A Unique Sense of Style

...That's what I love about my creative girl. She is smart and funny and pretty. But most of all, she's unique.

When I was in high school, we would have special dress up days where you wore kooky clothes or dressed to a theme. I was so unsure of myself back then that, often, I would take the kooky outfit in my bag and change at school when I saw that everyone else was doing it, too.

But Caitlin?? Not this girl. She goes all out. I wish I had the sense to photograph them all but you will have to settle for two.

Back in October, the school had a special day to raise money for Breast Cancer Awareness. If they paid a dollar they could wear a hat and then one of the clubs sold pink accessories, but you could also win a prize if you were dressed in the most pink.

Can you believe she didn't win? Her pink shoes were still on the moving van.

Then, this week, the band had their annual banquet. Now don't start dreaming of ball gowns and tuxedos. The band director told the kids it was a casual event. She wanted them to wear things that they wore on their trip to Disney World last month. Imagine my surprise. So Cait came downstairs in cargo shorts. I sent her back up to change, but then had a change of heart and did what I normally would have done as a teenager - I called another mom.

Hello, Marie? It's Annemarie. Caitlin's mom. What is your daughter wearing to the banquet? Oh really? OK. *End Call*

So that's how it went. And I ate crow and sent Cait back up to change again into what she was wearing in the first place. And I must admit, she looked pretty cute. (I know it isn't THAT kooky.)

 The rest of the evening was fun. We sat with her girlfriends and I rolled my eyes at their teenage antics, but she had fun. And that's what matters I guess.

When the evening wound to a close, they showed the requisite tearjerker of a slideshow. That's when I realized how much Caitlin was going to miss those friends of hers.

I feel bad for moving her away from them, but with the benefit of Skype, instant messaging and Face Time, she won't be at a loss for contact with them.

Today's Music Note: (I know you have missed those) This song - Perfect Star/Perfect Style is sung by Japanese girl band Perfume. I chose this because of Cait's love of all things Japanese and Anime. 
Japanese Lyrics / English Lyrics

The Time Has Come

...to say farewell to Missouri.

As of June 1, The kids and I will be back in Texas if everything goes as planned. Do I have a job? No. Unfortunately, things were to to the point that I couldn't stay here anymore. My husband I are separating. My job cut my hours. I wanted to get a job in Texas before I left, but time was running short. Caitlin wants to dance at her old dance school and dance camp starts in the beginning of June. If the kids and I are to find a place to live before then, we have to leave soon. So, June 1st it is.

I will keep you all informed of our progress. In the meantime, enjoy my little farewell song.

Hot Off The Presses...

...and ready to be in your hot little hands.

What am I talking about? It's the inaugural issue of FEATURING Magazine.

While I was home visiting my mom and friends in Texas, the elves got to work printing the magazine that we have all worked so very hard on for the past (oh I don't know how long.)



If you haven't ordered your copy, what are you waiting for? Head on over to the FEATURING website and be in on what's happening.

Even though, as assistant editor, I have seen everything that has gone into the magazine, I can't wait to get my own copy.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

It was a beautiful day in Missouri today.

We decided to see what Kansas City had to offer us on this day of the wearing of the green. Let me tell you, the "Irish" were out in full force today at the city's 40th annual parade. The streets were packed and EVERYONE had on green. They really go full force in this town even though the majority of people in this neighborhood are not Irish. But on St. Patrick's Day everyone is Irish.

My patient waiters.

We had to park the car pretty far away and take a nice hike through a part of the city that is definitely loaded with "character." We finally were able to scout out a spot where we could lean against a fence since there was no room for chairs by the time we arrived. There were so many interesting people walking by that it made the time up until the parade move quickly. However, being a Texas girl where they do things big even in the smallest of towns, I was a little bored with the most of the parade and left a little early. The best part for sure were the Irish dancers and the bagpipe corps that came through near the beginning.

For some reason bagpipes always make me cry a little.

After leaving the parade, we made our way to a dinosaur expo in Overland Park. I had been hearing about it for several weeks and thought it would make a nice beginning to the kids' spring break. I only had my cell phone with me to take pictures as the memory card in my camera was full with James's 1st grade school performance.

Although the show wasn't as big as I thought it was going to be and they "nickle and dimed" the attendees  in order to participate in the truly "fun" things like the bounce house, face painting, dino golf and such, the kids had fun seeing the different animatronic creatures.

Now the day is winding down and I am looking forward to a relaxing evening of putting my feet up, editing an article for the upcoming premiere issue of FEATURING magazine and maybe finding where I hid the chocolate. (The hunt is half the fun.)

The Ups & Downs

March is said to come in like a lion and go out like a lamb. Well, if that is so, I would like to see the lamb please, and I don't mean meteorologically. What exactly do I mean?

Well, many of you know I have been on the never ending hunt for a job that will suit my current fiscal needs. I am thankful for the job I have currently, but if I am to move on with my life's plans, there will need to be a significant change in personal income. For this reason, I started applying for teaching jobs back in Texas. Twice now, I have been presented with what I have thought were good teaching opportunities. The latest one was such a sure thing, that I almost rented the moving truck and started calling the rental agency that manages my house and told them, take the house off the market. It's a good thing I didn't because said job was given to someone who had lost her position within the same district and had to be given the job due to contractual obligations. The people who planned on hiring me were very sorry. What a let down. I definitely felt like March's lion had taken his giant paw and gave me a big swipe across my backside. Boy did my pride hurt. So it is back to the drawing table.

In the meantime, I continue to workout at the gym and make new friends and take pictures of my food. So let's focus on that while I let my backside heal and wait for that saving lamb to come and rescue me.

Where to begin...Let's start with these strawberries:

 Mmmmm. Juicy.

 Although much smaller than I have been buying (new on left, older one on the right) they are definitely much sweeter and that makes my quest to eat more fruit much easier to do.

Then we have this fine specimen of a sandwich/wrap:

I am including the nutritional information. It was so delicious, I wanted another and possibly could have had one except I would like to have decadent cheeseburger for dinner tonight.

The numbers mean: 224 cal, 31carbs, 7 gm fat, 15 gm protein. (Calories calculated using Sparkpeople.com)

Finally let's wrap this post up with some positivity through art. I regularly receive emails from the Art House Co-op in New York. I love all the different projects that they have to offer, and many of them are free. I recently signed up to participate in a 4x6 swap (sorry registration is closed but there are others.) I pondered what to make and then resorted to my old friend, tissue paper.

First I dropped tan and dark red acrylic paint on aquarelle paper and moved it around with an old credit card. After the paint dried (maybe on completely,) I cut some pieces of yellow, pink and orange tissue paper and used modpodge for paper to glue it down. (That layer DID have to dry completely.) Then I broke out the black and white Sharpie poster markers and

 

I added some doodles with my Permapaque pen and a white Jelly Roll pen, both from Sakura.

It didn't come out the way I planned, but most of my projects rarely do. It is now wending it's way through the US Mail System to Brooklyn, NY to be swapped with some random artist's 4x6. I can't wait to see what I get in return.

FINALLY...Yes, I know I said I would end with the art, but I have one more announcement to share.

In case you haven't signed up with FEATURING Magazine to get updates on the publication's progress (What are you waiting for??), then listen up. The FEATURING Store is now open and you may purchase a spot on the back of the magazine to display your artwork or order the premiere issue that will be coming out in April. For more information, click here.

Today is a beautifully sunny day and it brings hope of greater things to come. Here's to taking chances.

Mmmm. Tasty.

I maybe a day late, and I am certainly a dollar short, but I finally have something to share.

By the way, I have misplaced my good camera. Don't ask me how. If I knew, I guess it wouldn't be lost.

Today, I had three REALLY ripe bananas. They were so ripe that when I opened them, they fell apart immediately. Oddly enough, the peel was still pretty yellow. I don't quite understand the Price Chopper bananas. They are always green at the store, but they ripen soooo quickly. So what is one to do with such ripe bananas? You must make banana bread.

I don't follow recipes well because I never have on hand what the recipe calls for. I started with A Farm Girl Dabbles recipe, but realized I had almost NOTHING from that recipe, but I did like how she mentioned substituting one banana with a half a cup of pineapple and a half a cup of applesauce. I then went to The Betty Crocker website and used that as the basis for my recipe. The result turned into a perfect banana bread. I am sure that some of you understand how hard that is for me with me deflicted (dilapidated + afflicted) oven. I am sorry there is no smell-o-vision or taste-o-vision so you will just have to use your imagination or buy some bananas and make your own.

The recipe is as follows:

1.25 c sugar (approx. 250 grams)
0.5 c butter/margarine - melted (1 stick)
2 eggs
2 c bananas ( I had 3 large ones) (500mL)
0.5 c crushed pineapple (125mL)
0.5 c natural applesauce (125mL)
0.5 c milk (125mL)
1 tsp vanilla
2.5 c all purpose flour (approx. 315 grams)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 c chopped nuts if desired (I left out.)

(If you don't have pineapple and apple sauce add another banana.)

Grease the bottom of 2 loaf pans.
Oven 325-350F (165C - 175C)
Move rack lower so the top of the loaves will be in the middle of the oven. (That really helped.)
Mix the wet and add in the dry.

Split batter between two pans.
Bake 8 inch loaf for 1 hour, 9 inch loaf for 1.25 hours. Cool 10 minutes. Loosen from the sides. Set on cooling rack. Cool 2 hours before slicing. 

I like banana bread really cold with margarine on it. I am sure it would be really good warm with butter on it. It is definitely good warm temperature with nothing on it. In general, it is just good banana bread. It would be better, however, with nuts, like most things.

While I am sharing recipes, here's dinner. Sorry for the phone pictures. (Someone better pray to St. Anthony to help me find that stinkin' camera.)

I started with the recipe on the back of this can:

As usual, I don't have what the recipe called for so here's what I made:

1 lb smoked sausage

1/2 cup of diced sweet bell peppers (red, green, yellow)

1 can black beans (rinsed)

1 small can corn (drained)

1 can Hunt's Zesty & Spicy pasta sauce

1 can petite diced tomatoes

Slice the sausage and put in a large skillet for two minutes to brown slightly. Saute the peppers. Add the corn and beans and stir. Add the pasta sauce and diced tomatoes. Simmer for 5 minutes. Serve over rice.

The results?

Mmmm. Tasty. Oh, wait! I said that already

The Other Day I Heard...

...a colleague who teaches at the college where I work say some thing peculiar to me. It may not be to you so here it goes.

Most of the evening instructors work only part time because they are retired or work full-time jobs in the morning. The woman who works in the classroom that adjoins mine works elsewhere during the day. Yesterday the weather was behaving strangely, starting out at a pleasant 50-something degrees and ending in the windy 30s by the time we came to work that night.

We were both commenting on the weather as people who are just getting to know each other do when she said told me about her lunch. She said, that around 11 o'clock, her cubemate and she went out to get something for lunch and enjoyed the weather so much that they sat outside to eat. As I was driving home last night, my mind started spinning and was still whirring away this morning at the grocery store. I was pondering the word - CUBEMATE.

It's not that I have never heard this term before, having worked in an office briefly where there were cubicles. What puzzled me was why she called her co-worker her cubemate. Does that imply that the two women are closer than coworkers but not close enough to be called friends? There are so many other things she could have said:

• coworker
• colleague
• friend
• mate (for my Aussie pals)
• acquaintance (probably not if they work side by side)
• she could have left the person out of the story since she had no bearing on the weather comment

So my question to  you is, when does a person you spend everyday, back to back or side by side, 8+ hours a day in an 8 foot by 8 foot space that you choose to lunch with....when does that person become your friend?

Just askin'.