job | recipe | summer | Uncategorized | workplace

Pinto Beans and Cornbread

By on June 29, 2013

All through college, I worked at Stone Mountain Park’s Historic Square as a southern belle. Hoop skirt and all!

I worked along side some pretty awesome people. One lady in particular I will never forget. We called her Miss Ruby. Miss Ruby was an older woman who could be a little intimidating at first, but once she decided she liked you, she’d baby you like the great southern mama and grand-mama that she was. I can’t remember how many children and grandchildren she had, but she always bragged about them – she was so proud of them all!

During the years that I worked with Miss Ruby, she’d always station herself in the cookhouse. She’d come in early in the morning and get a fire going in the hearth. Her star dishes were pinto beans and cornbread, cooked in cast iron in the fire of the cook house. Whoever was visiting the attraction that day could stop by and she’d give them each a small helping of pintos in a Dixie cup and a slice of cornbread on a napkin with a smear of butter.

I loved to stop by the cookhouse and have a taste too. It was the BEST afternoon snack in the middle of the summer. That salty/savory taste was just what I needed after sweating all day long in my period-appropriate dress and hoop skirt. The cookhouse had been updated with air conditioning, so I’d stand next to the air vent and let the cool air go right up my hoop skirt. Classy, right? Miss Ruby would give me a big helping of pintos and cornbread. I’d crumble the bread into the beans and dig in. Something about those salty beans and the buttery cornbread really hit the spot on hot summer days.

I decided on Monday that I wouldn’t be considered a true southern woman until I’d cooked some pintos and cornbread. I tried out Paula Deen’s pintos recipe (except I cooked mine on the stove) and the Pioneer Woman’s cornbread. Very tasty, but they didn’t compare to Miss Ruby’s.

 

Miss Ruby passed away when I was in college. She worked at Stone Mountain for many years and a few of us attended her funeral. There were so many people there – I know she was well-loved by all.

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babies | blogging | church | family | friends | fun | God | job | Uncategorized | work

Update

By on February 8, 2012

So other than the Italy posts, I’ve been really slacking on the blogging. Work’s been super busy, church has been keeping us busy, and life in general has been crazy!

Here’s a quick update:

1. I started taking violin lessons. 🙂 I played in the orchestra in middle school and high school and I was pretty good by the time I graduated. Since then, I’ve played a little here and there just for fun. And I’ve really missed it. So I did some Google-ing and found a place near my work that offers lessons to people of all ages. And I signed up! I’ve had 2 lessons so far (they’re once a week on Thursdays) and I’m loving it! I’ve been pretty good about practicing on my own too. Yay me! Hope I keep it up!!

2. Josh’s brother, Jordan, found out he’s going to be deployed to Afghanistan on Feb 16th. We went up this past weekend to spend time with him and the rest of Josh’s family before he leaves. We’ll all miss him while he’s gone. I know God will keep him safe while he’s there. But if anyone out in blogger world is reading this, please keep Jordan in your prayers. I’m also praying for Josh, his mom, dad, sister and brother. I know they’ll be having a hard time while Jordan’s gone.

3. Work has been SO BUSY. I know I haven’t really blogged about work recently. That’s because it’s been going really well. In fact…and it is so weird for me to be saying this…I actually LOVE my job now. And if you’ve read my early blog posts, you know that I’ve got a lot of…”baggage” that goes along with my career. But I’ve been in this position for over 2 years now, and I really like it. The people in my department are great – they respect me and support me. And I just feel so much more confident in myself and in my work. I’ve been debating going back and deleting some of my old posts about work. But part of me wants to keep them to show what I’ve been through and how I got to where I am now. I can’t decide…

4. My friend Kara is pregnant and due at the end of the month! We had a shower for her – it was a blast! I need to post some pics soon. Can’t wait to hold that little baby!

5. My niece had her 7th birthday. Can’t believe she’s already 7!!

6. My friend Erin is back home. This one’s a long story that I want to devote more time to with another blog post. So I won’t go into it here. But I’m glad she’s home! We’ve been spending lots of time together!

So yeah, I’ve been pretty busy. And I know it’s not going to slow down any time soon. But I’m loving life!!

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blogging | job | Uncategorized | work | workplace

Oops :)

By on August 19, 2011

Soooooo they blocked blogger at work….

And I’m pretty sure I’m the reason….

Oops. 🙂

I totally feel like I got in trouble.

But no one ever said anything. (Thank goodness!) They just blocked the site…

Oops. 🙂

I really only blogged during lunch or when I was taking a quick break…

Oh well. Live and learn. At least I didn’t get fired. 😛

-Holly

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God | job | Uncategorized | work | workplace

Work Hazards & Servant Leadership

By on August 3, 2011

I just got antibacterial hand gel in a paper cut – ouch! I have such a hazardous job. 🙂

It does remind me of the time I hurt myself pretty bad out at Stone Mountain where I used to work.

It was summertime. Maybe in ’06 or ’07. I was outside, working, doing my thing, talking to guests, etc, when it started to rain. I took shelter underneath a porch with a family of guests – a mom, a dad, and two little girls. It was really starting to pour, and it didn’t look like it was going to let up – it wasn’t a normal Georgia afternoon shower. The little girls were obviously getting bored…and I started to feel bad for them. I knew we had some toys in the breakroom, so I decided to take a chance in the rain and make a run for it to grab the toys. I took off my slipper-like shoes (didn’t want to ruin them!), hiked up my hoop skirt and off I ran!

All went well, until I was on my way back to the family, running like crazy, trying to get out of the rain. I slipped, but caught myself and didn’t fall. Score! My foot hit the side of the building, but I didn’t think anything of it. I got back to the family and showed the little girls the toys. We played for a little while…but then my foot started hurting…BAD. So I looked down – and I was POURING blood from part of my foot and my toe! “Oh my goodness, oh my goodness, oh my goodness. Don’t freak out…don’t freak out…” I didn’t want to scare the family, so I politely excused myself, and ran back out into the rain, and back into the breakroom.

I called my boss (a very kind woman who I’d know for a few years by then) and explained to her what had happened. She told me to come over to the farmyard (yes, there was a farmyard a this “unnamed attraction”) and she would bandage me up. (She used sterile items from the veterinary area of the farmyard.) So back out into the rain I went, limping all the way. When I got there, she sat me on a stool, washed my foot and bandaged me up. I didn’t get in trouble – she didn’t even lecture me about safety and the importance of wearing shoes at work.

But I learned my lesson. Don’t run in the rain. Especially barefoot. 🙂

 

Yep, that’s me – walking in the rain. At least I’m wearing boots!

Pretty amazing, hu? What boss do you know that would wash and bandage your nasty bleeding feet? I still think of how incredibly kind that was of her.

The company I work for is based in the principals of servant leadership. In fact, there’s a statue in our hallway of Jesus washing the feet of a disciple.

That day, my boss def took those principals to heart. I always think of her whenever I hear about servant leadership.

 

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