Birthday Magic

Your birthday is a special time to celebrate

the gift of "you" to the world.

 

 

As each of my childrens' birthday's approach every year I feel a little pang of sadness that the years have gone by so quickly. I wish that I could have a few more moments with each one of my snugly delicious babies. To watch as they discover their chubby baby hands or coo as they wake up from a good nights sleep. I wish that I could experience those sweet moments and really savor them instead of merely survive in a drunken sleep deprived state. Not that I didn't enjoy a good deal of it, I just know that I would be able to appreciate those moments even more now than I did then because I realize the time is so fleeting. 

 

Having said that, I love to take the time leading up to my babies birthday's to remember the events surrounding their birth. I know that they enjoy hearing year after year how their siblings or other relatives eagerly anticipated their arrival. The preparations, the celebrations and the air of excitement as we packed up the car and headed to the hospital, knowing that we would FINALLY get to meet the sweet little person that we had already grown to love.

 

This past weekend was my third child's 10th birthday and I thought it might be fun to share some of our birthday traditions. As the above quote says, a birthday really is a fun time to celebrate the gift of "you", or the gift of your children.

 

Our oldest tradition is of course retelling of their birth story. Now I'm not talking about the "nitty gritty" details, just the basics. A couple of days before Bastian's 10th birthday I began the countdown, saying things like, "Ten years ago right now, we were eating dinner at Nanny and Papo's house. That night we took pictures of Tan and Brin kissing my belly." or "Ten years ago right now, I was THIS big" grossly over exaggerating for theatrical value. 

 

When my kiddo's were born I bought them each a journal and quickly filled in some of those details so that I could always remember what I was thinking and feeling as we were waiting to meet the newest member of our family. I wrote in their journals a lot when they were little, jotting down little anecdotes that I wanted to remember. Nowadays I have made it a goal to, at the very least, write in their journals on their birthdays. I think this will give them a little insight into the different struggles I went through as a parent, and also an idea of who they were in their early years.

 

Growing up I had a friend whose family would always decorate their mantel with birthday wishes and gifts for the birthday boy or girl. Having a family of eight, I can only imagine the preparation involved in each celebration. I loved the idea of continuing this tradition in my own family, but shopping for supplies in addition to the other birthday necessities almost ended this idea for me before I had even given it a chance to grow. That was until a friend of mine showed me some beautiful banners that her sister Amy made for different holidays including birthdays. I knew that I needed to have one. So I purchased the banner and a big stash of balloon's and now, with very little effort, my kids get a fun birthday surprise.

 

Here is a link to Amy's blog. She is such a talented seamstress with fun ideas and tutorials. http://amerooniedesigns.blogspot.com/2010/10/birthday-box.html   

 



Food is a big part of our birthday festivities. The birthday boy or girl gets to decide what is on the menu for breakfast, which is served in bed, and dinner. I also take them out to lunch to the restaurant of their choice. I like to give them fun breakfast options since this is my favorite meal to prepare. I have done funfetti pancakes, coconut encrusted french toast, pannakoeken, and loads of other things. Bastian opted for egg salad with kielbassa on toast. He is such an easy going kid!

 

This year I started something new. I thought it would be fun to let perfect strangers in on the excitement of the birthday that we were celebrating. This is also an idea where you can invest a little time and money and tuck it away for the next birthday. I bought a car window marker and wished my birthday boy a "Happy Birthday". On the back window I encouraged drivers to "Honk to wish Bastian a Happy Birthday". We have had such a fun time driving around in our "Celebration Mobile" that I'm having a hard time thinking about washing it off, luckily we have another birthday to celebrate in just over a month, so I think I will survive.

 

 

 

So, what are some of your birthday traditions. I would love to add to our list and continue celebrating in new ways each year!



Slow Cooker Mango Chicken over Coconut Rice & Baked Pineapple...Aloha!

Tell me what you eat,

and I shall tell you what you are.

                                           -Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

 

After tonight's dinner, with the above quote in mind, Jean would peg me as a lover of all things tropical and he would be right. I have long fantasized of changing my heritage to more suit my palate and climate preferences. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't get excited at the prospect of scaring the life out of people when I tell them I love them (I'm mostly German BTW), but island cuisine and way of life melds so much better with my current state of mind than my own German roots ever have. (With the exception of Christmas of course. I would be lost without my German Christmas traditions and pfeffernusse.) 

 

Every time I eat a perfectly ripe pineapple or sprinkle some toasted coconut on my latest creation I am reminded of how grateful I am that other cultures and countries share their food with us. My diet would be pretty unexciting if I were only able to eat the foods that naturally grew near my geographical location. It would, however, give me even more incentive to move to a tropical locale.

 

Nonetheless, this quick and easy recipe helped to muffle my desire to escape to a tropical paradise.

 

With the kids now back in school and back to a myriad of activities, it has been increasingly difficult to get a good meal on the table. This is the perfect season for slow cookers. With a little prep work earlier in the day, your family can be sitting down to a warm delicious meal moments after mom's taxi service closes for the day.

 

 

Slow Cooker Mango Chicken

 

4-5 chicken breasts

1 large ripe mango peeled and diced

3 ripe peaches peeled and diced

1/2-1 full hatch chili pepper (or pepper of your choice) seeds and ribs removed and diced

1 Tbsp lemon juice

2 Tbsp lime juice

1-2 Tbsp toasted coconut for garnish

 

Prepare slow cooker by spraying sides and bottom with non-stick cooking spray. Place all ingredients in slow cooker and cook on high for 3 hours or medium for 4-5 hours. Shred chicken and serve over coconut rice with toasted coconut on top.

 

 

Coconut Rice

 

2 c rice

1 16.5 oz can of coconut milk

1/2 c toasted coconut

water 

 

Cook rice as per package directions but sub coconut milk for as much water as you can. For example I cooked cal rose rice in a microwave rice cooker that called for 3 c of water to 2 c of rice. The 16.5 oz can was almost 2 c so I finished filling the measuring cup with water to equal 3 c. When the rice is done, immediately toss with toasted coconut. 

 

 



 Baked Pineapple

 

1 pineapple cut in half, core removed. 

1/2 c ginger snaps crushed

1/2 c macadamia nuts (I subbed hazelnuts)

1/2 c shredded coconut

1/2 c sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp coconut or rum extract

 

Preheat oven to 350. Slice pineapple in half and remove the core by cutting diagonal slices into the length of the core. Combine ginger snaps, nuts and coconut. Combine sweetened condensed milk and extract. Pour half of the sweetened condensed milk mixture into the area where the core was. Top with gingersnap mixture and top again with the remainder of the sweetened condensed mixture. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the pineapple is a little soft and the topping is warm and bubbly.

 

To serve, cut off top and bottom of pineapple and run a long knife around the edge of the pineapple, separating the the skin from the fruit. Leaving the fruit in the skin, cut into bite sized pieces and serve.  

Wrapped Canvas Prints

Memory is the cabinet of imagination,

the treasury of reason,

the registry of conscience and

the council-chamber of thought.

                                                       -Giambattista Basile

 

I have wanted to make a gallery wall for my office for a long time. I work for an airline and sometimes I need a little reminder as to why I do what I do, especially as we roll into the hurricane and winter seasons, which can be trying for everyone involved. I knew that I wanted to capture some of my favorite vacation memories in a fun new way that would play up a more "modern" feel for my office. I didn't want mismatched frames scattered willy nilly around my office walls. I wanted something that was down to earth and grounded.

 

I discovered wrapped canvas prints, but quickly learned that they were quite pricey. A 12X12 was running around $24.95 and a 16X20 would be closer to $50.00. With my decorating budget being closer to $50.00 total I knew that I had to come up with a better way.

 

So I schlepped through pinterest looking for the perfect tutorial and came up with a fusion of several different ideas.

 

For this project you will need:

 

Photoshop or comparable photo editing software (I use photoshop elements 7)

Digital copies of your photographs

Access to a printshop that can make "Engineering Prints" (I used Staples)

Canvases (I found a 7 pack of 12X12 canvases for $19.95 at Michael's, after a 50% off coupon they were just over $1.50 each)

Spray adhesive

Scissors

Glue to help secure corners

Matte finish spray

 

 

Open photo editing software and drag and drop your photo's into the opened program. Edit as desired including converting to black and white for the cheapest way to complete this project. Staples does create color engineering prints but they are more expensive. In photoshop 7, click on "enhance" at the top of the screen and then select "convert to black and white"

 

Click on the "crop tool" and select your desired size adding at least 2 extra inches to the size of your finished print to allow for wrapping around the edges. If you are using a 12X12 canvas, for example, you will want to create 14X14 prints. If your canvas is thicker than the one pictured above (half inch) then adjust accordingly. You will want at least a half inch of overhang after you cover the sides.

 

Also adjust the pixels/inch setting while you are cropping your picture. In photoshop 7 you can adjust the pixels/inch at the top of the screen just to the right of where you type in the desired dimensions. For 12X12 prints select no less than 300 pixels/inch. My 16X20 print probably could have been adjusted up to 400-500 for better quality, but it is finished now and I love it just the way it is.  

 

Choose the size of engineering print that you wish to purchase. Staples offers 18X24 for $1.79, 24X36 for $3.59 and 36X48 for $7.29. I opted for the 24X36 to accommodate the number of prints I wanted in the sizes I needed. 

 

Click on "file" at the top of the screen and select "new" and then "blank file". Type in the sizes you want for your final print (i.e. 24X36). If it has auto populated pixels instead of inches switch it over to inches and again adjust the pixels/inch to fit your project size. Leave all of the other settings as they are and click OK.

 

This will open up a "blank canvas" with the dimensions that you need for your print. At the bottom of the screen double click on the picture that you wish to add to the canvas until it appears in your work screen. Then press CTRL A, CTRL C. Double click on your blank canvas until it appears in your work screen. Click on it with the mouse and then press CTRL V. Your picture should appear on your canvas with the predefined dimensions. Don't expand the print to cover a greater area as this will change the dimensions of the finished project.

 

Use the "move tool" to position it on your blank canvas until you have as many photo's as you can fit on the canvas. Save your project with the highest quality possible for your program. 

 

Send your order to your print shop. When sending to Staples just make sure that you select the correct size for your job. You can also change the orientation of the project via their online tool. Here is the link to the Staples black and white engineering prints.

 

http://www.staples.com/sbd/content/copyandprint/engineering-prints.html

 

If you aren't certain that you submitted the project correctly you can always call to make sure that what you were hoping for is what they are going to print. Also, you can rush your project or select a date that doesn't show any additional charges. In my experience, even when I selected a date that didn't include an additional cost the prints were ready within a couple of hours. I'm sure this varies depending on their workload for the day so if you want to guarantee same day pick up it might be worth the extra money to put a rush on your order. 

 

After your prints are home, prepare your work station by covering it with some sort of disposable tarp. (Unless you are secretly hoping to get a new table in the very near future and just a little more damage might help seal the deal in your hubbies mind, in which case don't cover it up and spray on sister!) I used plastic kitchen bags cut open to create double the work space.

 

Trim your prints then spray your canvas generously with spray adhesive. If you have sprayed it a little too much (ie there are puddles of adhesive) allow it to dry a little before applying it to the picture. A little adhesive goes a long way. If the canvas is too wet it will create wrinkles on your picture. 

 



Apply canvas to the back of the picture and make diagonal cuts up to 1/2 cm from the corner of the canvas.

 

Spray edge and back of canvas with spray adhesive and roll paper around the edge and back.

 



At the corners fold excess paper so that it completely covers the corner with a crisp edge. Apply extra glue to secure corners.  

 

Continue steps until all edges have been sprayed and folded.

 

After your canvases are dry apply a light coating of matte finish in a well ventilated area. The matte finish will help protect your project and will give it more of a photo feel. Be careful not to over saturate with the matte finish. When applying keep sprayer at least 4 inches from your project. Reapply every 2 minutes until you have the desired texture keeping in mind that too many coats will leave your photo's with a hazy feel. I applied 4 coats.

 

For this whole collage of prints I spent less than $40.00 and still have supplies leftover to create some fun new projects. Best of all I now have physical reminders of the wonderful memories I created with my family to help me through the coming weeks of delays and cancellations. Deep breath. Namaste. 

Mama Mia Greek Pizza and the Myth we call Perfection

Use what talent you possess:

the woods would be very silent if no birds sang

except those that sang best. 

 

I'm having one of those "less than perfect" days. Nothing is particularly wrong, I just can't seem to get something right. I had HIGH hopes of offering up a wonderful meal to my family and to you tonight, but for the second time in a row it was less than perfect. Which got me thinking about the lenses that we see each other through.

In my old neighborhood I had a neighbor who was the epitome of perfect. Her hair was perfect, her make-up was perfect, her clothes were perfect, her house was always tidy and ready for guests, she hosted fun luncheons and even figured out how to balance all of that and stay in shape. I was the polar opposite of her. I rarely did anything more than a ponytail with my hair, makeup was a luxury that was just out of my grasp, my clothes covered my body, nothing more nothing less (I was just grateful for the days that I could escape, unscathed, by the onslaught of baby food that was being hurled at me) and my house, though it was tidy, it was never guest ready. If someone stopped by unannounced I would either pretend I wasn't home or holler at them through the door that they would have to wait for a second while I quickly ran through the offending room shoving everything out of sight.

...oh, and that other thing. Let's just say that the scale and I are not on speaking terms at the moment.

I envied her and wondered how she kept it all together. I tried to be like her. Some days I felt like I was doing a decent job, but longevity has never been my strong suit. I can sprint for a few minutes but stretch the time out and I fall on my face. I could handle it if I just stumbled a little, brushed myself off and continued on my way, but the truth is I do the kind of face plant that is played over and over on "Wipeout". You know the ones when the poor person kicks themselves in their own head. Yeah, that would be me. So I lay there, watching as everyone else tramples over me and passes me by and soon I am worse off than I was before I even started the race. I wondered why she could do it so effortlessly and I always fumbled.

Then, it happened. It was just a minor thing, but for me it was a pivotal moment when I realized that we are all human and the lens of perfectionism that I was viewing her through was made completely by me. After that I started to notice when things weren't exactly perfect. Not in a judgemental type of way, but in a "Yeah sistah, I know it's been a hard day. I've got your back. Welcome to the club" kind of way.

So this was my offering to my family last week. I was doing an assignment for Bountiful Baskets where we were all planning a "Pizza and a Movie Night". I knew that I wanted to try my hand at a zucchini crust with a bunch of fun Greek flavors running through it. Oh, and we were going to watch "Mama Mia" because what else would you watch while eating a DELICIOUS Greek pizza?
 

 

That BEAUTIFUL zucchini crust was seasoned with cardamom and dill. Up on top we had grilled red onions, garlic and rotisserie chicken, tomatoes, olives, mozzarella and feta cheese. Just before taking the picture I drizzled it with a homemade tatziki sauce. It smelled AMAZING!

 

After the picture was taken, we sliced the pizza up and got ready for a tongue tickling treat that was sure to satisfy. What we found was a soggy pizza that's crust was more like a paste. The toppings were good and luckily I have a very adventurous family who complimented me on the things that tasted good instead of focusing on this epic failure.

 

But I wasn't about to get my butt kicked by a pizza. So I tried again, this time with less gusto and with the effort that I could muster for the night. I hesitate to even post this as a recipe, but I think that it is a fun "jumping off" point. It is the tiny brush strokes that you can use to design your own masterpiece. Just imagine the possibilities. Plus, we all need those easy nights where we are able to just throw something together. This fits the bill. And when the pizza is ready you can snuggle up with your family and enjoy "Mama Mia" too and we can enjoy our imperfections together. 

 

 

Mama Mia Greek Pizza

 

1 prepared pizza crust

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 breasts from a rotisserie chicken

1 onion diced (red is preferred but you go with what you have some days)

1 clove garlic

1/2 tsp cardamom

1/2 tsp dill

3 small Roma tomatoes diced

1 4 oz can diced black olives (not pictured)

1 c mozzarella cheese

1/2 c feta cheese

 

Preheat oven to 450. Saute onion, garlic and chicken until onion is translucent. Top pizza crust with chicken mixture, tomatoes, olives and mozzarella. Sprinkle with cardamom and dill. Bake as per package instructions. My crust suggested 8-10 minutes or until crust is cooked to desired crispness. Turn oven off and top with feta cheese. Let it sit in cooling oven for 3-5 minutes.

 

Mango Coconut Banana Bread (Vata balancing)

"Our thoughts and feelings have a chemical effect on our bodies. Stress, repressed emotions, depression, anxiety, lives being lived half-assed – all have profound effects on our wellbeing.

Even our fears, hurts and sufferings need to be digested, along with our last meal.

Being truly nourished has just as much to do with our thoughts, feelings, beliefs and experiences as it does with what we are feeding ourselves on a daily basis."

                                                                                                                   

                                                                                                                  -Corona via nurturepod.com

 

Todays quote was much longer than any other quote that I've posted so far, but I loved the way she expressed so much of what I have been feeling. Today's recipe is brought to you by my loose understanding of Ayurveda. I have read through the lists of flavors that help balance the different doshas and the thing that surprises me time and again is that when I truly listen to what my body is telling me I end up selecting foods that are part of the list to help balance my dosha. It shouldn't surprise me, but it does.

 

I thought about appearing "all knowing" and listing all of the flavors that balance the vata dosha, but that's not where I am at the moment. I am just doing my best to listen to the subtle cues that my body is sending out. You will be happy to know that I am caffeine free again (for the last 12 hours anyway, but it's a start), so that should help.

 

I've learned that winter is the prime season for vata to become imbalanced. Ayurveda says that "like increases like" and "opposites decrease". The vata dosha is characterized by the elements of air and space. Both of which increase in our natural world during the winter through qualities of cold, dry, light, mobile, rough, and subtle. It is not surprising that winters have been hard for me to endure for the last several years. During a time when the vata dosha is easily imbalanced I have also been trying to loose weight, eating light and cold foods instead of the warm and comforting foods that my body wants. The "like increases like" throwing my body into vata imbalance that spirals into depression.   

 

Beyond listening to what my body wants by way of nourishment, I am also trying to do as the quote suggests and truly digest my emotions. It is easier to push those emotions aside, especially the really ugly ones, and just hope that they go away. But scientists are finding that these emotions often have physical repercussions. I think many of us have either read an article or listened to a radio blurb talking about the physical ailments attributed to stress. It isn't hard to imagine that our other emotions create either physical harm or physical healing depending on the emotion.

 

So, today I will allow my emotions a place to express themselves. I wont push away the ugly ones. I will invite them to sit with me, no matter how scary that might be. We will get to know one another and try to come to the reason for their visit. I will love and accept them for what they are trying to teach me. I will digest their lesson and move on, knowing that I didn't try to bury them without giving them a chance to speak. Everything that I experience is for my good.

 

While I am conversing with my emotions, I think I will offer them some of the delicious Mango Coconut Banana Bread that I made yesterday. It has the perfect blend of down to earth goodness that my emotions are in need of. As the days shorten and the earth gets colder I hope you will try some as well. Curl up with a warm slice and a cup of your favorite tea with a splash of milk.

 

 

 

Mango Coconut Banana Bread

 

2 1/2 c flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp nutmeg

2/3 c sugar

1 c sunflower oil

4 eggs, lightly beaten

2 tsp coconut extract

2 tsp lemon juice

2 c diced ripe mango (1 large mango or 2 small)

4 extra ripe bananas, mashed

1/2 c coconut flakes

 

Preheat oven to 350 or 325 if using a convection oven. Sift together flour, baking soda and nutmeg. In a separate bowl combine sugar, sunflower oil, eggs, coconut extract, lemon juice, mango and mashed bananas.

 

Fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients being careful not to over mix. Divide batter between two prepared loaf pans and sprinkle coconut on top. Bake for 50-55 minutes. Check half way through cooking time to ensure that coconut is not becoming too dark. If it is you can cover the pans with foil to prevent any further browning. Make sure that it is cooked through by inserting a clean toothpick into the center of the loaf; if it comes out clean then it is ready.

 

  

M.I.A....oy veh!

“If your compassion does not include yourself,

it is incomplete.”  

                                                         -Buddha
 

So, you've probably noticed that I've been "missing in action". I think I only had one post for all of last week. There have been a couple of contributing factors, but I think the single most contributing factor is that I took a running leap off the wagon. I would like to say I "fell off the wagon". I would like to say that I was doing everything in my power to stay on the wagon. I would like to say that I was being dragged behind the wagon, being battered and bruised by rocks and sage brush and the only logical explanation of why I was no longer "on the wagon" was because I had to free myself from the constant beatings. But truth be told I was quite enjoying my ride on the wagon. Things were looking up. I was feeling better physically and mentally and really felt like I had a handle on what I was doing and then suddenly, out of no where I just decided that one Coke wouldn't hurt.

 

I decided that even though everything was perfect I should take this opportunity to screw things up again. I saw something in the distance that resembled happiness in the form of sweet syrup cascading gently over cool refreshing ice with tiny bubbles that exist only to tickle my taste buds. So instead of sitting nicely on the wagon, knowing that I was discovering the path to true happiness, I opted to scream "Sayonara suckers" and jump off. Right now I am so far from the wagon, that I can barely make out the dust cloud created by the wagon wheels in the distant horizon.

 

The thought of chasing after that wagon is exhausting. But I know that if I want things to "work" in my life I have to let caffeine go. I wish I could find balance with caffeine and use it just on days when I have something pressing to do and no energy to do it, but that goes against everything Ayurveda and it goes against everything that my body knows.

 

So here I go again, making a new commitment to you and to myself that I will let it go. But more than just "let it go", this time I am planning new ways to combat cravings. I have been looking into a type of acupuncture that is called "Tapping" or "EFT". My counselor recommended it when I saw her last winter. The basic idea is that the cause of all negative emotions is a disruption in the body's energy systems. This disruption can manifest itself in the form of a craving, a sudden change in affect or illness. By tapping on energy meridian points on your body, and focusing on love and self care, you are able to stabilize your energy fields and return to a place of equilibrium.

 

It looks interesting. Honestly, if someone said that the key to constant happiness is to wear your undies on the outside of your clothing I would jump on board so fast you wouldn't even see the transformation. I might look ridiculous in the process, but I will try anything.



 

Today I choose to have compassion for myself. I recognize my limitations and I create a plan to overcome everything that stands in my way. After all, to quote Stuart Smalley from "Saturday Night Live", "I'm good enough. I'm smart enough, and dog on it people like me."



Grilled Peaches a la Mode

Delicious autumn!

My very soul is wedded to it,

and if I were a bird

I would fly about the earth seeking

 the successive autumns.

                                                          –George Eliot

 

With our recent trip to the mountains, and all of the beautiful changing leaves, my stomach couldn't quit thinking of all of the exciting flavors that are about to grace our table. But my heart isn't ready to give up summer quite yet. Tonight, for dessert, I decided to make my heart and my stomach happy with a fun twist on a summer dish that plays up some of my favorite fall elements.

 

Say hello to Grilled Peaches a la Mode. This is the time of year that the peach trees are heavy with sweet, ripe, beautiful fruit just begging to be picked. If you are lucky enough to live close to a farm, you might take this time to pick your own peaches. Or maybe, you have a single peach tree in your yard that supplies an abundance for you and your family. My peaches came to me via Bountiful Baskets. As soon as I got home I tucked them away to preserve them for tonights dessert. Fresh peaches don't stand a chance in our house.

 

 

This was the first time that I've grilled peaches, so it took a bit of guess work and patience. In the end everything came together in a palate pleasing crescendo. I wanted to add fall elements of ginger, cinnamon and pecans but also keep it light, with the summertime freshness of peaches and vanilla ice cream. This was a perfect end to our grilling season by welcoming some of my favorite fall flavors. I hope you enjoy the end result as much as we did!

Grilled Peaches a la Mode

 

4 peaches washed, sliced in half and pitted, skins on

1 tube sugar cookie dough

6 gingersnap cookies

1/4 c pecans

1 quart vanilla ice cream

 

Preheat oven to  350. Crush ginger snaps and pecans in zip lock bag with a mallet or pulse in food processor leaving some bigger chunks. Scoop out sugar cookie dough with 1 inch cookie scoop and smash gingersnap and pecan mixture into each ball. Place on cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes.

 

While cookies are baking heat grill to medium heat and prepare peaches by lightly brushing with olive oil. Place on grill and cook for 2-3 minute and turn. If your peaches are not quite ripe cook for a total of 10-12 minutes. Ripe peaches should take about 5-6 minutes. You will know when your peach is ready when the skin becomes loose and juices begin to appear on the cut side of the peach.

 

Remove from grill. Fill pit with crumbled sugar cookie, top with vanilla ice cream and top with additional sugar cookie crumble and any left over pecan and gingersnap mixture.



Away

In this moment all is well.

I am safe.

There is nothing I have to do & nowhere I have to go.

I relax my body & my mind.

I am grateful for this moment.

 

 

 

 

This was my view this weekend. It was absolutely, blissfully, perfect. I've decided that part of the reason I escape when things become to hectic and life gets to be too much is because it is the one time where I can let go of my constant worries and really enjoy my family. I don't think about the house work, the bills that need to be paid or the things that I am failing at. I let it all go and really focus on and enjoy each of my four little miracles.

 

This weekend was brought to you by thing 1. My oldest child LOVES to fish, almost to the point of obsession. In the past this obsession has been one of the hardest things that I have had to deal with as a mother. Saying that he is a persistent child would be like saying that standing on the sun might be a little too warm to handle. He doesn't take "No" for an answer. Even when I say that I just don't see a way that I can get him to a fishing hole that day, he will retort with a long list of "What ifs". This is something that I don't want to take out of him, but something that is completely and utterly exhausting. Just thinking about his persistence is giving me a mild panic attack. I don't like saying "No" if I can help it, but he has three other siblings who have things that they want to do as well, and though I hate to say it, I can't please everyone.

 

As he has gotten older it has been easier to say yes, which is great for him and even more liberating for me. We live fairly close to three different ponds that are stocked on a regular basis. If I'm not able to take him, he can ride his bike to one of the ponds and fish to his heart's content.

 

Lately though, these little ponds just aren't satisfying him like they used to. So the persistence is back in full force. Now he wants to fish on real lakes or rivers. For the first time these requests aren't so debilitating. In fact, they seem to be exactly what I need.

 

Growing up we went camping almost every weekend. Our time was spent fishing, hiking, catching tadpoles and sitting around the fire telling silly stories and listening to the 8 track. My parents had a sweet case that housed some of the finest 8 tracks around. Our nights were filled with the raspy sound of John Denver, the Oak Ridge Boys and Johnny Cash. That was camping to me.

 

When we first had kids we tried camping a couple of times, but soon realized that it was so much work. We were both going to school full time and working full time and trying to be full time parents. Anything that required more than 50% power was just too much. So in the last 15 years we have only been camping maybe 5 times.

 

This summer we went again. Even though it is a lot of work it is exponentially easier now that our kids are older. It still took a full day to get everything packed up and ready to go, but that same amount of packing would have taken me a day and a half if I were doing it on my own. I made a list of things that I needed the kids to find and I worked on my own little projects to help us on our way. Besides the music, camping for me is all about the food. This time we had our traditional Tinfoil Dinners and popcorn cooked over the fire. We also tried Campfire Eclairs which were a HUGE hit!

 

This weekend thing 1 wanted to go fishing, surprise surprise, and instead of coming up with a list of reasons why we couldn't, I said yes. I'm sure there were things that I could have done around the house, or plans that I could have been making, but I bit my tongue and planned a fun day trip to one of my favorite childhood haunts.

 

The mantra at the top of this post is something that I read regularly and something that has helped me be more fully engaged and aware in the present moment. I have a terrible habit of not always enjoying a moment. I think as moms we are wired to think two to three steps ahead so as to anticipate any catastrophes. Something that is brilliant on one hand and life sucking on the other. You can only enjoy the here and now. Though it is important to plan for the possibilities of the future the experience of this present moment will soon become a memory.

 

I am so glad I said yes. We played in the water, snuggled on the beach, laughed at the silliest things and of course,  the boys went fishing.

 

This was our view coming down the canyon. (see, I told you the leaves were changing)

 

 

In the coming week I am going to share with you my plan to stay happy this winter, because really, it is just around the corner.