i’m thankful

November 22, 2012 9 Comments

*for my mom and my dad ~or bringing me into this world, and for being there when I really ned them.. the advice & support that you both have given me ( the same btw) will guide me… thank you.. I love you both

* for my sista~ I’ve known you the longest and lord knows growing up was a challenge, but I love you dearly and wouldn’t change you for the world. you are simply amazing! SMOOOOCCH!

* for John, and Dick and Phyllis… for loving me like your own

*for my aunt~ a sweet woman with a huge heart and so much love. and an uncanny way of knowing the exact moment that I needed to talk.. and being that phone call

*for Scott~ married almost 24 years now, and although it has not always been easy, we are still here.. About to become empty nesters… With a whole lot of adventure in front of us :). Just think… We may end up in an osteo bi flex commercial or something 🙂 oxox

* for my oldest son, Jason~ the boy who changed my direction in life. I am SO proud of you and am thankful every day for what an amazing man that you have become..

* for my second child, Ryan~ who taught me in an instant that you can love 2 children with the same amount of undying love. For teaching me that you have to peel an onion so to speak to get to someones’ true self… never judge a book by its cover, the world is full of all types of people, and that its ok.. that there is NO obstacle in life that you can’t over come if you want to.. and that having a part of my heart across the country actually feels ok.. because I know he is happy and THAT makes me unexplainablly happy.

* for My Ali~ my ali…. Im thankful for the wonderful compassionate young woman that she has grown in to. I dont know of anyone else who thinks of others as much as she does. She will go far in life .. and be surrounded by people who love her… always

*for Amanda Sue~ Jason’s wife.. my wonderful daughter in law. I may not have given birth to her, but I love her like she is my own. She is a hard worker with a lot ahead of her and and amazing attitude.

*for Kim~ thank you for sharing Amanda with me 🙂

*for our grandparents~ gone too soon, this is a holiday that they are greatly missed, ( meme, pepe, papa, babchi, dzaciiek) but knowing they are in heaven looking down on us makes me smile :

* for my ‘shared ‘ sisters and brother … Krista, Bryan, Audra and Val… We may have grown up with different lives. But siblings we are .. And we’ll always have each other:).

* for Tian~ my exchange daughter from Hong Kong.. for opening my eyes to what life in China is like

* for my nieces and nephews~ watching them grow and become extentions of who we are is mind – blowing. It makes me think al the time about the circle of life… YOu are all amazing people and have bright futures ahead of you

*for my in laws- Linda and Pete… For helping Scott and I get a head start early in our marriage.. and all of your help along the way 🙂

*for Scott’s extended family~ I’m thankful that they raised a man with such drive and adimance… and with such love for his family

* for Erika~~ I love that I can just show up and have a cup of tea at your counter unannouced. and feel warm and welcomed and loved.. and I feel that i am an extended part of your family. I love Leah and Grif like they are my own.. it’s been a pleasure watching them grow…

* for Celia~ my closest friend that is so far away….. I love that you are in my life <;;3

*for Kara~ thank you for all of your help recently… it’s so nice to know that you have insight and can help talk me through some of this….. and the fact that we both love lunch doesn’t stink 😉

*for my ‘ho’ friends~ you know who you are. I love that they have been there always for me, and they are proof positive that real relationships are not affect but distance. they have become some of my very best friends.. and I look forward to someday traveling the country to meet up with all of them…. these are truly wonderful ladies

*for my ‘old time’ friends~ the friends that I went years without seeing, or even in contact with… this past week has had me in awe of how many of you reached out to me and really care. It has had me thinking at length about old relationships. and times spent together .. and about how lucky I am to have had you all in my life. YOu are all a huge part of who I am today… I feel so blessed whenever I hear from one of you..

* for Ali’s friends…the really special ones that make me feel loved every day. Sara and emmy I love that you know that our home is your home… Thank you for making her smile.. And Colleen. Because you know how much I love you !!!!.. And Alyssa… Ali’s younger sister and my second daughter…I love you girls!!

* for my pup, Fenway~~ I just love her to pieces and no matter where I am.. she is *right there*

* for my grandpuppies, bruin & Kallie…. because they love me so much and I can;t wait to make them home made frosty treats 🙂

*for yoga~ yoga has brought not only a ‘peace’ to my life, but a biggest understanding that the path that we are on is exactly the path that we are supposed to be on.. don’t always knock the broken road.. that’s usually the one that is getting you to where you are supposed to go…

*for Bruce Springsteen~ yes I went there……. I love this man’s amazing voice, talent, poetry, etc…… as long as I live I could never explain what his music does to me… I swear it hits a little lost part of my soul… I am thankful that I always can turn to his music.. no matter my mood

*for my blog readers~ you are what makes me want to keep on writing… you comments always make my day and I am thankful that you take time from your lives to read whatever was on my mind today. This is what makes us friends

;

and lastly…… I’m thankful for the moon. because throughout my life, it has always been there… and I know that wherever I am, wherever I may be.. I can always look up.. and have the moon with me… and know that each and every one of you, wherever you may be.. will be under the same moon. possibly looking up at it, and thinking of me <;;3

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happy thanksgiving, friends.

;

Filed Under: family, Uncategorized

keep doin’ that thing you do……

September 17, 2012 11 Comments

you never know just who you are going to inspire. Sometimes without even knowing it.

Years ago I was stopped at a stoplight when a young lady in her mid-20’s ran passed me.. perfect pace. perfect gait…. oblivious to the rest of the world, simply lost in her running.. so at one with herself.  At Peace.

and she had a rocking body da boot…..  which I’m sure was as a result of perseverance.

I thought to myself.

“self, you should try to run.. let’s go get a book”

and that we did….

I went to Borders…. ( can I just say how absolutely devastated I am at the demise of Borders???? )

we should all pause for a moment of intention for a generation that may never know the beauty of sitting in and oversized chair in a remote corner of a store flipping through books with  big dreams in their heads.

ok…  I’m back.  Soooo I bought this book.  And read the first 10 pages. It has sat on my shelf for years. and years. I’m a -scared to read the copyright date……

Then there was that Folgers’ commercial….  you know the one… it’s early morning, her alarm goes off.. her Folgers’ coffee is brewing while she is getting all race-if-ied… then she drinks her coffee.. it’s magical and next she is crossing the finish line  with her family high fiving her at the end..

( which imoho is much better than the Maxwell house commercial where they son comes home for Christmas to surprise his family & the little sister says that she is his gift…. it really is a sweet commercial… unless your son  is deployed across the world for Christmas… then the commercial takes on a whole new meaning )

we avoided the tv that year… it was just better.. I still was not really in control of my emotions…. I’m soo much better now 🙂

I also have a lot of friends who run. Some of them I barely know, some I know well.. Each of them had inspired me which is why I bit the bullet and signed up 🙂

sooooo our race day had finally arrived…..  After spending this night at casa hagg, we stopped at Dunkin donuts for some fuel…

and eye candy

lol 🙂 .. then we headed to Providence!!!   ( did anyone get my Last Resort Lyrics in my music post yesterday ?? ) the pics are pretty much self explanitory,,, so I’ll just post… Ya’ll are probably sick of my ‘race talk’ by now….. I promise and awesome salad and mexican sauce tomorrow 😉

once you walk 40 miles in 2 days for breast cancer, you learn to love the porta potty.  true story.

LET”S DO THIS!!!!!!!

now this wasn’t all heart and flowers… for me , it was fre-a-ken hard.  I trained ans still struggled… Jodie didn’t .. and she rocked it.  Truth be told, I held her back.  She has been an athlete all of her life and I have been more of the more laid back type… ❤ yoga<3.. that whole journey is a story in itself…  My lungs hurt like HELL!!!  then I started to feel sick.

At one point I am pretty sure that I flipped  Jodie off.  I’m not proud of that, but it;s the truth.  As we hit mile 3 there was a hill. A freaken hill for the last 10th of a mile of the race.  She told me to pound it out and finish strong… I was gasping for air and told her I was about to throw up.  She yelled at me and told me that I would not throw upa and to move my ass over that finish line.

I did. and as soon as I crossed, the gagging started and I thought for sure I was about to lose my cookies allover the crowd cheering everyone on.

if I had to go even 5 more feet… that would have been it. But thankfully…I did not have to go 5  feet… there was an angel from heaven standing there with a power bar recovery bar.

I kid you not when I tell you that my arm grew 5 feet and I reached through the crowd to take said bar.

I don’t think I’ve eaten something so good in my life.

Once my breathing came back to normal, we took this pic

WE DID IT!!!

I don’t regret signing up for a second. It was just as I thought it would be and will be doing this more as my time that is mine keeps unfolding.

this has been my screen saver fo the last 4 months…… and yes. I did do it !

so why keep doin’ that thing you do? Because you never know who you are inspiring.  I can almost bet you that the people that inspired me had NO idea.  I mean ZERO idea.  But I went out of my way to let a few of them know the night before the race. And they were shocked. If I hadn’t had let them know, they never would have known just how inspiring they are..

so here’s your turn… think about someone who has inspired you.. even just a little. Reach out and thank them. Chances are they have no idea and they should know! because they have helped you become who you are 🙂

namaste friends 🙂

Filed Under: family, Run, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

how much is too much?

September 12, 2012 19 Comments

that my friends is what I ask of you. The majority of you that are reading what I write know me pretty well… so I’m asking you , my core followers & friends a favor…

Over my years of blog reading, I have read some blogs that when I’m done reading a post , I kinda feel down about myself. Some blog posts that I’ve read seem to really just focus on the positive in lives and makes life  look just a little too perfect… When I would sit back and compare, I was feeling a little bit like I have not achieved enough

..Please don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking anyone’s style of writing, to each their own…that’s what makes the internet the internet. But part of what has made me able to be able to be so accepting of the path that has taken me to where I am today is by living that path.. and trust me, it has been anything but easy.

 

I want to write and to share, because I find things out along the way that I like to pass on… much they way that I would share with a good friend.. because you are a good friend 🙂

Along the way mistakes, will be made and trust me…. you’ll read about them …. I assure you.

What I’m looking for from you is that if my writing seems to be going in an unfavorable direction, please drop me a message and let  me know.  I’ve gone back and forth on pursuing this blog.. my new project… new ‘baby’ if you will.. and after the response of my first few days re posting & the messages that some of you have sent, I feel like I can do this. I want to do this 🙂

I may succeed, I may fail… but either way I will be giving it my all.  And I would love your suggestions along the way. This is way more than just a food blog. This is me putting myself out there..

 

Sure I may joke about how ‘awesome’ I am… but TRUST me.. it is all in a joking matter and in fact how I really talk in real life.  In no way shape or from do I think that I am better or worse than the person next to me, just different… And while I do like my ‘different’ understand that comments that I make like that will ALWAYS be meant in a joking term.

So please…. keep after me to go in the right direction

barefootgir27@comast.net

Real quick, before I go… I spent an amazing day on Cape with my mom. She took me out for a nice lunch where she bravely tried a veggie burger and instantly fell in love 🙂

We did a little bit of light shopping and bought a few trinkety things…. more on this tomorrow… and guess what???

I bought a little present for one you YOU!!!  All of the detail tomorrow.  It’s not much, but *I* love it and it is first in a series of give -aways in the weeks to come 🙂

oh.. one last note..

 

How about a HUGE shout out to my mom…. who after many many years has QUIT SMOKING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

GO MOM!!!!  I am SOOO Proud of you! I know what a huge hurdle that was for you!!!

 

LOVE  you oxoxox

 

g’night friends 🙂

Filed Under: family, Uncategorized

where we were

September 11, 2012 9 Comments

9/11/2001.

A day that will we will never forget.

Victims that we will never forget

Heros that we will never forget

Terrorists that we would like to forget

Family who will forever be in our hearts…

It was a day that we held the ones around us just a little bit tighter.. because we could.

this was a day that everyone remembers where they were.. what they were doing and who they were with.

here’s my story…

It was a beautiful Monday morning. The kids had recently gone back to school. I was a cosmetologist with some wonderful clients and I would often go out of my way to accomodate their schedules.

Back in the the the Beauty industry really didn’t work on Monday. They just didn’t.

One of my favorite clients ( they all were, really ) was Mrs. M. That’s what everyone called her.. never by her last name. She was from new Jersey and had a summer home in Chatham, on cape cod.  She was a fabulous cook and we got along perfectly despite that fact that she could have been my grandmother.

(on another note.. she was a hot spook…. she helped set my kitchen up with everything form an ice cream maker to food processor because she was mad at her husband.. I’ll share that story another time )

So I had met her at the salon for a 9 am appt. It was just the two of us.  I didn’t bother to turn on the radio because she didn’t like music… and we would be doing what we always do.. I would be doing her nails & we would be talking food.

Which we did.  For over an hour.

We left the salon together around 10:20 am.

I went to the grocery store, and remember thinking how happy I was.. It was fall, my favorite time of year, I had a great job, happy kids who were busy in a cute school house being educated and I had a beautiful kitchen to cook in and the afternoon to do just that. I left the salon and went to the grocery store.

And stood at the deli and ordered turkey breast.

A man was standing next to me & I turned to him and said ‘” isn’t this nice to not have to wait in line now that the tourists are gone? I’ve missed turkey.”

( if you live on the cape or visit the cape you know that the in the summer the stores are CRAZY to navigate  and the deli line is simply ridiculous.. Everyone wants to buy deli meat to make sandwiches for the beach.. it’s common to wait in line for up to 45 minutes… or just go a summer without deli meat, like I had )

He looked at me blankly and said ‘ ” how can you say that after what just happened… all those poor people”

Now I was really confused because I still had not known.

He said, ” the world trade center was attacked.. planes flew into.. many people died”

The blood went from my face and I left the store, leaving my cart behind.

You see, Scott worked in Boston. a few blocks from the world Trade Center and his company actually had meetings there often.

I quickly drove home ( I lived close) and saw the answering machine blinking.

First message was from my mom ‘ “is Scott ok?”

Second message was from my mother -in -law ” have you heard from Scott?”

Third message… the kids’ school ‘” due the the tragedies of today we are releasing the kids to be dismissed”

I tired calling Scott’s office and did not get an answer.

57 times.

This was before cell phones so I only had the one number.

Sick to my stomach and worried how I was going to raise my kids on my own I sat on the couch and finally turned on the Tv.

It was only then that I realized that it was the World Trade Center in  NYC, not in Boston.

I felt relief, then sadness.. I could not believe what I was seeing.

All of those people, all of those families..

I never did hear from Scott. And I kept worrying about that because at that point, America didn’t know what was next .. it was surreal.

He arrived home almost 3 hours later. HIs company sent everyone home as a safety precaution.. and he never thought to call me to let me know.

he was home safe, but I still kept thinking about all of those people who weren’t so lucky… all of those familes.. lives changed in an instant.

I hugged my kids so tight that day.

A new new generation of Military was born that day… Kids in middle school who quickly learned that they loved their  country and that they would fight to defend it… Years later, I’m proud to say that both my son & nephew were two of those kids.

We all know that sadness and empathy that  came in the days to come. I know this anniversary affects some more than others, so if my thoughts and prayers go out to you if you or your family were directly involved.

I’m off to play with some watermelon, but I felt like I needed to acknowledge this day and share my story…..

what’s your story?

I’ll be back later on

Image

Filed Under: family, random, Uncategorized Tagged With: , ,

manifesting abundance

September 6, 2012 16 Comments

soo here I am again…..

*actually, I’ve always been here, I just haven’t shared a whole heck of a lot *

How have you been? Good. Me too!

manifesting abundance.. exactly what does that mean?  Since I’ve been posting I have completed a 200 hour yoga teacher training course, which has me certified ( and no longer scared 🙂 to teach yoga!

It was an amazing journey and it really transformed me in many ways.  As part of our training, we had certain electives to choose. One that I signed up for was “manifesting abundance”

I had no idea what it was….  and I made that perfectly clear as the day-long class began. I was sitting all properly propped up on my yoga mat, tea by my side ,honoring my body as we were taught to when Tiffany, my teacher asked if there were any questions. I promptly raised my hand and asked, ” what is manifesting abundance? ”

She smiled and simply said that she would not be able to answer that question… It was a question for me to answer.

I turned bright red and was so embaressed that I actually asked the question.

I almost walked out. But I didn’t.   I stayed and had a most amazing day with a bunch of wonderful women. I cannot go into too much detail of what happened in that room, but I can tell you that it was amazing and it changed me. When I left at the end of the day, I knew everything would be ok. I also realized just how many signs in my life are all pointing me in the direction that I am supposed to be going in.

The signs have always been there, I was just too naive to see them.

Let me explain a little.

As some of you know Scott and I had our children very young. I was 16 when our oldest, Jason, was born; Ryan and Ali followed when we were in our early 20s.

We have spent not only our entire adult lives raising our children, but much of our adolescence as well.

It’s pretty much all that I know.  Jason has been out on his own for many years now, happily married to a wonderful girl , Amanda Sue, who I am proud to call my daughter- in-law. I love her for loving him.

Y’all may also know that ryan has had a rough road. The deck of cards that he was dealt left him with a wild, wild ride for him to get to where he is today. I cannot tell you how much of my life revolved around helping him get to where he is now

( he has done so much on his own, but I have always been right in the sidelines ready to help him with whatever twist or turn was waiting )

Unfortunately, there were far to many turns.

Fast forward and He is now a freshman in college, at his dream school, majoring in history, a subject that he is passionate about.

He is clear on the other side of the country.

Ali is a senior in high school, very independent, and very goal-orientated when it comes to her picking her college for her next 4 years..

Scott and I have raised 3 independent, compassionate, thoughtful kids who have carried on with them the ability to think out of the box and take the road less- traveled and stop to enjoy the view.

26 years ago, if you had asked me what I would want for my children when I was becoming a parent, I could not have dreamed the outcome.

It was what I had , unknowingly, had spent my life manifesting.

So that day in the room, Tiff had us write some things down… Things about us now, things that we would like to see in our futures.

I came across that paper the other day.

1~ become a yoga instructor.  check. I love yoga and I love to teach others to be healthy and HONOR and LOVE yourself for who you are today.  I’m all for being healthy, but I get bothered when I see folks beat themselves up for that ‘extra 5 pounds’..

to put it in perspective, somebody going through chemo would LOVE those 5 pounds..

right? right.

And look back at a picture of yourself from ten years ago.. most likely you were thinking to yourself , ” I could be skinnier, or more muscular, or richer, or… well, you get the point.

And I’m willing to bet that when you look at that pic now, you would love to be who you were back then.

So stop and love yourself for who you are today… strive for more, but accept who you are. for who you are.

I always say, stop comparing yourself to the person next to you…. they are doing a terrible job at trying to be you .

2~ I wanted to become a runner. I have never been athletic. Like ever. I purposely bailed out of gym class ( but excelled in home EC.. go figure?) I’ve played one tiny season of softball when I was 9 and even though I was supposed to love it, I hated it. ( I’m sorry, dad , 😦 )

I have always envied runners.  They just seem to have a sense of self and look so carefree and comfortable in their own skin.  I have tried many times to learn to run, but I’ve just simply hated it.

So one of the things on my list that day was to become a runner.  I am working very hard on that one. I have some excellent guidance and I am determined. And when I set my mind to something.. that’s it.  I signed up for my first 5 k  (dragging my little sister along with me)  and I am scared to death… but you know what? I am going to do it. And I am going to love it… because I want to..

perhaps I should have warned you ahead of time regarding the length of this post.. sorry 🙂

back to being a mom.. I have dreaded this time in my life for the past few years. what would I do without my kids here? This question has had me lose more nights of sleep than I care to admit. I have obsessed and dreaded it.  I have even gone as far to talk to my doctor about it.  26 years of being a mom & being SO involved in my kids lives… what would be around the corner for me?

What I learned in that room that day was like I said, I am going to not only be ok, I’m going to be better than ok. I have been working on ‘manifesting abundance’ and by that I mean that I am going after all of my little dreams one at a time.

When I left Ryan last week, I cried one tiny tear. No where near the mess that I thought I would be.. Pride took over . and Happiness. As sad as I am to not have him here to get my quirky humor ( he ‘gets’ me like no one else does) .. the smile on his face and seeing him in his element SOO happy washed away any tears that I might have cried.

This happened once before too…  When Jason graduated from Navy boot camp.  I was ready to be a mess, but when he marched in, a man… I was overwhelmed with pride. I simply cannot describe it.

It is safe to say that my kids mean the world to me, and while I am still their mom and biggest fan, the fact that they are all living their own lives SO happy.. well, that make me happy.

and ready to manifest what is next for me 🙂 I’m only 41 years old. Really, quite young to be at this point of my life.

I do still have Ali for her senior year, as well as Tian, my exchange daughter form Hong Kong ( who i love like my own) and Ali’s multiple friends who call me mom & make our home their second home. It will be an amazing year for all of these beautiful young women, and I intend on keeping in touch with each and every one of them.

( I may be known at the post office as the queen of care packages )

I love that they are all going on with their own lives and that I am ready for this point of my life.  I never imagined the peace that I could find in my own skin 🙂

so.. if I haven’t lost you yet, thanks for letting me share. I love to write and I have alot to say ( clearly)

don’t give up on me, food and quilting will still be here…. ( I’m about to make mushroom soup for one … as my entire family is currently in 4 separate time zones )

as I leave you… think about this…  what are you manifesting? can you picture it? can you love yourself just as much as you love that certain someone that you would do anything for?

just try

xoxoxoox

~s

Filed Under: family, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , ,

simple addition

January 20, 2012 Leave a Comment

hiya!

4 things~

THIS

plus

THIS

plus

THIS

 

equals

 

happy birthday, Ali  I love you very much & am very proud of you!

Filed Under: dessert, family Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

times.. they are a changin…

January 3, 2012 2 Comments

happy 2012. It’s hard to believe that it is a whole new year.

Some of you know ( not from the blog, but from knowing me elsewhere) that in June I attended an all day workshop on participating in a 21 plus day cleanse, where I slowly ( safely) eliminated food group from my diet * untiI was down to raw food only then slowly added certain foods back.

I began this on father’s day.  I remember this because my daughter left the next day for a 10- day missionary trip to the Appalachian mountains to work with under-privileiged  children with her then best friends.

I felt safe starting this when I did..  she would be gone, which really left me just feeding the boys during this time ( and quite frankly,the meat & potatoes that the were wanting didn’t appeal to me at all) so it was rather easy for me to do this without much temptation. Not to mention that I had a veggie garden that had wonderful, healthy greens that were always available.

I has set my mind that this was going to be a succes. Or at the very least, I would not have succeeded, but I would have at least tried.

It turned out to be the single best thing that I had ever done for myself. I learned SO much about my willpower. I felt great. I looked healthy , I shed pounds.

The end of 2011was a strange time in my life. Without getting into too many details, things in my life spiralled. Not in an ‘oh my life is over’ kind of thing, but a constant feeling of not being able to control what was going on around me. This feeling had taken it’s toll on me.  I felt as though mercury is in retrograde 24/7

I found some inner peace within yoga, something that has had an impact on my entire year. I began teacher training that will have me certified to be a yoga instructor as well as other certifications.  Through this training my eyes have been opened up to how all in this world is connected. Many many things have happened that have had me step back in awe. Things that I never would have noticed prior to my training.

I have learned so much this past year. About myself and the world around me.

I have kept this training a secret from some.  I realized in the middle of the night that the energy I have been putting into shielding people in my life from certain things not worth it.

I was just plain silly.

My ramblings may seem to be all over the board here, quite literally.  If you thing I’m all over the board here, you should see what is going on inside my head.

I have decided to begin the cleanse again. It feels like right time. The beginning of this new year has me filled with excitement and hope for a wonderful things to come.

It will most certainly be more difficult. Not only is it the dead of winter here in New England ( not the best for fresh produce) but I have to make dinner for 4 each night as well.

* in October we had a wonderful young lady from Hong Kong, Tian, come to live with us for the year*

It will be difficult to cook for them while I am trying to eliminate food in my own diet, but I feel that it is the right thing to do and so my mind has been made up.

What will I post here? a few different things. I will share some of what I will be eating .. but also what I am cooking *healthily* for the rest of my family.

One of the things that we have done is to get a cookbook with authentic Chinese recipes & occasionally making mini- feasts. I will share some of these.

so there you have it. In a very abreviated way, what has been going on in my world.

and for now..

thats’s all she wrote

* I do not like the word ‘diet’. The mere word to me sets one up for failure. When I use the word ‘diet’ it will always be in a term regarding  which foods we eat.. for example.. ” my diet consists of”

peace out 🙂

Filed Under: family, health Tagged With: , , ,

Thanksgiving thoughts

November 23, 2010 8 Comments

Hi friends.. remember me?

it’s been awhile, I know.

Here we are, Thanksgiving week and I’m getting ready for what is usually my favorite time of the year. Although this year has been difficult, I am still enamored with everything Autumn.

Growing up, Thanksgiving was always my favorite holiday. Of course, as a child, Christmas was right up there ( who are we kidding, I was a kid) but Thanksgiving always meant one thing.

Spending time with my grandparents.

I remember on year being so excited worth the anticipation of The holiday, asking my mom why we had a Christmas Eve, but not a Thanksgiving Eve.  The excitement of the day before with my grandparents coming to visit just felt like a holiday for me.

Their arrival meant a big bowl of fresh fruits & nuts , which for whatever reason was so exciting to me.

perhaps became I am both fruity AND nutty?

Anyway… Years moved on,  my grandparents passed away far too soon , and somehow the magic of the holiday disappeared.

I mean. Thanksgiving was always there, but the ‘magical quality’ that I grew up remembering was not.

I was thinking back this morning, to when Scott & I had been married  for 7 or 8 years.

We were headed to do the whole ‘drive an hour to eat one Thanksgiving meal with one side of our family to then go to the other family’s house to have yet another meal’ Not that we didn’t enjoy going to visit our families, but 2 Thanksgiving meals in one day was just too much.

I remember thinking how sad I was that somehow Thanksgiving had become a chore. I actually cried. I remember having Scott drive & me stupidly crying along the way, not being able to explain what was bothering me so.

When I finally realized it, I decided to make a change. OUR thanksgiving would be born. It would incorporate traditions from both Scott’s family as well as mine.

I would re-create the magic of the days leading up to turkey day.

“big cooking day” was born.  That is the Wednesday before, the day that I remember looking out the window anxiously awaiting My memere & pepere’s car to pull up the driveway.

 

It now is a day of complete cooking from 5am on. with carols playing in the background and everyone having something to do with the up coming meal.

My very favorite day of the whole entire year.

Big cooking day smells like nothing else. I wish I could explain. It is truly unique.

 

In order for big cooking day to come to fruition, ‘big shopping day’  must happen.

No, I’m not talking about Black Friday. I’m talking about the Tuesday before the turkey.

Today.

I am armed with my lists, it is probably the one time of the year that I treat myself to a holiday beverage ( pumpkin chai latte or something of the sort) despite the ungodly amount of calories, and once I drop the kids off, I’m off to stock up the fridge & pantry.

This afternoon, Ali & I will head to Plato\’s Harvest Organic Farm to pick up our turkey that we have been watching Farmer Dave & Sasha raise for the last few months , as well as our Thanksgiving share of veggies. And say goodbye to the farm until the spring. (but not them, we’ll be visiting the winter Farmer’s market throughout the winter 😉

 

And then the cooking will begin.

I have many recipes to share. I know that I seem to be more going on with more  stories than about actual food, but really, every dish has a story… and I’d like to share the recipes & the stories.

If you like cranberry sauce ( not the canned stuff, the real deal) stay tuned for an easy, amazing recipe. So pick yourselves up a bag of cranberries, a Naval orange and make sure you have a bit of sugar.

I”ll post the recipe this afternoon & you’ll be good to go.

 

With that, my friends, I must wake those kids of mine & get moving…. It’s going to be a crazy, exciting, busy day!

 

xoxox

 

Filed Under: family Tagged With: , , ,

life happens

November 2, 2010 3 Comments

for good or bad, better or worse… life happens

It’s been quite the busy October ’round here. A few weeks ago, my eldest son, Jason, who is an aviation technician in the NAVY got word that he will be getting deployed overseas around the first of  December.

While the news should not have come to a surprise for me, I was shocked & blown away at my reaction. I had a roller-coaster of emotions over the course of the next couple of days.

I was proud, scared, sad, & worried all at the same time.

He himself put in in perspective for me when he said, “mom, this is what I signed up to do”.

It’s a strange feeling when your children become your voice of reason…

One of the things about him leaving at the beginning of December is that they obviously won’t’ be home for  Christmas 😦

He was given 2 weeks leave immediately so he & Amanda booked a last minute 3-day weekend away.

Scott & I were trying desperately to figure out when we could see him before he left and given the time constraints could not find a suitable time to fly south.

Then Scott had an idea…

It was crazy, irresponsible, only heard of in movies.. which is why we decided to do it!

We dipped into our savings, scrambled our lives around & decided to crash their vacation!!

With 4 days notice.

And didn’t tell them 😉

They were very excited to see us & the 6 of us spent 3 whole days just hanging together, playing games, doing scavenger hunts, horseback riding & 🙂 eating 🙂

and well, just being as silly as we always are..

We were sad when it was over

After our 3 days together, we spent a whole day flying home, switching planes & waiting in airports.. to come back to reality.

And in one of the next days to follow, I had a birthday.

A big birthday.

I’m now 40.

I had all sorts of wonderful ’40’ posts planned, but with the chaotic-ness of the last few weeks, this is as good as it gets.

I may through a random post up at sometime about my thoughts on aging, but for now… I want to bring you a recipe that I made last month….

This IS a food blog, correct?
here is what I did..

1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded & cubed

1 box low-sodium chicken broth

1 can Tj’s light coconut milk

4 cups canneloni (white) beans

2 celery stalks, chopped

2 carrots, peeled & chopped

2 onions, peeled & chopped

2 garlic cloves, peeled & chopped

2 TBSP Madras Curry Powder ( I actually used a little bit more than this, bit I like it spicy 😉

pinch of nutmeg, cinnamon & allspice

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup whipping cream

(only a few minor changes from her recipe)

Add everything except the cream to the crock-pot

cook on low for 5-6 hours, then use an immersion blender to puree. I didn’t add the cream to the whole pot, instead..

I swirled in some cream for serving & topped with some pumpkin seeds.

Heaven. In a bowl.

And we haven’t heard that last about Jason’s deployment, we are still waiting for details, so I’m sure that you’ll hear from me on this subject again.

but in the meantime…

life happens.

Filed Under: family, make-ahead Tagged With: , , ,

an a*maze*ing race

October 4, 2010 Leave a Comment

Saturday afternoon, Scott & I packed the kids in the car ( iPods in tow, c’mon, they’re  teenagers) … and set out on an almost 2 hour ride, to spend a ridiculous amount of money ….all in the effort to get lost.

On purpose.

For real.

We set out for Davis\’ Farmland Mega Maze, where we have been going annually for a few years now.

The entire corn maze is 8 acres large with over 3 miles of twisting & turning paths throughout. There are 10 bridges, ( not always easy to get to) rubbing stamps, trivia questions, gaming stations & much more hidden throughout the maze.

This is no ordinary corn maze….

The Mega Maze is  designed in England by a leading maze designer, Mr. Fisher, who holds 7 Guinness World Records in maze design.

Click here for an aerial view of the 2010 maze

Each year there is a different theme, this years’ was ‘Survivor”

Upon being let into the maze, you are given a ‘field guide’ which states the basic safety rules & the different levels that you can ‘experience’ the maze.

We chose this year to find all of the bridges & get the coordinating stamps & find the 6 ‘immunity rub-ons’ hidden on various places.

Each year we divide into teams of two ( always changing, this year it was Ali & I against the boys) then we disappear into the maze.

(Ali & I wore our RAINBOOTS, in hopes of some good mud puddles post-rain.. but the field was nice & dry )

😦

the boys trying to figure a path to takeWe found one of the bridges… STAMP!!!

Here’s  Scott right below up trying to figure the maze out. Even though he is right there he is actually about 1/4 mile away from us.. maze-wize

Each time we thought we had it figured out..

another dead end.

it’s very deceiving!!! and more FUN that you could ever imagine!!!!When we finally all met at the exit, we determined a tie, as neither team found everything that we agreed upon, but together, we got them all! ( and we were getting hungry)

Now here is where I should go into detail on  the wonderful early dinner that we enjoyed, but sadly, that’s not the way it played out.

We did stop at a restaurant that we have eaten at before and I ordered the sliders ( I had a strange craving for a cute little juicy burger)

Scott & the kids’ meals were great, but mine were two little wanna be hockey pucks that looked liked they came out of McDonald’s french fry warmer.

From last Wednesday.

I ended up sending them back ( something that I never do) but seriously, they were inedible.

Luckily, the salad that I had already eaten was enough to take the hunger pangs away, and at that point, I really didn’t want anything else from that kitchen.

So I sipped on my wine while they ate.

Then shared all of their desserts 😉

Salad +wine+dessert= a well-balanced meal.

at least in barefootgirlworld :)….

OK…

and stay tuned to the upcoming Bruin’s games.. something tells me that you just might see that exact lil’ slider that they tried to serve me for dinner slipping along the ice ;)…..

it was a VERY busy weekend, so not a whole lot of cooking going on , but I’ll make it up soon.. I promise 😉

oxoxo

Filed Under: family
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