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do you ever have one of those days when you realize you're in control of nothin'? well, yesterday was one of those days for me. so, i gave in. i.gave.in. took a mental health day. a break. a deep, cleansing breath. i gave in.
i slept in til 9:30. i caught up on daily blog reads. i made a date with the latest real simple over brunch. (i found TDF [to die for]gravy, which is saying a whole helluva lot around here.)
i christened my toes the perfect shade of turquoise to match my blue mood, then admired them against the waters of elliott bay and the gorgeous skies overhead.
i cracked open a bottle of vino at the respectable hour of 3 pm and cheerzed (it's a word, people!) myself, with the space needle as my backdrop.
and, i thought. i realized how much i take this city and it's gorgeous water and cool breezes for granted. how much i take everything for granted. my mamma. my sweet sistys. my lovely, wonderful husband, and his UN.CON.DISH.ON.AL love. he loves me with no conditions. not even one. my God, who still saves me with his Grace, no matter how many times i sin or ignore Him.
so, i had one of those days and i'm sure i'll have another one. but, not so long ago, i decided to let go, and let God. so, that's what i'm doing. i don't know where tomorrow will take me, but i know this is just a fleeting moment.
and, i want to tell you, those of you with all your support, and your holding me up when my load is just.too.heavy, you will NEVER, EVER know how much the support is/was needed. thank you. for the unconditional. for the understanding. for the virtual kickstand.
i'm truly not sure how i got so lucky, but i'm done with the taking it for granted. now, go hug your loved ones, cause they just might not be here tomorrow.
for i know the plans i have for you, says the Lord.
plans to prosper you and not to harm you,
plans to give you a hope and a future.
~jeremiah 29:11
when you're from new mexico, you always have 3 things in the house - green chile (from hatch, duh), jalapeños (the hotta, the betta), and salsa (no, pace is NOT salsa). so, as i was whipping blending up the latest batch of salsa, i thought you, my 3 readers, might want the recipe. yes, yes?
it's the easiest thing you'll ever make. promise.
first, grab the goods (diced toms, jalapeños, garlic salt)
dump it all in the blendy
give it a whirl (chunkalicious) or two (saucalicious)
QA time - give 'er a taste and tinker with the salt and jalapeño ratio, if you gotta (try not to eat the whole batch straight from the blendy)
i know you'll be keepin' it all to yourself, but here's an idea for ya! toss it into a mason jar, slap a cutesie tag on it and give it away to yer friends.
EL RECIPE-O:
EASIEST (and most deelish) SALSA EVER
2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes (or 1 can diced toms and 1 can rotel)
1/4 - 1/2 cup jarred jalapeños or 1 fresh jalapeño
1 - 2 Tbsp garlic salt
toss it all in the blender and mix to your favorite consistency.
now, you may be thinking, where are the onions? (barf) or i need me some cilantro in my salsa. (double barf) well, i don't like either of those things, so they got no bizness in my salsa. but, hey, you like onions and cilantro, g'head, toss them in, too.
if you wanna make a mean salsa verde, just substitute the diced toms with a few tomatillos. (dehusk those bad boys before tossing them in tho; maybe give 'em a rough chop, too.)
after you make your batch, come tell me all about it. how'd it taste? what'd ya substitute? give me all the deets.
did you run, go turn on amos lee when you read that post title, too? sometimes the titles come easily, sometimes not so much. it was either this, or 'round here (which woulda had me groovin' to counting crows). more often than not, i scroll through song titles in the ol' brain card catalog to come up with the titles. anyhoodle...TANGENT. (my specialty!)
these days, the workshop's been open late, and these hands have been working overtime. and that, my friends, is a very good thing. here's a little glimpse into what's been flying off the press.
announcing babies (yep, another boy!)
parties for 5 year olds
parties for 40 year olds (amazing race/scavenger hunt, no less)
parties for the corporate folk
and, tons of folding
for parties for graduates
can i just say, i love me a tri-fold. and, if they weren't so dang time-consuming and cost-in-effective (just made it up), i'd pitch 'em to everyone. check out the real estate: 6 whole pages! i tried to talk baby sister into one, but she wanted nuthin' to do with all those pics. party pooper.
and, lastly, the goods went mobile again last night.
there wasn't a huge turn out, but i hear as the summer (what summer?) goes on, the crowds get bigger. so, i'll be out there again august 18th and 25th, if y'all are out and about. baby sister will be here and i'm putting her to work, but shhh, don't tell her!
p.s. it's middle sissy's birfday today, so head over to her blog or her facebook and give her some love. she's heavy and hot with bambino, so she'll be extra excited to hear from you!
p.s.s. i inhaled a leaf last night, and now i'm certain a tree's gonna sprout in my lung, ala grey's anatomy. (let the eye rolling commence.)
at summerfest, some girls stopped by early saturday and asked about my hair flowers. i told them if they didn't find what they liked, we could do something custom, so they chatted amongst themselves, and told me 'we'll be back'. of course, i never expected them to come back, cuz, ya know - they all say that.
but, know what? they did! and, they ordered 12 custom flowers! turns out they're running a relay in a few weeks and they're in charge of team 'flair'. they wanted something fun and sassy, and i'd say they came to the right place! in case you didn't know - sassy is my middle name. ;)
so, this is what i did all day yesterday:
they picked pink and turquoise, and had me make 6 of each color for their teammates to choose their favorite.
i finished and packaged them all up, and am off to deliver them.
they'll be so cute, won't they? and what a great idea for bridesmaid gifts, or to keep track of the kiddos at the amusement park! let's make some for you.
now, as shocked as most of you will be, i'm kinda shy. i'll wait while you pick up your jaw. no, really, i am. actually filling out the application for the west seattle summerfest was a huge (HUGE) step for me. so, when i heard back that they were saving me a table, i grabbed the nearest paper bag to breathe into.
O.M.G. that meant i actually had to show up. with goodies to sell. and talk to people. possibly toot my own horn. maybe ask friends for help. the horror.
well, i survived. i mighta had fun, too! and, it went really well. i even had to restock the goods once or twice! i almost got discouraged the first day, but decided the rest of the weekend would be better. (amazing what an attitude adjustment does for the situation! - stop laughing, mom)
i made new friends. met new clients. handed out hundreds of biz cards. got asked to other fairs. and, lost my voice from talking so much!
gargantuan thanks to all my pals who came out to support the biz, who helped behind the scenes, and at the table. you'll never know how much the moral support means to me.
things i learned:
do a dry run - i set up a mock table before the event, and it was a great way to make changes here and there without the stress of knowing you need to be 'open' in an hour. and, day-of set up goes so much quicker!
ask for help - i'm bad at this. but, i knew there was no way i'd get everything done without a little help from my friends. and, man, were they helpful. phew!
less is sometimes more - i put everything out the first day, and think it mighta been a weensy overwhelming. so i scaled back to give the table breathing room.
everything's negotiable - since friday started slow, i did a little price tinkering, and sales rolled in.
rice is nice (for wet phones) - i should be an expert at this by now (let's just say i have a history with water), but i went ahead and dropped my phone in a cup. nothing a tub of rice and 4 or 5 hours can't fix!
compliments feel good - duh, right? well, it felt reaaaally good to have the public compliment the goods. cause, your friends kinda have to do that already, right?
ok - enough words - how 'bout some pictures of the event?
i haven't done a keepin' it real post in a long while, and decided last night was the perfect backdrop for a new post. since i'm prepping for the west seattle summerfest this weekend, there's no time for sitting around idle, enjoying the latest juicy novel, or tossing the frisbee back and forth. not even on a national holiday like the fourth of july!
we headed down to the lake to watch the fireworks with all the necessary tools: chairs, blanket, grill, laptop, scoring board. what? scoring boards and laptops aren't necessary picnic tools?
here, see for yourself. i was a scoring fool while we waited out traffic, completely unfazed by the amateur firework display going on behind me. no rest for the weary, folks. but, don't worry, i took a break to eat my hot dog, and watch the amazing fireworks.
remember when we were kids and adults would say things like 'the older i get, the faster time flies'? well, it's true, peeps. seriously - june was here and gone, and i spent all my weekends besides my birthday either working, or digging up plants to expose my neighbor's yard (doh!).
i hereby declare july the month of relaxation. (well, except for the working weekends of this and next). and, this is just the playlist for the occasion. i mixed cheesy summer songs with memory-inducing tunes, and topped it all with a 'are-those-really-the-original-lyrics?' cover.
you like? whatcha lisnin' to? you know how last year was my summer of live music? i have no plans to see live music this summer. how sad. so, if you do, let me live vicariously thru you, wontcha? and, have a great fourth of july. i hope you'll get to enjoy a spectacularly expensive firework display, like we will!
