memories of mom

Lately I find myself overwhelmed with thoughts of my Mom.

I guess its because its been so long since she passed.  I've always been scared that I'll forget the sound of her voice, her laugh, the way she smelled, the products she used.  Not a day goes by that I dont think of her.  I often find myself sad when thinking about her, but lately I'm remembering happier times with her and the crazy adventures we used to have.  So to honor her memory and experience new things with not only I. but also R. (who unfortunately never had the honor of meeting Kimmy), I cook things she made, I buy the things she did and we go do things that I remember doing with her.

Today will be one of those adventures and its kind of bittersweet.  I can already feel the tears welling up in my eyes, but I know (although I. is really resisting the plan but he's 6, what can I expect?) it'll be fun no matter what.

One of my most vivid memories of Mom was the time her and I went Strawberry picking outside of Garrison, MN.  I was about 11 or 12.  All in all it was a horrible experience, but my mom made it fun.  I only say it was horrible because the evening before we went my Aunt JoAnn told us that we should dress in jeans and long-sleeves because Strawberry picking is nothing but crawling on the ground in the dirt.  So the next morning we got up bright and early, dressed in jeans and sweat-shirts and headed out to the field.  We each got our own flat and rows to pick from.  I remember my row going on for what seemed days.  I also helped myself to a few huge berries from an older womans row next to mine, what?! The grass was greener on the other side haha ;)

About an hour into our picking adventure, the heat started to drastically increase and so did my breathinig.  At that age I had severe asthma and being that I was already dressed too warm and the late Spring/early Summer weather was starting to kick in, resulted in a recipe for disaster.  I became overheated, threw up, had an asthma attack and passed out.  Go me! Obviously I was okay but I haven't been back to a Strawberry field since.

After my Mom got me home and I rested for a quite a few hours and rehydrated, I felt much better.  And spent the rest of the evening helping her make Strawberry Freezer Jam.  We spent hours washing, hulling, smashing, cooking and filling jars.  But it was so much fun.

And now 17 years later, I'm about to do it all over again with I. and R. 

Stay tuned for updates on today and this past weeks pre-op surgery adventures!

the day after...

well i'm awake.  with a grumbly belly, runny nose and overall tiredness.

so far i'm not hungover.  and although we did start celebrating the new year yesterday afternoon (possibly around noon), as the evening progressed, i really started "slow-stepping" it on the alcohol.  by midnight i'm pretty sure i was completely sober, but i was still having a good time.  most of yesterday was spent playing dr.mario on the wii.  i must say, it was the best $10 i ever spent and accounted for hours, yes HOURS of fun.  to the point where we turned the damn game into a drinking game, which may have to turn into a new tradition for party nights. 

my house is full of sleeping friends.  because we're all responsible adults and i would never EVER let someone leave my home thats been drinking.  i'm just glad i was able to provide comfy cozy spots for everyone.  maybe that extra mattress is worth hanging on to, haha.

so 2010 is over.  honestly, i can't sit here and pin-point things that happened every month during that year.  but i'm glad to say its over.  for the most part 2010 was a year of struggle, not only for me, but a lot of my friends as well.  i was glad to say goodbye and say hello to a new and promising year.

i'm not really one for making "resolutions"  but i would like to try harder at some things, such as:

• making healthier choices in general.  such as eating better and exercising (i did buy a gym membership!)
• not to mention:  healthier choices in the way i live on this earth and healthier choices for my mental and spiritual state.  
• spend less time online and stop being so technology obsessed.
• as a society i think a lot of us have really lost touch with whats important because we're all to busy playing on our phones, laptops, social networking sites, etc.
• since i went into the new year already having quit facebook, i feel good about this.  i spend less time on the computer now, i use it for what i need and get off right away.  although i will update my blog.
•  travel.
• i say this every year, i make plans, BIG plans, tell them to everyone and then everything falls through.  but not this year dammit!  i will go somewhere haha!
• continue the constant strive to stay positive.
• the power of positive thinking is no joke, i truly believe this.  however, being and staying positive is really hard for me.  sometimes i have no idea why i am such a downer 99% of the time.
• stay in touch with friends.
• now that i am facebookless, i have to remember not to alienate my friends and family.  i must stay in touch!
• adventure with the boys as much as possible.
• remember that each new day with them is a blessing and full of endless opportunities.  spend more time together as a family enjoying and learning from eachother.  make time to try and see new things.  cook together, eat together, play together, laugh and cry together, just be together.  happy and healthy.
• continue being a crafty bitch!
• 'nuff said!
• make the effort
• im going to be vague on this.
• realize that its okay to put a little focus on yourself sometimes and not feel guilty about it.
• this one is going to be hard for me, but i know i have to do it.  i go without a lot of things all the time because i feel guilty about spending any time/money on myself.  but this year, i need to get over this and realize that sometimes its okay to buy that $5 bottle of OPI nailpolish or spend the money to have my haircut more than once a year.

and thats it from me!

i hope everyone has an amazing year!

i dreamt of a white christmas...

Yesterday afternoon it started snowing. It hasn't really stopped. The Sidekick left this morning for his own week-long adventure. So the Partner-in-Crime set off, on foot, for out own adventures in the snow and our surrounding neighborhood.

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is it a sign?

anyone that knows me knows that i love to change my hairstyle.  whether it be a cut, color, style or texture.

for as long as i can remember i've wanted to be a hair stylist (among a growing list of other professions).  i've spent a lot of time in hair salons, beauty supply stores.  anyway, i've had some amazing results and well, some not so amazing results.  but i've been able to teach myself and a few brave souls have even donated their hair to be guinea pigs.


so today the partner and crime and i had to run some last minute errands (christmas cookie supplies) and i saw that they built a regency beauty institute right near my house!!!

this could be my chance!!  so as soon as i got home i went to the website and requested information on enrolling.  they even have part-time enrollment, which means i could still work and go to school.  yes, i know i flip flop on my major at college all the time, but i think thats because im choosing things that'll bring me monetary happiness, rather than just plain happiness.  i want to do something i love, not something that i sort of like doing that'll make me tons of money.

saturday morning inspirations

can you tell where we're headed today on an adventure?

adventures in vegan baking

a little over a week ago i posted a plea for help regarding all things figgy.  well, sunday morning i finally tracked down some dried figs at good ole' trader joes and figured i would get moving on that recipe i posted as well.

vegan baking is a whole new world for me.  i've dabbled in vegan cooking (soups, appetizers, etc.) but never baking.  baking is one of those things i feel needs to have whole fat and nothing but fat!

alright so back to the raspberry fig bars.  the recipe called for rolled oats, which i didn't have.  so i substituted the rolled oats for good ole fashioned oats.  i also ended up swapping the raspberry for strawberry.  hey you use what you got, right?!  the actual fig/strawberry filling turned out great!  the crust......okay so maybe swapping rolled oats for old fashioned oats wasn't the best idea, but after a little research i've figured out my mistakes.  using the oats that i did is perfectly fine, however they're much larger and denser so less of them is to be used so that the crust mixture comes together in a way to be slightly sticky. 

so i guess that was my only fault with the baking.  even though the crust turned out to be not much of a crust and more of a big mess, they still tasted good.  but now i know exactly what to do the next time less oats and maybe a little bit more sweetener.  in the mean time, i'm left with a nice pan of semi-successful bars.

but atleast they taste good and would be awesome with some frozen yogurt!

**please note this is not a picture of the bars i made - but they look very similar!

saturday evening fever!

so today originally consisted of doing a lot of grocery shopping, do some baking and do some cooking (soups for lunches).

i did none of the above.

instead me and my partner in crime gassed up the mazda, visited michaels crafts (bought one of the last pieces of the little ones halloween costume), checked out spirit halloween, went to the spca (always a bad idea, 15 pitbulls in need of loving homes and we could not provide ours for them because we have no backyard), grabbing beers at an irish pub, dinner double date with our favorite married couple, followed by more beer at the irish pub and then eventually home to do laundry and watch UFC.

i'm kind of scared to see my bank account haha, but i had a good time.  and nights like this make me realize how much more i need to make myself and go out, do adult things and enjoy being in my 20's.

however, i realized that i can't hold a conversation with adults unless it revolves around my kid, something funny he's said/done or video games....i am a boring boring person.  i really need to get some hobbies!

so i guess tomorrow i'll try and get those things accomplished that i should have done today.  i'll keep you posted.