I'm inspirational...

on easter, my boss invited us to have dinner with her family. it was really great chance to get to hang out with a large family and eat a meal together. (that is definitely something that we miss being away from "home"). my boss has 5 sons and brian and i fall in age right between the 2 oldest.

one of her sons is the executive chef/owner of the finest restaurant here in chattanooga, st. john's. it is the super yummy, super swanky place where brian and i had our new year's eve date night. there is also a more casual restaurant that shares the same kitchen, which has become our FAVORITE place to eat in town. when i offered to bring a vegetable for the easter meal, i didn't think about the fact that he would be joining us for dinner. YIKES!!!!

i decided to bring a cold asparagus dish that is one of my family's easter traditions. it is a mayo based, lemon dip with blanched asparagus for dipping. i've been known to park myself at the table and eat this asparagus non-stop for several hours. i called my aunt in a panic to get specific directions when i got my mind around the big picture. - i was cooking for a chef who has worked under tom colicchio (better known as "chef" on top chef!!!!). fortunately, it wasn't a difficult dish to prepare and she walked me through the whole thing. i can't say that i went into the meal feeling confident, but i was a least secure in the fact that the dish tasted exactly as i remembered it from years past, yummy.

turns out he is a really cool, down to earth guy and i really want to be friends with his wife (who is equally cool and down to earth). not only did we have a wonderful time getting to know them, they complimented me on my dish and i believe they had seconds! needless to say, i felt relief. it was the icing on the cake of a very fun evening.

fast forward to last week... brian and i had dinner at the casual side of the restaurant before the alison kraus/robert plant concert (a whole other blog in itself!!!). i was scanning the new summer menu and noticed a new asparagus salad. since asparagus is one of my favorites, of course i ordered it. it wasn't until the dish was delivered to me that i the light bulb went on. sure his cold asparagus salad was garnished with some beautifully seared ono (an amazing hawaiian white fish), but it had a creamy white sauce and was served with a lemon wedge. pretty familiar...

now of course brian, my boss and her husband all chuckled when i brought up my obvious influence. but, it's pretty clear to me the impression that my easter dish made!

The OTHER Side of The Mountain

On the backside of lookout mountain lies Dade County, Georgia. I've never actually been, but I’ve heard tales. My boss, who lives on lookout, had the pleasure of serving jury duty yesterday in Dade County. She came back with countless stories that had us rolling in our chairs this morning.

Before I start, let me say that Chattanooga is growing on me. I consider myself a Chattanooga resident now that we are purchasing property here. And therefore, I believe it is my right to poke a little fun at the residents. Also, since I have a friend who was born, raised and is currently crashing in Trenton (the county seat of Dade county) I am free to say, "some of my best friends are from Dade county." that makes the following acceptable for me to share, right????

First, a nugget of information about Dade to give you a picture of the area... It wasn't until 1945 that Dade County rejoined the union after the civil war. That's right, 80 years later... Speaks volumes, right?

Now, on with the story... My boss sat on a grand jury that heard drug charges against a couple that claimed innocence. They had been the victims of the crack fairy. I guess when they blinked, that ornery little nymph planted some drugs on both of them. And if the defendants weren't silly enough, the arresting officer's testimony sounds like it was pretty entertaining too. At the start, the prosecuting attorney asked if he was going to be able to handle his testimony in a delicate manner. After assuring the court that he could, he explained that during a strip search all of the accused's "edifices" had been searched. He then qualified that the search wasn't done "by me." (Good to know) he went on to explain that a bag of crack cocaine had been discovered in one of the female's "edifices". Despite thinking for a few minutes, he was unable to come up with an appropriate term for her genitalia (or the word orifices...) He had to eventually be coached by the prosecuting attorney, who whispered the correct term in his ear. Whew... Crisis averted.

Dade County... What a gem. Another juror explained that when she recently moved to Trenton she was able to apply for and receive a gun permit in 10 minutes but a driver's license took her three weeks. Sounds about right to me.

oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

I have to say I was pretty excited to hear that New Kids On the Block (or NKOTB as some of you may know them) are reuniting. They were such a big part of my middle school years! Only they were allowed to share bedroom wall space with Duran Duran, not a small honor if you ask me. I was fortunate enough to get to experience one of their live shows at six flags before they were selling out arenas across the country. Years later in a sociology class, I learned that their concert was my first experience with mob mentality. When Jenn and I got in line for seats (it was a "free" show with your paid park admission so seats were first come first serve) 3 hours prior to the show, I was familiar with the group. By the time the gates opened and we were allowed to rush like cattle into the amphitheatre, I was a screaming rabid fan. That short period, surrounded by throngs of screeching girls changed my mind, my heart and my musical taste.

Obviously, I found the show incredible. And looking back, it was probably not a bad first EVER concert to attend. The highlight was, of course, when Donnie picked ME out of thousands of girls to make eye contact with and wink at during "I’ll Be Loving You Forever." It was a special moment for the two of us and one that I’m quite certain he still cherishes.

The "kids" are looking a little older now. Hopefully their voices haven't aged as much as their faces. Not that live concert goers will be able to actually hear their voices over the thousands of 30 something screeching women. But, on the Today Show they promised they'd be dancing. This, for me, was the best part of their performance. Admit it; you can still remember the choreography to "the right stuff"... Hopefully, we'll get a chance to see those memorable moves again soon. Until then, check this video out so that you'll be prepared when they visit your town!

Verbal Agreements aren't Set in Stone

This is just such a pain in the neck. As of last night, we had come to a verbal agreement on the house (see my last blog). Our realtor put the offer (that we had already BOTH agreed upon, by the way) into writing and brian took it out to fax it at 9 o'clock last night. There was a short period of relief and then this afternoon the seller's agent started negotiating AGAIN!!! What the crap?

So, we've decided we are finished. We've passed along the message that our last offer was our final offer. If he'd like to sign the terms that he already agreed to, great, we'll get the house! But if not we're DONE negotiating with this guy. We're happy to walk away and let him play his games with someone else.

Don't get me wrong, we hate to lose this house. We hate to lose our rate. And we hate to lose all the time invested. But there comes a point when it just isn't fun anymore. And like the hubby said, "All this is ruining the house."

One Step Closer

After weeks of back and forth negotiations, we're one step closer to cooking dinner in this adorable kitchen.

There have been some nasty twists and turns along the way. We've definitely been a bit confused and disappointed at times... it's truly been a lesson in standing our ground. But as of today, we've come to a verbal agreement concerning repairs. We got almost everything we asked for! But most importantly, the seller has agreed to replace the vinyl siding! Woo Hoo.

Next step, the appraisal. We are maintaining a cautious optimism and trying our best not to mentally move ourselves in until the closing documents are signed and the keys are in our hands.