Mixed Breed

I like to cook.  I love the mixing and the motions that go into making something yummy.  Creating with food is rewarding.  I mean, I get nothing soulful from spaghettios in the microwave other than easy clean up, less time in the kitchen and processed awesomeness. And, you?  I would like to report that I have a steadfast scientific art to meals in our home, but I don't.  Yes, in my secret life of "Meghan the Great", I  would mimic the handful of friends I have who grade out  beyond rockstar. I have friends who plan their meals and grocery lists on a monthly basis.  I have friends who are utterly wicked freaktastic at clipping coupons and stockpiling like motha truckas.  I even have a friend who has pre-made homemade pancake mix in mason jars with the recipe twined around the top for guests who visit her family's home.  Coincidentally, her handwriting happens to be on the recipe card above.

And, I LOVE THESE FRIENDS.  I look up to them.  They inspire me to be more intentional.  More connected to our family's money and what it provides to the nourishment of our bodies.  On running a family fluidly, I am a mutt of sorts. I am.  I absolutely love the German Shepard pedigree status of creator/artist that I am.  But, I totally cross bred that gift with a scattered/semi-composed/quasi organized Chihuahua down the road.  Ewww, right?  I am but a fledgling in the "art of planned".  How about that for an oxymoron?  I aim to work on it.  I do.  Scratch that.  I am working on it.  S    l    o   w   l   y.

This recipe is one of my all-time easy favorites.  I beam each time I make it.  My taste buds bounce right out of my mouth just thinking about this concoction.  My sweet homegirl, Trisha, first made this dish for me at my house.  Allow me to explain how rockstar she is.  She and her daughter, Camdyn, came to stay with Eli and me the weekend before I was due to have Casey.  {I was big.  I was CAP LOCK PREGGERS. ABOUT TO POP IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT.  Go here for a looksee.}  That particular weekend Kenny, along with Trisha's husband and 11 other men, were on their annual cabin retreat.  Trisha took it upon herself to bring Camdyn down to stay with us just to make sure we were okay.  She drove 4.5 hours with a 22 month old and had a car LOADED with groceries to cook for us for the weekend so that I didn't have to. {And, she left me recipe cards for each meal she cooked.}   What the what?  I know.  That, my friends, is called friendship & compassion in action.  She will forever rank as one of my role models in so many ways.

I beam because this dish is freakin' awesome to taste.  It has fresh cilantro.  Need I say more?  Yes.  You garnish the dish with fresh shredded Parmesan cheese.  Um, I need a moment.       There.  I'm back.  I love this concoction because it's healthy too. I like LOVE donuts as much as the next doll, but I clock in overtime on things that I know my body deserves.  Good food makes me feel good.  Wine does too.  Moderation peeps.  

But, honestly, I would say the high marks this meal receives is for the memory it signifies each time that I make it.  I think about Trisha.  I think about her character and her selfless heart.  I think about a grocery laden car with a 22 month old and 4.5 hours just to help me.  To make my life a little easier.  Safer.  Just in case.  It's these people that I praise God for.  Not just then, but now too.  Those people that aren't necessarily a part of your everyday, but in your every now & again that provide a pillar of strength to you.  Through their outstretched arms and God given gifts, they press in upon your heart.  They make you more.  And, they don't even realize it.  It's just them. I am thankful for these connections.  I'm thankful for God's placement of so many outstanding characters in my walk here on Earth.  Through them, I learn so much about His love.  The Chihuahua in me is ever grateful for my homegirl, Trisha.

Black Bean & Salsa Noodle Soup

• 3 cans (14 oz. each) vegetable broth
• 1 jar (16 oz.) salsa
• 1 can (15 oz.) black beans, drained. (I use 2)
• 1 can (11. oz.) whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 package (5 oz.) Japanese curly noodles or spaghetti noodles
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon lime
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese

1.  Heat broth to boiling in large sauce pan.  Stir in remaining ingredients except cheese.  Reduce to medium heat.

2.  Cook 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally until noodles are tender. Sprinkle with cheese.

6 servings
220 calories
2 grams of fat
8 grams of fiber
0 mg cholesterol


.mac :)

The Beauty of Handmade

There is hope in handmade.  It's that tiny piece of America that stands proudly on the art of craftsmanship and transcends the beauty of individuality with the work of fine minded hands.  As a small business owner and designer, it is my genuine intent that I support, indulge and furthermore, encourage my clients and friends to tap into these amazingly creative souls that make up the beauty of small.

I have written about her before here 4 years ago.  When looking for something special and unique for some people very dear to me, I found Juliet.  Simply put, I cannot say enough sweet things about this designer.  Although, we have never met, I can tell you that she is nothing short of wonderful.  Her talented hands give life to beautiful pieces that I have not only given as gifts but wear myself. I contacted her with an  idea I wanted to do for a necklace for my sister-in-law, Kim, and best friend, Arlene.  I wanted this gift to have meaning.  Juliet listened and heard my requests for these special designs.  She was so considerate and careful to be sure not to leave any part of my requests out in her work.  Above is the necklace she crafted for me 4 years ago from our client/artist design collaboration.  

Here I am wearing it 4 years ago when the this necklace was brand spankin new:

And, here I am still wearing it this summer, 4 years later:

I cherish this necklace as a part of my jewelry collection.  I wear it at least 2-3 times a week.  I cannot tell you the number of compliments I receive when I have it on.  It looks beautiful worn alone.  I've also been mixing metals with shorter and longer chains with it as of late, and I am very happy with the look it helps complete as well.

Like I said earlier, I have given Juliet's work away to Kim when Mollye was born. The poem I wrote with the necklace gift was just exactly what I wanted to give my niece's mom.  I so appreciated Juliet's hands in allowing this personal gift to come to life.

And, Juliet has been my go-to girl when it was time to add-on to Kim's necklace.  Once Mallory was born, I contacted Juliet to make the larger disc with Mallory's name on it to complete Kim's necklace.  Below is a picture of Kim wearing it this summer.  Here is Juliet's listing for this design.  Kim's words when she received Mallory's disc to complete her necklace: 

"I knew it!  I told Adam I knew that you would have this for me.  I am so excited to have it and cannot wait to wear it even more now!"

I did the same thing for my sweet friend, Arlene once her daughter, McKenzie, was born. I loved purchasing from Juliet knowing that I had the perfect future gift in mind when my loved ones' families continued to grow. McKenzie's disc was placed in behind her older's brother's disc to complete Arlene's necklace. 

I have also designed a set of 3 rectangular charms for my long time friend, Heather.  Juliet crafted these  with Heather's sons' names on each. I gave them to Heather as a baby gift when her 3rd son, Cooper, was born.  

Alison, one of my dear friends, loved my necklace and gifting ideas along with the meaning behind it so much that she contacted Juliet for her design expertise.  Alison has enjoyed her custom 3 disc necklace for almost 3 years now.  Here she is with it on this summer:

And the gifting from the work of Juliet's hands hasn't stopped there. Our sweet, long time friend, Taylor Raye,  was also a recipient of one of Juliet's designs.  Once again, Juliet collaborated with me to create a one-of-kind necklace just for her. Kenny had a bible verse on his heart he had chosen for Taylor Raye.  He wanted it to be something she carried with her throughout her life.  Juliet paired this verse with Taylor Raye's monogram on this 2 tone metal design.  We gave this necklace to her for her graduation from high school.

                  

Juliet's creativity is limitless.  She is conscientious in choosing pathways for all clients and their gifting needs not to mention budget.  Here are some of her unpersonalized designs for sweet gifting ideas:

Daisymay owner, Juliet, is a homeschooling mother of three who makes her home in California.  Her words regarding her business:

"Making jewelry is the perfect creative outlet for me. Creating custom pieces is my favorite part!" 

How do I  custom order from Daisymay's shop?

1.   Go here and begin shopping.  She is taking custom orders from now until the end of November for Christmas gifting.  

 2.   She is offering a discount to all readers of this post.  Please use the coupon code 10DISCOUNT to receive 10% off your final purchases from her shop.  How nice is that?!

 3.   Juliet is also offering a giveaway!
A winner for this killer cute necklace will be drawn tomorrow afternoon.

How to enter to win this necklace?  Simply leave a comment on my blog or k.Mac Facebook page.  That's it! 

In this season of gifting and giving, I happily invite the art of handmade to nestle sweetly under your tree.  For in this package, hope and heart will surely be given.  And, because of this, the beauty of small makes America that much stronger.

.mac :)

You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch.

Okay peeps. It's time we get serious.

There is just something wrong here and I aim to fix it.

Over this Thanksgiving weekend, I have encountered far too many people that truly could have given this guy a run for his money.

Allow me to spray, splatter, and slap some of the words at you that so violently drenched my canvas over this Thanksgiving holiday...

"I hate this time of year."
"I just wish it was already over with."
"This is all overrated."
"I can't wait until January gets here."

LAWZEE DAY IN THE MORNIN'!

Now don't get me wrong. My husband will gladly attest to the fact that I am no Mary Poppins all the time.

Sure. I have my shares of I don't wannas,nothin' specials, and who really cares.

-I know the economy is as Kenny would say, "No count."
-I get how over-commercialized Christmas has become.
-I understand we all have a Cousin Eddie or two as relatives.
-I see how the December calendar page looks like a zillion of red X marks the spots filled with havetogoto gatherings.

But let's just stop right there.

My trusty left-handed partner-in-blog crime sheds wonderful light on these subjects of negativity and ungratefulness both here and here.. Like me, she aims to fight these evil powers with 2 of the greatest super heroes.

(Stella, it is uncanny how we were both flying alongside one another at the same time! You look great in your red star undies and rocket blue corset, might I add.)

Who are they?
Well, it ain't the Hulk. And it's not Superman either.

No. Flying in mine and Stella's invisible, optimistic jet cockpits are heroes who can leap more than tall buildings in a single bound and can lift those heavy cars of doom and gloom off your back as well.

Yes,our co-pilots are reality and perspective.

And they will gladly team up with you to defend and promote what we all should have and share: joy and kindness.


Reality and Prospective are actually very fond of Joy and Kindness. Matter of fact, they are akin to one another as we say down here in the south.

It's your choice.
Take a look at your reality. What have you been offered? What have you been blessed with? What have you been blessed not to have as a burden or struggle?

It's your choice.
Find your perspective. Others will always have it worse. Others will always have it better too. Do you see the big picture? The goodness in yourself and others? The glimmer of hope in some one's eyes, the warm touch of a handshake or a happy hug?

It's your choice.
We can all choose stare into this holiday season with doubts, damnits, don't haves, and don't wannas.

OR

We can find our reality and allow our microscope on life to re-focus so that our perspective is clearer and ready to find the tiny details and small subtleties that make this world a better place.

And when we CHOOSE to do that... well, that's when JOY and KINDNESS come galavantin' on in like 2 old sisters both co-chairs of your town's finest welcoming committee. They come complete with a pitcher of sweet tea, a basket of fried chicken, a big fat chocolate pie, and mason jar full of daisies just ready to get the party started.

So I say let's get it started.

25 Acts of Kindness

Kenny and I drummed up this plan while he was helping me get into that invisible jet of mine before he took off for work with his webbed hands.

Here's how it works:

Deadline: January 1, 2009
Challenge: Complete 25 Acts of Kindness
Requirements:
Each act must be from the heart.
You need to write each act down so to keep yourself accountable.

These can be acts as simple as bringing a friend some fresh flowers to let he or she know you love them, paying for the person's gas beside you at the pump, taking someone else's duty at work (i.e. bus duty for teachers), sending a friend or a neighbor a hand written card, volunteering for a cause, donating,cleaning up a community area, etc.

I have completed 3 so far.

My favorite has been delivering one of our handmade candles to a Wal-mart employee on Thanksgiving Day. The day before she was my cashier and made the comment that she would be alone at work all day on Thanksgiving and would not even get to eat with her family.

So on Turkey Day I marched right into my Wal-mart and handed her this simple gift with a tag that explained how appreciated she was for the job she does in my community.

...And I felt like a million bucks when I left. :-)

So, it's that simple.



Here's what you need to do to help Stella and me spread nothing but goodness this Christmas season:

If you are a blogger:
1. Copy and paste the above into your sidebar on your blog.
2. Leave a comment at the end of this post to let me know you are in!
3. If you choose to let others know about this in a blog post with a link back to this post, leave another comment letting me know you did so.
WHY post again you ask? So your name can go in the giveaway drawing not once, but twice!!

That's right. It's giveaway time! I am going to pick 3 winners from the comments section of this post to receive one of k.Mac's new products.

Lots to tell you about. All in good time AND another post, but to keep it short and sweet k.Mac has begun our very own home goods line.

3 lucky winners will receive one of k.Mac's hand poured 12 oz. soy candles!

We are currently making Candy Cane, Cucumber Melon, Citrus Pomegranate, and Sugar Cookie scents.

If you are not a blogger: (your participation counts too!)
1. Leave me a comment at the end of this post.
2. Tell everyone about this Christmas challenge
3. Get on it and spread some goodness!!


I will post the winners on Friday, December 5th!

Good Luck, Happy Goodness Giving, and TAKE THAT, GRINCH!!!

:) .mac

Kindness

Spread it.
Like jam on bread.
When tears are falling,
When hearts are aching,
Kindness
Share a smile,
Meet them with your eyes,
Like jam on bread.

Boo-boos hurt.
Age doesn't count.
We all need a band aid every once in awhile.
A break.
A chance to catch our breath,
Fall softly,
And sometimes just be still.

Kindness,
Spend it like money,
Big green dollar bills and fat shiny quarters,
May you be poor,
Stuff pockets full.
Only then are you rich.

Please and thank yous
Say'em.
Mean'em.
Like jam on bread.

a gesture,
a thought,
a meal,
kindness.

Peach cobbler to friends that are missing a loved one so.

Kindness.
Spread it.
Like jam on bread.