Sunday Inspiration

"The ordinary acts we practice every day at home are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest."-Thomas Moore

Rock On

Stinky's learned to make the "rock on" sign with his hands. He decided to show this new-found skill off during a quiet moment at church by standing on his chair and loudly proclaiming "rock on!"

Yes, I made him get down, but part of me secretly thought it was pretty awesome.

Sunday Inspiration: Let's get that rolling again, shall we?

"There is no other organization that can so completely satisfy our need for belonging and happiness like the family. Why do we yearn for home and loved ones? I believe this yearning is a universal, God-given instinct that all people in all cultures are blessed with. I also believe that a loving Heavenly Father gives it to us because within the family we experience most of life's greatest joys. The sights, sounds, and associations of family and home are among our most treasured memories and provide our fondest anticipations.

Marlin K. Jensen

Making It Monday: Gummi Bear

Creative pursuits have been temporarily put on hold, as the creation of baby Gummi Bear (so named by a nurse with an ultrasound wand) has become priority. A week ago found us in the ER for some not-uncommon-but-still-really-scary-for-us complication. I spent 48 hours mostly on bedrest, and then was upgraded to light activity by my doctor two days later, who also reassured us regarding what was going on. I don't feel very good most of the time, I can't pick up Stinky, or many other things, and I'm frustrated by this. WBH is home for this week on mid-winter vacation, and I'm grateful for that.

In the ER, Stinky was a real trooper. He was doted on and flirted with by all the nurses (who might have just been happy he wasn't a drug addict or homeless person looking for a warm place, if we're being honest), and at the end of the night, he asked the nurse who discharged me out to dinner. He also got to see an ultrasound picture of the baby, who danced around as if to say "I'm fine, just making sure you were paying attention." Then, he/she held perfectly still and waved at us. I looked at the screen and asked Gummi Bear to kindly knock it the hell off with the scary stuff.

This isn't the first time Gummi Bear has given us a scare, but we feel things will be all right in the end. We figure this child must know who his/her older brother is and is determined to let us know that he/she will be no different than Stinky is when it comes to giving us a run for our money. I'm a little worried, envisioning our future, but that's a worry for later on, I guess. Right now, it's all about the incubating.

Hey, friends. It's been a long week at our house, but WBH starts vacation at 3:30 this afternoon. Thank heaven! Tomorrow is our sixth anniversary. If you're interested (or just interested in wasting time), you can check out our story in last year's anniversary week posts. Have a wonderful weekend, and Valentine's Day!

Scarce

My blog writing has been a little scarce.
My time at home feeling well? Also a little scarce.
And, if you came over to my house lately, you can bet I would make my self scarce.

I've been volunteering with the Miss Auburn pageant, which ends tomorrow night. We've been gone 15- 17 hours a day for the last two days. It's been insane. So, I'll be a little scarce for the rest of this week, and probably next, just for some catch up time. I hope you're doing well. Thanks for reading and commenting. Nothing quite makes me smile like seeing comments in my in-box.

Food Friday: Lesson Learned

image found here

Have you watched this show yet? It's on Sunday nights on the Food Network, and the premise is that 12 terrible home cooks are taught how to do it right by professional chefs. Each week, two people are eliminated, and in the end, the best of the worst will compete by cooking for food critics, who think the food has been prepared by their mentors. We are hooked on this show (and it makes me miss Mad Men a little less).

I love shows that you entertain and teach, and this is one of them. The first thing the chefs taught was the term and principle of mise en place. Watching this, WBH commented "So, it's french for 'get your crap together.'" Technically it means 'everything in place,' but the sentiments are clearly the same. Getting my crap together has changed the way I'm cooking. It's so much easier for me to clean up, I'm less frantic in the kitchen, multitasking becomes so much easier, and I feel it when I don't do it. With diminished energy and patience, this principle is rocking my socks when it comes to cooking.

Imagine what would happen if I could just apply it to life.