grub

diced baked sweet potato sprinkled with olive oil, chili powder, paprika, garlic and a little bit of brown sugar. if you put in the microwave for 5 minutes then the oven for ten you've got tasty goodness in under 20 minutes total.

I'm not a food snob, I'm not even really a great cook(not being self deprecating here just really down to earth honest)but...BUT... I love food, I love to eat, I love to put together flavors and presentations that make my family and friends happy. (Some of whom have been nudging me, encouraging me, to start a 'food blog'.) I went browsing through some well known food blogs and found posts about things like sprout bread and almond butter, arugula, and tamarind curry. I am far less sophisticated than any of this but I sorta do alright. My family is always full and happy and I usually only have ingredients available at the lame ass commissary(cause we are poor-ish) So here it is...me blogging about food. I'm not sure I have much to say about food but, I'll give it a try. Perhaps this is a more suitable place for my constant facebook updates about what I'm having for dinner. So, if you've already read it there too bad, I'm putting it here too. Top picture is a family favorite, pastina (teeeeeny tiny pasta) made with chicken soup base corn, carrots and chopped ham. This is our comfort food, Daddy is out of town food, sore throat food, need a little extra attention food. Basically I throw in whatever we have. When the kiddos were tiny I always added a can of sweet peas and carrots and the mushy soft texture was perfect(that is until Logan decided he didn't like peas and started picking them out and throwing them indiscriminately on the floor or at the walls). This morning for breakfast I made some, over cooked and mushy with a little butter, honey and a splash of milk. So..I did it... now it's your turn, you tell me..what kind of comfort food do you make?

p.s. if you look closely at the top picture of  pastina  you'll see a fishing lure adorning the bowl. This is the infamous set of Bass plates my Dad sent me for Christmas years ago. When I first opened the box I thought maybe he had packed something else very heavy and solid inside the Bass Pro Shops dinner wear set box. Nope. I am the proud owner of a full set of leaping bass , fishing lure adorned plates and bowls(I donated the coffee cups and saucers promptly, knowing I'd never use them, but those sturdy, ample plates and bowls are still in regular rotation. I still have no idea what inspired my sweet Father to send such a gift but , Dad, they are still here and I have grown to love them. Thanks.

Diamond in the rough

I've told the story a thousand times(for real, I talk a lot) and I found myself telling it again last night and felt like sharing it here, so if you've heard it before too bad, I'm telling it again, with pictures to match....B.J. and I got together in the fall of 1996. I was working at the grocery store and he used to come in and 'stalk' me...ok well actually he would come in and stand at the front of the store pretending to attend to some sort of grocery store type business and STARE at me the whole time till I would throw my hands up and bug my eyes out like "what?!! what do you WANT kid?" You see he is three years younger than me and was just 17 when this all started. Soon after the staring incidents he broke up with his high school chick and got a job as a bagger so he could stand at the end of my isle and continue to shoot his laser eyes through me at my checkstand. So we started hanging out and by Christmas we were stupid in love. I bought him a Fred Perry shirt and he presented me with a tiny little blue velvet box. I was totally unimpressed. The ring , white gold and a tiny sliver of a diamond made my stomach turn. A million thoughts rushed to my head and out my mouth. I was sad and disappointed(I know I know..shut up). He had spent 3 months worth of grocery store paychecks on this stupid, materialistic, uninspired, run of the mill, token of love. Is that what he thought of me, that I was just a girl who wants diamonds and roses on valentines day to keep me happy?! I was horrified and handed the ring back with a sharp warning that he could keep his store bought love. I thought we were done. I thought that moment would crush his pride and patience. I was wrong. He looked at me and said "fine, no problem, I'll keep the ring, and I'm keeping you too" with unwavering confidence he put down the ring and kissed me. Now a little over 14 years later, I get different kinds of gifts, practical things, things that are useful and meaningful to me in a way that only he  and I could really appreciate. One of my favorite things are the socks he brought back from Japan...silly I know,  but hey...it's me. As you can see I eventually accepted the ring ad have it stowed away..I am always thinking I should do something with it, have it made into something I'll wear...any suggestions?

Bridge that gap

I've said it before..but this time it's different(I swear!..ha!). I get so caught up daily life, driving here and there picking up kids, dropping off kids, work at the dang mall, the world around me whizzing by in gray blur on most days and I forget that I LIVE here, this is my home(for now). I slip right past it and roll right over it and hardly ever feel the pavement beneath my feet. I want to feel out those paths and press my heels into them. It occurred to me while driving over the Warren Ave. bridge last week that I'd never walked across it...and so, the very next day....I did. I walked today too, on streets I've only seen slivers of. And the next chance I get I'm gonna do it again...Bremerton is not so big. Once upon a time (1995) I was homeless and living under a train bridge by the Rainbow food store in uptown Minneapolis. For months and months I did nothing BUT walk, every day all day long. I walked from uptown to downtown and across the bridge to St. Paul. I walked north to the train yards and to the west bank. I walked until my shoes had holes and I had to shoplift a roll of duct tape to keep them on my feet. I was thin and unhealthy from eating out of trashcans and spending my days on edge and lonely. But I was free, free to move about as I wished, to get up and walk wherever I wanted to go...and I did. My last night in that city I walked all the way around downtown circling the baseball stadium and back up to the shiny glass buildings and then around again to the Greyhound station where I boarded a bus, sat down, and never really got back up again. Since then I've been riding along never really letting my feet hit the ground. I've become heavy and slow, tired and weary....I have no reason to be weary...I have piles of plush pillows under my head at night and with a push of a button heat fills my entire house. I have shoes for all occasions, and none of them have tape on them. My plan for this year is to appreciate all of my hard earned resources and to stop feeling so tired. I will walk on the streets my car glides over and experience things from a new perspective. The air is cold tonight and I plan on standing on the front porch and taking a few deep breaths and filling my lungs with it before I settle into my cozy pajamas and slippers and curl up on the couch in front of the fire and flip on a movie and eat a cookie.

Barf

Dealing with barf sucks...... buuuuut it's part of being a parent. Dealing with a sick barfing kid has thrown a wrench in my plans for looking for a new job today(there's always tomorrow)and instead I'm here, typing, still in my pajamas, laundry piling up, Logan going stir crazy spinning circles in the family room bugging the crap out of sick Lilly, bed is not yet made and I'm pretty sure I just heard the cat hack some sort of hairball/barf combo upstairs....I guess I'd better go DO SOMETHING! good thing I made pink blueberry raspberry muffins last night....I can still salvage the afternoon and make something good happen today! and so I shall...

Da Mall(say it like Da Bears)

it's been 6 months back at the mall now and I've had good days and bad but as the wheels start turning through the new year I am feeling driven...driven to drive my car through the glass doors of the mall and smash things up like a video game racking up points for taking out giant potted plants and cell phone kiosks...ha..I kid...I kid. But seriously. I am a grownup. I should be doing something else....and so...I SHALL!...mark my words...I'm getting my ass in gear and finding something else...soon.

Tough Chick

Today Lilly powered through a two hour Karate practice and is still teeming with adrenalin as I sit here, exhausted from just watching, typing away about my hardcore little chick. Lilly was born this way, ready to hit it hard and do her very best at everything. She is doing great in school, has a bustling social life and is kicking ass every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon. Should we pile on more??? Sensei approached me today to inquire about weather or not Lilly will be competing in the upcoming Karate tournament. I hesitated and looked at Lilly for the answer and Sensei quickly snapped at me saying "if YOU want her to go then she goes, she is ready and she will not fail!" After watching Lilly's dedication and the lip biting seriousness when she is throwing a punch or blocking a roundhouse kick I suppose the answer is YES. Lilly is going to tournament!

Lump

Yesterday was the first day back at school in the new year. My sweet Logan woke up with a smile on his face and a spring in his step. He ate his breakfast like a champ and got himself dressed with no complaints of socks that "don't work" or snaps that wont snap. He put on his shoes and jacket grabbed his lunch and stood on our front porch while I scraped the sparkling frost off the Volkswagen windows. As he stepped forward towards the warm waiting car he announced, "It's next year and I am going to Lilly's school for kindergarten now" with absolute certainty. It was about 5 minutes past time to leave and I hurriedly shooed him into the backseat bluntly explaining that he wont be starting kindergarten until the fall. It wasn't until after we had dropped off his big sister and were driving back home that I realized how sad he really was. In a tiny shaky voice he said "I am just going to preschool still...I know, no kindergarten yet Mama" It hit me like a ton of bricks, that crackle of disappointment and embarrassment for being wrong written all over his sagging shoulders and stiff jaw. He shuffled inside and curled up on the couch and covered himself with a blanket all the way up to his chin and took a few heavy breaths. It was a moment of intense disappointment for both of us. I had failed to anticipate his literal interpretation of my reassurance that he'd be "going to school NEXT year". You see, this is the second time in the past couple of months we've dealt with this. Back in November on his 5th birthday he was sure that since he was now a 5 year old that he'd be allowed to start kindergarten and we haphazardly told him "next year Son" ....ugh. Logan now has a calender in his room and a better idea of just how long it will be before September. These are my last few months of having him around most of the time and I hope we can enjoy it..... once I get past the lump in my throat that rises up when I realize how big he really is.

New Year, new blog,

So I thought I'd start this up again. Once upon a time I kept a 'family blog' but life has changed and I have changed and things are more awesome than ever so here I am, writing about silly things, important things, meaningful things and whatever seems most awesome. I took a few pictures today and thought I'd share....enjoy.

p.s. I'll write poetry if I feel like it damn it......just sayin.