#enjoying

A few weeks ago I listened to Mindy Kaling reading her book Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? and one of the others readers mentioned “puffy stickers”.  That mention took me way back to elementary school, maybe middle school to when I collected puffy stickers! Rainbows and unicorns and scratch n' sniff stickers too.

I really enjoyed listening to her read her book; she is definitely someone I would have enjoyed hanging out with... she's so funny and down to earth.

She talks about an an "Irish exit" out of parties and that is something I totally do - I prefer to slip out of a party unnoticed rather than make a big display but that is harder to do when kids are involved as the exits may turn to the theatrical.

I also listened to Reese Witherspoon read Harper Lee's Go Set a Watchman.  I wasn't sure what to expect with this book but I thoroughly enjoyed it being read to me by Reese. I thought she did a great job reading the story.

Also, enjoying canned smoke trout. I know, random. Actually it's not so random. When I was in Napa a few months ago, we visited a tapas place and one of the small plates we ordered was the smoke trout. It was served in the tin (like my picture below) with a side a toasted baguette. So simple and so yum. Since I have been back home I have searched every grocery store I visit for canned smoked trout. Recently I got lucky in a new Walmart Neighborhood Market which carried TWO brands of the yummy savory snack.

Not quite the same, but delicious!

I tested them both out, once with melba toast for lunch and once with the family, served on toast with scrambled eggs. Both were very delectable.

Looking forward to more yumminess and reading in my near future.

Bookish

So I finally finished Hunger Games after I got home from Elk Grove Saturday night. I had 10 pages left when we touched down and I guess I could have sped-read them while waiting on luggage but I didn't want to rush the ending. 


My friend Christina was on the trip with me so I tried my hardest to finish the book while we were TDY so I could return it, but what can I say? We spent too much time gabbing and catching up on life after class that I didn't have time. Bygones, because we had a lovely time instead. And we made a new friend!

Last night in Elk Grove

When Scott and the family got home Saturday we decided to rent the movie version of Hunger Games as it was only 99 cents. While I liked the movie, I couldn't help but be critical when things were glossed over or not developed enough to understand (for someone who hadn't read the book). After the movie I explained the deviations and surprises. For one, I did not know from the book that Rue was a little black girl (not that that was a deviation - that was a nice surprise). Such a cutie pie too! And how cool is it that Cinna was played by Lenny Kravitz?!  I won't post the deviations and spoil the movie for you. 

So anyway, today my friend Christina brought me the other books in the series - Catching Fire and Mockingjay - so I'm hoping to carve out some time to read on this extra long weekend. I also got another zombie book from a co-worker that I'm sure I will enjoy.

Found

Last night as I was be-bopping around putting things away I walked through the office and found this in my chair...

Someone took mama's seat....

BTW, this dog has stolen my seat and my heart...

I knew we were going to have Chef Salad tonight but I didn't have a final ingredient list in my head. We had a big tub of organic go-to salad from Sam's and some cherry tomatoes and ham and assorted cheese, and we got some avocados, cucumber, cilantro and Marzetti's version of Ranch Dressing (which still sits unopened at this moment) from the store last night too. We are fans of salads in this household (actually, we are fans of food in general in this house) so I like to try to keep it interesting around here. My inspiration were those creamy avocados....I had one at lunch with the juice of a whole lime and a sprinkle of salt...yum!




So, anyway, onto the green salad mix went halved cherry tomatoes, cucumber chunks, chopped sliced ham, fresh corn from the cob, purple cabbage, a can of white kidney beans (because I didn't have any black beans on hand), avocado chunks, monterey jack, cilantro, olive oil and 2 limes' worth of juice (with a pinch of salt). I tossed this together and served it with warmed tortilla halves slathered in butter. I must say this was a very satisfying meal that did not heat up the house...

The most interesting ingredients were found in the crisper (leftover cobs of corn and a half a head of purple cabbage)

Earlier today at my office I was trying to find a way to display all of the projects that I am working on currently. They are all at the same priority (high) and they are shuffled around on a daily basis. I don't want to file them away just yet because I often need a folder or 3 out to reference at a time. So I found myself in the supply room looking for a folder/binder organizer. After having no luck there, I put on my Thinking Cap and I remembered that I had a bottle dryer in the deep recesses of my cabinet to the left of the fridge. I dug around in those recesses and found something better (no bottle dryer in there) than that (guess I need to adjust my Thinking Cap, huh?).

Ta-da! Cooking stone holder or folder/binder organizer?

I bought this at a Pampered Chef party years ago but I don't have the counter space for it and I only have 2 cooking stones which already have a home. So I'm taking this to my office where it can be utilized once again...

Lastly, tonight I grabbed a handful of Little Golden Books to read to the Little Ones and 2 of the books I ended up reading I'd never read to them before. One was called Hush, Hush It's Sleepytime (vintage from the Ben Franklin store in Tahlequah - 1968) and the other was  A Blessing From Above.  That second book caught me off guard tonight as I was reading through it. It's a book about adoption and I choked back tears reading about how Mama Roo wanted a baby and how she finally got one... what a sweet way to illustrate adoption. It certainly isn't the first book we have around here about adoption, but it was a nice surprise book to find in the library.

I love it when I can manage a healthy dinner from the fridge and pantry. And I love it when I can find another use for something I spent my hard earned money on (and had the foresight to save..and no, I am not a hoarder). And I love it when a book or friend or situation speaks to me and my kids in a way they can understand. And I love it of course that my children and my pets have found their ways to us.

How about you? What are you loving these days?

TGIF

I have way too many competing thoughts in my head right now so I think I will just unload them as they come along:

RUDE AWAKENINGS
First off, I got crap for sleep last night because after getting into bed early with the windows open (ahhhh!) I was rudely awakened by a calf cramp (argh!) that made me lunge out of bed at 2:26am. I got rid of the cramp by stretching and drinking water and then I tried to pick up where I left off with sleep. About 5 minutes into that effort I heard a screeching of tires in the driveway next door (which is only like 10 feet from our bed) and heard some coughing and an "Are you okay now?". I peered out the window and saw one of my neighbors puking into her bushes (thankfully not MY bushes) while some guy stood near her.  I hadn't heard a car engine revving because the guy was driving a "golf cart" (as Emi would say) - something that is gaining in popularity in my neighborhood.  A smaller version of one my parents have.


BLOOD, BONES & BUTTER
This book is waiting for me at the library. I put it on hold the other day seconds after reading a recommendation for it from The Inspiration Files blog.  I love that I can do that. Speaking of the library, last weekend after I posted pictures of the bench that I moved into our library, I got busy culling out junk to toss and books to donate. I also went through all of the kid vids, donating what we don't want or need and chucking the empty DVD holders.  I filled up a medium sized box that is now with the other stuff in the basement waiting patiently for my next trip to Salvation Army (my charity of choice because it's the closest to my house). Even with just that cursory culling the library looks so much better.

LONG WEEK
While this week was short in days, it felt longer for me. Probably because Scott was out of town Wednesday night and I was flying solo with the kids.  While I can definitely imagine being a single mom to 3 kids, I can't imagine liking it.  It wasn't too bad but just because Daddy wasn't around, each little hobo tried to change up the schedule of events for Wednesday. Can we eat out? No. Can I sleep in your bed with you? Me too, me too! No. Can we watch a movie? No. I took all of the kids to Emi's soccer practice and was planning to hang out and play during practice until my good friend (thank you, Sharmin!) volunteered to bring Emi home after practice. I think we screeched our tires getting out of there before she could change her mind.  The Little Ones needed a bath and dinner and we needed to Skype with the grandparents at 7pm. And they needed to be in bed by 7:30. So, I did things in reverse order and bathed the kids before dinner. During the Skyping their aunt read them a book so we could skip that part of the bedtime routine.  And after they were in bed, Emi wanted to stay up so I invited her to sit in the peace and quiet with me and read. And she did until she fell asleep (like a good girl) at 8:30.

The whole house was so quiet with the windows open and I only need to tweak one thing on my blog before I could welcome sweet slumber. That's when I heard a crunch, crunch through the front porch window. When I looked up expecting to see one of my cats eating her dinner, I saw a masked bandit instead. I knocked on the window to scare him off but he seemed to open his little bandit arms in a gesture of "What? I'm eatin' here!" so I had to go onto the porch to run him off. I settled back in with my laptop afterwards until he returned. That's when I decided the front lawn needed a nice long watering. I sprayed down everything including the porch and returned to my warm laptop. Amazingly he was back so I ran him off again. This time he decided to hide in the back yard.

So I flipped on all of the backyard lights and soon spotted the raccoon walking around like "What have we here?" eyeing the water bowl, checking out the chicken coop. I came out with a broom screaming like a crazy woman and chased him up our Enchanted Pecan Tree.  As I was texting Scott about my concern for the chickens (raccoons have been known to slaughter chickens!) the little guy came down the pecan tree and headed for the front yard where he ran under the Disco. I could see him pacing around trying to figure out which way to run so I ran at the Disco to encourage him to leave and he was well on his way until a neighbor from next door drove up, scaring him past me back into the back yard. Eventually Rocky Raccoon left, chickens unharmed, and I was able to finish my blogwork and get to bed.

WEEKENDING
I'm looking forward to yoga (maybe with my early riser, David-son!); the first soccer game of the season; planting some seeds; drinking some red, red wine; carting off some stuff to The Salvation Army; reading a good book; viewing some Dexter & Breaking Bad; and maybe eradicating the Dallisgrass in the front yard.

What about you? Any exciting plans for the weekend?

What I'm Reading Currently

While I am reading Raising Your Spirited Child for very obvious reasons (to save the dear little boy's life) I also have a couple of books checked out in an effort to glean some vegan and raw recipes, techniques and tips.  Looking for new inspiration and new healthy ingredients to add into our repertoire.

The first book I scanned for recipes/tips was Alicia Silverstone's The Kind Diet.  This book was focused mainly on macrobiotics, which is fine. Back in 2004 we did the mostly macrobiotic diet to become healthier and I shed 13 pounds I did not know that I had to lose. Bonus! I already have the Hip Chick's Guide to Macrobiotics from way back when so I didn't feel compelled to check out a lot of her recipes but a few things went on my list of things to try: Fried Udon Noodles,  Pecan Crusted Seitan, Pan Fried Mochi, and Moroccan Couscous with Saffron.

As a result of the quick afternoon of perusing her book I finally made a meal with tempeh. It was wolfed down by the whole family so we'll definitely incorporate tempeh into the mix. Now that I think about it, it might not have been a result of reading her book. I got the tempeh before I had her book but I was inspired to cook with it after I returned her book so I will give Alicia the credit.

Tempeh Stir Fry - yum!

 
I also purchased some mochi from the new store in town and we'll be trying it out this weekend. Not the pan fried version but the cashew/date baked version. We are already brown rice converts (organic short grain); a carryover from the mostly macrobiotic days.

The second book I've been scanning for recipes/tips is Ani's Raw Food Essentials - this book was listed on Gena's recommended reading list for the newly raw-curious. So far I've gotten some good recipes to try and I am inspired to make my own vanilla extract and kimchi very soon.  I have also wanted to try raw cheeze to see if it's something that is actually palatable so I jotted down the Basic Cheeze and Chipotle Cheeze recipes.  Ani has a wonderful sounding Mexican Lime Soup that I may un-cook this week and the other recipes on the list to try are her Pad Thai with Kelp Noodles, Sesame Noodles and Tamari Almonds.

The last book in my queue is Skinny Bitch, Ultimate Everyday Cookbook .... it looks promising...and I hope to have some time this week to glean some good stuff from it.

Alone Time

A few weeks ago I got to attend a conference in Orlando and it was nice to stay in a place where I could not do laundry... Instead I got to enjoy this view while I was in my room:

Disney's Coronado Springs Resort

And for most of my days I was at a much swankier place enjoying a nice view in between tracks and sessions and meetings:

Outside the Dolphin

Dolphin Hotel

In the grand stands waiting for the show

And one night, the company rented out Hollywood Studios for the evening and let us conferencers eat, drink and play to our hearts' contents. It was a fun night but not nearly as fun as last year when they rented out the Animal Kingdom park (and my family was there with me!)

But we did get to see a thrilling stunt show.

I didn't ride any rides because I rode them all the previous year and there was ice cream and beer at every corner....I was like a kid in a candy shop. ;.)

I had a 7 hour layover at Dulles so I took advantage of the time and finished reading my book - Let the Great World Spin. It was an enjoyable and educational trip for sure, a much needed break away, but I was so glad to get home to my family!

Wild Things

Dreading vs. Dredding

I have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Dread Crew: Pirates of the Backwoods since July when I pre-ordered it and it finally arrived TODAY! I found a link to Sweet Salty from Better Now earlier this year and was excited to hear that Kate was writing her first novel, a children's book. If it's anywhere near as good writing as her blog entries are, we are in for a real treat. That woman can tell a story. Because of Kate and her beautiful writing, I have put Nova Scotia on my list of places to travel. May not get to crack open the book until the end of the week because my evenings are booked with Emi hair appointments. I am painstakingly combing out the braids and dividing them into smaller braids, one section at a time to keep all of our sanity...it's barely working because her hair has loc'd a little, but her hair is slowly looking cute and cared for again. And we stop before either one of us is in too much pain and sleep it off...Book review and braid pics to come...

Identical Strangers

Just finished reading that book and I was so amazed! What a wonderfully written account of these twin girls being separated at birth as part of a psychological study of Nature vs. Nurture (officially) and inheritability of mental illness (unconfirmed). I came across this book on NPR's "Talk of the Nation" one day recently and immediately reserved the book at the library. Of course I already had have Blindness checked out but was having a hard time getting back into the book each time I put it down (but I haven't given up). Identical Strangers was so interesting and I found myself making time to read it. Reading about their struggles to find information on birth family strengthens my position on open adoption.

The Children's Hour

Three weeks ago I was Googling around trying to recall the name of a collection of red books we had as children in the 70's. I was trying desperately to recall the first book I ever read and my mind kept coming back to the Best Loved Poems book in this collection.

Two weeks ago my sister was checking up on the pups for me and she left me a box of books for our new library. When I came home the next day, I was pleasantly surprised to see The Children's Hour collection of 16 books waiting for me!

Last night I was sorting through old photos I noticed that these books were in the Christmas loot photo too!

Long Awaited Library...

We painted the living room walls a rich Ralph Lauren 'Tea and Sweets' (looks exactly like the "Sugar Cookie" color we had envisioned) and it was perfect in warming up the room. It's a subtle change from the flat beige that the walls were when we moved in, and it looks and feels really nice now. Our accent color (drapes, overstuffed rocking chair, etc) are a vibrant red, so we thought it would be okay to have a mellow color on the walls.

We've begun to organize books onto the shelves of our home library. Soon we will have some nice floor pillows and or bean bags for lounging...