You only turn one, once.  Or your children do.  We all only turn every age, once.   And I, frankly, wish that I could eat my cake like my son did.  Don’t you feel like we all should?  Especially if your cake is homemade, because when in your life does someone BAKE A CAKE just for YOU?  On you’re birthday. So eat up my friends!  And don’t let anyone tell you different.

But more than cake, let’s capture these moments, these cakes, these birthdays, these friends, these families, and these years.  In pictures!  Ali, A good friend of mine own a business that specializes in crafting and party planning.  But it’s not the usual crafts and party decor, it’s chic and unique, and makes all the difference.  She calls her genius  The Salty Apple, and this idea of the DIY Photo Booth was all hers.

And it was a total hit!

What you’ll need:

A wall or an an archway

A sheet matching your party’s theme and colors

decorations of your choosing

a camera with a self timer or a designated photographer, ie. you or one of your guests

a costume/prop box

friends and family!

What to do:

If you have a large space, just find two trees, a wall, or in this case, an archway for your backdrop.  Then, choose a sheet, table cloth, or blanket in which the color matches with your party theme, and hang it up in the chosen space.  My  husband just stapled this baby blue sheet we got at target for $10.00.  Then, add anything to the sheet, or archways surrounding it that you’d like to be in your photo.  We chose balloons and then a garland to add a bit more color.  Then, set up a camera on a tripod, or an iPhone on a stool, and put a little note explaining that you’ve set up the camera on a timer and to position themselves in the photo.  However, my mom ended up helping out and so she just took the photos for us which turned out to be better.

We also had a “prop box” in which we could dress up and make it fun.  The theme of Chip’s party was music, so we had blow up guitars and microphones, as well as fun sunglasses, boas,masks and rockstar hair.  This shot is just our little family, but we took a similar shot with each guest and, of course, encouraged each guest to take their own!

And then we used our photos to order Thank You cards via iPhoto for our friends and family who celebrated Chip with us, and do so every day.  I also will order prints of the other photos to send to our friends so they have a keepsake of the day.

But do you know what makes this photo booth so very fun?  The garland! It’s made with Cupcake Liners!  For Reals!

Ali made up this concept as well.  I just used a fishing line and then put two different patterns of cupcake liners on it to create the above garland.  But seriously, check out the ones over at the The Salty Apple, they are beautiful!

How fun is that?  I saved it so I could put it up in Chip’s room later.  I also made another version with not so many liners and chose liners whose colors match our bedroom and put a few up in there!

I hope you try out this photo booth, it’s super fun and you can make it all your own! Plus, then you have memories of the party, the theme, who was there, and everything you guys did!  If you do make your own photo booth, let me know, I’d love to see pictures! Have fun and Happy Birthday/Anniversary/Graduation/and anything else you are celebrating!

Our son got sick a week or so ago.  He feel asleep in my husband’s arms holding an uneaten cracker.  I wrote about how hard it is to see your child sick.  And, with babies, you feel a bit helpless when what you can give them is very limited.

As he was on the mend, he spent his nap times and night times coughing up a storm, which meant he got no sleep, which of course served to be a few, really long, days.  Anytime I can, I’d rather give our family home remedies instead of medication.  Of course, if the home remedy doesn’t work, then I’m all for the tylenol/advil/etc.

But, in this case, I’m stoked to say that the home remedy was AWESOME.  Seriously.  Cough was gone in about a day in a half, and I only had to give him maybe 4 teaspoons of this in that time.

I found this recipe on a myriad of websites, but was sold on the idea off of LIVESTRONG, which of course, means that Lance himself approves, right?  I mean basically it’s safe to say that this cough syrup got him through the Tour de France.

I KNOW.

And here’s the deal people.  This has two ingredients: onions and sugar.  Yes, I just said that.  Let’s be real for a minute though.  IT TASTES LIKE ONIONS.  Everyone on the internets is saying that this doesn’t taste like onions, but it does.  How could it not?  But, my son still drank it and actually really liked it.  According to Lance, onions have components that thin phlegm (sick word) and cause coughing which forces your throat to get rid of it’s congestion that’s blocking your lungs and clear up rapidly.

I used this along with a humidifier during Chip’s naps and night times for 2 days, and it worked like a charm!

Homemade Cough Syrup for Babies

Prep Time: 3 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

1 medium sized onion

1 cup granulated sugar

fine mesh strainer

funnel

air tight bottle for storing

Directions:

Chip onion into a few pieces and place into small pot. Add one cup of sugar and put over medium heat. Allow mixture to boil, and stir frequently. Reduce to a simmer for about 20 minutes, and continue to stir frequently. The juices of the onion are being extracted during this process and combining with the sugar to create a syrup. Once finished, and syrup has formed and is thick, pour through a fine mesh strainer so that onion pieces are not in syrup. Using a funnel, our into an air tight container. Lasts for a week in the refrigerator.

Chip is one and I used one teaspoon per dose.

I don’t make New Years resolutions, because I feel like if I want to change my life, I should just get up, and do so.  I have no idea though, when that became so hard, or when I became so old.  Chip never wakes up and then groggily says, “Please, mom, just 5 more minutes.”  But I literally am peeling myself off my sheets in the morning to get up.

And I honestly wish that it was different.  That I was a morning person.  But the truth is, is that I’m not a morning person or a night person really.  So I’ve implemented a few things to give myself more energy.

Such as, eating dinner earlier.

Such as, more protein.

Such as, a smoothie every day.

Ugh I’m tired of typing “such as.”  Isn’t there a video of a beauty queen saying “such as” too much?

And of course, a little surprises in my day gives me more energy.  Yes, this smoothie has oats! Not cooked.  Just blended!

What do you do for more energy?

Dairy Free Weekend Smoothie

Yield: 2 smoothies

Prep Time: 3 minutes

Cook Time: 2 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

1 banana

2 heaping scoops of some sort of peanut buttery type food. I used sunflower butter.

1 cup rice milk (or other milk if you prefer)

1/2 cup quick cooking oats

honey to taste (optional)

Directions:

Pour all ingredients except honey into blender, and blend for 1-2 minutes to ensure that the oats get blended real well. Add honey if you deserve for smoothie to be sweeter and blend again. Enjoy!

My son was sick this week. The type of sick that is worrisome.  His temperature was 103.5, he would not eat, he would barely sleep, and his normal demeanor that I like to classify as crazy, was subdued.  He didn’t wan’t to explore.  Hardly smiled or laughed.  And he fell asleep at 5 pm in my husband’s arms holding an uneaten cracker.

Around 8 pm he woke up and his body was on fire.  His legs and arms, however, were covered in goosebumps and he was shivering.  I held him all night, and we desperately tried to get him to take medicine, and keep him hydrated as best we could.  I remember sitting there in his rocker with his turtle lamp that illuminates stars on to his ceiling to keep me company.  I wonder if the manufacturer’s who put those pieces together know and understand the comfort that assembled product brings.  I wonder if they know that as my son was shivering in my arms, yet his skin was almost too hot to touch, that those stars brought me hope.  I wonder if they knew these things, if they’d have a renewed sense of purpose to what they do.  Maybe I’ll write to them and let them know.

And so there I was, holding Chip while Cy went to Walgreens to get some Motrin.  We had given him Tylenol but our close friend who is also a pediatrician suggested switching between Mortin and Tylenol every three hours as needed.  And so we did.  I don’t know the semantics behind medicine, but I do know that our Dr. does and when you have a fiery-hot body in your arms who is shaking and his teeth are chattering in his sleep, you do what the doctor says.  And you also pray.  Because honestly that’s all I know how to do.  It gets me through the day, grants me forgiveness and teaches me to grant the same, and brings me comfort and hope.

I’ve been reading through Psalm 145 these past few weeks, and when you spend time reading the same passage over and over, the words start to stick in your brain and they become part of your beating heart.  And it was there, in that dark room that I was reminded, “The Lord is faithful in all His words, and He is kind in all His works.”  (Psalm 145:13b) And I thought back to the Gospels and the stories of Jesus healing the sick and the weak, and I begged and I pleaded that He would show that same grace and mercy on Chip. And me. and Cy. And us. As a family.

And as I meditated on this, I’m  made so very aware that if I choose to say these words and to believe them then I must believe the no matter what the next few hours bring, or what happens with Chip’s fever.  I must hold on to the fact that I truly believe that Chip is God’s child first.  And if I, made up of broken and sinful love, love him as much as I do, and Cy loves him as much as his sinful being does, then how much more, does God, who is perfect and whose love is far greater than I could ever grasp….how much more does He, love Chip? Infinitely more.  And so I must press on.  And I must believe that He will heal Chip for He loves Him and He cares for him.

Also in Psalm 145 it says, ” One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.” (v.4)  And I just get this picture of Chip, older, maybe in college or beyond and he’s living his life which we all know has its ups and downs.  And he’s tired, frustrated, worried, and he’s contemplating where God is.  And, if he’s like me, which he is in so many ways, he is questioning why situation “x” has happened and he’s calculating his steps and wondering why he is deserving what he’s getting.  Or, he’s happy, joyful, over the top excited about life, and he’s so excited that he’s speechless. Yet he’s jumping for joy and if he’s like Cy, which he is in so many ways, he’s looking for an opportunity to shout it from the rooftops.  And it dawned on me that I don’t want those moments to be the first time that Chip is aware of  God’s faithfulness. I want him to know that God has been in his life, working in his life, and guiding his life from the day he was conceived.  That since he was little, God has always been there.

That He stopped him from pre-term labor so that He would develop to his full potential.

That He brought him here safely.

That He provided food and nourishment for him every day.

That at 6 months when he was sick and wouldn’t eat solids for a week, He was there.

I want him to find comfort in the ways that God moved in his life.  To find joy in looking back and seeing how and what God did.

Starting with this fever he had, that he no longer does.

And so I bought a journal and the first page has that verse. A command that each generation should tell the next generation of God’s faithfulness.  The verse that as a mom, I must, MUST carry on.

And I plan to tape his hospital bracelets to it, so that it’s always identifiable.  And I will write of ways that God was faithful, and I will write of exciting things, scary things, and in all things I will give God glory. Even when I don’t understand the circumstances, I will write down what God is doing.  For I truly believe that one day, as Chip reads these notes, he too will see God’s hand.  And the times that we aren’t sure or when the details I’m writing about seem so small and insignificant, that someday, in this life or next, it will be made known of why God moved the way He did.  And how good He truly is.

This Giveaway is closed.

FRIENDS!  I am so very excited about this giveaway!  It’s the season for getting and getting.  For Christmas lists, and Santa.  For acting surprised when you saw the package that came in the mail.  Stockings.  Lights. And everything that winter is all about.

And if you are in my home, it’s the season for re-arranging your furniture because you can’t decide where to put your Christmas tree.  And then you realize that you have a HUGE blank spot on your wall and you are DYING for some sweet photography.  Wall art.  That Pops.  And screams modern, fun, and delicious.  All at once.

And this, is where my dear friend Melissa from Melissa Tomeoni Photography comes to the rescue.  A little formal introduction…drumroll please….

Melissa Tomeoni Photography specializes in portraits, high school senior portraits, newborn and children photography. We are located in Portland, Oregon but also service areas such as Seattle, Tacoma and Vancouver, Washington, as well as Southern California locations Malibu, Thousand Oaks and Orange County areas. You will find our style to be modern, classic, unique and fashion forward.

Like Melissa, her food photography is fresh, hip, inspired, and joyful.  And for these reasons, I can’t imagine any other artwork that I want on my living room wall.  And guess what my friends?  She is giving away TWO prints to you fine readers of Bonnie the Baker!

This, could be yours:

Along with a photo which represents a scenario that is near and dear to the heart of all foodies:

AHH! I can hardly handle how lucky all y’all are!!

• Each print is 5×5 and will be mailed to you directly from Melissa Tomeoni herself.  The only prints which can be won is the “Orange” image as well as the “Orange Peel”, no exchanges are permitted.
• Disclaimer: I was not compensated for this post, although Melissa is a kind soul and gave me two prints for my naked wall.  Because that’s the kind of person she is: generous.

Here’s how you win!!  You can get one entry for every one of these AWESOME things you complete which will, of course, increase your chances of winning.  So have at it!

This contest ends at midnight on December 22, 2012 in which the winner will be randomly selected and announced before Christmas.  GOOD LUCK!

WOOO-HOO! Nicole, from I am Honey Bee has won the two prints from Melissa!! Congratulations Nicole!!

I used Random.org in order to get a true, random, winner.  

A year ago, this week, I was about to have my first child and I made a version of these cookies.  Literally, the post date on that post is December 13, 2010. WHAAAT? Fast forward 365 days, sleepless night, first steps, tears, kisses, and a million other things, and here I am again, making and eating these cookies.  I am pretty sentimental, but I didn’t plan this.  Promise.

This year I participated in the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap.  In theory you were to make three dozen cookies that is either your own original recipe, or a twist on an original or other recipe, and then send them to three different food bloggers that you were paired up with.  In theory, you were to then get three different dozen cookies in the mail.  I received two batches of cookies, one from  Lisa from the Splattered Apron, and the other was from Joelen from What’s Cookin, Chicago?  They were delicious! I felt like I was back in college getting care packages form my mom.  I still have tons left, and we’ve been eating them every day!  Thank you so much ladies!  However, I only received two, and am bummed that I did not receive all three!

I sent cookies to these wonderful bloggers:  Natalie from Oven Love, Sarah from Daily Nibbles, and Phyl from Of Cabbages and Kings.  I hope you guys enjoyed your cookies!!

But anyway, those were the precepts for the cookie swap, so I whipped these babies up because they are the perfect combination of salty and sweet, and they have a little bit of holiday cheer.

And I’m not talking booze.  I wish I was talking booze.  Not really.  Because then I’d be at home eating 5 of these and then suddenly I am not longer a fun mom who is on a sugar high, I am an irresponsible adult.  But seriously, y’all.  I’m talking candy canes!

I put these into a food processor and in ten seconds they were done.  Ok. Let’s be real.  I first put them in a double zip lock baggy, and then I used a small hammer to crush them.  I then rolled them with a rolling pin. And broke a sweat.

And I made hearts and Instagrammed them and acted very domestic like rolling candy canes was something I always do this time of year.

Yeah. Right.

And then my dear sweet husbands says to me, “Why didn’t you just use the food processor?”

And so we find ourselves staring blankly at one another waiting to see who will laugh at me first.

Welcome to our home.

And a Merry Christmas to you!

Candy Cane Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt

A delicious twist on the classic cookie. Recipe adapted from the Nestle Toll House bag.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter (room temperature or slightly melted)

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups Nestle Toll House Milk Chocolate Chocolate Chips

1-2 boxes crushed candy canes (depending on how much candy cane you want present in your cookie)

sea salt for sprinkling when cookies are out of the oven

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Unwrap candy canes and place them in food processor until they are crushed, but not powder. Set aside. In mixing bowl with whisk attachment, combine sugars, butter, and eggs. Add in baking soda, salt, and vanilla extract. Add flour in small doses, making sure to scrape the sides of the bowl so it's well-combined. Turn mixer off and stir in milk chocolate chips with wooden spoon. Add candy cane sprinkles and fold into dough, just as you did with the chocolate chips. Use two spoons or a small cookie dough scoop to place on a cookie sheet, leaving enough room between each cookie so that they made spread out. You may want to use wax paper on the cookies sheet, but you don't have to. It's just easier to scrape off with the spatula, and a bit neater. Bakes for 9-11 minutes. As soon as the cookies are out of the oven, sprinkle them with sea salt, just enough to have a light dusting. The sea salt should only be a light dusting, not a coating or sprinkles like a decoration, otherwise they will be too salty. Cool the cookies on cooling racks, and the salt will stick as it cools. Eat slightly warm with milk, or the next day, any time and any way that you would like.

They had to enjoy the journey to the destination.

Third places were even sometimes a front lawn or neighbor’s house.  It was before curtains were drawn at the 5:00 hour or porch lights turned off so no one would come and bother you.  The closest thing we have to a third place today is Starbucks.  And while there is nothing wrong with Starbucks, I can’t help but think of how that is mostly a comforting habit for most people, not a community gathering place.  Sometimes, though, it is.

Anyway, I’ve set out to re-embrace the third place.  To visit places in my community that I can walk to, or at the very least, walk around for a long while.  And each week, I’m posting my Instagram shots from these places, as a reminder that social media does not count as a third place.  We can’t see faces, we can’t hear voices.  There is a time and place for that too, but we mustn’t forget to get out of our homes and into the world.

All photos are taken on my iPhone 4s.

Here we go, week 1:

We had breakfast down the street at a little cafe where my son loves to eat hash browns, sausage patties and pancakes without any syrup.  I managed to grab a photo of the ceiling fan.

It’s been in the 70′s and 80′s here and while some complain that this isn’t Christmas weather,  I am absolutely more in love with Southern California this year than ever before.  This was taken on the way to church.

Baby boy loves cups and water.

California sunsets are beautiful.  Taken during the end of a hike on a local trail.

Self portrait of my son and I on our way to the local Farmer’s Market upon which we drank our spinach and kale smoothies I made before we left, and each had a croissant.

I had the chance of grabbing dinner and dessert with a food blogger friend, Stephanie.  She was so very sweet and we enjoyed crepes all sorts of ways!

Image from hike# 2 of this week.  We have mountains AND sea near us, and I couldn’t be more thankful.  Im still sore from this one, although I am not sure if it’s because I was carrying a 25 pound baby or because I hauled it after I saw the sign that notified me that mountain lions were known to attack without warning. Awesome.  May be the last image you see from this hiking area.

What’s dinner without a game of peek-a-boo?

These kids were so excited about their donuts, they made me want some, and I don’t even like donuts.

Hope everyone is having a good week and great weekend ahead planned!  Link below any recent pictures you’ve taken so I can see what you are up to!

Love.

Its gloomy here, and while I usually love that type of weather, it feels a bit too cold for my taste.  Holidays are a weird time of year, they conjure up so many different emotions and yet I don’t think that we are all honest about how they make us feel.  Let’s get real here for a minute.  Families can be messy.  Holidays can be stressful.  There can be pressure, hurt, fears, and insecurities.  We want to give perfect gifts, be the perfect hostess, make the perfect turkey, and all for what?

Don’t get me wrong, I get trapped here too, and frankly I’m in the thick of it.  My husband and I have been married for three years, and this is the first year of the holidays with our son.  Last year he was a week old at Christmas, and I hardly remember what that day was like.  And so I find myself this year longing to make our own traditions and am hopeful for what these next few months bring.

Oh, and I’m always crying. Not really, always, but enough to mention it.  Because Chip is turning ONE next month and I can’t figure out where this year went.  Because  I realized that when I was in high school, college, and grad school, there was always a deadline of finals, of the quarter system that signaled the ending of a season and the beginning of a new one.

And even when I was an editor of a magazine we existed and thrived on deadlines.  My time spent in the marketing field was the same: seasons, sales goals, and social media campaigns.  Now, I am in a world that is so far from these deadlines, that I find that I am stopping dead in my tracks.

Because my world now is no longer defined by these types of deadlines.  It’s by first steps, finger foods, sleeping through the night, a new tooth, a smile, a tear, play dates, holidays, birthdays, and

growing up.

These deadlines are much less stressful, yet they take a whole different toll on your heart.  These deadlines cause my heart to grow fuller, my joy to be more infinite and for the first time to feel like I am really, actually living.

Don’t get me wrong, there are hard days and there are rough days and even harder nights.  But even the hard times are the best times, and as this year is quickly ending and the holidays are so very fast approaching, I am choked up, trying to take it all in, and doing my best to find the right words to put what it’s like to watch someone grow up.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

And I’ve taken up yoga for this very purpose.

And I take breaks in the day and make things like a Pear and Pepper Latte.  I just sit, and I reflect, and I Thank, and I marvel.

I treat myself so that I am rested.  I get rid of distractions.

And I relish in not being too busy.

Because deadlines can pass directly over our heads and in the world of words, marketing, money, and finance, we can always make new ones.  But in this life, the life that involves our loved ones, people, humanity, we can’t make new deadlines.

When they pass, they pass.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

Sip. Enjoy. Reflect. Repeat.

Pear and Pepper Latte

Yield: half a dozen cups of coffee

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 10-15

Total Time: 20 minutes (only the first time)

By latte, I mean cafe au lait. I like coffee better, but just substitute espresso if you'd like a true latte. And this is a Bonnie the Baker original.

Ingredients:

A pot of your favorite coffee, brewed
1/2 ripe pear
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
3-10 white and black pepper kernels
milk if you so desire
1 loose leaf tea infuser

Directions:

Brew your favor pot of coffee

While brewing, or perhaps right before depending on how fresh you like to pour your joe, slice the 1/2 pear (remove seeds) and place in a small saucepan with 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently, and let boil for about 5-10 minutes, allowing syrup to thicken and sugar to dissolve completely. (If you want extreme pear flavor, then use a whole pear in this same sugar water ratio.)

Remove from heat.

Place pepper kernels into tea infuser. I like mine super peppery because I love that kid of stuff. But I would start small and increase for strength, you don't want to be overcome with the pepper flavor if you are unsure about it.

Pour coffee into favorite mug, and scoop as many tablespoons of pear syrup into mug while coffee is still hot, and stir. The more Place tea infuser with pepper kernels into hot coffee and let sit for 3-5 minutes. Again, start small here, you can always steep more for a stronger pepper flavor. Remove tea infuser, add milk or cream as usual.

Put left over syrup into a mason jar or left over peach jar (pictured) and then store at room rep for up to two weeks. If you go to re-use and it's become hard, use a double broiler to heat it up again.

Enjoy!

Y’all.   I had a birthday!  The big 2-7.  And I made a boxed cake and decorated it and got a smudge of frosting on the side.  Whatevs.  Messy tastes the same.

And on my birthday I put a shot on Instagram of my cake and sometimes I think that my Instagram shots are better than my real camera shots.  Because I don’t really care about much besides being in that moment when I am using the ol’ iPhone.  I’m not worried about who will really see it, nor am I worried that the lighting is right.  I’m just stoked that I get to photograph my life and keep a record of it, so that I can look back and be pleased with the things I’ve seen.

And while I may take photos with my phone, I’ve turned a new leaf in my 27th year.  I’ve deleted Facebook and Twitter off my iPhone, because it was becoming a bad habit.  I kept checking them without thinking about it, and it was driving me crazy. I was driving myself crazy.

Hold down. Shake those icons. Delete.  Done.

Do you know how good that feels?  I’ve rescued the sound of the coffee machine as it brews early in the morning.  I’ve gotten back the feeling of using my imagination.  I’ve re-trained the art of conversation between strangers.  And I’ve made my whereabouts and tasks at hand sacred information, something that has been lost on so many of us.

But I still Instagram.  Because I want to document what I do each day.  And I want to look back and remember how I was feeling and what I did to really live that day.

And that’s also why I have this blog.  Welcome!  (Do you like what I’ve done with the place?  If you are reading in RSS, click out of it and check out my new design!)  I want my blog to be a chronology to thoughts I’ve had, emotions I’ve experienced, things I’ve eaten, photographs I’ve taken, fears, joys, and failures.  I want baby Chip, when has inevitably grown up way too fast, to be able to look what I’ve written and get a glimpse of what we did, ate, saw, and talked about when he was growing up.

Oh, and my husband got me that necklace for my birthday from The Vintage Pearl.  Those three rectangular charms are the longitude and latitude coordinates of places that are important to us: the place we had our first kiss and he proposed, the place we got married, and the hotel we stayed in for three weeks before Chip officially  joined the clan.  Places are important. Landmarks are essential.

But because I’m 27 and finding numerous gray hairs each day, I’ve made a list of “20 Things to do Before I Turn 30″ so that I truly keep living.    Drumroll please:

1. Learn to play a song on the guitar

2. Go with my husband to Hawaii

3.Make a music video as a family

4. Run a half marathon

5. Finish first draft of book

6. Buy a stranger’s groceries

7. Visit a bee farm

8.  Make a Baked Alaska

9. Make a chandilier

10. Spend the night at the bottom of the Grand Canyon

11. Visit the pier in Ocean City with my family

12. Take dad to the Kentucky Derby

13. Wine tasting trip with the ladies

14. Go luxury camping

15. Take a rose petal bath while sipping champaign

16. Take Cy on a date to see a band perform at Red Rocks

17. Become true, real life pen pals with my dad

18. Cook a live lobster

19. Make a mix CD of all my favorites that everyone HAS to hear and send it to those closest to me

20. Knit Chip a sweater

Happy Birthday indeed.

P.S.  I’m still formatting posts etc.  I’m human so it’s going to take me awhile.

Before you freak out, my child is pictured here in a play yard.  Get that?  Play yard. Meaning, he is playing and that thing, in a size comparison to his little body is an entire yard.  So I’d say it’s a sweet deal for him.  I’d even throw in a “you’re welcome, Chip.”

But can we talk about being grounded for a minute?  I distinctly remember being grounded when I was little for talking back to my mom.  My punishment was to sit in my room and not be able to watch Duck Tales.  I was so mad at myself for getting grounded that while I was wallowing in self-pity, I took my favorite eraser and I ripped it up.  At age 5.  WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?

And dissection of the psychological issues from that story that I clearly have with being an extreme Type-A and a perfectionist, let’s begin by clearly understanding that I had no idea how good I had it.

Grounded.  Sent to my room, ALONE for an extended period of time.  WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO TO GET BACK HERE?

This week, I have talked back with tons of sass, spilled milk all over the floor, swore at the spilled milk, raised my voice, ate dessert before dinner (multiple times), was snarky for no reason, made a mess and didn’t clean it up, was rude, was self-seeking, cried and threw a tantrum, and, to top it all off, got a cell phone while driving ticket.

AND NONE OF THIS WARRANTED BEING GROUNDED.

Do you even know the fun I would have being grounded?  I would read.  I would tweet. I would Instagram.  I would sneak cookies in there and then shove them all in my face while laughing about it.  I would scream behind closed doors to make it seem like I was in true, true misery.  I would nap.  I would dream.  I would write.  I would look out the window and pretend, for once in my life, to be bored.

And then I would pin point what got me in that delightful  miserable situation and I would do it over and over again.