Little Moments - Community gardening

Saturday morning and I was being lazy, still in my PJ's when there was a knock at the door.  Jackson answered before I could sneak past the door to make sure I was presentable. Happily, It was my neighbor with a bag full of goodies from his garden. 

Tomatoes, a huge yellow squash, and long cucumber and about ten pears from his tree. I love it. Certainly worth the slight embarrassment of coming to the door in PJ's and morning hair.

Little Moments - Harvest

Late summer harvest.  

Back to School

Can I just say how fantastic it is to have my teenager driving now?!  Yes, you heard that correctly. I LOVE that she is driving and has her own car. I am still super protective and have her text me when she leaves and when she arrives at her destination. I feel less anxious about her driving than I anticipated though. It's a big, fast world out there and her being a cautious driver helps easy my worry. Her best friend, who's had her license for the same amount of time, already managed to rear end someone (Ash wasn't with her at the time). It brought back memories of driving with my best friend in high school when she rear ended someone in her yellow station wagon. Ahh, the memories.

This school year if off to a good start. No more stressing out or morning arguments about her making myself and my son late because she can't get out the door in time. I'm loving the relaxing mornings and additional responsibility it puts on her to get to school on time.

Ashleigh is in the school play again this year and rehearsals have already started for, Footloose.  She has really taken to photography over the last couple years and even more into video and video editing. She was asked to join the broadcasting team which is a daily newscast that is broadcast live to every classroom in the school.  She gets to be in front of the camera as well as help with the behind the scenes. And, it's great incentive for her to get to school on time since it's the first class of the day.

Jackson is especially excited to start 6th grade because all students in grades six and higher get their own tablet! He gets to use it for online learning, to take notes, keep track of assignments, and even email friends and play games (I'm pretty sure it's the games he's most excited about). He's looking forward to his second year of percussion and can't wait to get started on this year's robot for Lego Robotics club. His uniform options also expand this year.

I think this was the first year ever that my kids didn't complain about going back to school! They both have things they are really looking forward to. As a mom, it makes me happy that they are actually excited about school!

Little Moments - Sunshine

I do hate working weekends. However, there's something peaceful about heading out on the road while most of the world is still sleeping.

Good morning sunshine

Pizza

Russ and Ashleigh love pizza. Jackson and I are pretty picky about it. We would make individual pizzas at home often at the old house so we could customize our sauce and toppings.  With my kitchen remodel on hold after a new roof, I still do not have a working oven.  Russ has mastered cooking frozen pizza on the grill.

Light oil on the bottom of the crust, 400 degrees for about ten minutes for a perfectly cooked pizza.

There are a lot of new restaurants coming to our area. One of them is a pizza place called Pizza Rev, as in revolution. I describe it as the Subway sandwich of Pizzas.

Multiple crust choices, multiple sauces, and about 30 toppings. My perfect pizza is; white sauce, light mozzarella with a little blue cheese crumble, grilled chicken, basil, spinach, garlic, and onions. I couldn't pay my boyfriend to eat mine. He is more of a pepperoni and chicken with red sauce kind of guy. It's the perfect solution for my picky family.

An Imaginary Line?

Sometimes, I think I'm a coward. Blindly going about my life. What makes it worse is that I choose to be blind as opposed to natural ignorance. Although, if that was the case, I wouldn't know any better and therefore wouldn't be writing this.  The poet, Thomas Gray, had it right when he wrote, "Ignorance is bliss".

I feel I live a blessed life, yet one I've worked hard for. I appreciate the small things; the smell of rain, blooming wildflowers, the sunshine on my face, my kids laughter, along with the not so small things like the freedoms that come with living in the United States and the lives it took and continues to take everyday to keep such freedoms.

I'm not deeply involved in politics and I don't follow world news closely. The more I read, watch and research, the darker my world becomes.

I want to live simply and happily, I want to love deeply and be loved unconditionally. I want to laugh daily and smile right down to my soul. I am a Christian woman and I believe in karma and 'paying it forward'.

Am I a coward to turn a blind eye to the corruption in our government and the evils of the world? I read the headlines. I know what exist, terrible things are happening every day and I choose not to dwell on them...I choose not to bring that negativity in my life. Is there a line, a little imaginary line between being involved in the world I live in and not being consumed by it?

There are people that put their life on the line to move to America because life around them is unbearable.  The life that "I have worked hard for" doesn't hold a candle to those escaping famine and death with only the clothes on their back and a hope for a better life.

I have been following the protests in Ferguson, Missouri. It's closer to home. After watching footage, I found myself searching for more.. and more...and more.  Things like this do consume me. I was bringing myself down to a dark place by trying to understand violance that didn't make sense and feeling angry about it.

I am a good person. I do good things. Occasionally I feel like I should do more and be more. One person can make a difference. So the question, albeit a rhetorical one is... is this the American Dream? Live freely where my biggest worry is getting a good nights sleep, what to cook for dinner, or if my kids are having fun hanging out with their friends. Or, should I feel guilty ignoring other people's suffering because it makes me feel uncomfortable and sad?

Little Moments - Cupcakes

I picked my kids up from their Dad's for the week, and wanted a sweet treat on the way home. We stopped at the Sweet Tooth Fairy and picked up some gourmet cupcakes.

Red velvet, Chocolate peanut butter, Orange creamsicle, Salted carmel, Cherry soda, and S'more. Yum.

Little Moments - Hanging out

I was thrilled to find out the two pine trees in my back yard are the perfect distance from each other to hang my hammock. I first hung it up for our backyard campout and have enjoyed it many times since.