One Part Inspiration...

I was taught not to apologize for my cooking. I was told that it is disheartening to the guests at the dinner table when someone compliments the cook only to hear her/him say "Well, the roast is a little tough", or "I left the cake in too long". I have come to the point where I figure if people are willing to applaud my efforts, I'm willing to take the compliment. So I generally try not to make a disparaging comment in return. It's not that I don't know the roast is a little tough, or the cake has some rather brown corners. I'm committed to"faking it until I make it". Sometimes though, I am unable to mask my deficiencies in cooking and baking. I have definitely had my share of cooking disasters. Some of them I've released to the big baking rack in the sky before anyone saw them. Others have been left out to inflict on unsuspecting family members and guests. No use wasting food! Here are some that I don't mind sharing publicly : I w...

Today, I created a holiday. I named it " National, Buy Your Friend A Coffee " Day. What fun it was to phone my friend and announce to her that we would be celebrating this holiday together! I got such a kick out of leaving the house early. I sailed down the freeway, enjoying the beautiful scenery until I reached the exit and stopped at the coffee shop drive through. I picked up a large coffee with three creams to take to her. Of course, I hated to have her drink alone, so I picked up a large for myself too! All day long, I felt festive. It felt even better when she told me that she'd run out of cream at home and was disappointed with not being able to start her day with a nice cup of coffee. I may have to go on creating these National Holidays. I can see that it might be just a little addicting!

There I was the other night in a dead sleep. It was about four in the morning to be exact(ish). I woke up suddenly. It's hard to sleep with the smell of fresh baked bread wafting up the stairs, under the doors and into your bedroom. Sleepily, I realized that when I had set the bread maker "Delay" button to 6 hours, I miscalculated. The bread maker would not start at four(ish) in the morning. No, no no! That's when the cycle would end! Sometimes being organized can backfire on you. I drifted in and out of sleep. My nostrils were like little snooze buttons. Every time I would go back to sleep, the snooze button would go off and I would come awake again. Sniffing the air. It smelled heavenly. But it was definitely not conducive to being in a somnolent state. After two hours of hitting the olfactory snooze button, it was time to get up. I am sure that my co-workers wondered why I was dragging myself around the next day. It would be deceitful to tell you that this is the f...

I'm feeling nostalgic. Last night I attended part of a basketball game where two young men sat side by side keeping score. As I watched them, I went back to this picture in my mind's eye. The two of them used to love to play together. They often played side by side like this on their play dates. Who knows what was going through their little minds as they created and explored and learned about their environments. Last night, I thought about the different paths they have been on. And how those paths have converged once again in their high school years. They seemed to be enjoying the task and each other's company. I wish I'd had a camera to capture that moment for a juxtaposition of them as toddlers and now, young adults. Call me sedimental sentimental.

These are some of my favorite memories of Valentine's Day 2009 This is the valentine box that the Kindergarten Class made for me for all my valentines that they gave me. I didn't even mind that they put an "e" on my name! I was so impressed with the thoughtfulnes. It even looks a little like me! Mostly through the eyes. This is the cyclomen that my children gave me. I think my #2 son was the one who picked it out. I am not sure that the other two were even aware that they'd given me anything. Thanks kids. You rock! This is the arrangement my husband gave to me. It has daisies, gerbera daisies, primula, greenery and moss in it. He knows I like daisies and so made sure that there were lots! Thanks husband. You are the best!

I've been tagged only I am going to write my random things here. I love where I live. I call myself a 'mom in a mini van'. Don't mess with me because you won't win. This is especially directed at those punks young people who drive up beside me with their bass booming so loud that it vibrates all the buildings and vehicles within a 5 km. radius. There's something about that vibration that makes me ticked off enough to take ya. VROOOOMMMM! I never imagined myself living on the West Coast. There was something unatainable about that living arrangement in my mind. And here I've been for over 20 years. If I have a free afternoon and go to the beach - even if it is for an hour or so, I come home refreshed and feeling like I've been away on vacation. I like writing. That is why I have kept my blog for this long. I consider it my own private magazine. I still feel like a teenager trying to decide what to do with her life. One day I will have "...

I make a big deal of Valentine's Day for the family. I figure this is a perfect opportunity to celebrate family love. Usually this means making a special meal and decorating the table up with my fancy things . Each one gets a personalized card and a little something at their place - either a fun little gift, or candy of some sort (easier - because you don't have to store it or find a place for it on the wall). This year, I decided to make a chicken cordon blue dinner. (If you've been reading my posts, it was what my husband answered he would order if there was a limitless menu - I guessed a mushroom burger - but was oh-so-wrong). After I had made the chocolate cupcakes, and set the table, I made a run to the grocery store to pick up the ingredients. Chicken cordon blue. rice and noodles for our Korean "son", salad, baby tomatoes (to match the red hearts sprinkled about on the table) and Jones Soda - which is a treat for us all - especially at the price they charge...

Yesterday I asked my ladies to answer the question "What would you consider a demonstration of true love?" It was quite interesting to hear octogenarians answer the question. There was no "fluff" in their answers. And there wasn't one thing said about physical attraction which serves as a reassurance that gaining a few pounds isn't really that crucial for true love to triumph. And that wrinkles are not even a factor in longevity. Each one thought long and hard about what they would say. At times it seemed that they didn't really have an answer to give. Then slowly, they would look up and give their thoughts on the subject. Some of them were: "When you've been through thick and thin and have lived with each other for over 60 years through all the good and bad, and you still enjoy being together:" "Being willing to lay down your life for someone." "Not running out at the first sign of trouble". But my favorite sign of pure...

This year,I printed off a Valentine questionnaire for my husband and me. The idea is that you fill out one side and he the other to see how well you know each other. Then you exchange answers. Well, apparently, after this many years together, we are virtual strangers. Neither one of us knew what was the last book the other read. We hadn't a clue about the one place the other was dying to visit on the planet. We made our best (wrong) guess about which reality television show the other would consider going to an audition for. We were not disheartened by it. Nor were we terribly enlightened by the end of it. I bet if we filled it out again in a month, the answers would be different again. The important thing is to know the important things about each other. I know that he likes it when I accompany him on errands. I also know that his favorite time of the day is when we sit down with a cup of tea after dinner and shoot the breeze about the day. He knows me well enough to kno...

"Teach us Lord to number our days". This has been brought home to me again this week as I learned of the sudden death of a friend's dad. I wish that I had some brilliant things to say. But I am not feeling very brilliant. So I will post instead, a reading that has brought me comfort in times of my own grief. “ Many people have asked me about heaven…. I sometimes smile because I do not know any more than they do. When a young man asked if I looked forward to being united with God and those who have gone before me, I made a connection to an old memory. The first time I traveled with my mother and my sister to my parents’homeland in northern Italy , I felt as if I had been there before. After years of looking through my mother’s photo albums, I knew the mountains, the land, the houses, the people. As soon as we entered the valley, I said: “ I know this place. I am home .” Somehow I think crossing from this life into life Eternal will be s...

I like to have fun in every-day ways that cost very little. I get a kick out of little bits of nothing. It helps power me through ordinary days. When I began working, I started in a large cafeteria of a local life insurance company. I did dishes. That is, I took dirty dishes off trays as they came through on a conveyor belt and got them ready to go through the dishwasher. I worked with a gal who 'brought the atmosphere with her'. We did all sorts of things to amuse ourselves while we worked. There's nothing mentally stimulating about doing dishes , but she and I had a lot of fun. We used to talk at length about the changes we would make when we became 'president' of the company. Sometimes we would be doubled over in laughter about how seriously we could make these statements of intent, without ever having to go through with them. During the time we worked together, we suddenly thought it would be great to post a "word of the day" and then sometime during ...