happy furry faces at home

wrinkles.

I have wrinkles. Little ones around my eyes, that awesome "11" between my eyes when I frown that I get from my dad's side...I also have a few grey hairs.I'm a baby! I'll only be 25 in October.And I don't give a shit.I actually love my grey hair, and can't wait to get more. That's the truth.Seriously. I'm not sure why I should care.This is old news, I'm sure, but every time I turn on the TV I'm reminded of how bad I should feel about myself."Women! Are you too fat? To skinny? Too flabby? Do you have wrinkles? Freckles? Grey hair? Teeth that aren't blindingly white? Are your breasts sagging? Too little? Too big (because you're too fat)? Does your vagina not smell like a perfumery? Are your eyelashes not 4.6 inches long and the width of scallions? Do you get *gasp* hungry during the day? Are you in any way imperfect?BUY THIS! IT WILL CURE YOU!
Body image misconceptions aggravate me, but not nearly as much as aging ones do.What is so damn wrong with getting old? Do we all really want to look like a Real Housewife of Wherever? Taut fish lips, expressionless foreheads, and bug-eyes? I speak more with my facial muscles than I do with my mouth. I can't imagine what I'd do if I couldn't scrunch my face up when someone makes me confused or pissed off. I'd probably pass out.Is it not better to just be beautiful and look your age? Is it not more attractive to look as though you take care of yourself and have thus aged gracefully rather than look like you are fighting getting old with every dime you make?I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with moisturizing, or using a good night cream. Every night before bed I slather Oil of Olay night cream on my face, neck, chest, and the backs of my hands, just as I remember my mother doing when I was a girl. But when the day comes that I have more wrinkles than I do now, or when my eyelids start to droop in a Rocky Balboa-style fashion, just as my father's and his mother's do, I'm not going to rush to a clinic to get a needle stuck into my face. Age is beautiful. Trying to look 20 when you're 55 is sad, and it just makes me think that you're unhappy with yourself. Whatever toxins you shoot into your face, you can't get your time back. Be happy with where you are, with how far you've come, and who you are today. Not 5, 10, or 20 years ago. And don't go blaming it on men. We blame enough on men. I think we did this to ourselves.

I posted a link to my blog on Facebook, which my husband saw at work.

He then created this.

I love that man.

My smile does look a little suspicious.

Fourth Grade Memories

I was cleaning out some "everything" drawers, and found my Fourth Grade Memories book. Everyone in the class made on at the end of the year. Thought I'd share.

 Building...something...

 For some reason I smiled like that for like 5 years.

 The boy in the middle was my first boyfriend. The girl on my right is my friend Devon, we still keep in touch to this day.

 Me and Devon again. The note I had written underneath this one read, "I like this, except the subtraction part!"

 I loved doing this project. Mine is the yellow one behind me, with the cat on it. Check out that colorblock sweater, I was so on-trend.

Making Christmas ornaments. Apparently something was funny? 

Mine's the toucan on the right.

Look at how long my hair was!

That's not bird poop on my lemon leaf

I thought it was. I looked like bird poop. It kind of felt like bird poop. It was motionless.

Upon further investigation (Why investigate bird poop you ask? I don't know. Call it insatiable curiosity.) it turned out to be a caterpillar.

A freaking bird poop colored and bird poop shaped caterpillar.

Holy weird.

Upon even further investigation, I found that it is the caterpillar of the Giant Swallowtail Butterfly.

Nature is cool.

Autumn=Soup

I don't care that it's not cold, or the slightest bit fall-feely. I love having a big pot of soup simmering away on the stove, filling the house with delicious savory smells.

This was dinner last night. Hot Italian chicken sausage, cannellini beans, yellow onion, celery, and kale, all simmered in unsalted chicken broth. I topped it off with shavings of Gruyere, which I thought complemented the kale pretty nicely. Nothing else really going on in it, just salt, pepper, olive oil, crushed red pepper, garlic, and fennel seed. You could certainly make this with pork sausage, but I figure why not cut the calories down, since I was going to eat a lot of it.

A lot.

seriously?

how cute are these?

Not just for Thanksgiving.

 Why don't I eat more turkey? This meal put itself together while grocery shopping. Turkey breast cutlets cooked with onion, jalapeno, and a whole jar of Herdez salsa verde (because sometimes I don't want to make stuff myself, and Herdez is delicious) and topped with queso blanco. Rice and black beans on the side, some chopped tomato, and a little fresh cilantro. This was done in 25 minutes flat. How's that for interesting weeknight cooking.

Cupcakes! For more on these (and some others) go see my dessert blog at nmariep.blogspot.com

The Storm of the Century.

Labor Day Weekend came with tropical storm Lee. It wasn't really that big of a deal. People were crowding the Wal-Marts, stocking up on supplies as though the next Katrina was upon us.

Dumb.

We got some heavy rain for a few days, and serious winds. You can't see the rain in this picture (obviously) but it gives you an idea of what it looked like here.

We lost some fence posts, and I have no idea where my watering can is, but nothing more than that.

 The dogs liked that they could get that "wind in their face" feeling without getting in the car.

I liked all the amphibious visitors to the back porch.

so apparently this exists...

And it's delicious. 

Some dinner recaps and busy Sundays

 Chicken and broccoli stir-fry with green beans, carrots, onions, and cashews over rice.

Pork chops over polenta with apples and onions.

Chicken cacciatore over porcini mushroom and lemon risotto.

Delicious, and incredibly simple. This would make a great crock-pot meal, if I owned a crock pot. Chicken thighs, tomatoes, onions, red peppers, and wine. I made mine a little different by adding a little saffron and smoked paprika. I think the smokey flavors worked really well with the chicken and the earthy mushrooms in the risotto. 

Today I'm finishing up a few dozen cupcakes for a friend's daughter's birthday party, then going to Bethany's birthday dinner in Destin. 

Which means I have to go get ready.

Which means I have to stop watching Serenity and get off the computer.

Happy Sunday! Hope your Labor Day Weekend weather is better than the crap happening here in Florida!