Archives for 2012

Strawberry Picking

May 4, 2012 by Amy 9 Comments

For years, our town’s spring festival was called Fest-i-Fun. Vendors lined our little Main Street with the usual festival fare. Teenagers roamed the streets, boys attempting a swagger and girls whispering and giggling about them. Kids turned sticky from cotton candy and begged their parents for sand art. When we were in high school, our (at that time, one) high school marching band had been state champions for years. We had a sign on one of our main roads touting our wins and each year a plaque would be added with the year. In May of 1994 when there were probably 20 plaques, Scott and I had just begun our courtship. And by courtship, I mean many late night phone calls. By the 7th day, he was my real boyfriend. Fest-i-Fun was the following weekend and Scott was one of the drummers. I was smitten. We stood at the end of Main Street where the marching band was standing in a semi-circle and listened. I can’t even recall which friend I was whispering to beside me. All I know is it turns out his mom was standing right next to us. That’s the first time she saw me.

Since the mid-90s our little town has outgrown a Main street festival. They renamed it to the Strawberry Festival a few years back and moved it to a nearby park. The festival kicked off Monday, with the festivities arching over the whole week now. Tuesday they offered half-price pick your own strawberries and a movie for the kids. Since I drink a smoothie every day for lunch, the strawberry picking was a must but for some reason I just needed Scott and the kids to go. The kids wanted to go swim with a neighbor and Scott really didn’t want to go but I just kept pushing. Usually, I’m fine to do my own thing but something just made me want to go with them.

I was thinking on it last night and finally put it together that this Strawberry Festival we were participating in was the same Fest-i-Fun festival I’d stood at 18 years ago. Something down deep stirred when I realized that. The circle of life or some kind of jazz. All I know is, it’s good. Very good I fell in love with a drummer boy and now get to go pick strawberries with our babies.

American Idol Top 5

May 2, 2012 by Amy Leave a Comment

Round 1

Hollie – I really, really liked that. Strong voice and a commanding performance. Perfect? No. But great for Hollie. I’ll half whisper this: she reminded me of Celine Dion. I know, right? That’s huge. Definitely what Hollie needs to stay around.

Is it just me or did Phillip look really sick in rehearsals? Stay well, P2!

Phillip – Did I love that vocal? No. But I do appreciate the effort and like Jennifer said, he makes me pay attention.

Skylar – I loved her energy level and she sounded great but gosh that song was repetitive.

Joshua and Phillip – Phillip is just not good in groups. He’s fabulous on his own. So charming. And Joshua was trying to knock it out of the park. Just can’t love that as a duet.

Jessica – First off she looks amazing. Maybe too much for a 16 year old. And wow, she sounded amazing too. Performance was there. That was great.

Joshua – Sometimes I just don’t like the songs he picks but really he is an amazing singer. I’m just trying to figure out where he belongs in today’s music. I’m not sure I agree with Randy that he could make a record like that right now.

Round 2

Hollie – Love her dress so much. The song not as much. It’s pretty enough but for me the emotional aspect wasn’t there and her timing was weird in the beginning. Didn’t agree with the judges as much. It wasn’t bad, just didn’t blow me away.

Phillip – I loved the song until the chorus. It looked like he was really having to dig deep for those notes and it didn’t always work. Made me feel a little uncomfortable watching and when I closed my eyes to listen it didn’t sound up to par 🙁

Skylar – Woo Hoo! Shout out to Rizzo on Grease! I loved that. Skylar has totally come around this season. She’s harnessed all that energy for good.

Steven is so pointless as a judge. What a waste of money. I can’t understand half of what he says.

Jessica – Seriously? I mean seriously? I heard this song spoiler before the show and just assumed that a guy would sing it. I mean, why would a girl sing this song?? I was so excited to hear Phillip or Joshua sing this and then Jessica picks this? Who was she singing that to? For someone that is really needing to connect with a song emotionally, I think that was a complete fail. Sure she sounded great but it was just so unemotional for me and completely ruined the meaning and power behind that song. Go back and listen to Danny Gokey to see how it’s done.

Joshua – Joshua Ledet can SANG. I loved that. Loved how he held back and then it let it wail.

Favorites: This is hard because everyone had one strong song. Favorite first round Jessica and second round Joshua.

In trouble: Weakest tonight was Phillip 🙁 but if anyone goes I’m picking Jessica just for the YASB performance.

A Playhouse Flower Box

May 2, 2012 by Amy 6 Comments

Romance is spoken through power drills and handmade flower boxes on playhouses.

Pride, watching the eldest at her best, painting her chosen pink.

And better yet, watching her sister allow that with encouragement.

Contentment and satisfaction is found in the planting.

A simple, almost silly, family project but it is true…

Source

Front Yard Makeover

May 1, 2012 by Amy 4 Comments

Alrighty, the front yard is finally done. As I mentioned, it had started to look a little sad and sparse and was ready for its yearly mulching. I’d really like my entire yard to look like the Secret Garden but the truth is we’re pretty horrible to plants. I feel like this is a nice, simple, clean look we can maintain.

Before straight on:

After straight on:

Before from left side:

After from left side:

I love that we reused the plants from the front on the side of the house. I’m sure our neighbors appreciate that all of that A/C stuff is covered up now too.

Oh and just for fun, here is this angle from last year before the addition. Wow! That blue sky and white tree are awfully pretty but the house looks so different without the addition!:

2011-03-07 020

Before from right side:

After right side:

We put sod down where most of the natural area was in the front.

Before down sidewalk:

After down sidewalk:

Before from kitchen window:

After from kitchen window:

I love natural areas but I have to say I really love looking out and seeing the green for a long stretch, especially from our kitchen window.

This fall we’re planning on planting some bulbs for around the sidewalk to get even more color during the spring. So that’s that for now. Thanks for letting me share these little slices of life 🙂

Potato Candy

April 30, 2012 by Amy 11 Comments

Potato candy. I found out tonight that at least two of my friends do not know about potato candy and I am very scared there are more of you. My mom made it time and again growing up and it was just one of those things that I assumed everyone knew about. Apparently not and I’m here to fix that!

First, hang on to your seats folks because this candy is made from MASHED POTATOES! OK before you check out, I promise it’s so yummy. I wish I could just stuff a piece in your mouth and let it do the talking instead of trying to convince you but alas, it will have to do with a tutorial.

I’ll warn you, the recipe is kind of sketchy. Anal bakers are going to hate this post. But hang with me because the good part is it’s pretty hard to mess this one up.

This is the recipe you go to when you have that last 1/2-2/3 cup of leftover mashed potatoes and it’s not enough to go around for another meal. It works best with real mashed potatoes. If you’re not making The Pioneer Woman’s mashed potatoes you’re seriously missing out on life. It’s not hard. Really.

So if you have about 1/2 cup or so of potatoes left, put them in a mixing bowl with a teaspoon of vanilla. Then grab a whole bunch of powdered sugar. You’ll probably need about 5 cups for every 1/2 cup of potatoes. Stir the powdered sugar in about a cup at a time. It makes it really runny somehow, even if your potatoes were super thick. So, add in a cup at a time, working it in until it turns into dough. You’ll need to be able roll the dough out but you don’t want it crumbly. Think about something slightly less stiff as fondant.

Once you get it to the right consistency, sprinkle your work area with powdered sugar and roll it out until it’s about 1/4” thick. Parts of mine were a little too thick this time.

Now get your peanut butter out and spread a thin layer across the top.

You don’t want the peanut butter very thick because it will be messy when you roll it up. I think I could have done this layer of peanut butter just a tad thicker. But I can never get enough peanut butter so there’s that. Ok. Now carefully roll up the dough like a cinnamon roll.

At this point, you can cut the roll in half and put it in a gallon plastic bag or wrap it in wax paper and then put it in the fridge to harden. Once it’s set about an hour or two later, take it out and cut it in 1/2” thick slices. And bam! Potato candy. Clearly I couldn’t wait to taste it.

This basically tastes like creamy powdered sugar dipped in peanut butter. Maybe like a peanut butter fudge. I don’t know. All I know is it’s good.

My mom always kept it sliced up in a Tupperware container, separating the layers with wax paper. Potato candy has a TON of sugar in it and it’s not good for you but definitely something you gotta try.

On (in)RL Friendships

April 30, 2012 by Amy 4 Comments

“Amy, would you quit pouting?” Scott said in frustration on the way home from church yesterday.

“I’m not pouting, I’m thinking,” I explained. And that’s always when I know that my brain has had enough. I’ve over thought every single scenario, I’m staring off into space into some twilight over thinking zone and it’s time for some serious girl time. I stalked my friend Dani yesterday until she agreed for a coffee date last night. And she knew, after two weeks of Scott being away, that I needed to decompress. She dropped everything and we talked for hours, both of us trying to figure out all the God rumblings and kid frustrations. It’s what friends do and after this weekend I am ever more grateful.

With Scott being gone the last two weeks, I didn’t want to commit to the (in)RL conference. The concept sounded wonderful—the online conference would be enjoyed from your home this past Friday and then instead of all the attendees converging in one location, you’d find a local meet up on Saturday to watch the simulcast together. Once the tweets started coming in Friday, I just knew I needed to hear. I registered 20 minutes into the first session and I’m so glad I did.

The conference was put on by (in)courage where many of my favorite bloggers converge to blog. It was exciting and interesting and fun to have all these ladies that I know solely from the written word on screen talking about just what I needed…friendships. Irony abounded as I watched all by my lonesome but I knew my friends were out there, always available at the drop of a text or an invitation to coffee. So many nuggets gleaned beyond friendship. Even simply hearing how God put (in)courage together made me want to jump in because it’s clear God is in the midst. I walked away more thankful than ever for my friends and encouraged once again to follow God’s leading.

I find it fascinating that jumping into these real life friendships sounds a lot like what I just read from Bob Goff’s Love Does and even more ironically, I was picked to speak about friendships in the workplace this week at work. The loving and the doing and the friending thing definitely all came to a head this weekend. I’m listening, Lord, I’m listening.

If you missed it, I’d highly encourage you to pick up the online pass and booklet that’s just $14.99. I don’t get a penny for saying that, I just really think you’ll be encouraged and blessed.

Random New Things

April 27, 2012 by Amy 5 Comments

It’s Friday and thought I’d share a few random new things (to me) I’ve seen pop up.

Slacklining

I saw some teenagers doing this at the festival last weekend. It looks kind of cool until things don’t go right and then it just looks like a means of torture. The guys I saw couldn’t even get on the line without a death grip on a nearby tree and when they fell off, were slapped by the line. Perhaps it should be called slaplining.

These guys make it look easy.

Piecaken

I saw this from @SarahBessey on twitter yesterday and had never heard of such. You bake a pie INTO a cake. I can see Scott LOVING this for his birthday.

Source: i.imgur.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Italian Sodas

I’m very sure these aren’t new but they’re new to me. Don’t these Italian sodas look yummy? I think I’ve found just what to do with all those yummy strawberries while they’re still around.

Source: sugarandcharmblog.com via Ally on Pinterest

Kris Allen’s Vision of Love

In case you’re like me and you don’t normally watch American Idol’s results shows, you probably missed Kris Allen’s performance of his new single. I looked up the video and the message is even better. Love the chorus. The falsetto parts remind me of Enrique Iglesias and if you know me from waayyy back in the day, that’s a very good thing.

In other new news, Scott PASSED his drug recognition school with flying colors. We’re all so excited for him and I’m most excited that he’s home. What new things or news do you have going on?

The Story of that One Bad Day

April 26, 2012 by Amy 4 Comments

Let me tell you the story of today (and only part of the day, mind you). When I said I wanted my life to be full of adventure the other day this certainly is not what I had in mind.

Source: piccsy.com via Eveli on Pinterest

Well, we ought to start off Tuesday night. I knew I felt a UTI coming on but really didn’t want to pay for an urgent care visit or take the time. I figured I could drown it with water. By lunch Wednesday, I realized it was going to be a no-go and if I didn’t care to be in pain ala Tom Hanks character in The Green Mile I was going to have to buck up and go. I did and was ever so grateful to have some meds.

Last night I panicked a bit because I realized today I had to go to the office. Normally it’s not a big deal because Scott is home and he helps get the kids ready for school while I’m getting ready. I had everything ready last night though and besides the fact I couldn’t sleep last night, this morning went well.

The day started to go wrong when my manager and I sat down mid-morning for a meeting and the fire alarm sounded. I looked at him and said, “Is that like a legit fire alarm?” And yes, I’m known for asking unnecessary questions. I quickly began to regret the fact I had worn my most uncomfortable set of heels I own. We have to take the stairs 5 floors down and then go stand in a parking lot.

Wouldn’t you know, though, as soon as we got down there I realized I’d left my badge at my desk. I couldn’t just hop back inside to get it because, you know, I needed my badge to get in the building. That meant more walking to a different entrance when all of this was over and probably a blister too.

Source: anneyhall.tumblr.com via Jerome on Pinterest

Then, as if we were in a dark and twisty poem, dark clouds started moving pretty fast overhead and a quick look at someone’s cell said that we had just a few minutes before we were all in the middle of a bad storm. We had to walk even further to the nearby parking deck for cover and climb a few flights of stairs to the deck entrance since they were now letting people back in the building.

At this point though my feet weren’t my problem. My stomach started to feel a little funny. Once I got to the stupendously long line for those who didn’t grab their badges I was feeling worse and the hall had almost zero air conditioning. I got hot. Really hot. I started fanning myself with my composition notebook. Fan, fan, fan. I was going to faint. If you know me, you know I never get hot indoors and something was very wrong. I even sat down on a nearby bench to get a small break both from my heels and you know, make the fainting hurt less.

Source: Uploaded by user via Mary on Pinterest

We eventually made it in without any fainting but I told my manager I’d need a few minutes to get some water and gather myself. Twenty minutes later I was no longer about to faint but just did not feel well. I’ll spare you the digestive details. My manager saw that I wasn’t well and we canceled our meeting and he suggested I head home. I was all about going home. When someone says go home, I’m the first out the door but I just wasn’t sure I could drive. I stuck around trying to breathe through my nose and drink water for another 30 minutes and then packed myself up and prayed my way home, trying to calculate what bathroom I’d use at each exit if necessary.

I made it home, and a quick Google search told me that most likely I was having awful side effects from the antibiotics. I’m thankful the kids were at school and I was able to writhe on my bedroom floor for the next two hours in between trying to play ball with Tucker who’d been crated all morning since I was at work. Don’t you just love when the medicine that’s supposed to make you feel better gives you other, worse conditions?

Just as it was time for me to get the girls, I let Tucker out one more time. Once I let him back in my bedroom I realized there was suddenly an awful dead fish smell in my room. It didn’t take long to realize it was coming from dog poo on his paw that he was traipsing around my bedroom carpet. Tucker!!! I was barely well enough to walk but had to go wash him off with the hose outside. Never mind the fact my carpet now needed clean and sanitized, we headed to get the girls.

I finally got the girls from school, got my new meds and got home. I decided I was finally well enough to log back into work. And then I see that Tucker has decided to use my secure ID card as a chew toy and rendered it unusable. Tucker!!!!

Source: bit.ly via Marshall on Pinterest

That’s when the laughing started. Could this day get any worse? Yes, much. But, wow. What a day.