As the year wraps up, I can say for sure it's been an interesting one. One that involved way more running than I anticipated. Experiences, things and people have come into my life that I wasn't expecting. Some I handled well. Others I did not. I have some good memories. Some regrets. Some delights. Some disappointments. Some pleasant surprises. Some not so much. I made some good choices. I made some bad choices. I gave people and myself second and third chances. Some panned out. Some did not. But I'll keep trying. I'll keep learning. I'll keep growing. I'll keep living. I'll keep loving. I'll keep giving. It will be worth it in the end. Letting go of 2013. Bring on 2014. I'm ready!
Monday, December 30, 2013
Letting Go
As the year wraps up, I can say for sure it's been an interesting one. One that involved way more running than I anticipated. Experiences, things and people have come into my life that I wasn't expecting. Some I handled well. Others I did not. I have some good memories. Some regrets. Some delights. Some disappointments. Some pleasant surprises. Some not so much. I made some good choices. I made some bad choices. I gave people and myself second and third chances. Some panned out. Some did not. But I'll keep trying. I'll keep learning. I'll keep growing. I'll keep living. I'll keep loving. I'll keep giving. It will be worth it in the end. Letting go of 2013. Bring on 2014. I'm ready!
Friday, December 20, 2013
Taking the Challenge
Look who's here!!!! And this is how he's being treated... immediately "challenged" by our boys. Uncle Darryl might wish he'd gone straight to the gym and not taken a detour to our house. And yes, I realize my boys should be in bed. But it's FRIDAY!
Friday, October 11, 2013
Pretending
I'm going to pretend this isn't happening, m'kay?
 |
| Kekoa - 2004 to 2013 |
 |
| Gavyn - 2006 to 2013 |
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
What Five Years Looks Like
From 8...9...10... to 13....14... 15.... How did we get HERE so fast? Celebrating some pretty good kiddos. Five years wasn't nearly long enough. Slow down, Father Time. Slow down.
2008
2013
2008
2013
Thursday, October 3, 2013
The Leaf
The Leaf
by Lani McKinney
I dangle from a gnarled branch
Thirteen feet above the ant hill
Busy with 1000 soldiers
Making sure their winter pantry
Has enough canned peaches
To make some bitter cold day sweet.
My shoulders burn a fiery orange
As if announcing my days are short
Was necessary.
I listen to the music
Of sweet children’s voices
Float up to me on an early fall breeze
Lilting “8, 9, 10… ready or nots”
Reminding me to stop and listen
With eyes closed
And notice important things.
I bury my pointy nose in the top
Of your head warmed
By the magic of an autumn sun
Taking a long draw of comfort from the smell of you
And then exhale with a tremble
Shivering a little when I
Feel the sky breathe on my neck
Before I make my calm, whirly-twirly, back and forth
Descent south.
NOTE: Inspired by my recent obsession with Ted Kooser poetry and by the news of a co-worker who just found out he has pancreatic cancer on Saturday and will likely not make it through the day today and by the change in seasons.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Pearl
It's a GIRL!
Love the pride that seeps out around the edges of my brother's hospital mask. We won't know what to do with a girl, but she sure is beautiful. Proud to become an auntie again this month at 7:37 a.m. on the 17th. She was 9 pounds, 8 ounces and 21.5 inches of pure delicious.
And this weekend she came to visit. Being in close proximity to a baby this amazing would be enough to weaken anyone's "I'm done having babies" resolve. Standing firm on the outside. But a melty, melty mess on the inside. Love myself a good heart melt.
Welcome to the family, Lil Miss Pearl Rae. You picked a good month to be born. Thought I'd better do my part in giving you a "shout out" before September turned into October.
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Team Spirit
My boys and their "Crazy Hair" day. Sporting their team colors:
Or their team spirit. Whichever you prefer. The main reason we went at all is because Kekoa and Gavyn wanted to be in the parade with Kekoa's soccer team. So we went. Sure glad we did.
I will have to admit, though, to being most fascinated with the pretty cars carrying the pretty girls from the Homecoming Court.
Friday, September 27, 2013
Raising a Dragon
Have you done your 50 Things You Must Do This Summer, yet?
#43 - Have a classic outdoor picnic. Basket and checkered blanket included.
#44 - Make easiest-ever quesadilla crepes.
Chocolate-Raspberry Quesadillas
1 whole wheat tortilla (8" diameter)
¼ c semisweet chocolate chips, chopped
1 Tbsp dried unsweetened cranberries
Cinnamon
¼ c semisweet chocolate chips, chopped
1 Tbsp dried unsweetened cranberries
Cinnamon
1. PLACE a skillet over medium-high heat. Place the tortilla in the pan.
2. TOAST for 1 minute on each side or until warm but still pliable.
3. SPRINKLE on the chips and cranberries. Dust lightly with cinnamon.
4. FOLD over like an omelet. Flip and cook for 30 seconds or until the chocolate starts to melt.
5. CUT into 4 wedges.
2. TOAST for 1 minute on each side or until warm but still pliable.
3. SPRINKLE on the chips and cranberries. Dust lightly with cinnamon.
4. FOLD over like an omelet. Flip and cook for 30 seconds or until the chocolate starts to melt.
5. CUT into 4 wedges.
NUTRITION (per serving) 332 cal, 4 g pro, 54 g carbs, 14 g fat, 4 g fiber, 241 mg sodium
Goin' on a picnic. On a Chocolate-Strawberry Banana Quesadillas picnic, to be exact. Two birds with one stone? Minus the picnic basket. I'll go picnic basket shopping later. Want to know what's kind of messed up about #44? The titles says "Chocolate-Raspberry". The recipe says "unsweetened cranberries". And the picture showed strawberries and bananas. I'm going to go with the picture on this one. And banana slices always taste better when they're cut into heart shapes... just sayin'.
Sooo... the boys came home from school last night. They were on edge. Very weepy. And whiney. I think we were all ready for it to be Friday. So, I thought it might be a good day to try this even though I was tired and really just wanted to take a nap. It worked. We all went outside... ate a little... drank a little... I used my good wedding China. We had a good dragon book to read and a Wyoming Cowboy football to toss around. What could be better? Loving this Indian Summer we seem to be having even though it's technically fall now. As far as I'm concerned, keep it coming. Keep it coming...
Sooo... the boys came home from school last night. They were on edge. Very weepy. And whiney. I think we were all ready for it to be Friday. So, I thought it might be a good day to try this even though I was tired and really just wanted to take a nap. It worked. We all went outside... ate a little... drank a little... I used my good wedding China. We had a good dragon book to read and a Wyoming Cowboy football to toss around. What could be better? Loving this Indian Summer we seem to be having even though it's technically fall now. As far as I'm concerned, keep it coming. Keep it coming...
Thursday, September 26, 2013
"My Secret"
"Can you keep my secret?" asks Gavyn recently as he went to bed with his favorite "blankie". He still wants to sleep with it. Read with it. Eat breakfast with it. But he doesn't want anybody to know about it.
"I think I can trust Truman (a little friend of his in his class) with my secret," he told me. So, I overheard him asking Truman a few days ago... "Can you keep my secret?" When Truman agreed, he launched in. "Well, I have this blanket. And it has Winnie the Pooh on it. And a pig on it. And it's really, really soft on one side..." At which point Truman tuned out and started talking with Kekoa about something else while Gavyn continued to spill his secret. I think his secret's safe.
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Prelude to Fall
Have you done your 50 Things You Must Do This Summer, yet? #42: Go to a street festival you've never been to.
Technically, it was the first day of fall, but who's counting. Our local art festival was this past Sunday and Gavyn went with me. My little artist. It's interesting to me to see the art that appeals to him. Not usually my cup of tea at all, but then... he is him and I am me. So there you go. Kekoa chose to stay home with Daddy (Sunday afternoon napping) and play his XBox. So my little Gavie and me. We had a little date. A beautiful day. And he got a little fun face paint love. I will never understand the appeal of ghoulish zombies for these boys, but they are absolutely drawn to it. And I'm a girl. So maybe that's why. Whatever the case, we had a marvelous stroll down Main Street together on a sparkly afternoon. He came away with this:
And I came away with a framed print of this (see below) from one of my favorite artists and good friend, Rani, of Jagged Touch Studio. She is moving far away from us, but thankfully... I'll be able to stay connected through Facebook. LOVE her work. Magic. "As she wrote the story of her beautiful self, her soul leapt from the pages and danced to the music in her heart."
Technically, it was the first day of fall, but who's counting. Our local art festival was this past Sunday and Gavyn went with me. My little artist. It's interesting to me to see the art that appeals to him. Not usually my cup of tea at all, but then... he is him and I am me. So there you go. Kekoa chose to stay home with Daddy (Sunday afternoon napping) and play his XBox. So my little Gavie and me. We had a little date. A beautiful day. And he got a little fun face paint love. I will never understand the appeal of ghoulish zombies for these boys, but they are absolutely drawn to it. And I'm a girl. So maybe that's why. Whatever the case, we had a marvelous stroll down Main Street together on a sparkly afternoon. He came away with this:
And I came away with a framed print of this (see below) from one of my favorite artists and good friend, Rani, of Jagged Touch Studio. She is moving far away from us, but thankfully... I'll be able to stay connected through Facebook. LOVE her work. Magic. "As she wrote the story of her beautiful self, her soul leapt from the pages and danced to the music in her heart."
Title: Intrinsic Soul
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Windows Open, Curtains Closed
Have you done your 50 Things You Must Do This Summer, yet? Still skipping around. Still thinking maybe some of these could happen yet this year. Summer or no. We shall see.
#39 - Sleep until noon and then spend the rest of the day relaxing in bed.
I am not entirely sure I am capable of this one. I have no problems with sleeping in. But the spending the rest of the day relaxing in bed, part? That may be a challenge. I like the concept, though.
#40 - Host a traditional lobster boil in your backyard. Make it BYOB - Bring your own bib.
*dog earing this idea... maybe next year* I'd like to start doing more backyard entertaining, anyway.
Lobster Pot
#39 - Sleep until noon and then spend the rest of the day relaxing in bed.
I am not entirely sure I am capable of this one. I have no problems with sleeping in. But the spending the rest of the day relaxing in bed, part? That may be a challenge. I like the concept, though.
#40 - Host a traditional lobster boil in your backyard. Make it BYOB - Bring your own bib.
*dog earing this idea... maybe next year* I'd like to start doing more backyard entertaining, anyway.
Lobster Pot
TOTAL TIME: 40 minutes
SERVINGS: 4
SERVINGS: 4
2 lb small red potatoes (2" to 3" diameter)
2 onions, sliced
2 lemons, sliced
6 sprigs thyme
2 bay leaves
1½ Tbsp salt
4 lobsters (1¼ lb each)
3 ears corn, shucked and cut into thirds
2 onions, sliced
2 lemons, sliced
6 sprigs thyme
2 bay leaves
1½ Tbsp salt
4 lobsters (1¼ lb each)
3 ears corn, shucked and cut into thirds
1. SPREAD butcher paper over picnic table.
2. PLACE potatoes in stockpot big enough to cook 2 lobsters at the same time and add cold water until two-thirds full. Add onions, lemons, thyme, bay leaves, and salt. Bring to a boil.
3. ADD two lobsters, cover, and cook at a gentle boil until cooked through, about 10 to 12 minutes, uncovering after 5 minutes. Remove lobsters to table (no plates necessary). Repeat with 2 more lobsters.
4. ADD corn and cook until corn and potatoes are tender, about 3 minutes.
5. TRANSFER corn and potatoes to table (discard remaining contents of pot) and serve with lemon wedges.
2. PLACE potatoes in stockpot big enough to cook 2 lobsters at the same time and add cold water until two-thirds full. Add onions, lemons, thyme, bay leaves, and salt. Bring to a boil.
3. ADD two lobsters, cover, and cook at a gentle boil until cooked through, about 10 to 12 minutes, uncovering after 5 minutes. Remove lobsters to table (no plates necessary). Repeat with 2 more lobsters.
4. ADD corn and cook until corn and potatoes are tender, about 3 minutes.
5. TRANSFER corn and potatoes to table (discard remaining contents of pot) and serve with lemon wedges.
NUTRITION (per serving) 379 cal, 35 g pro, 56 g carb, 8 g fiber, 3 g fat, 0.5 g sat fat, 762 mg sodium
#41 - Do "something" with the windows open, but the curtains closed. (I just can't bring myself to type the activity they used in place of "something" on my personal blog. Or blog about it for that matter. It makes me blush just thinking about it.)
So let's instead skip to the part about the windows in the bedroom being opened, but the curtains closed. We have these amazing windows in our room, but we always had the wood blinds down which made it so that unless we had an un-lazy day and opened up the blinds, we didn't get the benefit of the light that filters through them. I had these sheer red curtains in storage and so, I thought... "Aha! Bring those babies out." Between the soft light it allows in our room, now, and the sweet sounds of summer and gentle breeze that floats through the open windows for the past two weeks paired with the way the shadows of the trees shimmer and dance on our bedroom walls, I think I may have died and gone to heaven. I, for sure, find myself making a comfortable "nest" in my bed now and just hanging out with the lights off in the afternoons. So yum. Who needs a beach? Ok, never mind. I do. But you get the idea. I lay here and read my favorite poetry. Not kidding.
The Sigh by Ted Kooser
You lie in your bed and sigh,
and the springs deep in the mattress
sing out with the same low note,
mocking your sadness. It's hard -
not the mattress, but life.
Life is hard. All along
you thought you could trust in
your own bed, your own sorrow.
You thought you were sleeping alone.
So while this time of year brings out the melancholy in me, this... this is pure deliciousness.
So let's instead skip to the part about the windows in the bedroom being opened, but the curtains closed. We have these amazing windows in our room, but we always had the wood blinds down which made it so that unless we had an un-lazy day and opened up the blinds, we didn't get the benefit of the light that filters through them. I had these sheer red curtains in storage and so, I thought... "Aha! Bring those babies out." Between the soft light it allows in our room, now, and the sweet sounds of summer and gentle breeze that floats through the open windows for the past two weeks paired with the way the shadows of the trees shimmer and dance on our bedroom walls, I think I may have died and gone to heaven. I, for sure, find myself making a comfortable "nest" in my bed now and just hanging out with the lights off in the afternoons. So yum. Who needs a beach? Ok, never mind. I do. But you get the idea. I lay here and read my favorite poetry. Not kidding.
The Sigh by Ted Kooser
You lie in your bed and sigh,
and the springs deep in the mattress
sing out with the same low note,
mocking your sadness. It's hard -
not the mattress, but life.
Life is hard. All along
you thought you could trust in
your own bed, your own sorrow.
You thought you were sleeping alone.
So while this time of year brings out the melancholy in me, this... this is pure deliciousness.
Monday, September 23, 2013
Climb Up My Apple Tree
Backtracking to number 20. Kind of. Is backtracking, legal?
Have you done your 50 Things You Must Do This Summer, yet? #20 - Think rooftop anything - bar, pool, nightclub or even gardening.
And if so, does treetop work?
Tried something on Sunday (technically, it's actually the first day of fall, but I'm going to count it as summer) I have never done before. Pretty sure I'm going to do it again. Climbing a tree to read a book. The organic, locally grown Honeycrisp apple was the icing on the cake. Our weather this weekend was splendid. Simply splendid. So splendid that words can not adequately describe it. Not even the word splendiferous.
Anyhow. Everytime I look at this picture, it makes me think of the following song my Mom used to sing to me when I was a girl:
Say, say, oh playmate,
Come out and play with me.
Bring out your dollies three.
Climb up my apple tree.
Slide down my rainbow
Into my cellar door.
And we'll be jolly friends
Forevermore, one two three four!
Good, soft, wonderful childhood memories.
Soooo.... that said. Do I dare ruin the very romantic illusion here? Let's talk. How does one get up into said tree? It started with me standing on the table underneath the tree thinking I would simply climb up on the lowest limb. Easy peasy. I grab onto the limb with both arms and realize the bark is rough and I'm somehow going to have to pull myself up because it hurts my feet to try to climb/get a foothold on that rough bark. Can we say tenderfoot? Next logical thing seems to be to wrap my legs around the tree limb as well, so that I can then move my arm up over the limb to pull myself upright. It's harder than it looks. So there I hang. My skirt up around my ears. Oh yes. Did I mention I was wearing a skirt? But if you know my personality at all, you also know that once I get my mind set on something, I am going to DO it. Any thoughts of modesty or dignity are distant shadows in my mind. So face set like flint, I start the awkward struggle to pull myself upright onto the lowest branch. I was actually headed for a different spot a little higher in the tree, but I do have an inexplicable fear of heights so once I made it upright on that lower branch (at which point Craig had caught sight of my attempts from inside the house through the living room windows and had made a hasty appearance into the backyard spurred by fears I was actually going to fall OUT of the tree and break something), I had pretty much made up my mind that this spot... this spot was as far as it was going to get. Next time. I'll use a ladder. And there WILL be a next time. This. THIS was worth every scrape on my forearms.
Have you done your 50 Things You Must Do This Summer, yet? #20 - Think rooftop anything - bar, pool, nightclub or even gardening.
And if so, does treetop work?
Tried something on Sunday (technically, it's actually the first day of fall, but I'm going to count it as summer) I have never done before. Pretty sure I'm going to do it again. Climbing a tree to read a book. The organic, locally grown Honeycrisp apple was the icing on the cake. Our weather this weekend was splendid. Simply splendid. So splendid that words can not adequately describe it. Not even the word splendiferous.
Anyhow. Everytime I look at this picture, it makes me think of the following song my Mom used to sing to me when I was a girl:
Say, say, oh playmate,
Come out and play with me.
Bring out your dollies three.
Climb up my apple tree.
Slide down my rainbow
Into my cellar door.
And we'll be jolly friends
Forevermore, one two three four!
Good, soft, wonderful childhood memories.
Soooo.... that said. Do I dare ruin the very romantic illusion here? Let's talk. How does one get up into said tree? It started with me standing on the table underneath the tree thinking I would simply climb up on the lowest limb. Easy peasy. I grab onto the limb with both arms and realize the bark is rough and I'm somehow going to have to pull myself up because it hurts my feet to try to climb/get a foothold on that rough bark. Can we say tenderfoot? Next logical thing seems to be to wrap my legs around the tree limb as well, so that I can then move my arm up over the limb to pull myself upright. It's harder than it looks. So there I hang. My skirt up around my ears. Oh yes. Did I mention I was wearing a skirt? But if you know my personality at all, you also know that once I get my mind set on something, I am going to DO it. Any thoughts of modesty or dignity are distant shadows in my mind. So face set like flint, I start the awkward struggle to pull myself upright onto the lowest branch. I was actually headed for a different spot a little higher in the tree, but I do have an inexplicable fear of heights so once I made it upright on that lower branch (at which point Craig had caught sight of my attempts from inside the house through the living room windows and had made a hasty appearance into the backyard spurred by fears I was actually going to fall OUT of the tree and break something), I had pretty much made up my mind that this spot... this spot was as far as it was going to get. Next time. I'll use a ladder. And there WILL be a next time. This. THIS was worth every scrape on my forearms.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)