The Transy Kids "Spot Mandy McMillian" Snow Day Game
My friend and Transylvania classmate, Northern Kentucky native Mandy McMillian, is an actress. Quite a good actress, really. When we were freshmen at Transy, she knew what she wanted just as much as the future doctors and lawyers and teachers of the world. And, she's accomplished it. She thought outside the box and she's a singer and actress living in L.A. How awesome is that?
Since we're all snowed in, bored sick, and looking for something fun to do, here's a fun way to binge-watch with a mission. My fellow Transy alumni and I always have fun spotting Mandy on our favorite TV shows; it makes a really fantastic snow day "Spot the Kentucky Girl" game!
- Charmed, Season 8 Episode 1 "Still Alive and Kicking" (Streaming on Netflix): Front Row Patron
- The Unit, Season 1 Episode 2 "Stress" (Streaming on Amazon Prime): Pamela
- Gilmore Girls, Season 6, Episode 20 "Super Cool Party People" (Streaming on Netflix): Nurse #1
- Monk, Season 6 Episode 8 "Mr. Monk and the Wrong Man" (Streaming on Amazon Prime): Yvette
- House, M.D., Season 4 Episode 8 "You Don't Want to Know" (Streaming on Netflix): Nurse #1
- Mad Men, Season 1 Episode 13 "The Wheel" (Streaming on Netflix): Rita (LOVE this one; she's one of the jingle singers!)
- The Mentalist, Pilot (Streaming on Amazon Prime): Jenny
- How I Met Your Mother, Season 4 Episode 2 "The Best Burger in New York (Streaming on Netflix) : Waitress
- My Name is Earl, Season 4 Episode 14 "Got the Babysitter Pregnant" (Streaming on Netflix): Business Woman
- Criminal Minds, Season 4 Episode 15 "Zoe's Reprise" (Streaming on Netflix): Amber
- Lie to Me, Season 1 Episode 9 "Life is Priceless" (Streaming on Netflix): Woman
- HawthoRNe, Season 1 Episode 2 "Healing Time" and Episode 5 "The Sense of Belonging" (Streaming on Netflix): Nurse Marian
- Justified, Season 2 Episode 10 "Debts and Accounts" (Streaming on Amazon Prime): Winona's Lawyer
- Law & Order LA, Season 1 Episode 16 "Big Rock Mesa" (Streaming on Amazon Prime): Linda Manning
- Modern Family, Season 3 Episode 20 "The Last Wait" (Streaming on Amazon Prime): Francine
- Private Practice, Season 6 Episode 2 "Mourning Sickness" (Streaming on Netflix): Catherine
- The Client List, Season 2 Episode 8 "Heaven's Just a Sin Away" (Streaming on Amazon Prime): Wife #2
- Men at Work, Season 2 Episode 5 "The Good, The Bad & The Milo" (Streaming on Amazon Prime): Rhonda
- The Middle, Season 1 Episode 23 "Signals", Season 4 Episode 15 "Valentine's Day IV" and Episode 22 "Hallelujah Hoedown" (Streaming on Amazon Prime): Henry's Mom/ Miss Poltorak
- Shameless, Season 4 Episode 2 "My Oldest Daughter" (Streaming on Amazon Prime): Gena
- Bones, Season 10 Episode 4 "The Geek in the Gluck" (Streaming on Netflix): Jen Park
The Six People You Need to Forgive
Irreverin author Erin Wathen's Lenten reflections on forgiving yourself and others.
With Lent upon us, it's time for reflection. I love this post from my sorority sister Erin Wathen, a brilliant writer, Disciples of Christ minister, and the blogger behind Irreverin. A London, KY native and an alumna of Transylvania University and the Lexington Theological Society, Erin lives in Kansas City with her husband, Jeremy, their two young children, and a great little wonder dog named Van Halen.
Ah, the reject pile… No, not photos of people who got kicked out of new member class (KIDDING people, kidding. All means all). I’m talking about scraps of paper, stacks of notecards, and maybe complete folders: containing the anecdote or bit of commentary that didn’t make it into the sermon; the sermon that got started and never took off; Or the series idea that didn’t develop as fully as the OTHER series idea. But there it sits, all the same. Every preacher has this pile. Promise.
Other people might let their rejects go a little more easily than I do. But sometimes I just cannot abandon ‘that idea I had that one time,’ or ‘that thing I thought of as an image for that other thing…’ My system may be pretty sloppy, but it’s all there, somewhere. Waiting to be used again, someday.
In preparing for Lent this year, I started with about 5 different ideas for series. Only 3 of them were really viable. And then one, as I talked with other staff and worship team, clearly took on a life of its own. That’s the one you run with, obviously.
And yet… there’s this one that won’t leave me alone. I don’t know if it needs to be a blog series, a sermon series, a class/discussion group, or a someday book project. Maybe all of those things? But in the interest of getting it out of my head (because I’ve got other stuff to DO, y’all,) I thought I’d air it out here. See if maybe it will grow some legs of its own. Maybe some of you will take this on as your Lenten discipline? If you do, I would love to hear from you about the experience, and what resources would be helpful for you in the process.
It goes like this: who do you need to forgive? What are you holding onto that robs you of joy, drags you out of the moment, poisons your relationships… ultimately keeps you from living as fully and loving as deeply as you could? We could all come up with Six People We Need to Forgive, and maybe that process shapes up to some common life experiences that we can all relate to.
- The One Who Needs to Stay Out of Your Life. ANY time the Church, or someone speaking for the Church, talks about forgiveness, we need to make this one thing abundantly clear: JUST BECAUSE YOU FORGIVE SOMEONE, DOES NOT MEAN YOU HAVE TO HAVE THEM IN YOUR LIFE. Forgiveness is, first and foremost, for one’s own spiritual freedom. Yes, it might have redemptive value for the other person. But the Christian narrative has been used as the ammo of abusers for far too long; and especially in certain parts of the world (Southeastern Kentucky, anyone?) Domestic violence is spoken of, in certain circles, as the woman’s “cross to bear,” and Jesus calls her to “forgive has she has been forgiven,” and then Bubba says, “Baby, if you REALLY love Jesus, you have to love me too. Even if I’m not perfect.” Same goes for the children of abuse who hear that they must “honor their father and mother,” no matter what. It is time for the people of God to call b.s. on that business. Right now. Truth is, even if they are not physically abusive, some people are just not good for us. Being around them will always cause us pain, or cost us too much of ourselves. This conversation starts here: who is the person you need to keep a safe distance from… and how can you find a way to forgive/release them and move on, in a way that frees you up for God’s future plans for you?
- The One You Want to Keep. This person hurt you. They betrayed your trust, or bailed when you needed them. Or maybe, in some obscure (or precise) way, they turned out to be not who you thought they were. But the relationship still matters to you. They might be difficult for you to be around, but ultimately, they are worth some discomfort. Who is the person you want to stay connected with? How can you name what they did, and why it hurt you, and repair the relationship?
- The One Who Drifted. These are so hard to process, and so hard to move on from… Sometimes we just don’t even deal. But this person was deeply connected to you, at one time or another. And then you lost touch. You are completely mystified by the distance. Maybe they moved away, stopped calling, never return emails… At some point, you give up. But still, the lost connection is deeply painful. And the lack of closure is hard to reckon with. Who has been lost to you? What role might you have played in the separation? Is there a window to reconnect? If not, how can you find closure and move on, without resentment?
- The One You Don’t Really Know… With the advent of the 24-hour news cycle, the social media explosion, and our chronic connectedness to unfathomable depths of information… Most of the people who fill us with rage are people we will never meet in real life. Politicians. Terrorists. Anti-vaccers. Bloggers and mega-pastors from the ‘other’ camp than the one where you spend your time… Hey, that’s a lot of people right there. People you don’t know in real life, but you have demonized them, identified them with EVERYTHING THAT’S WRONG WITH THE WORLD, and in so doing—you have given them power over you. You might be right—they might be endangering the fragile fabric of human life and civilization—but being angry at them for always will fatigue your body and spirit. And what does it get you? Does your righteous anger really change the world? Identify one (or several) of these people; remember that they are just that –A PERSON—not evil personified. How can you focus your anger on the issue they embody for you…and then redirect that energy in a way that will affect real change?
- The One Who Never Forgave You. You were wrong, and you know it. You apologized. You TRIED to make things right. But. They still hold it against you. Maybe they are still in your life, maybe not, but none of your attempts at reckoning have ‘made right’ what you wanted to make right. You feel it is unfair, maybe even cruel, for this person to harbor such ill-will toward you still. OR, you know that your repeated attempts to reconcile might be harmful to them, and it is time to let them go. Is there anything else you can do or say that would help this person move on? If not, how can you make peace with the space that remains? What can you learn from this experience that will improve the quality of your other relationships?
- And finally—you knew this was coming—Yourself. Maybe you need to forgive yourself for a specific ‘thing’ that you said or did, or a particular trust that you broke. Maybe you need to direct that forgiveness towards a certain time in your life, or a missed opportunity… or some truth about yourself/way of being that you’ve never quite come to terms with. (This is deep and difficult stuff, and I would not try to broach it without bringing in outside resources.) Still and all… sometimes we can’t repair the relationship, release the painful pieces, or move into new life until we’ve reckoned with our own broken selves. Find the first thread to start pulling at… Where do you most need to give yourself grace? What did you learn from the experience or life phase? How would your life be different if you could let it go?
This may be a lifetime of spiritual, emotional and physical work that we are talking about. But sometimes, naming the person or experience can give us a fresh perspective, or a renewed energy for healing.
Meanwhile, what am I missing? What person/people don’t fit into these categories? What kinds of resources or gathering spaces might be the best support for this journey? What other voices do I need to include? Because me, I’m just over here asking questions.
Tell me what’s next…
Snow Day Shrimp and Grits Casserole
Easy shrimp and grits casserole recipe
Yesterday morning, we awoke to a whole lot of snow here in Louisville, and heard stories of far greater snowfall across the Commonwealth. As adults, we don't get to enjoy "Snow Days" quite as much as kids do. There isn't the same thrill of getting an unexpected day off -- in fact, my beau and I both worked from home. We did take some time out to enjoy our dogs' glee (a snowy yard is like Disney World for Labrador Retrievers!), and I made a shrimp and grits casserole worthy of a special day. The recipe I used was for a double batch, but it could be easily cut in half.
- 3 cups milk
- 3 cup chicken broth
- 1 two-pound bag Weisenberger Mills grits
- 8 oz shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 2 pounds peeled and deveined medium shrimp, coarsely chopped
- 6 slices thick cut bacon, cut into lardons
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 5-6 green onions, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 4 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
- Olive oil
- Kosher salt
- Freshly cracked black pepper
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Drizzle oil in bottom of dutch oven; put on medium-high burner. Add bacon pieces, turning occasionally, until browned. Toss shrimp in 1 tablespoon of cajun seasoning and add to dutch oven. Cook about 90 seconds on each side or until pink. Remove from heat to avoid further cooking.
- While bacon is browning, combine milk and broth in saucepan and bring to a boil. Add grits and garlic to pan. Stir constantly, cooking about 5 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in shrimp, bacon, and cheese. Add vegetables and remaining Cajun seasoning, salt, and pepper to taste.
- Pour into greased 11 x 15" baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes or until set.
So, What Do You Wear to a Barre Class?
Finding the perfect outfit to maximize barre fitness class results!
It's B.Fit February here at HerKentucky. I'm rehabbing a back injury with lots of help from the amazing team at B.You Fitness. I've also teamed up with B.You to let y'all know a little more about barre fitness classes and their amazing results. Last week, we did a basic rundown of the exercises you could expect to do in a barre class. Today, we'll discuss what to wear.
So, here's the biggest difference between barre class and any other class you've attended: you'll need special socks. Of course, you wear trainers to most "traditional" fitness classes and bare feet to yoga or Pilates. The poses you'll do in barre class require special, non-skid socks which are available for purchase at the studio. It works well to wear slip-on shoes (Ugg-style boots work well!) to make things easier.
As for clothing, you'll want to go with leggings, tank tops, or other close-fitting exercise garments. These allow a free range of movement and give your instructors a better idea of your form so they can easily make arrangements. B.You has a wide selection of clothing available for sale in each of their studios, and they can help you find a great workout outfit!
Of course, don't forget that you'll be inverted at times and moving around a lot, so you'll probably want to grab a hairband or ponytail holder to keep your hair pulled back.
Finally, remember to hydrate! Bring a water bottle with you to class; I promise you'll need it!!
Please join me throughout as I embark on a journey of fitness at b.you. I'll be posting every Monday to let you know how the classes are going, and you can keep up along the way on HerKentucky's Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Follow b.you on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram as well!
I hope to see y'all at b.you soon! They have two convenient locations here in Louisville: one in St. Matthews and one in Springhurst!
{This post is brought to you by b.you Fitness!}
Five Unique Ways to Celebrate Valentine's Day in Kentucky
Celebrate St. Valentine's Day with some Kentucky Favorites!
Love is in the air, y'all! Valentine's Day is tomorrow, and there are ways to celebrate within every budget. I've seriously seen advertisements here in Louisville for everything from a $300 prix fixe menu to a reservation-only dinner at the White Castle. This year, I'm seriously thinking about getting takeout from Feast BBQ in NuLu (Have y'all been there yet? It is seriously SOOO good) or a tray of chicken strips from Chick-fil-a. I'd far rather have a conversation, a nice meal, and maybe a glass of wine with my beau than fight the crowds.
Here are some other unique, off-beat, and thoroughly Kentucky-themed ways to celebrate St. Valentine and your loved one. I hope you have a great weekend filled with love and happiness!
Sundy Best Concerts: These are both sold out, but if you're lucky enough to come across a ticket, don't miss Floyd County's favorite country-rock duo live at Lexington Opera House (tonight) or the Mountain Arts Center (tomorrow). I've said it many times here on HerKentucky, but my hometown is so proud of these boys!
Nanz and Kraft/ Four Roses Flower Hour: Louisville's perennial florist (see what I did there?) and Lawrenceburg's traditional distiller team up to celebrate Roses (see what they did there?), bourbon, and love. For a $10 minimum donation to the American Heart Association, you can enjoy small bites, bourbon, and a visit with Four Roses' Master Distiller.
Visit the Louisville Stoneware Showroom: Have you been to Stoneware lately? I stopped in earlier this week to pick up a present, and it was all I could do to keep from leaving with all of these Valentine's Day-themed pieces. They're so cute and unique, and would be a fun way to make your special someone feel loved year-round.
Chocolates from Cellar Door: I'm kind of obsessed with these anatomically correct hearts. Of course, bourbon chocolates are always a welcome gift as well. Visit Cellar Door Chocolates at Butchertown Market or the Oxmoor Mall in Louisville.
Searching for Mary Todd Lincoln
Lexington's Mary Todd Lincoln House holds the key to the First Lady's personality.
When Sally Field was preparing for her role as Mary Todd Lincoln in the recent Lincoln biopic, the dynamic actress insisted on two trips to the historic Lexington home that bears Mrs. Lincoln's name --one tour of the house to capture the essence of the woman whom she was to portray, and one visit for her CBS Sunday Morning interview about the film.
Now, I've probably driven past the Mary Todd Lincoln house a hundred times in my life. The truth is, when you spend a lot of years studying and working in Downtown Lexington, you don't always give a whole lot of thought to the historic buildings. After a while, they all run together. The Hunt-Morgan House. Ashland. The Mary Todd Lincoln House. They all carry the names of Lexingtonians of eras past. They reflect the architecture and fashions of their era. But, when you've used Gratz Park for outdoor undergrad classes or quick runs with the dogs and the Thomas Morgan House is a place where you performed your alumna duty of serving punch at sorority rush parties, you haven't always taken the time to read the historical markers or undertake the tours. While I always knew that the Mary Todd Lincoln House was the home of our nation's Sixteenth First Lady, I've never taken time to visit it. It's just part of the downtown landscape, like Old Morrison or the 5/3 Building.
My friend and fellow "obsessive Kentuckian", Sarah Stewart Holland, wrote an essay here on HerKentucky about the moment when, while reading Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals, she first saw Lincoln as an empathetic and very human man rather than as a historically exalted leader. As I read Sarah's piece, I immediately thought of all the press surrounding Ms. Field's visits to Lexington. I did a little research about the Mary Todd Lincoln House and realized that, perhaps, Ms. Field was onto something. Maybe the home where Mrs. Lincoln spent her teen years is a key to her character.
The house located at 578 West Main, an elegant two-story 14-room brick home, was purchased by the Todds in 1832. The fashionable address -- at the time almost suburban -- reflected the family's growing prominence. Robert Todd, a businessman and politician, was the president of a local bank. Mary, the fourth of seven children, lived the life of a privileged southern belle. She attending boarding school during the week, and traveled home on the weekends. When Mr. Todd remarried, Mary disagreed with her stepmother and step-siblings. At 21, she was sent to Springfield, Illinois to live with her married sister Elizabeth. In Springfield, Mary won the affections of two promising young lawyers -- Stephen Douglas and his political rival Abraham Lincoln. Although Mary was known for her dramatic personality and disarming mood swings, her marriage to the penniless Lincoln shocked everyone back home in Lexington.
The Mary Todd Lincoln House, sitting serenely in the shadow of Rupp Arena, boasts a decidedly colorful past. Originally built as an inn, it was later converted to a private residence. It even served as the "bawdy house" where Lexington's most famous madam, Belle Brezing, first practiced her trade. In the 1970s, the house was restored (the first site restored to honor a First Lady) with many original antiques belonging to the Lincoln and Todd families. Its many -- sometimes shady -- incarnations seem a fitting tribute to a woman whose tumultuous personal life was marked with political victories and unimaginable family tragedies. The home's series of reinventions seems also to embody the very spirit of Downtown Lexington -- constantly evolving and rebuilding, with an eye toward the future and a deep respect for the city's history.
Why I'm Obsessed With Abraham Lincoln
The moment President Lincoln shifted from historical figure to real person for writer Sarah Stewart Holland
It's not because I'm a Kentuckian...well, it's sort of because I'm a Kentuckian.
I always loved Lincoln in an obligatory way. I knew he had saved the Union. I knew he had freed the slaves. I knew all the facts...including that he was BORN IN KENTUCKY. (I'm looking at you, Illinois.)
However, my interest never went beyond my interest in all historical figures. That is to say I liked him but I didn't love him. Until I read Team of Rivals.
Doris Kearns Goodwin's historical account of Lincoln's presidency and the men who filled is cabinet should be required reading for all Americans. She brilliantly takes this man - this character - out of the two-dimension story we all know and recreates the person he really was. Her central tenet being that Lincoln's strongest political asset was his incredible empathy. From the book:
"Though Lincoln's empathy was at the root of his melancholy, it would prove an enormous asset to his political career. 'His crowning gift of political diagnosis,' suggested Nicolay, 'was due to sympathy ... which gave him the power to forecast with uncanny accuracy what his opponents were likely to do."
The concept that the strength of this icon of American history was found in his sensitivities floored me. I loved the stories of him pardoning deserters and feeling a heavy sense of obligation to any citizen who crossed his threshold.
At the end of the book, with his assassination playing out in heart-wrenching detail I wept.
My husband sweetly pointed out I knew how the book ended before I started reading it.
However, I couldn't help myself. To fully appreciate the personal and political genius of Lincoln is to fully appreciate the tragedy of his death. Not to mention, I couldn't help but think how everything would have been different for the South had the Reconstruction been lead by Lincoln as opposed to his successors.
Everything I learned about Lincoln while reading that book was so inspiring my personal obsession was a foregone conclusion by the last page. Plus, realizing this man came from the same land I did made everything that much better.
~ Sarah Stewart Holland