It’s raining in the desert today.  The skies have been grey and wet for 2 solid days now, I could not be more pleased.  @mother nature- BRING IT ON!

I’m recovering from last weeks massive fundraiser at the kids’ school and a few other things.  These grey days have been perfect for curling up on the couch…which of course leads to massive amounts of deep reflection (you to?!).  I read a book yesterday that caused a serious rift in my glorification of the 1950′s & 60′s.  Its called Cotton Queen by Pamela Morsi, and it was a light piece of fiction- easy to read and a story that isn’t quite as predictable as I thought it would be.

I am not naive to the plight of women through the centuries, I took the prerequisite Women’s studies classes that all enlightened and educated women take in college.  I was fascinated with Women’s suffrage at the tender age of 17 and wrote a history report all about the movement and the key players.  While I intellectually understood a lot of freedoms that were not available to women- even in to the 1970′s and 80′s, this book helped me to feel it, for the first time.

The thought of living through the 60′s feels like a horror movie to me. I want to kiss the ground of every woman who walked before me and paved the way for me to enjoy the freedom to: educate myself at some of the best schools; to climb as high as I am willing to on the corporate ladder; to raise my children how I know to be best without the ramification of a narrow social view.

My grandmother was a divorced mother of 6 (!!!) in the early 1960′s, I can only imagine the social isolation she must have felt and the lack of social structures to help her both care for her children and feed them.  She managed to come out on top, though no doubt it was a hard battle.

My mother became a single mom of two little girls at a tender age and at the beginning of the 1980′s.  Women were just starting to be offered the same jobs as men at that point, but the pay was no where near equatable.  I can only imagine the fear in her heart as she had to decide what to do to support my sister and I…the isolation that comes from being a single mom when all your contemporaries are young college co-eds.

I am glad that our mothers and grandmothers and great grandmothers paved the way…I hope in my own way I too can make the world a better place for my daughters.  I am grateful that they will have choices; but with those choices comes a great responsibility.  I hope they will grow to be strong, capable, and compassionate women.

All through the holiday gauntlet (Halloween through New Years) you hear people talking about keeping perspective, and to remember what matters most in life.  “Don’t get caught up in all of it”, the voices say.  It got me thinking….

Have you ever done an art project with small children….and glitter?  They adore glitter. “Too much” is really never enough, they just can’t help themselves- all that glue and the shiny-shiny of the glitter.  No matter how patiently you explain the concept that less is more and that you only need a little glue….They pour the glue into globs that will take a min. of 4 days to dry and will dump the entire 3oz container of glitter onto that one little spot.

My mailbox (both virtual and literal) is bursting with catalogs & slicks ads.  My television is blasting commercials about all sorts of items I can purchase to fill up that space under the tree.  Clever bloggers are posting pictures of their magazine worthy decorated homes, all ready for Santa.   I’ll admit that some of those items the slick little advertisers are pushing my way are very much like glitter to me.  Shiny, sparkly items that I want just as much as that toddler wants the jar of glitter.  The key is moderation.  Because, like glitter, a little bit can go a long way.  If I focus on what is really important to me in my life then the glitter isn’t quite so tempting, and little bits here and there add shine to my life.  If I focus too much on the glitter then who I am gets lost in the glob of glue and the blinding shine of the glitter.

Here’s to not getting blinded by the glitter this year…but finding just enough sparkle to make you shine!

Jaylee asked me to whip up a Holiday Gift Certificate (coupon thing-y) for her, and it turned out so cute I decided to offer it as a printable for all!

I think I’m going to have my kids give coupons this year…nothing would warm my heart more than a coupon from my kids granting me one day of no fighting, or a whine free trip to the grocery store, or 2 hours of uninterrupted reading (for me!), or the gift of being able to use the facilities without conversation or interruption…sigh…

You can download the pdf here.

I first heard about Mad Hungry: Feeding Men & Boys on Erin’s blog…ages ago.  I have hungry men and boys at my house I thought, so I added the recipe book to my Amazon wish list and mostly forgot about it.

I ventured to the Downtown (ie big main branch) Library over the weekend and guess what I found on an end cap?  I promptly checked it out, went home and poured over it!  I pulled out about 3 recipes to try this week, tonight we had Savory Chicken Pocket Pies.  Stars Above! How did I live this long without knowing the joys of CREAM CHEESE added to pastry dough?!  I will never go back!

Lucinda Scala Quinn (the author) does fancy pants food stuff over there for Ms. Martha Stewart…who was kind enough to republish the recipe.  You don’t have to take my word for it -that these are delish- you can make them yourselves!  I tinkered a little bit with the recipe- I used half the onion, added 3 cloves of garlic and used ground chicken instead of boiled chicken.

My kids really liked them, enough that they said I could send one to school tomorrow in their lunch boxes (gasp!!).   I think they’d be good with a sauce too…a cucumber yogurt sauce maybe??  The accompanying vegetables though?  Hmmm, not so much.  The downside to making these is they take just shy of forever…or maybe it just felt like that to me because Aaron was working late and I had to help with homework,  an almost 2 year old  tugging at my pant leg asking me to read to her and cook dinner!  I should have started making the pastry BEFORE the kids got home from school, but instead I spent 3 hours on the computer working on stuff for the school fundraiser next week.

Anyhoo, all I’m really trying to say is THESE ARE GOOD, YOU SHOULD MAKE THEM TOO.

I’m working on a meatier post for later this week, but in the meantime I wanted to share this photo I took last week.  That’s right, LAST WEEK.  My roses start blooming again in the fall (perks of the desert)!

The softness and colors were just so beautiful I wanted to bottle them!  I did the next best thing and created a color swatch of the colors used.  If I had the talent and power, I would make my bedroom feel as soft, light and beautiful as this image.  sigh…I’d never get out of bed!

(taken at Lynx Lake near Prescott, AZ)

In our early marriage I think my husbands mantra was “have an attitude of gratitude”.  Guess what?  He’s right, life is better with an attitude of gratitude.  Because when you are grateful, it makes that what you have is enough.

Here is the short list of what I am grateful for (in no particular order):
-this blog and the ability to express myself through written word
-family, for the shared past and the hope of a shared future
-amazing friends
-my husband and beautiful children
-life…the ability to experience all its highs and lows and the lessons I learn
-for my brother-in-law who agreed to cook the turkey this year
-that I have food and room to share this thanksgiving

May your day be filled with warm food, great conversation, and help in the kitchen!

xo

(source: tlcreations)

About a year ago I decided to take up biking.  My plan was to loose some baby weight without going to the gym and having to leave baby in the nasty gym daycare.  In my mind I thought it would be a little less mundane than walking on the treadmill.   My hopes weren’t high about this being any fun.

Here it is a year later- the baby weight is gone and I.LOVE.RIDING!  Who knew?! I bike between 18-20miles a week, which might not seem like much but its a lot to me!  I actually found an exercise that does not make me roll my eyes and groan.  I ride 3 mornings a week with a girlfriend, we tow our respective babies behind us, me I’m pulling about 50lbs, she pulls about 100 (2 kids).  Which is great training for the nights….

The nights when the day has been long and I really need to clear my head (who knew exercise could help you relax?!).  I bike alone.  I ride hard and fast and the music is LOUD.  Without the 50lbs of baby and trailer behind me I can FLY.  I swear it grounds me.  I love the endorphins.  I’ve heard runners talk about how a good run can clear their mind, but this is me and running.  We don’t mix. I’m so glad I found something that does!

I’ve been riding the last year on my husbands Trek, but I think I’ve proven (to myself) that this is not a passing fancy.  Which means its time for my own bike.  My riding partner also rides on a Trek and really likes it, and I do like my husbands Trek…but I wondered if anyone else had any recommendations for a good bike?  I adore the beach cruiser as much as the next girl, but I need a really good riding bike.  Anyone want to shout out about how great their bike is?  (Any bike company out there want me to test out their bikes?)

Any suggestions for some music I should add to my playlist?  I’ve been listening to a lot of Blue October, Silversun Pickups, Imagine Dragons, and Neon Trees….just to give you a feel for what I like.

It was like wearing pajamas to church today!  I made this knit skirt using Elle Apparel’s Tutorial.  I bought the knit ages ago (back in college, I can’t believe I still had it!) and whipped the skirt up last night.  It was VERY simple to make, even if you have little sewing experience you could totally make this.  Knit is very very forgiving!

It is really comfortable and I want to have at least 5 more!  I’m going to hit SAS and look for some fun striped knit.  I have a small amount of brown knit that I am going to use to make my daughter a skirt too.  This skirt would be really easy to convert shorter for a summer, I can’t say enough good things….every woman needs one of these (or 5!).

The Veteran’s Day parade makes me cry….every year.  Same with 4th of July.  I am such a sap for patriotism (read my feeling here).

As I watched the Tempe High Marching Band strut down Mill in their snappy blue and black feathered hats, I felt a little thrill.  I love parades, and I love the marching bands the most (the drums being my favorite!).  It occurred to me that parade season is just beginning….Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade later this month and then the mother of all parades The Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena (sigh, one day I’d love to see it live!).

I love the feeling of community that comes out for the small town local parades, I saw so many faces that I knew today marching alongside the veterans, shriners, councilmen and local scouts.  Just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy today, the opportunity to honor those very brave men and women who selflessly serve and protect our freedom every day.

Source: redbubble.com via Heather on Pinterest

Because it is important to know your strengths!

p.s. I LOVE pinterest…check out my “truth” board here