Stream of Conscious

I am struggling with some serious writers block.  Ugh.  Hate it when that happens.  So get ready for some crazy stream of conscious. 

Ready. Set. Go.

Life is still crazy over here and lacking in routine of any sort... which is driving me batty.

A job search is underway as this consulting/freelance gig is just not cutting it any more when it comes to paying the bills.  That is one reason why my blog posts have been so sporadic. So now my free time has shifted from blogging to job searching.  Trust me when I say that blogging is way more fun.

We finally painted over the red wall.  It looks awesome. In fact, I love the color that we chose so much that I also painted over all that beige too that is in the kitchen, dining room, and living room.  Woohoo!  Wanna know what we chose???!!!

Let me introduce you to Sherwin Williams Sea Salt. 

I am already calmer just looking at it. It really opens up the room and makes everything look so much lighter. And our dark furniture really pops.

As soon as my camera stops being on the fritz and starts behaving, I will share pictures of the room.  I LOVE how it looks.

Little B has been practicing her baby-mind control techniques this week.  She crawls up in my lap like she is wanting to cuddle, presses a chubby hand on each side of my face, slightly lowers her head, arches her eye brows, and in the sweetest voice you ever did hear, she says, "Thomas?  Abbies?"  (translation - Thomas the Train and Abby's Flying Fairy School on Sesame Street). Then she giggles the cutest little giggle and gives me a kiss....  I must say that she is getting pretty good.

For whatever reason, I am running low on blog post ideas... anything you want to know or wish that I would talk about?

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Meal Planning Monday

via

• Monday: Orange chicken and broccoli
• Tuesday: Slow cooker pork tacos
• Wednesday: Grilled cheese and roasted red pepper soup
• Thursday: Sesame, pork, and udon noodle stir fry (using the leftover pork from Tuesday)
• Friday: Spinach spanokopita (from the freezer) and baked sweet potatoes

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She's two.

My little girl is 2 today.

She is sweet, independent, kind, shy, feisty, and has a giggle that is addictive and highly contagious.  At first she is reserved and silently takes it all in.  Like she is making her mind up about you.  But once she has made up her mind, she makes up for lost time and plays/loves/chatters/kisses/hugs intensely. She loves to dance and sing and build forts.  I love that while she may be one of the smallest kids on the playground, she can hold her ground with a look that will stop a pushy kid in his tracks.  When she climbs up on her chair in the kitchen, grabs a spatula, and quietly says "Help mama cook?" while arching her eyebrows up for emphasis, it is impossible to resist.

She is my girl and I am in awe of her.  She makes me feel proud, important, humble, in love and lucky to be her mama.

Today, we will celebrate my girl by doing all the things she loves to do.  Making homemade cupcakes together. Licking the batter off the spatula.  Eating way too much icing. A good hearty bubble-making session in the back yard with two of her little friends.  Bubble wands for everyone!  And in the evening we will wrap it all up with a fierce dance party in the living room and lots of snuggles on the couch with both her daddy and mama.

The weather has decided to smile upon my sweet girl by delivering a "cool" front that will bring the temps down into the 80s.  Woohoo!

Yes, today will be perfect.  A celebration of the day that my girl came into this world.  A celebration of the day that gave my life such purpose and joy.  Today will be a great day, indeed.

Little B, you are so loved.  Happy birthday, my sweet girl.

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Little B's Halloween costume

Important business is happening this week.   We are determining what our perfect 2011 Halloween costumes will be. 

If given the choice, I much prefer homemade Halloween costumes to the store-bought kind.  I think it is because of the experience that comes with patching together a costume with scraps of this and that.  

When I was little, my brothers and I would often come up with 4 or 5 ideas before we settled on the final one.  Our planning would often begin in August to come up with the perfect Halloween character. It is like a scavenger hunt of make believe.  A burnt cork to make a beard.  An old box wrapped in foil to become a robot. And a pillowcase becomes a magic ghost outfit.  There is  a magic in the air when you brainstorm your yearly costume.  I can not wait until Little B is old enough to understand it and be excited with me.

Last year, Little B was a little witch.  She was barely walking and was so stinkin' cute!

Here are some ideas that I have brewing for Little B's costume.  I would love to know what you think.

 

So tell me... what are you dressing your little ones up as for Halloween?!

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From my bookshelf: In The Woods

In The Woods by Tana French
My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

In Knocknaree, Ireland in 1984, young Adam Ryan and two of his friends disappeared into the woods near their home. Ryan was later found standing in the woods, his shoes filled with blood, in a near-catatonic state. He has no memory of what happened in the woods or where his friends ended up, and he’s done everything he can to forget the experience, move on with his life, and prevent people from finding out that he was the boy who came back.

Now, twenty years later, Adam Ryan has become Rob Ryan, and he’s a homicide detective. When a twelve-year-old girl is found murdered in a clearing where Knocknaree’s woods used to be, Rob and his partner (and very close friend) Cassie Maddox are called to investigate, and Rob, wondering if this murder is somehow connected to the long-ago disappearance of his friends, is simultaneously excited and terrified.

Tana French's debut novel, In The Woods, is creepy and page turning like any good psychological thriller should.  Often it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up as I read through two story lines all centering around Adam Ryan.

While this book does not go on my favorites list, it was entertaining.  It would be a perfect read for a cold, stormy evening.  And I would most definitely read another book by this author.

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What I am loving...

 

 :: Florence + The Machine seems to be my theme music these days.  The whole album is wicked good, plus it just fits my mood.  Cosmic Love is currently my favorite song.  I could just listen to it over and over again.

:: A full wine fridge. Some close friends in the neighborhood moved to Portland this week.  And while I am selfishly grieving over my friends' departure, I am so excited for them and their next adventure.  And to take the sting away, they cleaned out their pantry and left us with some crazy awesome parting gifts - fancy cheese, enough food to fill up my freezer and enough wine to fill up my wine fridge.  I have NEVER before had a full wine fridge AND a full freezer.  It is quite a feeling!

 :: Finding surprise presents in the mail.  There is really nothing like the feeling you get when you sift through your mail and find a wonderful card or package amongst the bills and store fliers.  It means that someone loves you a lot.

:: The return of Fall TV.  I am so sick of reality TV.  I hate it and that is all that seems to be on TV this summer.  I want shows that make me laugh, at not at anyone's expense.  The season premiere's of Glee and Modern Family will be big events in this house.  So excited!

So tell me, what is making you smile this week?

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Being comfortable in the uncomfortable

"If you are irritated by every rub, how will you be polished?"
  ~ Rumi

Right now our life is in an area of transition.  Doors closing, new ones opening.  It can leave one feeling anxious, nervous, and uncertain.  Or positive, hopeful and excited about new opportunities.  It all depends on how you look at it.

If you are like me, it is most likely all of the above.

One of things that I most proud of with both David and myself is that we are not afraid to take risk.  Sometimes those risks pay off and sometimes they don't.  And with all risk, there is uncomfortable uncertainty.

8 years ago, David and I quit our corporate IT jobs with our high salaries, packed up all of our stuff, and moved to Austin where we did not know one single person.  We wanted a better life for ourselves in a city that we both loved working in jobs that we were excited about.  Some people thought we were crazy as it was right when the IT bust was happening and Austin had been hit hard.  To their credit, we probably were a little crazy.  But we tried to be smart about it and had 6 months of living expenses stashed away and we were young enough to believe that all it took to make it was some hard work. My motto was that if your really want happiness, then you must be willing to fight for it.

Our risk finally paid off and we both found jobs in new industries within 6 months of living in Austin and we began the life that we had always wanted.  But the journey to get there was hard and often very discouraging.  I am not a person that likes uncertainty.  I would rather know bad news for sure than to not know anything at all.  Because at least when I know something is for sure, I can start planning a battle strategy to work though it. That is just how my brain works.

Being comfortable in the uncomfortable is something that I was introduced to during that 6 month stretch of uncertainty back in 2003.  And with all good life learnings, it was not something that came easily.  I learned that hard work is indeed a critical component in achieving one's goals.  But luck is another big one too.  As well as pure stubborness so that you don't give up too easy.  I have the hard work and the stubborness down pat... the luck, not so much.  She is a fickle friend that is often hard to get a hold of.

Another time of uncertainty was back in early 2009.  Within 1 week, David lost his job, started a new company, my agency announced lay-offs, and I found out that I was pregnant with Little B.  Talk about a crazy week and I could not even have a glass of wine at the end of it to take the edge off.  The rest of that year was intense to say the least.  But we kept our heads above water and were elated when we delivered a healthy baby girl in late September.  We were comfortable in the uncomfortable.

And now here we are again.  There are talks of switching jobs, selling our house, moving to a different city, making new friends.  But nothing is for sure... yet.  So we sit with our uncertainty trying to be comfortable in the uncomfortable.

While I would never claim to be handling our uncertainty well, I am striving to be all zen about it while we wait for the dust to settle.  Is a new adventure right around the corner? I don't know.  It could be fun.  But until then, I am focusing on the certain things that I do have, the fun things of today.  My little girl, my family, my awesome friends, the promise of cooler temperatures, and the chicken that is currently roasting in the oven.

Living in the moment, baby!

So tell me... what have been your best moments of being comfortable in the uncomfortable?  I really would love to hear them. They will give me the strength to stay on the positive, hopeful, and excited side of the mental divide.

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Meal Planning Monday

Even though the highs are still supposed to be in the triple digits this week, I can feel the transition into fall beginning. The mornings are a bit cooler.  The sun is setting a little earlier.  

Almost like the countdown to Christmas, the slow hand off between summer and fall is highly anticipated.  Just knowing that crisp morning walks, pumpkin spice lattes and cute boots are right around the corner, puts an extra skip in my step.  It is like fall is whispering to us, "Hang in there just a little bit longer.  I am on my way."

Like an old friend coming into town, I am excited to welcome them.

With that subtle transition, I notice that I am starting to trade out my standard summer fare of tomatoes, salads, and grilled dishes for warm, cozy meals that stick to the bones.  So while it may still be summer outside my door, it is fall in my kitchen and I could not be happier.

• Monday: Panko crusted pollock with garlic green beans, tomatoes and garlic bread
• Tuesday: Roasted chicken with roasted butternut squash, onions, brown butter, and sage
• Wednesday: Black beans and rice
• Thursday: Slow cooker ham and beans (I am using dried Great Northern beans)
• Friday: Verde enchiladas

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From my kitchen: A Rice Krispy Treat Adventure

After a crazy week like this, I think quite a few of us, me included, could use some comfort food.  But the challenge lies in that it is still too hot to turn on the oven and any outdoor cooking is completely out of the question.  So what to make?

Well, my sweet tooth gave me a quick response... rice krispy treats.

Marshmallows, butter, rice krispies, limited time at the stove. Simple enough, right? 

Oh no!  Not if you are me.  I got some wild hair in me that I was going to make "healthy" rice krispy treats.  Obviously I had inhaled way too much smoky Austin air.  I was clearly not thinking straight.  But I was determined.  And with that my healthy rice krispy treat adventure began.

Substitute almond butter for marshmallows - check.
Use honey to make it sweet - check.
Sprinkle a few chocolate chips on top to make it look cool - check.

Well, I assembled all the ingredients together, pushed them into a pan, plopped it in the fridge and very patiently waited the suggested 30-45 minutes needed for the treats to firm up.  And with much anticipation, I pulled out a treat for me and a treat for Little B and a treat for David.

David really liked it.

Little B quickly inhaled it and asked for more.

And, me?  Well, I HATED it!  It tasted too much like peanut butter, my arch nemesis of the food kingdom. 

Great! {insert sarcastic tone here}  Now I have this full container of healthy rice krispy treats that I hated.  What was I going to do with all of them?  Why was I so hell-bent on make this dessert healthy?  And how the heck was I going to satisfy my sweet-tooth craving now without turning on the oven?!  Oh, the drama!

On to Plan B.

As I looked around my messy kitchen, I realized that I still had enough rice krispies to make another batch.  And I had butter.  Now I just needed to find the marshmellows.  After digging around in the pantry, I discovered a bag of 4th of July themed, blue and red star marshmallows.  Perfect!

Now, you would have thought that I had learned my lesson about jacking with time tested recipes that even a 5 year old could make... But no, that apparently is just not how I work.  But this time, the results proved to be extraordinary.

Taking a cue from a recipe I had seen on Smitten Kitchen, I browned the butter first and introduced kosher salt into the mix.  Pure brilliance.  The browned butter and the salt take rice krispy treats to a whole other level. 

Let me be clear, these rice krispy treats are not to be wasted on a child whose palette is not yet sophisticated enough to recognize the greatness of the ingredients involved.  I love my little girl, but she better stick to those "healthy" rice krispy treats if she knows what's good for her.

My only downfall with my rice krispy treat concoction was the 4th of July themed marshmallows.  Do you know what you get when you melt a red marshmallow with a blue marshmallow?  You get grey.  It was not very pretty.  But I think it kind of worked in my favor. Because my rice krispy treats looked a bit off with their grey palour, my husband and Little B had little interest in trying them..... Which meant more for me!!!!  Maybe that is why my shorts are little snug today.

Anyways, if you are looking for a way to bring your rice krispy treats up a notch, I would highly recommend this recipe listed below. 

Brown Butter Salted Rice Krispy Treats

(adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

Makes 16 2-inch squares or 32 1- x 2-inch small bars

4 ounces (1/4 pound or 1 stick) unsalted butter, plus extra for the pan
1 10-ounce bag marshmallows (preferably without color)
Heaping 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal (about half a 12-ounce box)

Butter (or coat with non-stick spray) an 8-inch square cake pan with 2-inch sides.  In a large pot, melt butter over medium-low heat. It will melt, then foam, then turn clear golden and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty. Stir frequently, scraping up any bits from the bottom as you do. Don’t take your eyes off the pot as while you may be impatient for it to start browning, the period between the time the butter begins to take on color and the point where it burns is often less than a minute.

As soon as the butter takes on a nutty color, turn the heat off and stir in the marshmallows. The residual heat from the melted butter should be enough to melt them, but if it is not, turn it back on low until the marshmallows are smooth.

Remove the pot from the stove and stir in the salt and cereal together. Quickly spread into pan sprayed with oil. After everything is in the pan, I use a silicon spatula to press everything down and into the corners. 

Stick the pan in the fridge to let everything get cool, cut into squares and get ready to have your life changed.

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We are not taking this lying down...

The whole state of Texas seems to be on fire.  It is heart breaking.

Not only have Texans been dealing with a rough economy, a record heat wave with 80 days over 100 degrees and a drought that is killing our livestock, crops, and general way of life, now we are also fighting out of control wildfires that are not giving up easily.  Our rivers and lakes are crazy low, if not completely dried up.  Our firefighters are spread so thin because of the number of fires spread all over the state.  And there is no forecast of rain any time soon.

And the fires that I am talking about are not out in the middle of nowhere.  They are in the middle of cities, gobbling up homes, businesses, and cars and threatening lives.  Austin, alone, has 8 really, really bad fires.  It is so sad.  It looks like a war zone.  Across Texas, there have been 179 fires in the past 7 days. And they are saying that the collective burned area is equal to the size of Connecticut.

These fires are like a punch in the stomach to group of people that have already been pretty beaten up this year.  It is just mean.  And what is really scary is that there is no rain in the forecast, therefore new fires continue to pop up every day and will continue to until we get some rain.

But don't let that make you think that we are taking this lying down. 

I know Texans often get a bad rap for being boastful and little too proud of where they come from.  But it is times like this that I am extra proud to say that I am Texan.  We may not be the prettiest or the most sophisticated, but we make up for it in other ways.  We are hard working, scrappy individuals that will give the shirt off our back to help a stranger and do it all with a smile on our face.  We refuse to act like victims.  Now I am in no way saying that other states do not have individuals like this.  But as a collective whole, Texas is state to be reckoned to with. 

I am so proud of us right now!  The ways that people are coming together is inspiring... whether it is taking strangers into their homes to enjoy a shower and clean bed, rescuing pets, providing trailers to evacuate horses, donating money, food, and supplies or even just offering some sweet tea to a parched firefighter.  It is awesome.  It makes me believe again in the good in people at a time in my life when I was starting to doubt it.

These fires better watch out... because we are coming to get you.  And we are bringing friends from all over to help us. 

A huge thank you to California, Arizona, and any other states that are sending us your firefighters.  We promise to treat them really well, feed them good food, and call them "Honey" and "Sugar" the whole time they are here.

So if you have ever come down to Texas and enjoyed our awesome Mexican food, BBQ, sweet tea, and Southern hospitality, we are humbly asking for your help.  Here are a few ways that you can:

• Pray for rain!  I strongly believe in the collective power of prayer, happy thoughts, and good ju-ju.  We need all we can get.
• The Central TX Red Cross is accepting monetary donations and volunteers
• Local animal shelters are in desperate need of supplies in order to house pets affected by these fires - towels, dog food, cat food, water
• Show some blog love to a fellow Austin blogger that has lost her family home
• Austin Disaster Relief Network is accepting donations of all kinds.  
• Catholic Charities of Texas is accepting donations on Tuesday, September 6.
• There are drop off points all over the state of TX - the news websites are providing full lists - KXAN, KVUE, etc

Specific supplies that are needed include:

• Toiletries: Toothpaste, underwear, deodorant, body wash, bar soap, shampoo, disposable razors, toilet paper
• Medical supplies: Nebulizer, ibuprofen, bandages, Neosporin, Children's Tylenol
• Food: Bottled water, Gatorade, non-perishable items
• Baby Stuff: baby food, formula, diapers, baby shampoo, wipes, toys
• Other stuff: towels, sleeping bags, pillows, trash bags, work gloves, flashlights, batteries, pet food

If you are on Twitter, look for these hash tags - #centraltxfire and #centraltxfires, #TXBlogFireRelief. 

Now it is your turn, link to your own post below and/or leave a comment with some relief information.

And thank you.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.  These are MY people, my city, my state that this is happening to.  So anything that you do to help is liking helping me directly.  And for that, there are no words to show how grateful I am.

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Meal Planning Monday & Happy Labor Day!

Happy Labor Day!  I hope yall are enjoying your 3 day weekend.

We have been very busy around here.  Lots of life changing stuff happening.  Can't give too many details right now but hopefully soon.  Until then, I ask you for happy good luck thoughts.

Because this week is so crazy, I need easy, quick food all week long.  Can't be too fancy, the leftovers need to be delicious, and I need to be sure that the all-of-a-sudden-picky toddler will eat it.  So here's what I am planning:

• Monday: Grilling out with friends


• Tuesday: Tacos with beans


• Wednesday: Hamburgers, grilled corn and tomato salad


• Thursday: Mole chicken (homemade almond mole from my mother in law - yum!)


• Friday: Grilled pizzas

Do you have your own version of Meal Planning Mondays? If so, I would love to read about it. Please share a link to your menu in a comment. I love a little recipe inspiration!

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A simple weekend

Life is crazy these days.

The simple things are what makes it all worth it.

Lounging poolside with friends.

Hamburgers right off the grill.

Long phone conversations with good friends.

A new book that has sucked me in with the very first page.

Cooking with my girl.

The beginning of football season.

Etsy orders being shipped out.

Yep, this weekend we are keeping things simple.  Focusing on getting back into routine and sweet-talking fall into coming a little bit earlier.

What are yall up to this weekend?

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