spt - crazy eights

the birthday boy and i

he is eight

i haven't taken a lot of photos lately. and when i snapped a few tonight, i was immediately struck by the "oldness" of this picture. my eight-year-old-boy, all at once a young man.

taking a cue from my "not blogging for Lent" friend, natasha, i want to list 8 things about jack:

1) on the way to school this morning, jack said, "i don't even know why i'm sitting in this seat." i had forgotten that NC law for booster seats is 8 years old or 80 pounds. we reached 8 well before we will reach 80! when i picked him up from school, i had discretely tucked the booster seat into the back of the car.

2) jack is in the 2nd grade, and started public school this year. he has transitioned very well, and excels in reading (on a 3rd grade level) and math (when he wants to!!)

3) jack played soccer for the first time last fall, and is a natural. i am already planning/hoping/praying for a soccer scholarship to college!

4) jack is a Wolf Scout and loves camping.

5) he is an acolyte at church (Episcopal) and his most important job is holding the Gospel steady while elderly priests attempt to read from it!

6) jack is the oldest cousin (by 4 years) and is finding his way as the leader of the pack

7) he is the most sensitive child i know, and is very protective of my feelings (most of the time...) when i have to travel, he begins missing me the first time i mention the trip.

8) jack got a dog for his birthday. (if you know me AT ALL, you will know that this is a HUGE deal.) "Spider Dog" has been with us for three days now, and by all accounts (jack's), his life is now complete!

happy birthday, jonathan tucker erickson!
i love you!!

spt

who feels like a really easy spt challenge??

(i do! i do!)

we are celebrating jack's birthday on monday, and our house resounds with choruses of "eight is great!" i can't think of an easier spt challenge:

EIGHT is GREAT!

each tuesday of march, your challenge is to feature the number 8. you have free reign each week to decide how you will include the number in your post. the only rule is that the numeral itself must be part of the photograph!! so get out there and search for 8s!! i bet you can find them everywhere.

wordless wednesday

throw me something, mister!

the Tulane Krew

beyonce, lelly, houp & miztasha

miss you girls!!

HAPPY MARDI GRAS!!

spt - i am saying "i love you" when i...

...stay and talk it out.

spt - the first thing that attracted me to you was...

...your culinary skills!!







(photos of The Food Studio in Atlanta, where matty worked during the time of our engagement. 1998-2000)

new specs

where i am

i'm here. at this place. i am healthy, incredibly busy, addicted to work. i am starting new things. i am considering options.

i miss you.

spt - i think it would be romantic to...

spt - i love it when you...

(i'll be back this evening! matty leaves the house at 5 am, and an sp was not about to happen that early!!)

spt

the month of love has rolled around again. i have been trying to channel my friend carlo's "love of all things love" lately. we don't "do" valentine's in a big way around my house, but i certainly "love" finding bits and pieces of "lovely" inspiration around the blogosphere.

when i say we don't "do" valentine's around my house, i mean that it often comes on quickly and we end up treating it like Income Tax Day - worth a mention at dinner, but nothing remarkable! the holiday that celebrates our feelings for each other certainly deserves a little attention! cristin is going all out and doing 14 days of valentine's for her family!! isn't that wonderful? surely i can make a better effort.

i'm choosing, though, to focus on the love that exists in my marriage. to spend some time really communicating with the love in my life. our relationship deserves more than perfunctory dinner conversation, doesn't it? with "the day" falling on a saturday this year, there's always the chance we might actually make a date of it. but in case that doesn't happen, i'm prepared to spend this month sharing some meaningful moments together. and that includes meaningful self portraits!! (did i just hear a collective gasp of horror from the significant others out there?!?)

for tuesday, february 3rd i love it when you...

for tuesday, february 10th i think it would be romantic to...

for tuesday, february 17th the first thing that attracted me to you was...

for tuesday, february 24th i am saying "i love you" when i...

spread the love!!

wordless wednesday

spt

i love my job!!

i am so lucky to be able to say that.

soup swap '09

if there is a better way to 1)entertain a group of friends; 2) share your love of good food; and 3) stock your freezer before heading out of town for a week, i don't even want to know about it! because after three years of swapping soup, i am fairly convinced that knox gardner and the original soup swappers have created brilliance!

Third Thursday happened to land on the night before i left town for a week in New Orleans. now, your average hostess might be a little daunted by the prospect of having more than a dozen guests over when she should be doing laundry and packing. but, not a Soup Swap hostess!! i'm telling you, once you've made and frozen your own soup contribution, Soup Swap basically takes care of itself!

gathering for the Telling of the Soup. (see those two adorable little soup afficianados dressed in pink? hard to believe they weren't even around when we started swapping soup three years ago!)

the Telling is an awesome opportunity to share your love of soup, your inspiration for this years contribution, and the nutritional and/or caloric content of your soup. (is it any surprise that the soup that was described as "SO not good for you" was the first to be snatched up?)

of course, you know everyone only comes to Swap because of the awesome prizes!! (just kidding, of course.) this year, the Silver Ladle was offered up to the first soup chosen from the table. (by the way, i found the inspiration for the Silver Ladle, and TONS of other great ideas, on the National Soup Swap site.) there were soup bowls for the first soup gone, and, of course a little something for the last soup to be picked. there's no shame in last people! especially when you see what we had to choose from this year:

Save the Squirrels" Brunswick Stew (oh, how we appreciate the fact that no squirrels were harmed in this *adaptation* of a traditional recipe...)
Any Day Chili
Potato Leek
Southwestern Soup
Santa Fe Soup
Beer Cheese Bacon Soup
Spicy Tomato
Potato Spinach Tomato Soup
Sausage & Peppers Soup
Buffalo Chicken Soup
Ma's Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
Chicken Pepper Pot

(links to many of these recipes found here.)

you bet that's my soup, all decked out in football regalia! do you think i was being too pushy by offering Superbowl cocktail napkins to the person who grabbed my soup first? hah! there is nothing quite like the thrill of hearing a plastic football whistle blown when someone scores a quart of Buffalo Chicken Soup!

it was hotly contested this year that i might, or might not, have told a new swapper that we brought pints of soup, instead of quarts. did she stay home with her soup and sulk? no way! she supplemented! a half dozen, still-warm(!) chocolate chip cookies to go with an awesome soup? i think my friend crystal has stumbled upon a winning recipe!

you should always take a picture of the full bounty of soup swap. there really is nothing so pleasing on a cold winter's night. six of these delicious quarts (well, five quarts and one pint) ended up in my freezer that night. my only regret about swapping the night before heading out of town for a week, was that the tasting would have to wait!

big river keep on rollin'

i have to say, i'm thrilled you are still coming around to read this blog. i'm sure the lack of updates is maddening. what can i say? the re-entry has been challenging.

(there are drafts to be edited! i know you want to know about natasha and carlo! and soup swap! and what the heck was so entertaining about a Hampton Inn conference! all in good time.) (well, most in good time...) (a-hem.)



here i am standing by the Mighty Mississippi. the midpoint of my journey. natasha, hoop, the kids and i were heading off in search of po-boys. the hilton riverside is in the background. half of my week lay behind me. half was still to come...

stick with me. i'll tell my stories. just as soon as i finish missing my vacation!

spt

i am home. home from a week in New Orleans. a week of thousands of new things with people i feel i've known for a lifetime. there will be many, many posts written about my incredible journey.

but, for now, here i am, trying my *new* phone in the Big Easy. i got my "smartphone" approximately 18 hours before i left for my trip, and it was my constant companion.



(if we are not friends on facebook, you really missed out on some wacky status updates, via my lovely new phone. i like to think of it as speed blogging. just think about it...)

did you try something new this week?

this space reserved for spt

let's just say i've been a little, uh, sidetracked in new orleans... mr. linky and I will be back tomorrow night! I miss you all!

creative saturday

natasha, carlo and i have been reading the same blog circle-of-friends long enough to have developed some serious cases of "creative envy." one thing we knew we wanted to work into our weekend was a Creative Friday. well, we didn't get to it until saturday, but i think it's safe to say we were successful, nonetheless.

first and foremost, we knew that Creative Day absolutely had to involve great food. and preferably chocolate.

(kim made amazing chocolate balls.)

we also knew we had to have a creative project that would give us some instant satisfaction. natasha gave us all the materials to create some fun gift tags.

she introduced us to "gluepads" and we set about artfully stamping and glittering.

(carlo takes her work very seriously.)

we declared the night a success after we had created a variety of tags, although we agreed that none of us is quite ready to open an etsy shop yet!

good food, good friends, good times. i think we nailed it!

where to start?

when my annual hotel conference was scheduled for new orleans, i was thrilled (having never been to new orleans, and all.) i made my reservations at the hilton new orleans riverside, and immediately emailed natasha.

"i'm coming to town. any chance of getting together?"

i think her response was, "for reals?!?" and the seed for my first journey of the new year had been planted.

my next email was to carlo. ever since our unsuccessful attempt to meet up at jill's blogger party last may, we have been navigating our hectic schedules to try to find a way to get together. after the stars aligned, and natasha upped the ante with a very generous offer of a place to stay for the weekend, plane tickets were booked. we were on our way!





somewhere along the way, i forgot to consider the fact that it might be a little bizarre to plan on spending the weekend with total strangers! i think it was easy enough for that little detail to slip my mind, because these women just don't seem like strangers to me. and if there was ever any concern that our meetup would be awkward or uncomfortable... well, those concerns have long since been replaced by the familiar twinge of this weekends' belly laughs. to say that we have had fun would be the understatement of the year.



yesterday was full of the French Quarter and Bourbon Street and Cafe du Monde. today will be tea at Windsor Court (we're leaving no stone unturned!) natasha and kim have entertained us and fed us, and even schlepped us to Target! i'm realizing that this post will end up being many posts - there is so much to talk about!



i have learned many things this weekend. we have decided that natasha is much less *serious* than we might have thought. and kim is constantly on the go, cooking and cleaning and being gracious while we hook her into our blogging world. apparently, i am more *reserved* than the girls imagined i would be, and carlo is ready to "facebook it" all!



we have laughed and listened and crafted. we have created stories about "the old days" at Tulane (i don't even know how to explain that...) the King has been found in the Cake, and i am going to be late for tea if i don't get a move on!!