Monthly Archives: March 2018

W(h)ine About A Rainy Day

Posted by Mar 25, 2018 Nature Leave a Comment

I have never minded the rain.  However, as I have gotten older, on a vain note I have never cared for it either.  It gives me straight, frazzled out strands.  My little one, on the other hand, always has enviable, thick, perfectly spiraled tresses which cascade effortlessly down her back.  I cannot count how many times people have referred to her as having “princess hair.”  People often think she and I have the same curls; I like to quip mine is curtesy of a curling iron from Target.  The more humid it gets, the more magnificently her ringlets abound.  I believe her mane is curtesy of my husband’s maternal side.  Darker hair always seems to be thicker and my husband has the most glorious shock of locks I have ever seen.  I love his hair and have worked for over a decade to keep him from shearing it all off every chance he gets.  Almost every other man his age (in their forties) would KILL for his impossibly thick, dark waves.  Our little one has even remarked that most dads in her class are “either grey or bald.”  I have never said a word about it — the kid comes by that honestly.  My own daddy had beautiful jet black hair that never revealed his scalp.  I am not suggesting that balding men or men who have shaved their heads are unattractive.  I am just saying that for me, I prefer a clean-shaven face and a full head of hair.  The funny thing about my husband is, he’s like a fastidious cat who cannot STAND to get wet!  He does not want his hair wet, his clothes wet, or his shoes wet.  He hogs the umbrella and frankly is not very chivalrous on rainy days.  My child of the sea, on the other hand, adores the water; she embraces it.  More than once I have seen her gleefully turn her little face toward the heavens and relish the rivulets running down her body.  I have always made do without coats and umbrellas, but in Paris on our honeymoon I bought a chat noir (black cat) umbrella from one of the small magasins.  I love it so much I have refused to use it.  Meanwhile my husband loses umbrellas like socks that mysteriously disappear in the dryer; never to be seen again.  I was thumbing through catalogues when I happened upon this fun discovery pictured here.  Instantly falling in love with it, I called to order one.  Upon its recent debut, my umbrella has delightfully surprised people who assumed it was a bottle of wine, and it has already brought me an immense amount of pleasure.  The American poet Langston Hughes is quoted as having once said, “Like a welcome summer rain, humor may suddenly cleanse and cool the earth, the air and you.”  My little one adores the fresh, cleansing smell of rain; just as I did as a child.  Now as an adult I have discovered a reason not to w(h)ine about a rainy day.

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“Wild” On Spring Break

Posted by Mar 18, 2018 Food Leave a Comment

I told my six-year-old how lucky we were to be going out for spring break after she asked what trip we would be taking.  I explained that not everyone is as fortunate.  While we would be staying home, we were still lucky enough to be going out and having fun.  There are always those who are more fortunate; conversely there are always those who are less.  The American author, political activist, and lecturer Helen Keller once said:

“Instead of comparing our lot with that of those who are more fortunate than we are, we should compare it with the lot of the great majority of our fellow men.  It then appears that we are among the privileged.”

I could not agree more.  Not only have I always felt this way, thanks to my father, who taught me to always seek the positive, I believe this becomes even more significant when taken out of a materialistic context and placed within the realm of a physical one.  Here was a blind AND deaf woman, born in a time when women were not always educated, who could easily have felt sorry for herself.  Instead she was not only able realize her blessings in the face of the harshest of adversities; she managed to overcome them and then proceeded to work as an advocate for others.  I was stunned to read my child’s second report card.  Her kindergarten teacher directly quoted my daughter’s thoughts on Helen Keller as being her favorite hero.  I had absolutely no idea!  Keller is one of the people whom I have admired the most since I was a child and has been first on my list to my fantasy dinner party.  On the subject of eating, my husband and I took our little one to The Rainforest Cafe on the final weeknight of her first spring break.  No pun intended when I say she went wild!  We sat underneath a magical blue “sky” with shooting stars, surrounded by huge, lit fish tanks, and the whole place was covered in “vines” made to resemble the lush, dense jungle.  I knew she would love the tiger family the most so I requested we sit where we had a good view of them.  Periodically it would “rain” and set off all the animatronic animals found throughout the large restaurant.  A sitting jaguar swished her tail, a great mother elephant (pictured) flapped her ears and moved her trunk, as did her baby.  There were gorillas shaking trees, a crocodile which opened his eyes and rose out of the water, and “lightening” flashes.  In addition, there was the most enchanting bar I have seen to date nestled underneath a giant mushroom, where water delicately poured over the top and ran along a “stream” while multicolored lights enhanced the landscape.  Our little one was entranced.  She got a special souvenir drink cup and we let her “make” her own rainbow leopard, which she aptly named Rainy.  Normally I’m not one for clothes on animals but, after begging her daddy, he relented and Rainy came out rocking a sparkly rainbow-colored tutu, dazzling rainbow-colored shoes, a pink (impractical) purse with a rainbow-colored bow, and half a dozen different colored bows for her ears.  I convinced our little one her leopard didn’t need a top so her beautiful, multi-colored spots could be seen.  Despite the pleading of her big brown eyes her daddy drew the line over Rainy having a (toy) cell phone.  Our little one (unbeknownst to her father) is already plotting wardrobe changes and says she cannot wait to go back.  People probably have different thoughts about what connotes “wild” spring breaks.  I was a good girl in both high school and college and never left home for spring break.  When I was in the Miss Texas USA pageant, though, I heard tales from servers of just how wild they could be.  This was more my speed.  As they say, it was “a wild place to eat and shop.”  I loved being with my family and going “wild” on spring break.

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A Plan

Posted by Mar 11, 2018 Sustenance Leave a Comment

Alan Lakein, a well-known author on personal time management, said, “Failing to plan is planning to fail.”  Growing up I’d always prayed I would have a family of my own one day.  I wanted to cook just like my mother did and pass down all the guidance my folks had given me.  We didn’t have a microwave until I was in college and I can remember, now to my horror, feeling sorry for myself because I missed out on TV dinners.  I always wanted that brownie with the separate compartment.  Meanwhile my mother was baking huge M & M cookies before they were even a thing.  I have her brownie pan now, as well as her casserole and meatloaf dishes from which she made so many wonderful dinners.  They are priceless to me.  I promised myself as my child grew older we would have real family meals around the dinner table without television just as my mother and father did with me.  Shamelessly, I figured our little one might not remember her really early years so I slid by with a great cafeteria by our house.  Now our girl is over half way through kindergarten and I realize I have been letting my little family down.  Yes, it’s true that I work outside the home (which my mother did not do until I was in junior high) but still.  For Lent the Rector of our church asked us to give up social media, as a way to quieten ourselves and focus on God.  In the past I’d always viewed Facebook as something I did while I was alone or could not sleep at night.  Somehow incrementally though it had slipped past me that I was spending too much time in the virtual world versus the real one.  I had waited so long to have a family of my own; now after a long day I found myself zapping our meals in some form or another.  Well no more!  I want my daughter and my husband to enjoy the same type of life I had growing up.  My father taught me to always have a plan.  So I tried to sketch out a loose meal schedule, but one which could be reasonably relied upon.  Because I have a sick penchant for alliteration I came up with the following:  Meatless Mondays, Taco Tuesdays, Weight Watcher Wednesdays, Take Out Thursdays, Free-For-All Fridays, Stepping Out Saturdays, and Slow Cooker Sundays.  I should preface this by saying our little one is gluten intolerant and I am not a short-order cook, so everything is gluten free and, whenever possible, organic.  On Monday I made fresh egg noodle pasta (pictured) with Alfredo sauce and broccoli.  Tuesday I seasoned ground beef and put it in crispy taco shells with lettuce, tomato, guacamole, salsa, a three cheese Mexican blend, sour cream and jalapeños.  On Wednesday I set off the smoke detectors with my first attempt at Chicken Marsala.  I served it with Basmati rice and mashed cauliflower.  The only thing that was burned was a bit of garlic on the bottom of the pan and I am very proud to report all my meals were a smashing success.  Food can be a love language, and it certainly is for my two.  It felt so good to do something that made them so happy.  Take out Thursday was falafels and spicy hummus for me curtesy of the Halal Guys.  My husband got beef and our little girl got chicken.  I have discovered I ADORE Halal cuisine:  it is the only place a vegetarian (me) can eat with a carnivore (my husband) and also with someone who is gluten intolerant (our daughter.)  Free-For-All Friday translates into leftovers and a rented (or owned) family movie.  This is a low pressure night because everyone can eat something they want (that I have mercifully already prepared) and we can just relax and be together.  Our movies range from the new Disney “Coco” to really old school Disney like “Lady and the Tramp” and family-friendly movies I have loved for years.  On Stepping Out Saturday we went to my favorite Tex-Mex restaurant and lingered out on the patio in perfect weather — 69* — because in Texas I know it will be broiling hot soon enough.  I realize weeks properly start with Sunday.  To confess, I did not implement my plan until last Monday.  The first Slow Cooker Sunday will be French onion soup.  For Meatless Monday I am thinking a quinoa/corn “spaghetti” with Vodka sauce.  On Taco Tuesday I’m going to do soft corn tortillas with chicken and beans.  Weight Watcher Wednesday I’m not sure what I’ll do that’s low calorie … but at least I have a plan.

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Havana Nights

Posted by Mar 4, 2018 Family Leave a Comment

I am discovering one of the many fun things about having a child fortunate enough to be in a private school is that there are fundraisers.  In the fall there is a carnival that is for the whole family and in the spring they have one that is just for the grown-ups.  This was our first time stepping out since our little one is in kindergarten.  The theme this year was Havana nights.  There were women wearing festive flowers in their hair and men sporting Fedoras.  I can say without bias my husband was the most handsome man there and he looked off the charts in his new blue tux jacket with the lapis cufflinks I’d given him some years ago.  We took a “party bus” to get there and it was fun that we both answered Cuban trivia correctly to win little prizes.  Each passenger would also leave with a set of colorful maracas before entering the venue.  Once we got off the elevator we were handed a mojito as we checked ourselves in for the live auction later that evening.  Then we browsed through tables of various packages up for bidding.  They had everything from VIP shopping trips to attending the world premier of the next “Mission Impossible” in London.  My husband and I chose to bid for our little one to have a chance to spend the night at her school with all the girls in her grade.  Our class didn’t win but I figure we have eight more tries before she leaves this school as a freshman.  Cuban music blared as tuxedoed servers passed hors d’oeuvres on silver trays.  There was a fun photo area set up where we got our pictures taken and printed instantly, which made a nice memory.  On the tables cigar boxes were artfully stacked as centerpieces and woven straw fans graced them as well.  There were real pineapples and fake palm trees; all of which contributed to the festive atmosphere.  A tower of churros was beautifully arranged near the bar for dessert.  My favorite spot was the hand rolled cigar station.  I chose both kinds offered; one was similar to a Montecristo and the other a Churchill.  The cigar bands read “Havana Nights” and I look forward to trying them.  The British writer and traveler Evelyn Waugh once said:

“The most futile and disastrous day seems well spent when it is reviewed through the blue, fragrant smoke of a Havana Cigar.”

Neither one of us have been to Cuba but on this evening, with the lights of the Dallas skyline behind us, we managed to experience a taste of Havana nights.

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