how to roast a peep...

you might have a large pile 

of spring sticks and limbs 

that cause you to wonder...

what to do with these?

you might have a mountain

of landscaping stones from years ago

that cause you to wonder..

what to do with these?

you might have a flock of spring peeps

and a curious mind

that cause you to wonder...

what would happen if I 

combined those two with these?

so, you find a good spot

and sink your shovel

and dig and dig and dig

and dig and dig 

and dig 

some more

while someone else moves stones

heavy, heavy stones

one at a time

in the warm spring sunshine

together, the two of you

with giggles and laughs

work side by side

to build an accidentally

egg shaped 

fire pit for all to enjoy

you add the big pile of sticks

a few at a time

then a match

or two... or six...

and voila!

next you choose your favorite peep

from the flock

to be the lucky one

carefully, you spear it gently

and slowly roast over the fire

spinning it round and round

on your own rotisserie 

you watch the sugar coating

snap and pop

and smell the caramelization

you watch your lucky peep

 turn golden brown

when you are done 

you have a roasted peep

crunchy outside, melted inside...

its what happens

when you combine

a pile of sticks,

a mountain of old landscape stones

and a flock of peeps...

with some curious kids

these are a few of my favorite things...

Just a few of my favorite things lately...

Ellen's Resurrection center piece...

she made this at our homeschool cooperative last week

and we've watched the grass grow

I love this!
(apparently her teacher found it on pinterest, 
I can't tell you where...)

rain and thunderstorms...

I have a love affair with these!

my totally fake spring birds nests

I have two thanks to KMart

love!

sushi for supper...

who knew?

I've always said I hate sushi

and I loved what Chad ordered

but, I loved my 

macadamia crusted sea bass better...

Noa Noa for dinner,

there's nothing better!

and these four

who ran/walked a 5K this morning

while I delivered goodies to a bake sale

and then made it to the finish line

to cheer them on...

of everything... they are my favorite!!

celebrating friendships...

Sometimes you just have to 

get in your truck

with 3 great women

to run far away

for a few hours

Sometimes the only way to

take time to celebrate friendships

and birthdays is to make time

So when one has a 39th birthday

{for the 1st time, as she says}

you cannot NOT celebrate

So you journey back country roads

and state highways 

to travel back in time

just for lunch... 

turkey panini with spinach and artichoke 

pineapple, cantaloupe and Greek salad...

plum iced tea and tomato artichoke soup

and...

a half order of

raspberry apple bread pudding

'cuz you are just too full 

to consider a full order

Since you are so full...

you walk and look

and dream and laugh

cuz you know that time like this

is a gift and friends like these

don't come every day

so, sometimes you just have

to make time

to run away to Pickles

in Plumtickled Junction,

with 3 great women

to celebrate a life

and friendship

and...

we dare you to try 

to find this on 

any map 

we're confident you'd be hard pressed

to do so...

which is why we 

run far away

for a few hours

every once in a while.

beware of the random post...

You are about to enter a very random post... 

you may want to walk away...

beware!

we woke up to this hanging off 

our roof this morning..

I actually opened a living room window 

and removed the screen to take this picture

much to the chagrin of the boy.

I don't know what bothered him more...

the cold air coming in

or that his mother was hanging out the window.

this still just cracks me up!

What looks like Rapture left-overs is

actually a very carefully laid plan.

This is what the 8 year olds bedroom floor

looked like Wednesday night.  She laid

her clothes out for homeschool co-op the next morning

in the exact way she would wear them....

funny girl!

beauty for $3.99 at Aldi.

The male cashier asked me if I was purchasing those

for myself or someone else.

I told him for my marriage...

I enjoy them immensely 

and it gets my husband off the hook.

this is what's for dinner tonight.

The idea of a turkey stuffed with a duck and a hen

has always intrigued me.

Though not a rockbottom price,

the clearance tag convinced Chad to try it

and he convinced me.  

The best part?

We're taking it to a spontaneous get-together tonight.

Should make for some great discussion!

this is how we spend snow days!

I'm wrapped up in this blanket 

looking down at Ebony at my feet.

I should be writing, folding laundry, doing dishes

or doing a million other things.

Love this blanket, by the way!

Dad bought it to wrap Chad's Christmas gift

and it's now used every day in 

the living room.

this is the first idea

for the book cover...

not crazy about it and have 

been brainstorming with my photography friend,

Kari,

she is uber talented and I can't wait 

to see it all come together!

I've started the sequel

and I thought a snow day 

would be the PERFECT day to write...

I even fell asleep last night dreaming

of writing all day long.

Let's just say...

not so much...

instead...

I'm under the red blanket

blogging a hideously random post...

and apparently,

you did not head the warning.

white wordless wednesday...

isn't this beautiful?  guess who got a "new" phone with a camera?  thanks Jenna!!

it's time...

it's time...

for taps and buckets!

Sunny winter days

and cold nights

make the sap run...

yum!