the best night out of o9

it was a day that transitioned into a night.
it was a "college reuinion."
it was a creative Saturday.













the best of 2oo9

the best article of o9

i can't recall one singular article that bore sharing this past year. i am an admitted "news snacker" - one who gets their news in snippets and tweets and sound bytes. what can i say? i've always loved the intro paragraph.

i will say that i spent the most time reading up on H1N1, and the pros and cons of vaccination. i am a child of Public Health Iliterally - my father retired from the Centers for Disease Control.)

i vaccinate.

the best of 2oo9

best restaurant experience of 'o9

small town living = limited "dining out" experience :( for three foodies like the ericksons, that can be a real challenge.

however,

for the (almost) ten years that we've lived near wilmington, we've talked about stopping at a place called Flaming Amy's Burrito Barn. a few months back, jack was off at a birthday party, and matty and i found ourselves in Amy's neighborhood (sorry, jack!)

wow. the burrito barn did NOT disappoint. the burritos were the size of my head! and i could have subsisted entirely on their bottomless chips and salsa bar. oh, yes. a salsa bar. ginger lime salsa. wasabi salsa. black bean salsa. chipotle salsa.

and, for 45 minutes, matty and i relished a meal together. the two of us. no crayons or DS games at the table. no "finish your dinner," or "you have to go to the bathroom NOW?" (does anyone else have children who are fascinated with using restaurant bathrooms?)

Amy, we will be back. soon. with our 8 1/2 year old foodie in tow. after all, someone's got to help us get to the bottom of that bottomless basket of chips!

the best of 2oo9

the best trip of 'o9

i had two.

the first: new orleans. where i fell back in love with myself.
the second: walt disney world. where i fell back in love with my family.

the best of 2oo9

ruffled

once i saw it, i knew i just had to make eva's scarf. i was a little hesitant to make myself *another* scarf. (then i read michelle's scarf wardrobe post, and almost changed my mind!) as it turns out, mid-scarf, i realized that it was the perfect birthday gift for another very special girl who celebrates on november 25th.



everyone should have a go-to, confidence-building accessory in their wardrobe. happy birthday, crystal! hope it motivates you AND keeps you warm :)

Thanksgiving Dinner

there is nothing quite like the woodfire smoke smell and the homestyle embrace of the Cracker Barrel. (i'm not usually a fan of the Cracker Barrel. or "homestyle cooking, in general.) however, in this case, it was the perfect end to a great day.



"do they have any Thanksgving specials?" asked Jack.


oh, yes. yes, they do...

truly, madly, deeply

i've learned a lot on this vacation. i've learned the five days at Walt Disney World is just about enough. enough time to ride a few rides more than once. enough time to see just one more show. enough time to decide that watching other people eat abnormally large turkey legs is disturbing.


i've learned that a party of three is a good number (for me.) i've learned that i really am thankful to be past strollers and diapers. i've learned how to read my family - how to know when an ice cream can soothe the moment or when it's time to call it a day.


i've learned that if the sign says WARNING: YOU MIGHT GET SOAKED ON THIS RIDE, i should be thankful i'm wearing cute stripey underpants!!


i've learned that a little mid-afternoon rally can buy you a few more hours of fun and entertainment.


i've learned that you really can "do" Walt Disney World" without spending an arm and a leg. i've learned to love the glee on the face of an 8 year old when he steps off of the Test Track. i've learned that jack can make friends anywhere. i've learned that i can survive a week in a single hotel room with the two erickson boys. i've learned that a cup-of-noodles is a fantastic dinner after a 9 hour day in the pouring rain.


i've learned that this vacation is everything i needed/wanted/craved it to be. and i've learned that i really should not let so much time pass between vacations!!

all i ever wanted

we're three days in, averaging 9 hours a day, and i think i'm holding up pretty well. this vacation really has been the perfect way to CELEBRATE where i am in this life's journey.



the sounds of "happy birthday, eleanor" ringing from the rafters of the Magic Kingdom are still echoing in my sleep. Thanksgiving dinner at a nearby Cracker Barrel provided great leftovers to carry with us today. (have YOU ever brown-bagged it in a theme park? did you have the moistmaker?)



hope you are enjoying every bit of your holiday this week!

happy thanksgiving!!

a little rain may fall on your parade. no worries!! take a moment and fall back in love with your family and friends this holiday season.

Happy Thanksgiving, blogosphere!

wordless wheeeeeee...

FORTY!!

thankfully

i'm sitting on my sofa. tuesday morning. 7:57 am. i've got laundry going, coffee steaming, jack is...

hold up! jack is at school, and i didn't take him. i'm not on my way in to work. heck, i'm still in my pajamas!!

THIS MUST BE WHAT VACATION FEELS LIKE!

in a few hours, we three will be heading to the airport. spider dog will be having his own new experience at pet camp. other family members will be heading to georgia. and maryland. and we will be winging our way to The Magic Kingdom.

we will have a week of mouse-ear shaped foods and fastpasses. it will snow on Main Street USA. we will have Chinese food (or Thai or Italian or STEAK) for Thanksgiving dinner.

i will turn 40.

and i will NOT check my work email. i WILL blog and i WILL facebook and i WILL spend part of my first evening of vacation programming a new phone (since mine inexplicably will NOT unlock. what's with that?!? i can answer calls, but THAT'S IT!! motorola and verizon - you BOTH have MUCH to learn about customer service. but THAT is a story for another day...)

but for right now, i'm sitting on my sofa in my p.js. watching Nie on the Today Show and channeling kristi's amazing vacationing karma.

i am so thankful for this vacation. i am ready for the Magic.

photoless phriday - the last of the thirties edition

do you ever do those countdown-to-something-big thing? you know, this is the last full day of school before vacation; this is the last Christmas in this house; this is the last vacation with no children (one child, two children, etc)... i'm there now. within the last week of. the final days of.

truth be told, i've spent the better part of the past 24 hours in tears. inexplicable waves of emotion. heart-wrending sobs in the shower. stifled sniffles and dewy eyelashes. i'm doing myself no favors by listening to an eternal playlist of kate bush and brandi carlile and dido and sarah mclachlan.

part of this is shear exhaustion. i haven't had a break from this hotel life since last january.

part of this is tender memories of last fall and early winter. the time when we were losing Grabbie.

part of this is vacation-related-stress. i've never been on vacation with just my two before. i'm all of a sudden feeling like one hotel room is a small place for three vivacious personalities.

but part of this, a big part, is the-countdown-to-something. the last days of a significant part of my life. the inevitable "have i accomplished the things i had hoped to accomplished?" "am i where i want to be?" "am i WHO i want to be?" for a startling moment last night, the only phrase i could utter was "i want to go home."

even more startling, i was convinced that "home" was not a place i have found. yet.

i am doing my best to entertain the notion that "forty is the new thirty." or whatever. but i don't want a new thirty. in fact, i kind of want a chance to do my old thirties over again. not all of them. but some. definitely some.

i've turned off the music now. it's gotten to be a little much, even for me. i'm going to spend the rest of this last friday doing the things i normally do: most likely enjoying pizza in my pajamas, with my boys, watching a movie. maybe knitting.

and tomorrow, i've got to get up and coach the last soccer game of my thirties. so, there's something!

happy weekend!!

thankFULL

i am thankful for TWO Thanksgiving covered dish meals today.

and thankful for elastic waist pants.

i am thankful that i have shared TEN Thanksgiving meals with the team at Hampton Inn Southport over the years.

and thankful that vacation is near.

i am thankful that today is Beaujolais Day.

and thankful for the digestive aid of a glass of good red wine.

wordless wednesday

 

 

disclaimer: i did NOT make this, it was a wedding gifr from matty's grandmother. we bring it out every year around Thanksgiving and use it through the holidays.

win, lose or...

so, can we talk about this soccer thing?

you might remember a few months ago, our soccer league was scrambling for coaches; specifically coaches in my son's age group; more specifically... coaches for my son's team (of course.) i deftly avoided hanging a whistle around my neck by agreeing to be the "assistant" coach to a very competent coach who stepped up at the last minute. whew!

my duties as assistant coach were pretty minimal: organize the snack bringers, remind parents what color jersey to have clean for the upcoming game (we alternate between white and blue jerseys), show up at practices for moral support, help with the phone tree when rain forced us to cancel, etc., etc. i was really good at doing all of those things.

and competent coach was doing a great job out on the field! trust me, i know how challenging it can be to herd nine Under-10-year-olds into something that resembles a cohesive team. i know how challenging it can be to convince them that they don't all want to play goalie at the same time. i know how challenging it can be to get them to keep their hands to themselves.

i know this now, because all of a sudden, i realize i've spent the second half of the season being The Coach.

oh, yes. first it was, "hey, can you cover this practice?" then it was, "can you cover the make-up game on thursday night, because I have an exam." and then, "my sons have been diagnosed with the flu, and i'm not feeling so great myself." and finally,"my flu has turned into bronchitis and possibly pneumonia so, guess what? i won't be there saturday. can you cover the game?"

uhhhhh...

so, that is the story of how i became the soccer coach for the U-10 Hurricanes. i don't begrudge coach his families' illnesses, and i certainly am grateful that the pox has not fallen upon my household. but? "coaching" has stressed me out. (like i needed anything else to stress me out these days. fortieth birthday approaching? hello?!?)

i feel that i've been competent in my substitute role. i've run drills, i've remembered to bring a jersey for the goalie, i've communicated effectively with the other coaches, i've overcome absences and i've even finally learned something more than the most basic of soccer rules. the kids have even called me "coach," and i feel like we've found a middle ground between total chaos and championship team. we've definitely shown progress, and we've even won a few games!!

have i enjoyed it? no. i get stressed out before each game, wondering if i'm going to upset a child (or worse, their parent) by substituting too much, or not enough; by not giving everyone a fair shot at goalie. by not noticing that so-and-so is calling so-and-so an "idiot." every time i call "SUB," i worry that we didn't have possession of the ball and that i've made an agregious soccer error.

my child seems more stressed when i'm coaching. it's tough to appreciate the nuance between "mom" and "mom-who-is-coaching-right-now-honey."

we had our last game yesterday, and we just have the soccer festival standing between us and the end of the season (and vacation. and forty...) i feel good about my participation, even if my original plan to avoid coaching at all costs didn't quite pan out. i think i was a fair coach, full of encouragement and praise and gentle reminders. i also realize that, for my son at least, i actually would like a a coach who is full of drills and enthusiasm and athleticism. (i don't feel like jack made a lot of technical advances this season.) what can i say? i'm driven. and, i appreciate someone who can lead the drive.

one of the parents said to me recently, "you're doing a great job." i immediately whipped my head around, looking for lurking soccer league administrators. "don't say that too loud," i admonished in a whispered frenzy, "i don't want them to call me next season!"

gee, thanks!

i am in the middle of "budget season," and i am both bored and stressed by the whole operation, but i'm thankful i have the opportunity to have serious input into the budget that i will be expected to uphold in 2010...

i have to go to a Rotary District dinner this evening, 45 minutes away from my cozy home, but i'm thankful for the time that i will be able to spend in the car with my dad...

today's "feelings about 40" are leaning toward the melancholy and i really need to find time to deal with renewing my driver's license, but i'm thankful that vacation is just a few short weeks away...

wordless wednesday

 

spt

i'm not going down without a fight!!



thank you all for the laughter. it's amazing how a good chuckle can lighten the mood!

dwelling

it's a few short weeks away.

i'm bordering on indifferent to depressed.

i had certain body image goals that i am no where near attaining.

i had financial goals that i am no where near attaining.

i had blogging and photography goals that i am no where near attaining.

i know that i should not be so blue about it.

but, i am.

quick... somebody tell something funny (and young at heart!!)

thanks

i am thankful for:

intrepidness
spunk
joie de vivre

thanks

feeling grateful today for:

skillet chicken parmesan;
an 8 year old boy who requested a pumpkin hat;
permission to enjoy my birthday month (thank you for the reminder, natasha!);
new-to-us furniture to replace old-to-us furniture;
election volunteers who call on election eve (no matter the candidate);
a healthy home.

reality check

i've been eating well this week. i don't often blog about food here (kind of ironic, considering the title of my blog and all.) i read beautiful foodie posts, and get tons of inspiration thanks to their mouth-watering photography. often, when i'm preparing a meal, i think i should take some pictures. but there are just not enough hours in the day for me to stylize my measured dry ingredients and freshly squeezed lemons. and usually by the time i think to photo the finished product, we're halfway through our meals and having a lively discussion about who is going to clean up the kitchen.

also, despite my love of words, and sentences of words, and paragraphs of words, a reviewer i am not. a few notes and my very scientific 5-star rating system scribbled into the margins of some old cookbooks tell me all i need to remember about a particular dish. (given that most of the recipes i use now come from the www, i rely heavily on "bookmarking." that and my uncanny ability to remember which bloggers make great chicken enchiladas, pumpkin cookies, rye limpa bread, or even a favorite sandwich.)

so, despite the fact that there are no photos, and i am not going to wax poetic about the amount of squash i've eaten in the past week, here is a sampling of what was served up at the erickson's house this week:

Turky Chili and Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie (Rachel Ray) *****

Shoo Vampire Soup (Martha Stewart)(no link to be found - i used my trusty 2000 Halloween Issue) ****

Stuffed Squash (Alton Brown) ****

Spaghetti Squash with meat sauce (Matty Erickson) *****

Mummy Sandwich (the lovely Joys of Home blog) ****

Chicken Mug Pie (Rachel Ray) *****

as i read back over this list,i am reminded of some lovely meals this week. and it occurred to me that (sometimes) weeks full of meals like this one are the exception, not the norm. my reality is that there is often a pizza night in the mix. (sometimes two!) my reality is that four out of five nights i am stopping at the grocery on the way home from work. and not for just one key ingredient. often i haven't decided on the evenings meal until five minutes before i walk out of my office. my reality is that my husband studied the culinary arts, and apparantly did not take one single class on washing dishes.

maybe i hesitate to share my cooking adventures, because of the lack of gorgeous photos, or a succint and savory review of the meal. maybe i think that my meals don't stack up to some of those that you have shared. (am i the only one that ever thinks that?)

unfortunately, i have stumbled with hesitations like this most of my life. a bit of the "grass is always greener" syndrome. i've wasted some precious time trying to keep up with the jones family (and the murphy family, and the smith family...)

but this week, we ate well. and added several recipes to our family favorites. we only ate pizza once, and that was after a late, chilly soccer game. but just in case you spend half a second worrying about keeping up with the erickson family, let me just put some perspective on it.



my reality: i can't make a decent looking mummy sandwich. don't get me wrong. i can see vast improvement over last year's attempt. at least this year's attempt "resembles" something "wrapped."



and truthfully? we would not have revisited the mummy sandwich this year had jack not declared it a "family tradition." (tradition? after a sad attempt one year? oh-kaaaaay...) but how could i deny my son his hallowe'en memories?

three!

i've given a lot of thought this year to my blog. if you were to ask my what i blog about, i really couldn't choose any better words than i did on that Hallowe'en three years ago...

in which i attempt to pay attention to the "little things" in life: the smiles, the quirky quotes, the entertainment factor of a now-5 1/2 y.o. son, split pea soup, homemade halloween costumes, cool fonts, my search for the perfect monogram, beautiful food and a dizzying array of my life's "amuse-bouche."

he is 8 1/2 now,
and there have been dozens of soups (three soup swaps!),
homemade halloween costumes are "itchy"
and i haven't yet found the perfect monogram.

and... i'm almost forty.

there are plenty of "little moments" yet to be found. thanks for sharing all of yours with me!

masquerade

frightfully fun

a fun martha craft that i've been meaning to do for several years. super fun to make, they cost next to nothing, and (say it with me) it's so easy, lelly could do it!!

did you see barb's? we both had the same great idea!



i love the bad lighting effect from my cameraphone. but, hey! it captured every single spooky dust bunny on my lampshade!!

happy birthday, barb!

a subtle shift

there are four daughters in my family. it was a little bit like growing up in "Fiddler on the Roof." minus one daughter. and a dairyman father. and a matchmaker. and religious persecution. dad was the local Scoutmaster - tuesday nights were his "break" from the heady estrogen stew that was invariably brewing at home.

in my generation of cousins, the girls ruled as well. out of sixteen cousins, three are boys (and i'm not suggesting AT ALL that they drooled.) but we girls definitely had the monopoly at family gatherings.

my sisters and i are all married now (many of my cousins as well), and raising families of our own. four daughters meant four husbands, which immeditaely leveled out the playing field. then, the arrival of jack opened the doors for a new generation of boys. jack, along with cousins max and felix and nephew-due-in-january have all of a sudden turned the tables in one generation. where the men in the family used to retreat into small tightly-knit packs of wild-eyed brethren resisting the urge to run, they now have found reassurance in their numbers.

grampie, jack, matty, brother-in-law mark

jack takes his responsibilities as oldest male of his generation verrrry seriously. after all, it is he who will introduce his cousins to legions of action figures. he is the one who carries a dog-eared copy of "The Dangerous Book for Boys." his will be the Cub Scout uniform that becomes the hand-me-down.

so far, he is an exemplary leader-of-the-pack. he tries new foods, he hugs his grandparents, he negotiates squabbles between his younger cousins. he can speak at-length about The Clone Wars and Transformers, and is moving easily up through his Cub Scout ranks.

now, if i could just get him to clean the bathroom...

amouse-bouche

a few weeks ago, the girls headed over to crystal's house for Girls Night In!! it turned out to be one of the best nights in a long time (we will NOT talk about the fact that crystal is moving away this week.)

finger foods and board games made a great night in. if you haven't played Curses yet, i highly recommend that you schedule a game soon! your abs will seriously love this work out! i unearthed laughing muscles that haven't been used in forever!

of course, i love any event that involves food, especially appetizers/fingerfoods/h'or d'oevres... a little amouse-bouche! my two selections tied in well with Fall, and inadvertantly, trees (huh. no that i've written that out, it doesn't seem very appetizing...)

i brought natasha's "pine cone" cheese ball


and miniature cupcakes with caramel "acorns" on top.


i love trolling blogs for foodie ideas. any amouse-bouche you'd care to share?

no, he does not twitter

the modern day playdate?
speaker phone? check.
laptop? check.
parents lurking around taking obnoxious photos? check.




(thank goodness there was a pal on the other end, and not a girl... i don't think i'm ready for that!)

did you know (that i've been in a funk)?

that i can't reuse a pool or shower towel that is slightly damp?
that i have a hard time unloading clean glassware from the dishwasher?
that i cannot stand the sound of other people sneezing?
that even though i am drawn to coffee shops, i stick with black coffee every time?
that i am addicted to social networking, and don't remember life before blogging, facebook and twitter?
that i don't bake because i don't like to feel flour on my hands?
that sometimes i don't like to hear my own voice?
that i currently feel claustrophobic in my small town?
that i am exhausted?

a bit of whimsy

michelle allen's creations are like eye candy to me! i don't know what is more appealing... the final product, or that she often shares her journey to the final product. i am such a sucker for other people's creativity!!

she's having a fabulous giveaway right now. go on. go ahead and check it out!

wordless wednesday - pumpkin hat edition

allison meets her new little brother, felix

check it off the list

we can now say we've been to Sonic!

all this just to say...

wha? what is this whirlwind going on? i know i need to stop! break it down now! (or at least organize my thoughts into something blogworthy), but...

so a sneak peak of the chaos i've created:

soccer has started. i am not the coach. (i am the "assistant coach," but the coach is really good, so i've been doing a lot of standing on the sidelines encouraging the boys to, say, not beat each other about the heads with their soccer balls.) i'm such a great "assistant coach" that i actually missed the first game (it was raining. a lot. can i say i'm not sorry i missed it? does that make me a bad "assistant coach?")

i missed the first game because i was busy bagging 10,000 dehydrated meals with my fellow Rotarians. do you know about Stop Hunger Now? if you don't, you should. what a great, uplifting, fast-paced humanitarian activity. 10,000 meals in one hour. it pretty much rocked.

i traveled last week and stayed in a hotel that was NOT a hampton (*gasp*). i fell a little bit in love. there were seriously 15 electrical outlets in the room. i could plug in every blessed thing i brought with me, and i still had 12 outlets left over! there was also fantastic lighting (functional AND ambiant), and a huge king size bed all. to. myself. the lobby was filled with smart and fun techno gadgets and media pods and flat screen everythings. yeah. i'm surprised i cam home.

i think i've secretly discovered that i am a geek. i also think i need an iPhone.

i have a new nephew! Felix! don't you love that? Felix Daniel was born in Decatur, GA yesterday. my sister had a very successful VBAC after, get this, firing her OB one week before delivery!! she's crazy like that. just goes to show you that if your medical practitioners are NOT working with you, it's time to move on!!

so, Felix. and he's beautiful. and i stayed up too late last night knitting the most adorable pumpkin hat for Felix, and of course, a slightly larger one for big sis Allis. i might need to make one for myself ;)

forty is weighing heavy on me now. (two more months) i might, in fact, be having a mid-something crisis. i'm not sure what the cure will be (but Apple, Inc. (TM), if you're reading this, that iPhone sure would be fun!)

any questions?

lost and found

people leave the strangest things in their hotel rooms...

 

 

wordless wednesday

 

resistance is... futile?

just today, i have been the recipient of three "desperate" sounding emails:

1) we need more soccer coaches for the boys
2) we need Sunday School teachers
3) we need to create a "working moms" group at church

these are not the type of emails i need to receive.

these are the types of emails that cause me to overextend my overextended self.

(these are the types of emails that make me question if i'm doing enough.)

these are the types of emails i can't ignore...

spt - how i spent my summer vacation

i spent my summer vacation the way i've spent every summer vacation since i began working in the hotel industry. i spent a lot of hours in a hotel (of course, i wasn't "vacationing" in the hotel, but still...)

jack goes to day camp in the summer, so our routine is basically the same as it is during the school year (i just drop him off in a different place!) i was up, every day, six days a week. getting ready for my day. having a conversation with her:

as you might imagine, she and i spent a lot of time discussing the upcoming birthday (40!) how we feel about it. what we are going to do differently in the second half of our lives.

she looks older to me now. and not in a i-have-laughed-through-the-years sort of a way. it's more of a "tired" old. and i let her know that that look will just not do.

she is nervous now about forty. for a while, it was fun to put on a brave face, but now some realities are taking hold. (she even shared with me that it's even harder to work off pesky belly fat now. the horror!)

but she also reminded me that fifteen years ago, we were having a similar internal meltdown about turning 25. and that on that brilliant day in november of 1994, while on a much needed fall vacation, we stood on the back veranda of the biltmore estate, took a deep breath, and realized that it. was. okay.

i will be waking up in a different destination this year. i am looking forward to that moment when i will know that it truly is okay.

after all, i have spent my entire summer vacation planning for it.

photoless phriday - the "if you build it, they will come" edition

if you organize a 5K race for Labor day weekend, people will run it.



(please note, this is an illustration, not a photo!!)

this will be the second running of the "Go, Jump in the Lake 5K and 1.5 mile Fun Run/Walk." we created this race last year, and were almost overwhelmed by it's success. if you are a runner (i am not), or have ever aspired to be a runner (i have), you know that a Saturday morning 5K is like Starbucks to the caffeine-dependent. people are inexplicably drawn to the opprotunity to sweat early in the morning. and... they will actually pay to do it!! (especially if you have great T shirts!!)

i have grown up in a family of opportunity creators. need a director for a community theatre production? someone from my family is there. need a youth group? scout troop? someone from my family is available. need a playground? yup, we'll pitch in and get it done. we have been raised with an uncanny ability to see a need for something. even better, we have been blessed with the enthusiasm to carry through with our visions.

it's exhausting. but it's also exhilirating! and it strikes me that too many people miss out on chances to create opportunities in their communities because of the overwhelming sensations that usually accompany such big projects. worse yet, maybe they just assume that "someone else will get it done."

if you've ever thought that, i hope you'll take a few minutes and give yourself a big pep talk! it can be overwhelming, for certain. it can be frustrating. heck, the project might even be a big flop!! it IS exhausting.

but, the exhiliration is so, so sweet. to hear an audience applaud for a show. to watch children play on a playground. and, yes, to cheer on those crazy, sweaty runners.

i wish you were in town. i wish you could join us tomorrow morning as the sun rises over Spring Lake and the 5K runners take their mark. i wish you could walk the 1.5 mile loop with me. and jack. and babies in strollers. and grandparents. i wish you could literally Jump in the Lake with us as we cross the finish line! (really, can you think of a better way to end a race?? forget the Gatorade. a quick swim is the way to go!)

you would look so great in the T shirt!!