Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Time...
Today was my oldest son's birthday. He is a great kid but he will be the first to tell you, he isn't a kid anymore. When did that happen? How did I get to be 35 years old and have an 18 year old kid? I know we hear it and say it all the time, "time flies." But it really does. I just don't feel like what I thought a 35 year old would feel like. And knowing that I am nearing 40 just blows my mind. I feel like I should still be in my mid-20's! It just went by in a blur. And now my oldest son's childhood is over. That makes me sad. I know we will be entering a new phase in his life and he does still have one year of high school left, but it is just a weird feeling that I can't quite describe. If you have already been through this, then you might know what I am talking about. Every stage in life just seems to come and go so quickly and if you don't stop to enjoy it, you will miss it completely. I guess I'm a little more sentimental than usual today but I guess that is okay once in a while. Oh, and happy birthday, Riley!
Thursday, June 14, 2012
I'm a Cook!
My new last name can be used as a play on words...obviously. I'm a teacher and when I got married in February and my last name changed to Cook, the students had a lot of fun teasing me about my name. "Hey Mrs. Cook, can you cook?" or "Mrs. Cook is a real cook now." My favorite though, (really) was when I outwitted a student who was trying to be clever and one student declared, "OOOOOOOO, you just got cooked!" Now that one was pretty cool!!
But back to the meaning of the title of this post. I really mean cook in the sense of the word that has to do with preparing food. :) I didn't cook much growing up. My mom was a great cook and she just did it. And I let her! So I've had a lot to learn in my adult life about cooking. (You should ask Adam about my hamburger meat story. He loves using this to pick at me!) I'm not a very creative cook. I am very much a stick to the recipe kind of gal. Now my husband, he is great in this area. He can look at a hodge podge of ingredients and throw something together. I was very impressed when I first discovered this talent of his. In all fairness to me though, he has an advantage...he has been a "cook" his entire life. ;) Well, I've said for years and years that I'm not a good cook but I think I've been selling myself short. Yes, I may not deviate from the recipe very much but my kids all like my cooking and I've been getting better and better in the last 18 years. Last night, I fixed a recipe from the Food & Family magazine put out by Kraft Foods. It was a recipe I made one time years ago and then lost. My 15 year old son, Connor, has been begging me to make it again over the years. I finally discovered the magazine in a box in the garage a few days ago and made the recipe again! It was a hit. Connor was very happy with me except he said I didn't make enough. I have to admit, since cooking is one of my insecurities, I especially cherish any compliments I receive. So, because I was so proud of my cooking accomplishment, I took a picture of it...of course. Doesn't everyone take pictures of their meals? I'll put up the Kraft picture and link to the recipe too.
It started with making kool-aid...
But back to the meaning of the title of this post. I really mean cook in the sense of the word that has to do with preparing food. :) I didn't cook much growing up. My mom was a great cook and she just did it. And I let her! So I've had a lot to learn in my adult life about cooking. (You should ask Adam about my hamburger meat story. He loves using this to pick at me!) I'm not a very creative cook. I am very much a stick to the recipe kind of gal. Now my husband, he is great in this area. He can look at a hodge podge of ingredients and throw something together. I was very impressed when I first discovered this talent of his. In all fairness to me though, he has an advantage...he has been a "cook" his entire life. ;) Well, I've said for years and years that I'm not a good cook but I think I've been selling myself short. Yes, I may not deviate from the recipe very much but my kids all like my cooking and I've been getting better and better in the last 18 years. Last night, I fixed a recipe from the Food & Family magazine put out by Kraft Foods. It was a recipe I made one time years ago and then lost. My 15 year old son, Connor, has been begging me to make it again over the years. I finally discovered the magazine in a box in the garage a few days ago and made the recipe again! It was a hit. Connor was very happy with me except he said I didn't make enough. I have to admit, since cooking is one of my insecurities, I especially cherish any compliments I receive. So, because I was so proud of my cooking accomplishment, I took a picture of it...of course. Doesn't everyone take pictures of their meals? I'll put up the Kraft picture and link to the recipe too.
My masterpiece! :)
Kraft photo
Orange-Chicken Rice Bowl
I'm not the only kitchen adventurer. Adam has turned our eight-year old son Spencer into a baker!
I'm not the only kitchen adventurer. Adam has turned our eight-year old son Spencer into a baker!
...and quickly turned to making cupcakes the next day.
Adam is an amazing step-dad!!
Spencer can't wait to bake again!
Spencer can't wait to bake again!
My Blog!
Welcome to my blog. I hope to use this as a fun way to get out my need to write. I've attempted to blog many times before but always delete it because I don't think it is good enough. But I finally decided to not be so hard on myself and just do what I enjoy! And what to blog about??? Well, my very favorite people in the whole world of course...my family. So here is a way to keep up with our very important lives. ;o) I hope whoever chooses to read this blog finds it interesting and/or entertaining. :0) And if nobody ever reads it but me...I'm okay with that!
And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt. ~Sylvia Plath
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