Our Pride and Joy

Today we took some time to write a special letter to our Compassion child, Estiven. We called him "Yordi" for about a year-and-a-half until his mother corrected us in the last letter we received. Oops. I'm sure all parents go through that phase where you call your kid the wrong name. I was called "LaJennifer" for several years of my life (combo Elizabeth + Jennifer). Yordi, I mean Estiven, I feel your pain.

Our lil punkin "calabasa" is growing up so fast! We were matched with Estiven when he was only 4 years old, and he's going to be SEVEN in March! We decided it would probably be quite meaningful if we wrote him this month en espanol. Hopefully he's starting to read and write at this age, so he might get to actually read our letter! (My ever-talented twin, whom some of you might know as 'the prettier one,' Elizabeth, is VERY FLUENT in Spanish, so she translated our whole letter! Spanx, mi jimela!)  I love taking time out to encourage him through words and adoration. Even though we've never met Estiven, I feel like we could immediately start goofing around the first minute we met- kicking around a soccer ball, eating suckers, drawing pictures, playing tag. If the picture of him is correct, he has silver caps on his teeth, which might just mean we've got an adventuresome punk on our hands (or, one who enjoys sugar and doesn't brush enough. probably more likely...)! Either way, I know we have a lot in common with Estiven. His mama in the USA LOVES sugar, and his dad in the USA probably could knock out someone's teeth with the fell swoop of a kayak paddle. A match made in heaven. Estiven, podemos ver creces a ser un joven muy guapo, responsable, e inteligente!

Otherwise, today was a pretty normal day. You know, filling out the 2010 Census, watching the XGames for 8 hours (in preparation for our own version of the XGames in less than a week), steak dinner, etc. Wait. Scratch the part about "normal day." Really, we've been a bit off kilter for the past three days. Too... much... snow....

I've found one way to stay warm with all the snow on the ground is to stay huddled by the stove and oven. And, of course, they must be on. Nextly, said appliances must be cooking or baking something with butter and sugar to provide enough heat to fill the house. It's simple science, people. I have managed to bake my way through several sticks of butter over the past few days. Hips don't lie! It's getting a little brisk in here, so I better go fire up the cast iron skillet.

Snowed In

Well, it's no longer late spring. Our garden is a thing of the past. In fact, it's winter. Full-fledged winter. We have about half a foot of snow on the ground right now and we're cuddled up in front of the fire. Please excuse the absence. We realize the ol' blog got a little rusty over the summer and fall months. Allow me the efficiency of a bullet-point list to explain what happened over the last 6 months:

* Trip to Colorado for some gnarly kayaking (Jake) and picture-esque wildflower scenes (Jennifer). God bless Claritin D.
* Harvesting of, oh, 2,000,000 butternut squash
* Small renovations on the farm house
* Completion of South and Fourth Street project
* SALE of South and Fourth Street project
* Weddings, weddings, wedding, and then we went to a wedding
* Sad, yet much-needed departure from farm house
* Condo living at "the most prestigious address in NWA"... yeah, not so much.
* 2nd Christmas for the record books as Mr. and Mrs. Newell = camping gear and new pots and pans (I'll let you guess who got what)
* 3 more lots under contract for Swiftwater Development
* Personal lot under contract for our first home. Definitely the most prestigious address in NWA.

And... we're up to speed. Actually, to be completely up to speed, you should know we're currently cuddled up to a warm fire watching Varsity Blues. Jennifer actually hasn't ever seen the movie. What a shame. The script alone is simply mind-blowing. "Let's go, let's go, let's go!" Speaking of which, better go for now.

The Camera's Back In Action!!!

And what else do I choose to take pictures of with my newly-charged camera?

EL JARDIN!!!

If you've been following this blog since it's conception, then you will barely recognize this 10x5ft rectangle of gloriousness you're about to witness. Or, if you're just reading this for the first time, you can just scroll back to a few weeks ago in the posting history and see the tiny little garden, just waiting for a good rain...

Holy mole, this is the garden that lives and grows on Featherston Road


Attack of the killer butternut squash!!!!


Jake thinks I'm feeding him leaves off the tree. Really, it's just spinach!!


The cauliflower that refuses to produce a vegetable. I might have accidentally planted elephant ears...


This is where the cauliflower is supposed to live, right here in the middle. I think. Does is grow underground or something??


'maters. Mr. Stripey, to be exact.


Bibb lettuce. Yum-o!


This critter has been eating marigolds, thankfully.


Speaking of marigolds...



Everyone that lives in my house is afraid of this weed.

Point taken, weed. We will avoid you at all costs. But, one day your ticket will be up and we will buy a weed-eater and blow you to smitherines. You have just been warned.


And, last but not least, the anatomically correct baby bell pepper. Jake giggled when I showed him this picture. I have no idea why.


Other veggies growing are onions, green beans, okra, and cucumbers. I just didn't want to overload everyone with images (a.k.a. bore our audience with something only I find fascinating...)

Next on the blog post will be updates on Jake's jobsites. After these messages, we'll be ri-ii-iight back.

Food: revised.

Over the past several days I've had some revelations about food. Not revelations, really. I'm sure people have been trying to tell me this my whole life.

Firstly (yes, it's a word, ask Ms. Sisemore), I will admit that my will power reaches into negative numbers on a daily basis, probably because I'm always hungry. Also, I have the supernatural ability to justify any food product as "not that bad for me." I see nothing wrong with eating two 100-calorie packs daily. It's only 200 calories, right? Extrapolate that methodology over a life time and we're not looking too good. I fully understand. Plus, I'm a character of convenience. Seriously, how convenient are semi-sweet chocolate morsels? And they're so small, it's like not even eating anything at all. See... there I go again with the justifying.

Secondly, I had an "epiphery" (as Michael Scott would say) while driving by Six Flags Over Jesus. The epiphery has nothing to do with Jesus or Michael Scott or theme parks. My co-worker Carol recently gave me a stack of magazines on a various assortment of home improvement/fine living topics. I was contemplating the evolution of magazine reading I've experienced in my lifetime. I used to read the teenie-bopper magazines like Seventeen and Teen and others. I scoured the pages looking for trendy outfits and hairstyles. Rachael from Friends hairdo, anybody? I took all the boyfriend-finder tests and personality tests the magazines offered. I studied the twiggy models with airbrushed upper thighs and plunging necklines. Their hair was straight and blond, and their legs were the length of my whole body. They probably had a diet consisting of saltines and baby carrots. And, in my 13-year-old mind, that was beauty. I am 25-years-old and it didn't hit me until yesterday that I had digested lies for the most character and self-image-forming years of my life.

Now I realize I've got a big messy self-perception on my hands. I've got to somehow figure out how to continue my love affair with food while re-learning what "healthy" and "pretty" mean. It could be worse. I could be 50-years-old and still think that I'm the only woman on the planet with cellulite. Luckily, I've got one swell husband who thinks I hung the moon and looked beautiful doing it. He would tell me I was beautiful while covered in cow dung, with no hairspray or under eye concealer. Maybe... eventually... someday I'll believe him.

In the process, or should I say, Thirdly, I've stumbled upon a really inspiring website/blog thing. I've never met the lady and have no idea where's she from, though I assume it's somewhere flat. Lately The Pioneer Woman is rocking my world. Everyone [read: Every woman] really needs to give her website a good once-over.

In the meantime you will find me briskly walking through neighborhoods near you, growing vegetables, eating vegetables (and anything else with calories, in proportion, of course), and slowly rewriting the correlation between food and beauty in my mind.

Memorial Day Weekend Extravaganza with The Newell's

Boy-oh-boy do we have some pictures to share! Well, they're all from Jennifer's trip to Chicago... but, pictures none the less!

We had a great time catching up with Grams and the Fam in Little Rock for Andrew's graduation from Pulaski Academy. Andrew was awarded the prestigious Christopher Michael Toulson award during the graduation ceremony for his all-around greatness. Seriously- athletics, brains, faith- you name it. He's got it. I'm telling ya, UCA is getting a great kid! We also took a walk across the Big Dam Bridge with Grams and the Fam, and we ate more meat than Jake and I eat in a normal quarter-year. Jake complained of swolen fingers all weekned :-)

Saturday morning Jennifer took an early flight to Chicago, arriving in the windy city at 8:35am. This left her with a WIDE open day of exploring. She's really good at exploring. (OK, I'm tired of writing in third person...) After riding the L-train Orange Line to the hotel, I checked my bags and hit the streets. Note: wear shoes with arch support next time I plan to walk around a city for two days straight.

I noticed that my hotel was a mere block from Millenium Park, but I saved those sights for Sunday. I spent Saturday browsing Michigan Ave, treating myself to a mani/pedi, bought some new shoes, and watched a bronze statue cowboy come to life and scare passers-by.

Then, as luck would have it, I stumbled upon the Chicago Memorial Day Parade! Otherwise known as the "Welcome to Chicago, Jennifer!" parade.



Some of numerous sights to be seen at the parade were Col. Sanders, nuns video-taping the parade, and a Saudi Arabian family enjoying the freedom we were celebrating.







Flora and Chris' wedding was absolutely FABULOUS! She's so creative! Flora's sister Ana did a great job with the coordinating of events and set-up. They thought of every detail! I wish I could have taken better pictures, but here are a couple of shots:

Fourth Presbyterian Church, downtown. Simple decorations of white and pale yellow hydrangas and tulips on candle aisle-markers were all this beautiful cathedral needed!


Mr. and Mrs. Chris Anderson!


People gathered outside the church and blew bubbles as they exited to the trolly, which took everyone to the reception. I overheard some people walking by on the sidewalk and they were convinced that the bride was Penelope Cruz. They were way off... Flora is much more beautiful than Penelope!


Her dress was very unique. You can't see it in this picture, but the dress had a large ruffled colar, almost Elizbethian-esque. Lots of detail in beading and embroidery, with a lace and buttoned back. The best part, she looked exactly like she always looks... just like Florita!


The reception was held at a Flatwater Restaurant, right on the Chicago River. As we waited for the wedding party to arrive after pictures we had a coctail hour on an open-air deck where huge yachts were anchoring. The tablescapes were soft and simple, with candles and fluffy flowers. Sr. Saldivar (Flora's dad) even hired a mariachi band to serenade the bride and groom! The food was excellent, including the coconut-flavored wedding cake! It was a wonderful celebration!! I'm so honored to have been invited to share in their special day!


Since my flight didn't leave until 5:45pm on Sunday, I had yet another day of exploring! I think I probably walked about 5 or 6 miles around the city. I discovered Millenium Park and all of it's reflective goodness.




To cap off the weekend, I took a jaunt down the lake shore to the Field Museum of Natural History. I HEART museums! When else in life can you stand two feet from a zebra or gaze into a mummy's coffin? I tried to avoid the flying animals section of the museum, but accidentally stumbled upon this horrifying exhibit, which solidified my fear and distate for birds:

Jake and I came to conclusion that both of our weekends would have been much better if we were together, though :( I would have loved to see his face when he heard we were WALKING to the Field Museum. While he was soaking in family time, I was soaking in the windy city.

Next item on the agenda: Spring Time Float Trip! It must happen and it must happen soon!

(p.s. If you like our blog, leave comment already!)

Rain Makes Newells Happy

I have to say that rain makes the Newells happy. My wifes amazing garden is doing great (as seen in the pic below this post) and I get to head to the rivers.

Late apil and early may brought some great rain to the ozarks. I have an amazing wife who puts up with me getting up at 4am to check river levels and rainfall amounts and then lets me disapear to the rivers and creeks of arkansas. This pic is from Long Devils falls which is a creek that feeds Richland creek. This pic was taken on an amazing day. I had the pleasure of running richland creek with my friend Ben Rodda from Eureka Springs. Ben and I hiked up Long Devils Creek with another crew of boaters from across the state and all had great runs off the falls. Long devils falls is better known from Tim Earnst waterfall picture books.

a little catching up to do

It has come to our attention that the "punny" title of our blog has been lost on a vast majority of our readership. Let me explain: According to dictionary.com a newel post is "a post supporting one end of a handrail at the top or bottom of a flight of stairs." Think Chevy Chase's National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation- chain saw scene at the top of the stairs. If you add an extra "L" on the end of newel, you have our last name. Further, The Saturday Evening Post was a newspaper founded in 1728 by Benjamin Franklin.

"The story of The Saturday Evening Post begins with Benjamin Franklin’s Pennsylvania Gazette, first published in 1728, and became known as The Saturday Evening Post in 1821. Initially it was four-page newspaper with no illustrations that daringly tackled political controversy. [Eh, not so much...] In 1839, editor George Rex Graham dedicated the publication to morality and various commercial interests [That's Us!]. By 1855 the Saturday Evening Post had an impressive circulation of 90,000 copies per year."

Put the two play-on-words together and what do you get? The Newell Post.

Phew, I'm glad I got that off my chest.

Now, onto real news:

Jake's South Fayetteville Project in ca-hoots with Urban Redevelopment Group and his development company Swiftwater, LLC is really taking off! Here's the architect's latest rendering:

They hope to break ground in a few weeks, with shock-and-awe soon to follow, as the "urban bungelow" is introduced to the architecture of South College & Fourth Streets. We can't wait to show off the interior floor plans because they will rock your world. The exteriors are going to be really unique, and incorporate welcoming porches, metal siding and roofs (which last like 100 years and are great insulators), and lots of curb appeal. Obviously, the preceding text was all composed by Jennifer- hence, the lack of general contractor vocabulary.

On the Jennifer-front there's not much new. Except, oh, wait, the GARDEN!!!! Ok, this photo was taken last week, so imagine exponential growth in the squash quadrant of the garden (bottom left corner of photo).

(yes, we're still taking pictures with my camera phone. penny-penchers, what can we say?)

You'll also notice a wonderful spattering of color around the border. Jennifer planted marigolds to deter rabbits. A recent photo would show the marigold flowers devastated and devoured by the rabbits, leaving no colorful border. But, the spinach and lettuce have been spared! Okra, beans, and cucumbers will be introduced to the 10x5 plot of gloriously growing garden later today.

This weekend we're off to travel the globe. A.K.A.- we're going to Little Rock to celebrate the Class of 2009's exodus from Pulaski Academy. Andrew, Jake's youngest brother, will shift his tassel to the left side on Friday night and head to the University of Central Arkansas next fall. As a member of the recruiting team at John Brown University, I must admit my defeat by not luring Andrew to Siloam Springs... but UCA is getting one heck of a guy. Look out ladies of Central Arkansas! We'll also have time to catch up with Stephen (middle brother of Jake) who will be home from the Air Force Academy and Grams, coming in from Ft. Worth. Then, Jennifer will jump a jet plane up to Chi-town to celebrate her tiny-roommate-from-college's wedding. This is going to be a fab-tab-u-lous wedding, for sure. Pictures from the weekend's extravaganza to follow!