essentials.

In a desperate effort to jumpstart my financial prudence, I have created a rather drastic goal for myself during the month of March: to only spend money on "essentials".

One of the students who works in my office called me out a couple months ago: "You really like to spend money, huh?  It seems like you buy something every day."  I prickled slightly and tried to defend myself, but now I'm admitting it's true.  And I believe it's our culture today.  Grab a coffee.  A snack.  A cute pair of earrings or a bag.  An ice cream cone because you had a hard day.  Online shopping because of an awesome sale.  Dinner because you haven't had the chance to buy groceries in two weeks.  I am the number one culprit.  

So I'm forcing myself to think about every purchase I make this month.  I'm finally admitting that the free coffee at work will wake me up just as well as Starbucks.  I'm packing a lunch, and sometimes a dinner when I know I'll be gone all day, and I'm carrying around carrot sticks and Cheerios like a professional mother.  I bought a stash of Dove dark chocolate from the grocery store to help lift my spirits and curb the craving for visits to the bakery.  (Essentials, I'm telling you.  Don't play with chocolate.)  And clearly, a fifty-first pair of shoes is not an essential… at least not this month.

Send me your toddlers, people.  I've got snacks.

And there has been an unexpected side-effect:  I've become more grateful for free things.  I know that makes me sound like a free-loading bum, but when I thought about it more, I realized how important it is to be grateful.  Many times, I have snubbed the complimentary coffee at work or took for granted the dinner at an event or someone's house.  When did I become too good or too self-sufficient to truly appreciate someone else sharing their money, food, and time with me?  Becoming more aware of everything I spend money on also has made me aware of everything I receive with no cost.  Someone handed me a free pair of earplugs on campus today and I was genuinely touched.  I hope I continue to learn not to take things for granted.

shawna.

I am currently reading John Steinbeck's Travels with Charley: In Search of America, a book recommendation by the most trustworthy Nicole at www.anothernicole.com.  His description of the tumultuous South in 1960 touched me deeply today, and inspired this poem. I realize that we're not dealing with the same issues today that he witnessed then, and am so grateful for that. But I am affected by that history and hope to continue learning from it.

Tonight I talked to

the young African-American woman 

who rang me up at HEB

because stories of suffering from another century reminded me

that she was a person. 

Tonight I wondered

how could you be so full of hatred

as to yell obscenities at a six-year-old girl

just for going to school?

And yet

how could I be so self-absorbed

as to withhold genuine kindness and decency from others

just because I don't know them?

Tonight I learned

in ten items or less

that Shawna had kids and went to school

and worked til midnight to make ends meet

and was so grateful for her blessings. 

I learned she wasn't a robot. 

Like I had treated so many Shawnas before. 

goals for 2014.

I am so happy to start a new year.  2013 was difficult for me in many ways, but there is a fresh new start, full of hope and potential.  I do not at all like the concept of new years resolutions; to me, that word is just asking to be broken.  However, I have set 12 goals for 2014 to provide some direction and purpose for the upcoming year:

1. Perform a piece on the flute

2. Have a slumber party with girls from YP Austin

3. Buy a crock pot and food processor

4. Take a fun vacation

5. Read 6 NY Times bestsellers

6. Take a roadtrip to visit a friend

7. Pay off credit card debt

8. Finish & frame my needlework project

9. Go apple-picking in the fall

10. Care for my spirit, soul, and body

11. Have a tea party

12. Babysit for friends

Aren't those exciting goals?  Mothers, text me and prepare for date nights.  Friends, prepare to have tea and treats and slow cooked pot roast.  Happy 2014.

orange raspberry torte.

The sophisticated E. Lee sponsored this orange raspberry birthday cake a year or two ago for his third birthday, and I am finally sharing it!  He has exceptionally good taste.

flourless and fantastic.

Monster Cookies

½ cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup light brown sugar

3 eggs

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 12-oz jar (1 1/3 c) creamy peanut butter

4 ½ cups oats

1 6-oz package semisweet chocolate chips

1 8-oz package peanut (or plain) M&M’s

Preheat oven to 325 F

In a large mixing bowl, place the butter, sugar, and brown sugar; cream well with mixer.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add the baking soda and vanilla, blend well.  Add the peanut butter, blend well.  Add the oats, beat on medium speed until combined.  Add the chocolate chips and M&M’s; stir in with a spoon.

Drop dough by spoonful on ungreased cookie sheets.  Bake for 10-12 minutes, until very lightly golden.

Makes about 36 monster size, or 48 regular size cookies.

shooting stephen.

My baby bro is graduating from college!  Here are some samples from our photo session at Texas A&M University- I had so much fun, and am so proud of him.

(As an amateur photographer, I stubbornly reserve the right to still find "shooting" jokes of the utmost wit.)

Ready to roll. Thanks so much to Lisa for the use of her Canon!

This is one my faves... but has been vetoed by the man of the hour.  So it will, alas, not be appearing on your fridges.

Congratulations, Steve-Bob.

thank you, ms. stockett.

I am a little disillusioned at the discovery that Kathryn Stockett's publicity manager does not allow the release of this incredible author's mailing address for general public use (or, admittedly in some cases, abuse).  On second thought, this makes perfect sense.  I just finished reading The Help and felt that nothing short of a sincere thank you letter was appropriate in response.  However, this venue must suffice.

Dear Ms. Stockett,

Thank you for writing your incredible novel, The Help.  Until I read this book, I had been stuck for too long in a rut of running through fast-paced routine, checking off to-do lists, and seeking instant entertainment.  As soon as I read the first sentence of Chapter One, I appreciated once more the inestimable value of reading a good book.  As I read through this novel (into the night, at the gym, on my lunch breaks, in the time I could find and then some) I experienced the healing and empowering that the soul receives from reading words that have been masterfully crafted into sentences, paragraphs, characters, emotions, and stories.  Your novel has influenced me in many ways: on a large scale, I have been enlightened regarding the way I would like to raise my future children, my views of society and history, my need to stop and consider another's perspective - and on a small but quite significant scale, I am inspired to pick up great literature and read more and pick up my smartphone and waste time less.

Thank you for telling this story so beautifully.

Sincerely,
Lydia Cornell