a little kick of kung pao

(picture taken 4 years ago)

Happy Birthday to my Lizzie girl.


12 years old today.


In our Chinese Smorgasbord of life, 
she is the Kung Pao Chicken
that adds spice to our ham fried rice.


She is the child that continually makes
me stretch and grow inside of my mothers skin.


Giving me pause, pushing me to new limits.
Causing me to reflect inward.


She teaches me love and patience and I marvel
at her as she progresses through this, lifes
journey.

She has a great capacity to love and a heart
that excels in a gift to give.  Of herself, 
to others.


She is learning who SHE is.


Kind, nurturing, lover of friends and other people.


Smart, goal oriented, task finisher, project
starter, creator and creative (both), strong willed,
feisty, opinionated, thorough, studious.


Sewer, artist, dancer, teacher, friend.


Happy 12th my Lizzie girl.  Thanks for adding
your Kung Pao kick to this house.


Love,
Mom

pumpkin cream cheese french toast

Buy a good loaf from Great Harvest (Cinna-burst works well!)

Slice it THICK.

Stuff bread with cream cheese mixture.

Dip in pumpkin batter.

Dip in crunchy topping.

Cook on griddle.

Watch warm cream cheese mixture ooze out of bread.

Yum.

Serve with bacon and grapes.

Top with caramel sauce.

Double Yum.

Devour.

Lick fingers.

Lick fork.

Lick plate for good measure.

Work out twice in one day to make up for calories eaten.

One can officially die and go to heaven now.

(And yes!  There is not one thing healthy about the entire meal...except maybe
the grapes.)

Pumpkin Cream Cheese French Toast.

10 pound bag

When Kyle came home from Costco with the industrial
sized bag of chocolate chips, I mocked him.  I laughed.
I snorted.


Seriously people, it was TEN POUNDS of chips!!


I know I bake a lot, especially in the fall....
(3 Birthdays in a row here)
...but 10 POUNDS worth???


I'm pleased to say in less than a two week time period
we have used over half the bag.


In fact, I'm thinking of going back for another one.


Pumpkin chocolate chips cupcakes with cream cheese 
frosting did us in.


TWO DOUBLE batches.


Yup, you read that right!


Thank you to the teenage boys who eat me out of house 
and home!


Thank you teenage girls who are quickly catching up
with the boys!


Thank you for neighbors and friends with birthdays
who like to eat!


Thank you Costco for selling a TEN POUND bag of chips!


Thank you Kyle for throwing the bag in your cart!


Thank GOODNESS I love to bake!

woman of my word

Lest you think I am NOT a woman of my word!!

Wait for it...

Wait for it...

Yup, it's my skull band aid!

The fact that I have NO make up on may be scarier than the band aid on my face!

EEK!

And truthfully, I did have to postpone my skull band aid wearing until Monday.


Fact:  (in my best Dwight Schrute ("The Office" in case you live on Mars) voice)

I had Sharing Time on Sunday.  I couldn't have the kids MORE interested in
ME than the lesson, right? right?

Fact:   I had plenty of black to wear (sometimes I'm certain my wardrobe pallet
only contains blacks, grays and varies shades of "neutrals"....oh well, it works
for me)  BUT I just couldn't come up with a great hair accessory to tie the whole
band aid look together for church.

So Monday the skull & I did our thing, together.

I must say that as of today I am band aid free, and am feeling a little lackluster in
terms of "facial accessories".

I mean seriously, how many times in your life do you GET TO wear a facial
accessory?

(Here hoping it's my LAST time! hee hee)

magic potion...by olivia

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO MAKE ONE?

A) WATER

B) MY MOM'S PERFUME

C) FLOWER PETALS

D) DISH SOAP

AND WELL,

E) SOME MAGIC 

CONCENTRATION

POURING AND MIXING

MORE POURING

SNIFFING IT

ONE LAST STIR

AND THERE YOU HAVE IT!

PUDDY'S MAGIC POTION!

flash

CAN YOU SEE HER?

OR IS SHE TOOOOOO FASSSSTTTT?

scar face

.

See THAT? (above)

It's something used when your foot/feet

get a pedicure. For the scraping

and removal of dead skin.  It's a razor, give

or take technical terms.  It SHAVES the

skin off.  Layer by layer.

ONLY yesterday I got to have a similar

looking tool used on my face.

My nose to be exact.

I decided I'm going for maximum "scar-age"

on my body this year.

I figure, why not?  I have not only met MY OWN

personal medical deductible, but the

FAMILY one as well.

Three cheers for thyroid surgery!

(hip hip hooray!)

Now my (thankfully benign) skin lesion

is missing from my nose.

Along with several layers of my skin.

It's awesome what a great dermatologist 

can do with a razor!

I also get to wear a band aid across

my nose for the next 5 days to aid

in the healing process.

I am looking HOT!  

My neighbor

said she has some SKULL band aids I can

borrow for church on Sunday.  I will

look for my best black outfit to match

the skulls.  And maybe a cross bone

hair accessory to boot.

whoever invented fall...they got it right!

seriously, it is an assault on my senses.


in the past week i have smelled the smoke from a 
fire in the canyon, something apple-y baking,
cinnamon mixed with pumpkin, both in candles and food
and warm bread smells in the air.


i have seen sunflowers bowing along the roads,
leaves changing from greens to reds and golds
and oranges on the mountains, and the air has picked up
that "autumn haze" as the afternoons get shorter.


i have felt a chill in the air in both mornings 
and evenings, that dissipates with the heat of each new
day.  i have had a cool breeze blow on my face
at night through open windows.


i have heard children's laughter and squeals as
they delight in outdoor play that is neither too
hot nor too cold.  i have watched pig tailed
and pony tailed 8 year olds chase after soccer
balls on cool fall evenings.  i have heard the 
teeniest and tiniest of football players chanting 
and running at practice, "we are the titans, the
mighty mighty titans!" (seriously the cutest thing 
i think i have EVER seen! they played in helmets, no pads!)


whoever invented fall....man oh man HE rocked it!


(or is it WHOMever?)  either way...


i live and breathe and die for this, my favorite of
ALL the seasons.

up the canyon

Fall is in the air.  Even more so in the canyon.


Hot dogs, campfires, and burned mallows. 


Sweatshirts, blankets, leaves turning.


Up Millcreek, with the ones I love.

hormones

Note to self:  3 girly daughters = a lot of hormones.


And hormones overflow, they leak, they spill, 
they emote, they ooze, they simply exist in 
the air in my home.


In large quantities.


Daily.


During these moments I need to remember the happy 
times.


However much it FEELS LIKE, in these moments, that
there never were, never are and never will be
any happy times.


There are.


See?  That picture is living proof that during
brief and fleeting moments together (together
being the key word)we DO STILL SMILE!


A wise mother of a friend recently told me.

"Oh yes! I remember when my girls were teenagers...
you have until they are about 18 until they love 
you again."


Seriously?


Super.  


Olivia is only 8....so let's do the math here.


3 girls, waiting until they each reach the age of 18--

Well, I have a LOOOOOOONNNNNGGGG time to go.


Dear Lord, give me strength.
Amen.

the power of a smile

Josh, smiling...doesn't it just make you happy?

If you read my blog, you know I work out everyday
at a gym with mostly old(er) people.


Most of them are kind and happy and make me smile.


There is one lady though that really scares  me.


She is a "tough customer."


I've seen her everyday now since January and she is
always intent on what she is doing, with a very 
serious look on her face.  Never a smile.


And that's fine.  It is a serious job we're doing
there.  And it involves lots of sweating and
concentration.


However, MOST of the other people I've "met" over
the past 9 months smile at me every morning.


I try and smile back.  Morning and exercise are
possibly not my best combination, but I do try.


Well, the other day I was "running late" (which means
a few past my 8:30 on the dot arrival).  If I don't
make it then, someone steals my elliptical and it 
makes me grumpy.  It's mine--don't they realize that?


Anyway, this lady who I usually see racing around the
track was actually passing me on the stairs.


I was starting my day, headed up the stairs.  


She was finished, and heading down.


I looked up at her and smiled a hello.


And miracle of all miracles, SHE SMILED BACK.


The smile changed her whole face.


She wasn't scary anymore.  In fact, she looked quite
nice.  Like someone I would want to get to know.


The power of a smile is amazing.


It can break the ice, melt a heart, change the world.


And now, every day since then, we both pass each 
other and smile.


It's powerful.


Take a minute and smile at someone this week you may
not normally smile at, it will make their day.


It may even make YOUR day too.