Saturday, February 20, 2010
Bringing it back....
- Mary Anne Radmacher
Today, I love:
Snuggling with my hubby at 6 am.
Finding Henry this morning, in the living room with his blanket and ugly doll sitting on the floor petting our cat. He said “Mama, I think he really likes me now. He purring and that means he likes me.”
Drinking coffee and listening to NPR.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Next please
Here is the problem. That sucks. I hate it. Because I would much rather say that 12 years of school and thousands of dollars in student loan debt led me to my dream work scenario. I thought when I went back to school in 2002 that finishing school would feel like a major accomplishment but frankly I can’t get over how long it took, how much it cost, and how it really isn’t what I wanted in the first place. If I was 22 and graduating I would say “Screw it” and I would go ahead and follow my heart. I would chalk it up to a good experience, knowledge gained, something I can be proud of and then look for what is next, search out what is really in my heart. But at 32 that feels kinda like something kids do. At 32 it feels like time to get my shit together…like yesterday.
I realize that is no way to live. I realize that if I don’t give myself the same options that I would have given myself 10 years ago then I am just signing up to never get to do anything that I actually want to do. So, I’ll veto that and I’ll try to forget my number (32 32 32 32 32…okay, that got it out of my system). And in the spirit of new opportunities and taking chances and following your heart no matter what your past looks like, no matter how sad and unproductive I have been up to this point, I will make a list of things that I love and then, maybe if I stare at it long enough, I can find the courage to do something with it-
I like
To cook:
Cupcakes
Fresh food
Compassionately
Fresh baked bread
Cookies
To grow:
Succulents
Vegetables
Flowers
To make:
Embroidery
Paper flowers
Sew
I like:
Photography
Vintage
Polaroid
Sunshine
What can I do with this information? Well…just free form ideas here…
A bakery.
A café.
Chef school.
Grow my own succulents and sell them at the famers market or online
A cupcake shop
Make homemade sewn or embroidered goods to sell on etsy
That’s all I have for now. It’s something, right? I will leave you with some photos that inspire me. I can’t take credit for them but some of them I can’t give credit for either because I saved them years ago. Blog faux pas, I know. Love me anyway.








Thursday, September 3, 2009
Chilly or is it Chili?

Three Bean Chili
Serves 6
INGREDIENTS:
1 orange bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 yellow onion, coarsely chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons chili powder
3 medium tomatoes, peeled and chopped (or one 16-ounce can of tomato sauce)
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup of dry quinoa
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Water or tomato juice as needed
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves or fresh parsley (optional)
DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat up the oil in a heavy 4-quart saucepan over medium heat. You could just use water instead, but I like to add a little fat for flavor.
2. Add the bell peppers, onion, garlic, oregano, and chili powder, cayenne, coriander, and cumin, and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes.
3. Stir in the tomatoes and all the beans, and bring to a boil. Add a little water as needed.
4. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, adding water or tomato juice as needed if too much liquid evaporates.
5. While the beans cook make the quinoa. First rinse it several times, until the water runs pretty clear. Then bowl 1 cup water and add the quinoa to it. Put a lid on it and lower the heat (basically do just the same as cooking rice). It should be done in about 20 minutes, but check occasionally and if the water is gone then the quinoa is ready.
6. Stir the cooked quinoa into the bean mixture. Add as much as you want. If you like a more soupy chili, add less, if you like a thick chili, add more. Save any leftovers, you can use them later in the week. Season with salt and black pepper, and stir in the cilantro or parsley. Enjoy.
Serving suggestions and variations:
*You can obviously use any color variation of bell pepper; the more color variety, the prettier the dish is. Same goes for the beans. You can use all black or white (Navy, Great Northern, etc.) instead of pinto. It’s really up to you, your preferences, and what you have on hand.
*Add more cayenne and chili powder to make it hotter.
*Serve with different color tortilla chips: white, red, and black/blue. Or my favorite way which is covered in Fritos and sliced avocado. Yum!
White Chili
Serves 6
INGREDIENTS
1 can of black beans
1 can of Navy beans (or Northern beans)
1 veggie bullion cube
2 tsps extra virgin olive oil
2 or 3 stalks of chopped celery
1 or 2 chopped carrots (3/4 of a cup, or so)
1 small onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 cups of water
1 small can of chopped green peppers
1 tsp cumin
A shake or 2 of oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
Heat up the oil. Add the celery, carrots, onion and garlic. Stir until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.
Add 2 cups of water and the veggie bullion cube, bring it to a boil and then reduce the heat and put a lid on it. Let it cook for 5 or 10 minutes, checking occasionally to see if the celery and carrots are softening.
Take a 1 cup measuring cup and dip it into the mixture , scoop about ½ cup of the liquid from the pot (try not to pick up any of the veggies if you can and watch your fingers, it will be hot)
Pour out the rest of the mixture (I just strain it) and add the ½ cup of liquid back to the pot with the veggies.
Add the cumin and oregano
Strain and rise the black beans. Add them to the mixture
Add the Navy beans and the can of green chili’s to the mixture (don’t drain the beans or the chilis)
Bring the mixture to a boil and add salt and pepper as needed
Serving suggestions and variations:
*You can change this up in so many ways. Adding bell peppers or corn or red pepper flakes for more heat.
*Serve with Fritos or tortilla chips and sliced avocado. It is deeelish.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Tommies

Roasted Tomato Spicy Pasta
2 lbs of heirloom, pear, or cherry tomatoes, cut into the same size pieces
1/4 olive oil
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (or more if you like spice)
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
6 cloves of garlic chopped
1/4 cup freshly chopped basil leaves
1 teaspoon minced fresh oregano leaves
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 black pepper
1/2 lbs angel hair pasta
Garlic bread
Mix the olive oil, tomatoes, red pepper flakes, garlic, vinegar, salt and pepper in a glass casserole dish. Roast at 350 for 40-45 minutes, stirring a couple of times.
Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Add the roasted tomatoes to the pasta, add the basil and oregano. Dig in.
Joyful pile up




Well, I'm off to start working on a new project-a crewel kit that I got in the mail this afternoon.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Real

But it's still just as good.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
32 things to do in my 32nd year

2. Take a painting class at the art center
3. Put up a clothes line
4. Sew the bags with Susie
5. Have another baby
6. Take swimming lessons with Henry
7. Play the banjo
8. Surf
9. Take Henry to see some waterfalls
10. Plant a vegetable garden
11. Finish the painting by the back door
12. Paint and tile the kitchen
13. Foster a dog from the animal shelter
14. Paint our front door orange
15. Purchase a pair of rain boots
16. Put in a grey water system
17. Read 3 classics and 3 new authors
18. Pay off my credit card
19. Take my last class and walk down that hill
20. Use the library
21. Celebrate Eva’s 102 birthday
22. Be a better listener
23. Run the Chicago Marathon
24. Learn reflexology
25. Add this and this to my bike so that we can go car free
26. Plant lavender along our back walkway
27. Catch fireflies with Henry
28. Really do up the house with Christmas lights
29. Get one of these and take weekly photo walks with Henry
30. Prepare a 5 course vegan dinner for my family that even my Dad will love
31. Replace our 100 year old wood floors
32. Make a granny square quilt for Henry
Saturday, June 27, 2009
I think. I might. Like it.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Humph!

Rainbow ribbon thing

Cardboard deer head


An elephant (and I plan to make a peacock and a giraffe to match)

A whale shaped chalkboard

The letter H

Granny squares (my Grandma would be proud)

Friday, June 5, 2009
Summer

Yesterday I asked Henry “Do you know what mountains are?”
“No.” He said, “Wait, they are big hills, right Mama?”
“So big,” I said, “that there is snow on the top. So big that it makes your brakes smoke when you drive down them. So big that you have to ride a train to get to the top.” I said with a smile.
“Are we going to ride a train?” He asked.
“Uh-huh. We sure are.” I said.
“A real train? I have never done that before Mama. It will be a new imperience.”
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Perspective

Monday, May 25, 2009
Big big boy bed
Henry's bed.
So, he is in a crib bed right now. It's his crib turned into a toddler bed. But he is tall and has nearly grown out of his bed. What next? Well, obviously a twin bed is next, but when I change the bed I will have to change the whole room. All the baby stuff will have to go. The stuffed animals and bumper pads with the ABC's and the letters hanging on ribbons...I'm okay with it. It was never really our style to begin with. I have been leaning towards a Jenny-Lind bed. I love them. I don't mind sharing, just between you and I, that a sibling for Henry is in the works. Not, in the works as in "in the works" but it's on the horizon. And this sibling will have to share a room with Sir Henry. I would like to buy a Jenny Lind crib for this future sibling so a matching bed for Hank seems like a good option. I think Jenny Lind will work for boys or girls. What do you think? Not boyish enough?
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Ringing
Monday, May 4, 2009
Happy bits

Lastly, a package from the UK was in my inbox this morning. This lovely pin was in the box and now it adds the perfect bit of Spring to my gray purse. Her etsy stuff is amazing. Check it out. I think I want this one next.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
A long story short


And ended like thisWhat else? I bought 2 yards of this fabric last weekend so that I can attempt to make a purse from my Amy Butler book. I would like to buy this instead and save myself the time, but I just can't justify spending that much on something that I will probably ruin in a few months. I also bought some of this and this to make more pillows. It's getting a little insane with the pillows around here. Pretty soon my husband is going to make me start selling them.
What else??? Well, against my better judgment I joined facebook. I have caught up with a few really good friends that I haven't heard from in years, which is great. But I have been also tracked down by some people that I haven't heard from in years and really prefer it that way. Facebook is a weird experience for me and I don't know how long I will stay on it. Besides I hear that twittering is all the rage these days. Always a day late and a dollar short... :) I tried to take a photo of myself for my facebook page so I went into the bathroom and did this. Eye closed. Camera in my face. Why am I an idiot?

Oh and I almost forgot. I took #'s 1, 9, 13 and 18 off my list. I still have a long way to go, but I will knock #'s 2, 5, 6, 8 and 10 off this summer. And if I could only convince Wade that this is worth $45 (it SO is...for my birthday...) I could work a little on #22.
Hope you all are doing well.
Oh...and these are for Lisa (pay no attention to the insanely messy house) I thought you might appreciate that one of us has the attention span for yoga :) ---

Monday, February 23, 2009
5 things I actually did this weekend
2. Made doggie treats for Bagel and Archie
3. Called my sisters a million times
4. Played a lot of High Ho Cherry'O, Memory, Geo Tracks, pretend grocery store and wrote out a lot of letters for Henry to mail to his "fwends" (so watch your mail, we wrote letters and drew pictures until we ran out of stamps).
5. Not 1-5 below
But on a positive note. When Henry is sick he goes to bed at 7:00 instead of 9:30. So I get to watch the KU game for the first time since last March. On a not so positive note, I am watching it alone because Wade is the bathroom puking. Good times.