The New Cookbooks Are Here! The New Cookbooks Are Here!

Remember that part in "The Jerk"? Well, except that it was phone books, not cookbooks. Well, regardless, that's how I feel. Picture me doing that same goofy jumping around and flailing my arms, minus the hideous 70's leisure suit look.

Some friends and I have put together a cook book with some great recipes in it. It started out to be just for fun, but in the end, it's a lot more than that. It honors a precious little life and every single cent we make off of it is going to the March of Dimes in her name.

I have to say that personally, this has been something that has done my heart some good. You know when you feel like you just need to do something -- anything -- to try and help someone? Well, how in the world do you take away pain when one of the best people you know has lost her precious baby girl? There's no way. So we did what we could and turned a project we were already excited about into a way to say we love you.

So, Jamie -- just know. I love you. Keiran is truly ALWAYS in my heart. Thanks for sharing so much of yourself, and your precious angel, with me.

Okay...wiping away the tears...

Click below to read the story and um, HELLLOOOOO...

Buy the cookbook!!!!!!

Photo Friday: Messes!!

The theme for this week is "Messes". I love this picture because it's my son's favorite way to make a mess during the summer. He loves to climb in the sandbox to scoop and shovel dirt for hours. He always ends up like this -- sweaty, sticky, and covered with sand from head to toe. This stinky kind of mess will always stay tucked away in my heart as a personal favorite.




Check out the other photos here.

What is she saying??

Thanks to Nutmeg for the brilliant idea! I love it when I don't have to come up with my own ideas, so I am all over this one.

Okay, so look at the picture of my baby girl below and tell me what you think she is trying to say. I'm looking forward to this one!

I think she's saying "Get 'im, Rock! You're a tank!"

Photo Friday...

Photo Friday is a new little thing I'm going to play along with. Well, I'm going to try and not forget, anyway. So far, I'm one for one. Awesome.

This week's theme is "Your silly little baby face" and I immediately thought of this picture.

Georgia was about 3 weeks old here and her expression just cracked me up. My best friend's brother actually emailed back that she looked like Snoop Dogg. Personally, I think it's just a pink version of Mickey from the Rocky movies.

If you would like to play along on your own blog, feel free. Or leave a favorite picture in the comments. Or just mosey on down the road enjoying my strawberry-hatted little punkin. Your choice!

Happy Friday!

Tired...

Okay, I must have already called a post tired, because when I put in the "ti", the whole word popped up. Well, I guess that's not surprising.

I'm friggin' tired, people.

My kids were sick last week and now my husband is sick. This all means that I try desperately not to *get* sick while caring for them while they are sick. I'm sick of all of this flippin' (different than friggin') sickness!!!!

I do have to say, I'm sort of an idiot though. I mean, here I am, devoting an entire post to being tired and it's 11:21 pm. Am I in bed? Ummmm, not so much.

See, the problem is that when I get tired, really tired, I get wound up.

Off to unwind...

P.S.

I wanted to add (since I thought about this in the shower) that I know that I am *often* the actual saran wrap holder. I also wanted to add that the saran wrap is not usually a good roll, it's usually full of petty, historically irrelevant, selfish things. The last thing I wanted to say that in case there's a question, the entire "what's important" post was made in reference to real-life events.

What's really important?

It's a question that has come up in my life many, many times in the past few weeks. I know that it comes up daily on a regular basis, but I'm not talking about letting my four year old watch another half hour show.

I mean those times where you have to really stop and pause. Think about what you want to say to someone. Then you have to think about what you probably should say. Then you have to decide what you actually will say.

I am talking about those times where you are trying to sort out the various "problems" or "issues" that life has recently brought to your doorstep.

The past few weeks have been no different than any other chunk of time to the outsider looking inward on my life, but for me, they've been pretty heavy. Lots of deep thinking. Lots of decisions to make that are chain reaction type of decisions...as in what I decide to do about this very small detail could very well end up in a landslide of spinoff details. The whole anthill type of situation.

One thing I've come to realize these past few weeks is how important perspective is. Someone who is in a relatively calm period of their own life would agree...these are pretty decently important issues. These are legitimate problems I'm trying to sort out. Someone else would laugh in my face and say "You are SUCH an idiot. This crap is not a PROBLEM...it's an annoyance."

I'm trying hard to give myself permission to address them as issues, but decide if the things that I am currently wrestling with are truly problems for me, or if I'm making a choice to let them be problems. I think I'm starting to see that some things that I'm working through are truly other people's problems and it's like I'm walking through a roll of their saran wrap slathered in super glue. (Okay, I realize that sounds bizarre. But hey, this is my blog, so it's my warped little analogy and it's staying. Deal with it, people.) It's their "thing", but they've held it out in my path so it's sticking to me. I can either do my best to peel it off, give it back and say "Oh, here ya go. I believe this is yours." Or I can start freaking out and yell "Ahhhh -- I've got saran wrap on me and it won't come off!!!" I can hold a grudge toward the saran wrap holders or I can make a choice to own only my role in walking through the saran wrap, realizing that it is in fact theirs and it's the glue -- the link between us -- that has complicated the issue.

The other thing that has jumped out at me recently is the fact that I do a very poor job of truly appreciating the good in my life. The gifts. The successes. The love. The happiness. I realize these things are positive. I realize these people are treasures. I realize that I have so much more than I probably deserve and so much more than many people will ever have. But do I truly, truly appreciate it? No. I think that I stumble through life taking the people, things, feelings, gifts, and my surroundings for granted each and every day.

That's part of what I'm hoping will change. I know it won't happen overnight, but I'm bound and determined that it will happen. I'm trying to look at everything in my day as a choice and trying hard to make better choices, particularly when it comes to my own feelings and what I decide to carry around with me every day.

Wish me luck. It's a pretty daunting task.