Max.

This is Max. He's a good little Walker Treeing Coonhound, and always very curious. He loves rummaging through closets for tasty shoes, standing on kitchen tables to get a better view, and climbing out of fences because there is probably someone fun to hang out with on the other side. He also loves to wrestle, cuddle, and look at you with the most loving hound dog eyes ever!

Max adopted me a couple weeks ago when I was out on a run. (Yes, run. More on that later.) He ran right up next to me and just kept on going for another mile. No collar, no microchip, and no one looking for him at the pound, so Max became ours. The only problem with that: Max climbs. He climbed out of our little Gumbo-proof chicken wire fence. Then he climbed out of our neighbor's 6-foot tall wooden fence. So, it became very clear that Max wasn't staying with us.

We took him to get neutered, checked him for heart worm, got all his shots, bought a kennel to keep him safe when we were away from the house, bought a LOT of raw bones because he loves to chew, stood guard over him every second he was in the backyard, and started looking for someone with a fence that he couldn't climb over!

We had nine exhausting, fun-filled days with Max. Ainsley and I cried as he walked down the street with his new friends. Lucy the cat brought us a flying squirrel to say thank you for getting rid of him! Gumbo is still depressed. I'm still conflicted about not having spent $5,000 for a new fence. Love that Max!

Home from surgery.

Nibbling on Gumbo.

Saving a bone for later.

Time flies.

OMG, I suck at being the family historian. I have the very best intentions and all kinds of plans for blogging about funny or at least noteworthy things the kids say and do, but then I get distracted, and then I forget. Which is really the point of the whole damn thing—so when we've forgotten everything, we can go back and read about what we've been doing for years and years. Jeez!

I've decided not to make New Year's resolutions this year, but I do plan to take advantage of the clean slate that the new year offers. I don't have to feel bad about all the things that I haven't written about or worry about trying to catch up; I'm just starting over. I might have to do a few flashbacks, but for the most part, we're just moving forward. I plan to just "press on" as our good friend Charles would say. He's like 75 years old, and I laugh every damn time he says "press on," even though most of the time he's saying it very seriously. He probably finds that annoying. Hmm. Anyway, fresh start. I'm going to have a lot to say this year.

Absent minded Hawthorne strikes again

The first thing Hawthorne said to me when I picked him up from school today was, "I had to write sentences because I didn't bring my book to school today."

I found this a little confusing because he got in trouble with me last night for not bringing his book home from school. "Huh?" I said. "How is that possible? Where is your book if it's not at school?"

"It's in my backpack," he said as if this shouldn't be confusing at all. And then a look of realization flashed across his face.

How this child gets through his day is sometimes completely baffling to me, but he's actually had a very good run of things lately. He has made straight A's all year, a piece of his art was selected to be displayed at the district's spring art show, and just last month he won a best in grade ribbon for his science projects and was chosen as one of only 12 students to represent the school at the county science fair. Those are some impressive stats for someone who fills a page with "I will bring my book to school from now on" while his book is sitting right next to him in his backpack.

Happy 10th birthday HF!

First pitch of the season. This year I have to yell "Go Yankees!"
Really, that's just a very uncomfortable thing to say for this Mariners family.

 Of course his science project had to have something to do with him throwing, hitting, or dropping a ball. "The Effects of Temperature on the Bounciness of a Rubber Ball."

Corn cakes. Yum.

My nextdoor neighbor was just asking me for a good vegetarian recipe to cook for her niece so she wouldn't have to make veggie lasagna yet again. This is my go to veg recipe for non-vegetarian cooks. Fresh corn is worth the trouble, but frozen will do in a pinch.

Fresh Corn Cakes with Black Bean Relish

corn cakes
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 cups fresh corn kernels
1/2 cup chopped sweet onion
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup quick cooking polenta mix
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

relish
1 can black beans drained and rinsed
handful chopped cilantro (or basil)
1 avocado chopped
pint of grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 chopped red onion
1 chopped bell pepper
juice of 1 lime
salt and pepper to taste
(you can add your fave Italian dressing 

1. In skillet, heat half of the oil over medium heat. Add the corn and onion, stir, cook 5 minutes until onion is tender. Remove from heat. Place half of mixture in food processor. Process until smooth. Transfer to bowl. Stir in buttermilk and egg.

2. In another bowl stir together polenta mix, flour, baking powder, soda, and salt. Add polenta mixture to buttermilk mixture. Stir in remaining corn mixture until combined.

3. In large skillet heat remaining oil over medium heat. For each cake, pour about 1/4 cup batter into hot skillet, spread batter if necessary. Cook over med heat about 2 minutes per side or until golden brown. Add more oil to skillet as needed. (If you're using a non non-stick pan, spray it first.)

4. Plate corn cakes and spoon black bean relish over them. Garnish with fresh cilantro (or basil).

Makes 10-12 cakes.

I have never gotten to the pouring the batter stage and not had to make adjustments. Often, I add more corn than I was supposed to, so I have to add more buttermilk to get the right consistency. But last time I added more buttermilk early on and ended up having to add more polenta mix to get the batter right for pouring. You want it thick enough that it doesn't run across the pan when you pour, but thin enough that it doesn't sit like cookie dough when you pour it in. Also, I often blend the whole corn/onion mixture because the kids like it better that way.

This is one of Hawthorne's favorite meals.

Mrs. Scovell

I live in the future. It's a very bad habit of mine. I realize it serves me well in many ways (and being prepared for whatever comes next because I've already thought about it for days—or years—on end can really be an asset), but it keeps me up at night more often than I'd like to admit. Planning, worrying, contemplating. And it leads to ridicules piles of magazine pages with details about how to get your teenager to talk to you, how to find the perfect bra, when to plant bulbs... for that "some day" when I might need that particular advice. I often remind myself that I need to live more in the moment. To stop multitasking and planning and fretting and just listen and enjoy and soak it all in. I had a very sad reminder today of how important that is.

Hawthorne's kindergarten teacher passed away last night after battling cancer for only 6 months. She was a neat person, and a wonderful teacher, and she still had so much life to live. She had only one more year of teaching until she retired, and I'm so sad for her and her family and even that last class of students who will never know her. She didn't have the experience of wrapping up a career and starting a new chapter in her life. And it breaks my heart. I wasn't prepared for her death—or my reaction to it.

She'll be remembered by so many who learned from her, taught by her side, and entrusted her with their children. I'll always be thankful that we were one of the families touched by her calling as a teacher.

Her death has reminded me how important it is not only to live in the moment but to love it. To appreciate what it is and to be present for it. (Always the teacher.)

Gooey goodness

I've been meaning to share this recipe with y'all for a while. We made it as a Thanksgiving appetizer. It was super yummy, and you can rationalize eating lots of it because of all the stuff in it that's good for you.

Hot Artichoke-Spinach Dip

Ingredients
kosher salt
1 10-oz bag fresh baby spinach
1 cup packed fresh basil
3/4 cup canned cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
6 ounces Neufchatel cream cheese
1 clove garlic, smashed
1/2 cup veggie broth
1 14-ounce can artichoke hearts, drained, squeezed dry, and finely chopped
1/4 cup grated parm cheese
3/4 cup shredded low-fat mozzarella cheese
2 or 3 dashed Worcestershire sauce
freshly ground black pepper
cooking spray
veggies/crackers/pita chips... for serving

Directions
Preheat oven to 450. Bring pot of salted water to a boil and prepare a bowl of ice water. Stir the spinach and basil into the boiling water and cook until bright green, about 30 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon and immediately plunge in the ice water. Drain and squeeze dry, then roughly chop.

Puree the beans, cream cheese, garlic, and broth in a food processor until smooth. Transfer to a medium bowl and fold in the spinach and basil, artichokes, parm, and 1/2 cup mozzarella. Add the Worcestershire, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and black pepper to taste.

Mist a deep 1-quart casserole dish with cooking spray. Spread the dip mixture in the dish and top with remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella. Bake until golden and bubbly, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve warm with chips...

Yummm.

Happy 2012!

A close friend told me the other day that she likes the number 2012—that it has a "nice balance and solidity" to it. I agree—it seems stable and strong, capable of supporting great things. Not that I have plans to accomplish monumental things. Mainly, I just want it to be a fun year. A year where we don't take ourselves too seriously. A year where my "(frustrated) perfectionism" doesn't get in the way.

Carter already has his page-long list of new year's resolutions. Mine are still in my head, which is not a good place for them, but I'm doing a decent job of implementing them nevertheless. I'm eating more protein, which I haven't been all that great about since I became a vegetarian a year and a half ago. (I think smoothies with whey powder are going to be the key.) I have my list of home projects to tackle, and I've vowed to take them one at a time rather than being overwhelmed by the list. When Hawthorne told me at 8:15 this morning (as we were putting on shoes to walk out the door to school) that he forgot to do his math homework, I didn't yell. I just grabbed the calculator and we whipped out a page of long division problems. (Don't worry, I'm not a terrible parent—he already knows how to do long division without me, and the consequence for him is that he now has to do his weekend homework on Friday afternoons.) And, our dinner menu for the week includes at least one thing that we don't eat all the time.

Now I have a few more things to get a handle on. I need to tackle the kids' scrapbooks, which for Ainsley has never even been started! This of course means organizing a lot of family photos, and it's going to take some serious bravery to dive into that deep end. Last year I managed to replace a few pounds of fat with a few pounds of muscle, but now it's time to just lose some fat! We need a schedule for practicing piano when I can focus on it too because little miss doesn't like doing ANYTHING by herself. I need to take more photos to share with grandparents and someday with grandchildren. And I have to become a better bargain clothes shopper because there are three of us in this family who really like to have fun clothes (and take trips and eat out a lot and participate in fun after school activities) all the time.

Notice the biggie missing this year? No entry for "simplify life." It's been on my resolution list for years because it just seemed like paring down would make things easier. But I like having three types of shampoo, two face washes, and four bottles of shower gel lining the bath tub. I'm never going to quit buying lipstick. I will continue to make big volunteer commitments at the kids' school (that sometimes interfere with getting a good night's sleep) because someone has to do that stuff. I might get in the habit of writing all our appointments down, but I'll continue to forget to look at the calendar. I'll always have three baskets of papers on my desk that "need to be dealt with." ... So, life will just have to be a little messy and complicated. Maybe the line item is just to "be OK with messy and complicated."

So here's to a messy, complicated, and fun 2012! Cheers!