my gardener

I have started setting Meg on our front walk whenever I have to go back and forth from the driveway to the door to load or unload things from the car. She systematically works to defoliate each plant along the walkway, plucking off the flowers and then picking the petals apart. You can see the look of intense concentration on her face - it is serious business! I don't mind at all - she is doing my deadheading work for me.

grill out

How do you end a day when the stock market is down over 700 points? A burger, sweet potato fries, and a beer! We grill out extremely rarely (I can't recall one time in the past 2 years), but when Mark brought it up it sounded fun. The aim was to nurse the stock market wounds and I think it helped just a little. I'm getting better at the fries - you don't really even need to measure any of the ingredients - just eyeball it and it will turn out fine.

outsourced

We watched Outsourced this weekend - about an American whose job was outsourced to India but he has to go to India to train his successors. Pretty interesting and pretty funny.

tallahassee museum

Mark and I packed a lunch, packed up Meg, and headed out to the Tallahassee Museum today for the first time. We had been meaning to go for years but never have. The weather was not humid and almost bugless, which made for a great day. Meg was old enough to respond to the animals - she would laugh and make noises back at them (although she thought the monkey was a dog). It was so nice to walk around outside on the beautiful trails, have a picnic, even run into some friends (hey, Nuzzos!), and then back in time for a hefty afternoon nap for all 3 of us.

plumbago

A few months ago, I wondered why the plumbago I planted wasn't blooming. I took this picture this morning and learned it must like the cooler weather! It is blooming like crazy, and is a huge butterfly attractor.

roasted brussels sprouts

Brussels sprouts are in season now, which means it is time to make this recipe. It is so easy and so good. I've never had brussels sprouts any other way, and I don't know why people make such a stink about them (although I have heard that they aren't good after they've been frozen). We just had these for dinner but I'm planning on making this recipe once a week until they are no longer in season.

horse ride

Meg went to her friend Ellie's birthday party yesterday and she got to ride a horse for the first time! She had never even seen a real horse before, so I was curious to see how she would react. She has a little yellow plastic horse on wheels that propels forward when you press the cowboy sitting on top. When it goes, we say, "horse! horse!" So when I showed her a real horse, I'm sure it was confusing. She was a champ when we put her in the saddle and looked like she didn't know whether to laugh or cry. After she got off she kept walking back toward the horses so I think they won her over. Thank you Ellie! Happy Birthday!

sweet potato fries

I tried making sweet potato fries (not fried) for the first time last night - they turned out to be delicious! I got the recipe from Runner's World. I used 2 big potatoes but only needed one for 2 people. (Well, 2.5 people...Meg liked them, too.) Here is the recipe:

4 sweet potatoes, sliced in wedges
1 tablespoon olive or canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt (I used regular salt)
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon rosemary

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Toss potatoes with oil and seasonings. Arrange on a preseasoned baking sheet. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes until potatoes are cooked through and lightly browned.

car wash

If you are not familiar with September in Tallahassee, you do not appreciate the full nastiness of the lovebug season. These bugs attach to each other (loving!) and float around in the air like giant masses of black snowflakes. They are not at all gross by themselves, just when you see them in a giant mass, like ants. Or birds. Anyway, when you drive around in it, your car gets covered in a nice thick black carpet of smashed lovebugs that don't wash off easily. They need to be scrubbed. It's against my nature to pay someone to wash my car (I have a perfectly fine hose and bucket at home), but I did it today and I am so glad.

dress

A few months ago I wrote that I was starting to sew a dress for Meg. This would have been my first sewing project. I cut out all the pieces, ironed on the fusibles, and then crashed and burned once the actual sewing began. When my parents came to visit in August, my mom took one look at it and declared it could be saved. She took it all home and this past weekend showed up with this dress! I wish I could have done this myself. Maybe someday...

good times in macon

We got to hear Elise read for the first time this weekend! She is reading "Dick and Jane" to Mark. Grace and my mom played some lean and mean ball-bouncing.

Katheryne played the piano for us - Sophia and Meg helped.

Crazy dancing to the piano music! Crazy dancing involves running around in circles too, apparently. Meg joined the fray but then wanted to be held.

blurb book

I couldn't resist posting one more romantic picture! This is on the cover of the book I posted about yesterday. If you click on this link you should be able to see the first 15 pages of the book (it takes you to the price page, but just click on the book to see the inside of it). This is a great website - you just download the book publishing software and then follow their instructions. I may make a photo book of Meg's first year next.

40th anniversary recap

This weekend we got to celebrate my parents' 40th anniverary with them (it was actually a few weeks ago but they are busy travellers). We all met at my brother and SIL's house in Macon, and it is always worth the trip to spend time with them. One of the things we put together for them was a book of funny stories and memories about them submitted by friends and relatives interspersed with photos of them throughout their relationship. It was so fun to make, secretly collecting e-mails, letters, and photos! The 2 pictures above are some of my favorites...so romantic.

macon

We will be in Macon, GA, the next couple of days to visit family. This is a much-anticipated visit and I look forward to getting out of town for a little bit.

candle

This candle smells wonderful even when it's not lit. Every time Meg is near it she sniffs and says, "MMMM!!" Thanks, Rachel!

watching and waiting

Meg loves to watch Mark mow the lawn. She will stand at this window watching him and cry when he goes out of sight. She loves her "dada"!

friends with pools

I am so grateful to my friends who have shared their pools with us this summer and fall. It is so wonderful to be able to take Meg for a dip (and me too) once in a while in this heat. Thank you Kristin, Staci, Stephanie, and even Karen with her baby pool!

the poser

I am still working on learning how to use my new (to me) camera and most of my practice pictures are of my favorite little subject. Once I start taking the pictures she stops what she is doing and just stares motionless at the camera. I think she is posing!

happy birthday mark!

Today is Mark's birthday but we went out last night to celebrate...at the FSU football game! If you follow FSU and/or football you are aware that it poured down rain with lightning and the whole works. And if you know me, you are aware that I'm not the most enthusiastic football fan. So why did I have a great time??! Because we were sitting in a skybox! I got to sit in a nice, dry, air-conditioned room, in a comfortable seat and do what I normally do at football games...people-watch. The game got delayed due to the weather but I was happy as a clam hanging out with Mark, eating the bottomless chex mix, food from Po'Boys and watching the crowds below.

baby shower

I got to help host a baby shower this morning for my friend Rachel. We had so much fun putting it all together. We made this banner for her from card stock, scrapbook paper, and ribbon. It turned out really cute, I think!

the flock

I finally found something for our kitchen wall (not hung yet, just resting on something for the photo op!). For almost 2 years I just could not find anything I liked or that went well with green walls. Mark took one look at this and said "Partridge Family!" but then was a good sport and said he liked it, too.

budget meal

For those of you who are into watching the deals at Publix (and you know who you are!), you will be well aware that the Old El Paso dinner kits are BOGO (buy one get one free) and coupled with a coupon you can get 2 for $.83 each. This meal is cheap, easy (one pan), freezable, and relatively healthy. My mom made us this right after Meg was born and I was starving from nursing. [This post is dedicated to Stephanie H.]
Taco Pie
You need: vegetables, optional meat/tofu/chicken (1 lb.), shredded cheese, a can of beans, and a dinner kit. (I recommend the soft shell dinner kit).
1. Saute in a big skillet: onion, 1 lb. meat (I omit this part), lots of vegetables that are hanging out in your fridge (I have used broccoli, squash, tomatoes, zucchini, corn, edamame, peppers, etc.). Add the powder seasoning packet to the cooking meat/vegetables. Saute until vegs. are soft and/or meat is done.
2. Open a can of beans (I use black but any will do) and stir in about half the can.
3. Cover all of it with the soft taco shells (tear as necessary to make them fit).
4. Open the liquid sauce packet and squirt half of it on top of the tacos. Top with remaining beans and then shredded cheese (as much as you want).
5. Cover all of it again with the soft taco shells, then rest of sauce packet, then cheese.
6. Put a lid on the skillet, turn the heat down to low, and let the cheese melt.

camera

I received a camera yesterday from someone who no longer had a use for it. It is far better than the aging 2.0 MP one I currently have and I am so excited to use it! Supposedly it is user-friendly so we'll see how fast I can figure out how to take some pics.

consistency challenge: recap

The Challenge is over!! Thank you to Mark, Katheryne, Mireille, and Bonnie for hanging in there with me. It seriously helped me get out of bed to run some mornings when otherwise I wouldn't have. I definitely feel more "consistent" after having run every day except Sundays for the past month (with one exception).