that I've come to love and appreciate up here:

• An electric blanket.  Trust me, when it's below zero outside (and you're too cheap to turn the heat up any higher than 65) a regular blanket just isn't going to cut it.  And the pup agrees.  It's an animal magnet. (The cat would be on here too, if she hadn't discovered that hot air comes out of the vent. She mostly just sits on it now. Jerk.) 

• Long Johns.  I know those sound like something (precious) old men wear, but they are wonderful under work clothes to keep you from freezing your legs off.  (Thanks for buying me some, Sandy!!)  And really, there are some cold days that I come home and change out of my work clothes and just walk around the house in my long johns. Picture a really weird gray body-suited super hero without a cape. I don't know why the super hero part, but stick with me here.  I just like to remind my husband what a catch I am, I guess. (Bless his heart)
•  Ice Remover Spray stuff. I don't remember exactly the brand, but it comes in this windex-like spray bottle, it's yellow, and you spray it on a frosted windshield and it just melts all that stuff off. It's wonderful.  We've already gone through one bottle this winter, and immediately bought two more. For 1-3 bucks, so worth it to not have to scrape the ice off your windshield every morning.
• A good humidifier. As many times as I've fussed about southern humidity making my hair a frizzy mess, I had no idea how much humidity affected my skin until we moved up north where there is virtually none.  Since we've been here, and especially since it got cold, I've felt like I've just been drying up. My skin gets so dry, and I've been getting sick more (which I read can be caused by cold dry air that keeps viruses/germs/etc alive longer, or some such like that). So, in the midst of my second cold in about a three week span, we went out and got a warm mist humidifier.  We only use it every few nights, but I really think it's made a difference in how dry my skin is, and I haven't been sick since! (knock on wood).  

So, that's about where we're at right now with winter and being cold and stuff.  Let me know if you have any good tips/things we should know about surviving a northern winter!
   

Home Sweet Wisconsin

Well, it seems that time has gotten away from me again.  I had intended to let Jared write an update or two, as several of our recent life changes stemmed from him. But, summer proved to be a busier time than we had planned, and now I'm sitting in our living room while a cool fall breeze blows in the open windows.  Where to start?

In April, Jared was offered a teaching position at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.  We were beyond elated, and felt so blessed to have the next step on our path revealed to us.  So began the house-hunting and future-planning for our new home in the north.

Jared's final show, Cabaret, was wonderful.  I actually ended up going a total of four times.  We had a great showing of friends and family, many of which make the trek back to Arkansas two short weeks later for Jared's graduation.  I'm so proud of my graduate, but we were both a little sad and amazed at how fast those three years flew by.  Over the summer we spent some time in Colorado with my family, Jared spent three weeks in North Carolina at a fight choreography workshop, and I got a visit from my long time best friend Christie, who so happens to be a stellar housewife. (I frequently came home from work to find a meal waiting!)  During that time our (school) friends one by one moved back home or on to new adventures, until it was our turn to start our next chapter.

The transition wasn't entirely seamless, including driving a Penske truck loaded with all of our worldly possessions, (including a drugged up cat) a week-long hotel stay, and closing on and moving into our first house sans-wife.  (obviously a listing of Jared's adventures)  I followed after two weeks of semi-homelessness, (which involved couch-surfing at the apartment of my gracious friend Tearney) saying goodbye to my friends and co-workers at Arvest, and two 7 hour days of car-tripping it with a snuggly pup in my lap.  Finally, the Hanlins (of both the human and fur baby variety) were all under the same roof again. This time, though, it is one that we own rather than rent.  What a feeling!

I don't think homeownership really hit me until yesterday when I was sitting on our back porch watching Jared mow our yard.  Somehow, watching my husband carry out that mundane chore confirmed this next step into being "real" adults, and at the same time shattered my previous views on adulthood.  It's funny how we set up milestones, and tell ourselves that achieving the next marker will be what finally makes things different. Markers like getting married. Or getting jobs. Homeownership. Or children.  We think one of these "checks" on the list will be the one to completely and immediately change us into adults, but I'm beginning to see that it's really a slow and continual process.  No one thing will magically flip the switch in us from childhood to adulthood. We're already there, but the adults we started off being in college are not the ones we are now, or the ones we'll be later.  Each new step we come to changes us in different ways and magnitudes.  I'm just grateful to be on this journey, and to have a wonderful husband to share it with.  

So while Jared goes to work (I love the sound of that statement!) I'm slowly unpacking and putting together our house.  I'm looking forward to exploring our new town and area of the country.  Hopefully, I'll have more time (and motivation!) to keep you updated.  For now, I've procrastinated on the box-diminishing long enough.

Strawberry Bread Meltdown

Hello again, long time no post.  We have had quite a few things happen since my last post in January, but since they are Jared-centered, I've avoided writing about them myself to give Jared a chance to put things in his own words.  Now that he's done with school (yay!!) hopefully he'll have a chance to do some updates soon.

So with the promise of more meaningful posts to come, I'd like to let you in on what has become known as the strawberry bread meltdown.

Last weekend Jared's family came out for his graduation, which also coincided with Mother's Day.  Since several mothers were going to be with us, I thought it would be nice to bake them some Fresh Strawberry Bread.  Now, there comes a time in every over-achiever's life where the over-achiever...well, over-achieves.  Since there would be four mothers in town, it made sense for me to make four loaves, and have two in the oven at a time.  So around 8 pm one night I set out all of the ingredients, and got to work.  With limited mixing bowls, counter space, and math skills, I decided to make up the batter for one at a time, and then just put them in the oven two at a time.  However, I under shot how long it would take to mix up one batch, and ended up taking about 45 minutes per loaf for prep time.  Since they bake for about 55 minutes, I realized that I might as well bake one while I'm  prepping the next batch.  So I get to the point where I take the first loaf out and put the next loaf in, and I realize that the loaves are way bigger than I had guessed they'd be by looking at the loaf pan initially.  Also at about this point I realize that it's 11 pm, and I forgot to eat dinner.  I happen to have some sort of blood sugar problem, and if I forget to eat or go too long without eating, I start shaking and crying and other annoying stuff like that, as well as completely lose my ability to problem solve. So, when Jared walked in from the show he was helping tech, he found me standing in the middle of a strawberry bread explosion, completely bewildered.  I manage to get out "I forgot to eat dinner" before the water works, and my sweet husband quickly went down the street and picked me up a take out pizza.  I'm so glad to have a guy that understands that sometimes I just don't make sense.  After I had some pizza, I decided to call it quits and just split the two huge loaves into four halves for the mothers.  I definitely got an "F" for presentation, but no matter how it looks, it still tastes as good, right?

Now, I did happen to leave out just how over stocked I was on ingredients.  Jared had volunteered to get the ingredients for me while I was at work that day, and I came home to enough ingredients to make strawberry bread for an army.  So over the past few days, I've been researching recipes to use up the rest of the ingredients before they go bad.  I did make another loaf of bread for me and Jared to enjoy, and even so I think I'll be taking some to work to pawn off on my co-workers. (you're welcome, if any of them actually read this)  I also found a recipe for buttermilk pancakes, and thought this would be a good way to use up some more of the buttermilk and the overabundance of flour I currently have.   This morning Jared and I got to sleep in, as I don't have to be at work until 2 (I work Saturday).  I mixed up a double batch of the pancakes, and added chocolate chip cookies to the batter.    I sprinkled a little bit of coconut flakes, some walnut pieces, and some fresh cut strawberry on top (and of course syrup) and let me tell you, it was amazing!  If anyone wants the recipe for either the strawberry bread or for the buttermilk pancakes, let me know.  Neither are hard, but the bread is a little time consuming (obviously. ha)

So that's what I've been up to as of late. Nothing too exciting.  But, it's nice to be low key.  Keep an eye out for posts from Jared about more exciting things.

Grown-up Vacation...sort of

I know I've been on sort of a blog hiatus. Shame on me.  But really, I end up thinking to myself, "is anything we're doing that interesting?" and then the even better, "do I really want to take the time to write things down?"  So I'm lazy.  I'm ok with that.  But, I feel I owe it to Jared and myself to keep up with what we're doing at this time in our lives, because although it may not seem interesting to us now, one day  when everything is different we'll want to look back on how things were when we were first married and delightfully boring.  With that said, how 'bout that time we went on a big kid vacation because we could.

The idea started last year when everyone at my work was planning time off for the holidays. Being relatively new, I wasn't able to get extra time on either side of Christmas, so Jared and I decided to take some time the first week of January.  We had originally thought about going somewhere within driving distance, thinking it would be cheaper.  We looked at driving to San Antonio and Austin, but even "on the cheap", it was going to add up fast.  On a whim, I looked up what airports Allegiant Airlines flies to, as we had used them before to go to Vegas last year and they were super cheap.  From there we figured Orlando would be the best ratio of cheap to fun, and we decided to book it!  So, on January 1st, we flew out to Orlando (Sanford, to be clearer) and I drove (more on that later) a little Yaris to our hotel on International Drive in Orlando.

In planning a vacation, one (important) variable we were looking for was somewhere warm.  But as our luck would have it, Orlando experienced a freakish cold front (maybe that was an exaggeration...but whatever) which resulted in us layering clothes like crazy, and buying ridiculously expensive mittens at Universal Studios (again, more on that later).  Also, we had to rent a car to get around, and if you're under 25 you have to pay extra to be a driver. So, (being 10 months older than my 24 year old husband) I ended up driving the entire time (not that driving in a traffic-ridden, unfamiliar metropolis grates my nerves or freaks me out at all) Now that you have the background details, I progress.

Our first full day (and the warmest day) in Orlando, Jared and I got up early and headed out to the Magic Kingdom.  (Yes, I'm aware that the idea was to go on a grown-up vacation since we're adults and can, but...we do what we want, ok?)  We very strategically planned out our "game plan" for hitting all the rides we wanted, and our park map was much consulted.  I dragged Jared on the Dumbo ride, and he let me sit up front on Space Mountain (isn't that what love is really about?)  Just so you don't think he's too awesome, he did laugh every time I screamed on Space Mountain. I mean, there has to be support beams, and you can't see them, so shouldn't you hunch down so you don't get your head knocked off? I don't think I'm unreasonable or any sort of ridiculous... We did also experience the tea cups without barfing, which is saying something for my motion-sickness-prone husband.  (Please refer to the video) After almost 12 hours of exhausting park-wandering, we went to downtown Disney and ate dinner at The House of Blues (Jared's choice).  No bands, but the food was good and it was a lot of fun.

Day two was colder, but we again got up early to head to Universal Studios.  We wore jackets, hoodies, and layers, but somehow Florida smote our plans for decent weather, and we had to buy ridiculously expensive mittens to keep our hands from freezing off. Literally.  Or not. But it was cold.  I kept my hood obnoxiously and fully draw-stringed tight to my face all day.  But, we had a lot of fun hitting up all the fun attractions.  We ate dinner at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville, and headed back to the hotel to finally be warm and to get some sleep.

Our third day we allowed ourselves to sleep in a little bit, then drove the rental car out to Cocoa Beach to eat lunch out on the deck at Fishlips. (actually in Cape Canaveral) Afterwards we skimmed through the Ron Jon Surf Shop and then walked the beach for a while.  On the way back we hit up an outlet mall, then had dinner at a little gourmet pizza place.  Afterwards we went back to the hotel, packed up, and set our alarms to go off disgustingly early so we could fly home.  

So, that's the gist of our sort of grown-up vacation.  Stay tuned for the next time something we do seems moderately interesting enough for me to write it down.  Although, this last half hour or so has been a lot of fun.  Therapeutic, maybe?   

Colorado Trip/Birthday Weekend

Last weekend was significant in several ways for me.  I turned 25, celebrated 5 years of dating my husband, and got to see one of my little brothers for the first time since the beginning of the summer.  Although I love my family, it (sadly) isn't actually that off base to go several months without seeing them, since we live 10 hours away from home.  Things continue to change, as our family has completed the transition from "mom and dad with children at home" to "empty nest parents with all kids out and gone" with the beginning of college for Adam and Garrett.  Garrett just started at Murray State (my alma mater!) and Adam is at school at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado.  It makes it different knowing that they aren't at home for us to come visit any time we can anymore.  The Davises continue to spread out! 

 With that in mind, last weekend I had the opportunity to take off a few days of work to add on to Labor Day weekend and spend it in Colorado Springs with my parents, sister, and brother Adam for the Air Force Academy's family weekend.  The down side was that Jared wasn't able to go since he had just started school and auditions for the year, and I would be gone on my birthday (which is coincidentally our 5 year dating anniversary as well).  But...I wasn't about to pass up the opportunity, so I went! (With Jared's blessing, of course)

Jared drove me to the airport early Thursday, Sept 1st, and Mom and Dad picked me up at the airport in Colorado Springs.  Many airports I've been to aren't much to look at, but wow!  The Rocky Mountains provide a gorgeous view from nearly everywhere you are in Colorado (the areas I got to go to, anyway) including the air port.  We went out to lunch and ate outside at a Panera in an outdoor mall, and it was amazing how wonderfully cool and breezy the weather was comparatively with the nasty, humid hot that has been Arkansas all summer.  Mom and I ended up staying and shopping while Dad drove up to Denver to pick up Rachel, and we all went out for an early birthday dinner for me at a nice Italian restaurant.

Friday morning (my birthday!) we got up and out early to see Adam at the Academy before he had to line up with his squadron for a parade. (the marching kind, not the throw candy kind. ha) Rachel and I ran through the parking lot to try to find him before he had to line up, as we were running late...like we do.  I'll be the first to admit to not being in shape, but after just a tiny sprint to Adam once we caught sight of him, Rachel and I were both panting like we'd run a mile.  There is definitely something to be said for the change of altitude, and how thin the air gets!  Adam looked so good in his dress uniform, and somehow had turned into an adult since the last time I had seen him at his high school graduation.  He had to leave to join his squadron, but the rest of us headed to the stands and enjoyed watching the squadrons march, people parachute into the parade field, and gliders and other aircraft fly by.  After the parade, Adam took us to his dorm (or whatever it's called there) and we got to go to a few classes with him.  We practically bought out the gift shop (I bought some USAFA old man sweatpants with the elastic at the ankles! ha) and walked all over campus, including the chapel.  We got to take Adam off campus and went out to eat with the other Kentucky families, which was fun!  By the end of my 25th birthday, I had been asked what grade I was in high school three times.  Really?? I'll be happy about it one day, I guess.

Saturday we went back over to the Academy to go to a tailgate and also the USAFA/South Dakota football game.  All the cadets had to march onto the football field, then "run like hell" for the stands and try not to get trampled.  Sorry Garrett, Murray State football games are not this interesting.  Whenever Air Force made a touch down, a group of "doolies" (sp?) had to run onto the field and do a push up for every point we had on the board.  And, all the cadets had to be in uniform.  Needless to say, Rachel and I were enjoying many aspects of our experience! (I did remind her at one point that age wise, we both could have babysat for most of those kids.  Does that make me feel old? yup.)  After the game we left Colorado Springs and drove up past Denver to Louisville, Colorado.  We ate dinner at Qdoba per Adam's request, and I watched someone each two burritos for the first time. If you've ever eaten at Qdoba, you'll know what a scary feat this is!  

Sunday we drove out to Rocky Mountain National Park, and did a 6 mile hike to a mountain lake.  I've been to several beautiful places in my life, but the scenery on this hike was incomparable (my pictures don't do it justice).  On the way out of the park hours later, Dad may or may not have run over Rachel's toe as she stood outside the car to take a picture of elk...but neither life nor limb was lost, so I'll leave that one alone. :)  Tired and hungry, we went out to dinner at PF Changs, then went back to the hotel and crashed.  

Monday morning we went out for breakfast, drove Rachel to the airport in Denver, and drove back to Colorado Springs.  We drove through Garden of the Gods to kill time before I had to go to the airport in Colorado Springs, and then I was sent off back to Fayetteville.  

I had a wonderful weekend with (part) of my family, but it was weird without Jared or Garrett.  Rachel and I had fun sharing a room with Adam, including late night dance parties, Adam sleep walking/talking, and figuring out how to maintain privacy with three people sharing one bathroom.  Well, maybe we'll tweak a few things for next year, but I'm hoping we'll be able to swing a repeat.  

Daufuskie Island Vacation!

I'm really behind in updating things we've been up to this summer, but that's because we've been really busy!  Since our anniversary (and for several weeks before that) we haven't been home for a weekend.  Actually, for the past month and a half, we've spent every weekend gone somewhere or another.  Whew! Anyway, I have several posts that are due, but this one is going to be about our Hanlin/Heath vacation on Daufuskie Island, South Carolina.  For those who don't know, Daufuskie is a small island near Savannah, Georgia and right off of Hilton Head, South Carolina.  You have to take a ferry to get out there, and you pretty much have to take anything you would possibly need for a week away, including all food, and drinks. And, also drinks.  Ahem. So anyway, Jared and I got up crack of dawn early on Friday, June 17th to fly to Atlanta to meet up with Jared's dad, who picked us up from the airport.


We (including the Hanlin dogs) drove over to Pop and Bibby's house for lunch, and it was wonderful to just spend a little time with Jared's (and my recently inherited) grandparents, as well as Scotty and Steve Coleman.  After a while we packed up in the car and drove to Augusta, GA (where Mike and Janie live) and met up with the rest of the fam.  Jared and I finally got to experience TakoSushi, the most amazing sushi/gourmet mexican food you've had in your whole life. (Well...it's possible I just get easily excited about good food, but it really was awesome.)  


We head out early for Hilton Head and the ferry, and by noon, we were at the house! Ahhh vacation.  We stayed in a beautiful, (huge) beach house with lots of room to hang out and talk, a great screened-in back porch, and our own bathroom! 

We spent a fantastic week of relaxing, hanging out at the pool, going to the beach, eating good food, (please see deviled crabs insert)
driving around on golf carts, and playing family sports like volleyball and tennis.  We ended the week by driving back to Atlanta and spending the night with Pop and Bibby, and Jared and I flew back to Arkansas Sunday morning.  Nothing wild or crazy, but after school and unending shows for Jared and work for me, getting away to relax with family at the beach was exactly what we needed.  

One Year!

Exactly one year ago today, all of our friends and family were toughing the heat to see us tie the knot. Woo hoo! I can't even believe it's been a whole year, but at the same time I feel as if Jared and I have been married always. (in a good way, I promise!) To celebrate our first anniversary, Jared and I booked a weekend in Eureka Springs, Arkansas and stayed at the beautiful Heartstone Inn Bed & Breakfast.










We drove up to Eureka after I got off work on Friday, in time to get there, check in, and head out for a drink at Stonehouse Wine Bar and dinner at Local Flavor.  If you're ever in the area, I would highly recommend both. Stonehouse for the wonderful live music and extensive wine and beer list, and Local Flavor especially for the crab cakes, although everything was delicious.  We then headed back to Heartstone and got to bed relatively early, as we both had a long week.  We had a fantastic gourmet breakfast in the morning, and proceeded to drive to the historic downtown area to walk around and see the neat shops.  We had lunch at the Mud Street Cafe, and enjoyed the cool stone basement underground seating to get out of the hot sun for just a bit.  After lunch stopped back by the inn for lemonade and a cookie on the deck, then we drove out to see the largest Jesus statue in North America (Christ of the Ozarks...not sure what the story on that is) and on the way back we happened on a piece of the Berlin Wall in a small churchyard.  (again, no idea how that came to be there) Afterwards we headed back to the inn (for a small old people nap) and changed to go out to the Sky Bar at the famous Crescent Hotel.

We didn't see any ghosts, but we did see two weddings back to back, and children in a bar.  The hotel was gorgeous, and the views from the balcony of the bar were fantastic.  We finished our drinks, and drove back down to the historic district for our dinner reservations at the Grand Taverne.  We went back, had some coffee on the second floor porch off our room, and enjoyed relaxing! (This doesn't occur often with Jared's busy school schedule even during the summer, and my working) We got up early again Sunday morning on our actual anniversary and had another wonderful breakfast in the inn's dining room before packing up and checking out.  We took the scenic route back to Fayetteville, and now we're just relaxing until our anniversary dinner tonight!

We've already had a wonderful weekend, and look forward to spending the rest of the day together, relaxing and enjoying each other's company.  Here's to a wonderful first year of marriage, and looking forward to many, many more.  

Float Trip 2011

For Memorial Day weekend this year, we floated on the Buffalo River.  This would be the first time we had heard "canoeing" referred to as "floating", and also the first time we agreed to canoe without first knowing the distance ahead of time.  We "floated" (paddled and tried not to flip) 20 miles in two days, with a break of camping on rocks in between.  Turns out, east nowhere Arkansas is gorgeous, and we didn't hear a single banjo. We put in at Hasty, Arkansas in the afternoon on Sunday.  About two minutes in to the trip, three of the four canoes flipped, flinging food, drink, and personal items out to be claimed by the river. Thankfully, my eagle scout husband managed to keep his bride out of the water, for which I was extremely grateful.  Although the trip began on a down note, our buoyant attitudes insisted on fun being had by all, wet or dry.  

We saw beautiful scenery, including a gorgeous waterfall we found by scaling a steep, muddy incline.  Pictures really don't do it justice.  After paddling about 10 miles, we made camp on a rock beach and built a campfire.  We managed to still have a delicious dinner of cold fried chicken, "rock steak", hot dogs, chips and s'mores, and we more or less all slept poorly in our tents on rocks.  But what an experience!  The stars were crazy bright in the sky, and the sound of rushing water while we slept was fantastic.  (except when I half-way woke up in the night, afraid we were going to be washed away, but was comforted strangely with the idea that several of the others would be washed away first and we could use their screams as warning...lol) We woke up with the sun, reloaded the canoes, and continued with the last half of the trip.  Only one more canoe flip happened, we saw lots of sunning turtles, and one horrifically large snake.  Some people swam out to a rope swing over the water and risked a jump out of a tree, and we saw/canoed to small caves at the bottom of cliff faces.  Finally, we got to the end point in Wollum, Arkansas, and after a few hours of waiting for some of the guys to go get cars from the put in point and then loading up the cars, we drove the two hours home.  Fast food, a hot shower, and aloe for our radiating sun burns later, and I passed out in my soft, rock-less bed.  Adventure complete!

Viva Las Vegas!

Things have been pretty busy in the Hanlin household lately, with school, work, shows, training, etc. Often when things get hectic, I like to look ahead to the next "event", which usually consists of visiting with family, a vacation, or even the next time I get to sleep in.  Most recently, our "looking forward to" occasion was a weekend trip to Las Vegas with the Hanlins.  Man, did I have a count down going!  Although we love Arkansas and what we're doing here, we were just in need of a break.  So really early in the morning on Friday, April 1st (no joke) we flew out to Las Vegas, Nevada to meet up with Sandy, Phil, Leslie and her boyfriend Josh to celebrate Leslie's 21st birthday.  We stayed in the Venetian hotel (so big, they gave out maps of the hotel so people wouldn't get lost), and the picture at the top is the view from our room. Gorgeous!  Friday we ate lunch and saw Madame Toussaud's Wax Museum.  Found our man Paul hanging out in the Racing section (as shown) and we took pictures with celebrities we approved or disapproved of, for various reasons.

We walked around, laid out in the sun (after the cold and rain we had in Arkansas in the last few weeks, I was in love with sun!) hung out and went out for a delicious sushi dinner in the Bellagio at a restaurant called Yellowfin.  Then we saw Cirque du Soleil's "O".  Jared and I both watched with our mouths hanging open pretty much the whole time.  It was amazing.  Saturday, we got lunch at Serendipity 3, caught the Bellagio fountains, and did enough walking on the Strip to persuade the group to stay in the hotel the rest of the night.  Had another great dinner and watched UK lose to UConn (first time sports betting, Jared lost $30, Josh won near $140).  We played a little blackjack and heard that Jared's dad won $1000 on a slot machine.  Jared's mom hit a hot streak on a machine and regained some of her losses.  Apparently 5 watermelons gets you $20 (as pictured). Get 'em Sandy!! So after much fun, walking around, sunshine,

food and entertainment, we tried to go to bed just a little early since we were getting up at 3:30am to make our flight.  We made it back to Arkansas in time for lunch, and when we got home I took my place on the couch with the cat to nap, while Jared went to rehearsal.  Alright Hanlins, so how much longer until Daufuskie? Can't wait.  

Been A While

So, news!  Arcadia closes and I almost immediately get invited into the Othello cast, Shannon got a new job at the bank that she starts next week, and I got baptized!  Been a busy couple of weeks for us, but now I'm on Spring Break (wooo!) and get to tell you all about it.

Arcadia had a pretty good run, really enjoyed the time with the cast, but a part of me was looking forward to being at home with my wife at night when it was over.  But theater calls.  Because a cast member needed to drop out of Othello, director Michael Landman asked me to audition for the open roles, so I did.  And now I will be playing Brabantio (Desdemona's prejudiced Senator father) and his brother Gratiano, as well as various ensemble roles.  So far, I've just been thrust into a couple of run-throughs with rough blocking, but everyone's been super forgiving, which is good.  When we get back from spring break, I'll be ready to not suck so bad.  Between Othello and Supermen (a new work by Adam Douglas) I will be a very busy bee for the rest of the semester.  Busy and grateful that people think highly of my work.

Shannon is going to be a Deposit Counselor at the Crossover branch!  She's exciting to be learning more and working with customers face to face.  She gets her own business cards!  Looking forward to passing those out.

Most importantly, I have finally been baptized.  The weekend Arcadia closed, my parents and Shannon's mother were able to come see the show and then see my baptism at Fellowship early the next morning.  We have been so blessed that Christ has brought us to Fellowship and the small group we have through it.  I've been particularly grateful for the leadership of Michael and Mandi Collyar in the group.  I asked Michael if he would baptize me, and he was happy to do it.  Shannon took pictures, but it was too dark in the worship center, they just didn't turn out.  This one did though:

There's our proof.  It was a really special day, and God affirmed my obedience with a joy and peace I was not expecting.  Really happy to share it with family.

Jared asked for some chocolate cake

Its your typical Sunday in the Hanlin household.  We went to church this morning, came home and ate some lunch, and now we're being lazy well in to the afternoon.  I love Sundays when Jared isn't in a show. Anyway, we had just finished eating the omelets Jared made from random leftovers we had in the fridge (yum!) and I had settled in to looking up new recipes to try for dinners this week.  While searching and making notes on my grocery list, I ask Jared if he has any sort of sweet in mind that he would like me to make.  With half of his attention on Super Mario Bros Wii and the other on trying to answer my question, he (without breaking visual contact with the television) says, "um...chocolate." "Ok...chocolate pie, chocolate cookies, chocolate cake... " I say in an attempt to draw a more detailed response.  "cake."  I had my answer.  So I start going though recipes on my favorite food blogs, and find one that sounds interesting on Delish-blog.com.  Texas Sheet Cake.  hmm.  I glance through the ingredient list, and wouldn't you know, I had everything needed.  God must want me to make this cake.  (Or maybe because I'm starting to bake more frequently, I am acquiring more ingredients...you choose, but I'm leaning towards destiny)  I go about mixing, boiling, sifting and pouring, and in no time I'm pouring the icing (more like a glaze) over the fresh-from-the-oven cake.  I sit back down on the oversized chair in our wee little living room, and appreciate the chocolatey-goodness smells that are lingering in the air.  (although I have a peanut-sized nose, I actually have a very keen sense of smell.  Thats probably why I focus on this sense when describing food, even though it wouldn't take giftedness in the olfactory department to appreciate the smells of this cake)

After waiting a few minutes for the cake to cool down a bit and for the icing to really sink its way in, I dish up two plates so Jared and I can give it a test.  And....oh baby.  The cinnamon, which I was a little curious about, really enhances the chocolate, and the pecans in the icing give just a little crunch to compliment the density of the cake.  Someone (or a group of people) should come help us eat this cake, because I feel like I just gained a pound over a pretty small slice.  (Please notice both the Mellow Mushroom pizza box in the first picture from dinner Friday night, and also the goofy grin Jared is making after eating his specially requested chocolate cake.  My weekend is now complete.)

Here's the link if you want to check out this recipe:

http://www.delish-blog.com/2007/07/cake-this-good-well-it-must-be-from-texas/

Baking/Cooking is a tasty obsession

I don't know if its because I'm bored, or I need a little excitement in my life, but I've become more and more interested in baking and cooking.  But not just interested, more like excited.  Like, I get excited about looking up new recipes to try, utilizing wonderful baking and cooking blogs.  Is there something wrong with me? Probably.  I've never pretended to be entirely normal.  But that would be lame, right? So anyway, I find these recipes with beautiful illustrations and jot them down, drag Jared to the grocery store, and work my experiments in the kitchen, often late into the night (for me, that means around midnight.)  This past week I made a delicious Mexican Casserole, I nurtured a homemade Beef Stroganoff, and lastly, last night I made some pretty awesome Fresh Strawberry Bread.  Jared is the only one who can attest to the dinners, but I've gotten some pretty good feedback from my co-workers on the strawberry bread.  Or maybe they lied. Either way, I choose to take the compliments.


So, in preparation to begin my bread adventure, I laid out all the ingredients and realized my obsession with Great Value brand products.  Wal-Mart brand, for those non-Arkansans/purveyors of regular grocery stores.  Wal-Mart is king around here, especially since there aren't really any other comparable options.  But hey, its good, and its cheap! A newly married's friend.  Foodwise, that is.

While I'm diligently mixing and chopping, I look up from my "work" to see what the rest of my little family is doing, and I find Jared enjoying his Christmas present, boxing away on our Wii and MiMi, our little fur child, hoping I'm going to drop something on the floor for her to eat.

She always thinks she wants what I'm making, but I can't seem to convince her that I don't live off lunchmeat (her favorite).  Poor mimi.  After much persistence I gave her a small piece of strawberry, and she lunged, then recoiled, at my offering.  Oh well.







So, the finished product smelled heavenly, tasted pretty fantastic, and photographed poorly.  Can't win them all I guess.  But, other people ate it, even asked for some, without me pushing it on them or without them feeling like they have to lie to me.  I think.  Well, in one day I'm already down half a loaf, so if you want to come by and make up your own mind, you'd better do it fast.  

Adventures in Beardland

Here it is, the long awaited follow up to my previous facial hair report.  I've been enjoying a thoroughly relaxing winter break after a stressed out end to my semester, complete with finals, student work to grade, a full weekend of A Christmas Carol, and the debut of my one man show Psalm 100:1.  Very stressful, but very rewarding.  But enough about that, that's not what you came for.  Here's what happened:

Here I am at Thanksgiving (with my Pop) the week before Christmas Carol opened, essentially the height of my beard.  That's basically 3 months of growth.  Got into our first dress rehearsal, Nov. 30, and this is what they had me do:

Shaved out the chin.  This look, by itself, is pretty Victorian.  Shannon started calling me Wolverine, though he didn't have a mustache.  Oh well.  We shaved out the chin so we could do this:

Glued on the beard with what they called "medical adhesive."  Whaddya think?  Close enough?  Our costume designer realized right before our second dress rehearsal that Dickens in fact never had chops with his beard.  We thought about it, but decided to keep them anyway.  I prefer to think we went with how Dickens wished he had looked (note that with me, his hairline isn't receding).  We did the show - ended Saturday evening, December 4 - and as Shannon requested, I shaved as soon as we got home.  And I had a little fun with it:

the redneck handlebar

70's trash 'stache

Some of you may be thinking, "Jared, this look isn't much different from the last one."  True, it's not much different.  But it's amazing how you can take away the sideburns and comb the hair straight back (as much as possible), and suddenly I'm my father circa the mid-1980's.  A little eerie, but part of me was happy about this.  But all good things must come to an end.

Shave and a haircut (two bits) and I'm back to neutral.  Shannon is much happier, and I don't blame her.  My head feels lighter and I'm not scary looking.  Though, I'm beginning to be of the opinion that when it comes to hair, I prefer to either be here at neutral or full-on mountain man.  Go big or go home.  Not sure I'll ever be allowed to get that way again, but who knows.

That's that.  Shannon and I are getting ready to head home to Louisville for a way-too-short Christmas weekend.  Totally worth it though, really looking forward to being with our families for the holiday, and if it all possible see our friends.  To our readers, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  Have a blessed holiday and we will catch up with you in 2011.

"Then the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.  For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." ~ Luke 2:10-11

A Hanlin/Heath/Coleman/Fox Thanksgiving

We weren't sure it was going to be possible, but after a 4 am alarm on Wednesday morning, 5:30 departure,  5 states and 12 hours in my faithful steed the Focus, Jared and I made it to Atlanta, Georgia for a short but wonderful Thanksgiving visit with the family.  Wanting to contribute to the meal, I searched my new Southern Living Desserts Cookbook for a fun and festive recipe, and landed on Pecan Pie Cookies.



<----  The picture looks good, right?  So Tuesday evening, I braved the crowds (who knew that everyone goes to Wal-Mart two days before Thanksgiving?  I might not have survived had I gone Wednesday!) and made it out with the ingredients.  A couple hours, some love and nurturing later, and we get this:








Not quite as pretty, but they went fast, so I choose to believe they were good.  I had bought some Cranberry Pecan rolls at Stone Mill Bakery earlier that day, so I felt pretty good about my food contributions.  The next morning we left, and the drive was long, but we made good time and got to Atlanta in time to see everyone and head out for a great dinner of greek pizza.  That night Jared and I got some much needed sleep, and were up and ready for some family time Thursday.

It's funny how months can go by without seeing family, but when you get back together, its like no time has passed at all.  All day Thursday we visited with family, and ate ate and ate some more.

Friday came faster than we wanted, but we spent some time in the morning hanging out with the fam a little more, and ate a few times (I swear I still haven't been able to muster up hunger yet).  On the way out of town, we drove past my Mema and Papa's old house as has become tradition for us, and it as always brought back so many memories from my childhood.  Twelve hours later and we pulled into Fayetteville to unpack and go to bed.  The car ride wasn't my favorite, but it was definitely worth it to spend time with our family, and we are so thankful for every one of them.