Halloween Treat

It's getting festive around here.  Tomorrow is not my favorite holiday, but I sure do have one excited little "Indian" on my hands.  And I'm always up for a reason to celebrate!

I'm secretly reading this and texting with my mom and sister about Hallmark's Movie Countdown to Christmas that starts Saturday.

But, I'm in charge of a Halloween "sweet" for Wills' party at Mother's Day Out, so I got in the spirit and checked out Pinterest.  I decided on Pumpkin Rice Krispie Treats.

Here's what I used.

I melted 2 Tablespoons of butter and 3 cups of mini marshmallows in the microwave.  Then added a box of orange jello.

This might be the easiest recipe ever...

I poured in 4 cups of rice krispies.

Molded them into little round balls, added a pretzel stick stem, and green icing leaves.

A perfect fit for little two-year old hands.  Happy Halloween!

Tree House Slide

Here's the truth:  I'm a recovering scaredy-cat.

My little boy: he's the opposite.  He's fearless, bold, brave, and I sometimes find myself nervous with butterflies, biting my nails, worrying about what he is going to jump off of next, but I love it.

We took him to our church Pumpkin Palooza this weekend, and with one look at the tree house slide, he started tugging my arm.  I took a deep breath, looked at his dad, and said quietly, "let's just watch the big kids."

I knew it when I said it.  Nope.  He's doing it; I'm not teaching him to sit back and watch.  He'll be the only two year old climbing 30 feet in the air, but he wants to try, he's begging and crying to try, it's safe according to the guy in charge of the slide, so he's doing it.

Up he went.  The ladder was pretty steep, and he fell backwards once, only to stand up and start again.  One foot after the other.  That's my boy.

He made it to the top, slid down much faster than I was hoping, flipped at the bottom, stood up and said "more."

You see, that's the thing.  I've been watching for years.  I don't want to watch anymore.  And I definitely don't want my little boy to sit back and watch (unless of course it's illegal or unsafe.)  I don't want him to watch a dance party and be scared to dance, or watch someone get bullied and be too shy to step forward, or watch me or his dad cook and be embarrassed to try, or watch his buddies play in the woods and not want to muddy up his shoes, or watch his college friends travel abroad and be worried to leave home, or one day watch the love of his life walk away because he's afraid to say how he feels.

I do want him to be careful, and William and I will ALWAYS stress and demand this, but I also want to raise a brave, courageous little boy, unafraid to be creative, genuine, confident in his opinions, and step into new adventures.  I want him to live fully and soak everything out of life that he can.

He promptly got in line for the next slide.

This one even bigger.  So much so, that William had to ride with him.  I'm not sure who loved it more, but they were both smiling ear to ear.  

Sometimes, it's appropriate to sit back, hang out, and watch from the pumpkin patch.  Other times, it's about going for it, stepping out of our comfort zones, and going down the "big boy slide."  

Falling and flipping along the way is part of the ride, as long as we stand up on the other side and say "more."  It's time to stop watching.  

Soup and Salad

Warm fires and hearty soups are meant to be together.  They're better that way.  

Wills helped my dad build a fire while I chopped veggies and prepped the soup and salad dinner I planned for my parents.  

I'm getting used to the fact that dirty hands and little boys are also meant to be together.

I used The Pioneer Woman's (are you surprised?) corn chowder recipe as my dinner inspiration.  I cut the corn off of the cob.

Chopped a red, orange and yellow bell pepper.

Wills wanted in on the cooking action.

I cooked a small chopped onion and three slices of bacon in a 1/2 stick of butter.

Added the bell peppers.

The corn.

3 cups of chicken stock, 2 cups of half and half, and pepper jack cheese.  (A lighter version could easily be made with milk, which I plan to do, asap!)

Topped with green onions and served in a crusty bread bowl with a leafy green salad.

Perfectly warm, creamy, and delicious!

A few days away

Wills and I headed to the beach for a few days this week.  But not before I met this sweet little girl, Lucy Rose.  She was perfect; I'm quite fond of her mommy, too.

My dad went shrimping last night and for some reason my mom and I tried to grill.  It was quite a hilarious experience.  We ended up dropping one of our burgers between the grill slats and onto the coals.  I don't have any pictures to document the mess we made, but it's probably for the best. :)

The few shrimp my dad caught in the sound were perfect for a gourmet breakfast of shrimp and sausage grits.

Wills loved eating his oatmeal on the front porch.

It was a beautiful, windy day spent outside on the dock, visiting the horses, riding the golf cart...

 

and reading, of course!

I am falling in love with the characters in this book.  I am going to be sad to turn the last page. 

 

I'm in charge of dinner tonight.  Corn chowder and salad are on the menu.  My dad's in charge of a fire.  My mom is handling the wine.  And Wills will be roasting the marshmallows.

Friday Thoughts

I shared parts of this poem with my Wednesday yoga class, and then we headed to my house for meditation, girl chatting, and sharing our thoughts from a book we are reading together: The Woman's Book of Courage.   

It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.

I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own; if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, be realistic, remember the limitations of being human.

I want to know if you can see Beauty even when it is not pretty every day. And if you can source your own life from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand at the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, 'Yes.' 

~Oriah Mountain Dreamer

Cheers to Friday night. Girl friends. True Love.  Simplicity.  Dark Chocolate.  And Joy.  Always Joy.

See you next week.  From this front porch.  

Book Worm

Sorry for the delay in posts.  The truth...I've had my nose stuck in Time Magazine's 2012 Fiction Book of the Year.  Well deserved accolade...I loved it!

"I'm in love with you, and I'm not in the business of denying myself the simple pleasure of saying true things.  I'm in love with you, and I know that love is just a shout into the void, and that oblivion is inevitable...and I am still in love with you." ~John Green

And then I moved right into this one...because I know the only way to be a great writer is to read.  All. The. Time.  I've taken full advantage of that philosophy while William has been out of town.   

Back to the weekend.  We cheered and cheered for the Dawgs from beautiful, charming Athens.  

The tailgate was a blast.  William and I dominated corn hole.

The game was mostly exciting and brought back a lot of memories.

The ending was sad.  

Sunday was a new day, and Wills had one thing on his mind: Pumpkins!  

We let him pick out his favorite three pumpkins for us to carve this weekend.  Unfortunately, all of our pictures our blurry which means we will be taking more this Sunday after church.  I know what's on my Christmas wish list.  Hint, Hint, Santa. 

What I ate Wednesday

Wednesday was a full and loooonnnggg day of virtual professional development.  I much prefer the trips to Atlanta to see and interact with my colleagues over a day of meeting after meeting, staring at a computer screen.  To each his own.

Breakfast was a simple yogurt parfait of strawberries, blueberries, and granola. 

When I went to get Wills from Mother's Day Out, I ran in Fresh Market and grabbed this turkey, apple, brie wrap on a spinach tortilla.  I ate half and saved the other half for Thursday.

I hate to admit, but dinner was pineapple, triscuits, and sharp cheddar cheese, plus a highly welcomed glass of red wine.  I wasn't in the mood for much more.

I crawled in my bed at 8 pm with my Kindle and ended up reading for hours.  I finished two books while William was traveling for a few days this week.  I am hoping he will make me a fire and read with me tonight.  With Sports Center on in the background, I'm sure.  Happy Friday!

Serendipity

It's chilly outside!  Yay!  I'm bundled up in yoga pants, Ugg boots, and a cozy sweatshirt, sipping on my new favorite Shakeology recipe, watching "Serendipity,"  and grading essays. 

My mom grabbed this issue of Skirt! Magazine while she was in Charleston last weekend, and I haven't stopped thinking about it!  Serendipity is one of my favorite words, favorite movies, favorite parts of life. 

What happens when we stumble upon something amazing and life-changing, by accident?  

William McKeen, a professor in the Journalism Department at The University of Florida (Yuk!) has an interesting task for his students, that I happen to love. He wrote about it in The New York Times:

There’s an art to finding something when you’re not looking for it. 

In my freshman class at the University of Florida, I require the 240 students to subscribe to the New York Times Monday through Friday. I haven't even finished announcing this in class the first day, when the hands shoot up.

"Can't we just read it online?" they ask, the duh? implicit.

"No," I say and the eyes roll. They think I'm some mossback who hasn't embraced new media.

"Why not?" Challenging, surly, chips on the shoulders.

"Because then you would only find what you're looking for."
      
He goes on to say, "it's the other stories, the secret stash in the business section, the sports section or on the obituary page, that stop you and make you read. Nuance gives life its richness and value and context. If I tell the students to read the business news and they try to plug into it online, they wouldn't enjoy the discovery of turning the page and being surprised. They didn't know they would be interested in the corporate culture of Southwest Airlines, for example. They just happened across that article. As a result, they learned something -- through serendipity."

An inexplicable connection with a place, a moment, a person, a work of art.  If we stop planning and accounting for every minute, we leave the door open for a fortunate surprise.  It's the unmistakable beauty in a spark of Serendipity.  Let it find you.  

Off to work...daydreaming about a place called Athens.  A little serendipity. And pumpkin patches with my boys. 

Marshmallows and Boots

"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers." ~L.M. Montgomery

A weekend mountain getaway means morning hikes, gorgeous views, handsome mountain men, roasting marshmallows, colorful kabobs, cheering for the Dawgs in our red and black, morning coffee and reading on the deck, and great girlfriends in great boots!

Skirt! Magazine's cover says it perfectly this month:

"The earth is going through its beautiful old cycle of change this month.  She's giving up her sexy green heat and showing her roots, taking a rest from the cabaret act of summer and swapping the sun's glaring footlights for a mellow gold moon.  October is Mother Earth's homebody, the calendar's domestic goddess.  She's pumpkin and plaid, wool and red wine, pajamas by 9 and news at 11.  Her perfume is fallen leaves and wood smoke with a hint of candy corn.  She loves chili and corn-bread, half-time shows and home-town teams, plum-brown lipstick and well-seasoned jeans.  October is porch lights and reading lamps, oatmeal for breakfast and flannel for bed.  But she still believes in black cats and haunted houses, magic and mischief and getting lost in a maze.  Part good girl, part spice girl, our homecoming queen on a broom."

Love it!