My Background

There's always just a little something that I like to share about myself that no one ever seems to know about me. My family comes from two totally opposite backgrounds. As you can see here: my father is African American

And here is my mother. I get my light skin tone from her obviously.

I do resemble both my mother and father, just in different ways. I think that it's pretty neat to come from different backgrounds. There are a lot of differences coming both from my mother and father but it just makes my life interesting. The most interesting thing about coming from two different backgrounds is the ways that my sides of the family interact with each other. Since my mother and father are divorced, I am

I spend the holidays with both sides of my family, rather than all together at once. During get togethers with my dad's side we're always playing card games, our favorite one to play together is Phase 10.

Since I live with my mom, our get togethers are pretty much everyday and our most favorite thing to do together is make cookies or chocolate covered pretzels.

Although I do not have any famous people in my family that I am aware of, it's always nice to share the different traditions that my family has together.

Ride a Horse, Doing my own laundry

Riding my horse was definitely one of my favorite things to do when I lived in the country.

Yes, I do my own laundry sometimes. Not very often.

Family History and Traditions

I have many family traditions as far as making a special dish at all of my family gatherings. Since my dad's side of the family is from Birmingham, AL, my dad always makes a special dish called crawfish pie. Unfortunately, I was unable to bring some to share with the class because this is a dish that only my father or grandfather can master. We call this "comfort food"

 

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter

1 cup chopped onions

1/2 cup chopped bell peppers

1/2 cup chopped celery

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup chopped, seeded, and peeled tomatoes, or 1/2 cup chopped canned tomatoes

1 pound crawfish tails

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup water

1/2 recipe Basic Savory Pie Crust

On my mother's side of the family, our tradtional food dish is a much simpler food to make. My mom is famous for her green bean casserole and that's her main dish every Thanksgiving and Christmas. I enjoy making this dish with my mom, but I can't make it without her

 

Sam Houston Memorial

Sam Houston "The Raven" (1793-1863) One of the most colorful and controversial figures in Texas history, Sam Houston was born in Virginia on March 2, 1793. He spent much of his youth, however, in the mountains of Tennessee. There, young Houston became acquainted with the Cherokee Indians, and he spent much time with them, an activity which he much preferred over studies or working on the farm. With the outbreak of the second war with England, Houston enlisted as a private soldier, and was made sergeant of a company. He excelled in the military and quickly won the admiration of his men and his superiors. After receiving three near-mortal wounds at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, he rose to the rank of first lieutenant before resigning in 1818 to study law. After a short time, he was admitted to the bar and practiced in Lebonon, Tennessee before running for public office. He sought and won public office and was elected to the US Congress in 1823 and again in 1825. In 1827, Houston was elected Governor of Tennessee by a large majority. While governor and after a brief marriage that ended unfavorably, Houston quietly resigned from Tennessee politics and returned to live with his longtime friends, the Cherokees. There, he remained until 1832 when he moved to Texas along with a few friends. In Texas, Houston was elected delegate from Nacogdoches to the Convention of 1833 which met at San Felipe. From that time, Houston emerged as a prominent player in the affairs of Texas. In 1835 he was appointed general of the military district east of the Trinity. He became a member of the Consultation of 1835, and of the Convention which met at Washington on the Brazos in 1836 to declare independence from Mexico. It was there that Houston was elected commander-in-chief of the armies of Texas. Houston immediately took control of the Texas forces after the fall of the Alamo and Goliad, and conducted the retreat of the army to the site of the Battle of San Jacinto, where on April 21, 1836, his force defeated Santa Anna and secured Texas long sought independence. In the fall of that year, Houston was elected the first President of the Republic of Texas. After serving his term as President, he served in the Congress of the Republic in 1839-40. Then in 1841, Houston was again voted by a large margin to the head of the Texas government. After statehood in 1845, Houston was elected Senator from Texas to the Congress of the United States. Still later, in 1859, Houston was elected to serve as Governor of the State of Texas. As Governor in 1861, Houston was strongly opposed to the secession of Texas from the Union. Because he was much in the minority on this issue, Houston was removed from office in March of 1861, ending his illustrious carrier in public service. Houston retired to the privacy of his home at Huntsville, Texas, where died in July of 1863. He is buried in Huntsville's Oakwood Cemetery.      The Sam Houston Memorial Museum historic site is within the city limits of Huntsville, Texas. The most important structure on the grounds is Woodland Home, built in 1847 when Houston was serving as one of the first United States Senators from Texas and was spending more than half of each year in Washington, D.C. His wife Margaret Houston wished to live near town, where she could have better access to medical care and the spiritual comfort of the First Baptist Church. The traditional-style, double-pen dog-runqv log cabin was home to the Houstons, and four of their eight children were born here. Houston rented the home in 1853 and ultimately sold the property in 1858. The house is accurately furnished with several original Houston pieces of furniture and other items representative of the period. Also dating to the 1847–58 period is the law office, a single-room log cabin that served Houston as a study and gathering place for political discussions. It also functioned as a cradle of Freemasonry in the early days of the Texas frontier. The Steamboat House, a building of unusual architectural design, was rented by the family when Houston returned to Huntsville in 1861 following his dismissal as Texas governor for failing to pledge his loyalty to the Confederacy. On July 26, 1863, he died in the house and was buried from the front parlor. The house was moved onto the grounds of the historic site in 1936. This Memorial has always been one of my favorites to stop at on the way to visiting my family. We pass it every time we go to Dallas, and we've been quite a few times. It's just so interesting to me and my family as well.



September 11

Even though I was just a young child when the Town Towers came crashing down on September 11, I still remember the event vividly and exactly what I was doing and also where I was that day. September 11 will always be an important day that I will remember for the rest of my life, and I will always remember how much it changed the World that I live in now and how much my life could be different if that day had never occurred.

This tragic day still affects the lives of many people because of the number of people's lives that were taken that day, and also the fact that America had been attacked.

The World will forever remember the 102 minutes that changed our life's.

 







Analyzing Antique Stoves

Antique Ovens

These antique ovens are much different than our modern day ovens that we use today. Most of the ovens used in the 1700-1800's were gas stoves. In today's times, we have the choice to either have a gas or electric stove.

Around 1760, ten-plate stoves, similar to, but larger than, six-plate stoves were made having four more plates that form a oven and two hinged doors. Opening on either side, smoke passed around the ends of the oven and out a pipe. This is the likely genesis of all cook stoves.