Answering questions ... summer supper & cocktails

Barefoot in the Park asked about my favorite summer supper, and Laura C asked about the fave cocktail.

As far as summer suppers go, I am a huge fan of pimento cheese sandwiches. They remind of me of visiting my cousin Judy (older cousin, more like an Aunt) and she would serve pimento cheese, chicken salad, and cucumber sandwiches by her pool. Of course, she managed to make it all seem elegant and I'm sure there was a pitcher of iced tea involved. Also in this same theme would be a simple tomato sandwich. White bread, sliced tomato, Duke's mayo, and salt and pepper. Hmmm, or a BLT sandwich.

To me, these are always easy, satisfying, and you typically don't have to "heat up your kitchen" as my Meme used to say.

My other option would be something from the grill (fish, meat, chicken, hot dog), served with fresh vegetables, corn on the cob, etc. Hubby just bought a new grill so I want to start making packets of potatoes again. Basically, cube up new potatoes, add other yummy veggies ... you can do anything from squash, zucchini, peppers, onions, add a little EVOO, ground black pepper, wrap them in foil, and let them cook on the grill. Yum.

For the summer cocktail, I'm partial to a good gin and tonic. I don't change it up much and while that may be considered boring, I consider it what works for me. I like a good gin like Bombay Sapphire, Tanqueray, or Hendrick's. A good beer is always nice in the summer, too. I tend to lean towards something light like Skinny Dip, Hoegaarden, or Natty Greene's Wildflower.

Oh, and since it's food related, MER asked if I prefer croutons or bacon bits. I would have to say that real bacon trumps bacon bits and croutons, but Ruby Tuesday's croutons may trump any other salad topping.

Laura C. also asked "how do southern ladies wear heels and skirts and makeup and all that with the hot weather and not sweat like pigs?"

I had to laugh at this, because while I guess I am a southern lady, I am usually sweating like a pig when the temperature reaches 90. I used to have a co-worker that anytime we had an appointment, it was sweltering and we would always have to park far away and walk just so we could end up sweaty and gross for our meeting. For one, we stopped in the bathroom, put cold paper towels on our necks and tried to dry our shirts Madonna AKA Desperately Seeking Susan style. I do think that skirts can be cooler in the summer because you can get a little breeze by fanning your skirt. Of course, us genteel southern ladies know that we would never do that in mixed company or in front of a gentleman! *Please insert your favorite southern accent to that last sentence.

Answering questions ... running

What fun! I wish people would ask me questions every week because it just feels more exciting to answer them, rather than write about what just pops into my head.

I'm going to try to group a few of them together where there is a common theme.

Barefoot in the Park asked me what made me get into running.

I have been running off and on since college. My Mom also ran when I was young, so I remember going with her to races, or waiting on her to finish her daily 6 mile run. She was ahem, much faster than me and often brought home trophies from winning her age group.

I started running one summer during college and started out by running from one light post to another, then walking to the next light post, and repeating. I did this over and over and finally made it up to 3 miles of running. I guess it was my own version of the "couch to 5K" program that is so popular now. I ran pretty consistently in college and grad school. This was back in the day when I carried my hand held CD player, wore a cotton t-shirt, and didn't know anything about Gu, Fuel Belts, or Garmins.

My problem back then was always consistency and really up until 2 years ago, it still was. When I met Hubby in 2003, he was training for a marathon and it was a good way for me to get back into running, because I had someone to run with. From then until 2007, I would train for a race, run the race,then "lose" my running shoes for several months. Then, the ordeal of starting over was always hard and I just couldn't get back into my running groove. I got pregnant in 2007 and hadn't been running consistently so it didn't make any sense to try at that point. After I had Maddy and Libby in June 2008, I decided that I wanted to run again because I missed it. I started in January 2009 and really haven't taken more than a few weeks off since.

I am proud to be a runner. It makes me feel good even when the last thing I want to do is put on my shoes and and go. Even though I'm not setting any records, or winning any races, I know that it helps me be a better person, wife, and mother.

If you still want to read more, here is a post that I wrote about why I run for my running group. last year.

B - buh - boring!

Sorry for the lack of content in posts, or lack of posts lately. Or did you even notice? Anyone? Anyone? Buhler?

Like everyone else, life is busy ... work, kids, running, etc and I just haven't had a lot to say.

I could write about an unprofessional person that I have to deal with, but I think that is really better saved for private rants with my co-workers.

Or I could write about Libby going to the bathroom two seconds after I took off her diaper last night. On the floor, right before bath time, but honestly ... aren't you a little tired about reading about diaper/potty posts?

I could write about the teeny tiny single serving Edy's ice cream that Hubby brought home last night, but then that just makes you want one of your own and it's not really fair when you are stuck at your office on a Tuesday morning and can't get to the grocery. Oh, wait ... maybe that's just me.

So, dear readers ... any burning questions? Anything on your mind? Anyone else feeling the same way? I don't think I've ever opened it up before, but here goes ... ask away! I can't promise that I will answer everything, but I would love to hear your questions and thoughts. Plus, I need something to get me over this writers block / bout of b-buh-boringness!

Happy Independence Day!

Here's my attempt at patriotic star cookies for a cookout later today. Libby hurt my feelings by proclaiming "flowers!" when they were cooling. Yep, she's right ... my stars spread out into flowers, but they are still yummy sugar cookies nonetheless.

Happy 4th of July, everyone!

Date night

Hubby and I haven't seen too many date nights in the past two years. Yep, I could probably count them on two hands I'm sure. We've actually had two dates in the last three weeks, so maybe things are looking up ... or maybe we're just shelling out money for a sitter + dinner that we really shouldn't spend, but we know that it may equal sanity.

We have a local restaurant that has a great patio/deck area and on certain Friday nights during the summer, they play movies on a large screen out on their patio. The dinners are themed around the movie and we've always talked about checking it out and we finally went last night.

First, the weather was gorgeous and actually cool by the time we finished dinner. Amazing for the beginning of July.

We watched Bottle Shock, which is a great movie about how Napa Valley wines came to be known back in the 70's. Lots of good actors and we really enjoyed it. Better yet, the dinner included five courses and four wine pairings. Each pairing included one California wine and one French so everyone there had to guess which was which. Lots of wine and great food. Lucky for me, I had already done my long training run on Friday morning so I didn't have to worry about getting up for a 6:30 AM run. Lucky for me I had a little extra sleep to ward off any after-effects of four wine pairings.

So, here's to date nights, fun wine dinners, cool weather in July, and good memories.

Thankful

*Now before I get started I realize that the range of thankfulness varies greatly.

• Mom has her last round of chemo tomorrow. She ended up only needing to have 11 treatments, so we are all glad that they are almost through. She is scheduled to have radiation, but we are all looking forward to the chemo being finished.
• A simple summer supper of Carolina BBQ, BBQ slaw, baked beans, and one of my Mom's twice baked potatoes.
• Running 4.5 miles at almost a ten minute pace today. That hasn't happened in a long time and I didn't feel like keeling over every minute. Maybe just every five.
• Finding awesome Southwest airline deals for our trip to New York this November. Hubby and I are both flying for roughly $200.

Priceless

Bouncy inflatable house for birthday party weekend ... $200

Seeing so many friends and family (my Mom included) go down the slide and have fun ... priceless.

Maddy sliding.

Me sliding.

Mom sliding.

Libby sliding.

Guess who's here?

It's Grands (aka my Mom!)

Complete with 4 foot tall sock monkeys and bubbles after breakfast. I think it may be a fun weekend.

Libby playing in our makeshift bubble blower.

Waiting for Maddy and Libby to wake up. I think we need to choose names.

Midnight Mayhem

Well, it was actually 2 AM mayhem ...

I awoke last night to the sound of Zoe barking. Not her loud, someone's at the front door bark, but short barks that didn't stop. I stumbled out of bed to find her standing in the living room. I was actually worried that maybe our house was on fire and she was actually telling us to get out.

Then, I find Hubby sweeping the floor and noticed that our garbage was all over the floor. Apparently, she and Zeus were having a little midnight snack in our trash can. Gross. This is when I wish we had a compost pile and I didn't have gross things like banana peels, coffee grounds, pineapple rind, avocado peels, and egg shells in my trash. Guess who's mopping for the 3rd time this week?

No idea why she was barking unless she was just mad that Hubby was cleaning up her mess. He let them out in case they needed to do their business and we all tried to go back to sleep.

That's when Maddy woke up, but luckily it was short lived. After tossing and turning for about an hour, I finally fell asleep. When my alarm went off at 5AM so I could go on a run, I promptly turned that sucker off to catch more zzzz's.

Two years ago

I know I've been saying this every few months for the last two years, but I really am still in shock that Maddy and Libby are (insert age here)! Today, I am still in disbelief that they are 2! Where did my babies go and who replaced them with independent toddlers?

I looked back at the blog and read what I posted the day after they were born, as well as the posts I wrote last year that talked about the days leading up to and the day of their birth.

6 days old. Maddy - Libby

I heard someone say that days with children are long, but the years go by in a flash and I understand that now. Every day, Maddy and Libby do things that make me smile (calling each other sister, giving kisses, feeding the baby doll "bites" of food, playing chase with each other and running around the room), but they also do things that make me lose my patience (running away from me at an outdoor shopping center, not sitting down in the bathtub, throwing Cheerios on the floor.)


They have brought more to my life than I really ever imagined or thought possible. I truly had no idea how having children would change me, but it has.



Happy Birthday, Madeline Kate. You are my first-born, my spider monkey, my mischievous peanut, and my sweet girl. You are curious and constantly trying to figure things out and how they work. I sometimes think that your goal in life is to find a warm lap and someone to read you a book. You like to snuggle at night and listen to stories, but lately we don't get much snuggling time because you are too busy. When someone holds you, you hold on tight with your arms and legs and have figured out how to not get put down - you just hold your legs up so they will continue to hold you.



Happy Birthday, Elizabeth Lucy. You are my second-born, my giggler, my chatty-cathy, and my little leader. You are talkative, friendly, and funny. You love your books, and definitely have an opinion about which book to read, which cup to use, or which pants to wear. You still enjoy snuggling at night, giving sweet kisses, but sometimes when I ask for a kiss, I'm promptly told "no."

I can't even beging to imagine what this year will hold for us. Potty training? Big girl beds? Trigonometry? I look forward to experiencing everything and learning from you and teaching you, all at the same time.

Love,

Mama

Random Thursday Ramblings

• Our upstairs AC went out yesterday. Luckily, we have a guest room and two cribs still set up downstairs. Just last week I mentioned to Hubby that we should probably take down the downstairs cribs. Thank goodness we didn't get right on that task over the weekend.
• I came downstairs this morning to find Libby sitting on top of our table, and Maddy sitting in one of the chairs, checking out the laptop. Nearly 2 = super busy and curious.
• Talk of marathons was heard on my run today. One of the girls in our group has run one full, and is training for another. Apparently, several others are debating running the Disney Marathon in January. I was thinking of possibly putting a full on my list, but for Fall of 2012 ... not January of 2011. Hmmmm ...
• Greek yogurt with blueberries is my new love.
• I really need a manicure and pedicure, but no time to go. I wish someone would make house calls! So my invention would be a house call person who will change your car's oil, fill your gas tank, give you a mani/pedi, and deliver your groceries. Where's my business plan or my personal assistant!?

high fructose corn syrup = crack

Why is it that I have a kitchen full of bananas, blueberries, strawberries, cherries, grapes, blackberries, and peaches and I am choosing to stick my hand into the bag of Starburst? Multiple times? Then hiding the wrappers in the mud room garbage can?

Plus, the Starburst are inside another bag that is tied in a knot and I have to untie the knot just to get into the bag.

So, my theory is that high fructose corn syrup + the taste of the rainbow, (wait ... that's Skittles) are = crack.

Saturday

8 mile run with Maria
Pit-stop in Food Lion (don't ask)
Ice cold gatorade and water balloons, post run
Farmers Market for blackberries, peaches, and eggs
2nd Breakfast of the day ~greek yogurt, granola, and blackberries
Trip to the pool
Naps for the under 2 age group
Cleaning of the catch-all basket where I found credit cards that expired in 2006 that are in my maiden name. Clean much?
Playing around with blogger's new template ... what do you think?
Bill paying
Clothes washing
Birthday party weekend planning ... somehow one party is turning into two. Have I told you who this party is for? (Hint: They aren't turning 2!)
Now pondering dinner ...

passion

I think most of you know that I'm part of my local Junior League and we recently held our leadership retreat. It was a great weekend of bonding, learning, laughing, and pondering the future of our organization.


We were asked to fill out a short survey that will later be published in our local magazine as an introduction of our 2010-11 leadership team.


One of the questions is "What are you passionate about?"


I had quickly filled in so many other answers ... family, children, education, hobbies, favorite holiday tradition, but this one made me stop in my tracks.


What am I truly passionate about?


I have many "things" that I feel passionate about, but so many of them aren't serious enough to include in this survey. Chocolate mint ice cream, Nike tempo running shorts, my CHI flat iron, a great night-time moisturizer, a good glass of wine, and a leisurely dinner where you can talk for 3 hours.


I'm passionate about my children, my family, my friends, and my faith, but isn't everyone?


Some people are passionate about their favorite sports teams, their cars, or their lawn. While some of those resonate with me, I can't say that they get me out of bed in the morning.


I'm passionate about trying to give my children the best experience and start to their lives that I can. Whether this is through teaching, loving, or just having fun, I hope that they will look back on their childhood fondly and that we will have a good, honest, trusting relationship.


There are certain experiences that I've had that made me passionate. I'm passionate about premature birth prevention & research, finding a cure for breast cancer, suicide prevention, rights for people with disabilities, but I can't say that I stand up every day and "preach" about these things ... my passion is much more quiet, and more internalized. I guess I find myself wondering if passion should be quiet.


I have found that it's OK for your passions to change, develop, and grow over the years. Thank goodness I grew out of my passion for Cabbage Patch Kids, ESPRIT tee shirts, puffy stickers, and paint pens. Thank goodness I didn't grow out of my passions for books, writing, or running. My career used to be my #1 passion, and while it's still important, my priorities have definitely changed.


So, what are you passionate about? Do you wear your passions on your sleeve or would I have to get to know you to truly understand your passions?

Books ...

I picked up a couple of books last week. Thanks so much for your suggestions.

One is The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. My book club is reading it and we meet next week, so I better get to reading.

The one that I have actually started and don't want to put down is One and the Same that Laura C. recommended. WOW. This is an eye opener for anyone with direct relation to twins, whether you are a twin, have twins, or just are friends of twins. It is written by an identical twin, and even though I'm only on the second chapter, I know this will be one that will stay on my bookshelf to refer to for many more years.

This one never made my list

I worked from home today and after our sitter left, I put the girls down for their afternoon nap.

I proceeded to eat lunch and get ready to do a little more work, when I heard a lot of chattering and asking "where paci go?" over the monitor. I decided to go back upstairs and hopefully solve any problems and get them settled back down.

I did paci distribution, two diaper changes, more kisses, and wishes of sweet dreams.

I went back downstairs and did some work, but kept hearing chatter every now and then over the monitor. I decided not to go back upstairs, because I figured they would quiet down and I would just make it worse.

About two hours after they normally go down, I could still hear someone moving around so I decided to go inspect.

I was shocked at what I saw next.

Two totally naked babies who had thrown all of their clothes, diapers, blankies and books into the floor. The funniest thing was that Maddy was wide awake (with a puddle in her crib), while Libby was sound asleep, snoozing with her bum up in the air.

I really wish I would have grabbed my camera, but I was in such shock, I really didn't know what to do first. Needless to say, sleepsacks at naptime are going to have to be reinforced. Yes, they make them big enough for 2 year olds (and even older.)

So, if the 3's are supposed to be the new 2's, then what are the 2's? Causation for early afternoon drinking?

blink of an eye

I was gone on an overnight retreat this weekend and I swear that Maddy and Libby grew while I was gone. One night = taller, bigger, more words, putting together sentences, crawling up into tall chairs, etc.

Can you believe we are on the countdown to 2? In two weeks!?

I leave you today with a little cuteness, in my opinion.

Hydrangea love.

I love hydrangeas. I used them in our wedding and thought they were perfect.

When we looked at our house, I will admit that I was so excited to see 4 different hydrangea bushes around the yard. I would still love to plant more, along with more peony bushes, and daffodils.

We didn't cut them back last year like you are supposed to, so they are probably a bit overgrown in "proper" hydrangea standards, but does it really matter when you look out and see their beautiful blooms?

These particular bushes have changed colors since we've lived here. I really remembering them being a greenish shade, then they moved to white, and now part of the bush is blue. It's really amazing and the color is supposedly based on the soil acidity.

I wish they would bloom all year round, but I guess I wouldn't appreciate them as much if they did.

On my list

Has anyone read the New York Times article of the new book, "Portrait of an Addict as a Young Man?"

I was intrigued by just reading the article and can't wait until it releases next month. It almost feels wrong to want to read a story about someone spiraling out of control, but I am fascinated by taking a look into Bill Clegg's life. I loved "A Million Little Pieces" too, and I don't care whether it was real, or embellished.

What are you reading this summer?

Bad phone photos = Wednesday rambling blog post

I have always loved the color lime green until I saw this today.




Really? Why would you choose this color for your Jag?! Or for any car?


Later, I caught Libby trying out my shoes. Yep, I probably walk that slowly in some of my shoes, too.

I also had to share a comment from one of our baby sitters this afternoon. I was holding Maddy after huge meltdowns from both Maddy and Libby over water in sippy cups. It was mayhem and our sitter stayed around until the chaos calmed down and everyone was happy again.

I had walked into the kitchen while holding Maddy when our sitter grabbed a tissue and said "Excuse me, let me get this. You have a huge booger on your shoulder." Nice, huh? Have I mentioned that glamour is my middle name?