Tales of Me and the Husband - Page 113 of 207 -

May 28, 2013

parents are in town!!

my parents are in town for the WHOLE WEEK. this is terribly exciting as, you see, they’re often pulled in a million different directions with quite the full social calendar (seriously. they retired and became even busier?). not to mention four daughters plus grandchildren who demand much of their attention 🙂 – it’s true. so having them here to myself (well, ourselves) for the week is so fun for me. we’re eating good food, drinking good drink, listening to fun music, dancing a bit if the mood strikes, and even gardening and painting. (i put ’em to work while they’re here. no laziness allowed at the hunt house… riiiight.) i’m so glad to have them here, and so glad there’s still a good chunk of days left until they leave!!!

anyway, hope you all had a nice weekend. here in massachusetts, it began rainy and downright freezing but now it’s finally warm enough for my mom to remove the down parka in the above picture that she certainly did not intend to use. weather’s calling for 87 by thursday! i am thinking a beach day is in order!!!

May 24, 2013

a melty, delicious, crunchy sandwich. {and any other good adjective that one can use to describe a sandwich.}

there’s this place near us that sells the greatest ever make-your-gums-bleed ciabatta loaf. it is so crusty and crumby and full of air pockets. it smells incredible, the crust tastes just a wee bit burnt. it’s one of those foods that you so badly want to replicate because it’s so damn good but you know you’ll never get it right (not to mention they must have a magic oven and where does one get their hands on a magic oven?) so you just keep buying theirs. no complaints here!

parker and i were on a long walk the other day when i passed the place, picked up a loaf, and threw it into the storage space under the stroller. (it’s that hard. you can throw it, stomp on it, toss it like a football. no damage to the bread.)

steve came in from work, saw the loaf, and smiled like a schoolboy who’s just heard the ice cream truck comin’ down the lane. thrilled i tell you! and then when he discovered i’d also picked up the ingredients for the full whammy of a sandwich? nearly in tears. (i jest.)

there’s nothing incredibly fancy about this but it’s not something i’d thought of doing until i thought of doing it, you know? and actually i should say it’s not something i’d thought of doing until my sister roughly told me her recipe soooo… yeah, just tried to take credit there.

the ultimate sandwich

a loaf of really good bread (preferably on the harder side or else it falls apart)

3/4 pound lunch meat (i used boar’s head chicken!)

a couple tomatoes

pesto (i made my own but jarred would work fine)

mayo

provolone

mix up the mayo and pesto, assemble it all with the cheese at the very top.

broil it for a few minutes (watch it so it doesn’t burn!).

put the top back on, cut, and enjoy!

p.s. serve with extra pesto-mayo for dipping. nothing worse than a dry sandwich in my opinion!

May 22, 2013

Be content in the journey.

I’ve heard the term, twice just this week, low-grade anxiety, and realized, “Hey wait! I think I’ve got that too!” While we all want to put a label to things, name it, call it something, put it in a box, who really cares cause it is what it is regardless, right? Nevertheless, I feel a deep need to be further, farther, faster along then where I am now. Whether it’s in some various stage of life, finances, building up my photography, graphic design know-how, writing, even a clean house, whatever… it’s permeating every bit of me and causing waves of anxiety where I just wish I could be breezing through all of the steps and find myself at a place where I sit back, look around me, and think, “Yes! This is it. I have arrived!” Something about never comparing your beginning to someone else’s middle? Yes, that.

It’s hard, of course, when you think there are about a million things you could be doing but toddlerdom really thwarts the ability to give one’s full attention to anything besides, well, that toddler. And Parker knows when I’m half-assing it. He knows when I’m slinking away quietly to, “Oh! Just check to see if that one person wrote me back!” And, as always, I feel like a shit head one hundred percent of the time when I don’t give him the attention he deserves. Wah, wah, wah, the saga of mom-guilt continues.

We’ve managed to get out of the house a lot these days and I never regret those times. I figure, this life is a marathon and I’m not gonna get to the finish quickly, right? Getting out, getting fresh air, running the wipers and getting all that neon green pollen fuzz off the car windshield as we hit the open road to, perhaps, a new farm or playdate… I never return home thinking it was a mistake. So, I need to take it easy on myself. I need to just be. Learn patience with myself. Be content in the journey.

And remember, above all else, I have so much to be grateful for.

{A note to all affected in Oklahoma: can’t begin to put words to what you’ve experienced but I think I speak for many when I say we’re sending our love from all ends of the globe.}

May 21, 2013

drumlin farm.

having a little person with endless amounts of energy forces you outdoors to see what your state has to offer. you know. i think by the time parker is three i’ll have seen every farm/outdoor oasis in the state of massachusetts. so, in planning the week ahead, my friend rachael said, “how about drumlin farm?” so to drumlin farm we went.

four babies under two (do i have to stop calling them babies when they turn two? don’t make me.), their mamas, baby goats a-plenty, a big raised gardening bed full of dirt and shovels for playing, chickens, hens, a seven-day old calf, pigs, a hayride, trails, and the sunshine made for a really nice day.

next up… davis farmland (anyone been?)… where i heard you can play with the goats sans separation fence! yessss! (thank you to those who gave me tips after this instagram!)

and any massachusetts readers: if you’ve got some more fabulous must-see places… gimme!

p.s. stating the obvious: baby pigs are nooot easy on their mother’s…. teat? (having a ben-stiller-in-meet-the-fockers moment). we attempted to have an “oh, look at that! nature and nursing and motherhood-right-here-on-the-farm moment!” but it sort of made us cringe. mother pigs… kudos to you. mother-warriors, i tell you.

May 16, 2013

giveaway: albion fit!

have you guys heard of albion fit yet? women’s fitness wear and swimwear. like a one-stop shop for those readying themselves for bathing suit season!

i’m a little bit of a workout clothing snob (since i’m working out allllll the time these days. yawn.). i.e. pants must not lose their stretch and/or get “knees” in them quickly and tops must be soft and long enough. this outfit fits the bill perfectly. and if you didn’t already know, i have like gorilla-length arms so nary a sleeve is usually long enough on me. this one is! and has that great thumb hole too.

also, check out their swimsuits!! the time’s a-coming!

enter to win:

a $100 gift card to albion fit!

(also! talesofme15 gets you $15 off

any purchase of $50 or more until may 20th!)

enter below!

{u.s. addresses only!}

giveaway closed!

libby is the winner!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

May 15, 2013

mother’s day.

we don’t really have any tried and true mother’s day traditions. in fact, our movie night miiiight be one of our more long standing traditions thus far (which is silly since we haven’t been doing it that long — we need more especially since steve and i are tradition-seekin’ individuals!). all that to say, when we had the opportunity to head into the city, check out some new kicks at the ugg store, and visit a zoo no less, we were all game. (even nathaniel and jordan. we told ’em the scoop, gave them the option, and they wanted to come too. having nothing to do with the shoes but just cause we’re the bomb of course.) so, that was the plan. rain in the morning threatened to put a damper on things but – that tricky mother nature – the sun came out in the afternoon and the day ended up gorgeous!

we saw tigers, a lion, zebras, a hippo, gorillas, and more. this was my first real zoo since the philadelphia zoo as a kid. it was nice being there, seeing it with the kids. we kept making connections to story books we’ve read to parker. “there’s a kangaroo!” “parker! it’s like katy no-pocket!” you know. filling in the blanks. nathaniel held parker the whole time which was really cute. we weren’t sure what their relationship would look like since nathaniel’s been away at school much of parker’s life so far. it’s like parker knows he’s good, he’s family. nathaniel’s pretty much always asking to hold him so the feeling’s mutual.

after the zoo, i had to see what all the fuss was about with the shake shack craze. and i’ll say it lived up to its reputation. the shack sauce?? yum. thin burgers?! yes (i am such a fan of thin burgers, you with me?!). cheese fries, the arnold palmers?? it was really good. our small army (i mean, look at the food required to feed our family) agreed.

thank you uggs for a great day. everyone loved their shoes and no sore feet, even in new ones!

btw boston folk: ugg store in boston is at 75 newbury street. check it out! it’s a pretty snazzy place with really nice employees to boot.

(and a ps. on the whole sponsoring business: i pinch myself a little when these opportunities come my way. i almost want to reply, you guys know who you you’re emailing?! i’m grateful, no doubt about it. and a serious thanks for your part in all of it.)

this post is sponsored by uggs. all opinions are my own.

May 14, 2013

team brandon.

sometimes blogging is a head-scratcher. i’m not sure what it’s all about and what i’m even doing. but then i’ll get an email from a beautiful mama, wife, and reader like nycole asking for some help and i’m like, “shoot. i’m so glad i’ve got this blog.” if i can get the word out to like ten of you? that’s ten more than before. (though, i’m hoping for more than ten!!)

nycole is in the above video. her husband brandon has cystic fibrosis and time’s not on his side. please watch it, it’ll explain it all. i cannot begin to imagine the urgency and desperation nycole feels on getting this video out, getting more people behind team brandon, and ultimately getting brandon healed.

share it, share it, share it. facebook, tweet, blog, word of mouth. and i know there are a lot of incredible causes out there, but if this one tugs at you, consider giving?

{here’s the website.}

May 13, 2013

on blogging: oops, you’re in a niche and you didn’t even know it?

ohhh blogging, you funny thing you.

there’ve been a lot of posts on blogging lately: how-to’s, change + growth, making money, finding your niche, sponsorship, and more. in an attempt to add a new one to the discussion (though, maybe not new?), i’m going to do a post of my own. so there!

i’m going to call this one: oops, you’re in a niche and you didn’t even know it?

as both a blogger, and a blog-reader, i like to think i have the whole scoop on a blogger’s life. i like to think they’re giving it all up, telling me everything. if i see them instagram a plane wing from an airplane seat without having announced prior – on their blog – that they were going on a trip i think, “hey! wait! where are you going? you didn’t tell us!” i’m not sure why this is, but i suppose in this world of voyeurism via blogging, we want to believe we know the blogger personally and that our thoughts, assumptions, judgments are pretty spot-on.

no doubt, sometimes the readers do have it right. some bloggers give a lot up and are pretty transparent in their blogging style. good for them, i say. i don’t think i’m one of them. i think maybe i used to be? or at least more than i am now? i know without a doubt that i used to hit publish without thinking twice about it. i suppose that’s natural. the course of blogging is a funny one. we all start small. and then you see more comments and page views. it continues growing and you’re really psyched about it but there is definitely a momentary “shit!” about privacy and the things you might not want to blog about anymore. then, you get your first not-so-nice comment. and you think, what?! i didn’t mean anything by that! when i started, i’m pretty sure my only readers were my friend ahnika and my sister kate. i blogged so freely and innocently without a care in the world. (picture me and my computer, frolicking in a grassy meadow somewhere.) these days? i think more about hitting that publish button (and goodness knows, i am not one of the queen bees of blogging by any means.). but, without a doubt, i’m glad to have you all along for the ride on this previous party of…. three. the bright side of thinking a little harder before hitting go? i think i’m a better blogger now. i think i used to just shoot out whatever i wanted just to post five times a week and a lot of it was sort of junky? you may like old bridge, but, i dunno, i side-eye some of the things she used to post. anyway, sometimes it all bums me out, my fear of being transparent, being judged. i tell you what, it can suck the joy right outta blogging faster than you can say blog. cause one thing is for certain, those transparent posts are the ones that you guys resonate with the most. i love when the comment thread sort of takes on a life of its own and you find so many commonalities and shared feelings going on. it’s those times that i fall in love with blogging.

i’m getting side-tracked. as someone who is both a blogger and a blog-reader, it’s interesting, the whole discussion. i know first hand how little one can put out there (if i had to put a number on my own? gosh, that ain’t easy. but it’s less than 50% fo sho) and yet i find myself often assuming i know other bloggers based solely on their blog. yep, guilty! i’m using the term loosely but i’d say it’s a little dangerous? stereotyping and assuming and all that when none of us have the picture filled in. i guess i’m anti any sort of black-and-white thinking entirely. be it within religious terms, political terms, and even blogging terms. gray, gray, gimme the gray. it sort of dawned on me, somewhere along the way, that some people have maybe put me in a niche? that you’ve thought, “hey wait, she can’t post about that. she’s posted about this and this and this already. off with her head!” for instance, i’m pretty sure some of you might think me a “crunchy yogi who smells of patchouli” (stealing the words of my friend). i wrote that last bit as i wiped the potato chip grease off my cheek with a stray baby wipe. it’s like, as the blogger behind the blog i have the whole scoop. of course i do, i’m me. i know that i struggle with a love for junk food but still adopt all homeopathic remedies when said junk food gives me a nasty cold. but you only know what i’m putting out there. so maybe one slips into a niche unknowingly? it’s way more interesting to share about colloidal silver than it is “hey guys, i just ate a pint of haagen dazs.” who cares? but if i have a few tricks up my sleeve that maybe allow you more junk food on the back end, i want to share ’em! but heck, mod-er-a-tion is the name of the game. i ain’t perfect. move over hummus and carrots, pass me the chips.

{the picture is a joke. i don’t foresee 56 more parts to this series but i could prooobably wrangle ’em together if i tried.}