Little Things: Smile

 

A smile is not always a little thing;  sometimes its the hardest thing to conjure….but it is always the easiest thing to give away.

When I drop my son off at Kindergarten each morning, I park in the parking lot and walk him across the drive.  I could wait in line and throw him let him jump from the car as I glide past the entryway….but this little bit of extra effort makes him happy.  It is less stressful to him (and, frankly, to me) to hold his hand and walk up to the classroom door where I can hug him goodbye and plant one large, embarrassing Mom Kiss on his face as I send him off into the world.

This morning when I was returning to my car, one of the women who very faithfully directs traffic and monitors the parental drop off craziness each and every morning said to me:  “I just love seeing you every morning, you always wear such a great smile”.

Happiness.

Despite my harried mornings, despite my often dragging spirit and the bags under my eyes… I’ve been smiling…and apparently it makes someone else’s day.  THAT is something to smile about.

It’s the little things in life that make the difference….and not always just to ourselves.

 

This photo was taken by my friend Kristen from Dine and Dish during a photo shoot that my other fabulous friend Sandra from Sandra Hale Photography was doing during our (not so) recent get away in November.

Little Things: Planning

 

A little thing like making a list can make a huge difference.  Just breaking it down and facing what most needs to be done, a place to ground yourself and refer to when life starts to spin out of control.

I fell under the bus last week.  Well, really at the end of the week.  Making cookies for SuperBoy’s birthday treats at school….then putting his party together on Saturday….

I’m back on track for this week. The next two weeks are relatively event free so I want to make the most of them to get caught up around the house and with my work…really get back on track from the holidays…FINALLY.

I started with this list…not for the day, but for the week.  Tomorrow I might try to break it down into a daily thing but today is already rolling.

The Apple Doesn’t Fall Far From the Tree

This is the story of the four minutes I spent in the Apple Store in Leawood, Kansas on Wednesday:

 

 

I wanted to make a quick run by the Apple Store in Leawood today because, well, we were in Kansas City and I really wanted to get the camera connection kit for iPad to use during my photographic outing tomorrow.

All three kids (ages 2, 4 and 6) in tow… I steeled myself and we headed into the store.

The kids were immediately wide eyed and in a manic trance when they spotted row after row of sleek iPads and MacBooks.  Having been pre- threatened warned advised to keep all hands and feet to themselves, they ran frantically forward yelling “Mommy!  Look at THIS one!!” and before I could look they were on to the next shiny object.  At one point SuperGirl exclaimed, “This store makes THE BEST THINGS!” 

Why yes, yes it does my brilliant child.

I quickly filled my Apple employee in on what I needed and told him to “run like the wind” as it would be less painful for all of us.

He did.

Poor thing looked shell shocked.

He was all of 24.

Maybe.

He was friendly; while checking us out he said to SuperBoy, “Maybe if you’re really good YOU will get one of these one day!”

SuperBoy looked at him with what I thought was a look reserved solely for me when I require something obscene from him like “Change your underwear”.

“We already have our own iPods. Mommy and Daddy have iPhones.  Mommy just got one of those iPads and her computer has that Apple on it, too…I just don’t know what its called.”

Like, DUH.

SuperGirl, who was whirling by, stopped for just a moment and chirped:

“Don’t forget the Apple TV!”

 

 

Little Things: Empty Suitcase

 

I have a baaad habit of dumping my suitcase on the floor when I arrive home after a trip.  I’m always exhausted and I just don’t want to deal with it.  Inevitably I live out of the suitcase, as least in part, for days on end.

I’m trying to change some of these bad habits.

Last night SuperBaby and I returned home from our whirlwind trip to Nebraska at 11:15pm.  I managed to unload everything from the car…and I put it all away…including emptying the suitcase and sticking it back in its storage space.

Ridiculous, I know.  But it’s the little things that add up, right?

Shine Your Sink! It’s a Little Thing…

 

A shiny sink….go FlyLady!

When I first got pregnant with SuperBoy six and a half years ago I became infatuated with FlyLady.  A small group of women who I met on BabyCenter and I put on our purple wings together and started down the rabbit hole that is, the FlyLady.  We took pictures of our projects; before and after and shared them with each other.  We would post out our “To Do” lists every morning and check back in at the end of the day.

Ahhhh, life before kids.  So much follow through.  So many accomplishments.

One thing I’ve held on to is that when I am drowning….. I need to have a shiny sink.  The very first step according to FlyLady is to shine your sink.  She’s right.  It is FANTASTIC to wake up to a clean, shiny sink.

Today was one of those days…. three kids to appointments in Kansas City, home late…dishes from last night never quite got finished…..BAH.

I’m back on track for tomorrow!

A Little Recycling

 

I got the recycling out today!

Back in November, PayPal put a fancy little freeze on my account for “security reasons”.  All I had to do to get it unlocked was follow a series of very simple steps that never worked or allowed me access.  I fought with this until finally getting it unlocked at the end of December.  The only bill I have that pays out of PayPal is to our recycling company; in the process of this simple PayPal snafu… our recycling service was cancelled because the payment couldn’t be withdrawn from PayPal.

I kept thinking I’d deal with it later.

But I didn’t.

Then Christmas hit and brought with it eight million cardboard boxes and six tons o wrapping paper.  All recycling.

I got the service reestablished the same week his truck broke down.

Last week I filled the van and hauled off a big portion of the recycling to WalMart.

Today I sorted through the PILES of recycling in our garage and got the majority of it out to the curb…and it was carted away.

I’m a little disappointed; this picture does not do justice to the 45 minutes I spent on this project….but very thrilled that I can now make my way through the garage again.

At least the part that used to contain the recycling. (#MoreforAnotherDay)

 

A New Year Filled with Little Things

I’ve watched everyone announce their New Year’s goals or resolutions.  Such enthusiasm to start fresh, to have a new focus.  My friend Kristen picks a word for each year and tries to make that her focus, an action to incorporate into her daily life.  I love this idea…I watched her do it last year with her Happiness Project and was both happy and impressed.

Other friends are laying out business plans, publishing books, losing weight….the adventures go on and on.  I’m feeling lucky to climb out of bed these days.

I’ve got a lot on my mind, a relatively heavy heart.  This year will bring many challenges for me as an individual, as a mom, as a wife.  I’m not feeling terribly prepared.

I AM feeling sorry for myself.

Time to pick myself up and carry on.

 

 

Yesterday I finally felt like getting my act together.  After weeks of illness and feeling like crud…I could see a little light at the end of the tunnel.  I chose to do ONE thing:  I cleaned the living room floor.

That sounds so silly; but ever since Christmas our living room has been transformed into the toy room: Legos everywhere, half colored pictures, colored pencils, whoopee cushions (thank you Uncle Matt),  puzzle pieces, crayons….the list goes on.  When I got the flu I set up their craft table in the middle of the living room so I could just lay on the couch as much as possible and still keep them alive be able to claim “supervision and enrichment”.

So yesterday I cleaned it all up and vacuumed.  The overwhelming sense of relief and gratitude made a world of difference on this “poor me” attitude I’ve been sporting.  Then it occurred to me:  it really IS the little things that add up and make a difference.   I need to recognize them and give myself a break.

So here it is, my project for the new year:

I’m going to attempt to catch a picture each day of something I’m proud of accomplishing.  Just one thing to remind myself that I DID get something done.  It doesn’t have to be huge but I’m hoping this transforms into me getting the things done that I’ve been putting off….the proverbial “to do list”.  Some positive attention on accomplishments should work to turn my negativity around a little bit, and it might snowball and become encouraging, too!  It doesn’t have to be a fancy-schmancy picture…it might just be Instagram (which is pretty cool, too)…. or just my little ol’ iPhone.

So here it is:  I’m pretty darn happy that I can see across my living room floor…..I’ve wanted this done for DAYS and DAYS…and now it is.

 

 

I got something done today; it’s the little things that make a difference.

 

Trying Out My New Nikon Lens … and Some Editing Coolness

 

This is a picture I took of our dog, Maggie, using my new 24-70mm f/2.8 Nikon lens.  I’m just getting used to the lens; it takes some beautiful pictures, but it is so heavy that I’m having a difficult time getting a good focus.  I’m going to have to implore use of my Manfrotto Monopod, no matter how silly I feel using it if I ever want to get a nice clear shot!

Of course, I edited this photo a little bit.  I lightened it using a new technique that is a “healthier” way to lighten your photos according to Amanda at Everyday Elements.  (Go read this tutorial to find out how…its so simple!)  I did a little bit of spot healing to remove the super gross chunks of doggie eye goober from her eyes (ruined the entire photo….really), cropped it and then I applied Amanda’s new “White Sands” Action that she is giving away for free until January 4th.   It is a really pretty action that just adds a little bit of haze…or glow to your pictures.  What I really love about this action is that I don’t generally like “artsy” actions.  I really want my photos to look like what I see.  This seems to simply enhance the photo to make it more beautiful!

Here is my “Before and After” of this picture….Maggie’s photo straight out of the camera, and her beautified photo:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the Love of the Sweater

Tonight I went through some boxes in my basement storage room; rearranging, repacking and sorting (because, you know, two days before Christmas I didn’t have anything else to do at midnight ….).  I was trying to empty a tub that I could then fill with some out of season clothes that have been patiently waiting in a pile on my bedroom floor for the past two months.

I happened upon two boxes filled with clothes of mine that I had completely forgotten existed.  Clothes from when I ….. worked.

(Side note:  I can’t wait to show SuperBoy who has been fascinated with the idea of me working in an office since I first showed him my old office building in Kansas City… “YOU had a JOB like DADDY?”….uh…yeah…)

So anyway…. I went through these boxes and was pleasantly surprised to find the clothes were in decent shape and I believe they will fit me…if they aren’t a little big!  These aren’t clothes I’ll wear everyday…or really very often…but it will be nice to know I have a few outfits for those occasions when I have to speak, teach a class or hob nob with the real bloggers I know.

I reached the bottom of the second box and found something I was not prepared to see:

 

 

When I was in high school my mom bought this sweater for my dad. He looked very handsome in it.  Being the fashion savvy teenager I was; I thought it looked better on me.  I used to swipe that sweater when he had left for work and I would wear it to school.

I thought I was cool.  And sneaky.

Never mind that I stretched that thing out to no end…. it was a grunge thing.

It became a point of contention…. I wouldn’t stop wearing that sweater, dad would holler at me for wearing the sweater.

When I went off to college I remember hearing something akin to “You’ve already ruined it …just take it with you!”.… or possibly that is how I assumed the conversation would go as I stuffed it into the bottom of my suitcase.

That was nearly 20 years ago.

I loved that sweater.

While I absolutely adore Christmas and have so many wonderful memories attached to it in my adult life (SuperGirl was born on December 26th for starters!)…there is a corner of my heart that aches.

This is a difficult time of year to remember… my dad’s last Christmas was spent in the hospital, just weeks before he died on January 13.

I loved my my dad.

Tonight I drift off to sleep wrapped in the memory of his love;  in this stretched out, faded, wonderful sweater.

 

 

 

Triple Chocolate Kiss Meringues

I could sit in my kitchen and bake all day, every day in December and still not have time to make every delectable treat whose recipe has crossed my path. This year I have the additional challenge of creating gluten free treats so that SuperDad isn’t left in the proverbial Christmas dust …

I had these meringues on my list last year and never got around to them so I made it a point to give them a run this time around.  This is such a simple recipe and it whips up very quickly…add to that the fact that it is a little different than the standard holiday treat and has that unique meringue texture…. I was sure it would be a winner. I was right!

The original recipe for these treats comes from the 2010 Holiday magazine.  I made this recipe two times before I got it to turn out the way I wanted it to.  While I love the recipe collections that Taste of Home puts out during the holidays, they often don’t come with good instructions (or I’ve just become way too spoiled by my food blogger friends who lay out wonderful details on how to make their creations!).  A little trial and error and I’m excited about the results.

 

Triple Chocolate Kiss Meringues

Ingredients:

• 2 egg whites
• 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1/4 tsp. almond extract
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1 oz. semisweet chocolate, grated
• 24 milk chocolate kisses

Directions:

• In a small bowl ( I used my KitchenAid) beat egg whites, cream of tartar and extract on medium speed until soft peaks form. (Tip: soft peaks are distinguished by seeing the peaks gently fold over when you lift the beater out of the bowl)
• Gradually add sugar, 1 Tbsp. at a time, beating on high speed  until stiff, glossy peaks form and sugar is dissolved. (Tip: stiff peaks are distinguished by peaks that do not move when the beater is removed from the bowl or when the bowl is gently shaken.)  Do not overbeat.
• Fold in grated chocolate.
• Using a Wilton 1M star tip  in the base of a disposable pastry bag, fill the bag half way with meringue mixture.
• Pipe 24 1 – 1½in circles onto a parchment lined baking sheet.  Make sure that there is a nice pillow of meringue to create the bottom of your kisses.
• Place a chocolate kiss on each circle.
• Starting at the bottom of each kiss, pipe a continuous circle until the chocolate kisses are completely covered; about 2 ½ turns.

 

• Dust with baking cocoa.
• Bake at 325° for 15-18 minutes of until the edges are lightly browned.  Immediately remove to wire rack.

Tip:  Don’t overcook these, it will make the meringues difficult to lift off of the baking sheet.  I used a metal bar server and a butter knife to lift the meringues and get them onto the cooling racks.  If your base was not full enough, you may find the chocolate kiss has become the bottom of the treat and the top lifts off.  This is okay…they still taste magnificent

 

 

These meringues have an amazing chocolate flavor, they are slightly crunchy and the chocolate in the middle stays soft and gooey long after the meringue has cooled.

The original recipe calls for a “medium star tip” and has a batch count of 48.  I tried this and frankly, they looked like little piles of poo…the tip was too thin!  The 1M makes a nice full shape but it greatly decreases your batch size.  Have no fear, they are still small enough to fit in a 6 year old’s mouth in one giant bite

Rumor has it you can freeze meringues and pull them out when you are ready to serve them…. if I can ever keep these in my house long enough to get them frozen, I’ll let you know.

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