true story

We spent yesterday afternoon with the whole Groves family on a pontoon on Prior Lake. The following conversation took place on that boat:

Lisa: Becca, is that your new camera! Let me see it!
Becca: It is. I love it. I researched for a long time and found a great point and shoot.
Lisa: Oh this is awesome. Way nicer than mine. Mine is old and way less megapixels.
Rory: Lisa, you don't have to put your camera down to make your point. Becca is always self-deprecating like that.
Becca: Wait a minute. You just Becca-deprecated to show Lisa that she was self-deprecating!
Rory: Well, why do you guys do that? Why can't you just say, "this is a nice camera."
Becca: I don't know, but you don't have to wife-deprecate to make your point. (long pause) Maybe I just like deprecating.

one year ago today.

It's my most popular blog post ever. Most discussed of all my writing. And it all happened one year ago today. If you've got the time, take a moment to read or re-read our adventurous move from Omaha to Minneapolis by clicking here.

And if you have read it before, can I tell you the absolute craziest ending to this story?!! Around January I got a blog comment from one of my favorite friends from high school and college, Heather. She told me she was catching up on my blog, had just read about Story City and couldn't believe we were at the Comfort Inn because her in-law's own that hotel in Story City. What in the small world?!!

And, you might also be interested to know that I did send Al a birth announcement. He was such a nice guy!

more Sara Groves: Invisible Empires!

I got an email this morning for all of the pre-release goods for Sara's new record. You can get the package above for $25 or a $10 download of the album. I think the best part of the deal above is the download with the commentary edition. It's Troy and Sara talking over the album sharing a lot of behind the scenes, how the music was chosen and the stories behind the songs.

If you're interested, head over to http://www.saragroves.com/ and get your new music! It's so good!

fried green tomatoes

Well, it used to be one of my favorite movies and now it is a favorite food. We have an abundance of tomatoes right now, and a few green ones fall off the vine every now and again so I decided to try my hand at some fried goodness.

And oh goodness are they good! I've made them three times already! They're just pan fried after dredged in egg, flour, egg again and italian bread crumbs. After one side is golden I sprinkle them with garlic salt. But the best part is the dipping sauce. I used this recipe from The Neelys. (sort of modified depending on what I actually have in the house when I make it.)

Twanda!

Sara Groves: Invisible Empires!

Well, sometimes I just turn into her biggest fan. And here I go again. We had a listening party a month ago to hear this new album and just yesterday Rory came home from a brother's breakfast with our own copy. We've listened to the whole thing six times now. Because it's that good.

The album doesn't release until October sometime...but I wanted to get the word out about her CD Release Concert for those of you twin cities folk. Tickets are on sale now, and I guess I just really think you should go. Sara is a storyteller more than anything else, and a CD release concert is full of the stories behind the songs. And there are some really good stories within these songs.

So the details!
The Release Concert is at Church of the Open Door in Maple Grove on October 1st at 7:30.
Line up your babysitters now! :)

You can order your tickets by calling 877-840-0457 or else you can click here to order online.

If you're not in the Twin Cities, check out her concerts page for her future shows this fall and Christmas. They have shows in MD, NC, TN, FL, WA, WI, ND, CA

And I just found this interview with Sara talking about the new album. Enjoy!