Wick's Weblog

Part 1 of …. I don’t know, I’m going to break this up in a couple blogs so its not a long boring read. So enjoy the series.

Well, this past weekend was my birthday and can say that I lived to see 30. After Friday’s roller coaster ride in the van it was not an understatement. So my parents and a couple of friends that my mom works with came and pick us up at my house getting ready to venture on down to the “Big Easy.” The driver turned out of my neighborhood opposite than what I thought would be the most efficient route to NOLA. So after I suggested that we go another way, yes, the driver completed a successful U-turn on Hwy 12 with oncoming traffic coming our way. As the van was straightened the traffic was right on our tail. Everyone’s face (other than the driver’s) was pale white after seeing that the van was about to get t-boned not even a mile away from my house. Well, we were safe for the time being. Then I suggested we take Oktoc road to Crawford onto Alt 45 to take us to Brooksville. Those of you from around here will know what I’m talking about. If you are to go south on Hwy 45, that is a much quicker way to get there. Well, sitting in the very back of the van you felt every single bump and curve to the max. No I’m not trying to complain, but oh my! Well we were successful in making it to Louisiana. Dropped off one of the passengers at a bar in Metairie for her to meet up with some friends. So another driver takes over and guess what happens again? Another U-turn into oncoming traffic! This time I didn’t think we were actually gonna make it. I could see it all happening. Two cars hit us, traffic piles up and it’s not a pretty sight. Well, luckily the two cars slowed down enough for us to make our turn and we were on our way to the resort. FINALLY we made it to the resort all safe and sound.

Now that the fast and furious car ride down to NOLA has concluded, its on to the many things we did while we were down there. Well, when we arrived to our room and checked in everyone was starving! So as we were trying to figure out what to eat, we decided for instant gratification at the Harrah’s casino. Yes, let me NOT recommend that place, over priced and you’d get a better meal at Barnhill’s. The tea suck, blah. I know we are in New Orleans, but no one would make a decision and people wanted to hit up the casino. So there ya go, two birds one stone, never do that again.

Well, as the ole lady and I did not want to stay at the casino, we opted to hit up Bourbon for the night. Met up with some friends that happened to be in town that night and chilled at Desire Oyster Bar and I drank a beer with them. They then decided to go see some seediness and again we opted not to go. Just stroll down Bourbon and take in all in. I remember going to New Orleans pre-Katrina and it was overly crowded the balconies were packed and so on. I know it is not quite the same, but they are trying. If you haven’t been, go. It still has that soul feeling. We then walked back to the room and then just chilled back in the presidential suite where we slept SIX. Yes, suite = bed coming out of the wall, a couch, an overly sized table, a 47″ LCD TV and a big bathroom. Yes probably only about 500 square feet to sleep six people. Well it was interesting anyways.

To be continued.

Yeah I haven’t been on the up and up on my blogging lately. Yeah I’m still alive, and yeah I am still thinking about blogs to write. I have been mega busy since we have been getting more daylight everyday, from gardening, trying to work on my house, starting to play church softball, and been out of town about every weekend as of late. I will have some blogs coming down the pipe that I want to work on. I have one in my drafts about how I use social networking and what it has done for me. This is going to be a busy, busy month coming up, I am only have a couple more weeks in my 20s. Hello 30s! Wow, its weird. I remember turning twenty and feeling all grown up even tho I was still in college. But when I turned 20, I had worked a “real” job because I had co-oped in Birmingham. Pretty satisfied with everything now, so the whole turning 30 thing isn’t wigging me out or anything. Sweetness is all I gotta say, oh and bring it!

SO the point of this blog is just to tell everyone I’m alive, and that I will have some sort of informative blogs coming. I am really trying to figure out where I want this site to go. Do I want it strictly a personal blog. Do I want to start an informative blog for a couple ideas I have? I’m looking into designing a theme for the site to impress people and am going to use Wordpress as a CMS.

So hope all are doing well. I’m here.

Well, I’ve had the iPhone for a few months now and I wanted to talk about the apps I find that are my favorite and that I find useful. These aren’t in any particular order. I like them all equally, I think.

Screen Shot of the iNav Theme

iTunes Apps

Tweetie – A very robust Twitter client. Can check multiple accounts, see what the latest trends in Twitter are, the public time line, has can follow links within the app. It is all in all the best Twitter app on the iPhone. It is worth the $2.99.

Facebook – Can’t get enough Facebook or that Facebook fix. Must have. Need I say more?

Pandora – Ever since I got my FM transmitter for my truck, Pandora takes care of me since I do not have satellite radio anymore.

Evernote – Well I had been looking for a note taking application for the iPhone that I can take notes as I am on my PC and then able to see the notes on my phone. Great for recipe finds and then I’ll have it in the grocery store when buying. They have a paid service as well, but I do not use it that much to need to pay for it. The fee seems nominal. Oh yeah, they just released Twitter integration, but haven’t found it that useful yet.

Tap Tap Revenge 2 – Ok, having an iPhone I had to list a game. This one is free and it satisfies my lack of playing Rock Band. Its pretty slick.

Jailbroken Applications

Winterboard – This is the reason to jailbreak your phone. I change my themes quite often. My favorites include: Buuf2, Deep, iNav (includes some work), OSX, iComplete. Also I love the Katra’s Weather HD which puts the weather on your lockscreen. I am working on a theme which will be of course a Mississippi State theme. I haven’t put too much time into it, but I want it to be as complete as it can be. So maybe in a few weeks I’ll have it ready to put on Cydia.

MySMS – This is my favorite SMS client. It runs in the background and has a quick punctuation keypad while typing a message. Also the quick reply is mighty nice. This is the only paid jailbreak app I use. Its was worth the 5 bucks I paid, but I do believe it is $2.99 now.

Cycorder – Come on Apple, we need video recording on the iPhone. This does it for you.

xGPS – Need turn by turn directions? This does it for you. I haven’t totally mastered this app, but it will very useful when needed one day.

SBSettings – A quick slide across the top of your phone and here comes toggles for you to turn on/off your 3G, Bluetooth, SSH, WIFI. Adjust your brightness. It is also customizable with Winterboard. Must have.

Maybe this helps, maybe not. But I do love my phone. If i find more apps, I will do my best to critique them on my blog. Questions, comments, let me know what you think.

So the annual Maroon and White spring football game was this past Saturday. Going away with some things that I just wanted to take now and after the 2009 football season.

I still see that the starting quarterback position is up in the air. It will be Tyson Lee’s job to lose to Relf or Russell (incoming freshman). Relf is starting to stand tall in the pocket and is looking better every time I see him play. I like the 5 wide sets, but I also still love running out of the I. Only one time I can recall in the spring game a QB lined up under center and that was because he called an audible and it was the perfect audible if I must say so myself.

Anthony Dixon looks to come back to his Sophomore year form. Has slimmed down to 235lbs and he is playing 2009 for his future. Standout year he’ll land in the NFL draft early second day. Another year like last year, he will be a free agent signing to a practice squad. His future looms on his production. This offense could have him producing.

Tyson Lee. Young COL as my buddy calls him is looking good. He couldn’t scramble in the spring game because once the QB was touched he was down. There were a few times he could broke. I can see him shining in the offense after game 3.

O’Neal Wilder. This guy shined in my own personal opinion. Even tho I don’t agree with the stats of him only catching 4 balls. I think those were just stats of the first series, because #81 caught some balls. He looked good. Route running look good, speed was there. I believe he is the main reason Relf looked good. Wilder was finding open spots in the zone, shaking his man, fighting for the ball. It was Effort I saw in him. Yes I capitalized the E in Effort, because that what MSU needs to win ball games.

Leon Berry. The quiet storm outside the numbers. I didn’t realize until seeing some of the stats (which I still question) that he was the one on the maroon team catching all the balls thrown up. I thought Lee was spreading it around, well I was wrong. Berry was everywhere, sprinting down the side line and burning his DB. Glad to see a Scooba guy come to the SEC and show out. Last Scooba transfer to shine at MSU? J.J. Johnson. Oh yeah we won the SEC West when he was around.

Chris Relf. I’ve always wondered why he hasn’t played much. He has the prototypical quarterback body. 6′3″, 235lbs. His arm does lack some, and accuracy is lacking. But he stood tall in the pocket and I thought had a really good game. I see him fighting for the starting job come fall. If he wants it bad enough, it will be his. Got to see Effort. See Wilder for why I capitalized the E.

I know I only mentioned the offense. That is why I went to the Maroon and White game is to watch the offenses run. Our defense has kept us in so many games and I’m not too worried about that. Highly touted Pernell McPhee had a decent game, he will be a force on the d-line. Also, Zach Smith will be all over the field and will expect the best from him.

Thats my two cents. Can’t wait until Jackson State comes to town. True Maroon! Go Dawgs!

So I was reading a magazine and saw a recipe to make your own hot sauce. So this triggered a thought because I grew a mega load of peppers last summer. They are just taking up space in my freezer. They aren’t the hottest peppers, but I believe they’ll do just fine. I did put in one habenero tho. It is a week long process. The picture on this post is just after day one. The minced peppers and salt are ripening in the jar. I poured the vinegar in last night, I will get a picture of it when I get a chance. Lovely homemade hot sauce, can’t wait to try it! I will let you know how it is.

So during my Saturday breakfast at Little Building Cafe, I was flipping through an issue of Savuer magazine. There was an article about frying the pefect piece of catfish. Well, since I wasn’t really reading the mag, I was just skimming through it, the heading 6 Great Catfish Houses caught my eye. Living in MS, I know for sure there are some awesome fish houses in this state. Well guess what, two of the six are right here in MS and both of them 100 miles or less from Starkville. So we decided a road trip was on our horizon. Called up my parents and they are up for it as well.

So I get out my phone and look up on Google Maps where this place was, and this is what I got. If you read the article, it does say it is in a very rural area, so there ya go.

See where Google sent us

Well, after getting to point on the map, it was a dead end road and Google got over on us by putting us in deliverance land. So what we decided to do is trek back through the dirt roads and head on over to Vaiden, MS. So we find Hwy 35, and guess what we turn right and start looking at the numbers on the mailboxes. Well, that was not the right way. HA! Well if you are headin south on Hwy 51, TURN LEFT! And in about 6 to 7 miles you’ll come up to Carmack’s Fish House in Carmack, MS.

Well, lets get onto the food. So, we were so hungry when we got there, we decided to hit up the buffet. I’m normally leary of eating buffet food. But I was HUNGRY! So we were so out of place there because it is a local joint that everyone was wondering, how are these people?! Well we came here because we read about it in a magazine. They were all impressed. So sitting down with my first plate, I got some coleslaw, hush puppies, fried okra, and fish steaks. Well I must say, there was nothing down right greasy on the buffet. Pefectly cooked and juicy. The coleslaw was perfect and was not to twangy, well it was perfect. The hush puppies were light and not meal-y at all. And the fish, yes, very good taste and it was really good. My mom got the whole fish and it was really good as well. Oh, on my second trip I grabbed a piece of corn. Good sweet corn and it wasn’t too buttery or anything.

So, I can’t really describe it anymore other than my offering to go try it for yourself. So when ya go, look for this sign:

I have always wanted a platform bed at the house. So I took on the daunting task of building one myself. Mainly I was so gung ho this weekend about buiding the bed is because the new memory foam mattress came in. So I took in many many designs and thought about it quite a bit. So here is my supply list, bear with me I am doing this all from memory, cause I don’t tend to write stuff down. HA!

The dimensions of the bed are 80 in L x 60 in W x 10 in H, so I decided to make the frame 82 x 62, because normally my tape measure tends to measure a 1/4 inch to small or too large. HA! I am not the carpenter. Also I want to note that I did stain the frame and legs before I put anything together. Figured it would be less messy since I could stain outside and fling it around as I wished.

Bed Legs
1 – 1″x4″x8′
4 – 2″ L brackets
3/4″ wood screws
Wood Glue

Frame Assembly
2 – 1″x8″x6′
2 – 1″x8″x8′
8 – 2″ L Brackets
3/4″ screws
1 1/4″ screws
Wood Glue

So after letting the stain dry over night, I decided to start putting this beast together.

Whew, now that the frame was put together, time to run to Lowes and get the rest of the stuff I need. What you call this part? The innards? HA! So here is what I bought.

2 – 1″x3″x6′
10 – 1″x4″x8″
5 – press board shelving 12″ wide and 12′ long (yeah am going to have about a 2″ gap, so hopefully the matress will sit perfect in it since the mattress is suppose to be 60″ wide.

After looking at this design I was worried about how the weight would be distributed in the middle of the bed. So I took some scraps and and built little stools and put them in the middle of the bed after I had moved the bed into place.

So this was not too hard to assemble, I would say putting the frame together then staining were the major pains of the bed building. But all in all I think it turned out really well. Only thing is that I wished is that the frame came up higher on the bed. But its all good, it looks good and everything. Yeah I need to move the other bed, but I had yard work to do and I was worn slap out. Comment or drop me an email if you have any questions…maybe I can help.

Prior to my last trip to Memphis, I hit up the Fresh Market website (http://www.freshmarket.com) to see what kind of deals may be going on during our trip into town. Well, when I first hit the site I see the fresh flavors cooking demo. Well what really caught my eye was the rosemary sprigs for the picture of the link. I have a big ole rosemary plant at my house that I absolutely love to take sprigs off of and cook with. So anytime I can cook with rosemary, I’m game. Well so I hit up the link and find its a recipe for a Rosemary Peppered Crusted Steaks. Rosemary– awesome, pepper– mega awesome, BEEF– pure awesomeness. The side with this meal sounded pretty good as well. Pan seared cherry tomatoes with Gorgonzola cheese.

Well, so we finally found a weekend that I could make this meal, and I must say it was just about perfect. We picked up a couple tenderloins from Brian Michaels Meat Market and the tomatoes and Gorganzola at Kroger here in town. Went the cheap route on the Shiraz as the liquor store did not have Toasted Head Shiraz. Little Penguin was just as good, I do believe. Also the honey we used came from the Little Building Cafe. I would recommend this honey if you are buying a store brand. Its awesome. So here is what you came for is the pictures, right? Well feast your eyes on these. I must say it was a returaunt quality meal.

I know this is quite late, but it seems to take me a few days to get my thoughts together and to spit out a decent blog. I apologize for this, just seems that is how my brain seems to work these days. So here ya go……..

As Valentines day approached, we did not know what we should do for the evening. Well sitting at our favorite little Saturday morning getaway place the Little Building Cafe (http://www.littlebuildingcafe.com) we were chatting it up with the chef and he mentioned a Valentines Day dinner. Well, we decided to give it a go and make it a date. It was a lovely dinner that we shared with two other couples. The menu had really good choices and it was difficult to choose. Well since I couldn’t enjoy the shrimp I looked away from that menu choice, only to find out that it was a beef shoulder with a couple pieces of shrimp on the side, well my fault because I didn’t do my research on the cut of meat that was listed. So I went with the pan seared tuna with stir fried rice. My meal was good, but what finished off the meal was the talk of the dinner. The chocolate cake with a ganache. Well, I will let your mouth water with the pic below, it was really good and I wanted more. One person even licked his plate. HA!

A Little Building Dessert. Heaven.

Like you browse the blog site daily? I don’t even do it. But one evening last week I put some pictures up of home cooked meals for your eyes to feast upon. I wouldn’t blast these pictures on the internet if I did not enjoy every last bite of it. Of course I prolly smashed ate more then wish I didn’t eat that second helping. Yes I know its bad, but when you enjoy something so much, you just want more of it. That goes for so many things in life, eh? HA! I’m not getting deep here, just wondered if you took a deep breath and said, “oh no, here he goes again!” Not today, espeically not this morning and this early.

So browse on over to the Pictures page and check them out. Let me know what you think and if you have any ideas on what to cook, let me know, I am down for trying just about anything. Hence the reason I tried brie at Whole Foods this past Sunday and it was NOT good! I bet it would be good blended with a pastry or something, by itself, no thanks.

I am thinking of something to write about next. This is just a “filler” blog.