taste

O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusts in Him!

(Psalm 34:8)

Happy Sunday :)

favorite read: the last thing we want could be the first thing we need

We have so very much to talk about sometime in the near future, but it can't be tonight.  It's late and I have fun early-for-me plans, and then a superbusy weekend, so I'll have to save those gazillion words for another time.


But busy or no, isn't this child completely and utterly yummy? And did I mention I love her?  We have big plans for some big fun in the nature of a couple-of-weeks-before-her-birthday, birthday weekend.  



I did want to take a second, though, and share my favorite read of the week with you...It seems like nearly everyone I know is living some hard right now, and I thought Jeff put things so beautifully  as he contemplated the value of hard things in his guest post over at Chatting at the Sky.




Seriously, y'all.  Go hug someone, like right now.  I'm pretty sure it'll help you both :)



Happy Weekending!

carolina sunday

I can't remember if I told you or not, but last Sunday Kari, Peyton, and I made a quick trip to see Kate and the fam.  

It was a super-quick, one-day trip but still helped fill my baby-hug tank, so that was good.

Be still, my heart...

I took approximately seven pictures and approximately three of them are even edit-able.  sigh.  In the interest of posterity I share them below.

The patient waiter

Audrey was so excited to jump!  Apparently she did so last year about this time and she remembered exactly what to do.  She was so patient and cooperative as they got her hooked.


She also took a whirl on the carousel mainly because Naynay doesn't see her every day and therefore feels no obligation to deny the child good healthy fun.  



However, this doesn't mean I'm going with her around and around in circles because it's all fun and games until Naynay starts upchucking in the middle of the food court.  

For this reason Wiwi was drafted to join in on the circle-riding fun.

One of the purposes of our trip was so she could "get earrings."  Her Wiwi had promised to "get her earrings" for her birthday and she was beside herself from the waiting.

Before the ouch!

We might or might not have fully prepared her for the OUCH that accompanies getting said earrings.  She was SO MAD!  It was both adorable and a wee bit heartbreaking, bless her sweet little (I'm not little; I'm BIGGER!) heart.


Fortunately she forgave us after her Elmo cookie. 


It might appear that it was sort of an All-About-Audrey day, but that's only because it was kind've an All-About-Audrey day.  Sometimes things just happen that way...


Owen was busy napping for a large portion of our visit (boo!!) but we got some hugs and snuggles and adorableness in before we had to hit the road.  This picture is pretty much not that great, but it's the only one I got Sunday and oh how I love him ;)

Whose boy are you Owen?  Naynay's boy!

Y'all have a great night :)

p.s.  Tomorrow's FRIDAY!  Yaay!

on love. or not.

I Love watching Babygirl (I'm NOT a baby; I'm bigger!) go straight to my purse to double-check, and delightedly confirm, that Naynay did get more gum.


Not loving the long, darkish shadows creeping over the walls at 4:36 in the p-m.



I Love Peyton's sweet, unflappable smile as he bounces on his mama's hip straight through some form of chaos.


Not loving that sweet child hollering his head off for the last 45 minutes of our adventure.

Poor sweet boy...



I Love job security.


Not loving logging in at the end of an absurdly long...and odd...and exhausting day.



I Love looking back to see what I was up to last September...and the September before that...complete with fun pictures and the occasional comment left by a friend.


Not loving sticking to it when I'd rather take a nap.



I Love touching base with y'all most every day :)



Let's make it a great Tuesday!

money shot monday - flying high

We made a quick trip to NC yesterday and stayed just long enough to know it wasn't long enough :(

 ...but it was action packed!

Happy Monday :)

p.s.  I'm joining in with Flower Patch Farmgirl for Money Shot Monday :)

hope

a few favorites for a fabulous friday

Take one of these.

McAlister's Deli Veggie Spud

(Pretend there are no olives because ICK.)



Add a large unsweetened tea - with lemon of course - and lots of ice.  And by lots, I mean a lot.





Watch a little of this...

And inhale a side order of these...

Throw in a drive to your local grocery with the windows down, a song on the radio about how fortunate we are to even draw breath on such a day as this, and you are well on your way to fabulous.



...To really take things to the next level, top the day off with a quick cat-nap, a couple of Extra-Strength Tylenol, and a Pepsi poured over - you guessed it - a lot of ice, and declare life WEEKEND.



Happy Friday!

thoughts. on a thursday.

1.  I've been muddling through the last few days in the aftermath of a minor plague and I've come to the conclusion that with each passing year the minors become ever-more major.  For example, the major misery had passed by Monday or so, but the lingering effects, well, are lingering, and I've lost the will - yet again - to dig out the eyeliner.

The unfortunate angle to this is I now have witnesses all up in my business to take note of my eye nakedness.  My nephew might have told me on Monday that I did in fact look "a little tired."  or maybe it was "a little rough."  I can't rightly say.


The bedhead likely didn't help.


2.  All it takes is one minor plague to undo weeks of holding the line with a second-grader.  Four schmore.  Watch all the Disney ya want kid, just let me doze.


3.  Children are far better behaved on teacher sick days.  Turns out an utter lack of expectation and complete state of couch potato inspires a child to not make you crazy.


4.  I've been taking my One-A-Day For Women vitamins for nearly three weeks and I haven't noticed one iota of extra vim or vigor.  Or energy for that matter.  Take from this information what you will.


5.  The new season of Revenge begins this week and I for one am pleased.  I have this underlying feeling that I should maybe be ashamed of my fondness for a show with such a title, but I'm just not.  I can't wait to what happens next after that delight of a finale.  One can only hope that Victoria somehow made it off that plane.  



I'm so glad we had this talk. 


Y'all take care now,

the (very green) greenway

Elijah and I have started taking a daily constitutional on our local hiking/biking trail.

It meanders around the city for miles & miles... and miles.

Sometimes he's really excited about it and sometimes he throws a fit and proceeds to share in a loud voice how exhausting it is to be seven.

I've been known to ignore said bellyaching and drag him along in his jammies.

I'm not known around these parts as Aunt Meanie for nothing, ya know.

These pictures were all taken during a 30-minute stretch along the trail last week.

Country living in the middle of the city.

Pretty terrific :)

Happy Wednesday!

because we could all use a little energy on a monday

Source: smashedpeasandcarrots.blogspot.com via Renee on Pinterest

I can't remember if I told you this already or not, but I took a quick look back and don't see it, so I'm going to tell you now and hope I'm not being repetitive and redundant.

These are pretty great.

Elijah and I dubbed them "Power Balls" because I explained how they contained things that would give us energy and make us strong and what-not, as opposed to you know, processed snacks that I'm mostly SO OVER unless I have a hankering for something like salt & vinegar chips!  or honey barbecue chips!  or sea salt & cracked pepper chips!  or maybe some M&Ms.  Other than that I'm not so much into snacks that are processed to death.

(And remind me to share my tangent sometime about KFC's honey...sauce?  Their honey has minimal, you know, honey in it?  Aaargh!!!)

Where was I?

Oh yeah.  These are pretty great.

They've been floating around Pinterest for quite a while now and I actually tried them last year with Elijah.  He liked them enough to go home and ask his mom to make some.  She of course had no idea what Power Balls were and it seems only right to get the word out.

Power Balls.  They're easy-peasy to make and you don't have to cook anything.

Power Balls.  They're better than they look.

Maggie's No-Bake Energy Bites, aka Power Balls

1 cup oats

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/3 cup honey

1 cup coconut flakes

1/2 cup ground flax seed

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

1 tsp. vanilla

Mix it all together.  Chill for around 1/2 hour and then roll into balls.  Store in fridge for up to one week.  (Ha!  Like they'd ever last that long ;)

(You can click over to her page for more detailed instructions and to find a myriad of other good recipes.  You wont be sorry.)

Let's make it a great Monday!

feeling blue? ticked off? discouraged? maybe just a little icky?

Source: gritandglory.com via Renee on Pinterest

If we have Jesus, we have...everything.



Joy.  

It's ours for the choosing :)



Happy Friday!

today it's just a list.

This right here is the view from our back door no lie.

I'm already beginning to mourn the coming winter.  I suspect all of that green is going to fall right off. 


It's gonna hurt.  It's gonna hurt bad.



2.  I got to kiss Peyton's sweet cheeks for a while yesterday and that made all of the standing-all-day-while-I-chopped-and-roasted-and-pureed worth it.  

He's good people, my grandson.


He's also fabulous.  He's still all smiley and yummy and tolerant of my endless need to smooch on his sweaty little neck over and over again.



3.  I finally got my pumpkin muffins made for the fam.  They were appropriately impressed.  If Shayne was attempting subtlety he failed when he informed me that whipping up a batch for him and him alone would be a lovely gift, something akin to his bringing me a Fountain Pepsi On Ice the other day.  

If the kid plays his cards right...


Alas, the road to muffin-y goodness was not a smooth one.  I had them all mixed up and Kari had filled a couple of pans before I decided to stick my pointing finger in the batter, just because I can, and I knew instantly I had made a dire mistake.


No sugar.


Sigh.


We smushed all the batter out of the paper cupcake holders and back into the bowl, and then I added 1-2/3 cups of sugar.

Which shockingly improved the taste approximately a bunch.


It all worked out in the end and I proceeded to eat two of them in about 36 seconds, give or take a few.    They tasted no worse for wear and I'm glad because Robin was counting on the muffin and that's a fact.



4.  This right here is the view from our porch and I'm not even kidding.

Do ya think maybe some of that yummy might stick around forever if I ask real nice?



5.  I'm still enjoying the cable TV and DVR that I now have at my spendthrifting disposal.  


I could get used to the high life if the high life includes cable television with a DVR that records such classics as My Three Sons, and That Girl - and I'm not even making this up -  Petticoat Junction.


Why yes, I am watching Sam Drucker declare himself to Kate right this minute at 1:37 a.m. just because I can, and I CAN'T WAIT until Steve and Barbara tie the knot tomorrow.  

My eclectic and varied viewing choices are a sight to behold.


I have also enjoyed a Flipping Out marathon, far too many variations of CSI Anywheres, the aforementioned classics, and yes, around about 200 episodes of Million Dollar Listings.  


I'm fancy these days, and a bit confused.  For the life of me I can't reconcile the me who has put a $19-wireless computer mouse back on the shelf half a dozen times because it feels too expensive with the me who is delighted and fascinated to watch overindulgent people barter over multimillion dollar homes.  And I might even have kitchen island envy approximately once a day.


I'm fancy and I'm a work in progress.  I dare to you figure me out.



6.  I wish so badly I could think of one bonafide clever, or interesting, or thoughtful thing to share but did I mention 1:37 in the a.m.? 



 7.  This is my view from the porch if I gaze toward the sky just the little-est bit.

I have me some high, high expectations for some autumnal glory.  

October, you'd best not disappoint.



8.  Oh my goodness I almost forgot - I was gifted with a magnet from Mayberry today!  MAYBERRY!



Y'all have a great day - I'm gonna grab 40 winks before the second-grader wakes me up.  The second-grader has zero sympathy for my advanced age and also zero empathy.

Zero.  It's all I'm saying.



Happy Thursday :)

doin' hard time

Happy Wednesday ;)

frank who?

 
Yesterday was as beautiful as a September day can be, so Elijah and I suited up and headed out the door.


And by suited up I mean I found my comfortable walking-around sandals and he grabbed a juice box on our way out the door.  


Peyton is running low on Naynay's food, so I was hoping to find some goodies at the Farmer's Market downtown and we wanted to get an early-ish start.  Unfortunately we're creeping toward late in the season so the options for the baby were limited, but we found a few goodies that made it worth the trip. 


Which is a silly thing to say because frankly the trip itself was worth the trip.  It was crystal clear with a cool breeze and  the second grader was in good humor.  (Score!)  We wandered in and out of a few fun shops with his hands jammed in his pockets in order to prevent calamity involving broken glass.  All of the shop owners went on and on about all the adorable he was being and I could see him soaking it up.  I fear for our future tomorrow...Little Man is probably convinced he's all-that-and-a-bag-of-chips now, and I will have the unpleasant task of knocking him down a peg or two post haste.


Anyway, after a bit of wandering we dropped in on Teal at On the Rise and had some always-wonderful pizza.  Elijah looked at his piece with the tomatoes sliced on top and announced it looked...different. 

Then he took a bite and was in all kinds of love.  After a few bites he told me - and I quote - "This is kinda almost better than Frank's!"  

(You might recall that we heart Frank's with abandon, Elijah and I, so this was high praise.)  

A few minutes later he reflected a bit more and decided he liked this pizza first and Frank's second...and then as we were clearing off the table he proclaimed he didn't want "anymore pizza at home," ha!  

Apparently I have now ruined him for Domino's and what-have-you, now that he's enjoyed the good stuff.  

Unfortunately, after finishing up at the Market the fun factor plummeted.  

It wasn't E's fault, mind you.  

He was long-suffering and patient and well-behaved through the whole ordeal, but shifting from the glorious that is wandering around outside/downtown to schlepping through Walmart to buy Loreal Preference and razor blades and Listerine is inevitably a letdown I don't care who ya are.


So I bought him candy and walked really fast.


I must say, though, 
so far I'm finding the impending fall season - as usual - vastly to my liking :)



Happy Tuesday!