Compost: Life Comes From Death

Every day, I collect sweet potato scraps, coffee grinds, and old green beans for my compost pile and top it with dead grass.

In six months, this persistent effort will yield dark, rich soil, perfect to grow tomatoes, zucchini, greens, and other vegetables in my summer garden.

Death makes way for life.  Life comes from death.

Eucharistic Procession, Gatewood Neighborhood, Oklahoma City

Last Sunday, out of the darkness that threatened from the Black Mass, arose a Eucharistic Procession at St. Francis of Assisi, with some 3,000 people in attendance to pray for the city and honor Christ Jesus.  

St. Francis, before the prayer service

Rosary school gym, dedicated overflow from the Church

Corpus Christi parishioners in the real overflow, outside

Episcopal priest with his children

Shaded overflow

St. Damien's Parishioner

End of Procession

People Pray Outside Church after the Procession

Texas Seminarian kneels in front of Eucharist

To read some of Archbishop Coakley's remarks, see my article here.  

Daily Life: Hilarious

As the baby is trying to maneuver around the maraca under her leg:

Me [to the baby]: Are you stuck from the maraca?  Or is the maraca stuck under you?

My husband: That's a metaphysical question.

Me: It's just a physical question.

Him: All physical questions are metaphysical.

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It's cool now??*

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Travis, after studying during intercession to get ahead: Well, the stuff we're doing right now is actually pretty hard.

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Pediatrician's Nurse about my crawling baby: Are you giving her plenty of tummy time, mama?

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While walking around our new 'hood:
Me: I'm really glad our house number is even.  I like even numbers so much more than odd, and its both even overall and if you add all the digits, it's even.  It'd be even better if every digit is even, but that's okay.

Travis: Well, zero isn't even or odd.

Me: Yeah, but I like to think of it as even.


*I mean, NPR is great.  Love Krista Tippet's On Being.  Have had driveway moments.  But cool?

Eating with a Baby

In a breakfast rut?  Same ol' cereal getting boring?  No time for oatmeal?

Eat with a baby!

(Okay, so this won't actually solve the time problems...)

But!  It will get your out of your normal breakfast foods.  Suddenly, things like sweet potatoes seem good for breakfast, because that's what the baby is eating*.

And it is good.  It's delicious and nutritious and easy and cheap- the quad equivalent of trifecta of food!

Your baby loves avocado so much her face turns green?  Avocado-toast for breakfast!  Yes!  Add a hard-boiled egg for protein- she loves the yolk, too.

Her love of peaches and blueberries reminds you to eat your fruits, too.  The way she smashes them on her mouth indicates their deliciousness.

Plus, it's a chance to teach her baby sign language and prepare her for a future of being brilliant, just like you.

Clean up and enjoy the day!





*Real sweet potatoes: just cleaned, poked, and put on a baking sheet for about 45 minutes at 425.  This can be done ahead of time and warmed in the microwave.  Cut and serve!

(And I'm no feeding-a-baby expert, but I do a combo of this and this- basically soft table food and nursing after 6 months, only mama's milk before.)

Big League City: please don't out-cool me.

So, did you see that piece in the NY Times about Oklahoma City?  How everyone is moving here because it's affordable, you can buy a house, etc?

Yeah, I hated that.

On my way to Braum's.
Super cool apartments.
Looks like Dwell.

If too many people do that, it won't be true.

This will happen instead.

At the Myriad garden's

Yeah, I love the myriad garden's renovations as much as the next person.

But, for real, don't get too cool, OKC.  I love you the way you are.

Myriad Garden's

Ramshackle paths and all.

Also Gatewood.  

Green-eyed Monster/New Column

Green-eyed monster keeping you from enjoying the blessings in your own life?  Check out my take here- it's my first young adult column.

Classic Oklahoma Sunset
(just beause it's pretty)

And then fuel that giant ogre with my sister's food + fashion + travel blog.  Hey, you can learn to make some of that fabulous food of hers.  Mmmm, Beignet's!

And someday soon, if I ever emerge from August, I'll tell you the story of a Nashville wedding.

The Past Month

1.

This happened.

And worked: all five babies slept.  

Beach Trip '14!  Woo-hoo!

2. German Catan. 

Notice: Germans assume a basic understanding of probability.

And, yes, I won. 

But I may or may not have played against kids who didn't remember all the rules.  So.  You know.

3. These books are great.  And I'm already looking forward to this one.*

(And as is this one, only I haven't reviewed it.  

I just read it on the beach.  

Light enough for beach reading, good enough for couch reading.)

4. Food.  For the babe.  

That's happening, big time.

peaches.

As is crawling.  

5. My family likes to pretend we're on TV.

and hang out at the beach

Yes, that's the father of my child.
And, yes, that's during beach karoke.
Thanks, Rachel and Chad, for a whole new world.

6. My husband's family gathered at the lake.

7. Some day soon, we're moving.

*Yes, I'm shamelessly sharing my recent published pieces.

Funny Things My Husband Says

(After winning at backgammon for the third time in four games, a change from the status quo of me winning more often than not)

Post-game board

 Don't worry, we'll re-match later.

But I need at least an hour to bask in the glory of my win.

And I'm going to do that by throwing away our donut trash.