Wednesday, May 30, 2012

See For Yourself: Week Two

See For Yourself is a weekly feature on Alabama Bloggers that gives you a short list of great bloggers that you should be following.  Click through to their blogs and see for yourself why!


Wade @ Birmingham Blogging Academy (Twitter: WadeOnTweets) - Wade offers second-to-none blogging advice and social media tips that will revolutionize the way that you look at the media tools that you (mis?)use everyday.

Angie and Trish @ BirminghamMommy (Twitter: BirminghamMommy) - If you're a Mom in Birmingham, you should be following Birmingham Mommy! They are the premier resource for what's going on around town for kids and families.  They also offer heartfelt and honest essays about parenthood and how to handle the challenges therein.

Ike @ Occam's Razr (Twitter: IkePigott) - Ike offers a unique and insightful investigative view on life.  He will always make you think, challenge you to delve deeper, and encourage you to pay better attention to the world around you.

Steph @ Plain Chicken (Twitter: PlainChicken) - If you're hungry and are currently unable to reach food, don't go to her blog.  However, if you're looking for some great new ideas and recipes, Plain Chicken is where it's at.

Rambling Round @ Selma Daily Photo (Twitter: RamblingRound) - Live in the beautiful town of Selma vicariously through this blog.  But be ready to travel, because she'll make you want to come visit.



Will you be featured next week?  Check back to See For Yourself!  And feel free to make nominations for blogs that should be featured in future See For Yourself features!

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Discovering The Magic City in America's Oldest City

Originally posted at Grasping for Objectivity on July 6, 2011.

When I was very young, there was a brick-paved street a couple of blocks from my house. It was really just a brick intersection – a tiny slice of leftover history that somehow got missed by the modernization of Birmingham. I loved when we drove over it and I had the opportunity to pretend that I was a 19th century Southern Belle in a horse drawn carriage, and my Mom or Dad was my personal driver.

Not too long into my childhood, modern progress won out, and they dug up the bricks and asphalted my favorite intersection. The bricks were going to be thrown out, so my Dad went down to collect some of them.

He used those bricks to make steps and a walkway up to our house. I remember asking him why he wanted to use the old, chipped and worn bricks instead of new, “pretty” bricks. He showed me the stamping on the bricks:

GRAVES BHAM, ALA
 
The bricks were made right there in our town by a factory that was closed half a century before he was born. He explained to me that these bricks were a part of our history – of our city’s story, and that by saving them, he had salvaged a bit of that history for our family.

Although I didn’t care too much about my city’s history at that point, I did look down and see those stamps of Birmingham’s past on a daily basis, and always remembered my cherished brick road because of their presence.

Now that I’m older and passionately in love with my city, I completely understand my Dad’s efforts to preserve our past. I am fascinated with books showing pictures of how Birmingham used to be, and I confess I might still spend a bit of time still imagining that I was one of those ladies with the long, full dresses and dainty parasols being driven down the locally-made brick roads in a fancy new horseless carriage.

Yesterday, we spent a day of our vacation in Historical old St. Augustine, Florida – the oldest city in America. The layers upon layers of different cultures and generations creates a beautiful canvas. Centuries of buildings and churches line brick-paved alleyways, and remnants of pirate attacks, forts, and colonization are scattered throughout downtown. Men dressed up as Pirates amble down the roads, scaring children and having witty remarks always at the ready. It’s easy to imagine oneself in the past in St. Augustine.

Ali and I stopped to admire a 19th century water wheel at a former grist mill.

GRAVES BHAM ALA ST AUGUSTINE GRIST MILL

…Or at least I was admiring it, and she was begging for money to throw in the water to make a wish. She threw her money in, wished for ice cream, stared intently at her coin, then sighed.

She walked away and said, “I threw my money in and made my wish, but it didn’t turn into ice cream. Why didn’t it work??”



GRAVES BHAM ALA 2 
 She looked down to the ground. I looked down with her.
 
GRAVES BHAM ALA 5 


I Immediately recognized those bricks. Here was a part of my city’s proud history, tucked hundreds of miles away in the nation’s oldest city.

I was proud, I was thrilled, and I was immediately transported back to sitting on my steps as a little girl, to riding down that brick road, and to imagining all sorts of historical Birmingham stories.

GRAVES BHAM ALA 3 

Of course, I pointed the bricks out to Ali, and just like my reaction as a little girl, she was completely unimpressed.

Hopefully though, in time, I will be able to instill in her a love for history, for our city, and for imaginary visits to times past.


GRAVES BHAM ALA 4 

Friday, May 25, 2012

Best Post of the Week: Week 154


It's time to link in your best post of the week!

The purpose of this column is to make it easier to keep up with each other's blogs, so that even if we don't have time to read all of the Alabama Blogger blogs every day, at least we get the week's highlights.

So, link up, tell us why you linked that post, and let's start reading! And remember - the best way to get new blogging friends is to comment on other people's posts, so be sure to say "hi" to your neighbors when you visit!

p.s. - please feel free to interpret "this week" as loosely as you like!

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

See For Yourself: Week One

See For Yourself is a weekly feature on Alabama Bloggers that gives you a short list of great bloggers that you should be following.  Click through to their blogs and see for yourself why!

Stephen @ Who Ate My Blog? (Twitter: @whoatemyblog) - Stephen has one of the most inspiring blogs in the state.  He used the accountability of the blogging world to lose over 300 pounds - and counting!  He's an amazing guy with amazing goals, and is truly someone to be admired.

Tim @ Practical iStuff  (Twitter: @PracticaliStuff)- Tim offers great iPhone tips and tricks, with helpful app reviews and great ideas on how to best utilize your iPhone.

Virginia @ Birmingham Alabama Daily Photo - Often touching, often informative, Virginia will take you on a visual tour of The Magic City.

Alison @ Ingredients, Inc. (Twitter: @AlisonLewis)  - Alison is a cookbook author, a recipe artist, a travel blogger, and a devoted Mom.  Follow her for delicious and always healthy recipes!


Jamie @ Jamie's Rabbits (Twitter: @Jamiesrabbits) - Need a laugh?  Or perhaps a vulnerable, honest heart-to-heart? Jamie offers both on her fabulous blog - and follow her on twitter for daily (continuous, really) entertainment.



Will you be featured next week?  Check back to See For Yourself!  And feel free to make nominations for blogs that should be featured in future See For Yourself features!

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Newly Listed Alabama Bloggers!

So I put it off long enough.

Way too long, in fact.

I spent over four hours yesterday getting the Alabama Blogger's List updated.  Not only did I get all of the newly listed blogs in place, but I also clicked on every link on the list, deleted the blogs that were no longer there, and moved the inactive-but-still-in-existance blogs to the bottom of the list in their own category.

So that means that the Alabama Blogger's List is now fully accurate, and only houses current, active Alabama Blogs.

I don't know about you, but I want to cry with relief of a job well done.

(Clearly, you're not crying.  That's okay.  I'll cry enough for the both of us.)

Check out the newly updated list, let me know if youand in particular, visit these newly listed bloggers and welcome them to the network:




Adam and Wendy @ A&W (Auburn)
Mary Frances @ The Stanfords (Montgomery)
Anna @ The Cross Is All
Karla @ Gathering Life (North Alabama)
Erin @ Dwell and Tell
Duckbutt
Matt @ The FilmNerds Blog
Clementine @ Restless and Roaming Returns to the Roost (Birmingham)
Magnolia Mom
Patsy @ Hayden Express (Hayden)
Shea @ Dixie Chik Cooks (Helena)
Ike @ Occam's Razr (Birmingham)
Hands Free Mama
Groone's World
Will @ The Dairyman's Blog  
Turkana @ Unique Family Vision
Stephanie Holland @ She-Conomy
Bryants of Bham (Birmingham)
Sand Castles and Snow Forts
Tonya @ The Traveling Praters (North Alabama)
Javacia @ Georgia Mae (Birmingham) 
Jonathan @ Shadow Moments
Dino's Deliberations 
Russell @ Geek Palaver (Huntsville) 
Stacey @ Southern Bite
Misty @ The Family Math
Karla @ Casual Bedlam (Birmingham, Huntsville)
Andrea @ A Modern Hippie (Fort Rucker)
Moody Paints (Birmingham Area)
MoniqueBlog (Birmingham)
Audrey @ Folkways Nowadays (Birmingham)
Connect to Your Coast
Buddy @ The Cobalt Club (Birmingham)
Martha @ Wholesale Clothes Center (Helena) 
Amanda @ Lovin' the Beast
Julia @ Green Quilts  (Birmingham)
Jerri @ Mom-E-Centric 
Same Chic Different Day
Chris @ New Media Influence 
Laura @ Owl Tell You All About It and earphoria (Locust Fork)
Amy @ Living In Harmony
fjlanders @ Home of Owl
Nerd-To-English
Danielle @ Changing Lanes 
Cindy @ Cindy M Jones and Cahaba Christian Writers (Birmingham)
bfarr @ Chattahoochee Valley Daily (Phenix City) 
Lucy @ Word Crank
Amie Beth Shaver (Birmingham)
Alana @ The Karl Family (Tuscaloosa)
Rhonda @ Abide At Home (Dothan)
Nathan @ Geek Alabama (Anniston) 
Bridget @ Fit Past Forty
Kristin @ Tips From the Disney Diva (Huntsville)
Benjamin @ Problems and Solutions
Ailsa @ Guilt-Free Cuisine
Jennifer @ Tales of a Peanut 
Ben @ Might Stain Your Shirt (Birmingham)
Donna @ Is This Load Bearing? (North Alabama)
Belinda @ A Simple Life
Jamie @ Brown Paper and Strings
One Minute Mantra
Erica @ The Gut Bucket (Southwest Alabama)
Jennifer @ Of Heaven and Earth (Birmingham)
Liz @ Lazy Liz on Less
Louise @ My Life
Debra @ Words are Timeless
Chris Rainey
Taren @ Craggyosaurus (Birmingham)
Martha @ The Things I Get Myself Into (Helena)
Untitled [1986] (Birmingham)
Rosedale Gardens (Tuscumbia)
Christy @ Christys Crafts (Birmingham)
Konabarbie
Irene @ Live Your Poem (Birmingham)
Where Is Main Street?
Christine @ Fly Fish Chick (Mobile)
Crunchy In Alabama
Christen @ The Uncontainable Truth (Montgomery)
Kate @ Good Fences Make Good Neighbors (Birmingham)
Jenny @ Strickly Strickland's (Dothan)


Go visit these Alabama Blogging Neighbors!!

Monday, May 21, 2012

Local Singer Writes For a Cure to Cystic Fibrosis

 


I’d like to share a special guest post with you today from John Claybrook. John is an independent musician/singer/songwriter from Alexander City, Alabama. I hope this story about his newly released song will speak to you as it has to others. It speaks to anyone with a loved one fighting lung diseases, or any disease really, that steal those loved ones away from us. You can check out his new song "Free to Breathe" on iTunes.

Cystic Fibrosis is an ugly disease. In fact, all diseases are ugly. They rob, take, cripple, hinder, and steal years from us and loved ones. My cousin, Kara Hay, passed away after winning her battle with CF. I was visiting one of my best friends in Virginia and at 5ish in the morning he came to wake me up to tell me that someone was on the phone for me. I picked up the phone to hear my mother tell me that Kara, only 20 1/2 years old, had died. My heart was heavy. Life really is a vapor, and for some it's even less. Kara was fun to be around. She was one of those kind hearted people that just held joy in her bones. I'm not sure if you know this or not, but those type of people are rare. The world is full of burdens and fears and weights and if anyone had a reason to be weighed down with that type of junk, it was Kara. But she didn't let that stuff affect her (at least not that I ever witnessed). She was strong. She was unbelievably strong in her relationship with God. The more stories I hear of her, the more envious I become of that relationship because it's almost as if she knew Him as her best friend (and if I'm being honest, after 31 years of life, I'm still searching to know Him like that). I admire her, I love her, and I miss her.

I'm not sure what you know about me, but I'm a musician. I handle my emotions through music. I tell stories about love, hate, life, death, pain, and joy through music. Many times I never let anyone hear some of the things I write because I wrote them for me. I wrote them to serve as a vehicle to help me cope or deal with whatever weighed on my heart. I still do that. This song was no different. I didn't write this song to be heard or with intent to share with anyone. However, I shared it with one of my sisters one day who encouraged me to share it with my aunt. The sharing didn't stop there. I played a gig with the John Claybrook Band in Prattville, AL for a DiscipleNow weekend. In the middle of the show I stood on the stage with just my guitar and a microphone and I told the story of this girl named Kara and then I sang the song. In this room full of teenagers something happened. The song became less about my emotions and more of an anthem for everyone in that room who was/had suffered the stinging pain of loss. After the show student after student approached me in tears to tell me how their grandmother died of lung cancer or they lost someone in their life with a respiratory disease. I was amazed and humbled. I never meant for anyone to hear this song. But after witnessing the effect it has on others, I am realizing that it is more than just a song for me. This is a song for you.

 "Free to Breathe" can be downloaded from the iTunes music store. A portion of the proceeds of this song will be given away to help aid in the fight against Cystic Fibrosis and I'm asking you to buy it. You don't have to listen to it. You don't have to like it. But buy it. It's more than a song. It's a fight for a cure.

Friday, May 18, 2012

Best Post of the Week: Week 153


It's time to link in your best post of the week!

The purpose of this column is to make it easier to keep up with each other's blogs, so that even if we don't have time to read all of the Alabama Blogger blogs every day, at least we get the week's highlights.

So, link up, tell us why you linked that post, and let's start reading! And remember - the best way to get new blogging friends is to comment on other people's posts, so be sure to say "hi" to your neighbors when you visit!

p.s. - please feel free to interpret "this week" as loosely as you like!

Monday, May 14, 2012

Jim N Nick's Creates Local Pork Sourcing.

I was honored to be able to attend Jim N Nick’s learning session at the Atlanta Food and Wine Festival on Saturday.

I know, I know – you go to things like that to learn about food you don’t eat all the time.  But I was so proud of how Birmingham was representing at the Festival that I wanted to experience it.
And I learned quite a lot.

For instance – I learned that in 27 restaurants, they don’t have a single freezer.

And I learned that Jim N Nick’s is committed to more than just serving the best Bar-B-Q in town – they’re committed to the process of revitalizing the local pork industry.

IMG_4918

While we watched Drew Robinson, the Executive Chef, butcher and grill a pork tenderloin, we learned about their Heritage Hog program, with the discussion moderated by Jennifer Cole of Southern Living.

Sam Burns, whose official title is “Commissioner of Culture”, shared about their vision to bring the family hog farm back to the south.

IMG_4944
“We wanted to know where our pork was coming from, and we wanted it to be done right, locally.”

– Sam Burns, Jim N Nicks
A while back, he and owner Nick Pihakis set off on a road trip through Mississippi in the attempt to find hog farms.  And they found very little.  Despite the fact that the South used to be plentiful in hog farms, they are no longer in existence.

They realized that their dream was going to take a lot of time – and effort – to come to fruition.

To revitalize the South’s pork industry, there would have to be more than just trustworthy farmers.  They needed suppliers, processing plants, distributors, and restaurant guests that could appreciate the value of locally sourced meat.

So they formed a plan, and started taking steps to realize their dream.

First, they set out to create an appreciation for the pig.  They created the Fatback Collective, a group of chefs that were committed to the dream of local sourcing.  This team also formed Jim N Nick’s team at Memphis in May, where they placed in the finals on their first year, an unheard-of achievement.

Secondly, the formed Fatback Farms – a collaborative of local hog farmers that were doing it right.
Finally, they bought a distribution plant in Eva, Alabama to give the farmers the infrastructure that they needed to do business.

“We’re not doing this because people are complaining about the quality of our pork. Nor are we doing it for marketing, to say ‘look at us – we’re using local pork’. We’re doing this because it’s the cultural mission of our company to support the community as a whole.”

– Sam Burns, Jim N Nicks
Currently, they have five farmers.  To supply the four million pounds of pork that they serve a year, they need 40 – 45 farmers.  Sam estimates that reaching this goal is a five year journey.

We were privileged enough to get to taste this magnificent pork served with their signature sauce and on a bed of locally made grits.

IMG_4957

It’s a dish that I won’t soon forget.

Their locally sourced pork is currently available at their new Homewood restaurant, Little Donkey.

For further coverage of the Atlanta Food and Wine Festival, check back tomorrow at my other blog, Grasping for Objectivity.

Friday, May 11, 2012

Best Post of the Week: Week 152


It's time to link in your best post of the week!

The purpose of this column is to make it easier to keep up with each other's blogs, so that even if we don't have time to read all of the Alabama Blogger blogs every day, at least we get the week's highlights.

So, link up, tell us why you linked that post, and let's start reading! And remember - the best way to get new blogging friends is to comment on other people's posts, so be sure to say "hi" to your neighbors when you visit!

p.s. - please feel free to interpret "this week" as loosely as you like!

Friday, May 4, 2012

Best Post of the Week: Week 151


It's time to link in your best post of the week!

The purpose of this column is to make it easier to keep up with each other's blogs, so that even if we don't have time to read all of the Alabama Blogger blogs every day, at least we get the week's highlights.

So, link up, tell us why you linked that post, and let's start reading! And remember - the best way to get new blogging friends is to comment on other people's posts, so be sure to say "hi" to your neighbors when you visit!

p.s. - please feel free to interpret "this week" as loosely as you like!
If you haven't linked up and introduced yourself yet, be sure to go here to do so!