Ruining, running and weekends gone awry

Sometimes things just don’t work out. You have the best of intentions, you really do, but things just get detoured or ruined. Or cancelled. Down the crapper. It happens. And that was my weekend last weekend. Ok, that makes it sound perhaps a bit more dramatic than necessary. In truth, my “weekend awry” was just a couple of, what some would call, typical “hashtag-first-world-problems,” to be sure. No one died. The house is still standing. It’s not like I scorched the crap out of an entire pound of perfectly good bacon. Except for that last one, which I totally did. … Read More

In the Pigpen No. 3: Thirty Days of Thanks (continued, part 1)

Hmm, wondering now if I should have started a whole new Pigpen for this post. In the Pigpen No. 4? Or maybe 3.5? Oh well, we started in No. 3, we’ll continue in No. 3. And here we go. 30 Days of Thanks (Part 2 of 3, maybe?) I am thankful for: November 15: My grandparents. It didn’t dawn on me until recently that not everyone is as blessed as I’ve been when it comes to knowing one’s grandparents. I’ve had the great pleasure of knowing all my grandparents, both blood and step. Some have passed, although I can say with … Read More

Recipes: Cranberry muff stuffers n’ veggies (aka Friendsgiving)*

One of my more cynical friends and charmingly resistant readers suggested part of the title for this post after partaking in the cranberry stuffing muffins written up below. Because why refer to something as a stuffing muffin when you can instead turn to the prose that is muff stuffer? It’s really quite excellent in its inappropriateness. But then I suppose me referring to anyone else on this Earth as inappropriate would be the very definition of kettle-pot name-calling. I digress. On Monday, Chris and I had a few friends over to to celebrate a bit of an impromptu Friendsgiving complete … Read More

Recipe: Cinnamon steel cut oats with almonds & olive oil

I suck at a lot of stuff. Growing things. Touching my toes. Not eating when I’m not hungry. And relaxing. Ask Chris. Ask my coworkers. When it comes to relaxing, I’m just not any good at it — at least not spontaneously. Unless an activity is on my to-do list or iCal, it hardly makes the radar, which is why my written weekend agenda is literally full of “relaxing” line items like Catch Up on Pinterest, Take Nap, and Parenthood (3 Episodes Max).  It’s sick, I realize, but it’s actually the antithesis of relaxing that allows me to…relax. This past weekend, … Read More

The more the merrier…or the joy of the Solo Supper (with recipe)

When Chris and I were in Costa Rica, group activity was the name of the game. I’m not sure I’ve discussed it here, but we went not for the romantic getaway most couples seek from a tropical paradise but to spend time with friends at the summer residence of my college roommate’s family. Mornings weren’t early but were bustling with the sounds of three showers running, eggs popping on the stove and the clapping of shoes crusted with mud from the previous day’s adventures. Between me and Chris, Miriam and her boyfriend Brian, our good friend Alex, his generous parents … Read More