la vita mia è bella

Life is crazy around these parts, y'all. i am afraid that some of the people in my life may very well think that i have fallen off the face of the planet. And indeed, i have felt like it a bit during parts of the past couple of weeks. However, i am here to say, "HELLOOOOOOOOO!!! i'm alive under all this work/email/social calendar/lack of sleep/life change! i really am!"

And i'm really grateful for these people:


[mie amiche di strette]


[i ragazzi]

[mia famiglia]
















[Jessie]

These are just a few of the special, beautiful, brilliant, and LOVED people who make my life crazily, wonderfully, fantastical.

Just wanted to say thanks.

Writer's Workshop - Not Treading Water

Workshop Assignment: I'll be happy when ________________.

Funny, really, that this should be a prompt. It fits quite well into one of the half-formed posts that i've had rolling around in my head. i have had a purely crazypants kind of week that hasn't really lent itself to things like blogging. Or making dinner. Or, you know, having any extra energy to expend. But i digress. And i really must conserve that energy - i'm making Crispy Yogurt Chicken for Jessie tonight! My friend Kim suggested it along with a few tweaks that she made to the recipe.

My counselor gave me an assignment recently. (i, by the way, am very pro-counselor.) We've been talking about goals and the things that i want in and for my life. And he asked me to come up with a list of why this time in my life is more than "just treading water" - in other words - what makes my life worth getting up for in the mornings? What am i doing that matters?

My answer to that is that really no part of your life should ever be Just Treading Water. And i think that when we make statements like "i'll be happy when _____" that's exactly what we're doing. We're taking our lives - lives that are about growing and learning and becoming and stretching - and labeling them as Not Yet and Not Enough and, in essence, we are reduced to Just Treading Water.

In every aspect of my life there is joy. In every area of my life, God is showing me something new - a lesson, a blessing, a reassurance of love. In all my experiences - both pleasurable and painful - there is a choice. i can choose to learn, to accept, to move forward, to find the joy in the situation, to experience life in all it's colours and seasons and to appreciate the variation. That doesn't mean i'm not going to hurt. That doesn't mean that i can't be sad or angry or long for some things that aren't a part of my current situation.

This is what it does mean though: It means that i keep moving forward. It means that i appreciate what i have and dwell on my blessings. It means that i love with all my heart. It means that i am the best friend that i can be. It means that i recognize my mistakes, make reparations, and refuse to beat myself up for and with my past. It means that i forgive others. It means that i don't Just Tread Water.

My life is about more than What Is Not. My life is ALL about What Is.

There is no "i'll be happy when _____."

There is only "i choose joy."

For more Writer’s Workshop, go here.

Thought We Were in June? My Mistake . . .

So the summer heat is . . . HERE.

Should come as no surprise, i know. What's funny though is all the commentary that this sudden spike in the temperature has been garnering. Because, ya'll. It. Is. HOT. The weather feels like what i expect from July . . .

However, earlier in the month (the month that is actually June - for a few more days anyway), i got down with the business of road trippin'. My friend Emily and i did a grand tour of the southeast including the states of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia, and Tennessee.

What sparked this epic adventure? The idea to surprise a Seester for her birthday, of course. i started plotting with her husband, and before i knew it, Emily and i were planning a trip to Louisiana that would include camping and canoeing in Mississippi. i started gettin' all fancy and decided to throw more family into the mix. We picked up the Baby Brudder along the way with a stop in Birmingham (mom was cooperative enough to bring him out that way). The surprise involved her husband burying the three of us in Seester's car underneath balloons before she got out to the parking lot after work. We were kinda hoping she would pee her pants. As it turned out, we were the more likely candidates to be experiencing this sensation as we pushed the limit in getting there on time.


[Baby's Black Balloon(s) - the view from below]


[Surprise!]


[The Way We Were]


[Graceful, Really]


[All Together Now - Surprise!]

We spent a little quality time in the BR - trying out some of the local fun before we moved on the next day to our camping/canoeing extravaganza.


[Leetle Brudder]


[Our First Brush with Snowballs]


[Sibling Smiles]


[Drive Thru Daiquiris - Had to Try It]

It was MUCH. TOO. EARLY. the next morning when we headed out. Once we had some coffee in us, though, we were on our way to meet up with Emily (another one) and Jace - and it was worth it.


[Mississippi for Camping/Canoeing]


[Cool Guy in a Kayak]


[Birthday Girl!]


[Not a Lot of Paddling Going on Here . . .]


[S'more Casserole]


[Sleeping Sibs]

After much fun, the three adventurers bid farewell to the Birthday Seester et al and headed up to the mountains in northern Georgia. There we partook in a lot of relaxation, a great deal of good food, a couple of nice runs, a great hike, and some floating on the Chattahoochee. (No pics from the river that day, but i DID get hooked by a fisherman. And not in a good way. And no, i am not kidding. That idiot cast out on the river with hundreds of people floating past him and managed to hook my hat. And by that, i mean he was INCHES. FROM. MY. EYE. You can bet that i was not happy.)


[Dash of Clouds]


[Wine Tasting at Habersham]


[You Know i Love Me Some Ridiculousness!]


[And Can't Resist Unexpected Cuteness]


[Em is a Biker Babe]


[The Beginning of the Trail - Heart]


[Twin Tanks]


[Trail Summit]


[My Signature Shot]


[SNAKE]


[Breathtaking]


[Sweaty. Dirty. Happy.]


[Homeward Bound]

How NOT to Get the Girl . . .

"i cant tell if you are over weight or not from your pics. how much do you weigh. not trying to be mean just a lot of girls are on here because they cant get guys any other way. not all but alot. and most are short, fat, or divorced with kids. there are some real hotties but they seem to like to play hence why they are only able to get guys on here. but take the stone out of your eye first right. or some sh*tlike that. if you fit what i am looking for i might chat you up if you are lucky."

i can pretty much guarantee you two things will happen if you happen to send a girl a gem like this:

1) She will forward that sucker to ALL KINDS of friends.
2) They're all gonna laugh at you. Because really, who is that rude, that ridiculous, and that unbelievable all at once? An email like that has a definite air of je ne sais quoi.

And her friends? They're probably going to send her responses like this:

"Wow, this guy sounds like a real catch. He knows how to talk to a lady AND he does it with great spelling and grammar! Something tells me you’re not going to be 'lucky' enough to talk to him.
But then again, maybe you should mess with his head and act like you’re interested just for the fun of it…"

"WHAT?!?! Are you kidding?! Wow, I think he’s a keeper! ;)"

"You think I could get his number??? I've been wanting to egg someone's house lately."

"Wow! He might be The One. If you don't want him, send him my way. Haha."

"What a douchebag."

Gotta love the innernets, y'all. There are some real winners out there - and you can find one too!

Writer's Workshop - Open Letter to Car Salesmen

Workshop Assignment: Write a letter.

Dear Car Salesmen:

i wanted to write you a letter to thank you for making the car buying experience so enjoyable. However, that would be a total lie and a fake . . . and since i neither appreciate the art of the lie nor am i very good at it . . . i will refrain. It seems to me that you are doing quite enough of that for the both of us. Instead, i thought i might let you in on a few simple facts.

Firstly, women are not stupid. i know, i know - apparently, in Car Salesmen School they led you to believe that all we care about is the car colour and the number of cup holders in a vehicle. But let me tell you - this. is. simply. not. true. When i ask a question, i would appreciate an honest, trustworthy, and complete answer. When i tell you exactly what i want in a car (good gas mileage, reliability, automatic with cruise control, power windows and locks - not asking too much, really), i expect you to listen. i also expect that you will do your best to find. me. what. i. want. i mean, that's your job, right? You are wasting your breath when you try to talk me into something else entirely. No, i do not need a V8 engine. No, i do not want a stick shift. Yes, i can drive one - i choose not to do so. No, i do not want a car that requires premium gas. What was unclear about the description that i gave to you?

Second, flattery will get you nowhere with me. i have had enough dating experience to know better than to fall for your attempt at being smooth. Has the line, "You know which car on this lot you'd look good in?" really worked for you before? What are you, some overgrown frat boy who practices looking smarmy and delivering oily, over-used lines into your mirror each morning? The fact is that i would look good in any car on your lot - and that that is hardly the point here. i don't like head games in dating. i'm not going to like them any more when it comes to making a business deal. If you would like to lose my business, please continue.

Third, the fact that i have breasts does not mean that you can walk all over me. Nor does it mean that i'm simply going to believe anything you say. Just because i didn't bring along a trusty Rent-a-Man doesn't mean that i know nothing; nor does it mean that i won't ask any real questions or stand my ground. i am fully aware that i am not knowledgeable about cars. i am, however, an intelligent person capable of doing my research who knows how and when to ask for help. You can rest assured that i will have someone double checking every single fact you pitch to me about the car and definitely the things that you've neglected to mention or attempted to smooth over. Did you think that it would go unnoticed that you lowered the car or that you have parts being held together by bailing wire*??? Also, here's a newsflash for you: we know you overprice vehicles. i'm not taking your first offer. Period.

Here's hoping that we meet again - on the 12th of Never. i'll be the one looking for a straight and honest deal and doing her research in the meantime.

Bluntly yours,

-Megs

*Yes, this actually happened

Disclaimer: i know that not all car salesmen are scum. However in my recent foray into this world, i did experience quite a bit of frustrating . . . untruths.

Family Recipe Fridays - Orzo with Spinach and Tomatoes

My friend Jessie has been hosting Family Recipe Fridays for the last few weeks. i've been promising to participate . . . and have been slacking badly.

Now, i know this probably doesn't exactly count as a "family recipe" in the sense that it's been passed down over the generations or anything . . . but my sister loves when i make it, and i intend to pass it down . . . so it's going to count today! (Besides, all the family recipes that i have copied over are stashed in some folder on my desktop and i have yet to brave the search to find them.) Also, i just included this recipe in an article i wrote for the in-house publication where i work, so i had it on the brain. i do really wish that i had a photo for this - it makes such a pretty presentation!


Orzo with Spinach and Tomatoes

(adapted from a recipe by Rachael Ray)

• 1 bag pre-washed spinach
• 1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 lemons
• 1 1/2 cups orzo, cooked to al dente (orzo is a small, rice-shaped pasta; feel free to substitute macaroni or rotini or any bite-size pasta you like!)
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 24 basil leaves
• salt and pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. As you wait for the water to come to a boil, you can do the following preparation:
Pile spinach leaves in stacks 1 on top of the other. This makes it easier to thinly slice the stacks of leaves into thin strips (think confetti). Pile shredded spinach into the bottom of a medium sized mixing bowl. Halve grape or cherry tomatoes with a paring knife and add them to the mixing bowl. Zest your lemons, adding the zest to the bowl.

Add the orzo to your now boiling water. Cook according to the time on the package – orzo is usually a quick cooking pasta. Add hot, cooked and drained orzo pasta to the mixing bowl. The heat of the pasta will wilt the spinach and warm the tomatoes at the bottom of the bowl. The heat of the pasta will also release the flavor and oils in the lemon zest. Drizzle 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil over the pasta, squeeze the juice from the lemons in, and toss to combine the veggies and orzo. Slice or tear basil (i like to use kitchen scissors), add to the bowl, and toss to combine. Taste your orzo, salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

Writer's Workshop - Adventures in Awkward

Workshop Assignment: Share a recent adventure you had with a friend.

Ok, first of all, i don't know what it is about these assignments that seems to encourage me to share with all y'all my life of weird. i really don't. But it's fun (and funny), so i shall continue!

Also, i'm not totally convinced that this counts as an "adventure with a friend" . . . but i'm going to proceed as if it does.

So last weekend, some friends and i attended Frist Friday at the local art museum. Trés fun. There's live music, art, a cash bar, and there used to be pretty good "complimentary hors d’oeuvres" at the functions. (We all agreed that the fare of potato chips and stale pretzels did not count as hors d’oeuvres. Just sayin'.)

As we crossed the lawn and entered the building, i noticed this guy by the door. Nothing outrageous . . . just noticed that he was pretty cute. We made eye contact. i smiled. He smiled. The end. Except . . . not.

After we'd wandered around the museum for a bit and done some socializing, we headed back out to the lawn to listen to the headliner (Danielle Peck) sing. Well, lo and behold, y'all. Cute Guy was the person who came out on stage to introduce her! This piqued my interest, of course. Who was this guy? Why was he making the introductions? We listened to Danielle sing a set, and then made plans to head out for dinner.

But i got one of my wild hairs before we left. Y'all - i wanted to go introduce myself to this guy! But how does one go about that? "Hello, complete stranger! i think you're pretty cute!" No . . . but pretty close, if you're me and feeling shameless. And, apparently, i was. So i turned to Kelly, and told her that i wanted to give this guy my card . . . knowing that she would full-on encourage me. And she did not disappoint. "DO IT! DOOOO IIIIIITTTT! We're not leaving until you do it."

And so, i took a deep breath, gathered my courage (and a little insanity), scribbled my cell number on the back of one of my cards, and headed in his direction.

Me: "Hey there." (big smile)
Cute Guy: "Well . . . hi." (a little startled, but a nice smile)
Me: "Are you married?"
Cute Guy: "Ummmm . . . no." (laughs)
Me: "Are you straight?"
Cute Guy: "Ummm . . . yes." (a lot more laughter)
Me: "Good! Because i noticed you over here, and i wanted to give you my number."

And then i handed him my card and high-tailed it out of there. And for those of you thinking "You. Did. NOT!" i assure you . . . i did.

Kelly met me at the edge of the lawn and when i shared how things had gone down as we walked to the car, she had a good laugh. i just shook my head. Y'all - i never even asked his name! i didn't make any move toward introductions whatsoever. i am a hot mess.

BUT . . . HE CALLED!

That Sunday afternoon, as i prepared a birthday lunch for a friend, my phone rang. It was a number i didn't recognize. i don't often answer those, but i happened to answer this one.

Me: "Hello?"
Cute Guy: "Hi there. Who've i got here?"
Me: "Ummm . . . who're you trying to get?"
Cute Guy: "Ummm . . . i don't really know."
Me: ". . . oooh! OH! Oh, hi!"

We actually had a pretty decent little conversation. We had a good laugh over my blunt and abrupt approach, and we managed a proper introduction. We chatted about who we are, where we've been, what we do, and how we got here. We'll see where things go . . .

At the very least, we both have a great story to tell!

For more Writer’s Workshop, go here.