Farmer's Market!

I was browsing through the paper Saturday morning and I saw a small notice for a local farmer's market. Visions of fresh veggies, yummy home grown fruit....I really wanted to go.

R said he'd pass and T didn't want to go either, but S jumped in the car right away and off we went. I actually found it with no problem (thank you Google Maps!) and it didn't take long at all to get there.

There were probably about eight stalls up, but we got there right after it opened, so I'm not sure if there were more opening later.

S and I did a quick tour of the booths. Baked goods, baked goods, meat, meat, baked goods, lettuce, crafts, and a miscellaneous table.

Not exactly what I was expecting, but I did score some organic, freshly ground whole wheat flour. I've never worked with whole wheat flour before, but yesterday seemed like the perfect time to start.

What did I make, you may wonder? Chocolate peanut butter chip cookies. They turned out okay, the texture is a bit different because the flour wasn't ground as powder fine as processed white flour. They tasted great and the kids love them. Another thing I liked about using whole wheat flour is that I don't feel that urge to hoover down the entire batch.

Tomorrow night I'm making a breaded baked chicken dish. I'm going to try using the ww flour for that too, because I think the texture will compliment the dish. If it turns out well, I'll post pictures. If it doesn't, I'll never mention it again. ::snort::

I should also mention that the aforementioned baked goods we bought were not made with whole wheat flour and were to die for delicious. Carmel pecan rolls - Oh. My. God. Next week I'll be biking solo to that farmers market. I hope that the lady selling the rolls will be there. I also hope that the rolls make it home.  On second thought, maybe I'd better skip the market for a few weeks. Maybe if I go in a few weeks I can distract myself from the baked goods with the original plan of fruit and veggies. But I can't help but wonder - if fruit is nature's candy, what will be as yummy of a combination as caramel, pecan, and cinnamon?!? Probably nothing, right?

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful women I know personally and virtually!

Both kids brought home the sweetest gifts from school this week, which really just made my heart melt. R helped me rearrange the furniture and give the living room and kitchen a much needed scrub down. That may sound like an odd Mother's Day gift wish, but we've got some heavy stuff to shove around. The fact that he worked on this with me? Means the world to me because rearranging furniture is one of his least favorite things to do.

In a little while, I'm going to attempt to ride my bike to the gym, work out, and then ride home. And that should pretty much make my day!

What the heck happened to the blogs I was following?

Yesterday I pulled up my blog dashboard and found that all of the blogs I had been following had disappeared from my list.

Weird.

I can see them when I click on manage blogs, but I have no idea if that's the complete list or not.

Anyone else having this problem with blogger?

The one about the time I decided to run away

Using a topic from Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop today: That time you ran away from home




I was a good kid.

What?!? I totally was!

Yes, really.

My brother was the more difficult of the two of us. He had some anger issues and quite frankly from a younger sister's perspective, just issues in general.

I was the pouter. And, if memory serves me correctly, a bit of a whiner. ::shudder::

Looking back, I have no idea how my mom kept from going flat out batshit crazy some days.

Of course, I still am not sure how I survived T's toddler years before we figured out he had SPD (Sensory Processing Disorder) issues, so I guess you just do what you have to, one frustrating, ear agonizing moment at a time.

Anyway....

I don't remember how old I was when I decided to run away from home. I'm guessing about 10 or so. I don't remember why I was angry enough to run away from home, either, but I remember being really, really, really, reallllllllyy mad.

I'm also pretty sure there was stomping, nostril flaring, fist clenching, and yelling involved. On my part of course. My mom had a nasty, nasty habit of being infuriatingly calm when I was at my most angry.

And really, is there anything worse than being angry enough to spit nails at someone that looks like they are mid-meditation? Oooooommmmmmmmmm. You have no effect on me. Oooooooommmmmmmmm. I am being perfectly rational despite your yelling. Ooooooooooommmmmmm.

(In case you weren't sure about that, the answer is no.)

So I announced that I was running away.

What did my mom say?

Okay. 

Infuriating.

I stomped to my room and slammed the door - because, duh!

I remember trying to figure out what to pack. I didn't want to carry a heavy bag around. Who knew how long or far I'd have to walk. I remember being so angry that I was determined  - determined, dammit! - not to take anything with me that Mom had given me.

Which, as it turns out, was kind of a problem.

Can't take 99% of my clothes.

Hmmmmm.

Can't wear my shoes, take a coat, or most of my favorite books or toys.

Hmmmmmm.

20 minutes later I'm sitting in the floor of my room, naked. Because, you know, Mom bought most of my underwear too.

Hold up! Wait a sec....I dive into my closet and dig around. I triumphantly find the granny panties that were four sizes too big that my grandmother had given me for Christmas. Now we're cooking! I yank those on up to my armpits.

HA! I have underwear. That kinda could pass for an odd one piece, strapless swimsuit in a pinch. Excellent. Too bad it's not summer.

More scrounging around my room produces a completely inappropriate and hilarious outfit  - purple sweatpants with a red stripe around the waist and the pockets (hey - it was the 80's), mesh high tops that were two sizes too small, and a shirt of some sort that was so tight it just about cut off my circulation. If memory serves me correctly, I think it was green. All the clothing had been given to me by someone other than Mom.

Now I was ready. Packing up some books, a couple of stuffed animals and the five remaining pairs of granny panties, I was ready to hit the trail. I carried everything down to the basement and put it in our little red wagon.

Wheeling the wagon out of the basement, I headed towards the carport and driveway while making as much noise as possible. Let's call that my grand exit strategy. I don't even think Mom was outside at the time, but I'm willing to bet she was watching from the window and trying not to be appalled at my outfit.

I marched off down the street announcing loudly that "I AM LEAVING NOW! GOOD BYE AND HAVE A NICE LIFE, NOT THAT YOU CARE IF I DO OR NOT!!!!!!!!!!"

I walked to the end of our road, which was a little over half a mile.

Obviously, I hadn't thought this through very well.  So I sat in the wagon, waiting for someone, anyone to notice and take pity on my poor, neglected, obviously abused self.

That, um, never happened. I think it was the red and purple sweatpants and the green shirt. Who wants to save a kid with no kind of style at all?

I should probably mention that we lived in an area that didn't see much traffic.

Not my best idea. I waited outside, sulking and feeling nice and sorry for myself, until it was dark. Then, defeated, I took the wagon and my stuff and  trudged home.

Foiled!

Workout Wednesday

Last weekend, I was supposed to attend a conference in Branson, Missouri. I have been looking forward to this conference for a year.

I didn't get to go and it sorta sucked. Sometimes life just gets in the way. Between my volunteer commitments, helping out a friend while her husband is deployed, being monitored on the new meds, there was no way I could take off for the weekend. Boo!

S ended up with strep throat again at the end of last week just to add a nice little twist on things. So far, knock on wood, none of the rest of us have come down with it.

All of this added up to missing some workouts too. But. The workouts I did get in were good ones. And, today I got to go back to Zumba! And I did well. I didn't get lightheaded and I didn't get too winded, even with the blanketyblank bouncing. I cannot wait to add Zumba back in to my rotation more regularly. Can. not. wait. And Ms. Jillian Michaels and I? We're doing some bonding over the 30 day shred. Woot!

Praying for the safety of our military and their families today

Last night, R and I were hanging out, getting ready for today. I was working on the blog entry I posted last night - paying semi attention to Celebrity Apprentice, when the interruption came. 


Bin Laden had been found and killed. 


I thought I would feel triumphant when this day came, so I was surprised to find I didn't.


I'm not the least bit sorry he's dead. But I wonder... is any of the grief of the families affected by 9/11 eased? What about all the families of the military troops who have lost a loved one or whose loved ones have been affected physically or emotionally? Is anything really better now? What about all the men and women on the front lines or serving overseas who remain in the line of fire - directly or indirectly? So many families at overseas bases who may now be targets of retaliation. 


There has been so much loss. So much has been sacrificed. And the loss and sacrifice isn't over yet. This is what is on my mind. 


What about you? 

Do it anyway

Recently, I've developed a new perspective.


Health scares will do that to you. 


I'm doing great, feeling so much better than I have in years that it's not even funny.


Tonight, I came across this quote: (apparently, it's my week-o-quotes)


  People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered.  Forgive them anyway.

            If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.  

Be kind anyway.

            If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies.  Succeed anyway.

           If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you.  

Be honest and sincere anyway.

            What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight.  

Create anyway.

            If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. 

 Be happy anyway.

            The good you do today, will often be forgotten.  

Do good anyway.

         Give the best you have, and it will never be enough.  

Give your best anyway.

         In the final analysis, it is between you and God.  It was never between you and them anyway.

-this version is credited to Mother Teresa

R and I were having a discussion today. The story behind it is a long one, so I'll sum it up like this: he thinks I let myself be taken advantage of.

In some respect he's correct. But the thing is, and this is how I phrased it to him this afternoon, even if that's true (and sometimes it is), the joy I get out of doing what I feel is the right thing to do far outweighs the fact that someone might take advantage. And when the balance shifts, then I start saying no. 

And then I ran across this quote, and it expresses what I was trying to say exactly.

I love it when stuff like that happens.

I love this quote.