Four Things

1. I've cut my fingers enough times on my hand held zoodle maker... It's time to invest in something that won't leave me bleeding! The Paderno Spiralizer looks perfect. Do you have a zoodle maker you prefer?

2. I'm not sure if it's the L.L. Bean girl in me or the fact that I've been in the south too long, but I need a hat just like this. Monogrammed and faded navy? It goes straight to my heart. I'll be hitting up Etsy to buy this hat soon unless I can find someone with a monogram machine...

3. Last weekend I spent part Miles' REI dividend on the black pair of Chaco Dorra sandals. I'm going back this weekend to buy them in brown leather. Full post coming about them soon (just know they are the best sandals I've found in my entire life).

4. I have three day weekend (do other parts of the country let out for Easter or is it a Southern thing?), so I'm finally going to dive into Rain Reign by my favorite Ann M. Martin. It recently was awarded the NCTE Charlotte Huck Award for Outstanding Fiction for Children along with being named an ALA Notable Book (among other recognitions). I'm betting it will be wonderful; I'll give you all he full scoop next week! Any other YA or Ann M. Martin lovers out there?

Books Read in 2015: Molly Murphy series

Molly Murphy series by Rhys Bowen

I wanted to give an update on what I've been reading! During my snowcation, I read through not one, not two, but the entire Molly Murphy series. I should be ashamed to admit that my favorite fun-reads are female, Irish detective books, buuuut I'm not. I read professional books for work, I read MG & YA novels for my students, I read the top 25 books of the day... sometimes, I just want to splurge on my favorites. So for my snowcation... I did just that. I splurged and couldn't stop reading. It was wonderful.

Food

Since August, Miles and I have gotten into a food rut. We've been eating the same stuff-- whatever is easiest to make-- or eating out. Cooking for two is such a pain! With springtime, though, comes a chance to restart (or something like that) and I've been itching to try all the new recipes I've been finding on Pinterest.  

1. My first grapple! If you watch Psych, they mention grapples in of the episodes. I've been curious about them for years. They look like an apple, but they taste and smell (oh, my the smell!) like grape.

2. Cauliflower pizza. I made this last night after the suggestion from a friend. I was a little unsure of how I'd feel about it, but it was so good! Super messy to make (and I almost burned my hand), but very good for a pizza made of cauliflower. 

3. Kale chips. I've heard of them, but I wasn't interested until Miles came home and wanted to know if we could try making them. Again, I was intrigued and impressed with how they turned out. And Miles likes it which is always a win!

4. Cauliflower fried rice. This has been on my recipe board for months, but I just got adventurous to try it. It basically tasted like fried rice, but the entire time I kept thinking, "This is not fried rice." I think it might have been the texture that threw me off? Anyway, we ate it, but I'm not sure I will make it again. I mean, if I want to eat fried rice... I want to eat fried rice. Not some healthy version.

5. Speaking of apples, it's taken until last month for me to like peanut butter... only I only like peanut butter with apples! I'm not sure what possessed me to eat apples and peanut butter together, but what a treat! It makes for a good snack.

6. Spaghetti squash (with a little too much cheese). I've had spaghetti squash a few times now, but I made it again recently to convince Miles it was good. Unfortunately, he's still not convinced. He says if he's going to eat spaghetti squash, he just wants actual spaghetti. I think I need to try a different recipe for it. Any suggestions?

Have you been eating anything delicious and different lately?

For Cat Lovers: Lesson Learned

Today's lesson learned:

When a strange cat comes up to your house and your sweet, protective cat sees it, do not, I repeat, DO NOT put your foot in the way to block them. Doing so will result in a bloody foot, swollen toes, a deep wound, a tetanus shot, and antibiotics. Oh, and a limp because you won't be able to bend your toes.

I know this because yesterday some random neighborhood girls brought a cat to my doorstep. They thought it was mine-- despite the fact I've never seen the girls in my life-- and didn't know what to do with it. Miles told them to leave it alone, but the girls were adamant that something needed to be done. He finally got them to put it down. Then the cat decided to make itself cozy on our stoop. 

Now, while this was going down, Lewis and Clark were happily bird watching from our screened in front porch, but when they heard the commotion-- and cat whines-- they came to investigate. Clark was pretty indifferent to the other cat, but Lewis could NOT handle someone on his birdwatching turf and went straight for the other cat. Long story short, I tried to block Lewis and ended up with a bloody foot, swollen toes, a deep cut, a tetanus shot, and a round of antibiotics. Oh, and the limp because I can't bend my toes without making my wound bleed or drain. 

I really never imagined a cat bite would hurt this bad. Lesson learned. 

a whole lot of nothing

I woke up this morning and decided to blog. I just have this feeling. Maybe because I've finally had a week of good night's sleep? Maybe because I've been checking my blog feed this last week and I've missed writing more than I realized.

This past week was spring break and it's been marvelous. I wish I could say I did a whole bunch of really awesome things or that I took an awesome trip, but in reality, I just relaxed. I spent time with family, but a lot of time was spent doing a whole lot of nothing. I'm not upset about it. In fact, here's a picture of a whole lot of nothing:

Yes, that's my ceiling.

Actually, I did go to Georgia and I did get to see my brother. Did I mention that he will be starting at UT in the fall? He will be starting the social work program and I'm excited to say that he will be moving in with us! I know a lot of people would think--- ugh, sharing a place with your brother?!-- but Storm and I are really close and Storm loves Miles like an older brother.

So that was spring break and now I have 59 days until I can sleep my days away again!

For Grandpa

For the majority of my childhood, my cousins and I tried to get my grandfather into new frames. He wore black horn rimmed for 40 years or so. Yeah. They were his style... Then about 10 years or so before he died, he gave up his signature look for wire rims. 

When I went to Target a couple of weeks ago for my eye check up, I put on a pair of tortoise horn rimmed glasses as a joke--- and was surprised by how much I really liked them! I was even more surprised that Miles liked them, too, because frankly, they're pretty nerdy. I ended up ditching the pair I had already picked out... and couldn't help thinking how things have a way of coming back to us. Love you, Grandpa. 

Snowcation

Thanks for the support on my last post. It's a tricky subject to talk-- or even write-- about, but it feels good to get it out in the open. :)

But now for something more fun: snow! I've been lucky to have not one, not two, but 11 snow days in the past month. On a typical year, this is unheard of. You can imagine my excitement each morning I've woken up to see snow (or ice) covering the neighborhood especially after having a very warm January.  Miles also got a few snow days and late sleep ins, so it's been quite a nice month off!

...And to think the time changes on Sunday morning and spring break starts in a week!