The Weekend.

We played with the boys, like usual.

Ace just rested, mostly. No, I did not stage this photo. This is exactly how I found him...

There was dancing.....

And then some meditation.....

We took a little road trip to Mt. Gilead, NC to do some exploring....

And this is what I found in the gas station bathroom in Mt. Gilead......

Lastly, I got this fabulous t-shirt from my little sister as part of my Christmas present. She also sent me a variety of Adirondack meats and cheeses that I can't wait to take down along with the homemade sweet pickles, dill pickles, and pickled green beans that I got from my momma.

Hope y'all had a great weekend!


-liz

Twice-Baked Potato Casserole.

Here goes my first attempt at food blogging. I needed a break from the "what's the meaning of my life" questions and I thought a little baking post would be at least mildly interesting.

This is a recipe from Paula Deen, so prepare to put on a few pounds by just looking at the ingredients.

Ingredients

8 medium baking potatoes, about 4 pounds
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, at room temperature
½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 pint sour cream
2 cups ( ½ pound) shredded sharp cheddar cheese (divided use)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 ½ teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon pepper
¼ cup chopped chives, for garnish
6 slices bacon, cooked crisp, drained and crumbled, for garnish

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Pierce potatoes and place on baking pan. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, until very soft.

Peel and mash potatoes in large bowl with potato masher or back of fork. Add cream cheese, butter, sour cream and 1 cup of cheddar. Stir well. Add garlic, salt and pepper, and stir again.

Spray a 13x9-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Place potato mixture in dish, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate casserole until ready to bake.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 F, remove plastic wrap and bake casserole 30 to 35 minutes until hot. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup cheddar over casserole and return to oven for about 5 minutes, until cheese melts. Garnish with chopped chives and crumbled bacon before serving. Makes 10 to 12 servings.

-liz

Beneath the Surface-Part II.

My cousin recently sent me this link HERE. It’s 95 questions to ask yourself in order to find more meaning and happiness in life. Here is a little synopsis from the site.

“At the cusp of a new day, week, month or year, most of us take a little time to reflect on our lives by looking back over the past and ahead into the future. We ponder the successes, failures and standout events that are slowly scripting our life’s story. This process of self-reflection helps us maintain a conscious awareness of where we’ve been and where we intend to go. It is pertinent to the organization and preservation of our long-term goals and happiness.
The questions below will help you with this process. Because when it comes to finding meaning in life, asking the right questions is the answer."

I thought trying to answer some of these would be a great exercise to help me shape what I want my 2012 goals to be. I thought I’d share them as I go because sharing them makes me actually answer them. Here are #s 1-30.

1. In one sentence, who are you?

I’m a person who genuinely wants to do better, be better and give my best to the ones I love the most.

2. Why do you matter?

Because I can make a difference in the lives of the people I care about.

3. What is your life motto?

Hmm. It used to be, “live to ride or fuck off,” but that hardly seems appropriate anymore. I would say love, kindness and acceptance.

4. What’s something you have that everyone wants?

Great hair? Joking….but not really. It’s what I get the most compliments on.

5. What is missing in your life?

A higher purpose. I want to give more, volunteer more, etc.

6. What’s been on your mind most lately?

Past mistakes and wrong choices. Things I would do differently, etc.

7. Happiness is a_____________?

CHOICE!

8. What stands between you and happiness?

Negativity within myself.

9. What do you need most right now?

My family.

10. What does the child in you long for?

Normalcy, structure.
11. What is the one thing right now that you are totally sure of?

My conviction to become the person I want to be.

12. What’s been bothering you lately?

Death & dying. Turns out I’m terrified of it.

13. What are you scared of?

The dark. I can’t see a damn thing in the dark. And of course, death & dying.

14. What has your fear of failure stopped you from doing?

I would say a lot of things that I have disguised as “not the right time” to go forward.

15. What will you never give up on?

My marriage.

16. What do you want to remember forever?

The way I felt when I knew that I loved my husband.

17. What makes you feel secure?

Chico~Suave, my hubby, my home.

18. Which activities make you lose track of time?

Spending time with my boys, reading, writing, photography.

19. What’s the most difficult decision you’ve ever made?

Deciding to take control of my own life. It was difficult in that it took forever for me to do.

20. What’s the best decision you’ve ever made?

Moving to North Carolina. Hands down. Easiest question ever.

21. What are you most Grateful for?

My hubby, My Chico, My family. All taught me the true meaning of love.

22. What is worth the pain?

Living.

23. In order of importance, how would you rank: happiness, money, love, health, fame?

Love, happiness, health, money, fame.

24. What is something you’ve always wanted, but don’t have yet?

Mini-donkey. A general Lee.

25. What’s was the most defining moment in your life during this past year?

I’ve had a few defining moments this year. The most intense was probably my trip home to NY in May. A lot seemed to click for me on that trip. The importance of family, acceptance of the past, and how fast time passes you by.

26. What’s the number one change you need to make in your life in the next twelve months?

I wouldn’t say that there is one thing more important than the other. I’ll continue to improve on several things for an overall impact.

27. What’s the number one thing you want to achieve in the next five years?

We want a farmhouse, either as a primary residence or second home. Ideally, we’d like to have a townhome or condo in Charlotte for the work week and a mini farm we travel to on the weekends. Best of both worlds.

28. What’s the biggest motivator in your life right now?

The desire to create a full and balanced life for my little family.

29. What will you never do?

Heroin. Duh. Oh and I will never support hate.

30. What’s something you said you’d never do, but have since done?

Wear flats!


-liz

Happy Holidays!

Is it really about to be Christmas?? I just don’t understand where the time goes. I’m sitting in my living room right now and I’ve got to say that I am SO loving the ambiance of a room lit only by Christmas lights. It feels so warm and cozy. It’s times like these that I really appreciate and feel the spirit of the holidays. I’m sitting here and feeling overwhelmed by how thankful I am to have such a blessed life. It’s a pretty great feeling to have and honestly, it’s helping me forget how far behind I am on my Christmas shopping and associated errands. Unfortunately, the holidays can also be a huge bitch.

So what’s new?


I quit facebook. I feel totally cut off from the world and it’s pretty awesome. There was no big catalyst for the facebook deactivation, but it had been coming for a while. I was checking it only out of habit every day and it wasn’t like I didn’t know who was going to be saying what. It had all gotten pretty typical. Unfortunately, the people I wanted to hear from, barely ever posted anything, so I didn’t really feel like I was getting that much out of it anymore. Part of me feels like facebook has the ability to stifle real, meaningful interaction too. It actually feels good to wonder what someone has been up to rather than knowing instantly. Being connected is great, but if it means the quality and meaning of your relationships dwindle, than what’s the point?

Pinterest is my new obsession. I think I’m pretty late to the party on this one, but seriously, It. Is. Awesome. Pinterest is a virtual pinboard where you can categorize the things you find on the internet. You can Pin images directly from Pinterest or from the web. For example, when I was planning my wedding, I would scour Style Me Pretty and Southern Weddings for ideas for colors, décor, details, etc. I would try and right click, save the image and put it somewhere on my computer or print it out and put it in my paper binder. With Pinterest, you just Pin the image onto one of your boards and call it a day. Then you can go back and find all of your ideas in one spot. They have so many categories to search through on their site and I’ve already found a ton of new recipes and decorating ideas. Check.It.out.

Review & Refocus. I’m fixin’ to dig up my “2011 Goals” post from the beginning of the year to see how I fared with all of that. I love reflecting back on the highs and lows of the year to see how I can improve and the direction I need to move in to do so. I’ve also been putting a lot of thought into my 2012 Goals and I’ll be getting all of that together over the next few weeks.

To round things out, here are a few more recent snaps of the boys.

GingerSnap 5k.

I ran my second 5k of the year last Saturday, December 3rd. Being that it was a Girl’s on the Run event, I was so excited to participate and help support the cause. I found out about the race a week prior to the event, so I didn’t have a lot of time to prepare, but I was determined to take part in it seeing how it was hot off the heels of my niece’s GOTR 5k. I ran it in 27 minutes and nine seconds. I was fairly happy with that considering it was my first 5k where I was actually trying to “get a time”. I ran a 5k earlier in the year, but it was more about having fun and supporting the cause. Now, I can’t wait for the next run. I’ll definitely be aiming for the 26 minute mark. I don’t think I’ll ever be a super competitive contender for a race win, but it always feels good to push myself a little further and do a little better each time.
The race was in downtown Waxhaw and it was soooo freezing that morning. I’m pretty sure I was having some sort of out of body experience during the first half mile. My feet felt like cement blocks and I was pretty sure that my body would never stop being confused about whether it should be hot and cold.

The hubby came along to cheer me on and grab a few pics.

Here I am!

-Liz

T.G.I.F.

high five!

More Film Shots.

I busted out my film camera for the first time in a looonnng time last weekend. I really love, love the look I get from it. It was my first stab at shooting in manual with film, and if you can get past Jr's dirty face and my husband in his pyjamas, you're left with some pretty sweet images. And by sweet, I mean exposed and focused correctly, for the most part....

Canon Elan 7e
Canon EF 50mm f1.2
Kodak ISO 400 film