Wrangling: {Green}

This is what hope looks like in Central OH.

(A weekly round up. Each Wednesday I am going to “wrangle” the past weeks’ happenings into a post filled with pictures, lists & general tidbits about the past 7 days.)

I meant to post this yesterday, I really did, but clearly, it didn't happen. It's been a really frustrating (& for some reason, extremely tiring) week for me, and when it came down to it, it really was the best for everyone if I just threw my hands up in surrender, and went to bed early.

You're welcome :)

But, here I am, fresh & new today, with your Wednesday weekly "ramblings".

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

source

For this week, it actually works out nicely that I'm posting on a Thursday, because I can wish you a Happy St.Patrick's Day!

source

Actually, St. Patrick's Day is one of my favorite holidays, although I am sorry to say that is primarily because of the food. When I was growing up, my parents would make a big deal out of cooking up (what I've since learned) the American-ized St. Patty's Day Feast: corned beef & cabbage, potatoes & carrots, huge hunks of Irish Soda Bread slathered in butter, and some kind of green dessert (which varied from brownies topped with vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of creme de menthe to a fluffy pistachio pudding based dish. ... Now that I think about it, dessert was typically decidedly un-Irish...)

Source

My favorite was, hands down, the bread. My name is Amy, and I'm a carb-o-holic. ...A carb+butter-aholic, if you want to get technical. I've never attempted to make it in my own kitchen because, quite frankly, I thought it was a yeast bread... (my history with yeast breads is short but brutal. 2 attempts. We'll leave it at that. Someday I'll have to come back around and master the yeast bread, but today is not that day.) But, after my co-worker (ironically, named Patrick...) gently pointed out to me that Irish Soda Bread is a quick bread relying on baking soda to help it rise, I have renewed vigor. I intend to try this recipe this weekend.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As you can see from the picture above, Spring is spring-ing (finally) in a noticable way in our neighborhood, and in our yard. A little green shoot courageously poking its way into the chilly new year never fails to warm my heart. I'm ready for the sunshine & birdsong & gentle breezes. I'm ready to be happily surprised by the flowers that appear in my flower beds.

...I'm not so ready to be surprised by the weeds that inevitably shoot up in droves. But, I'll take the bitter with the sweet :)

I wish I could rattle on to you about my ambitious gardening goals, but, quite frankly, gardening is not my strong suit. So, this year my goals are to (a) buy enough mulch, and (b) stay on top of the weeding. Oh, and (c) buy a shovel (like this one) sturdy enough to conquer Ohio clay. (Ugh. Ohio Clay is no joke.) Last year I had to dig out a hole big enough to transplant my mums (speaking of which, the verdict is still out whether they survived the winter or not ...).... Darn near killed me.

I think it's a good start :)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Via

Perhaps my biggest accomplishment this week has been waking early to run. I like to call it "Chasing down the dream", referring, of course, to the dream I shared with you last week.

Running in the morning just works for me. Not only because the older I get, the less I want people to actually see me running (hah! sad but true.) but because I (honest to goodness) LOVE it. To me, the quiet, twilight, waking world is nothing short of magical. I love the feeling of "shaking out the cobwebs" in the first mile, gaining new awareness of my body as a gradually wake through the repetitive movement. I love the perfect, quiet darkness, and the smallness I feel as I move through it. I love the solitude.

How could I have forgotten how much I love this? I hope I never forget again.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Alternatively, sleeping in (every other morning) and snuggling with this fuzzy face is pretty wonderful, too.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Happy Thursday, friends. What has been the best part of your week so far? ...Any fun St.Patty's day plans?

The good stuff.

"Quickie" post tonight, friends... but I promise you I'll "fill in the blanks" tomorrow.

Suffice it to say, I picked up Gracie at the vet today after an overnight stay (ughhh... talk about your whopping dose of 'Mommy guilt" ...) and I need to spend the evening snuggling and kissing my little girl.

But, because I don't need a whopping dose of 'bloggy-guilt', too I like you all an awful lot... here's a quick rundown of life in Amy-ville lately... plus pictures... PLUS a list. ...Really, this isn't such a bad little post after all ;)

Life as I know it (here and now: 6pm on Wednesday night....welcome to chaos.)

• Gracie. My sweet, sleepy girl. Oh, how Mama missed you.
• Baron = spaz. ... Methinks his "comfort your own" gene is all too quickly replaced by the"primal, must survive and protect ME" gene. (Read: apparently Gracie smells like "vet" and so Baron is on the defensive, growling, hissing, and snapping. Lovely. Needless to say, he got booted out of the room really quickly.)
• Currently I am blogging here:
• ...and on the table next to me rests a devotional ... with a half empty bottle of Miller on it. If there is a more candid snapshot into my life tonight, I don't know what it might be. Truly, it's simple: I love God; I love enjoy beer. Sometimes you need (a lot of) both to get you through an evening.
• Weather this week = yuck. Cold, rainy, and decidedly un-May like. I am ready for the sun & warmth to return any.time.now.
• But this? This chaos here? I'll take it. Because sandwiched between the crazy times, I find myself breathing in little moments like this one (see below.) And these are the moments I live for.

(J & Gracie snuggling. Actually, they are both asleep. I am listening to the snores that prove it.)

Good List

1. J. Sometimes I have a hard time putting into words what he means to me, but trust me, it's enough... and so much more.
2. good, long nights of sleep
3. cupcakes!!! Courtesy of the lovely Laurie :)
4. breathy, kitty sighs from the sleeping lovely next to me. (heh. that would be Gracie.)
5. good books; great escapes
6. chocolates that inspire me (... even if I did have to eat about 5 to get a good message like this. actually, now that I think about it, one might argue that was part of the good stuff.. you know... the fact that I had to eat 5 dove promises...)
7. soft blankets for snuggling under, and cushy (orange) 'writing chairs'
8. romantic comedies. because some nights are for laughing, loving, happy ending type movies
9. sweat pants
10. "What a gift of grace to be able to take the chaos from within, and from it create some semblance of order." - Katherine Paterson

And, like always, I'll leave you with the good stuff. Because there is oh-so-much good stuff here tonight. My rainy, grey work days and the stressful 'in-betweens' will not define me, but rather, it's the good, little moments that are writing my story.

What are you thankful for today? What tops today's Good List?

5 Lessons

Lesson #1: “ Vanilla/Vanilla Jojos are awesome with breakfast coffee, while chocolate/chocolate Jojos are best with milk.”

I couldn’t think of a better way to being this post than with this little gem. (You may thank me later …) Clearly, if you have been following me at all lately, you know that my first lesson probably may have occurred first thing this morning (B.F.O.C. anyone?!? Haha…) And to answer the unspoken questions: Yes, as a matter of fact I do have 2 kinds of Jojo’s at my house (and will for the foreseeable future… unless J takes matters into his own hands and eats them all saves me from myself…. Will keep you updated :). ... Clearly I have a problem. But, really? If cookies for breakfast is wrong, I don’t want to be right …

Lesson #2: “25 mph speed limits are infinitely more bearable when it’s sunshiney and 60° outside.”
My saving grace for the week has been the extra hours of sunlight in the evening. *Ahhhhhh* (eh hem. Though that looks like a scream, it’s actually the sound of angels singing. Use your imagination :). Sunshine in my life is definitely, definitely a good thing. … And so is green beer*, but that’s another story ;) Read on just a bit further! (First, though: I need to be honest with you in that I actually did not consume any green beer myself, because my husband tells me green beer is scary. I haven’t tried it, but I’ll take his word for it. We stuck with icy cold *amber colored* goodness… I realize that this makes me decidedly ‘un-hardcore’ … but I’m okay with that :)

Lesson #3: “Give thanks for the good things in your life, but sometimes it’s all right to want more.”
Overall, it’s been a good week. I’ve been listing, planning and dreaming for the new house (!!!), and I’ve also been able to take a few moments for some personal reflection. …Which has been amazing :). Pink sunsets+ pink wine (‘klassy’, I know…) evoke the dreamy, passionate soul-searchy side of me.

I’ve always known that I have a restless heart. Lately, I’ve begun to realize that it is, in fact, a periodic cycle of content vs. restless. ..And more importantly? I am learning how to embrace that.

I am learning that restlessness does not necessarily mean I'm doing something wrong in my life… but rather, that I'm craving a new challenge to enrich my life and help me to grow as a person. Therefore, it is prime time for productivity, daring, and stepping out into the unknown.

I am a very spiritual person, and I am beginning to see these ‘growing pains’ as my “divine push” (if you will) --not to become a different person… but rather, to develop and grow into all I am meant to be, and indeed, who I have been deep inside, all along.

I am definitely not saying I’ve got everything figured out (puh-leeze, I am still struggling with the “what do you want to be when you grow up?” question…) I’m simply saying that I have hope in the waiting, because I know my life has so much promise.

...but enough heavy stuff…

Lesson #4: “Good friends are Everything. Duh.”
When I haven’t been busy being anti-social introspective, I’ve been blessed to get to spend a lot of good times with friends this week. I’ve definitely gotten my fair share of ‘distractions’ to lift me up when I have been in crabby less-than-stellar moods. (ie: I came home and told J that I was “Funked up” on Tuesday evening, and the man ordered me a pizza. He’s a keeper … Obviously, because there's nothing that pizza can’t fix :)

Actually, here’s where the green beer story comes in! Wednesday turned out to be an especially long day for me, and so when J sent me a message and asked me if I wanted to go out… well, I was (a little) lukewarm about it. Ultimately I decided “Meh, why not?” (and, I realize this mentality can lead to some pretty sketchy decisions…. But I’ve always been lucky in these situations!)… after all, it should be more fun than going home moping, taking a nap until dinner, hanging out with the cats – no offense, Gracie , right?! RIGHT! Oh boy, what an experience! I have to admit that this was the 1st time (in nearly 24 years… yikes.) I’ve never “gone out” on St. Patrick’s Day—but it was just as I imagined. First of all …. I always think people at bars are entertaining…. But this was something else. (I suppose when you’ve been out green beer and car-bomb drinking since noon, it’s to be expected:) I had a great time people watching, catching up with friends (Hi, Gary!) and kicking back & relaxing in the middle of the week (imho, March 17th falling on a Wednesday is brilliant—although I am sure the majority of my green beer drinking comrades would NOT agree…)

And finally, Lesson #5: “A little eye candy never hurt anyone”
Enjoy:

• Jacob, of course. 6.30.2010. … BTW: OH. MY. Did you know that they are coming out with graphic novel interpretations of the series?? Soooo excited.
• Brownies
• Goodness
• Wish I was here!
• Or here!
• Yummy
• Heavenly
• Oh, Yes!

Happy Friday, friends. I hope your weekend is fabulous!