Mindy's Non-Adventures

Well, we've almost made it. We're only a few short days away from 2018. I've begun to embrace the yearly ritual of getting all contemplative about how I've spent my time. I like to look back at the goals I made for myself in Januaries past and see how I've changed and grown. For instance, 2011 Mindy mostly just needed a nap. She was hyped up on expectations and slightly manic from the fatigue that only small children can give you. She was about to sell her house, move to Charleston (for the first time), and begin a period of community building, ministry, and nomadic living. If I could speak to her now, I'm not sure what I would say that would be helpful. I think I'd give her a long hug then tell her to just hold on. No matter what, just hold on, and it will be okay.  But now I'm staring down the barrel of 2018, and I'm not ready. I don't have a good feeling about this year if I'm honest. I think this year will be hard in its own unique way...

Ah, there it is. Cherish every moment. How do you feel about it? The phrase generally evokes an uncontrollable eye roll from me. That's probably because I usually hear it when I or someone I know is in the midst of one of those parenting moments that make my eye twitch. You know, like when my kid is throwing up all over me, the bed, the carpet, the walls, the ceiling...and some well meaning person says "Cherish every moment! One day you'll miss these days." Really? Because I'm finding it hard to believe that I will miss the vomit on the carpet. Is there anything worse than carpet vomit? I do not cherish the vomit on the carpet, and I cannot imagine a time in the foreseeable future that I will remember cleaning up vomit with fondness.  But I get it. The point someone is trying to make when they utter this phrase is to appreciate that you have this amazing person in front of you that you get to love and care for in this short life. They mean well. It'...

Remember my project mentality as I tell you that I've cycled back into cooking experiments. I tend to rotate through cooking, house projects, and school projects. I never know what will inspire me to switch. It's always a surprise. Jon loves this about me. ;) This week my switch was inspired by Jamie Oliver and his facebook video on butternut squash smoothies. Yeah, I know. It sounds gross, but it reminded me of a pumpkin spice smoothie which is NOT gross. In any case, I bought a butternut squash the next day, roasted it the way Jamie (we're compadres now) told me to, and then put it in the refrigerator. I still hadn't made the original smoothie by yesterday morning, but I  did  sub the butternut squash for sweet potatoes in the Tupelo Honey sweet potato pancake recipe. See? Project. I went from a facebook cooking video to changing up a brand new-to-me recipe with an ingredient I don't use regularly. Why go small when I can go big? And what was the verdict? I haven...