Moving to Texas and…Well, Choose Your Own Title

 

Well, lookee who showed back up. Yes, it’s been a while friends. We’re finally over the move and the surgery and all that “life” stuff that tends to make us crazy and a little dramatic. Well, by “us” I mean me. Anyway, we’ve hit the two-month mark here in Texas. I’m not going to lie. I’m not a huge fan of Texas. It intrigues me in the same way a Petri dish of microorganisms intrigues me. I think it’s very interesting to study, yet I’m not sure I want any of it infecting me. The real kicker? My entire neighborhood thinks I use a Cricut and sew and can food all day. I see where that idea comes from…mainly because I’ve been using a Cricut and sewing and canning food all day since I got here.

So where am I going with this? Well, you see I think I’ve been given a really interesting chance. Remember when I said that I was trying to find myself back in January when I started this blog? (And it actually all started a year ago when I lost my first baby.) Well, I’ve tried a new personality. I was given the opportunity to move someplace where no one knows me. I had a brand new canvas. You know how George Bailey got to see what life would be like without him? I’ve been able to see what life would be like if I was just like all those other moms who I hold in such high esteem. The ones who I see walking their children down the street and think “Gee, I wish I was like that. What’s wrong with me?”

You know what I have realized? I’m okay. I may be a bit shallow. I may be driven. I may be a flawed mom. But, then again, I’m raising a pretty cool kid and I actually liked my life a lot before I tried this domesticated role. And I do realize how I may come off by even saying this. I really don’t care. The fact is that it’s good to try new things, and if you realize you hate them, then you don’t have to continue. And I also might be saying that I’m really good at affecting new personalities. Should I be freaked out by that? I’m not sure.

Life is so freaking short. I don’t know if anyone will read this or if anyone is in that “searching for self” mode like I’ve been. Let me just say that a major change isn’t always the answer. Sometimes it’s just a matter of saying “I’m flawed but I’m okay with that” and accepting that you may not be as wrong or as weird as you fear. Someone wise…a Brady Bunch kid maybe(?)…said “wherever you go, there you are.” Well, wherever you go, there you are and maybe you are just absolutely fine in whatever way you arrived.

Sharing the Event of Mother’s Day

I may not be rich. I may not be successful. I may not be gorgeous. But I make a darn cute kid, as is evidenced by the photos I’m including. Yes, I’m showing her off today. That’s practically my sole reason for blogging. She’s cute. Indulge me. Eddie treated me to a brunch at Montelle Winery in Augusta, MO, Sunday. If you know me, you know it’s one of my favorite places. To top it off, he even coordinated with my mom, and she came along, too! Three generations of Tracy/Adamson/Strimel girls noshing on good food. What could be better?

In spite of the wonderful parts, Mother’s Day was bittersweet this year. It was our last day in St. Louis and my brand new pregnancy–just confirmed last Wednesday–began miscarrying late the day before. Kind of a kick in the pants for a day devoted to mothers but, hey, stuff happens. I figured I could sit around all crampy and sad or just buck up and get on with business. I got on with business, and it was a nice day. Now I don’t advocate miscarrying and moving 700 miles in three days, but it taught me about strength and the human mind. It’s a load of crap that happiness is what you make it but…big but…you can do a lot to turn things around just with your head.

So my sage advice that I like to offer along with these philosophical pieces is this: take care of yourself, take care of those you love, and remember that you are stronger than you think you are. I don’t care who you are, what’s wrong with you, or what you’ve been through in the past…you will surprise yourself by what you can handle. And if you need to sit down and cry once it’s all over, that’s okay too.

Oh, and if you’ll permit me a couple of seconds…I think this little one was a boy. I just want to tell the world that he existed even though it was just a few weeks. If there’s a heaven somewhere, I hope he’s with his little sibling and all the little ones like him.

Trendy DIY: The Agate Necklace

Here’s a little-known fact about me: I love rocks. I’m not talking about diamonds. I’m talking rocks, minerals, stones…well, and gemstones, too. One of my most prized possessions is a wooden board I made when I was 3. After a trip to the river, I glued a hodgepodge of river rocks to it. One of these is my “gut” rock that resembles what my 3-year-old mind assumed chicken guts looked like. It ranks right up there with my wedding ring in importance! This fascination probably explains my love of all the currently-trendy mineral and stone jewelry.

I’ve been looking for the perfect agate or geode statement necklace. The problem is that while I love the look of these natural stones, I don’t like the fussiness that some designers incorporate. These are stand-alone materials. Why muck it up with charms and feathers? Of course when I do find one I love, it’s more than I can (or want to spend). The whole DIY movement of late has really been good for me, which is how I arrived at this uber-simple project. I’ve been working hard to hone my jewelry-making skills, but on a scale of easy to difficult, this is beyond easy.

I really liked this agate style from Vanessa Mooney but between the $150 price tag and the ‘out of stock’ status, it really wasn’t a good option.

Once I really started looking at what I liked about this style, it dawned on me that it would be simple to assemble. Asymmetrical agate placement, bold chain…easy peasy. One trip to J0-Ann and $10.80 later, it was all but finished. Seriously…this is an assembly project. It’s practically made for you right out of the craft store.

Agates and geodes are readily available at Jo-Ann and Michael’s. This strand of natural purple agates from Jo-Ann was $12.99 for six (and are an additional 30% off this week). Because they are natural, no two strands are alike. I went through the blue, purple and natural colors and found the strand that offered the best shape and color for my taste. If you look closely, the strand is connected with heavy-weight jump rings. They are so sturdy (and fit the drilled stones so perfectly) that I used those in the assembly of the necklace.

Purple agates from Jo-Ann

From there, it was as simple as choosing a chain. I liked the idea of something substantial for this but go as dainty as you’d like. My chain was $3.99 (and 25% off this week). I also picked up a bar toggle clasp (about $2) and some assorted silver jump rings (about $1.50).

Using two needle-nose pliers, I separated the jump rings on the agate I liked most and removed it from the chain of stones. Just by eyeballing it while draping the chain around my neck, I chose the length of the necklace and the placement of the agate. This was not precise by any means. Using both pliers again, I opened up links in the chain to attach the agate. This particular chain is so heavy that it was tough opening the links. I had enough chain to spare so I didn’t do it carefully and just allowed myself to ruin the link as I pried it open. The jump rings on the agate were already open, so I just affixed the stone to the chain this way. See below…

Once the agate was attached, I went back to the mirror to eyeball where I wanted the clasp. Again, I didn’t do any measuring. Once I determined how I wanted the agate to hang and how long I wanted the necklace to be, I wrestled the links again to remove extras. From there, it was as easy as affixing a jump ring to each end link and adding each piece of the toggle bar clasp.

From start to finish, this took 30 minutes. Most of the work went into separating the chain links. The richness of the stone doesn’t seem to display well in pictures (or maybe it’s my less-than-stellar photography equipment). I’m quite happy with the project and had tons of compliments from complete strangers when I wore it out.

If you’re inspired to create your own agate jewelry after this, please share a photo! And if you have questions, let me know.

Life is like a box of chocolates

Our series of last hurrahs in the St. Louis area included a trip to Hermann, MO, on Thursday, just an hour or so outside St. Charles county. It’s part of Missouri’s wine country, and the wine is actually quite good as a whole. I know for a fact that it stinks living in this tiny town but for a day, it’s wonderfully quaint. Anytime we go, chocolates from Ricky’s Chocolate Box are required. My favorite is the Toffee Turtle. I’m pretty disciplined when it comes to sweets but these are like crack. Seriously…crumbs are inhaled just like the toffee and caramel. I thought it was worth sharing. Seriously, anything that entices me to eat 1000 calories (I’m assuming) in a sitting warrants a share. If you ever crave decadence, look up this place. They seem to specialize in turtles of every size, shape and flavor, but I kid you not when I say everything is fantastic. Well, everything except the bug-shaped chocolate with the pistachio filling, which looks exactly like a squished bug when you take a bite. Yeah, I can’t get past this one.

Toffee Turtles

Zoey...in heaven

Don’t Forget Where You Came From

As a little warning, this is a “Scarlet Letter” posting–one of my “getting philosophical” entries. No, nothing to do with infidelity. I just realized I’m not as grateful as I thought. If I sound gauche, please forgive. I’m just saddened that I’ve lost something I feel is valuable.

Instead of being embarrassed by it, I wear it as a badge of honor that I grew up poor. I learned the value of a dollar. I learned what it’s like to go without the extras. To be honest, I think I’m a better person because of all this. Here’s the kicker, however: as I get further from my childhood, I know I’m forgetting my roots. Last week I would’ve argued that there’s no way in Hades that was the case. Now I’m pretty sure it’s true.

Here’s the scenario: We bought a house yesterday. It’s very nice. And I hate the thing. It’s as ugly as sin to me. The front door doesn’t match the garage, the brick is ugly, it has laminate flooring instead of wood. If I thought I would be there more than 2 or 2 1/2 years, I would’ve never put in an offer.

I’m lucky to have many family members and almost-family-members who pay attention to my comings and goings. Because a good number express interest in what we do, I posted a picture of the house on Facebook. Honestly, I was   a little humiliated to let anyone see it. Many friends agreed with me on the house’s cons. Then one person who knew me as  a small child brought it all home. She knew where I came from at 612 S. Olive. It was a 1100 square foot house. She told me that no matter whether I “fixed” it or not, my new home was beautiful.

She wasn’t trying to start a commentary but I realized…I’m a bit ungrateful. I am not battered. I have been allowed to educate myself. I won’t pretend that we’re anywhere near wealthy but the military…and our financial acumen…affords us some comfort in terms of our living. Coming from where I came from, I am more humiliated now that I couldn’t see my luck (or blessing).

So my reason for this posting is this: remember where you came from. If you grew up poor or ugly (I sure as heck did too) or whatever…be grateful where you are. There are many people who haven’t been able to make the same strides. I have a beautiful home to move to next month. I can afford to live in a hotel for the next 47 days. My biggest concern today was how long I would spend in the Social Security office getting a replacement Social Security card. If you are like me, kiss your children, thank any god that you pray to. Be happy, my friends. I am loved and lucky. I hope you read this and feel the same!

Bye, Bye Miss American (Strawberry) Pie

Because I clearly became a foodie over the weekend, I wanted to share one more recipe with you today. The fact that some good friends and family threatened me with bodily harm if I didn’t also goaded me into firing up the old computer after work today. My mom makes the best strawberry pie ever. Yeah, don’t go there trying to argue with me on this point. You won’t win…trust me. Mine is never as pretty but it’s almost as delicious, so when the locally-grown or near locally-grown strawberries begin springing up each springtime, a Garnet Glace Strawberry Pie is the first thing that comes out of my kitchen. I did remember to take some photos along the way but you aren’t going to find a good finished shot because Eddie dug into it before I could dollop whipped topping on. Now it’s just a bit of a half-eaten mess.

Garnet Glace Strawberry Pie
1-9 inch pastry shell, baked and cooled
1 quart fresh strawberries, washed and stemmed
1 c. water, divided
1 c. sugar
3 Tbls. cornstarch
3 oz. cream cheese
1/2 c. powdered sugar
Cool Whip or other whipped topping

Prepare a glaze by simmering 1 cup of cut-up berries in 2/3 c. of water for 3 minutes.

Blend granulated sugar, cornstarch and 1/3 c. of water. Add to the boiling mixture. Stirring constantly, bring the mixture back to a boil and cook for 1 minute. Cool completely.

Mix the cream cheese and powdered sugar, then spread into the bottom of the baked and cooled pastry shell.

Arrange the remaining berries, points up, inside the pastry shell. Reserve a few berries as garnish, if you wish.

Cover the berries with the cooled glaze and refrigerate a minimum of 2 hours.

Dollop whipped topping (or spread it over the top), add the garnish and serve.

Note: Overcooked glaze will be harder to spread (see the image below) but who cares? And dry berries keep the pie from weeping.

A Great (but Not Authentic) Sangria Recipe

When life hands you a new Sangria pitcher, make Sangria. Or at least that’s my motto. As you may have read in my earlier post, I bought the coolest pitcher today. It would’ve been an absolute sacrilege to let it go unused on its first day home with me. Far be it from me to misuse such a lovely vessel. So I’m drinking a passably good Sangria as I type (hiccup…just kidding). Given how easy it is, I figured it was my duty to share so here it goes…

Sangria

1 bottle of Merlot (cheap works)
1 c. sugar (I use Splenda and use quite a bit less)
1 c. orange liqueur
1/2 c.-1 c. brandy (I use 3/4 c.)
1 lemon
1 lime
1 peach
3 c. lemon-lime soda (7-up, Sprite or Sierra Mist…I’ve tried ‘em all and they’re all good)

In a pitcher (I recommend mine from Mississippi Mud Pottery — no affiliation), stir the Merlot and sugar. Add the orange liqueur, brandy and fruit. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Before serving add the lemon-lime soda.

Depending upon how sweet you like your Sangria, you may prefer to omit the sugar or Splenda. The soda adds quite a bit of sweetness. Oh, and the last step is to sit back and enjoy. It’s probably best not to try and blog or work after a glass given the booziness of it, or maybe that’s exactly what you need to do. I’ll let you be the judge.

Pitcher Style 3485