The Sounds Of The South

My favorite sounds in the whole world are cicadas and rain. And lucky me, since I live in the south and it's summer time, every night is one or the other. Hmmmm..... Sometimes I really love where I live and I feel privileged to be from here.

When Someone Is Your Heart

When someone is your heart, what will you do?
~show them how much you love them everyday, even if they don't see it
~let them follow their passion regardless of your opinion
~do anything to allow them to be happy
~be your best for them
~unconditionally love them
~if you are lucky enough,as I am, kiss them and hold them as much as you can
~Love them love them love them, the best that you can

Violets

Forgiveness. One of the biggest aspects of Christianity. One of the hardest feats I can think of when I'm truly hurt.
It's a trial that you face every day. Everybody's been hurt.... sometimes deservedly, sometimes not. But regardless of that, being hurt is hard to get over. I recently read a quote from a good christian woman:

"Forgiveness is the fragrance the violet sheds on the heel that crushed it."

Wow, I don't ever think I'll forget that one. I want to be that graceful.

I have been in situations where I have had to forgive in my life.... one particularly big one. I now find myself with smaller instances, but forgiveness is called for just the same.
I will focus on this.... I will pray for the patience and understanding. I will only be forgiven myself, if truly I forgive others. I will do the work that this will take over and over again to maintain relationships in my life. (Not to say I am wronged often.... forgiveness is just a thought that I've been pondering lately after some discussions with very insightful people). I have some really amazing people in my life and I am so fortunate to have the friends and family that I do. But we can always do better. They are so amazing that I want to be the best person that I can possibly be for them, for myself, and most of all for God.
Also, I want to experience the true grace that this will give me. I want to be strong and truly forgive. I always want what's best for people. My mother taught me that kind of character.
I will make it a point to pray today, tomorrow, and every day for those who have hurt me. That's the fragrance that this violet will leave.

My Other Blog

I just thought I'd post about my other blog: Southern Mamalogue.  That one is more about my family and daily life. It was originally intended to keep our long distance family in touch, but I would love to share it with everyone.  I would love to read any comments ya'll might have.

Winter Wonderland

Yet another cold snap.... it has me reminiscing of my real winter experience.  When Colin and I were falling head over heals in love with each other, I moved to Canada for a year.  What an experience!  I wouldn't trade it for the world.  It was a leap of faith that showed my love, it was a way to understand Colin's Canadian background, to experience the world he lived in, it was an experience of living in a different country and making lots of new friends.  Although we've ended up down south, I can completely relate to him and where he comes from because I've experienced it and met the people behind the stories.  We really lived it up that year and packed in so much fun in such and amazing place and such a short time.  
Taking a walk around his parent's land. It was a beautiful day and we trekked for about 2 to 3 hours.

Skating (with my own ice skates... who would have thunk it.... this little southern girl has her very own ice skates) on a pond at the ski resort after a day on the slopes.

At the top of the hill. This was the coldest I've ever experienced. It was -45 at the top that day. The snow was up to our hips... you sure didn't want to step out of your skiis. The next day they closed the hill because it was -61!!!

Colin and I after a wonderful Scandinavian spa treatment. We actually jumped into a river that evening as part of the treatment. Our friend who went with us had to break a layer of ice that had formed on top of the river. Now remember, rivers run... do you know how cold it has to be to freeze running water!?! I guess that makes us kin to the Polar Bear Club.

Skating on the Ottawa Canal, the longest outdoor skating in the world. I had never skated on natural, ungroomed ice before. It certainly has its own challenges. This is what I would do for exercise some days when Colin went to work.

Right Now...

I am sitting "Indian Style" in the corner of my couch...all of my pillows and my favorite blanket around me.

I am aching to hold one of my babies... Drew is napping and Emma is too. I want so badly to pick her up, but I know I shouldn't because she is already so spoiled.

My cookies are cooling and I am about to decorate them and then take pictures of them (because I love to do that)

I am thinking of how quickly maternity leave is flying by and how I want it to last forever

I am wearing jeans and a long sleeve t-shirt... something I wouldn't be able to wear if I were at work

I am enjoying the silence

I am thinking about my mother and how she is now with my dad, my aunt, and my grandmother

I am thankful for this day, just the way that it is. I am also thankful for my family's health and happiness.

I feel blessed

Gifts

 

"Your talent is God's gift to you.  What you do with it is your gift back to God"

  ~anonymous

I just thought of this which I read years ago as I was looking around at other blogs and all of the amazing talent that is floating around out there. I have been so fascinated by these blogs and I just get lost in them. There is so much out there. I love the creative, whimsical, and spunky personalities....

....which reminds me of another quote:

"What lies behind us and what lies in front of us pales in comparison to what lies within us." ~Emerson

What a world I could get lost in! Well done bloggers!

"You've Got To Know When To Fold 'Em"

UGH!

Inspire Me Thursday - Fold

File' Gumbo

This week, Inspire Me Thursday's topic was soup.  Well, living in Louisiana as long as I did, I couldn't just do soup.... I got inspired to make gumbo and I wanted to share the joys of preparing this wonderful dish with everyone.  Now I've never contributed to Inspire Me Thursday before, but because of my love for cooking, Soup really got me.  I had to contribute.  

Preparing food is so much more than following a recipe to me.  It's loving and nourishing my family, it's following traditions, and it's building memories.  So I'll share some stories and traditions with whomever will read this.

Gumbo:

It's not just "a stew originating from Louisiana."  It's a staple of the Louisiana kitchen, it's a way of distinguishing the the Creole and New Orleans culture, it's a social event, it's a way of life, it's what LSU decided to call it's yearbook for crying out loud!

Now, the scariest part about preparing Gumbo happens at the very beginning.  The roux!  My sister says that it's like playing "chicken."  You have to cook the roux to a chocolatey brown color to achieve that rich gumbo flavor, but you can't burn it.  Well, of course, that color and flavor that you are looking for happens only a split moment before the roux burns.  How far do you take it.... how far will you push your roux to get the richest flavor?  Marcelle Beinvennu, the author of the cookbook "Who's Your Mama, Are You Catholic, and Can You Make A Roux?" says that her father said that you cook a roux for Gumbo as long as it takes you to drink two beers.  Well she says that since she doesn't really drink beer but loves music, she cooks it as long as it takes her to listen to two full length albums.

If you can make it past the roux, you are home free.  It's time consuming, but the rest of it is relatively easy.  You throw in all of your ingredients, let them cook for a few hours, and voila! Enjoy!

The Roux when it's still friendly

This is the roux after I've put the vegetables in (the "holy trinity" as they call it in Louisiana... celery, onion, and bell pepper)

And finally... the finished product complete with wine

Inspire Me Thursday - Soup

Letter From the Editor

Ok... am I the only one who can't wait until my favorite magazine comes in the mail?  I think not.  We know how it goes... we're too busy to wait by the mailbox for it, but you do have it in the back of your mind when your favorite magazine should be coming or when it should be hitting the stands.  

Now, something that might be different about me is that the first thing that I do is flip straight to the letter from the editor and the short blurbs about contributing writers and photographers.  I absolutely love that.  I find it fascinating to read the thoughts of the people that write and polish these brilliant articles that I love so much.  I find the articles sooo much more interesting when I see the inside perspective of someone who was involved with it's process.  I also love to read about the things that happened while creating the articles or shooting the pictures.  

Well, just a little thing I wanted to share.  Next time you get your favorite magazine, take a minute to read what the people who created it have to say.  You'll be surprised how much more interesting it makes the magazine.

Not Just a Cup of Joe

Brew me up a good start to the day.  


Changing your coffee brand is almost like changing your whole identity.   It's funny how people hold on to their coffee choice so tightly and protect there beloved brand. The people that I know that do this swear by their brands. I was actually quite surprised at myself when I switched over.  But I have to admit, the coffee that I drink now won the coffee wars that went on at the beginning of my husband and my relationship (Community got the boot for Tim Horton's... rightfully so). At the beginning of our relationship I thought for sure that my husband was going to change is Canadian ways of coffee drinking because I thought "there could be nothing better than my New Orleans Community Coffee. Boy was I ever wrong. He told me that I would be the one to change and I laughed, almost balked at him. Then I tried good old Timmy's and I was sold! MMMM MMMM Good! Now we have it shipped or brought to us by family (Tim's doesn't ship to the states yet, but I still have my fingers crossed.  This past Christmas, Colin's parents not only shipped us our coffee, but they also got us sleeves of the to-go coffee cups and lids so that we could feel like we had just stopped by Tim's on the way to work.

I love my coffee because it reminds me that we have family that loves us in another country

My Parents

"Oh" By Dave Matthews
The world is blowing up

The world is caving in

The world has lost her way again

But you are here with me

But you are here with me

Makes it ok

I hear you still talk to me

As if you're sitting in that dusty chair

Makes the hours easier to bare

I know despite the years along

I'll always listen to you sing your sweet song

And if it's all the same to you

I love you oh so well

Like a kid loves candy and fresh snow

I love you oh so well

Enough to fill up heaven overflow and fill hell

Love you oh so well

And it's cold and darkness falls

It's as if you're in the next room so alive

I could swear I hear you singing to me

I love you oh so well

Like a kid loves candy and fresh snow

I love you oh so well

Enough to fill up heaven overflow and fill hell

The world is blowing up

The world is caving in

The world has lost her way again

But you are here with me

But you are here with me

Makes it ok

Oh girl you're singing to me still

I love you oh so well

Like a kid loves candy and fresh snow

I love you oh so well

Enough to fill up heaven overflow and fill hell

Love you oh so well

This song reminds me of my father. It seems so perfect. He loved my mother "oh so well" and after she died, he loved her no less. The first 2 choruses are the ones that really get to me. My dad's world was really caving in all around him, but he was ok as long as she was there with him. But then one day, she wasn't...and that's when he decided (not intentionally) that life may not have been the best place for him....being with her was. He really did have enough love for her to fill up heaven, overflow, and fill hell.

He died from a broken heart...and that truly is the story. Even the doctor's agree. There was no explanation for why his health declined so quickly. They tested him for everything and nothing was wrong. He was just heartboken. I couldn't imagine a better ending (or beginning) to my parent's love story. I am so happy for them that they found that kind of love and that they are back together again.

I love you oh so well

For Me

My Southern Mamalogue blog is so wonderful and I love journaling about my experiences as a mother and sharing the daily activities of my family with other family members and friends, but I somehow want more. There is so much that I want to say, yet it doesn't really seem pertinent to Southern Mamalogue.  So I have created this spinoff.  Being a mother is the biggest part of my life, yet not the only. I am much more complicated than that and have many more facets. I also want to explore my creative side. 

When you're happy, you want to shout it from the rooftops, when you're sad, you want a shoulder to cry on, and when you're mystic, you want a void to call out to. So this is my rooftop, my shoulder, and my void all in one.  On top of all of that, I love to write, I love to journal, and I have a new found love of photography, so this is the perfect place for me to document it all. As for the name of this blog.... if there is one thing that I have learned in life, it is that no matter what may happen, no matter how I may feel about things at the time, all is as it should be.  Things tend to work themselves out and I know that everything happens for a reason.  

So to all of you, I fling a big kiss from my fingertips as I am off on a new journey..... for me.