Joyful Simplicities 2 Days Late

So it’s not “Joyful Simplicities Sunday.” It’s “Joyful Simplicities Tuesday” instead for 2 reasons. One, I didn’t have time to write Sunday. Two, I didn’t feel like writing Sunday. Okay, so number 2 reason was the biggest reason. If I had truly wanted to write, I would have found the time to do it. But I didn’t. I wasn't in the mood, so I didn’t.

However, I have learned over the past year and a half that when I don’t feel like writing here…that is precisely the time when I need to be writing here. You know, dancing in the rain and all that. Some days, I want to say "Bah Humbug! to dancing in the rain. Some days, I’m kind of pissed off at myself for ever having the idea to keep a blog like this even though it seemed like such an excellent idea at the time. Other times, it does remind me to keep focused on things that I otherwise probably wouldn’t, even when I don’t particularly want to. I guess it serves it's purpose, even if I have a love/hate relationship with it.

So. Sunday, I didn’t feel like writing so I didn’t. And yesterday, I was mad at myself for not writing when I didn’t feel like it. Feeling guilty, I started writing late last night, when I was too tired, and I gave up and am writing now instead. Joyful Simplicities Sunday 2 days late.

Last week was a sucky week for lots of reasons. Every single day, it was something, or more than one thing. The week got off to a bad start on Monday, and really didn’t improve much. I’m not going to write about the sucky things that happened, but it was a crappy week (and an expensive week!) and I’m glad it’s a new one. I did however find a few things to find some joy in.

Homemade bread.

I wish I could make homemade bread every single day because really, is it possible to be in a bad mood, no matter what is going on, when you have a huge bowl of bread dough rising and baking and filling your house with a lovely aroma that puts an inch or two around your waist just from smelling it? I think not.



A gorgeous sunset.

The past two weeks have been full of gray, dreary, depressing days and the sun has been on vacation. On sabbatical is more like it. I think that is what I hate about winter more than snow and cold. (Although I do have a very passion-filled hate for both of those things!) I hate day after day of no sun. Well, this weekend, we finally had some sun. Last night, we all gathered on the porch to gaze in wonder at the beautiful sunset. Even the kids were impressed. The picture isn’t very good because my camera sucks, but the sky was swirled in stripey layers of every shade of orange and pink and purple. It reminded me of sunsets over the Gulf of Mexico. Only my toes were in slippers instead of warm, powdery sand. (Oh, if only they were in sand instead...)



Onward…

Creative juices are flowin’ through my veins.

I’m not sure what has gotten into me lately, but I like it! Last Sunday, I wrote about how I pulled out some of my old scrapbooking supplies and started making a small scrapbook. Well, this past week I had the strangest urge to do something I haven’t done since I was a kid in Girl Scouts…embroidery. So off I went to Michaels to buy some thread and a hoop. Weird, I know. I think my little project is turning out pretty darn sweet, even if I don’t have embroidery skills that anyone would envy. Considering I haven’t embroidered since I was 6th grade, I’m kind of impressed with myself. The worst part is the eyes ain’t what they used to be, and it requires me sitting next to a window, with a lamp shining directly on the fabric, AND my old lady Walgreens special reading glasses. And I can only work for about 30 minutes at a time before my eyes start bugging out of my face. It’s not finished yet, so I’m not ready to show it off, but here’s a sneak peak.




I also made some jewelry this past week. I haven’t done that since summer, and again, it was fun, and relaxing, to pull out my boxes of beads, make a mess all over my dining room table, and create something. Two somethings actually…it’s getting close to Angel Ball time, and I decided I needed to get moving and make a bracelet. This is what I came up with and everyone loved it:




It’s only half a bracelet right now because I was hurriedly stringing beads less than an hour before I had to get to an Angel Ball meeting Thursday night and half was all I had time for.

I also made this fun necklace. When I was out Christmas shopping, I fell in love with a necklace I saw at a kiosk in the mall. I didn’t however fall in love with the $85 price tag dangling from it. I knew it was something I could make, and while it’s not exactly the same as the one I saw in the mall, I actually like this one better. The turquoise beads on the mall necklace were bigger and chunkier, and the silver chain was chunkier, and this suits my style a bit more. I also like it better because I spent nothing on it…I already had all the beads in my stash. Bonus!




Big weekend breakfasts.

I have been making the effort to make a big breakfast sometime on the weekend, and so far, I’ve made it 6 weeks in a row. I have a better track record at that than I do at writing every Sunday on my blog. Woo hoo. I’ve made a yummy breakfast casserole, overnight blueberry French toast, eggs Benedict, cinnamon rolls, omelets, banana pancakes, and this past Sunday, I made biscuits and gravy and a loaf of really yummy orange cranberry bread. It ends up being brunch more than breakfast since my children think that rising before noon is “early.” They are definitely enjoying the big breakfasts though, and they have decided that they get to take turns every week choosing what I will make. While they are arguing over what delicious feast I will make next weekend, I’m checking into how much it costs to join Curves cuz I sure am going to need it. Soon. Oh, heck…who I am fooling. I needed it 5 years ago.

Measuring cups.

Yes, I said measuring cups. A week or so ago, I came across this on the Anthropologie website, and HAD to have it. It was a frivolous purchase, I know. But I still have my $100 gift card that Share’s board of directors gave us as a Christmas gift because I haven’t really had time to go shopping and spend it. I have never bought anything from Anthropologie, and I felt like a kid on Christmas when my doorbell rang on Thursday afternoon, and I discovered the box sitting on my front porch. The really great thing about this, other than the fun factor, is that maybe just maybe when my kids put away dishes, the measuring cups will all get put away together instead of one in this cabinet, another in this drawer, another in still another cabinet.







Cookbooks.

I adore cookbooks. I can curl up with a good cookbook just as easily as I can curl up with a good novel. I have so many cookbooks that I don’t even have room to put them all out in the cabinet in my kitchen that is there solely for cookbook storage. I think it’s a sickness I have, although I have been good the past few years and haven’t bought any at all. On Sunday morning though, I found THE cookbook that has been missing from my life, even if I didn’t know it. And it was only 89 cents on my Kindle! Best 89 cents I’ve ever spent…it’s a Gooseberry Patch cookbook of nothing but homemade macaroni and cheese recipes. I think I may have drooled onto my Kindle screen when I saw it. I make mac and cheese on a weekly basis, and I am always looking for new ways to jazz it up. Which is part of the reason I am thinking of joining curves. I haven’t tried a new recipe yet, but it is on my “joyful simplicities plan” for some night this week.

Well, that is all. I guess I didn’t do too bad considering I wasn’t in the mood to write at all. And I didn’t write much about food either!

Life is Just a Bowl of Cookies...

And a pan of coconut cream cake…

And a plate of buttermilk banana pancakes…

Sheesh…I write about food wayyyyy too much! But, since cooking and baking is the one thing I know relaxes me and brings me joy, I have to write about it I guess. Especially since all I do anymore is cook and bake. And eat.

I do have more to write about than food, and I’m thrilled that I’ve made it two weeks in a row with my Joyful Simplicity Sunday post. I’m on a roll…woo hoo.
Big whoop, right? Two weeks in row? I should wait to pat myself on the back until I’ve made it two MONTHS in a row. Though that’s not likely to happen, so I have to pat myself on the back when I can.

So back to that bowl of cookies, and that pan of coconut cake and that plate of buttermilk pancakes. Alcoholics have Alcoholics Anonymous. Overeaters have Overeaters Anonymous. I wonder if there is a 12-step program for people like me who can NOT STOP BAKING. The only thing that keeps me from weighing 300 pounds is that most food around here is inhaled by my kids. My SKINNY kids I might add. Which prevents me from eating too much, although I do certainly eat my fair share. My waist line and my pants know that I speak the truth. I need to find a new less fattening hobby before all my kids leave the nest or I will weigh 300 pounds.

The weather doesn’t help. When it is dreary and cold like it has been lately, the first thing I want to do is break out the measuring cups and butter and sugar. Oh, if only butter and sugar were lowfat!

Pancakes...
This morning, I was in the mood for pancakes. I thought about making pumpkin pancakes, but I had no pumpkin, and I didn’t feel like going to the store…I had some ripe bananas in the freezer, so I searched the internet for a banana pancake recipe.
I drooled over my camera while taking this shot of my plate piled with Buttermilk Banana Pancakes dripping with maple syrup and topped with toasted pecans.




The good thing is that the pancakes didn’t taste nearly as good as that picture makes them look. Actually, they were kind of bleh, and I won’t be making that recipe again. The kids liked them…and devoured them. Tony did too, which is shocking because he doesn’t really like pancakes. Oh well. One less thing I have to eat. I didn’t even finish my plate. I could hear my body high fiving and thanking me.

Cookies…
I thought I was all burned out on cookie baking after the holidays were over and wouldn’t want to make cookies ever again. I made so many batches of cookies, I think I even made some in my sleep. But I didn’t make my favorite cookie recipe of all time…Cranberry Oatmeal Dreamsicle Cookies. I actually made up this recipe years ago by combining a couple of other recipes, and it has become a family favorite.
I have eaten way too many of those this afternoon. I’m not going to say how many.




I have discovered recently that everyone in my family loves coconut. I’m not a big fan of it. I like the flavor, and I like coconut if it is toasted, but raw…not so much. A couple of weeks ago, I bought a bag of coconut to make the one cookie recipe that I have that calls for it, put the bag in the pantry, and forgot all about it. Friday night, I walked into the family room to discover all of my kids and Tony eating a bowl of something. That something turned out to be coconut with melted chocolate on top. Ewwwwwww. Anyway, they all told me they LOVE coconut, asked me why I never make anything with coconut, said they would love it if I would make a coconut cake because that would be Heaven. So, I found a recipe, and made one for dessert tonight. I have to admit, it was pretty tasty. One piece was enough, though. Thank God. I was already feeling like I need to spend my night walking instead of sleeping. I don’t have a picture because my camera battery died just as I turned it on to take a picture. Take my word for it, it was delicious.

Enough about food!

Another joyful simplicity of my week is that I pulled out some of my ancient, dust-coated scrapbook supplies and started making a scrapbook. I used to spend hours each week making scrapbook pages in my stay at home mom days. When I started working at Share 8 years ago this month, that hobby was put aside, and I’ve not made a page since.
I’ve forgotten how much fun it is . And also how much of a mess it is!




I’m just making a small album. I will hopefully have it finished by next weekend, and I will share pictures of what that mess above turned into.

I only have one last joyful thing to write about the week. It’s been a tough week for several reasons, and this afternoon, I found out something that just warmed my heart to the point that I was in tears.
This week has been a bad one for my mom with her RA. My sister has called me several times in tears because Mom is doing so bad and is in so much pain, and she felt so helpless. I did too. The hardest thing is that the only treatment that is left to help her is so expensive that my parents can’t afford it. My sister has been trying diligently to find some assistance to help defray the cost, but unfortunately my parents make too much money, which is ridiculous. According to my sister, they make enough to just be above the poverty level, but it is too much. One person actually told my sister that if they didn’t work and were on welfare, she would have no trouble finding help with her medical costs. There is something very wrong with that, but that is not what this is about.
Since my sister lives next door, she sees my mom on a daily basis, and I know that it has to be heartbreaking for her to see her in such a state. My sister told me one day this week that Mom is already on a high dose of steroids and has been getting weekly shots, but they really are not working anymore, the doctor wants to increase her dosage, which will not be good for her body. My sister says that mom is virtually becoming crippled, pretty much unable to use her hands or even walk some days. She is in so much pain she can’t sleep at night and can barely function during the day.
So the only thing left to do is for her to have an infusion of a drug every other week that she can’t afford. As a last desperate attempt to for my mom to be able to have this infusion, she appealed to my brothers and I to commit to contributing money each month toward the treatment. She asked for us each to contribute $100-$200 a month. How do you turn that down when your mother is becoming crippled and is living in terrible pain?
You don’t. I told my sister that of course, I will contribute whatever I possibly can, and she is setting up a special bank account that we can all contribute money to whenever we have extra to contribute.

What happened today though that was so heartwarming is what my brother Rick said. My brother Rick was kicked out of our house right after he graduated from high school. He left home on foot with nothing but a suitcase. I can’t even imagine what his life has been like for these past years. None of us saw him until a few months ago when he was in St. Louis and wanted to get together with all of us. He and mom welcomed each other with open hearts and open arms, and they talk almost daily now by text.
Today, Rick told my sister that he will put his first check in the mail tomorrow, and that he will contribute even more if it is needed. He told Theresa that since he is not married and has no children, he will pick up the balance of whatever we can’t cover so that my mom has to pay nothing at all. To think that he has obviously put aside whatever bitterness for how he was treated years ago and is willing to do whatever it takes to help Mom now…that he has obviously forgiven and forgotten…I really can’t put my thoughts into words. I know though that I will be thinking on that for a good long time! LOL I can’t even say anything else about it now.
I thought this was going to be a short post tonight. Obviously, I was wrong about that.

Joyful Simplicities

A couple of months ago, I mentioned a book I bought many years ago called Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy by Sarah Ban Breathnach. I wrote about how the author of that book challenges the reader to make a list of at least 5 things you are thankful for each day. I credit that book for being one reason why I tend to look on the bright side of things most of the time. That’s not what this post is about though. The book is set up by months, and at the end of each month, there is a list called “Joyful Simplicities for October” or whatever month. The idea is to pick a few things to think about or enjoy each month…things you may not have thought of. This post is inspired by that list. Since I am so bad at writing here on a regular basis, I thought it might be fun to sit down every Sunday and write about little things I enjoyed, things that made me smile, throughout the previous week. Well, I doubt I’ll do it every Sunday because it’s pretty clear that I suck at doing anything on a regular basis. In fact, just writing that I will do this every Sunday probably just ensured that I won’t. I guess I should say instead that on certain Sundays when the moon and stars align just the right way, giving me the time and the inspiration to write, THEN I will write about the joyful simple things in my life. How’s that?
To start this possible Sunday tradition off…I have oodles of simple and some not so simple things to be overjoyed by.
This is the big one…the big kahuna of joyful simplicities! Remember last January when I wrote about how 2011 was going to be the year I finished my living room, and it then I wrote this December that I didn’t? Well, gimme a drumroll here…

My living room is ALMOST finished!
The week between Christmas and New Years, which is a vacation week for me, I got my butt in gear and finally finished peeling off the old, yucky wallpaper. It was quite an undertaking, and even with a steamer, I said lots of bad words and almost destroyed the drywall. I thought Tony was going to die when he saw what I had done, but that stuff had become part of the drywall and there was no other way to remove it. I thought he would end up having to cut out the drywall on the top part of the room and start all over, but he said it could be repaired. He couldn’t get to it, and since I was on a roll and anxious to finish the room, I decided to do the mud repair work myself. I don’t like to brag, but I did a damn fine job. Tony said I even did a better job than HE would have done. I think the key to my success was this handy little professional tool I used to spread the mud…my Wilton frosting spreader. I’m not very good at decorating cakes, but that little spatula sure came in handy.

Here are a few pictures:
What my living room has looked like for the last 2 years and 8 months:




What the walls looked like when I was finished destroying them:



And what my room looks like now:



It’s still not put back together, but I am so happy with how it turned out. The white trim has been given a new pristine coat of enamel paint, the walls are a soothing gray, and now I am ready to take on the rest of the downstairs that also needs to be painted. Let’s hope this burst of painting energy lasts.

Onward…I have many more joyful simplicities to write about…and this is way too long already.

Homemade cinnamon rolls.
6 pans of them to be exact. This is before they were finished rising and baking. I didn't take a picture of the finished rolls...everyone ate them too fast.



I made them yesterday morning. All 6 pans are gone. Well, I gave one pan to a friend, but my family ate the rest. I only ate one. (Not one roll…one PAN). Yikes. I can’t believe I just said that, but yes. Over the past 2 days, I ate 8 cinnamon rolls. Smack some sense into me and sign me up for Weight Watchers.

A 60 degree day in the middle of January.
Really, what can be more joyful than that? Just when I was starting to think that maybe Al Gore is right…the weather turned and 12 hours later, it was 9 degrees and we had snow and ice on the ground. Yes, 12 hours. At 5:00 PM on Wednesday, it was 58. At 5 AM on Thursday, it was 9 and school was cancelled. Gotta love St. Louis. You certainly don’t get bored with the weather.

What is better than a good book?
NOTHING! Well, that’s not true…a beach vacation in the middle of winter is better than a good book. Winning the lottery would definitely be better than a good book. But, in MY world, a good book is one of life’s simplest pleasures. Last week, I downloaded a book onto the Kindle that I got for Christmas because it was a freebie, and it sounded interesting. It was MORE than interesting, it was an incredible book called The Secret Holocaust Diaries. I am a history buff anyway, and both historical fiction and non fiction about World War II is my favorite period to read about. I could not put this book down.

I made omelets for the first time ever.
I have always wanted to make omelets, but have always been a bit afraid of them. Funny, I can make homemade cinnamon rolls but omelets scared me. I got an omelet pan for Christmas, and just this morning made everyone omelets for breakfast. My first few attempts weren’t the best. Justin got one first because he was getting ready to leave to go work on a school project at a friend’s house. While he gave the omelet high praise for taste…actually, he said it was ‘amazing’ and better than a Denny’s omelet...it didn’t really LOOK like an omelet. I put too much of the filling in it then couldn’t flip it over, so it really ended up looking more like a big pile of scrambled eggs with ham and cheese mixed in. Each omelet after that looked better, and by the time I got to the last one, Tony’s, I think I had the technique perfected, and I made a perfectly flipped over omelet chock full of lots of yummy stuff. The only thing I haven’t perfected yet is keeping the bottom from browning while making sure the inside is fully cooked. Fortunately, Tony likes his eggs with a bit of browned parts, so he gave it 2 thumbs up. Lauren moaned while she was eating hers, so I guess my first experience at omelet making was a success.
Check it out:



A haircut.
Not much makes me feel better than an hour or so at the hair salon. Especially when it’s a good haircut. Today wasn’t one of those good haircut days. In fact, the hair cut is pretty crappy, perhaps the worst one I’ve had for a long time, and I hate it, but it was joyful anyway thanks to the gal who cut my hair. I couldn’t get in to my normal stylist, I was desperate for a cut, so I let someone else do it.
Big mistake. Big big big mistake. Colossal mistake.

The best thing about it? I was smart enough to tell someone who’d never cut my hair before that I wanted it “trimmed” and that I like the layers on top to be “on the longish side.”
Whew. It’s a good thing I didn’t say “I need a good CUT!”
She did way more than trim. It is SHORT. Very short. From the back, I’m not sure I will even be able to wrap the hair around a curling iron. So short that my husband, who rarely notices what I do to my hair, even when it goes from salt and pepper gray to shiny, highlighted blonde said 2 seconds after he saw me: “Wow. Your hair is really short.”
Yeah. It's really really short.

The layers on top that I clearly told her I like to be on the ‘longish’ side? Well, those particular layers are about 3 inches long. They were down to my ears before. She cut more off than the length they are now.
But. There is always a but, right?
The girl was delightful. And adorable. But not in the ways you are probably thinking.
To be honest, when she walked up to me in the waiting area while I was paging through a hairstyle magazine and said, “Are you Rose?” I came this >< close to saying, “NO!” and leaving.

My first impression was definitely not of a delightful, adorable girl. Oh no! My first thought was, “NO WAY in h-e-double hockey sticks is someone with spikey pink hair TOUCHING my hair!”
Yes. I said spikey, pink hair. Not just pink…but shocking, bright pink. With medium pink and pastel pink highlights. Actually as my time sitting in her chair went on, I couldn’t help but think that person who had transformed her hair into this spikey pink confection was actually quite talented to get all of those shades of pink that blended just right. I became fascinated by her hair. It was a pink work of art for sure.
The pink hair wasn’t all.
She was also tattooed all over her arms.
She had multiple piercings. And not just in her ears.
She had a 4 inch long cone-shaped piece of clear plastic, or clear something anyway, through one of her earlobes. I was fascinated by that as well. I couldn’t decide if I should look at her hair or that huge thing protruding from her earlobe. And I kept hoping I was being discreet and that she didn’t notice me staring at either of those things. I also couldn’t help but wonder what would happen to her earlobe if she got caught in a windstorm.
But, that all said, she was a lovely girl. She was sweet, and funny, and actually, she was really cute. I found myself wondering what she looked like before she tattooed and pierced herself and turned her hair into a style and color that Pink herself would be envious of.
I wondered what her mother thinks of her.
She brought me joy for another reason. I couldn’t help but be envious of her. Not because I want tattoos and giant holes in my ears and bright pink spikey hair. When I left the salon, I thought about how very nice it would be to have so much confidence in myself and the person that I am that I could go out in public every day looking like that. Not that I would want to mind you. I’m embarrassed when I go out in public wearing sweats and no makeup and run into someone I know who I haven’t seen for a very long time. Which also happened to me today, unfortunately, after I got the very bad haircut. That story will have to be for another time.

I don’t have a picture of the cute pink haired tattooed pierced girl who cut my hair. I also don’t have a picture of my horrible haircut. No one would want to see that, but unfortunately, I can’t hibernate. I am wishing that I could, though. I have stuck my head under the kitchen faucet twice already trying to find a way to style my new haircut so that it looks decent. I haven't found a way yet.

I need to wind this down because my family thinks they need to eat. I told them I already cooked once today, what more do they want??? Didn’t work.

One other joyful thing and then I will be done.
After I left pink hair tattoo girl, I went grocery shopping. I bought this cute little bottle to put dish soap in.


I thought looking at this fat chef sitting on my kitchen sink everyday might remind me to stop baking and eating so much so I don’t become a fat chef myself. Or at least a fatter one. We shall see if it works. I’m not very optimistic about that. He may end up suffering the same fate as my little Serenity angel...shoved in a drawer.

Things I have learned in 2011

*Writing on your blog at the beginning of the year about all of the things you want to accomplish because you think that making them public will make them happen doesn’t work any better than writing them in a spiral notebook that you hide in a filing cabinet and find 8 years later. I’m kind of embarrassed that the things I wrote about last January, the few little things that I wanted to accomplish…I did NONE of them. I wrote about finally finishing my living room. Didn’t happen. I wrote about finding someone to teach me how to play the piano. Didn’t happen. I wrote about starting a regular form of exercise, such as walking or running. Didn’t happen. I wrote about how I planned to write something on my blog every day saying what I am thankful for. Didn’t happen. In fact, for the entire year, I only wrote 32 times.That is barely once a month. In order to not be sitting here in front of my computer writing on my blog about what a loser I am this time next year, I have decided I have no goals for the coming year. None. That way, I won’t have to come back here next year and report that I accomplished nothing. And, whatever I actually DO accomplish will just be a bonus.

*I would rather spend the rest of my life in prison than ever be a technical writer/researcher. Mainly, the reason I accomplished nothing I wanted to accomplish this year is because I spent most of it on a horrific writing project that made me think that my days would be better spent cleaning toilets and having root canals. Spending time in prison doesn’t sound too terrible anyway…3 meals a day that I don’t have to cook…and plenty of time to exercise. Sounds good to me.

*If one ever makes the mistake of telling one’s husband that her midlife crisis car is a Mustang convertible, be prepared for the feelings of rage that may surface when one’s husband brings home his own midlife crisis car…a convertible Mustang. In other words, I have learned to keep my midlife crisis desires to myself.

*The inventor of Pinterest is the son of the Devil. Maybe even the Devil himself. Or herself. The reason I think the inventor of Pinterest is somehow related to the Devil is because the discovery of Pinterest gave me a whole new way to waste enormous amounts of time sitting on my butt in front of my computer. It also gave me many new reasons to feel like a creatively challenged slacker. The wish list of projects I found on Pinterest that I wanted to create was way too long. The list of things I found on Pinterest that I actually did complete? Two.

*People who come up with a word of the year thinking it will somehow change their lives are whacked. I jumped on the “word of the year” bandwagon in January. I even had a Willow Tree Angel called my “word of the year.” I put her in my kitchen window sill thinking she would inspire me. She didn’t. She sat there all year mocking me. Looking at an angel called “Serenity” didn’t magically make me feel more serene. How dare her.I thought putting her in the kitchen window, where I would see her a million times a day, would remind me to BE serene. It didn’t. In fact, on one particularly bad day, I shoved her into a drawer so I wouldn’t have to look at her. I did that back in the summer and forgot all about her. Then, when my sister was here right after Thanksgiving, she opened that barely used junk drawer looking for a pair of scissors, held her up and asked me, “Why do you have this Willow Angel shoved in a drawer. I didn’t tell her why. I lied, said I put it in there when I was cleaning, took her out of my sister’s hand and put her back in the window sill while secretly flipping her off. (The angel, not my sister!).

So, on the cusp of the coming year, I have no goals, no word of the year, nothing I want to accomplish.

It’s going to be a successful year.

Bringing vacation home with me

Back in the spring, I went to visit my niece in Florida. It was cold and dreary at home, even though it was May, and I spent 2 1/2 glorious days basking in the sun, walking on the beach, burying my toes in powdery white sand, eating crab cakes, and drinking margaritas while watching the sun tinge the sky every shade of red, orange, yellow and purple as it slowly set over the Gulf of Mexico. Coming home was rather depressing as I love Florida and everything about it. Well, almost everything...I don't love the giant bugs that inhabitat that state. But I love pretty much everything else...sand, blue skies, margaritas on the beach...especially when it's cold at home...there is something just so satisfying about being on the beach in Florida when it is cold at home.

On one of the days that I was visiting my niece, we went to my favorite beach in Sarasota. We took a long, hot trek down the beach, and on the way back to the car, we gathered shells. I don't know if the tide was just right or what, but we collected piles and piles of shells. It took us at least 2 hours to walk 1/2 mile down the beach because we kept stopping to poke and dig and scrape through the sand looking for the perfect shells. We collected so many we could barely carry them all.

When I arrived back home with my bags of sandy shells, I was sort of depressed when I unpacked my suitcase. I love the beach, and I always hate leaving. Besides, the shells smelled a bit funky, so I took them to the kitchen to wash and laid them out on towels to dry on my counter, not sure what I was going to do with so many shells. I decided to put them in bowls on my desk and other places around my house and office so that I could keep that Florida vacation feeling close for a while. I even sorted them into similar types. I don't know what these are, but I am always drawn to them when I am at the beach, and this bowl still sits on my piano all these months later:




This bowl contains a hodge podge of some of my favorites from the trip. It also sits on my piano, although when I first came home, it was on my desk next to the computer:




Over the past months, I have thought of putting the shells away, especially as I decorated for fall, but I couldn't do it. Seeing those little bowls of shells makes me happy when I remember those few days hanging out with my niece who I don't get to see nearly as often as I would like to.

I am so fortunate to have been able to take two vacations by myself this year, and I once again brought vacation home with me. This time though, I did it on purpose, knowing that I wanted to bring something home that would bring back fond memories of the trip. These branches, pine cones, and stones were gathered from my friend's backyard in Maine. I know the greenery won't last as the shells have; they will soon turn brown. But for now, I will enjoy their piney scent while remembering fun times spent with her family. And her dog, who I was playing with when I collected the branches, rocks and pine cones! And you can't tell from the picture, but the rocks have little sparkles in them, which is what caught my eye.




I think I have begun a new tradition of bringing treasures home with me from my travels;I can't think of a better way to keep the vacation spirit alive. Although I will have to watch my kids, at least my son who must be a closet pyromaniac. He wanted to see if the pine branches smelled better if he put one over the candle flame, and he caught it on fire. The kitchen sink wasn't far away, so all is well.

Random Rambling Post Number 999

I have been trying to sit myself down and write here for almost two weeks now. I always have the best of intentions…it seems like every Sunday, I tell myself, “I’m going to write at least 3 times this week!” I’m living in a dream world, obviously. It’s not that I don’t WANT to write. I do. I’d write every night if I could. I just can’t. By the time I can actually sit down and think enough to write, I’m too tired to type out anything coherent before my eyes glaze over and my head threatens to nod onto my keyboard. One night last week, I was sitting at my computer writing, I picked up my wine glass and started to read over what I had just written, my eyes closed, my hand opened, my wine glass fell to the carpet. That was my cue that it was probably time for bed. I’m just glad my wine glass fell to the floor rather than onto my laptop keyboard. But what a waste of a glass of wine! No, I wasn’t passing out from too much wine! LOL I was just tired, I had just poured it, and I hadn't even had a drink of it yet.

That’s just how tired I’ve been lately…by the time I sit, I can barely stay awake. Working full time is kicking my butt. I’m not cut out for this. But, since we aren’t cut out for winning the lottery…this is my life, and I am trying to make the best of it. For now anyway.

So, I’m going to “dump” a bunch of random things in this here post…things I would have written about if I had actually been writing the past two weeks.


Halloween…

Two Saturdays ago, I hosted nine 13 year old girls for a Halloween party. Tony told Lauren and Rachel back in the summer that they could have a Halloween party. Then, we ended up having a party for Lauren’s birthday, spent way too much money and energy on it, and we then nixed the Halloween party. I soon realized that wasn’t fair at all to Rachel, so I told her she could invite a few friends over. Unfortunately, the day of the party fell on a Saturday at the end of a very long work week for me, and I had work obligations that weekend as well. I did nothing for the party until 11 am the day of the party, and I spent the afternoon running around like a mad woman buying everything I needed and then coming home and decorating and preparing.

The party was a huge success. Well, it was a huge success after I got over wanting to punch most of the girls. Several of those who came were the girls who gave Rachel such grief over the summer, but they are all best buds again. If I would have not known how awful they were just a few short months ago, I would have enjoyed it a whole lot more. I put my feelings aside and managed to have fun anyway. The girls were all very nice, they all thanked me for having the party, they all had fun, so it was worth it. Several times throughout the night, I found myself feeling a bit envious of all of them. Yeah, I ‘m nuts…envious of 13 year old girls. And trust me, I would NOT relive that time of my life for a bazillion dollars. I just so enjoyed watching their easy way around each other. I did not have close friendships like that when I was a kid, and I am so glad that both of my girls do, even with the problems they sometimes have. They will both look back someday and have some great memories, and I am so glad for that.

Here are a few pictures.

Even though I waited until the last possible moment to actually buy, decorate and cook, I had found several fun ideas on the internet in the weeks before the party, and I knew what I wanted, I just had to actually do it. I ran across this idea back in September, and couldn’t wait to create it. Once again, I am proud of how cheaply I pulled this off. I bought the boots for $3 a pair at the Goodwill store near my house. I bought two pairs of tights at the Halloween Superstore, and I probably paid more for them than I did for all the other decorations combined, but since they were an integral piece…I had to. The orange tablecloth was a buck at Walmart. The purple and green vases were also found at Goodwill…a dollar each. Everything else on the table, I bought at the dollar store or I already had. I spent a total of $15 decorating the table, and I love how it turned out.










I spent a dollar making these:





Well, and my time cleaning jars out of the refrigerator. Again, I saw this online weeks before Halloween, and thought it looked like fun. The only thing I bought was a roll of white crepe paper streamers at the dollar store. I cut strips in half, glued the strips to the jar using Mod Podge, then covered it all with another coat of Mod Podge. Rachel drew the mummy faces. Lined up in my kitchen window, I thought they were pretty cute.

Normally, when I have a party, I go all out on food. This time, I went all out on decorations, and did food easy. We bought Little Caesar’s Pizza, and I made Rachel’s favorite cheese dip, some candy cane bark, and a cake.

Here are some pictures of Rachel and her friends:



I love this girl. Rachel has been friends with her since kindergarten, and she is so sweet. Rachel doesn't get to spend much time with her though. When she was leaving, she gave me a hug and told me thank you over and over and said how much fun she had. I love how kids today are so much more open with their feelings than when I was a kid. I don't think I ever hugged one of my friend's mom.



One more:




I can’t believe how fast she is growing up. Sniff sniff. And I love that she is 13 and wants to have her friends over here.

Okay, onward and upward!

Cardinal’s Baseball…

The week before Halloween and the big shindig was a busy one. The Cardinals were in the World Series, and two of my cousins were here from Colorado to go to the games. I was able to get together with them a couple of times, and it was so good to see and hang out with them. They were the “cool” cousins when we were all kids…when they came to town, life stopped…I think it was probably because their life seemed so glamorous compared to the rest of us…they lived in Colorado, they skied…their life just seemed so foreign to the rest of us. I have so many great memories of times spent with these two and their dad, my Uncle Jim, who was killed in a car accident in 1989. I haven’t seen them for years, so it was definitely a treat to get together with them. It was fun to reminisce about their dad, our grandma…and they had such a great time being here. Their dad was a huge Cardinal fan, and they always dreamed of going to the World Series when they were younger. They both even still have, and wore, their Cardinal caps from when they were kids.

In honor of the Cardinals being in the playoffs and World Series, I dusted off my cake decorating tools. I made these cupcakes for the first game the Cards played the Brewers




And I made this cake for dessert the night they ended up winning the World Series.




Yes, there is an obvious reason why my cake decorating tools were dusty, and those pictures are the proof. Years ago, I took a cake decorating class with a friend, just for fun. I have quite a collection of silver Wilton tips...it was indeed fun, but I quickly realized that I have absolutely NO talent whatsoever for cake decorating. I have the vision, but not the skill…oh well, I have other talents, and I try to embrace those. I had fun making that cake though, and the kids loved it. what's not to love about chocolate cake, even if it is crappily decorated?

Coconut Oil…




This afternoon at the grocery store, I bought a $5 miracle in a jar. According to things I have read on the interwebs…coconut oil can do everything from make dry, frizzy hair as silken and shiny as baby hair, soften hands and cuticles and elbows and dry skin, remove eye make up, make wrinkles disappear… It can also be used to make a magic shell type ice cream topping. From what I have read, coconut oil is the ultimate multitasker. So, I had to pick up a jar and see for myself just what it can do. I have already put some on my hands that have begun to crack and dry even though we’ve only had a few days of cold weather. I really bought it for my hair, though. I guess you are supposed to put it on the dry ends, wrap your head in Saran Wrap, and then leave it on overnight before washing it out. I’m testing that out tonight. I now look like someone who could play Danny Zuko in the stage production of Grease, and I'm sure I'll look even funnier when I am ready to wrap plastic around my head and go to sleep. and NO, I'm not going to post a picture of that! The things we women do for beauty...

I was kind of worried that I might end up smelling like a pina colada. I do like a good pina colada when I’m lounging on the beach, but I really don’t want to smell like one. I was pleasantly surprised though when I opened the jar and discovered that it really has no smell at all.

I am not the kind of person that falls for gimics and fads, but I have read so much about this stuff that I decided to just give it a try. If it doesn’t work on my hair and cuticles, I’ll have it on hand to make lots of ice cream topping. Just what I need…another reason to eat ice cream.

Wow, this didn’t end up being as long as I thought it would be. Shocking. And wow, I didn’t write much about food. I’m sure that will change after this weekend, though. I have a few new recipes I want to try, one is for a pumpkin yeast bread that is rolled out flat, spread with butter, brown sugar and cinnamon and then rolled up before rising and baking. That’s going to be my Sunday morning project. I wish I could come up with a new hobby. One that is less fattening.

Signs of Fall

I’m proud to say I wrote this post yesterday as I was playing hooky. I was supposed to be at a workshop, and I decided that I wasn’t going because I needed a mental health day. I needed it badly. And when I need a mental health day badly…it behooves me (and everyone else!) to be selfish and take it. On Monday, I begin working full time for the first time since before I became a mom…so almost 21 years. YIKES!! In 6 months, I will be the mom of a 21 year old. How in the world did THAT happen??

Anyhoo…while I have at times worked 40 plus hours a week over the years, I always knew it was a temporary thing during a busy time, and I always looked forward to the time when my hours would soon get back to normal and I’d once again have my 2 days off during the week. And typically, after a period of working way too many hours, my boss would force me to take some time off.

Those days are coming to a screeching, grinding halt as of 2 days from now when I will begin working full time, on salary, on a permanent basis. While I know it will be nice to have a guaranteed income, and I did get a raise, I’m so very apprehensive about working every single day. I always feel as if my life, my kid’s lives, my family’s life, and my home suffers during the times I am extra-busy at work, and I worry about how I am going to juggle everything now. In the past when I have worked that many hours, I didn’t cook the kinds of dinners I like to cook, my house wasn’t in the order that I like for it to be in, my laundry wasn’t caught up (aw, hell, I might as well admit it, my laundry isn’t caught up when I am working very few hours), and I came home from work each day mentally and physically exhausted and wishing I could go to bed at 7 PM. But again, I always knew that in a few days or weeks, I’d be back to my normal routine.

Now, THAT ^^ is going to BE my normal routine, and I’m frightened by that. Actually, I’m going to say my second colorful word in this post…I’m scared shitless by that.

Sooo….that is why I decided on a whim yesterday morning to play hooky. It was my last Friday of freedom! I baked some pumpkins and cleaned the house and made some caramels…I even curled up on the couch under a quilt and watched a movie.

So what does all of the above whining about how I have to start working more have to do with signs of fall? It doesn’t. So sorry. I will now get right to the point.

I have very mixed feelings about fall; I guess you could call it a love/hate relationship. On the love side of the coin…I love the crispness in the air that blows away the oppressive humidity of summer. I love having the windows open. I love the sky that is so blue without the haze of humidity dulling it. I love sitting out on my porch in the morning with a steaming cup of coffee while wearing flannel pajama pants. I love that I can enjoy my porch without being a Thanksgiving feast for mosquitos. I love when I go outside at night and smell everyone’s fireplaces. I love how when I am a block away from my office, I come up over a hill and see the river ahead of me with brightly colored trees of red and orange and yellow lining it’s banks. I love unpacking my sweaters. I love buying candy corn. I love buying beautiful little sugar pumpkins and the delicious scent they send wafting through my house as they roast in the oven. And I especially love the muffins and cakes and cookies I bake with those little roasted pumpkins. I love making soup on a regular basis…both old favorites and a few new recipes, too.

I love decorating my house for fall, almost as much as I love decorating my house for Christmas. This display started out on my kitchen table, but was quickly moved to the dining room as I realized what a hassle it was to move it all when we needed to eat.

My favorite thing about this? I only spent about $5 to create it. I had everything already in my house except the pumpkins.



Here is the same display at night with the candles burning:








I also love this:




A couple of months ago, I got a catalog in the mail and fell in love with a gorgeous arrangement of sunflowers and berries. I didn’t however, fall in love with the price.--it was $59. Again, not in MY budget. So I tore the page out and went to Michaels. I already had the vase with the rocks in it, and for $6, I bought a bundle of silk sunflowers, a small bunch of swirly branches and berries, and a small bouquet of little fall colored flowers. (Gotta love the 40% off sales at Michaels!) It’s not an exact replica of the one I drooled over in the catalog, but it is a pretty darn close tightwad version of it. I have always loved sunflowers anyway, and they remind me of my dear friend who has sunflower décor in her kitchen, so every time I see this vase of sunflowers when I walk in my front door, it makes me smile and think of her.

I bought these little sparkly gourds and the cornucopia basket on an end-of-season clearance last year at Hobby Lobby.




I don’t know why I liked those sparkly gourds so much as I usually like having fall décor that looks more natural, and let's be honest...sparkly gourds do not grow in nature. But I like them anyway, and my piano was the perfect spot to display them.

And I have to show THIS off:



I have always wanted an entire set of those dishes to use in the fall. But again, not in my budget. Darn money! I found that plate over the summer at the Goodwill store near my house for get this...$3! (Yeah, I sometimes shop at Goodwill...I'm a tightwad, and it makes me happy to find a good bargain).


Like I said, I love fall. I really do. I love everything about it. Well, almost everything…really, the only thing I hate about it is that those fabulous crisp days that blow away the summer steaminess are themselves blown away by winter dreariness and chill. I wish fall was followed by spring instead, because then I could enjoy it even more than I do. If spring followed fall, life would be blissfully perfect. Well, maybe not perfect, but I would be a happy girl if I never had to live through winter again…if I could go right from crunchy leaves and bonfires and pumpkin muffins to tulips and daffodils and robins and just skip the freezing temperatures and ice and snow. Blech. If there is anywhere in the world like that…I’m moving there!

That all said, I have really been enjoying fall. Last week, I bought these beautiful mums and a few pumpkins for the kids to carve. I bought them to use on the stage at the walk, and now they are a bright spot of color on my front porch, and I smile each time I pull in the driveway and feast my eyes upon them. Try to bask in the loveliness of the flowers and pumpkins and pretend that you don’t see the dirt and dead leaves on the porch. It’s okay if you notice the cobwebs…I’m harvesting my own Halloween decorations. Why spend money on those fake sticky spiderwebs when I can just grow my own?





I had to buy this one:




Those were the colors of my high school, and seeing it brought back some fond memories.

I bought this delicious smelling candle at Kohl’s a few days ago. It’s not obvious from the picture, but the jar is orange and sort of sparkly, it came with a cute wooden lid and a little metal acorn tied with raffia. I am going to have to find a way to use the jar for something when the candle is burned away.




A few weeks ago, I knitted myself a scarf in some fallish colors. I think this is my new favorite scarf pattern…I knitted it only a few days.




I have been enjoying the flavors of fall as well. Last week, I made some roasted buttercup squash for dinner. No one would eat it but me (crazy family I tell ya!) and while at first it pissed me off (wow, 3 bad words…I think that may be a first!) when I thought about it, I was glad…more for me to eat! In the last week, I’ve made a pot of chili, apple streusel coffee cake for breakfast on Sunday, an apple pie (of course!), and chicken noodle soup. I’ve also eaten way too many honey crisp apples.



Those things are like crack…I can’t get enough of them. Kind of like how I feel about fresh tomatoes in the summer—I gorge myself on them because I know they are only around for a short time. Unfortunately, they are also about as expensive as crack.

And in honor of soup season, I bought these cute little bowls because I was tired of eating soup out of the kids plastic cereal bowls.



I really am drooling over red and yellow Fiestaware dishes right now, but since Fiestaware isn’t in my budget…buck fifty Mainstay bowls from Walmart will have to do.

I was in Gordmans the other day, and HAD to buy this bag of coffee.



First of all, I love pumpkin spice coffee. It’s my second crack. I’ve already bought some, but I thought the bag was too cute. And bonus…it was WAY cheaper than the pumpkin spice coffee I buy at the grocery store.

I also have a new addiction that may or may not be limited to fall…homemade caramels. I’ve spent so much money on white sugar, brown sugar, butter, baking chocolate…all in search of THE perfect caramel. I think I have it perfected, but I may need to do many more taste tests, just to be 100% sure.

One more sign of fall and the impending winter…today was Justin’s last ever cross country meet. It’s kind of sad in a way…by this time next year, he will likely be away at college, and while I have known that, it just kind of hit me this morning. Here is a picture of him ready to cross the finish line at his last meet. Sniff sniff...



I will leave this lonnnnnggggg post with this photo:



I found that at Gordmans and of course, I had to buy it. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it...maybe put it on the desk and use it for bills. Maybe paying bills won't be so depressing if I have that motivational quote to look at every time I place another one in the box.