More Oh-Eight Holiday Photos

Christmas Day Fun




The lights went out for about 4 hours on Christmas Eve, so Pappy made good use of his camping headlight to read bedtime stories to Drew...

Bye, Bye Oh Eight!

As I look back on 2008, what a wild ride! Life is full of peaks and valleys, and through it all, the Warmbrods were blessed to make some wonderful memories in 2008. Blaine had a great year at flag football and ended the season Super Bowl Champs. Drew learned to pedal his trike like a pro and potty trained. We spent 10 great days at Disney as a family.

And here are some holiday photos and other 2008 memories (more to come; I am posting pictures between client support calls):
Santa visited early this year and brought the boys new bikes!



Janey's new 2008 look- who knew all that gray was hiding under Clairol #36?

The new dining room was complete just before Thanksgiving- this furniture was in Tom and Audera's Brentwood dining room and it's been in our basement for over 2 years. I am very proud of my homemade drapes which really brought the room together.


And here are some shots of the Gatlinburg cabin where we spent Christmas:

2nd Grade Australia Presentation

Blaine is the bloke in the cowboy hat if you want to fast forward through some of this.

Janey's in the Brentwood Journal, this time she's not headless

Okay, so I am not very visible in my front page debut of the Brentwood/ Franklin Journal, but at least I don't appear headless like earlier this year. If you look just over the top of Rebecca's cap, I am about three people back in a tank top looking a little ghost like. Okay, so you'll have to click on the picture to make it larger if you are going to have ANY chance of seeing me.

My debut in the Brentwood Journal was earlier this year in June, where I appeared headless:
Click Here for Janey's Headless Debut in Brentwood Journal

It's obviously a long way down when you fall from the Nashville-Habitat-Board-Chair-Media-Darling status that I celebrated in 2007 with coverage like this (notice you actually see my face):


Bye, bye, fifteen minutes...

My Zumba Class in the Brentwood Journal Today

Here's a great article about my Zumba class in today's Brentwood Journal
Zumba Article
you can check out information on Rebecca's new venue at Rebecca's Zumba Website
Our favorite warm up right now is Pitbull's Krazy- check it out on itunes, it really fires up any workout!

Happy Holidays!

The boys kicked off the holidays by decorating their own trees for their rooms- they were so excited!!!

Abdominal Migranes

My niece has been hospitalized- throwing up for weeks. Here's her diagnosis- finally- and it's something that I have never heard of. This is from my brother:

As you all are aware, we are at TC Thompson Children’s Hospital in Chattanooga. The GI doctors have diagnosed her with Abdominal Migraines. I had never heard of this but it seems that children with family histories of migraines sometimes have vomiting and abdominal pain that is caused from the same thing that causes migraines in other people. It can be regulated with medication. They started the meds last night and let her eat supper and breakfast with no signs of nausea as of yet. If this pattern continues, we will be discharged to go home late this afternoon.

We all hope you feel better soon, Rachel!

Trick or Treat

Here's Drew ready for school this morning. He'll transform into Obi Wan for trick or treating tonight..

More Disney Photos

Tinker Bell in the most magical of places!

We earned our ears...

Lisa Marie is Turning Thir- ty!

Happy Birthday to the greatest baby sister of all times. Here's to all the late night "...Made Oklahoma" duets, the million times we watched the NKOTB concert, Dirty Dancing and Top Gun on VHS, the time I made you sniff red Kool Aid and thought that I had killed you, all the games of shark and syncronized swimming in the pool, watching Arsenio Hall late night with me on FOXX on the 18 inch with the antennae when we could only get six channels, the games of contract rummy, spoons and 'hand and foot', making up the 'Pammie's the boss' song with me to annoy the babysitter, sitting through all of the makeup applications and hairdoin', all the cheers we made up, and for doing equally crazy things with me as adults! Such as gangsta dancing at Zumba, Kidd Rock/ Cheryl Crow duets, Krystal and Chick Fil A runs, dressing up like Cows for free food, IQ pranks, bowling on Thanksgiving, movie appreciation classes at Dream Girls and In the Time of Cholera... I love you bunches!

Boom da Boom

Blaine's First Flag Football Game at Indoor Arena

It's hard to get a good action shot through the glass, but this is Blaine taking the long snap for his touchdown pass.

Blaine's team won their first game this season, outscoring their opponent 10 TDs to 1. Blaine was a little nervous at QB during the first half, but later settled in and drove the ball down the field with three pass completions to score his first time in the indoor arena. He is quite proud to be playing in the same indoor arena where Daddy plays. Here are some pictures and you can see the beautiful Williamson County sports arena which we are sooooo proud to get to play in...

Fresh from the Garden

I meant to blog this a few weeks ago- we had a box of fresh goodies from the family farm in Belvidere, TN and I cooked up a bit of veggie goodness. It's not how my grandmothers would have done it, but they would both be very proud! We were already grilling burgers, and I wanted to see what I could throw together with just the box of veggies and stuff from my stocked pantry/fridge. The menu was: Steak burgers with garden tomatoes and spinach, roasted tomato soup en croute, cucumber salad with carrots, dried cranberries, and candied walnuts in a homemade maple vinagrette. And traditional southern fried okra, which I forgot to photograph. Yummy!

I had to get the puff pastry for the soup from the grocer, but I had everything else on hand. The original soup recipe came from shape.com, but had to alternate most of the ingredients. My version had tomatoes, fresh garlic, sweet onion, butter, flour, chicken broth, brandy, italian spice, caribbean jerk spice and parmesan cheese with sour cream stirred in. (I have a lobster bisque recipe that calls for sherry, brandy AND white wine and I have learned that any soup is good with a splash of spirits, dahling)

The maple vinagrette recipe is from the Front Porch in Dickson, TN and it's WONDERFUL on a bed of mixed greens with apples, dried cranberries and candied walnuts. I keep my pantry stocked with the ingredients to whip up this salad just about anytime: I make candied walnuts about twice a year and store in an airtight container, keep dried cranberries on hand, and we always have apples around for the boys. Add a bag of mixed greens and voila!

Maple Dressing
1/4 c mayo
1/4 c pure maple syrup
3 T white wine vinegar
2 t sugar
1/2 c canola oil

Twins! The newest members of the Warmbrod household!

yes, our family has grown since my last blog entry...the twins have arrived! We haven't named them yet, but We have already begun the bonding process-I am blogging with one of them now! They are so adorable that Blaine & Drew haven't shown any signs of jealousy. Blaine loves playing games with them, and Drew begs to watch movies with them...I am adjusting to the demands- I find that I am much more distracted by the littlest things- it's a little overwhelming to be so accessible. One of the little guys accompanied Tommy on his biz trip this week. We'll keep everyone posted on our status as the bonding progresses.

Best Regards,
Janey W & Tommy W
The newest of the iPHONEatics

Our last family photo before 'the twins' arrived...

There's Only One

Tommy and I saw friends at the Blue Bird a few months ago and the entire group was fantastic. We were especially drawn to the tortured blue grass sounds coming from one Cruz Contreras. Follow this link and listen to There's Only One and other smokin' sounds from Mr. Contreras himself...

Drew's Medley

Drew sings his Sad Song, ABCs, This Little Light of Mine, and Five Little Monkeys (featuring Blaine).

Leona Lewis- Better in Time

My favorite workout cooldown song.... view it on this advertised site....

NAHFH MAKES LARGEST LAND PURCHASE IN AGENCY HISTORY

As many of you know, I was honored to server as Nashville Habitat Chairman of the Board in 2007, and currently serve on the Executive Committee in the office of Immediate Past Chair. It's my 7th and final year on the Board, my 6th year on the Executive Committee, and I can't put into words how this announcement thrills my soul....the incredible happens when we step out together, as a community, in faith.

"Most people see what is, and never see what can be." Albert Einstein

Adding to the excitement of yesterday's announcement, HCA added the icing on the cake:
HCA chairman Jack Bovender made a surprise announcement on behalf of the HCA Foundation with a $200,000 challenge grant to build community parks in Nashville Area Habitat neighborhoods. Mr. Bovender challenged other organizations and companies to join the HCA Foundation in funding public spaces where neighbors can connect and children can play without fear. This is a very exciting development for our Crossing the Threshold capital campaign — one that will encourage the Nashville community to come together to Help Build It!


NAHFH MAKES LARGEST LAND PURCHASE IN AGENCY HISTORY
200+ acres provides for up to 450 energy-efficient, affordable homes
for more than 1,500 family members

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (August 5, 2008) – Nashville Area Habitat for Humanity announced today the purchase of 200+ acres of land for the agency’s next Habitat community, to be called Park Preserve. Representatives from HCA and its foundation joined in the announcement, and Mayor Karl Dean spoke about the importance of affordable housing to our Nashville community’s wellbeing. The agency recognized Pinnacle Financial Partners as the financial services partner that made this purchase possible.

It’s the largest land purchase in agency history and will more than double the number of Nashville Area Habitat homeowners (from 350 this fall to more than 800 by 2016). In keeping with its growth strategy, the 200+-acre Park Preserve property was purchased this year so that the property will be ready for development in 2009. Construction will take place in phases beginning in 2010. Initial funding for the purchase will be provided by Nashville Area Habitat’s Crossing the Threshold capital campaign, which launched its community phase in June.

Longtime agency partner HCA has had a vital role in the agency’s growth over the past six years (see page 3 for details). Today HCA demonstrated its continued commitment to Nashville Area Habitat with the announcement of a second 2008 home sponsorship, to involve seven Nashville area TriStar Health System hospitals in September.

Located in northern Davidson County near the agency’s Timberwood community, which is currently under construction, Park Preserve will provide land for up to 450 homes for more than 1,500 hardworking, low-income family members. More than 112,000 volunteers will help build Park Preserve between 2010 and 2016. When Park Preserve is complete, the taxable value of the land will have grown from $2.2 million to approximately $65 million.

Park Preserve Timeline:

May 2008 -- Land purchase
July 2009 to March 2010 -- Phase I land development
September 2010 -- Begin construction of 34 houses for Phase I
2016 -- Park Preserve completed, home to 450 families (approx. 1,500 family members)

Like all Nashville Area Habitat communities, Park Preserve will have homeowners’ association, open space and community parks. Additionally, Park Preserve will have community gardens and approximately 58 acres of primitive wilderness park with an extensive trail network connecting the community with existing neighborhoods.

All homes in Park Preserve will be Energy Star certified, and Nashville Area Habitat is considering alternative methods of heating, cooling and electrical power generation for the neighborhood.

There are several natural and man-made streams on the property. Nashville Area Habitat will be restoring these streams to enhance the community’s natural setting. Park Preserve is an expansive project, not only because it serves the Nashville community by providing 450 additional affordable homes, but also because Park Preserve will be a viable, responsible and affordable housing development.

It will incorporate LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards to maximize existing topography, minimize impact, and use the best available technologies to create an energy-efficient, affordable community for Nashville’s hardworking, low-income families. Park Preserve’s design will incorporate the existing terrain of man-made wetlands, streams, elevation changes, rocky areas and tree-covered hills in order to create a pleasant, cost-effective and environmentally conscientious community development.
About Nashville Area Habitat for Humanity (NAHFH)
NAHFH is a non-profit, ecumenical Christian organization committed to providing families with the life-changing opportunity to purchase and own decent, affordable homes. The agency consistently ranks in the top one percent of all Habitat affiliates and has grown by seven times in size since 2002. The agency built a record 55 homes in 2007 -- 40 locally and 15 abroad. To date, more than 1,200 family members, including 800 children, were served by NAHFH. Prior to becoming homeowners, Habitat partner families must complete up to 475 hours of "sweat equity" at the build site and in the classroom to earn their homes. Mortgage payments at zero percent interest range between $350 and $500 per month, including taxes and insurance. NAHFH builds ENERGY STAR certified energy-efficient homes. To request an application or to receive more information about NAHFH, call 615-254-HOME (4663) or visit www.habitatnashville.org. For information on Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity go to www.hud.gov/offices/fheo or call the local HUD office at (615) 736-5600.

###


About HCA’s longtime partnership with Habitat for Humanity:

• HCA was instrumental in Habitat’s securing the land for the agency’s first model affordable housing community, Providence Park. (HCA leadership was instrumental in introducing land donor Centex Corporation to the Nashville Area Habitat for Humanity.)
• CEO Jack Bovender challenged community leaders to sponsor 10 homes in Providence Park in it’s first full year (2004) build season.
• HCA Foundation funded the construction of a $300,000 public park in Providence Park, built by Habitat and then donated to Metro Parks in 2006 to serve the Paragon Mills community.
• HCA has been an outstanding partner with the NAHFH and has continued to help fund the agency’s work – 11 houses in 7 years while also building 40 homes nationally with Habitat for Humanity International.
• HCA Foundation contributed $500,000 toward the land purchase and development as part of the Crossing the Threshold capital campaign for Habitat. Mr. Bovender serves on the Crossing the Threshold capital campaign steering committee.
• HCA has a long history of building homes for low-income people in markets where HCA has capital investments over $3MM.
• These actions are in keeping with the first line of the company’s mission: “Above all else, we are committed to the care and improvement of human life.” HCA just celebrated its “40 Years of Caring” anniversary in honor of caring for their patients, their colleagues, and their communities.
• More than 10,000 HCA staff members have contributed more than 80,000 hours since 2000 to help families build better lives through homeownership.
• HCA challenged NAHFH to mobilize community volunteers, and in the past six years the agency has worked with more than 50,000 volunteers to build better lives through homeownership.
• HCA has been a very important partner in the growth of Nashville Area Habitat for Humanity and the agency’s ability to serve more than 1,270 families – including more than 800 children -- with the life-changing opportunity to own a home.

Squatters!

Little Darlings made themselves quite cozy in Mommy & Daddy's bed- Drew's even settled in for some quiet reading time! In May, we moved the antique black walnut Lillian Russell bedroom suite that we inherited from sweet Aunt Tee to the master bedroom. We are so in love with it- it's like settling in at a cozy bed and breakfast every evening! Little Drew refers to it as the 'new bed'. My great-grandmother's antique sewing machine serves as a bedside table to the right of the bed.

July Zoo Trip

Happy 1st Birthday, Matthew! See our Zoo Trip Photos Here.

Skate Park Newbies

Blaine and Joe got their kicks at skate park camp this week. Here's a highlight film- the special effects don't translate well to youtube, but you get the idea...Blaine is in blue, Joe is in red.

Independence Day

No pictures from this week as I was busy with the little one- it was 'Potty Camp Week' for Drew. He's 2 years and one month old which is about a month ahead of where big brother settled in on the throne. He graduates potty camp today and heads off to baby school tomorrow equipped with his new life skill. He's 100% trained now and the only little hurdle is that he's apparently a 'stand up pooper' which doesn't really work outside of the world of diapers. As I said before, potty training is not great blog material, but you gotta take the good with the bad, folks...cut a girl some slack...

We hit the pool a few times last week as well, watched some grande fireworks shows, frequented a Brentwood backyard BBQ or two. Tommy and Blaine cranked the mountain biking up a notch or two this weekend with some half pipe excursions in an undisclosed location. And thank you very much- I performed a couple of aerial flips on the Wigand's new trampoline for the kids just to prove that momma's still got it. Icing on this week's cake- we dusted off and hooked up Tommy's original ATARI game in the basement and it's good as new.

Boys

6am Saturday Morn- Drew must drink his milk on the floor beside cousin Matthew. Zachary monitors 'the babies.'
You can rock a scarf, hat, and fingerless gloves during a heat wave if you're cool enough, baby.

Drew sports these out of season goodies from Disney Outlet- each piece was .99 so I stocked up for winter.

Mommy Cakes

Ever want to curl up on the couch with a sinfully delicious, molten center chocolate cake at the end of a long day?

We relax with this delicious little dish at least once a week. This is our family’s favorite chocolate dessert and it comes from Cooking Light Magazine. We call them Mommy cakes. Before finding this recipe, I searched for a molten center cake recipe for years. They all seemed way complicated- including this one, at first glance. After breaking it down, I found it was easy, affordable, and hits the spot like nothing else I’ve ever made.

The recipe is below, but here’s a breakdown of what you need:

You probably already have these staples on hand: sugar, milk, butter, flour, salt, vanilla extract, eggs, cooking spray.

Add these items to your list of staples and you’ll be ready to make these cakes anytime the craving hits: Unsweetened Cocoa, Unsweetened chocolate squares, semisweet chocolate chips. I use Hershey’s cocoa, Semi-sweet Baker’s chocolate squares, and Publix generic brand chocolate chips.

You will also need four 2-ounce ramekins. As an alternative, you can use a regular-sized muffin pan.

Recipe:
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
¼ cup 2% reduced-fat milk (I use fat free milk)
2 T plus 2 tsp. unsweetened cocoa

1 ½ T butter
½ ounce unsweetened chocolate, chopped

(almost) ½ cup flour
Splash vanilla extract (1/2 tsp)
Shake of salt (1/8 tsp)
1 egg white

4 easy handfuls semisweet chocolate chips
A few sprinkles of sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Slice butter a bit and set aside with your chopped chocolate.
3. Combine sugar, milk, cocoa in small saucepan on medium heat, stirring well with whisk. Cook until sugar dissolves, stirring constantly (a couple of minutes). Remove from heat and immediately stir in butter and chocolate from step #2.
4. Cool mixture 10 minutes. Use this time to lightly coat ramekins w/ cooking spray. Sprinkle a bit of sugar in each ramekin, shaking and turning to coat. Place ramekins on a cookie sheet for baking.
5. After the 10 minute cool down, add flour, vanilla, salt and egg white to chocolate mixture, stirring with a whisk just until blended.
6. Spoon 2 T chocolate mixture in each ramekin. Top each ramekin with a handful of chocolate chips. Divide remaining chocolate mixture evenly among ramekins, spreading to cover the chocolate chips.
7. Bake at 350 for 18 minutes (I bake at 14 minutes in my convection oven).
8. Serve warm.
9. Refrigerate any remaining cakes. You can pop them in the microwave for 20 minutes the next night for another molten center treat!

Happy Slumber Party Birthday Blaine!

Happy Father's Day, Daddy-O!

This video opens with scenes from Father's Day 2003- Blaine's birthday fell on Father's Day that year, and it falls on Father's Day again this year. How well he could say "I going up stairs" and "Happy Father's Day" on his second birthday!...All other recorded scenes are of Drew and Blaine from this week. Although Drew's not quite as far along verbally at age two, catch him getting his groove on with lyrics to 'Intergalactic Planetary' at the end.

We love Daddy very much and hope you enjoy this little tribute to our Daddy-O.

My, My Mr. Sprintz Looks Comfy!

My, My Mr. Sprintz looks comfortable! Check out the article in yesterday's Tennessean on the Habitat Homestore- thank you Ms. Cheap! http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008806120301

Blaine & (Headless) Janey Debut in Brentwood Journal Today

You can find a full color shot of Blaine on page four of today's Brentwood Journal. This shot was made at his school on business day- I blogged about it earlier this year. He's busy selling surprise bags along side Elizabeth and Ellie. It's my first 'headless' debut as well and all I can say is thank heaven for all of the waistline work in Zumba class and the placement of Ellie Seckman's cutie pie little head. For those Winchester types who look closely, you'll notice Blaine's circa 1979vintage Jenning Jeweler's t-shirt from the Tommy Warmbrod Attic Collection.

Iron Sharpens Iron at My Latest Remote Office...

This week, Blaine is in sports camp at D1....I have set up a remote office of sorts in the bleachers- check out my remote D1 office here. D1 has a complimentary hotspot for hybrid moms like me and the random techie athlete. Armed with my laptop and cell phone, I can do just about anything my business demands with some modifications-I take client calls outside the building and I have yet to attempt a gotoassist from the stands. Being ever so resourceful, I took over an outlet near the water fountain to juice up when the old batteries get weak. Surprising how much more productive I am with the music pumping through the speakers and with athletic types timing 40s and pumping iron around me.

Habitat Nashville Timberwood Development Comes to Life!

Sixteen houses in Timberwood, the second All-Habitat-Nashville Neighborhood, were dedicated earlier this year. I absolutely love the new bungalow designs, and wanted to share these beautiful shots on my blog. Congratulations to all of the new homeowners!

Friends at the Blue Bird

JAY CLARK, JIMMY DAVIS, JED ZIMMERMAN, and CRUZ CONTRERAS
Bluebird Cafe
Tuesday, June 10
Doors open at 5:30pm
Showtime at 6pm
Visit www.bluebirdcafe.com for reservations

Friend Jay Clark put this round together. He will be in the round with Memphis songwriters Jimmy Davis and Jed Zimmerman and his friend Cruz Contreras.